<bb> PWW's Battleboard (Santen, Arch[er]angel)

Considering cards like Court of Grace and Sigil of the Empty Throne, a more consistent production of 4/4 angels exists at lower costs, though Court of Grace will produce less creature tokens in general and Sigil of the Empty throne runs off your cards (which would I feel be on par if not a little stronger than your trigger, except Sigil always makes 4/4 angels). Meanwhile effects with "whenever an opponent casts a spell" triggers do tend in my opinion to be a little stronger at around that 5 mana range, but it's not consistent enough to be definite about it.

I do quite enjoy the part of the effect that specifically gives you a benefit when an opponent cheats something out. It's a good response to a free trap, but also to many strategies that try to bring expensive stuff out in various ways of cheating it. Getting a good benefit out of an opponent's own strong move is a way to feel good out of an opponent getting a benefit, which is really nice cause that way one move can make everyone have fun.

I'll give this card a 10/10.

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"What? How can she still use her magic?" First shouted. Commanding magic without words was a gift he'd taken from the demons, and while he knew there were other kinds of magic besides his own, the young sorceress had shown herself talking every time he or any of his followers had seen her use her magic thus far. He clenched his teeth, angered at his own mistake.

Meanwhile, the cultists that closed-in on Tokata found themselves temporarily blinded by the sudden light, and dumbfounded when their attacks proved completely ineffective when they resumed them, feathers of light shielding the body from the harm of their blades. Unsure what to do, they cut their own palms and conjured flames from the blood, but those too were stopped.

The ones at a distance had stopped firing their attacks, which were also proving ineffective. Some of them had congregated to cast a great fireball of purple flame at the angelic figure, and others readied their summoning spells.

"We'll see..." The demon chuckled again, but this time it seemed a little more forced. Jabul muttered something to himself, stepping back away from the skewering, his body growing transparent after a flash of blue just barely in time to avoid being hit and vanishing.

"Jabul?" First looked around, but the demon was not re-appearing as he'd expect from the teleporting demon. His teeth clenched harder, grabbing at an amulet hidden under his robes. While made of metal, it had a flowing design and an almost wooden texture. He pressed upon it with his fist, releasing a soothing bubble of green mana, which the cult leader raised up into the air and transformed into a wave on the ceiling. As it passed by the cultists working on their summoning, they roared, and sparks appearing as blood spurted out from burst veins and a squad of armored demons appeared.


(......)


Three of those demons stood in Soumaw's way as well. While one held Soumaw's weight up, another tried thrusting down its battleaxe on the back of the shadowy planeswalker, that grabbed it with a palm. The object begun to sunk into the palm, and while the blade itself was no issue, the demonic magic imbued in it was bothersome.

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A lot of the time, this is going to be a Forced Adaptation that eventually gives flying at best. Again, probably no need to cost this much. Still, given the three effects on it, I guess it's not that big of a deviation. I think it's a decent answer to my card as well, though it only triggering once per turn does mean it doesn't respond as well to the activated ability. Also works with the roleplay.

I'll give it a 9/10.

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The armored demons tried to reach the angelic-form amalgam, but their efforts were fruitless and were cut down in due time by the radiant blades, even with the frenzied warlocks increasing the demon's resistance at the price of their own vitality. This only seemed to make the angel's strikes stronger, leading First to take a few steps back and have to catch himself to not fall off the elevation around his plateau his throne sat on. His confident expression, no, even his angered expression was taken over by one of fear. But it was not death, nor retribution he feared.

"How dare you... How dare you try to dismantle all of this. In the name of gods no less. When the gods failed to even offer any aid as my people were slaughtered, when they failed to show me any way, it was no failure at all. It was all how it was meant to be. They were the ones to send us damned here." Even so, his breathing was heavy. He was already growing desperate. And the news would get worse yet, as a cultist came running from one of the further tunnels somewhat above them.

"Master! Master First! It's coming! That monster you saw, it's nearly here!" She shouted.

"Damn it. Contract demon, defend us!"

At First's command, a creature jumped from the shadows. It used blood-soaked scrolls for legs like a flimsy floppy spider, and its mouth was of a large tome with demonic script and a large set of long, sharp teeth. The creature scurried about and jumped at Tokata, with its cursed maw wide open.

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After looking into as many self-protection-giving cards as I could find, most cards that give you protection against something as wide-reaching as a whole color do so for a turn, with exception of Serra's Emissary, which could potentially give you and all creatures you control protection from creatures. And even those that do give such protection seem designed with only working once like the Stasis Coffin, Teferi's Protection or Guardian Archon. Archon in particular is an interesting case, because while clearly designed to only work once, much like Seth's Tiger in reality it's subject to bounce and flicker effects that could repeat the effect. Eon Frolicker is similar to that but only with bouncing, and it gives an opponent a whole extra turn in return for that protection, which is a pretty big downside. Given Guardian's clear intent and the relative age of this card's design I heavily suspect that the bigger downside reflects more the true weight of giving yourself protection that widely against a player or even against a color.

