Greetings, fellow MtG fans. If you've stopped by, it means that you're interested in my project for a custom block, which focuses on the efforts made by the people of Innistrad to rebuild their world after the tragic events of EMN. As I'm still a beginner to the set-designing business, I sincerely hope that you will stay, check out the cards, and comment on them, as well as on the idea in general. All feedback, even the brutally honest one, is welcomed, as I really need the input of more experienced designers in order to improve.
Who's Tears of Tomorrow?
A writer at heart and a videogame designer in training, I'm a long-time player of MtG, although I only recently started venturing outside the kitchen table and into the competitive side of things. Feeling a genuine, sincere hatred towards Modern, I mainly focus on Standard and especially Commander as my go-to formats. I joined the forum over one year ago and, after a rocky start complicated by university commitments and my eternal health issues, I finally started making a name for myself over the spring and summer of 2018: you might remember me for the Tearful Reviews, if you're a regular visitor of the Vorthos section. With the new year came the decision to finally try my hand at set design... And then the whole EU thing happened, and I found myself with my account and all of my content gone: since there wasn't much about said content that was important to me (the Tearful Reviews being on indefinite hiatus due to, you guessed it, my health problems, I figured I would not contribute to the inevitably huge workload that awaits the admins as they try to fix the situation for the MANY that were hit like me, and instead I just made a new account. Having been a website admin in the past, I know first hand how annoying it can be to have dozens of people begging you to see to their issues: I don't want to be one of those people is all, it's not like the admins are to blame for this anyway.
Why this topic?
As mentioned, I'm a videogame designer in training: a company in my native Italy i grooming potential designers by having them enroll in a pet project of theirs, which is essentially a private mini-college. The project functions through tutors: there's a tutor that follows the aspiring programmers, a tutor that follows the aspiring 3D artists, and a tutor that follows us, the aspiring head designers... And as it happens, our tutors firmly believes that, to be a good videogame designer, one must first be a good game designer, and so he's urged us to try our hand at designing things meant for media other than videogames: thus, this project for a custom MtG block is meant to be my own submission for this assignment, although I'm cheating a bit by having you guys help me out.
To this end, I'd already started a topic, but a) it wasn't as neat and organized as this one, and b) it was deleted as part of the EU thing: rather than pester the admins to have the old topic resurrected, I decided to just take the occasion to start a new, better one. I PRAY that this isn't against the rules, and should this be a grey area, I implore the mods to ponder my instance, before they go ahead and lock this: considering that the old topic was worse than this one, and that restoring it would be more work for the admins in this chaotic contingency, wouldn't it be better to just leave this topic be, and forget the other ever existed? Basically, instead of locking the new one and directing people to the old one, you're letting the new live while the old one stays erased forever: the end result is still that I have only one topic here, as per the rules, and there's also the nice added perk of being less work for the admins.
So, what's the premise of this block?
The idea is to have a set, titled "Seasons of Innistrad" (the object of this very topic), to detail the struggles of the plane's citizens, as the face both the hardships of rebuilding a civilization after a catastrophic event, and the chaos stirred up by those who would undermine the frail, precarious peace that has been achieved between the plane's races. A follow-up set, which will have its own topic, will then recount the efforts of planeswalkers Arlinn and Tamiyo, as they free Sorin from Nahiri's prison and, with his help, identify and confront the mastermind behind the aforementioned attempts at halting the plane's reconstruction and sinking it back into chaos. Since I'm still new at this whole thing, the sets will draw more than a few parallels to the canon Innitrad-based two-sets block (SOI-EMN), hopefully if this goes well, and I get enough feedback that can help me improve, future project will be more creative and feel more unique.
How will updates to this project work, and how often will they be posted?
I will reserve a few posts below: one for each of the five colors, and one for multicolor/colorless (which will include special lands). All the cards in the color white had already been made as part of the old topic, so I will repost them here shortly: red is also very close to being done, so later tonight or tomorrow I will post it. From there, my plan is to post a new color each week, provided I'm not impeded by, you guessed it, my health issues (I've got a chronic condition, I'm doing my best guys). I want it to be VERY clear that none of the cards I'll post are to be considered the ultimate, finished, 100% complete versions: I am more than happy to listen to people's input, feedback, and ideas, and I WILL change things based on criticism I receive as long as it's constructive.
This is all. If I've managed to persuade you to stick around, I hope you'll enjoy my creations and have a good time
THE WHITE CARDS
The efforts of the Order of Saint Traft to preserve peace in the new world, as well as human support, spirit support, aura/equipment support, and the new mechanic Repose are the focus of this color. There's also some stray Investigate, which however will be more prominent in other colors.
Mythic
Thalia, Heiress of Saint Traft 1WW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
First Strike, Vigilance
Noncreature spells cost 1 more to cast. They cost 3 more to cast instead if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
3/2 "This is a holy ground, where our dead rest. You won't profane it with your witchery."
Rare
Angel of Eternal Rest 4WW
Creature - Angel
Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink
// costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
Cards in graveyards can't be the target of spells or abilities.
Permanents can't enter the field from graveyards.
5/5
Benevolent Departed 2W
Creature - Spirit
Flash
Flying
When // enters the battlefield, target Human you control gains Hexproof and Indestructible until end of turn.
2/2 Even in life he had a penchant for dramatic rescues.
Cavalry of Saint Traft 3WW
Ceature - Spirit Knight
Flying
Whenever another Spirit or a Human enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
2/3 "We're here to support your cause. The Blessed Sleep will have to wait."
