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Post by cajun on May 20, 2019 4:54:46 GMT
Previously in Festenya...
It's already starting to get dark as I head outside. Luckily the lights all over the city are starting to flick on as well. I do wish the daytime lasted longer, though. Sometimes I ask why Hybriea doesn't let the daytime last longer, but usually people just laugh at me.
Luckily there's still enough light to get to Nancy's house and back. She'll be so jealous of my new dress. I pick my way through the sidewalk, through the earlybirds of the nightlife, thinking about what I'll say. But then, I notice a face I haven't seen in a while.
"Mister Bently? Hi! Where have you been?" He had lived next door, for almost as long as I could remember, but he suddenly disappeared a few weeks ago. Mommy had said not to think about it. By the looks of it, it looked like he'd been living outside the whole time. He stopped to talk, but kept looking around every few seconds.
"Huh? Ah. Little... Karina, was it?" I nod and give him a smile. It looked like he could use it. "Well, I've been... you know. Around." He takes a minute from looking around to look at me. "Say, Karina, where'd you get such a fancy dress?" Oh, right! He'd never seen me in something like this before.
"Oh! Daddy got it for me! Isn't it so pretty?" I ask, swishing it around. "He says we don't have to worry about money any more. That we can finally have nice things, and fix some of the broken ones."
He's got a big smile too. Yay! "Well, that is exciting news, isn't it? It was nice meeting with you again, Karina, but I really must be going now." He nods at me and goes back to his nervous walking. I'm so happy I skip the rest of the way to Nancy's.
---
It's a lot darker than usual when I get home. I'm surprised no one had come to get me already. At least with the streetlights, something was there for me.
I can already hear the voices before I open the door. I guess they're still fighting. I consider just sitting out here for a little bit longer, but its pretty cold already. The dress is sooo pretty but not sooo warm. I open the door.
"Ah, just the lady I wanted to see." Mister Bently? What was he doing here? Mommy and daddy turn to look at me with worried looks. There's also some Vitorian guy in here with a scarf covering his mouth. Weird.
"What's going on?" I ask, and then realizing where this usually goes I add "Did I do something wrong?" I can't remember doing anything, but I do so many things wrong that it was at least a good guess. Mommy looks over to the weird guy and takes a few slow steps towards the table, where dinner had been set up. Well, partially set up. They must've shown up while they were working on it.
"Come here a moment, Karina," she says. "I'm telling you, we don't have it yet!" I walk uneasily to the table. "Why don't you take yours to your room, okay? And..." "Like I'm going to believe that. Just look at her!" "Hey, just, look at me, okay?" she says turning my head to her. "Stay in there tonight, no matter what, got it? We'll worry about the plate later." She crouches down and gives me a hug. "You owe me, I owe him, now you owe him instead." "Don't forget, we love you." As she stands back up, I notice a flash of silver as she hides one of the knives in her sleeve. She holds a finger up to her lips. "Stay in there, and stay quiet, okay?" I grab the food and nervously walk away. She returns to the fight. "The debt is due tonight, one way or another."
I go to my 'room' that I'm pretty sure was supposed to be a closet once and try to hear what they're saying, but it's hard to make out more than a few words. 'Money', 'debt', 'blood', 'now'. I don't know what's going on but it sounds bad. I grab my ragdoll and hug her close.
"Miss Patches, do you know what's going on?" I whisper. "It's all weird grown up stuff that I don't-" Something breaks in the other room. I hear mommy yelling at whoever broke it. I hold miss Patches tight and then... I get... really. . . really. . . sleepy. . .
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 23, 2019 3:29:02 GMT
Guest SystemA few memory fragments drifts through Karina's mind. But these are... strange. The Festenyan CandidateConspiracy  Start the game with this conspiracy face down in the command zone and secretly choose a player's name. You may turn this conspiracy face up any time and reveal that name. You control that player until end of turn.
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Post by cajun on May 23, 2019 4:39:34 GMT
The Festenian Candidate - needs some wording help to work. Also oof free mindslavers. 6/10(btw missed the rating on the last mattol defense) The Festenyan CandidateConspiracy Start the game with this conspiracy face down in the command zone and secretly choose a player's name. You may turn this conspiracy face up any time and reveal that name. You control that player until end of turn. The face in the mirror stares back. The necklace has moved to its hat, which it certainly wasn't wearing a moment ago. A single word escapes it... "Out."The Festenian Orphan  Legendary Creature - Human Indestructible Other players can't have or gain control of you or permanents you own. "I've been orphaned, beaten, broken, starved, kidnapped, exploded, stabbed, possessed, and killed.
And I'm still standing."1/1
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 23, 2019 5:01:12 GMT
Currency Outpost is a 9/10. Also, Festenian Orphan shouldn't be mono-white - regaining/maintaining control is a  thing. Ignoring that, it's still way too cheap. 6/10.
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Post by cajun on May 25, 2019 8:10:15 GMT
“So, it turns out I do have a spell!” I tell Hannah excitedly. “Sort of!”
“That’s amazing.”
“When I watch people do a spell, I can kinda feel how they’re casting it. They do whatever with their hands and their magic words, and then they play around with the mana. Then, if I try to do the same thing...”
I move my hand like I had seen miss Nisita do several times before. My bag moves a little, then falls over. I look down a bit. So much for amazing.
“Um. It was supposed to float but…” I trail off, then turn back to her. “The people at the 7CI did say I would need to practice if I wanted to keep the spells. This one’s pretty cool, so I’m definitely going to do that.”
I try to cast the spell again. Yet another one of those crystal cones rolls from my bag, then floats a few inches off the ground. Success, I guess?