More permanent cases like Runed Halo or Gor Muldrak are far more specific and outside of a very particular meta I think wouldn't do much against most decks. Serra's Emissary then seems like an outlier in the strong protection it gives not only to yourself but also to your creatures, even considering it's a seven mana mythic angel.

While not giving color choice, Protective Radiance does give you protection against two colors and both of those colors happen to have the hardest time among all of them in removing enchantments. Even blue could at least bounce it for a turn if it needed to, but most of red's tools are damage or artifact destruction and black will also much more rarely get enchantment removal outside of a set like Theros. Furthermore, red-black is one of the most aggressive combinations generally speaking, and aggro decks are even less likely to have the tools to deal with an enchantment, yet would be one of the most devastated by simply being prevented from dealing damage. Without further assistance it simply shuts down entire very common deck archetypes, not by overwhelming them but by making their strategy fundamentally impossible to achieve unless they find a tool very uncommon in those kinds of colors. Even if they do find that removal they may be fatally set back a few turns where they couldn't damage you, and given the card's cost it's not only extremely undercosted, but it's a lack of cost in a card strong against the type of decks that care the most about tempo. Even not against aggro decks it may be very disruptive to decks with black or red as major colors, and might red in particular too difficult to play. Protection after all isn't just preventing damage, it's also preventing targeting. All in all, I genuinely think a card like this would be a blow on deck diversity in terms of color at least, and overall be pretty unfun to play against if one is running one of those colors, and just the first level of Cleric Class otherwise.

And this is all without even addressing limited where a card like this even potentially being in another's deck would likely either force one to splash green or white, or else forgo playing red entirely, and largely playing black given even if either of these colors happen to have access to enchantment destruction odds are the vast vast majority of players wouldn't get it, let alone have it AND want to play red and/or black.

I think it works decent as a response to my card though not great since there is a lack of addressing its specific effect. It pretty much works against my card because of the color and the card cares about doing something to the opponent, which is ok just no real bonus points on the creative side (extra life gain is great as a response here though, I just think it's quite overshadowed by the protection aspect). It's also not the best fit for the RP since the radiance doesn't really play a part in this particular post. The spear is the only thing doing any protecting in it.

Long-story short, the gaining life effect is nice, but the protection effect is strong enough I feel to warp a format in a really unfun way. The card is severely undercosted and can shut down entire strategies in the colors least equipped to deal with it very early in the game, not to mention being at a lower rarity than cards that do similar and far less potent things. It's somewhat decent as a response to my card and not very reflective of the RP post.

In light of all of this, I give it a 2/10.

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As the demon creature perished, squealing it's last little remnants of life, a curse spread through the spear, tainting its light. It would be a simple matter of dropping the spear not to be harmed though. Although this was about First's expectations for how that confrontation might play out, he'd hoped he would at least have had a bit more time.

"What are you talking about? "Native to this world"? Nonsense. All of it, nonsense." Many of First's followers were cowering, though some of the more fanatic yet tried to subtly ready spells. This could present an opportunity. "Tell me what you mean. You called this place an area. Are you one of them... the wardens of this place? Are we to fight? Is that our punishment? Is that what you mean by more 'productive'?"


(....)


This travel had certainly been a lot easier since Soumaw had obtained the spirit of that woman with the throwing daggers. Not only was she quite capable of picking out the right cultists to attack, and of taking care of them from a distance, but she knew passages and traps that the other ghost didn't. Soumaw almost considered using it as fodder so it would be less of a waste of mana, but perhaps there would be a use for him yet.

Wielding spears infused with demonic script, two guards tried to fend off Soumaw, their demons already dealt with as were some of the other guards in that area, laying on the ground with spectral daggers on their chests. They were shaking, much more so even than the one's near the entrance, and were easy pickings whose heads Soumaw cut open with Its claws before they could realize they had to attack with those spears. It was then the third one, who had gone to deliver the message, returned to the sight of all her fellow guards of the main coven (on that tunnel anyways) were already dead and gone. Unlike the previous two, she charged, yes frightened for her life, but understanding full well it was do-or-die. She evaded a dagger thrown by one of the ghosts, and almost threw her spear after it gathered some miasma, but lost her balance when an attack suddenly came from the ghost of the village's cultist. In a reflex to dodge it, the cultist guard threw spear off-course, and Soumaw didn't even have to try to dodge to avoid being hit, coming near that final guard, and swallowing her whole.

