Friendship is Card Games: Camp Bighoof #4 & #5 · 1:07pm January 7th
We begin the new year with three weeks of endings, wrapping up several comic storylines already in progress. First up is Camp Bighoof; let’s see how they send this one home, and with what memories.
Issue #4
I do appreciate Izzy’s creative endeavor on the cover… though the campers’ perspective is wonky. I can’t tell which Bighoof they’re reacting to. Especially not the one on the left.
Pipp emphasizing caution and care feels a little off, but this camp has already been a PR disaster. The last thing she needs is any negligence lawsuits.
What’s more off is that the cleanup scene at the still-collapsed entrance to the camp is virtually identical to the one from the end of the last issue, with a unicorn levitating debris on the left, a pegasus airlifting a piece of debris over a sweeping earth pony in the middle, and two earth ponies using a vine-based pulley system (with no actual pulley) on the right. Maybe the implication is that it’s only been a minute or two since the proximity-activated cameras detected Bighoof, but maybe have a few more notable changes to make it seem less like time froze during that revelation?
As said, Sunny and Zipp have proof of the cryptid and are squeeing over it, which is definitely doing a great job of maintaining that veneer of normalcy and confidentiality Hitch insisted on.
Speaking of Hitch, he insists the two grown mares, both of whom can fly and one who literally emits sunlight at will, not go out so close to nightfall to collect the physical evidence of Bighoof. And they agree. (To be fair, he’s more concerned about them getting ambushed by the creature than their getting lost.)
Also, I appreciate the squirrel riding on Hitch’s head and echoing his sentiments through emphatic gestures.
A short timeskip later, the counselors tell the campers to pack it in for the day’s hard labor unscheduled activity, and a snapping branch nearly makes the whole little herd panic until Pipp prompts a sing-along.
This works for all of two panels before Bighoof bursts out of the undergrowth… but upon further inspection, it’s just one of the campers covered in mud and plant life. For their sake, I hope none of it is poisonous. (Izzy complements them with “Epic prank, my dude!” which just doesn’t feel fitting for her character.)
Pipp insists the others have missed Sunny and Zipp during their investigation, which can’t have been going on for more than few days. Sunny says the feeling is mutual. I know time in comic books can be slippery with in-story seconds taking a real-world month to pass or vice verse, but this feels ridiculous. Still, at least the actual purpose of the camp, getting young ponies to master their magic, is being accomplished.
Another guttural roar from the depths of the forest underscores the importance of finding and understanding Bighoof.
“Izzy, your marshmallow is on fire.”
“Oh, snazzlefig!”
Now that sounds like Izzy.
“Tomorrow, everything changes when we find Bighoof!”
Why do I get the feeling that tomorrow the trail will be ice-cold and they will not, in face, find Bighoof?
The next morning, Zipp sneaks into Sunny’s room like a kid on Christmas morning and wakes her up with roughly the same level of excitement. I feel bad not just for Sunny banging her head on the bunk above her, but whoever was sleeping there.
After Zipp grabs a few essentials (read: bags of cheese puffs,) they set out into the wilderness and the bits of fur and cheese dust seen at the end of the previous issue. Sunny takes a look at the pictures and…
Oh. 
So how do you think she looks at the data on the wireless cameras Zipp set up? If you said “pulling physical pieces of quick-developing photo paper out of them like they’re spherical Polaroids,” then you clearly also got this comic. Sunny does have a phone. Bluetooth is an option.
Also, the fur was evidently left by a squirrel. A good proof of concept, but not the evidence they were hoping for.
The next site has hoofprints… but the camera (which apparently can only take one photo when triggered) took a photo of a pair of rabbits who treated it as a photo booth. (One is even giving the other bunny ears. Further bunny ears.)
Zipp doesn’t even want to look at the last camera, because if there’s one thing that defines her character, it’s a lack of conviction and tenacity. 
