*This is meant to be a pun in reference to the notorious card, Nexus of Fate. Thank you for laughing

Below is a collection of ideas. This is not meant to be a portfolio of “finished” or “well-designed” cards or characters; it's a provisional document. Its purpose is to show the thought process behind their creation.I overestimated my ability to quickly convert everything into a digestible digital format. Updates are coming.updated: 3/6/23Unfortunately the holidays and a bout of COVID have slowed me down a bit. Slowly but surely!

• Change Log

“What if there were a Magic the Gathering card of a sentient hood ornament? That’d be fun.”

I was sitting in the studio trying to finish a few pieces when the thought above crossed my mind. Normally a thought like this would leave just as quickly as it came, but there was something about this one that grabbed me; I couldn’t stop turning it over in my head. This seemingly unremarkable idea prompted a cascade of questions that ultimately led to the creation of new characters, cards, and locales all set within the Magic multiverse.

PRELIMINARIES

I began thinking about that sentient hood ornament. What kind of creature would it be? What color(s)? Would it be a vehicle? Would it be some kind of enchantment or equipment that could attach to another vehicle? Can you fit “Legendary Enchantment Artifact Creature - Equipment Shapeshifter” into the typeline of a Magic card?! These immediately obvious questions intrigued me and inspired rough ideas for other “vehichles matter” legendary creatures.I did not set out to make cards per se. I was originally driven to create a character that would fit within the flavor of each of the ten color pairs while also having some sort of relationship with vehicles. But in doing so, I couldn't help but think about how a character would manifest mechanically. It began this interesting process of flavor informing mechanics, then mechanics informing flavor, and so on. I found this dialectic/iterative process of refinement really intriguing and enjoyable. I realized that trying to make a card was a useful tool for learning more about a character. However! I am not a card designer. While I have listened to and read almost everything that Mark Rosewater has produced, sadly, this has not yet translated into actual skill. Still, I have learned a lot about the various levers that can be pushed/pulled to change card behavior, design, etc., and I’ve attempted to incorporate this knowledge into these cards. Some cards don't have any power/toughness; I'll get there eventually.Unfortunately I have not yet been able to mock up cards to make this unending stream of text more interesting. While I have specific ideas for the art of each card, I lack the technical skill to create the pieces myself. It seemed silly to put up a card with no art, so in the meantime all we have unfortunately is more text. Please bear with me.I've tried my hand at writing some art briefs. I've tried to use (what I believe to be, as per this post) the format the WOTC uses. I've also included possible flavor text for each card. The tone of many of these characters is pretty light-hearted.There is a mixture of top-down and bottom-up design here. "Sentient hood ornament" is pretty top down; I had no idea of of color, mechanic, setting, etc. But some of the characters were inspired by mechanics that I found intriguing. Sometimes I started with a vehicle in mind, and sometimes a guild.I tried to fit these characters into already existing planes. For some of them though, I needed to create new spaces. This led to the development of a setting I'm calling "Another New Capenna." That is also explained further below.

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• "Another New Capenna"

GRADY, AIRSHIP ENGINEER

Concept: Grady is a small, wiry, old man that is just frantically running around desperately trying to keep Skysail's airships aloft. This isnt because the airships aren't well built, it's because there aren't enough people to maintain them. Most captains have a few low level technicians that can fix minor problems, but for a big job, no one's skill matches Grady's.I think the basic idea is rather solid. I can’t decide on the tone though. Should there be an aura of stoic desperation, a gruff curmedgeon that sacrifices his own well-being for the greater good? OR should he be a highly animated/eccentric savant that is terrified of flying leviathans and/or letting Skysail citizens down. It might be a little easier to decide if this character were situated in a more fleshed out cast.Background:Grady is a master airship engineer; he designs, maintains, and upgrades the systems that keep Skysail afloat. He is overworked and underslept, but he knows that his work is vital to Skysail’s survival, so he presses on. While catastrophic failures are normally avoided, sometimes even his impressive ingenuity is not enough. One day he hopes to train a few technicians, but right now he’s too busy putting out fires to pass on his expertise.

