Show Posts
1
General Magic / I am building a set! Would you like to help?
« on: January 31, 2020, 07:41:40 am »
Welcome!
Hi deckstats friends! I've recently started building a set, which is a fairly large undertaking (who knew?). In terms of card design, I'm not very deep (like 5 cards haha) but I'm very happy with the setting I've built for it. I'm going to dive into describing what's already been done and what my vision is in a second, but first I'd like to outline how you can be involved!
How You Can Help
1. Tell me what cards you'd like to see reprinted. I want the set to be very original, but every set needs reprints! What cards (within reason) do you think should make a grand reappearance?
2. Tell me what cards that don't yet exist you'd like to see. As I said, the cards themselves are in the very early stages, and this is a chance to make some cool things you think magic needs!
3. Tell me your impressions of the set. I will regularly update this post with new cards as they are created, or revised, and there will be A LOT of that, trust me. I know there are people out there with significantly more knowledge of the cards already out there, and I'd love to hear how you think these cards would interact with anything and everything, especially outside of Standard.
4. Playtesting. We're not there yet, but eventually, I hope to have a full set built, and I don't want to just stop there. The goal is to have a downloadable proxy set that can be easily printed so people can mess around with these cards and find the broken janky stuff I missed in V1. If trying out a bunch of new cards with your friends for free sounds like something that interests you, keep an eye on this thread!
Bounty of the North
And now, the moment you've been waiting for: What the hell is this set about? Without further ado, I present to you, Bounty of the North, set on the plane of Krisegard. The story of the set revolves around the awakening of mana on Krisegard. The story actually told by the set spans four acts, but I've also written a brief passage about the more ancient history of Krisegard, and about the aftermath of all the events that take place in Bounty of the North.
History of Krisegard
Magical beings have always existed on Krisegard, but they have not been especially powerful or numerous. Trolls, Giants, and other monsters are typically hunted down by large war parties as soon as they are discovered, while Elves and Human mages are tolerated as long as they prove themselves useful as court mages, soldiers, healers, etc... This means that while the existence of magic is a widely known fact, it has very little impact on the daily lives of most people. Krisegard is very much a plane on which the magical exists in spite of the commonplace, rather than the other way around. Society on Krisegard is not organized by race or color affiliation, but rather simply into Viking-like clans with longstanding warrior cultures. Magic occasionally finds its way into these disputes, but the weakness of the leylines under Krisegard combined with the lack of experienced mages makes those occurrences rare and not especially impactful outliers. All this is soon to change, and that is where Bounty of the North picks up.
Act 1: Calix Ignites Krisegard
Worlds away on Theros, Elspeth has just managed to planeswalk away after escaping the underworld and defeating Heliod. Calix, created with the sole purpose of hunting Elspeth down, has his spark ignited by the prospect of failing in his life's sole destiny and randomly planeswalks away as all new planeswalkers do... to Krisegard. The presence of Calix's ignited spark awakens the until-now dormant leylines under Krisegard, intense flares of mana rising up to meet a host at long last. You see, just like powerful mages need to draw mana from the land in order to cast spells, leylines need powerful mages to draw mana from them in order to contain them and help them grow sustainably. On most planes, this happens gradually, as creatures that are randomly born with magical abilities tap into the trace amounts of mana on their plane, prompting the emergence of more mana, which infuses more beings with magical abilities, and so on and so on. On Krisegard however, so few magical creatures and magic users were born and allowed to flourish that the leylines were left to slowly get bigger and bigger beneath the surface of the plane until a being powerful enough to draw it out appeared and the mana burst to the surface of the plane uncontrolled like a dam bursting.
