Friendship is Card Games: Moonstuck, Pt. 5

It’s back to the Moon this week, with shenanigans aplenty. (A shame we're just past the bit with the egg on Easter Sunday, but so it goes.)

Woona finds her stalwart guards got batnapped while she was uncovering turmoil in the lunar changeling hive. Much panic ensues… only to realize that there was a bit of space dust on Science Woona’s zoology book, and moon rocs actually feed on sweetmeats. In other words, fruit and candy.

Of course, that doesn’t explain how the moon roc egg got to the observatory in the first place, and the roc who’d been hosting the batpony brothers explains that another has been tracking the energy signature of the chick’s explosions… which means it’s currently attacking the changeling hive. A timely bit of royal intervention keeps the situation from worsening.

… At least until Nightmare Woon shows up to confront the changeling regent. All three mysterious ancient relics that definitely aren’t Elements of Harmony activate, and Woona very nearly goes into a catastrophic magical cascade until the team’s lunar mare provides a solution.

The regent’s scheme is uncovered in full: She hid a relic in her chest cavity (that is, a massive hole in her chest) vastly boosting her power and brainwashing the hive into loving her… up until Luna’s cascade shifted the relic’s attunement, leaving the regent powerless, the young queen reinstated, and the moon rocs clearing their throats and reminding Woona that the relic belongs to them. Now Woona and friends must make for the moon roc henge to see what must be done for the flock to relinquish their claim, next time on Journey to the—

Hang on, got my notes mixed up. In any case, let’s see what I can make of this silliness:

Rocfeather Diva 1W
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
Alliance — Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, Rocfeather Diva gains flying until end of turn.
Her daring accessory became the talk of the town, especially after she came in through the roof entrance.
3/1

Roc Henge 1W
Artifact
5W, T: Create a 3/3 white Bird creature token with flying. This ability costs X less to activate, where X is the amount of life you’ve gained this turn.
Moon roc society is a delicate balance of careful deliberation and sky-razing fury.

Regal Charge 2WW
Instant
Creatures you control get +2/+1 until end of turn. If you’re the monarch, those creatures gain first strike until end of turn.
“For the sun and moon! For Equestria!”

Catastrophe Roc 4WW
Creature — Bird
If you control a Plains and sources you didn’t control dealt 5 or more noncombat damage this turn, you may cast this spell without paying its mana cost and as though it had flash.
Flying
Hatchlings never go missing for long.
4/4

Aqueous Interruption 1U
Instant
Counter target activated or triggered ability. If that ability’s source is a permanent, tap that permanent. It loses all abilities for as long as it remains tapped.
Danger McSteele didn’t know how to handle an overloaded alicorn, but she was still going to do something.

Royal Interdiction 1UU
Instant
Choose one. If you’re the monarch, you may choose both.
• Counter target spell.
• Return target permanent to its owner’s hand.
One of the greatest boons of authority is the power to say “No.”

Explosion Tracking 2U
Enchantment
Whenever you’re dealt damage by one or more sources you don’t control, you may look at that many cards from the top of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Do this only once each turn.

Changeling Mimeomancer 3U
Creature — Shapeshifter Wizard
Backup 1 (When this creature enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. If that’s another creature, it gains the following ability until end of turn.)
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may have this creature become a copy of another target creature until end of turn.
2/2

Conflicting Ambitions 2B
Sorcery
Each opponent sacrifices a black creature, then sacrifices a creature.
The power of the ancient relics inspired many grandiose schemes, few of which could work in parallel.

Royal Espionage Corps 3B
Creature — Shapeshifter Rogue
When Royal Espionage Corps enters the battlefield, you become the monarch. If you’re already the monarch, target opponent reveals their hand. Choose a card from it. That player discards that card.
The walls have fangs.
3/2

Exuvia, Augmented Usurper 4B
Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter Noble
Whenever Exuvia enters the battlefield or another nonartifact creature dies, create a tapped Powerstone token. (It’s an artifact with “T: Add C. This mana can’t be spent to cast a nonartifact spell.”)
4: Exuvia gains indestructible until end of turn.
6/3

Reclaim the Throne R
Instant
Target attacking creature gets +3/+2 until end of turn. If it’s attacking the monarch, it gains trample until end of turn.
Once the hive turned against the usurper, Imogen was quick to press her advantage.

Power Overwhelming 1R
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature you control
Enchanted creature gets +X/+X and has trample, haste, and “Ward — Pay X life,” where X is the number of spells you’ve cast this turn.
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice enchanted creature.

Sway the Swarm 3RRR
Sorcery
Target opponent chooses a creature they control. Gain control of the rest until end of turn. Untap those creatures. They gain haste until end of turn.
No changeling hive will tolerate a loveless queen for long.

Catlike Grace 1G
Instant
Choose one —
• Creatures you control gain hexproof until end of turn.
• Destroy target creature with flying.
Sometimes it means deft agility. Sometimes it’s acting like the crash never happened.

All-Terrain Walker 2GG
Artifact — Equipment
For Equestria! (When this Equipment enters the battlefield, create a 2/2 green Pony creature token, then attach this to it.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has nonbasic landwalk. (It can’t be blocked as long as defending player controls a nonbasic land.)
Equip 1G

Crystalline Grove 3G
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant land
Whenever enchanted land is tapped for mana, its controller adds an additional one mana of any color.
Constellation — Whenever Crystalline Grove or another enchantment enters the battlefield under your control, untap enchanted land.

Obscuring Spacedust 3
Artifact
You have ward 1. (Whenever you become the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays 1.)
2, Sacrifice Obscuring Spacedust: You and permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn.

Negative Spin UB
Instant
Copy target spell with one or more targets. Choose new targets for the copy from among your opponents, cards those players own, and spells and permanents they control or protect.
“The traitor set rocs on the hive! Seize her!”
—Exuvia, changeling regent

Consuming Avarice 1BR
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant artifact or enchantment
Enchanted permanent has “At the beginning of your end step, sacrifice this permanent unless you sacrifice a creature.”
Never cherish a symbol so much that you forget what it symbolizes.

Power of the Crown 2WB
Sorcery
Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.)
You become the monarch.

Hostage Scuttler 3UB
Creature — Pony Merfolk Pirate
Whenever Hostage Scuttler attacks, each player mills three cards.
When Hostage Scuttler dies, put target creature card from an opponent’s graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
“Sinking treasure just means the landtrotters can’t get at it.”
3/3

Comments

[Herald of Opera]

Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Because spells and abilities resolve one at a time in an orderly fashion (officially known as "the stack"), the main case where multiple sources deal damage simultaneously is in combat. Explosion Tracking can trigger from that (compare and contrast Catastrophe Roc), so that's why that clause is there.

Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Hexproof is somewhat retroactive, and the stack comes up again: you can sacrifice Obscuring Spacedust after your opponent has paid the ward cost but before their spell actually resolves, and their spell will be stopped anyway. More hilariously, you can sacrifice it in response to your smug opponent not having paid the ward cost because their spell can't be countered, then wipe the grin off their face when you explain that they changed the rules and having your spell fail because all its targets were rendered illegal is no longer considered "countering" it.