Farloynn
Custom Cards forum
Posted on March 14, 2022, 10:16 a.m. by Ashdust
Of all my magic characters, this is the most powerful, and the most steeped in mystery and lore.
Farloynn, Keeper of Forbidden Secrets
Legendary Planeswalker- Farloynn
+1 Surveil 2, Then return an instant or sorcery from your graveyard to your hand. You lose 2 life.
-1 Look at the top card of your library. If it's an instant or sorcery, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. Otherwise, draw 2 cards.
-7 You gain an emblem with "Whenever an opponent casts an instant or sorcery, you may pay life equal to its mana value. If you do, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. That copy can't be countered."
5
I'll write out the long, long, lore in a bit. Guy is steeped in lore.
Farloynn was born on the first plane capable of supporting human life, now long since destroyed. As a young adult, he made a bargain with an Elder Demon. The Demon extended his life in return for his soul. However, Farloynn spent his time researching a spell not known by many, a spell created by Demons to kill other Demons. He struck a meeting with the Demon and used the spell to suck the soul from it. Instead of merely removing the soul, as Farloynn anticipated, he gained the soul for his own. Normally this would kill a man, but Farloynn, having gained immortality from the Demon survived, but forever changed. His spark ignited, and his skin was burned away. Farloynn's new appearance was that of a human skeleton, wrapped in pure blue magic, most of it gathering near his skull. He still wears his midnight blue robes from when he was still mortal. Farloynn gained something he had not anticipated. A forbidden secret. Seven Elder Demons held Seven secrets that are so powerful, that learning one can make an average child into a god. Farloynn technically transcended, but he refuses to call himself a god. But he did become obsessed with learning all seven of the secrets. The powers the first secret bestowed were an infinite mental capacity, flawless memory, and the ability to be able to permanently cast any spell as long as he's seen it cast by another individual. Farloynn searched relentlessly for the other secrets and learned millions of spells in his infinite lifespan. He has caused chaos throughout the multiverse, traveling from place to place in search of leads. A notable adventure was when he learned of a spell inscribed on an ancient ruin, and in his attempt to cast it he split several planes in two. He mended the damage, but was unable to repair a plane known as Daranota, split into the planes Aristol and Bergent (Easter Egg if you've read some of my other custom cards). Farloynn is a force to reckoned with, to say the very least, as his very bones are protected by ancient magic that atomizes any living matter that comes into contact with it. He can cast millions of spells off the top of his head, with little effort, and has lived long enough to memorize strategies of any weapon, though he has little taste for physical combat. He is a master manipulator, and an imposing presence, as he simply has an air of experience about him. He can take charge of any situation and has influenced several major events throughout history. Once, when he was on Ravnica, he was temporarily killed via elderspell, but after a novice necromancer attempted to take control of his corpse, he exploded in a nova of magic. This shore off most of the necromancer's arm, but left him with a gift. The necromancer gained immunity from Farloynn's magic. This infuriated Farlyonn, who has made a goal of killing this minor weakness. It also ignited the necromancer's spark, sending him to an unknown plane. Shortly after Bolas was presumably killed, Farloynn found the Demon that held the second forbidden secret. He managed to steal the Demons soul, gaining the knowledge of the secret, but he has kept whatever power it gained him a closely guarded secret. The five remaining Demons, fearing death, bestowed their secrets to mortal subjects. A young boy on Innistrad, A female shadow mage from Theros, and a knight-paladin on Dominaria. The other two are not yet known. Farloynn pursues these people, with murder on his mind.
Sorry for the LOOOOOONG history, but he really is quite powerful, and steeped in lore and history, due to his lifespan.
TypicalTimmy says... #3
Lol, finally have a moment. After 13 hours at work with a single 25 minute lunch - of which I spent the entire time sitting at the machine watching it and ready at a moment's notice to intervene if need be (Thereby technically not being a "lunch" at all), I am finally home and have free time.
Ugh fml.
Alright right off the bat, there's this:
- "Farloynn was born on the first plane capable of supporting human life, now long since destroyed." - Well, I don't know if this is the "first" plane, but Dominaria is the center of the multiverse. It stands to reason Dominaria is the first, and it does have Humans, but it is very much so still in existence today. So... shrug?
Your guy, Farloynn, sounds remarkably like Davriel, Soul Broker. Interesting story about Davriel; From what I heard, an author was commissioned to write a story relating to War of the Spark, and the author asked if he could make his own Planeswalker. WOTC agreed, and thus Davriel was born.
What Davriel does is he goes from Demon to Demon, making barters and deals with each one, shifting power and promise from one to the next, reaping all of the rewards and none of the downfalls. My understanding is that he technically no longer owns his own soul, but the contracts are so complex and so manipulative that no Demon owns it, either. Essentially, he tricked a bunch of Demons into giving him unlimited power - for free.
As for the abilities, the +2 sounds spot on for what you want to try and accomplish. You get to see what's coming next, change fate by throwing cards into your graveyard, and then acquire vast power by pulling ancient arcana from the forgotten voids of time itself.
The 0 ability doesn't really seem like it fits all that much. Having unlimited knowledge and perfect memory is one thing, but to stop someone from acting is another. I'm not quite sure how this one fits, flavorfully. It's a super cool ability, don't get me wrong. I just don't quite understand the theme placement, here.
That emblem on the -9 fits so perfectly with what lore you've established. Beautiful. Since it's an emblem, you could even add "Your copy can't be countered." just to make it all the more powerful. That'd really be awesome!
Overall it's a great design and lovely feel. I just sort of don't understand the 0 ability.
You could likely even drop him from MV 7 down to MV 5. So . Change his +2 to a +1 and change his -9 to a -7. Change his 6 to an 5.
The way you have it, on curve, he ETB Turn 7 and can use his ultimate on Turn 9 (Moving to 8 the turn he enters, 10 the following turn with another +2, and then -9 on the third turn he's been in play.)
However, with the changes I suggested, he ETB Turn 5 and will be at 6 once you +1. Then the next turn he will be at 7 when you +1 a second time. The third turn he can use his ultimate at -7. Overall it's the same number of turns, but he comes out quicker and thus goes off sooner.
March 15, 2022 2:56 a.m.
TypicalTimmyI'm gonna get a job this summer. Pray for me hAH
You're probably right on the minus 0.
And on everything else, for that matter-
As for the Davriel stuff, it's similar, but not really how Farloynn operates. Farloynn doesn't make any deals anymore, he just takes what he wants. His true goal is the ultimate knowledge. He knows a lot, but it isn't enough for him.
And about the Dominaria stuff- is it plausible to suggest he's from an earlier, forgotten plane, wiped out before Dominaria? Or is there some lore I don't know about?
March 15, 2022 11:10 a.m.
Also, "Farloynn" isn't his true name. It means "Vessel of Knowledge" in his home language. He believes names are power and refuses to speak his true name. He is pretty vain though.
TypicalTimmy says... #2
The zero ability doesn't need the "Activate only during your turn." clause.
As for the lore, I'm still far too busy to read all of that at the moment. I'll do so when I can
March 14, 2022 4:53 p.m.