Naya: the Mechannening
Custom Cards forum
Posted on Dec. 15, 2019, 3:44 p.m. by ZendikariWol
Yes, I continue to jabber about my return block to Alara. Sorry, a guy needs feedback. So, what do I need feedback on this time? Naya. Naya is a problem to make mechanics for, because NAYA doesn't have a clear mechanical identity.
Naya's first mechanic interacted with "power 5 or greater," something that is pretty not great. The thing is, it's not bad, it's just a very Timmy mechanic. Now, Timmy needs just as many cards as the next psychographic, don't get me wrong, but I would prefer if everyone can get something out of a given mechanic. That said, I've got a couple mechanics thought up. What do you guys think? I'm sure some of them could use tweaking, and I can only select one so I need to make a lot of choices here. Could use help.
Harmony- Whenever you tap a land to add mana that shares a color with cardname...
Harmony- Whenever you tap a land for mana...
Harmony- As you cast cardname, you may reveal a card that fits certain specifications from your hand. If you do...
Jubilation- Whenever trigger, you may tap any number of untapped creatures or lands you control. If you do...
ZendikariWol says... #3
I love that idea as a commander player, Funkydiscogod, but I think it’s got a couple of issues.
1) Spike would HATE that.
2) the keyword “Harmony” refers to Naya’s people being in harmony with nature, not the players being in harmony with one another.
3) I need to change that keyword. Harmony is wrong. It’s more like Celebration. It’s not that everything is happy and everyone is joyous, it’s that the people of Naya are going to die, and they don’t care. Green is all about acceptance, and the Nayans have accepted that there are things out there that are stronger than them and that they could die ay any time, so they celebrate life while they have it.
For reasons 2 and 3, your mechanic doesn’t necessarily jive with the flavor of bant.
December 16, 2019 12:15 a.m.
We need background - what does Naya look like on your ALara 2? How do the other 4 factions look on Alara 2?
In a vacuum, I think that this mechanic is very Naya:
Bellow {cost} (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may pay the Bellow cost. If you do, create 0/0 beast token with X counters on it, where X is this creature's power.)
Example:
Naya Shaman
Creature - Human Shaman (uncommon)
Haste, Below
2/2
So, this creature can be: a 2/2 with haste, a 2/2 with haste that brings a 2/2 beast friend, or if you buff it in response to the trigger - an X/X with haste with an X/X friend.
Or something like this:
Beckon - When you cast this creature, you may pay and declare a creature type. If you do, look at the top X cards of your library. You may reveal a creature with X power or less from among them and put it in your hand.
Or how about a reverse Adamant:
Nayadamant - If you paid at least to cast this creature, do X.
December 16, 2019 5:36 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #5
Prepare yourself a lot of background, Boza.
Bant- of the five shards, Bant was hit the hardest by the conflux, as Malfegor's forces charged against it. Unprepared, Bant was initially outmatched by a wide margin. However, the tide turned in time. Eventually, Bant allowed nacatl and elves from Naya, a fiercer place, and cunning tactical minds from Esper into their ranks. Slowly, the shard stabilized. Bant now thrives on its diversity, accepting "penitents" from all shards into its ranks. That diversity, however, is only skin-deep, and Bant is a nation united in purpose.
Unity- whenever (trigger), you may tap an untapped creature you control. If you do, (effect).
Esper- Esper hasn't changed much... except, the discovery of how to produce more Etherium has taken their goal to its natural extreme. Not only do they intend to coat Esper in Etherium -and they have- now they aim to cover every inch of Alara in Etherium... one permanent at a time.
Etherium Counters- a permanent with an Etherium counter on it is an artifact in addition to its other types.
Grixis- Grixis has softened somewhat. Presented with Naya, Jund, and Bant -planes with an abundance of life- the few vitals still remaining have become a negligible minority, ignored by the demonlords. Most of them escaped to Jund, unprepared for the civility of Bant or the threat of death ever-present on Naya. The demonlords, however, are not finished. New rituals are being performed, using an amount of life energy that would have been unprecedented prior to the Conflux. For example...
Transpose- you may cast this card from your graveyard by exiling a creature card from your graveyard in addition to paying this spell’s other costs.
Jund- Jund's food chain has... settled down a bit since we last visited. However, the plane is still defined by consumption, whether you're the consumer or consumed. Predator devours prey, prey strengthens predator. Such is the cycle of life on Jund. The only significant difference is that with Esper butting in, the Dragons are irritated and despise technology- especially Etherium.