The good news is that this one does have a photo of Bighoof. The bad news is that Zipp decided to eat a bag of cheese puffs on the way to this camera, and having smelled that delicious artificial orange goodness, the cryptid decided to join in the celebratory hug. Cue the To Be Continued.
Issue #5
I’m not sure which cover I love more, My Neighbor Bighoof or Zipp going full Pepe Silvia. The Rainbow Dash-branded beverage (soda? energy drink?) is a lovely touch.
Thankfully, actually dealing with Bighoof is a simple matter. Give him—Her? That alternate cover does make a point there—the cheese puffs and nobody gets hurt. Also, Bighoof then has no reason stick around, which neither Sunny nor Zipp realize as they discuss plans to get a tracking chip in that tangled mane.
Ah! This Bighoof is indeed a she… though her child is unclear. And the roars have been communication among a family who got separated by the landslide.
Also, I appreciate Zipp getting caught up on the plural of Bighoof for a bit.
“If we tell everypony that Bighoof is real, ponies will never stop trying to find them. They won’t ever be safe again.”
So, to review, a single Bighoof is an incredible scientific discovery that should be tracked for the future enlightenment of pony. A family of Bighooves needs to be protected from the greatest monster of all, man pony. I’m not seeing the logic here, but it’s long been established that ponies’ brains short-circuit in the presence of cute things. Long story short, the two tear the photo of Bighoof the Elder in half.
In any case, the new challenge is to reunite mother and child with the rest of their family without any of the campers spotting them. The answer, as it has been throughout this whole miniseries, is cheese puffs. Including one panel where Zipp shakes a bag of them like a box of cat treats to get Bighoof the Younger’s attention after they get distracted by a butterfly identical to Misty’s cutie mark. (Which is honestly a cute way to get her included in a story that predates her heel-face turn, even if it raises some peculiar questions about the symbology of her mark.)
Once the party reaches the entrance, it is unfortunately full of ponies. The idea that the Bighooves can take it from here, especially with their ability to communicate with one another from miles away, never occurs to the ponies. The nature-managing institutions of Old Equestria may be no more, but the control-freak tendencies that led to them live on.
Sunny and Zipp agree that they need a distraction, and they settle on… Sunny disguising herself as a Bighoof and roaring to force everypony into a retreat. Never mind that: A. This is only going to convince more ponies that Bighoof exists and B. This happened literally last night and the Boy Who Cried Wolf effect should kick in at some point. No, it goes off without a hitch (and, due to his guiding the evacuation, without Hitch.) After all, there are only half a dozen pages until the end of the mini-series.
Special mention to Zipp throwing that last bag of Pony Poofs with an apparently audible “YEEEEEET.”
After successfully extracting the Bighooves, there is a bit of skepticism… in the sense that Izzy suspects Sunny and Zipp of being bridlesquatches in disguise. Also Hitch being leery of the claims that Bighoof isn’t actually real, which is understandable after he walked into it facefirst. Zipp insists it “was a giant deer that got tangled up in some, uhhh, branches and mud!” Better than swamp gas, I suppose.
Thus reassured, the campers disassemble the makeshift barricade around the camp with impressive magical proficiency, and all seems well… until one last echoing roar. We end on one last “There’s no such thing as Bighoof!” while looking at the happy couple and their child in a cave filled with over a dozen bags of cheese puffs.
In all, this was fun, but a very lightweight climax and denouement. Frankly, there’s barely any there there, especially in any semblance of personality in the campers. (I am pleased to see that that one disaffected youth is still sulking even on the penultimate page.) Given the number of pages in these issues with one or two panels, I can’t help but feel there could have been a bit more substance present. At the very least, a bit more time between “Let’s chip it for science!” and “The world can never know.”
Fortunately, Bighoof doesn’t exist in this world (probably) so there are no ethical issues with sharing these designs:
Duty Calls W
Instant
Target opponent skips their next combat phase this turn. You and that player each draw a card.
“I know this is important to you two, but you have foals here who need you.”
