Pattern Recognition #207 - A New Set - Two Legendaries

Features Opinion Pattern Recognition

berryjon

19 August 2021

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Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.

In designing the four remaining Legendary Creatures for this set of mine, I ran into the trouble of trying to find some degree of balance between them. It's obvious that making everyone the same was a total non-starter, and I am under no delusion that all my mechanics are equal in design or implementation. In a way, the Leaders are going to be a microcosm of each tribe, and how they are intended to be played.

I invoked this when I did Doña Alba Taedere, describing an aggressive creature who acted to protect your own board state passively in the process. With this in mind, I need to keep the other four relatively equal in power level, or at least in utility, yet each also needs to embrace what makes their Tribe and relevant mechanic unique.

What I'm saying is that I did a lot of thinking, and you're getting the end result and not the full process.

Tichaona Zalasta

The Rouge has been a hard design. My initial thoughts loaned themselves to a Bandit Lord, even referring to the slight anti-heroic character of Maverick in the process. However, as I envisioned things, I realized that I needed, well, to borrow a phrase from TV tropes, I was building a Five Man Mand with these characters.

I apologize for linking to TV Tropes, and I'll see you back in a few hours.

Back? Nice! Welcome. Anyway I've already slotted Taedere in the Leader position. I know it seems like a copout to put the character in that position, but trust me, it'll work! We just have to get there and respect that each person involved has their own place in the grand scheme of things.

Regardless, this places Zalasta not in the position of the Big Guy, or even the Lancer, I have other spots for those, rather I want to pivot a little bit and turn him into the The Smart Guy.

As you may have noticed from last time, I had the flavour quote on the Rouge Land pivot away from the rouge-as-scoundrel and more towards the rouge-as-adventurer. Less Pancho Villa, and more Henry Jones. They are still Rouges, but I want to focus more on the intellectual and action-adventure style of them, and less the back-stabbing thief that seems to dominate a lot of their portayals in the game.

Yes, they're in it for themselves, which is where the comes in, but what they want isn't always material, it's the knowledge that is gained in the process, the .

So that that end, this helps synergize with Duelist as a mechanic even more as I want to portray these people as men/women/non-binary individuals of action. Going forth and doing things. So let's do it.

Tichaona Zalasta was born a Noble, whose family immigrated to Solle in the second major wave of colonization and exploration. He was not a child of study though, not from books. Instead, he sought to learn by doing, by going out an exploring. This did not suit his family well, who began to see him as something of a black sheep for the family, though he was out of the line of succession for the noble titles of the family to the thankfullness of all.

One day, he just didn't come home. He kept walking, going forward, his search for something that he could call his own the same call that others with wanderlust would find familiar. But with each new discovery, each new thing he learned, the world called to him more and more. He had to know, and this requirement that he set upon himself led him down paths that would forever bar him from his family. He did not concern himself with the claims of others, only that such people might be negotiated with, or simply ignored. He was willing to fight for what he wanted, to take or to keep, and now, before him, was the greatest piece of knowledge worth having. The history of Solle.

Tichaona Zalasta

Picture - Tichaona Zalasta is a rough man, dressed in blues and blacks. The blacks should not be dominating, but rather complimenting the blue in such a manner to suggest someone who has worked hard for what he wants. He should be in a position where the player can see some of the things he has taken for himself, baubles and scrolls that all are his and no one elses. He will defend them, no matter what. Consider him a dark reflection of Indiana Jones, and you would be good.
Legendary Creature - Human Rouge
Deathtouch, Menace
If one or more creatures you control attacks or blocks, each player draws a card, then discards a card.
Duelist - When this creature attacks or blocks, target creature an opponent controls gets -X/-X until the end of the turn, where X is the number of cards you've drawn this turn.
"Is this what you think? That this will be your salvation? No, your knowledge will betray you in the end, when all is said and done. I will be left with the truth you failed to possess."
2/3

This was not an easy card to design, and in the end, I'm not really happy with it. I'm keeping to my theme of having a couple of evergreen Keywords for each Legendary creature, then a generalist ability that supplements the actual Tribal ability.

The Looting effect was originally just for the controller of Zalasta, but I decided to make it affect all players to tone him down just a little, especially in the face of his second ability. Being able to kill off a creature on the attack or block is a huge effect. Sure, it's -1/-1 on the defense, but on the offense, -2/-2 is a lot more viable.

Again, this is a Tribal Block, and I want to encourage creature attacks at all levels, so this is something, I think can work.

