The Galactic Forge

So, I'm not so good at the story aspects of this sort of thing, I'm going to just explain my set as clearly as possible.

"15 factions at war, set in space."

Whew, that wasn't so bad. Let's expand on that a bit. My set, called 'The Galactic Forge' is based on a series of RPs my friends and I have played through, it's very sci-fi, and we thought it would be awesome to turn that set into Magic cards. The set has 15 factions, most of them representing a different race and a few representing actual organizations. Each faction has a Planeswalker/Legendary Creature acting as it's 'Leader', several regular legendaries and about 15 or so non-legendary cards to fill the ranks. The factions each have a Mechanic tied to them as well. I'll list each faction, along with their colour and mechanic to give a better picture:

Faction: The Sol - Colour: White - Mechanic: Strategy
- Their strategy is to pump out tokens to use in conjunction with their Strategy mechanic, which I recognize can be a confusing name for a mechanic. Strategies (Name pending) work by providing better effects depending on the number of units you tap down and keep tapped down.

Faction: The Arietians - Colour: Blue - Mechanic: Psionic
- They represent Blue's ability to control their own side of the field. Using Card draw and benefiting from discarding their own cards. Psionic works by buffing units when you discard cards.

Faction: The Eridani - Colour: Black - Mechanic: Contract
- They represent black destruction. Basically, they lay out contracts when they enter the battlefield, then you follow up with Instants and Sorceries which kill the target. Simple and easy.

Faction: The Aquarri - Colour: Red - Mechanic: Rage
- The represent Red Hostility. Their mechanic, requires them to survive damage, so nuking your own units, to build up their rage may not seem so far-fetched...

Faction: The Taurus - Colour: Green - Mechanic: Deathrush
- They represent Green Strength, A heavy creature faction, their mechanic allows one to severely buff their P/T in exchange for them only lasting until the end of the turn.

Faction: The Nexus Group - Colour: White/Blue - Mechanic: Sabotage
- They represent Blue Cunning and White Distraction. Sabotage inflicts an effect onto the defending player when the Saboteur deals combat damage to a player, the effects range from planting a bomb on their side of the field, stopping them from casting spells or even stopping their land from tapping (Which is kind of the same thing, actually.)

Faction: The Zeta-Reticulli - Colour: White/Black - Mechanic: Adaptation
- They represent White's Vitality and Black's Necromancy. Adaptation works by returning a card back to the battlefield, and giving it protection from whatever killed it in the first place. You can't use adaptation with a card that had been countered or milled, or discarded, they have to die on the battlefield.

Faction: The Centurions - Colour: White/Red - Mechanic: Veteran
- They represent White's Enhancements and Red's Love of Battle. Veteran works by rewarding a card when it deals damage to a creature that died this turn. It makes you want to be overtly aggressive.

Faction: The Rangers - Colour: White/Green - Mechanic: Unity
- They Represent White's Synergy and Green's Enhancements. Unity works kind of like Soulbond, except it only lasts one turn, and it effects all the Rangers you control. Effects vary from Trample, to Power Buffs, to Hexproof, etc, etc.

Faction: The Omicron - Colour: Blue/Black - Mechanic: Spycraft
- They represent Blue's and Black's Ability to control the opposing side of the field. Spycraft let's you see what your opponent is holding or whatever card is on the top of their library. Still working this one out though, we might change it.

Faction: The Gliece - Colour: Blue/Red - Mechanic: Modify
- They represent Blue's Intelligence and Red's Insanity. Modify changes cards. Like their text, or colour, or Power/Toughness, or anything we can think of them doing, really.

Faction: Tau'Cetti - Colour: Blue/Green - Mechanic: Arrival
- They represent Blue's ability to play the long game and Green's Creature Strength. Arrival is like a hyper-suspend. It is mandatory on the cards that have it. but when they actually enter the battlefield, they often have devastating effects.

Faction: The Pirates - Colour: Black/Red - Mechanic: Piracy (Duh)
- They represent Red's Impulsiveness and Black's Greed. Piracy takes control of Permanents with a CMC of that equal to or less then the specified number. Not sure whether we want the pirates to give back what they stole at the end of turn yet though.

