MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Cardsmith 17
As many of you have undoubtedly heard, the Wizards of the Coast have announced that they are no longer making Yearly Core Sets. My original idea was to hold a contest for the year of 2017, as we create our own Core Set together. However, it was brought to my attention that the idea of making a set through a competition would not work out so well. This was proceeded by many reasonable points that there would need to be more coordination and that there should be more guild lines set in place, et cetera. Nonetheless, the concept of making a set together over a long period of time was liked. This discussion is to organize a well coordinated Cardsmith Coreset.
Guidelines
Current Evergreen Keywords and the list below are allowed:
Fear, Shroud, Intimidate, Landwalk, Protection, Regenerate, Undying, Prowess, Renown, Shadow (If there is mutual agreement for it), and the following CS-made mechanics:
Animosity, Avenge, Equilibrium, Outbreak, Outcast, Mindwipe, Groundbreaking, Second Strike, Sleepless, Arcanashield, and Recycling. If anybody has anything to add, message me within the week and I will add that mechanic to the set guidelines.
Everybody knows Chandra, Jace, Garruk, Liliana, and Ajani. They were the planeswalkers that were featured in most core sets. I would like us to create new characters; new planeswalkers for each color. Hopefully these new planeswalkers will be well like and can be the face of CS17 and any other CS# sets that might come.
I do not think that there is much else to say other than that the discussion is for coordination of the set and for submitting material for the set.
Have Fun! Cooperate! Godspeed to You All!
Guidelines
Current Evergreen Keywords and the list below are allowed:
Fear, Shroud, Intimidate, Landwalk, Protection, Regenerate, Undying, Prowess, Renown, Shadow (If there is mutual agreement for it), and the following CS-made mechanics:
Animosity, Avenge, Equilibrium, Outbreak, Outcast, Mindwipe, Groundbreaking, Second Strike, Sleepless, Arcanashield, and Recycling. If anybody has anything to add, message me within the week and I will add that mechanic to the set guidelines.
Everybody knows Chandra, Jace, Garruk, Liliana, and Ajani. They were the planeswalkers that were featured in most core sets. I would like us to create new characters; new planeswalkers for each color. Hopefully these new planeswalkers will be well like and can be the face of CS17 and any other CS# sets that might come.
I do not think that there is much else to say other than that the discussion is for coordination of the set and for submitting material for the set.
Have Fun! Cooperate! Godspeed to You All!
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I think I can do some lore, though how good it is will be for you to judge. >.<
If you're taking black or multi, I'll take one of the three Temur colors. Tell me which one you prefer to see me do!
If you want an origins-style story, I can do my best to deliver (though it probably won't end up as thorough as official MTG lore). That said, are we going to use the flip-walkers concept origins did or are we just going to keep it to regular planeswalkers? And are we going to have the 6 (or less depending on how many we want on the same side) connect somehow by the end of the events in the set?
Updates:
2/4: Fixed the +1 so Somnium could only control one creature at a time, which was my original intent.
2/4: Increased the starting loyalty since the uptick effect is potnetially much more limited now.
2/8: Changed the Ultimate to a -6 to make it slightly easier to reach
Also, my forum icon is Jyotika, the planeswalker I am making as the black (yes i know she looks like an angel, that is part of the backstory) planeswalker. Well anyway, @Arceus8523, you should change your forum profile pic to one of the Somnium images.
If you thought Somnium looked cluttered on the M15 border, the modern doesn't even fit all the text (for the record, I HATE it when I have to cram card space)! XD Plus, since this a post-M15 core set, I think it's only fitting to use the new border where I can.
Also, thank you so much! I'm flattered you're pleased with the concept, though I can't take full credit for the idea. My good IRL friend @CorpCo helped me with checking wording and balancing, as well as the concept of what kind of being I should do as a planeswalker.
Lore is going to go a bit slow, as I want to make sure I don't screw up and/or conflict with previous lore established on Somnium's home plane.
Also, I LOVE your planeswalker art. It just looks so epic!
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/angel-of-the-eras
Ps: how the hell do you post the actual image in the comment?
<a href="Card Page Address"><img src="Card Picture Address" width="40%"></img></a>1) can you do that on an iPad or iPhone?
2) how do you get to that?
3) is that how it is found when found?
4) what does any of that mean?
