.
Viewing this thread :: 0 registered and 1 guest
No registered users viewing
|
Jump Menu:
Show More
As many of you remember, Planar Chaos featured cards from twisted timelines. Such as blue Braids.
I was wondering, what else would have loved too see? Personally I think a Ihsan Shade that was a Serra Paladin would have been cool, and maybe a Sol'Kanar that was a Force of Nature. Also Wedge Elder Dragons could be cool, no? 
"Ihsan the Pure" would have been cool, yeah. If it were being released today, mostly 'Walkers that never were -- Memnarch Planeswalker (the "good guys" lost Mirrodin I) woudl be a good one, as would Tev Loneglade (who went insane and became Tevesh Szat in the normal continuity), possibly alongside a pure red or even red/black Freyalise (Szat had an interesting indirect hand in turning her to green magic). For actual legends, there's something appealing about a (black) "Avacyn, Angel of Tyrrany" or Phyrexian "Slobad the Traitor" (taking Glissa's Place).
Karn, Father of Machines would be pretty cool. Konda Victorious ruling over all Kamigawa as the world decays without the Kami to maintain it. Otherwise I don't know enough to speculate.
And yes, BWG Bolas, Ruler of Life and Death, would be interesting. 
I STILL want a follow up to these.
www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.a... Particularly Sphinx Serra and the Elemental Invasions. 
For me, I would want to see avacyn and grisslebrand plainswalkers, as that was what everybody really wanted to happen at my game store.
Khamal the Planeswalker
Sarkhan entralling Bolas (This is something that I have wanted to see since Sarkhan came to be) and remembered ancient 
Hm, I think I can propose one possible divergence in the timeline that would throw everything off...
Remember that moment in The Thran when Yawgmoth and Xod and the other students discover the five colors of magic? What would have happened if, instead of being turned into a Steeplejack, Yawgmoth had encouraged Xod to explore this new understanding of mana? What if, in short, the great power of Phyrexia came not from the stolen designs of Glacien but from the founding of the first school of magic? We can see how things would cascade from there--the conflict would have been one where the technology of the Thran (and perhaps of Glacien himself?) would have been pitted against this new power that seemed to warp the very nature of reality. Perhaps we would have seen the Mana Rig as the sole source of powerstones for the exiled Thran Mechanists and the powerstones in the capital would be used to support more and more complex spellcasting. Not sure how Phyrexia the plane would fit into all this though... At any rate, The Thran would end much the same way--Yawgmoth uses his new elemental powers to warp the Thran into monstrosities, augmenting his understanding of the body with his newly developed fine control over the very elemental forces of the universe. Rebbec finally turns upon him and uses Glacien's powerstones and the enchantments placed upon the Caves of the Damned to generate an infinite charge of mana. The Phthisans and the Thran Mechanists would be destroyed alike in the blast. The memory of magic would remain, however, and be uncovered in the time of the Brothers. They would use the Might and Weakstones to power enchantments of unparalleled mastery, tearing the world apart with their fighting. Through it all, they would be manipulated by the Phthisans, who would eventually claim Mishra for their own, converting his body into pure elemental energy, a magical construct with the skin of a human stretched grotesquely over top. Things cascade from there. Tev Loneglade ascends to become one of the great defenders of Dominaria, eventually using the power of the Mana Rig to create a second infinite mana combo, shattering the Shard and launching the Flood Age. In response to the turmoil and trauma of the climate's rapid warming, the witch Freyalise is taken in by the fanatic Heidar and decides to plunge the world into darkness once more. Somehow Serra becomes blue somewhere in there. Urza wanders the Multiverse, eventually meeting Serra, who describes him as fundamentally blue. Her plane is thrown into turmoil when the Phthisans find it, introducing chaotic Red and Green elements into her ordered, intellectual world. Serra beats back the invaders but, examining the composition of the plane, realizes that the plane will be stabilized by the presence of the new colors and secretly encourages an order of Heresiarch Sphinxes to develop in her realm. Urza founds an academy of magic in order to combat what he now understands is a long-term invasion from Phthisia. (Weirdly, despite the fact that Urza is an enchanter and the fact that Tolarian Reliquary Urza would, however, recover Tolaria from the wreckage and make use of both the temporal chaos and the distorting Warp World Man, this is running pretty long. Whoops. Let's flip ahead. Bla bla bla, Teferi's isle shifts out to Meditation Space... bla bla something about anti-enchantment Samite Inquisitors... Let's see. Crovax dodges the curse launched when Mirri kills the Heresiarch Sphinx Sirenia. Mirri, now transformed into a cursed, vampiric creature, wrests control of the plane of Rath from the other contenders, gaining the servitude of Grevin il Vec, mutating the inquisitor Orim into a new and twisted form, and destroying Volrath by injecting his body with the microscopic elementals known as Flowstone. Gerrard, Crovax, captain Sisay, the minotaur Tangarth (twisted by Rootwater sorcery into a grossly mutated form), the mage Ertai, the goblin artificer Squee, and Karn would escape with the Weatherlight first to Mercadia, where they would encorporate the body of the elemental dragon Ramos into the Weatherlight, and then to Dominaria, just in time for the Invasion. Gerrard would discover, during the Invasion, that he was the product of Urza's experiments, an elemental of light and disenchantment in human flesh. Directly on the heels of this revelation, Hanna would be felled by the blades of one of Evincar Mirri's il-Kor assassins. Gerrard, grief-striken, strikes a bargain with Mirri: he will join with the Elemental Invasion and Phthisia if Yawgmoth will restore Hanna to life. Gerrard becomes Yawgmoth's Champion and leads the second wave of the Invasion, coordinating his armies with Mirri's to conquer much of the globe. All was not lost, however. Yawgmoth, in bequeathing so much power to Gerrard, weakened his own defenses substantially. This allowed Urza to enter Pthisia with the Nine Titans, nine planeswalkers encased in titanic living armor forged from the domains of Dominaria. Freyalise would eventually murder Tev Loneglade, but he would have his revenge in the form of a mad plan created with Urza: he would use Freyalise's soul to charge a series of powerstone bombs created and abandoned at the end of the Thran War. Taysir would sacrificing himself to break Urza free from the madness that nearly overtook him when Yawgmoth revealed that Mishra had been preserved deep within Pthisia, and the remaining six Titans would return to Dominaria. The Weatherlight, meanwhile, would be nearly destroyed by the Primordials, a group of five dragons led by Vorosh, the Hunter He then proceeds to kick the crap out of the Shivan invasion force. The Six Titans return to Dominaria to find most of Jamuura and Shiv shifted out of existence, Pthisians everywhere, and Yavamaya mutating into a surreal dreamscape in preparation for Yawgmoth's entrance into the world. Parcher, in response, takes the Null Moon and Planeswalks it into the heart of Pthisia, where he detonates it, and himself, destroying Yawgmoth. Pthisia's power lives on in Gerrard, however, and the Invasion is not over yet... ...And at this point, I'm not really sure how to resolve things. Any ideas? Boy, this got WAY out of hand. The Nine Titans: Urza Planeswalker Tev Loneglade Freyalise Parcher Commodore Guff Bo Levar Windgrace Taysir Serra 
That was... comprehensive. I'm afraid I can't be much use, since I only really know the story starting from Alara. 
