Ok so I will put my suggestion out there first in total and then I will stay out of it and just calculate the responses.

Story

As with all artificial planes, the denizens of Morglen and Andora in general were stolen from other planes. The inhabitants were scattered prior to the deposition of of Andora. As the plane became one, the denizens of the newly whole plane gathered together in areas that were more familiar with their natural tendencies, though these areas may be tainted by unfamiliar mana, eventually leading to the beings inherently changing. The elves that found themselves in the new plane of Andora traveled nomadically for a while until they found the verdant shard of Morglen. The terrain in Morglen and the magic that flowed through the land felt most familiar of what they had found in their travels.

Upon settling in Morglen the elves formed a tribal council to focus their efforts on sustainability of their environment and their way of life, and for a time it was good. The elves sustained the web of life in Morglen and continued their shamanic and druidic teaching of their home planes. They lived in harmony with the beasts of Morglem yet hunted and gathered for food. The tribe formed small huts and towns throughout the shard of Morglen but acted as one tribe.

Over hundreds of years, the black mana that was in Morglen took a toll on the up and coming generations. There was decent in the Gladeparter tribe. Some of the newest generations of elves became jaded with the old teaching and their focus on the living part of life. They felt as though it was short sighted and incomplete. The young elves focused on the fact that death and decomposition was just as important a part of a life cycle as living and fertilization.

The Tharin'l tribe is a younger group of elves led by Asphirith. Asphirith believes that all of nature is important, but on the outskirts of morglen has discovered the power that the decomposers have. He and his followers seek to control the tribal council and begin to worship the decay and death in nature. Some of the Tharin'l become necromancers, taking their worship to a level of admiration and emulation. The Tharinl tribe led by Asphirith, broke off of the Gladeparters, but still had ties to them as the tribal council would now have the leader of both tribes leading it.

Creatures

elf

beast

zombie

plant

shaman

necromancer

rogue

Characteristics and abilities

-Render: (Each life you pay while casting this spell reduces its cost by 1.)

-Recursion/resurrection

-Regeneration

-Creature tokens

-Anti artifact

-Shroud

-Troll shroud

-Cant be countered

Main characters

-Asphirith, Tharin'l leader

-Doreer, Gladeparters elder - legendary

Regions/ clans

-Gladeparters

-Tharin'l

-Swampy region Palus Mir

Can Render be used to pay colored mana, or only colorless? It becomes less useful in a 3-colored shard if it can only be used for colorless mana, and sort of pushes me toward wanting mono-colored fatties to be a subtheme, to get the most utility out of the keyword.

A few important things,There will be very little tokens here due to ulgris being a token shardThere will be no board wipe we have to many alreadyNo colored artifacts, (already a theme of another shard)MInimal use of -x/-x effectsNo +1/+1 counters do to wither being a major part of this block and we dont want both.

(There is a new evergreen word=hexproof=troll shroud)Creatures-Elves,ZombiesCentaurShaman,Necromancer,Rogue,Human,Birds,Elk,beast,lhurgoyftrolls

Keywords/themes-Hexproof ( i am very happy this exists)LIfe gain,LIfe drainGraveyard recursiongraveyard removal, General use of the graveyardGeneral use of life total.Mana ramp,Anti Artifact,Flying but limited flying,Reach,plainswalk,Regeneration

a bit on story,THere should be a tribe of elves very much alligned with green white, and one alligned with black green.

@landot - colorless only

ZOMG TROLLS. Gotta have trolls. A sanction of trolls of Green and White.

Elves for Green and Black.

Zombies are okay I guess, but I'd rather go all out plant/beast, very Zendikaresque in nature. The forest comes to life (like Vengevine ).

Treefolk are a must also. All three colors.

I'd like to see another reprint of Elves of Deep Shadow for this block, although if it's totally original, just give it a different name :P

morglen= protection from anything you dish at it. posssibly a knight angle?

elves

treefolk

insects

elementals

centaurs

wolves

trolls

keywords

hexproof deathtouch reach regenerate trample swampwalk forestwalk vigilance

Dredge seems like it would be a mechanic that has good flavor for the set.