The casting cost, however, is something I'm still giving a side-eye toward, as it's very inflexible, and honestly, if feedback and testing indicate it should change, then it should.

Xián Anhiora

I'll be honest here, of all the ones I've conceptualized, Xián is my favourite of the Legends. You see, has what I call, the Rakdos Problem. That being, thanks to a certain Guild and a long standing opposition to the heroic and protagonist centric , they've been saddled with the reputation for being the go-to bad guys colours? The closest you get to something that breaks this mold are are anti-heroes like Angrath, the Flame-Chained. I want to make someone more outright heroic in these colours, and the combination of Warlock and Spectacle in intended to help with that.

I envisioned the Warlocks of this set to be rugged individualists, but as I worked my way through things, this changed into something more along the lines of those who celebrate existence for the sake of celebration. More heavily leaning on the , surely, but I gave texture to this by incorporating a certain degree of everyone doing their own thing, rather than cooperating for a bigger... spectacle.

I swear, I don't plan all these puns. Just most of them.

Keeping with the Five-Man Band theory, Xián would naturally fit in the concept of the Big Guy, the heavy muscle of the group, the brawler and the one to charge into the fight.

I want to make in him the Lancer instead, the complimentary contradiction to Taedere's leadership. While she goes for the group and protecting everyone, Xián should be the one to suggest action and chance-taking. Not to be inherently right or wrong, but because I want to showcase that no one alone will succeed. That the answers to what is Solle can only come from cooperation.

At first glance, Xián Anhiora is a walking wall of muscle, but such is not the whole of him. This Minotaur came to Solle, drawn not only by the untouched mana and ley lines of the new continent, but also by the thrills and dangers such an untamed land could offer him. And for a Mintotaur such as himself, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.

Xián is a good friend to all who would greet him as such, but he bears an equally terrible grudge to those who have wronged him. As a Warlock, his powers are great, and as the unofficial representative of that disparate group - because no one else wanted to - he finds himself drawn into the quest to reach the epicenter of Solle and discover that final secret.

But he'll have fun along the way. Let the others be serious.

Xián Anhiora

Picture - Xián Anhiora is a large Minotaur, and should be pushing the boundaries of his card frame, though not like a Planeswalker. His colours are black and red, and they should be vibrant colours, not dour or 'evil' in presentation. He is a person with a wide expression, and you know exactly where you stand with him at all times because he doesn't feel the need to hide things from himself or from anyone else. In all cases, Xián should be having fun, be it in combat or relaxing. Because what's life if you can't enjoy it?
Legendary Creature - Minotaur Warlock
First Strike, Trample
Spectacle - If this creature's Spectacle cost was paid, this creature comes into play with X +1/+1 counters on him, and he deals X damage to target Creature or Planeswalker.
Sacrifice a non-Creature permanent: Add , where is the mana value of that permanent. This creature deals damage to himself, and to any target. Activate this ability only as a Sorcery. This damage cannot be prevented or redirected.
"LIVE! Even if you die in the process, choose to live. There is no greater calling than that, my friend."
5/3

OK, maybe I'm fan-boying a little too much, but this is probably the best of the five I've designed, and there are intended wheels within wheels here. First of all, his keywords are straight , but they are a deceptively lethal combination, especially when combined with his power of 5.

On the other hand, his Spectacle cost is very aggressively measured, as once you've poked someone, you can have him come out bigger and better than before. For the same cost as his regular mana value, you get a 6/4 with the same abilities, making him a much more lethal combatant.

Of course, this is where his second ability comes in. While the others have abilities that directly build on one another, this one serves two purposes. First, is to make sure that you can always have Spectacle on your turn, making the other cards with the ability always have the option to pay for their effect, or to make cheaper. Of course, this does damage him in the process. No one ever said that life would be safe, right?

So why not kill him with his own ability? Why not sacrifice a couple of non-creatures (because I doubt that Xián would kill his friends) and build up enough floating mana to... I dunno... CAST HIM AGAIN. For his Spectacle cost. Making him bigger and better than before, able to then blow up more stuff for even more mana! Too much? Maybe. Absolutely awesome when it goes off in any format? Hell yeah.

At least he doesn't have Haste. Even I'm not that cruel.

Hrm, this article is now running slightly long. And I don't want to start all your eyes drooping from the information I'm presenting you with, so I'm going to split this up.

I really do want to hear your commentary below, feedback and the like. It'll help me fix up these guys, as well as refine what comes next!

But not next week. I want to go back to other things. This subject will show up in two weeks.

Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!