1. I think so
2. It's HTML code. You can look it up on the internet
3. Yes...?
4. Literally just copy the text and where it says "Card Page Address" replace it with the page of the card (that's what allows the card image to link to its page) and where it says "Card Picture Address" post the image URL (if you right click the card picture, and select 'copy image address' or 'copy image URL' depending on your browser, the image address will be on your clipboard.)
idk. My understanding of the evergreen keywords were:
Flying, Deathtouch, Lifelink, Trample, Menace, Vigilance, Defender, First Strike, Double Strike, Flash, Haste, Hexproof, Reach, Indestructible, (and regenerate kinda).
And I have decided to put bestow in the set as a primarily WU mechanic.
Full Name: Somnium Oneiro
Color Alignment: Currently Blue, can occasionally fall into Azorious or even Esper
Home Plane: Theros
Deceased at: 18
Current Age: 25
Race and Class: Human//Spirit
Lore:
Somnium grew up in a family of philosophers in the polis of Meletis. Because of that, he lived in luxury. At a young age, he showed huge promise to follow his parents as a Philosopher and attended the Dekatia, an academy for the wisest and most elite thinkers and mages, at only age 10. Somnium was seen as prodigious in his abilities, though nobody, not even some of the more skilled philosophers and mages at the academy, could figure out a totally sound reason why, with the most common theory being that because Somnium was born from two philosophers, he naturally had an aptitude for the study.
Though, what truly gave Somnium his philosophical prowess was something nobody else could truly observe or even understand. On Theros, dreams are seen as gifts from the gods and when you get a dream, you are said to visit Nyx. Somnium’s visits to Nyx were a bit different. While normally the Gods only sent what they wanted the dreamer to see, Somnium was a lucid dreamer; he was aware he was dreaming. This meant that when he visited Nyx, he went where he pleased and saw what he wished to. In doing so, he had seen the gods in their own realm, a sight very few have the privilege of beholding and heard bits and pieces of the secret of the true nature of the gods and the idea that Theros had a place in a much larger world of some kind. Though, to protect himself, he kept himself hidden and distanced from the Gods, for fear of what they might do to him should they discover he had these abilities, as well as never speaking of this gift to anybody, even those he held most dear to him.
As a student at the Dekatia, he was expected to go through 10 years of intense study and practice to become the next great mind of Miletus and achieve praise exceeding even that his parents. Within his time at the academy, he learned many lessons his dreams could not teach him, some of which even changed the fundamental way how he thought and went through life. Though, if you ever did inquire to him about these lessons, he would only recall one for you, the one lesson he felt was worth passing down, the one anybody could use and be bettered by, and the one that ultimately made him who he is now.
After 5 years at the Dekatia, each student was sent to train for however long necessary with a teacher simply known as the Spirit of the Labarynth. When Somnium arrived at the Spirit’s sanctum, he found not a room like most of the other scholars and teachers had, but a huge maze of many walls, there were four separate openings and a note carved into the wall next to these entrances. ‘Your lesson begins now, your job is to find me at the center of the labyrinth. I will only tell you that the solution will become clear given time.’
Somnium was taken back by the task. For all his knowledge and practice deciphering the gods and his place in the world, he wasn't sure what good a maze running exercise would do. Still, not one to question his teachings, he picked an entrance and walked in, though quickly finding himself having to choose between multiple routes. Thinking as a philosopher would, he figured he would pick a route and fall it as far as possible, then trace it back once he hit a dead end. Though, this was easier formulated than done, and when he hit a dead end, he found himself lost in a kaleidoscope of torch-lit walls. He looked around, panicked and formulating ideas for escape or reorientation and attempting them before he could dismiss their illogicalness or impracticality. He was clever and could decipher any puzzle one threw at him, but this was quickly becoming the exception. Just as he was about to go somewhat mad with this puzzle, he found himself transported back to the entrance via a chilling wind. He looked around, startled, and found a women standing in front of him. Though, this was no ordinary woman, she was completely white, even her clothes, and was transparent. This was the Spirit of the Labyrinth.
“You're thinking too fast,” she explained. “Slow down, look at the details, then formulate a plan.” The spirit then vanished back to her rightful place in the center of labyrinth, leaving her student astonished at the entrance of the maze.
Somnium repeated the spirit’s words to himself. Slow down, look at the details, then formulate a plan. For some reason, that simple phrase seemed to shatter all he thought he knew about being a philosopher. His whole life all he had done was think, look into the deep realm of possibilities. What was physically in front of him rarely mattered because intangible details were so much more valuable than physical ones. Now he was being told to throw all that out the window and think in such a seemingly inefficient and meaningless way.
