This set takes a similar approach as was taken in Magic: Origins, but follows the stories of five of Magic's more nefarious planeswalkers.
Nahiri, studies advanced lithomancy under Master Pek on Doharum. Pek has a radical view of how the plane should be ruled, and attempts to enforce his vision. Nahiri wants to reason with Pek and solve the situation diplomatically, but her extraplanar alarm alerts her that the Eldrazi have broken from their restraints on Zendikar. Torn, Nahiri solves the situation on Doharum by ending Pek's life. She immediately planeswalks to defend Zendikar, leaving behind a troubled aftermath.
Tezzeret makes calculated moves on Esper to achieve greater power. When he finally reaches his goal - the Codex Etherium, he finds it useless. In a rage, he planeswalks from Esper, to the neighboring plane of Grixis, where he encounters a being of true power and pledges his loyalty to it.
Aisha falls into an unending slumber and produces the Dreamscape as a quickly growing pocket plane. A malevolent entity pursues her, and after many years Aisha finally acquiesces to the phantom, becoming Ashiok. The melding triggers Ashiok's spark, and they find themself on Aenyr. Ashiok tests their newfound powers by wreaking terror upon the artistic denizens of this vulnerable world.
Tibalt, encouraged by malevolent devils, performs horrible experiments on naive captives in his home on Innistrad. When cathar patrols finally catch on, Tibalt sets off his contingency plan, engulfing his home in flames. The devils cling to him, triggering his spark. Tibalt planeswalks to the wild wests of Lorado, where he quickly gets on the bad side of local sheriff Gordon McCoy. Tibalt enacts a plan to cause chaos and unrest, but frames McCoy for his horrible deeds and departs back to Innistrad once the town enacts "justice" on the innocent lawman.
Garruk has spent his childhood growing up with the beasts of Ringsir's forests. Patiently growing stronger, until he can enact his revenge on the lord who brought death to his father. Accomplishing his retribution, he is drawn through the blind eternities to Shandalar by the presence of Ursoth, a beast of mythic proportions that is sure to be a worthy adversary. There he encounters a witch, who places a demonic curse upon him with the aid of a powerful artifact.
Each of these planes is either part of Wizards' canon, or is featured in the set of another member of the custom magic community. I am working with the creators of each of these sets to ensure that the vision of these planes is consistent and that the story elements intersect elegantly with the worlds they have created.
There are three design goals this set aims to achieve:
A. Players should feel like they are either villains or anti-heroes through gameplay. I strive to achieve this by focusing on five more primal feelings: Powerful, Intelligent, Immoral, Determined, and/or Wounded.
B. Showcase the selected planes in a way that respects the source material.
C. Maintain a balance between distinct location settings and a cohesive limited environment.
Change log:
Change log: * Changed Dirty Work. * Changed Emulate. * Changed Tibalt, Devilish Doctor. * Changed Propagating Slime. * Changed Immortality. * Changed Zendikon Guardian.
Change log: * Changed Etherium Assassin. * Changed Ursoth the Unclaimed. * Changed Henchfiend. * Changed Zendikon Guardian.
Added lots of flavor text. Rules text changes to : Tibalt, Gleeful Sadist Doomsday Clock Zendikon Guardian
Renamed: Nahiri's Vengance --> Nahiri's Vengeance Ikelious' Defiance --> Ikelious's Defiance Eugenic Experiment --> Genetic Experiment
Upgraded Art: Tibalt, Gleeful Sadist Henchfiend
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Finalized the set version prior to its inclusion in Custom Standard. Changes based on feedback from Fenhl for his oracle update on Loreseeker.Fenhl.net
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Reverted the Trap experiment. Did some cleanup development for Frenzy. Watchlisting several Possess cards. Various flavor cleanup.
Trying another different take on Traps. Also trimmed down on some of the subthemes that were distracting from the villainous fun and cleaned up a few typos.
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Big update. Major change to traps - now sorceries that have conditional flash. More frenzy development. More machinate support. Minions have a more cohesive identity. Color curves are smoother.
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Reverted back to Frenzy to see if additional development can resolve its issues.
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Trying out a large scale change, where I drop Frenzy for Relentless, change the usage for Possess, and buff Traps per feedback from MTG Meow videos. Further changes likely to follow. There is no download link/cockatrice file for this version.
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Fixed up the Cockatrice file and made some minor updates in response to playtesting feedback on 1/15.
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Cut down on some extraneous themes, added a lot of flavor text.
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Change log: * Fixed card templates to use M15. * Added yu02 Peculate. * Removed yu02 Psychic Mastery. * Changed cu18 Tezzeret’s Duplicity.
This version contains some fixes to curve concerns and to redflag count.
Many small development tweaks.
Mostly looking for flavor updates before drafting.
Change log: Revamped set structure. Removed and replaced several mechanics. Reconfigured set themes to compensate for new mechanics. Added flavor text to some cards.
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This update didn't change any cards. Instead it added a Cockatrice file.
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This is the first version of Magic: Villains published on PlaneSculptors.net.