Announcing: Multiverse Explorations (a CanterburyEgg set)

what's the set about?

Hi again MSE message boards, its that GWx obsessed guy again, Lyco! I've been generously offered a few goodies from one of MVE's showcased Planes, and while my last time here on the boards involved Red the color, this time it just involves nostalgia for Redwall!

We've already seen Onora's Token Plane card of Tinyvale and two cards that help you visit it, but theres more where those came from.


Small World tells me a few things about Tinyvale and the plane of Onora - it hits that sweet spot of fantasy genre that I've loved since childhood: a world full of sapient small critters! And speaking of small, Venturing to Tinyvale lets you grab a small creature from the top 4 cards of your deck and Small World lets that happen for just one mana! Just from the art my nostalgia is hit dead center - badger and mice and a squirrel featured. Go figure, thats four friends you could make visiting Tinyvale!



Next up we have a small friend that definitely doesn't skip leg day - its Stalwart Stoat! This kicking mustelid helps protect your stuff and makes it harder for your opponents to buff or protect their own stuff. Just be sure you know the consequences of playing fair! This is somewhat ironic for me because stoats were one of the villainous races in Redwall, but I welcome this martial mustelid with open arms.



Second to last of what I'll be showing off today is Large as Life! Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but Large as Life makes it so your creatures are no weaker than a 3/3 is at any given time! I love how this can play into token strategies or heatebear types of lists that want to curve out quickly and efficiently. Your manadorks can crack in thanks to this enchantment, which is something I know *I* like from anthem-adjacent things.

Before I show you the final card, I suppose its only right that i share that the Redwall series, which is in the same genre that the plane of Onora seems to draw some inspiration from, was very very important to me as a kid. Getting to preview this next card on my birthday is a present all its own - especially because its exactly the type of card I love running in any type of Magic format. Here it is, Mikkino, Destined for Greatness:




Starting out, Mikkino fits right into venturing to Tinyvale and curves very nicely from Small World. He comes down turn 2 as a 2/3 vigilant body if you want to put the counter on himself and can become very relevant later with an activated ability. Said activated ability brings forth a weapon that few should ignore, because it can hit *any* permanent the defending player controls. Pesky enchantments, creatures, artifacts - or lands. Don't mess with this mouse if you want to make sure you keep your stuff around.

I'm very much looking forward to playing using Mikkino and his friends or rivals from Onora, and excited to see what the other planes MVE will showcase have to offer! Lyco out.

“The call of birds is the clarion of heavens. And nowhere on Cirrusea is closer to the heavens than our very own Citadel. As the Magnate of the Blue Sky, I have been chosen by our ancestors to rule over all of fair Cirrusea, though the other Magnates do work with me and, occasionally, offer something akin to advice. Such has been our world for millennia, and will be for millennia more, no doubt. The time is nigh for you to ascend to the throne as well, young...

Aku.

Ahem. I’m talking to you.

At least pretend to pay attention to me. Your *father,* the *Magnate.*

Aku!”

Akaji sighed. The Citadel’s crown prince was, not for the first time this week, too interested in the skies outside the ornate classroom than the lessons his father was attempting to impart.

“Aku, pay attention! Need I remind you that your inheritance will be arriving in a matter of days?!”

For his part, Aku continued to stare idly out the window. He could see a raven from the Black Storm hard at work instructing two more ravens--well, fledglings, practically--at the fine art of swordplay. The sun beat down on the three of them. Even from this distance, Aku was transfixed at the graceful way that the teacher guided his students along.

Not like this teacher, Aku mused to himself. Finally he turned back to look up at his father. “No, I haven’t forgotten it. Besides, I *am* paying attention to you.” Akaji seemed unconvinced. “You were talking about how noble we are, how so much of this world is our--our birthright, *my* birthright. It’s just…” Aku stood up from his seat and unfurled his wings fully. “I’m not so sure it’s… right. For me.”

His father’s face grew stern. “You--do you mean to say that you are rejecting your inheritance? Now, just a few short days before the ceremony?!” he spluttered.