Could we use that even though it was designed for the ravnica block?

@Mpz5 unfortunately no we can't. Many moons ago the original design team and community decided that Wither was the only returning mechanic. i do agree that drege works well here. That said, we could have a couple of dredge-like cards that use similar mechanics, just not the keywords

Like maybe:

"Endure 3 (Whenever a creature is put into your graveyard from the battlefield, you may put the top 3 cards of your library into your graveyard. If you do, return this creature from your graveyard to your hand.)"

Fair enough. I'll work around a dredge style mechanic with my card designs.

Creatures: trolls (with regenerate), elves, rogues, plants, beasts, treefolk (with hexproof), druids, large flying insects.

Mechanics: hexproof, shroud, conditional evasion (landwalk, activated unblockable, etc), regeneration, Golgari-esque graveyard manipulation, trample, life loss and gain but not drain, permanent buffs, uncounterability.

Plot points: green elves (hippies) vs black elves (like Llorwyn), treefolk and troll tensions, eco-terrorism.

Sample ideas: a creature that always regenerates, like Mossbridge Troll ; a creature board-wiper, like Massacre Wurm ; a flying plant; a green and black legendary elemental or avatar that represents the forests and marshes; something like Gleancrawler , something like Asceticism , and a creature that is a druid riding a giant flying insect.

MORGLEN

Story

Morglen is a shard that is mostly covered in forest marsh. Many races thrive here, including the elves and the treefolk. Most tensions are at peace here, except for some tainted communities. However, time is running out in Morglen. The ground in the shard is being corrupted throughout the plane, crippling and corrupting the races in the shard. However, they have hope. Mysterious spirit-comets fall from across the sky, purging any corruption they collide into. If the comets fall fast enough, they may purge the corruption from the land forever.

RACES/CLASSES

ELVES

Elves here are beautiful, mysterious, and live in communities. Some elves are corrupted and some have merged with the plants.

TREEFOLK

Treefolk are the guardians of Morglen. They are kind and peaceful, aside from a few corrupted ones.

SAPROLINGS

Saprolings come from the spirit-comets and are here to stay at Morglen. They are small but capable.

TROLLS

Trolls are scavengers and unliked by most of the races. Many trolls are corrupted.

PLANT --

Plants sometimes mold into people, turning them into hybrid horrors.

Is the story for the shards as a whole decided? Is it certain that they're artificial?

WE have worked the artificialness of hte shard into the story pretty heavily but if there is enough of an outcry against it then it can obviously change.

Creatures/Classes

Elves- could be all three colorsTreefolk- same as elvesDryads- mostly green with possible splash of black/white probably more so white due to their general natureTrolls- green and black only i think hexproof( ugh hate that name) and regenerate fits best in these colorsBeasts- predominantly greenZombies/Skeletons- blackPlants- green with possible splash into the other colorsHorrors- mainly blackSaprolings- green all the way if usedWolves- maybe green white Watchwolf esque wolvesWarriors- mainly green whiteAssassins- blackRogues- not sure here Naya Hushblade proves rogues dont have to be blue or blackDruids- mostly green though reaches all three colorsWizards- this is where the necromancers fit in wizards should be mostly black/white with maybe one or two green onesShamans- green mostly

note: what ive noticed so far is with the creaure types mainly posted white seems the least represented color but that could just be me.

Mechanics/Themes

Landwalk- mostly present on elves dryads zombies and maybe some horrors.Deathtouch- fits green and black especially with darker elvesHexproof- only on trolls and treefolk mostlyRegeneration- trolls maybe some plants, treefolk, or elves as wellTrample- fits with big beasties maybe a troll or two and some horrorsReach- treefolk and elvesVigilance- treefolkRender- mainly the death or dark aligned creaturesLight token generation- not a lot maybe some thing bigger than 1/1s ulgris covers this pretty well make these ones mainly green/white though.Recursion/Ressurection- fits perfectly in all colors.Artifact/Enchantment hate- green white onlyLife gain/life loss- no opinion on thisCant be countered- im thinking mainly green black for some reasonThorn Elemental ability- mainly green no more than three creatures or so

this is my thoughts for this shard everything else seems okay and the name seems fine to me

MECHANICS

First, my thoughts on Render. I dislike it. Do we really need Channel on so many cards in this set? Also, it seems way too similar to phyrexian mana. What about this -

Allieviate - If you gained life this turn, EFFECT.