—Hitch Trailblazer, Maretime Bay sheriff
Mistmark Butterfly W
Creature — Insect
Flying, lifelink
When Mistmark Butterfly dies, return target non-Insect creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Butterflies have long been symbols of adaptability and forgiveness.
1/1
Ecosystem Manager 2W
Creature — Pony Ranger
Each player can’t cast more than one creature spell each turn.
Ponies no longer manufacture weather or run leaves off the trees, but the impulse to micromanage nature yet remains.
2/3
Rousing Call 3W
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to three target creatures and/or lands. Untap those permanents.
Awaken 2 — 4WW (If you cast this spell for 4WW, also put two +1/+1 counters on target land you control and it becomes a 0/0 Elemental creature with haste. It’s still a land.)
Cry Wolf 1U
Instant
Create a 2/2 blue Wolf Illusion creature token with “Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it.”
Retrace (You may cast this spell from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
Exfiltration Specialist 2U
Creature — Pony Rogue
Flash
When Exfiltration Specialist enters the battlefield, return up to one other target creature you control to its owner’s hand.
Creatures you control have hexproof as long as a permanent was put into your hand from the battlefield this turn.
2/1
Temporal Slip 2U
Sorcery
Choose one or both —
• Exile target creature with two time counters on it. If it doesn’t have suspend, it gains suspend.
• Remove two time counters from target suspended card.
Fimbulwinter Terror 5UU
Snow Creature — Pony Yeti
When Fimbulwinter Terror enters the battlefield, if it was cast, return all nonsnow creatures to their owners’ hands.
Suspend 4 — SU (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay U and one mana from a snow source and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)
4/5
Hitch’s Enforcer 2B
Creature — Squirrel Soldier
When Hitch’s Enforcer enters the battlefield, each opponent loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the number of Squirrels you control.
You’d have to be nuts to break the law in Maretime Bay.
2/1
Unwelcome Embrace 3B
Sorcery
Distribute X -1/-1 counters among creatures target player controls, where X is the greatest power among those creatures.
“Hugs are a great way to reinforce friendships… and the dangers of spiky, overdramatic armor.”
—Princess Twilight Sparkle, journal
Driven Cryptozoologist 4B
Creature — Pegasus Scout
Flying
When Driven Cryptozoologist enters the battlefield, return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand at random.
Delirium — At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand at random.
3/1
Skulking Bridlesquatch 5B
Creature — Unicorn Yeti
Deathtouch
Morph 4B (You may cast this card face down for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
They’re more afraid of you than you are of them… which means they show no mercy or restraint.
3/5
Clear the Way 1R
Sorcery
Up to one target creature and creatures with defender can’t block this turn.
Draw a card.
“Picking up rubble is the lazy solution. It’s much more work to find somepony to do it for you.”
—Princess Pipp Petals
Outpost Rubblefort 1R
Creature — Wall Ally
Defender, reach
Rally — Whenever Outpost Rubblefort or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, Outpost Rubblefort deals 1 damage to each opponent.
The best camps watch themselves.
1/3
Yeetsmith 1R
Creature — Pegasus Artificer
Reach
Whenever the last counter is removed from an artifact you control, you may sacrifice that artifact. If you do, Yeetsmith deals 3 damage to any target.
No pegasus would be caught dead with anything but the cutting edge.
1/2
Peerless Tracker 2R
Creature — Pony Ranger
During your turn, permanents your opponents control lose hexproof and can’t have or gain hexproof.
During your turn, you may pay 0 rather than pay the ward cost for permanents you don’t control.
“Go ahead. Hide. That makes it simple.”
3/2
Fauna Forerunner G
Creature — Squirrel
3G, Reveal Fauna Forerunner from your hand: Return target creature you own to your hand, then put Fauna Forerunner onto the battlefield.
When Fauna Forerunner dies, if it entered the battlefield this turn, you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
1/1
Yeti Umbra 2GG
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has nonbasic landwalk. (It can’t be blocked as long as defending player controls a nonbasic land.)