“No, nothing like that. Um, you see… it’s complicated.” Aku felt the Magnate’s stare penetrating him more and more as he kept speaking. “I’ve been reading up on the history of this land--” at this, Akaji snorted in further doubt-- “and I’ve made certain conclusions that, uh, maybe…

“Is there even value in a Magnate anymore? It just seems so outdated. I think Cirrusea deserves better than a quintet of rulers who--who don’t even fly around anymore! Who don’t know anything about the world around them!” He could feel his heart swelling up in his chest. Was the fireplace crackling louder now? But he shook his head and pressed on, despite his father’s best efforts at intimidating him to stand down.

“Knowledge through unity. That’s the way. That’s how I want to rule. And if anyone has a problem with it--” now the crown prince drew himself up to his full height, almost on eye level with Akaji-- “then they’ll have to settle for not being Magnate, because I fully intend on taking the throne.”

For several seconds the only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire.

Just then came a rapping of talons at the door. Akaji glared at the crown prince, snarled, “This conversation is *not* over,” then quickly crossed the room and threw the doors open wide. A messenger stood on the stoop, a crane with a red ribbon tied around one arm. “Sir! A message for you from the Magnate of the Red Sun, sir! Highly urgent, not to mention confidential as well! Burn after reading, sir!” With that, she handed over a parchment scroll which had been sealed with the Red Sun’s wax emblem, saluted Akaji, and took off.

Akaji stared after her as she flew away, then carefully removed the wax emblem with one talon. He unfurled the scroll and began to read his fellow Magnate’s message. His face grew long and his eyes widened, but he remained silent all the while. Then he strode to the fireplace at the far end of the room and threw the scroll into the dancing flames.

Aku rose and walked to the Magnate’s side as the parchment burned its way into smoke. “What news, father?”

“A storm is coming. There are winds of change on the horizon… I don’t like it. Nor should you, Aku.”

Aku tilted his head quizzically. “What do you mean? That scroll--does it have to do with the inheritance ceremony? If something happens, I need--”

Akaji turned to face his son. Their eyes met, and he put a feathery hand on the inheritor’s shoulder, the talons pressing ever so slightly into Aku’s shoulder. “What you *need, boy*, is to learn from your ancestors--and moreover, your betters. Our system of governance works just fine.”

---

Later that night, Aku was reading about the Magnate of the Green Air in his bedroom, having, ahem, *borrowed* a number of books from the Citadel’s library without Akaji’s permission, or, indeed, his knowledge. (At least, Aku *hoped* without his knowledge.) He had just started a particularly interesting-looking chapter about the Magnate’s efforts to map the whole of Cirrusea long ago when he heard a crash in the front hall.

Immediately he stood up from his desk and ran to the balcony outside, leaping off of the ledge. Time was of the essence. Going the long way around, through the Citadel itself, could spell doom.

As he approached the entrance to the Citadel, he saw what had made the crash. The door was splintered quite messily. In front of it lay a bird on her back, one wing splayed at an unnatural angle. Aku recognized her as the crane messenger from before, but the color had drained from her face. She coughed up a little blood and looked up at Aku. There was something like recognition in her eyes as she spoke. Her voice came out as a trembling, horrified whisper.

“Something crimson this way comes.”

---

It was the day of the Blue Sky inheritance ceremony. True enough, the heavens above were a brilliant, piercing azure as Aku took off from the Citadel’s front steps. The clouds, Aku admitted to himself, were in his own head. He had spent the last three days deep in his studies trying to figure out what the crane messenger had meant in her dying words. Akaji was of little help, naturally. But nothing was clear.

Still, he had other matters to attend to. Waiting for him as he arrived at the ceremony grounds was Kenara, standing on the ornate marble staircase, looking regal and sharp and, *oh gosh,* beautiful as ever, Aku couldn’t help but think as he approached.

The eagle woman greeted Aku with a wave. Aku landed and hugged her. “Have you considered my offer, Kenara? I have absolute faith in your abilities.”

Kenara smiled wistfully. “I… I’m sorry, Aku, but I don’t think the political world is right for me. Or, rather, I don’t think I’m right for it.” Then she closed her eyes and shook her head, as if to dispel such thoughts. When she met his gaze again, she chuckled. “I know that twinkle in your eye, friend. What are you thinking?”

