Names!
Custom Cards forum
Posted on May 20, 2010, 2:36 a.m. by Zanven
Alright, I don't mean to keep making new threads, but I kept seeing name discussion peppered around all the various threads, so I thought I'd funnel it all into one area.
So we obviously need to come up with nine names currently.
One for the name of our Plane. One for each Negashard. One for each set in this block.
Currently, for the Plane, people have suggested : Sarcoma, Cyqua, Tractera. None of them so far are sticking. Some guidlines - The plane is an artificial byproduct of five separate shards being jammed together. It may or may not have been created as an attempt at perpetual mana balancing to keep the plane alive, or potentially even as a prison to trap Marit Lage if she were to ever escape her ice prison in Dominaria (which is totally likely with all those Vampire Hexmages running around). Since we want to be the opposite of Alara, A is at the start of the alphabet, we want to use something near the end of it. Not necessarily a Z or anything, but I'd like to keep it on that end of the alphabet for super-flavor.
How Alara named its shards is kind of neat and potentially you will accuse me of having OCD/being crazy or looking too much into it.
A : Alara, no gaps, B : Bant, two gaps (CD), E : Esper, one gap (F), G : Grixis, two gaps (HI), J : Jund, three gaps (KLM), N : Naya.
0, 2, 1, 2, 3. There are two ways to use this pattern as a naming scheme.
1) We use the letters that are between the gaps (and thus the inverses) as the beginning letters of our Shard names. That gives up CDFHIKLM.
2) We use the pattern and go backwards from 0 to name our Shards. Example, we name the plane starting with an S. Backwards from that would be 0 -> T. One Shard name starts with a T. 2 up -> Q. 1-> 0. etc.
Also very important to shard names is the amount of syllables. Alara has two shards with one syllable, powerful sounding names. Jund. Bant. The rest are all two syllable words. Es-per, Grix-is, Nay-a. We can either follow this naming convention or do the opposite (3 single syllable and 2 double-syllable).
The current suggested names for each of the shards don't seem to echo what those shards are. Jund sounds primal, and Esper sounds artisanic.
Lastly, the sets themselves will need names. Going with our inverse theme, Alara had :
Shards of Alara. Conflux. Alara Reborn.
The opposite of that would be
Plane of Name/or Name United. Sunder/Break-up/etc Name Unbound.
Obviously these are not strict rules but more of a casual guideline to help direct your ideas.
So, fire at will! Please annotate your suggestions with what you want the name to be used for. Don't just post "Slagontha", please put "Plane" or "RGU Shard" in front of it.
mistergreen527 says... #3
Wow, I'm impressed with the amount of thought put into this. Excellent job!
I like your syllable count idea and your set names idea.
As for the first letter analysis, it sounds interesting. It would be super easter-eggy, so on one hand is it worth going though with it? On the other hand, it's cool so why not?
I really don't have any qualms with anything you've described here.
May 20, 2010 2:47 a.m.
I agree that none of the plane names are really memorable... I don't want to suggest that they be shorter, as they're only 2-3 syllables, but they definitely need to be something simpler. I am also definitely feeling a plane starting with 'T.' I haven't thought of any really solid names yet but here are a few that might be ok: Tiren Tharn (silent 'h' for fanciness?) Tunit
May 20, 2010 3:06 a.m.
The words should only be one or two syllables. It's easier to remember. They should also be easy to pronounce.
I like what the first team came up with maybe just tweak it?
Oturo-GWB -> Turos
irindu-RGU -> Rindu
Avora-BGU -> Varo (sounds more BGU, trying to keep the letters the same)
Kilgar-UWR -> Karg
Sorok-RBW -> I would keep this name. I like it a lot and it's easy to remember.
May 20, 2010 1:43 p.m.
As for a plane name... Arala? Haha, I'm kidding. Since BS is feeling 't' how is Tryst?
May 20, 2010 1:49 p.m.
You said our shard starts with S yeah. How about Sandara?
I like all of honeymomo's adaptions, glad to have her on board.
May 20, 2010 8:21 p.m.
Sandara makes me think more of a plains/desert setting. I think it should be a name without meanings implied in them.
To throw out a name: Kevrest ... maybe better name for a shard like UWR.
May 21, 2010 12:13 a.m.
Just an idea. I think Karg is better than Kevrest. Keep trying though.
May 21, 2010 12:34 a.m.
Let's wedge them together for Kagrest or Kargest. Karg is too close to Kargan ala the Dragonlord, but I like the K, and I like the "res".
May 21, 2010 3:05 a.m.
