Friendship is Card Games: The Cutie Map · 11:10am Apr 5th, 2015
There’s been a few inches over the past eleven months. A few scattered showers in September. A four-second sprinkle in February. A passing squall on Wednesday. But now? Now the long pony drought is finally over. Soak it in, guys.
In case it needs to be said, be advised that the following blog is full of spoilers. Read no further if you haven’t seen the episode and want go in fresh.
So, is this first time all six have sat in their thrones at the same time, the first time some disharmony grew great enough to register in whatever intelligence exists in the Palace-Tree, or the first time since the tree developed enough to activate the map?
Speaking of the Map, despite the episode's name, I'm calling it the Map of Harmony. I'm following Ocarina of Time logic here: Everything, and I mean everything related to the main MacGuffin gets the same appellation. The only exception is Sparkalon, the Palace-Tree, which follows the principle that some things should sound awesome when announced by Dan Green.
Did anyone else think the voices sounded weird for a bit? Especially Applejack.
New tree in the credits. Well, we’ve all had time to mourn.
I do like the confirmation that Spike gets a chance to do some male bonding with Big Mac now and again. (Though I have to wonder who’s making dragon-targeted novelties like the gem-shaped Foam Dome and the foam claw. Perhaps Spike has been learning more from Pinkie than I realized.) Also, given Rarity's father's special talent, I'd love if she spouted off a few quarterback percentages without even thinking about it.
Am I the only one wondering who was operating that train? Can Twilight just requisition and animate them now?
Oh dear lord, creepy cult children. Seriously, as if the mass “Welcome” weren’t disturbing enough, we get it out of the mouths of babes.
“Are you an alicorn?” 
No, she just has eccentric tastes in hats and saddlebags.
Ah, Starlight Glimmer. The first season-premiere villain who isn’t a sealed evil in a can, and the second such major villain overall, if we treat the human world as a can. Also the first major villain to survive her episode without suffering some kind of epic magical thrashing. I suppose it's a matter of proportionate response... and a lack of readily available friendship rainbows.
The song was disturbing on a number of levels, exactly as intended. (Also, goose-stepping? I thought this was a communist regime.)
Even if Starlight’s philosophy weren’t twisted enough to contain several exotic spacial dimensions, the village ponies still aren’t equal. There are divisions of age and gender. The pegasi can still fly. The unicorns may still have some degree of spellcasting. (Nopony thought it odd when Starlight lifted the Staff of Sameness with telekinesis.) The earth ponies…
Actually, about that. How is this village surviving? It’s clearly off the grid. From the aerial shot we saw, there don’t seem to be any farms. It’s unclear if the pegasi are managing the weather. Where are they getting raw materials? They must've been around for years, long enough for ponies to be deeply indoctrinated, but how? Those muffin ingredients had to have come from somewhere.
Starlight Glimmer has Outer Monologue Syndrome, a common affliction among villains.
I’m still not sure if that “nothing but muffins” thing was a jab at the fandom portrayal of Derpy. Probably reading too much into it. Probably.
Great Mage Meadowbrook, eh? Well, at least he or she isn’t Star Swirl yet again. Also, “eastern” unicorns? Very interesting. It could just be regional schools of thought, but I wonder if this means that kirin are canon. And then there are those eight magical items…
Also, show of hands: Who else saw the Staff of Sameness and thought of Evangelion's Lance of Longinus? "Bident with double-helix tines" isn't exactly a common design choice.
So, this village doesn’t have any clear source of food, but it does have a public address system. Huh. Also, why didn’t anypony fly up and break that thing? There’s no reason to be good guests here.
The equalization is interesting. Horrifying, but interesting. It’s unclear how much of it is removal of talents and how much is counteracting them. There were certainly a few times it had to redouble the effect on Pinkie. Furthermore, given the sheer number of abilities it suppressed, some purely physical, there has to be more to it than just removing magic.
I do like how Starlight’s actual cutie mark includes a greater-than sign. Good visual design there. Also, is her very talent cutie mark manipulation? … Probably not. She studied that spell for years, and given her mark’s similarity to Trixie’s, it’s likely that her talent is magic in general. To be expected of a counterpart to Twilight.
Also, judging by her rant, that wasn't just propaganda for the sake of gathering a cult. Starlight actually believes what she preaches. It's just that she's created an exception for herself and refuses to acknowledge her own hypocrisy. (Also also, it seems that removing Twilight's cutie mark also removes her uninterruptible protagonist privileges when lecturing ponies.)