“Huh. Another one of these things. You know, ever since I went back to the Arena, these have been turning up. I don’t know what to do with them. Do you know anything about them?”
Hannah shrugs. “Uh, it’s ice, I guess? It’s not Mom’s and not miss Seiva’s.”
“What? How can it be ice? It’d melt in a second here.”
“I've seen a lot of ice,” she laughs. “It's definitely ice. It just doesn't want to melt, I guess. Maybe a spell or something. Mom's ice can stick around here too, it just has a special feel to it.”
“So, what does this one feel like?”
“It doesn't feel like a spell. Mom and miss Seiva's spells have elemental energy floating around in them. Which I guess is obvious, huh?”
“I have no idea if that's obvious,” I admit. “And I have no idea what to do with this. ...Do you want it? Maybe it can help you figure out your spells too.”
“Sure! Maybe one day I can learn to make ice that doesn't like to melt too.”
Karina has learned Inquiring Mind and unlocked Affinity
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Post by cajun on May 27, 2019 4:20:12 GMT
Previously in Festenya...
Why is my bed so hard? Wait. Why am I sleeping on the floor? Why am I sleeping in the dress? And my shoes? Something weird's going on. I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes. I didn't remember falling asleep. What time was it? I set miss Patches on my bed and try to find mommy or daddy.
There's some light filtering in through the window as I go to their bed. No one's here, though. And I'd have heard them if they were awake. Maybe they both left? Without me? Something didn't make sense.
"Daddy?" I call out, walking back to the front room. "Mommy?" The table had been dumped over, everything that was on it left scattered on the ground. They'd never fought this bad before. I'm glad I'm still wearing my shoes as I notice a shattered plate. I carefully make my way by, over to where I last saw them. They're laying in the floor, among even more broken things. Um... I walk over to daddy and set a hand on his shoulder.
His skin is cold and pale.
He isn't breathing.
I hold my breath and shake him. Please be okay. Nothing's happening. I turn to mommy and try to shake her awake. No. No no no no no. "Mommy?" I yell. "Daddy? Please wake up!" I shout and shake and cry and collapse. None of it helps.
"What did I do?" I whimper. I think back. There was the knife. The Vitorian guy covering his mou- no... The Vitorian vampire, wasn't it? I think he was here because of mister Bently... who was here because...
"Whatever it was," I say through the tears, "I'm sorry."
"Just, please," I say, weakly shaking them.
I can't see through the tears. I told him. I brought a vampire.
I killed them.
I curl up into a ball. "Please wake up," I ask them. "Please wake up," I plead to anyone who will listen. "Please wake up," I tell myself. "Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up."
I don't know how long I stayed like that. It's not like I had anything else to do.
But eventually, I hear voices coming to the door.
"Can't believe you forgot the kid. Especially after all her help."
"The bim had a knife, okay? Needed to ensure this was just a scar."
I scramble away before they open the door. I run for my room, and hold miss Patches tight as I hear them clomp around.
"Gyalla, you didn't even move them. Lucky no one's snooped yet."
"Please. Only person'd find em is the kid. So you find her while I get whatever's left."
I hold my breath. There's nowhere good to hide. I can't get to the door. The window. I should be able to fit. I grab miss Patches and my bag, then sneak over to it. It noisily opens. I hear them hear me. I jump out and crash it closed behind me, then disappear into the early night.
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Post by cyberchronometer on May 27, 2019 4:50:43 GMT
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to be as personally involved with your internship as I'd have liked, Karina. And from what Chief Cheyn tells me, DivRec will be leaving the Arena soon, so this is the end of a phase, at least. So we're going to practice something very important; we call it a debriefing—although Operations sometimes refers to it as an AAR, for After Action Report. We do one after every project or operation. You'll tell me what's happened. We'll evaluate your successes and failures, try to understand why things went the way they did, discuss how you could have handled things differently, and make sure both you and the Initiative learn as much as possible. Finally, I'll decide how much of what happened needs to be kept secret and how much you can tell people about. So, starting with when I left..."Director Rettai Ba'alzur     Legendary Planeswalker — Rettai  : Choose a counter on up to one other target permanent. Put another two of those counters on it.  : Gain control of target permanent until your next turn.  : Target opponent chooses a number. Search your library for a card with converted mana cost not equal to that number, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.  : Draw seven cards. Until end of turn, you may cast spells without paying their mana costs. 
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Post by cajun on May 27, 2019 7:18:00 GMT
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to be as personally involved with your internship as I'd have liked, Karina. And from what Chief Cheyn tells me, DivRec will be leaving the Arena soon, so this is the end of a phase, at least. So we're going to practice something very important; we call it a debriefing—although Operations sometimes refers to it as an AAR, for After Action Report. We do one after every project or operation. You'll tell me what's happened. We'll evaluate your successes and failures, try to understand why things went the way they did, discuss how you could have handled things differently, and make sure both you and the Initiative learn as much as possible. Finally, I'll decide how much of what happened needs to be kept secret and how much you can tell people about. So, starting with when I left..."
“To fully explain, I’ll have to start further back than that.” I sigh heavily. “About nine months ago, I found a hat on Festenya. That red hat I was always wearing all the time. When I wore it, it took over my body and my mind. It brought me here. Until Base Zero attacked me, I was living in… kind of like a dream more than anything. During the fight with Kirino Oblay, she gave me her planeswalker spark, and the hat took it. That night was when I finally tricked the hat and escaped. It planeswalked away after that.”