Ok not Karg but Kagrest/Kargest is too long. Also I've been going over the others and Turos just reminds me to much of the food and Rindu doesn't fit right it needs to be Irindu to sound right.
Kagna.
May 21, 2010 7:25 a.m.
I liked Kilgar better than the other suggestions so far for that negashard. And I do not think Turos is good for Oturo. It is to clear in peoples minds the implications of Turos. We should stay away from loaded words
The rest that honey came up with are good
I suggest:
Plane: Andara
GWB -> Nurroth
RGU -> Rindu
BGU -> Avora
UWR -> Kilgar
Sorok-RBW -> I would keep this name. I like it a lot and it's easy to remember.
May 21, 2010 8:20 a.m.
mistergreen527 says... #16
What do you guys think of Lacera? Letter-wise, it's similar to Alara. It's also the "root" of laceration which means a jagged tear. Just an idea.
May 21, 2010 11:07 a.m.
I think it is too close to lacerate which makes me think black
May 21, 2010 11:48 a.m.
"It is to clear in peoples minds the implications of Turos."
Yeah I thought about it later:
It'll remind everyone of Pokemon.
As for Lacera, I like it! (sera in french is "to be") If it makes Squire think of black mana it can be tweaked to... I dunno... Lasera, Lexera, Locera, Incera, Vacera... Just playing around.
May 21, 2010 1:01 p.m.
Lasera sounds like robots live there. Lexera sounds like a car Incera just sounds like the rootword is bad Vacera sounds bloody
As far as the French sound. The pronunciation is very different than how Americans would say it. French is beautiful, but Americans butcher all foreign languages.
May 21, 2010 1:36 p.m.
Otherwise
Vergent (fromg disvergent)
sunder (from asunder)
The vorce (from divorced)
algama (from almagamate)
We should also have a place called either the rupture or fisure which should be the dividing void between the shards. possibly where the planeswalker that created it all resides
May 21, 2010 3:11 p.m.
i think kilgar for BUG makes more sense and A/vora makes more sense with RWU
May 21, 2010 3:12 p.m.
We should keep the I in Irindu.
Andara sounds cool.
Nurroth doesn't sound quiet right. Think about the sounds of Thicketblend, Tarani and Gladeparter.
Rindu sounds much cooler as Irindu
To me Avora just sounds right for the GUB however Varo does not.
Kilgar I think it is still in need of edit.
The Vorce (edit) The Vorse sounds awesome. That could be the Maelstrom equivalent. The dividing force is called the Vorse.
May 22, 2010 10:27 p.m.
Oh yeah I call BS. Tharn was the original name I had for the plane but it doesn't sound cool enough. Interesting to people came up with the same idea though.
May 22, 2010 11:15 p.m.
i like vorse when it is first said and then the word force makes it no good. All I can hear in my head is the vorse force. Bad, bad , bad.
I am actually a fan of the shard names as they were introduced originally. They sound good. I like Andara for th plane name of everything so far.
Set order: Andara born, Divergence, Andara Evanesced
May 22, 2010 11:39 p.m.
Then just leave it as "The Vorse". No problem.
Everyone likes Andara by the sounds of it. Now for the funny bit, Andara came from Sandara which is the name of the artist that painted the picture for the (to be renamed) fagroll,-the-juggenaught-(promo)
I think the idea of the entire scape of our block including the creation is a bit to much perhaps...
Set order: Andara's Prime, Diverge, Andara Ecanesced/Aethers of Andara/Andara Diminished.
May 22, 2010 11:47 p.m.
Andara should not be the plane name. It is way too close to Alara. We're not trying to copy the set exactly but use the basis and then make the set our own. I don't think the name sets the stage well for the block either. We need something powerful. It should not start with an "a" or have an "ara" in it.
Squire, Zanven and I will have to get together and discuss names at a different time. For now we should remain with Irindu as the only defined name to meet the deadline and the rest will have to go by code names until the creative team sets the final names. I don't care what the code names are right now.
May 23, 2010 1:43 a.m.
i likke andara its like saying well there was alara AND ANDara
May 23, 2010 1:45 a.m.
I agree with momo on the plane name. I thought Sorok was agreed as well, but hey its up to you guys on the creative team.
May 23, 2010 3:27 a.m.
Looking for feedback on a rakdos planeswalker I've created. Is she balanced, playable, exciting enough? Suggestions for better/more fitting abilities?
Sanoma, Dragon Warrior
She costs 2RB and comes in with 4 loyalty counters
+1: Deal 2 damage to target creature or player.
-3: Put a 3/3 red and black Dragon token onto the battlefield. It has flying and haste.
-7: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control gain haste, flying, and are indestructible.
