@Phil Srobeighn
Oh, I’m not saying you can’t do a Slith Lord Vader, just that all his cards need to have Menace, too. Although, given just how many Sith there were, there’s probably at least one it works with better. Post-resurrection Krayt, maybe?
@Background Pony #86C6
What we do know is he will have an ability that says “Whenever a creature you control that shares a creature type with Darth Vader deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.”
The lesson here is that Magic color identity may not be quite as bad as D&D alignments, but there’s still a lot of subjectivity at work
Oh, definitely. And then you’ve got questions like “how mechanical do you have to be to be an Artifact Creature?” Darth Vader, for example, probably counts, but I’m sure there are people who would disagree.
Actually, there aren’t any official Boros griffons, so I’m not sure what you mean. Plus, I just don’t see any white tendencies in typical griffons on the show. Red, I could see an argument for.
One thing confusing you is the answer to the other. It’s hard to break away from griffins’ white legacy in the card game, and with their more black or red behavior in the show, my card blogs average them out between those states.
Spike is definitely an outlier where dragons are concerned, though.
Yes, but when I’m drawing inspiration from what happens on screen, the one dragon who consistently shows up from episode to episode will have a disproportionate influence on the cards.
The lesson here is that Magic color identity may not be quite as bad as D&D alignments, but there’s still a lot of subjectivity at work. And sometimes those top-down designs have to bend to the mechanical color pie. C’est la vie.
@Background Pony #24C0
I’d be happy for Birth of Meletis in a draft. I’d construct with this. But don’t listen to me on card value, the Spike portion of my Magic-brain isn’t that powerful.
It depends on context. You definitely got the pony tribes and hippogriffs right as the larger tendencies, though I do have them branch out depending on the source material. (Today’s blog, for example, has a legendary Sultai earth pony.)
Yeah, I meant for the species overall, without anything that might influence that, like being a Legendary. No color pie bends, in other words.
Griffins tend to Boros as well. (It’s hard to overcome the card game’s tendencies there.)
Actually, there aren’t any official Boros griffons, so I’m not sure what you mean. Plus, I just don’t see any white tendencies in typical griffons on the show. Red, I could see an argument for.
Dragons are primarily red, naturally, but given how many different cards Spike has inspired, there’s a fair number in blue as well.
Spike is definitely an outlier where dragons are concerned, though.
Changelings mostly shifted from Dimir to Azorius, though Thorax himself is Bant.
Makes sense.
Yaks and buffalo get lumped together in Gruul Ox tribal.
Mechanically, yeah, but I don’t find I got much of a Red feel from the buffalo, culturally.
And Kirin tend towards various shades of Naya, with most of them as transforming DFCs.
Mechanically, yeah, that was probably the best way to handle it, but apart from the limitations of the card game, they seem pretty Mono-Red to me. Even the whole Stream of Silence thing was ultimately driven by extreme fear. There’s a reason most cards that mention the Coward creature type are Mono-Red, after all.
@Background Pony #86C6
It depends on context. You definitely got the pony tribes and hippogriffs right as the larger tendencies, though I do have them branch out depending on the source material. (Today’s blog, for example, has a legendary Sultai earth pony.) Griffins tend to Boros as well. (It’s hard to overcome the card game’s tendencies there.) Dragons are primarily red, naturally, but given how many different cards Spike has inspired, there’s a fair number in blue as well. Changelings mostly shifted from Dimir to Azorius, though Thorax himself is Bant. Yaks and buffalo get lumped together in Gruul Ox tribal. And Kirin tend towards various shades of Naya, with most of them as transforming DFCs.
My favorite part of this is that because I always edit out the speech bubbles I edited out Tiberius’s “yawn,” making it look like he’s screaming. That and Fan designed an actually playable Saga.
Oh, I’m not saying you can’t do a Slith Lord Vader, just that all his cards need to have Menace, too. Although, given just how many Sith there were, there’s probably at least one it works with better. Post-resurrection Krayt, maybe?
Maybe Palpatine then. At least one needs to be a Slith Lord.
If a Darth Vader MTG card doesn’t have Menace, what’s the point?
What we do know is he will have an ability that says “Whenever a creature you control that shares a creature type with Darth Vader deals combat damage to a player, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.”
True, but there’s still a difference between “helps a lot” and “completely resolves.”
The increased use of colored artifact creatures helps a lot there.
Oh, definitely. And then you’ve got questions like “how mechanical do you have to be to be an Artifact Creature?” Darth Vader, for example, probably counts, but I’m sure there are people who would disagree.
The lesson here is that Magic color identity may not be quite as bad as D&D alignments, but there’s still a lot of subjectivity at work. And sometimes those top-down designs have to bend to the mechanical color pie. C’est la vie.
I’d be happy for Birth of Meletis in a draft. I’d construct with this. But don’t listen to me on card value, the Spike portion of my Magic-brain isn’t that powerful.
The Birth of Meletis is better.
Yeah, I meant for the species overall, without anything that might influence that, like being a Legendary. No color pie bends, in other words.
Actually, there aren’t any official Boros griffons, so I’m not sure what you mean. Plus, I just don’t see any white tendencies in typical griffons on the show. Red, I could see an argument for.
Spike is definitely an outlier where dragons are concerned, though.
Makes sense.
Mechanically, yeah, but I don’t find I got much of a Red feel from the buffalo, culturally.
Mechanically, yeah, that was probably the best way to handle it, but apart from the limitations of the card game, they seem pretty Mono-Red to me. Even the whole Stream of Silence thing was ultimately driven by extreme fear. There’s a reason most cards that mention the Coward creature type are Mono-Red, after all.
It depends on context. You definitely got the pony tribes and hippogriffs right as the larger tendencies, though I do have them branch out depending on the source material. (Today’s blog, for example, has a legendary Sultai earth pony.) Griffins tend to Boros as well. (It’s hard to overcome the card game’s tendencies there.) Dragons are primarily red, naturally, but given how many different cards Spike has inspired, there’s a fair number in blue as well. Changelings mostly shifted from Dimir to Azorius, though Thorax himself is Bant. Yaks and buffalo get lumped together in Gruul Ox tribal. And Kirin tend towards various shades of Naya, with most of them as transforming DFCs.
On a tangentially related note, what would you say the typical colors of the various species are, based on their appearances on the show? My guesses:
Ponies overall: W
Unicorns: Azorius
Earth ponies: Selesnaya
Pegasi: Boros
Griffons: B
Dragons: Rakdos
Changelings: Dimir -> Bant
Yaks: Gruul
Hippogriffs/seaponies: Azorius
Buffalo: G
Kirin: R