Act Two: Plane in Chaos
Months after Calix's arrival, things have only gotten worse on Krisegard. All sorts of new, more powerful magical creatures start appearing and ravaging the land. Mages now find huge amounts of mana flowing all around them, and those once only capable of parlor tricks begin reshaping the plane as they see fit, in many cases replacing the warlords they once were forced to serve. The mana flares even affect the dead on Krisegard, as beings long-dead return to walk among the living, reanimated by pure magical energy coursing through them, only with a desperate need to consume all the mana they can in order to stay alive. Amidst all this, the nonmagical factions that once fought over land and ancient disputes have been forced into an uneasy alliance against the horrors that now walk their plane. They manage to hold a few strongholds, but it's all they can do to just survive, let alone try to reclaim their ancestral lands overrun by monsters or stolen by wizard-kings. Calix wanders Krisegard amidst all this, empowered by the mana flares, but still untrained in the use of his spark and unable to escape in order to fulfill his destiny.
Act Three: Walkers at War
As Calix roams the plane at war, all the activity on Krisegard draws the attention of some other planeswalkers. The first is Tamiyo, who is fascinated by such an enormous eruption of mana on a plane previously so devoid of it. She suspects Krisegard may hold clues as to the origins of mana itself, and cannot resist going to investigate. When she arrives, she is appalled by the chaos the plane has been thrown into and weighs getting involved to try to alleviate some of the pain and suffering rather than remaining a neutral observer. The second planeswalker who arrives forces her hand. Ob-Nixilis also senses the eruption of mana on Krisegard and sees an opportunity to reap the benefits of huge amounts of uncontrolled mana. On arriving, he leaps right into action, harvesting death, gorging on mana, and growing more powerful by the day. As he does this, he encounters Calix and Tamiyo. As an agent of Destiny, Calix understands respects Tamiyo's efforts to understand the world around her, and she is eager to glean what secrets she can from him. They form a friendship and ally in order to battle Ob-Nixilis. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Krisegard, this battle of three titans upends the balance of power once more, and those who thought themselves the new master of the plane are forced to take sides. Most of the magical humans ally themselves with Calix and Tamiyo, hoping to drive out some of the chaos and monsters invading their lands. Most of the monsters and undead ally themselves with Ob-Nixilis, the more sentient among them hoping to become the uncontested rulers of Krisegard, the mindless simply drawn to his raw power. This presents an opportunity for those on the plane who still reject magic, and they send out numerous raiding parties to reclaim their lands while the forces of magic are busy in a plane-wide war.
Act Four: The Rise and Fall of Gudom Vaktare
As Calix and Tamiyo desperately try to hold off Ob-Nixilis and his forces, loose mana surges powerfully around them, catching anything that happens to be nearby in the crossfire. One person so caught is Gudom Vaktare, a member of a raiding party sent to recapture land that once belonged to his clan. An especially large mana eruption strikes Gudom and he appears to have been killed, not that the world around him has the leisure to take notice. However, just as Ob-Nixilis is about to strike down Tamiyo, Gudom rises glowing red and white, wielding spark-like abilities. He engages all three planeswalkers at once, channeling the power of his plane to get revenge on those he sees as the cause of the destruction of his home. Unfortunately, while he possesses great raw power, he is still too inexperienced to use it to fight effectively. Seeing that the fight is hopeless, he begins drawing as much mana as he can out of the heart of Krisegard and puts it all into one mighty blow, not aimed at any of his rival planeswalkers, but directly at the leylines beneath them. In a heroic act of self-sacrifice, Gudom gives his life to wipe magic from Krisegard. Thanks to his power of foresight, Calix is able to warn Tamiyo of what is about to happen and she manages to planeswalk away, allowing Calix to follow in her wake. Ob-Nixilis gets no such warning and is destroyed along with Gudom in the blast.
Aftermath
While all sources of magic on Krisegard seem to have been wiped away by Gudom’s sacrifice, as nothing like this has ever happened before it is unknown if the leylines have been truly destroyed or simply completely tapped out for the time being. Krisegard slowly begins its very gradual return to normalcy, but if the leylines ever reawaken, it may all be for naught.
Thanks for getting this far!
So, you made it through the story of the set, good job! I appreciate you taking the time to read it and I hope it was both a fun read and a good look into the world this set takes place in. I also know there's a chance you've just scrolled this far to get to the cards, and I won't leave you hanging. Keep in mind that this is the first draft and that in a few weeks (or even days) these first few cards may be totally different if they even still exist at all. BUT, that progress can only be made with YOUR help, so put your new card analysis cap on.
