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Zolmira Custom Plane-Land of Strangers.
Zolmira is a strange plane, even among the countless planes scattered throughout the Blind Eternities.
Its strangeness comes not from its people, for they are ordinary humans, elves, kithkin, and dwarves, nearly identical to those found on countless other planes, nor its world, which is all too similar to countless other realms.
Instead, what sets it apart is its magic.
Zolmira is a plane where magic is not always overt, and works in strange and meddlesome ways, dealing more with the subconscious and the unreal than the physical and the present. Talented warriors may linger after death, drawn by their own restlessness, and the predictions made of the future, however cryptic, come to pass in one form or another. Not even planeswalkers are safe from the twisting magic of Zolmira, which is known to shape destinies in interconnected and baffling ways, to the point where a fool may be a hero, or what could be seen as an ending is simply a beginning.
Set design notes:
-top down, based in High Fantasy with a theme of fate and prophecy
-tone is a mix of melancholy and hopeful. no matter what disasters happen, there is always a new day.
-design should loosely fit modern
-large-ish set(200 cards max)
-little to no tribal themes
-seven set mechanics: three custom, four returning.
Mechanical Framework:
Here I am going to post the basic framework of the colors and the mechanics associated with them.
White
White is characterized by hope and deals mostly with buffing and protecting permanents. the five keywords White has access to in Zolmira are Convoke, Fated, Miracle, Restless, and Strive.
In addition, White has a non-keyword theme similar to the Morbid ability, where if a creature died the turn you cast a card, an additional effect is used.
White draws on the power of the Hero's journey and the idea that you can always win a better tomorrow. This manifests in a relentless determination to find the best possible outcome, no matter the personal cost. Think cards like Selfless Spirit(Link: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=414332). Humans, kithkin, and Dwarves are found in white.
Blue
Blue is characterized by forknowledge and deals with deck rearrangement and battlefield control. Blue has access to five keywords: Fated, Miracle, Scry, Strive, and Fatebender.
Blue deals the most with cards such as Ponder(link: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=451051) and other deck management cards. Blue is driven by the desire to know precisely what their fate is and how they will accomplish their task. kithkin and humans are found in blue.
Black
Black is characterized by despair and selfishness. Black deals mostly with tutors, mill effects, and messing with the opponent's hand and board. The five keywords Black has access to are Fated, Fatebender, Restless, Scry, and Strive.
Black also has a non-keyworded ability similar to white: If a creature you control was dealt damage this turn, effect.
Black represents the despair at finding one's fate and choosing to bring as many down with you as possible, creating effects such as Devour in Shadow(link:https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=50210), only much less steep in terms of cost.
Red
Red is characterized by passion, ferocity, and energy. Red has access to four keywords: Miracle, Restless, Scry, and Strive.
Red also has a non-keyword ability where cards are revealed and from the top of your library and an effect is chosen based on the highest, lowest, or combined CMC of the card(s), similar to my custom card Spin The Wheel(link: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/spin-the-wheel-1?list=set&set=45368). Red also shares Black's non-keyword ability where when creatures are damaged, an additional effect is taken.
Red represents the passion of not knowing your fate, and entrusting everything to chance, as well as the passion of knowing your fate, and accepting it with sword held high and a smile on your lips.
Green
Green is characterized by selflessness, kindness, and humility. Green has access to five keywords: Convoke, Fated, Miracle, Restless, and Strive.
Green also has a non-keyword ability focused on adding creature tokens to the battlefield.
Green represents the concept of putting the community before oneself, and entrusting in the greater good that naturally flows from a group of people working in a common interest.
