Anyway, a bit of designing for "Heavy Metal" and "Permanence" has made me realize that I want a 10-card artifact megacycle spread over the block. My question: is this Mythic-worthy? Would a 10-card megacycle over 10 sets feel un-Mythic?
Anyhow, they entry from The Pauper and the Padishah would be:
Ring of Earth and Sky0
Artifact [MR]
You may spend blue mana as though it were red mana.
You may spend red mana as though it were blue mana.
A UR filtering artifact doesn't feel un-Mythic in a URG set, but it feels inappropriate because it represents the center of the wedge and one of the enemy colors. If anything, it should fix RG.
A UR filtering artifact doesn't feel un-Mythic in a URG set, but it feels inappropriate because it represents the center of the wedge and one of the enemy colors. If anything, it should fix RG.
Well, you caught on to my trick.
I'm trying to build a few different block-megacycles at mythic rarity. I've recently posted three of them:
As you can see, the planeswalker and the mana-filter artifact mirror each other in this set (the two enemy-color pairs). I'm saving room for another :symr:/:symg: card. Rather than having a strict cycle for that card, I want to leave it open to do something really cool in those two colors, as they are the "odd" pair out. The megacycle, then, will just be some big, splashy card with no mechanical connection to the rest of the megacycle.
For shard sets (like "Heavy Metal"), the 'walker and the Spiral would both be allied-colors, and the splashy card would be the enemy-color pair.
Just a few more ideas that came to mind while reading your recent threads...
Luster Mage 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
1/2
:symtap:: Target artifact becomes blue, green, and red until end of turn.
Improvised Weapon R
Instant
Until end of turn, target noncreature nonequipment artifact becomes an equipment with "Equipped creature gets +X/+X, where X is this artifact's converted mana cost." Attach it to target creature.
Reliquary Guard 2U
Creature - Human Soldier
2/3
Vigilance
Prevent all damage that Reliquary Guard would deal to artifact creatures and/or equipped creatures.
You will hear many versions of this story. This is the only true version.
The troubles began when Laqwat, the Bird of Filth, usurped the immortal throne of Char-Khaya, the last worldly representative of heaven. Many lies were told about the Bold One, all of them inventions of the usurper. Using her deception, she poisoned the hearts of the weak-willed, and set brother upon brother. They say that the sun turned dark that day, when Laqwat struck the Bold One down. The heavens were too ashamed to look upon the face of the world. Those who are faithful will realize that, indeed, it happened just as I have said. It was a time of great shame, and we must never forgive the deceivers for what they did. No repentance they offer can ever be accepted.
Now, it is incumbent upon the righteous to fight evil, and not to fear death. It came about, then, that all of the true brothers of Char-Khaya took up arms to avenge him and restore his bloodline to the throne. For centuries, we have followed the mighty Charaks as they have risen up to destroy those who comfort the enemy. The greatest lie ever told was that there exists a person who is loyal to neither Laqwat nor the Charaks - if you do not fight for the side of righteousness, are you not an enemy? Indeed, those who do not fight are the worst of Laqwat's minions - too cowardly even to pick up arms for their master. It is right that we scour them all from the world, and let their blood nourish the stones.
You must remember that no sacrifice is too great to achieve our victory. If to rout the usurper we must burn the sinful cities to the ground, we will burn them. If to slay the usurper we must slay our wayward kin, we will slay them. True brothers of Char-Khaya do not fear any mortal consequence. We will fight on the side of righteousness until order is restored, the nonbelievers lay beheaded, and the law of heaven shines like a beacon in every remaining human heart. Our suffering is insignificant next to the glory of our king. Truly he blesses us in allowing us to perish for him and his everlasting dominion.
Now, speak the oath and you will become a true brother of Char-Khaya!
Some tell this story differently than I do. Believe whatever you want.
This is, was, and always will be a land of bigots and fools. Every petty ruler makes for himself a kingdom in his own image, so why not our Lady of Night? She once wielded terror like an axe, now like a knife. Cling to your sheltered ideals, but fear begets obedience, and obedience begets peace. Yes, many had to die for that peace, and many still do, but what the Black Eagle has created is magnificent in its power and breathtaking in its scope. The Sisiyat is the meeting place of the strongest, the most intelligent, and the most effectual masters this land has ever known. Using this network, the Black Eagle strikes out, whenever and wherever she pleases, and she always achieves her desired result. She has ruled this land now for eight centuries, dominated this endless expanse of backwards peasants and small-minded zealots. Why not eight centuries more?