I blinked away at the tears trying to form. Stay calm. “...And then, I didn’t tell anyone. I was so scared that you’d send me back and I’d lose everything, so I didn’t say anything at first. By the time I told Reyhsia, it was too late. It had already gotten her. It used her to hurt herself, and Chief Cheyn, and the Nisitas, and Officer Lumen, and Rixos Ker, and I don’t even know how many others. All because I didn’t say anything. I know better now. Doctor Arueth had me do a report on previous Class 2 cases to show me how they’ve been handled in the past.”
“The night after, I went to Aiden’s house… to my house. And Aiden was. And.” Breathe. You got this. “He was dead. Detective Rolt was there and acting suspicious, and, especially after talking with him later, I think I acted too aggressively. Too afraid. But he was… he was...”// Karina stops for a few moments and rubs at her eyes before continuing“No one got hurt. No one other than Aiden,” I corrected.
“Later that night, Hannah Delcarlo-Nisita had one of the magic nightmares while she was staying with me. She started choking me during the nightmare, and stopped when she woke up. Hanska Myemii’s talking cat helped us figure out what was going on. I reported to both Chief Cheyn and Doctor Arueth about this. Other than helping the Entelans evacuate, I haven’t heard anything further about that.”
“The day before I left for Entela, a lot of things happened. When purchasing some things from Rixos Ker, I was offered this gauntlet,” I say, pulling it out of my bag, “which Severin assured me was safe, keys that could open any door, and a flute that could control people’s minds. I reported this to Chief Cheyn, who gave me the money to purchase those so we could safely put them into the Vault, without Rixos suspecting the Initiative was involved. I brought Via to Arena Station and reported on the newcomer Khon Vasq, although I am not sure what has happened with them since. That all seemed to go over well, even if it was a bit scary at times.”
“On the day I was supposed to come back to the Arena, Hannah Delcarlo-Nisita, who I had been staying with, told me she needed me to stay a little longer. Her parents were rarely there for her, and she was all alone, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She had been with me for all of that, Malextros, and the hat, and Aiden’s death, and the nightmares, and… I couldn’t leave her. I sent a message to Chief Cheyn and Doctor Arueth that I was staying an extra night. I was given permission by Doctor Arueth’s ‘future self’ to do this, and was given instructions for reporting to him that I carried out. I’m still not sure what that was all about though.”
“Lastly, before I came back, I accidentally planeswalked to… I’m not sure where. There was a building named the Oblay Sanctuary, with my name written on the door. It seemed to have been left for me by someone who claimed to be a friend of a friend from DivEx that I met for a few moments on Entela.”
“I think that’s all of it. I know it hasn’t been the best. But it’s what I’ve done”Karina Oblay has spent 100 Valor and unlocked Twin-SouledKarina, Voiceless Orphan Legendary Creature - Human Hexproof At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card. If you can't, you may exile Karina, Hopeless Orphan, then return her to the battlefield transformed under her owner's control. I've lost everything. Even myself.2/3// Intern Karina Oblay Legendary Planeswalker - Karina When this permanent transforms into Intern Karina Oblay, draw a card for each planeswalker you control. [+1]: Draw a card, then discard a card. You gain 2 life. [-4]: Exile all the cards from your graveyard. You may cast those cards this turn. [2]
Rettai's +1 puts her in ult range, their ults together cast your graveyard, which seems pretty fitting for what's happening here. Karina's omitting Kannah stuff but anything else is some combination of forgetting/not thinking its relevant/timeline shenanigans on my or her end, not hiding things.
Director Rettai Ba'alzur - Rettai does a buncha stuff. which, fitting, though not quite sure where to put him besides superfriends. which, fitting. 9/10 |
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Post by cyberchronometer on May 27, 2019 9:29:29 GMT
cajun — Intern Karina Oblay: Excellent. I love the cast-your-graveyard thing, especially in this context, and the changing colors on flip. 10/10"I'm glad you've learned from your mistakes with the hat, and thank you for what you've told us about it; that's information we can use to protect ourselves and others from it in the future. And you're going to need to work with Dr. Arueth on knowing when to trust and when not to; some paranoia's healthy enough in our line of work but I hear you want to be a DivEx agent, not a DivOps one."
"You said you acted too aggressively in the incident with Mr. Rolt, that you let your fear control you. What specifically did you do that you shouldn't have? Do you have ideas for how you can better master your fear in the future? Being afraid's a good thing—that's your brain telling you you're out of your depth—but knowing how to tell your brain to shut up so you can get things done is also important."
"We've been working with AKH VIA, trading science, and hopefully will be able to help them settle in a new home soon. You did good work, bringing them to us and telling us about them. As for Khon Vasq, I'm afraid we lost track of him in the battle with the nightmares, but Public Relations knows about him and will try to get in contact. I also appreciate your help on the purchases from Mr. Ker and can give you Agent Gould's personal assurance that the keys and flute are safe in our Vault."
"I think you're interacting in... unusual ways... with the Arena's local temporal anomaly. As you may already know, different people come here from different times. Normally, when you leave the Arena, you return to the rest of the Multiverse and the same amount of time passed there as you perceived. But, as best we can tell, you somehow managed to leave to the same time as the Entelans... which put you fourteen years in our future. R&D's looking into it, and may want your help with the project, if you're willing. In any case, you're not in trouble for staying an extra day in Volaria, although we'll need to figure out a suitable and secure way of communicating with you there. We'll also need to discuss exactly what details you can and can't share with your Volarian friends; we like to keep the details of are temporal research closely held. Specifically, the existence of the anomaly is common knowledge. The fact that you partially synchronized with Entelan time is too, although anything you know or we manage to figure out about why should be kept secret for now; don't confirm or deny any speculations, but please report them. And you should make it clear to anyone who's asking about it that these kinds of anomalies can be extremely dangerous. We have researchers who specialize in this sort of thing, but you should strongly encourage anyone else to try to avoid messing with it. Do you understand?"Karina Oblay, Chrononaut  Legendary Planeswalker — Karina : Exile target permanent you control. Return that card to the battlefield under your control at the beginning of the next end step. : Discard a card. If you do, return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.  : Take another turn after this one. Shuffle each Karina planeswalker from your graveyard into your library. 
