1. beasts, wurms, lizards, dragons, octopai, drakes, hawks, sphinxes
2. pass
3. pass Can it be a warm humid tropical world speckled with volcanic islands. There could be just a couple sanctuaries on the highest volcanic mountains in which elves, and wizards live. A little lower, but not as low as the monsters (see 1) the goblins live. The birds of prey (dragons, sphinxes, drakes) would routinely terrorize the noble elves and wizards in their precious civilization.

The sanctuary mountains described above would be snow covered because of their altitude.

In the original brainstorming over this set, I saw others who felt (like myself) that the original boon cycle of cards was really cool. People also discussed the shard charms (like Esper Charm that give multiple options with one card.

I think 3 color enchantments with different triggered effects (similar to Words of War but based on color of cards cast) would be really fun. Ex: GRU 1: the next time you play a red card, you may (deal two damage to target creature or player?) 1: the next time you play a green card, you may (gain life equal to target creatures power?) 1: the next time you play a blue card, you may (draw a card, then discard a card?)

Creature types: Snakes, Leeches, Wyvverns come to mind.

I would like to see some kinda of creature splicing spell or spells. (think Yugioh "Polymerization") -no i don't like Yugioh, i just like the idea-

Example: When you play this spell exile two creatures target player controls and put an X/X colorless artifact creature into the battlefield where X is the combined creatures power.

Remember, all brainstorming should focus on the creative aspect of the set. Specific cards and mechanics are part of the design team's realm, which we will focus on later.

I am posting this as an idea of what I developed in prep for this. If people go in a completely different direction, then great! It was not loved by everyone on the creative team, but may give some people a jumping off point.

Irindu

I see this as similar to native American and Aztec cultures. The societal structure for humans is that they have a tribal council with the treefolk and Faeries. All three groups worship the elements (elementals) as god-lilke creatures and respect the various beast of the land, though they hunt them. The sage-like thinker of these groups observe and document the world around them and create artifacts to help others understand (solar calendar, maps) and weapons (bows and axes and other equipment). These are all a simple people that live off the land and have some large structures built but mostly clay huts and long cabin-esque buildings.

Creatures I see here are: Bears, squirrels, humans, elementals, faeries, treefolk, horses, elk, etc.

1. Mutants, elementals, shapeshifters (changelings), wizards, beasts. Maybe a sect of insane Clerics. The flowstone "mechanic" of old might have a place in the creatures (see Flowstone Giant and Flowstone Blade )
2. I could see Omnath, Locus of Mana or other similar beings here. Maybe Garruk Wildspeaker can make a return, possibly with an additional color(s).
3. To be completely honest, the day I get to see Riggers and Contraptions (Steamflogger Boss ) in Magic, I will squeal with excitement. The idea just tickles all the right nerves on my body. But not those nerves. That would be weird.

1. I am slightly confused... is this a primarily green or primarily blue shard? You list blue as the first color, but description say tons and tons of green mana floating around.... seems a little conflicting. I would choose different creatures depending on which is the dominant.

Supposing blue - shaman lots and lots of shaman. Blue = primarily wizards and spellcasters... elves and goblins both have shaman as their spellcasters as a less refined and more fundamental / chatoic form of caster. thus i think you would see several shaman of various races. Perhaps a whole new type of creature maybe barbarians with barbarian shaman? The creatures (green) are exploited by both the barbarians (red) and the wizards (blue), the wizards and barbarians once lived in harmony with one another but have been fighting over control of local beasts and territory for so long that no one can actually remember how long the conflict has lasted. the Barbarians use the flow to amplify their chaotic battle tactics, while the wizards seek to control the flow in order to direct its power. The creatures are more often than not victims to the whims of the flow, but have beens slowly building a consciuosness of their own and are beginning to resent the yoke of both their masters. The focused development of the beasts indicates some one may be directing or manipulating the flow for their own purposes.

2.wizard leader, barbarian leader, mysterious figure controlling the flow, semi-conscious forest brain.