Predation- Whenever this creature attacks, you may sacrifice another creature. If you do, (effect).
Naya- Life on Naya is a celebration of life itself, but instead of worshiping the Gargantuans, the Nayans have learned to embrace every form of life. The Gargantuans still exist, they're still revered to some extent, but the Nayans have learned to see the beauty in everything.
I want Naya's mechanic to feel like it's celebrating nature, gaining insight not only from its majesty, but from its oneness and the guidance of instinct.
December 16, 2019 12:35 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #6
Funkydiscogod, because Alara has changed a lot, but if you take a moment to look at what the mechanics are doing, you‘ll recognize the factions. The Return to Ravnica block shared no mechanics with original Ravnica. Is it still Ravnica? Clearly! Because, while the mechanics are different, the factions and their mechanical (and flavorful) aims remain the same.
December 16, 2019 6:27 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #7
1) Star Wars is an immensely overrated series.
2) actually you got me there. Better example- Return to Return to Ravnica block shared but one mechanic with EITHER of the two that came before it.
December 16, 2019 8:07 p.m.
Here are some ideas:
1/ Resonance - When ~ enters the battlefield, compare the number of creatures you control with the number of lands you control. If you control more creatures than lands, do X. Otherwise, do Y.
King of the Jungle
Creature - Cat beast (Uncommon)
Resonance - When ~ enters the battlefield, compare the number of creatures you control with the number of lands you control. If you control more creatures than lands, add . Otherwise, put 2 +1/+1 counters on it.
4/4
2/ Introduce Convoke to Naya? Landfall will also fit well. Sometimes, re-inventing the wheel is not necessary.
3/ Introduce a batching word, for example, Savage (Beasts, shamans and Dinosaurs are savage).
4/ What better way to celebrate unity with all than Global Enchantments? New Keyword Adorn - you may pay the Adorn cost to cast this creature. If you do, it becomes an Idol enchantment.
King of the Jungle
Creature - Cat Beast (Uncommon)
~'s power and toughness are equal to twice the number of cats you control. If ~ is an enchantment, cats you control get +1/+2.
Adorn
star/star
December 17, 2019 5:26 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #9
What if it’s something a bit simpler-
Celebrate mana cost- pay mana cost and tap an untapped creature and land you control. (This makes a sort of kicker variant)
Celebrate mana cost- you may cast this card for its Celebrate cost if a creature and a land entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
Those both seem legit, thank you for getting me there. Which do you like better?
Boza you have pointed out to me something very important. I’m pushing too white on this design. I think that Celebrate pushes both the red and the white side of green in cool ways. Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed?
December 17, 2019 5:50 a.m.
These are both fine. At this point you have to look at the synergies between those abilities to determine what to do. If the other 4 are set in stone, which of the abilities synergizes best with the 3 other shards that share colors with it? How does that fit into the story you are trying to present? What sort of gameplay do these present?
For example, "Celebrate mana cost- you may cast this card for its Celebrate cost if a creature and a land entered the battlefield under your control this turn." - this promotes having a lot of 0-drops and 1-drops in your deck in order to most effectively take advantage of the ability. Is this the sort of gameplay you want for Naya?
December 17, 2019 6:56 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #11
You’re right, Boza, I want something more derivative of the first one, which means that I might want something different for Bant or that this mechanic needs tweaking.
December 17, 2019 1:34 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #12
I need a name for this mechanic, but maybe instead of Celebrate, we have a mechanic that interacts with "creatures with greater power?" I'm thinking "Reverence" right now, but that doesn't really cover the Sunseeders' view on the gargantuans. I think I'm going to contrast that with a gargantuan mechanic, "Majesty," which interacts, as you may have guessed, with "creatures with lesser power."
For Esper... I'll be real with you, chief, I have no idea. I need a mechanic but... maybe reuse Metalcraft? Idk, I think I can find something to better imply the cold logic and drive of Esper.
ZendikariWol says... #2
Funny story- I was actually really into the idea of a fixed banding for Bant, but couldn’t think of a way to make it work.
Anyway, none of the mechanics I mentioned work. They’re all either to wordy or too strong. But I don’t want Naya on enchantments because it’s so mechanically tied to creatures.
I really, really like the idea of a mechanic that interacts with creatures and lands, as I think the nature flavor with that is very strong. Problem is, lands and creatures share very few qualities, so I’m kind of SOL there.
Any ideas on how I can make a mechanic that feels like a celebration of nature?
December 15, 2019 9:37 p.m.