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Indian Folklore Set-Set Design
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Meditating creatures get +0/+1 as long as they aren't tapped.
@Rayne-Lord
But ya, colorless might not be the way to go.
Basically I intend to use Meditation counters, at least as I envision it, for a multitude or purposes. Some things will use them as cost of activation on abilities, others will get p/t bonuses based on how many meditation counters they have, so on and so forth. I could even see it as a win condition -"At the beginning of your upkeep, if there is at least 108 meditation counters among permanents you control, you win the game."
Also, yeah, your idea is better.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, that would be wonderful. I'll be looking through some to see if I can find anything @Rayne-Lord.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay this spells cost. If you do, exile it, then return it to the battlefield.
[ETB effect]
Would that work @Rayne-Lord?
This is what I think-
This set is enchantments matter. Introducing the new enchantment type 'Mantra"
Avatar, shouldn't be a tribal focus, as in Hindu lore they're always a God coming down in human form, so by nature they feel more like your rare, mythic, and legendary creatures. the icons of the set, not the brick and mortar.
With that being said, I discovered a long lost tribe from magics early days that I've resurrected in my Al-Qara set that I think would fit perfectly as a tribal mainstay of an Indian themed set: Mystics - this too me would really be the selling point. Mantras and Mystics. Mystics, given that the tribe is so old and undefined, can really be expressed in any color as long as the flavor is right, and theres tons of design space.
So with that being said- I think a new ability for tribal Mystics is in order-
Chant - If this was on a Mystic, it could be something like:
- Chant: Whenever this creature, or another Mystic enters _______________
or for the Mantra interaction-
Chant- Whenever this creature (mystic) enters the battlefield, or you cast a Mantra spell, (...)
____________________________-
As far as an old mechanic, I'd dig deeper on gatherer or scryfall, find a ooold mechanic and update it. I've found the all the Futuresight, timeshifted sets have abilities they were experimenting with but gave up for somereason. These can be a great base to work from.
My initial thoughts are - Ripple X
Ripple is an old school mechanic from Coldsnap, its very powerful (maybe op) and it's really wordy. But it could be something to begin from
Ripple X
(When you cast this spell, you may reveal the top Xcards of your library. You may cast any revealed cards with the same name as this spell without paying their mana costs. Put the rest on the bottom of your library.)
- I could see this on Mantras, or something like it. I feel that mantras should be a fairly simple, low cmc enchantment type that has an ETB effect related to either casting more mantras (ripple), or number of mantras you've cast this turn, or number of mantras you control. Basically anything that has to do with repetition, since thats what a Mantra is. I do like your exiling idea, and maybe its an ability on a mantra of higher rarity, but I think that building from the bottom up with the 'simplest' mechanics is best because they have so much room to grow, you don't get stuck after making 20 cards.
@Rayne-Lord
Also another thought on creature types-
Angels and Demons would work very well in this set, as Devas and Asuras- and I'm sure if you use those as keywords you'd be able to find lots of interesting art.
Mantras
Ripple
Chant
Creatures:
Devas
Asuras
Rakshasas
Avatars
Humans
Loxodon
Nagas
I could see you doing Loxodon's as part of the special retinue of Ganesh. But i'd avoid it as a major tribe.
Definitely do Nagas!
And of course to fill out the set, you'll want lots of awesome animals- Elephants, rhinos, big cats (both tigers, lions, and leopars), birds, snakes, spiders (my god the spiders in india are HUGE), antelopes, monkeys, hyenas
The big thing is to figure out your color factions, and begin to develop identities and set structure from there.
Would that work @Rayne-Lord?
Also, I want Monkeys in some color combination.
Alara Shards, Tarkir Wedges, Allied Guilds, or Enemy Guilds.
Jund seems like a good place to put Ayodhya enemy, the kingdom of Lanka, headed by big baddie himself Ravanna (although he himself could be Grixis.) I could also see Shiva, and Kali falling into this camp. Maybe this could be Nagas? If you're familiar with Aghori Babas (basically dark mystic wanderers who worship shiva and are associated with death (I got to hang out with some of them in Varanasi.)) could be the mystic camp of Jund.
Naya seems good for non-humans, animals, and the animal gods such as Ganesh, and Hanuman, maybe some Devas.
Grixis seems less intuitive to me. I'd have to think more about this one. Maybe Asura Demons? Keep in mind not all Asuras were totally bad, this could be an opportunity to showcase that black isn't always EVIL. Ravanna also seems like a good fit, at least as an individual card, since he's selfish and ambitious (black), warlike and passionate (red), and incredibly wise and knowledgable (blue)- perfect combo for a main baddie who has a layered personality and complexity.
Esper- I could see a darker take on mystics in this camp. I could also see some Asuras falling here. This along with Grixis could be the biggest hurdle in terms of identity in this set, but I think it could be done.