Art Brief:Color: White Blue CreatureLocation: the floating city of Skysail, IkoriaAction: A short old man with unkempt white hair and mustache is atop some form of scaffolding or ladder repairing one of the city’s large balloons that keep it airborne. He is taking a break from a long day/night of repairs, perhaps wiping the sweat from his brow, but is wearing a satisfied smile. In the background we see other airships (balloons prominent), set against a beautiful skyscape. Time is either dusk or dawn.Focus: Grady himselfMood: Bright and full of hope

Card:

Vehicles here are meant to represent the various platforms of the city. Flying counters represent the air lifts, and the removal of the flying counter represents the destruction of the air lifts. The “gains flying” is meant to show that the object is still in the air, while the vanishing signifies that it will eventually hit the ground and be destroyed. The flavor text intimates the dangers of airship failure, to the citizens of Skysail and those below. Since white and blue don’t typically deal in direct damage (unless it’s in the combat pahse) I tried to choose an in-color mechanic to represent the effects of a chunk of something falling from the sky, i.e. stun counters.I'm pretty sure there are some problems here in terms of templating, specifically the second line of rules text: "If a vehicle you control with a flying counter would be put into the graveyard from the battlefield, remove a flying counter from it instead. " I don't think this works, and I couldn't find anything similar. Sacrifice effects specifically feel like they'd be an issue. This needs work.

TEDDY, BRICOLAGE FANATIC

Concept: I envisioned "Teddy" as a sort of hermit crab. Maybe his particular variety of homarid live in giant movable homes made of an eclectic mix of materials. Teddy goes a little overboard sometimes grabbing anything lying around to reinforce his already substantial home.Background:TBD

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KREECE, DECOY CRAFTER

Blue-black obviously made me jump to Dimir. But the only vehicle that came to mind when following this line of thinking was a submarine. At that time for some reason I wasn't in the mood for that. So then I began thinking of other creature types that were associated with blue-black. Pirates! Where do pirates live? Ixalan!Concept: Kreece is a pirate who woke up dead one morning, but just kept on living. He's a member of one of the pirate crews, perhaps one that belongs to the Brazen Coalition. He is skilled at conjuring spirit duplicates of ships that serve as scouts, decoys, or additional firepower.Background: TBD

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SPEAD, WRECKLESS ENSOULER

Concept: TBD
Background: TBD

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The tone of this card is pretty silly. It immediately made me think of some kind of absurdly dangerous Rakdos performance, but the image in my mind doesn’t quite fit aesthetically. While I had originally envisioned them on New Capenna, I’m not entirely decided where this character is from.

RAZZ, OVALCHASE OUTCAST

Concept: Razz is an orgre or ogre-adjacent. She's an incredibly wreckless racer that's been banned from the Ovalchase. She's a favorite competitor in the underground demolition derby. She drives a beast-inspired dragster that has some obvious dings and is covered in tally marks representing her deafeated competitors.
Background: TBD

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Color: Red-Green Creature
Location: Kaladesh. Particular area not important
Action: We see a muscular green female ogre with a bright colored mohawk leaning against her dragster with her arms crossed. She is wearing a cocky smile. Her vehicle is ferocious looking, yet still sleek. It has some dings in it and is covered in tally marks representing her defeated demolition derby competitors
Focus:Razz and her ride
Mood: "I know I'm cooler than you"

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TANIZ, RENEGADE BATTLEMASTER

Concept: TBD
Background: TBD

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I know the templating on this is probably horrendous. Not entirely sure how to fix this.

JEENO, CHOPSHOP ENFORCER

Concept: Jeeno is old. He's seen it all, and he's heard every excuse in the book. But to him things are easy; everything is black or white. You didn't pay? You gotta pay. "Why you didn't pay" is not his problem. He's a veteran that's been "in the game" for too long, but something about "keeping people honest" makes him feel like he's making a difference in the world.Background: TBD

Art Brief:Color: White-Black CreatureLocation: inside or outside of a mechanic's shop on New CapennaAction: We are looking up from the ground. Perhaps from the point of view of the person that was just "talked to" by Jeeno. We see a hulking Rhinoceros in a pinstripe, three-piece suit. Perhaps without the suit jacket fixing his tie and/or cuff links, annoyed that he had to have this "conversation" with a "customer." There might be blood on the floor or Jeeno's tuxedo.Focus: JeenoMood: "This is the last time I'm "asking nicely"; next time will be the last time." threatening and intimidating. mafia-adjacent

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I am almost positive that this design is problematic. This is just me trying to jam my idea into a magic card.The flavor makes me smile. The idea of paying life in order to prevent your opponent form getting a treasure? It's just like getting beat up by Jeeno for not paying! I think this could be the beginning of something interesting.