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Post by cajun on May 27, 2019 10:46:44 GMT
"I'm glad you've learned from your mistakes with the hat, and thank you for what you've told us about it; that's information we can use to protect ourselves and others from it in the future. And you're going to need to work with Dr. Arueth on knowing when to trust and when not to; some paranoia's healthy enough in our line of work but I hear you want to be a DivEx agent, not a DivOps one."
"You said you acted too aggressively in the incident with Mr. Rolt, that you let your fear control you. What specifically did you do that you shouldn't have? Do you have ideas for how you can better master your fear in the future? Being afraid's a good thing—that's your brain telling you you're out of your depth—but knowing how to tell your brain to shut up so you can get things done is also important."
"We've been working with AKH VIA, trading science, and hopefully will be able to help them settle in a new home soon. You did good work, bringing them to us and telling us about them. As for Khon Vasq, I'm afraid we lost track of him in the battle with the nightmares, but Public Relations knows about him and will try to get in contact. I also appreciate your help on the purchases from Mr. Ker and can give you Agent Gould's personal assurance that the keys and flute are safe in our Vault."
"I think you're interacting in... unusual ways... with the Arena's local temporal anomaly. As you may already know, different people come here from different times. Normally, when you leave the Arena, you return to the rest of the Multiverse and the same amount of time passed there as you perceived. But, as best we can tell, you somehow managed to leave to the same time as the Entelans... which put you fourteen years in our future. R&D's looking into it, and may want your help with the project, if you're willing. In any case, you're not in trouble for staying an extra day in Volaria, although we'll need to figure out a suitable and secure way of communicating with you there. We'll also need to discuss exactly what details you can and can't share with your Volarian friends; we like to keep the details of are temporal research closely held. Specifically, the existence of the anomaly is common knowledge. The fact that you partially synchronized with Entelan time is too, although anything you know or we manage to figure out about why should be kept secret for now; don't confirm or deny any speculations, but please report them. And you should make it clear to anyone who's asking about it that these kinds of anomalies can be extremely dangerous. We have researchers who specialize in this sort of thing, but you should strongly encourage anyone else to try to avoid messing with it. Do you understand?"
// Karina's eyes lower a bit
"The next time, I had noticed he seemed to be following me around. Always wearing a hat. And then he started asking questions like Reyhsia did when the hat had her, and I panicked again. I didn't know he had already reached us. I know I can't believe every person in a hat is that hat. He just had too many clues."
"He gave me some advice after that. Try to stay calmer, that not letting the hat know you suspected was better. I've been trying to do that. Keep going even when you're afraid."
// A smile comes to Karina's face as she hears of her successful missions
I wanted to complain that a time spell didn't make any sense, but things had stopped making sense forever ago. What was what more. "I didn't know about a temporal ananamaly," I stumble through the word. "I'd like to help, and I might know something already? Hannah and I went through the tunnel together, and at first, we weren't going to the same place. But we ended up together, and Master Sara said she saw a really big spell that probably came from me? That might count as speculation too... But I still don't know any spells besides planeswalking."
"Okay, so, time works weird on the Arena. Me and Hannah are from different times, but we still met on the Arena. It seems like normally you can't go to other people's times? But for some reason I can go to hers. It's dangerous to try to mess with it. Is that all right?" I frown. "And, it's not dangerous for me to go to Entela with them, is it?" Was everything always going to be dangerous for me?
"Oh, and we do have some way to communicate," I say, holding up my transceiver arm. "Hannah and I have been able to use these even when she's in Entela and I'm here. I don't know if it's good enough for Initiative work, but its something?"Interplanar Connection  Artifact  ,  : Draw a card.  : Draw a card. Activate this ability only once each turn and only if Interplanar Connection is exiled.
plays with the +1, potential fodder for -1. Karina Oblay, Chrononaut - has got to be my favorite title ever, and a good smathering of karina abilities. 9/10 |
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Post by cyberchronometer on May 27, 2019 22:25:13 GMT
cajun — Interplanar Connection: Weird, but functional. Particularly odd how it scales up in big multiplayer games. 9/10"That's a good approach; you've clearly learned from your mistakes. One other lesson I'd add is—don't point a spear at someone you're not willing to stick with it. Intimidation's a wonderful thing but the threat of force you back it up with has to be credible. And Rolt was being an idiot and we chewed him out for it. He gave you good advice, though."
"That's right on the anomaly. No, it doesn't seem dangerous for you to go to Entela, nor for us to interact with the Arena in general. Essentially, as long as you're not trying to take the anomaly apart to figure out how it works, you'll probably be fine. And, if I'm being perfectly honest, we overstate the dangers of time research a bit because the consequences of failing really badly at it are deadly on a scarily large scale."
"The communicator seems likely to work for our purposes. Use it to call the EPIC Outpost here, have them pass on a message to us... good enough. And I very much look forward to having Chief Shizuka's techs work with Master Sara's to get us more reliable access to their technology, eventually."