Faction: The Chrysallis - Colour: Black/Green - Mechanic: Assimilate
- They represent Black's love of sacrifice with Green's love of creatures. Assimilate forces an opponent to choose between their own creatures to buff one of yours. Mildly OP, and we are still working on this one.

Faction: Data's Army - Colour: N/A - Mechanic: Assemble
- They represent... Nothing really. Assemble lets you build more tokens and the end game is mostly just swarming an opponent. It is an all artifact faction as well.

Yeah, I know, there's no Red/Green faction, couldn't think of one, tbh, in fact, there wasn't even gonna be a Blue/Green faction. The Tau'Cetti were not a big part of the campaign... Anyways, let me know what you guys think. I'd love to get some feedback and ideas for cards. I am planning on giving some back story on the factions/leaders at a later date, too tired to do it now though.

Comments

  • edited September 2015
    Alright, time to add some examples to get some excitement for this up.

    Sol - White - Strategies
    The Sol are commanded by the current Grand Marshal, Jericho. They use strategies, to tie down their units for lasting effects while pumping out tokens. Here's an example of a Sol card: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/medic-trooper
    You can see, that by tapping it down for a strategy it is more beneficial in the long run.
    I've also made an actual Strategy, to show how they work: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/operation-burnt-earth

    Arietians - Blue - Psionic X
    Arietians are inspired by their greatest artist and most powerful Psionic, Ari Rolyas. Their Psionic mechanic allows you to discard cards to buff them once per turn. An example (probably not a finished product though) of an arietian is here: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/arietian-stalker

    Eridani - Black - Contract
    Eridani are led by the highest ranking assassin, Ki-Kari. Their Contract mechanic, gives target creatures a 'bounty' for killing them, as exampled here: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/rain-soaked-assassin
    See, you throw this guy out, then kill the target on your next turn, then still have some extra mana to throw out another contract.

    Aquarri - Red - Rage
    The Aquarri are ruled over by their queen, Zaya. Their mechanic, Rage, makes them gain power and toughness after getting damaged. Here's an example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/aquarri-shock-trooper
    So you can either have him take out a chump blocker, or, you could smack him with the ability and get halfway to enraging him. Pretty good, right?

    Taurus - Green - Deathrush
    Taurus are a proud race of lizard-like people. They value strength over everything else. Their strongest warrior is Deki Kalaka. Their mechanic, Deathrush, lets them become very heavy hitters at the cost of their own lives at the end of the turn. Here's an example:
    http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/taurus-berserker-1

    Those are the 5 monocoloured races/factions. I'm hoping to get some feedback, or if anyone is interested in designing a card for them or any of the other factions, I certainly wouldn't object. I'll add the Dual-Coloured Faction examples in a bit.

    EDIT: As an added incentive to comment or create, I'll take a look at/favorite one of your cards, I'm a casual player at best, and I ask stupid questions. But everyone loves criticism, right?
  • This is pretty cool, I'll give it a go. I personally like indie sci-fi fantasy mash-ups. I can whip up a few cards when I have the time.
  • Alright, finished examples of the multicolored factions as well.

    The Nexus Group - White/Blue - Sabotage
    Not a Race, Led by Prof. Meryl Nexus, they are a group specializing in Clandestine operations. Their mechanic sabotage (which is a little wordy in my opinion) leaves lingering effects on the opponent's side of the field when you deal combat damage to them.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/nexus-sapper-1?list=user

    Zeta-Reticulli - White/Black - Adaptation
    Represented in Galactic affairs by the being known as Construct, the Zeta-Reticulli (Zeta for short) are always at the bleeding edge of Bio-Engineering. Their Mechanic, Adaptation, allows to them to get stronger if they're played from the graveyard.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/zeta-defender?list=user

