#sparkmag

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Sparkmage Apprentice

Pajik was amazed and pleased at his newfound powers. His pet cat Rivin was slightly less enthusiastic.

Artist: Mark Poole TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[markrosewater]

Hi MaRo! Hope all is well! Longtime fan.

So I was reading the wiki for the Venser Scale and showing my partner it and- while it could just be a mistake on the wiki because Ral wasn't there- I made the joke that Ral was a 0 on the Venser Scale and thus is going to be in every set going forward. As much as I adore our favorite sparkmage, I think this is very unlikely. So it poses the question: Where exactly does Ral sit on the Venser Scale?

Ral is a 3. I expect to see more of Ral.

Note that planeswalkers are only on the scale if someone asked about them and I gave a number. Not being there just means no one asked.

[incorrect-mtg]

Flavor Text Highlights - Magic 2010

<- Previous Set | Next Set ->

Cool - Goblin Chieftain

“We are goblinkind, heirs to the mountain empires of chieftains past. Rest is death to us, and arson is our call to war.”

Funny - Disentomb

“Stop complaining. You can rest when you’re dead. Oh—sorry.” —Liliana Vess

Funny - Canyon Minotaur

“We’ll scale these cliffs, traverse Brittle Bridge, and then fight our way down the volcanic slopes on the other side.” “Isn’t the shortest route through the canyon?” “Yes.” “So shouldn’t we—” “No.”

Emotional - Lightning Bolt

The sparkmage shrieked, calling on the rage of the storms of his youth. To his surprise, the sky responded with a fierce energy he’d never thought to see again.

<- Previous Set | Next Set ->

[horademagic]

Mago de Centelhas Astuto/ Cunning Sparkmage

Tipo de criatura: Humano Xamã

Custo de mana: 1 vermelha + 2 de qualquer cor = 3 no total

0/1 de Poder e Resistência

Por que ela é interessante? essa criatura tem ímpeto e isso significa que ela não tem enjoo de invocação, já entra em campo pronta para atacar e ser usada para efeitos. Vire essa criatura para que ela cause 1 ponto de dano à criatura ou ao jogador(a) alvo, simples, mas tudo que precisa é virá-lo para garantir o dano ocorrendo.

Preço da carta: em torno de 0,20 até 70,00

Disponível em Português

"Essa carta tem algumas edições disponíveis, o preço pode variar a depender da edição que escolher adquirir"

Link: https://www.ligamagic.com.br/?view=cards%2Fsearch&card=Cunning+sparkmage&tipo=1

Até a próxima postagem, Ulli e Thiago

[govindhtech]

EMR Studio Features Requirements and Limits AWS

Amazon EMR Studio features, specs, and limitations:

Amazon EMR Studio describes an IDE for data preparation and visualisation, departmental collaboration, and application debugging. When utilising EMR Studio, consider tool usage, cluster demands, known issues, feature constraints, service limits, and regional availability.

Features of Amazon EMR Studio

Service Catalogue lets administrators connect EMR Studio to cluster templates. This lets users create Amazon EC2 EMR clusters for workspaces. Administrators can grant or deny Studio users access to cluster templates.

The Amazon EMR service role is needed to define access permissions to Amazon S3 notebook files or AWS Secrets Manager secrets because session policies do not allow them.

Multiple EMR Studios can control access to EMR clusters in different VPCs.

Use the AWS CLI to configure Amazon EMR on EKS clusters. Connect these clusters to Workspaces via a controlled API in Studio to run notebook jobs.

Amazon EMR and EMR Studio use trusted identity propagation, which has extra considerations. IAM Identity Centre and trusted identity propagation are required for EMR Studio to connect to EMR clusters that use it.

To secure Amazon EMR off-console applications, application hosting domains list their apps in the Public Suffix List (PSL). Examples are emrappui-prod.us-east-1.amazonaws.com, emrnotebooks-prod.us-east-1.amazonaws.com, and emrstudio-prod.us-east-1.amazonaws.com. For sensitive cookies in the default domain name, a __Host- prefix can prevent CSRF and add security.

EMR Studio Workspaces and Persistent UI endpoints use FIPS 140-certified cryptographic modules for encryption-in-transit, making the service suitable for regulated workloads.

Amazon EMR Studio requirements and compatibility

EMR Studio supports Amazon EMR Software versions 5.32.0 and 6.2.0.

EMR clusters using IAM Identity Centre with trusted identity propagation must use it.

Before setting up a Studio, disable browser proxy control applications like FoxyProxy or SwitchyOmega. Active proxies can cause Studio creation network failures.

