#wizardsmagic

I've sat on my feelings for most of the day, sort of thinking them over, and I think I want to share my present feelings on the topic.

I'll put my extended thoughts below the break, but or a quick version: I'm not against other properties being allowed to use the MtG ruleset for their own unique takes on the game with cards created from the ground up to represent their properties, but people shouldn't be forced to interact with them if they play formats other than standard. @wizardsmagic should create a format, or variations on existing formats, to allow for mixed property play, to allow people that want to blend these properties together to do so, but otherwise restrict Universes Beyond properties to playing only amongst themselves. That is the only way I see this keeping the game from becoming an incomprehensible mashup or unrelated properties.

   "Fblthp had always hated crowds, and so he ventured into the deep forests beyond the comfort of the magisters gardens. The dense woods unravelled their mysteries for young fblthp and in a moment of illumination, he realised he was no longer lost and no longer alone". Here is a fan illustration for MTG. Fblthp is one of my favourite characters over the years and I felt like I wanted to carry on his story in some ways. I thought it would be really nice if he was able to finally find himself some more of his own kind and not be lost anymore. I hope you enjoy this illustration as much as I enjoyed painting it! I would love to see this as part of MTG. 

If you would like to see more of my work, please go here:

https://www.artstation.com/samuelsart

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelmatthews1/

@wizardsmagic

  @mtgfanart

@cardboard-crack

@gaming

@fantasyartwatch

I work at an after-school program, the third one of my career and the second Magic club I’ve run. These are middle-schoolers that I play Magic with, and while rambunctious, they’re fairly well-behaved compared to a number of other kids I’ve seen around the school. The fundamentals of magic are established, although there’s questions about equipment, what’s a spell, triggered abilities, etc. Again, they’re learning; they’re not quite at the “breakthrough” grokking point of the game yet.

We have a new member who’s been coming to the program for a couple weeks, who I’ll call “Grant.” Grant is a golden child of sorts, soft-spoken and completely harmless, and he loves Magic. He’s spoken about the local game store, and his mother and I have conversations when she comes to pick him up. The last time we talked, she mentioned tournaments, and even though I explained what a “draft” was and what the time frames were all about, I hesitated.

Why? Because I’ve been to these tournaments, and the behavior there isn’t suitable for kids Grant’s age. There’s constant swearing, sexual humor, general adult ramblings and other aspects that I would never allow in our own club. And I want Grant to be able to come and learn Magic, because in our conversation, his mother asked if drafting and tournaments were a good way to increase skill level. They are the best way to practice, and the best way to learn. Failing begets reflection.

But I don’t want Grant to have to learn in an environment like this, an environment that I cannot condone for preteens. This is the age where they’re getting the most invested in Magic, and it’s the age where those sorts of environments teach them the worst behavior for children their age.

Adults gather together and have adult times. And the audience for Magic is relatively mature, resulting in language, humor, and conversation that naturally ebbs towards what would be “inappropriate” for middle-schoolers. I swear in casual conversation, but I keep it out of the club. And when my older club kids come around, I try to lessen it, because I still feel obligated to be some sort of role model. One of them I met when he was Grant’s age, and he’s an older teenager now, and I still feel guilty for swearing around them. 

That’s one of the reasons that I brought up MTG Arena to Grant’s mother. It’s a learning program where he can play Magic, draft Magic, and learn with her in a controlled environment. I can’t use Arena personally; it’s just not for me. But it’s perfect for kids like Grant. And yet, it’s lacking in community. The reason why we have Magic clubs and why we have LGS tournaments is for the camaraderie that comes with playing together. It just so happens that the in-person games are frequently inhospitable to young, malleable minds.

What can @wizardsmagic do to help? I believe it begets Wizards and MTG tournament developers to create a junior league. I would be elated to teach kids how to play in that place, how to be competitive without the constant pressures of adults around them. Tournaments are intimidating for kids when they’re beginning to learn. A tournament of like-minded players their age would be radically popular with both children and parents alike. What if we could have a preliminary league for young players, a jumping-off point to bring them into a Magic competitive scene, but without the harshness of adult competition?

I want Grant and his mother to be able to delve into Magic without forcing Grant into places that are not appropriate for him. That’s one of the reasons I’ll always keep a Magic club up and running. In the grand scheme, I can only start to help, but maybe one day there will be greater chances for him to learn.

I stopped by the Magic Grand Prix in Orlando on Sunday as Liliana.... everyone was wonderful, got some fun games in, picked up a few new cards and grabbed a gorgeous new playmat.