"Now, Arena Station's being shut down; we'll have an agent or two stationed here permanently but DivRec won't be using the Arena for training anymore. Given your performance thus far... I'd like to invite you to continue your studies with us. You'll spend part of your time on Tena working at our headquarters there and part of your time on a different plane getting a more conventional education. Keep up the good work, and you could be an agent in several years, maybe even Chief or Director someday. So, are you in?"Director Oblay Legendary Planeswalker — Karina : You may activate one of up to one target other planeswalker's abilities this turn as though none of its loyalty abilities have been activated this turn. : Exile the top three cards of your library. Until end of turn, you may play lands and legendary cards exiled this way. : Return target noncreature card from your graveyard to your hand. : For each planeswalker you control, take an extra turn after this one.
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Post by Fleur on May 27, 2019 23:47:24 GMT
There's a book at your doorstep. It's turned to a page titled "Why Knives Are Better Than Spears: A Study".Dagger Supremacy Enchantment - Aura  Enchant creature When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may destroy target artifact with converted mana cost 2 or less. Enchanted creature gets +2/+0 and has first strike.
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 28, 2019 2:17:01 GMT
(Following up from my board. Neottolemo , you'd see this.) My glass cloud shimmers and bubbles as I turn to KirinoKarina.
"And how, praytell, did you get that name? The only Oblay I know was sterile¹, so... what did she offer you, I wonder?"
My cloud coalesces into a maddened collage of colors. Some of them are quite definitely impossible. The geometric pattern shifts and churns and engulfs the pair of us, showing off a idyllic room, with a sick woman lying on the bed. I'm sorry, Bekka, but...
"When will you start regretting that offer? When she makes you kill your parents? Your best friend?"
Constellation of Prisms - Artifact When Constellation of Prisms enters the battlefield, choose a color for each color of mana spent to cast it.Permanents you control and spells you cast are all chosen colors in addition to their own.Spells you cast cost less for each color they have.Activated abilities of permanents you control cost less for each color that permanent has.(Naming Red, Blue, and Green, because...) Thrice-Empty Mattol buys off Evil Twin!
Thrice-Empty Mattol buys Mastery!
Thrice-Empty Mattol buys Multicolor level 1!
"Or has that already happened?"¹ This trait didn't carry over... unless it did. |
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 3:41:14 GMT
"That's a good approach; you've clearly learned from your mistakes. One other lesson I'd add is—don't point a spear at someone you're not willing to stick with it. Intimidation's a wonderful thing but the threat of force you back it up with has to be credible. And Rolt was being an idiot and we chewed him out for it. He gave you good advice, though."
"That's right on the anomaly. No, it doesn't seem dangerous for you to go to Entela, nor for us to interact with the Arena in general. Essentially, as long as you're not trying to take the anomaly apart to figure out how it works, you'll probably be fine. And, if I'm being perfectly honest, we overstate the dangers of time research a bit because the consequences of failing really badly at it are deadly on a scarily large scale."
"The communicator seems likely to work for our purposes. Use it to call the EPIC Outpost here, have them pass on a message to us... good enough. And I very much look forward to having Chief Shizuka's techs work with Master Sara's to get us more reliable access to their technology, eventually."
"Now, Arena Station's being shut down; we'll have an agent or two stationed here permanently but DivRec won't be using the Arena for training anymore. Given your performance thus far... I'd like to invite you to continue your studies with us. You'll spend part of your time on Tena working at our headquarters there and part of your time on a different plane getting a more conventional education. Keep up the good work, and you could be an agent in several years, maybe even Chief or Director someday. So, are you in?" "...don't point a spear at someone you're not willing to stick with it." Well, I still haven't..."Given your performance thus far... I'd like to invite you to continue your studies with us. You'll spend part of your time on Tena working at our headquarters there and part of your time on a different plane getting a more conventional education. Keep up the good work, and you could be an agent in several years, maybe even Chief or Director someday. So, are you in?" "Woah, really?" I did good? They want me to stay?! "I mean... yes! I'm in!"
"Do you know what plane I'll be going to? And where will I be living? I don't exactly have a home if Arena Station's being shut down."Karina Supported Legendary Planeswalker - Karina Karina planeswalkers you control have "Whenever you activate an ability of this planeswalker, put a loyalty counter on another planeswalker you control." [-1]: You gain life equal to the number of loyalty counters on target planeswalker. [-5]: You get an emblem with "Each planeswalker you control enters the battlefield with two additional loyalty counters on it." [3]hokay ready for the storm? :b [+1] Director Oblay, targetting Karina Oblay. Use her [0] twice to protect the Director and Karina Supported, copy it with Hannah to protect herself as well. [-1] Supported, put all three counters on Director Oblay (now at 9 counters) Next turn [-1] Supported (bump Director to 10), [-9] Director Oblay, copy with Hannah, take six extra turns, during which the Karina Time Machine recharges :3 (can also [-3] Karina Oblay to not wait a turn cycle but you do randomly die if you do get disrupted)
this really wants a planeswalker and the only planeswalker Karina's supposed to get in this situation is herself so more Karinas for everyone Director Oblay - wew that ult. -1 smidge underwhelming but this draws friends so should be decent in its home. 9/10 |
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 3:51:11 GMT
There's a book at your doorstep. It's turned to a page titled "Why Knives Are Better Than Spears: A Study".Dagger Supremacy Enchantment - Aura Enchant creature When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may destroy target artifact with converted mana cost 2 or less. Enchanted creature gets +2/+0 and has first strike.  Return target noncreature, nonland permanent to it's owner's hand. Flashback Retrips the trigger for you. This is a gift, right? :b |
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 4:19:39 GMT
My glass cloud shimmers and bubbles as I turn to KirinoKarina.