Amazon EMR Studio restrictions and issues

EMR Studio does not support Python magic commands %alias, %alias_magic, %automagic, %macro, %%js, and %%javascript. Changing KERNEL_USERNAME or proxy_user using %env or %set_env or %configure is not supported.

Amazon EMR on EKS clusters does not support SparkMagic commands in EMR Studio.

All multi-line Scala statements in notebook cells must end with a period except the last.

Amazon EMR kernels on EKS clusters may timeout and fail to start. Should this happen, restart the kernel and close and reopen the notebook file. The Restart kernel operation requires restarting the Workspace, and EMR on EKS clusters may not work.

If a workspace is not connected to a cluster, starting a notebook and choosing a kernel fails. Choose a kernel and attach the workspace to run code, but ignore this error.

With Amazon EMR 6.2.0 security, the Workspace interface may be blank. For security-configured EMRFS S3 authorisation or data encryption, choose a different supported version. Troubleshooting EMR on EC2 tasks may disable on-cluster Spark UI connectivity. Run %%info in a new cell to regenerate these links.

5.32.0, 5.33.0, 6.2.0, and 6.3.0 Amazon EMR primary nodes do not have idle kernels cleaned away by Jupyter Enterprise Gateway. This may drain resources and crash long-running clusters. A script in the sources configures idle kernel cleanup for certain versions.

If the auto-termination policy is enabled on Amazon EMR versions 5.32.0, 5.33.0, 6.2.0, or 6.3.0, a cluster with an active Python3 kernel may be designated as inactive and terminated since it does not submit a Spark task. Amazon EMR 6.4.0 or later is recommended for Python3 kernel auto-termination.

Displaying a Spark DataFrame using %%display may truncate wide tables. Create a scrollable view by right-clicking the output and selecting Create New View for Output.

If you interrupt a running cell in a Spark-based kernel (PySpark, Spark, SparkR), the Spark task stays running. The on-cluster Spark UI is needed to end the job.

EMR Studio Workspaces as the root user in an AWS account causes a 403: Forbidden error because Jupyter Enterprise Gateway settings disallow root user access. Instead of root, employ alternate authentication methods for normal activities.

EMR Studio does not support Amazon EMR features:

connecting to and running tasks on Kerberos-secured clusters.

multi-node clusters.

AWS Graviton2-based EC2 clusters for EMR 6.x releases below 6.9.0 and 5.x releases below 5.36.1.

A studio utilising trusted identity propagation cannot provide these features:

Building EMR clusters without templates using serverless applications.

Amazon EMR launches on EKS clusters.

Use a runtime role.

Supporting SQL Explorer or Workspace collaboration.

Limited Amazon EMR Studio Service

Service Restriction The sources list EMR Studio service limits:

EMR Studios:

Each AWS account can have 100 max.

Maximum five subnets per EMR Studio.

IAM Identity Centre Groups are limited to five per EMR Studio.

EMR Studios can have 100 IAM Identity Centre users.

[cx2mom2522]

 The Strange Diets of Famous Historical Figures

Queen Victoria loved a colorful plate. Doc Holliday was a proponent of the so-called whisky diet. Famed aviator Howard Hughes would only eat chocolate bars, and even then, only if he unwrapped them himself. As I learned from this cool article on #SparkMag, a lot of the biggest and most colorful historical figures had pretty... unique diets. Makes me glad I'm doing #keto with @VirtaHealth!

[hyde-the-toad-bard]

As a former Izzet guild mage, I've always had a knack for picking up new magic, at least in terms of the elemental stuff. Summoning has always been a weak point of mine.

I haven't had to break out the sparkmage party tricks in a while since my current line of work really doesn't want things on fire, so I've learned different conflict resolutions. Mind magic is good, but I lack the focus to force my way into a prepared target, so I looked into some scrapped Izzet research and really started honing my talent in sleep magic. This is the main reason why I can get basically in and out of anywhere despite having very poor dexterity.

By combining the two, I've even made strides in the ability to affect dreams, and that is the core concept behind my latest project

Hey Mages of Ravnica, what kind of magic do you practice, and where do you get it? Eager to hear back from you wonderful folk!

[thesparkmag-blog]

We made our first ever Spark Mag print zine! It's full color and really nice and it raises money to keep the site going so please consider clicking. 

[ravenkult]

Thundering Sparkmage by Billy Christian https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oA9orB

[hyde-the-toad-bard]

Oh don't bother. I just put people to sleep. Though uhhh, I suppose I still have some tricks from my days as an Izzet sparkmage...

Anyone else in Ravnica going to the Ghirapur Grand Prix in a few months? Planning on going, but I don’t wanna offend any of the Avishkari people.

