Tuesday, March 20, 2018

CCDD 032018 - Planar Blade, Seldark, and Saldra

In a Weekend Challenge from a few weeks ago, Doug Kent submitted a Legendary creature that "turned on" if you controlled the legendary equipment associated with him. This is a trope that has played out on a few different cards in the past, and always fun space to explore. It did get me thinking, though, about the story implications of having a legendary equipment that interacted differently depending on who was holding it.




What if in one set, let's say taking place on Innistrad, we're introduced to this equipment, without much context or story to it. Fine.


In the next set, which takes place on an entirely different plane, say Theros, we're introduced to this. This raises some questions, like how a named legendary artifact from Innistrad ended up on Theros.


But then, in the next set, taking place on Zendikar, we get another legend who cares about the blade in an entirely different way. There's a story told here through mechanics and the release schedule of sets. There could even be a couple of sets bridging one reference of the blade to the next.

It's a fun concept to explore, but unfortunately very wordy by necessity. The equipment has to have something interesting enough mechanically to justify it being legendary, and that eats up space quickly. The legends requiring a specific effect for being equipped with a named artifact is also something that just, for templating reasons, has to be longwinded, and for flavor reasons, can't just be something a few words long.

I did design the Planar Blade so that it could be exploited in a wide variety of ways by those who would wield it. What fun legends can you come up with to hold this cursed artifact?

20 comments:

  1. I think this is the wordiest card I've ever submitted on this site, and I haven't mocked it up yet but:

    Rwdn, Tidehollow Savior 2WU
    Legendary Artifact Creature - Zombie
    X,T: Create X 0/1 Homunculus artifact creature tokens. X can't be greater than this creature's power.
    At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice one or more artifacts you control. Then, return an artifact with mana worth equal to the number of artifacts sacrificed this way from your graveyard to your hand.
    1/3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These cards end up being obscenely wordy, which sucks, as it's such a rich trope to mine.

      "Mana worth" requires a full conversation.

      Fun card, which assists the blade, but doesn't reference it by name. That's frankly probably the best way to do this.

      Delete
  2. Elmroot of the Tangle
    4GG
    Legendary Creature - Treefolk Warrior
    At the beginning of your end step, create two 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens. Then, if a permanent named Snikt, Planar Blade is attached to Elmroot of the Tangle, gain life equal to Elmroot of the Tangle’s toughness.
    4/6

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting premise! Here's my take:

    Wandering Blade 3
    Legendary Artifact - Equipment
    At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature and put two +1/+1 counters on equipped creature.
    When the equipped creature dies, Wandering Blade deals damage equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on that creature to each player.
    Equip 1

    Maguire, Recruiter of the Blade 4RR
    Legendary Creature - Giant
    At the beginning of your upkeep, gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.

    Whenever you sacrifice a creature you don't own, put a +1/+1 counter on Maguire.
    5/5

    Zellweger, Blade Penitent 2BB
    Legendary Creature - Human Cleric
    At the beginning of your end step, return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand. If that card was sacrificed this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Zellweger.
    3/3

    Lipnicki, Blade Wielder WG
    Legendary Creature - Human Warrior
    Creatures you control can't be sacrificed.
    Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters would be placed on Lipnicki, place that many counters plus one instead.
    3/3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I prefer these designs to be synergistic without specifically calling out the legendary equipment by name. It's wordy and awkward when sets start rotating in standard.

      Delete
    2. I would also change Saldra and Seldark to simply check if they're equipped. Let the players figure out the connection.

      Delete
    3. Another clue for players can be in the art for each card.

      Delete
    4. In fairness, there is a lot of power in names. Sometimes the story just wants to name specific things/people.

      Delete
  4. Vikram, Mesmeric Raider 2UB
    Legendary Creature - Human Pirate
    Deathtouch
    When [CARDNAME] enters the battlefield, gain control of target Snikt, Planar Blade, and attach it to him.
    Equipment attached to [CARDNAME] has hexproof.
    3/2

    It's interesting to also think about the relationship in terms of an ancillary/supplemental Magic product instead of a typical standard set.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One of the Projects I Will One Day Get To (TM) is a planechase planar map variant where there are things hidden under the planar cards that the players are trying to collect. Something like these designs would be fantastic in that setting.

      Delete
    2. Reminds me of the sound of Explorers of Ixalan a bit. I'm a big fan of attaching other game elements to Magic, and that sounds like a fun idea!

      Delete
    3. If I were designing for that kind of environment I'd probably take out the hexproof clause and give him a weakness instead like where when he died either players would regain control over anything that had been stolen from them or perhaps anything stolen would be back into some sort of neutral space to be claimed anew.

      Delete
  5. Kanut the Last Hope 4WB
    Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
    Lifelink
    Whenever CARDNAME deals combat damage to a player, you may sacrifice a permanent named Snikt, Planar Blade attached to it. If you do, put all creature cards in all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control.
    4/4

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Holder of the Blade 1WW
    Creature-Human Soldier
    2/4
    When CARDNAME enters the battlefield select target Legendary Equipment. As long as you control CARDNAME the selected Equipment is indestructible.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a neat concept. My first thought is:
    King Arthur 3WW
    Creature - Human
    When King Arthur enters the battlefield, search your library for an equipment named Excalibur, reveal it, then put into your hand. Shuffle your library.
    As long as King Arthur is equipped, other units you control get +1/+1.
    4/4

    Excalibur 3
    Artifact - Equipment
    Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has double strike.
    If equipped creature is named King Arthur, it also gains indestructible.
    Equip - 3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both of those should be legendary, whoops.

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    2. What constitutes a unit? Is unit a new type?

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    3. No, just another game's name for creature that I subliminally substituted.

      Delete
  8. I would probabaly use the design tech from the tron lands and make a new subtype. Lets go with Planar.

    Then you can have carfs that turn off if a Planar permanent is attached to them.

    Saves words and opens up design space for similae Multiversal goodies to collect. (I also like the lore of a bunch of Dragonballs/Infinity Stones/Milneum Items etc scartered through the multiverse that we see set after set).

    That ALSO brings up how I would lile every now and then something from a differnt plane showing up as a card on like a rare or something.

    A robot dinosaur on Kaladehs for example.

    ReplyDelete