Getting your cutie mark back even changes your mane back to its preferred style. Good to know.
… Was that a Wilhelm scream in the closing pan across the village? I’m pretty sure I heard a Wilhelm scream in there.
Well that didn’t quite go as I predicted. I was expecting some kind of amicita ex machina to save the day. I’m very happy to be wrong. Fluttershy acquitted herself well once the bloom fell off the rose, and giving ponies other than the designated heroes a chance to shine was both interesting to see and confirmed my theory that all ponies can be badasses given the right stimulus.
Also, the villain got away? Huh. Well, we’ll almost certainly be seeing her again. The question is whether she’ll ever show up before the season finale. And whether she can catch the protagonists off-guard. And just why she was harvesting cutie marks. Sure, it could just be for her twisted philosophy… but it may not.
Also, apparently the other princesses and Discord are wholly uninvolved in this. I wonder what they’ll think when or even if the Mane Six tell them.
Complete Consensus 2W
Enchantment
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you gain 1 life.
Fluttershy will happily agree with anypony.
Starlight’s Balance 3WW
Sorcery
Choose artifacts, creatures, or enchantments. Each opponent who controls more permanents of the chosen type than you do sacrifices permanents of that type equal to the difference.
"I am the guiding star, the one who must shine brightest to guide ponies through the long night and into enlightenment"
—Starlight Glimmer
Break Monologue UU
Instant
Counter target spell that isn’t the first spell its owner cast this turn.
Starlight has no patience for self-righteous diatribes. As is often the case, she fails to see the irony.
Spacial Rift UU
Instant
For each player, return target creature that player controls to its owner’s hand.
”Ponies should always stand clear of a teleporting unicorn. I just make sure they do.”
—Starlight Glimmer
Droning Propaganda 2U
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player puts the top two cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
”It will keep going until the evil of cutie marks becomes self-evident.”
—Starlight Glimmer
Undistinguish 2U
Sorcery
Turn target nontoken creature face down. (It’s a 2/2 creature.)
A cutie mark symbolizes everything that makes a pony unique. The implications of removing it are exactly what one might expect them to be.
Futile Attempt 2UU
Instant
Counter target spell. That spell’s controller puts the top X cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard, where X is that spell’s converted mana cost.
”To excel is to fail.”
—Glimmerist propaganda
“In Our Town” 2UU
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “In Our Town”.
1UU, Sacrifice “In Our Town”: Turn up to X target nontoken creatures face down, where X is the number of verse counters on “In Our Town”. (They’re 2/2 creatures.)
Cunning Rubberwright 3U
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
X, T: You may put an artifact card with converted mana cost X from your hand onto the battlefield. Return that artifact to your hand at the beginning of the next end step. (Return it only if it's on the battlefield.)
Balloons are a versatile medium, but a transient one.
1/3
Mental Dissonance 1B
Sorcery
Target player discards a card. If you control a green or white permanent, that player discards an additional card.
When you’ve been taught only lies, any truth is a disturbing revelation.
Muffin Malaise 1B
Instant
Target player loses 2 life. That player can’t gain life this turn.
”There’s a reason I don’t like using black magic.”
—Ditzy Doo
Disturbing Grin 1BB
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has intimidate.
Whenever enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card.
”Not every smile is a happy one.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Futile Struggle 3BB
Enchantment
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player loses 1 life for each card in his or her hand.
Hellbent — At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have no cards in hand, you gain 2 life.
You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream.
Alpine Athlete 2R
Creature — Pony Warrior
Snow landwalk
1S: Target creature can’t block this turn. (S can paid with one mana from a snow permanent.)
Ski poles are for those not blessed with an intimate connection to the ice.
2/1
Cutie Pulse 1GG
Sorcery
If an opponent controls more creatures than you, you may cast Cutie Pulse as though it had flash.
Search your library for a Pony, Pegasus, or Unicorn card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
Harmony corrects imbalances by guiding those who can fix them
Architectural Flourishes 1
Artifact — Fortification
Untap fortified land during each other player’s untap step.
Fortify 1 (1: Attach to target land you control. Fortify only as a sorcery. This card enters the battlefield unattached and stays on the battlefield if the land leaves.)
