Ruinous Chasm
Land {R}
Cumulative Upkeep: Sacrifice a Land
When you would put Ruinous Chasm from the battlefield into the graveyard, you lose the game.
t:Each player sacrifices a land. If a player has no lands, that player loses the game.
The chasm swallowed everything around it, friend and foe alike. It spread like a cancer across the face of Phyrexia.
The Physician's Choice1BW
Enchantment (R)
As The Physician's Choice enters the battlefield, choose Rules or Consequences:
Rules - You cannot sacrifice creatures and effects cannot cause you to sacrifice creatures.
Consequences - Sacrifice a creature: regenerate each creature you control.
Where will your precious ethics be, I wonder, when everything falls apart? Whose lives are more important? What will you choose, good doctor? Can you choose?
Oops, I forgot about the 100 hand titans. I may have assumed Hundred Hands was "Greek Bodhisvatta" haha.
Reviews
I'm going to be a bit more brief this time.
Sephon19
Kunmangwag, the Prismatic
I'm a big sucker for 5 color things, and in this case it makes a lot of sense as a creator myth. Also the idea of it kind of swooping in and enhancing all of its creations is quite cool
Cardz5000
Valen, The War King
Interesting take on the Amonkhet mechanic, but this flavorwise if it seems a bit off. Sitting back and making other people fight doesn't seem to fit a BWR "War King" 7/4. Perhaps a ruler (or even a non-creature palace type thing) with many champions in UW or W would have made a bit more sense.
TheRavenManIsSquee
Mischievous Cow
Originality points, as cows are basically always life givers, farmers, or strength symbols in mythology. However, the card really should be blue given the trickster, flipping coins, and shuffling cards.
LnGrrrR
Laughing Coyote
I actually like this card a lot. It's simple, but it tells the story well even without any flavor text. It has a very Native American feel which I'm currently a fan of as well.
Mergatroid_Jones
Fjelkir the Skald
I really like the idea of a legendary bard, and the putting a saga into play is very thematic. Getting cards from the graveyard is a nice touch (retelling history). The card is a bit overcomplicated though, it may have been preferable for him to create a Saga on ETB.
Subject16
Odunos Raptors
I actually forgot the stymphalian birds were swamp-dwelling, and the flavor here is quite nice. Also I imagine the artwork for such a card could be really interesting. All around a nice card.
Mr.Rithaniel
Trua, the First Guardian
The name is a nice touch, and the design is quite interesting (there aren't many 5/2 defenders). Overall a solid card that serves its story well.
TotallyHaywirer
Flittering Sneeze
Interesting that people could have developed a positive superstition regarding sneezes; I suppose Theros must have been quite resistant to disease! Having a faerie cause them is very much in line, and the effect works well, especially since it's global.
void_nothing
Clamorous Aftmun
I think this one has the best story potential out of all of them, just because it actually introduces an original myth in the flavor text. Initially I thought this would win, but I'm not really sure how to relate a hairy wolf giant who controls the weather to the actual card effect, which seems more like a momentary delay or inconvenience. Perhaps I am missing the reference here.
Winner:
Winner: TotallyHaywire
Overall the sneeze ability was too thematically appropriate with the flavor text to pass up.
Honorable mention to Laughing Coyote , which was almost as good as a complete card (also I wanted to make a super hero magic card), and to Clamorous Aftmun, which would make a great addition to an actual story.
IIW: Use an existing mechanic in a new or unusual way
Original Mythological Creatures: Basically make a creature/hero that seems like it's from a Greek or Norse or Egyptian or whatever mythological tradition but doesn't actually already exist. Examples in magic would be the Chromanticore, or all of Theros block.
Speaking to the above, yeah more Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and less Triad of Fates (Play on a mythological concept vs. the actual Fates from Greek Myth). For creatures, more Hundred-Handed One or Pharika's Mender and less Adarkar Valkyrie (which could literally just be called Valkyrie). Don't worry too much about avoiding references to real mythology though, as long as it's not an actual direct pull, it's more important how flavorful the card is and how interesting the myth seems.
The Final Solution4BW
Enchantment - Saga (R)
[1] Choose a creature type, destroy all creatures of that type.
[2] Choose a creature type, exile all creatures of that type.
[3] Choose a creature type, opponents lose life equal to the amount of creatures of that type you control.
First they came for the dwarves, but I did nothing, because I was not a dwarf.
Then they came for the elves, but I did nothing, because I was not an elf.
Then they came for me, and I found myself alone.
EDIT: It's not a joke, its a serious reference
Let's not do holocaust jokes in the future. Not going to infract, but... yeah.
This contributed to the string of GPs that put our deck on the map so to speak after being jank for a good while previous. The matchup spread is why I eventually qualified for pro tour.
