#mardu writes

[monorayjak]

Trying to figure out how I would flesh out wedge identities, so decided to take a page from MaRo's book and have them talk to one another. First up.

White, black, and red - Order through structure, action, and opportunity. White: Order through structure means having strict rule- Red: Ha! Rules schmules White: Why must you be like this Black: Because they are. Simple as that. White: Ugh… here we go again Red: So tell me, who exactly defined what order is? Order doesn’t mean peaceful. Hell, I’d call most order not peaceful White: Order is the way the world should be organized, so that the most people gain the best access to what they have and need, its a system where everyone is allowed to live Black: No, it isn’t. White: What? What do you mean? Black: Order is how things are organized in a logical manner, yes, but they are not inherently ordered around “goodness” Red: See! Black gets it! White: Ok ok, so what do you two propose order as? Black: Easy. Order is how the world is organized. Order should be based on power. White: Power? Black: Yes. Power. The people at the top have the power, they make the rules and everyone else plays by them Red: Eh, I can see where you’re coming from black, but I don't fully agree with that. Order is how the world is organized. Order should be based around freedom White: Freedom? How? Red: Order should be based on saying “here is everything we don’t allow. If it's not written here, it's a free game.” It should show the hand everyone starts with, metaphorically speaking, and clarify what is not an option. It shouldn’t just rule out personal thoughts and motives. It's the difference between telling someone they can’t do something while they’re in the middle of it versus telling someone up front they can’t do that and allowing them to think of other options for themselves. You want the world to be even? Give everyone the same playing field. White: I can’t believe I’m actually saying this…. But that actually makes some kind of sense. Red: See! I’m not against structure, I'm against pointless structure. Whatever rules are made should be as simple and all encompassing as possible. No complicated legalese telling specifics, it should be all about giving people the information they need. Black: Ok, I want to chime in here. I can see you two agreeing on this but I want to remind you I’m also here. I think order should be used to put the powerful, me, at the top. How does that fit into your little utopia plan? White: Uh….what… what if… oh Serra I’m actually saying this and kind of meaning it. What if we base the order around power, so that the person in charge declares the base rules and others can interpret them. What if… what if we all stay together at the top and set out guidelines that others can live with. Black: How does that give us power though? Red: Oh! I get it! It gives us power because we have the ability to change the rules once we’re on top. We can stop others from taking our place by blocking the path we used to get there with new rules! Black: Hmm… interesting. I can’t believe it's actually happening… but I think we may have an agreement here. White: Holy shit that’s a first. Red: Wait we can cuss!? YOU CAN CUSS!? White: Yeah, no shit. Black: You’re both fucking idiots. Red: I hate you both, but I think that’s an agreement. Truce? White and Black: - Truce.

[jacebeleren]

It bothers me so much that the only transfem rep in mtg cards is this like. Soldier military woman, like 'ooh look at this guy's we made a trans woman who's a part of a war machine' fantastic thank you magic very original

=========

Okay.

First of all, there is no "our" interpretation of the text. My thoughts are my own, and your thoughts are your own. Some of our thoughts might align, but I will not allow you to speak for me.

Second, I am sorry you feel so disappointed in the current state of transgender representation in Magic. I understand your concerns and I think they're valid concerns.

Third, your concerns being valid does not mean I agree with what you have to say, though. Don't come into my inbox complaining unless you're ready for me to honestly respond. Respectfully, your approach to these concerns makes it clear to me that you don't actually understand what you're talking about.

It's apparent that you follow me or have at least seen many of my posts. You appear to respect my opinions / analysis (at least regarding Jace and Tezzeret). So listen to me when I say this:

What constitutes 'good' representation is context-dependent, and it's not something you alone get to decide.

Yes, Alesha is a "soldier military woman", as you said. I understand that you have this complaint because you believe this makes Alesha an example of the stereotype that trans women are violent. But context matters. What you're failing to consider is the fact that she comes from the Mardu Horde, a faction on Tarkir inspired by the Mongol hordes of real-world history. In this context, Alesha isn't presented as violent because she's a trans woman. She's violent because she literally comes from a warrior clan based on one of the greatest military forces in human history. And honestly, with Magic being a combat-centric game, she's not any more violent than any non-Mardu Legends, either.

Do you seriously think a story about a trans woman fighting to proudly declare her trans identity in her culture and later becoming the accomplished and well-respected leader of her clan is bad representation? Does the fact that she's a warrior really outweigh the rest of the lovingly crafted trans narrative they created for her, to you?

It's fine if you feel that way. You don't have to like Alesha or her story. But just because something wasn't made for your taste doesn't mean it's bad writing / bad representation.

Anyway, I highly recommend you read Alesha's story, "The Truth of Names", since it seems like you haven't read it yet. It's a fantastic story-- the most beloved short story in all of Magic, actually. It was the most-read article on the entire Magic website for like 5 years, according to WOTC.

And if you're interested in learning more about transfem characters in Magic who aren't Alesha, I recommend you read about Xantcha, who first appears in the novel "Planeswalker".

Next, I need to make things clear about Ashiok.

Ashiok was never intended to be nonbinary representation. Ashiok was created to be a mysterious, unknowable villain. What makes Ashiok special is that we are not mean to know anything about Ashiok. We do not know Ashiok's species or plane of origin, for example. Another part of that element of mystery is not knowing Ashiok's gender, or how Ashiok identifies. Ashiok's original style guide from Theros explicitly instructs people to not use any pronouns for Ashiok at all (which I still follow because old habits are hard to break.) Official Magic sources did not begin to use they/them pronouns for Ashiok until 2022, in the story "A Garden of Flesh" (another excellent story, BTW.) And they only started using they/them for Ashiok because it is really hard to write a story where the character is mentioned that many times without pronouns.

All this to say: Ashiok as intentional nonbinary representation is certainly not the narrative WOTC is pushing.

Yes, there are many fans of Ashiok who interpret Ashiok as nonbinary, but those are their thoughts and you need not concern yourself with that, if it bothers you so.

As for Niko, it's weird that you say they're "non-existent" in Magic story when 2 of the 5 side stories ("Know Which Way the Wind is Blowing" and "Aim Through the Target") in their debut set Kaldheim were entirely focused on Niko. They're also a starring main character in 15 of the 25 issues of the BOOM! Studios Magic comics.

I'm glad you like my analysis of Jace and Tezzeret as transgender characters. Thank you for that, genuinely. But I want you to understand that the reason I have these interpretations is because I love Magic Story. And more importantly, I actually read it. I love Magic Story, and I have so much respect for the Magic Narrative team and the work they do.

What most people don't understand is that the Magic Narrative Team is in fact very careful and very loving in their approach to queer representation. You may not know this about me, but I'm friends with A LOT of people who formerly or currently work on Magic / Magic Story. Knowing these people personally, I know for a fact that the Magic creative Team does not create queer characters for "diversity points". They're not just checking boxes. The Magic creative team creates queer characters because the Magic creative team is full of queer people and allies who want to tell stories that reflect their own + fans' experiences. And they have to constantly fight to include more / better queer representation in Magic. They want good queer representation in Magic just as much as we do.

Am I going to defend everything they do? No! Are they perfect? No! They are just people. They make mistakes and they have blind spots. For example, in my essay about my analysis of Jace as a trans man, I explain that the reason my interpretation means so much to me is because there is currently zero meaningful representation for trans men in Magic canon. There are zero transgender male characters in Magic canon who have names. That's a HUGE blind spot considering the number of canon trans characters! That's something that disappoints and upsets me.

I'm not afraid to criticize Magic Story, and I do so very often. But I am critical of Magic story because I love it. My criticism does not equal hatred or unhappiness.

Sorry to hear that their efforts at including better trans representation in Magic would piss you off. I'm sorry that you've given up.

Lastly, I think Liliana is cis, but that's just my headcanon.

[a-magical-recap]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Retrospective - Top 10 Commanders

Number 2 - 7,200 decks

Zurgo Stormrender

The face commander of the "Mardu Surge" precon, Zurgo Stormrender makes your creature tokens difficult to block. He can make his own tokens through the Mobilize ability, but his real strength comes from the fact that it becomes impossible for your opponents to block your creature tokens without giving you cards. Zurgo further protects your creature tokens by making it more risky for your opponents to board wipe. Your opponents become less and less likely to wipe your board the longer that Zurgo is in play, as you amass more creature tokens and continue to chip away their life totals. Suddenly, a board wipe comes with the prospect of taking 10 or more damage.

Zurgo synergizes with cards that can rapidly increase the number of creature tokens you have in play, like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar (73% synergy), Grand Crescendo (69%), and Hero of Bladehold (62%).

Zurgo is currently the 9th most popular Mardu commander, and was the 5th most popular commander for the week as of writing this. Token strategies have always been incredibly popular in Commander, but have often had the issue of being better on defense than offense. Token decks would often sit around pumping out chumps to block with, until they develop a big enough board to cast some kind of buffing effect in order to create the damage needed to break through. Zurgo, however, doesn't have that problem, as he offers a perfect way for you to get through with your tokens. He also keeps the game interesting for your opponents, turning each combat into a skill test to decide whether to take the damage, or to give you cards. Zurgo is certainly going to be climbing past Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale (#8), and possibly past Dihada, Binder of Wills (#7) as well.