New Keywords:
Three new keywords appear in Zolmira: Fatebender, Fated, and Restless
Fatebender represents the refusal to accept fate, or to shape one's own fate. Fatebender is a keyword similar to Scry that allows you to look at the top N cards of any player's library, and choose to either put it on the bottom or return it to the top. Fatebender appears on cards starting at uncommon rarity, and does not reach more than Fatebender 1 except on Rares and Mythic Rares. Fatebender appears in Blue and Black
Fated is a catch-all trigger effect that activates when a card has a certain condition applied to it. For example, one creature might activate Fated when it gets a +1/+1 counter put on it and gain indestructible, while an enchantment with Fated might become a creature when another creature dies. Fated appears in every color except Red.
Restless might be recognized by some older Cardsmiths from when I was first active back in 2015-2016. Restless is actually not my invention, but that of @ZendikarIncarnate. The mechanic is simple: when this creature dies, if it did not have the Spirit archetype, it returns to the battlefield and gains the Spirit archetype. Restless represents the concept that sometimes people die before fate is through with them, or, if a person is stubborn enough, they can overcome their own death. Restless appears in every color except Blue.
Returning Keywords
Convoke represents the concept of people pulling together to accomplish great things, and appears in White and Green. Cards with Convoke cost one less to cast for each creature you tap when casting the spell.
Miracle is a powerful keyword that allows for a much cheaper cast of a card when you draw it if it's the first card you draw on your turn. Miracle represents the sometimes inexplicable turns of fate that allow seemingly impossible odds to be overcome, or for seemingly invincible warriors to be brought low. Miracle appears in every color but Black.
Scry is a very common keyword that allows you to look at the top N cards of your library, put any number on the bottom of your library, and put the rest on top in any order. Scry appears in Blue, Black, and Red.
Strive is an ability that appears only on instants and sorceries that allows for the choosing of additional targets as long as an additional casting cost is met for every target beyond the first. Strive appears in all five colors.
Limited Deck Styles
I'm going to post what Limited formats I can figure out here:
WU:-
WB:-
RW: -
GW:-
UB: Fatebender Control
UR: -
UG: -
BR:-
BG: -
RG: -
Closing Remarks:
I'm not confident in fated as a keyword, since it has such a varied activation. Maybe replace it with the creature dealt damage non-keyword ability in Black and Red?
Also, feel free to make cards for Zolmira, just know that, as a non-premium member, I cannot add them to my set. I will be making a Google Sheets document to handle the cards eventually.
Please give feedback and constructive criticism. I know that Green may been a weird place, thematically, but I couldn't figure out what else to describe it as in terms of its mechanics and its relation to Red's and White's themes in this set.
Its strangeness comes not from its people, for they are ordinary humans, elves, kithkin, and dwarves, nearly identical to those found on countless other planes, nor its world, which is all too similar to countless other realms.
Instead, what sets it apart is its magic.
Zolmira is a plane where magic is not always overt, and works in strange and meddlesome ways, dealing more with the subconscious and the unreal than the physical and the present. Talented warriors may linger after death, drawn by their own restlessness, and the predictions made of the future, however cryptic, come to pass in one form or another. Not even planeswalkers are safe from the twisting magic of Zolmira, which is known to shape destinies in interconnected and baffling ways, to the point where a fool may be a hero, or what could be seen as an ending is simply a beginning.
Set design notes:
-top down, based in High Fantasy with a theme of fate and prophecy
-tone is a mix of melancholy and hopeful. no matter what disasters happen, there is always a new day.
-design should loosely fit modern
-large-ish set(200 cards max)
-little to no tribal themes
-seven set mechanics: three custom, four returning.
Mechanical Framework:
Here I am going to post the basic framework of the colors and the mechanics associated with them.
White
White is characterized by hope and deals mostly with buffing and protecting permanents. the five keywords White has access to in Zolmira are Convoke, Fated, Miracle, Restless, and Strive.
In addition, White has a non-keyword theme similar to the Morbid ability, where if a creature died the turn you cast a card, an additional effect is used.
White draws on the power of the Hero's journey and the idea that you can always win a better tomorrow. This manifests in a relentless determination to find the best possible outcome, no matter the personal cost. Think cards like Selfless Spirit(Link: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=414332). Humans, kithkin, and Dwarves are found in white.