Grete of the Order of St.Traft 2WW
Creature - Human Soldier
When // attacks, it gains First Strike if another creature you control has First Strike. The same is true for Flying, Vigilance and Lifelink.
4/4 "It's your turn to protect these people. I taught you everything I knew." - Odric, retired marshal
Helpful Volunteer 1W
Ceature - Human Cleric
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may gain 1 life. Then, if you control a black creature, you may transform //.
1/1
(Transforms into Corrupted Profiteer)
In Loving Memory 1WW
Enchantment
Nontoken creatures you control get +1/+1. They get +3/+3 instead if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile. "They worked so hard to help us rebuild our world. We must fight twice as hard so that they can rest in peace." - Thalia
Mysterious Adversary 1W
Sorcery
Exile target Demon or Zombie, and if you do, Investigate a number of times equal to the exiled creature's power. "There seems to be a pattern to the latest activities of demons and necromancers. Who's pulling the strings?" - Tamiyo's notes
Sigarda's Call 2W
Instant
Search your library for a Human creature card, reveal it, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. She stood by them in their hour of need. Now they're going to return the favor.
Altruistic Springsage 3W
Creature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
Repose W (W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, you gain 4 life.
3/3 "One lifetime won't be enough to heal all the suffering in our world."
Archangel's Smile W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has Flying. "When I asked her what flight feels like, she just grabbed me and took off. And I don't know why, but she was smiling." - Arlinn, on Sigarda.
Ascended Soul W
Creature - Spirit
Flying WWW, exile // from your graveyard: put a 4/4 white Angel token with Flying onto the battlefield.
1/1 It's rare, but if a soul is so pure it can channel raw white mana, it might sometimes be reborn as an angel
Ashmouth Watch 1W
Enchantment
Whenever a Demon, Devil or Imp enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, you may sacrifice //. If you do, put a 4/4 Angel token with Flying on the battlefield under your control. "They're stirring again. Send for aerial support."
Banneret of Saint Traft 2W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
As an additional cost to cast //, you may return any number of Spirits you control to their owner's hand. // comes into play with a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card returned this way.
1/2
Cage of Stone 2W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant nonland permanent
Enchanted permanent can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be activated. Trapped in Nahiri's cage, Sorin could only watch his plane die and be reborn.
Joining the Order 2W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each Angel and Human you control, has First Strike, and is a white Soldier in addition to its other types and colors. With Avacyn dead and her church collapsed, the Order of Saint Traft brought hope and protection to the people.
Judgmental Old Folks W
Creature - Human
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you may untap //.
1/1 "Hey come here! Look who's coming!"
Nearheath Priest 1W
Ceature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, put a 1/1 white Spirit token with Flying onto the battlefield.
Repose 1W(1W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, put a 1/1 white Spirit token with Flying onto the battlefield.
1/1 "Go enjoy the Blessed Sleep you've earned. I shall stay behind to watch over your companions."
Order's K-9 Unit 3W
Ceature - Human Soldier
When // enters the battlefield, put a 2/2 green Wolf creature token onto the battlefield.
2/2 "It's... Kind of humiliating. But it's for the greater good." - Pavel of the Silverfur Howlpack
Preparations of the Order 1W
Sorcery
Reveal the top five cards of your library. You may put an Artifact or Enchantment from among them into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. "Hone your blades, ready your wards: we move out."
Proper Burial 1W
Sorcery
Search your library for a creature card with Repose, put that card in your graveyard, then shuffle your deck. "What's the point of following the old rites? Avacyn is dead."
"That's precisely why we must follow them."
Rebuke the Blasphemous 3W
Instant
// costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
Destroy target attacking creature. "How dare you barge into this holy ground like that?" - Hildin, priest of Sigarda
Springsage of the Order 2W
Creature - Human Cleric
First Strike, Vigilance
Prowess
1/3 Most springsages use magic to heal. A few found a more interesting use.
Survivor of Flight Moonsilver 3WW
Creature - Angel Horror
Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink
T: Regenerate target Human
4/4 She kept the tentacle as a constant reminder of what happened when she turned her back on humanity.
United We Stand 2W - NO I'M NOT CHANGING THIS CARD'S NAME, FIGHT ME RNA
Instant
Until end of turn, each creature you control gets +1/+1 for each creature you control that doesn't share a creature type with it. In the face of total annihilation, all races of Innistrad rallied together.
Common
Archangel's Presence 1W
Instant
Untap up to two target attacking creatures and remove them from combat. "L-lady Sigarda? N-no, of course we weren't looking to start a fight!" Uthbert, bandit chieftain
Barrier of Grafstones 3W
Creature - Wall
Defender
Sacrifice //: Counter target spell or ability that targets a card in a graveyard.
0/5 With the activities of ghoulcallers on the rise again, the people of Gavony started taking precautions.
Captain of the Order 3W - Holy functional reprint, Inspiring Captain!
Creature - Human Knight
When // enters the battlefield, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
3/3 "Don't scatter! Let's stick together and launch a counterattack!"
Day of Hope 2WW
Sorcery
Put a +1/+1 counter on each of two target creatures you control. Thalia insisted Alena's and Halana's marriage should be a public affair, arguing it would be good for the citizens' morale.
Dove of Good Omen 1W
Creature - Bird
Flying
1/2 The fact that they bear no sign of Eldrazi corruption is what constitutes the good omen.
Hallow 2W
Sorcery
Exile target artifact or enchantment. Draw a card. An entire division of the Order consisted of priests, whose task was to prepare the burial grounds and remove anything from it that could disturb the deceased's rest.