Faction Name: No internal name. Outsiders have yet to agree on whether this faction should be considered a kingdom or a single growing, slithering being. It’s called variously “the Beast,” “Silumgar’s Hold,” “the Rotted Lands,” or simply “the Mire.”

Dragonlord: Silumgar, the Creeping Death, the Great Beast

Dragonlord’s Seat: The Palace Animate, sited in the oldest part of the Rotted Lands and the first region the dragonlord claimed, given the name “Weeping Heart” by the Sultai who watched in confusion at its transformation before it claimed them too. Silumgar’s body rests within the throne chamber on a great couch of jade, surrounded by heaps of treasure overgrown with vines and rot. His mind and will, however, are manifest everywhere within the Rotted Lands, and he is aware of everything that occurs within. Wherever an emissary of the Mire goes, Silumgar’s desires go also.

Brood Magic: Silumgar’s will creeps and corrupts, ensnaring the thoughts until his target realizes too late that their mind is no longer their own. Dragons of Silumgar’s brood have this power of mental contagion and dominance. Their breath weapon is a corrosive mist. They are masters of necromancy, curses, and poisons. The most powerful of the brood can shapeshift. Non-dragons are often imbued with temporary magic to perform various tasks, but their power is severely limited. The rakshasa groups that failed to leave in time are kept under Silumgar’s direct control and allowed to continue practicing their own demonic magic, so long as they do so in firm accordance with their dragonlord’s will.

Faction Species: Primarily human, orc, naga, vampire, and demon. Most rakshasa abandoned the Sultai before they could be subsumed, but Silumgar managed to seize a few weaker clans, Pockets of every species on Tarkir - even dragons of other broods - can be found among those ensnared by Silumgar’s will. Sibsig (zombies) are common. A number of elementals have also arisen within the Rotted Lands.

Faction Structure: The new BG Silumgar are bad news. Trust me, you don’t want to get involved. The corrupt, decadent hierarchy of the Sultai crossed with the swarm nature of the Golgari yields a bizarre half-hivemind half-dictatorship that no one enjoys except the few on top. It’s a bit like the Zerg in that individuals are subservient to a collective mind, but there are levels of control similar to a military hierarchy. Factions exist within the swarm that battle for resources and control; indeed, this competition is encouraged, as it improves the collective survival by culling the weak and forcing evolution. Imagine the ferment and constant decay/growth of a tropical rainforest, the eternal pressure of competing organisms with no concept of morality or restraint. The collective acts like The Thing from the John Carpenter movie: it has no awareness of a difference between living and dead biomass, no understanding or interest in the pre-existing organisms - it sees only resources to be utilized.

Individuals being mentally subsumed into the hive don’t appear changed at first, and even close companions may not notice the infection in their thoughts. Subtle alterations in vocal patterns, sleep habits, and eating habits are the first outward signs. Once the mental contamination has taken hold, the individual voluntarily submits to physical incorporation into the swarm, mediated by the implantation of tendrils similar to vines or roots that grow through the individual’s existing nervous system to allow direct physical control should the collective will deem it necessary to override local thought processes. When swarm individuals interact, these tendrils will emerge from their bodies and join together into a larger network for the swift exchange of nutrients, pheromone signaling, and sensory information. Later stages of incorporation, depending on the needs of the collective, may make it necessary to alter the individual, break it down entirely for parts or resources, or combine it with others to create a tool suitable for the given purpose.

Silumgar grants a select few individuals a degree of physical and mental autonomy in order to preserve useful skills. Those rakshasa who failed to leave the Sultai in time and fell under his influence are allowed physical autonomy and permitted to keep some control of their own minds so they can continue to practice the powerful demonic magic they shared with the Sultai. Wary of that power, Silumgar monitors them directly and does not hesitate to cull any who show the slightest rebellious tendency. The few subsumed dragons of the Mire also retain some level of their original thoughts and skills, but have been imbued with utter loyalty to their new dragonlord.

No member of the collective is permitted a truly individual identity; the only name ever spoken in the Rotted Lands is that of Silumgar.

Faction Goals: Live. Grow. Take. Change. Kill. Eat. Grow. Live.

Faction History: Nothing distinct remains of the Sultai’s culture, history, or most of the population. Palaces and wealthy estates have been abandoned except for the occasional expedition to extract a needed resources. Many of the original settlements remain as twisted echoes of their former selves, farms and fisheries still worked by the remnants of the inhabitants in great drone swarms. Any unnecessary items or information - scrolls or tapestries of history, for instance - were ignored by the collective and have long since crumbled back into the jungle.