Blue
Blue is characterized by forknowledge and deals with deck rearrangement and battlefield control. Blue has access to five keywords: Fated, Miracle, Scry, Strive, and Fatebender.
Blue deals the most with cards such as Ponder(link: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=451051) and other deck management cards. Blue is driven by the desire to know precisely what their fate is and how they will accomplish their task. kithkin and humans are found in blue.
Black
Black is characterized by despair and selfishness. Black deals mostly with tutors, mill effects, and messing with the opponent's hand and board. The five keywords Black has access to are Fated, Fatebender, Restless, Scry, and Strive.
Black also has a non-keyworded ability similar to white: If a creature you control was dealt damage this turn, effect.
Black represents the despair at finding one's fate and choosing to bring as many down with you as possible, creating effects such as Devour in Shadow(link:https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=50210), only much less steep in terms of cost.
Red
Red is characterized by passion, ferocity, and energy. Red has access to four keywords: Miracle, Restless, Scry, and Strive.
Red also has a non-keyword ability where cards are revealed and from the top of your library and an effect is chosen based on the highest, lowest, or combined CMC of the card(s), similar to my custom card Spin The Wheel(link: https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/spin-the-wheel-1?list=set&set=45368). Red also shares Black's non-keyword ability where when creatures are damaged, an additional effect is taken.
Red represents the passion of not knowing your fate, and entrusting everything to chance, as well as the passion of knowing your fate, and accepting it with sword held high and a smile on your lips.
Green
Green is characterized by selflessness, kindness, and humility. Green has access to five keywords: Convoke, Fated, Miracle, Restless, and Strive.
Green also has a non-keyword ability focused on adding creature tokens to the battlefield.
Green represents the concept of putting the community before oneself, and entrusting in the greater good that naturally flows from a group of people working in a common interest.
New Keywords:
Three new keywords appear in Zolmira: Fatebender, Fated, and Restless
Fatebender represents the refusal to accept fate, or to shape one's own fate. Fatebender is a keyword similar to Scry that allows you to look at the top N cards of any player's library, and choose to either put it on the bottom or return it to the top. Fatebender appears on cards starting at uncommon rarity, and does not reach more than Fatebender 1 except on Rares and Mythic Rares. Fatebender appears in Blue and Black
Fated is a catch-all trigger effect that activates when a card has a certain condition applied to it. For example, one creature might activate Fated when it gets a +1/+1 counter put on it and gain indestructible, while an enchantment with Fated might become a creature when another creature dies. Fated appears in every color except Red.
Restless might be recognized by some older Cardsmiths from when I was first active back in 2015-2016. Restless is actually not my invention, but that of @ZendikarIncarnate. The mechanic is simple: when this creature dies, if it did not have the Spirit archetype, it returns to the battlefield and gains the Spirit archetype. Restless represents the concept that sometimes people die before fate is through with them, or, if a person is stubborn enough, they can overcome their own death. Restless appears in every color except Blue.
Returning Keywords
Convoke represents the concept of people pulling together to accomplish great things, and appears in White and Green. Cards with Convoke cost one less to cast for each creature you tap when casting the spell.
Miracle is a powerful keyword that allows for a much cheaper cast of a card when you draw it if it's the first card you draw on your turn. Miracle represents the sometimes inexplicable turns of fate that allow seemingly impossible odds to be overcome, or for seemingly invincible warriors to be brought low. Miracle appears in every color but Black.
Scry is a very common keyword that allows you to look at the top N cards of your library, put any number on the bottom of your library, and put the rest on top in any order. Scry appears in Blue, Black, and Red.
Strive is an ability that appears only on instants and sorceries that allows for the choosing of additional targets as long as an additional casting cost is met for every target beyond the first. Strive appears in all five colors.
