In this thread, some very mundane commons and uncommons!
Today I'm showing you the races for Oezte, the wonderland/neverland/oz plane. So no big rares or legends, just a few concepts to show the tribes support simple cards (this is not a tribal set by the way.)
---
In Oezte, humans live in a long but narrow strip of land, the eastern coast of the huge continent. To the west is the Uncanny, a land that is impossible to chart and and reconcile. Humans fear it, and think all other races are simply 'beast men' cursed by the uncanny. Elves are fox-men, leonin are cat-men, goblins are mole-men, etc. The story protagonist is a human farmer girl, Consu, but I won't talk much about her here.
Fearful GuardW
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Whenever an opponent casts a non-Human creature spell, tap Fearful Guard. "It's easy to be brave in formation, but a long night staring at the uncanny can unnerve the most steadfast."
2/1
--
The rest of the races live in isolated cities scattered in the wilds. Since the Uncanny shifts constantly, the nearest city or landmark may be more or less difficult to find on a given day, or be totally gone overnight.
--
Leonin live in segregated societies. All females are G (hunters), all males are W (farms and courts.) One exception is Barro, a male leonin bard who broke the hunting taboo for males, and was cursed and exiled. (And then joins the quest of Consu.)
Skilled Huntress1G
Creature - Cat Warrior (U)
Trample
Skilled Huntress has prowess as long as you control a mountain or an island. "Through the traditions passed from mothers to daughters, we become part of the natural cycle. All killing outside of the cycle is aberrant."
2/2
--
Scarecrows are an 'undeadish' race of the uncanny, living in dark towns (halloween-like.) A scarecrow lives for about eighty years, until their insides crumble to dust and they die. Then their skin must be stitched over one or two corpses, who reanimate into new scarecrows with new personalities and a few memories of skin and corpse. Most of these corpses are consenting elves, who like the idea of an afterlife of sorts (all elf cities forbid this though.) Still, scarecrow alleys can be dangerous for the living.
Alley Grafter2B
Creature - Scarecrow Rogue (C) B: Return Alley Grafter from your graveyard to your hand. Activate this ability only if a creature an opponent controls died this turn.
2/1
--
Some people who don't fear scarecrow grafting are ginnies, a race of djinns whose bodies sublimate shortly after death. Also called the smoke drifters, ginnies embody the wanderlust, the call of the uncanny. All ginnies are nomads that travel alone or in caravans. They are welcome in most cities (except human cities of course, and in some of the more reclusive elf cities) as traders, tinkerers, teachers, healers, entertainers, or sorcerers. Ginnies use smoke magic to defend their caravans (smoke guardians and traps.)
Caravan Summoner4U
Creature - Djinn Wizard (C)
When Caravan Summoner enters the battlefield, create a 2/1 blue Elemental creature token with "Whenever this attacks, scry 1."
2/3
--
Elves in Oezte occupy the full color spectrum usually reserved for humans (since humans have very few cards.) Elf cities have many different color alignments, and citizens mostly follow them. You can find elf wizards, elf soldiers, elf rogues (all monocolor), in addition to the usual elf druids. Two particular elves are Ull, a very powerful monoblue Wizard (Consu must seek his tower for information), and Nat, the monored leader of a tribe of feral elf kids called 'thorns' (Nat also joins the party.)
Reckless Thorn1R
Creature - Elf Warrior (C)
Haste
Pay 1 life: Reckless Thorn gains Menace until end of turn.
2/1
--
Godmothers are a Angel Fairies with wings that look like semi-transparent cloth. Godmothers search for future 'champions of good' and become mentors of prospective youngsters. Most races consider their philosophies pretty alien though, and try to shield youngsters from catching the eye of a godmother.
Judge of Worth4W
Creature - Angel Fairy (U)
Flying
When Judge of Worth enters the battlefield, up to one target creature you control gets +2/+2 and lifelink until end of turn. At the beginning of the end step, return that creature to its owner's hand.
3/3
--
Fevre Lords are the evil counterparts of Godmothers. Banished into the nightmare realm centuries ago, they invade the dreams of youngsters, trying to recruit champions to get a foothold on the real world. Fevre Lords take the forms of charming males of any race, except for the most powerful among them, the Fevre Queen.
Fevre Tormentor5B
Creature - Demon Nightmare (U)
Deathtouch
When Fevre Tormentor the battlefield, gain control of target creature an opponent controls for as long as you control Fevre Tormentor. That creature can't attack or block.
