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3GG, Remove three -1/-1 counters from CARDNAME: CARDNAME deals damage equal to its power to target creature. That creature deal damage equal to their power to CARDNAME.

NAME, the Pinned Groundbreaker

Creature - Elemental (somewhat in the shape of an elephant?)

8/8

Trample

3GG, Remove three -1/-1 counters from CARDNAME: Destroy target noncreature permanent.

NAME, the Muzzled Fang v2.0

Creature - Basilisk

8/8

Deathtouch

4GGG, Remove three -1/-1 counters from CARDNAME: Until end of turn, all creatures able to block CARDNAME do so.

NAME, the downed Storm

Creature - Spider

8/8

igilance, Reach

4GGG, Remove three -1/-1 counters from CARDNAME: CARDNAME deals X damage to each creature with flying, where X is its power.

- Toby or not Toby

Other White Watchers

Watcher's reinforcements

Sorcery

Choose one or both - Put a 1/1 Human Soldier creature token onto the battlefield for each creature you control, or put a 1/1 Human Soldier creature token onto the battlefield for each creature target opponent controls.

- Toby or not Toby

Split Cycle?

How does this work exactly? The Watcher Sorceries are definitely rare and the Compost Enchantment uncommon, so how would it work splitting a cycle?

- Toby or not Toby

Logline continued

If the entire world is a prison, there can be only brawl

White Watcher

Watcher's Safeguard

Sorcery

Choose one or both - Search your library for an enchantment card and put it onto the battlefield; or search an opponent's library for an enchantment card and put it onto the battlefield under your control.

Watcher's Magisphere (sphere of Magical enchantments)

Sorcery

Choose one or both - Search your library for an aura or equipment card and put it onto the battlefield; or search an opponent's library for an aura or equipment card and put it onto the battlefield under your control.

- Toby or not Toby

Fetters

Yeah these are cool! Only the black one doesn't fit the cycle.

Backstabber Fetters

Instant

Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature and it gains intimidate until end of turn

Comments: sometimes you might want to cast this on your own creature. But Wizards doesn't seem to like such tension anymore =(

Doublepunch Fetters

Instant

Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature and its controller loses 2 life.

Black Puncture Bolt

Instant

Put a -1-1 counter on target creature and it gets -1/-1 until end of turn.

- Toby or not Toby

Logline

If the entire plane is a prison, there is no escape.

If the entire world is a prison, there is no escape.

I would change not only the logline, but the entire setting. Why is it underground? Nothing about the mechanics or factions has to do anything with this. So instead of an underground prison, how about a plane where some Planeswalkers like to dump all the criminals and villains from other planes, together with some watchers? Just like how Australia the continent was just 1 big prison for England. Just like how Mirrodin was just a playground where creatures from all over the multiverse were brought to. I think within the setting of Magic, this is way cooler than something underground. =)

- Toby or not Toby

More Composts

I started to think, the easier way to trigger compost besides sacrifices is with your attack phase, so what kind of triggers are nice to have after your attack? The Inflame

ability was my first guess. My second was untapping, but that sounds like an infinite combo in the making. Or at least, finite for as long as much mana you have for the compost trigger

Compost In Flame

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay 2

. If you do, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target creature that was dealt damage this turn.

Vitalizing Compost

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay 1

. If you do, untap target creature.

Other Composts:

Snakepost

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay

. If you do, target creature doesn't untap during its controllers untap step

Scrypost

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay

/ If you do, look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom of your library.

- Toby or not Toby

Shackled Single-Use Effects

These should be no problem! They could simply have a single cuff. Like with both hands above your head, hanging. See Haunted Angel

for a somewhat alike pose, it's sexy enough! You will have to make it very clear in the comments how the art of these are all 'shackled'. Also I still strongly advise to not give cards a P larger/lower than their T.

Shackled Mindthief

Here's what a mindthief does =p

, remove two -1/-1 counters from this: look at target opponent's hand and choose a card there. You may play it without paying its mana cost. If it has X in its cost, X is 0.