Herald of Saint Traft 4WW
Creature - Spirit
Flying, Vigilance
T: You may put a Spirit creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
4/4 Where he goes, the ghostly armies of Saint Traft soon follow.
Playful Geist 3W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
When // enters the battlefield, you may attach target Aura or Equipment to target creature you control.
2/2 "Ok, who hid my rapier?" Rem Karolus, retired inquisitor
Rigorous Training 2W
Sorcery
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature for each Equipment attached to it. "You need to train way harder than this, if you want to wield that spear without my help" Saint Traft, to Thalia
Sanctified Undertaker 1W
Creature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, reveal the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.
Repose 1W (1W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, reveal the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.
2/2
Springsage's Blessing W
Instant
You gain 5 life Sigarda's springsages kept working to heal the scars, be them physical or mental, left in Emrakul's wake
Stray Dog W
Creature - Hound
Double Strike
1/1 "THAT is a dog. I'm a werewolf. Learn the bloody difference." - Rahilda, Vildin-pack Alpha
Veteran Inspector W
Creature - Human Soldier
When // enters the battlefield, investigate.
Repose 2W
When you repose //, investigate.
1/1 "Retire? Pah! I'd rather die on the job!"
So, I'm going to ask straight away the question that is most important to me, as I really value you guys' opinion here. Even without telling you about the details of the (very simplistic, as that is not the main focus of this exercise) plot, and even without providing details on the flavor and reasoning behind each card, am I managing to get those across just with the names of the cards, their effects and, most importantly, the flavor texts?
First off, your double faced cards are not really apparent. I missed that you even had any until i saw the (transforms into Corrupted Profiteer)under Helpful Volunteer, but no stats for the transformed side. You should look for at least 1 DFC common you can add so they appear a little more regularly.
Repose has templating problems and needs to be reworked. If it is an ability word, you need to not refer to it in rules text, even of the ability:
Repose - 1W, exile this card from your graveyard: reveal the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard. ReposeActivate this ability only as a sorcery.
Ability words (like Landfall or Delerium) don't actually have any interaction with the rules, which is why they are in italics like flavor text. This also means that your card that searches for a creature with Repose would not work.
If you want it to be a proper keyword, should separate the cost and effect:
Altruistic Springsage 3W
Creature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
Repose W(W:Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, gain 4 life.
3/3
"One lifetime won't be enough to heal all the suffering in our world."
This does a couple of things for you.
(a) Cards can interact with it, like your search card.
(b) It can be printed without the reminder text on complicated cards to save space.
And Ascended Soul should have Repose, but it doesn't even though its ability is 99% the same.
The "This card costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile" probably should be marked with an ability word, though I think your rate is a little high; maybe two creature cards instead of four. I like this as an ability in 1-2 non-white colors to create synergy in draft.
A few individual cards have issues of either power level (Order's K-9 Unit is too strong for an uncommon, and probably for a rare. Needs to be 3W at least) or gameplay (Ashmouth Watch is either a dead card, or its super over powered if Demons/Devil/Imps are a major theme in other colors. Should either be rare, or be uncommon and sacrifice itself when triggered.)
Flavorwise, with only one color up at this time, I get some sense of the recovery theme in the story, but little else that sets it apart from the previous Innistrad sets. There's just not much to go on.
I do think the cardname "Order's K-9 Unit" is a bit anachronistic. Probably should be "Order's Hound Unit" or "Order's Tracking Hounds" or something like that.
It is, actually, I sincerely thank you. Allow me to address your points individually:
1) I have literally one double-faced card in the color white, and it is Helpful Volunteer. Corrupted Profiteer, its other face, is black, so I'll post it when I post the black cards: I had actually made a note clarifying this in the old version of this topic, but I forgot to include it this time around. When I get around to posting the red cards (might take longer than originally planned due to health getting worse again + IRL project due in 3 days I need to finish) you'll see quite a lot more of those.
2) I didn't know the bit about ability words not interacting with rules: learning this kind of stuff is the main reason why I started this project to begin with, after all. I shall rework it into a keyword ability, then.
3) I hear your points concerning the power of a few cards, and I shall make changes accordingly. In addition to the two you already mentioned, is there any other you'd like to address?
4) And concerning the flavor yeah, I know there's a lot of overlap with SOI-EMN, which causes this project to not feel like the most original, most creative thing ever. That was intentional on my part: in order to achieve my goal, I need to learn BOTH the subtleties of balanced set design AND how to craft a compelling, interesting, unique flavor... But life experiences have taught me that trying to learn two things at the same time often leads to mastering neither: so for now I'm focusing on becoming good at the former, since I still have a lot to learn on that front, while keeping the latter as simplistic and straightforward as possible. I specifically chose a post-Emrakul Innstrad set as my first endeavor, because such a set could have a basi plotline put together with zero effort. If the feedback get on this project is enough to make me improve at the set design part, for my next project I'll put more effort and focus on having a unique, compelling story.
That said, I'm off making some edits to the white cards in accordance to your suggestions. Check back in a few minutes to see the changes
EDIT: changes made!
You should put the Dual-faced cards with their other halves, so that they can be read together. Especially if there is a color change, having to scan around for another card when you are trying to figure out how the front and back half interact is inconvenient.
You should also ask the question of how the DFCs would appear in booster packs. Is this like Shadows where each pack has a dedicated slot for a common and slot for uncommon/rare? Is it like Ixalan or Origins where there are only a few at high rarities that replace normal rares in the pack? (I don't recommend that, it wouldn't feel like Innistrad without a significant number of DFCs) Do you simply place them in pack like they are normal cards? (Being a custom set, the restrictions of printing and collation aren't something you need to be concerned with, unless you want to.)