3/3
The races of Oezte (even humans) know that repeating nightmares are very dangerous to children. Those scared to go to sleep must be warded with light. If a fevre lord wears down and breaks a victim's mind (usually a lost child who can't be warded), they turn into a Somber. These unfortunates live on with their minds trapped in violent nightmares of the fevre lord's devising.
An army of sombers looks much like an army of zombies, except they are living, and ever screaming at the scary illusions that propel them forward.
Lost Child1B
Creature - Human Somber (C)
Lost Child attacks each turn if able. "The most horrible part of defending against a somber attack... is how you can tell they only defend against a violent mirage."
2/3
--
Buzzers are a tribe of giant philosopher insects (think 3 meter (10ft) nantukos). There are mantis, moths, grubs, beetles, ants, with varying degrees of humanization. The tribe can create new members by manipulating any insect with magic, but they prefer to maintain their numbers. The original buzzers were also created magically by a wizard. They spend their days arguing about morality (most are bant, but they can be all five colors), and training their bodies (healthy body healthy mind.)
They'll mentor Consu in magic and swordplay after one of their seers a particularly respected elder declares her as someone with a worthy, interesting, and quite novel point of view of ethics..
Moth Swordlass2W
Creature - Insect Soldier (C)
Flying
Whenever Moth Sworlass attacks, you may untap target creature with a +1/+1 counter on it.
2/2
--
Goblins in Oezte have diverged into two races, Goblin Moles and Goblin Merfolk. Both live under the surface, and have bioluminescent spots in their foreheads.
Flow Navigator1U
Creature - Goblin Merfolk (C)
Flow Navigator can't be blocked if you scried two or more cards this turn.
2/1
Goblin Moles need to be tough to survive in the undermaze, a labyrinth of ancient roots that lies under all of Oezte. These roots are the remnants of titanic forests that were wiped out in an ancient cataclysm.
Root Digger2R
Creature - Goblin Mole (C)
Haste
Root Digger has +1/+1 if you casted another creature spell this turn.
2/2
Goblin Moles fight thallids, wurms, and most dangerous of all, giant Dryad Horrors. These are surviving dryads of ancient titanic trees, living dormant and corrupted, until blood awakens them.
Two additional creature types Consu meets in her travels - Knits are armored centaurs with bodies of threaded silk. Lints are sentient fuzzballs who accompany them as magic support (and are usually the brains of the operation.) Both races are servants of the Weaver Queen, a powerful elf who rules a dark city.
Knit Lancer3G
Creature - Knight (C)
Trample
4/3
Poisonous FuzzB
Creature - Lint (C)
Sacrifice Poisonous Fuzz: Target creature gets +1/+1 and deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2
--
In Oezte the set, there is a small bias to the GB -> BR -> RU -> UW -> WG color combinations (nowhere near as big as in Rtr or Gpt.) This bias is not linked to any particular race, but to the factions of the five queens. These are:
The Five Queens
The Frost Queen (UW): A Godmother with some human ancestry, commanding ice powers. After a personal tragedy, she's given up on 'adultkind' and rules a city of kidnapped children in the tundra. She has kidnapped Consu's friend Peco, which started Consu's quest. The Vagabond Queen (UR): An immortal ginni of great power who travels the Uncanny using many guises. Some ginnis know how to contact her in case of great danger to Oezte. The Fevre Queen (RB): The most powerful fevre lord, and the only who can coordinate their efforts. She has secretly corrupted the heir of the weaver queen. The Weaver Queen (GB): The ruler of a a dark elven city. This is a title passed through a bloodline (with a few Weaver Kings in the past.) The Wood Queen (GW): After the cataclysm, a single titanic tree survived, shielded by a mountain. Its spirit is the only sane and benevolent dryad remaining in Oezte. The tree is now an open elven city.
Nonartifact scarecrows, how interesting. Honestly, the flavor you give them seems more zombie-like than anything else, being reanimated corpses and all. Characteristics of individual creatures types do vary across planes, but being constructs on one plane and undead on another is a huge leap. They also don't have much in common with the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, but that's something else entirely.
Caravan Summoner is extremely complex for a common due to its token. Different power and toughness, a different type from its creator, and a non-keyword ability all add up to something very strange. I can't think of any with all three of those characteristics. How many Djinn will utilize this token?