Limited Deck Styles
I'm going to post what Limited formats I can figure out here:
WU:-
WB:-
RW: -
GW:-
UB: Fatebender Control
UR: -
UG: -
BR:-
BG: -
RG: -
Closing Remarks:
I'm not confident in fated as a keyword, since it has such a varied activation. Maybe replace it with the creature dealt damage non-keyword ability in Black and Red?
Also, feel free to make cards for Zolmira, just know that, as a non-premium member, I cannot add them to my set. I will be making a Google Sheets document to handle the cards eventually.
Please give feedback and constructive criticism. I know that Green may been a weird place, thematically, but I couldn't figure out what else to describe it as in terms of its mechanics and its relation to Red's and White's themes in this set.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
It's good that you seem to recognise how powerful fatebender is in that it's basically fateseal that can be converted into scrying. Be really careful with it, especially those higher-than-ones.
The fact that scry is restricted to Grixis seems a little odd. It tends to appear primarily in blue and to a far lesser (but relatively equal) degree in the other four colors. You've probably got your reasons, but it might be worth changing it so that it's primarily in Grixis instead of entirely.
Is there a reason that red doesn't have the fated mechanic (if the mechanic ends up in the set)? Surely a color that seems to be one of headstrong heroes and passionate prophets (and that, from a mechanical perspective, has no particular reason to go an entire set without a single card with condition-based triggers) should have access to a mechanic that has no apparent color of focus.
Finally, I'd say that fated probably shouldn't be a keyword. It isn't really rigid and structured enough to count as one. If it changes from being a keyword to an unlabelled theme, I highly doubt you even need to bring in a new mechanic to replace it. The set probably has enough already, especially if it'll be supporting a number of unlabelled into the bargain.
1) Six non-evergreen keywords is a lot, it would make the set very complex. If you're making a set that's more aimed at Modern à la Modern Horizons, it could be ok though. But I'd consider removing some of them (see below).
2) The mechanics don't really go well together, and several of them have big inherent issues.
- Fatebender has a Fateseal mode and, as you already know, it's an extremely unfun mechanic that WOTC put on the "never print ever again" list, up there with stuff like Anihilator. It also competes in the exact same mechanical space as Scry. You won't be able to have both in the same set and make them matter unless you put Scry on half the cards in the set. Considering Scry is the balanced and actually fun version, I would remove Fatebender entirely.
- Fated is not really a mechanic right now. A keyword is supposed to help you understand that some cards do something similar. In this case, they don't do anything similar if anything could trigger Fated and have any effect as a consequence. That's basically keywording triggered abilities as a whole. For Fated to actually be a keyworded mechanic, you should give it an actual definition. Find either a cool reward that you earn in different ways, or a cool condition that will then trigger different rewards.
- Restless is going to create memory issues as there's no way to know visually if the card is already a Spirit or not. The best way of doing that would be to use counters. The fixed version of this mechanic is Persist/Undying. The other way is to use the Amonkhet's Embalm way. They used an alternative token for each creature with the mechanic so it was pretty crazy, but maybe you could get out of it with a reminder token that says "This creature is a Spirit"?
- Convoke is the Selesnya mechanic in Ravnica and as such has been used extensively in green/white. Are you sure you don't want to explore some new design space? It hasn't appear that much in other colors, there are many more great designs that couldn't be done in GW.
- The synergy between the mechanics is quite low. If we except the fact that Scry and Fatebender are the same mechanic, they work well with Miracle. Restless kind of help with Convoke since you don't lose the creature when it dies. Strive and Fated have not much to do with anything. That's about it, and it will create issues when you're trying to cram all those virtually unrelated themes together in a single set skeleton. I think you should consider removing some of the mechanics and making sure the ones that remain all work nicely with each other.
3) The fate theme seems strong and already well established. Convoke and Strive seem pretty random though thematically. Mechanic wise, what's your selling point, the new interesting stuff that players will want to try? Have you thought of a mechanic that would be visually engaging and catch people's eyes?
