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Vryn codename Chessworld
So a few months ago I made cards for this thread. I fell in love with the idea of a blue aligned plane. Blue is magic of push and pull, matches of wit, and the closest color to chess. I occasionally hear the choicemaking of mtg compared to chess. So, you and me, let's make cards that take that to the next level.
So my view of Vryn is different than the old thread. The information we have shows there are two groups: the separtists and the Ampryn league. They constantly fight. There is also a wealthy class and a poor class. Whether this is a separtist vs Ampryn configuration or a plane covering problem is not known. We know there are mage rings that control the flow of mana.
Why are they at war? Why is there a push and a pull? In my view of Vryn, the Ampryn league and the Separtists are basically equal entities, but it is believed the Ampryns have much more wealth than the Separtists, which makes the Separtists fight for resource gain. The two sides constantly take and retake critical points of the plane. The weird thing here is the need for balance. I see Vryn as a blue-white plane. Balance is important. So, there is a reason balance has to exist. A coalition of powerful mages, including the mysterious Alhammeret from Magic Origin, have an enchantment on the plane. This coalition can get whatever they want as long as mass war and balance between the two sides is kept. They keep this secret closely guarded. Instead, similar to what it seems Alhammeret made Jace do, they foil plans of the warring factions that would shake the balance too much and sometimes fall to committing Genocide for the protection of their power.
Mechanically, reactive elements fit. It is fun to set traps for your opponent to struggle to tiptoe through while on the other side it is fun to piece together a solution to the deep situations your opponent poses. Design cards that add a level of complexity to the board state in a fun way! In my design, which has been on and off for months, I find cards that hit the entire board or cards that react to your opponent catch this idea, but whatever interests you shoot for it! I also used circles whenever possible to lead back to the idea of the mage rings and the classic trope of magic circles.
I made Checkmate and Underdog as opposing mechanics. Many people didn't like them when I first introduced them, so if you have any ideas on how to make them more fun, let me know! I know either mana costs or rarities are off on some of the cards, but they are more for getting ideas into your head.
So my view of Vryn is different than the old thread. The information we have shows there are two groups: the separtists and the Ampryn league. They constantly fight. There is also a wealthy class and a poor class. Whether this is a separtist vs Ampryn configuration or a plane covering problem is not known. We know there are mage rings that control the flow of mana.
Why are they at war? Why is there a push and a pull? In my view of Vryn, the Ampryn league and the Separtists are basically equal entities, but it is believed the Ampryns have much more wealth than the Separtists, which makes the Separtists fight for resource gain. The two sides constantly take and retake critical points of the plane. The weird thing here is the need for balance. I see Vryn as a blue-white plane. Balance is important. So, there is a reason balance has to exist. A coalition of powerful mages, including the mysterious Alhammeret from Magic Origin, have an enchantment on the plane. This coalition can get whatever they want as long as mass war and balance between the two sides is kept. They keep this secret closely guarded. Instead, similar to what it seems Alhammeret made Jace do, they foil plans of the warring factions that would shake the balance too much and sometimes fall to committing Genocide for the protection of their power.
Mechanically, reactive elements fit. It is fun to set traps for your opponent to struggle to tiptoe through while on the other side it is fun to piece together a solution to the deep situations your opponent poses. Design cards that add a level of complexity to the board state in a fun way! In my design, which has been on and off for months, I find cards that hit the entire board or cards that react to your opponent catch this idea, but whatever interests you shoot for it! I also used circles whenever possible to lead back to the idea of the mage rings and the classic trope of magic circles.
I made Checkmate and Underdog as opposing mechanics. Many people didn't like them when I first introduced them, so if you have any ideas on how to make them more fun, let me know! I know either mana costs or rarities are off on some of the cards, but they are more for getting ideas into your head.
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Notice me senpais!
You might be interested in this.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/coyote-desert-trickster
That said, here's a planeswalker concept based around the reactive push-pull nature of Vryn (and heavily inspired by the card Military Intelligence.)
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/sana-general-of-rings
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/doffel-ampryn-overseer
Ampryn Overseer is busted. Way way too strong unless he had some serious downside.
Yes! In fact underdog was quite poorly received when I first pitched pitched it so maybe there's a more fun way to do it.
During the reunion of Alara's shards, Sana found herself horrified with the sheer discord of the other shard's realities. In a moment of fear, passion, and righteous disgust, her Planeswalker spark ignited, sending her to a new plane: the checkerboard world of Vryn.
In Vryn, she saw a world with potential. A world that could one day be united under a single banner... Ampryn's banner, of course.
Taking a "peace through conquest" outlook on life, Sana spends her time guiding the soldiers of Ampryn into perfect clockwork patterns, collecting reconnaissance from their attacks, and ensuring victory with her own arcane knowledge.
Also, as for how Underdog could be buffed, I would suggest making it similar to Revolt, both because they're flavorfully similar, and so that it activates on a specific game state condition instead of being "this is discard fuel until you start losing".
For example, "Underdog - If your life total became the lowest among players this turn, create two 1/1 white Human Soldier creature tokens."
Bant would be interesting, but specifically her igniting when the shards split would probably have been a big enough deal that they would have put her in the Alara storyline.
Also, have you thought about limiting the two faction's color identities? Perhaps the separatists could be Red White or Red Black considering their emphasis on being against the authority of Ampryn?
What do you think?
Take the Dethrone mechanic (one that exists primarily in Grixis) for instance. While Marchesa (the Dethrone Lord) may have villainous intent, the mechanic could be recycled into "standing up against the bullying monarch".
If we do end up limiting color identities, I would love to design a truly non-villainous red/black guild, because I think there's a lot of potential there (both story-wise and mechanically).
An example of what I'm saying here.
You're likely asleep by now, but here's a mardu card: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/arave-separatist-protector
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/dosyra-arbiters-demon
Dosyra is a hulking demon who serves under the orders of the megalomaniacal arbiters of Vryn. He takes control of powerful figures of each faction, puppeting them around as his masters desire.