FINIAL, BRAZEN ORNAMENTATION

Concept: Finial is a sprite/faerie/spirit/shapeshifter of some sort that possesses/enchants vehicles. He is super high energy and is constantly zipping about "trying out" new rides. When he possesses these objects, he essentially becomes them...with some upgrades. They don't need a pilot; he is the pilot. He manifests differently depending on the thing he is possessing. Lately he's taken a shine to some of the more traditional vehicles on New Capenna. He can be seen as an animated hood ornament, typically in the form of an angel, a small husky cherubic angel. The thing he possesses typically glows with a warm yellow/orange light.Background:TBD

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JANKS, SCRAPYARD MAVEN

Concept: Janks lives in the lowest stratum of New Capenna, the Caldaia. She is a seasoned mechanic that makes a living bringing vehicles back from the brink, if only for a bit. She runs a junkyard that she knows like the back of her hand. She knows the specs of every vehicle in New Capenna’s history. She’s an unusually kind ogre and is always willing to share her deep knowledge of automotive history, much to the chagrin of those around her.She is thin and lanky and wears a ratty duster.Background: TBD

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The flavor text is absurd, but I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s an attempted reference to “a different kettle of fish.” I wasn’t sure if there was enough structural similarity to make the connection, but I found it funny.

Wildegard, Peerless Steed

This started with a name: “Peerless steed.” I envisioned some kind of awe-inspiring, clockwork horse. But like a normal sized horse that requires a rider to operate/crew. I imagine Wildegard and its rider in front of a phalanx of warriors giving some kind of inspiring speech. For some reason this brought the exalted mechanic to mind.Concept:
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¹ I can’t find a similar card to help me template this. I want to capture the flavor of a rider and their steed charging into battle together. I wanted to say something like “when Wildegard attacks, untap the creature that crewed it. It gains vigilance and horsemanship until the end of turn. It’s attacking the same player Wildegard is.” But that is…. Not the best wording I’m sure.

FARON, BATHYSPHERE CAPTAIN

Concept: Faron is the preeiminent bathysphere designer in "Another New Capenna." He also pilots his creations, frequently leading expeditions into the uncharted depths. He has an insatiable curiosity and a childlike wonder.Background: TBD

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"ANOTHER NEW CAPENNA"

One of the characters above, Faron, Bathysphere Captain, was the inspiration for this setting. I had an idea for a submarine captain. I immediately began thinking of other more obscure words for submarine. Bathysphere popped into my head. I knew a bathysphere was a type of underwater exploration vehicle, but I didn't quite know what it looked like. But the name itself sounded a little more fantastical and a bit anachronistic. No idea why, but I clocked the anachronism as being early 20th century-esque (that’s almost definitely wrong though). With that, I was immediately reminded that there is a setting that had a similar vibe: New Capenna.The immediate issue was the dissonance between the vibe of the character I had concepted and the vibe of New Capenna. Here was this Owlin deep sea explorer/bathysphere pilot/designer. Where did he fit within the families/organizations of New Capenna? Is there even a substantial body of water to explore? So I began asking myself some questions. What if there was a large ocean that we haven’t seen yet? What if the city of New Capenna wasn’ t the only surviving settlement on the plane? What if there was another group of survivors that fled to a remote coastal area? What would that look like? If there was limited space to develop, there would be motivation to move to the water. Maybe if there was some sort of discovery beneath the ocean, that could’ve provided more incentive to develop technology to explore and find more.So in trying to answer some of these questions, a new setting began to take shape, one that had a similar vibe to New Capenna in terms of aesthetics, but had a sort of opposite developmental trajectory. Instead of building up due to space limitations, these survivors developed technology that allowed them to build down into the ocean. In New Capenna, the upper echelons of society lived in the highest stratum of the city. Here, the elite lived closer to the bottom of the ocean, with the lower class relegated to the surface or near-surface part of the city.While I still wanted there to be some sort of art deco vibe, in imagining this city, I actually envisioned something a little more art nouveau. Lines that are more natural, a city that has a lot of curved glass and warm light. Motifs that incorporate/are inspired by natural elements, especially underwater life. I imagine clusters and spires of glasswork, and brassy metal structures that stand in contrast to the coldness of the ocean. I like the complementarity between the more “industrial” art deco(New Capenna) and the more “natural” art nouveau (Another New Capenna) and the parallel between developing on the land versus the ocean. Seemed fun. Still kinda wanna capture the opulence of the Gilded Age somehow. A deco-punk vibe, with a little less of an industrial feel. Lots of more delicate yet somehow sturdy glasswork.Making glasswork a salient part of the world would not only give the world itself an interesting and unique vibe, it could make things easier for artists in the real world. For example, we can see more of a character's face with just a simple bowl on their head compared to an old-timey diving helmet with a small porthole. Similarly glasswork would allow us to see more of the outside environment when depicting things happening in buildings, vessels, etc. A piece showing the inside of a submarine is probably not as dynamic and interesting as one showing the inside of a submarine made primarily of glass.What sort of reasons would there be for ocean development? Escape from a Phyrexian threat? Food? Treasures beneath the sea? Excitement, exploration, discovery? While I haven't completely fleshed out factions, it seemed natural that there would be a group of explorers that were more profit driven, seeking natural resources to exploit. There would also be some who sought to understand the wonder of undersea life. It might be some nice (albeit obvious) complementarity to have these factions be wedges instead of shards (like New Capenna), but I really haven't gotten that far yet.Below are some of the things I've been playing with.

