Prehistory Set - Introduction and Vision Design

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  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Don't you think the crowd would be confused when we put flying snakes in a dinosaur set? They would wonder if this was Ixalan. So, if the Quetzacoatls weren't snakes, they would have an identity.
  • The-DMThe-DM
    ...
    Sure...

    Quetzalcoatl ("feathered serpent" or "plumed serpent") is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture. In Mesoamerican myth Quetzalcoatl is also a mythical culture hero from whom almost all mesoamerican peoples claim descent.

  • The-DMThe-DM
    But they still would be equally confused because Quetzacoatls would be present here. They'd still think if it's Ixalan, because they are from Ixalan.
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    This is weird, but you've gotta realize how different Mayan and Aztec deities were. They took many different forms, and so having a snake as your dad is perfectly aligned with reality. It's hard to explain, but if you dig deeper, you'll see what you mean.
    Side note:I do not claim to be an expert on Aztec culture, Mayans are the ones I studied.
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Here's the thing. People believe what the vibrant art says. Not the name. If you put a bunch of dots spelling out MAN, but with some of the dots red spelling out HI, people see HI.
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    edited June 2020
    We can use other scientific names to describe them so they can be more distinguishable I suppose.

    According to the Wiki, its family is Azhdarchidae and are called Azhdarchids. There's also many other species apparently, so we can use more art if we call them by this name. 

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azhdarchidae
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Oh, yeah, that makes sense @Leaf_Juggernaut.
    Also, @Tigersol, can we make pterasaur into a creature type?And then have blue care about pterasaurs?
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    Yea, pterosaur seems good as a creature type.

    Also what would we consider Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Mosasaurs, etc. The closes scientific classification that I could tie them into is Reptile, but that already involves current creature types like lizards, crocodiles, etc.

    Should we just make 3 separate types for each one or just call them reptiles, and ignore the other existing reptile species in magic?
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Hmm...Good question. I hate to do this, as a man of science, but we might just have to make them Dinosaurs @Leaf_Juggernaut

  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    @LordTachanka123
    True lol. Lets just do that then.

    Maybe down the line we can get more technical with the typing. 
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Yup.
  • KorandAngelsKorandAngels
    I was thinking White would get Cat, blue would get Serpent, I don't know what Black gets, Red would get Jackal, and green would get Mammoth.
  • The-DMThe-DM
    Black... Huge bats?
    @KorandAngels
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    edited June 2020
    Bats seems nice for black 

    Creature cycle ideas so far:

    White- Direwolf, Prehistoric feline
    Blue- Pterosaur, Plesiosaur 
    Black- Titanoboa, Prehistoric Bat
    Red - Smilodon, Prehistoric Jackal
    Green- Mammoth, Ankylosaurus
  • The-DMThe-DM
    Another for green: Ankylosaurus?
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    Ankylosaurus could work too
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Anky's are nice, but may I suggest moving Jackal's to black? We could replace them with Raptors, which were known for their dangerous potential.
    Side note: @Tigersol, we will most likely use Raptors in this set, as it is quite the big trope. This brings me to the question, will we be using 
    1. All species of Raptors
    2. Real Velociraptors, or JP Velociraptors
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Hey, umm, this is going back to my old apex mechanic, here's an idea:

    The creature you control with the most power/toughness is your apex

    And the same with Prey. @Tigersol

  • The-DMThe-DM
    Can raptors also be two colors, like Naya or Jund?
  • The-DMThe-DM
    To me, it makes sense.
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Raptors would be primarily boros in my belief, but maybe throw some green in there @The-DM?
  • The-DMThe-DM
    So... Naya.
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    Naya implies that all the colors are equal, but I think green would probably only make it to the rules text, not even the MC @The-DM

  • The-DMThe-DM
    edited June 2020
    Then Jund. Gruul savagery, with a bit of Sacrificing theme on the side. It fits the velociraptor's personality. 
  • TigersolTigersol
    @The-DM, @LordTachanka123, @Leaf_Juggernaut, and @KorandAngels
    On the topic of typing large reptilians, I think a pretty good approach is: "If it could appear as a monster in a Jurassic Park, then it's a dinosaur." Few people have any substantial knowledge about dinosaurs, and giving people more dinos to play in their tribal decks from Ixalan can't be a bad thing. 

    In terms of what the big, cool animals could be, I quickly made a list of the five first, big, bad, scary prehistoric creatures that appeared on Google. 
    - Tyrannosaurus Rex
    - Woolly Mammoth
    - Megalodon
    - Pterosaur
    - Saber-tooth Tiger
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    edited June 2020
    I like this approach. Sometimes simpler is better. It may add more-recognizable characters we can work around.

    I think it would be cool if we try to include atleast one creature of each era and/or period to really emphasize and bring out the world's theme. 

    But, the details for that would be when we get to card design. Just laying out the idea.
  • LordTachanka123LordTachanka123
    @Tigersol
    Could we replace T Rex with Mapusauras? They could be called the same thing, but in reality, Mapusauras was a lot scarier.
    Also, for the Pterasaur, would Quetzalcoatl work?
  • KorandAngelsKorandAngels
    So, here's my idea:
    We have 3-colour races that worship the animal spirit of their focal colour. For example, the Orcs would worship the black avatar, and the humans would worship the white avatar.
  • Leaf_JuggernautLeaf_Juggernaut
    @Tigersol
    How big would the set be? Is that a factor that can be determined yet? Would it be 100 or 300 cards?

    Just curious. That way we can get a general idea of how many filler creatures we can put into the set. 

    (And by filler, I don't mean bad cards, just cards to beef up the set)
  • ScaccogamingScaccogaming
    edited June 2020
    Sorry, I'm kinda late to the party. @Tigersol I also grew up with dinosaurs so I actually feel your passion and will to make a set that is worth every penny, so I'll be glad to be of service.

    From my modest stand point, I'm not really that good with inventing mechanics, as I like puting more flavor into my cards, reflected by its rules. But anyway, I feel like this set could take some inspiration from Ixalan, Ikoria and Khans/Dragons of Tarkir (if we want all the "man vs dinosaurs" theme). 
    About the colors, I feel like winged reptiles should be mainly White. Black should be a color that would fit very well giant snakes, or corpse-eating beasts. Green is the "evergreen" color for any dinosaur, really, while Red is a difficult color. I can see Sabre-tooth Tigers being red, or even some Raptors. Blue could have sea monsters in it, or heck even Mammoths (which could also be green actually).
    About the humans, I feel like the best colors they could have are Red for barbarians, Green for scouts and druids/shamans, maybe White or Blue, but we could create a custom keyword for the humans, reflecting on their ability to create to overcome the odds.

    Entering CRAFT {Mana} (Create a colorless artifact "Weapon" token and equip it to this card. Weapon tokens have "Equipped creature gets +1/+1). Craft should obviously be a human-only ability.

    I know it's not of much help, but what do you think?
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