#i kinda feel like maybe it's the artist trying to put a higher “per piece” value on his work.... but...... is this where you wanna do that?

[kirbyddd]

while im ranting about rpg stuff

there are some dudes with a really cool rpg monster-design book who have absolutely botched their kickstarter and are scrambling to crawl over the finish line before the campaign time runs out

today it was like "Friday! That means blog post day!" like guys you have been making blog posts every single day desperately trying to scrabble together a few more supporters

i get those emails cause i supported it, it's a really cool project I'd like to see succeed, but man theyve really dropped the ball. one of the guys is an 80k youtuber and they thought that would just be enough i guess?

also theyre asking for 75,000 BIG ONES like guys i have seen fully illustrated book kickstarters before. yours is UNDER 100 PAGES. there are entire original rulebooks and box sets funding for a fraction of that right now. i kindaaaa think theyre trying to squeeze out a bit of pocket money on that baseline funding goal.

honestly yeah theyre reaaally gettin a bit overconfident askin $75k for a glorified 80pg tables book in the indie rpg scene, especially for a book that's already complete?? i fully support trying to earn back your sacrifices and turn a profir on a project you had to make for free before you could sell it, but....

$75k..? 84 pages..? already written and illustrated? in the tabletop homebrew market, the most frugal "build it yourself" audience in all of gaming? ...really?

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Commander Cards

Now that I’ve taken a look at the Legendary Creatures for War of the Spark, it’s time to look deeper and see if there are any other cards in this set for Commander. (Spoiler alert: there are.)

Since there are a lot of them, I’m going to do this quick, first impression style, with what pops into my head. I’ll try to touch on cards that I think do have lots of potential, as well as cards that look like they should but probably don’t. So let’s take a look!

Superfriends? I mean, he’s got the Ajani Steadfast ability, so yay redundancy? If you want two of these effects and have the colors for it, go for it because the other abilities are so-so at best.

I love this. It’s like two hate cards in one! Shut down tutors & completely obliterate Graveyard strategies. Even if you only activate Ashiok once, the main job is done, but it’s clearly a better card if you can keep it around.

This is going to be a powerhouse in 60 card formats, but is a little iffier in Commander, just given the giant range of CMCs in the format. That said, it can be a nice silver bullet for when you need it, and gives some monocolor decks access to removal they wouldn’t have otherwise, so I can definitely see this showing up in mono Red, Blue, or Black decks, in particular.

Enough other people have talked about this card already, so you don’t need me to do it. It’s going to see play, I think it’ll just take some time to find the perfect home for it. One interaction I’m particularly fond of is with Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, because you can exile excess lands off the top of your own library to keep the card train flowing.

Most of this cycle are purely Limited fodder, but I think there’s some potential here. For one mana over Call to Mind, you get double the effect, with the downside that you don’t get to keep bringing this card back for extra shenanigans. If it weren’t for the exile clause, I’d call this a slam dunk, but as it is I think it will find some homes.

I mean, sure. It’s a lot of action for one card, but realistically most of the time you’d rather just have a full sweeper. Ten bucks says this gets reprinted in a Commander deck release within the next 3 years, because this is the kind of shit they love.

For the most part, I’d rather just play Torch of Defiance, which gives you a lot more option for your mana. But if you think you can protect her long enough to get to the ultimate, that’s pretty awesome card advantage for Red. Or if you think you’re going to want to run her in a Doubling Season build.

This is so fucking cool. I’ve seen decks run Ever After before, and this is along those lines, but with a lower floor and a higher ceiling. Obviously, the dream is to prevent the damage altogether, but even if you’re getting a few pieces back and losing 10-15 life, that can be worth it. I like the potential to assemble combos out of opponents’ graveyards, and I definitely think there will be decks that find a use for this.

Were you looking for another Blood Artist effect? Well, you got one, and it comes with a relevant creature type attached as well. Sure, it only works on your creatures, like Zulaport Cutthroat, but this will see play for sure. 

