The Promised Lands
The Lands That Should Have Been
Today we're going to have some fun messing with card types. Specifically, we're taking cards that seem like they should be lands, and actually turning them into lands.
The House of Straw Gets Blown Away
Elven Fortress is a card that's thematic enough, but feels pretty weak. When compared to something like Castle, the Fortress ends up costing you way more mana for, more often than not, a weaker effect.
The House of Bricks Stands Tall
This new take on Elven Fortress gives you a much better exchange ratio. For the cost of 1 mana and tapping the Fortress (virtually 2 mana), you get 3 times the benefit of the old fortress. Not only that, but this effect can be applied to any untapped creature, in the same way as Castle. Now you can use the fortress either while blocking, or to save your creature from a lightning bolt. This is also a good way to turn green's stay at home creatures into formidable blockers. Now your Birds of Paradise can block Serendib Efreets and your Verderan Enchantresses can block Su-Chis. Pretty sweet!
Going to Town
Icatian Town gives you a thorp's worth of angry pitch-forked townsfolk. This card is pretty solid and has a pretty unique effect. The only thing that comes close is Tetravus. Add a crusade into the mix and this thing gives you a whopping 8 power for 6 mana. Not bad. We're still going to redesign it though, because I have a vision.
The Villager Rush
Domina is a scary place, and the townsfolk aren't coming out of their houses unless it's safe. When the city's standing army outnumbers the barbarians at the gates, the townsfolk emerge! This version may be more useful to the decks that are running the aforementioned Crusade. Typically these are low to the ground decks that run Savannah Lions, White Knights, and Icatian Javelineers, that would have a hard time mustering 6 mana for the old Town.
Magnets! How do they work??
Look man, I hate blue as much as the next guy, but what the hell is going on here? Are blue creatures secretly composed of ferrous metals or something? Sometimes it's best not to ask too many questions. Let's just fix this flavor.
The EMP
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be Magneto? Well, now you know. Hide your MUD decks when this card is around.
The Bane of Bog Wraith
There's not much to say about Quagmire. It's one of Legend's cycle of landwalk hosers, with the likes of Great Wall and Crevasse. I think we can do better.
Stuck in the Mud
Townsfolk and Saprolings have you down? Worry no more! Quagmire will keep those weak plebs occupied as they try to pull themselves out of the muck. Quagmire also plays nice as a combat trick alongside Bog Wraith, and gives swampwalk a little utility outside of unblockability.
Don't F* with Merfolk
Imagine this: Your foe's army anchors off the shore of your nation, they send boat after boat of troops towards your beachhead. What they fail to realize, is that the tide has been pushed low by blue magic. Just when their last troop departs from their rowboat, the trap is sprung, and the tide begins to rise rapidly. Your fishy fighters are positioned on the beach, pikes in hand, ready to skewer the enemy army that's now treading in water and mud for dear life. This card has epic flavor. However, there's a lot that has to happen in order for this card to work, and more often than not, it won't live up to its promise. We're going to simplify it a little bit.
Trapped on a Sandbar
This version of Tidal Flats threatens to tap any creature without flying or islandwalk your opponent controls, unless they leave enough mana open to un-strand their helpless minion. It might not be as epically flavored as the original Tidal Flats, but this one is a whole lot more usable.
Bonus Round
Sorrow's Path may be one of the worst cards ever created, depending on who you ask. It has a cool effect, but dealing 2 damage to you AND each creature you control is a little absurd. So we're going to take this land in the opposite direction of the previous cards from today's post, and un-land it.
You've Triggered My Trap Card
Now Sorrow's Path is a one shot effect, and you're opponent won't even see it coming. It allows you to exchange any number of blockers, which seems a lot stronger, but think about how often you get into combats with multiple attackers and blockers (not super often). It also now specifically allows the exchange to cause illegal blocks, so you can throw weak non-fliers in front of your hungry Sengir Vampire!
That's All Folks
At least for today. Keep an eye out for more Old School Remix posts. All remixed cards are available here.
Disclaimer: This blog contains unofficial fan content permitted under Wizards of the Coast's Fan Content Policy. This content is not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Custom card mock-ups are created with Card Conjurer, credit to Kyle Burton(ImKyle4815).
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Your take on Elven Fortress is pretty much what the card should have been, albeit I'm not sure it needed the extra line of the buff being negated upon the creature tapping...there are some merits in regards to using this on non-blocking creatures to avoid something like Pyroclasm or Pyrokinesis, but removing the bonus upon tapping feels like anti-synergy with something like Wyluli Wolf, D'Avenant Archer or Prodigal Sorcerer, who can use the buff to survive blocking and still use their abilities to influence combat.
ReplyDeleteYour remake of Icatian Town feels like a contemporary of Kjeldoran Outpost, with different strengths and weaknesses. You aren't losing a land, but the land only taps for colorless mana, Citizens don't have as many synergies as Soldiers do, and the requirements feel like the card itself is win-more when it's able to make tokens. Interesting.
I cannot comment on Magnetic Mountain because no one currently alive today hates Blue as much as I do, and, as such, I cannot empathize with or fundamentally understand any card that once hurt Blue no longer doing so.
Quagmire looks pretty interesting, especially if you have multiple copies in play, and it can work both on the attack and on the defense if your deck has the stuff that ignores the penalty. Also probably fairly strong in dealing with unblockable damage from stuff like White Knight or Order of Leitbur or Paladin En-Vec.
Tidal Flats...oh boy, this looks like it'd pair well with Psychic Venom and/or Mana Short or something like Icy Manipulator.
And yes, I am in the camp that Sorrow's Path is the worst Magic card ever printed. Damages your creatures, so even new blocks are likely to result in your creatures dying. Damages you, even if tapped via Icy Manipulator or Rishadan Port. DOESN'T EVEN TAP FOR MANA, AND EVEN IF IT DID WOULD IT BE WORTH THE DAMAGE TO YOU AND YOUR MINIONS?! Sus.
Keep killin it!