Our greatest nuisance is the loyalists of Char-Khaya, the namesake of which our great Lady slew to ascend the Sisiyat. This is truly an association of the mad and the self-deceiving if ever there was one. Char-Khaya was a fat, lazy whoremonger who dined on fatted peacock while his people starved. There is no end to the legendry that the loyalists ascribe to him now. A great lawmaker, a shrewd commander, a merciful liege. They believe in these stories and forget about the fool who watched the ancient City of Janab succumb to the ocean, because he commanded its residents not to break the taboo against traveling during the Mehregan. They forget about the coward who made peace with the Adishak rebels and stood idly by as those same rebels raped the City of Sibanj, then fled back to their caves. This ineffectual king has, in death, achieved a greater status than his pathetic rule ever earned him in life. Every day, we must uproot his frothing zealots and gut them upon the spires of the Sisiyat. It is a terrible waste.
Soon, there will come a breaking point. This conflict has gone on too long, and too many are dead. The Black Eagle rules over a vast, festering kingdom of corpses. This ill suits her, for an eagle is no vulture. Nevertheless, we will continue to bring glory to our Lady. We will continue to infiltrate the ranks of the disobedient, we will turn them upon each other, and we will soon bring forward a more perfect rule from the Sisiyat. Perhaps there will be no one left alive to bend the knee to our Lady, but then she will simply ascend in splendor to another realm, cloaked in the obsidian feathers of night.
Even the final desolation of this land could be beautiful, could it not?
The Fetch is strictly better than Grizzly Bears at common. The most common time for a creature to die is during combat, where the extra mana usually doesn't matter. Therefore in order to do anything special with it, you need a sac outlet, a spell in your hand, and not enough lands to just cast that spell normally. However, I don't recall Cathodion breaking anything in original Mirrodin, so it's probably fine.
What do you mean by "hot-ticket" common? A card's price is driven almost entirely by its Constructed playability, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how highly pickable it is in Limited.
Why does Brass Bull have lifelink? It seems entirely random for a card otherwise very reminiscent of Goblin Piledriver.
Why does Brass Bull have lifelink? It seems entirely random for a card otherwise very reminiscent of Goblin Piledriver.
Since the set has no or :symb:, mechanics of those colors are going to be scarce. In general, my philosophy in these sets is to embrace such scarcity, but I think lifelink is enough of a workhorse that I want it. So, I'm using the "artifacts-can-have-any-mechanic-if-you-pay-more-for-it" rule and doing a couple :symw:/:symb: mechanics that I think are important to have. With the Brass Bull, I also want an artifact creature that is clearly telling you to draft more artifact creatures (it's pretty nifty if you do and completely terrible if you don't).
If you deem the flavor weird, that's OK, I can work on that.
What do you mean by "hot-ticket" common? A card's price is driven almost entirely by its Constructed playability, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how highly pickable it is in Limited.
I mean a "5.0" common, or to put it another way, a card you will never not pick if you open it and you will never not run if you pick it. OK, maybe 4.0 or 4.5 is acceptable.
The reason is that the set is going to have a decent number of cards that interact strongly with artifact creatures. Those cards can't work if nobody is drafting artifact creatures. I'm working to make all of the artifact creatures appealing, but I think I really want one that's just unambiguously excellent, so that every single copy that's cracked will hit the battlefield, in theory.
I mean a "5.0" common, or to put it another way, a card you will never not pick if you open it and you will never not run if you pick it. OK, maybe 4.0 or 4.5 is acceptable.
"Never not pick if you open it"? That's quite a tall order. I don't think there's a common you could possibly print - not even ":sympw:, Instant: Exile target artifact or creature" that I would first-pick over something like Umezawa's Jitte, Baneslayer Angel, or Red Sun's Zenith.
The reason is that the set is going to have a decent number of cards that interact strongly with artifact creatures. Those cards can't work if nobody is drafting artifact creatures. I'm working to make all of the artifact creatures appealing, but I think I really want one that's just unambiguously excellent, so that every single copy that's cracked will hit the battlefield, in theory.