    Centurions - White/Red - Warcry
    Ruled by Emperor Gorgon, the Centurions are fierce warriors and their space fleet is the envy of the entire Galaxy. Their Mechanic, Warcry, Buffs other attacking creatures so is best used with a group of them attacking at once.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/centurion-executioner?list=user

    Rangers - White/Green - Unity
    Not a race, The rangers are headed up by Ranger Chief Basil. They focus on protecting the Galaxy from major threats (Like Data) they also seem to be at odds with the Pirates more often then not. Their Mechanic, Unity, Gives bonuses to other rangers when creatures enter the battlefield or attack.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/ranger-recruit-1?list=user

    Omicron - Blue/Black - Spycraft X
    The omicron were outcasts for the longest time after their planet was taken by the Sol. After being liberated, most galaxy wide affairs are handled by the Omicron known only as the Spymaster. Their mechanic, Spycraft, lets them see a card from an opponent's hand or library and make plays to neutralize them.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/omicron-signaler?list=user

    Gliece - Blue/Red - Modify
    Gliece are mad scientists at heart, their wisest and most knowledgeable scientist is known as Grand Thinker Baba. Their mechanic, Modify, changes the attributes of cards to confuse and mess with the opponent.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/gliece-geneticist?list=user
    On a side note, finding pictures of Frogmen Scientists is really hard.

    Tau'Cetti - Blue/Green - Arrival X
    A race of unknowns, the Tau'Cetti come from beyond the known space in the Galaxy. Their motives are unknown, however, a few people who know of the Tau'Cetti work as their agents in Galaxy affairs. The most well known is a man known as the Usurper. Their mechanic, Arrival, works like a mandatory suspend, but balances the wait time with powerful effects.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/taucetti-scout?list=user
    (Arrival X is: When this spell is cast, exile it before it resolves, place X time counters on it, at the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it, if it has no time counters, place it onto the battlefield, it's "When this creature arrives" effect activates.)

    Pirates - Black/Red - Piracy
    Not a race, the Pirates are intergalactic outlaws led by the Dread Pirate Bellick. Their mechanic, Piracy, allows you to take control of a permanent until end of turn with a converted mana cost less then the Pirate played.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/pirate-bruiser?list=user
    (I realize I made this one use a combined Power/Toughness instead of CMC. Slip of the fingers, will probably change it later).

    Chrysallis - Black/Green - Consume
    A biologically engineered race, they are a scourge on the galaxy, their Creator, an Omicron named Dr. Mazo made them to consume the galaxy in a bid for power, but they grew out of hand quickly. Their mechanic, Consume, exiles a creature from a graveyard and gives the cast creature it's attributes (Power, Toughness, Activated and non Activated abilities, etc.)
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/hive-feeder?list=user

    Data's Army - Artifacts - Assemble
    A rogue AI, Data was placed into a super-processor which gave it an insane amount of power. It (though often referred to as She) now seeks to destroy the entire Galaxy and remake it in it's image. It's mechanic, Assemble X puts down X 1/1 Drones when the spell is cast.
    Example: http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/datas-pawn?list=user

    That should be it. Would be happy to hear some thoughts on this, I probably ripped off some effects from other people, I apologize in advance, and will credit accordingly if you let me know. I've already drafted up most of the Nexus Group Cards and the Taurus Cards, only thing stopping me from posting them would be artwork.
  • edited September 2015
    Can you make your own mechanics that go along with the faction theme?
  • For sure. I don't see any issue with it.
  • edited September 2015
    http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/centurion-scout
    http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/plan-of-attack

    I'm interested in working on this set a lot as I was planning to plan a sci-fi set but you've already did! (Yay! Less work for me!) I'll keep my submissions in here: http://mtgcardsmith.com/account/sets/1975
  • Added two more cards. I made a w/u strategy because I think that just white isn't a good fit for the mechanic. I also made a formation card.
  • I commented on the cards, but, I'll just put some additional thoughts here.

    I like the idea of what the cards do, formations are a neat addition, however, The sets in my head are very... tribal I guess is the word I'm thinking of, so their mechanics don't really jump the colour spectrum.