Aku’s smile grew even wider, if such a thing were possible. “I have plans for my Magnateship. Perhaps a trifle… ah, ambitious, but I believe the future of Cirrusea depends on it. I have a responsibility to us all.”

Kenara gave a dismissive snort. “I don’t think your father would approve.”

At this, Aku feigned shock. “No! I can’t believe it!” He sank to the floor, knees buckling backward, in mock horror. “What would I ever do without my father, the *ex-*Magnate’s approval?!”

He was still on the ground when he heard Akaji’s voice from above and behind him. “Is that really how a Magnate ought to behave? Especially one of the Blue Sky. Why, if your grandfather could see you now!”

Akaji landed imperiously next to Aku and hoisted him up to his feet with a grimace. “Might I remind you, child, that you are not Magnate yet. And even when you do ascend to the throne, I expect better from you, now and forever.”

Aku dusted himself off, scowling slightly. Then he reached a feathered hand out to Kenara, which she gladly reciprocated. “Three words, Kenara: Knowledge through unity. That’s my plan for the future. It’s going to be wonderful--for all of us. I just know it.”

Kenara replied, "Knowledge through unity, you say? Ambitious indeed. But don't get carried away, old friend. Some people have nothing to teach you."

---

Aku took to the open-air stage at the ceremony grounds. The other inheritors had already taken their respective Magnateships, but, much to Akaji’s shameless glee, the inheritance of the Blue Sky was reserved for last.

The wind was at his back now, calming his nerves.

He spoke with the loud, measured voice of someone who had been rehearsing a speech for weeks, knowing that if they slipped up even once, all their courage would evaporate on the spot. "I know who I am and what I must do. I am Aku, child of Akaji, grandchild of Akijura, High Emperor of Cirrusea and Magnate of the Blue Sky. By my force of will shall the very heavens part before me.”

Aku glanced over at Akaji--was that *pride* on his father’s face? Aku had never seen that expression before. “All that exists between cloud and rock has a name. It is my holy duty as emperor to learn all these names--and the names of realms beyond. Gone are the days of isolation and ignorance by my father and my father’s father. Now and forevermore, the call of birds--*all* birds--shall be the clarion of heavens! The Citadel of the Aerie shall unite Cirrusea under a banner of profound enlightenment. Such is my decree!”

Hello and welcome to the Proliferate Show, with your host Dravos Argentium, and today’s guest star Multiverse Explorations, made by CanterburyEgg! We’ve got a lovely lineup of returning mechanics, new spins on classic side formats, characters from across the MSE community, and generally quite a lot of very hype things here for you today, so without any further ado, let us begin Dravos Argentium’s Set Preview of Multiverse Explorations.




A simple vanilla common, but I’m still a fan for reasons that should be clear if you read the FT attribution. If you’ve been watching the MSE discord, you’ll probably also recognize the even bigger reason I’m a fan: Simul! Now, why is the name of a character of mine in an Egg set, is the question no one is asking because the answer is obvious. But before I move on, I do feel the need to note that I actually wrote this flavor text mostly by accident. Apparently I’m just that talented!




Simul! Woo! She’s in a set! I’m so happy to see my favorite OC finally make her way into a finalized project like this. And she even gets to proliferate! Unkeyworded but even so. Really, it’s hard to put into words how happy this makes me. The previous FT probably gives it away, but she’s here at the academy in a teaching position, as a part-time instructor of both planeswalker studies and many forms of biology. As for the design itself, she’s a very good token generator in limited, making a 1/1 every turn with an already solid base loyalty for the cost. After making a few of them, you can -2 her to proliferate and buff those plants she’s been churning out, and that only gets stronger if you’ve got other planeswalkers for her to help out. Probably a very good pick in draft, especially if you have means to synergize with her.




A 7/7 for 7 that buffs things by 7. And it can take you on a very worthwhile training adventure as well! It’s big, it’s green, it’s dumb, it curves into itself, the flavor is great, and it even has trample! What more could you want? The Timmy in me says “absolutely nothing”. No really, there’s nothing else to say about this. It’s just super splashy. Big fan of the big hydra.