___
Finally, I tried a "Tragedy set" many many years ago that I called Trabadart and it featured a Fate theme as well. I figured I might as well share the main mechanic, in case this inspires you:
Damocles {cost} ({2}: Exile this card from your hand. You may cast it later from exile for its Damocles cost.)
The idea is that you pay 2 mana to show your opponent that you have this card and it's inevitably coming. In exchange, you gain some small advantage, usually a reduced casting cost once it's in exile, or an additional effect if you cast it from exile.
Here are some examples:
I am going to remove the Fated ability as a Keyword, given that it appears in so many different forms.
I will also expand Scry since there will be a drop in keywords.
@ningyounk
Restless is planned to have other tokens similar to Embalm/Eternalize, since it was originally conceived during the Tarkir era.
I am also going to remove Fatebender, and replace it with Damocles.
To make up for the loss of both Fatebender and Fated as ability keywords, I'm going to move Convoke to encompass more colors.
The keywords are basically the result of me looking at a set I had created for entirely different reasons and going "what If I made this into a full-fledged magic set". Be thankful I didn't go with my original idea, which included both Multikicker and Strive.
I agree that there needs to be more of a connection between the set keywords, which is where Fated comes in. Fated would trigger off a variety of things, and not necessarily even in the same color idea, such as a green creature triggering a Fated effect when you scry that gains you life.
Damocles is a very interesting effect, and I want to try and combine it with an old keyword I came up with around the Battle For Zendikar era, Purge(put a card from any exile into it's owner's graveyard) which could allow for really interesting effects like this:
Which doesn't directly interact with Purge, but provides a sort of defensive mechanism, and shows the flexibility of the Fated trigger concept.
Purge and Damocles combined could create this really interesting state where Exile becomes a second hand, which is entirely new design ground. I think the closest that WotC ever explored to this concept was Suspend and Ingest, and those were many years apart.
I would love for continued support, and will be working on updating the first post with your suggestions.
Note that adding Damocles to replace Fatebender wouldn't reduce the numbers of mechanics though. Damocles would also be a third "cost reduction" mechanic with Convoke and Miracle, so I'd keep only one and dump the others.
The problem with Fated is that it's so undefined that it doesn't actually tie things together. You have a good flavour glue, but you still need mechanical glue to tie the set together. Looking at what I'm seing here, I think you should focus on library manipulation:
- Scry becomes your mechanical glue. Since it could be pretty unremarked because it's already evergreen, I would either create a variation of Scry with a new name à la Surveil, or make sure you have cards that say "Whenever you scry" at common, to signify that this is more important than in other sets.
- Miracle is your exciting mechanic that also acts as a ramp mechanic. Because it's a returning mechanic, you might want to find some new unexplored design space to make it more interesting (creatures with Miracle?). Or maybe a variation with a new name?
And then, create the rest of the mechanics so they actually synergise with this mechanical base while filling different roles so they don't step on each other's toes. Here are some examples of classic roles for a mechanic:
- Filtering card draw: Scry is perfect for that.
- Making things cheaper: Miracle works here.
- Giving you something to do with your excess mana: Make a mechanic like Strive that actually synergises with the other mechanics.
- Breaking board stalls: Usually, you'll need a mechanic that goes on creatures and give them an edge in combat so it's more interesting.
- Reinforce your themes: Top-down designed mechanics to depict your world.
You also want to diversify your types of mechanics: not all colours should have access to all mechanics so you have a reason to pick a colour over another, some should go on creatures only, others on non-creatures only, a lot of sets like having a mechanic that goes on any type of cards in all colours to advertise an important theme of your set, its goal is to make sure everyone recognises that theme, whatever they end up playing. You also want a good mix of action keywords, keyword abilities and ability words.
You make very good points. Scry with Fated returning as an ability keyword that activated when you scry is something that would make sense.