I actually think artifact creatures are able to be a little worse than comparable colored creatures due to the fact that they can go in any deck and this set specifically rewards artifact-based interactions. Briefly skimming through the commons in SOM block, I find that in order to consider an artifact creature a "must-play", it either has to provide value (Moriok Replica, Perilous Myr), be synergistic with the deck (splash color mana-myr, Rusted Slasher), or else have good stats for its cost (Ichorclaw Myr, Wall of Tanglecord). While a card like Phyrexian Digester will almost always make the deck if I'm Infect, I'm not particularly thrilled to snap one up 6-8th pick. There are very few artifact commons from SOM that I will refuse to play if my draft is an utter trainwreck (looking at you, Training Drone) but there are plenty that I will actively try to avoid playing, like Auriok Replica (which I frequently ran in SSS metalcraft decks until I realized just how bad it was).
Rats ok?
It's Mind Rot on a body, colorshifted-ness made up for by its slowness and the possibility it never goes off. I think it's fine, but like Digester, it's not a card I would recoil at cutting from my decks.
Could the Rat be a Snake, just to work with the green zoo-land?
Heh. Maybe.
Believe me, I am being mindful of the zoo lands with every creature type I select. Not every non-Human, non-Djinn creature is going to fall under one of the twelve types represented there, though, and not each of the twelve types is going to have an associated card in TPatP.
In the end, I'm sure I'll shuffle some creature types around to make sure I hit the right balance. Maybe the Rats will benefit from that, who knows?
I love the Crab and I would pick it every draft because it's just such a nice, fun defensive common. Please change the name of Trash Monitor to something like Trash Gecko? It cheapens monitor lizards to make one of them a 1/1.
When Alchemical Amalgamation is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put three 1/1 colorless Homunculus artifact creature tokens onto the battlefield.
When Midden Delver is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put up to one target artifact card from your graveyard on top your library.
[1/1]
Fortress Zoea4
Artifact Creature - Crab [UNC]
Vigilance
:2mana:, :symtap:: Other artifact creatures you control get +0/+2 until end of turn.
[2/4]
I realized I had a great flavor opportunity to turn Homunculi into my "Potion artifact creatures". They also help fill out the space that the Reconstruct creatures left over when they got bumped up to uncommon.
Fortress Zoea, I realized, had problems as a common, relating to Limited combat analysis. So, I bumped it up and made it more efficient. I also like that its ability affects "other" artifact creatures now, which helps it mirror Brass Bull, and more clearly signals its purpose for existence. I know this takes away some of the fiddly-interaction it had with itself, but I think it's cleaner for it.
If Dryad Arbor is a Forest Dryad, could the Homunculi be literal Potion artifact creatures, with the typeline "Artifact Creature - Potion Homunculus"?
The umbrella theme is alchemy, so I think rather than do that, I'll just slot in one or two uncommons / rares that unite Homunculi and Potions mechanically, to make the point clear.
I may also go back and rework my uncommon Reagent cycle so it functions with Homunculi.
The origin of Tarkaz is, like that of many planes, shrouded in mystery and the fog of many forgotten eons. That Tarkaz bears outward similarities to both Rabiah the Infinite and Wildfire is inarguable, although the cause for these similarities is not. The scant few planeswalkers who have visited Tarkaz suggest competing theories: one, that Tarkaz was a bygone god's trial run at planar creation before moving on to the more successful plane of Rabiah; a second, that Tarkaz evolved independently and in isolation from the rest of the Multiverse, and that its similarities to other planes speaks to underlying patterns in the nature of mana itself.
Tarkaz is a plane out of balance. Millennia of merciless, genocidal warfare has reduced the land to inhospitable ashes. Blue, red, and green mana have been stripped from their foundations and jettisoned into the void. Only the dualistic battle between light and darkness remains. Neither side is winning.
The Razh
The endless battle between Tarkaz's insular human clans is known as the Razh. The most recent cycle began approximately eight-hundred years ago, when a sorceress - known to her enemies as Laqwat, and to her minions as the Black Eagle - ascended to the throne of the Sisyat amidst great contention. Seemingly immortal, and rumored to be Tarkaz's first native planeswalker, the Black Eagle rules Tarkaz through her network of assassins, spies, and fellow sorcerer-lords. Her primary opponents are a sect of religious zealots led by strongmen called Charaks - powerful tribal warlords and martyrs who slaughter for their faith without discrimination. In the middle are the common people of Tarzak, whose loyalties change with the tides, and whose lives are brutally short, miserable, and cheap.
