Custom Set Quarahal: Top-Down Card Challenge
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Aug. 27, 2014, 8:40 a.m. by pookypuppy6
Heyo again! It's another insufferable Quarahal challenge! The responses to these have been nothing short of incredible, so again, thank you for your interest and support! As such, I'm going to allow thee to really flex your creativity with less restrictions. Sort of.
While I'm not skilled enough to design a top-down block, with a Victorian, steampunk, sky-pirate setting dripping with potential flavour, it's hard to resist doing cards that work flavourfully. In fact it's encouraged, as they add real resonance to any set.
For example, the above two cards were designed with flavour in mind. With Cannon Thopter, you load a card into the cannon and shoot it at your enemy. With Looting Murderer, he kills a hostage to gain entry into your enemy's house and paves the way for him to loot stuff. (Obviously without art and proper names these flavour tones are a lot less obvious). We see then that the mechanics create a picture of what the world is like.
I'm going to ask you to freely create flavourful designs for a Victorian/steampunk/sky-pirate plane called Quarahal. First, let me set some restrictions:
1) Must use evergreen keywords only. For this challenge I am actually going to forbid you from using the sets own mechanics, because I'm already filling up with slots!
2) Must be Common or Uncommon. Tricky, but totally doable as Innistrad and Theros blocks proved. Commons preferable, as I already have a number of flavourful uncommon designs.
3) Mono colour designs (or artifacts) please. Multicolour in this set is being reserved for a cycle of uncommons with specific design purposes, so multicolour is a no-go.
With that BS out of the way, let me set the scene for you guys. Quarahal is a plane where the very earth they stood on and thrived off of has forsaken them, practically falling to bits and exploding beneath their feet. Those that survived flew off in great airships the size of entire towns, driven by whatever mana could be conserved from the land generating the energy needed to keep the ships afloat. Searching for safe haven, these various ships are now in competition with other ships for scarce resources found on the islands of earth blasted into the sky from the planewide cataclysm, while surviving attacks from selfish, chaotic pirates and monstrosities that dominate the skies.
On board these ships even peace is not guaranteed. The captains and navigators desperately seek for the safe haven, while the scientists and thinkers conduct frenzied research and experiments to attempt to solve energy crises and even reverse time. The sky fighters fly aboard small thopters and hoverboards in order to defend from bloodthirsty pirates and grant monsters that threaten to eat their ships whole. In the shadows lie vampiric aristocrats and criminals through the wooden walkways and behind street corners, while lurking cults see survival in grafting flesh and metal together to enhance their own bodies. Those few that have inhabited the sky islands blame the advanced technology for the planes demise, rejecting the sophisticated machinery that the plane's denizens thrived on before and act with hostility towards outsiders. Muskets, cannons and machetes are common weapons, mass produced in the forges and factories that live in the underbelly of the great ships, watched over by dirt-encrusted and rebellious goblins.
Any more flavour questions, do not feel afraid to ask.
quesobueno123 says... #4
pookypuppy6 Looks snazzy you can get 2 storm crows!
August 27, 2014 9:08 a.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #5
It is. As usual, I have no idea if this card is developmentally (or designmentally) sound or not.
That's neither here nor there. FLAVOURFUL CARDS, let's do those!
Also, quick PS: Victorian top-downs are very welcome. Why I specify this is that while I am familiar with some basics of Victorian life and history, I am not so sturdy on Victorian lore and fantasy mythos. Literally, I have one card design that screams Victorian more than Steampunk or Sky Pirates.
August 27, 2014 9:13 a.m.
sergiodelrio says... #6
Repair 
(colorless) Instant
Buyback 
You may exile two artifact cards from your graveyard, rather than pay Repair's mana cost.
Regenerate target artifact.
August 27, 2014 9:19 a.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #7
sergiodelrio: While I'm glad to have thee back again on a Quarahal challenge, I did specify that evergreen keywords were the only ones you could use. Buyback is not evergreen. That's why you don't see it popping up in every set like flying or trample, which ARE evergreen keywords.
Also, I'm avoiding colourless nonartifact cards. They are not really used by regular Magic sets as most effects can be grouped beneath one colour (in "Repair"'s case, white or green I'd say). A repair instant does seem cool though! Maybe an artifact that works like a toolbox, or a creature that repairs artifacts.
August 27, 2014 9:28 a.m.
sergiodelrio says... #8
So let's try again:
Repair Bot 
Artifact Creature
, Tap: Regenerate target artifact.
0/1
August 27, 2014 9:48 a.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #9
sergiodelrio: Much better, though now it's an artifact creature you can lose the green (though coloured artifact creatures are in this set). That's fine, I'll see if that design can be fitted anywhere. Focus on a different flavourful designs as much as you wish.
August 27, 2014 9:53 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #10
Going for Victorian here. People can't pay debts, so they are sent to prison. Also works well with the whole wardriven mechanic.
August 27, 2014 10:14 a.m.
That prison seems like it would be more interesting/flavorful if it were an artifact creature.. with defender, perhaps? The prison itself goes to the prisoner.