Interesting side note, I think this is the first time I’ve seen templating for Planeswalkers “dying.” Kinda a flavor miss, because losing all loyalty doesn’t really represent death, it just represents the planeswalker peacing out and leaving you to deal with your own bullshit. But whatever, it’s clean templating.

This seems destined to be a staple, and another one I’m guaranteeing will show up in a precon Commander deck within the next few years. Yes, it’s a little expensive for creature removal, but mana hungry decks will play it.

Three thoughts. One, even without having a Bolas out, getting your third and fourth best cards back from your Graveyard can still be totally awesome in a deck that can easily get stuff put in the grave. Two, in a Bolas-themed deck, this is a slam dunk. Three, mono Black decks might like this in any case, because normally they can only grab creatures, and this allows for all card types, which is pretty unique.

Okay, four thoughts. Seb McKinnon is a gem, and I can’t even express how happy I am that they’ve been letting him move into more conceptual, less literal pieces in the past few years. This plus Deathsprout in the same set? We don’t deserve it.

This just seems super efficient, even though it misses some problematic permanents. You won’t have trouble finding targets in EDH. I’m sold.

Bitterblossom occasionally sees play. You really want to have a use for the one token per turn to make this worth it, because the extra +1/+1 counter is much less relevant in the format. If you desperately need consistent sac fodder generators, this can be some good redundancy for you.

For the most part, this feels like a strictly Limited Uncommon, but I do think there’s one archetype that might have a home for it, and that’s go-wide Zombie decks. It’s not uncommon for Zombie decks to rack up huge numbers of Zombie tokens, and giving them all flying can be a game-winning proposition. I’d expect to see this in some builds of Varina, Gisa & Geralf, or maybe even Grimgrin.

These two cards belong in exactly the same decks. Superfriends decks & +1/+1 counters decks. They’re a touch flimsy, but they’ll each do solid work.

I’m just going to use this card to represent the entire cycle. All 5 of these cards have potential homes in EDH, it really just depends on the individual deck. None of them are the best at what they do for X<10, but they’re all insane if you can cross that 10 mana threshold. 

For a color combination that’s usually majorly struggling with replenishing their hand, this card has real potential. I like that it’s completely card-neutral, as it even replaces itself, so you’re never really down. Instant speed also goes a long way, and I can imagine tons of Boros decks wanting this.

How nice of these cards to come so close in the alphabet to each other! I’m putting them together because it’s obvious. These are both for the same deck, and that deck is Superfriends. Interplanar beacon may not be right for all builds, but I can’t imagine any Superfriends build not wanting Ignite.

Y’all know I’m always down for more Jace in my life, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I am super down for this card. Having a second Laboratory Maniac is phenomenal, and the fact that he can trigger that last card draw himself to win is just icing on the cake. Any deck that wants Lab Man will probably be interested in this.

I am generally very down on Karn in Standard & Limited, but he actually has a lot of potential in Commander. First, he completely shuts off opposing mana rocks, which is huge, but he also turns off a number of extremely problematic Artifacts, like Isochron Scepter. And given how many decks have crucial Artifacts as part of their win-con packages, he can also come in and retrieve those cards from exile, which can often be devastating. All that action can definitely make him worth considering for Artifact builds like Daretti or Breya.

This may seem strange, but there are already G/U decks that run big monsters as their main thing, and many of them would happily draw a card off of each one they land. Kiora comes down cheap, and helps you ramp into these leviathans, then rewards you for doing so. I’m into it.

I mean, is there any doubt? Liliana has a massive effect on the board, and makes sure you’re always drawing cards as your things naturally die. I can see tons of black decks being into this, to say nothing of the Zombie builds where this is a perfect fit.

I figured this was worth mentioning, even though there’s really only one deck that I think would be interested, and that’s Lord Windgrace. Okay, and maybe Omnath, Locus of Rage, now that I think about it more.