Countercast

Yeah I wouldn't use "remove counters as a cost" on 2 cycles.

But what else? Remove counters as an effect? "Regenerate target creature you control, remove all counters from it" Add counters to stronger combat boosts? "Target creature gets +5/+0 and first strike until end of turn, put a -1/-1 counter on it".

Your original idea is better... but it's still too close to what the legends do. Perhaps if you mention -1/-1 counters a few time on the composts (see below) the instant/sorceries can be something else entirely.

Compost Cards

Prisonfly Infestation (my favorite limited card Blowfly Infestation

)

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay

, If you do, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature

Centaur Graveyard ( Centaur Glade

)

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay 2

, if you do, put a 3/3 Green Centaur Creature token onto the battlefield.

Library Pact (each players needs a card in graveyard)

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, each opponent puts the top card from his or her library into his or her graveyard

Regrowth from Compost

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay

, if you do, put a card from your graveyard on the top or the bottom of your library.

Sprout from Compost

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay 1

, if you do, search your library for a basic land card and put it into your hand.

Organ Transplantation

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay

, if you do, remove a counter from target permanent. (could specifically say -1/-1 counters, could say 'you control')

Dying Spark (for a deck full of Spark Elemental

and Arc Runner

)

Enchantment

Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay :1:, if you do, this deals 1 damage to target player

- Toby or not Toby

"Shackled for" names?

Another way to name the legends is to state why they are in prison, related to their abilities

For example, the black one kills creatures, so his name could be NAME, Shackled for Murder. Or the red one steals creatures so his name could be NAME, Shackled for Mutiny

- Toby or not Toby

Shackled Legends

Oooh after reading "The Objection" now I get each creature has 2 shackles so can use its ability twice! Perhaps their names all need "Shackled"? Legendaries with "The Shackled" behind their names?

I like how they read now. These are massive swings that require you to remove multiple counters. They are like what has been done before, but now turned to 11.

I think they read best when P/T are equal, so I would change the white one to 6/6. Give them all a different one, 5/5 to 9/9? (The green one 9/9 with 8 counters, remove 4 per activation)

The red one is too strong I think, 2/2 flying haste for 2? I wouldn't let them all have the same mana cost, this restriction isn't necessary.

Blue one:

Luzaru the Shackled

Legendary Creature - Sphinx

5/5

Flying

This enters the battlefield with four -1/-1 counters.

, remove 2 -1/-1 counters from this: draw a card for each -1/-1 counter on this

Also, these are the biggest baddest prisoners, so they should do 'evil' things (yeah blue one doesn't fit either), the white one reads too nice.

Angel of Retribution, the Shackled

Legendary Creature - Angel

6/6

Flying, Vigilance

This enters the battlefield with 4 -1/-1 counters.

, remove 2 -1/-1 counters from this: remove target attacking or blocking creature from the game

Now there's a story behind her. She's put into prison because she was too bloodthirsty probably.

A less nicer Blue one:

Luzaru the Shackled 2

Legendary Creature - Sphinx

5/5

This enters the battlefield with 4 -1/-1 counters.

, remove 2 -1/-1 counters from this: target players puts the top X cards from his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is this' power.

- Toby or not Toby

Shackled Creatures

When I started playing, there was this almost urban legend about a 1 mana 12/12 named Phyrexian Dreadnought

. Sure it had a textbox, but who cared, just looking at the mana cost and P/T was awesome. I think this could be the biggest strength of the cycle, having very appealing P/T to cost ratios. So I would make all of them combat-related to get sexy stats (perhaps maybe the blue one, just like Onslaughts Pit Fighter Legends) However, there are things like Vampire Hexmage

that are effective against planeswalkers, so it can't be too broken.

The creatures to look at are Carnifex Demon

and Deity of Scars

. (also the Eventide Hatchlings, Belligerent Hatchling

, Sturdy Hatchling

, Shrewd Hatchling

, etc.) These also have just 1 ability to put the counters on them and 1 to take them off with a beneficial effect.