Since Repose is keyworded now, you should consider at least one card that triggers off reposing. This would be a good pointer card for drafting to indicate which two color pair should be leaning on that ability. I'm guessing green; that just feels like the color repose would fit best in with white.
For example.
Repose Dude 2GW
Creature - Whatever
Vigilance
Whenever you Repose a card in your graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on //
2/2
Mechanically, I really do like the reduced cost for exiled creatures as a mini theme in Red, ans investigate can connect white to blue if you want a different theme in those colors than the other innistrad blocks.
The challenge with doing Innistrad is the dual color tribal Spirits/Zombies/Vampires/Werewolves/Humans are ties intrinsically to the world, so its very hard to design a set with new themes and flavors and still have it "feel" like Innistrad. You'll want to use those creature types in their colors, but minimize the tribal interactions if you want to design gameplay in other areas.
Theme/flavorwise, you can touch on some of the regrowth/healing in Green cards, and rebuilding in Blue and White. Black would try to capitalize on the destruction to gain power. Red is the hardest, but as red thrives in Chaos it will probably be the color that changes its behavior the least before/during/after the turmoil.
I like the project, Tears. It's a cool idea, and you've generally done well so far. They are all very flavorful.
Though, there are some individual cards that I saw that I suggest you change:
-Herald of Saint Traft, while a very cool card [I'd love this for my O-Kagachi Spirit tribal edh deck!], is not really a common. With the big body, keywords, and lord-like ability, it should probably be a rare.
-Similarly, Survivor of Flight Moonsilver should be a rare, and if her non-keyword ability was any better, a mythic. Compare it to other Angels [Adarkar, Invention, Thune, and Lyra]. Gisela should not be the main comparison, as it's out of the traditional angel curve, too efficient.
-Banneret of Saint Traft is not too bad itself; but the name doesn't fit well. 'Banneret's in MtG are always cost reducers, or more recently, critters that continue the 'support other creatures' theme. BoST currently just supports itself, and even removes your other creatures. Unless you have a bunch of CIP-effect Spirits in this set, more Spirits in MtG's history sac or die for an effect, rather than CIP.
Private Mod Note
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ANNUTIA - A new plane, filled with inter-realm rivalries, higher technology, and the looming threat of war.
our tutors firmly believes that, to be a good videogame designer, one must first be a good game designer, and so he's urged us to try our hand at designing things meant for media other than videogames: thus, this project for a custom MtG block is meant to be my own submission for this assignment
It looks like you've already started to get some good feedback on your project. I think before i dig into card by card designs for you, i thought it might be good to cover some basics. Based on what you described, the goal of this project is the intent to practice game design? You may have already done this, but if you haven’t I recommend taking a structured approach at worldbuilding and establishing a timeline of goals.
1. What is the premise of the set?
Starting at the beginning is establishing all aspects of the premise of the game design. What do you want Seasons of Innistrad to do? What are the goals that you want the design of this set to deliver on for the players of this game? What is the intended gameplay flow, is it an aggressive format, a synergy based format, designed for limited play, designed for constructed play, Etc, Etc? Is it top down and the precedence of the design is in flavor of the cards vs a specific flow of the mechanics, or vise versa? Answering all of these questions should box in the design so that you basically have a skeleton blueprint for what you are going to create. It's easy to skip this step, but it will ensure you aren't walking back in later step after you realize you forgot to address one of these large picture questions. If you can answer all of these types of questions with ease you will always know what the smaller details are meant to be playing to, and how well smaller aspects of the project are living up to their intended potential. This is the big picture, and without it, its easy to get lost.
2. In what ways will the mechanics deliver on the premise?
At the next level down in view, what are the primary gameplay mechanics that are being incorporated? Do they support the vision of the set at large? This is the question that looks at the gameplay environment more closely. It's the checkpoint to determine if details make sense. In example, it asks if whether dredge is properly supporting your artifacts matter set. In this example I would say it absolutely does not. So it’s here that you have mentally explore whether you are setting up the game environment to succeed at communicating to your audience what you wanted to accomplish at stage 1. On the other side of that coin, you have to ask, are the mechanics and flavor of the set aligning and representing the world with cohesion? Whenever designing, or creating, or directing, it’s important to keep in mind, you can’t control how other people are going to ‘interpret’ what you create. What you can control is what focus you give them. It’s all about painting out what you don’t want your audience looking at, and painting in what you do. This ends up being the line that breaks good direction from bad direction. The more focused the design and direction, the more closely you can steer your audience’s focus on what you want them to see. Mechanics and flavor wrap up what comprises stage 2. The first stage asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you how you are going to direct your audience to see it.
3. How do the details bring to life the premise?
This is the final level of detail, where card by card designs should be analyzed. Before getting here you should understand the world with crystal clarity. The proper mechanics should have been explored, and support that vision. Each card design should breath life into that vision, and together as a whole create a cohesive environment. The devil’s in the details, so even at this point the card by card details can make or break all the work that has been put into the design. But skipping stages 1 and 2 will countermine much of the effort to craft cohesion. Stage 1 asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you to design and direct that vision. Stage 3 is what asks you to execute on that design and vision. This is where the bulk of the work is done.