I actually think this little guy has a lot of potential in the right builds. For one, he’s a twist on a Blood Artist effect, particularly if your deck is built around sacrifice loops. But he also has the side effect of punishing your opponents, even just as they try to use their fetch lands. You can snipe away opposing mana dorks, or just go to the face repeatedly. There’s a lot of potential in this seemingly innocuous Uncommon.

I suspect this pick will be one very few people share with me, but I remember when Leovold, Emissary of Trest was a thing, and Narset is basically the important half of that. This + a wheel is an enormous blow to all your opponents in one fell swoop, and I can definitely imagine big wheels decks wanting this.

First person to cast this on Expropriate is my personal hero. That’s all.

I think it’s pretty clear that this is the best version of a Bolas Planeswalker that’s ever been printed, and that alone makes this a contender for many casual EDH decks. In a Superfriends build that can run him, it’s just bonkers. The play line of Doubling Season into Samut the Tested into this is a very viable win condition for such a deck. (Despite the flavor fail.)

For Standard, all of these modes might be useful, but for EDH I’m really only looking at the middle two. Grabbing back up to four permanents from the Graveyard is huge, and decks that want to proliferate will be more than happy to do so 4 times.

Ral is always pretty clear what deck he belongs in, and it’s usually Spellslinger. Being able to copy spells on his -2 is pretty big game, especially if you pair him up with extra turn effects. And it’s definitely possible to assemble a game winning combo with him. All you need is two spells that can copy each other, and one initial spell to get the ball rolling. That’s totally doable.

If your favorite deck is mono-White and your meta is full of multicolored cards, this could be worth considering. But outside of those conditions, I’d skip it.

This card goes in Breya. And Jhoira. And other degenerate Artifact decks.

Honestly, my favorite place for this iteration of Sarkhan is in a Superfriends deck as a way to alpha strike out of nowhere. Seriously, that +1 threatens a ton of damage if you’re running lots of Walkers, and he makes phenomenal tokens to protect them with. Seems great.

I can’t imagine a Voltron deck anywhere that doesn’t want this. Yes, it restricts you from casting Creatures or Planeswalkers even on your next turn, but if you only care about your General getting through, this is phenomenal. I immediately put this in my Taigam, Ojutai Master deck, and I bet it has homes in plenty more.

God what is with all the boardwipes in this set? Well, Wave of Reckoning is a thing, and this is easier to cast in Boros, so why not?

Sorin does so many things that W/B decks want to do. I can imagine decks like Ayli or Karlov wanting to run this for sure, as easy ways to gain lots of life. Then the fact that he can recur cheap creatures ties in perfectly. He’s not a slam dunk for every deck, but he’s a value machine in the decks that want him.

I immediately slammed this into my Aminatou, the Fateshifter deck, because now I have a second way to do infinite flickering. Beyond that, I’m sure there are many decks that would be interested in a clone that can copy Planeswalkers as well, though I do wish it weren’t restricted to ones you control.

Tamiyo is interesting, since her +1 seems like it would generally be awful in a singleton format. But then, there are a lot of decks that actually want things in the graveyard, like Sidisi, Brood Tyrant. And then, the fact that she’s got the Eternal Witness effect makes me stay curious. Finally, incidentally shutting off things like Fleshbag loops & forced discard makes Tamiyo a pretty intriguing package of useful effects. I’m willing to give her a try.

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir sees play basically on his static ability alone, so having that already makes this a card worth considering. My hunch is he’s a little too flimsy to make waves in EDH, but there’s probably an interested deck somewhere.

Tezzeret is not as good as people think he is, but Breya will still be interested, because she’s interested in anything degenerate to do with artifacts.

In case you’ve got that one friend who only has one deck and it’s Superfriends, this is his wakeup call to make another fucking deck.

I seriously can’t with all the board wipes in this set. I suppose this one is fun if you have a creature you really don’t want to lose for good.

There are some Green creature decks that can do some crazy shenanigans operating entirely at Instant speed, and those decks will be more than happy for Miss Vivien to drop on by. The rest of her text is mostly ornamental.