Umbra armor (If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)
Thicket Vinebreeder 3G
Creature — Elk Druid
At the beginning of combat on your turn, up to one target land you control becomes an X/X green Elemental creature with vigilance, indestructible, and haste until end of turn, where X is the number of Elk you control. It’s still a land.
Most elk haven’t noticed ponies’ absence.
2/4
Neighborly Kami 3GG
Creature — Spirit
Whenever you cast a Spirit or Arcane spell, return target non-Spirit, non-Arcane card from your graveyard to your hand.
Most ancient nature spirits are mercurial at the best of times. Some fondly remember the friendships they’ve had with mortals and long for more.
3/5
Dash Cola 2
Artifact
T, Sacrifice Dash Cola: Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains haste until end of turn.
Unearth R (R: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
Proof of Concept 1UR
Sorcery
You may put an artifact card from your hand onto the battlefield. It gains haste and “At the beginning of the end step, return this artifact to its owner’s hand.”
“It doesn’t have to work forever, it just has to work.”
—Princess Zipp Storm
S’more Forger 1RW
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
Lifelink
T, Sacrifice an artifact: S’more Forger deals 2 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
Marshmallows and creative endeavors are forever linked in the unicorn psyche.
1/3
Polyphonic Lagomorph 2GW
Creature — Rabbit Mutant
Vigilance
Cycling 1(gw) (1(gw), Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle Polyphonic Lagomorph, put a vigilance counter on target creature you control.
It’s a shame rabbit ears aren’t good luck.
3/5
Bighoof Den
Land
Bighoof Den enters the battlefield tapped with two depletion counters on it.
T, Remove a depletion counter from Bighoof Den: Add RG. If there are no depletion counters on Bighoof Den, sacrifice it.
A short-lived refuge of love and snack food.
Okay, both those linked covers for issue 5 were neat.
I've gotta assume the RD-Cans are energy drink (energy dash? rainbow power?) because that seems more appropriate (In regards to both RD herself, as well as late-night conspirarising)
In his EqD breakdown of the final issue, even the always-fair Silver Quill spilt quite a share of digital ink on the lacklustre climax and how much it deflated what was already kind of a threadbare story, with only a handful of good characterisation moments throughout to spice it up.
This miniseries isn't infuriating the way some G5 comic issues have been, it's too low stakes and laidback and sanded-off for those kind of writing decisions to intrude. It's mostly just sleepy and another nothingburger that, somehow, takes up 100 pages. How it got greenlit for five issues without the story expanded to make do with that, or the campers given any personality, I don't know.
Especially considering those panels still take as much effort to draw. Honestly, the first four issues could have been condensed into three, and the material of wanting to help Bighoof expanded across two issues to get some real thematic meat out of it over the light switch decision we have here.
I almost wonder if this series lost an issue near the end of production, or have some last-minute writing changes – the lethargic pace and mood makes it less obvious than when the same happens to most issues, but something it certainly ahoof (
) here.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: A careful reading of Suspend's reminder text shows that it does in fact cast the creature, as do most blue ways of cheating a creature into play. It's blue's enemies, red and green, that tend to bypass that (black can go either way but from the graveyard in both cases, while white abhors cheating).
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: If something with a base toughness of 0 has the last +1/+1 counter keeping it alive removed, it will be sent to the graveyard as a state-based action. Yeetsmith won't be able to sacrifice it for damage.
Unwelcome Embrace is my absolute favorite out of this batch, but Neighborly Kami is a close second.
A little leery of Proof Of Concept for slapping down Blightsteels like a drawbackless Show And Tell, and a lot leery of Fauna Forerunner for the same reason. G and a sac outlet to slap down anything? Sure, you're not getting eldrazi cast triggers, but...
5762778
In any format where a partially-acorn Universes Beyond set is legal, you can already do this directly from the library. It's probably fine. Nobody sane plays competitive Legacy for this exact reason (and the price).