MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Intrigue in the Marble Council
This discussion has been closed.
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
We are starting soon. Very soon....
And we are technically not accepting entries anymore, but what the heck, you're in
Here are some sagas, if they mean something for the contest anyway.
The first is about Malachai's ascension to a 'deity' status, in somewhere around 100.000 years before the birth of Nicol Bolas (lorewise the equilorians were already ascended entities who possessed powerful magic, so it is not far-fetched if they are beings of pure magical energy).
Then it's about the restructuring of an unspecified plane that he orchestrated just out of curiosity (probably it was how Grixis were turned into a hellscape).
And then it's about the total annihillation of Skalla (Vivien's plane) that he indirectly influenced through Bolas.
I know that I haven't posted any cards, but I just got my laptop back.
While everything is being prepped, you still have a small window.
@HeroKP, when are we starting?
Hopefully in a few days, IRL things are starting over the internet as the lockdown slowly unravels, but I will post everything up as soon as I may.
@LordTachanka123 @Abu_Jafar @Derain2 @KorandAngels @spookoops @Daedalus_The_All_Father @shadow123 @Aggroman15 @MonkeyPirate2002 @Fallen_Lord_Vulganos
You didn't think I would let this die, did you? Hooray, IRL stuff has been taken care of so the Council train can start.
You arrive. Councillors of Iron. You all do not have the same respect as the Iron of Old, but you have the same number of votes.
But we can hardly start without knowing what we will be facing, can we? So here is the guide to the existing members! Left to right, top to bottom:
The High Druids of Vasentilai
Are the keepers of some of the most powerful magic in the multiverse. Vasentilai is a plane with very rich mana which is isolated from its neighbouring planes. This is the perfect fit for this faction since it allows them to practice their magic effectively. They participate actively in all matters.
The Shade Lords
Are a very enigmatic and isolated group of powerful spirits. They have no home plane, and appear to live in the Blind Eternities, how, they do not tell. They are the only current members that were there at the council's inception, yet they refuse to share the ancient lore from that era. They are mostly aloof, and only speak on the most important issues.
The Shamans of Infinity
Are barbaric at first glance, but in reality they are able to unlock power from almost anything, from casting hexes with nothing but a pebble, to merging their soul with a mountain and achieving immortality. They are one of the few council members to limit themselves to only a single species, theirs being dwarves. Their culture is extremely... special, which is why they look like they just crawled out of a cave. In issues, they are extremely unpredictable.
The Dredgers
Are masters of the oceans, speaking to the behemoths and getting leviathans to do their will. They come from the ocean world of Quilaq, where they evolved alongside creatures you couldn't imagine. They travel the multiverse, ever eager to expand their menagerie. They are mostly material rather than diplomatic.
The Everfae
Are creatures of the shadows, nooks and crannies. They seem to exist on all worlds at once. They look and act innocuous, but you have been warned the weapons they wield are surprisingly powerful, and that you should not get on their bad side. They tend to stay moderate, but are very passionate about certain issues.
The Keepers of Wildthings
Are life mages intent on keeping the natural order. They hail from Verdura, a mix of Shandalar, Ikoria and Zendikar all in one. While they aren't especially powerful in terms of the arcane, they skilled diplomacy has earned them the Bronze rank.
The Sprawling Union
Used to be an expansive empire, conquering plane after plane, but after a period of revolution and turmoil, they are now a quasi-democratic confederacy, their main skill being colonisation of challenging worlds. In diplomacy, they hate stasis and support all movements they believe to be progressive.
The Mindful Constructs
Are defined by their homeworld, Zi. Many theories have been made to explain Zi, but none of them give a concrete answer to its greatest mystery - everything on in is sentient. Gusts of wind, waves, every tree, every stone, has a mind. Which is reflected in their diplomacy - they see life everywhere, so they tend to value it less than normal. They are quick to anger, and often wage war.
The Serpents of Ckoearr
Are an ancient, very thinly-veiled evil. They play with the minds of people, and have to be restrained at meetings so they don't force all present to snap their own necks at a whim. They are kept around for two reasons, one, their magic, as unsavoury as it is, comes in terribly useful at times, and two, the Shade Lords, for some unknown reason, insist that they stay.
The Army of Zhshatakk
Are a band of mercenaries, who slowly grew into a diplomatic war council. At their best, they serve as the council's army and police force. At worst, segments of their interplanar fleet sometimes mutiny, and have to be contained. Politically, they at once benevolent, but also agressive. Righteous at best, short-tempered at worst.
The Dunihanar
Are a collection of dark elves, once as powerful as the Vasentilai, whose main source of magic, a powerful jewel, gets less magically charged as time goes on. They are in an endless obsessive quest to find a new source of power, and will relentlessly pursue any notion that could potentially lead to that, no matter if it is not for centuries that that will happen.
The Kobolds of Gadur
Are a Mining Consortium who slowly became a shadowy cabal which provides assassinations and dark magic services. They are not particularly diplomatically shrewd, however. In cloak and dagger environments, they use a lot more of the dagger than the cloak, which was fine on their home planet, but keeps them confined to the bottom in the Council.
The Xog
Are the polar opposites and mortal enemies of the Kobolds. They used to be a secret council, but when they took over their home plane they industrialized and became more of a megacorporation. While they still do the secret council stuff, they have started to overlap with the Kobolds more and more.
The Icker Collective
Are a hive mind of sentient oozes. This coordination has allowed them to basically become the factory and farm of the Council. However, they are not too bright, and so the other members fail to give them any real respect, and keep them confined to Iron Councillorship.
The Xog and The Kobolds are arguing! For ages, the communal mining plane of Yuria has been run by the Kobolds, for which they take a small percent of the profits from it. The Xog, however, say they would be better at running Yuria's mines, and so ask to be put in this position instead.
The vote will close next Saturday, and you have to vote:
A. Replace the Kobolds
B. Keep the Kobolds
C. Hold the issue for further debate
or
D. Abstain
You can make your votes public, or you can PM me, it is up to you. Think carefully, for this already starts to shape your relationship with the others.
You are, fo course, also free to take any separate political action, related to this, or not. This is a bit of an open-world contest so do what you please. It will however, have more impact when accompanied by an mtg card.
Let's hope I didn't wait too long to scare everyone off! (Sorry about that, by the way)
I will vote A, but where will the kobolds go? Will they be just wiped away or can we keep some of them, I mean the ones who are smart enough for furthering our own agendas?