[medicalplagues]

MTG Essay: Puella Magi Madoka Magica and their Colors

I wanted to write my thoughts here about which colors would each of Puella Magi character would have. And we’ll start off with the main characters of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and add thoughts about three other characters as a bonus: Ultimate Madoka, Akuma Homura, Nagisa Momoe. I might do other essays focused on the other characters in the Puella Magi Universe. (And maybe expand on it with Hololive, Vshojo, and Independent Vtubers).

I must make a disclaimer and that the colors I determined are based on memory of watching the anime and the Rebellion Movie (along with playing Magia Record and the recent Magica Exedra.) This will be the same for future essays. I will site the MTG wiki for definitions and philosophy of colors: https://mtg.wiki/page/Color . I will also avoid aligning the girls with any faction, house, or group in the Multiverse of MTG. Thus, don't expect the Guilds of Ravnica, the Khans of Tarkir, the Shard of Alara, etc. to be involved. Their naming, however, will be used to simplify the color combinations.

I will encourage others to expand on this and make constructed arguments about the colors.

Madoka Kaname: White

Madoka may be somewhat timid and good person. There is no arguing that her color alignment with would be with White. I don't really have much say here as Madoka has been benevolent throughout the story.

Sayaka Miki: Jeskai (White-Blue-Red)

You expect Sayaka to be only blue, but she should be more than that. She is a smart girl and talented in a way hence the blue.

White may not be her center color, but she still keeps that sense justice and the vow to protect people. And this comes from her taking up Mami's role as some protector of Mitakihara (more on Mami later).

Red is included as I believe her emotions cloud her sense of Justice. Her emotions show when it comes to friends and loved ones. She even wished for Kyosuke to heal because she loved him.

I would've included black as I saw she wants to get stronger in a way, but there isn't much sign she's willing to sacrifice so much to achieve that. She murdered two people on a train based on the manga, but just an argument.

Mami Tomoe: Bant (White-Green-Blue)

Mami's color alignment would be similar to Sayaka, except it would be green instead of red. You can make the argument that red should be included as we've seen her get too emotional in one of the timelines where she discovered the origin of Witches. However, that is only a moment and doesn't tell much. Green is included to show her experience as a magical girl.

White is there to similar reasons to why the color is included in Sayaka's color alignment. Mami has this sense of duty to her role as a magical girl. Meanwhile blue is included to also show her experience and knowledge of the world of Magical Girls.

Kyoko Sakura: Mardu (Black-White-Red)

Kyoko Sakura would've had black included in her color alignment as she comes off as arrogant, callous, and selfish.

White is included here to reflect her past as a daughter of a preacher and to reflect the faith in God during her final moments. Despite her personality, she has a soft side.

Red is included to show her freedom in living such a selfish life.

Homura Akemi: Sultai (Blue-Black-Green)

Her center-most color would be black to show her coldness, remorselessness, and ambition (mostly to save Madoka). She would do everything to complete her goals even if it means making enemies or fighting alone. Her even hides her true emotions. Red would've been here but she seems to control her emotions and hide them

Green is here to show her acceptance to the cruel world of Magical Girls. She abides to the rules and implications while being blunt about the fate of those who are a part of it. This can be seen when she saw how doomed Sayaka is as a magical girl. She also was blunt with Madoka in one conversation.

Blue is here to reflect her intelligence and understanding of Magical Girls and Kyubey's intentions.

Ultimate Madoka - Altruism (White-Blue-Red-Green, or All-Colors)

Originally I was going to place Godoka under mono-White, but imagine her as all five colors with White being the obvious main color. See the section of Madoka.

Blue to show her omniscience (though Rebellion shows otherwise), red to express her emotions and the salvation she brings, green to express her acceptance of natural order.

I was going to add black to make her color alignment WUBRG, but I don't see anything amoral, selfish, or pragmatically ambitious regarding Ultimate Madoka.

Nagisa Momoe: Boros (White-Red)

Nagisa was tricky to figure out as there is the Magia Record version and the Rebellion version. I decided to stick with only the Rebellion version as that is who we're introduced with.

White is here to show her association with Ultimate Madoka (alongside Sayaka). And along with red, she is showing her innocence and youth. Blue would've been added to express her perception, but I feel she isn't that knowledgeable as she is young.

Akuma Homura: Grixis (Blue-Red-Black)

Now the devil herself... it's not a surprise that it would be Blue-Red-Black. And we all know how malevolent that color combination is (with the obvious example being Nicol Bolas). Red would be for the love she has for Madoka. She kept so many emotions back ever since she became a magical girl. And now they are fully expressed as she ascended into godhood.

I chose black to show the malevolent intent; keep in mind she took a piece of Ultimate Madoka for herself and the powers and memories of friends, family, and loved ones to create a world where Madoka never became a magical. She even said so herself that she would be an enemy of Madoka.

Blue is included as she seems patient when the time comes when she will destroy the universe. She seems to know enough about her role as a devil. And she is likely calculating her next move.

[yoyle-the-gathering]

why do people make spirit/dragon kindred o kagachi decks. that man has not one line of text on him that rewards any creature type over another. dragon is a little more defensible than spirit bcs dragons are a creature type that really benefits from having wubrg identity + there are so many things that dragons can do that i can theoretically imagine a deck that is both kindred with him and actually plays to his strengths of grouphug/groupslug/general strategies that involve everyone else beating each other to death while you eat popcorn (or kettle corn, if the weather permits) and ramp until the last person to not be dead has to deal with you having a massive, perfect manabase and a billion counters on every creature. dragons generally like having fuckass big creatures that are hard to block. but spirit kindred? unforgivable. spirit kindred is a monocolor or two color archetype usually ESPECIALLY with the kamigawa spirits. i have a kamigawa spirit go-wide-pump-them-all-and-they-die deck. i guess having a wide board of spirits might make people want to attack you less but you already have the threat of "if o kagachi hits you, which if i swing WILL happen unless you block with a huge flier i get to exile any nonland permanent of my choice that you have and fuck up your whole plan. so dont fuck with me or i'll rip your nuts off." he's in your command zone. he is MEANT to be intimidating so everyone hits each other and not you. spirit kindred does jack shit for that. this is usually a general problem i have with kindred decks because they put minimal thought into synergy unless you explicitly incorporate a specific theme (like with my token making etb anthems spirits) or in some cases where the creature type is kinda interwoven with the theme (assassins/freerunning? krenko kinda writes himself. atogs/aristocrats?) kindred decks can feel very disjointed sometimes. also applies to some kindred precons like why the fuck is ogre slumlord in the otj mardu deck. is it just because it's an outlaw? that is a fucking RAT KINDRED card that has the rogue creature type for flavor. i guess maybe it could work if the commander is vihaan but point is kindred decks are sometimes built by people who seem like theyre on crack cocaine and it hurt my soul to see that spirit kindred is the most common archetype for o kagachi

[magicthethinking]

A first KTK Draft report

I came back into Magic around M15 and the end of Theros block, but didn't start drafting until a Standard Chaos Draft around BFZ. So, I missed out on all the Khans block draft environments, at least until Arena brought KTK-KTK-KTK back.

Yes my first draft was a chaos draft, sometimes I do things that are harder because I can.

I wrote down my thoughts in a notebook to see my thinking to write most of this, and to see where I start to go wrong. It's a nice bit to get to do when drafting with bots, and doing it on Arena lets me get to play with my results, which is particularly valuable for me. I need more experience to be confident navigating a draft without play.

Draft Phase

Draft is linked here: 17Lands.com

Pack 1

Pick 1:

I was happy to see the three gain lands in the pack, not enough to take one first overall, but a nice bit to write in the notebook. I went with Highspire Mantis over the Deflecting Palm thinking that a 3/3 Flying Trampler is going to be more generally useful. Or at the very least a solid bit of my mid to top end.

Pick 2:

Hordeling Outburst beat out Arrow Storm, Disdainful Stroke, and Jeskai Student. Three mana, three 1/1 Goblins, I had to follow the old yell from The Magic Show. Also, going wide helps with blocking at worst, and can push more damage through. Just solid. Abzan Charm is appealing, but as much as I know that three colors is very much supported I have an aversion to having too many colors in limited. So picking that up early scared me. So would throwing an early pick out, but that is going to happen anyway. I also tend to over-commit and lock into colors way too early in draft. That probably happened here too.

Pick 3:

A large number of gains, happy to see (while writing this I can also see the Average Last Seen At numbers, and they're taken higher than I would have thought).

I took Stubborn Denial over Master the Way, Defiant Strike, Trumpet Blast, or Jeskai Windscout.

Stubborn Denial seems like a solid counter; if you can get Ferocious online or are real early in a game. I don't think this worked out too well for me. I wasn't Hell or Heckbent enough that Master the Way wouldn't have been a bad bolt. The 5 mana needed just seemed too steep. I had concerns about how many non-creatures I would have so I undervalued Prowess. Trumpet Blast I thought I could either wheel or would see more of later on, so decided to hold off, but it was the second on my radar. Defiant Strike just seemed worse than Trumpet Blast. At this point I've locked in on drafting Jeskai and have tunnel visioned.

Pick 4:

So much Red!

I went with War-Name Aspirant over Ainok Bond-Kin, Heart-Piercer Bow, Act of Treason, Temur Banner, and the Glacial Stalker.