3.consider some dwarven love. Poor dwarves always get looked over in favor of the beloved goblins... maybe it is time they had a chance to shine.... but maybe this works better in a different shard. Perhaps a primary red one? I would also like to see more mana efficient creatures cmc = power / toughness

1. Molds, Fungi, Diseased, Lunatic, Carnivorous Plants, Curse Armor
2. A 'gardener' planeswalker, Some kind of infection spreader, Sporemaster?
3. Direct attacking at creatures would twist some minds.

Cost 3,G 4 converted

Enchant Creature.

For each point of damage dealt by enchanted creature, place -1/-1 counters on one or more target creatures you control.

Curse armor (If enchanted creature would go to the graveyard, place this Aura on another creature you control.)

cause it was mentioned- I love the idea of dwarves, because 1) they are heavily under represented in magic and really have never found a home since goblins have ruled the Red tribal seen. As the RGU scene goes, they are inherently Mountain foke (red), the have a structured society able to use magic (blue) they are masters of artifact creation(blue) and they are definitely able to interact with forests to fuel there mechanizations.

also to help explain i think the idea of plane maybe. As the major blue plane, it is heavely based in Spells. On top of that its relation with red magic allows magic to grow to a much larger library of ability and versatility. and the influence of green mana allows the Red and blue mana to grow to exponential strengths.

p.s. i also thinkk dragons would be an apt class due to their skill in magic(blue), there inherent redness, and well they are big(green)

We need Wizards on this plane.

Sphinxes too. I thinking Wizards who draw cards, because that's going to be important in this shard due to Flow.

1) Wizards, yes, and along with them Elementals and Weirds, possibly with some influence over the Flow. Could we include creatures that change their type? By a flip or levelling kind of mechanic (probs not those, but something)

2) Seeing as how the plane was made by a planeswalker, including more planeswalkers sounds kinda silly. A changeling would make an interesting centre character for this shard.

3) Imagination.

Sorry to double post, inspiration strikes at odd times.

In terms of the isolated story, is the shard a united one, or do we have some Akrasa - Jhess style infighting?

For the broader story, why was the entire plane created, and will something happen when it fades away (a massive surge in mana comes to mind)?

Oh, and reprint Swerve =D

I really like some of the ideas people are having. Wizards seem like a must. I like the idea of sphinxes (maybe a couple), and dragons. these two groups could be at odds to control the flow and use lesser beings to fight their battles for them.

the drarves- I agree magic needs more but blue and green dwarves is just not in character, maybe another shard

the plants, mold, etc. - I think this is a great Idea, for the BUG shard but not here.

I love the idea of a mysterious figure controlling the flow that is a non-planeswalker. The changling idea for him intruiges me as well.

i dont think this is the right shard for dragons.

for some reason im thinking slivers/snakes/serpents/molds/fungi/

but then again they probably fit better into the other UG shard but yeah

so yeah idk. Its a weird colour combo that could see elves likeBloodbraid Elf and the like pop up again

@Shaistyone "Direct attacking at creatures would twist some minds."

See Provoke Goblin Grappler

The first post here said wurms. they are a pretty good fit for the colors, a bit better than dragons to the colors I think.

"the plants, mold, etc. - I think this is a great Idea, for the BUG shard but not here. "

Ahh, that does seem like a better fit.

Thinking about change, you could do some kind of 'ki counter' type of transformations, but drastically changing creature types/abilities.

Carnivorous herbivores? Sliver-esque land sharks? (picture the art on a Lava Shark or Storm Shark)

"See Provoke" I forgot about that (pretty new to all this). It would be cool if a lot of creatures had it.

I'm thinking tri-color if there is a planeswalker.

Falari the Shaper

Power / Toughness: 4

Cost 1GUR 1 converted

+1: Add a counter to each creature in play that matches a counter already on it.

-2: Transform target creature into a copy of another creature on the battlefield. Counters are also copied.

-8: For the rest of the game:

Red creatures you control get +3/+0 and flying. Blue creatures you control get +0/+3 and shroud. Green creatures you control get +2/+2 and first strike.