Somnium took a breath and recollected himself, reading the entry note once more. ‘The solution will become clear given time,’ the note claimed. But how? Somnium sighed and began to look for some kind of clue when he suddenly realized the patterned walls. The whole thing seemed to be a maze within itself, spare one line on the left wall that made up the second entrance, which broke through the chaotic mess the rest of the pattern made.
Having no other real option but to follow this carved line, he did so. Within fifteen minutes of following it without finding a single break, he reached a small room, finding the spirit sitting there. The spirit simply looked at the boy, smirking slightly at the face he had. All the philosophers and mages she ever taught gave her that expression. As important as it is to think deeply and consider many possibilities, it is just as important to look for the details right in front of you and see if a simpler solution can arise.
Somnium questioned why she of all beings taught such a lesson and was met with the response that she had once been a student attending the Dekatia, but met an unfortunate end during a time of plague caused by Pharika, God of Affliction. She learned to slow down and think more simply while escaping from Erebos, God of the Dead, during a time where she was nearly caught by one of his servants. If she hadn't learned such a lesson, she wouldn't be here today, teaching such a moral, she'd be in the underworld.
Somnium was taken back by the story, but respected it as much as he respected the lesson. It was the biggest perspective shift he had ever experienced and it is a lesson he devoted himself to sticking with in times of great difficulty or challenge. With this new understanding, he was brought back to the front of the maze, where he returned to much more regular schooling.
As soon as the dreamer found himself in Nyx, he heard shouting that shook the night sky around him. Not far from him, two gods, Heliod and Purphoros, God of the Forge, were bickering. This was a sight that terrified Somnium, though didn't surprise him. There had been tales of a lasting feud between the two gods, as Purphoros saw Heliod’s constant need for worship and attention as arrogant and excessive.
“Just look at what's going on all around our world!” Purphoros roared. “Mortals are preparing to spend days worshiping you, while the rest of are shoved aside.”
“The mortals made a festival in honor of me, why should I be the one to break it up?” Heliod reasoned.
“Well why should we be forgotten during these days? We are just as deserving of praise as you.”
“You are not forgotten,” Heliod rebutted.
“You seem to be quite fond of that Meletis polis the humans have made. Unless a group of humans formally worship me during their festivities, I will level half of Meletis and use it as a canvas for my next great work. You should keep your precious city quite easily if the humans remember to worship me as you think they will.”
“You wouldn't DARE,” Heliod growled.
“Well, we’ll see in three day’s time,” Purphoros taunted.
After that, Somnium snapped awake. He looked around, terrified. Had he not been aware of his abilities to travel through Nyx as pleased, he wouldn't have thought what he saw to be true. Half of Meletis gone and only three days to stop the destruction from taking place. Desperate to prevent this catastrophe, Somnium began to go all around the Polis trying to get somebody, anybody to listen to him and help him. Though, people saw him as mad. Worshiping Purphoros during a time set aside exclusively for the God of the Sun would be offensive to Heliod and could easily anger him. The three days went by far too quickly for Somnium and he could not get anybody, even amongst his peer group and teachers, to believe what he had seen or understand the danger the city was in, the gods may be fickle and easily angered, but nobody could fathom the idea that even Purphoros could challenge the importance of the Summer Solstice.
The next day came and Somnium was awoken by a loud crack that seemed to rival even that of the fiercest storms Keranos could conjure. He looked to the sky and saw what he had feared: rain of molten fire pouring down onto the area all around him.
A strike of lava hit the side of his home, causing him to duck for cover before fleeing from the building, just before it collapsed. He would've thanked the gods for his luck, but he knew there was no use in expressing gratitude to an angered god. He continued to run, not caring about anyone or anything else around him. Though, if he had, he would've seen the majority of people looking at him with apologetic and regretful eyes. The young man had been right the whole time and they were paying for not listening to his pleas.
As much as Somnium tried to escape, he knew he wouldn't make it out unschaved. Suddenly, a rather large ball of molten metal exploded in front of him, exploding as it met the ground and catching Somnium within its wreckage. Suddenly everything went dark for Somnium and he found himself sinking through the ground itself. Suddenly, his eyes were met with something that sent dread through his soul: Erebos, God of the Dead. It suddenly hit him that he had died and his soul was about to go to the underworld.
In that moment, Somnium recalled the spirit’s tale. He looked around him and realized he was surrounded by night sky. His life flashing before him was merely another dream, meant to comfort him as he was brought to the underworld. He was visiting Nyx one last time. It was in this moment Somnium allowed himself to reach out and touch the night sky he was surrounded by. Overwhelming energy suddenly shot through his arm and began to engulf his entire soul. He found himself almost becoming one with Nyx, similar to a God, though he knew he was none and would never become one.
