#mtgblr

(Caustic Bronco by Brent Hollowell)

(I do not like the Thunder Junction MTG set. Its worse sin by far is repeating the terra nullius myth in an act of blatant colonialism apologia, but that terra nullius also just means a setting nearly empty of worldbuilding and a bunch of villain characters who have way better things to do wandering into a shitty saloon. Marchesa? Rakdos?? And if this happened so recently why is it all dusty?

I do like the rattlesnake horse, though. That's fun. And I like cool mounts and this is the set that introduced mounts as a concept, so... snorse.)

CR2 TN Large Magical Beast

Snorse are magical hybrids of snake and horse, volatile and dangerous creatures created as mounts of war. They proved to be ill-tempered and dangerous rides, and most that did not escape were culled. Feral populations now roam areas of chaparral and desert, where their endurance and speed combined with their venom makes them deadly hunters; ironically, their preferred prey is horses, as they can match their running capabilities. 

A small domestic population of snorse have endured, and they are mostly kept as pets and novelties for the particularly adventurous. Some keepers remove the venom glands of the animal to make them safer to own and ride; others consider this abuse. Although the original project was a failure, individual snorse have subsequently been tamed and used as war mounts, where their venomous bite and intimidating presence has been put to good use. Outlaws and fledgling nations alike may flock around a snorse rider, as the creatures have become a status symbol of might and cruelty.

It’s objectively bad. Also, wotc’s done worse. They literally invented booster packs, in case you forgot, and you’ve been giving them money up til now. You can stop if you want—we stopped a long time ago, and we still play the game—but don’t expect me to join your social media crusade just because this is where you finally realize how bad capitalism is. Because seriously, that’s how you people are acting.

More importantly, in case you missed it, Israel’s now bombing 3 countries (including my home). So I couldn’t give less of a fuck about what you think is the point of no return in a game that’s always been made by one of the grossest corporations in the world. If you haven’t yet reconciled your moral insufficiency and learned the ways you can and can’t have fun despite the horrible world we live in? Don’t put that on the rest of us.

(Prowling Nightstalker by Keith Parkinson)

(Nightstalkers are an example of how early MtG preferred splitting creature types, whereas modern MtG prefers lumping. Nowadays these would just be typed as Zombies or Spirits, but because of old cards they got grandfathered into their own creature type, which makes them stick out as their own thing.

Mechanically, I though that "they use rifles" was an interesting hook- the set they're in, Portal Second Age, was notable for being the only Magic cards with guns in their art until they started bringing in external IPs. So now you can give your zombie army some backline artillery!)

NE CR3 Undead

Nightstalkers are artificial undead created as shock troops to serve wicked spellcasters, typically in plans of conquest and campaigns of terror. They are specially created for long-range combat, a role that most undead falter at, and are traditionally outfitted not with bows but with muskets; lieutenants may use more powerful weapons, like a blunderbuss or a double musket. 

Nightstalkers rarely disobey orders, but they are not particularly organized or well-behaved troops. If not kept busy, they will find entertainment for themselves by forming loose raiding parties and looking for victims to fire at. As the name suggests, they are generally nocturnal, and are quite capable of moving stealthily and speedily when they need to, but prefer to sing and cheer when on the warpath. A land tormented by nightstalkers knows not to travel at night, and to fear the howling, hissing songs of these cruel undead. 

Powerful nightstalkers advance by class; typically ranger or gunslinger, but dirge bards are not unheard of.

Creating a Nightstalker

Nightstalkers are created using the spell Create Undead. Creating a nightstalker requires a corpse that has been submerged in acidic, low-oxygen water for at least a month to dessicate it. A magic user must be at least caster level 12 to create a nightstalker.

(Silver Myr by Kev Walker)

(I FUCKING LOVE MYR! They're cute, they're iconic, they're interesting bits of worldbuilding... I HAD to make 'em! Mercifully, I've separated Mirrodin from New Phyrexia, and created the Plane of Steel, a fun little plot hook roughly referencing Mirrodin's creation. If you want to make these native to the Plane of Metal- new to PF2- or simply old machines of a dead culture, feel free.

Also, this will contain rules for Mana Myr, which I spiraled off the five colors of Magic, but expect more myr in the future!)

Myr are mysterious creatures native to the Plane of Steel, an artificial plane ripped from the Plane of Earth and turned into a vast network of self-sustaining machines. Myr themselves are the most common denizens of the plane, servitors to an unknown master and performing upkeep on their more complicated cohabitants.

Myr have been imported from the Plane of Steel in rare quantities, and serve as a rare treasure on the Material Plane, loyal servants infused with magical energy. Some, however, fear inviting such mysterious creatures into their homes, especially paranoid wizards and watchful politicians, as it's a known fact that myr are vulnerable to scrying- and it's a distinct possibility that their master is still watching.

Myr are unique among constructs in being easily repairable once slain. Upon reaching 0 health, a construct with the Myr subtype is not destroyed; rather, it turns inactive, and will reactivate upon being returned to positive hit points. However, a myr that reaches -20hp is destroyed as usual. Additionally, the knowledge of how to create myr has been lost or well-hidden, and they lack rules for construction. Fortunately for myr, they are capable of reproducing themselves, although attempts to study how they do so have not succeeded in creating animate constructs.

There are thousands of different kinds of myr, most being only slight modifications on a basic design; what is presented are some common archetypes and a few notable variations.

Mana Myr

(Myr Moonvessel by Danny Orizio)

Among the most common servitor myr, mana myr work on the machinery that makes up the bulk of the Plane of Metal, and these servitors are attuned to one of the eight schools of magic. Of the myr of the plane, it is the mana myr who are most desired, and those who find themselves in possession of multiple, or let them reproduce, sell them for exorbitant prices.

Each school of magic produces a myr of a different color. Even though they are all made of the same substance, the magic forged into their bodies makes them appear as one of a variety of colors; the mana myr of each school of magic is named after a metal or mineral it resembles.

(Plague Myr by Efrem Palacios)

I'm back in the Myr Mines! There are a lot of myr in MtG, and although most the original batch are just Weird Big Robots, by Scars Myr had solidified to be "small guys that might make mana" and so we got a lot of variations on that theme- which of course makes it interesting to modify my own mana myr stat block! These are two myr that you may not want to use so lightly...

what cards would you for SURE put in this deck??? My theme is cowboys !!!! Im looking for any and all suggestions!!!