Raseri, Rage Queen
{1}{r}{g}
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior (Rare)
Berserker 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with 4 rage counters. If it would be dealt damage, you may remove a rage counter from it. If you do, prevent that damage.)
Whenever another creature you control would enter the battlefield with one or more counters of any type on it, you may have it enter with that many plus two counters of that type instead.
5 / 3
Haft, Master Reassembler
{2}{u}{b}{g}
Legendary Creature - Zombie Wizard (Mythic Rare)
Whenever another creature is put into your graveyard from anywhere, distribute up to X +1/+1 counters among creatures you control, where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
If it had any keyword abilities, distribute those too.
2 / 3
Olvudel, the Partially-Named
{w}{w}
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (Rare)
Whenever a spell or ability you control exiles a permanent, gain 1 life and draw a card.
{3}{w},{t}: Exile target permanent. You may return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
2 / 2
Gudom, the Savior
{2}{w}{r}
Legendary Planeswalker - Gudom (Mythic Rare)
+2: Return a card you own from exile to your hand.
-1: Exile up to two cards from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, create a 2/2 White and Red Human Warrior creature token.
-8: Destroy all permanents with mana abilities.
Starting Loyalty: 4
How You Can Help (Again)!
You've made it all the way to the end; I think congratulations and thanks are once again in order. If you're interested in being a part of the development of Bounty of the North in any way, please don't hesitate to reply to this post or send me a private message with any and all thoughts on specific cards, mechanics, storylines, cool art, etc... I'm sure you noticed new wacky things going on in the new cards, and it's gonna take a lot to narrow it down to just the coolest, most balanced stuff. But it wouldn't be fun if it were easy! If you just want to stay updated on how it's going, make sure to like and follow this thread, where I will do my best to post somewhat regular updates. You can also check out my card gallery on mtgcardsmith (jonahwarner227) where I will be uploading and updating all the card designs as this project progresses. Thanks again for taking the time to read this whole thing, and I'm excited to work with you on Bounty of the North!
See you on Krisegard!
-firebrand549
Hi deckstats friends! I've recently started building a set, which is a fairly large undertaking (who knew?). In terms of card design, I'm not very deep (like 5 cards haha) but I'm very happy with the setting I've built for it. I'm going to dive into describing what's already been done and what my vision is in a second, but first I'd like to outline how you can be involved!
How You Can Help
1. Tell me what cards you'd like to see reprinted. I want the set to be very original, but every set needs reprints! What cards (within reason) do you think should make a grand reappearance?
2. Tell me what cards that don't yet exist you'd like to see. As I said, the cards themselves are in the very early stages, and this is a chance to make some cool things you think magic needs!
3. Tell me your impressions of the set. I will regularly update this post with new cards as they are created, or revised, and there will be A LOT of that, trust me. I know there are people out there with significantly more knowledge of the cards already out there, and I'd love to hear how you think these cards would interact with anything and everything, especially outside of Standard.
4. Playtesting. We're not there yet, but eventually, I hope to have a full set built, and I don't want to just stop there. The goal is to have a downloadable proxy set that can be easily printed so people can mess around with these cards and find the broken janky stuff I missed in V1. If trying out a bunch of new cards with your friends for free sounds like something that interests you, keep an eye on this thread!
Bounty of the North
And now, the moment you've been waiting for: What the hell is this set about? Without further ado, I present to you, Bounty of the North, set on the plane of Krisegard. The story of the set revolves around the awakening of mana on Krisegard. The story actually told by the set spans four acts, but I've also written a brief passage about the more ancient history of Krisegard, and about the aftermath of all the events that take place in Bounty of the North.
History of Krisegard
Magical beings have always existed on Krisegard, but they have not been especially powerful or numerous. Trolls, Giants, and other monsters are typically hunted down by large war parties as soon as they are discovered, while Elves and Human mages are tolerated as long as they prove themselves useful as court mages, soldiers, healers, etc... This means that while the existence of magic is a widely known fact, it has very little impact on the daily lives of most people. Krisegard is very much a plane on which the magical exists in spite of the commonplace, rather than the other way around. Society on Krisegard is not organized by race or color affiliation, but rather simply into Viking-like clans with longstanding warrior cultures. Magic occasionally finds its way into these disputes, but the weakness of the leylines under Krisegard combined with the lack of experienced mages makes those occurrences rare and not especially impactful outliers. All this is soon to change, and that is where Bounty of the North picks up.