Somnium then found himself back in front of Erebos, though much closer to the god than before. Now, however, his form was starry and mystical rather than white and transparent. He was strong enough to fight the pull and began to flee upward, back towards the surface of the world. He took a look behind himself to see if he was making a clean getaway, but instead saw a piercing gaze from Erebos straight at him, the eyes of the god haunted with suffering souls. “Do not think you can escape from me, spirit,” the god scoffed. “Even if you make it to the surface, I will bring you to me yet.”
Erebos shot his whip out at the soul, knowing it would be helpless to stop the weapon. Somnium, tried to flee, but the range of the mystic tool was far too long to outdistance. He turned, bracing himself to try one last-ditch, impossible idea, one that came from clarity of thought yet one he still knew wouldn't work. As the weapon approached him. He met the large whip with outstretched hands and grasped the rope, hoping to halt its progress though knowing he would simply be pulled back in with it. To Somnium’s surprise, when the legendary weapon did meet his firm, it actually deflected off, as of his Nyxwoven soul was resistant to the great power of the whip.
Though surprising both Somnium and Erebos alike, Somnium did not hesitate and took this opportunity to take the final sprint out of the underworld, materializing in the barren ruins of Meletis. He continued to run, Erebos’ words still echoing in his head. ‘Do not think you can escape from me, spirit. Even if you make it to the surface, I will bring you to me yet.’
The starry soul dashed into the half of Meletus left intact panicked and desperate to hide. Unfortunately, a being that resembles a living enchantment is going to draw attention from mortal and immortal alike. He slowed his pace and looked around. It was lucky half of Meletis had just been destroyed or else he would've been the only center of attention. Some even rushed towards the wreckage to see if anyone or anything had survived. It was when he saw these people that a crazy idea came to him and, based on the last crazy idea he had, this one might actually work.
As the people passed, Somnium ran into the side of one of these people and literally shoved the soul of the person out of its body, proceeding to take the body as his own. This was to the total shock of many around him, but Somnium didn't have time to deal with these people and quickly ran off in his stolen body. He eventually got to a part of the city where word of him, as either a spirit or stolen body, hadn't yet reached, and he finally found a chance to reflect on everything that had happened.
The weight of dying, defying a god, escaping the underworld, and stealing a body suddenly became too much to handle for the soul and he suddenly broke down. In this moment, Somnium felt something dormant within him ignite and he was flung from where he was sitting into what looked to be Nyx, leading him to believe Erebos had come to reclaim him. Though, he quickly realized this realm wasn't Nyx, it was much greater, this place showed what looked to be countless worlds of many varieties that Somnium couldn't possibly comprehend. Within only a second of being in this realm, Somnium found his ‘borrowed’ body completely annihilated, leaving only his soul remaining. The strain of being in this realm quickly became too much for the soul to handle and he found himself completely losing his vision as he was flung into one of these worlds.
Somnium eventually managed to find a resting place where he could take a break and truly contemplate what he’d been through, without being flung into a crazy unfamiliar realm before being spit out into a seemingly unending Polis. He had literally become a ghost of his former self, though that didn't bother him, the greatest lesson he had ever been taught came from spirit like he was now. The main question that plagued him was where he was. There had to be some sort of explanation for everything he had been through, but he was too scared to speak to anybody in this strange land and they seemed too scared to speak to him, so he did what he would usually do in times where he couldn't find an immediate answer, he would surrender himself to his mind and try to decipher it himself.
Somnium sat there for hours pondering a whole list of questions. Where was he? What was the place of this Polis in the world, literally and in the eyes of the gods? Why did this Polis have no obvious places of worship? Did this Polis not worship the gods he had spent his whole life worshipping and trying to decipher the true nature of? If that was true, why had any of the gods not punished them for their hubris? Even then, how did he end up here? What had he seen when he witnessed all those different worlds? What was that place? It seemed just being there was lethal to mortal flesh, and even his Nyxwoven form, apparently strong enough to stop the weapon of a god, was strained to the point of exhaustion in that realm. Most importantly, though, how could he return to such a realm? The more time he spent there, the more he could decipher his true nature.
For all Somnium’s intellect and time spent trying to decipher these questions, without his dreams to guide him, he was lost. All of this was too unfamiliar for him to comprehend, so he did the only other thing he knew to do otherwise, take a walk to clear his mind. Though, this would also be a good chance to at least get acquainted with his surroundings.