Approaching the edge of the tunnel, Soumaw rans Its claws on the ceiling gathering green and black mana. It then opened Its maw, spewing forth a growing black smog containing an imitation of the hunger Soumaw had once felt. With the influence of the green mana upon it the fog gradually took a new form and solidified into an enormous worm-like beast with a long body and maw with sharp teeth. There was only a slit in the place of any eyes, and it was completely blind.

It didn't need to see to rampage though, especially not with Soumaw being able to guide the beast with Its thoughts.

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You know, my first instinct was to think "This is a weaker pacifism that's really only as good as pacifism when put on a big creature without lifelink, and even then questionably so". However, as it turns a lot of the cards that essentially do the same thing as pacifism were until recently valued at three mana (Luminous Bonds is literally pacifism but more costly), with mana value 2 ones coming with a downside (though to be fair many of the three mana ones also blocked activated abilities) like Compulsory Rest, Heliod's Punishment or Utopia Vow (to be fair Vow is technically from Planar Chaos originally, but it was in the remastered timespiral too, so...). Weirdly though in I think the most recent sets All Will be One and March of the Machine you get Planar Disruption and Realmbreaker's Grasp, both of which are strongly upgraded Pacifisms.

There's little to say here balance-wise given how inconsistent the cost and power of those pacifism-types are and it's a pretty good response to my card since it's certainly more interesting than a plain pacifism, plus it takes advantage of the card's specificities (greater power/toughness in return for a downside) by making those into something extra costly. It also fits in with the RP well.

All in all, got no good reason not to give it a 10/10.

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"They worshiped many gods. My family, my friends, my people, dedicated their lives and never stepped food outside of the village's territory for their sake. They fought for both to the last, yet, in the end, those same gods were absent. Illivar's winds didn't carry their arrows to their marks. If she heard them, it was only to sweep away their spirits for her toll. Go'Saun didn't shield them with his great bark nor did his soil provide. Their veins were not cleansed of poison by Avivial, nor was steel kept from the sap or their blood from the lakes. The beasts of Graukr fled from the fire rather than meeting it in their hour of need. Even Galae's courage faltered them in the end. I only lived because I was gone by then, at the start of my foolhardy journey."


There were sounds of some commotion in a nearby tunnel. The same the messenger had come from earlier. As First's eyes raised, the other cultists's followed, and suddenly a big black smog crawled down from the tunnel, forming into a monstrous, enormous creature that threw itself into a frenzied attack at the cultists. Though reluctant, the speeding monster that came after them gave them not choice but to release the spells they had been subtly preparing, but they seemed to do little more to it than slow it down.


"This is not... the same monster." First's eyes returned to the tunnel, spotting the one he had known was coming, accompanied by a new ghost.


"Master..." The ghost moaned as it spotted First. "...must...tell.... Therian..."

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I'll give this card a 10/10. Unfortunately I don't have much to say about it. While I looked at cards with similar effects, few work whenever a creature dies rather than this or that category of creature, usually by controller. Further it's almost always 1 life loss and usually one-sided. The one big exception I found to this was Shriveling Rot, but even this one has substantial differences in being until end of turn and not bilateral. Still, given it can make you lose life equal to your creature's powers if they die and your opponent wouldn't lose life from that, in a vacuum I suppose it's kind of comparable. Seeing as it's an end of turn effect and it has that other mode plus entwine mode, I guess valuing this card at 5 makes sense.

It also works within the narrative because of the name and Tokata's seeming regret at what they've come to do to this place, and has an interesting interaction that supports the aggressive gameplan Prayers Unheard clearly pushes.

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Soumaw noted, with a hint of surprise, that Tokata was already down in the chamber, and from the looks of it had engaged in combat in with the cultists. Hmmm, perhaps Soumaw had underestimated the mask-maker's motivation in being rid of the threat to the place It had found her in. Well, there were times when one would not be upset at being mistaken. If Tokata was this eager to fight, that only helped further Soumaw's own goals to deal with this threat as well.

But then of all things, Tokata blocked Soumaw's creation and protected the cultists. She greatly slowed down the creature, it's enormous size and leverage barely managing to push Tokata back inches as it flailed, and then a spear was rammed into its neck, sending it screeching. Narrowing its eyes, Soumaw descended from the tunnel onto the chamber, and approached.

"Why....protect?..." It inquired. Why was Tokata doing this? Did she not realize the blind monster was Soumaw's creation? The way she spoke of it seemed to suggest she understood what it was. Not that she understood the depths of the hunger if she asked such a question. That monster was embodying Soumaw's own hunger, and hunger was baked into Its very being. It wasn't simply a part of Soumaw, that hunger defined It. How could it ever know the state known as being sated? Still, It knew better now than to never hold back. All for the sake of the greatest meal. The one Soumaw learned of through the prophecy.

