quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Mar 8, 2022 2:09:29 GMT
As Vyta tied the rope around a marble pillar, holding surprisingly steady under the weight of a broken sandstone block, Rannister leaned against his spear. He looked out over the endless ruins, sand blowing over the broken blocks and half-crumbled buildings like an endless river. "It's gorgeous," Rannister sighed to himself, feeling his Wonder curl around him. Vyta looked up. She squinted out at the jumbled surface of the plane. "It's Dressus, all right," she said. She stood up and brushed the sand off her pants, giving Rannister a wide grin. With one hand on the rope she peered over the edge of the crevasse into the pits of Underpalace. Pike and Bobbar stirred from where they were sitting, Bobbar's ears flopping over his face. "Alrighty Uncle," Vyta said over her shoulder. "Are you ready to steal some shit?"Welcome to the...
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quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Mar 8, 2022 22:50:25 GMT
There was a musty smell in the air that Rannister couldn't quite place. Moss grew in the cracks spidering across the sandstone wall. Thin shafts of light came through the cracks overhead, making the passageway look like it was threaded with sunlight. Away from the cracks, though, the Underpalace was full of shadows. They stopped in front of a door and Bobbar pushed forward, taking out a long stick-like tool. He slid it into the old keyhole with a clunk. "Oh yeah. That'll do the trick," Bobbar said. Vyta rolled her eyes. "Less talk, more lockpicking," she said. "I get it, I get it." They stood for a moment, the sounds of metal clinking oddly reverberated down the passageway. Clink. Clink. Rannister peered up through a crack, squinting at the light. He wondered how deep beneath the ruins they were. They had yet to see anyone, anyone at all. When he looked back, Vyta was looking at him, clearly exasperated. "Can you just do it?" she asked. Rannister shrugged. Vyta pushed Bobbar aside, who harrumphed indignantly. Rannister stepped up and dropped the rabbit thief's lockpick on the ground. Clank. He put his hand by the keyhole and tried to still his emotions. What was he feeling, frustration? No. Thrill? Certainly not. If anything, he felt an undercurrent of unease. He paused and looked back. "What, Uncle?" Vyta asked. "There's no one here. It's too quiet," Rannister said. "It's the Underpalace. Most people probably had their vocal chords rot away by now," Vyta said. Rannister turned back. Still unable to shake the feeling, he focused on his unease until it was something palpable. Solid. He slid it into the keyhole and felt the shape of the lock inside. As he eased the gear, the lock popped open with a groan. Without looking, he could sense Vyta's grin. "You still got it, old man," Vyta said, clapping him on the shoulder as she went by. She pulled the door open with difficulty. Rannister followed after her, trying to shake off the doubts and shadows that clung to him like cobwebs.{Rannister}  Rannister Volkan home plane: Dressus color alignment: red abilities: emotion telepathy; psychic emotional force; mechanical abilities: looting effects; copy effects for permanents and for spells; direct damage bio: Rannister's spark ignited in a duel on Dressus. In a heated attempt to protect his family's name, he fought a large minotaur among the ruins and would have been killed if he hadn't planeswalked to the plane of Sylphius. There he bonded with a dragon named Ula and though he much later went back to Dressus, Sylphius became his main home. When the islands of Sylphius were sinking, Rannister mistakenly thought the planeswalker Jhinn was behind it and they dueled in the skies of Sylphius. Once again Rannister lost. Ula was killed and Rannister fell into the Mists, planeswalking back to Dressus to save himself. Since then, Rannister has rebuilt his connection to his family, spending time introspecting. Once he only used his powers to turn his fury into physical force. But the past couple of years have taught Rannister that he can use other emotions as fuel too, and that the wide spectrum of feelings can give him much more control over his abilities. Day two will be a bit of the bread and butter of the decks. Sorta like the description on the back of precon boxes that let you know what the deck is about. {Deathless Kingdom}  While Treasure Hunters is digging for threats, Deathless Kingdom isn't leaving anything to chance. With Hazzarom out, you can make huge plays by generating a ton of mana at a time. Put a ton of counters of your creatures, then immediately follow that up with another big spell.    Or, since Hazzarom triggers on every turn, sit back and generate excess mana during your opponent's turns while funneling it into mana sinks.    This deck also relies on some +1/+1 counters classics like Hardened Scales and Kalonian Hydra. The rest of the deck packs in value to try and stay ahead of the opponent at all times.   