Me at the time: "War-Name + Ainok combos well, hopefully can make it work. Hope to see another Bow in other packs"

I don't think I was wrong there, but part of me also valued the banners too highly, especially ones that were off wedge. I don't think that played out too well for me in the end, they're useful, but not something I should really want too much.

Pick 5:

Mardu Banner was the pick over Quiet Contemplation, Set Adrift, Siegecraft, Kheru Dreadmaw, or the Scoured Barrens.

A tapper that works when you cast a non-creature and tax yourself one sounded fine. I don't think it would have been after playing my matches. Three mana for no immediate text box or stats is not great.

Siegecraft sounds good for getting Ferocious online, but it's 4 mana for an odd buff, I don't think it was something I really wanted.

I think I should have taken the Scoured Barrens, but I was prioritizing mana rocks, and it can draw a card. (I would never be able to draw a card, I did not have another black source)

Some of that is probably my lack of comfort with three color mana bases in general, and more specifically in Limited. Getting afraid of color screw and losing a game to that probably hurt me here.

Pick 6:

The combination piece with War-Name Aspirant; Ainok Bond-Kin.

Goblinslide sounded good, but fell in the same bit with me and Quiet Contemplation. Three mana, does nothing until you cast a non-creature spell. This one makes Goblins though, and that is just better. I just dismissed it out of hand too quickly.

Blinding Spray sounded fine for a moment, it's an effect that gets reprinted fairly often. It also draws a card for 5 mana, but I think I'd rather have the card it would draw me than it.

Kheru Dreadmaw is back, still a no, especially not being in black and not being a reason to pivot to black.

Tranquil Cove, I'm too used to not prioritizing lands in non-Masters or non-Horizons sets. I think Bond-Kin was a good pick here, but Cove should have been a bit more of a draw.

Pick 7:

Efreet Weaponmaster was my pick. First Strike, pumping a creature when it either ETBs or flips is damn good, and almost got windmilled. If I weren't journaling it probably would have been.

Salt Road Patrol, it works well with Bond-Kin, and blocks really well, I don't think I gave it enough due.

Kheru, still no. Probably won't be mentioned again.

Snowhorn Rider. 5/5 Trampler for 6 isn't bad, and for a bit extra you can spread it across turns and maybe eat a medium creature. If I hadn't tunnel visioned on Jeskai I might have put out some feelers on Temur. But Weaponmaster was also in the pack...

Again, I wasn't prioritizing lands, but I think there's more of a reason not to in this pack to not take Tranquil Cove.

Pick 8:

Force Away was my pick. A 2 mana bounce with a potential loot. That's just good clean living.

Briber's Purse seems interesting, but I didn't know how fast the format would be, so opted to stay away. Early on I would rather be developing properly, and late game it seems a bit insubstantial.

Jeskai Student; I did not rate Prowess as highly as I should have been, so a 1/3 for 2 didn't seem great at the moment.

Glacial Stalker; a 6 mana 4/5 doesn't sound great. But a 7 mana 4/5 paid over two turns and spends some of that time as a 2/2 does sound a bit better. It can block pretty well too.

Pick 9:

Jeskai Elder was taken, the loot sounded really good, and I was questioning whether I should stay in white. That kind of beat out the new slight interest in Jeskai Student.

Rush of Battle piqued my interest too, but I was questioning white and wanted some creatures on the low end of my curve.

Pick 10:

Lens of Clarity sounds interesting, but doesn't really do anything beyond keep me from charging into a blowout. Nice, but I will find a way to do that anyway, and it doesn't do anything on board. Glacial Stalker gets the nod here.

Pick 11:

Jeskai Windscout beat out Defiant Strike, and the slightly off color gainland.

Pick 12:

I took the Temur Banner; If I had to do this pack over again, the Bloodfire Expert would be windmilled.

Pick 13:

Kheru Dreadmaw is off color, and the other card is an Elk. I will embrace the Edmonton Football team, now bring back the Elk Horn helmets.

"Pick" 14:

Naturalize was the only card there, it went to the sideboard immediately and stayed in the pool for the remainder of time.

The rest of the draft

I'm going to abbreviate some of this, because I did the exact same thing in my notebook.

P2P1: I took Suspension Field over Mythic Monastery. I thought the Monastery would wheel, and 2 mana to exile a big thing sounds good. For someone who was scared about color screw I sure did not take the land made just for me. This is a straight up whiff.

P2P2: Thought that the Salt Road Patrol would wheel, and went with the bow. I have at this point stopped looking at off color cards.

P2P3: I went with the on color gain in Swiftwater Cliffs. Monastery Flock interested me, but I need fixing... I gained wisdom over those two packs.

P2P4: Treasure Cruise is in this pack. I know it's history, but didn't think it would be worth too much in limited. I don't know if I'm wrong, but in an effective vacuum I want to play to the board.

P3P1: I looked at End Hostilities, but 3{W}{W} for a board wipe sounds like a lot. It's more achievable than I would have though, but if I'm needing it something has gone very wrong with what I've built. Another Efreet Weaponmaster was the pick.

Deckbuilding & Some Game Action

The Deck: Linked here

Building a limited deck is a weakness I have, especially in a format I don't know well. So I tend to make a bit of a mess by either not being low to the ground and aggressive or properly controlling to a solid late game. Instead building Midrange via the medium of indecisiveness. This is not helped by the quick drafts being Best of One matches that let me try going low or being more controlling.

Also having the first two games be over quite quickly.

Game 1 my opponent developed their board quickly, and swung in hard and fast, and Suspension Fielded my Highspire Mantis so there were no real chances to block. In Game 2 I kept a bad opening hand out of tilt, and the hope that a blue source would come. It did not.

Opening Hand:

Jeskai Elder 2 Plains Mardu Banner Singing Bell Strike Suspension Field Stubborn Denial

I rushed out the Banner (a Mountain was drawn at some point). They had a Mardu Skullhunter out on Turn 2 before playing a 4/2 Alpine Grizzly on 3.

Seeing danger I go to Suspension Field the big bear...

From Suspension Field's text box (via Scryfall)

When Suspension Field enters the battlefield, you may exile target creature with toughness 3 or greater until Suspension Field leaves the battlefield. (That creature returns under its owner’s control.)

Alpine Grizzly as mentioned above has Four Power and Two Toughness. Two is a smaller number than three. Suspension Field is an ETB, effect. It enters, sees no creatures that I may target with it and goes "Cool, I live here now."

I see a 4/5 drop the next turn and shame scoop after not drawing that Island.

Game 3:

There's an interesting set of decisions made in Turn 9's Declare Blockers: My opponent is swinging in with a 5/4 Ainok Bond-Kin (Outlast was used 3 times). From it's own text box it has First Strike. Sage of the Inward Eye (3/4 with Flying) is on the battlefield as an attacker. A second copy of Brave The Sands was played earlier in the turn, giving both creatures Lifelink from the Sage and two instances of Vigilance from the Brave the Sands.

I have an Alabaster Kirin (2/3 Flying, Vigilance) with a Heart-Piercer Bow, Glacial Stalker (5/4), and War-Name Aspirant (3/2 from a +1/+1 counter) blocking the 5/4 First Striking Bond-Kin. Leaving the 3-4 Sage unblocked while at 4 life, and my opponent empty handed. They are on 17 life.

There is also a face down Efreet Weaponmaster.

This is a bad blocking decision on my part.

In this position I'm trading off my potential flying blocker, and less importantly the War-Name Aspirant for the Bond-Kin. There are no fliers in my hand to block with, I can't win on the crackback both because I don't have enough power to do so when their creatures are tapped out, but also because the Sage has Vigilance (TWICE). However at that moment I think (and never double check that this is true) Efreet Weaponmaster has Flying.

I think this is a good block until I go to get high fives from others and am alerted to the misplay.

The only reason this isn't a blowout is the Glacial Stalker being set as the first creature in the blocking order and taking all the damage.

Game 4: I think I build out solidly, and attack well, but in the final turn cycle the fresh Bloodfire Expert gets a Feat of Resistance buffing it and giving it Protection from Blue in response to being targeted by Heart-Piercer Bow. It blocks profitably. I flip my Efreet Weaponmaster to take out their Monastery Flock and hit them for 7 taking them to 5. I'm on 13, they play a Swiftspear, and swing in with the team. I block their Expert with my own Flock, and they show me the last two cards in their hand. Jeskai Charm, giving the team +1/+1 and lifelink until the end of the turn (Hitting the Expert and Swiftspears prowess triggers for some extra damage). Then my Flock gets to take a Ride Down, giving the Expert Trample. Prowess. Prowess. I take 15.

After how I won Game 3 this feels appropriate.

Summing Up

I'm not sure there's much to put here to be honest. Valuing the gainlands higher is important, the banners aren't great, and I should pick a lane when building my deck. Overall, this was more an exercise in getting some of my limited rust knocked off. I've been a bit nervous over a bad draft or two taking away from the potential value the draft tokens have, or wasting gems to where I would need to buy more to draft more. Even when I'm rusty, I'm not that bad at limited. There's lots to clean up though, and I look forward to it.

Writing this is also breaking a bit of fear I have about writing. I don't know what my voice will end up being, but hopefully there's not too much yelling at me while I'm finding out. I've got a ton more rust here than with playing Magic.