I would have liked a Green version of Phage to match Red Akroma. Maybe you get a token of any creature she damages, and if she hits an opponent, he joins your team.
Would Tolarian Reliquary be a colorshifted version of Serra's Sanctum
Yeah, but presumably it was in an environment that made enchantments, rather than artifacts, particularly broken. I imagine that the alternate storylines are accompanied by alternate block planning :P
The three lands that worked along those lines were actually Shivan Rig for artifacts (and red), Tolarian Reliquary for enchantments (and white), and, weirdly, Gaia's Cradle
Now I seriously want to make cards for this alternate timeline, partly because the prospect of enchantment creatures is cool.
Imagine Mirrodin being an enchantment plane created by Karn. 
No. Words.That was quite a good wall of ideas Keeper (I know, one part of it being I'm biased with anything Serra) but I really I love how you wove all of the Time Spiral cycle personalities and ideas into this. Now I'm embittered in a way. 
Keeper, that was pretty cool impressive amazing
 Personally, I'd have only one wish for a shifted timeline, the ascendency of a different elder dragon legend. Arcades Sabboth was my favorite of the cycle, so I'd prefer him. 
I'm missing the fate of Dralnu, Githuan druid here. A native of Shiv, and gifted with command over natural magics, he staged the island's own resistance against the invasion forces of Pthisis, until he was betrayed over a power struggle and murdered by the Dominarian coalition commander, Jhoira of Benalia, herself a talented elementalist and shapeshifter trained at the Tolarian Santuary.. Or something like that
Then it would not be a complete shift of what happened in the books :/. Mostly I just missed a reference for Jhoira to shine in the story, though.
I like the idea of making Dralnu into an actually unambiguously good character, instead of building him up as one and then handing him the villain ball. ...Damn, is it obvious that part of my motivation here is my desire to give these characters better endings than they got in Planeshift and Apocalypse? >_>
In my timeline most of Urborg is shifted out by Teferi. But maybe there's a way of redeeming Dralnu in a different timeline? What would have to change in Urborg? Color shifted Otaria is weird, but it actually isn't too hard to imagine. Kamahl and Jeska are from the Nomads rather than the Barbarians, but that actually doesn't damage too much--the Order wasn't actually too far removed from Kamahl's smash-first-ask-questions-never methodology, so I don't think the characters would change too much. What I like about this change is that we still end up with the Nomad Mystics, and the Barbarians in their respective colors while still twisting things around. You know what would change though? White dwarves and red avens. Think about it, Balthor needs to shift, too. And that change actually makes quite a bit of sense--haven't we talked before about dwarves making a lot of sense in white? In this world, the Mystics aspire to be like the Dwarves, who are closer to the earth, who delve into the plains and the sands of Otaria's beaches and uncover ancient wonders. This also introduces an internal conflict in White--should the nomads side with the artifact-friendly Dwarves or the artifact-hating Order? (I'm assuming this is a DIFFERENT timeline from the Urza Enchanter timeline, obviously.) Oh, and Barinellos and I, at least, have talked about red Avens and I think they make a lot of sense. Just picture them as birds of prey flying around the mountain peaks. Plus, it means we can transpose the mystic fascination with the sky to the Barbarians, giving them a bit more depth (albeit totally mangling the mechanics of the Odyssey block... ha ha whoops.) Where things get weird is with Ixidor and the Cabal, who flip colors. What I think makes this shift particularly fascinating is the implications for the Cephalids. Personally, I'm inclined to shift them into Black, which actually fits their attitudes a lot better, I think. Plus, without doing that it's hard to imagine how we could fill in black. Maybe sticking Nantuko into black and expanding Centaurs to be the primary Green race? We could do that. But for this thought experiment, I'm going with black cephalids, blue merfolk still, blue cabalists that use something similar to dementia casting--paranoia casting? delusion casting?--and who run the Arenas as a hard-headed business venture, white dwarves and nomads with an almost completely human Order that's even more fanatical, red barbarians and avens with a more spiritual bent than before, and... yeah, green pretty much stays the same actually. Maybe we'll drop Nantuko because I always liked the Centaurs better. Whatver. To get to this point I think you need a couple of major changes in the timeline. First, you need to change Kuberr. Apparently he got his powers by killing Crosis, so this is actually a pretty straightforward change--let's make him kill Dromar instead (and... not think too hard about what effects this would have on the Invasion). That gives him blue powers, which he uses to confer immortality upon the First, with the side effect of his touch driving mortals mad. The Dwarven/Aven shift shouldn't be hard to manage. Just flip where the groups migrated to. If you want to give the Dwarves a reason for being in the plains, though, maybe you could give Otaria a bit more of a wallop in the Invasion and have more invading forces lying dismantled on the plains. Maybe. Cephalids are pretty easy to manage, too. Assume a much, much stronger Merfolk court (the insurrection would have failed, presumably) that responds to cephalid scheming by driving them out of the ocean and into the marshy coastal regions, where their resentment and greed grew to monstrous proportions. They adopted necromantic strategies as well as techniques to increase their own influence. When Aboshan got his hands on the Mirari he attempted to sink Otaria until the plains and forest became swampland, which would have allowed the Cephalids to take control of the continent and oppose the Mer Empire. Llawan would presumably have been a more reasonable leader. Interestingly, this implies that the Riptide Project would have been primarily black, perhaps delving into biological mutation akin to the thrull breeding techniques of Sarpadia, and artifact-based experimentation that sought to replicate Phyrexia's technology. This would actually help explain why the Slivers were of such interest to Riptide--or perhaps we should rename it Quicksand or something like that? So, I think that's how you could get to Colorshift Otaria. 
Wow, that's impressive.
Imagine how cool that would be if you applied it to a setting that wasn't horrible. #SickFires No, but seriously, I love Planar Chaosing the bajeezus out of things.
Man, I'm basically the only one here that thought Otaria was cool, aren't I? :P
And yeah, Planar Chaos was kind of amazing for this. It's actually weird that we haven't had more threads like this... nice to see that between this and a few of the other recent threads we're doing some more creative stuff here. Things have been dead lately.
Most of my hate of Otaria is second hand, like a child raised in a racist house.
I hate, but I don't know why. :U On the otherhand, it had centaurs, and we don't get nerely enough of them.
I'm reading Otaria atm, and it's sort of a love-hate-mostly apathetic relationship. I like the setting, but it's been told so blandly... And I don't have the Legions-Scourge books so I'm being spared the most awful parts I guess.
Yeah, no argument that the story is a mess once you get to King's bit, in particular. (Odyssey was a terrible bore but I've heard good things about Torment.)
I always liked the weird diversity of the setting and the idea that Otaria had a native ecosystem, but also was being slowly but surely swarmed by refugees. And yeah, some of that didn't make a lot of sense (why was Otaria spared? Why did it take 100 years for the refugees to start showing up en mass during the events of Onslaught?) but the sheer weirdness of some of the stuff, almost as though Otaria was an Australia analogue, cut off from Dominaria at some distant point in evolutionary history, always struck me as really interesting.