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quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Mar 15, 2022 4:40:31 GMT
They repelled down into the antechamber, one by one. First Vyta, followed by Pike, Bobbar, and Rannister. The chamber was magnificent – large marble pillars held up the cavernous roof. A thin layer of sand covered the stone ground, which was set in tiered slabs. At the top was a gold throne, placed between two large snake statues, curling around the center dais. Emerald gems glinted from their eyes. There, at the center of the dais, next to the throne itself, stood what was unmistakably what they had come for. The Staff of Burning Nights. The sand nearby it swirled up in small dust clouds around the ashwood. The head of the staff was curled in a circle, with lions teeth embedded to complete the shape. Rannister's feet touched the ground and a small puff of sand billowed around his ankles. He glanced around the chamber. Deadly silent. Trying to push aside that feeling of unease, Rannister sensed the room for other signs of life. The emotional palate of the room was muted. Dead? No. There was the throbbing excitement of his companions. And there, ever so softly, was a thin sensation of gloating anticipation. Of cruel pleasure. It was almost invisible, like the turned edge of a knife. Rannister recoiled at the sensation. "Vyta," he whispered, but she was too far ahead. His three companions had crept across the floor, scanning for traps as they went. Rannister could tell even without using his extrasensory senses how bent they were on the prize. But they weren't alone. They had almost reached the throne when something behind the snake statue stirred. He should have noticed it. It lifted a skeletal face that Rannister recognized. The Underpalace king himself. Hazzarom. But something was wrong. He was dazed, covered in sand. Vyta and Bobbar froze at the sight. Rannister felt it then, what they must be feeling. A sudden urge to kill, drawing him forward. It was a pulsing sensation, and he had no doubt the source. Someone was using the staff. Before Rannister could make a move, his companions pounced forward, baring their weapons against the prone lich king. "Stop!" Rannister cried. It was far too late. Vyta swung her sword forward and it sliced through Hazzarom's chest. He slumped back into the sand, a shapeless mass. Behind him, Rannister felt that malicious emotion again. He whirled to see something crawl over a broken chunk of marble. It was a humanoid. A woman. Her limbs were spindly, the arms as long as the legs. "Murderers," she hissed. And she smiled a large smile, a long tongue snaking out of her mouth. "How good of you to come."{Spoiler} {Staff of Burning Nights} Today I'll share a couple of key reprints and then some cycles. First up we have, {Treasure Hunters}   Sandstone Oracle and Duelist's Heritage help the Vyta plan. The first is a great artifact to cheat out and refill your hand, while the second allows Vyta to get two hits in. Dig for double the number of artifacts. Wake the Past is a great endgame spell, allowing the deck to come back if its threats have been repeatedly removed. {Deathless Kingdom}   Corpsejack Menace (and Kalonian Hydra, and Hardened Scales) are obvious all-stars in the deck, turning every small counter synergy into a large number of counters that can give you tons of mana with Hazzarom. Greed allows you to get value out of all the incremental mana you make with Hazzarom. Finally, Fertilid is just a fun boost to the deck. With Hazzarom out, it essentially pays for itself, giving you the mana to activate its ability immediately. If you have a counter doubler like Corpsejack out, it's not hard to believe that Fertilid could get most of the lands in your deck onto the table. And then we have the cycles of the set. Pairs? They're all pairs. {Cycles}First off, here are the secondary commanders for the two decks:  Bobbar focuses on the secondary theme of sacrificing artifacts. A far more dangerous body that Vyta, Bobbar suggests a slightly more voltron strategy to taking down the opponent. Mijjik goes more the small-counters-here-and-there direction than lots of counters all at once. The rare land cycle:   Pets:   And finally, a pair of signature spells from the planeswalker in each deck:   I hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned next time for the full set reveal. As always, I would love to hear any feedback, things you liked, things you think could be better, etc.
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jverse
3/3 Beast
 
Posts: 195
Favorite Card: Animar, Soul of Elements
Favorite Set: Shadowmoor
Color Alignment: Blue, Red, Green
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Post by jverse on Mar 15, 2022 13:17:13 GMT
Is it a design choice to use this particular font in your text boxes instead of the official one? Personally I find it kind of distracting after staring at cards for years.
I like your rare land cycle. It's not that flashy, but it's also a clever way to prevent a dual land from becoming overpowered. I could see something like that seeing print.
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quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Mar 15, 2022 16:48:33 GMT
Is it a design choice to use this particular font in your text boxes instead of the official one? Personally I find it kind of distracting after staring at cards for years. Yeah... this was not a design choice. I use a mac and unfortunately there's a couple of functionalities of MSE that don't work for me. Many of the fonts. You also might have noticed that flavor text and reminder text is not italicized. Italics don't work for me either. Also can't copy/paste cards. Kind of sucks, but I couldn't figure out a way around it.