The current meta is pretty unfriendly, which is why we're 9th or 10th at the moment depending on the day's update. The top8 transitioned to:
Humans (1st) (Very Good)
Tron with 4 Karn (2nd) (Bad)
UW Control (Very Bad)
UR Phoenix (Bad)
Dredge (Even)
Amulet Titan (Favored)
Burn (Good)
Monored Phoenix (Favored)
The card is not narrow, at least not more narrow than stoney silence. The problem is that decks that DIDNT play stony silence get this card, and we don't have an easier time removing it because we have no burn. Additionally, green decks actually particularly like this more than stony because it hurts tron a lot more than other available 2 drops.
Unfortunately, introducing stony silence on a bear means that Amulet titan goes from Favored -> Even or Favored -> Disfavored depending on how many they run (they only have to run 1 because they have pact). Humans gets a much easier to cast hate card which is also not Nature's Claimable, meaning we have to either split our side or dilute our main. Our GB matchup gets substantially worse, because they go from barely playing creeping corrosion to instead playing stony silence, though they're also hovering between 9th and 12th at the moment.
My point is that it's not really hyperbole to say "do not bring this to a tournament". The spread is not good enough. You'd basically have to hope that you luck into matchups against decks 7 and 8 for most of the day. It's like prison. Sure there is like 1 or two good matchups like Arclight, but really you shouldn't bring prison to a big tournament right now.
I think that Affinity is probably still playable, but I was talking specifically about Hardened scales. I love moving counters around and doing janky nonsense with animation modules and the like. That style is now demoted from a tier 1.5 "i can main this" to a tier 2.5 "don't bring this to a tournament" strategy after horizons unless I miss my guess.
The main problem I see is that it's unlikely green decks ever cut ouphe out of their side because of how nice it is against tron as well. H-scales was already 8th-10th in the standings even before Jund, UW, and Scapeshift started playing Karn and green forces us to split slots between Nature's Claim and Dismember.
Scrap Reclaimer won't be played because nobody is going to want to play Hardened scales :*(
Our placings have already fallen off a cliff after Tron started mainboarding 4 great creators and UW continued rising. After green gets ouphe and humans splits its side between creatures and enchantments it's gonna be tough to come up with a reason to play the deck lol.
I can't imagine what would make up for this. The only thing I can think of that would make this ok is a mainboardable colorless or green removal spell. And I mean "as good as our other mainboard" not dismember.
Titan, GB, and Value Company were core "good matchups" which are just gone now.
Land {R}
Cumulative Upkeep: Sacrifice a Land
When you would put Ruinous Chasm from the battlefield into the graveyard, you lose the game.
t:Each player sacrifices a land. If a player has no lands, that player loses the game.
The chasm swallowed everything around it, friend and foe alike. It spread like a cancer across the face of Phyrexia.
IIW: Original Superheroes
Sorcery (R)
Choose one:
Destroy target artifact, you gain 3 life.
Target opponent sacrifices a creature and loses 3 life.
Was it triumph or tragedy? It depends which side of the wall you were on.
IIW: Original superhero cards.
Enchantment (R)
As The Physician's Choice enters the battlefield, choose Rules or Consequences:
Rules - You cannot sacrifice creatures and effects cannot cause you to sacrifice creatures.
Consequences - Sacrifice a creature: regenerate each creature you control.
Where will your precious ethics be, I wonder, when everything falls apart? Whose lives are more important? What will you choose, good doctor? Can you choose?
IIW: Original Fantasy Tyrants or Superheroes
Reviews
I'm going to be a bit more brief this time.
Sephon19
Kunmangwag, the Prismatic
I'm a big sucker for 5 color things, and in this case it makes a lot of sense as a creator myth. Also the idea of it kind of swooping in and enhancing all of its creations is quite cool
Cardz5000
Valen, The War King
Interesting take on the Amonkhet mechanic, but this flavorwise if it seems a bit off. Sitting back and making other people fight doesn't seem to fit a BWR "War King" 7/4. Perhaps a ruler (or even a non-creature palace type thing) with many champions in UW or W would have made a bit more sense.
TheRavenManIsSquee
Mischievous Cow
Originality points, as cows are basically always life givers, farmers, or strength symbols in mythology. However, the card really should be blue given the trickster, flipping coins, and shuffling cards.
LnGrrrR
Laughing Coyote
I actually like this card a lot. It's simple, but it tells the story well even without any flavor text. It has a very Native American feel which I'm currently a fan of as well.
Mergatroid_Jones
Fjelkir the Skald
I really like the idea of a legendary bard, and the putting a saga into play is very thematic. Getting cards from the graveyard is a nice touch (retelling history). The card is a bit overcomplicated though, it may have been preferable for him to create a Saga on ETB.
Subject16
Odunos Raptors
I actually forgot the stymphalian birds were swamp-dwelling, and the flavor here is quite nice. Also I imagine the artwork for such a card could be really interesting. All around a nice card.