Anyone know any taboos or anything to avoid making a fool of myself. And if anyone wants tickets to the Grand Prix, I know a guy who knows a guy.

[oops-prow-did-it-again]

you tagged that post saying that you could talk about our mutual boy (ral) for hours. what are some headcanons you have? :)

OH BOY i have some

So. I'll start this off with a preface: I know OF events in Ral's life, and I know OF what happened in The Gathering Storm + the other War of the Spark novels. But I haven't ever fully read through them myself directly. So... take all of what I say with a grain of salt. I won't act like what I say is authoritative in any regard - this is me just having fun with the scrunkly sparkmage I know about

(more under the cut)

I am sure I am very unique in this regard (/s) but I can't help but headcanon Ral with like... hella ADHD and/or anxiety?? He's one of those people where he is FANTASTIC at what he does (heehoo izzet science), even if his methods are insane (that's just kind of a given for the Izzet), but he knows absolutely fuck all nothing about anything else. Aside from some street knowledge from when he worked beneath Bolas, he is utterly an idiot in most other facets of life.

I particularly imagine generalized anxiety sprouted up after War of the Spark, given how he adamantly believed he was doing the right thing... only for it to turn out that turning on the beacon was exactly what Bolas wanted him to do after all, and thousands, if not millions, of people died for that decision. Sure, Ral has done terrible things before, but... inadvertently making a choice (and having a hand in the creation of a machine!) that costs SO MANY PEOPLE their lives and nearly burns down the city he loves.... yikes. I struggle to see how that WOULDN'T give ANYONE anxiety

That being said, I imagine his anxiety manifests in like the "can't stop talking when I am nervous" way or the "I talk myself up in an annoying fashion and act like I think I'm better than I am" way, because otherwise, he starts to feel like the Horrors(TM) are becoming a little too real. Every time this guy tries to do something good, it BACKFIRES HORRIBLY, and he always feels like he's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always

I headcanon that he 100% was the one who went "we should go public with our marriage" @ Tomik and Tomik was like "People will flip, we are guildmasters. Of opposing guilds" and Ral was like "so? Do I give a shit?"

I imagine they probably DID try to hide it for a while, but Ral was secretly relieved when it happened and probably accused anyone that acted like it was a bad thing of homophobia, thus shutting them up instantly, even though he knows 100% nobody cares and they're just concerned bc of the flagrant political corruption

All in all I just headcanon him as always WANTING to do the right thing, but just as well, he's still a bit of a chaotic little shit at heart, and oftentimes, his attempts at "doing the right thing" seem to backfire more than when he ISN'T trying - which is how it becomes very easy for him to obsessively become wrapped up in things and do things, sometimes reprehensible things, that he will later regret

Oh and I headcanon him as absolutely being a bit crushed under the heel of Niv Mizzet. At first, he thought being the guildmaster of the Izzet League was going to be AWESOME - and then he very quickly found out that Niv having the powers of Living Guildpact, looming over his shoulder constantly, meant that he was little more than a puppetmaster for Niv for the Izzet, and so even now, he's still under the dragon's thumb. On one hand, he still respects and reveres Niv, but post-WotS, he's lost a lot of love for the dragon, as Niv allowed him to shoulder much of the blame for the beacon even though it was Bolas who implanted the idea in Niv's mind.

Also also also the fact that he needs that gauntlet to effectively make use of his lightning?? Feels a lot like a disability allegory to me and as a disabled guy I latch onto that a Normal(TM) amount. I love love love the gauntlet and seeing him with it and fiddling with it or using it makes me incredibly happy. MAGICAL DISABILITY AIDS!!

(Once again I stress that these are HEADCANONS that are only loosely based on canon....but yeah I have fun thinking about this guy. SCRUNKLY GAY SPARKMAGE MY BELOVED)

[prysmartin]

No Home for a Hero - Ch1

So, I guess, some context - This story is kinda the main reason I got an account to begin with. I wanted to post this somewhere, but had no clue where to go, and eventually decided to try here... and then promptly forgot to actually post the story, and got tangled up in YouTube and decided to post it THERE instead, reading it aloud myself. Felt like I should at LEAST return here and leave a text-based version.

You can find the audio version on YouTube Here.

No Home for a Hero

The village bell rang out across the countryside. Mid-morn was upon the land; the farmers were hard at work in the fields, the fishermen were off to the riverside for today’s catch, and the priests… Well, their studies and prayers were interrupted for whatever reason had been brought about for them to ring the bell. The world was already awake - the bell was just a small reminder of what time of day it was.

For some, however, it was more than a small reminder. It was a wake-up call.