It was then It realized the voice speaking wasn't Tokata's own. Rather, not simply Tokata's own. In fact, the aura around Tokata was familiar in a way.

"Understand... now... Must... free...." Tokata was taken ahold of by that spirit. In that case!

Soumaw commanded the creature to push harder with its mind, sending it into an even greater frenzy, and its weight to pin down Tokata as much as that monster could. The first ghost conjured flames to further take Tokata's focus and while the new ghost flung spectral knives that honed onto the cultist's cloaks to keep them from running away. First's eyes kept glancing frantically between the new ghost and the battle between Soumaw and the angel. Soumaw approached swiftly running with all four limbs, and channeled magic at the spirit to use its domain over souls to pull out the spirit from Tokata, seeking to absorb it again.

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The each player gains control of what they own effect is usually seen repeatedly and even so seemingly typically valued close to . 2-3 mana seems appropriate for tutoring an aura though, so this is only slightly overcosted due to the 2 colored mana initial investment. It perfectly fits with RP and is an interesting but kind of faulty response to my card. Yeah you regain control of the aura but this will often not really do much because that doesn't by itself detach the aura or allow you to switch like an equipment would. There cases where it will turn a trigger beneficial to you so it's not useless or anything, just very circumstantial.

I give a 9/10.

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With a push of the spear deeper inside the blind beast's skull, its form dissolved back into black smog. With its last orders, the ghost continued to fire flames at the angel until Soumaw managed to reach and begin to symphon out the spirit. It was a tug of war between Pharisa and Soumaw, or so the planeswalker thought until It realized where the pull was really coming from - Tokata's mask drawing the spirit back inside it. That, Soumaw would permit, and It let go.

Soumaw was uncertain. Although It lacked that word - puppet - and thus It could not inquire as to Tokata's meaning, it did understand at least that she wanted Soumaw to pull out without killing the remaining cultists. It narrowed Its eyes at her, and leaned down. They would still be a threat. Soumaw didn't know enough about the guiding stones to leave them alone with potential threats. However, the possibility of being taken there directly and right away was tempting... Soumaw leaned down, closer to Tokata.

"Protect... guiding stone... promise... mask... maker... protect... guiding stone... then... deal..."

Above them, taking advantage of the confusion and regaining his senses, First finished preparing the spell he had been readying in secret, the reason he had regained his confidence was that now he had the chance to escape. Black mana escaped his hands and was drawn to his back, and the elf groaned as black marks appeared on his body and wings grew. It seemed as though that Sage was not going to destroy them - for now. However, she wasn't going to destroy the shadow monster either. And if ever she deemed their mission was "hurting innocents" again, she too would surely come for them.

He would not permit it. Even if he had to rush what he should have better prepared for, if he waited any longer, it might be too late. Especially if by "guiding stone" the sage meant what First thought it meant.

Eyeing them, and the ghost reaching out to him, to one last time, First sprinted out of a tunnel on demonic wings, flying as fast as possible towards the monument.

Soumaw turned, already too late to stop the cultist leader's escape. It then turned to Tokata swiftly with a grunt.

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This card is definitely stronger than a Serra's Embrace, but within a margin of error to where I can very much accept it being the same cost, especially since both are uncommon cards. I guess it works as a response, giving you an extra flying creature but also responding to the menace by either making an extra creature with bind or by keeping a creature you'd otherwise want to attack with vigilance thus letting you attack and later block with it. It's very clever and subtle as a response, which I definitely appreciate especially in how that subtlety actually responds to almost every aspect of the other card. On the other hand, the response is also very non-specific to the other card if you'd made a creature with flying (which you can't with Tokata, but I'm just using this to illustrate my point) I think that would pretty much respond to the card in the same way. Further it's subtlety comes at the price that I had to stretch a bit to see how this card is a response and to what parts. In terms of the RP, the card is disconnected from the RP, which tips it over into definitely 9/10 territory (where before I wasn't sure since it seemed like a 9.5, very much in that middle in between scores).

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Soumaw was certainly not happy, with the cult leader already rushing out to who knew where, though Soumaw had Its suspicions, and they left the planeswalker with little patience for the mask-maker's concern with the people who by all means Soumaw should have consumed by now.

"Waste...time..."

Thanks to those It had consumed, Soumaw had several means of knowing where North was, but none of those were applicable to this situation. For one, It certainly couldn't tell in these-cult made tunnels, but even outside looking at the stars wasn't possible while there still was daylight, nor would It find a lot of moss in the desert. It glanced at the two cultists behind It, with the second ghost shrugging in response, and the first one nodding. Soumaw then turned back to Tokata.