On the scarecrows, I said 'undeadish' because by being born from a corpse, they do feel zombie-like, but I would say they are more like parasites. Sure, they borrow the bones and muscles to move around, but they are magically born after grafting (much like Aetherborn are born adults.) And while they retain some memories from body and skin, they have new personalities and identities (not just a mixture) so it's just a borrowing of ideas too. I think there is enough leeway in planar identities for living scarecrows in a plane. Especially in a one that feels 'uncanny.' See: Bottle GnomesQuarum Trench GnomesSlag Fiend
On wizard of oz, yes, a scarecrow character named Juna joins Consu's party, but she doesn't resemble the scarecrow character in attitude (she's actually a B assassin character that joins hoping to betray them later... but then grows attached to Consu.) By the way, Barro is not a cowardly lion either. Oxi, the golem character, may resemble its inspiration more, in that it gains a heart (not literally... we already have Karn for that, haha.)
On the elemental tokens, I see them as the thopter tokens of M15. All are 2/1, a few ginnis make them, spells do too, and the scry 1 on attack helps to trigger the "If you scried x or more cards this turn" effects in Oezte (see a sample on the goblin merfolk), though probably not every turn (unless you are really winning by a landslide anyway.)
Thrulls are a canon example of a creature type created from corpses that is not a Zombie, so we can be flexible there. And Scarecrows are clearly much more complex. We already have canon Scarecrows incorporating bones and skulls and antlers, which are not considered Skeleton creature type. I am especially fond of the flavor of this tribe and think it's far above the others as an original take. Really the Scarecrows are the most intriguing tribe here.
I think describing them as 'undeadish' is your big mistake. If you hadn't brought up that term it might not even come up from a proper description of what they are.
Elves especially inherented the Human trait of seeming generic with the access to all colors. It would probably serve to give a little more insight into them than just name-dropping one tribe. To really understand the thorn you need to contrast them with the other elves.
Fairly disappointed to see a philosopher race of bugs to have to resort to the cliche narrative device of seer/prophecised person of interest. It seems lovers of knowledge would base their mentoring more on an appreciation of a willing student and a personal acknowledgement of potential rather than bowing to the opinion of an outstanding individual that makes a declaration that cannot be reasoned by their fellows.
It seems if they are arguing philosophy a declaration from authority shouldn't be their role. Unless there is a section of them that argues the simple ethics of "everyone the seer says is good".
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Guilty as charged! Revised edition:
-- they decide to mentor Consu after a particularly respected elder declares her as someone with a worthy, interesting, and quite novel point of view of ethics.
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Today I'm showing you the races for Oezte, the wonderland/neverland/oz plane. So no big rares or legends, just a few concepts to show the tribes support simple cards (this is not a tribal set by the way.)
---
In Oezte, humans live in a long but narrow strip of land, the eastern coast of the huge continent. To the west is the Uncanny, a land that is impossible to chart and and reconcile. Humans fear it, and think all other races are simply 'beast men' cursed by the uncanny. Elves are fox-men, leonin are cat-men, goblins are mole-men, etc. The story protagonist is a human farmer girl, Consu, but I won't talk much about her here.
Fearful Guard W
Creature - Human Soldier (C)
Whenever an opponent casts a non-Human creature spell, tap Fearful Guard.
"It's easy to be brave in formation, but a long night staring at the uncanny can unnerve the most steadfast."
2/1
--
The rest of the races live in isolated cities scattered in the wilds. Since the Uncanny shifts constantly, the nearest city or landmark may be more or less difficult to find on a given day, or be totally gone overnight.
--
Leonin live in segregated societies. All females are G (hunters), all males are W (farms and courts.) One exception is Barro, a male leonin bard who broke the hunting taboo for males, and was cursed and exiled. (And then joins the quest of Consu.)
Skilled Huntress 1G
Creature - Cat Warrior (U)
Trample
Skilled Huntress has prowess as long as you control a mountain or an island.
"Through the traditions passed from mothers to daughters, we become part of the natural cycle. All killing outside of the cycle is aberrant."
2/2
--
Scarecrows are an 'undeadish' race of the uncanny, living in dark towns (halloween-like.) A scarecrow lives for about eighty years, until their insides crumble to dust and they die. Then their skin must be stitched over one or two corpses, who reanimate into new scarecrows with new personalities and a few memories of skin and corpse. Most of these corpses are consenting elves, who like the idea of an afterlife of sorts (all elf cities forbid this though.) Still, scarecrow alleys can be dangerous for the living.