Anni shot out of bed, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Rushing to get on her robes, she accidentally stubbed her toe on the corner of her bed. That wouldn’t stop her from her one goal, however, as she pushed past the pain and continued readying herself as fast as her body could move. One simple thought bounced around in Anni’s skull:

I’m late.

Before stumbling out the door of her room, Anni stopped to make sure she had all her notes and charms gathered. There would be no time for breakfast, as her finals had already begun, but forgetting something as basic as her training medallion would prove catastrophic. Nutrition could wait, but a sparkmage must have their tools prepared for the challenges ahead of them, and if Annibelle was going to be late, she was at least going to be well-prepared.

Most students were only there for mundane reasons. Some wanted the basic survival techniques with enhanced flare, some wanted skills to make their long days on the fields easier to manage, some wanted party tricks to knock the socks off of their friends. Others, like the Darcey boys, were there as a punishment for their misdeeds. Cow tippers aren’t exactly welcome around here. Anni, on the other hand, chose to go in order to live up to her mother’s legacy.

Medallion? Check. Diluted vials of Siren Tears? Check. Notes on Fulminology? Check. After making sure everything was where it needed to be, Anni made a mad dash down the stairs and out the door. Or, at least, she would have, if something hadn’t hit her in the middle of the kitchen. Not some magical epiphany or anything - Just a frying pan. Right in the gut.

As she curled up in pain from the crash and subsequent fall, her mother merely stood in shock, not sure what to think of the chaos in her kitchen, nor the scrambled eggs and daughter on the floor before her. After a few seconds of painful groans from Anni, her mother spoke.

“Anni… It’s the solstice. Classes aren’t happening.”

At a first glance, her mother would seem like no one special. Just another face in the ocean of faces. Only when you knew her name - Evelyn Cross Garner - would you understand her importance. Children’s books and historical texts may play up the glory of the war hero, but it’s undeniable that her wit and foresight helped the coalition win the war against the seemingly unstoppable regime so many years ago. Now hundreds of years old - at least, that’s what she’d like you to believe - Evelyn’s life has taken a calmer turn in retirement, and in the upbringing of her own children.

Anni took in a deep breath, the stranglehold of stress letting loose its grip as her mother’s reminder set in. “...Right. No finals.”

“Right! It’s going to be quite the party today. Aren’t you excited?” Evelyn picked up the pan and wiped it down before wandering over to the stove. “I hear Pastor Davis is going to prepare that Currant-Pear Streusel you like so much.”

Anni lay on her back, clutching her hands to her stomach. “That’s… nice.”

Evelyn gave her a concerned glance. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Mom, I just took a pan to the gut. Give me a bit.”

“That wasn’t intentional, I’ll have you know.”

Anni chuckled. “You sure?”

“Of course! I would have aimed for the face,” her mother said in a sarcastic tone.

“I don’t think I need another broken nose, mom.”

At that remark, her mother started laughing uncontrollably, and Anni joined in soon after. The scars of our past make good comedy for our present, as the two of them remembered the time Anni ran face-first into the barn doors, expecting them to magically open on their own.

But sometimes, the tragedies of our past will live on forever. Evelyn never moved on from hers; Annibelle’s middle name, Hazelwood, kept a simple homage to her lost sister. Evelyn’s heroism didn’t come from natural leadership. It didn’t come from love for the common folk. It didn’t come from raw power. It came from a sheer, undying want to find her sister and ensure her safety.

A wish which would never come true.

“Say… What was that for, anyways?” Anni stopped chewing to ask her mother a question.

“Hmm?”

“You know, the bell.�� She took another large bite out of her breakfast.

“Oh, um…” Evelyn stopped to think.

“Ef noh suppoph poh ree on hodeeth,” Anni said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

“What?” Her mother inquired.

Anni swallowed her food. “It’s not supposed to ring on holidays.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with that.” Her mother paused. “Well, now that you’re up, why don’t you go down and find out?”

“Well…”

“Always good to get some exercise, you know.”

“I already got some when running down the stairs, mom.”

“Sure, but that was cut short, wasn’t it?” Evelyn laughed. Anni took another bite of her food, and once she was done, spoke up again.

“Fine, I’ll check it out.”

“Oh, while you’re out and about, would you be a dear and get me some orange juice from Jovi? I hear her plantation has ripened.”

“Sure thing, mom.”

Hazelwood - Annibelle’s middle name -  was a constant reminder of why she wanted to live up to her mother’s legacy. It wasn’t to find Hazel - It had been years since she was last seen, and she was most likely dead -if not worse - by this point. Instead, it was to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Evelyn failed to save her sister. There was no way to go back and fix that mistake; but Anni would make sure another one just like it wouldn’t happen on her watch. With her newly acquired skills and talents, the aspiring sparkmage could protect the innocent, standing tall where her mother stood before.