• SKARL
• JANUS
• PROTEON

SKARL, RECLUSIVE CHEF

Concept: Skarl is a reclusive cephalid chef that lives on the surface in a neighborhood known at "The Tidepool." His dishes are unconventional and delicious. Everyone, even those from the rarefied depths of the city, makes the trek to taste his exotic creations.Background:The Tidepool is "Another New Capenna's" roughest neighborhood, and Skarl’s restaurant, Salty Bliss, is a Tidepool institution. Skarl has been turning out “food” for decades. Despite a reputation for being “not the cleanest restaurant in town,” patrons of every walk of life wait hours for a chance to taste the restaurant’s unconventional dishes. Few people have ever met the reclusive chef; the tentacle that drops the food is the closest most get. If you hear terrifying noises coming from the kitchen, you can bet Skarl is back there wrangling a dangerous ingredient.

Art Brief:Color: Black-Red-Green CreatureLocation: Inside a restaurant in the Tidepool neighborhood of "Another New Capenna"Action: In the foreground we have a meal/dish made from "conventionally unappetizing" ingredients, think worms, centipedes, etc. It is immaculately constructed and, despite the ingredients, looks delicious. It is being placed on the table by an incredibly long, suckered tentacle that extends into the background. If we focus a bit we can see several other tentacles holding plates extending from the same place.Focus: the interesting dish on the table and the tentacled arm that's still holding it.Mood: "order up!" a busy restaurant that, despite not being the cleanest, has delicious food.

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Like much of the flavor text on these cards, I couldn’t resist the pseudo-pun referencing the mechanics of the card.This character started out as a botanist who was interested in coastal flora. I thought maybe kelp farming is something that would exist. I thought it would be a funny contrast to have him be a cephalid; at this point I knew Faron was a bird that liked exploring the ocean, and I liked the idea that a creature from the deep might develop an opposite affinity for the surface.As I tried to think of ways that a fondness for plants could be translated into an actually playable Magic card, I began to think about other things that could be found along the coast. I thought about tide pools and the types of creatures that could be found there or along the water's edge: frogs, worms, salamanders, insects, jellyfish, etc. This didn't immediately suggest anything interesting to me.I then began to think how this character would relate to the rest of society. "Why was he on the surface? Did he actually enjoy it? Or was the left behind by a rapidly changing economic landscape? Did he like all these coastal "creepy crawlers," or should I abandon that idea completely?" I decided that he chose to be on the surface and that he did like "conventionally gross" stuff. I was still stuck on "farmer/botanist" so I began to think about food. This led me to chef. This felt right.From here I began to wonder "is the food actually good, or is this guy just churning out gross stuff but is convinced it's delicious?" At first I thought that maybe he could just be kind of a nutty guy that was really into "traditional" ingredients. I didn't like this angle since it felt sort of elitist; delicious stuff really can be made with conventionally unappetizing ingredients. So then I just flipped it: he was actually in super high demand despite the fact he uses strange stuff.Now with this more refined idea, I leaned more into actually trying to make him into a card. Food obviously needed to be involved. Other chefs are either black-green or black-red. So I figured why not all three? It felt intuitively right.I'm still working on this, but as of right now, this is all I got for Skarl.