[neon-dynasty]

This is something that comes up every now and then, and the reason it feels that way is because that's when we tune in.

We get stories about sets when the sets themselves take place. It's usually a time of conflict because a) it's a card game based around combat and b) that's what's most interesting for a long fantasy story.

There are official stories about things that aren't battles and war. Here's one that takes place after the War of the Spark, about two planeswalkers exchanging letters until they meet in person. https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/magic-story/note-stranger-2022-05-02

I would argue that most of what was happening in the Strixhaven set had nothing to do with the Rowan twins' conflict in the story, and the side stories about the face characters were more about school life than anything else. In fact, side stories in general are great ways to appreciate what "normal" people are doing, even if the story happens to be about the most exciting days in their lives.

There's also quite a bit we know from characters' backstories that blur the lines between factions. Sarkhan Vol was a Mardu soldier, but spent a lot of time with Temur shamans and learned about dragons from them. The daughters of two high-ranking officials from different New Capennan crime families got married to each other.

What's amazing about Magic's setting(s) is that it's a lot of fun to read the Planeswalker's Guides and to learn about the different worlds, and then imagine what life is like for folks who live there. Even a horrible place like Innistrad has things like harvest festivals. Even a war-torn world like Dominaria has people who passionately study its history. And even an entire plane like Kamigawa, known for its brutal, bloody wars, can overcome its past and cultivate its technology and traditions.

Ultimately, we're always going to see conflicts associated with sets because that's what makes the settings fun to play combat games in. However, there's so much more going on, and there's nothing stopping us from imagining what that's like. Write some fics, draw some art, Hell, you can even adapt Magic's planes into TTRPG settings, with official support from WotC.

Probably best to stay away from Duskmourn, though.

Warning! Horribly uninformed mtg vent without a real point ahead! Proceed at your own risk!

Change my mind, the Multiverse can NOT be as hostile as the cards and story make it out to be. Or at least, not on such large scales as depicted.

I’ll admit, I’m biased; I definitely prefer writing more lighthearted stuff myself. But still, If the planes really were that violent, most of them would probably be empty by now. If every other creature is a soldier or monster or militarized wizard, and if a large percentage of spells serve to just blow something up, I feel like the level of violence that implies just isn’t sustainable.

There’s a number of planes - Ikoria, Zendikar, and more recently Duskmourn come to mind - that I feel are overwhelmingly characterized by just these threats and dangers, to the detriment of the rest of their worldbuilding.

Not to say I hate the concept of a dangerous world. In fact the monsters and threats and such tend to be pretty cool! But it’s interesting to me that there’s some planes like Kaladesh, that work to highlight both their violent and nonviolent sides. And then there’s others that receive decidedly less love, at least for one side of that equation. And when there’s little else there on a plane besides that violence, I guess for me it just becomes a question of: “Ok, you’ve got my attention, interesting conflicts and all. Now what else is going on here? How does this world work? Oh…” You know, something cool to look at, less so to really delve into.

(Sorry for the ramble, just - those planes and others, I’d love to write more about, but I’m starting to figure out the scope of those planes’ cards are largely limited to, like, conflict-related stuff. And not ALL of my story bites can be about warring factions taking a time-out from fighting…as much as I adore that premise!)

[louiseleblancdiggory]

Speedy one night stand part 2

Part 1 here

“Ok, so do we go over our story again?”

“We did that a thousand times. Relax, they’re not the brightest.”

Aelin smiled, resting her back against the hospital chair. Even though only one day had passed, Rowan was already feeling infinitely better. His wrist still hurt like a bitch, and it would probably remain like that due to the surgery, but the rest was just some small ache.

Differently from the previous day, this morning Rowan had woken up to an empty room. Aelin had decided to go home around eleven, promising to be back in time for them to go over their plan one more time, but a part of Rowan wondered if she was actually going to be back. It wasn’t a usual situation, and now that she knew he was not dying, maybe she wouldn’t feel any responsibility over him at all.

It had worried Rowan more than he liked to admit.

And yet, she had returned today. Just a few hours after Rowan woke up, Aelin walked into his hospital room. She was her bubbly self, walking through the door while oozing so much excitement and brightness that it was like the sun lodged itself in the room. She plopped down on her usual chair, barely bothering to create small talk before jumping right back to what they had discussed the previous night. Aelin wanted everything to go perfect— had said that she had grown up with a cousin who made her quite competitive when it came to pranks.

Forty five minutes later, they had gone over the details twice, flirted shamelessly every now and then, and Rowan had the pleasure of seeing Aelin play the distressed wife in front of three different doctors.

The woman was a devil.

Rowan couldn’t help but smile.

“When do they get here?”

“You’re so impatient.” Rowan grinned, slowly turning his non-shattered wrist. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re impatient?”

“You and my cousin would be such great friends.” Aelin gave him a sweet smile.

“Sounds like a nice guy, then.”

“He isn’t.” Aelin’s sweet— and oh so fake— smile widened. “A fucking asshole, if you ask me.”

Rowan snorted, looking at the door just in time to see five guys turning around the corner and walking in the direction of the room. A diabolical smile grew on Rowan’s lips, and he turned to Aelin who had a raised brow. “Show time.”

Just like the devil Rowan thought she was, Aelin returned his smile.

———————

Honestly, she shouldn’t be this excited.

Tricking a bunch of men she had never seen in her life should not be that high in her list of priorities. And yet.

Part of her wanted to stay at the hospital yesterday, make sure that Rowan was ok during the night. Even though they had just met, Aelin felt a weird connection to him. Not love— because love at first sight is bullshit—, but she definitely cared for him as a friend. But the doctor insisted that there were no chances that Rowan’s condition would get that bad over night, and so Aelin went home.

She could barely sleep, and in the morning she rushed to get to the hospital.

Because of the prank, of course. Not because of Rowan.

And now that his friends were actually there, that the plan was actually in action, Aelin was having some small doubts.

What if they tell the hospital she’s lying? What if that doctor loses her job? What if—

“Rowan!” A blonde haired man ran through the door, followed by four others. Just like Rowan, all of the men were massive. Tall, muscular, and almost sucking all the air in the room with their presence.

They were all so focused on Rowan that none of them even paid attention to her sitting by a corner in the room, and Aelin used that time to transform the smirk on her lips into a loving smile.

“Fucking shit, Whitethorn.” The tallest of them— the only one as tall as Rowan— said. His pitch black hair was tied back in a bun, but some of it fell out of it when he ran a hand through his head. Aelin tried to remember Rowan’s descriptions of his friends, and if she was right, that was Lorcan. “One day alone and you get hit by a fucking truck.”

“Any cool scars?” One of the golden twins asked, a grin on his face. Either Fenrys or Connall, but judging by the personality and Rowan’s description of the twins, Aelin was betting on the former.

“Shut up.” The one with a buzzcut— Vaughan, she recalled— said, hitting the back of the golden twin’s head. “We tried to come as soon as possible when we heard. We didn’t want to leave you alone.”

“Oh.” Rowan said with all the innocence in the world, a smile as sweet as hers gracing his lips. “Of course I wasn’t alone, are you guys insane or something?”

“Huh?” The twins said in unison, looking at each other.

“I came with my wife.” Rowan said, the sentence sounding like a question. He let out a laugh, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Do you guys think she would just leave me alone?”

“Your fucking what.” Lorcan said very slowly after a few moments of complete silence.

Rowan looked so genuinely confused that even Aelin believed him for a second.

“Guys? Ace?” Rowan said, brows furrowing. His eyes then landed on her, and he gave her a smile that was supposed to be loving, but Aelin just thought he looked like a fiend. “Apparently they think you’re cold enough to enjoy your vacations while your husband is at the hospital.”

“I might not be the warmest, but that would have been low even for me.” Aelin said, voice charred with playful sarcasm. As if she was a magnet, all five heads immediately whipped at her direction, faces showing different levels of incredulity. “Hey, guys.”

Aelin had to bite her cheeks to keep herself from laughing. She didn’t know any human being could be that shocked and stand that still. The silence in the room was suffocating, except for Rowan who was smiling broadly now that no one was looking at him.

“Everyone is seeing the hot blonde, right?” The twin— Fenrys, she’d been right. It was just the type of comment he’d do— asked very carefully.

“I’m flattered, Fen.” Aelin said, taking some pleasure in how his jaw dropped when she said his name. She looked at each of their faces, forcing her expression to show both excitement and some confusion. “Guys? Not even a hug? I mean I know you guys are Rowan’s friends but I would expect some better welcome.”

At that, Aelin got up and walked in their direction. She hugged Vaughan and Fenrys at the same time, both as still as two pieces of stone.

She took a step back, doing the same to Gavriel and Connall. Aelin then looked at Lorcan, winking at him. “I know better than to hug you. Good to know that the change in continents doesn’t change the scowl on your face.”

They all just stared at her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Rowan was near busting out laughing. She walked to his side, feeling the eyes of his friends following her across the room. She bent down near Rowan, kissing him on the lips before stroking his cheek with a thumb. For a split second, they shared a knowing smile, one that would look very loving to whoever was watching, but both of them knew better.

“I’m gonna go check with your doctor what time we can leave, alright? I’m gonna let you guys catch up.” Aelin said, kissing him again.

Rowan nodded, but then his eyes turned to his friends and narrowed slightly. “Sounds good, honey.”