Well, once classes were finished tomorrow, that is. Finals were just around the corner, after all.

The heart of the town was busier than usual for a Holiday. The commotion could be heard from quite a distance away - whatever had brought the village together had also stirred them to unrest. The streets were eerily barren, yet the roar of the crowd made it feel like the place was on fire. Trudging cautiously down the empty paths, Anni made her way towards the church at the center of town, where everyone had likely gathered.

Turning yet another corner, her assumption was right - the crowd came into view, all piled in the large courtyard before the steeple. It didn't seem violent, but the harsh glares from everyone's faces as they yelled endlessly at one another made it clear that something wasn't right. At the edge stood some people smart enough to not get involved; The Darcey boys leaned against the wall while laughing at the craze, Elder Alma was knitting away in a rocking chair from the second-floor balcony of her apartment, and Professor Maxwell sat on a bench a good distance away from the commotion.

“Professor?” Anni asked, the wave of noise being far enough that she didn’t need to raise her voice.

The Professor spun his head around. "Oh? Hello, Annibelle!"

"Professor, you can just call me Anni."

"And you can call me Max, Annibelle." The professor smiled and laughed. "I see you've got some fashion sense," he said, eying her training robes

"I- Yes, I do. I thought today was Finals…" She slumped down in mild defeat and embarrassment. 

“Hah! No, that’s tomorrow.”

Anni rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I know that now…”

"Well, considering what kind of a riot might turn up here,” Professor Maxwell gestured towards the crowd in front of them mid-sentence, “maybe you can put what you've learned to good use!"

"I don't think I have the right tools to call lightning right now, Professor."

"Of course not! That would be overkill.”

“And it would be very unlike you to not have that at the ready.”

The professor burst into a hearty fit of laughter. “Ah, Annibelle, you know me too well.”

"So, Professor-"

The professor cut her off. "Please, Annibelle, just Max."

"Max, what's going on here?"

"I’m… Honestly unsure. The king sent out a surveyor, I think?" He turned to look at the crowd, a stumped frown taking form on his face. “I’m unsure why the crowd got so riled up by a story, nor why that’s what the survey was for.”

"A story?" Anni asked, puzzled.

"Yes.” He paused for a second, collecting his thoughts. “The surveyor said something about protecting our civilization's culture in case we all get wiped out from a war."

“Seriously?”

“Yes, Anni. There is that war in the east, you know?”

“But those are Naval battles!” Anni responded frantically in confusion. “And they’re thousands of miles away!”

“Well, I guess someone made a compelling argument to get this done, then.”

“Or our King is a wuss,” Anni said, rolling her eyes. This wasn’t the first weird decision he’d made while in power, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, either.

“Whatever the case, I’m sure-”

Maxwell was cut off by one loud, clear, booming voice that outdid the entire crowd.

“WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP FOR HALF A SECOND?”

The crowd fell silent. Anni took this moment of clarity to rush her way towards the front of it all to try and see who was talking. It wasn’t any voice she recognized, that’s for sure; It was likely the surveyor, but anyone with the power to bring order to a chaotic gathering was a leader, and leaders were often heroes. And if this was a hero… Maybe this was one who fought alongside her mother in the storybooks.

“I am sick and tired of these stupid arguments. Who cares about the condiments the dragon used to fry the frog? That’s not the point of the story to begin with!”

Pushing her way to the front of the crowd was anything but an easy task - Anni struggled to find a path through the densely packed horde. Who could it be? Peaking over the heads of the swarm of people, she couldn’t make out any faces.

A person from the crowd chimed in. “Well, what else do you want? It’s in the name of the tale! The Dragon and the Frog!”

After finding a small gap and making a good dash forwards, Anni misjudged the ability to stop her own momentum, crashing into the backside of someone who shuffled into her path at just the wrong time.

The Surveyor spoke again. “It’s about the frog’s ignorance to the simple fact that he is a frog! The taste of the cooked frog is irrelevant!”

Apologizing quickly and getting back up to her feet, Anni continued her weaving through the crowd as thoughts weaved through her head. Was it Syr Danniel? Commander Eltwood? Prince Balst? Could she maybe learn how to be a hero by traveling abroad by the side of one of the classic protectors?

“You think it’s irrelevant!” the Woman retorted. “Our culture values the taste and flavors of plenty of ingredients! It does not matter if it is a local tradition. You are here to record everything you can, and this matters as much as anything else!”