I have a feeling your instructor will generally agree with laying out a path through the design. Even when you don’t have deadlines, it’s good to establish expectations for when milestones should be accomplished. Discovery is in the journey, and even though you know where you are going to end up, there’s a lot of miles between where you are and where you’ll end up, and on that path there is a lot of room to find the unexpected. And if you feel you’ve already accomplished these stages, then I’d be happy to dive right in and start looking over the environment.
It was brought up about tribal being a large part of Innistrad. Rosewater talks a lot about how return sets in Magic need to strike a balance between what’s old and expected, and what’s new and different. Since tribes have been a big part of innistrad paying attention to what you want to return is important. Tension between the humans and whatever threat you want to bounce them against should play a big part in the flavor behind the mechanics. Regardless, since you’re crafting a return to, rather than a new IP, keeping in mind balancing new with old will end up being something your direction is judged against.
Best of luck on this project. I look forward to seeing the complete set.
Private Mod Note
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Easy Dude. You're being very un-Dude.
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Who's Tears of Tomorrow?
A writer at heart and a videogame designer in training, I'm a long-time player of MtG, although I only recently started venturing outside the kitchen table and into the competitive side of things. Feeling a genuine, sincere hatred towards Modern, I mainly focus on Standard and especially Commander as my go-to formats. I joined the forum over one year ago and, after a rocky start complicated by university commitments and my eternal health issues, I finally started making a name for myself over the spring and summer of 2018: you might remember me for the Tearful Reviews, if you're a regular visitor of the Vorthos section. With the new year came the decision to finally try my hand at set design... And then the whole EU thing happened, and I found myself with my account and all of my content gone: since there wasn't much about said content that was important to me (the Tearful Reviews being on indefinite hiatus due to, you guessed it, my health problems, I figured I would not contribute to the inevitably huge workload that awaits the admins as they try to fix the situation for the MANY that were hit like me, and instead I just made a new account. Having been a website admin in the past, I know first hand how annoying it can be to have dozens of people begging you to see to their issues: I don't want to be one of those people is all, it's not like the admins are to blame for this anyway.
Why this topic?
As mentioned, I'm a videogame designer in training: a company in my native Italy i grooming potential designers by having them enroll in a pet project of theirs, which is essentially a private mini-college. The project functions through tutors: there's a tutor that follows the aspiring programmers, a tutor that follows the aspiring 3D artists, and a tutor that follows us, the aspiring head designers... And as it happens, our tutors firmly believes that, to be a good videogame designer, one must first be a good game designer, and so he's urged us to try our hand at designing things meant for media other than videogames: thus, this project for a custom MtG block is meant to be my own submission for this assignment, although I'm cheating a bit by having you guys help me out.
To this end, I'd already started a topic, but a) it wasn't as neat and organized as this one, and b) it was deleted as part of the EU thing: rather than pester the admins to have the old topic resurrected, I decided to just take the occasion to start a new, better one. I PRAY that this isn't against the rules, and should this be a grey area, I implore the mods to ponder my instance, before they go ahead and lock this: considering that the old topic was worse than this one, and that restoring it would be more work for the admins in this chaotic contingency, wouldn't it be better to just leave this topic be, and forget the other ever existed? Basically, instead of locking the new one and directing people to the old one, you're letting the new live while the old one stays erased forever: the end result is still that I have only one topic here, as per the rules, and there's also the nice added perk of being less work for the admins.
So, what's the premise of this block?
The idea is to have a set, titled "Seasons of Innistrad" (the object of this very topic), to detail the struggles of the plane's citizens, as the face both the hardships of rebuilding a civilization after a catastrophic event, and the chaos stirred up by those who would undermine the frail, precarious peace that has been achieved between the plane's races. A follow-up set, which will have its own topic, will then recount the efforts of planeswalkers Arlinn and Tamiyo, as they free Sorin from Nahiri's prison and, with his help, identify and confront the mastermind behind the aforementioned attempts at halting the plane's reconstruction and sinking it back into chaos. Since I'm still new at this whole thing, the sets will draw more than a few parallels to the canon Innitrad-based two-sets block (SOI-EMN), hopefully if this goes well, and I get enough feedback that can help me improve, future project will be more creative and feel more unique.
How will updates to this project work, and how often will they be posted?
I will reserve a few posts below: one for each of the five colors, and one for multicolor/colorless (which will include special lands). All the cards in the color white had already been made as part of the old topic, so I will repost them here shortly: red is also very close to being done, so later tonight or tomorrow I will post it. From there, my plan is to post a new color each week, provided I'm not impeded by, you guessed it, my health issues (I've got a chronic condition, I'm doing my best guys). I want it to be VERY clear that none of the cards I'll post are to be considered the ultimate, finished, 100% complete versions: I am more than happy to listen to people's input, feedback, and ideas, and I WILL change things based on criticism I receive as long as it's constructive.
This is all. If I've managed to persuade you to stick around, I hope you'll enjoy my creations and have a good time
The efforts of the Order of Saint Traft to preserve peace in the new world, as well as human support, spirit support, aura/equipment support, and the new mechanic Repose are the focus of this color. There's also some stray Investigate, which however will be more prominent in other colors.
Mythic
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
First Strike, Vigilance
Noncreature spells cost 1 more to cast. They cost 3 more to cast instead if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
3/2
"This is a holy ground, where our dead rest. You won't profane it with your witchery."
Rare
Creature - Angel
Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink
// costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
Cards in graveyards can't be the target of spells or abilities.
Permanents can't enter the field from graveyards.
5/5
Benevolent Departed 2W
Creature - Spirit
Flash
Flying
When // enters the battlefield, target Human you control gains Hexproof and Indestructible until end of turn.
