And the trophy for the round goes to: DrJWilson - I really like how all the abilities worked together to create a really sweet card. This will be a popular pick for sure.
I don't care if the white zombies are off, I just really like this card. Also seems likes its got a backstory I'd like to hear about. Like how I was interested in Anowon, the Ruin Sage before I realized he came from a web comic.
The thing that makes it sentient is the flavor. Come up with a good race name, a good focus for the creature, then design a card that has solid mechanics to represent the given creature type.
That being said, Cgalcic, the flavor alone isn't the focus of the criterion. How can you make this any different than this ? Well, for starters, the non-sentient elephant is a vanilla creature and the Loxodon functions with more complexity (this is a bit of an extreme example, so I'll suggest another one as well).
If you search Elephants, you will see that the majority of them are known for trampling and recklessness. However, Loxodons, in particular, tend to deal with lifegain, vigilance more than force, and the perfect combination of the white and green slices of the color pie.
While, the differences are subtle and often more flavor based than anything else, it will be possible to tackle this criterion on mechanics alone.
If you have any questions feel free to continue asking. This round is scheduled to end on Wednesday, 6pm EST.
Contest-Specific Redeemable Prizes: DaytimeLantern - +5 points on any score-based contest. Redeemable once. If contest is multiple rounds, only redeemable in a single round.
The Nezahtl Or: How Magic's Vampires Are Not Bat-People Races of sentient creatures in Magic are interesting in that they generally symbolize something. The Loxodon embodies piety -- derived the patience of the elephant. The Leonin embodies honor -- the apotheosis of the lion's majesty. The Nezumi's treachery stems from the rat's plague-bearing, nocturnal tendencies; the perfect elegance of the Kitsune is surely rooted in the grace that we humans assign to the fox.
Does it not make sense, then, that the Nezahtl, a race of sentient bat-folk, embody the concept of community, of civilization? In no other sub-human mammal do we see such population density as the bat. Think: an intricate system of subterranean roosts, appearing to the surface world to be no more than a sinkhole, containing millions of bats! Is this image not as wonderful as it is terrifying? Ah, but I digress. To the lorecraft and card-making.
The Nezahtl are:
Individually frail, collectively powerful. The average Nezahtl warrior "stands" no more than a meter tall; to physically overpower prey, the Nezahtl often rely on sheer numbers.
Strictly regimented. Nezahtl exist in a strict caste-based society: Laborers (Vermitl) at the bottom, then Warriors (Cognatl), then Prophets (Perostl), then Mothers (Gaioura) at the top.
Intensely religious. Nezahtl lifestyle is dominated by their native religion, which emphasizes ancestor worship and the importance of clan, roost and colony. All of the world is merely fruit and prey, ripe for the plucking for the Great Harvest to nourish the all-knowing, deified Gaioura.
Intensely xenophobic. By the same token, Nezahtl religious beliefs shun the outsider, the non-Nezahtl, those who walk across the earth as opposed to fly above it, and those who prefer the scorn of daylight as opposed to the gentle embrace of twilight and the intoxicating darkness of evening. Depending on the colony, the Nezahtl response to outsiders may range from passive-aggression to death on sight.
Absolutely selfless. No sacrifice is too great, if made in the name of those in the same caste or those above it. One thousand Vermitl would end their lives on command so that their blood may bathe the feet of a Perostl baron.
Nearly blind, hateful of daylight and dependent on flight as opposed to bipedal locomotion. This makes for interesting architecture and city planning. The higher one goes on the class-ladder, the more these statements ring true. The Vermitl, who are the Nezahtl who venture out into the outside world the most, are the least sensitive to sunlight and the most able to use their (still relatively useless) legs. The Gaioura, on the other hand, have never seen the light of day and possess legs that have atrophied years beyond the point or repair.
In the context of Magic, the Nezahtl are primarily white creatures, with inklings of black seeping in the further one goes up the caste ladder. The Gaioura, completely decadent and selfish, bloated beings, will probably be mostly black. As a rule, they should all have flying; their mechanics should reflect their zeitgeist for the Great Harvest (lifelink does this well, flavourfully "bringing food home"), their proficiency for swarm tactics (bunch of lord effects), and their willingness for self-sacrifice.
tl;dr: Nezahtl are caste-based xenophobic jihadists who would see the world (and themselves) die for the glory/life of the roost. Also they are like 70% bat and 30% people.