Finally, after a crazy scramble to reach the front, Anni had made it… to be greeted by anything but who she expected. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, but her hopes had been brought up, and now they were shot down as she looked at the man across the way who was addressing the lady.

His garb was… unique. A stetson sat atop his head, and the tattered jacket that lay across his torso looked like it would have perfectly suited an inventor. Strapped to his back was a sword unlike any she’d ever seen before - One that curved along its blade, carrying a hilt with no guard. A satchel rest against his hip, and he held a book open in his hand.

“Miss, I’ve a VERY strict deadline to meet, and I don’t want to waste it with the likes of this town and its petty arguments.” The man spun around. His brow was furrowed, channeling the anger of a lesser god, and his teeth were gritted as if he were, well, arguing with a stubborn peasant over the ownership of a single penny.

“Oh, REALLY now?” The woman stomped the ground in rage. “Is it REALLY so tight you cannot listen to something as simple as the seasoning of a frog?”

The man closed his eyes for a second, let out a hefty sigh, and turned to face her dead-on with a glare to kill. “Look, Miss, Yes.”

On that note, the sky split in half. The air turned to dust. Every color died, draining from all as a massive rift tore itself through reality behind the Surveyor. Like arms of the starved reaching for a loaf of bread, the rift struck the ground with immense force.

“Yes, my schedule IS that tight.”

The dirt and cobble was torn through like molten butter to a chainsaw, the fabric of reality pouring up in an inverted waterfall. The crowd’s shock turned to horror, their horror to panic. Some ran as fast as they could. Others couldn’t dare move a muscle, frozen in place by fear. The screams returned, but this time as a frenzied cry for help rather than a heated debate. In the panic, though, Anni tried to hold her ground and calm herself as she prepared to defend the town however she could. This was her shot.

But the roar of the crowd and bodies pushing their way past made it impossible to focus, as she kept rebalancing herself in the tide of people. It didn’t matter either way. The screams slowly died as the air turned to dust, the dust to stone, the stone to nothing and the nothing to a crushing end.

Yet… Despite the world dissolving around them, and the darkness encompassing everything to a point that it was impossible to see even a meter before you, the Surveyor took these last few moments to utter a simple phrase.

“Farewell, dumbasses.”

He Saluted, and all lost meaning.

Ringing.

It was all she could hear. All she could think. All she could see. There was nothing but ringing, and it was everywhere. It was everyone. It was everything. Ringing, ringing, ringing,

Until suddenly, it wasn’t.

Her eyes were wide open. Not out of choice; Anni couldn’t move a muscle, no matter how hard she tried. The ringing faded to a mild distraction, nagging her ears like a needy fly. Her thoughts returned, and she could see the world again… though lacking color. The saturation had been all drained but for a dim green glow on some of the people closest to her. The bustle of the crowd had been drowned into an eerie silence. All movement was frozen. All she could do was stare dead on at the rift in the world before her as its still image burned into her brain.

Well, the mostly still image.

With a heavy sigh, the Surveyor stretched out his arms and back. Blue eyes. He blinked a few times and let out a loud groan as he stretched again. Brushing his shoulders, his jacket froze in place the moment he took his hand off of it. “Yknow, I’m never gonna get used to this.” After a small pause and some more stretching, his glare turned straight to Annibelle. The small amounts of green turned blue as he approached, his eyes piercing her heart with a deadpan stare.

He grabbed her shoulder. She could feel it. She could feel everything. The force of a thousand stars and the power of the tide was burning through her flesh, bone, muscle and body, as though a talon had pierced her heart. She couldn’t scream, but if the chance was ever given to her in that moment, she could have shattered all the world’s glass.

“Yeah, you’ll do,” said the Surveyor, letting loose his grip. She began to fall. The world rose. The crushing pain only worsened, and she could feel her lungs collapsing. She fell through the earth, into the depths of whatever grave await her beneath the ground, choking on the dirt and stone the deeper she plunged. The ringing was gone, but a new thought took its place:

“Help”

With a blinding flash of light, the fires faded, her breath came back, a freezing sensation seared her blood, and the world disappeared around Annibelle.

[snarksideoftheloon]

They're called pingers, because they deal one damage to something (preferably any target). Prodigal Sorcerer (aka Tim), Cunning Sparkmage et. al.

"Do you think blue putting -1/-1 counters on your opponents' stuff would be okay it it only used them to shrink but not to kill? (Probably by checking the toughness)The rule of thumb is we’re willing to let a color use -1/-1 counters wherever it can deal damage to a creature, so my gut is we wouldn’t do that." Is blue not allowed to have Tim effects anymore?