The Sisyat
In the middle of Tarkaz's vast southern wastes lies a dark tower, known as the spine of the world - the Sisyat. Legend holds that within this tower is an ancient riddle, carved in stone by Tarkaz's creator. The riddle, if solved, is said to bestow upon its solver the power to establish a planar portal between Tarkaz and another, as-yet-unknown world. No one has yet been able to solve the riddle, but each successive despot to sit on the Sisyat's throne has assembled his finest magi to attempt to decipher it.
Hmm... I'm guessing that PTP's setting is the other end of the Sisyat portal?
While this is all very interesting, I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what relevance it has to the set. What you're describing sounds very classical White and Black to me - which you said you were specifically trying to omit in the RUG set - so I'm assuming these will not be made into cards.
The cards are always supposed to be the main attraction of any M:TG set. I like what you did with "Heavy Metal", telling a story to preview a card with an interesting mechanic. Where are the stories about the hyena-people and the alchemists and the hunts for treasure? I'm a lot more invested in the titular characters than I am in the Charaks and Laqwat/the Black Eagle, not only because they've been around longer but because they feel a lot more connected to the world you've slowly been building through the cards.
Unless there's some obvious connection I've been missing all along...
Unless there's some obvious connection I've been missing all along...
Nope, you haven't missed it. I'm just setting up a bit of exposition.
Marjhan's introduction takes place in the same world that I'm describing here. Tarkaz is not represented directly on any of the cards in this set (though many of the humans are connected to it), but it is key to understanding the world of the djinn, and also the realm of barzakh, the barrier between the two. The motivations of the set's two title characters, likewise, are heavily based on what has transpired on Tarkaz.
I will make everything more clear in my next few posts.
"I'll tell you everything I know," said Ariz the baker, "Only, please do not hurt my family."
Ariz knelt in the mud behind his family's small clay home in the poor village of Bok. Around him stood eight of the Shija - war-scarred clerics loyal to the Charak of Taisal - each bearing a scimitar encrusted with many layers of dried blood. The Shija looked upon the fat baker with faces of stone, saying nothing. Two of the clerics held Ariz's wife and boy by the hair, jerking roughly when either of them whimpered. A third cleric shoved wood into Ariz's outdoor bread oven. Much of the firewood had been dampened by the morning rains, but enough of it was sufficiently dry to kindle a strong fire.
"You admit that you have something to tell," said the oldest of the Shija, his beard long and gray, "So, you are in no position to haggle with us. Speak your words and we will judge your innocence or guilt."
"Pisaru came to Bok during the monsoons last year," said Ariz, "We thought he was just a traveling peddler. All of his wares were of very poor quality and nobody wanted to buy from him. But, he had no family and nowhere to go, so we took him in, all of us. The whole village! How were we to know that he was one of Luqwat's spies? We couldn't have known this. We are not magi, here in Bok! We gave him food and shelter, yes, but we knew nothing of his thievery, or his murders. So, please, let me tell you how you might find him, and then let us be. I'm sure you will be able to find him easily, he walks with a..."
"Silence," said the old cleric, "We took Pisaru's head in the night."
The baker's face drooped, and his eyes searched the faces of the Shija for some kind of expression, some hint of their pleasure or displeasure. There was no sign. The cleric who had been stacking wood drew forth a brass scarab from his robe. He flicked a mechanism in one of the device's metal wings, trying to light a fire in the oven's belly. Ariz's son cried out softly to his father, and one of the clerics met the boy's face with the back of his hand. Ariz's wife lunged for the attacker, but the clerics threw her to the dirt and kicked her in the gut until she was silent again. Ariz closed his eyes and held himself absolutely still until the commotion stopped.
"It is glorious, to hear that you slayed Luqwat's minion," said Ariz, "Blessed be the Charak, and may his faith bring us..."
"You can stop your performance," said the elder cleric, "You have admitted to your guilt, and the guilt of those around you. Luqwat has defiled this place and corrupted the hearts of its people. Your bodies are sick with her filth, and your tongues can speak only lies. For your part in your master's foul treachery, we sentence you, your family, and every diseased creature of this village to burn in the purifying fire of Char-Khaya."