To make these read new and shiny, and to prevent Hexmage shenanigans, an idea is to make them trigger on the last counter? For example, the white one could read:

2: remove a -1/-1 counter from CARDNAME. If this was the last counter, destroy all other creatures.

Meh it's way too easy to get a new last -1/-1 counter on them =( The Myojin ( Myojin of Life's Web

) work because Divinity counters are hard to resupply.

Another wording:

This enters the battlefield with 4 shackles counters.

This gets -1/-1 for each shackle counters.

2: remove a shackle counter from this. If this was the last, destroy all other creatures.

But this defeats the entire things about the -1/-1 counters...

- Toby or not Toby

Subtle Ways to Reward Sacrificing

I once had a fun Greater Gargadon

/ Decimate

deck, might inspire something! Not that everything would suit the wanted cycle, but some may be nice starting points?

Delayed sacrifice/destroy triggers, Mogg Cannon /Rage: It felt great to sacrifice my doomed creatures to something else. They were going to die anyway so I got a 'free bonus'. Perhaps a cycle of combat tricks that sacrificed the creature AEOT? Or a cycle of enchantments that could do this mutliple times?
Destroy as a cost, Decimate / Hex : If you have to destroy your own cards, you can sacrifice them these days now that only at least 1 target has to be legal for the spell to resolve. This too felt like a free bonus.
Ticking Creatures, Mogg War Marshal / Blastoderm : Like #1, these creatures were going to die anyway so why not get a fee bonus?
LTB triggers, Wirewood Herald / Lightning Coils : Not very subtle, but works with more than just sacrifices
Returning cards, Sword of the Meek / Epochrasite / Masked Admirers : Not subtle either.

Other ideas:

Gravestorm-esque, Bitter Ordeal / Flesh Allergy / No Rest for the Wicked : these things reward sacrificing.

- Toby or not Toby

-1/-1 counters continued

A set full of Scarscale Ritual

s makes sense. This is prison. There are limited resources. Everything must be squeezed for maximum value. I use my 2/3 dude 2 times and put a -1/-1 counter on it, and then in the end I will sacrifice him for something beneficial.

Prison is a nasty place. -1/-1 coutners and sacrifices are nasty things. The overarching theme is one of nastiness.

The one problem here is the sellability... Magic is all about all-upside these days. Would they like a set where the mechanics focussed on traditional downsides?

Anyways, even if it is jsut a minor theme, I still say that if you use -1/-1 counters on your splashy rares, somewhere in the common/uncommon cycle you'll need to use them too, to show it's for real, something substantial, and not just something splashy

- Toby or not Toby

-1/-1 counters?

The judges liked the +1/+1 counter theme that was in the set. If you go with -1/-1 counters, which makes sense in a prison world, you have to abandon the +1/+1 counters entirely. This must be very clearly comunicated in the comments then.

It could also backfire into "not listening to the judges" just to make a splashy rare cycle... But it's not just a splashy cycle. -1/-1 counters, especially as a cost, work better with a sacrifice theme. If my 3/3 with 2 counters is a 1/1, I don't mind sacrificing it that much. If those 2 counters made it 5/5... yeah...

But perhaps, if you want to go this way, you could also use -1/-1 counters in the commons/uncommons to hammer home this change of plans?

- Toby or not Toby

Ugh, this is hard! Malgareth isn't very mechanically defined yet. It was all about sacrifice last submission, but the judges didn't like that. The 3 factions aren't very defined either. Because of this last thing though, I think you can do cycles consisting of different factions (2 prisoner, 2 native, 1 watcher for example).

The good news is that the "permanents dying" theme is very close to yours, so they could lend each other more hands =)

Added some cycle ideas to your list (you wanted them there right?)

LOVE the Ward cycle btw! =)

- Toby or not Toby

Doomgape cycle: a rare cycle of splashy fatties that sacrifice creatures for various bonusses
Uncommon token-produce cycle: that goes well with the sacrifice effects and show how each color can get extra creatures
Gravestorm cycle: introduce the Bitter Ordeal mechanic in this set.
Power-matters cycle: like Soul's Fire , Soul's Grace , Soul's Majesty

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