I gotta say, of all the “Sword of [thing] and [thing]” variants that have been done, creatures and planeswalkers is one of the more unique combinations. That alone is incredibly strong, effectively providing unblockable and immune-to-combat damage, and while it may cause issues with your own planeswalkers who buff, the immunity to whatever tricks your opponents can pull out with their own walkers will likely prove incredibly useful, in this set’s limited especially. And all of that is just the static! The saboteur trigger has quite an impact itself, at worst making a 2/2 flyer. If you have any hardened scales effects, planeswalkers, or even just a creature that makes especially good use of buffs, it can quickly get out of hand. And it’s even colorless, making it slot into a huge variety of decks. An easy early pick in any draft, and all in all a creative concept and very fun design.

Where can I get this awesome snow frame?

I love the design of this set! Make cards that make you venture from a plane to another is a wonderful idea, an the balance is really on point. That's an awesome work!

Hi everyone! My name is InfinityChef, and today I'm going to be previewing a few cards from CanterburyEgg's latest and greatest set, Multiverse Explorations. Now, if you don't know me, that's probably haven't posted at all here, except for the 2 other drafts of this that I wrote that got deleted when I accidentally closed the tab. If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I like finding and playing with broken and unfair cards. So when I was brewing up a deck for MSEM's Grand Prix Paris, my choice of deck was obvious. I decided to build around Fox of the Orange Orchard, a card that has been on the council's watchlist for a while and was known for it's high power level. Further context:

Now, I decided that I wanted to take advantage of Fox of the Orange Orchard to the best of its abilities, so that meant running Fox tribal. While Fox Tribal is obviously very powerful (it can kill you on turn 9 with only 1 card), there weren't many sets that had foxes in them. That is, except for Glacia: Hail to the Queen.



Glacia brought me Fox lords, like Third Legion General, value foxes, like Redtail Fencer, and aggressive foxes, like Rakkiri Dissident. Most importantly, however, it brought me 1-drop foxes, in the form of Humble Fieldhand, which is obviously another very powerful card. Humble Fieldhand allows you to attack for 2 on t2 (assuming you have an equipment, which is no problem with the ~8 very powerful equipments the deck ran.) My next preview card shares a lot of similarities with Humble Fieldhand, but it might be even better.



Herald of the Onslaught is an extremely pushed card. It reminds me of another very powerful card, Firebelly Toad. Firebelly Toad was a key part of the deck that I affectionately called "Ninja Frogs Decieve You on a Daily Basis and also Slowly Murder You." Unfortunately, I decided to bring fox tribal instead, but Ninja Frogs forever holds a special place in my heart. In the addition to being a slow lava spike, Herald of the Onslaught can also be an anthem for your whole team if you are already on Glacia. While I've never played with planes and don't know how easy it is to get to Glacia in MVE limited, the potential to get the anthem, perhaps even with multiple copies of itself, is very powerful. My next preview card is also a resident of Glacia.



Freyhild Warlord gives you a lot of bang for its buck. It gives you 8/6 worth of stats for 5 mana (or 3 mana, if you use it's sac ability). It also has the potential to lava spike you or buff your whole team and give them menace, depending on if you were previously on Glacia or not. My last, but certainly not least, preview card is near and dear to my own heart:



Golobo is a character created by me for the first challenge of MSE Survivor Season 1, which was also the challenge where I forgot flavor text existed. Though I've procrastinated on writing this article for so long that Season 2 has already started, this version of Golobo needs no flavor text to explain his power. Golobo is quite angry, so much so that he throws his Banana Peels at his enemies. In particular, I really like how the -1 synergizes with the 0, which makes for a nice cohesive package. Well, that's it for me, folks. Thanks for reading, and see you around. Wait? Did you hear that?


Yep. That's right. The most powerful card in all of magic is making an appearance in MVE, and we're just cowering in its wake.

Authors's Note: I have no clue how to actually end this and I've been procrastinating for long enough so I'm just gonna post it.

Is that a double fake out? Nice.