We already chose the keywords for this set. Plainswalkers have loyalty not power and toughness. That plainswalker is incredibly overpowered.

I think this shard should be epic to the point of sphinx-wurm warfare. The other creatures can have their political and insignificant disputes.

@squire1 who said "I see this as similar to native American and Aztec cultures." What about elves and shamans? Humans are usually paid for with white mana.

@Siegfried A shape-shifting plainswalker sounds really cool.

@deckbuilder345 I too want dwarves. They fit in with shamans and wurms nicely too.

@shaistyone I do heart me some Provoke. Deftblade Elite is one of my favorite cards, and Hunter Sliver is just ball-breaking.

To add my two cents, I would like to see some dwarves too, but not in this Negashard. I don't think dwarves really fit the whole constantly changing thing. Dwarves always seem to be more conservative and set in ways.

1) Those colors speak to me of snakes. Those are the snakiest colors, without a doubt. Additionally U/G should have some of the biggest, nastiest creatures around. Think Nulltread Gargantuan ridiculousness. Anything with U/R is going to be heavy on instants.

Looking over the flavortexta gain snake-people seems like it would almost fit best, whatever race that might be.

2) I'm a big on Ixidor, but he's supposed to be dead, and was also firmly U/W in my mind. He fits the wizard flavor at least. And the shard doesn't contain any B mana, so thats a positive. This isn't the shard for it, but I'm gonna go ahead and say Squee has to make an appearance at some point in the set.

Another thing I'd like to suggest, creatively: This shard, perhaps, devoid of artifacts? I know the blue mana supports that kind of thing, but R/G HATE artifacts. Without creating a new keyword you could have some sort of creature that can equip like regular equipment. Sort of a...genetic splicing thing. Blue would be all over that, with their crazy riptide projects and what have you.

When I think URG, I think Prehistoric rainforest.

Previously extinct worms and large cold blooded Reptiles are brought back to life here and live at the top of the food chain. I see Giant Apes, and some kind of Minotaur or Touran species as being the primary threat to the worms existence, as well as there primary food source. The most intelligent life here derives from the tribal like humans that are ruled by mages that tinker haphazardly with elemental forces and bestiary control.

Creatures: Worms, Giant Apes, Large Lizards, Minotaur, Humans, Beasts, Birds and man eating plants.

The landscape like in Prehistoric times is completely covered in almost un-entangle-able vegetation that seams to only be parted by the active and flowing lava, steam vents and tar pits that cover most young plains. The air here is so thick you can almost swim through it. This seams brought about by tropical storms plague this shard daily.

(You havent seen destruction until youve seen a tropical storm driven cyclone drop into a lava pond.)

@ bosheck I am not feeling the snakes. Snakes in UG yes, but red, not so much. Also sentient snakes were all through Kamigawa and i hated them then.

I do like what battlecry has going though and i agree with his creature types in general except worms should be wurms I think

"That plainswalker is incredibly overpowered."

I didn't think so at first, but a friend pointed out a flaw.

'Add a counter to each creature in play that matches a counter already on it'

should be

'Duplicate one counter on each creature in play that has counters on it.'

The point was not to add multiple counters.

Provoke would be awesome, but with wither it would most likely be too strong. That can be saved for another shard.

Dwarven Wizards! Beast Wizards! Dwarven Beasts?

I think it's important to have dual types here. It encourages people to make decks around the shards AND around the tribes, making the set more diverse for deckbuilding. Think about Faeries + Rogues in Lorwyn.

1) wurms, Land Leeches -ish stuff, elementals, Minotaur, Orcs (yes, i said Orcs), raptors, dragon-kin (wyverns, drakes, etc), Baloths! Everything here should be overgrown.

2) Iconic figure definately needs to be a dragon. Green, red, AND blue?? hellz ya, it's a dragon ruling the roost. Maybe that dragon has been Polymorph ing himself to observe and exhert his influence.