Sunlight streamed down upon the gently swaying leaves of Vitu-Ghazi as the zephyr breezes ran their fingers through them. The Crystals planted throughout the branches of the city tree captured the radiance of the day to be used in the dark of each night. In the time since Momir Vig had joined the life song of Mat'Selesnya, this was but one of his brilliant creations. Vig stood upon the great balcony branches of the conclave's home and watched the wind play with the delicate green leaves that made up the enormous canopy. It was an excellent time to be alive, Vig thought to himself. His gaze wandered downwards to those scurrying below upon the streets and he momentarily frowned. There were so many that could not see the conclave's vision, or even worse, chose not to. It was a shame and one of the few things that made him truly sad on such a fine day. The branches stirred momentarily and bathed the relaxing figure in a shaft of gold. Momir Vig was of average height for an elf, and unlike many of his elven compatriots, he was bald, a small genetic quirk from times immemorial. That quirk did serve to draw attention to the brilliant emerald gem embedded in his forehead, and as it seemed to shine much more prominently than any of the other chorus member's own. The gem was their connection to the lifesong, a mark of honor showing their commitment to the brilliant vision of the conclave. Of course, those that followed his words would say it was his brilliance, or the light of Mat'Selesnya shining upon his brow. He chuckled silently to himself, folding his hands behind him. He had never meant to become quite as popular as he had, but they flocked to him all the same. It was an opportunity to share, so even if he did not enjoy the attention, which he admitedly did, he would still teach those who sought him out. "Saint Vig?" A voice cut through Momir's thoughts and he looked around in surprise. There, a young man stood, a very young man. He could not have been more than ten or eleven. "Hell my child, what may I do for you today?" Vig smiled beneficently at the young one. The child miled back and held something up for Momir. "You asked to be notified when the Dimir sorceress had located these texts for you." The young man waved the scroll back and forth in front of the elven master and he patiently waited until the child stopped before he plucked it from his small hands. "Ah! Mistress Teysa managed to find what I was looking for." "Yes sir! She sent a courier over with all of it!" Vig chuckled once more at the boy's eagerness to please. "It was a rhetorical question my lad. Very good though, you may go now. Be diligent in your studies." The beaming child took off down into the halls of Vitu Ghazi, surely going to find his friends to tell them of his encounter with such a prominent figure. Vig laughed and shook his head at the boy's enthusiasm. Ah, to be young... Momir Vig worked ceaselessly for a full ten days, resting but a mere few hours in that entire time before the Boros General Augustin had ordered the deployment of the spirit troops. They had driven back the demon and his hordes and the eternal Arbiter Razia and her Azorious angels had used the guildpact to seal Rix Maadi, seemingly permanently. Finally, the procession of injured had slowed to a trickle, and Vig collapsed from exhaustion soon after. Vig smiled at the memory, for it was then that the seeds of his great plan had been sown. In his exhaustive sleep, he had dreamed. A brilliant dream, one that had shaped the past ten years of his life. He dreamed of Mat'Selesnya, and she told him of the truth of the life song. It was that truth which had caused him to go to the greatest and oldest magical minds of Ravnica. For ten years, he searched for the documents which now sat in his room thanks to Mistress Lyzolda. As he slipped into his room, a simple cell in the highest reaches of the tree, his eyes were immediately drawn to the stacked scrolls, all of them bearing Ozhov signets. Of course these were copies, the originals must be so old that they'd have turned to dust. With great reverance, he sat and broke the first seal, being careful and solemn. It was not everyday a man learned knowledge that predated the very guildpact. Laid out before him, was the spell that had created Mat'selesnya herself, an elemental fusion of the first chorus of dryads. They had woven themselves together and gave birth to the life song and their sacrifice of individuality powered the guildpact. Everyone was tied to the guildpact through the life song. Soon though, if Vig's plans came to fruition, they would all be members of the conclave as well, compelled to hear the unity of the aria of existence itself. The spells he researched now would free Mat'Selesnya after ten-thousand years of dedicated service and a new being would take her place. Vig considered a moment. "It would be disrepectful to call her replacement by the same name. A being such as this deserves its own. Something poetic, something... fitting." Yes, he rather liked that idea. He contemplated for a moment, before speaking aloud an old elvish name given new form. "Kraj'Selesnya. It has a certain ring to it, I think." I have 2 more on hand as well. But lunch comes first. Aside from that, I also have color shifts for virtually all of the Ravnican guilds. Except Rakdos and Niv.... they uh... they gotta be where they are.
Colorshifting Dominaria is already a headache. You can't go colorshift Ravnica as well. D:
Anyways, what colors are the Phtisians? They would have to be red and green to taint Serra's blue Realm, but Mirri the Cursed
For the sake of completion, here's the complete list of color shifts of the Ravnican guilds, along with little blurbs about each of them. Azorius: Razia, Eternal Arbiter: The Azorius are lead by the angel Razia and uphold the laws of Ravnica. The flights of the Angelic Judges, all created in Razia's image, are the dauntless hunters of the worst plights to scourge Ravnica. Each of the angels wear a mirrored mask, blinded like Justice itself, to remain impartial and strike fear into their targets. Agrus Kos, Veteran Inquisitor: Acting as the advisors and support to the Angelic Judges are the Azorius Inquisitors, street tough investigators who have eschewed the fanciful armor of the senate and hussars to find the evidence needed to sentence the criminals of Ravnica to the justice they deserve. One such Inquisitor is Agrus Kos, a man who might just have stumbled on one of Ravnica's greatest secrets and stands on the cusp of total chaos if he can't stop the shadowy plots being brewed in the dark Undercity. Orzhov: Golgari: Simic: Boros: Izzet: Dimir: Selesnya: Rakdos: So, after all that, I'm left with a remainder of the Sisters of Stone Death and down one Boros Legend.
Maybe you should create Borosborygmos to both make space for Rakdos!Sisters of Stone Death and have two Boros legends.
For RTR, the guilds would be the same but the guildleaders would shift around. There would be Azorius!Aurelia, Golgari!Trostani, and maybe Selesnya!Zegana?