2/2
Even in life he had a penchant for dramatic rescues.
Cavalry of Saint Traft 3WW
Ceature - Spirit Knight
Flying
Whenever another Spirit or a Human enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
2/3
"We're here to support your cause. The Blessed Sleep will have to wait."
Grete of the Order of St.Traft 2WW
Creature - Human Soldier
When // attacks, it gains First Strike if another creature you control has First Strike. The same is true for Flying, Vigilance and Lifelink.
4/4
"It's your turn to protect these people. I taught you everything I knew." - Odric, retired marshal
Helpful Volunteer 1W
Ceature - Human Cleric
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may gain 1 life. Then, if you control a black creature, you may transform //.
1/1
(Transforms into Corrupted Profiteer)
In Loving Memory 1WW
Enchantment
Nontoken creatures you control get +1/+1. They get +3/+3 instead if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
"They worked so hard to help us rebuild our world. We must fight twice as hard so that they can rest in peace." - Thalia
Mysterious Adversary 1W
Sorcery
Exile target Demon or Zombie, and if you do, Investigate a number of times equal to the exiled creature's power.
"There seems to be a pattern to the latest activities of demons and necromancers. Who's pulling the strings?" - Tamiyo's notes
Sigarda's Call 2W
Instant
Search your library for a Human creature card, reveal it, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it.
She stood by them in their hour of need. Now they're going to return the favor.
Thalia's Lieutenant
"Our order welcomes, supports, and empower everyone."
Uncommon
Creature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, you gain 4 life.
Repose W (W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, you gain 4 life.
3/3
"One lifetime won't be enough to heal all the suffering in our world."
Archangel's Smile W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant Creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has Flying.
"When I asked her what flight feels like, she just grabbed me and took off. And I don't know why, but she was smiling." - Arlinn, on Sigarda.
Ascended Soul W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
WWW, exile // from your graveyard: put a 4/4 white Angel token with Flying onto the battlefield.
1/1
It's rare, but if a soul is so pure it can channel raw white mana, it might sometimes be reborn as an angel
Ashmouth Watch 1W
Enchantment
Whenever a Demon, Devil or Imp enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, you may sacrifice //. If you do, put a 4/4 Angel token with Flying on the battlefield under your control.
"They're stirring again. Send for aerial support."
Banneret of Saint Traft 2W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
As an additional cost to cast //, you may return any number of Spirits you control to their owner's hand. // comes into play with a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card returned this way.
1/2
Cage of Stone 2W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant nonland permanent
Enchanted permanent can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be activated.
Trapped in Nahiri's cage, Sorin could only watch his plane die and be reborn.
Humble the Brute
"That was uncalled for." - Arlinn
Joining the Order 2W
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each Angel and Human you control, has First Strike, and is a white Soldier in addition to its other types and colors.
With Avacyn dead and her church collapsed, the Order of Saint Traft brought hope and protection to the people.
Judgmental Old Folks W
Creature - Human
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you may untap //.
1/1
"Hey come here! Look who's coming!"
Nearheath Priest 1W
Ceature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, put a 1/1 white Spirit token with Flying onto the battlefield.
Repose 1W(1W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, put a 1/1 white Spirit token with Flying onto the battlefield.
1/1
"Go enjoy the Blessed Sleep you've earned. I shall stay behind to watch over your companions."
Order's K-9 Unit 3W
Ceature - Human Soldier
When // enters the battlefield, put a 2/2 green Wolf creature token onto the battlefield.
2/2
"It's... Kind of humiliating. But it's for the greater good." - Pavel of the Silverfur Howlpack
Preparations of the Order 1W
Sorcery
Reveal the top five cards of your library. You may put an Artifact or Enchantment from among them into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
"Hone your blades, ready your wards: we move out."
Proper Burial 1W
Sorcery
Search your library for a creature card with Repose, put that card in your graveyard, then shuffle your deck.
"What's the point of following the old rites? Avacyn is dead."
"That's precisely why we must follow them."
Rebuke the Blasphemous 3W
Instant
// costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile.
Destroy target attacking creature.
"How dare you barge into this holy ground like that?" - Hildin, priest of Sigarda
Springsage of the Order 2W
Creature - Human Cleric
First Strike, Vigilance
Prowess
1/3
Most springsages use magic to heal. A few found a more interesting use.
Survivor of Flight Moonsilver 3WW
Creature - Angel Horror
Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink
T: Regenerate target Human
4/4
She kept the tentacle as a constant reminder of what happened when she turned her back on humanity.
United We Stand 2W - NO I'M NOT CHANGING THIS CARD'S NAME, FIGHT ME RNA
Instant
Until end of turn, each creature you control gets +1/+1 for each creature you control that doesn't share a creature type with it.
In the face of total annihilation, all races of Innistrad rallied together.
Common
Instant
Untap up to two target attacking creatures and remove them from combat.
"L-lady Sigarda? N-no, of course we weren't looking to start a fight!" Uthbert, bandit chieftain
Barrier of Grafstones 3W
Creature - Wall
Defender
Sacrifice //: Counter target spell or ability that targets a card in a graveyard.
0/5
With the activities of ghoulcallers on the rise again, the people of Gavony started taking precautions.
Captain of the Order 3W - Holy functional reprint, Inspiring Captain!
Creature - Human Knight
When // enters the battlefield, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
3/3
"Don't scatter! Let's stick together and launch a counterattack!"
Day of Hope 2WW
Sorcery
Put a +1/+1 counter on each of two target creatures you control.