Alley Grafter 2B
Creature - Scarecrow Rogue (C)
B: Return Alley Grafter from your graveyard to your hand. Activate this ability only if a creature an opponent controls died this turn.
2/1
--
Some people who don't fear scarecrow grafting are ginnies, a race of djinns whose bodies sublimate shortly after death. Also called the smoke drifters, ginnies embody the wanderlust, the call of the uncanny. All ginnies are nomads that travel alone or in caravans. They are welcome in most cities (except human cities of course, and in some of the more reclusive elf cities) as traders, tinkerers, teachers, healers, entertainers, or sorcerers. Ginnies use smoke magic to defend their caravans (smoke guardians and traps.)
Caravan Summoner 4U
Creature - Djinn Wizard (C)
When Caravan Summoner enters the battlefield, create a 2/1 blue Elemental creature token with "Whenever this attacks, scry 1."
2/3
--
Elves in Oezte occupy the full color spectrum usually reserved for humans (since humans have very few cards.) Elf cities have many different color alignments, and citizens mostly follow them. You can find elf wizards, elf soldiers, elf rogues (all monocolor), in addition to the usual elf druids. Two particular elves are Ull, a very powerful monoblue Wizard (Consu must seek his tower for information), and Nat, the monored leader of a tribe of feral elf kids called 'thorns' (Nat also joins the party.)
Reckless Thorn 1R
Creature - Elf Warrior (C)
Haste
Pay 1 life: Reckless Thorn gains Menace until end of turn.
2/1
--
Godmothers are a Angel Fairies with wings that look like semi-transparent cloth. Godmothers search for future 'champions of good' and become mentors of prospective youngsters. Most races consider their philosophies pretty alien though, and try to shield youngsters from catching the eye of a godmother.
Judge of Worth 4W
Creature - Angel Fairy (U)
Flying
When Judge of Worth enters the battlefield, up to one target creature you control gets +2/+2 and lifelink until end of turn. At the beginning of the end step, return that creature to its owner's hand.
3/3
--
Fevre Lords are the evil counterparts of Godmothers. Banished into the nightmare realm centuries ago, they invade the dreams of youngsters, trying to recruit champions to get a foothold on the real world. Fevre Lords take the forms of charming males of any race, except for the most powerful among them, the Fevre Queen.
Fevre Tormentor 5B
Creature - Demon Nightmare (U)
Deathtouch
When Fevre Tormentor the battlefield, gain control of target creature an opponent controls for as long as you control Fevre Tormentor. That creature can't attack or block.
3/3
The races of Oezte (even humans) know that repeating nightmares are very dangerous to children. Those scared to go to sleep must be warded with light. If a fevre lord wears down and breaks a victim's mind (usually a lost child who can't be warded), they turn into a Somber. These unfortunates live on with their minds trapped in violent nightmares of the fevre lord's devising.
An army of sombers looks much like an army of zombies, except they are living, and ever screaming at the scary illusions that propel them forward.
Lost Child 1B
Creature - Human Somber (C)
Lost Child attacks each turn if able.
"The most horrible part of defending against a somber attack... is how you can tell they only defend against a violent mirage."
2/3
--
Buzzers are a tribe of giant philosopher insects (think 3 meter (10ft) nantukos). There are mantis, moths, grubs, beetles, ants, with varying degrees of humanization. The tribe can create new members by manipulating any insect with magic, but they prefer to maintain their numbers. The original buzzers were also created magically by a wizard. They spend their days arguing about morality (most are bant, but they can be all five colors), and training their bodies (healthy body healthy mind.)
They'll mentor Consu in magic and swordplay after
one of their seersa particularly respected elder declares her as someone with a worthy, interesting, and quite novel point of view of ethics..Moth Swordlass 2W
Creature - Insect Soldier (C)
Flying
Whenever Moth Sworlass attacks, you may untap target creature with a +1/+1 counter on it.
2/2
--
Goblins in Oezte have diverged into two races, Goblin Moles and Goblin Merfolk. Both live under the surface, and have bioluminescent spots in their foreheads.
Flow Navigator 1U
Creature - Goblin Merfolk (C)
Flow Navigator can't be blocked if you scried two or more cards this turn.
2/1
Goblin Moles need to be tough to survive in the undermaze, a labyrinth of ancient roots that lies under all of Oezte. These roots are the remnants of titanic forests that were wiped out in an ancient cataclysm.