And now the promised Kamigawa tale, Spoiler:
Show
Sentinels of Kamigawa A twist of fortune, The path of lives rewritten, Fate steps from the mists. Part I: "Bushi" Something big was happening in Numai, the heart of the Takenuma Swamp. Toshi Umezawa rode with his troops as they galloped through the ruins of Old Towabara. Once, these wrecks had been stately manor houses owned by the wealthy and tended by dozens of servants, but of course that was all before the Spirit Wars had erupted 20 years ago. Toshi had been fighting that war for half or more of his life and it seemed he felt every year these days. Toshi was a man of average figure and unremarkable height, but had a powerful lithe grace that distinguised him as a fine blade in Konda's army early on. He wore the standard white and gray uniform of his rank under the jet black armor he preferred. A fine black cloak topped his outfit and effectively disguised him in the eve's twilight. He certainly was better disguised than his soratami allies in their pearlescent armor. At least their long lobed ears were hidden by helmets, though pale beautiful faces still shone in the dying light. Toshi was no slouch in comparison though. He'd been called handsome a number of times, particularly for his striking and unusual green eyes. Though disarming looks had gotten him out of trouble a few times, they seemed to get him into it considerably more often. Speaking of trouble... "Eitoku!" Toshi called over his shoulder. One of the brightly armored soratami answered, angling his horse to catch up with Toshi's mount. "Sir?" Eitoku saluted. "Maybe you'll be of some help. Why are we being dispatched to Numai? I joined this mission without really checking it too much." The look on Toshi's face spoke volumes about what he thought of going to the swamp and Eitoku smiled sympathetically. "I'm as happy about it as you are, sir. Something has been stirring up the Akki warrens in the swamps. The goblins have been flooding out for the past week, not to mention there seems to be a lot more of the unsavory types hanging around Eiganjo." "Hm. Probably nothing more than Boss Godo flexing his muscles again. At worst, could just be a series of Kami manifestions. Nothing we can't handle, eh?" Toshi smiled reassuringly to Eitoku. "Thanks." Toshi nodded and the skyfolk samurai dropped back into position. Toshi glanced back as he did. Every two of three swords in his party were being weilded by the preternaturally deadly soratami. 15 men, 16 counting himself, for this mission? No, it wasn't a gangster like Godo, it had to be something worse. Toshi was just glad to have the soratami along. They'd been an enormous help in the war so far. Quick, skilled, and loyal to a fault, the cloud people had saved hundreds of soldiers lives in combat. Which was more than he could say about the blasted snakes. The Orochi had barely lent a hand at all, damn them. It wasn't as if they didn't have enough hands to spare, Toshi thought, they have four of them after all. The snakes hadn't hardly even looked up from the Kamitaki Falls and their precious Minamo Academy. All of Kamigawa could use their wizardly, or even their shinobi assassins, but the Orochi were taking a strictly academic view of the war. At least the Kitsune had sent their kannushi to help. Their forest magics were immensely useful for healing, but Toshi was always uncomfortable around them. All they seemed to talk about were their Kami and dour prophesies. Their sense of humor stunk too, they could kill a celebration faster than the Kami could. Toshi shook his head and reined his horse to a stop. They'd officially run out of road. "All right everyone, dismount! This is where things get messy." "Don't worry Lieutenant, Terashi will protect us." One of his soldiers said as she swung down from her steed. "Kid, where we're going, the sun doesn't shine." Part II: "Path of Shades" There was a certain unpleasantness about the swamp, Toshi thought to himself. A lot like how getting stabbed stings a little. Besides the stench, which was unbearable in its own right, the way the mud dragged at his every step made Toshi edgy and fatigued. Yes, this was a fine mess he had gotten into. All because he doted on Michiko like a favorite uncle. He'd been stricken with the little princess ever since he'd been entrusted as her bodyguard, he'd even gotten her a puppy for her Twelfth birthday, but he probably should have watched how much he gossiped around her if he knew Lady Pearl-Ear would find out. She'd berated him for teaching Michiko-hime such bad habits so fiercely that Toshi had grabbed the first mission away he could get just to escape the fox-lady before she just cut to the chase and bit him. And this is what he ended up with. "Serves me right I guess..." Toshi muttered. "Sir?" Eitoku called. "Nothing, don't worry about it, just mumbling to myself." "Sir, I think you should come see this." Another soldier called from the front of the ranks. "Hold on, I'll be right there. I can't see a damn thing in this miasma." Toshi complained as he vainly fanned at the vile clouds. His men appeared like wraiths in front of him as he slogged his way forward through the sulfurous mist. Then, much to his surprise, dead men did appear. A lot of dead men missing a lot of body parts. "This isn't Akki handiwork." Toshi muttered as he knelt in the muck to observe the field of severed heads. Each one had been speared neatly on a pike and were in various stages of decay. "It doesn't look like any statement Godo would normally want to make either. We can rule out spirits as well, they may not play nice, but they sure as hell don't stick around to decorate either. "Everyone, if anything pops up, get ready to show it the business end of your swords." Toshi commanded as he drew his own katana, taking his silver jitte in his off hand instead of the wakizashi resting in his belt. Whatever they were walking into, he'd feel a lot safer with kanji magic than just plain steel. As they pressed further into the mire, Toshi kept seeing empty warrens and tell-tale stilts of ruined human dwellings. It wasn't until they came to Boss Godo's manor that Toshi stopped in his tracks. A solid row of the turtle-like little Akki goblins circled the grounds. Their claws sunk beneath the stale water and they stood listlessly. Between their bulging dead eyes, on the slopes of their pointed noses, every last one of them had a brand burnt into their flesh. Toshi edged forward trying to read the kanji roasted on the goblins' hides, when all at once the creatures lurched forward and began clawing at him and his troops. Despite their lifeless appearance, they moved just fine. The Akki rushed forward, crowding each other and cracking their shells together in a fervor to catch Toshi. Being a sensible man, Toshi backpedaled away from the knobby tide and brained any of the little monsters stupid enough to get too close. Toshi's men flew into action, but swords weren't the ideal weapon to deal with the Akki's thick carapace. Still, Eitoku and his soratami were dancing through the Akki ranks and leaving bright red mud and gore in their wake. They were badly outnumbered no matter how fast the soratami were, Toshi thought. 6-1 odds weren't odds he'd take on anything except dice. He hacked an arm off one of the ugly fiends and hefted his jitte, freshly coated in Akki blood and something best left univestigated. He didn't have any kanji that could deal with numbers like these, he'd need something that could wipe out a small army, and any spell he had wouldn't descriminate between his allies and the enemy. Toshi's sword cut through goblin flesh automatically as his mind whirred with questions and few solutions, and it was perhaps because he was distracted that one of the Akki managed to pounce on his back, a claw tearing a shallow wound between his shoulders. "Killyou, Killyou, Killyou dead!!" It ranted as Toshi nearly toppled. "No free rides crab-head." Toshi drove his katana upwards and back, narrowly missing his own throat as the goblin clawed for his face. The passenger abruptly stopped with a jerk as Toshi's sword sank into its mouth and ended in what brains the creature possessed. He swung his sword free and gutted another of the grimy little swamp dwellers. Around him, the remaining swarm were being neatly cut down by skyfolk steel and samurai skill. Finally, the last of the noisome creatures fell and did not rise. Toshi caught his breath and wished it didn't smell of swamp and ichor. He had three men down. Two had been mauled to death while the third had drowned, crushed down by sheer numbers into the water. "What a way to go..." Toshi sighed as he collected momentos to give to their next of kin. It was impractical to carry a body though the swamp, so he'd do what he could for these men. "Well, nothing more we can do for them. Let's see what those kanji said." He hacked off the head of one of the fallen vermin and picked it up. "Why?" Eitoku asked as he joined Toshi. "Always good to know what's on the enemy's mind Eitoku." "That's not what I meant. What caused this?" Toshi grunted and showed Eitoku his grizzly trophy. the brand stood in stark relief on the goblin's bright shell. A single kanji burnt into its flesh: O-bakemono.    "Well, this could have gone better." Toshi grimaced. "I disagree samurai, things went rather well for me." A low pitched voice answered and echoed about the marsh. It sent chills up Toshi's spine. "Then again, of course, you still live, so maybe I have misspoken." Toshi looked about him at the bodies sprawled around, most in more than one piece. Yes, he was still alive, but he was the only thing still breathing in the shadow of the manor house. Aside from the massive ogre that had killed everyone that is. Eitoku, the poor dead fool, was too arrogant for his own good. He'd called to the ogre, challenging it to a duel convinced he'd win. When the ogre had answered, it struggled out of the manor doorway, which was easily twice Toshi's height, and sent a small tidal wave crashing into them with each step. The O-bakemono was nearly thirty feet tall, and each limb was as thick as Toshi's entire body. A fine black robe draped his massive frame like a parody of some monstrous nobleman and a girdle of thick iron plates covered hm from his chest to his knees. A similar metal covered part of his enormous flat head, shielding his beady eyes which glowed like purple lanterns. A sharp crest split the metal down his forehead, ending against his stooped neck. His worst feature was his massive set of jaws though. Gargantuan tusks spilled past his lips, as if his powerful jaw just couldn't contain them. He'd torn through the troops as if casually swatting flies, and it was only some quick thinking that had saved Toshi the same fate. "You are bold samurai." The ogre rumbled. "Clever too." the monster lowered itself down, crossing its legs lotus style. it pointed one long hooked claw at the kanji carved on Toshi's chest. "What is your name bushi? Or shall I just call you 'echo'?" He chuckled, the sound rolling over Toshi like thunder. Echo indeed, Toshi thought as he stared down at the kanji spell. It would reflect back whatever damage Toshi would sustain in an attack and the ogre knew it. "Your name small one, I grow impatient." "Tetsuo." Toshi lied. "But isn't it rude for a host not to introduce himself?" "Of course, do forgive my lapse of etiquette." The o-bakemono chuckled. "I am Hidetsugu, priest of the All-Consuming Oni of Destruction." "Ogres never struck me as the priestly type. Then again, this is the furthest north I've seen your kind in the swamp. What's dredged you up from your domain?" "Make no mistake Testuo, this IS my domain now. But, yes, I recently moved at the insistence of Boss Godo. He has sent gangs to kill me in the past, which was kind of him because it kept me fed well for a few days afterwards. However, his last attempt ended with the death of my apprentice. I'd not trained Kobo for five years for it to be wasted, so I came to vent my rage on the worm responsible for his death. When I arrived, I found Godo had fled, but his followers suffer just as well for the time being." "Those would be the heads on the pikes then." "Yes, a nice touch I thought. Now my Akki guards are all dead thanks to you. Tell me Tetsuo, are you a pious man?" Hidetsugu bent forward closer to Toshi. "What kami answers your prayers?" "None. I prefer to rely on myself, at least I can always trust me to answer my call." Toshi smirked. Inwardly, he found the question odd. "A pity then, it is always more fun to break a new apprentice's faith before starting his training." "Wha-?" Toshi didn't get to finish as Hidetsugu's massive claw darted forward and enveloped him, squeezing the air from Toshi's lungs. The kanji did nothing, designed only to hurt the ogre if Toshi would be grievously injured. If the kanji was doing anything to the ogre, Toshi couldn't tell by his expression. Well... at least I'm not going to die yet, Toshi thought. And then, all went black. Part III: "Dawn's Gentle Touch" Toshi awoke slowly, but as he grew more lucid, the less he was sure he was awake. The floating sensation wasn't that bad, but the lack of a horizon was starting to bother him. He hadn't a clue where he was, but strangely that didn't upset Toshi. He came to the realization he wasn't alone only as the strange diffuse light began to grow and warmth began to seep into his skin. From the distance a small point of light began to grow as it approached Toshi. From that light, the flutter of cloth began to take shape, shifting and swirling like clouds about a central figure draped in the misty pearled robes. A host of tassles hung from its body and a collection of swords swelled from the back of the cloak. Finally, a serene porcelain mask formed atop the figure. Toshi couldn't tell the figure's gender, but he felt a feminine energy coming from it. "Greetings Toshi." "I don't suppose you'd believe my name was Tetsuo then?" Toshi said with more humor than he felt. This was a spirit, of that he was sure, but what it wanted with him was a mystery. It wasn't the pleasant kind of mystery either. "No samurai, I know who you are. You are a very clever man in quite a lot of trouble, even if you do not realize it." Toshi went rigid at that and the kami laughed. "No, not from me. Quite the opposite in fact. The trouble you are in has everything to do with that filthy demon worshipper." "Well, on the bright side, I guess that means I'm still not dead. I was a little worried when I turned up here... wherever here is." "I've brought you to my shrine Toshi, to discuss something with you. I am the Myojin of Cleansing Fire and I am willing to help you escape if you answer only two questions for me. Answer me truthfully, for I shall know the difference Toshi." The Myojin moved closer, her cloudy robes brushing against Toshi's feet. "To whom are you loyal?" "Daimyo Konda of course." Toshi answered impatiently, but as the words left his mouth, there was a false note to his answer. "Well... really, I guess I stay to protect the princess more than to serve Konda. The war has been harsh on him and he's not the man I remember as a boy." "True indeed, your memory does not fail. He is no longer the man that united Kamigawa. Twenty years ago, he committed a sin so heinous that the entire spirit world was thrown into a frenzy. It was Daimyo Konda who began this war. It was he that stole from the kakuriyo and it is his hands that are stained with the blood of his countrymen. You do well to protect the princess, for I feel she will be integral to ending this war Toshi." "What... what did the Daimyo steal?" "That is not for you to know Toshi, not yet. Now for my other question. How do you intend to escape from your tormentor?" "Um... I'll think of something." Toshi scowled. The Kami merely laughed, amused at Toshi's answer. "Yes you shall, I am sure. And it is that reason that I offer my power to you. Embrace me and all my gifts shall be yours for the asking." The Myojin drifted excitedly towards Toshi, as if trying to convince him by her very presence. "Well, not like I have anything to lose..." When Toshi came to, there was no doubt as to whether or not he was awake. His ribs still creaked from Hidetsugu's grip and the iron shackles connecting him to the wall weighted him down. The room he found himself in was, to put it generously, a bloody mess. Toshi blinked a moment at the other occupants of the room, for a moment thinking he'd taken a hit on the head and was seeing double, but he realized that the two men chained opposite him weren't quite identical. The twins had been badly beaten, but were still breathing and as Toshi looked at them, they opened their eyes. "You'd be some of Godo's men that our host hasn't seen to yet then." "Yes." Answered the one on the left. "But the Ogre has plans for us no doubt." Toshi smiled at that and scratched at a wound he had sustained fighting the Akki until it bled freely. "Not if I have anything to say about it." Toshi and the two brothers snuck slowly through the halls. Toshi had to admit there was something to this kami worship stuff. Just seconds after he'd inscribed the kanji for heat on the chains they'd been reduced to slag. It didn't take much searching to locate Godo's armory and find his jitte, as well as arms enough for an entire battalion. They were well armed, but Toshi just hoped that they could keep away from the ogre while they escaped. Of course, that'd be too easy, Toshi thought as they came to the main foyer and behold, Hidetsugu sat upon a massive stone platform in the middle of a stone garden. The sands were painted blood red, and Toshi had a nasty feeling they hadn't been that color to start with. Hidetsugu had a massive rake that he was using to comb the sand and the scene was so paradoxically peaceful that Toshi stumbled. The ogre didn't look up, but he did take a deep breath while Toshi held his. Hidetsugu sat the rake aside and rose, turning to the small group. "That was quicker than expected. I'm afraid you can't leave though. I have plans for you that I do not intend to give up." "Well, you know what they say, you can't always get what you want. Yamizaki... and umm... Yamizaki, go ahead. I'll keep the big guy occupied." Toshi jerked his head to the door and the twins took off at a run. The Ogre reached out to intercept them, but Toshi quickly drew a kanji on his hand and a lance of sunlight launched out. The smell of burnt flesh and sizzling ichor filled the room while Hidetsugu roared in pain. The beam had caught him just above the eye and melted his helm, the molten iron dripping into the o-bakemono's eye. "You will PAY for that Tetsuo!" Hidetsugu spun, arcing a claw straight at Toshi. Toshi dove, rolling into the sand and just barely missed being eviscerated by the monstrous hand. Toshi's jitte carved into the wet sand. A simple kanji that would bind a regular person. He wasn't sure what effect it would have, but he hoped it might slow the ogre down. Slow him down it would. The blood drained into the sand combined with the might of a greater kami and a simple binding spell turned into a massive curtain of light that enveloped Hidetsugu. He roared in frustration and Toshi slowly got to his feet, stunned by the effect of the spell. Oh yes, definitely something to this kami worshipping stuff. Toshi sheathed his jitte and began following his fellow escapees. "TETSUO! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS INSULT! THERE SHALL BE A RECKONING, DO YOU HEAR!?" Hidetsugu roared as Toshi fled. Despite his newfound power, a chill still crept into Toshi's spine as he ran. "There is one thing I still do not understand Lieutenant Umezawa. I understand to the point where the ogre captured you, but how did you escape from him?" Captain Nagao said as he sat across his desk from Toshi. "I found religion." Toshi replied with a smirk, obviously enjoying the mysterious air he projected. Captain Nagao was quite the opposite and he shook his head. "If you weren't such a skilled soldier, I'd have you drummed out for insubordination." "Don't forget that Michiko-hime likes me too much." Toshi laughed, and even the captain cracked a smile at that. "You better watch your tongue Toshi. If many people hear you speaking like that, you'll find yourself living as a ronin." "I bet it'd be more peaceful at least." Toshi sighed wistfully as he stood. Nagao chuckled at that. "Go on and take a few days to recover. Keep yourself out of trouble and rest." "Thank you sir. It'll be good to relax for a while. Maybe I'll catch up with Lady Kiku." Toshi said as he stepped out of the door. "I said keep yourself OUT of trouble Toshi!" Nagao yelled after him. He shook his head and sighed, knowing his warning had fallen on deaf ears.