August 27, 2014 10:35 a.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #12
@lemmingllama: Hello again! Neat enough submission, however I've actually reserved that effect for a white creature for that rarity (a propaganda preacher who distracts enemy creatures with his preaching.) I might be able to find a way to make this an uncommon though, possibly even with my Duplicate mechanic up above (think jail cell and then pluralizing to jail cells)
August 27, 2014 10:36 a.m.
MindAblaze says... #13
Island Predator 4GG
Creature - Spider
Reach
"It seems to enjoy the ships just as much as the crew" - Traveler's Journal
4/7
August 27, 2014 12:51 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #14
@MindAblaze!: Wow, that's a pretty big spider. With a design that simple it really needs more development focus than design focus. A small or big spider would likely fit into the world of Quarahal flavour-wise.
August 27, 2014 1:16 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #15
I wasn't confident creating a big beast of any other kind but limited environments need a huge green beater. I wonder if 4/7 is too big for common. I was thinking Enormous Baloth or Pale Recluse , but it would have to be something that could catch air creatures as I'm sure a huge predator couldn't survive on just ground things on limited sized land masses
August 27, 2014 1:25 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #17
Deadly Recluse seems like a perfect fit too. It might be one of my favorite cards ever.
August 27, 2014 1:34 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #18
@MindAblaze!: I think the trap you've fallen foul of is in attempting to develop a card when I've asked you to design one. Thing is though, you have no idea as to what the rest of my set properly looks like or how it is forming up, so that is an impossible task for you to do. This is why I am asking you to merely design flavourful, top-down designs. It's also why I didn't rag on how strong lemmingllama's design of the prison was as a common; that's a development issue more than a design one.
However, I imagine at some point I WILL ask for development help with isolated examples of cards, and you'll be the first person I'll think of. :D
August 27, 2014 1:36 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #19
That's why my first design was submitted with flavor-text. It's a monster that has come to inhabit an "abandoned" area. You're right though, without knowledge of whether there are any threats to survival that you've designed on the sky islands it might be unnecessary, development wise.
August 27, 2014 1:42 p.m.
MindAblaze says... #20
Fallen Harlot 2R
Creature - Human Rogue
Haste
Tap, Discard a card: Draw a card. Fallen Harlot deals 1 damage to you.
0/3
You tap her, and give something away to get something back.
August 27, 2014 1:52 p.m.
sergiodelrio says... #21
Alright, here comes an airborne maneuver cycle
Swifty Maneuver 
Instant
Choose one - Creatures with flying can't attack this turn; or return target artifact to its owner's hand.
Homing Missile 
Sorcery
Choose one - Destroy target nonblack creature with flying; or target player reveals his or her hand. You choose an artifact card from it. That player discards that card.
Zone Fire 
Sorcery
Choose one - Zone Fire deals 2 damage to each creature with flying; or destroy target artifact.
Battle Formation 
Sorcery
Choose one - Creatures you control with flying get +1/+1 and vigilance until end of turn; or put a 2/2 colorless artifact creature token with flying and vigilance onto the battlefield.
Air Surveillance
Instant
Choose one - Creatures you control get +1/+1 and reach until end of turn; or add to your mana pool for each artifact on the battlefield.
August 27, 2014 4:57 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #22
Shouldn't Duplicate mean:
When you cast this spell, you may pay an additional {param1}. If you do, you may put a token that's a copy of this spell onto the battlefield.
Where {param1}; is your cost parameter in the "matches" bar. I am presuming that you are using MSE, aren't you? In order to get parameters to work, you have to re-write the entire reminder text under the keywords tab, otherwise it can up with a certain error, of which I can't remember what it is.
To further the ability duplicate to also be put on instants and sorceries at the same time as permanents, the reminder text should look like this:
When you cast this spell, you may pay an additional {param1}. If you do, you may {if contains (card.type, match:"Instant") or contains (card.type, match:"Sorcery") then "copy this spell. You may choose new targets for the copy" else "put a token that's a copy of this spell onto the battlefield"}.
If you need any help with MSE's reminder text code, let me know. I can get a fair bit of it to work.
August 29, 2014 5:09 a.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #23
@Femme_Fatale: I am familiar with how MSE works with parameters and whatnot, it's just that I initially based this mechanic off replicate but for artifact permanents. When I changed the mechanic to being limited to making one artifact token, I changed the wording slightly to adjust, though not checking kicker. That's why it is worded that way
For kicker, you can actually cut the "When you cast this spell", it's more "You may pay [param as you cast this spell"
As mentioned before, this mechanic is meant for artifacts. It is NOT going on instants and sorceries. The similarities to replicate and kicker would make it kinda irrelevant.
August 29, 2014 12:08 p.m.
pookypuppy6 says... #25
@sergiodelrio: Sorry, been busy! It seems fine, though I'm not sure how much use for it I'll have for it.
quesobueno123 says... #2
Storm Crow Reprint with a new name, Pirate Crow!!
August 27, 2014 8:59 a.m.