"Can find... North..."

Soumaw wasn't about to take any chances either. Calling upon a number of animals souls inside It, Soumaw's shadowy body began to morph, a simulacrum of their form, growing in size yet becoming more sleek and four-legged. It growled, and awaited whatever enchantments Tokata wanted to layer on top. But It would not wait long.

(.....)

"Everyone! First is commanding you! Do not let the intruders escape! Summons the guards! Block the entrances with the barriers! Stall them as long as you can... the hour is upon us, though it is much too soon."

The magic on his voice spread through the runes on the tunnels, and the various cultists began their preparations, spreading throughout, summoning armored demons and conjuring barriers of force to block out Soumaw's and Tokata's paths. Still, would that really buy him enough time against those two?

He heard a familiar chuckle. A familiar hand pressed against his back. His body flashed blue, and became slowly transparent, then disappeared.

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One mana seems pretty perfect for this. There exists a card that gives unblockable for one mana (Aqueous Form), but most start around two mana. I think it's fair to only make this cost one mana because it's only giving unblockable but also has some exceptions, although cleverly these exceptions are in part a type of card that is usually not up for blocking (haste creatures). It works nice as a gift response too not only because it makes the creature unblockable but because it means the planeswalker-turned-creature now won't be blocked and lose loyalty counters from attacking. Finally, it works with the flavor of the post too.

10/10

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Therian continued to tread over the desert sand, indeed he now knew how to do little else. How long as it been that he walked under this unbearable heat, encountering little life bar the occasional scorpion? That the thought had occurred to him to eat[/i] one of those scorpions was proof enough of the state he was in, even before accounting for the haze that had taken over his sight or the uncertainty on whether he was ever walking straight or tilted. Sometimes he blinked, and he could not tell how long had passed in between. It sure didn't feel like he slept though, and the rare breeze made for little relief from the heat.

Even so, he knew he had to move forward. His people, who perished in the raid, would not forgive him otherwise. He, who against the commands of his parents and the chieftain, and against the advice and requests of his friends and siblings, left the village to see the world out. Just in time to escape the raid, but not in time to be blissfully unaware. Surely they thought him a traitor. Still, Therian had come to realize the gods were not on their side after all. He had met many people. He tried fighting. Resting. Loving. He had tried it all, searched all over, and he had come to understand this place was hell. An unending, nonsensical hell. A prison, and surely none of them could've escaped. They were trapped in this world of suffering even more than he was trapped in this heat. He prayed only that was proven wrong, that at last he would find the edge after all these centuries. Otherwise, what was he supposed to do?

Of all things, Therian felt a chill.

He had thought it a mirage of this drained body and mind, but if he was feeling it this clearly in his skin, if it made him shake from this far away, then it had to be real. It was hardly the most extraordinary contradiction within the world, but nonetheless it still caught him by surprise: A great pile of ice standing atop a frozen lake in the distance, palm trees covered in snow, stark in the middle of the desert.

Therian headed in towards the oasis of frost. Perhaps he would have some luck and obtain something edible and drinkable there. The desert had given him no such luck so far.

As he attempted to dig the ice for some of the water under the sheet, Therian's blade hit something even harder than the ice itself. He couldn't see under the ice's surface, so it was probably thick, but even so this seemed like something else entirely... He dug around it, slowly uncovering a dagger covered in runes. A touch was all it took for Therian's mind to be momentarily flooded with images of ancient rituals of blood and darkness, runes and death, and the one at the origin of it all. Therian smirked.

He had finally found his purpose on this hell, and the tool to achieve it. Now all he needed was manpower.[/i]




First and the demon appeared next to the monument. The cult leader felt the disturbance he had when he first encountered this place, but he wasn't about to show it with one of thsoe demons next to him. He had planned to prepare better for this moment, but that sage might run interference, and she was the better of the two options when it came to those invaders.

"If they come - and they will - do not let them interfere. I can keep the spell running even if I have to leave it, but I don't want to take my chances." First told the masked demon. The demon bowed, and stepped back. First cut his own palm and splattered the blood onto the monument. His eyes glowed, and with a scream he unleashed black mana he had been saving from the cult's victims, channeling the mana into the dagger to begin the ritual to awaken the warden he sought.

(.....)

Where Tokata's counterspell allowed them to go right through one of the barriers, allowing the two to run past them while ignoring the confused cultists, Soumaw simply grew even bigger and smashed right through. It didn't have time to concern itself with the cultists (neither their lives nor their deaths), and little to be concerned about Tokata. It wouldn't protest the mask-maker riding on It, but there had never been an invitation either.

