Hoist the Colors High

Here we go, my first attempt to organize this mess in my brain into a coherent article. I have a lot of Magic card ideas. And I have a lot of ideas for settings in which those cards exist. At different times, my brain might be fixated on making cards for a Journey-to-the-Center-of-the-Earth-style Lost World, a treacherous desert wasteland, a world inspired by Norse myth, or cultures that worship ancient animal spirits as ancestral gods. You'll probably be seeing cards from each of those on this blog at some point or another. But the setting I'd like to share right now is another one - a world of adventure on the high seas.

There's a lot of material to mine, here. Naval adventure is something that has captured people's attention time and again. Swashbuckling rogues, dignified naval uniform, the thrill of exploration and discovery of unknown horizons, and the frictions that emerge when cultures meet for the first time. Those are all things that feel right at home in a Magic: The Gathering world, and I want to explore how they might be brought together.

What's the very first thing that comes to mind when you think of high-seas adventure? For almost everyone reading this, I bet that thought was "Pirates." That was my first thought, too, and that's where I'm going to begin. There have been a handful of Pirates and related cards throughout Magic history, but not many. In trying to make Pirates a major element of this world, though, I'm going to need to narrow down just what sort of feel I want them to have. I want to define what being a Pirate means in the context of this world, and in the context of the game. So, what does a pirate do?

1) They steal things. This is fairly obvious. Pirates loot and plunder and take what they want from whomever they can. They steal riches, supplies, whatever their hearts desire.

2) They don't fight fair. They're not going to line up their ships in a nice, neat line and take turns firing cannons. They're going to ambush you, hit you before you realize what's happening, and make off with your cargo before you can muster a proper counterattack.

3) They work as a crew. This is something important to keep in mind, I think. Pirates are distinguished from other sorts of thieves and rogues by their need to work together to keep their ship in proper working order. Not to say that things are always harmonious (there's always the occasional mutiny or violent dispute over loot, for example) but the underlying structure of a pirate crew is one of teamwork and cooperation.

4) They have little respect for law and government. Pirates don't follow rules other than those they've made for themselves. They certainly don't follow the rules of whatever power seeks to exert control over the free waters. They're highly individualistic and value the freedom to operate as they please as much as their desire to acquire wealth and excitement. Some pirates do operate under the authority of government (privateers) but this is generally just a loophole to be able to do what they would do anyway without a navy trying to stop them.

That's not an exhaustive list by any means but I think it's a good starting point. Looking at these qualities, I can determine a few things about how Pirates might work in the world of Magic. First, their colors: I see this tribe fitting into Blue, Black, and Red. BLUE: Besides the obvious connection to water, blue is a color strongly associated with theft and sneaky, underhanded tactics. I also see this as the home for the more "respectable" privateer types. BLACK: Pirates are greedy and can often be cruel. This is also an apt home for the exceedingly popular Zombie Pirate trope. Maybe an undead fleet crewed by damned souls controls a portion of this world's waters. RED: Pirates love their freedom, and are rowdy, raucous, impulsive sorts. Here are the buccaneers who care more about the thrill of adventure than acquiring a fortune, spending their earnings on drink and entertainment when they're back at port. They're fiercely independent, but bond together out of a sense of brotherhood and shared animosity towards those who seek to control the seas.

Next, what sort of mechanical identity should they have? What does a "Pirate deck" want to be doing? Again, we look at the list above. They need to be aggressive, wanting to attack early and often. They need to be tricky, keeping your opponent off-balance with surprise attacks, cheap tricks, and evasion. They need to benefit from numbers, working best with the support of their crewmates at their side. Combat damage triggers sound like a good plan. The existing card Coastal Piracy certainly agrees on that point. But just putting that sort of trigger on a bunch of pirates isn't terribly exciting. Can we give it a twist? Something to make it feel more like it belongs here and not just anywhere? I have the thought to fold the idea of teamwork into the equation: make the triggers work not when the one creature damages your opponent, but when two or more break through. It's not a lone marauder, here, but a member of a crew. These creatures will need someone alongside them to maximize the benefits of the carnage and confusion they sow. But enough of me talking, here's some examples:


Freeport Pickpocket (common)
U
Creature - Human Pirate
1/1
Plunder - Whenever Freeport Pickpocket and one or more other creatures deal combat damage to a player, draw a card.


Bleachskull Enlister (uncommon)
2BB
Creature - Zombie Pirate
3/3
Plunder - Whenever Bleachskull Enlister and one or more other creatures deal combat damage to a player, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.


Freeport Liberator (rare)
3RR
Creature - Human Pirate
4/4
Haste
Plunder - Whenever Freeport Liberator and one or more other creatures deal combat damage to a player, put two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens onto the battlefield.

A dockside thief who picks your pocket while his crewmate distracts you. An undead mariner who pressgangs the fallen into servitude. A daring outlaw who grants freedom to the enslaved. All good stuff. But besides a keyword, we need other things as well, that help enable these cards and flesh out the setting more fully.


Cunning Scoundrel (common)
U
Creature - Human Pirate
1/1
Intimidate


Slipstream Conjurer (uncommon)
2U
Creature - Merfolk Wizard
1/2
XUU, T: Up to X target creatures with power 2 or less are unblockable this turn.


Murderous Plot (uncommon)
2BB
Sorcery
Up to two target creatures each get +2/+0 and gain intimidate until end of turn.


Imperial Blockade (common)
W
Creature - Wall
0/3
Defender
Imperial Blockade can block any number of creatures.


Skillful Riposte (common)
W
Instant
Target creature gains first strike until end of turn. Untap that creature.

I'll cut this off here for now, but I'll definitely be returning to this setting at a later date to explore more aspects of the world (naval empire, merfolk monarchy, and more!) and refine what's already been done here. Feel free to leave feedback, in a comment here or by contacting me on Twitter (@luminumcan). Thanks for reading!

Welcome!

Hello, everybody! This will be a blog that collects my thoughts about Magic: The Gathering. Often, I'll be talking about card design; I have every intention of working my way towards becoming a designer at Wizards of the Coast, but until then I need to practice and hone my craft. I'll share whatever ideas happen to be floating through my mind, the thought processes behind them, what I'm stumped by, and so on. I'll also frequently be sharing thoughts on actual Magic cards, what I think about their design, what I like and dislike about the state of the game today. Sometimes I'll talk about Constructed, sometimes I'll talk about Limited. Sometimes I'll just talk about decks I want to build, whether I end up following through or not. Any thought I have even tangentially related to M:TG has the potential to be shared here. And to kick things off, I'll start by sharing some of my own custom card designs. Another post will be going up soon. I love feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts with me, be they praise, criticism, or just saying "Hi!" Just keep in mind that I reserve the right to moderate anything posted here that I feel doesn't meet the standards of a reasonable discussion; personal insults, threats, and the like won't be tolerated, whether directed towards me or anyone else.