"No!" screamed the baker's wife, "We did nothing! Pisaru lied to us! We are all good people! We are innocent!"
The largest of the eight Shija walked forward, drew out his scimitar, and lopped off the woman's head with one clean stroke. The boy cried out in terror, and the sword-wielding cleric moved to strike him down as well. But, the gray-bearded Shija held out a hand in gesture, and the executioner sheathed his sword. Another cleric took the head of the woman and tossed it out into the streets of Bok, where dozens more clerics of the sect stood surrounding the villagers, scimitars drawn. Ariz sputtered his wife's name as he clenched his eyes shut from the scene unfolding around him. Every fiber of his body shook in fear.
Anyway, a bit of designing for "Heavy Metal" and "Permanence" has made me realize that I want a 10-card artifact megacycle spread over the block. My question: is this Mythic-worthy? Would a 10-card megacycle over 10 sets feel un-Mythic?
Anyhow, they entry from The Pauper and the Padishah would be:
Artifact [MR]
You may spend blue mana as though it were red mana.
You may spend red mana as though it were blue mana.
Not that I think that's a problem.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Well, you caught on to my trick.
I'm trying to build a few different block-megacycles at mythic rarity. I've recently posted three of them:
For shard sets (like "Heavy Metal"), the 'walker and the Spiral would both be allied-colors, and the splashy card would be the enemy-color pair.
That's my plan, at least.
Luster Mage 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
1/2
:symtap:: Target artifact becomes blue, green, and red until end of turn.
Improvised Weapon R
Instant
Until end of turn, target noncreature nonequipment artifact becomes an equipment with "Equipped creature gets +X/+X, where X is this artifact's converted mana cost." Attach it to target creature.
Reliquary Guard 2U
Creature - Human Soldier
2/3
Vigilance
Prevent all damage that Reliquary Guard would deal to artifact creatures and/or equipped creatures.
Ever-Flowing Rhyton 3
Artifact
X,T: Gain X life.
• Recent Card Ideas • My Drawings at DeviantArt
The troubles began when Laqwat, the Bird of Filth, usurped the immortal throne of Char-Khaya, the last worldly representative of heaven. Many lies were told about the Bold One, all of them inventions of the usurper. Using her deception, she poisoned the hearts of the weak-willed, and set brother upon brother. They say that the sun turned dark that day, when Laqwat struck the Bold One down. The heavens were too ashamed to look upon the face of the world. Those who are faithful will realize that, indeed, it happened just as I have said. It was a time of great shame, and we must never forgive the deceivers for what they did. No repentance they offer can ever be accepted.
Now, it is incumbent upon the righteous to fight evil, and not to fear death. It came about, then, that all of the true brothers of Char-Khaya took up arms to avenge him and restore his bloodline to the throne. For centuries, we have followed the mighty Charaks as they have risen up to destroy those who comfort the enemy. The greatest lie ever told was that there exists a person who is loyal to neither Laqwat nor the Charaks - if you do not fight for the side of righteousness, are you not an enemy? Indeed, those who do not fight are the worst of Laqwat's minions - too cowardly even to pick up arms for their master. It is right that we scour them all from the world, and let their blood nourish the stones.
You must remember that no sacrifice is too great to achieve our victory. If to rout the usurper we must burn the sinful cities to the ground, we will burn them. If to slay the usurper we must slay our wayward kin, we will slay them. True brothers of Char-Khaya do not fear any mortal consequence. We will fight on the side of righteousness until order is restored, the nonbelievers lay beheaded, and the law of heaven shines like a beacon in every remaining human heart. Our suffering is insignificant next to the glory of our king. Truly he blesses us in allowing us to perish for him and his everlasting dominion.
Now, speak the oath and you will become a true brother of Char-Khaya!
This is, was, and always will be a land of bigots and fools. Every petty ruler makes for himself a kingdom in his own image, so why not our Lady of Night? She once wielded terror like an axe, now like a knife. Cling to your sheltered ideals, but fear begets obedience, and obedience begets peace. Yes, many had to die for that peace, and many still do, but what the Black Eagle has created is magnificent in its power and breathtaking in its scope. The Sisiyat is the meeting place of the strongest, the most intelligent, and the most effectual masters this land has ever known. Using this network, the Black Eagle strikes out, whenever and wherever she pleases, and she always achieves her desired result. She has ruled this land now for eight centuries, dominated this endless expanse of backwards peasants and small-minded zealots. Why not eight centuries more?