Vaughan soundly choked.

Aelin made her best impression of being embarrassed— not by the nickname, but by the reactions of his friends.

She left the room with a final smile at the five guys, and when her face was not visible to them anymore, she finally opened the biggest grin she had ever given in her entire life.

As she walked down the hallway looking for the doctor, Rowan almost jumped out of bed just to kiss her again if only for the absolute horror in his friends’ faces. He never thought he’d seen any of them that shaken— even Lorcan was shocked.

Using the fact that all five of them were still looking at Aelin’s body disappearing among doctors, nurses, and other visitors, Rowan controlled his facial expressions and turned them to a disappointed scowl.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked when Aelin completely disappeared. “Would it kill for you guys to be nice to her? It was never an issue, what the fuck happened?”

“Bro.” Connall was the first to tear his eyes away from the door.

“Rowan, I don’t know how to say this gently…” Gavriel started, voice calm and cautious as always.

“You must have hit your head really hard because you’re not fucking married.” Lorcan, on the other hand, had no problem just saying what came to his mind.

“What?” Rowan asked, dumbfounded.

“Man, some hot crazy chick is pretending to be your wife.” Fenrys was smiling, but his whole expression screamed terrified. “Holy fuck, some hot crazy chick is pretending to be Rowan’s wife.”

“Haha, very funny.” Rowan said, relaxing. “Is this why you treated Ace like that? A prank?”

“Her name is Ace.” Vaughan said, the only one still visibly shocked.

“Crazy girl name.” Fenrys added solemnly. Connall nodded profusely.

“Her name is Aelin, and you guys know that. We have been together for over a year not, married for a few months.” Rowan was trying so, so hard not to laugh.

The guys looked at each other, different degrees of worry washing they expressions.

“Rowan, you really have to understand that—“

“Understand what?” Aelin interrupted what Gavriel was saying, causing all of the guys to jump and scream.

At that, Rowan couldn’t contain his laughter. He was laughing so hysterically that not even Aelin managed to keep a straight face and started chuckling too.

“What the fuck was that?” Rowan said between laughs, smiling up at Aelin as she approached his bed even though he was speaking to his friend.

“When is his birthday?” Fenrys ignored Rowan’s question, eyes narrowing at Aelin as she rested against Rowan.

“January twentieth-first.” Aelin said, brows furrowing in confusion. “What the hell is this?”

“Favorite color.” Connall dismissed her question.

“Green.”

“His pet’s name.” Gavriel asked much more politely than the others, but suspicion was palpable in his words.

“We don’t have a pet.”

“What is he studying?” Vaughan finally looked more wary than fucking shocked.

“He’s studying to become an engineer. STEM, then? I don’t know, I’m an arts and humanities major. I don’t understand that shit.”

The guys looked at each other again before Lorcan’s eyes dropped on Aelin. “Mom’s name. Ex girlfriend’s name. Favorite movie. Favorite song. Dick size.”

Rowan choked when he heard the last sentence, but Aelin simply smiled. “Anya. Are you talking about Lyria or Remelle? The Godfather and Patience by the Guns n’ Roses. I will not be discussing my husband’s dick size with his best friend.”

“Holy fuck.” Vaughan breathed.

“Give me your phone.” Lorcan said, even more suspicious now.

Aelin raised a brow, but took the phone out of her pocket. She stole a glance at Rowan, but he was just as confused as her.

“Call the first person in your favorites.”

Oh, fuck.

It had been fun while it lasted, and Rowan was about to get his ass beaten by his friends even though he was still in a hospital bed.

But Aelin simply unlocked her phone for everyone to see, went to her contacts and called the second person in her favorites. She raised her eyes from the phone to smile sweetly at Lorcan. “Rowan is the first.”

Lorcan’s jaw clenched minimally, as if Aelin had just passed a test she was supposed to fail. Now, just like the rest of his friends, Lorcan looked expectantly ate the phone on top of Rowan’s legs. Aelin had put it on speaker, and the only sound in the room was their breathing and the dialing sound.

“Hey, babe.” A female voice answered, soft and warm. “What can I help you with?”

“I don’t know, actually.” Aelin raised her face to Lorcan, and she looked so beautiful that the smile that grew on Rowan’s face was genuine. “Why did I call her?”

“Is she married?” Lorcan asked loudly so the girl on the phone would hear.

“What did he say?” She asked anyways.

“Lorcan asked if I am married.” Aelin raised the phone to her lips so her friend could hear her better.

“Uhm, yeah?” Her friend laughed. “Aren’t you married to his best friend for a few months now? What type of question is this?”

Aelin smiled smugly at his friends, and Rowan made his best impression of pissed off husband. In reality, all he wanted was to be alone with Aelin and kiss her for her geniality.

She wasn’t kidding when she said she was competitive when it came to pranks.

“Hey, what’s up, Lys. Is that Ace?” A man sounded through the phone.

“Yeah.” Lys answered.

“Is Rowan ok?” The man asked casually, and even Rowan was surprised by that.

Turns out Aelin had been a few steps ahead of him.

“I’m fine.” Rowan answered, trying to sound casual. “But apparently my friends decided to be assholes even though I’m already suffering.”

Aelin snorted, resting her back against his chest.

“What are they doing?” The guy asked and Rowan could hear the smile on his voice. Even though the voice tone was completely different, the man sounded so much like Aelin that it could only be her cousin since she didn’t have siblings.

“Pretending they don’t know Ace.”

“I would also pretend I don’t know my cousin if I could. Disgraceful woman.” He grumbled. “She must be loving the attention, though.”

“Fuck off.” Aelin snapped at the same time Rowan laughed. She turned her head to him, eyes narrowing with enough emotion that Rowan knew she was being genuine. He just smiled, giving her a quick kiss before turning to the phone again.

“Me and Lys gotta go, but we’ll see you this weekend for dinner, right?”

“Yep.” Rowan knew nothing of it, but now he was knee deep into his lie so backing out wasn’t an option anymore.

“Oh, and Ace, Lysandra says the airline just sent your ticket back to Terrasen to the apartment.” Aedion announced before hanging up, leaving the comment hanging in the air.

Aelin heard sharp intakes of breath, and raised her head to see all men staring at her dumbfounded.

“What?” She asked innocently, resting once again against Rowan. His hand sneaked up to the back of her head, massaging her scalp. Even though she tried to play it cool, her heart was hammering inside her chest— both because of how big the lie had just become and because of Rowan’s touch against her skin. Her whole back was against his side, and Aelin hoped he thought the racing heart was due to the lie, not due to him.

“Very well, Ace.” Lorcan said after a moment of prolonged silence. “We are so sorry for the prank. Why don’t we all go out to dinner to pay you back.”

Aelin was gonna vomit her heart. All the guys looked at Lorcan, and even Rowan’s hand stilled against her hair.

And yet she just forced a smile on her face, nodding her head. “Sounds amazing.”

Rowan’s hand in the back of her head massaged now her neck, reassuring her everything was ok.

But that definitely wasn’t the sentiment on his friends’ faces.

Oh, fuck.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: I’m sorry for such a small update for this story, but I’m trying to write some Valentine’s day oneshots but I wanted to continue this one a little! I’ll probably to a final part three for it sometime!

Tags:

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* tags in bold don’t allow me to tag

[niuttuc]

About my Planeswalker-sona !

I have two actually, who are like twins and were both born on Eldraine (the set where I first began to play!). They were raised as knights at first but then they ignited their spark (idk how yet) and had a lot of experiences that made them change a lot.

One is a mardu-artifact wielding gruff sellsword man. He is trying to form an inter-planar mercenary force that could be hired to diverse ends, even tho it would most likely be violence. He isn't the most morally straight person, and isn't afraid to perform such violence in exchange for whatever currency or favor he can muster, but he can't help be a little white aligned and won't stoop to really evil deeds if he can help it or if he notices it. He won't call it "honor" but more like, preserving his reputation in avoiding to harm defenseless people and the like. He is short tempered, a bit ill mannered, and doesn't care about politeness most of the time but *will* respect a good warrior or other people in his line of work. He would be hard pressed to *truly hate* someone but can hold grudges for a good while. His powers are to store copies of artifacts (mostly equipments) he has seen in a remote access bag-of-holding-like demi-plane and bring them out whenever he wants like a powered down Gate of Babylon thing from Fate. His prefered style of battle is wielding a colossus hammer and a brass knuckle and going wild on his ennemies!

The other is his evil-twin, idk if they were born from the same mother or not but they look a lot like each other. Basically personnality wise he's a little evil gremlin that enjoys being chaotic and fucking with people. He's a bit like Ashiok in that regard, but while seeming a bit less "aloof" I'd say? He's still mostly doing stuff for his own enjoyment tho. He is simic aligned, and his thing is to be able to dominate weak animals and constructs, a bit like Lukka, but without a "two ways" link of the sort, because he can only impose his will upon really weak beings. But then, his greatest joy is to pump them up to great heights with green spells to surprise people and bring chaos to wherever he is, which annoys his brother a lot. People mistake them a lot and since this one is very elusive they tend to find the mardu one and bring their grievances to him even tho he hasn't done anything. For some reason, he seems to be able to dominate weak infected monsters without spreading the oil or getting infected himself (to his knowledge at least), which is his lattest "fun discovery": indeed, killing with poison is way easier than with damage... He's taking advantage of the current situation to keep an infected myr with him at the moment, but how long will that last?...