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quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Mar 23, 2022 15:08:22 GMT
Three weeks ago... Genelva walked into the throne room, the smell of must hanging off the tall pillars and the golden throne. The Staff of Burning Nights sat by the king's side, spinning slowly. Genelva could feel its power pulsating. It would be so easy to use it, to exert control over everyone in this dark, cavernous room... A pair of skeleton guards walked behind her. And before her, King Hazzarom himself looked down from the dais, his sunken face almost as skeletal as his guards. He might look impressive, but he was a husk, nothing more. Nothing but a toy she could make dance. "You summoned me, my lord?" Genelva rasped. She smiled and her sharp blue tongue flicked out, running along the rim of her lip. Hazzarom looked down on her stoically. He was covered in gilded robes - an ornamental headdress, a golden silk shirt. As if he were trying to distract you from his pale face and lifeless eyes. He watched the witch impassively. "I am hereby removing you from my council of advisors," he said in a voice that crunched like gravel. "Your services are no longer required. You may pack and leave the Underpalace, if that is your wish." Genelva stared at him. She bared her teeth. Was she hearing right? She had spent so long on this plane, working her way up through the ranks. Getting closer to this rotting king so she could move the whole kingdom from behind the scenes. How dare he. Her eyes flicked to the skeleton guards that flanked her. If they were living things, she could make them slay their master this very moment. "May I ask what reason your lordship has for this change?" Genelva hissed, not quite hiding the hostility. "I have no more need of your services," Hazzarom said simply. Genelva gave a faux smile, sharp as the drilled points of her teeth. "Of course," she said. And to herself, she was already thinking how best to employ her services. {Genelva}  Genelva of Decit-Clan home plane: Nostan color alignment: blue-black abilities: mind control/influence/will pressure on those around her mechanical abilities: hand regulation (draw and discard); using your opponents' creatures and spells bio: The Mother of the Decit-Clan witches on Nostan, Genelva long ago discovered her planeswalking powers. She mostly stayed on her home world, controlling the witch clans of the marshes and often butting heads with the other Mothers. After discovering the young planeswalker Ashien on anther plane, she brought her to Nostan where she trained her to be Genelva's assassin. But she couldn't control Ashien forever, and when the girl rebelled and left Nostan in search of her home, Genelva's position was thrown into chaos. Losing her position as the Mother of her clan, Genelva left her home world in fury, searching for a new plane where she could exert her influence. As an update, I've been playtesting the decks quite a bit recently. While I was very happy with the way the Boros deck played, it was clear the Golgari one needed some work. I have edit a bunch of cards accordingly - all the previous posts have been updated to reflect the new versions of the cards. This is why there has been a bit of a delay. Next time I will drop the full set list for real. Until then, here are a couple of cards to tide you over:
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quillkey
0/0 Germ
Stuck on upkeep
Posts: 7
Formerly Known As: Simonbarsinister
Favorite Card: Commit // Memory
Favorite Set: Kaladesh
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red
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Post by quillkey on Apr 14, 2022 19:02:52 GMT
The present... Rannister felt them before he saw them. Their emotions thrummed through the stone of Underpalace as they burst into the throne room. Minotaurs, orcs, skeletons, all armed to the teeth. He wasn't sure how they got there so quickly, what it was that notified them. All the while the spider-witch woman watched them with her large serrated smile. "Go! Run!" Rannister yelled behind him. A quick glance and he saw that Vyta and the others were standing dazed, the frenzy from the staff having worn off of them. "GO!" They went for the rope dangling in the middle of the throne room. Bobbar leapt up and caught it midway in the air, scrambling up frantically. But their pursuers were too close. They swarmed in, waving swords and javelins. Vyta looked to Rannister as she grabbed the bottom of the rope. "Uncle..." she said. Rannister glared at her. "Go." A spear sailed at him through. Rannister saw it arc through the air. He felt the fury and malice of the hoards of guards wash over him. It had the strength of an ocean wave. The spear came straight at him and Rannister breathed in the fury choking the air like dust. Then he released it with a shout.
{Rannisters Redirection}  The spear flew back, stabbing its owner, an aged goblin, through the foot. The rest of them fell back as well, the great wall of Rannister's released fury smashing into them in physical form. The air was tinged with the red of Rannister's magic. Sometimes solid emotions were a mix of colors, the more nuanced ones almost iridescent. But anger was always the same. Red and raw. It hit the witch woman too, knocking her off her feet. Rannister did not wait to see what she did. He turned and grabbed onto the bottom of the rope, hoisting himself up. Pike and Bobbar had already disappeared into the hole above. Vyta was near the top and Rannister clawed his way after her. A thin shimmer of fear cloaked his body in case a spear found its mark. But none dit. He scrambled to the top of the rope and Vyta pulled him through. He fell panting on the stone floor. "They're climbing," he heard Bobbar say. But without a word, Vyta pulled a sword from her belt and slashed off the top of the rope. There was a clattering sound as their pursuers hit the throne room floor.
{Sword of Sand and Stone} An hand grabbed Rannister by the arm. It was Vyta. "We have to go, Uncle," she said. He struggled to his feet and their small band started down the passageway. Behind them Rannister could feel the anguish and hatred of the assembled guards. And one bright source of crowing pride. One individual who stood grinning at the hole, malice and ambition and excitement all mixed up.
"Run, run if you can," said a voice in Rannister's mind. It startled him so much he cried out. "I may need your services again one day. Rannister." "What's wrong?" Vyta asked sharply. Rannister shook his head. They made their way through the tunnels of the Underpalace.Aaaaaand as promised... the full set file. Sorry it took me so long to post! Life got in the way. I hope you enjoy, and as every, happy to receive feedback. Full Set Images
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