Friendship is Card Games: It Isn't Easy Being Breezies · 4:53pm Mar 2nd, 2014
As you might have gathered from yesterday's blog, I'm rather happy about this episode. We have creatures coming and going from other planes of existence. Not just alternate Equestrias, other worlds, complete with unstable portals between the two.
Also, I find it fascinating how we're still arguing over the breezies' ethnicity. I've heard Swedish, Danish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Canadian... My favorite term is "iriswedelsh." I'm on the Gaelic side of things, though I admit a large amount of that is confirmation bias, wanting the breezies to conform with Lorwyn faeries as much as possible. Mind you, that's a rather double-edged sword, given what jerks Lorwyn faeries are. I keep expecting breezies to start stealing dreams or dominating Standard. And then there's the question of just who's in charge of them...
Oh, and Fluttershy is confirmed to be a universal translator. HiE fics rejoice. Except My Little Human, which is now officially AU. Yes, not even I'm a fan of that one, but let's not get into that. No controversy. Only cards now.
Modulate 2W
Instant
Choose a number. If any source would deal more than X damage this turn, it deals X damage instead, where X is the chosen number.
"Sorry, 'Shy. Didn't realize how hard it would be to cheer quietly."
—Applejack, Bearer of Honesty
Prismatic Reinforcement 2W
Instant
Untap all creatures you control. Those creatures get +0/+1 until end of turn for each color among permanents you control.
Each Element of Harmony can be expressed in many ways, some less obvious than others. None require a torc or tiara.
Münchorsen Syndrome 3W
Enchantment
Creatures can't attack you or planeswalkers you control unless their controller pays X for each of those creatures, where X is the number of tapped Ponies, Pegasi, and/or Unicorns you control.
"Being too cute to eat shouldn't work as a defense mechanism. And yet, ponies."
—Garruk Wildspeaker
Coddle XW
Instant
Creatures with power X or less can't attack this turn.
Draw a card.
"I wouldn't want any of you taking any risks out there. That sounds… risky."
—Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness
Confusing Pep Talk U
Instant
Replicate U
Creatures target player controls get -1/-0 until end of turn.
"A pony whose speeches don't inspire confidence is only making one mistake: he's delivering those speeches to the wrong army."
—Ditzy Doo
Delicate Breezies UU
Creature — Pony Faerie
Flying
When Delicate Breezies becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it.
Ungula is a world of deadly hazards for the breezies. Those who leave their home are heroes. Those who return are legends.
3/1
Archaic Research 2U
Sorcery
Look at the bottom three cards of your library. Put one into your hand and exile the rest.
"Every day, I'm amazed by how much the ancient castle's library teaches me. It's like Celestia intentionally left these books behind."
—Princess Twilight Sparkle
Breezie Swarmminder 2U
Creature — Pony Faerie Advisor
Flash
Flying
Other Faerie creatures you control get +1/+1.
1U: Return target Faerie you own to your hand.
A swarmminder must have a longer attention span than all his subordinates put together.
1/1
Fae Gateway 2U
Enchantment
Vanishing 4
Faerie spells you cast cost 1 less to cast for each time counter on Fae Gateway.
Portals between Equestria and Glen Epona appear periodically and predictably, but never for very long.
Cascade Failure 3U
Instant
Cascade Failure costs 3 less to cast if a spell was countered this turn.
Counter target spell.
"The pollen run's dangerous business. Once something goes less than perfectly, it's all downhill from there."
—Seabreeze, breezy swarmminder
Incongruous Mariachis 3U
Creature — Pony
Flash
When Incongruous Mariachis enters the battlefield, you may have it become an enchantment in addition to its other types until end of turn. If you do, change the target of up to one target spell that targets an enchantment to Incongruous Mariachis.
The connection between musician and song is much looser in Ungula.
3/3
Universal Conversation 3UU
Sorcery
Draw a card for each creature type among non-Shapeshifter creatures you control.
"Understanding all kinds of living creatures isn't always nice, but I try to make it enjoyable for everything else."
—Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness
Spoiled Pollen 1B
Sorcery
Target player discards a card. If that player discards a land card this way, he or she loses 4 life.
There's more to the breezies' precious cargo than just golden dust, and more at stake than a few flowers more or less.
Mass Appeal 1R
Sorcery
Untap target creature with power less than or equal to the number of creatures you control. Gain control of that creature until end of turn. It gains haste until end of turn.