Root Digger 2R
Creature - Goblin Mole (C)
Haste
Root Digger has +1/+1 if you casted another creature spell this turn.
2/2
Goblin Moles fight thallids, wurms, and most dangerous of all, giant Dryad Horrors. These are surviving dryads of ancient titanic trees, living dormant and corrupted, until blood awakens them.
Rot Bloom 2BB
Creature - Dryad Horror (C)
Menace, Deathtouch
3/3
--
Two additional creature types Consu meets in her travels - Knits are armored centaurs with bodies of threaded silk. Lints are sentient fuzzballs who accompany them as magic support (and are usually the brains of the operation.) Both races are servants of the Weaver Queen, a powerful elf who rules a dark city.
Knit Lancer 3G
Creature - Knight (C)
Trample
4/3
Poisonous Fuzz B
Creature - Lint (C)
Sacrifice Poisonous Fuzz: Target creature gets +1/+1 and deathtouch until end of turn.
1/2
--
In Oezte the set, there is a small bias to the GB -> BR -> RU -> UW -> WG color combinations (nowhere near as big as in Rtr or Gpt.) This bias is not linked to any particular race, but to the factions of the five queens. These are:
The Five Queens
The Frost Queen (UW): A Godmother with some human ancestry, commanding ice powers. After a personal tragedy, she's given up on 'adultkind' and rules a city of kidnapped children in the tundra. She has kidnapped Consu's friend Peco, which started Consu's quest.
The Vagabond Queen (UR): An immortal ginni of great power who travels the Uncanny using many guises. Some ginnis know how to contact her in case of great danger to Oezte.
The Fevre Queen (RB): The most powerful fevre lord, and the only who can coordinate their efforts. She has secretly corrupted the heir of the weaver queen.
The Weaver Queen (GB): The ruler of a a dark elven city. This is a title passed through a bloodline (with a few Weaver Kings in the past.)
The Wood Queen (GW): After the cataclysm, a single titanic tree survived, shielded by a mountain. Its spirit is the only sane and benevolent dryad remaining in Oezte. The tree is now an open elven city.
Caravan Summoner is extremely complex for a common due to its token. Different power and toughness, a different type from its creator, and a non-keyword ability all add up to something very strange. I can't think of any with all three of those characteristics. How many Djinn will utilize this token?
On the scarecrows, I said 'undeadish' because by being born from a corpse, they do feel zombie-like, but I would say they are more like parasites. Sure, they borrow the bones and muscles to move around, but they are magically born after grafting (much like Aetherborn are born adults.) And while they retain some memories from body and skin, they have new personalities and identities (not just a mixture) so it's just a borrowing of ideas too. I think there is enough leeway in planar identities for living scarecrows in a plane. Especially in a one that feels 'uncanny.' See: Bottle Gnomes Quarum Trench Gnomes Slag Fiend
On wizard of oz, yes, a scarecrow character named Juna joins Consu's party, but she doesn't resemble the scarecrow character in attitude (she's actually a B assassin character that joins hoping to betray them later... but then grows attached to Consu.) By the way, Barro is not a cowardly lion either. Oxi, the golem character, may resemble its inspiration more, in that it gains a heart (not literally... we already have Karn for that, haha.)
On the elemental tokens, I see them as the thopter tokens of M15. All are 2/1, a few ginnis make them, spells do too, and the scry 1 on attack helps to trigger the "If you scried x or more cards this turn" effects in Oezte (see a sample on the goblin merfolk), though probably not every turn (unless you are really winning by a landslide anyway.)
I think describing them as 'undeadish' is your big mistake. If you hadn't brought up that term it might not even come up from a proper description of what they are.
Elves especially inherented the Human trait of seeming generic with the access to all colors. It would probably serve to give a little more insight into them than just name-dropping one tribe. To really understand the thorn you need to contrast them with the other elves.
Fairly disappointed to see a philosopher race of bugs to have to resort to the cliche narrative device of seer/prophecised person of interest. It seems lovers of knowledge would base their mentoring more on an appreciation of a willing student and a personal acknowledgement of potential rather than bowing to the opinion of an outstanding individual that makes a declaration that cannot be reasoned by their fellows.
It seems if they are arguing philosophy a declaration from authority shouldn't be their role. Unless there is a section of them that argues the simple ethics of "everyone the seer says is good".
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
-- they decide to mentor Consu after a particularly respected elder declares her as someone with a worthy, interesting, and quite novel point of view of ethics.