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Considering Spirit Mantle is a thing, yeah this is more than fair enough. I do like that the creature types it gives protection from are the iconic frontliners of each color, although it took me a minute to catch onto that. It's a little lacking as a response but it works and the exact flavor is a little hazy but there's not much of a complaint there.

I give it a 9/10.

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Tokata's sudden decision to leave sparked some confusion in Soumaw, but Tokata left before It could seek clarification and either way Soumaw had no means to since It lacked the words to convey that question. Tokata's enchantment still appeared to be in effect, but ramming into every single barrier and dealing with the demons and cultists along the way would be far too much of a bother and too much stalling. Soumaw's shadowy limbs spun like water being drained, but upwards, exuding black smoke forming around a broken soul Soumaw released at the same time. More pieces were released, being covered in the black smoke, half-dissipated figures that didn't recall their own shape, having several malformed limbs and featureless faces. Soumaw commanded them, and each of the spectres of black fog flew out into the tunnels. With a touch the traps and barriers would show cracks like aging glass and fall apart, and touching a living creature - or a demon - would leave similar black cracks upon them.

It wasn't long before Soumaw reached the outside, largely unimpeded from there on. With the speed of Tokata's enchantment, and using the ghost's guidance, It rushed in the direction of the monument.


(....)


Four...

First ignored the pleading eyes. He knew it was the eyes of the guilty, and merely feigning innocence. He sliced the woman's throat and let the blood drip into a slit between the monument and the ground.

Five...

These were the necessary sacrifices. They had carefully selected them, infused the markings and mana upon them, done everything to make the most fitting channels to awaken the warden. It wasn't perfect. These last two were rushed, obtained because they were close enough, but they were far from the sacrifices they wanted in quality, nor had they spent as much effort preparing them. A mistake, perhaps. He had never imagined their whole group would be taken so low in an afternoon.

First sliced the last throat.

Six.

Grabbing the handle of the dagger with both hands, First chanted. The ground trembled, although in an almost imperceptible manner. As black mana flowed, a light orange hue began to emerge from the slit.

As Tokata approached, the masked demon raised it's arms towards her, and once again cast that spell from before, shrouding her in complete darkness. It entered the darkness itself, swords in hand to throw, slice and stab unseen.

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Again, might even be a litte overpriced, but with this low a mana cost it would be borderline impossible to get it perfectly averaged with comparable cards, so this is very well done. It fits well with the RP and is an interesting way to interact with the card.

10/10

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Jabul's attacks only grew more frantic as Tokata continued to advance, his swords clinking off the green mists like he'd thrown foam at it. Even his darkness, a sinkhole he'd likened to drowning while blinder than someone who'd been blind from birth, was being waltzed through. Jabul raised a hand to the sky and with a flash of blue all kinds of rocks and weapons and old bones and random pieces of iron simply materialized above Tokata and her path and dropped down from the sky.

Well, it was unlikely that would actually work though. Although First knew Jabul had a last resort, the spell had begun. Hopefully a little bit of attention would be enough for First to be dealt with this Sage. Channeling the large amounts of black mana now floating about in the area, even more so than back in the hideout, First projected sphere of energy to push Tokata back.

Meanwhile, Jabul began preparing a spell of its own. It would take him out of the fight as well, most likely, but even so. The spell began by distorting space, using the utmost capabilities of its teleportation magic. Every movement in the area would considerably more sluggish, slowing to a crawl as though moving through an incredibly viscous substance. Then the spell would conjure from the target's own mind a location, the furthest location the target could think of, and would bring them and Jabul there. A flash of blue glowed....

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Considering other examples of similar effects, I would say this card is undercosted by one if not two mana. The only five mana card doing this kind of thing (unconditional countering) is Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, and that's as a emblem you get as the ultimate. Most cards with this kind of effect do it at seven-eight mana. Now, granted this one has a steep cost of paying what is likely to be a hefty amount of life, but even Jin-Gitaxias Progress Tyrant is conditional and Chancellor of the Annex only half-does it since it lets an opponent pay instead. Decree of Silence is more overall unconditional but both the most expensive of the bunch and only works 3 times. There are caveats like the bodies, Jin's other ability, the fact the angel doesn't just counter the first spell, and so on. But considering other similar cards at lower costs are either quite circumstantial and most often likely don't work (see Counterbalance ) or more conditional such as only working on the first spell targeting them specifically, I do think it's fair to say this kind of countering would be valued above five mana.

It works as a response but in a very uninteresting way. If my card was one that put a lot of emphasis on casting just one card I think this would be a very nice response. But as just countering without addressing the card's specifics is a functional but ultimately uninteresting response, as a response, I do think the card itself is interesting though. It's also a tad detached from the roleplay, I feel, or at least a bit too broad in that area as well.

I'll give this one a 7/10.

