Title: Jakkard: Wild Cards Designer: chinkeeyong Status: Public
Intro from the creator: As part of my exploration of Magic design that isn't related to card sets, I decided to try my hand at making a challenge deck in the vein of Face the Hydra. Over the course of one day, I hammered it out. Welcome to Taramir: The Dark Tide.
The Dark Tide is a special challenge deck for a team of one to four players, inspired by Tevish Szat's Taramir. The plane is in the throes of the Waning, beset by evil on all sides, and you've been tasked to defend the Grand Fortress that holds the last bastion of civilization. Your doom is coming. How long can you survive against the dark tide?
Rules
In the Dark Tide special event, your team of survivors starts with a shared life total of 30 (the integrity of the Grand Fortress). You take your turns at the same time. Before the Dark Tide hits, you get a few precious turns to prepare and set up your defenses. How many you get is determined by the difficulty level you choose:
6 Turns - Roots of the World. A suitable difficulty level for Limited decks or intro decks.
5 Turns - Dreams of Ruin. A suitable difficulty level for kitchen table Constructed decks.
4 Turns - Broken Throne. A suitable difficulty level for Standard decks or event decks.
2 Turns - The Doom of Fools. Not suitable for any sane player to attempt.
After the last turn of preparation, the Dark Tide arrives. On the Dark Tide turn, it plays the top card of the Dark Tide deck. (Dark Tide spells can't be countered.) After that card has resolved, each Dark Tide creature attacks the Grand Fortress if able. Then the turn passes back to the survivors.
The Dark Tide isn't a player, but it counts as one for the purposes of cards like Propaganda and Cruel Edict. It can pay an infinite amount of life and/or mana of any color. The survivors make all choices for the Dark Tide. The Dark Tide doesn't have a hand, library, or graveyard. If one or more Dark Tide cards would be put into a zone other than the stack or battlefield, they're put on the bottom of the Dark Tide deck in a random order instead.
If you feel courageous (or sadistic), you can send your creatures beyond the Fortress's walls, to fight the Dark Tide directly or to search for lost knowledge. If you attack the Dark Tide with your creatures, you choose how the Dark Tide blocks. For each unblocked creature, you may draw a card. But none are spared from the toll of night: at end of combat, sacrifice all the creatures you attacked with.
There is no victory condition. The Grand Fortress is doomed to fall. But you have the luxury of going back in time to try again, to see how long you can hold out before the inevitable arrives. Survive long enough, and you might even find your place in Lorekeeper Morgan's Hall of Fame:
Survived 4 Dark Tide turns - Glory Seeker. At least your death was swift.
Survived 6 Dark Tide turns - Night Watch. You fought valiantly, but were no match for the darkness in the end.
Survived 8 Dark Tide turns - Weary Veteran. You made sure the nightstalkers paid in blood.
Survived 10 Dark Tide turns - Explorer of the Everdark. You stood against the dark tide without fear.
Survived 12 Dark Tide turns - Rasilla's Honor Guard. Your prowess in adversity is unmatched.
Survived 15+ Dark Tide turns - Indomitable Light. Taramir dies, but your legacy will live forever.
For each survivor, the Dark Tide puts two 2/2 black Nightstalker creature tokens with haste and wither onto the battlefield. (A source with wither deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters.)
Arixomor, Discord's Whisper Legendary Creature - Nightstalker (S) 6/5
When Arixomor, Discord's Whisper enters the battlefield, tap all creatures each survivor controls.
Dread Maw of the Abyss Creature - Horror (S) 3/2
Deathtouch At the beginning of each survivor's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature.
Drown the World in Rot Sorcery (S)
Each survivor sacrifices an artifact, a creature, an enchantment, a land, and a planeswalker.
Ebon Wings Blot Out the Stars Sorcery (S)
For each survivor, the Dark Tide puts a 5/5 black Demon creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
Echoes of Darkest Corruption Enchantment (S)
Whenever a creature dies, the Grand Fortress loses 1 life.
Forsaken by Death's Embrace Enchantment (S)
At the beginning of each survivor's upkeep, that player exiles two cards from his or her graveyard. The Dark Tide puts a 1/1 black and green Worm creature token with wither onto the battlefield for each card exiled this way. (A source with wither deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters.)
Glimmer of Fragile Hope Sorcery (S)
Dark Tide creatures can't attack this turn.
Glimpse Terrible Oblivion Sorcery (S)
Destroy all nonland permanents each survivor controls.
Khavus, the Darkness Unending Legendary Creature - Nightstalker (S) 5/3
Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) Other Dark Tide creatures get +1/+1 and have menace.
Krexidar, Who Paints the Sun Red Legendary Creature - Demon (S) 5/3
Flying When Krexidar, Who Paints the Sun Red enters the battlefield, until the next Dark Tide turn, survivors can't cast spells or activate abilities, and creatures they control can't attack.
Lay Bare Damnation's Wake Sorcery (S)
Play two additional cards from the Dark Tide deck.
Merciless Ravages of Time Enchantment (S)
At the beginning of each survivor's upkeep, put a -1/-1 counter on each creature that player controls.
Nocterath, Who Kills Unseen Legendary Creature - Demon (S) 2/6
Flying, hexproof Other Dark Tide creatures get +1/+1 and have hexproof.
Orvoxis, Who Breathes Untruth Legendary Creature - Demon (S) 6/4
Flying When Orvoxis, Who Breathes Untruth enters the battlefield, each survivor discards two cards.
Spawn Countless Worms Sorcery (S)
Each survivor sacrifices a land. The Dark Tide puts four 1/1 black and green Worm creature tokens with wither onto the battlefield for each land sacrificed this way. (A source with wither deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters.)
The Peaks Weep Tears of Fire Sorcery (S)
Each survivor sacrifices an artifact and a land. The Peaks Weep Tears of Fire deals 5 damage to the Grand Fortress and to each planeswalker each survivor controls.
Alternate Mode: Survive to a New Dawn
In an alternate timeline of the Multiverse, Taramir's fall to the Eternal Night is not inevitable. It seems impossible, but a new dawn awaits at the end of the impenetrable darkness for the Grand Fortress - if its heroes can defend it long enough. These alternate rules add a victory condition for Taramir: The Dark Tide.
If one or more Dark Tide cards would be put into a hand or library, they're put on the bottom of the Dark Tide deck in a random order instead. If one or more Dark Tide cards would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile them instead. When there are no cards left in the Dark Tide deck, you win the game.
Joined: Dec 20, 2015 Posts: 7
Preferred Pronoun Set: he/him
It's easy enough to design a deck specifically to beat the dark tide (Orim's Chant + Isochron Scepter, assuming dark tide cards have CMC 0 Void Winnower would also work well), but if you don't it looks like it would be a lot of fun, especially against commander decks.
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