Vivien’s Arkbow may be a mediocre in Limited, but it has potential to be the real deal in EDH. Discarding a card is a real cost, but if you can reliably activate this for at least 6, you’re likely to hit every single time. And that’s not bad.

So that’s it. Those are most of the cards I expect to have an impact on Commander decks. Sure, there are likely a few I missed, but they’ll make themselves known eventually. What decks are you going to slot these cards into?

[colleydogstar]

A Ranger’s Tale - 5 - Face in the Mirror

Story and all other character by @rollem-bones. As mentioned before, the log has a mix of 1st/3rd person tenses due to play styles.

Our story continues...

The canine woman looks back at you. It is you. Your mantra reassures you. It solidifies who you are now. A canine demihuman, and a young woman now. When you breathe, her chest rises. When you blink, her eyes close. The hair framing your muzzle, partially your ears, partially the fluff of your hair and fur. The cloak is around you, the tunic from Salicia hanging almost dress like on you. But it is you. All you. And for that, there's a bit of reassurance. Then, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had come in," Pritchard says, standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

 Rhodie's hands are visibly shaking as she tries to steady herself by placing them on the sink, watching the demihuman do the same. She is taking deep breaths in and out through her mouth. She closes her eyes, head lowering as she she hears Pritchard's voice. "I don't.... I don't recognize this face at all. I know I'm looking at myself, but that isn't me. Not who I'm SUPPOSED to be."

 "I see," Pritchard says quietly. "Would you like me to leave you alone?" he asks, looking away for a moment. "Salicia is preparing some fish for us to eat. I can call you when it's ready." He remains for now, however, putting his weight on the door jamb.

 Rhodie shakes her head, "No, no, please don't." She turns to look at him, "If I'm alone, I think I might lose it, and then you'll have a blubbering ball of red fur to deal with. If I'm around people, maybe I can deal. Maybe." She takes a steadying breath, "You said I'm a Wanderer, an Errantblood. If there's a name for something like this, that means that there's been a number of folks in something like my situation?"

 Pritchard nods. "I'll remain then. Would you mind if I come in?" he asks, gesturing into the bathroom. "I'll stay with you, Rhodie. As well Salicia and Donnell," he adds somewhat quickly. He isn't wearing his cloak, or carrying his blade and magic components. "And yes, you're an Errantblood, and you aren't the only one. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know? I'm not perfect in my knowledge, however."

 The young canine demi nods, moving so he can step inside. She leans her back against the wall, hands reaching up to feel her muzzle. Still not used to that being there... "At this point, Pritchard, learning anything would be an improvement. There's a big one I know I need to ask, but I gotta get myself ready for it.. so, let's start with the basics. Any idea how we're brought here, or why?"

 Pritchard slips inside. He takes a seat on the toilet basin and looks up at you to talk. "I can't say," he admits. "You simply do. Something brings you here, which some of us theorize is the planet itself calling out for power. Your kind has always brought a sort of interesting potential here. We don't know how many have come, but we do know that great leaders, terrible dictators. People who have the power to move mountains have tended to be from your stock. At the same time, children are always taught lessons through Errantbloods that have made terrible errors, or have been blinded by hubris. Perhaps, for all we know, you exist to be lessons to those of us who are born into this world."

 Rhodie nods as she listens, "Donnell mentioned encountering one before that got too cocky and paid the price. That kind of fits the myths we had of situations like this happening to people. ...Maybe there was some basis for those stories then, huh." She shakes her head, "OK... well... any explanation for this?" She motions to herself.

 "The myths? You have similar stories to ours?" Pritchard asks, leaning forward, chin resting on his hand as he considers you. "As for that? You mean the alteration? I don't. Not definitively. Though I've heard philosophy on the matter, but I don't fully agree with them."

 "Yeah, there's a lot of stories of folks suddenly finding themselves in stuff like medieval times, alien worlds, pulled into books or other works of fiction, but magic isn't a thing on our world, so they're just considered works of fiction." She raises an eyebrow, "So it IS a thing that normally happens to the Errantblood. That's... kinda of a relief?"

