New Project: EDH Supplementals

My favorite Magic format is EDH, as should be obvious by now. I decided that in addition to the custom set, I would like to make EDH supplemental products since the once a year release is a bit slow. I thought about doing a release for LoL champions as groupings of five based on their map position. I feel that would be the best way to capture a character driven game. It also gives them room to have a deck built around them. Most of the time the efforts to translate champions into Magic fail because there is too much to convey in a single card. While I do like this idea, I'm going to do something else first.

I was very taken with the Angelarium by Peter Mohrbacher. I know quite few people have been as well. I agree that the arts lend themselves to something otherworldly. To that end, I decided to make them into four color legendary creatures to helm the Commander product. Four color creatures are difficult because they are as much defined by what they aren't than what they are. I am going to discuss these one at a time, and I'll be back sometime next week to talk about the other legendary creatures that will be in the product.

These will be going in WUBRG order by the color that is missing. This is the Non-White card. White is the color of the group. It thrives on building a collective. The antithesis of that is build on the self. All the other colors understand the necessity of selfishness sometimes. Gevurah is the epitome of selfishness. It uses death to fuel its own growth, and consumes the living to advance its own agenda. The initial p/t is likely off, but I like the idea that it starts small and gets larger. Honestly I think the largest problem is that it doesn't feel very red. It does interact with some of red's cards in that red is a destructive color. So every bolt that kills a creature? +2/+2. Its also entirely possible that counters are too strong and it should just be +1/+1 until end of turn. I like it as is for now, especially considering this is in EDH where an unprotected creature is vulnerable no matter how large. The permanent nature of his growth also helps make the card feel more green.

Next is the non-blue card. Blue is about knowledge and perfection. Hessed scoffs at the pitiful learnings of the book-worms and scientists. All you need to know comes from the earth and the world around you. The opening two parts of the card are derived from Uba Mask technology. It prevents the accumulation of material, which is blue's real specialty. Instead, you have to pay mana to "draw" cards. Its something that you can repeat ad nausium, but you only have access to that card this turn. Non-blue colors can remove Hessed fairly easily...if they want to give up access to her ability. Of course, Black and green aren't happy with a totally level playing field and give you access to a dirty cheat. This does feel like a Red card a White card and a Black/Green card got slammed together a bit. However the card on the whole feels like something that could only exist in all four colors. Its a bit bigger than the others since the non-blue card should be beefier.

Edit* This art done by Noah Bradley

Ein'Sof is the nonblack entry. Black is about using the power of decay and death to empower itself. It believes that there is no place in the world for the weak and that building for itself is useless. Why go to the trouble when it can just take from others? To play against this, I made a card that is all about being a font of resources. Ein'Sof is the world tree. It is the Dark Tower. It is the structure from which all of existence radiates. As such it only ever gives you more and more material. Landfall - Draw a card is something I've wanted to see for a long time. The activated ability gives you creatures and counters, two things that white and green adore. Red is a destructive color most of the time, but here it gives the seedlings the impetus they need to spread and grow. If I want this card to feel more red than it should give all of your creatures haste. That seems a bit much, given that this card is already bonkers unless someone has removal for it. It does fight against black though, even with removal, since it will likely produce more resources during its time in play that an attrition oriented black deck would be able to overcome.

Red is about impulse, emotion, it is very brash and short-sighted. Keter represents the cycle of existence. That everything returns to where it once was. The short sighted struggles of mortals are essentially inconsequential in the face of the Wheel. Keter is the hub of the cycle of souls. Whenever a creature dies it imparts the knowledge it gained during its life to Keter before being spun out again to live. The cycle ever perpetuating itself. Note that there is a typo, It should say "If another nontoken..." The life loss is not particularly thematic, it is there as a balance lever. It might prove unneeded, but I think that the cyclical nature of the card lends itself to combos easily and having to also find a way to overcome the life loss will make it a bit harder to set up your own Wheel in game.

Green is the color of acceptance. Its the color of growth and nature. Yesod is the enitity from which all degeneration propagates. He is Change, sacrificing the world in order to become something else. Yesod can't accept who he is, and must continuously steal the identity of others.

I thought about these long and hard, but I'm sure I missed something. Feel free to ask questions or comment. I'll be back later and talk about updates and the way the decks are going to break down. But ask yourself, since four color design space is so limited, what would you do for the other legendaries?