Map of Harmony 1
Legendary Artifact
2, T: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Activate this ability only if an opponent controls more lands than you.
The Palace-Tree possesses a strange awareness and stranger means of communication.
Tome of Equality 2
Artifact
3, T: If target opponent has more cards in hand than you, that player discards a card. Activate this ability only during your turn.
Some books enlighten the masses. Some are just heavy masses.
Throne of Generosity 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has "T: Target player gains control of another target permanent you control." As long as it's legendary, it has "T: Gain control of target permanent you own." As long as it's blue, it has "U: Untap this creature."
Equip 2
Throne of Honesty 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has hexproof. As long as it's legendary, it has "2, T: Target creature you control gains hexproof until end of turn." As long as it's green, it has vigilance.
Equip 2
Throne of Kindness 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Whenever equipped creature blocks, you gain life equal to its toughness. As long as it's legendary, prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to or dealt by it. As long as it's white, it can block an additional creature.
Equip 2
Throne of Laughter 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has lifelink. As long as it's legendary, it has "Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses 1 life." As long as it's black, it has intimidate.
Equip 2
Throne of Loyalty 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
If you own equipped creature, you can't lose control of it. As long as it's legendary, it has haste and double strike. As long as it's red, it has protection from white and from blue.
Equip 2
Throne of Magic 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Hoofcraft — Whenever an ability of equipped creature is activated, if it isn't a mana ability, copy that ability. If equipped creature is legendary, copy that ability again. If you control three or more Ponies, Pegasi, and/or Unicorns, copy it again. You may choose new targets for the copies.
Equip 3
Soul Vault 5
Artifact
4, T: If Soul Vault is on the battlefield, turn target nontoken creature face down.
When Soul Vault leaves the battlefield, turn all face-down creatures face up.
”There is a place for dissension, and that is behind glass.”
—Starlight Glimmer
Angry Equalists 6
Creature — Pony
Once Starlight’s disciples realized how much she had taken from them, no amount of lies would appease them.
4/4
Bombardment Baker 1RW
Creature — Unicorn
Lifelink
1, T: Bombardment Baker deals 1 damage to target creature. Tap that creature.
A clever unicorn can do almost anything, as long as she can work her special talent into the spell.
0/1
Starlight Glimmer, Unifier 3WU
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Other creatures have base power and toughness 1/1 and their activated abilities can't be activated.
2WU: Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Equality is relative.
2/2
Twisted Philosophy 5UB
Enchantment
Skip your draw step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card.
At the beginning of your end step, if you have fewer than seven cards in hand, draw cards equal to the difference.
I think Starlight should also do something about those pesky abilities as well.
Staff of Sameness 0
Artifact
(Does nothing)
9th enchanted item of the Great Mage Meadowbrook
I heard it too. Either neither of us is crazy or we both are.
And apparently I'm not the only one that thought Applejack sounded a bit different. Though I get that feeling almost every new episode, so my opinion won't be reliable on that subject until long after most people will have stopped caring or reached their own conclusions.
Starlight Glimmer is strong and flavourful, though I have to agree with Serefin. I suppose you could easily make a card out of her staff that achieves a similar effect. Something that shuts down all abilities, maybe with the ability to choose one creature to be an exception because Starlight is a hypocrite.
I could easily see most of the thrones (not Magic, sadly) being printed under different names in a Commander supplement
Twisted Philosophy is less of a nonbo with Damia than it might at first seem
Unrelated to anything above, I've been reading a lot of Avatar: the Last Airbender fanfiction lately (Avatar of Victory is an excellent crossover with Mass Effect, but it is very long), and I came up with this:
Koh, the Face-Stealer 5BB
Legendary Creature - Spirit
Whenever Koh, the Face-Stealer blocks or becomes blocked by a creature or becomes the target of a creature’s ability, exile that creature.
Koh has all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled with it.
4/4
2948627 I heard the Wilhelm as well...I also Ackbar'd about halfway through.
I almost think "Starlight's Balance" should be "equal to the difference plus one," just to hammer home the inequality aspect of her equality.
Typo in the flavour text of Spacial Rift:
I feel you missed a cycle with Mental Dissonance. Having a series of cards that do better if you have an enemy-coloured card is something I don't think we've seen before.
2948463 Strictly inferior to Darksteel Relic.
(Words that will never be uttered in the course of discussion of a real Magic set.)
