In my custom set of Shazar, Dancers are of course a major tribal theme, associated with Dances which they can perform. Dancing on Shazar is used to augment various forms of magic, represented with my Perform keyword on instants and sorceries with the Dance subtype. Dancers themselves have abilites that trigger whenever they perform Dances, though after some dicussion in the Perform topic I'm considering altering that to just performing in general or simply making them trigger whenever they become tapped (so there is synergy between Dances and Dancers, but not overly parasitic synergy).
Traditionally, a harem was the chamber in a residence where wives, concubines, and mothers lived. It has of course come to be known as "the place where the pretty girls in revealing bedlahs are gathered" in pop culture fiction, and regardless of one's stance on that particular trope, there is no denying it enjoys a certain popularity even today.
Another little bit of trivia: Traditionally, female performers of raqs sharqi or baladi usually performed the dance around each other rather than for male audiences. It's thought to have been a form of exercise, perhaps to ease childbearing, and a form of social bonding among women.
A third bit of trivia: The revealing style of outfit associated with modern belly dancers was created by Badia Masabni, who was inspired by glamorous Hollywood costuming. So while the revealing bedlah isn't traditional Middle Eastern, it was created by a Middle Eastern woman.
I opted to mix historical fact with pop culture resonance, and so Shazari Dancers reside together in harems much like how real life performers might share a dressing room or trailer. Thus, Dancers' Harem is meant to be for Dancers what Haven of the Spirit Dragon is for Dragons and what Ally Encampment is for Allies.
Dancers' Harem
Land T: Add C. T: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast Dancer creature spells. 1, T: Untap target Dancer you control.
Shazari Dancers usually wear colorful bedlahs made from chiffon silk, and decorated with jewelry. Sometimes dancers will also wear veils to add to their air of allure and mystique.
Bejeweled Bedlah1
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature is a Dancer in addition to its other types and has "T: Add one mana of any color.
Equip 2
Dancer's Veil1
Artifact - Equipment
When ~ enters the battlefield, attach it to target Dancer you control.
Equipped creature has hexproof. 1
Shazari Dancers and their harems can be tempting targets for thieves and other unwanted guests, so they often hire guards to protect them and their possessions.
Harem Guard1W
Creature - Human Soldier
~ gets +1/+1 and has vigilance as long as you control a Dancer. Harems are forbidden to all but the dancers who reside within.
2/2
I would intend for Dancers to be a WUBRG tribe, focused mainly in blue and red since Dances are instants and sorceries, thus I would want there to be at least one legendary Dancer with a WUBRG identity for Commander players.
Shai-La, Bejeweled Beauty2UR
Legendary Creature - Human Dancer
Whenever ~ becomes tapped, you may pay WUBRG. If you do, look at the top five cards of your library. For each card type, you may reveal a card of that type and put it into your hand, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. (Artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, sorcery, planeswalker, and land are card types.)
3/3
I also like the idea of a Dance instructor who not only rewards Dancers performing Dances but can also turn other creatures into Dancers as well.
Dance Instructor2U
Creature - Human Dancer
Whenever a Dancer you control performs a Dance, you may draw a card. U, T: Put an instruction counter on another target creature you control. That creature becomes a Dancer in addition to its other types.
2/2
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Traditionally, a harem was the chamber in a residence where wives, concubines, and mothers lived. It has of course come to be known as "the place where the pretty girls in revealing bedlahs are gathered" in pop culture fiction, and regardless of one's stance on that particular trope, there is no denying it enjoys a certain popularity even today.
Another little bit of trivia: Traditionally, female performers of raqs sharqi or baladi usually performed the dance around each other rather than for male audiences. It's thought to have been a form of exercise, perhaps to ease childbearing, and a form of social bonding among women.
A third bit of trivia: The revealing style of outfit associated with modern belly dancers was created by Badia Masabni, who was inspired by glamorous Hollywood costuming. So while the revealing bedlah isn't traditional Middle Eastern, it was created by a Middle Eastern woman.
I opted to mix historical fact with pop culture resonance, and so Shazari Dancers reside together in harems much like how real life performers might share a dressing room or trailer. Thus, Dancers' Harem is meant to be for Dancers what Haven of the Spirit Dragon is for Dragons and what Ally Encampment is for Allies.
Dancers' Harem
Land
T: Add C.
T: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast Dancer creature spells.
1, T: Untap target Dancer you control.
Bejeweled Bedlah 1
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature is a Dancer in addition to its other types and has "T: Add one mana of any color.
Equip 2
Dancer's Veil 1
Artifact - Equipment
When ~ enters the battlefield, attach it to target Dancer you control.
Equipped creature has hexproof.
1
Shazari Dancers and their harems can be tempting targets for thieves and other unwanted guests, so they often hire guards to protect them and their possessions.
Harem Guard 1W
Creature - Human Soldier
~ gets +1/+1 and has vigilance as long as you control a Dancer.
Harems are forbidden to all but the dancers who reside within.
2/2
I would intend for Dancers to be a WUBRG tribe, focused mainly in blue and red since Dances are instants and sorceries, thus I would want there to be at least one legendary Dancer with a WUBRG identity for Commander players.
Shai-La, Bejeweled Beauty 2UR
Legendary Creature - Human Dancer
Whenever ~ becomes tapped, you may pay WUBRG. If you do, look at the top five cards of your library. For each card type, you may reveal a card of that type and put it into your hand, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. (Artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, sorcery, planeswalker, and land are card types.)
3/3
I also like the idea of a Dance instructor who not only rewards Dancers performing Dances but can also turn other creatures into Dancers as well.
Dance Instructor 2U
Creature - Human Dancer
Whenever a Dancer you control performs a Dance, you may draw a card.
U, T: Put an instruction counter on another target creature you control. That creature becomes a Dancer in addition to its other types.
2/2
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.