Blue hasn’t had Tim effects for over twenty years. (And yes, Time Spiral had a few throwbacks that were out of color pie.)

[ravnicaforgoblins]

Ravnica for Goblins

More Awesome NPCs of Ravnica

NPCs are one of the most important tools in a DM’s campaign. Your assorted guards, informants, bartenders, hench-persons, random civilians, and, of course, your quest-givers. Optimistically, you hope to have certain NPCs stick around for a while to have the party build a relationship with them, as opposed to getting murder-hobo-ed because your party doesn’t like their attitude. Which is why it’s so great that Ravnica is filled with cool NPCs who are definitely stronger than your party (for a while)!

A couple notes; I already did a list of Awesome NPCs, focusing on the Ladies of Ravnica, so this time I thought I’d try and give the boys (and Melek) some spotlight. Secondly, as I’ve by now made annoyingly apparent, I’m focusing on characters in the modern era of Ravnica, i.e. after the Decamillennial, because everything before the Decamillennial is a nightmare to figure out and you don’t need that headache.

Tajic, Blade of the Legion

You can’t have the Boros without Tajic. Well, you can, but you don’t want to. Tajic is the Legion’s Champion as well as their Mazerunner, and embodies all the ideals the Legion stands for. Unity, strength, passion; an unbreakable shield against all who would threaten Ravnica’s citizens. He is technically considered a Firefist, but special considerations should be made to give him the flavor he really deserves. Both of Tajic’s MTG cards have had some manner of protection against damage when involving other creatures. In addition, Firefists are actually primarily spellcasters, whereas Tajic is never seen without a blade in his hand or his name. So, to sum up, take a Firefist, add in some manner of damage resistance or even immunity contingent upon having allies present, throw in a weapon trick or two for his big wavy sword, and ta-da! You’ve got Tajic!

Momir Vig, Simic Visionary

I know I said no pre-Decamillennial, but Momir Vig is a special case. Technically, the former Guildmaster is dead, but the shadow of his reign still lingers over the Simic Combine. Momir Vig symbolizes everything Ravnica fears about the Combine; progress without restraint. Vig’s cytoplasts were oozes designed for personalized evolution in subjects to correct flaws and deficiencies (regrowing lost limbs, bolstering weakened immune systems, extra brain cells, etc). The only problem is that the project worked so well that Vig stopped seeing the need for consent, creating a new form of cytoplast that only needs to touch a host to bond with it. This raised some understandable concerns among Ravnican citizens, as well as the other Guilds. These concerns went to 11 when Vig’s Project Kraj, a gargantuan organism composed of thousands of cytoplasts, was activated to purge Ravnica and start over with a fresh slate. They went to a further 12 when Vig was killed, Project Kraj summoned every cytoplasm back to it (maiming, crippling, or killing a large number of hosts), and proceeded to go on a rampage that only ended after it ate Rakdos and went into a coma.

Momir Vig is exactly the kind of mad scientist to escape the grave, go underground, and continue his research unimpeded until it’s ready. A Rogue Guildmaster with no boundaries, or as we like to call it, a ready-made Big Bad.

Melek, Izzet Paragon

As with Vig, Melek is canonically dead, but that sort of “dead” that could conceivably be temporary if the story requires it. Melek is a Weird designed by Niv-Mizzet himself to be the Izzet Mazerunner. A certain sparkmage had other ideas however, so he absorbed the sentient being of pure elemental energy into himself at the start of the Maze and took its place, then tried to shock the other runners to death because, you know, winning. But following the physics principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed into a different form, it’s believable that Melek could return someday. Probably with a grudge against said sparkmage. Melek is a fascinating build, combining high-level spellcasting with complete elemental resistance or possibly even immunity. Basically, a wizard who can tank. Even more intriguing, any lab run by a being composed of pure energy would be calibrated to channel said energy, possibly allowing short-range teleportation within said lab. This is a brilliant exercise in lair mechanics, so don’t hold back. Lest we forget Melek is a personal project of the Firemind, aka, the single most brilliant, powerful, and egocentric fire-breathing ancient dragon wizard in Ravnican history.