November 18, 2013 10:59 p.m.
Seems pretty tame for a 4-cost planeswalker. Also seems very mono-red. The ult is also a bit redundant when the tokens you're making already have flying and haste.
Seems weak, overall, but it's not a bad concept at all.
November 18, 2013 11:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #32
Shock is a bit powerful for a + ability. Usually, damage-dealing loyalty abilities only add loyalty counters if they deal 1 damage per object.
The -3 is fine.
The -7 needs to be reworded to say "Creatures you control have haste, flying, and indestructible." Remember that gain is used in single-application, prolonged duration effects (i.e. those not granted by a permanent's or emblem's static ability) while "have" is used when the effect is part of a static ability. Also, indestructible was keyworded in M14, so permanents now have or gain indestructible. The wording "is/are indestructible" is obsolete and inaccurate now.
Additionally, there isn't any black in this walker's flavor. The abilities are relatively middle-of-the-road. What's the backstory?
November 18, 2013 11:09 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #33
To elaborate a bit on my last point: You should always begin the design process (whether for a walker or a set) with a backstory. It gives you information with which to work, and a defined flavor/concept to guide the design. Overall, story-driven designs tend to be more cohesive and flavorful than off-the-cuff designs.
What's this walker's story? What home plane, current plane, motive, ideology, allies, enemies, unique powers, etc.?
November 18, 2013 11:18 p.m.
CrazyLittleGuy says... #34
I don't know, I think she seems a bit unbalanced. Giving Rakdos decks a reliable utility box that can go both offensive and defensive is too much, plus she comes down turn 4 which fits into their curve really really nicely.
November 18, 2013 11:19 p.m.
I'll echo Epochalyptik above, but I'll also add that invulnerability seems like an odd choice for R/B 'walker. R/B is arguably the most chaotic color combination. The permanency of invulnerability feels odd for them to have, especially since white (red/black's shared enemy color) is the king of invulnerability. Perhaps intimidate would be a better choice?
November 18, 2013 11:41 p.m.
Love the feedback, thank you guys! A couple of you have voiced initial concerns of mine. Would love for the Magic community to help me work her out.
erabel -I too thought it felt redundant ...any ideas to switch it up and make it less redundant?
Epochalyptik -I just started playing Magic half a year ago. I honestly don't know much about the overall history/lore of any parts of Magic (I know, shame on me...it's a work in progress :-) ). Would love for you guys to help me develop a background for Sanoma. Here are initial thoughts and ideas I was having when creating her:
Sanoma is a sort of outcast and outsider. She was scorned or pushed away by something and she has since dwelled basically alone with the dragons. Because of this, she has little warmth or affection for others aside from dragons. As a result of the way she's lived, she's become fierce and stern (warp a little to fit R/B more?). I had also toyed around with her name being Dragon Rider as opposed to Dragon Warrior.
raithe000 -Like the intimidate! I feel that does fit better and makes her more black.
So...changes I would like to make and have everyone help me with:
1. Change +1 ability
2. Make -3 and -7 abilities less redundant
3. Develop a story/background for her
4. Make her more black
November 19, 2013 9:43 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #37
She's starting to sound like Sarkhan the Mad (you might want to look at his story here).
It's a decent, if old, idea. You may want to change things up a bit to make her unique from Sarkhan, and you also need to develop some ideas about the plane itself (yes, this is a big project). What about the environment or the inhabitants drove her to be an outcast? What does she specialize in? What is her goal, and what is her motivation?
November 19, 2013 11:14 a.m.
Just read the link...true, you are. Back to the drawing board
Zanven says... #2
And to kick things off, I'll post two of my own suggestions.
RGU : The so called Green Izzet Shard. The original name suggested for it was Irindu and I honestly thought it sounded perfect. It stuck in my head and when I thought of Irindu I immediately was able to recall the colors. It has my vote, even if it doesn't fall into the syllable guidelines whatsoever. And it uses one of the inverse letters from the gaps in Alara names, the I!
BWR : The so called Black Boros Shard. This is where potentially the demons and tyrants and armies are going to be. I want this shard to have one of those one syllable powerful sounding names. I was thinking Rex (latin for King, too obvious maybe), but I figured most people would shout me down on it as it is also a common name for dogs. Even still.
Plane : Something with a T, X or Y has yet to be done. X makes a Z sound though and Zendikar is still recent, so I was thinking maybe T or Y. I'm going to sit down and churn out about a hundred names for all of these things later (since it's my job on creative to do so anyways!) but I just wanted to get the ball rolling and make people feel involved.
May 20, 2010 2:42 a.m.