Silumgar himself didn’t conquer the Sultai directly. He didn’t need to. He is called the “Creeping Death” for the nature of his own will, which spreads and corrupts those he seeks to control. Newly-born, Silumgar found the riot of growth and decay and violent symbiosis exemplified by the deep jungle greatly to his liking. He selected an area then uninhabited by the Sultai due to its unpleasant climate and tenacious jungle life, and settled himself in the heart of it, fixing his will on seizing it as his territory alone. This patch of rainforest soon began to exhibit unsettling changes: Sultai travelers and scouts reported previously-unseen beings that seemed part plant and part animal, creatures that should have been mortal enemies working together in eerie, silent harmony, and the rapid spread of unknown plant life out from the area. Sultai rulers dismissed these accounts, however, interpreting the odd behavior as some new elemental magic in the region and receiving reassurances from the rakshasa that it certainly posed no threat to them. Soon the travelers and scouts stopped reporting back at all. 

The corruption in the heart of the jungle grew, and whole estates began to disappear into its shadow as Silumgar consumed, killed, created, and grew more and more. Some Sultai, especially those farthest away from the corrupted zone now called Weeping Heart, tried to raise the alarm. But the usual indolence and callousness of the Sultai elite masked the transformation in their thoughts long enough for Silumgar to take hold. By the time anyone thought to take action, the dragonlord already controlled the bulk of Sultai territory and resources, including its combination labor force and army of undead sibsig, and any sparks of true resistance that could not be converted by thought were simply crushed by force. The entire population unlucky enough to be present in Sultai territory at that time ended up dead, subsumed into the collective, or both.

Upon realizing what was happening to him, Tasigur, khan of the Sultai at the time of the takeover, sought out the dragonlord within Weeping Heart and threw himself at Silumgar’s feet. He claimed he would order his people to submit to their new master in exchange for keeping his own mind - which Silumgar granted. Unfortunately, Tasigur forgot to ask for his own body, too. He survives - in a manner of speaking - to this day; he retains full possession of his thoughts and memories, unclouded by the dragonlord’s influence, but his body is quite firmly controlled by Silumgar’s magic and serves as his favorite emissary. For the first hundred years or so it amused the dragonlord to permit Tasigur to keep his own voice as well, and the khan’s screams and insane raving were a common sound in Weeping Heart; but Silumgar eventually grew bored and removed Tasigur’s vocal chords, leaving him mouthing silent nonsense and endless pleas for death even as his body goes about its dragonlord’s errands.

Faction Relations: The Rotted Lands might be the only thing on Tarkir the other factions can all agree on: they’d rather leave it alone. Silumgar’s influence expands as the Rotted Lands grow, and those who cross too close to his territory can’t let themselves linger long for fear that the dragonlord’s whispers will take root in their hearts and lead them to walk into the jungle of their own volition. The Undying Kingdoms chew at its edges with axes and blasts of dry, withering desert heat; the Ojutai slip in to steal threads of knowledge from the collective memory; Atarka’s clans purify what they can and try to save those seized by the tangle; the Glorious Horde swings its blades and calls down the lightning; but all these efforts never matter. The jungle only grows back stronger. The beast endures, and its territory creeps ever outward.

Other Changes: So why venture into the Rotted Lands? Because Silumgar’s territory contains the ruins of immensely wealthy Sultai palaces and pleasure gardens, and his Palace Animate holds the greatest horde of all. Despite only rarely awakening in his own body, the dragonlord seems to enjoy treasure and directs his minions to pile it around his slumbering form in great heaps. Rumors of staggering wealth left to the jungle’s hold entice those with bad judgement and nothing to lose. Most never return, but once in a very great while one of these explorers stumbles back with fistfuls of gold - and unspeakable terror in their eyes.

Dear @wizardsmagic, @markrosewater, to whom it may concern,

As a political activist, I’ve started learning a few political code phrases and reasoning, and the decision to hide data comes across to me as not much more than victim blaming. I don’t have much to add that MTGGoldfish writer SaffronOlive hasn’t said in the article that I linked above other than a solemn point. Mark Rosewater has been asked a few times what would kill Magic: the Gathering, and his answer has never been about particular cards or the power curve. It’s about bad administrative decisions could sink the product over the course of a few years. I hope this is not one of those decisions, but I’m not going to bet on the house with this issue.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Player

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