 "Or," Pritchard says, "And this is speculation, but it is a thing, simply subtler than you know. After all, you are here and how could you be here were it not for some arcane capability on your world to connect ours?" he shakes his head. "But that's a discussion for another fire. As for you, yes, it seems a not entirely uncommon thing for, well, some form of alteration to happen to an Errantblood. Prevailing theory is that magic is low on whichever world you come from, as such, coming here exposes you to a great deal of stress. This is your body coping with becoming part of our reality."

 "That... kinda makes sense in a way, but yes, that's a discussion for when I'm in a better mindset." Rhodie says. Talking seems to be calming her down, which she is thankful for. "Like a change in pressure then. Whatever latent magic exists on my world is only applying a low amount of pressure, but to cross over here is dealing with a higher amount of pressure. You either find a way to regulate it, or get crushed. ...And my body's way of dealing with it was turn me into a girl."

 Pritchard considers for a moment, not familiar with physics in that way, he does nod after some thought. "I believe so. Like when you dive underwater. But yes, in that way is the prevailing idea. You arrived here, the magic that exists around us flowed through you. For whichever reason, or perhaps for simple chaos, you ended up the way you did and are now more suited to survival here." He looks to the door. "Donnell has made mention of the Errantblood he had met to me. What I've been told, the man arrived as a human man, and remained as such, but gained a significant amount of muscle and size."

 Rhodie holds out her arms, turning them to look them over. "I'm smaller, slimmer, but at the same time much faster and running nowhere near tires me out as fast as it did when I was human." She thinks, "Maybe whatever causes this, if it is a sentient entity, wanted to try a different angle from that guy then. I never had any desire for strength or power like what it sounds like you're describing, so... it went a different direction instead."

 "That's a distinct possibility," Pritchard says. "You said you were artist in your world. Did you have a patron? Could that have influenced the way magic utilized you? Magic is flowing, and it can destroy your mind and body if you don't have the ability to focus it. I use a familiar, others use words, prepared spellcraft that etches into their mind and the spellcasting burns it away."

 “I had a Patreon, which is sort of a service on my world that let folks essentially sponsor artists each month with a set amount of money. Either paid per piece, or per month. Usually with some incentive at different donation levels. I'd do a raffle a couple times a month to give someone a picture of their character or design, and some of them had characters that looked like this, anthropomorphic animals." She taps the wall with her fingers, "So... would the magic have been a reason I went full on tracker out there maybe? It was like something was pushing that and kinda overriding what I was wanting to do."

 "That isn't something I could tell you," Pritchard says with a shake of his head. "I understand the concept of your contracting." He puts his hand to his chin and looks you over carefully. "I am not certain, to be honest. I would think, in some ways, that things have some basis in your own will. Or at least your own perspective."

 Rhodie's tilts her head, her ears slightly raising in curiousity. "My own will or perspective? I'm not entirely sure I follow. Like, on some level this reflects some inner part of me, or some desire in some way?" She looks over at the mirror, and flinches, looking back away quickly. "She's cute, I'll give the body that, and the characters like this were fun to draw, sure. Most of the characters I used to represent myself in my work were human though."

 Pritchard shakes his head. "You don't have demi's on your world, as you said. Dogs are trackers and runners to you. You may have followed that instinct because you felt that was the appropriate thing to do," he surmises. "I don't recall Donnell ever getting wrapped up like that."

 Rhodie's eyes widen, "Oh, OH! So because my view of canines are different than what this world has them setup as, then that's what my brain was defaulting to. I grabbed onto it and didn't let go because from my experience, that is a thing dogs do. ...I was getting too far into the role."

Her tail starts wagging as she starts to get it. "That's why I keep trying to stuff my snout into stuff to smell them instinctively. ....Ok, definitely need to work on curbing that."

 "That's my concept," Pritchard says with a small shrug. "You do have better senses of smell, I know that demi usually do. But I don't know many that stick their noses into things quite as much as you have." He gives a slight point to her paws. "Though admittedly, your feet are different from, say, Donnell's. It's not uncommon, mind you."