Allieviate - If you gained life this turn, then you may pay X instead of CARDNAME's mana cost.

White, Green, and Black are the top three in life gain. Why not make it a major theme?

Lots of trolls, lots of hexproof.

Fits in all three colors. Thumbs up.

The idea of light-comets raining from the sky.

I think that we should stick to a small number of mechanics - this is one part of five shards in a large set, you know.

Creature Types

TrollsElvesTreefolkSaprolingsPlantFungusBeastShadeHagNymphWolvesApesShamanDruidHorrorSpiritZombieSkeletonNecromancerRogueRebel

Mechanics

I don't like render. As it was said above it is alot like Phyrexian mana and I fully agree.

As far as other mechanics go, Deathtouch, Dredge, Convoke, Spore Counters, Lifelink, Hexproof, Regeneration, Reach, Trample, Poisonous, Wither, Token generation is a must for saprolings.

OK so, render was unfortunately developed before WOTC came up with phyrexian mana, or at least way before they released it, but if we want to change that we can. Let the floodgates open with new keyword suggestions.

just some guide lines beyond that

1) it cannot be based are token creation,

2) it cannot have to do with +1/+1 counters

3) it cannot be a reuse of an ability that already exists. (we already have one wither)

4)cannot involve artifacts or equipment (NO GEMSTONES)

5) it sholdnt have to do with the draw step.

Now there is one mechanic that we have that got voted in, and i think won back in the day that we where currently saving till the next "set"This being

Meld (When you cast this spell, you may cast a spell from your hand that costs less without paying its mana cost.)

which is a possibility, though we where going to save it to be similar to cascade and how came out in the last set of alara, and it apeared all shards. that was our original plan for this mechanic.

Changes i would personally make to it, it should not bea may, and should cause you to reveal your hand.

If we're really just throwing out ideas for a new keyword (and btw, I think meld is awful -- it's like a more-broken version of cascade), how about this:

empower (when you cast this spell, you may discard a card from your hand. If you do, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.)

Sort of like reinforce, but for spells.

@landot: I like empower (really like it; I might put a more altered version of it into my set) but it doesn't have anything to do with Morglen. If anything, it seems more Sorok (W/U/R) than anything.

Maybe I have a solution in the form of an old card, Gaze of Pain :

Exterminate (If this creature attacks and isn't blocked, you may have it assign its combat damage to target creature the defending player controls. If that creature would be put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn, exile it instead.)

It gets around graveyard recursion while still being trumped by regen. Seems fair in this shard, very flavorsome, and would be nasty with deathtouch.

my thinking was that we've been talking about it being a sort of 'dredge-y' shard, and this puts things into your graveyard, which other cards might then take advantage of -- it's black in that it sacrifices resources and involves discarding, it's green in that its about making things bigger, more powerful. shrug

Another idea i've been playing around with (needs a better name) is living shadow -- "when this creature dies, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield".

@landot I would consider changing it to this:

Memento (If this creature would die, if it wasn't a token, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield.)

done and done! memento is a much better name, and it absolutely has to have the 'if it wasn't a token' clause. good catch.

sorry, Memento (If this creature dies, if it wasn't a token, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield.)

otherwise people would get confused

Shouldn't memento be "When this creature dies, if it isn't a token, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield."?

Yeah whatever. I just write it how i'd say it.

PEOPLE! +1 if you like the idea

i dont know if that mechanic really needs keyworded plus it fails to meet one of the criteria Xander574 has set for creating the new keyword. personally i dont think there should be many creatures that would have this ability to warrantt the keyword anyways

also we could do something like the penumbra cycle here for some token creation i.e. Penumbra Bobcat , Penumbra Spider , Penumbra Kavu , and Penumbra Wurm .