2948302 2948627
In the interest of enhancing equality, Starlight now shuts down other creatures' activated abilities. Not the static ones, though. Equalized pegasi can still fly. (Note that multiple Starlights, whether through multiple controllers or Mirror Gallery, will result in true equality, save for static and triggered abilities. And no, that wasn't a SJW pun.)
2948463
No, as Double Diamond demonstrated, it clearly functions as a Sunstrike Trident.
2948656
Yup, that's a face-stealer alright. Wouldn't be out of place on Kamigawa. Of course, Avatar has very similar metaphysics to Kamigawa, so that should come as no surprise.
2948803
Typo fixed. As for the potential cycle, we'll see how the rest of the season plays out. Mental Dissonance is intentionally designed for that "wait, what?" factor. (That being said, there is the Sanctuary cycle from Apocalypse.)
I haven't managed to get around to watching Evangelion, but I'm assuming this is what you were thinking:
derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/4/864950/medium.gif
I'm really liking the Throne artifacts, especially Kindness and Laughter. I also quite enjoy how you integrated Double Diamond, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle into cards.
2948947 by that logic anything can function as an equipment, all double diamond showed was that he cast bludgeon brawl.
The Staff of Sameness seems like an intentional Evangelion reference, yes.
I noticed that too. FlanChan's "The Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee" covered that, and that story is extremely similar to the premier.
I did not notice that. Her cutie mark was hard to see.
Yes!
I swear it's one!
Think you're missing a word in Undistinguish's flavor text there; "A cutie mark symbolizes everything that makes a pony unique. The implications of removing (it/them/one) are exactly what one might expect them to be."
Architectural Flourishes, yes, more Fortifications. Sadly it is not planned on being a supported card type. I think it has a lot of potential.
The phrasing on Throne of Generosity struck me a little odd so I did a search 1 and outside of one odd-ball 2 the phrasing is "As long as equipped creature is" instead of "As long as it's". The outlier is from an earlier set so I assume the others are the proper formatting after they nailed it down.
I really like the idea behind this card, good for the multi-player variants where you have allies; be it team (Emperor/Two-Headed Giant) or you have 'other players' who are not 'opponents' (Star Format). We really need more multi-player cards like this.
Also, I have this lingering feeling that the Throne should give the equipped creature Defender, because if your sitting on it you can't very well be out and about fighting in the field. Unless it's stuck to your butt and that's just a hilarious image.
So, the way I make my comments I read a card, then jump down to comment section and write out what comes to mind if I feel I have something worth saying about it. As such I saw Throne of Generosity before the others and it didn't twig in my mind there would be five others. The comments above about phrasing apply to all the others, as does that lingering idea about Defender.
Throne of Kindness in particular wouldn't really have too much trouble giving Defender.
I see that Throne of Laughter is of the "maniacal" type. You've got the practice that to get it right. Let's all practice together now. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Throne of Loyalty reminds me of a certain cycle of swords3, though by granting double strike it could be strictly better than any of them.
Though Hoofcraft is an ability word and they don't work the way some people think they do with the way Throne of Magic is worded might make many people think that you don't get any effect unless you have Hoofcraft, which is not correct but is still a problem. Other than dropping it to a line of its own after the others I'm not sure how to fix that.
Shouldn't Soul Vault have the reminder text that they are 2/2s? With no abilities. You know the one.
The cost on Angry Equalists bothered me so I did a (refined) search for 4/4s with no abilities4, not even french vanillas, and the average cost comes out to 5. Most are 4C of course, but even the fully colorless5 one is at 5, but the "being an artifact" actually matters at times.
Also, I don't really like this mob of ponys being colorless. I guess it fits with them having been "equalized" but it still goes against a fundamental aspect of how magic works in Magic: the Gathering; all things not artifacts have a color. The Eldrazi are straight up Eldrich Abominations that don't care about our rules so they get a pass. Ugin and his ilk are less sure, but it seems to be "his thing" that he can do colorless and should probably be considered "the exception that proves the rule".
If only they had something that symbolized a mana cost that had to be colored but could be any color, like a five way split of all the symbols, but that would be too small; two is alright and I think they could get away with three but that's pushing it. And making it {2/C) for all the colors, ala Reaper King6, is just silly so I'm not really sure what to do about the color issue.
At first I thought that the fact that Starlight Glimmer shut down mana abilities was a big thing but then I looked it up and that seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Still, she's a nuisance to be sure.