Obviously more on Black Ixidor/Red Akroma.
I'd like to see more of the "Blue Cabal" ie. Braids. The thought of Blue chainer is kind of awesome.
Blue Chainer would be pretty much .. Ixidor. Since Ix's sort of a dementia summoner Mark I.2 the way he's written.
@Jivan:
Did you read my colorshifted Otaria description? @Deckhopper: You know, I think I like my Nomad!Kamahl from the perspective of worldbuilding, but I actually like your Druid!Kamahl better on the level of story and theme, if that makes sense. That's a good setup for the conflict, and it's a whole lot more interesting than the Life vs Death things. It also fits better with Karona, actually, since instead of going from Avatar of Death + Avatar of Judgment = Avatar of All Magic, it's Avatar of Intellect + Avatar of Unleashed Imagination = Avatar of All Magic, which makes WAY more sense, I think. And Kamahl as an enemy of Karona makes sense because it becomes a battle of reality, the ties that bind, and the love between individuals vs delusions of grandeur, the solitary will, and the madness of Godhood. ...Which means that Karona/Jeska becomes not just an agent of continuity but an agent of theme as well when it comes time for the Mending. And that's just epic. @RP Jesus: Yeah, I started playing around Invasion/Odyssey so there's probably some nostalgia happening for me, too. And yeah, I'm pretty sure Mirrodin WAS just a big Canon Fight. It's just... such a mess. @Axelle: I imaged Pthisia as being five color, actually, to fit the idea of the singular purity of the Thran collapsing down into baser elements. Primarily green though, probably, with maybe blue as the dominant secondary color (because metamagic). @Barinellos: Everything you're doing in this thread is incredible. Seriously. It's been a while since I've seen you turning out such awesome work at such a breakneck speed. Not sure I like the new name for Lyzolda. "Debter" implies that she's the one in debt, rather than being the offerer of the loan, which I think is what you're going for. A better term might be "Lender" but something about that sounds just a bit too modern... so what if we went with a slightly more archaic sounding synonym... like say... Lyzolda, the Blood Letter? Part of me thinks that's a terrible pun, but part of me also thinks that it's TOTALLY in character for the Orzhov to play these sorts of word games with their titles. They're showoffs, after all. So, what order would the block go in for your colorshifted Ravnica? From the Rakdos Rampage event and the Dimir machinations behind it, I'm imagining the first set might go Rakdos-Azorius (for Kos)-Dimir-???
Right, right, forgot he had shifted. Hm, if you want Augustin's machinations to round off the block maybe delay Boros and have the first set include Gruul?
@Bay Falconer: Oh Shiiiii-- 
Alternate reality, for Urza and Mishra they switch roles. Urza the slave and Mishra in the court. Instead of Dragon Engines, there are Hydra Engines.
Wow, THAT'S a hell of a switch. And Mishra was always the one with more charisma...
Imagine the defense of Dominaria organized by someone that actually could rally people to his cause through the force of his charisma and charm... but who also was undeniably power hungry. We would have seen a very, very different end result of that war, I suspect...
Predator The acrid winds of Rath buffeted the figure who stood atop the prow of the evincar's flagship. The Predator tore through the clouds of the red sky as the vessel neared the cliffs. Nestled between the rocky canyon stood their destination, a titanic arch with its stone face carved at its highest point looking afar from its perch. As the Predator slowed, its captain caught sight of the small people climbing about, preparing the portal for use. This was the only way off of Rath, and the Predator's prey had fled using it. Tahngarth knew this, because he was supposed to have been with the Weatherlight when it had left. He had meant to be with them, but they had left him trapped. Tahngarth had been captured when the crew had come for Captain Sisay, to rescue her from Rath's cruel master Volrath, but in their first encounter with the very ship he stood upon, Tangarth had flung himself on board to save a fellow crewmate and been taken hostage for his courage. Taken to Volrath's volcanic stronghold, Tahngarth had suffered for days. Tortured. His body was now a twisted mutation of what he was when he first seen the roil of Rath's red skies. His horns had been twisted and his muscles bulged, his vision sharpened and his hands changed under Volrath's careful alterations. The first days had been horribly painful, but throughout it all, Tahngarth had held hope closely to his heart. Slowly his resolve had crumbled and something strange had happened. The pain never lessened, but as he continued to fall into the ray that twisted his flesh, his body began to crave the power it granted, the strength it promised. Eventually, he threw himself into the beam and fully embraced the metamorphosis that swept through his flesh. A golden third eye had fully formed in the center of his skull and his thickened horns spread outward, bisecting upwards. His skin, once the swarthy red his people prided themselves on, was now only an ashen gray. Several times while Tahngarth had lain weakened by Volrath's ray, Greven il-Vec, his tormentor, captor, and this ship's former captain had harassed and gloated over the prone minotaur. "I am fortuitous to have captured you cow-man. I happen to be in need of a new first mate." Greven had mocked. His booming laughter had rung down the halls of the Stronghold long after he left. "I will kill you! Do you hear me Greven! I will kill you! Escape from this hell and hunt you down!" Tangarth had bellowed, but his yells turned to screams as the ray scored his flesh and it twisted once more. Greven had been his only constant companion, left alone in his torture. He had seen Karn, his fellow captive, only once. The horrible twisted shapes of the Phyrexians harassed the silver golem forward, and plodding along, the machine simply followed them. Tahngarth had railed at Karn to escape and kill as many as he could when he did. Karn's response had been simple, and it was perhaps those solemn words that cracked his resolve, almost unnoticeable in the repeated cascade of pain, but still a small fissure in his nigh indomitable will. "Anger is momentary, remorse is eternal Tahngarth. I cannot." Karn had said. Tahngarth had found the words foolish from such a