Our greatest nuisance is the loyalists of Char-Khaya, the namesake of which our great Lady slew to ascend the Sisiyat. This is truly an association of the mad and the self-deceiving if ever there was one. Char-Khaya was a fat, lazy whoremonger who dined on fatted peacock while his people starved. There is no end to the legendry that the loyalists ascribe to him now. A great lawmaker, a shrewd commander, a merciful liege. They believe in these stories and forget about the fool who watched the ancient City of Janab succumb to the ocean, because he commanded its residents not to break the taboo against traveling during the Mehregan. They forget about the coward who made peace with the Adishak rebels and stood idly by as those same rebels raped the City of Sibanj, then fled back to their caves. This ineffectual king has, in death, achieved a greater status than his pathetic rule ever earned him in life. Every day, we must uproot his frothing zealots and gut them upon the spires of the Sisiyat. It is a terrible waste.
Soon, there will come a breaking point. This conflict has gone on too long, and too many are dead. The Black Eagle rules over a vast, festering kingdom of corpses. This ill suits her, for an eagle is no vulture. Nevertheless, we will continue to bring glory to our Lady. We will continue to infiltrate the ranks of the disobedient, we will turn them upon each other, and we will soon bring forward a more perfect rule from the Sisiyat. Perhaps there will be no one left alive to bend the knee to our Lady, but then she will simply ascend in splendor to another realm, cloaked in the obsidian feathers of night.
Even the final desolation of this land could be beautiful, could it not?
Artifact Creature - Ox [COM]
Lifelink
Whenever Brass Bull attacks, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking artifact creature.
[1/3]
Artifact Creature - Rat [COM]
Clockwork Rats enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it.
Whenever Clockwork Rats attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it. If you do, target player discards a card.
[0/0]
Artifact Creature - Homunculus [COM]
When Treasury Fetch is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, add to your mana pool.
[2/2]
I know that Treasury Fetch is stupidly good... but how stupidly good? Limited-breaking? I want a hot-ticket artifact creature at common.
What do you mean by "hot-ticket" common? A card's price is driven almost entirely by its Constructed playability, which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how highly pickable it is in Limited.
Why does Brass Bull have lifelink? It seems entirely random for a card otherwise very reminiscent of Goblin Piledriver.
Avatar by Numotflame96 of Maelstrom Graphics
Sig banner thanks to DarkNightCavalier of Heroes of the Plane Studios!
Since the set has no or :symb:, mechanics of those colors are going to be scarce. In general, my philosophy in these sets is to embrace such scarcity, but I think lifelink is enough of a workhorse that I want it. So, I'm using the "artifacts-can-have-any-mechanic-if-you-pay-more-for-it" rule and doing a couple :symw:/:symb: mechanics that I think are important to have. With the Brass Bull, I also want an artifact creature that is clearly telling you to draft more artifact creatures (it's pretty nifty if you do and completely terrible if you don't).
If you deem the flavor weird, that's OK, I can work on that.
I mean a "5.0" common, or to put it another way, a card you will never not pick if you open it and you will never not run if you pick it. OK, maybe 4.0 or 4.5 is acceptable.
The reason is that the set is going to have a decent number of cards that interact strongly with artifact creatures. Those cards can't work if nobody is drafting artifact creatures. I'm working to make all of the artifact creatures appealing, but I think I really want one that's just unambiguously excellent, so that every single copy that's cracked will hit the battlefield, in theory.
Rats ok?
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
"Never not pick if you open it"? That's quite a tall order. I don't think there's a common you could possibly print - not even ":sympw:, Instant: Exile target artifact or creature" that I would first-pick over something like Umezawa's Jitte, Baneslayer Angel, or Red Sun's Zenith.