I know that you created Damocles, but I feel that we're looking at it in different ways. You see it as similar to Convoke/Miracle, I see it as a mix between Suspend and Manifest/Morph, in that you have an existent threat that your opponent has a hard time getting rid of(suspend) that can be applied at any time you have free mana(morph/manifest).
Also, Damocles has a lot of interesting possibilities, and since I'm designing this set for modern anyway, I might as well try to use more complicated keywords. I can redesign the keyword-color combinations, which was the original purpose of exclusive keywords. For example, if you use Black, you don't get Miracle, if you use White, you don't get Damocles, if you use Blue, you don't get Restless, if you use Red, you don't get Convoke, if you use Green, you don't get Scry, which forces you into color combinations.
One thing I was thinking of was ditching Convoke and replacing it with an ability similar to Lieutenant, where if you have a Legendary creature on the battlefield, (effect). I also was thinking of upping the card count(right now I'm sitting at 200 cards even) to give me more design space to work with. Maybe I could even split into two sets: one focused on Damocles/Purge/Ingest/Consign(custom keyword where you can exile a card as you cast it for an effect.) and general exile shenanigans, and one focused on Scry/Fated/Miracle/general deck manipulation with a splash of legendary themes running through.
Please note that this set is the result of me trying to turn the twenty-one cards of the Major Arcana in a tarot Deck into somewhat thematic magic cards, then going "could I turn this into an actual set?" You're a great help to me.
New mechanics list:
Consign: Exile shenanigans
Damocles: Suspend-style shenanigans
Devoted: Broader form of Lieutenant
Fated: Scry-triggered effects
Ingest: exile shenanigans
Miracle: Deck-management based Ramp
Scry: Deciduous Deck manipulation
Strive: Late-game mana sink/ramp effect.
How's this look?
I think I have decided on a few factions/Tribal themes that I want to have in Zolmira.
Humans:
Colors: all five, but primarily white and black.
Associated keyword: Devoted.
Themes: legendary creatures and the benefits of having them.
Elves:
Colors: Primarily Green, Red, and Black
Associated Keywords: Fated, Scry
Themes: deck manipulation and battlefield control.
Dwarves:
Colors: White and Red
Associated Keywords: Strive
Themes: creature buffing, combat tricks.
Kithkin:
Colors: Green, White and Blue
Associated Keyword: Miracle
Themes: Creature swarms, life gain, alternate victories.
Wizards:
Colors: Blue and Black
Associated Keywords: Scry, Prowess.
Themes: non creature spells.
Hope that this makes some amount of sense.
What do you think?
Vengeance sounds a lot like Enrage, a priori. Thematically, I'm unsure how it fits in the Fate theme. Mechanically, Enrage does help break board stalls and gives an advantage to creatures in combat which is something the set lacks so far. It's not especially synergistic with the other mechanics, but could be if the bonuses focus on something that helps the other mechanics, like library manipulation or exile for instance.
The Tarot theme is interesting, you could maybe take an MTG spin on it. There's probably a way to make them fit nicely into the five colors, or at least make a similar version with only ten or fifteen cards (like ten uncommon and five rares).
The mechanics list still feels quite crowded and redundant to me. I do like that you identified Exile as a potential mechanical glue. It looks more like an archetype list than a mechanic list. You don't need a different keyword per archetype, for instance Miracle can go in any deck from combo to midrange to aggro to control etc. depending on the actual effect on the card.
My current problem is finding thematic and/or mechanical glue for the set. Currently the two possibilities are deck manipulation and/or exile. My major problem is coming up with a mechanic that fits the exile/deck manipulation theme while still being a late-game battlefield effect. Suspend is one option, while I can see Damocles as another, with possibly a third one: tentatively called bounce, it would act similar to Deadeye Navigator's ability, where you could exile and then return a creature card with Bounce to the battlefield, with the creature in question gaining haste. Could fit in some decently strange mechanics there, with interesting enter/leave the battlefield effects.