Act 1: Calix Ignites Krisegard
Worlds away on Theros, Elspeth has just managed to planeswalk away after escaping the underworld and defeating Heliod. Calix, created with the sole purpose of hunting Elspeth down, has his spark ignited by the prospect of failing in his life's sole destiny and randomly planeswalks away as all new planeswalkers do... to Krisegard. The presence of Calix's ignited spark awakens the until-now dormant leylines under Krisegard, intense flares of mana rising up to meet a host at long last. You see, just like powerful mages need to draw mana from the land in order to cast spells, leylines need powerful mages to draw mana from them in order to contain them and help them grow sustainably. On most planes, this happens gradually, as creatures that are randomly born with magical abilities tap into the trace amounts of mana on their plane, prompting the emergence of more mana, which infuses more beings with magical abilities, and so on and so on. On Krisegard however, so few magical creatures and magic users were born and allowed to flourish that the leylines were left to slowly get bigger and bigger beneath the surface of the plane until a being powerful enough to draw it out appeared and the mana burst to the surface of the plane uncontrolled like a dam bursting.
Act Two: Plane in Chaos
Months after Calix's arrival, things have only gotten worse on Krisegard. All sorts of new, more powerful magical creatures start appearing and ravaging the land. Mages now find huge amounts of mana flowing all around them, and those once only capable of parlor tricks begin reshaping the plane as they see fit, in many cases replacing the warlords they once were forced to serve. The mana flares even affect the dead on Krisegard, as beings long-dead return to walk among the living, reanimated by pure magical energy coursing through them, only with a desperate need to consume all the mana they can in order to stay alive. Amidst all this, the nonmagical factions that once fought over land and ancient disputes have been forced into an uneasy alliance against the horrors that now walk their plane. They manage to hold a few strongholds, but it's all they can do to just survive, let alone try to reclaim their ancestral lands overrun by monsters or stolen by wizard-kings. Calix wanders Krisegard amidst all this, empowered by the mana flares, but still untrained in the use of his spark and unable to escape in order to fulfill his destiny.
Act Three: Walkers at War
As Calix roams the plane at war, all the activity on Krisegard draws the attention of some other planeswalkers. The first is Tamiyo, who is fascinated by such an enormous eruption of mana on a plane previously so devoid of it. She suspects Krisegard may hold clues as to the origins of mana itself, and cannot resist going to investigate. When she arrives, she is appalled by the chaos the plane has been thrown into and weighs getting involved to try to alleviate some of the pain and suffering rather than remaining a neutral observer. The second planeswalker who arrives forces her hand. Ob-Nixilis also senses the eruption of mana on Krisegard and sees an opportunity to reap the benefits of huge amounts of uncontrolled mana. On arriving, he leaps right into action, harvesting death, gorging on mana, and growing more powerful by the day. As he does this, he encounters Calix and Tamiyo. As an agent of Destiny, Calix understands respects Tamiyo's efforts to understand the world around her, and she is eager to glean what secrets she can from him. They form a friendship and ally in order to battle Ob-Nixilis. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Krisegard, this battle of three titans upends the balance of power once more, and those who thought themselves the new master of the plane are forced to take sides. Most of the magical humans ally themselves with Calix and Tamiyo, hoping to drive out some of the chaos and monsters invading their lands. Most of the monsters and undead ally themselves with Ob-Nixilis, the more sentient among them hoping to become the uncontested rulers of Krisegard, the mindless simply drawn to his raw power. This presents an opportunity for those on the plane who still reject magic, and they send out numerous raiding parties to reclaim their lands while the forces of magic are busy in a plane-wide war.