 Rhodie blushes a bit under her fur, "I'll work on not doing that as much." She glances at her paws, wiggling her canine toes. "I hadn't even noticed his feet. Mine are kinda like a dog just stood up aren't they?" She pauses, and then looks at Pritchard. "So this just leaves the big question... in the stories of the Errantblood, is there any talk of any of'em finding a way back home... or was this a one way trip?"

 "Wider," Pritchard is honest. "Probably to support your weight." He goes somewhat quiet at the second question and looks at the wall. There's a pressed flower in a frame. He sags his weight into the wall behind the toilet he's using as a chair. He looks back at you with a small frown on his thin lips.

 Rhodie was already biting her lower lip. It was a 50/50 chance that it'd be good news, but that's also a 50/50 chance for bad news. She nods, and lets out a small laugh, "Heh, yeah, that figures doesn't it?" She tries to laugh again, but it is choked as she slumps down to the floor, trying to cover her face as her eyes water.

 Pritchard watches you slump to the floor. He looks away and then back at you. You feel his hand touch yours. "Rhodie," he says quietly. "Please, I, I don't understand. I can't understand what you are feeling, but please let me help you if I can."

 Rhodie really tried to make it through this without crying, but the silent confirmation of the one way trip seems to have brought an end to that. She sniffs, "What am I supposed to do, Pritchard? I don't know anything about this place, and now I'm expected to survive in it? I almost got killed out there, TWICE! I'm gonna wind up dead in a ditch somewhere, or worse yet, getting someone else hurt because I'm clueless..."

 "Learn," Pritchard tells you, taking your hand in his. He squeezes it gently, his thumb running over the back of your hand. "You don't know, but you can see that. And you have Donnell, and Salicia, and myself. We will not fail you, Rhodie. We will not allow you to die for naught." He covers your hand in his, leaning toward you as he speaks quietly. "I can't give you clear answers, but I can promise you I can attempt to guide you."

 She rubs at her eyes, finally looking up at him. "...You three barely even know me. You all are going to go out of your way like that, just for some stray you found in the woods?" His words do seem to be helping. She sniffles again, but nods. "Please?"

 "We aren't heartless," Pritchard tells you, gripping your hand with a small smile about him. "And to be honest, you've helped us. Don't act as if you are simply a load on our backs. You wish to learn and you want to better yourself. We couldn't ask for much more from you."

 Rhodie lowers her head, placing her other hand on Pritchard's and gripping it. "Thank you. And thank you for answering that honestly. If I'm going to be stuck here... better to know now than build false hope." She takes a deep breath and looks back at him. "You realize I'm going to be asking you questions on almost everything like a child for a while."

 "Then I will simply have to answer them," Pritchard tells you. "Though I will add that Donnell knows a great deal more than me about the wilderness," he adds with a smile. "And for now, I'll remain and hold fast until you wish to leave."

 Rhodie shakes her head, running a hand over her muzzle with another sniffle as she moves to stand back up. "You came in here for a reason before knowing I was in here. I've kept you from the bathroom long enough. ....and I think I could really go for some fish right now." She hesitates, but then grabs Pritchard into a hug. "Thank you."

 Pritchard returns the hug. His arms go around you and hold you close to him for a prolonged moment. "You are more than welcome, Rhodie," he whispers in your ear. You are close and you know it, can smell him, and are feeling him. "And thank you. Salicia could probably use your help. I will be out shortly," he adds, patting you on the back, scratching reassuringly before letting you go.

 Rhodie's tail wags lightly at the hug. It's a good scent, one she'll try to remember. She blushes under her fur as she feels the scratching. Ok... so maybe an advantage to having fur. Mental note for later on that. "Right..." She smiles, giving a small wave as she steps out of the bathroom. She rubs at her eyes again, and then goes to find Salicia. "Salicia? Pritchard said you could use some help with food?"