Mr.Rithaniel
Trua, the First Guardian
The name is a nice touch, and the design is quite interesting (there aren't many 5/2 defenders). Overall a solid card that serves its story well.
TotallyHaywirer
Flittering Sneeze
Interesting that people could have developed a positive superstition regarding sneezes; I suppose Theros must have been quite resistant to disease! Having a faerie cause them is very much in line, and the effect works well, especially since it's global.
void_nothing
Clamorous Aftmun
I think this one has the best story potential out of all of them, just because it actually introduces an original myth in the flavor text. Initially I thought this would win, but I'm not really sure how to relate a hairy wolf giant who controls the weather to the actual card effect, which seems more like a momentary delay or inconvenience. Perhaps I am missing the reference here.
Winner:
Winner: TotallyHaywire
Overall the sneeze ability was too thematically appropriate with the flavor text to pass up.
Honorable mention to Laughing Coyote , which was almost as good as a complete card (also I wanted to make a super hero magic card), and to Clamorous Aftmun, which would make a great addition to an actual story.
IIW: Use an existing mechanic in a new or unusual way
Speaking to the above, yeah more Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and less Triad of Fates (Play on a mythological concept vs. the actual Fates from Greek Myth). For creatures, more Hundred-Handed One or Pharika's Mender and less Adarkar Valkyrie (which could literally just be called Valkyrie). Don't worry too much about avoiding references to real mythology though, as long as it's not an actual direct pull, it's more important how flavorful the card is and how interesting the myth seems.
Enchantment (M)
All creatures are Illusions in addition to their other types and have "Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it."
IIW: Original mythological creatures.
Enchantment (M)
Sunburst, Fading X
Any time an artificer would activate or trigger an ability, copy that ability.
Every so often, the five suns dance in the sky above the Glimmervoid, filling the air with every color of the rainbow.
IIW: Original Mythological Creatures
Note: the previous card was not a joke. It was meant as a serious parallel. I did not think it was funny.
Enchantment - Saga (R)
[1] Choose a creature type, destroy all creatures of that type.
[2] Choose a creature type, exile all creatures of that type.
[3] Choose a creature type, opponents lose life equal to the amount of creatures of that type you control.
First they came for the dwarves, but I did nothing, because I was not a dwarf.
Then they came for the elves, but I did nothing, because I was not an elf.
Then they came for me, and I found myself alone.
EDIT: It's not a joke, its a serious reference
Let's not do holocaust jokes in the future. Not going to infract, but... yeah.
Humans (1st) (Very good)
Spirits (2nd) (Very Good)
Tron (3rd) (Favored)
KCI (4th) (Bad)
Hscales (5th) (Even)
GB (6th) (Very Good)
Burn (7th) (Good) (High variance though)
UW Control (8th)(Very Bad)
This contributed to the string of GPs that put our deck on the map so to speak after being jank for a good while previous. The matchup spread is why I eventually qualified for pro tour.
The current meta is pretty unfriendly, which is why we're 9th or 10th at the moment depending on the day's update. The top8 transitioned to:
Humans (1st) (Very Good)
Tron with 4 Karn (2nd) (Bad)
UW Control (Very Bad)
UR Phoenix (Bad)
Dredge (Even)
Amulet Titan (Favored)
Burn (Good)
Monored Phoenix (Favored)
The card is not narrow, at least not more narrow than stoney silence. The problem is that decks that DIDNT play stony silence get this card, and we don't have an easier time removing it because we have no burn. Additionally, green decks actually particularly like this more than stony because it hurts tron a lot more than other available 2 drops.
Unfortunately, introducing stony silence on a bear means that Amulet titan goes from Favored -> Even or Favored -> Disfavored depending on how many they run (they only have to run 1 because they have pact). Humans gets a much easier to cast hate card which is also not Nature's Claimable, meaning we have to either split our side or dilute our main. Our GB matchup gets substantially worse, because they go from barely playing creeping corrosion to instead playing stony silence, though they're also hovering between 9th and 12th at the moment.
My point is that it's not really hyperbole to say "do not bring this to a tournament". The spread is not good enough. You'd basically have to hope that you luck into matchups against decks 7 and 8 for most of the day. It's like prison. Sure there is like 1 or two good matchups like Arclight, but really you shouldn't bring prison to a big tournament right now.
TL:DR - cards get played in decks.
The main problem I see is that it's unlikely green decks ever cut ouphe out of their side because of how nice it is against tron as well. H-scales was already 8th-10th in the standings even before Jund, UW, and Scapeshift started playing Karn and green forces us to split slots between Nature's Claim and Dismember.
Our placings have already fallen off a cliff after Tron started mainboarding 4 great creators and UW continued rising. After green gets ouphe and humans splits its side between creatures and enchantments it's gonna be tough to come up with a reason to play the deck lol.
Titan, GB, and Value Company were core "good matchups" which are just gone now.