Veltrum is a world bound to its past. Supernatural events of overwhelming power have brought existence to ruin over and over again, and powerful remnants of the past still linger, vying for dominance. Existance is ever changing, swaying in correlation with the power struggles of history reincarnated.

This is partially a workspace, and partially me telling me to stop slacking and get started on making stuff by doing something public. Name is subject to change.

Mechanics
• Phenomena
• Glory

Phenomena
• The Crimson Rain
• The Verdant Nimbus

Races

Locations

Phenomena
Throughout history, Veltrum has undergone many significant events. While the past is usually contained in libraries, habitants of Veltrum need only look to the sky to confirm the mistakes done by magi of old. Mechanically, this is represented by Phenomena, global effects that continuously change during the game.



Shame about lack of space for flavor text. Oh well, I'll go into detail on each one later.
As usual, prismatic mana may be spent as mana of any color. I'm not putting remind text in reminder text.

Oh hey it's those things again.

Indeed.

Do the phenomenon cancel each other out or stack? It's not very clear as festivals.

Why is the Reminder Text Reminder Text? Seems gimmicky.

They cancel each other out, otherwise the mechanic would be dumb. I know the reminder text is a little bit lacking in how descriptive it is, but I hope I can make up for it with booster inserts. You'll see in my next post here what I mean.

Several reasons. Ease of reference, mechanical importance, flavor purposes and because I really wouldn't know how to implement it as rules text.

The Scarlet Rain
The fall of Devin's son heralds the first uprising in Veltrum history. As vedalken blood soaked the pavements of Nestrand, humanity rebelled against their callous masters. By murdering the young heir, Olvara reached for freedom and removed the shackles of fear that had chained them for so long. However, by plunging the vedalken into chaos, other factions saw opportunities. In a land that had remained static for so long, bottled up greed and hate were all unleashed. The sparks for a battle that would seemingly never cease had just been created.


As the rain turns red, Veltrum is reminded of its grim past. These days, the droplets of blood are an inspiration for deranged cultists, encouragement for those seeking freedom, and a memento to all of those who long for battle. Olvara's voice echoes in the ripples, calling you to take initiative and claim what you seek.

Glory
During the carnage of The Scarlet Rain, troops from all over the land clashed with each other. Some with ambition of conquest, others driven merely by bloodlust. However, a select few individuals fought with honor, for comrades and freedom. The rebels of old still inspire the individuals of today to strive for a better future, and reach for their goals through actions.


Glory is an ability word that appears in White and Red, and rewards attacking and blocking. "In combat" is technically not a defined state, but Silly told me to do it anyways, because being able to remove things from combat does exist. In other words, a creature is in combat while attacking or blocking.

Could the recruiter instead be renamed into some kind of martyr? Seems weird to recruit when you die, but people dying as martyrs classically recruit more to the cause.

Nice keyword overall. Has cool applications, design space, and flavor.

Olvara's Monument

Artifact (C)

Olvara's Monument enters the battlefield tapped. When it does, the Scarlet Rain comes to pass. (Until the next phenomenon comes to pass, creatures have haste.)

Rebellious Urges

Sorcery (U)

If the Scarlet Rain has come to pass, you may cast Rebellious Urges without paying its mana cost.
Gain control of target tapped creature you don't control until end of turn. Untap it. That creature gains haste until end of turn.

Reckless Hooligan

Creature - Human Rebel (C)
2/1

Glory - When Reckless Hooligan dies in combat, discard up to two cards, then draw that many cards.

"Let me demonstrate why that's a terrible idea."

Thanks. I personally would have liked to call it something less heroic sounding that glory, but none of the other options I found were very appealing.

@Recruiter: Maybe. I don't really like Martyr specifically though, nor do I know of any befitting synonyms. Not really on board with the current name either though, so I wouldn't mind changing it. Possibly something regarding to inspiring.

Glory is basically what I'm doing in my third set of my kung fu block, although simply worded as dies in battle, and aslo triggers on fight.

That sounds hella weird.
I considered something similar to the reminder text though. Couldn't decide on "during this phenomenon" or "until another phenomenon appears", but the first one just felt more right.


Considered this too, but then it sounds like it's free as long as it has happened at some point during the game.


Was uncertain whether I should drop "while" or not, but I kept it because the templating of it corresponds more to what I expect. I wouldn't, for example, word a card "If ~ dies attacking or blocking", despite how that looks more like a sentence.

Sorry, I guess I took all the glory.
keke

That's okay, mine isn't keyworded because 13 > 14 (keywords that is)

You may cast Rebellious Urges without paying its mana cost during the Scarlet Rain.

I do like that better, but I don't want to introduce too much terminology.
Although it's already using for phases and steps, so maybe not.
Not entirely sure.
Would still go with the 0 wording though, it feels neater somehow.

The Verdant Nimbus
The war seemed to have no end in sight, but no fire can burn forever. Resources slowly dried up as the world was turned into a massive battlefield. In the end, each territory became equal; dry and lifeless. The restless warriors who had long since forgotten why they started finally became tired, and a form of peace could be seen in the bleak and desolate reality. This current state could have lasted for millenia, were it not for the efforts of the spectacular druid Lilja. Entranced by fairy tales about forests as she grew up, she dedicated herself to nature, and listened to its endless cries. She assembled a council to give fertility back to the land. Through the shared efforts of 20 magi, she commanded the world to grow. Nature, however, has a bottomles hunger. As they connected their mana to the earth, the earth held tight. An entire city of people watched as the magi before them slowly collapsed, leaving only expressions of desperation and agony behind. Nature would once again thrive, more bountiful than ever. As treeetops coated heaven in leaves, civilization was plunged into darkness.


As the clouds grow wide and cover themselves in leaves, the world flourishes. Nature celebrates in its bounty as it reaches for the skies, and druids around rejoice. As The Verdant Nimbus manifests, we remind ourselves to treat nature with both care and fear.

Not a fan of the Verdant Nimbus because out of all the phenomena, it's the most likely to screw you over when suddenly deactivated. Losing haste on all your creatures is a minor inconvenience. Losing your manafixing is brutal. What if this phenomenon was Eladamri's Vineyard or Heartbeat of Spring or Rites of Flourishing instead?

I agree, I don't like it either. Ideally, I wouldn't want players to rely on it for their mana fixing for spells, but I'm not sure if that is feasible. It's not really needed, so I could technically just discard it, although I would prefer to have 5 rather than 4 phenomena.
They should all be effects that you could get from 1 mana though, and Heartbeat of Springs certainly isn't. Rites of Flourishing is also a stretch, but my primary objection against it is that The Twin Moons in some ways already covers it. I don't like Vineyard because I want sorcery-speed phenomena to have immediate benefit, and wording such a thing properly can't be pretty.