"And how, praytell, did you get that name? The only Oblay I know was sterile, so... what did she offer you, I wonder?"
My cloud coalesces into a maddened collage of colors. Some of them are quite definitely impossible. The geometric pattern shifts and churns and engulfs the pair of us, showing off a idyllic room, with a sick woman lying on the bed. I'm sorry, Bekka, but...
"When will you start regretting that offer? When she makes you kill your parents? Your best friend?"
"Or has that already happened?"
A voice breaks through my focus. Mister Mattol's voice? Sounded like he remembered now.
"I took that name," I say carefully, "from the woman who saved me from being trapped. I was mind controlled. And would have been stuck even if I could escape. I'd be as good as dead without her."
I shield my eyes from the weird display of colors. Why does it hurt to look at?
"Regretting? What offer? I'd never..."
If you wake up one day and realize that you've broken Hannah's heart to teach her a lesson... don't be surprised.
I sigh and look to him with a frown. "My parents died before I came here. A thing disguised as that," I poke my thumb back to the burning hat, "mind controlled me. She saw through it. Tried to help me escape. So when she died, I took her name." I look around the weird room, my eyes starting to adjust. "She was the closest thing I had to a family in years, and I never even really met her."Explain Away Sorcery Destroy target artifact or enchantment. You gain life equal to its converted mana cost. "You've got it all wrong. Here, let me explain."
Constellation of Prisms - is it cheating to pay GUR with Multi 1 :b so this is basically the whole Pearl Medallion set, plus it works for abilities, plus you can add a few colors for even more reduction on top of all that. cost on this wants a bump. 7/10
(also double checking, Bekka is not Arena!Kirino's old body is it?) |
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Post by cyberchronometer on May 28, 2019 6:54:32 GMT
cajun — Karina Supported: Confusing passive, but I love the combo. 9/10"You'll most likely be studying on Suldefsra, but the finial decision will be Chief Cheyn's; and you'll have a place to stay both there and in our headquarters on Tena. You can talk to her about the details once she's less busy packing this place up. Welcome to the Initiative, for real this time." He shakes her hand, then smiles, and planeswalks away.
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Post by Neottolemo on May 28, 2019 9:37:13 GMT
Hyle looked at her pearl circlet still at Karina's neck and forced herself to speak. "Kirino's hosts are... doomed. The previous one, the woman you and I knew, spoke to me of everything burning down around her, without her being able to do anything about it. She told me she sought a place that was not worth protecting. You lived something like that before, didn't you? I... The woman we knew wasn't Kirino," she tried to convince herself. She was still doubtful of Mattol's words, but the risk to Karina's safety was too great. At the same time, she refused to reject the pleasant memories she had of Kirino's host. "The woman we knew really did die. Kirino was in this for herself. You should live. But eventually, we must find a way to deal with Kirino once and for all. ..."
Enchantment Flash
When a player casts a spell from their hand, sacrifice Impasse. If you do, each of that player’s opponents draws three cards and gains 3 life.
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Post by Neottolemo on May 28, 2019 11:59:07 GMT
forgot to Lady Mapi since Mattol's also still there |
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Post by Fleur on May 28, 2019 14:13:25 GMT
Lift: This works - the restricted permanent types balance it out. I don't like this as instant speed flashback at common, but that's a small quip. 8/10. The book appears inert, but the pages appear to be rustling ever-so-slightly, as though it's alive. They start rustling faster and faster, then they start flipping, until they finally turn back to the same page about knives and spears. A small breeze fills the air. It's not much, but it would be enough to cause some damage to metals and ornaments of all sorts.Sundering Gale Enchantment When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, destroy target artifact or enchantment. , Sacrifice CARDNAME: Create a 5/5 green Elemental creature token with reach. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery spell. It's never just the wind.
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 18:12:32 GMT
Lady MapiHyle looked at her pearl circlet still at Karina's neck and forced herself to speak.
"Kirino's hosts are... doomed. The previous one, the woman you and I knew, spoke to me of everything burning down around her, without her being able to do anything about it. She told me she sought a place that was not worth protecting. You lived something like that before, didn't you? I...The woman we knew wasn't Kirino," she tried to convince herself. She was still doubtful of Mattol's words, but the risk to Karina's safety was too great. At the same time, she refused to reject the pleasant memories she had of Kirino's host.
"The woman we knew really did die. Kirino was in this for herself. You should live. But eventually, we must find a way to deal with Kirino once and for all..."
"I am Karina Oblay. And there is nothing she, or him, or anything else is going to do to stop that."
Lash Back Instant Lash Back deals X damage to target player or planeswalker, where X is twice the number of cards that player or planeswalker's controller has drawn this turn. "Stop thinking and just do something already."
Go ahead, draw all the cards you want :^) Impasse - dunno that this needs Flash but k. White does make it less annoying colorwise for the soft silence. Standstill still a nightmare tho. 7/10
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 28, 2019 18:18:13 GMT
I watch the Trick Hat burn for a bit, the illusions reacting weirdly to the fire and smoke. I can see the wisps of the spell burning away. I wonder...
A voice breaks through my focus. Mister Mattol's voice? Sounded like he remembered now.
"I took that name," I say carefully, "from the woman who saved me from being trapped. I was mind controlled. And would have been stuck even if I could escape. I'd be as good as dead without her."
I shield my eyes from the weird display of colors. Why does it hurt to look at?
"Regretting? What offer? I'd never..."
If you wake up one day and realize that you've broken Hannah's heart to teach her a lesson... don't be surprised.