But she dies to Lighting Bolt.
Because Gatherer Advanced search uses "[]" it messes with the linking function of the comments section, which uses HTML, so the links are down here. Just copy the whole link and past it into the address bar because it's going to break the auto-link thing.
1 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&text=+[%22as%20long%22]&subtype=+[%22Equipment%22]
2 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=79231
3 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&subtype=+[%22Equipment%22]&name=+[%22Sword%20of%22]+[%22and%22]]
4 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&power=+=[4]&tough=+=[4]&text=+![%22%20%22]+![%22Flying%22]+![%22Trample%22]]
5 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205056
6 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=159408]
I like that Party Pony seems to be, more and more, a legitimate profession in Equestria. Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, and now Party Favor. I think there were some in the comics, but I haven't gotten around to reading them yet.
Why is Alpine Athlete not a snow creature?
2949083
Ah, but if it cost no mana, even Bludgeon Brawl wouldn't give it the ability to augment damage. It would be as ineffectual as trying to beat someone to death with a Black Lotus.
2952645
Because Double Diamond wasn't suffused with unnatural cryogenic magics.
2952927 point taken, however even Starlight Glimmer says that it's just a stick, honestly I have to wonder how soft a ponies hooves are that a stick can break what they can't.
...Do you mind if I steal the "turn a creature face-down" mechanic for false Kindness (WU) in Ahlogis? Because it's too goddamn perfect.
Ain't no villain like a WU villain cause a WU villain is CREEPY.
2956901
Yeah, white-blue is the color combination of civilization, bureaucracy, and stifling order. A white-blue villain will micromanage every second of your life and will have a twenty-seven page dissertation on why it's a good thing. Some villains just kill you. White-blue villains will make you wait four to six weeks before your Suicide Requisition Form Q-17 gets approved.
So, to answer your question, go right ahead.
I had to put off reading any of this until I saw the episode today. So first off, to the episode summary:
Do we actually know that any time has passed since they defeated Tirek? For all we know this is, like, two days after the castle was erected and it happens to be the first time they're all in the room at the same time.
I think Starlight survived the episode without a magical thrashing because, well, she's the first major villain who's been smart enough to run away from the national heroes and their Alicorn-tier leader rather than fight them. Every other villain has tried to fight but she bolted for the hills before they even had their magic back, when it just looked likely that they were going to get their magic back.
My first thought when they all got captured and Fluttershy talked her way out was "Ok great, now go fetch the princesses and/or the army and roll back in here with overwhelming force." Aside from being obviously not the FiM way of doing things, my idea turned out to be actually terrible compared to doing things herself--the second things went South the conflict became about stopping Starlight from escaping with their marks, which she easily could have done while someone was running for help. So yeah, for once playing the Princess card and bringing in the army was the wrong solution.
Well why wouldn't getting your cutie mark back fix your hairdo? Pinkie's hairstyle turned poofy when she first got her mark after all! (Speaking of, why didn't it turn flat when it was removed? Why?)
Anyways, Starlight definitely seemed to have nefarious plans for using those cutie marks, beyond just a desire to collect them and rule a cult. After all, she went to extra effort to protect the most powerful marks she got her hooves on even before the rebellion started and she needed to keep them out of spite, and she was willing to slow herself down in her escape to hold onto them.
Anyways, cards (which are all quite good this week):
Starlight's Balance: Oh boy, who doesn't love choose-your-own-wrath effects. Obviously more powerful if your deck is short on one or two of the three categories.
Break Monologue: Haha yes. Though honestly I'm wondering if it could have been 1U considering that it's conditional and, you know, 1U is where the gold-standard conditional counterspell is costed.
Spacial Rift: Oooh, nifty! Sure to earn a lot of groans in multiplayer, or in a self-bounce deck.
Droning Propaganda: Love the flavor here.
Undistinguish: Oh that's mean. It's not quite a kill spell, and it's not quite exile, but it's possibly more infuriating than either just for how close the creature feels.
Also, compare/contrast Pongify.
Futile Attempt: Well, it's not the most useful counterspell variant but if you're already running the right deck...
“In Our Town”: Yikes! It's slow and expensive, and suffers diminishing returns a bit (where mass removal is normally the opposite), but being able to do that to multiple creatures for one spell is certainly Timmy-ish.