Act Four: The Rise and Fall of Gudom Vaktare
As Calix and Tamiyo desperately try to hold off Ob-Nixilis and his forces, loose mana surges powerfully around them, catching anything that happens to be nearby in the crossfire. One person so caught is Gudom Vaktare, a member of a raiding party sent to recapture land that once belonged to his clan. An especially large mana eruption strikes Gudom and he appears to have been killed, not that the world around him has the leisure to take notice. However, just as Ob-Nixilis is about to strike down Tamiyo, Gudom rises glowing red and white, wielding spark-like abilities. He engages all three planeswalkers at once, channeling the power of his plane to get revenge on those he sees as the cause of the destruction of his home. Unfortunately, while he possesses great raw power, he is still too inexperienced to use it to fight effectively. Seeing that the fight is hopeless, he begins drawing as much mana as he can out of the heart of Krisegard and puts it all into one mighty blow, not aimed at any of his rival planeswalkers, but directly at the leylines beneath them. In a heroic act of self-sacrifice, Gudom gives his life to wipe magic from Krisegard. Thanks to his power of foresight, Calix is able to warn Tamiyo of what is about to happen and she manages to planeswalk away, allowing Calix to follow in her wake. Ob-Nixilis gets no such warning and is destroyed along with Gudom in the blast.
Aftermath
While all sources of magic on Krisegard seem to have been wiped away by Gudom’s sacrifice, as nothing like this has ever happened before it is unknown if the leylines have been truly destroyed or simply completely tapped out for the time being. Krisegard slowly begins its very gradual return to normalcy, but if the leylines ever reawaken, it may all be for naught.
Thanks for getting this far!
So, you made it through the story of the set, good job! I appreciate you taking the time to read it and I hope it was both a fun read and a good look into the world this set takes place in. I also know there's a chance you've just scrolled this far to get to the cards, and I won't leave you hanging. Keep in mind that this is the first draft and that in a few weeks (or even days) these first few cards may be totally different if they even still exist at all. BUT, that progress can only be made with YOUR help, so put your new card analysis cap on.
Raseri, Rage Queen
{1}{r}{g}
Legendary Creature - Human Warrior (Rare)
Berserker 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with 4 rage counters. If it would be dealt damage, you may remove a rage counter from it. If you do, prevent that damage.)
Whenever another creature you control would enter the battlefield with one or more counters of any type on it, you may have it enter with that many plus two counters of that type instead.
5 / 3
Haft, Master Reassembler
{2}{u}{b}{g}
Legendary Creature - Zombie Wizard (Mythic Rare)
Whenever another creature is put into your graveyard from anywhere, distribute up to X +1/+1 counters among creatures you control, where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
If it had any keyword abilities, distribute those too.
2 / 3
Olvudel, the Partially-Named
{w}{w}
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (Rare)
Whenever a spell or ability you control exiles a permanent, gain 1 life and draw a card.
{3}{w},{t}: Exile target permanent. You may return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
2 / 2
Gudom, the Savior
{2}{w}{r}
Legendary Planeswalker - Gudom (Mythic Rare)
+2: Return a card you own from exile to your hand.
-1: Exile up to two cards from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, create a 2/2 White and Red Human Warrior creature token.
-8: Destroy all permanents with mana abilities.
Starting Loyalty: 4
How You Can Help (Again)!
You've made it all the way to the end; I think congratulations and thanks are once again in order. If you're interested in being a part of the development of Bounty of the North in any way, please don't hesitate to reply to this post or send me a private message with any and all thoughts on specific cards, mechanics, storylines, cool art, etc... I'm sure you noticed new wacky things going on in the new cards, and it's gonna take a lot to narrow it down to just the coolest, most balanced stuff. But it wouldn't be fun if it were easy! If you just want to stay updated on how it's going, make sure to like and follow this thread, where I will do my best to post somewhat regular updates. You can also check out my card gallery on mtgcardsmith (jonahwarner227) where I will be uploading and updating all the card designs as this project progresses. Thanks again for taking the time to read this whole thing, and I'm excited to work with you on Bounty of the North!
See you on Krisegard!
-firebrand549
English
Deutsch
Español
Português
Italiano
Français