JANUS, DARING AQUANAUT

Concept: Janus is freelance explorer and adventurer. I'm playing with the idea of there being some kind of bidding system for work in "Another New Capenna." Maybe various explorers' guild offer higher pay for more dangerous work. I wanted Janus to always be at the front of the line, eager to take the most dangerous, highest paying jobs. She's not just in it for the money though; she's also a gifted scientist who has a genuine drive to better understand the world around her.Background: TBD

Art Brief:Color: Blue-Red-Green CreatureLocation: underwaterAction: Janus (human) is riding some kind of aquatic speeder (think underwater scooter/motorcycle). She is wearing an "aquanaut suit" (see "Another New Capenna" for style inspiration).Janus (foreground) is fleeing from the maw of a gigantic sea creature (background). She is barely holding on to her speeder, but she is laughing/smiling.Focus: Janus and the speederMood: Wreckless joy, unconcerned at the danger behind her. "Yehaw" energy of a cowboy.

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This character was inspired by Faron's card mechanics. When making Faron I found I really liked the the idea of using dice to capture the uncertainty of exploration and discovery. The randomness perfectly captures the idea of "you never know what you'll find." I found this really compelling. With Faron there is just the potential to find something not very interesting. But then I thought "Oh! sometimes you can find dangerous things!" This immediately made me think of explosions, damage, etc. What could you find underwater that is dangerous? KRAKENS!Since dice rolling seems to be sort of centered in Temur, It made sense that a character that is a risk taking explorer would fit within these colors.I think the 6 result on a die is probably too much. I havent figured out how to make something that's dangerous enough but not unfun.

PROTEON, LIBRARY OF LIFE

Concept: Proteon is a giant underwater vessel. It is essentially an enormous mobile aquarium/laboratory/library. It's bigger than some of "Another New Capenna's" buildings. It's covered in large curved glass windows. If you get close enough you can see the menagerie of aquatic animals and plants housed inside. This might be the headquarters of a faction that contains UG. Scientists, catalogers, librarians, taxonomists, etc. work and live here.Background: TBA

Art Brief:Color: White-Blue-Green Artifact VehicleLocation: underwaterAction: Proteon is a gigantic submersible laboratory and aquarium. It is filled with scientists and researchers striving to catalog all undersea life. It is made of a large assortment of transparent glass domes and orbs glowing with warm light. See "Another New Capenna's" summary for style description. We are on the seafloor looking up towards the surface. We see Proteon positioned above a comparatively smaller underwater settlement. Proteon's luminosity sets it apart from its surroundingsFocus: Proteon and its enormity compared to its surroundingsMood: a sense of wonder

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This is the first version of this card. There are definitely things that can be improved. The lore for this part of the world/faction is not completely fleshed out, so there are a bit fewer story hooks to hang mechanics on. I wanted there to be a strong incentive to having this on the battlefield (shield counters), but I wanted something to prevent the play pattern of play creatures, get counters, bounce or return Proteon back to hand. So I added the "remove counters" part. This also felt flavorful to me as I imagined that the shield counters in some way represented Proteon itself providing a home/haven for creatures.I made Faron first. His inspiration was a different take on Simic. Instead of blue trying to improve green, it was instead blue trying to catalog green., i.e., exploration and discovery. Following this theme, I wanted this ship to be the crowning achievement of whatever faction Faron belonged to: a gigantic mobile preserve, a library of life. Implicit in the ideology that would drive individuals/organizations to create something like this is the idea that life is precious, it needs to be preserved. Sometimes if it is lost, it is lost forever; there is an urgency to catalog and document. Especially on this plane. So, to reflect that, when creatures died, I wanted there to be some kind of mechanical way to represent a last ditch effort to hold onto a creature/specimen. This led me to the recover mechanic. I like that it provides the opportunity to save a creature, but only once; If you fail, it's gone for good

CHANGE LOG

12/4/2022

11/30/2022

11/29/2022

11/28/2022