Thalia insisted Alena's and Halana's marriage should be a public affair, arguing it would be good for the citizens' morale.
Dove of Good Omen 1W
Creature - Bird
Flying
1/2
The fact that they bear no sign of Eldrazi corruption is what constitutes the good omen.
Hallow 2W
Sorcery
Exile target artifact or enchantment. Draw a card.
An entire division of the Order consisted of priests, whose task was to prepare the burial grounds and remove anything from it that could disturb the deceased's rest.
Herald of Saint Traft 4WW
Creature - Spirit
Flying, Vigilance
T: You may put a Spirit creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
4/4
Where he goes, the ghostly armies of Saint Traft soon follow.
Playful Geist 3W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
When // enters the battlefield, you may attach target Aura or Equipment to target creature you control.
2/2
"Ok, who hid my rapier?" Rem Karolus, retired inquisitor
Rigorous Training 2W
Sorcery
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature for each Equipment attached to it.
"You need to train way harder than this, if you want to wield that spear without my help" Saint Traft, to Thalia
Sanctified Undertaker 1W
Creature - Human Cleric
When // enters the battlefield, reveal the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.
Repose 1W (1W: Exile this card from your graveyard. Repose only as a sorcery.)
When you repose //, reveal the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.
2/2
Springsage's Blessing W
Instant
You gain 5 life
Sigarda's springsages kept working to heal the scars, be them physical or mental, left in Emrakul's wake
Stray Dog W
Creature - Hound
Double Strike
1/1
"THAT is a dog. I'm a werewolf. Learn the bloody difference." - Rahilda, Vildin-pack Alpha
Veteran Inspector W
Creature - Human Soldier
When // enters the battlefield, investigate.
Repose 2W
When you repose //, investigate.
1/1
"Retire? Pah! I'd rather die on the job!"
Repose has templating problems and needs to be reworked. If it is an ability word, you need to not refer to it in rules text, even of the ability:
Ability words (like Landfall or Delerium) don't actually have any interaction with the rules, which is why they are in italics like flavor text. This also means that your card that searches for a creature with Repose would not work.
If you want it to be a proper keyword, should separate the cost and effect:
This does a couple of things for you.
(a) Cards can interact with it, like your search card.
(b) It can be printed without the reminder text on complicated cards to save space.
And Ascended Soul should have Repose, but it doesn't even though its ability is 99% the same.
The "This card costs 2 less to cast if 4 or more creature cards you own are in exile" probably should be marked with an ability word, though I think your rate is a little high; maybe two creature cards instead of four. I like this as an ability in 1-2 non-white colors to create synergy in draft.
A few individual cards have issues of either power level (Order's K-9 Unit is too strong for an uncommon, and probably for a rare. Needs to be 3W at least) or gameplay (Ashmouth Watch is either a dead card, or its super over powered if Demons/Devil/Imps are a major theme in other colors. Should either be rare, or be uncommon and sacrifice itself when triggered.)
Flavorwise, with only one color up at this time, I get some sense of the recovery theme in the story, but little else that sets it apart from the previous Innistrad sets. There's just not much to go on.
I do think the cardname "Order's K-9 Unit" is a bit anachronistic. Probably should be "Order's Hound Unit" or "Order's Tracking Hounds" or something like that.
I hope that feedback is helpful.
1) I have literally one double-faced card in the color white, and it is Helpful Volunteer. Corrupted Profiteer, its other face, is black, so I'll post it when I post the black cards: I had actually made a note clarifying this in the old version of this topic, but I forgot to include it this time around. When I get around to posting the red cards (might take longer than originally planned due to health getting worse again + IRL project due in 3 days I need to finish) you'll see quite a lot more of those.
2) I didn't know the bit about ability words not interacting with rules: learning this kind of stuff is the main reason why I started this project to begin with, after all. I shall rework it into a keyword ability, then.
3) I hear your points concerning the power of a few cards, and I shall make changes accordingly. In addition to the two you already mentioned, is there any other you'd like to address?
4) And concerning the flavor yeah, I know there's a lot of overlap with SOI-EMN, which causes this project to not feel like the most original, most creative thing ever. That was intentional on my part: in order to achieve my goal, I need to learn BOTH the subtleties of balanced set design AND how to craft a compelling, interesting, unique flavor... But life experiences have taught me that trying to learn two things at the same time often leads to mastering neither: so for now I'm focusing on becoming good at the former, since I still have a lot to learn on that front, while keeping the latter as simplistic and straightforward as possible. I specifically chose a post-Emrakul Innstrad set as my first endeavor, because such a set could have a basi plotline put together with zero effort. If the feedback get on this project is enough to make me improve at the set design part, for my next project I'll put more effort and focus on having a unique, compelling story.
That said, I'm off making some edits to the white cards in accordance to your suggestions. Check back in a few minutes to see the changes
EDIT: changes made!
You should also ask the question of how the DFCs would appear in booster packs. Is this like Shadows where each pack has a dedicated slot for a common and slot for uncommon/rare? Is it like Ixalan or Origins where there are only a few at high rarities that replace normal rares in the pack? (I don't recommend that, it wouldn't feel like Innistrad without a significant number of DFCs) Do you simply place them in pack like they are normal cards? (Being a custom set, the restrictions of printing and collation aren't something you need to be concerned with, unless you want to.)
Since Repose is keyworded now, you should consider at least one card that triggers off reposing. This would be a good pointer card for drafting to indicate which two color pair should be leaning on that ability. I'm guessing green; that just feels like the color repose would fit best in with white.