I sigh and look to him with a frown. "My parents died before I came here. A thing disguised as that," I poke my thumb back to the burning hat, "mind controlled me. She saw through it. Tried to help me escape. So when she died, I took her name." I look around the weird room, my eyes starting to adjust. "She was the closest thing I had to a family in years, and I never even really met her."Explain Away Sorcery Destroy target artifact or enchantment. You gain life equal to its converted mana cost. "You've got it all wrong. Here, let me explain."
Constellation of Prisms - is it cheating to pay GUR with Multi 1 :b so this is basically the whole Pearl Medallion set, plus it works for abilities, plus you can add a few colors for even more reduction on top of all that. cost on this wants a bump. 7/10
(also double checking, Bekka is not Arena!Kirino's old body is it?) (Nope. Arena!Kirino's name was Anne before she "ascended". Bekka!Kirino died after a few years - Mattol actually had a body for that funeral.) "I'm afraid that the woman who helped you probably wasn't Kirino - it was probably the person she was before."
In the room - our room - Bekka's image suddenly (and silently) screamed. Sparks poured from her eyes, setting the bed alight.
"She's insidious like that. She's less like a person and more like a... pattern. An overwhelming hatred for attachments, both good and bad. Freedom at any cost, yeah?"
A phantom of myself ran to the bedside - Bekka backhanded me across the room. The glass supplied a grisly crunch as I hit a wall. The sparks diminished from Bekka's eyes, and she started sobbing. She stood and disappeared in a cloud of sparks.
"So what was your Kirino like? Under the cruelty and the urges? Because that's the person you should be thanking."
A thought struck me.
"And did she get that hat off you before or after she died?"Hateful Imagery - Artifact - At the beginning of each end step, draw a card if an opponent lost 2 or more life this turn. , discard a card: If a player would gain life this turn, instead that player loses that much life. EDIT: Oh, right. Credo of the Ruler wants to see a legendary creature, if you wouldn't mind terribly? Explain Away is a fine little bit of removal. The closest card I can think of to this costs , but it was also from Kamigawa, so... 9/10 |
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 18:52:38 GMT
The book appears inert, but the pages appear to be rustling ever-so-slightly, as though it's alive. They start rustling faster and faster, then they start flipping, until they finally turn back to the same page about knives and spears. A small breeze fills the air. It's not much, but it would be enough to cause some damage to metals and ornaments of all sorts. As an additional cost to cast Off Guard, discard a card. Counter target noncreature spell, activated ability, or triggered ability. "Uh, uh, uh, this! "
Sundering Gale - really awkward that this blows itself up if there's no other targets. the kind-of-backwards-evoke of like a swole Acidic Slime's alright. 7/10 |
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Post by cajun on May 28, 2019 19:35:56 GMT
Hateful Imagery - hmm, maybe 3 life for that payoff, especially for every turn. Active's cool, though is going to be Threat of Activation more than anything (so having the discard there is good) 9/10"I'm afraid that the woman who helped you probably wasn't Kirino - it was probably the person she was before."
In the room - our room - Bekka's image suddenly (and silently) screamed. Sparks poured from her eyes, setting the bed alight.
"She's insidious like that. She's less like a person and more like a... pattern. An overwhelming hatred for attachments, both good and bad. Freedom at any cost, yeah?"
A phantom of myself ran to the bedside - Bekka backhanded me across the room. The glass supplied a grisly crunch as I hit a wall. The sparks diminished from Bekka's eyes, and she started sobbing. She stood and disappeared in a cloud of sparks.
"So what was your Kirino like? Under the cruelty and the urges? Because that's the person you should be thanking."
A thought struck me.
"And did she get that hat off you before or after she died?"
"I don't know what she was like, really. I know she tried to help me escape, but stopped when she saw it was hurting me worse. I know it made the hat scared enough to try to kill her. And after she died, the hat thought it had won. Thought it would get to keep me forever. Was so distracted by its victory that I was able to trick it."
"What about you? Does that sound like your Kirino?"
Karina, the Freed Legendary Creature - Human    : Karina, the Freed phases out. Whenever Karina phases in, choose one — • As you cast your next spell this turn, it gains split second. • Target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. • Simplify target nonland permanent until end of turn. (Simplified permanents lose all abilities and can't have or gain abilities.)2/2
(Simplifying Imagery so you have to commit to the active or I get to gain life during my turn.)
Karina, the Freed has indestructible because of Karina Oblay just remember you asked for this :b
( can be paid with either or by removing a loyalty counter from a white planeswalker you control.)
(While it's phased out, it's treated as though it doesn't exist. It phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)
Is this an overly excessive use of keywords just to get all her spells onto one card? Yes. Does it fit on a card? Also yes.
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Post by Neottolemo on May 28, 2019 19:54:45 GMT
Lady Mapi Hyle looked at her pearl circlet still at Karina's neck and forced herself to speak.
"Kirino's hosts are... doomed. The previous one, the woman you and I knew, spoke to me of everything burning down around her, without her being able to do anything about it. She told me she sought a place that was not worth protecting. You lived something like that before, didn't you? I...The woman we knew wasn't Kirino," she tried to convince herself. She was still doubtful of Mattol's words, but the risk to Karina's safety was too great. At the same time, she refused to reject the pleasant memories she had of Kirino's host.
"The woman we knew really did die. Kirino was in this for herself. You should live. But eventually, we must find a way to deal with Kirino once and for all..."
"I am Karina Oblay. And there is nothing she, or him, or anything else is going to do to stop that."