Cunning Rubberwright: So it's infinite uses of any artifact that needs to be sacrificed for an effect? Were you looking at Urza's saga when you tried to decide what's a balanced effect for artifacts? For starters, Aether Spellbomb every turn. Or worse, drive your opponent broke with Ashnod's Coupon every turn!
Mental Dissonance: Moderately exciting, but great flavor.
Disturbing Grin: Now that, meanwhile, is what a scary discard card looks like. Or a scary card in general.
Futile Struggle: A bit too expensive to be a combo piece in the kinds of decks where I'm imagining this as a combo piece. Still, it's not 100% useless in any hellbent deck.
Alpine Athlete: 1S? I assume that means any snow covered land, but you should probably make it more obvious.
Cutie Pulse: It's no Living Wish, I'll tell you that, but any tutor at all is a decent card.
Architectural Flourishes: Only fools would limit this to a land that produces mere mana. (Not that mana on everyone else's turn is useless in the right deck).
All six of those thrones are very cool--flavorful, powerful and combo-enabling. But Throne of Magic seems to be begging to break the game wide open. I mean come on, almost any ability that has discard or sacrifice as part of its cost is probably broken if you copy it three (or even two) times.
Soul Vault: Oooh, that's actually pretty scary. I imagine it could be a combo enabler for your own flip creatures if not for the obvious fact that there's no many morph creatures that actually cost enough to justify it. Maybe you could use it to sneak out Phage? (You're not a Jhonny until you've come up with at least one combo that cheats out Phage).
Angry Equalists: Well if there's any place for vanilla artifact creatures, this is it.
Bombardment Baker: Very cool. The abilities play off each other in a satisfying-looking way; she pings and heals you and taps something, all at once.
Starlight Glimmer, Unifier: Genius! She's like Godhead of Awe, only she cheats more (without outside help).
Twisted Philosophy: Umm, so it gives you six cards per turn if you can actually spend them all? If you have that much mana you probably CAN spend them all, so... five extra cards (plus a draw-and-discard) per turn is the most combo-less card advantage I can recall seeing on one card ever, except Enter the Infinite. But then, it is pricey. Edit: Oh wait, there's Damia to compare it to. Said comparison makes this pretty obviously an appropriate cost.
2958143
It is entirely possible that this really is the first time all six have sat in the thrones together. It's easy to forget that after eleven months of minimal pony on this end of reality.
Looking back, I'm not sure why Pinkie's hair didn't deflate. However, it probably ties into the removal/suppression distinction that Starlight's spell leaves ambiguous. Pinkie's equal mark was probably doing everything it could to keep her contained; it couldn't spare the juice to let her hair down.
Cunning Rubberwright: The artifact only gets returned if it's still on the battlefield when the end step hits. Otherwise, it's not an artifact, but a card in a graveyard. I'll add some reminder text to that effect.
Alpine Athlete: S is the substitute for the snow mana symbol. Any permanent with the snow supertype can produce snow mana, including Boreal Druid and Coldsteel Heart. Coldsnap was kind of weird.
2958269
Oh. The only cards I ever had with that kind of ability didn't have any reminder text saying it had to be on the battlefield, so I always assumed it didn't and that the point of paying for it every turn was so it'd be disposable. In hindsight that would've made them all pretty broken in a combo deck.
I think I have a name for this mechanic. Subsume.
Soulbrand Subsumption.
2WG
Sorcery
Subsume target creature, then put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. (To subsume a card, turn it face down. Face-down cards are colorless 2/2 creatures.)
"Such a gift I give - freedom from the burden of destiny."
2953018
Normally they would be. However, when their strength has been equalized...
2963056
Hmm. Technically speaking, in this context, "turn" is already a keyword action, like "flip" and "transform." On the other hand, now you've got me imagining some sort of dystopian Tarkir ruled by Nicol Bolas, and that is a fantastic mental image. Plus, Ixidron would read "When Ixidron enters the battlefield, subsume all other nontoken creatures," which is also awesome.
I admit, the idea is growing on me. Just remember that tokens shouldn't be subsumed. (How do you to tell which face is up?)
For those that heard the Scream, upvote if you thought or said "STFU Wilhelm!"
Just watched the episodes again recently, and noticed that there's loads of room between Rarity and Pinkie Pie's cutie marks when they were hovering over the map, probably enough that a seventh cutie mark would fit between.