That's it ! They don't have names yet because I'm very bad at naming and I don't want to feel like, cringe lol. But I love that in the lore we're supposed to *be* planeswalkers when we duel ! So they are both the pilots of my two favorite decks : a Syr Gwyn equip/knights commander deck, and a pauper simic infect deck.

I want to keep evolving them as I keep evolving as a player too. Maybe I will give them names, new adventures, write more... or at some point retire them, if I change a lot? In any case, I like them a lot!

Interesting, not quite as mirrored as the beginning got me to assume, but still two folks that are quite different. You say they were "raised as knights", what's that to mean? Where they already adult knights on Eldraine before sparking or just educated in view of them becoming knights? Was this their parents' expectations or their own? What castle's knighthood did they have/were they aiming after?

[inventors-fair]

Friends in High Places

And finally, congratulations to our runners-up this week: @mardu-lesbian, @reaperfromtheabyss, and @scavenger98!

Treat-Seeking Creature (Mercury)

The “attacks each combat” (not “turn” anymore) restriction on this one is so simple and so flavourful, it's the kind of thing I’d expect to see on a really clever common in a Food-focused set, and its stats are definitely reasonable for that style of card. What kept me from being completely taken with the card was the second ability, which just feels like it demands a lot of investment for very little payoff. I’m not sure if there was a story behind why it requires specificaly three artifacts to sacrifice as opposed to, say...one, but mechanically it just feels like the ability will almost never actually be used. The trample is a significant advantage over something like Atog, but I don’t think it even comes close to making up the difference in the cost between the two effects. I think just a little more tuning on the balance of the activated ability would’ve made for something really fantastic.

Slithering Escapist (Gerald)

Once again, this is a very clever bit of design space that creates a functional difference between a generic “can’t be blocked” by allowing your opponent to actively keep their eye on your snake to avoid it slipping past them. I understand what the vanishing was there to achieve (apparently Gerald finally escaped for good), and while I’m not a fan of non-evergreen mechanics, I can see its play value here as well. My biggest feedback is that having evasion as a static ability feels a bit bad, as it often means you won’t know when you attack whether your opponent will be able to block it or not - I feel like reworking it to be a beginning of combat trigger would allow you to make more informed attacking decisions while still hitting all the good notes this version is hitting. On top of that, I think the stats could be a little more aggressive: between the vanishing and the conditional evasion, it just feels like the total payoff for getting it to work isn’t all that exciting. Overall though, I was really pleased with this one.

Rambunctious Retriever 

This design tells kind of an adorable story, your sweet retriever going into your graveyard and bringing you back something at random - if it’s something they can carry it comes back with them, otherwise it stays buried. The stats on the card are pretty reasonable, a 4-mana, 2-power haste attacker isn’t anything to write home about, but one that comes with immediate free value is nothing to scoff at either. The high toughness means it can safely attack in a number of board states, increasing the chances that it’s able to create value on its first turn, and its own mana value is high enough that it can’t recur more copies of itself. Probably the biggest issue is that this tags lands - while white has occasionally recurred cheap permanents without excluding lands, it’s especially important to be careful of giving it access to repeatable ramp like this. That said, I think there’s a version of this card that plays it a little safer and still creates exciting play patterns.

--

That’s it from me for now, look forward to commentary coming soon, and a new challenge from @follower-of-liliana coming tomorrow!

[ @3smuth ]

[xantchaslegacy]

MtG Month of the Ship Day 27 - Pirates

(Avast! Excited to write about pirates! Equally excited to revive a dead internet feud!)

 Captain Anafenza loved that first leap into battle. The sturdy wood of the railing beneath her gloved palm as she vaulted over the side of the ship. The sea-breeze accelerated by the rush of the jump. The solid stomp onto the planks of a dock or enemy ship.

Villagers fled their boats and ran inland, scrambling over the beaches and the docks. A few of the braver ones watched from a distance. Old folk too slow to flee. A strange girl in white peeking out from under a blanket on one of the rowboats. Anafenza ignored them all. The real prize was something much sweeter than mindless plunder.

“Alright you Abzan slags! Make me proud!”

A roar and a cheer went up from her crew as they disembarked behind her and charged up to the pier toward the seaside monastery. A monastery which, if their latest treasure map was to be believed, held a vast fortune, the likes of which few pirates had ever known.

Which would explain all the Jeskai ninja pouring out of the monastery doors to stop them.

Anafenza roared and sprinted up the steps to the monastery gate, clocking the first ninja she encountered in the head with the hilt of her cutlass. She weaved past the spinning kicks of two more and delivered a devastating kick of her own right into the gut of a large djinn-monk-ninja.

The rest of her crew followed close behind, and soon they had a proper brawl underway.

“Keep them busy, crew, I’m headed up!” Anafenza dodged a wild staff-strike and unfurled a grappling line from around her waist. Several of her orc and ainok crewmembers formed a small ring around her to hold off the ninja, and she hurled the hook up onto the roof.

More of the Jeskai ninja greeted her on the roof, swords drawn. The foremost among them was a cocky-looking human, who took a swipe at Anafenza’s legs, no doubt hoping to unbalance her.

She leapt over the blow and kicked him backwards into one of the windows before her boots touched the tiles again.

Never underestimate a pirate’s sea-legs.

Anafenza thrust the tip of her cutlass into the roof and used the hilt as an impromptu springboard to jump up to the next level of roofing. Two of the ninja leapt up after her, but she managed to loop her grappling line around their ankles and knock one off the edge, occupying both of the Jeskai for the next minute or so.

Then she drew a knife and jumped through the nearest window.

“Avast! Throw down your arms and surrender your riches or taste pirate steel!”

Anafenza blinked and looked around. The room was bare save for four wide windows and dozens of shelves, lined with books. In the center of the room a woman sat cross-legged, orange and blue robes draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were closed, but as soon as Anafenza took a step toward her, a blue eye flashed across the woman’s forehead.

An eye that marked the woman as dangerous in the same way that Anafenza’s scale tattoo did.

“Oh good,” The Jeskai ninja grandmaster opened her eyes and smiled. “I was worried that I wouldn’t get to do anything at all today.”

Then, in a blink, she was on her feet and twirling a bladed staff. Anafenza drew a pistol from her belt and fired, but the bullet bounced off the staff and struck the floor. The grandmaster leapt, and the jump took her at least ten feet off the floor.

Anafenza dodged out of the way as the staff came down hard and cracked the floor. She swiped with her knife and the grandmaster stepped out of the way, entangling Anafenza’s legs with another strike and flipping her onto the ground.

Anafenza rolled with the blow and popped up again on her feet, close to the wall.

“Not bad, ninja.” She held up a length of blue sash. “But you should always watch a pirate’s hands.”

The grandmaster looked down at her robes, now hanging open to reveal the tunic underneath. A faint tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks, but she was still smiling.

“I could say the same. Very powerful legs you’ve got, by the way.” The grandmaster lifted up something curved and silvery.

Anafenza’s flask.

Anafenza patted at her hip, now bare, as the grandmaster continued to smirk. Then, keeping an eye on Anafenza, she uncorked the flask and took a long, uninterrupted pull from it.

A full minute long, in fact. Anafenza could only stare, her heart pounding. That was the strongest Mardu-liquor that money could buy.

“Pirate swill. Do you cut that stuff with seawater?” The grandmaster threw the flask out the window. “Oh, and thank you for taking an interest in my robes. I don’t get to do a lot of romancing here in the monastery, but I believe it’s customary to ask a woman’s name before you try and disrobe her.” She threw her staff up into the air and whipped the ropes off entirely. “It’s Narset, by the way.”

Anafenza grinned. “A lady’s name is always a nice addition to the plunder. And her garb.”

“Well, you’re welcome to them.” With a snap, Narset cast the robes at Anafenza’s face, obscuring the grandmaster from view.

Anafenza swiped the robe in two with a flash of her knife. The cloth fell to the floor on either side of her, but the grandmaster was gone.

Then Narset was on top of Anafenza, dropping down on her shoulders from above. They crashed to the floor together, and the grandmaster stripped Anafenza’s knife away. Anafenza managed to wrap the sash around Narset and trap her left arm, but got her own arm caught and shoved up against the wall for her trouble.

They grappled with each other in place for several seconds, quiet except for their own grunts and the sounds of battle outside by the sea. Their arms were entangled, their weapons on the floor, and their faces mere inches from each other.

“I never did get your name,” Narset said through gritted teeth. “It seems only fair…”

“Anafenza.” She said it without really thinking. It was really quite difficult to focus on fighting when you had such a face right next to yours, lovely as a relief carved out of gold. She reached for her belt and drew another pistol, but couldn’t point it anywhere except for the bookshelves.

“No!”

Narset let go of Anafenza’s knife-hand and knocked the pistol barrel up toward the roof. The bullet left a sizeable hole in the wood. Anafenza took the opportunity to loop the sash around Narset’s other wrist and bind her hands together. Narset still managed to get her arms around Anafenza’s neck ad pull her down to the ground.

“Those are our sacred treasures!” Narset’s voice sounded higher now, more urgent. “I won’t let you harm them!”