"How can I say no to all those precious faces?"
—Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness
Rain of Acorns 2G
Instant
Rain of Acorns deals 1 damage to each creature with flying. Whenever a creature dealt damage this way dies this turn, put a 1/1 green Squirrel creature token onto the battlefield.
Storing nuts for the winter makes squirrels adept at burying all sorts of things.
Waggle Dance 2G
Sorcery
Choose one — Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library; or search your library for a land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Entwine — Tap an untapped Insect you control. (Choose both if you paid the entwine cost.)
Blinding Ensemble 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has hexproof.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, tap target creature defending player controls.
Equip 2
"There's no such thing as too many sequins."
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity
Moment of Weakness (ub)
Instant
Target creature's toughness becomes 1 until end of turn.
Breezies love to tell stories. Even more believable than the ones the listener wants to be true are those she fears are.
Environmental Hazard RG
Enchantment
Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control, Environmental Hazard deals 1 damage to that creature.
"Leaves big as sails, acorns the size of a breezie, literally killer bees… what in this world can't kill us?"
—Seabreeze, breezie swarmminder
Pollen Couriers GU
Creature — Pony Faerie Druid
Flying
Whenever Pollen Couriers deals combat damage to a player, you may put a land card in your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
"Pollen? Yes, pollen. Just pollen. Nothing else here, no sir."
1/2
Breeze Team 1WU
Creature — Pegasus
Flying
1WU: Creatures you control with flying get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Breezie magic functions inefficiently on Ungula, needing help from the natives to work at its peak.
2/2
Hive Defenders 1RG
Creature — Insect
Flying
If a creature is attacking you and you control a Mountain and a Forest, you may cast Hive Defenders without paying its mana cost and as though it had flash.
Whenever Hive Defenders blocks or becomes blocked by a creature, it deals 1 damage to that creature.
1/1
Template Polymorph XGU
Sorcery
Choose target nonlegendary creature. X other target creatures become copies of that creature until end of turn.
"Before, I was worried how everypony would react. Now, I just wish Dash had reacted a little worse."
—Princess Twilight Sparkle
Hm... I'm trying to think of how to break Universal Conversation, but all I've come up with is two ways of countering it.
Modulate is basically "Prevent all damage from target source of your choice" since you just choose "0" as your number. Not sure how you could change it to keep the flavor you are wanting. Maybe make it XW and "If a source would deal more than 5-X damage this turn, it deals 5-X damage instead" but that would be better served by just straight up "prevent X damage" so, eigh.
Prismatic Reinforcement needs an "until end of turn" rider on the toughness boost.
Maybe change Delicate Breezies to "becomes the target of a non-Faerie spell or ability" that way it can work in combination with Breezie Swarmminder and to differentiate it a little from the "Illusion-breaker rules text".
Pollen Couriers should put the land onto the battlefield tapped, don't think being a Rare / Mythic Rare (since you don't put rarities on your cards it's a little hard to judge power level at times) would allow for it coming in untapped since it just needs to deal combat damage.
I think Hive Defenders might be a good contender to have "A deck can have any number of cards named Hive Defenders" on it. For flavor reasons.
1888129
Yeah, I was careful with that one. Though bear in mind that if you can get it to work with changelings, you'll probably deck yourself out.
1888254
The suggested changes were made to Prismatic Reinforcement and Pollen Couriers. Thank you for pointing them out.
You've misread Modulate. It applies to all sources for a turn. Choosing 0 prevents damage for a turn. Choosing 2 does a fair impression of Equal Treatment. If your creatures have higher toughness than your opponent's (likely, if playing white,) it can be as hilarious as a well-timed Safe Passage.
Delicate Breezies is already a 3/1 flier for two. It doesn't need to be any better.
Hive Defenders, meanwhile, just doesn't have room for much more rules text, and the "no four limit" ability appears to be black.
Actually, my personal headcanon is that Fluttershy is a polygot, not an omnigot. Remember how she had trouble speaking with the Vampire Fruit Bats? There are a LOT of animal languages out there.
1888533
I did indeed misunderstand Modulate but it still fells "off" to me, can't really place why.
Two cards does not a core color make. Both of them give off the "swarm" or "cult" feel, I can see this being a green (insect swarm) and red (mobs) or even white (armies). Blue is stretching it a bit, maybe schools of fish (Unlimited Piranhas!).
I really wish they'd use this a bit more than only two cards.