Codename: Computer Colors

edited November 2018 in Custom Card Sets
The whole reason why I joined MTGCS, make a good custom set with good, creative people (and I'm the boss:) ). So pretty much:
RED: fire tempered men who make great warriors

GREEN: Children of the forests who make a lot out of a little

BLUE: Mysterious people who use the waters to cover up plans

BLACK/WHITE: outcasts



I don't have any cards yet, but with your help, we can make a set to rival WoTC!
This bit here will change to say what the current project is:
good ideas for this: maps, card drafts, lore and stories, anything to base the cards around.
(Can we try to add in some sort of DoT damage?)

EDIT: the rulers/deities are being made.

Comments

  • edited November 2018
    temporarily down
  • edited November 2018
    temporarily down
  • edited November 2018
    temporarily down
  • Hey there! Welcome to MTGCS! It's good to see an individual interested in custom set design. As of right now, it looks like your set is in early development and you still have a lot of time and room to experiment.
    ---
    Here are my suggestions about the cards so far:
    1) Landwalk is a retired mechanic, cut it from your cards
    2) Have each god's stats and abilities vary to better match their respective color's color pie role.
    3) The way yours gods are currently named and formatted (having an epithet after each of their names, not to mention having an actual name to begin with), they should be legendary creatures.
    4) Subtypes of cards should always be capitalized (Legendary Creature—God)
    ---
    Here are some questions to consider for your set design over all, they can really help you organize your ideas and start to put them into card-form.
    - What is the mechanical core of your set? That is, what is an overarching theme of what the cards can do? For example, the Guilds of Ravnica set puts a heavy focus on two-color combinations and empowering you for playing specific two color combinations (WR, UR, UB, GW, GB) by giving you lots of two-color cards in those specific two color combinations. Another example is Innistrad having a focus on the graveyard and creatures dying.
    - How do you want your set to "feel" when it is being played? Going back to my Innistrad example, when you played a game of Magic using Innistrad cards, it feels like you are playing in a macabre world of gothic horror. This was done through a combination of art, flavor text, and mechanics working harmoniously to give this feel.
    -What archetypes will your set have in limited? When designing a set, you are first and foremost designing something that can be played in draft. Therefore, the most time, effort, and quantity put into cards in your set should be for the commons.
    -What does each of the ten two-color combinations broadly do in your set? In limited, unless your set is focusing specifically on certain color combinations (e.g. Ravnica sets, Tarkir block, Alara block), players who draft your set will be drafting on-average two colors for their deck. Therefore, each of the ten two color combinations should have a specific play style. Archetypes may overlap across multiple colors (for example, in Kaladesh there was an energy focus in UR, RG, and GU), but each two color combination should be able to do distinguish itself form the others in a broad sense. One great way to organize your two-color mechanical identities is to design the signpost uncommons of your set. Most official recent Magic sets have included ten two-color uncommons that are meant to highlight and specifically tailor two what that two-color combination does best in the set.
    -Which non-evergreen mechanics do you want to use in your set? One way Magic sets distinguish themselves from one another is by the non-evergreen mechnaics within that set. An evergreen mechanic is a mechanic that can be and likely has been used in just about every recent Magic set. These are mechanics like Flying, Reach, Vigilance, and Trample. As for non-evergreen mechanics, these are things like Jump-Start, Undergrowth, Cycling, and Explore. Some evergreen mechanics are brand-new to Magic and are introduced through and within the set, while some are brought back from older sets. You want to aim for around 3-6 of these. The non-evergreen mechanics often end up being some of the most interesting and defining parts of a set.
    -What is the lore of your set? That is to say, what's going on that your cards are trying to show? Your cards within the set should overall build a world and tell a story as much as they do create a fun and memorable play environment. Official Magic sets even have lore articles that accompany each main set release.

    For some examples of custom sets throughout the MTG community, here's one I designed: http://www.planesculptors.net/set/blackened-skies
    I'd also recommend checking out Ankheret, an egyptian-themed custom set that was created long before Amonkhet was even annohnced: http://www.planesculptors.net/set/ankheret

    I hope this isn't too much ^^; I get really involved with this stuff! Happy smithing!
  • It's not to much, and this might be fun to do.
    Starting from the top:
    Mechanical core: maybe something like color matters? And maybe put some in creature type matters.
    The feel: warlike, especially when playing red v green v blue matches. That will probably come from the lore also.
    Archtypes: I don't know a whole lot about archtypes in general. I will definitely need help with that.
    Two color combos: white/black: creature regen/ graveyard stuff.
    Green/Red: heavy buff/ agro
    Green/Blue: green agro while blue bounces the enemy creatures
    Green/white or black: agro with regen or graveyard stuff
    Red/blue: same as Green/blue
    Red/white or black: same as G/WB
    Blue/W or B: bounce the enemy's stuff while regen'ing or reviving your few creatures
    Tell me if i'm missing any combos.
    Mechanics: some sort of damage over time (DoT) thing, other than that, i'll need to check the big book of mechanics (Mechanic encyclopedia for all)
    Lore: that'll be in the next comment from me because I won't have that big of a comment from me. ;)
  • LORE!
    basically, those three gods were at first "normal" plainswalkers, and they fled from their home plain to a random plain where they were heralded as gods. They eventually became powerful enough to become gods all Theros like. They each were powerful in one of the "Elemental" magics and ruled over their respective kingdoms. There were those who did not believe in the new gods, and they were either killed or forced to flee to the neighboring continents where there was no magic or gods. Fast forward a few hundred years, and Celios hears that a rumor about someone using magic on the outside continents, and moves in and learns all about it, and the other two hear rumors about Celios invading those continents and they each attempt to colonies the continents, starting the first war in thousands of years.
    There was magic on the continents outside of the main one, from a hole in the middle of each of those continents, filled with pure, raw mana. Each continent had a slightly different type of mana, some were filled with pure rage and those who got it became great warriors. Others had healing properties and those who got it became the best healers. But they all stood together to fight off the gods, and that is where we are right now.
    Not as long as I thought, oops :)
  • Based on the lore, should the gods be plainswalker types, or the devotion plus ability creature style?
  • Can we work together on this?
  • @Bowler218
    Of course. I might be a bit busy with school and stuff, but I'd be glad to help.
  • I'll be able to work on this for a good chunk of the day and on the weekends until shortly after Christmas, after that, only on the weekends.
  • I'm going to try some of your ideas tonight.
  • @Arceus8523
    Should the gods start as plainswalkers then transform?
    Here is the starting side for Esoi (the green one)
    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/esoi-queen-of-the-forest
  • One quick question before I offer feedback: do the planeswalkers lose their spark (ability to planeswalk) when they become gods?
  • Yes, as they tie their magic to the plane.
This discussion has been closed.