The Whisper Order

Anshir had grown impatient, tugging his left earlobe indignantly. His eyes flicked wildly, scrutinizing each passing figure to the most minute detail in hopes of finding the Whisper Order's messenger. The environment didn't help either; the violent panging of raindrops on his hat brim permeated his ears like the incessant ramblings of a crazed man. Thin sheets of fog seemed to hang from the intimidatingly tall buildings, appearing bent towards the street so that the glowing windows looked down upon the few people who scrambled for their protection from the bullet-like raindrops. It was the middle of the day, but the only light sources were from the rusted and bent post lanterns that cast eerie shadows across the glossy brick floor; the sky was dominated by layers of gray clouds prevailing for miles like some sort of sad parade.

This was the eighteenth time Anshir tucked himself in the dank corner of a dark corridor on Burrow Street, waiting for a courier from the Whisper Order. He remembered Varis's slim body slithering up to him in a tavern, her snake-like eyes piercing into his soul as she whispered hollow threats from across a worn table, then consigning him to yet another assignment. Even though Anshir went fairly public with his resignation, he suspected Varis was reminding him that leaving the Whisper Order completely is a fruitless objective. Anshir knew those attempts at intimidation were insubstantial, but his years within the harsh society spurred him forward. It was at this moment as well that this urge kept him glued to the wall in the nasty aisle on Burrow Street despite his conscious screaming for him to ditch the assignment. He began tugging his earlobe again as another group of people ran past him. They were only a blur to him, flashing across his line of sight as if a grayscale stroke of paint was drawn across a dark canvas. A dark figure emerged from the conglomerate of shapes and approached Anshir, mumbling to himself about the taste of the bakery's bread, the deep toll of the cathedral bell, and the perpetual clamor of the Merchant District, among other topics. Finally, the courier.

"You're in my home," the shadow said, "where will I sleep?" The shape's head tilted slightly to the right, awaiting a response from Anshir.

"Sleepers will always be in a nightmare; it does not matter," Anshir responded, mimicking his movement. A letter sealed with a sticky blue substance materialized from the folds of the shadow and was given to him, then the figure left him in the alley as quickly as it appeared. Anshir tore open the letter, reading this final task with dead eyes. The letter only confirmed his suspicions: the Whisper Order wanted him, either carrying out operations again or in a casket. It was sugarcoated with high praise and large numbers, but Anshir knew these empty promises were a way of manipulating even the most cowardly into performing the most bullish of activities. Anshir skimmed the letter and then reread it before tossing the letter to the ground, dissolving in the rainwater accumulated in the gutter. Holding his cloak tightly to his breast, he reluctantly made his way to the Merchant District. He could hear Varis's mocking him, "having cold feet, honey?"

What is the Whisper Order?

The Whisper Order is a secret society woven into the fabric of every single community of Beneloheim. The history of the plane fails to mention the realm's primary foundation: secrets. The government covered up the exploits and conquests and murders quite well, almost completely wiping the events from the minds of all of the inhabitants of Beneloheim. The Whisper Order originally began as a small, public society that pushed to uncover these mysteries and oust corrupt politicians and expose the government's true records. The group was, however, completely undone when one of the members was murdered by the leader when the member discovered the leader was taking bribes from high-rank government officials to turn a blind eye to their activities. In order to stay open, the Whisper Order gradually evolved into a massive guild of rogues, assassins, and charlatans deeply rooted in every facet of Beneloheim society. Their work also grew more and more violent, and rather than confront the problem, the government declared the Whisper Order disbanded in fear of opening up very old wounds. Now unknown to the majority of the populace, the Whisper Order pulls up the weeds that are evil lawmakers with much more deadly force. Make no mistake, however: the Whisper Order is not 'good.' They will go to whatever lengths to tear apart the wicked, ranging from simple assassinations to placing sleeper agents in every corner of corporations and industries for years at a time to gaslight communities into believing their employers or fellow employees are vile. Framings are commonplace and are even used for elaborate setups to arrest a single person—the others are simply collateral damage for the sake of 'justice.'

Colors, Mechanics, and Gameplay Goals

The Whisper Order is characterized by manipulative tactics and sleeper agents, sowing uncertainty and distrust among the opposing ranks for their own gain. Utilizing blue and black mana, they lack physical power but greatly benefit from incapacitating the Order's foes, be it through deceit or straight-up assassination. A Whisper Order Library typically would have more noncreature spells than creature spells, relying on removals to soften early-game damage while you Infiltrate your opponents for conveniences, including passive damage or even removal. Many Whisper Order creature cards have this mechanic, allowing you to cast the creature under their control. Many common infiltrators deal passive damage or harm to the opponent's army, granting you a good source of damage or removal each turn. Noncreature spells typically include bounces or specialized bounces, infiltrate matters, and copious amounts of removal. More offensive spells apply stat changes to enemy creatures, allowing your weaker creatures to deal with the opponent's late-game board as you continue to infiltrate your opponent. To summarize, many creatures affiliated with the Whisper Order utilize Infiltrate for chip damage, unsummons, debuffs, elimination, discards, and tapping. The creatures who don't have Infiltrate are mostly used as meatshields but can have other purposes like debuffs on enemy stats or immobilizing them before combat. Noncreature spells typically act as bounces and infiltrate matters and primarily removals, but also include stat changes and tapping. Creatures without Infiltrate generally have less power, toughness, mana cost, and text in general; the more powerful effects are reserved for creatures that do have the ability.

Infiltrate {cost} (If you cast this spell for its infiltrate cost, it enters the battlefield under target opponent's control.)



Daring Escape > https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/daring-escape-5?list=set&set=70321
Lonely Asset > https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/lonely-asset?list=user
Varis, Asset Manager > https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/varis-asset-manager-1