“Who cares about…wait…” Anafenza flipped over, pinning Narset with a knee on her thigh. “What did you call them?”

“Our sacred treasure of knowledge! These books hold the greatest secrets of the world and the multiverse!” Narset pulled Anafenza’s head down further, so that the pirate captain could not stand. “Our sacred duty to protect for centuries!”

Anafenza rolled sideways, disentangling from Narset. They both lay on the floor for a full minute, breathing heavily.

“That’s it? Books? No gold or jewels or anything like that?”

“Of course not. Knowledge is the ultimate treasure.”

Anafenza groaned and stumbled toward the window. Narset stood and followed her.

“Fight’s off!” Anafenza’s voice carried down to the fighters below, and they all stopped to stare up at her and Narset. “It’s another metaphorical treasure!”

Groans of disappointment from her crew mixed with sighs of relief from the battered ninja.

Anafenza leaned up against the windowsill, massaging her bruised arms. “Well, that’s another month of sailing wasted,.”

“Here, let me.” Narset took Anafenza’s hand in her own and ran her palm along the pirate captain’s bare upper arm. The ache eased by degrees.

“I’m sorry I can’t offer you and your crew any riches, captain.” Narset took Anafenza’s other arm and started to caress it. Quick, soft touches that felt better than a dip in a hot bath. “But you are welcome to join us in the village this evening. The townsfolk have a grand alehouse that they’re very proud of, and I daresay it serves a stronger drink than what you’re used to.” She smiled and nodded her head toward the window.

Anafenza let out a slow breath, and looked Narset over. The grandmaster’s eyes darted all over the place, not quite meeting her own gaze, but tracing all over Anafenza’s clothes and weapon. She considered the grandmaster. A strong face, cheeks like a cutlass’ edge, and hair like the midnight sea.

“Well, it’s not gold, but…yeah, that’ll do for now.”

 The above is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

[visiblespectrummusic]

You seem to be a mtg n music guy. What kind of music do u think the tri colors would enjoy?

I am indeed both of those things! Although I have been dormant as of late.

Wedges and Shards are a little bit trickier because there are so many converging ideals (a lot of them conflicting) that make “enjoyment” a little difficult to grasp. Something that I would find a little easier would be trying to determine what kind of music I would write for a movie about them. Along with musical examples!

Bant - Soft, harmonious, mostly major keys. Something ambient and minimalist with a heavy use of vocals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZf34B8SImo

Esper - Metallic, mechanical, and precise. Something with heavy use of percussion, but also stately and calculated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVYHhcYWttY

Grixis - Dissonant, ugly, and unsettling. Something that doesn’t quite sit well. Think of German Expressionism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-pVz2LTakM

Jund - Tribal and vicious. Primal and angry sounding. https://youtu.be/rP42C-4zL3w?t=209

Naya - Open and airy and with a sense of freedom. People don’t call it happy Jund for nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4e4hnGEgpw

Jeskai - Meditative and pensive, showing restraint and discipline, yet passion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZqpXIa6HQM

Sultai - A lot of percussion. In fact, almost entirely percussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOcH6nFjv7w

Mardu - Angry, aggressive, wild and free. Almost like a mix of Jund of Naya. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05XBQv0dUkA

Temur - Folk music and tribal sounding. Soft and calming, but with a reverence that shows the religious and shamanic aspect of the tribe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E4iAuw70cQ

Abzan - Another clan that I mostly would associate with percussion. Maybe I just have percussion on the brain. They’re the most organized army of the clans of Tarkir so probably something more stately. https://youtu.be/9opcAg3dJEc?t=1890

That’s all I got! I spent way too much time on this but I hope this paints an evocative picture!

[internationalspacehobo]

i did some writing! For one of my fanwalkers :3c it’s not the best stuff i’ve done but i don’t think it’s that bad either sooooo there u go

Strong winds buffeted the flank of the mountain they had been climbing since sunrise, blowing their thick wool cloaks this way and that. It was cold, cold enough at this height for the snow to pile two feet high in some places; but Deranna wasn’t much bothered by it. It was nothing compared to the constant frozen state of Terisiare. She stepped with sure feet over the snow, barely leaving a footprint, almost as if she were gently floating. Her guide, a humanoid dog (an “ainok”, as she’d discovered they were called), was keeping good pace, trailing only a few steps behind her.

“Deranna, I have to ask what the point of hiring me as a guide is if I’m going to be trailing after you for most of the trip.” he called from behind, his breath heavy from the exhausting climb. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Just curious.”

She stopped and turned, giving him a few seconds to catch up.

“I do not mind the weather, but I have not traveled these mountains before. If I want to get to where I need to be, I would rather do so by the most expeditious means. A guide seems the obvious choice.”

The ainok opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again and kept advancing. Since she’d hired him he had asked few questions, which Deranna was grateful for. What little he did want to know about her she could deflect easily enough. No need to trouble planebound minds with concepts beyond their reach.

“Jebe, tell me about these lands. About your people.” She let herself fall into pace next to him, making an effort not to wander too far ahead.

There was a moment of silent consideration before he spoke.

“These are the Qal Sisma mountains, where my clan lives, though we’re close to one of the Jeskai strongholds. Our people’ve had clashes with them occasionally, but for the most part we let each other be. The Mardu are trouble enough, as are the dragons.”

He kept walking in silence for a few seconds before he continued.

“My clan are the Temur. We’re a hardy people, used to life in these parts.” Jebe looked in her direction, clearly with a question on his mind. “You really don’t know any of this? You don’t come from any of the clans, you are unfamiliar with the terrain, yet clearly used to travel. And you don’t look like anyone I’ve ever seen. No offence, of course.”

Deranna remained silent. What should she answer? What could she answer? The man had never left these mountains, and she came from a world beyond this one.

“I have travelled from… far away. My home is much like these mountains, actually. Or it was, until recently. Things are changing, faster than I can work to stop them. I am afraid it is too late to keep it as it was. Some people still fight the Thaw, but they are lead by a delusional madman. I have come here as a reminder that there are other places, though not all are as lucky as I am; able to travel these long distances.”

She realized she’d stopped walking, and Jebe was actually a few feet ahead of her, stopped as well, waiting for her to finish her explanation.

“You say you have not seen people like me. Are there no elves on- in the Qal Sisma region?”

The guide shook his head.

“I haven’t heard that word, but I can tell you there is noone quite like you, in the mountains or the wastes. Maybe in the jungles and swamps of the Silumgar, but you don’t strike me as one of them.”

They continued their journey until the sun was past its highest point, each talking about their lands and asking questions about the other. Deranna found the ainok’s worldview interesting. Pragmatic and immediate in his approach to the world, but still respectful in his ideas about it. There was a spirituality there that reminded her of the elves of Yavimaya. But where they tried to revert and change and mutate the world that had birthed them, Jebe, and the Temur, seemed to have adapted to it. Grown stronger from the adverse conditions.

When they stopped to eat the conversation came to a natural pause. Jebe was an expert hunter, and soon came back with a stag hung across his shoulders. Deranna had made an icy shelter to keep their fire from being blown out by the wind, and they enjoyed their meal in a quiet peace.

They resumed their journey, and didn’t speak much for the remainder of the day, focused simply on getting further up the peak. The wind had lessened, but the temperature still steadily lowered as they went higher and higher. At one point, far above, a shape flew through the clouds. Jebe urged her to hide until it passed. Deranna knew she had nothing to fear from most dragons, but acquiesced nonetheless.

By the morning of the next day, the winds had resumed, with seemingly twice the strength of the previous morning. Even Deranna had to slow her steps, and their advance slowed to a crawl. She briefly considered just stopping the storm altogether, but decided against it. She enjoyed the savage, untamed weather. Let the cold run free.

As they travelled along, the skies did not clear by much. A dim light occasionally shone through tears in the clouds, but even those specks of sun were quickly blown away; and the howling winds made conversation impossible if one didn’t want to scream every word. A particularly strong gust almost blew Deranna on her back, but she managed to steady herself. Above, a dark cloud flew by, casting a shadow over the pair.

If it wasn’t for Jebe’s scream, she would’ve left it at that. Thankfully the ainok was more used to keeping his eyes out for aerial predators than her. She flipped around, and saw him dashing in her direction, motioning for her to get down. Behind him, an enormous beast was rapidly closing the distance. A dragon.

The creature looked different than the dragons she was used to. Slender, with a long neck, and a winding, serpentine tail. Its wings were covered in feathers instead of the usual membrane. And it swirled through the sky, carrying itself gracefully with the currents of the air. But still, undoubtedly, a dragon; with an impressive wingspan, at that.

It saddened her that they had to encounter it under these circumstances. No doubt the animal was hungry and simply following its nature, but Deranna had grown to like the ainok, and would be sadder still to see him go. So she made a decision. She took a few steps forward, much to Jebe’s dismay, and focused her eyes on the dragon. The least she could do is look it in the eyes as she snuffed its life out with less effort than it took someone to blow out a candle.

Deranna had learned cryomancy from the rimewind mages, and knew the movements and incantations necessary. It was a hard discipline. Ice did not like to be moved, and it was slow to answer one’s call. Many inexperienced cryomancers had failed to summon the magic in time when they needed it. And when it came, it was hungry. It bit like fire and flowed like water, and even more apprentices had ended up as their own first victims. But that had been a long time ago.