I actually think artifact creatures are able to be a little worse than comparable colored creatures due to the fact that they can go in any deck and this set specifically rewards artifact-based interactions. Briefly skimming through the commons in SOM block, I find that in order to consider an artifact creature a "must-play", it either has to provide value (Moriok Replica, Perilous Myr), be synergistic with the deck (splash color mana-myr, Rusted Slasher), or else have good stats for its cost (Ichorclaw Myr, Wall of Tanglecord). While a card like Phyrexian Digester will almost always make the deck if I'm Infect, I'm not particularly thrilled to snap one up 6-8th pick. There are very few artifact commons from SOM that I will refuse to play if my draft is an utter trainwreck (looking at you, Training Drone) but there are plenty that I will actively try to avoid playing, like Auriok Replica (which I frequently ran in SSS metalcraft decks until I realized just how bad it was).
It's Mind Rot on a body, colorshifted-ness made up for by its slowness and the possibility it never goes off. I think it's fine, but like Digester, it's not a card I would recoil at cutting from my decks.
Avatar by Numotflame96 of Maelstrom Graphics
Sig banner thanks to DarkNightCavalier of Heroes of the Plane Studios!
Heh. Maybe.
Believe me, I am being mindful of the zoo lands with every creature type I select. Not every non-Human, non-Djinn creature is going to fall under one of the twelve types represented there, though, and not each of the twelve types is going to have an associated card in TPatP.
In the end, I'm sure I'll shuffle some creature types around to make sure I hit the right balance. Maybe the Rats will benefit from that, who knows?
Brass Bull and Clockwork Rats are very nice.
• Recent Card Ideas • My Drawings at DeviantArt
Artifact - Potion [COM]
Evoke 1G (You may cast this spell for its evoke cost. If you do, it’s sacrificed when it enters the battlefield.)
When Spidersilk Fluid is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, destroy target creature with flying.
Artifact Creature - Crab [COM]
Vigilance
:2mana:, :symtap:: Artifact creatures get +0/+2 until end of turn.
[4/4]
Artifact Creature - Lizard [COM]
When Midden Gecko is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put up to one target artifact card from your graveyard on top your library.
[1/1]
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Changed.
Good on ya for using the word Midden.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Artifact Creature - Homunculus [COM]
When Alchemical Amalgamation is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put three 1/1 colorless Homunculus artifact creature tokens onto the battlefield.
[3/3]
Artifact Creature - Homunculus [COM]
When Midden Delver is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, put up to one target artifact card from your graveyard on top your library.
[1/1]
Artifact Creature - Crab [UNC]
Vigilance
:2mana:, :symtap:: Other artifact creatures you control get +0/+2 until end of turn.
[2/4]
Fortress Zoea, I realized, had problems as a common, relating to Limited combat analysis. So, I bumped it up and made it more efficient. I also like that its ability affects "other" artifact creatures now, which helps it mirror Brass Bull, and more clearly signals its purpose for existence. I know this takes away some of the fiddly-interaction it had with itself, but I think it's cleaner for it.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
The umbrella theme is alchemy, so I think rather than do that, I'll just slot in one or two uncommons / rares that unite Homunculi and Potions mechanically, to make the point clear.
I may also go back and rework my uncommon Reagent cycle so it functions with Homunculi.
Tarkaz is a plane out of balance. Millennia of merciless, genocidal warfare has reduced the land to inhospitable ashes. Blue, red, and green mana have been stripped from their foundations and jettisoned into the void. Only the dualistic battle between light and darkness remains. Neither side is winning.
The Razh
The endless battle between Tarkaz's insular human clans is known as the Razh. The most recent cycle began approximately eight-hundred years ago, when a sorceress - known to her enemies as Laqwat, and to her minions as the Black Eagle - ascended to the throne of the Sisyat amidst great contention. Seemingly immortal, and rumored to be Tarkaz's first native planeswalker, the Black Eagle rules Tarkaz through her network of assassins, spies, and fellow sorcerer-lords. Her primary opponents are a sect of religious zealots led by strongmen called Charaks - powerful tribal warlords and martyrs who slaughter for their faith without discrimination. In the middle are the common people of Tarzak, whose loyalties change with the tides, and whose lives are brutally short, miserable, and cheap.
The Sisyat
In the middle of Tarkaz's vast southern wastes lies a dark tower, known as the spine of the world - the Sisyat. Legend holds that within this tower is an ancient riddle, carved in stone by Tarkaz's creator. The riddle, if solved, is said to bestow upon its solver the power to establish a planar portal between Tarkaz and another, as-yet-unknown world. No one has yet been able to solve the riddle, but each successive despot to sit on the Sisyat's throne has assembled his finest magi to attempt to decipher it.