Tomik Vrona, Distinguished Advokist

Given the Orzhov Syndicate’s seeming fascination with being a faceless hierarchy of priests, lawmages, ghosts, tax collectors, etc; it’s nice to have another face with a name. Tomik Vrona is a lawmage who apprenticed under Teysa Karlov herself, making him a master of Ravnican law. It also makes him uncharacteristically open to relationships with other Guilds, as he is effectively Teysa’s link to the outside world during her imprisonment. Tomik carries a strong respect for the law, but is a passionate lover of interesting & creative loopholes. In short, he’s not inherently evil/greedy like most of the Syndicate, but still has ambition in spades. He prefers to use gargoyles for transportation, treasures every book he owns, and is canonically dating/living with that hot-tempered sparkmage mentioned previously. Whether the relationship is public or not is up to you. I personally see it as a measure of trust between the NPCs and the party; it’s a pretty controversial pairing of Guilds. It could even be a Romeo & Juliet (Julio?) kind of affair, just putting that out there.

Vorel of Hull Clade

If Momir Vig represents the dark side of the Simic Combine’s experiments, Vorel represents the infinite possibility they can offer. A former Gruul shaman, he made the decision to give up a piece of his clan’s territory to a Boros Legion garrison to better fortify their home turf, and was nearly killed when they turned on him for perceived cowardice. Vorel escaped and joined the Combine, where he was given Merfolk traits and an environment that embraced his ideas & strategic thinking. Vorel is extremely grateful to his new Guild, and believes himself to be an example of how anything is possible through the Simic, no matter one’s origins. His strong passion & drive have led to great breakthroughs, but he’s definitely more emotionally-driven than most Simic researchers. Here is a Biomancer that isn’t afraid to get dirty or bloody in combat. This could be a fun experiment in crafting a Simic Melee Weapon.

Tolsimir Wolfblood, Ledev Guardian

You know that one leader elf in fantasy stories who everyone else takes orders from but never fights themselves? Yeah, this isn’t that elf. This is what you wish that elf was, a warrior archer who leads his soldiers into battle atop a giant dire wolf and kicks some serious ass. The Ledev are Selesnya’s elite mounted force, skilled fighters, archers, swordsmen, and even spellcasters. They are the cavalry, the breaking dawn on Hornburg, the “oh shit” in an enemy’s mouth. Please don’t make the mistakes of countless fantasy novels by being on bad terms with such badass warriors. Having any member of the Ledev behind you should be a boost to the party’s courage & resolve. Having Tolsimir fight alongside you should be one of the greatest honors of your life. The chance to finally recreate that “besties” relationship between Legolas & Gimli as you see who can kill the most enemies in battle.

Domri Rade, City Smasher

I hesitate to include Domri, I genuinely do. He’s a scraggly little punk who nearly brought about the destruction of the Gruul (and all of Ravnica) ultimately because he was too weak and too stupid. I include him here out of respect for the lore, but you can honestly do better. Domri Rade was considered too small & weak for any Gruul clan, so he instead bonded with the savage animals of the Rubblebelt, eventually discovering he could incite them into stampedes at will. This new power finally granted him admission into Borborygmos’ own Burning Tree Clan, but he panicked during the burial rite of passage and planeswalked away for the first time. Eventually he learned to control his powers, returned to the Rubblebelt, challenged Borborygmos for leadership of the Burning Tree clan, and won by sending wave after wave of stampeding boars to trample the cyclops Guildmaster. He was enlisted by Nicol Bolas to help destroy Ravnica, and failed to realize that meant him too as an eternal ripped out his Planeswalker Spark, killing him. Domri Rade is basically a cheap knockoff of Garruk Wildspeaker, only smaller and weaker and dumber and infinitely less dangerous. He is, however, considered by many to be an omen of the End-Raze, heralding the return of the Boar God Ilharg and the burning down of Ravnica by the Gruul who follow the Old Ways. So maybe play up that angle if you include him in your campaign.

Ral Zarek, Izzet Viceroy

If you only include one NPC from any of my lists in your Ravnica campaign, you must include Ral Zarek. Failing to do so is denying your players the opportunity to interact with the single coolest character in Ravnica. He beats out Vraska for the sole reason that he’s a much more public & accessible figure than the Gorgon Assassin, and an unexpected encounter with him is significantly less likely to end in your death/petrification. Between his good looks, cocky grin, brilliant mind, and lightning powers that put Thor to shame; Ral is certain to make any situation more interesting. He’s a great contact to have within the Izzet, a brilliant researcher, extremely talented with designing gadgets or magic items, an astonishingly powerful magic user, and a fun guy to hang around with. He can definitely have a temper on him, so understand when to back away. Hint: His hair turns from black to white when his electromancy powers are activating. You’ll also probably notice the sounds of static discharge building up around him, perhaps a faint smell of ozone, crackling energy coming from his gauntlet, and, oh yeah, his eyes glow and his smile turns into a growling grimace of death as he fills you with lightning. Whether by design or accident, Ral is basically the mascot for Ravnica, and it’s almost unthinkable for him to be absent from a campaign set there.