Lash Back Instant Lash Back deals X damage to target player or planeswalker, where X is twice the number of cards that player or planeswalker's controller has drawn this turn. "Stop thinking and just do something already."
Go ahead, draw all the cards you want :^) Impasse - dunno that this needs Flash but k. White does make it less annoying colorwise for the soft silence. Standstill still a nightmare tho. 7/10 Lash Back: For a one time effect this feels more or less costed appropriatedly. Feels like it could be any target though honestly. 8/10
Hyle's probably still listening to Karina and Mattol by this point so no further response yet
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Post by gurfafflekins on May 28, 2019 20:12:03 GMT
cajun Lady Mapi
We are everywhere and nowhere. There is nothing to be seen, and yet EVERYTHING to be seen. Mattol speaks to the child about the Oblay name. Time ticks and tocks along slowly. We are everywhere, and yet cannot be seen. Hello Karina. Hello Aiden.
We have spent Our power to purchase enchantments.
Ominous Feeling
Enchantment
Artifact spells you or your teammates cast cost less to cast.
Instant spells you or your teammates cost one mana of any color to cast.
"There is no such thing as 'freedom' or 'escape'."
A preemptive strike to assist our favorite glassmancer's next move.
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Post by Fleur on May 28, 2019 22:51:41 GMT
The book remains inert for a moment. But then it planeswalks away.
CARD: Cool variant on the good ol' essence scatter-y thing. 9/10.
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 29, 2019 6:06:28 GMT
I wince at the sparks pouring from the lady in the glass. I had seen Kirino like that not long before she died. Maybe she had been someone else first too? I didn't know her enough to know.
"I don't know what she was like, really. I know she tried to help me escape, but stopped when she saw it was hurting me worse. I know it made the hat scared enough to try to kill her. And after she died, the hat thought it had won. Thought it would get to keep me forever. Was so distracted by its victory that I was able to trick it."
"What about you? Does that sound like your Kirino?"
Karina, the Freed Legendary Creature - Human : Karina, the Freed phases out. Whenever Karina phases in, choose one — • As you cast your next spell this turn, it gains split second. • Target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. • Simplify target nonland permanent until end of turn. (Simplified permanents lose all abilities and can't have or gain abilities.)2/2
(Simplifying Imagery so you have to commit to the active or I get to gain life during my turn.)
Karina, the Freed has indestructible because of Karina Oblay just remember you asked for this :b
( can be paid with either or by removing a loyalty counter from a white planeswalker you control.)
(While it's phased out, it's treated as though it doesn't exist. It phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)
Is this an overly excessive use of keywords just to get all her spells onto one card? Yes. Does it fit on a card? Also yes.
I gestured, and the imagery of the room was replaced by portraits of three women. I couldn't help but make Bekka the most beautiful out of the three. (No, none of them are Arena!Kirino. She didn't exactly hold on to bodies...)
"Bekka and I thought the first one was our friend, to be honest. For a year or two, she was pretty much the main reason we had food on the table. As for Bekka... there are some bad memories there. Let's just say that she almost killed me twice after she was taken. The second time, Kirino was outright trying to use her as a tool to teach me a lesson about letting things happen to me or something."
My voice trembles a bit. The glass wavers, then firms back up.
"That bitch used my wife's body to beat the living shit out of me. Bekka's left arm was broken at the time. I'll admit, I was weak - I fought back to save my own worthless hide. And that's when Kirino jumped bodies. At least I got to hold her while she died."
I couldn't hold back the tears.
"The last time I saw Kirino, she was in a fresh body, walking away from 'her' old home. Which was on fire. She told me that I wouldn't be able to find her. And then she left."
Thrice-Empty Mattol spends 100 Valor to increase his maximum CMC to 5!
"Guess she was wrong, huh. Because I've found her right here."Fractured Timepiece -  Artifact Permanents your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped. Activated abilities that aren't mana abilities cost an additional "tap an untapped permanent you control" to activate. , sacrifice Fractured Timepiece: Target player skips their next untap phase. (I'm sorry, who said I'd give you time to phase in? Credo of the Ruler says that your next card can't reference phasing in or out at all, by the way.) Karina, the Freed is a bit of a mechanical mess - she is turbo-jank utility, in a single card . Thanks entirely to her abilities triggering off phasing in, you'd better have a plan for next turn before you hit that panic button. So... yeah, I dunno. 8/10 |
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Post by cajun on May 29, 2019 6:59:33 GMT
gurfafflekins Lady Mapi Neottolemo Ominous Feeling - Assuming that second ability makes them cost one mana less, not just one mana. type restrictions make me think this is fine at 1UR. 9/10
Fractured Timepiece - "This doesn't do anything against pha-oh that'd do it." Nice control piece, notably doesn't really do anything to a planeswalker cause it can just tap itself without worry. 9/10(ye Karina the Freed was more just having fun carding the one legendary creature she's supposed to be able to make in this position, not necessarily the most mechanically elegant card she can)
// Karina's face looks more and more horrified as Mattol speaks. As he cries, all she can do is cry with him.
Childhood
Sorcery
Destroy all permanents with converted mana cost 4 or greater.
"Everyone who helps me gets hurt. Everyone who loves me dies. Everyone who hates me lives. So why am I still alive?"
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Post by Neottolemo on May 29, 2019 9:04:02 GMT
Hyle is also crying, but silently, standing absolutely still. She hides her tears with a hand, though one of her eyes remains open. She keeps an eye on Mattol, staring through her fingers.
gurfafflekins Lady Mapi I doubt this is going to be relevant but eh, it's still part of the scene so I'm still tagging |
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