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"Who are you, Sage?" First cried out in surprise after his magic was rotted out into nothingness. "You wield dark magic as well, though it differs from the one I've been granted, yet you also had mastered that angle of light, and fog that burns and is carried by the wind. What manner of entity taught you to wield so much different magic? I won't question why you try to stop our purpose. The guilty always would. But even so... It is simply..."

He did not finish that sentence.

Out from a shadow under Jabul and within the demon's cloak emerged a number of demons, imps alongside ones neither Tokata nor Soumaw had yet seen, that were thin like twigs with long sharp claws and bodies like silhouettes, completely black except for a few small white dots where the face could have been, albeit the small shape of horns atop the head prevented it from being otherwise utterly featureless. A final group was almost ghost-like, these floating 'jellyfish' of a texture like rags covered in cobwebs, and a face in front that appeared to be screaming. With flames and claws, needles and cursed thread, eventually even their own bodies if need be the demons attempted to block the masks from interfering with Jabul, at this moment too focused on trying to keep the spell going and activate it to be able to defend himself.

Mana was dragged, even from the pit, towards First, who was gathering it upon a miasma that was forming around him. He focused on a core in front, and the core spun in place while absorbing an ever-growing amount of black mana.

"Sage Tokata. My wish is to return the wardens to their rightful place, but make no mistake - they will return, with or without my interference. If you wish to prevent unnecessary suffering, you must allow the just suffering to come. As I will."

He shot out the black spell bolt towards Tokata.

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Therian there was intended as an attack, but since I apparently replaced the text instead of putting it under, it wouldn't do for me to rate these down over it. As responses to a gift, they work very well interacting with the card's abilities.

Balance-wise, considering Illusionist's Bracers, Imitation aura seems fair. Being it's an aura and uses colored mana, maybe even just ::U:. would be fair, but there's also how early and easily you want something played to consider, so I think this works well as the price.

Innumerable Form is harder to say. In a balanced board state its a double Sigil of the Nayan gods, but also giving trample, but also the creature exerts. I definitely feel its overpriced especially at rare, with a 4-5 cost probably being more appropriate.

Both of them work really well with the RP's flavor. I would probably put Innumerable Form a 9/10 and Imitation Aura a 10/10, so this together rounds up to 10/10.

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Jabul began to panic internally as the final line of defense was being pummeled out and beaten to a pulp by that darn green fog, or burned by the red one, their bodies dissipating. He, however, held steady, though in his mind he was already rushing to push the spell harder, faster, caution be damned by this point. And then the red mana was infused within the spell. The blue flashes were interspersed with red like a warning sign, but it was too late to put a stop to it. As the spell filtered even more out of control with red's chaotic influence, and the added power of that mana, a sharp and burning sensation began to spread across Jabul's body like wildfire. Looking down, he could see his body beginning to disintegrate in real time, shredded by something he didn't understand, that he didn't know. As the spell attempted to reach the plane Tokata's mind had envisioned, and even more empowered by the backlash of its effects failing to bring Tokata herself, Jabul was being projected far further than even his most powerful spell could ultimately reach under less extraordinary circumstances. The demon's body was being projected towards the blind eternities, and being grinded down by the consequences.

First's surprise didn't last long, but he still smirked.

"So your power is as borrowed as mine, sage."

As the black bolt was turned around by Tokata's fog, it appeared to grow in size, taking alongside it a large dose of additional black mana absorbed straight from the fog. First muttered a fast incantation, and pulled out the Sandfrost Dagger, which seemed to stab into the black bolt. First was pushed back by the force of the explosion of black mana, though it quickly spiraled together above before soaring down like a falcon toward it's pray and infusing under the monument.

The ground shook again.

Without even bothering to try to stand, First raised his dagger as fast as he could and a jet of flames poured out from under the moment, its smoke forming a great cloud in the sky.

"A lord...awakens..." Jabul exhaled, right before what was left of his body grew covered in cracks and disintegrated.

From within the earth, an enormous demonic hand, easily fitting Tokata in its palm three times over, emerged and towered over the self-proclaimed sage. It began to descend towards her, when suddenly a shadow appeared and leaped onto the hand, biting into the finger. The hand stopped and waved, attempting to shake Soumaw off.

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Wider condition, less to cast than Bastion of Remembrance, and I would argue a much stronger secondary effect not only because the card itself enables it but also because you could one-shot kill someone with this using some self-mill and something like a Crypt Incursion or the existence of the Escape or Delve mechanics. I think there is a double-edged issue here if one hand it makes sense this would take more life for something harder to get, it is also true that outside of card recovery (to hand or battlefield) taking stuff out of the graveyard is generally seen as a low-value cost, especially if it's your own. As a result, there are many ways of doing it en masse. If it was a few cards only it could combo with, I probably wouldn't say anything, but it's a large enough pool of them that I feel would have a devastatingly powerful interaction this one isn't taking into account.