He left his resting spot, now not as concerned with Erebos finding him, considering he had been in his spirit form for a considerable time without the God discovering his location. He walked around, examining the polis intrigued, noting a huge variety of cultures and ideologies laid out in throughout extent of the polis, obvious tensions between them, just waiting to burst, but being held back by something, leaving the polis in uneasy peace.
Eventually he was stopped by a voice from behind him, the first mortal being to speak to him since his death. The voice questioned exactly what Somnium was, explaining that he almost seemed to resemble powerful otherworldly beings that he worshiped and served as a child. Somnium turned to face the man, finding him to be a well-built, muscular man with towering and dominating posture, likely from the polis of Akros. The word that intrigued him was otherworldly. The gods may be powerful and have their province in Nyx, but he wouldn't go as far as to call the gods otherworldly. Somnium replied simply that he was a spirit, escaped from the underworld, finding his voice distant and echoed. The man was confused, explaining he resembled a living enchantment more than a spirit, to which Somnium replied that it was a long story and he would rather not talk about it. Somnium did, however, take the opportunity to inquire about where he was and if the man knew how to get back to Meletis, his home polis. The man, again, seemed confused by the question. He knew of Meletis, but he also knew it to be not of this world. Somnium was on Ravnica, not Theros.
Somnium was shocked. He had never heard of this place called Ravnica and he thought Theros referred to the entire world. To be on a place other than Theros was to be on another world, which the spirit couldn't fathom. The man simply gave a chuckle, beginning to understand what this being might be going through. He introduced himself as Gideon Jura and asked Somnium to come with him, claiming that he could give the spirit answers to his questions. Somnium, though mistrusting of the man, followed regardless, hoping he spoke the truth.
Gideon brought Somnium to what looked to be a library of sorts, holding a staggering number of books that seemed to come from all over the world, or worlds; he really wasn't sure at this point. Gideon then asked Somnium to browse the library, if he so wished, and that he would return in a short while.
Left to his own devices and surrounded by what he could only assume to be potential answers, Somnium began to search the books for clues as to what was going on. He spent a good amount of time just reading book titles. Though, as soon as he was about to pick one out, he noticed that Gideon had returned along with another man who possessed far less of a physical presence, but seemed to possess a mental domination. This man introduced himself as Jace Beleren and invited Somnium to sit a large table in the front of the library.
Somnium formally introduced himself to the pair, and was then asked by Gideon to give a proper explanation of what exactly got him to the place and state in which he found him. Somnium was hesitant to recollect the tale, but did so, explaining everything he knew of what had happened: how he had the power to travel Nyx in his dreams, the destruction of Meletis, his journey to the underworld, reconstituting his form with the essence of Nyx itself, escaping from the underworld, stopping the weapon of a god, stealing a body, the awe-inspiring realm of worlds, and awaking wherever he was now with no idea how exactly he got there.
Gideon didn't speak a single word, spare excusing himself from the conversation, before taking his leave, leaving Somnium and Jace at the table. Jace took this opportunity to extend Somnium an offer. He told the spirit he was the administrator of a group of planeswalkers known as the Gatewatch, devoted to protecting the vast worlds of the multiverse from any threat that could affect multiple planes. He asked Somnium if he would like to hone his planeswalking powers by joining the group.
Somnium pondered the offer for a good while, but politely declined. He explained he had nothing against him or Gideon, nor did he have any hostile reason or dislike for their goal. However he saw that Jace and Gideon both seemed to have a motivation to do these deeds. He had no such motivation, nor no clear understanding of his purpose in the multiverse as of yet. He said he would return to the Gatewatch once he found this purpose, and silently left the library.
After Somnium left, he decided it was time to planeswalk once again and see the Multiverse for himself. Though, try as he might, he couldn't hurl himself out of this world, even though he could now feel the power to do so within him. It suddenly occurred to him he had been in a mortal body when he planeswalked away from Theros and figured out that he would need to steal a body once again if he wished to leave Ravnica. Though, he couldn't bring himself to take a life in this process like he did in his panic on Theros. It was then he saw he was not far from a graveyard and an idea occurred to him. He entered the graveyard and allowed his soul to enter a corpse that had none, raising from the ground as a zombie. The body was weak and rotting, but it was enough for Somnium to fling himself back into the blind eternities, landing on a new plane. Somnium had now found a reliable way to travel the multiverse even though his true form couldn't, and travel he did.