A card from each caste:
Vermitl Grub-Sweep Creature -- Nezahtl Flying Whenever a creature or land card is put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, you may pay . If you do, exile it and gain 1 life. 1 | 2
Screech-Song Cognatl Creature -- Nezahtl Warrior Flying, lifelink : Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Sacrifice Screech-Song Cognatl at the beginning of the next end step. The concept of exhaustion is foreign to the Nezahtl. There is service to the colony, and then there is death. 2 | 2
Perostl of the Bone-Call Creature -- Nezahtl Cleric Flying Whenever a non-token creature you control dies, you may pay . If you do, put three 1/1 white Nezahtl creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. "The Great Harvest shall continue without you." --Nezahtl burial rites 3 | 3
Tlauctal, the Consumer Legendary Creature -- Nezahtl Gaioura Trample Whenever you sacrifice a permanent, exile it. If you do, put two +1/+1 counters on Tlauctal. Whenever you would gain life, instead put that many +1/+1 counters on Tlauctal. "Tlauctal! She of Many Mouths, the Reciever of Our Bounty! Your Harvest is complete, and this barren world shall be your dominion!" --Azintalca, Perostl of the Dusk 4 | 5
Anyway... Yeah. If you've gotta judge just one of these, make it Perostl of the Bone-Call, but really I'd be cool if you judged the submission as a whole.
Introducing the Corvi, a race of sentient crow- and raven-folk, shunned by most societies for their lack of ethics regarding the right to property and privacy.
Trickster, thieves, charlatans, rogues, assassins, witches and warlocks, agitators and instigators, the Corvi embody the seedy underside of any society and civilization. They are curious, greedy, needy, flighty and will steal and eat whatever they need, even from their own kind.
Cowards, backstabbers and scavengers, they work in and strike from behind and in the dark, they work their magic through lengthy rituals, curses and hexes, leaving magical combat to those more suited to direct confrontation.
The Corvi are primarily found in blue and black, though few are seen in red, and none in white and green. If Thieving Magpie would be reprinted, it would be a one of the more benign Corvi.
Midnight Scavenger -- Creature - Corvi Rogue Flying Whenever ~ deals combat damage to an opponent, that player puts a card from his or her hand on top of their library. Stealthy as moon light and just as quick, their victims never know what they're missing until it is sold back to them. 2/1
Race of Anu, a race of hound-folk. They are highly organized, religious, structured, and traditional. Physically, they would look like those dog-head people in ancient egyptian painting. I was really curious why there are cat people but not dog people. Closest I can think of is probably fox? Please correct me if I'm wrong. XD
Anu Lawkeeper Creature - Hound Cleric Each of your opponent can't cast spell that shares a name with a card in his or her graveyard. Anu's law is engraved in stone. When there are "contradiction", older law written by their ancestor takes precedence. 2/2
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupry
Congratulations, you've found My Lie Policy: Only when i'm prompted, i might lie. (policy still in the refinement process.)
I am both rational and instinctive. I value self-knowledge and understanding of the world; my ultimate goal is self-improvement and improvement of the world around me. At best, I am focused and methodical; at worst, I am obsessive and amoral.Show
Take one look at Her wilderness and already ferocious beings threaten you; from ravenous wolves to tremendous baloths. However, though those are more than enough to instill fear in even the most experienced of bushmen, it is what swarms beneath that is truly frightening. Gaia smiles upon you if you have never heard of the Vorax.
At first, it may seem as if ant-folk are harmless. But their appetites are voracious, each interlinked mind constantly thinking of its' next meal; which may well be you.
Vorax Insatiate Creature - Ant Warrior Whenever a nontoken creature dies, Vorax Insatiate deals 1 damage to that creature's controller. Then, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of Vorax Insatiate. "An army marches for it's stomach." - Noémi, voraxian queen 2/1
Organized, sentient, but always has their primitive needs driving them. Whatever they do, at the base of their minds is always the need for food, and the need to please their queen. They are obsessed with spreading and obtaining territory. You can think of it as Manifest Destiny, but on a much larger scale. They embody the organization and structure of ants, while also taking from them their ferocity and unwavering loyalty.
And the trophy for the round goes to: DrJWilson - I really like how all the abilities worked together to create a really sweet card. This will be a popular pick for sure.
I don't care if the white zombies are off, I just really like this card. Also seems likes its got a backstory I'd like to hear about. Like how I was interested in Anowon, the Ruin Sage before I realized he came from a web comic.
That being said, Cgalcic, the flavor alone isn't the focus of the criterion. How can you make this any different than this ? Well, for starters, the non-sentient elephant is a vanilla creature and the Loxodon functions with more complexity.
DrJWilson - I really like how all the abilities worked together to create a really sweet card. This will be a popular pick for sure.