I think the second effect was assuming rarity, so I'd probably have changed it to "whenever one or more creature cards leave a graveyard". Given the comparison with Bastion of Remembrance, I'd also probably have increased the cost by one or even two mana.

It's pretty excellent as a response (I very much like both how it triggers twice, and the first trigger might even benefit more because I might be bringing a demon that died (2 damage), and that might die again (3) ), and I think it fits the story ok.

I'll give this card a 7/10.

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Soumaw practically didn't need a guide anymore as It closed in on the monument. With disappointment, Soumaw realized that monument was not in fact one of the guiding stones. There was a sensation to it, but it was far too feeble and unlike the one of the guiding stones. However, there were definitely traces of that design and architecture, of the odd structure which made the guiding stones. Though this was not one of what Soumaw sought, it was likely a significant clue. Soumaw would not forgive its desecration. Some of Soumaw's shadows spread into the fingers Soumaw had bit into too, causing tendrils to spread inside the demonic limb and come pouring out like worms popping out of the ground. Although the hand struggled, those shadows were also quickly burning, and Soumaw lept off. Gathering power, Soumaw grew greatly in size, pushing down the hand by weight alone. The ground shook again. A muffled roar could be heard all around. A second hand popped out of the ground and quickly grabbed Soumaw by the neck, pulling it down, giving a moment to the first.

Though Therian wasn't fond of the way the spirit spoke to him, but he was able to hold back his danger. Albeit it was a slower process than he'd imagined, he had completed the ritual. It was only a matter of time before the warden was freed. He no longer needed to focus on the spell, so he could spare more of it to dealing with the shade, and after that that monstrous companion of hers. With her seemingly preparing a spell unrelated to an attack, Therian saw his chance.

The elf drew his dagger again and pointed it at the newly-freed demonic hand. The runes on the knife flashed with purple, and the hand descended down on Therian, grabbing him. He could feel his body burning as marks appeared over him and large claws of magma joined together in palms of tar grew over his own hands. What appeared to be something between horns and tails grew from his clothes and seemingly waited. With his eyes maddened with black mana, Therian was released from the demons' grip, and charged at Tokata in an effort to cut her down.

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It's very hard to judge Sagas, but looking at other examples at 3 mana or less, I think this is at about a fair level. Wish I knew the story behind it, Sagas are always better when you know what they are depicting since they are such flavor-carriers. I like the way the first two abilities help you against Mark of Australia Down Under, the first by giving you some chump blockers, and the second by having the versatility of either killing the creature that's enchanted or a demon powering it up (or both if enchanted is a demon), and gaining even more life by draining something bigger. The story tie-in is a little weak since it's not we're being told anything about the Rise of Gnamawt.

I give this a 9/10.

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A longer tail made from a seemingly less material substance than the rest of Therian's boons, whose tip was the Frostsand dagger itself only shrouded in a dark energy, swung in front of Therian as soon as the shield was raised, weaving a spell of rotting that would corrode material and spell alike. If the shield was of a more mystical nature or substance, then that very spell would crumble as though weakened and aged and fall apart. If it were a proper physical object - or worse, if Tokata pulled away the shield and was struck instead - then what was struck would find dark spots growing as though by a plague and quickly suffer several spots as though aged and consumed. A shield would hardly retain any real integrity after that. Whichever the case this would be immediately followed by an attack of Therian's own demonic claws, and the horn-tail tendrils around him would spring to action to block, grab and/or retaliate against potential counterattacks.

The battle was complicated on the other front as well. The two hands seemingly resisted the attacks of Seniton and Akwiton. The fire stung but made the hand little hotter than the coating of magma had, and the barrage of force was met was an forge-hot wall of iron. Still, though it was but a temporary push of sudden disturbance of inertia, it was successful in giving Soumaw the leeway to free Itself from the hand's grasp.

Another tremor. The ground was starting to open more cracks, the first signs or horns and even the glance of a demonic eye could be briefly spotted. Soumaw wasn't sure the emergence of whatever was in there could be stopped, but It would try. It's weaving of black mana wasn't working as well as intended, so instead Soumaw drew blue and green mana from some of those It had consumed, and projected their spirits outwards. Like a invisible, untouchable web, the wailing spirits pulled at the enormous limbs to drag them down.

Ghamawt, as a spirit attuned with black mana, would be able to tell not only that its abundance in the air was still growing, but that a significant amount of that growth was being pulled somewhere, like water going down a drain, weakening if not disrupting the casting of black-mana-based spells other than Therian's own. That spot was right there: The Frostsand dagger.

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