There was no need for gestures, or words, or tokens and artifacts. She simply looked at the dragon, and willed. She could see in its eyes a split second of surprize before they glazed over. Its heart frozen, it was dead before its wings had stopped their movement. It hit the earth like a meteor, throwing snow and dirt up in the air, and leaving a trail of shattered ground behind it.

She took a moment to look for Jebe, and found him, half buried in the snow. She helped him get free, and pulled him to his feet.

“What- what happened?” he asked, shaking the snow and earth from his fur. “The dragon was right on top of us and it just crashed.”

Deranna shrugged. “Maybe the beast was old, or sick.”

Jebe shook his head. “No, no, I don’t believe it was. That dragon was at the peak of health. I saw you step toward it. You did this, didn’t you?”

It wasn’t a question, so she didn’t answer. She just looked at him, and for the first time since they’d met, the ainok caught a glimpse of the age behind her dark eyes. He shuddered; if in fear, awe, or cold, he didn’t know.

“Who are you, Deranna?”

[a-magical-recap]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm Retrospective - Top 10 Commanders

Number 9 - 3,150 decks

Neriv, Heart of the Storm

As the spirit dragon of the Mardu clan, Neriv, Heart of the Storm goes all in on their love of speed and aggression. A big beater in his own right as a 4-mana 4/5 flier, Neriv also ups the aggression of any creature you control that deals damage on the turn it enters, either through a triggered ability, or with haste. While initially less obvious than straight-up aggression, Neriv also combines very well with any effects that create creature tokens that have haste or that enter attacking, such as with myriad triggers. Combining the two, like giving myriad to a creature that hurts each opponent when it enters, will net you some serious damage!

Neriv synergizes with effects that give creatures haste like Enduring Courage (62% synergy) and Nahiri's Resolve (55%), and with effects that cause creatures to deal damage when they enter, like Warstorm Surge (60%).

Neriv is currently the 21st most popular Mardu commander, and was the 90th most popular commander for the week as of writing this. Dragons are always very cool, and Neriv has found a pretty interesting niche for itself. While there are other commanders that care about creatures with haste, none do so in quite the way that Neriv does, emphasizing speed and aggression above all else. Also, unlike the other haste-matters commanders, Neriv has access to white, which gives it some neat effects like the aforementioned Nahiri's Resolve, which those other decks don't have access to. With all these things going for it, I can see Neriv getting to 4,000 decks in the future, to hang out with the likes of Megatron, Tyrant (#17) and Olivia, Opulent Outlaw (#16).

[nickelkeep]

Queer Representation in MtG

So, after my glorious nerdgasm over Kyniaos and Tiro popping up on my dash the other day (you can find that post here), I had someone message me (the awesome @hyperazraphael) and ask me about other queer representation in MtG. As I mentioned, Wizards still has a long way to go, but I went ahead and looked up all the characters that are Queer, believed to be Queer, and in one case, there is a fuckton of Queerbaiting.

As a friendly reminder, the couple who started it all off:

Kynaios and Tiro

(Art by Will Murai)

Goddess, I cannot get enough of these two beautiful men. The lore behind them, the fact that the Story Lore is that their actual History is forgotten, and people thought them enemies when they were lovers. The new art (above) showing the statues below being built? Ugh. So beautiful.

(Art by Magali Villenuvue)

But my previous post was about them, so let’s move on to the next.

Alesha

(Art by Anastasia Ovchinnikova) Alesha, Who Smiles at Death caused such an uproar when she was printed. She is the first official Transgender character in MtG lore. Her story is very simple. Born male, when she earned the right to name herself, she picked Alesha, and it was accepted by the Khan of her tribe, no questions asked. She even rises to power to lead the Mardu tribe. Her story is beautiful and can be read here: The Truth of Names.

Hallar

(Art by Bram Sels)

Sorry, wish I had more lore on this awesome character. Their card is fun to play though.

Ashiok

(Art by Karla Ortiz) Let me tell you about my Homeslice Ashiok. First and foremost, “Every nightmare is a caged bird that yearns to be set free.” Holy shit, you may think me insane, but that line is beautiful. As is this agender/non-binary character. While the art portrays them as somewhat masculine (I’ll forgive it), in lore Ashiok has been described as extremely androgynous. People who were attacked by Ashiok could not determine their gender. They do fall into the trope of the Villainous Queer, at least that seems where WotC is going with them, but I love them so much!

Yahenni, Gonti and the Aetherborn Race

(Yahenni, Art by Lius Lasahido)

(Gonti, Art by Daarken)

This race literally has no gender. Confirmed. Just listing the two heavy hitters for you here.

Oviya

(Art by Magali Villaneuve)

One of the saddest stories of the plane of Kaladesh. Oviya Pashiri was a revered Lifecrafter. She lost her wife, and “stopped working.” And by stopping her work, we mean she started working in secret to overthrow the goddamned Consulate, cause they’re fucking assholes. Seriously. They make the Empire look like saints. Also, boo to killing Lesbians. Bad Wizards. Bad.

Xantcha

(Art by Mark Winters)

Xantcha has been around forever, first appearing as a Vanguard. She’s Phyrexian, which means at birth, she is born genderless. She’s also unlike other Phyrexians in which she can think against the hivemindish thing they have. Some people think that she should get the title as the first Transgender character, as she went from having no gender to being female, but I will leave that up to the masses.

Lazav (and - fight me - other Shapeshifters)

(Art by David Rapoza)

Meet this regal looking badass. They’re the Guild Master of House Dimir. And Non-Binary. Lazav has pretty much been confirmed as such, so I’m also going to go out on a limb and say that all Shapeshifters are Enbies. They can take on the form of any person, regardless of gender, race, sexuality... Fight me.

Hal and Alena

This is an MtG example in which I don’t have an art or a card, but a story.  Under the Silver Moon

While it’s not 100% confirmed, it’s along the lines of Destiel. Read between the damn lines.

Warning on the next one. This is the one that I read as Queerbaiting. 

Chandra and Nissa

(Card: Deadlock Trap, Art: Jason Rainville)

As a reminder, Queerbaiting is the practice of hinting at, but then not actually depicting, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of. Really, I don’t want to get into this one. This one is not Canon. I honestly don’t even think there is enough support. If you read stories starting in the Kaladesh storyline, they imply that Chandra has unexplained feelings and attraction or something growing between these two ladies. But it’s never confirmed. And Nissa, who has been Miss “I hate every other race that isn’t elves” is starting to see Chandra as someone she can talk to, but maybe something more too if you squint and cross your eyes. 

Look, I’m cool if you ship these two. And if WotC does actually put them in a relationship together, awesome, there’s more LGBT visibility. But we don’t know if they’re Lesbians or bi or pan or demi or whatever. Their sexualities have never even been discussed. But we get fed this:

Chandra shifted awkwardly. "So . . . friendship?"

Nissa blinked. Chandra worked very hard not to stare.

"Yes," Nissa smiled.

Nissa closed her eyes, and took another deep breath, her headache receding. It felt good to confess insecurities. She smiled and looked Chandra in the eye.

"I am thankful for your companionship. You have taught me much about what it means to be a friend, Chandra. It means much to me."

"Right. Yeah." A soft smile returned to Chandra's face. "I want to be a good friend to you." 

(From The Writing on the Wall by Alison Luhr)

That’s from an official MtG Story. How do you read that? Serious question. Do you need more context? Nissa asked Chandra and only Chandra to go on a walk through Naktamun with her. And Chandra is having the weird fluffy feelings again. Now how does that read? Any different? 

Again, if WotC wants them to go Canon, awesome. Let’s hope they both survive War of Spark.

[focsle]

Tell me about Lalichai!

@bladeverbena as well, since u asked about him too!

Full Name: Mardu LalichaiGender and Sexuality: Man, attracted to men.Pronouns: he/himEthnicity/Species: He’s a...human from The Mainland.Birthplace and Birthdate: The Mainland, and at A Period 74 years ago. Lol. I’M NOT DEVELOPING A CALENDAR FOR THIS WORLD.Guilty Pleasures: Lalichai doesn’t feel guilty about any of his pleasures. He likes poetry and patter songs, writing counterarguments to scholars he dislikes, making riddles and forcing Vandorus to solve them, making jokes about his mortality that he thinks is hilarious but no one else cares for.Phobias: He becomes increasingly concerned about water, which is unfortunate because he’s surrounded by water. But leaks, especially.What They Would Be Famous For: He’s famous for his writings on the social impacts of disease outbreaks, and for being a weird eccentric who bought a property no one else would touch to serve as an eventual personal mausoleum. What They Would Get Arrested For: Being an accessory to whatever crimes Vandorus is committing. OC You Ship Them With: When he was slightly less ill he had more of a relationship with Vandorus...sort of.OC Most Likely To Murder Them: No one. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: He likes epic poetry.Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: RomanceTalents and/or Powers: He’s quick witted and has a mind for language. He once had a very nice singing voice but that’s left him now.Why Someone Might Love Them: He’s a snarky flippant goth with an anything-goes sort of personality. Playful in a very dry sort of way.Why Someone Might Hate Them: He can be cantankerous, and can relish other people’s discomfort at times.How They Change: UMMMM HE DIES.Why You Love Them: Because he’s a snarky flippant goth and is a good temporary foil to the other two who take themselves....so seriously.