wise and powerful being as Karn. These Phyrexians deserved no remorse. They were incapable of it themselves! When he was free, he would give no remorse and mercy would be his to discard as casually as they had. He had said his friends would come, but he knew not where they were. He'd been under the light of Volrath's beam for days. He'd not slept for even longer. He was fatigued, and yet he felt burgeoning power laying just under his skin. Power enough to crush whatever he wanted. That power scared him, but not as much as the desire he had for it scared him. The ray was scorching its way towards him once more. It would be so easy to jump into it and die. He could rob Greven and Volrath of their desire to turn him into a weapon. It was a small victory... it was the only victory he had left. The blinding light swept towards him, and with the last of his resolve, he leapt into it. In many ways, Tahngarth had died that day. In many ways he was glad he'd changed. That was a week ago. His friends had finally shown up, but they had been too late. They'd rescued Karn, Sisay, and even the damnable Legacy, all at a horrible cost. For not coming for him, though, they'd just begun to pay. True to his word, Greven had taken the now gigantic Minotaur onto his ship as his second. Also true to his word, Tahngarth had broken Greven's neck and pulled him limb from limb. He'd tossed the parts of his former tormentor's body over the bow of his ship before they'd even left their docking. Volrath had been pleased by his monster's ruthlessness. He was aboard the flagship, tucked away comfortably in his cabin. Volrath regretted not having seen his wayward brother off, being too busy with his new toy. With Tahngarth as captain, he intended to rectify that mistake. "Soon Volrath, you'll feel the savagery of my horns as well. I will not forgot who made me the monster I am." Tahngarth muttered as a ripple tore the air within the arch. Tahngarth donned the breastplate he'd taken from Greven's still warm torso and strapped it on. The armor was painfully tight, but he enjoyed the symbolism as he watched the sky turn from orange to blue in the portal. Waves radiated outwards from its center and with grim satisfaction Tahngarth leaned upon the railing of the Predator. When he came to Rath, he'd been a warrior. He was now the namesake of the ship. Tahngarth il-Talruum was leaving Rath a predator. The Weatherlight and its traitorous crew was his prey, and they could never run far enough.
Very, very nice. I like the thematic reflection between Karn and Tahngarth here.
There's so much potential at the climax of Rath and Storm for alternate realities... just the questions of who catches Crovax's curse, and who gets left behind during the escape, offer so many possibilities.
These are shifted timelines, not Let's Make Everything Fit Into Planar Chaos's Shifted Color Schemes.
I'm wanting to write "Sedris, Protector King " with the flavor text: "He bids his subjects rise above themselves." He'd use the magic Elspeth uses to revive her squire to make sure he wins against the forces of Grixis.
WRITE THIS FELLOW A CHECK TOO
It's too bad we don't know more about Sedris (haha and too bad I haven't written that epic poem about him yet), under the circumstances it's hard to know what made him crack and how he could have been persuaded otherwise. It would be interesting if the Vithians had an actual necromancer king on their side, protecting them from the other denizens of Grixis. It might not have tipped the war completely (Malfegor would still have marched on Bant under Bolas's orders, presumably) but it might have made it easier for Bant and Naya to hold back his armies, and might have depleted the Grixan armies enough in pre-Conflux conflix--er, conflicts, rather--that present day Alara would be in a better position. Hell, maybe Elspeth would never have left her adopted home. And she and Ajani could have lived happily in Bant forever T_T Hm, how would the Invasion have gone with Belbe as the master of the Stronghold? That might have been ultimately more useful strategically than helping Eladamri to escape, considering that he ended up offing himself along with his whole damn army when the Death Cloud showed up...
Since I'm throwing out random ideas: a black Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Memnarch succeeds in his plane to become a Planeswalker
Chainer, Dementia Master
Alara, where the shards split a bit differently:
Bant is a plane of constant warfare between those fighting for freedom, those fighting just for the thrill of it, and those fighting for their own personal glory. These factions are themselves factionated, and none of them trust each other. The champion duelist, Rafiq, seeks to end this, with his lady Elspeth Tirel. (As a bonus, exalted Esper is a world ruled by the elements. Here, only Sharuum knows the secrets of biomancy, but her influence (and that of other biomancers) over the life on Esper is slowly waning, as if they are missing something. Tezzeret theorizes that there is something leeching from Esper. After a failed self-experiment nearly kills him, Tezzeret's spark ignites. Grixis, an endless spiral of life and death. No one dies permanently on Grixis; reincarnation is no mere postulate as to what happens after death. It's real. Spirits currently not in a body can counsel the living, and only outside a body do they maintain their current form. Despite the emphasis on death, Grixis is vital, more so than any other plane, save Esper. Nicol Bolas was initially attracted to Grixis, and only later did he learn that he could absorb four other worlds, when the time was right. Jund, a highly advanced society. The chief artificer, Rakka Mar, uses lightning elementals to power her machines. She sells them to Kresh, who then mass produces them, making the lives of everyone on Jund better, though not everyone on Jund trusts them. A mysterious man never seen before says that the dragons say artifice is evil. Naya, an ever-growing jungle. Everything is trying to eat an adventurer here. Despite this, the people of Naya survive in the cities, often on the shores. A bandit lord named Ajani Goldmane has gone far here, despite the nacatl viewing albinos as uncanny.
In summary:
   Bant  Esper Grixis Jund NayaAnd Exalted can totally be a red thing RWU Jund appeals to me, largely because I think those colors interact with artifacts the most.
Zendikar: Jace decides to stay home and actually figure out what the hell is going on with Liliana.