I also like what Battlecry1986 described, but instead of humans, how about we (re)introduce Orcs and save human wizards for a more blue-centric shard. Orcs are smarter and larger than goblins, are shamanistict, are beastmasters, and are tribal. The shamen try to shape the wild elemental forces (common to both U and R) to assist them and their pets (large geenies) in battle. They could develop simple artifacts (clubs, masks, bone helms, etc.) that are aimed at controlling the wild elemental forces around them, but the control comes with a cost.

If we're looking for undercurrents of tribal infighting within the shard, well, i'm pretty sure that orcs won't much like minotaurs unless they're coerced into it.

Also, Orcs could fill the roll of the red side of this shard, and blue could be done with minotaurs.

Ok i just screwed up the names pls either delete or ignore the last 3 posts.

To me, it really feels like the creature type "weird" has a place here. My vote is for lots of shapeshifters. Stuff like Primal Plasma , changelings, cards like Clone , and things that look like Gelectrode and Steamcore Weird .

1. Ooze, Sphinx, Lizard, Mutant, Wizard
2. A Mutant Wizard, who is somewhat insane, similar to Momir Vigg, but with an even more mad scientist vibe, focusing both on creatures and spells. I don't think that any characters from earlier sets should be repeated.
3. I have no answer to this.

Anyone who wants to design a setting should read this article first:

Form of the Writer

And look at this page for a shining example of "product section"-form writing.

Can you describe your shard in four snappy sentences? Can you reduce it to ONE sentence for the back of a theme deck? Can you weave a long-form feature on its ecosystem or political conflicts?

If you can't do that without relying on weak comparisons -- "it's like the aztecs but more magical and sciencey" -- you need to rethink your vision of the setting.

your right those are all good points for marketing not conceptualizing. But I did enjoy all of your specific input...wait that never happened.

pretty easy to call things weak when you don't put your own ideas down

Irindu has the core colour blue. Sorry to correct the article but without it being blue there is an unbalance in the mana and there can be no ultimatums or various other cycles of cards in other wedges.

1: Weird, Ooze, Elf, Faeries (not the U/B ones a different sort), Wizard, a Dragon, Elementals, Dwarves.

2: Tenfi, the unfurled scroll a creature that cannot be hard cast but must be morphed or flowed or some equivalent. A dragon that has some form of affinity with flow.

3: Good Dwarves, Sluice mages, fluidcasters e.g. cantrip dudes.

@lotusreport Here's a try

A few sentences: Irindu. In this world, untouched by black and white, energy surges through the creatures. Islands with volcanic roots speckle the roiling seas. In the thick jungles beasts, wurms, beasts, lizards, centaurs, birds, and apes are constantly in conflict. Drakes, sphinxes, and dragons suddenly swoop from the sky for their meals. In higher altitudes the dwarves, wizards and humans have built civilization but they too must watch the skies.

One sentence: In the dwarven and wizard kingdoms being exiled means death in the ferocity below.

The dragon should be an updated Intet, the Dreamer . His ability is actualy very similar to flow as it is. Maybe this planes nicol bolos.

@lotusreport

Thanks for linking these articles. I really enjoyed reading the "Form of the Writer." Right now the shard in the above article is being introduced to the community. As we work and design more shards a longer story can be woven and will be (hopefully) more exciting for you!

If you want the quick slang of this shard in my words it would have to be "Wizards can use green mana to ramp into awesome blue and red spells. Delicious Timmy creatures roam around confused by all the commotion. It's unreal. Srsly."

Don't underestimate our writing abilities just yet! If you have any concerns feel free to ask for my email and you can voice your concerns :D!~*

The core colour is blue and hence so is the majority of the mana. However the landscape is overrun by the allied red and green but the blue mana breaks in with vicious monsoons and strange weather patterns that are unpredictable and often result in catastrophes and landscape warping atrocities.

i think Dragons and Wizards are a must, also if Minotaurs fit anywhere it's here. I like the idea of Shapeshifters or Dittos. here is my revised creature list.

(UGR) Dragons (UGR) Birds (UG) Minotars (UR) Wizards (GR) Wurms (U) Shapeshifter/ditto

I stand by my original post for the setting.