While this is all very interesting, I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what relevance it has to the set. What you're describing sounds very classical White and Black to me - which you said you were specifically trying to omit in the RUG set - so I'm assuming these will not be made into cards.
The cards are always supposed to be the main attraction of any M:TG set. I like what you did with "Heavy Metal", telling a story to preview a card with an interesting mechanic. Where are the stories about the hyena-people and the alchemists and the hunts for treasure? I'm a lot more invested in the titular characters than I am in the Charaks and Laqwat/the Black Eagle, not only because they've been around longer but because they feel a lot more connected to the world you've slowly been building through the cards.
Unless there's some obvious connection I've been missing all along...
Avatar by Numotflame96 of Maelstrom Graphics
Sig banner thanks to DarkNightCavalier of Heroes of the Plane Studios!
Nope, you haven't missed it. I'm just setting up a bit of exposition.
Marjhan's introduction takes place in the same world that I'm describing here. Tarkaz is not represented directly on any of the cards in this set (though many of the humans are connected to it), but it is key to understanding the world of the djinn, and also the realm of barzakh, the barrier between the two. The motivations of the set's two title characters, likewise, are heavily based on what has transpired on Tarkaz.
I will make everything more clear in my next few posts.
Ariz knelt in the mud behind his family's small clay home in the poor village of Bok. Around him stood eight of the Shija - war-scarred clerics loyal to the Charak of Taisal - each bearing a scimitar encrusted with many layers of dried blood. The Shija looked upon the fat baker with faces of stone, saying nothing. Two of the clerics held Ariz's wife and boy by the hair, jerking roughly when either of them whimpered. A third cleric shoved wood into Ariz's outdoor bread oven. Much of the firewood had been dampened by the morning rains, but enough of it was sufficiently dry to kindle a strong fire.
"You admit that you have something to tell," said the oldest of the Shija, his beard long and gray, "So, you are in no position to haggle with us. Speak your words and we will judge your innocence or guilt."
"Pisaru came to Bok during the monsoons last year," said Ariz, "We thought he was just a traveling peddler. All of his wares were of very poor quality and nobody wanted to buy from him. But, he had no family and nowhere to go, so we took him in, all of us. The whole village! How were we to know that he was one of Luqwat's spies? We couldn't have known this. We are not magi, here in Bok! We gave him food and shelter, yes, but we knew nothing of his thievery, or his murders. So, please, let me tell you how you might find him, and then let us be. I'm sure you will be able to find him easily, he walks with a..."
"Silence," said the old cleric, "We took Pisaru's head in the night."
The baker's face drooped, and his eyes searched the faces of the Shija for some kind of expression, some hint of their pleasure or displeasure. There was no sign. The cleric who had been stacking wood drew forth a brass scarab from his robe. He flicked a mechanism in one of the device's metal wings, trying to light a fire in the oven's belly. Ariz's son cried out softly to his father, and one of the clerics met the boy's face with the back of his hand. Ariz's wife lunged for the attacker, but the clerics threw her to the dirt and kicked her in the gut until she was silent again. Ariz closed his eyes and held himself absolutely still until the commotion stopped.
"It is glorious, to hear that you slayed Luqwat's minion," said Ariz, "Blessed be the Charak, and may his faith bring us..."
"You can stop your performance," said the elder cleric, "You have admitted to your guilt, and the guilt of those around you. Luqwat has defiled this place and corrupted the hearts of its people. Your bodies are sick with her filth, and your tongues can speak only lies. For your part in your master's foul treachery, we sentence you, your family, and every diseased creature of this village to burn in the purifying fire of Char-Khaya."
"No!" screamed the baker's wife, "We did nothing! Pisaru lied to us! We are all good people! We are innocent!"
The largest of the eight Shija walked forward, drew out his scimitar, and lopped off the woman's head with one clean stroke. The boy cried out in terror, and the sword-wielding cleric moved to strike him down as well. But, the gray-bearded Shija held out a hand in gesture, and the executioner sheathed his sword. Another cleric took the head of the woman and tossed it out into the streets of Bok, where dozens more clerics of the sect stood surrounding the villagers, scimitars drawn. Ariz sputtered his wife's name as he clenched his eyes shut from the scene unfolding around him. Every fiber of his body shook in fear.