I liked this on cards from the last shards challenges. and it kinda is like your last ability(working name)Ghost in the shell (when this creature is put into the graveyard, search your library for a card with the same name and put it onto the battlefield)

or meld + graveyard.When this card enters the battlefield return a spell from your graveyard to your hand with a cmc less then this card.

or possibly let them cast it shrugs

momento is interesting

I also like the graveyard meld. personally I think that the graveyard meld is a little better for the shard. But up to you guys

i agree i think the graveyard meld is better as well

I think casting it from the graveyard could become OP, people playing all cards in sequence from their graveyards (kind of like cascade, ie. Enlisted Wurm into Bituminous Blast into Bloodbraid Elf into Ardent Plea into Brain Freeze , but happening more often)

I agree with Jarrod -- graveyard cascade seems OP. Even if it just returns cards to your hand, it's super-abusable. As the game progresses, cards with lower CMC end up in the graveyard and cards with higher CMC are getting cast; there will never be a time when this ability blanks. And the idea that you can pick which card you want from your graveyard makes it way stronger than cascade, where at least there was randomness, and you might end up bloodbraiding into a mana dork or something . . . graveyard meld is basically just 'tutor for whatever you need.' whether you're casting it or just putting it in your hand, it'll break games.

Maybe to tone it down it could require that the card you're returning from the GY also have the meld keyword?

So most of these have been said, but here are the creatures and keywords I would like to see.

Creatures

Assassin, Basilisk, Beast, Cat(?), Centaur, Druid, Elephant, Elf, Fungus, Gorgon, Harpy, Hydra, Insect, Leech(?), Plant, Rhino, Rogue, Satyr, Shade, Shaman, Spector, Spirit, Spider, Thrull, Treefolk, Troll, Wolf, Wraith, Wurm, and Zombie.

Abilities

Deathtouch, First Strike, Hexproof/Shroud, Intimidate, Lifelink, some Protection, Reach, Regenerate, and Trample.

I also envision some elves as hunters/trappers, so we should have some white tapping creatures and some green/white archers with tap: deal damage to target attacking creature/creature with flying.

As for our own keyword, I don't dislike Render, but I do think a keyword ability that gives bonuses for how many cards that have that ability, cards that share a type, or both that are in a graveyard.

I feel like this has a jungle civilization feel, like the Aztecs.

Elves living in shadows, kind of trollshrouded, trees coming to life and giving shelter to elves, corruption by black mana, making elves and trees warp beyond their physical constraints turning them into horrors and banshees - not in the usual way black does, but perhaps some dark force is at work? - trolls that are unaffected by the corruption by having regen and protection from black, normal forest creatures (bears, wolves, elk, spiders), horror black-green and black-white creatures contaminated by death, swamp dwelling oozes, alligators and piranha, forest anaconda and toucan, plains dwelling jaguars.

We could go very fun with this one. I do not feel that zombies would fit as a type on their own though

Oh man. I love the idea that this shard is sort of native meso-american.

Snakes? Coatls?

Idea for a keyword.

Ancestry (this creature gets +1/+1 for each creature in the graveyard that shares a creature type with it.)

Just a quick fun idea I thought of. Could be fun to work with.

Im not picking up a lot of representation of white on this shard.

What about changing the graveyard meld to

"When this card enters the battlefield, exile a card from target graveyard with a cmc less then this card. You may cast the exiled card this turn if it's an instant or a sorcery."

That way they only have access to it for 1 turn (so they need the mana open for both spells) and then never again as it exiles the card. You can also use it as graveyard disruption in a pinch since it's target graveyard.

Shrug, just a thought.

I actually like "render." Alternative card costs are fun.So in keeping with that fashion I present to you my idea for a keyword that has a white/green/black feel.

"Soul Reparation"- You may exile the top half of your library(rounded up) and pay half your life(rounded up) rather than pay (CARDNAME'S) mana cost.

Other creature types not said that can be represented well are rats and squirrels. Maybe humans also.