For example.
Repose Dude 2GW
Creature - Whatever
Vigilance
Whenever you Repose a card in your graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on //
2/2
Mechanically, I really do like the reduced cost for exiled creatures as a mini theme in Red, ans investigate can connect white to blue if you want a different theme in those colors than the other innistrad blocks.
The challenge with doing Innistrad is the dual color tribal Spirits/Zombies/Vampires/Werewolves/Humans are ties intrinsically to the world, so its very hard to design a set with new themes and flavors and still have it "feel" like Innistrad. You'll want to use those creature types in their colors, but minimize the tribal interactions if you want to design gameplay in other areas.
Theme/flavorwise, you can touch on some of the regrowth/healing in Green cards, and rebuilding in Blue and White. Black would try to capitalize on the destruction to gain power. Red is the hardest, but as red thrives in Chaos it will probably be the color that changes its behavior the least before/during/after the turmoil.
Though, there are some individual cards that I saw that I suggest you change:
-Herald of Saint Traft, while a very cool card [I'd love this for my O-Kagachi Spirit tribal edh deck!], is not really a common. With the big body, keywords, and lord-like ability, it should probably be a rare.
-Similarly, Survivor of Flight Moonsilver should be a rare, and if her non-keyword ability was any better, a mythic. Compare it to other Angels [Adarkar, Invention, Thune, and Lyra]. Gisela should not be the main comparison, as it's out of the traditional angel curve, too efficient.
-Banneret of Saint Traft is not too bad itself; but the name doesn't fit well. 'Banneret's in MtG are always cost reducers, or more recently, critters that continue the 'support other creatures' theme. BoST currently just supports itself, and even removes your other creatures. Unless you have a bunch of CIP-effect Spirits in this set, more Spirits in MtG's history sac or die for an effect, rather than CIP.
It looks like you've already started to get some good feedback on your project. I think before i dig into card by card designs for you, i thought it might be good to cover some basics. Based on what you described, the goal of this project is the intent to practice game design? You may have already done this, but if you haven’t I recommend taking a structured approach at worldbuilding and establishing a timeline of goals.
1. What is the premise of the set?
Starting at the beginning is establishing all aspects of the premise of the game design. What do you want Seasons of Innistrad to do? What are the goals that you want the design of this set to deliver on for the players of this game? What is the intended gameplay flow, is it an aggressive format, a synergy based format, designed for limited play, designed for constructed play, Etc, Etc? Is it top down and the precedence of the design is in flavor of the cards vs a specific flow of the mechanics, or vise versa? Answering all of these questions should box in the design so that you basically have a skeleton blueprint for what you are going to create. It's easy to skip this step, but it will ensure you aren't walking back in later step after you realize you forgot to address one of these large picture questions. If you can answer all of these types of questions with ease you will always know what the smaller details are meant to be playing to, and how well smaller aspects of the project are living up to their intended potential. This is the big picture, and without it, its easy to get lost.
2. In what ways will the mechanics deliver on the premise?
At the next level down in view, what are the primary gameplay mechanics that are being incorporated? Do they support the vision of the set at large? This is the question that looks at the gameplay environment more closely. It's the checkpoint to determine if details make sense. In example, it asks if whether dredge is properly supporting your artifacts matter set. In this example I would say it absolutely does not. So it’s here that you have mentally explore whether you are setting up the game environment to succeed at communicating to your audience what you wanted to accomplish at stage 1. On the other side of that coin, you have to ask, are the mechanics and flavor of the set aligning and representing the world with cohesion? Whenever designing, or creating, or directing, it’s important to keep in mind, you can’t control how other people are going to ‘interpret’ what you create. What you can control is what focus you give them. It’s all about painting out what you don’t want your audience looking at, and painting in what you do. This ends up being the line that breaks good direction from bad direction. The more focused the design and direction, the more closely you can steer your audience’s focus on what you want them to see. Mechanics and flavor wrap up what comprises stage 2. The first stage asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you how you are going to direct your audience to see it.
3. How do the details bring to life the premise?
This is the final level of detail, where card by card designs should be analyzed. Before getting here you should understand the world with crystal clarity. The proper mechanics should have been explored, and support that vision. Each card design should breath life into that vision, and together as a whole create a cohesive environment. The devil’s in the details, so even at this point the card by card details can make or break all the work that has been put into the design. But skipping stages 1 and 2 will countermine much of the effort to craft cohesion. Stage 1 asks you to see the big picture. Stage 2 asks you to design and direct that vision. Stage 3 is what asks you to execute on that design and vision. This is where the bulk of the work is done.
I have a feeling your instructor will generally agree with laying out a path through the design. Even when you don’t have deadlines, it’s good to establish expectations for when milestones should be accomplished. Discovery is in the journey, and even though you know where you are going to end up, there’s a lot of miles between where you are and where you’ll end up, and on that path there is a lot of room to find the unexpected. And if you feel you’ve already accomplished these stages, then I’d be happy to dive right in and start looking over the environment.
It was brought up about tribal being a large part of Innistrad. Rosewater talks a lot about how return sets in Magic need to strike a balance between what’s old and expected, and what’s new and different. Since tribes have been a big part of innistrad paying attention to what you want to return is important. Tension between the humans and whatever threat you want to bounce them against should play a big part in the flavor behind the mechanics. Regardless, since you’re crafting a return to, rather than a new IP, keeping in mind balancing new with old will end up being something your direction is judged against.
Best of luck on this project. I look forward to seeing the complete set.
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