    The Equal Distribution card is one too many colours, to be honest. Although, I can see it being used as any of the color combinations you listed.

    Favorite one of the four is the Centurion Scout for sure. Couple Grammar mistakes, but it's a great card that embodies my vision for them.

    Plan of Attack is kinda neat, really adds like, a surprise effect to your combat phase, do you pay for enchantment, or is it free? Nonetheless, it's great.

    Outflanked is the weakest of the four, in my opinion. It's really wordy, and ultimately, as a sorcery, it's effect is pointless. If it was an instant, it'd be much better.

    Those are my extra thoughts, again, not bad cards, just a little different then what I was expecting, too be sure.
  • @epson777341

    Oh no, I accidentally left Outflanked as a sorcery. It was meant to be a instant :| I see what you mean about the tribal colors. I'll try to stick to one or two colors in the future. I made/am making a few more cards.
  • Eh, an equipment card....
    ___________________________
    http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/plasma-gun
  • edited September 2015
    @King_Devil_II: Awesome, I like the Spymaster. Although, I can see spycraft getting a bit redundant with multiples of the effect on the field. What do you think about Scrying your opponent's library, instead of just looking at it? That's better in my opinion, also, ultimate field control.

    Not a huge fan of the Omicron Mutant though, something's off about it. Probably the Shroud (I hate shroud).

    I like the idea behind Trap in Shadows, with the Omicron being secretive, my friend who is helping with the set design, wanted to give them morph, but, I do like this secret enchantment thing. That being said, you tap creatures to attack, so I guess this card leaves the opponent open? Works for me.

    Not a huge fan of Suol, Aquarri Enforcer. I kinda already have the Legendaries built, just not made yet, I'll post them as soon as I nail down some specifics. Not the biggest problem, which for me, was Rage. You made it so whenever he took damage, he gained 2 +1/+1 counters, as opposed to my original plan, which was they gained rage counters, which transformed into a one-time permanent buff. Because the rest of the Aquarri are supposed to be about dealing small nuke damage and having buff creatures, You can buff this guy up really fast and hit extremely hard with him. On like, turn 6.

    I do like what you've done though, you've given me a bunch of ideas on how to rework some things I had been mulling over before.

    @RedRageMage: I like it. Simple and vague enough to work with any race.

    If you guys want me to take a look at one of your cards, send me a Private Message. I will look at/review/favorite your choice.
  • @epson777341

    Okay, thx for the feedback. I made another card, this one's Gliece. Could you check it out? Thanks.
  • *Whoo* Commented on all the posted cards, plus the Gliece Stormcaller. Looks great. I made a ton of the Nexus Group cards. They are here: http://mtgcardsmith.com/user/epson777341/sets/1798
    In fact, I usually add the cards you guys make to the sets found on my profile, if there's nothing overtly wrong with them, and my cohort agrees to it (he's very stingy)

    I'm just gonna post some more mechanic stuff to fill out this post a bit more.

    So, Even though there are 15 factions, there are only 9 Races (10 if you include Robots). Because this was based on an RP, each Race was represented, in game, by a different class. I've transposed these classes into subtypes, and while there are 9 races and subtypes, they're not really exclusive to the race.

    For example, the Sol (which are Humans, if nobody found that out yet), are very militaristic in their ideology. They run on a quasi Despotism system, where the Grand Marshal gets absolute say in any Galactic matters. Their home is still full of a Myriad of nations, but they've basically said "If it has to do with space, leave it to the USR." So, that being said, they are mostly represented by Soldiers. Which I envision as Long range attackers that focus on guns. In MTG, that's hard to pull off, so they more or less have a little more toughness than power (to constitute being at range).

    Arietians (which I've been told are like Future Merfolk, that have legs) are a very introvert like people, thay don't touch, or really try to connect physically unless they have to. This transposes to their class, which is Psionics Which is probably the closest this setting has to wizards. This makes them a little squishier than most, but make up for it by using knowledge to enhance themselves.