Chandra harnesses Ugin's fire and uses it to escape Sarkhan, but because Jace wasn't there the gate doesn't open, and the Eldrazi Spawn don't get out. The Multiverse becomes a more boring but also less stupidly contrived place. The End. ... ... ... ... Ok, actually, fine, if you want to extrapolate this further... Bolas puts more resources into the New Phyrexian situation after his Zendikar plans fall through, meanwhile sending Sarkhan back to the Eye to wait for the next two 'walkers that Bolas can sucker into showing up on the plane. With more direct involvement in Tezzeret's ascent to power among the Phyrexian ranks, the Mirran War is accelerated dramatically. However, the rise of an ninth major contender for the position of Father of Machines puts inside pressure on the different groups, which indirectly leads some members of New Phyrexia to engage in an accelerated slash and burn campaign against the Mirrans, and others, most notably Urabrask, to call off their forces completely. The result is a far greater Mirran survival rate among those who make it to the Furnace Layer, but an almost complete annihilation of the plains tribes and those remaining in the Tangle. It also means that by the time Venser and his companions reach Karn he is further gone than in canon. Koth and Elspeth are distracted by an attack by Tezzeret who distracts them with his naked body long enough to who, for his own slightly unclear reasons, distracts the two Planeswalkers long enough for Karn, Father of Machines to kill Venser. Seeing the death of his student at his own pacifist hands is all Karn needs. Glacian's spark, long dormant within the Might and Weakstones, finally ignights and Karn, enraged, guts the new core, taking out Glissa and damaging Tezzeret in the process. Koth and Elspeth take the still infected Karn to Melira to be purified, leaving Venser's body in the wrecked core... which is revealed as a horrible mistake when Tezzeret and Jin Gitaxis resurrect Venser as a dismembered biotech computer. They rake his brain for secrets, discovering the location of the salvaged Old Phyrexian transport ship. This promise of trans-planar conquest provides the leverage the blue faction needs to demand fealty from the other Praetors. Tezzeret leaves the plane, vowing to return with the completed ship, while secretly plotting to wrest the title of Father of Machines from Jin. Jace, deciding to be less of a moron, follows Liliana to Innistrad and becomes embroiled in the conflict between Liliana and Garruk, and in the conflict between the mad siblings Gisa and Geralf as they engage in a series of war games across the continent. In one sense, this is good news for the Church of Avacyn, as Geralf is too distracted to murder Mikaeus. In another sense, this is bad news for everyone under the Church's protection, as Mikaeus stands in the way of the Helvault's destruction and comes repeatedly into conflict with Thalia. The conflict thus stretches out for far longer than expected, with more casualties overall. And Sorin Markov is nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, the vampire guardian of the plane is occupied elsewhere, trying to uncover just why the locks on Zendikar are being tested more and more frequently. (In doing so, he falls directly into the hands of Bolas when he and the elf Nissa Revane are forced to battle Sarkhan. More on that in a moment.) Thalia finally discovers what happened to Avacyn with the help of the planeswalker Tamiyo, who uses her understanding of the lunar origins of the Helvault to free Avacyn. Unfortunately, Griselbrand seizes the chance to free himself at the same moment, but the church is restored to full power. Overjoyed, Thalia and Tamiyo kiss. The battle isn't over yet, though, because the church is now facing down an army of powerful vampires that grew in the power vacuum, commanded by Baron Markov and his lieutenant, Tibalt the Blood Hound, a failed Skaabaron who was transformed into a ravenous vampiric monstrosity when he attempted, at the gentle nudging of Markov, to repeat the blood pact experiment that first gave birth to the Innistrad vampires. Oh, and Tibalt kills Mikaeus and he becomes a vampire. WHOOPS! Jace, by now completely fed up with the shennanigans he is dealing with on basically a daily basis at this point, dupes Liliana into revealing her reason for showing up on the plane, dupes Avacyn herself into revealing the whereabouts of Griselbrand, and then dupes Garruk into going head-to-head with the demon. Garruk manages to kill Griselbrand, and Liliana leaves the plane after Jace confronts her one last time, declaring that she'll solve her damn problems herself. At this point, to everyone's surprise, Sorin Markov suddenly shows up. See, turns out that when he reached the Eye of Ugin, he was confronted by Nicol Bolas himself. The dragon revealed his intentions to release the Eldrazi, but also revealed that Sorin's father was in danger of finally gaining complete domination over the plane. Given the choice, Sorin abandons Nissa (who is subsequently murdered by Bolas while attempting to prevent the release of the last key) and returns to Innistrad, vowing to pit himself and his centuries of knowledge and resources against Bolas. He returns and, with his angel at his side, he storms the Markov estate. He nearly kills Tibalt, who flees into the Blind Eternities short one arm and one leg. Meanwhile, Avacyn runs Baron Markov through with her sword. As he lies bleeding on the floor of their estate, Markov smiles at his son. "You have become the monster I always knew you could be," he intones. Sorin, with a sneer, rips the old man's head off. So, now that we've been through Scars block, Zendikar block, and Innistrad block (in that order), we arrive at the present day with Return to Ravnica. Chandra is on the plane because Reasons, but she's been followed there by Sarkhan Vol who is seeking slightly incoherent vengeance upon the only other user of the Ghost Flame. She doesn't expect to find Gideon there, however, recruiting Planeswalkers to help him defend Zendikar from the Eldrazi. Soon the three, along with a whole cast of other unlike characters, are embroiled in the complex politics of the plane as Gideon's Selesnyan allies move against the machinations of the dragon Niv Mizzet...
I don't see much colorshifting in Zendikar, Scars, and Innistrad, but it was still good.
So, the only plane this thread hasn't shifted yet is . . . Lorwyn/Shadowmoor.
Yeah, I decided it was more interesting to do a For Want Of A Nail thing with Zendikar, basically. Anyone else is welcome to colorshift the plane.
The thing about Zenidikar is that it didn't have much in the way of factions.
When we get into rewriting the identities of the tribes which gets into wacky Planar Chaos shenanigans. 
Hm, how would that work? Like, the Eldrazi are only eating planes that suck and force contrived character derailments?
...Huh. That... huh. I guess that is a possible alternate reality.
I'd like to see Teferi as a general in the Phyrexia/Dominaria war. Maybe the experience would push him out of monoblue?
The thran winning the war against Yawgmoth and replacing him as MTG's big villain. 
Raksha Goldencub as a 'walker and Moses figure for exiles from a victorious Memnarch. The population of Mirrodin scattering to different planes, bringing miraculous living metal technology with them. A redeemed Greven en-vec, defecting despite his pain and leading the resistance against Phyrexian/Pthisian forces on Rath, leading lightning skyship strikes against the Stronghold. Jace as a technically incompetent but driven telepath who uses his ability to share ideas between continents and planes between the nobility, enhancing the work of aristocrats everywhere. Although terrible at his job, he is however fantastic at seduction. ...I really need to read more Magic novels. More ideas, more!
Ajani and Elspeth helping Bolas while Sarkhan and Tezzeret work against him?
Nah, Ajani's brother get's killed, causing him go berserk. He makes it his goal to take his grief out on all of Alara, and allies himself with the tyrannical dictator Elspeth in his quest to purge the plane. Bolas, who is recuperating from the Mending, allies himself with inquisitive Tezzeret and noble Sarkhan in order to try and save his adopted plane from destruction. What follows is a running battle that hops across the shards as they try to prevent the Bantians from purging the "corruption" of the other shards, while Bolas enacts a desperate ritual to restore the plane to its original self in order to full access the allies power.
Oh man, if they're gonna mess with Mirrodin's continuity again they'd better do things right and give Slobad and Geth's head their own sitcom (With Bosh making the occasional guest appearance).
See, this is why RPJesus should be in charge of the storyline. The novel line would never have been cancelled if he had been running the show. Specifically the Slobad and Geth's Head talkshow he just described.
Also, I like how the thing hitting the Kithkin in the head keeps changing.
Do it! For all the months! AAAAAAAALL of them!
Nicol Bolas, Patron Saint of Wuv and Friend to All Living Things
One of these days, I'll make a Mirrodin Pure community set. It starts out at the end of Mirrodin Besieged, but the Mirrans win, so Mirran mechanics around.
Of course, Mirrodin was created for "Phyrexia's back, ****!", so who knows?
It wouldn't be a large set though... New Phyrexia wasn't.
Right now I'm wondering what would have happened had the Kismet
No, it's a very shiftable moment flavourfully.
Spoiler: Show that tiger is Jedit
Just wonder how all the history would have went if the Kismet didn't fail and the tiger would support Johan's faction during the story line instead.
Post Your Reply
Please login to post a reply.
Jump Menu:
|