    Eridani are very secretive. They don't want anybody to know what they're doing. Their visual appearance is similar to Featherless Birds mixed with lizard folk. Very lithe, very light on their feet. Because of their secrecy and their willingness to do what it takes to keep that secrecy, their class transposes to Assassins. Over time, their society has become more honorable, and most, if not all of their jobs are coordinated through a Mediator of some sort.

    Aquarri are aggressive. They're very well built, almost gorilla in size, and they have ashen skin with horns (I'm told kinda like the Qu'nari from Dragon age, but not). Because of their aggressiveness, they very often just look for the quickest and bloodiest way to end fights, which, more often than not, comes down to just beating their opponent relentlessly. Because of their Martial skills, more disciplined Aquarri often become Monks but, I think I like the term Brawler more. seems more in tune with them.

    The Taurus are big, lizard folk, they're still a nomadic race, with technology levels similar to that of a present day third-world country. They're vicious, dangerous, and love the thrill of the hunt. They are perfect Warriors, through and through. Taurus don't actually build ships, they just kind overwhelm one and fly it until it breaks.

    The Omicron were a long repressed people, they're homeworld was tainted by a toxic weapon which forces most of them to wear protective masks. They all share a very similar appearance, which lets them blend in socially, among large gatherings. This allowed them to become excellent information gatherers and Agents. They have since reclaimed sovereignty of their homeworld and have cleansed the air, making them a truly free race.

    The Centurions are a noble race of warriors, they respect battle, and value might over all else. Very rarely is a Centurion seen outside of his armor, which covers them head-to-toe. Centurions are skilled at long and short range combat and have given the class Skirmisher indicating their ability to fight repeated small battles in greater wars. The Centurion fleet is also the most respected, over 400 000 ships reside in their armada, each one armed to the teeth... even the transport shuttles.

    The Zeta-Reticulli used to look like the classic Roswell aliens, they once came to earth to collect DNA so they could better themselves through Gene Manipulation. Nowadays they're a lot taller, sleeker, and often have a white, clean, finished looking plating covering their bodies. The Zeta have grown so much using Gene manipulation that 95% of all Zeta are clones. They aren't born anymore, they're made, they share a collective hive mind. Because of their skill in genetics, you're most likely to see them as Medics than front-line soldiers, however, with the right genes, they could do anything they want to.

    The Gliece are hard to describe. The example one that I made apparently looks nothing like it, I've been told short, amphibious, mad scientists. Gliece are crazy-smart and smart to the point of being crazy. they're always making new things, and testing those inventions on other things. However, they're also very polite, they're not combat focused, they don't have a powerful army, instead they'll often use their science to win battles. Their class was known as Gadgeteer but Scientist would work too.

    The Tau'Ceti are not from this galaxy, they're from the next galaxy over, they're Squid-like beings that represent impending doom, always on the horizon, just never quite there to show true terror. They're not one of the original 9 races, so they don't have a subtype/class, but, their living ships have so much innate destructive ability, I'm thinking of tagging most of them with something like Gigant.

    The Chrysallis are a scourge, a consortium of biomass engineered in tube and let loose on an unsuspecting galaxy by a deranged scientist. They are hunger incarnate, Avatars of gluttony and an unstoppable wave of terror. Chrysallis don't have a special class, though, if you want to put one on, I'd go with Horror, only if you want to though.

    So the other factions, have members of each race in them, though the Nexus Group is largely made up of Sol. The Rangers are the most diverse, Data's Army is all robots, and Pirates are pretty well diverse (beggars can't be choosers there) as well.

    Finally, along with the Mechanics built for each faction, I completely forgot about Orbital.
    Orbital is best described as having protection from everything except other Orbital units. Some spells target Orbital units, and most, if not all Spaceships are Orbital. That being said, Orbital units can't block non-orbital units. Just doesn't work. They're on like a different battlefield.
    They can still hit you though.

    *Whew* That was about an hour's worth of typing. If anybody's interested, I'd love feedback on the cards that I, or others have made for this set. I'd definitely appreciate it, and, I'm sure others like feedback as well.
  • edited September 2015
This discussion has been closed.