Equestria Girls: Friendship (is Card) Games · 12:42am Sep 28th, 2015
Well, this has been an eventful day. I was able to slip in between Hasbro purges and catch the movie, so let's get this out while it's still technically Sunday.
Am I the only one who thought of Kung Fury during the opening? The dramatic running and synthesizers had me looking for angry arcade cabinets.
Going by that “Oy,” Pinkie is somehow Jewish Mennonite. Or, at the very least, Yiddish exists in this world.
Brilliant plan, Sunset. Yell at the suspicious girl. Surely nothing will go wrong.
Also, going by how quickly that bus came and went, I have to think the driver is in on this.
I’m glad there wasn’t a third flare transition when Twilight opened her conspiracy den. That would’ve just been ridiculous.
The start of the credits is hilarious. Hasbro is in on the CHS phenomena! (The best part? Twilight's right!)
Hmm. I wonder whose birthday is just under two weeks after the Friendship Games. Possibly Twilight’s, yes, but I suspect it’s another member of her family. That seems more like a reminder than a marker for her own birthday.
I’ve known about it for some time, but I’m still weirded out by the principal of Crystal Prep’s name being a play on a character from To Kill a Mockingbird.
I do like how allusions to Sunset’s reign of terror have gone from “No offense”/“(sigh) None taken” to a wink and an “Oh, you” expression. Hooray for moving past one’s past failures!
I want to read that book on transdimensional portal maintenance, or at least skim through it.
I’m with Sunset in terms of the silliness of the rivalry. Of course, I’m allergic to school spirit. I usually hid in the library during pep rallies.
Diamond Tiara cares so little, she can’t even pretend to clap.
Vinyl’s mouth moved during one of the echoes in the pep rally song. Muteness… uncertain. She could’ve just been mouthing along while in the spirit of things.
And so the transformation threshold drops. Fortunately, in canon, that doesn’t immediately imply the end of the universe.
Vice Principal Luna can enter a scene like Batman. I am okay with this.
Not knowing the events ahead of time? What is this, the Triwizard Cup?
Isolating an aberrant form of EM radiation that allows for giant helical rainbows isn’t enough to guarantee entrance into an independent study program? I’m not sure if they’re ridiculously picky or if this is just Twilight overestimating the obstacles she has to overcome, though I’m leaning towards the latter.
Wow. Human Fleur’s kind of a bitch, even after accounting for the high jerk index of Crystal Prep.
Twilight, they probably wouldn’t stare at you quite as much if you stopped singing in the hallways.
Principal Cinch seems to have gotten some lighting tips from Gendo Ikari. Just replace those overhead lamps with a diagram of the Sephirot and she’s there. The decor's much too cluttered for proper Central Dogma chic, but what can you do?
“As an alumni.” 
The singular is “alumnus,” Cadence. Or “alumna” for women. I guess Crystal Prep doesn’t teach Latin.
Shining, I’m going to hate you in this movie, aren’t I?
While we have nearly enough Twilight counterparts to field a baseball team of them, this movie also offers us something rarer: A counterpart to Celestia. Rather than guide her students to become the greatest they can be, Principal Cinch is interested only in vicariously advancing her own personal glory through them. A mentor can have a deep impact on a student, and it’s clear how Cinch’s policies and personalities have affected this Twilight.
The overhead outfit slam makes its return from the first movie, and somehow works with shorts.
Also, Pinkbeard the Wizard is fantastic.
If Luna likes seeing Cadence, why don’t they meet more often than every four years?
I’ve actually been in Twilight’s shoes. My sister is four years older than me, and we went to the same high school. She made sure there were people watching out for me, and as a result, I found myself getting greeted by people I didn’t recognize for most of freshman year. And the years after that. Apparently, I’d managed to make myself so unremarkable, I caused an overflow error and became popular despite myself. At least, that’s the theory I’ve been working with since. It's entirely possible that I just forgot people's faces as easily as their names.
That Derpy shoulder pat. “There, there, Flash. We can’t all be as inexplicably popular as me.”
Pinkie has a firm grasp on the situation. I’m not surprised in the least. There’s a reason I made her a planeswalker.
Given the ridiculousness of Lyra and Bonbon’s tryouts, I really want to know what Derpy did to join the team.
I've seen a lot of people confused over Sunset's reaction after Twilight's necklace consumes the portal. Going by the glow effect we'd seen when people had touched the statue before that, it seems that pony Twilight's override has effectively kept the connection going indefinitely, but at the same time has formed an impassible barrier just behind the edge of the gateway when the portal isn't being forced open.
Why do I get the feeling that there is no possible way that the chemicals in Derpy’s test tube could have exploded if someone else had mixed them?
Pinkie don’t need no pony magic to bake the impossible.
For a school that only cares about winning, Crystal Prep sure don’t seem that enthused about, you know, winning. I guess they hate Twilight that much.
Also, there’s a team elimination process? Huh. Didn’t anticipate that for some reason.
Oh, it’s a matter of personal ambition that just happens to all be aligned towards a common purpose, as opposed to genuine team effort and cooperation. I’m honestly surprised that they’ve succeeded so consistently. I guess it’s just a matter of always outclassing the competition on an individual basis.
And Spike got the Gaspode treatment. Yikes. Poor pup's in for a very interesting life.
Heh. Poster for the Fall Formal… though that does raise the question of when this takes place. Chronology matters, to me at least.
Pinkie, demonstrating your own mastery of time and space rather undermines your point about Twilight's.
I like how the principals’ box comes with evil thrones for everyone. Seriously, all they're missing are skulls of expelled students.
Huh. I always saw Applejack as more Demeter than Artemis, but it certainly works.
Also, if archery is a required course and Twilight aced every course… Well, it’s Twilight. Of course she’s not going to include PE in that consideration.
Applejack apparently wasn’t listening when Fluttershy mentioned the magic-eating necklace.
Yeah, when the motocross event includes jumps, then there’s definitely something wrong here. Even before accounting for the extradimensional plant monster. These are schoolchildren. High schoolers, yes, but I can’t see any school board sanctioning this.
Little reminder that there’s still a bitch in Sunset Shimmer. Especially when stressed, doubly so when her friends are threatened, and triply so when dealing with someone making the same mistakes she did. Do not dabble in forces you cannot even begin to comprehend with her around. She’ll slap you one.
Nice parallel to Sunset Satan. And it turns out Crystal Prep did vandalize the Wondercolt Statue. By disintegrating it.
Also, I think I figured out what the story is with the flaming mask: Midnight Sparkle's vision is still impaired. That thing's a sort of corrective lens made entirely of magic.
Uh, maybe you shouldn’t keep standing on the crumbling edge of the portal. Just saying.
Hmm. Pretty sure some people slipped into Equestria’s sky without transforming. I suppose without the portal providing adaptive morphic flux, you’re stuck in whatever form you had to begin with.
Holy crap. Super alicorn human fight? Super alicorn human fight!
Also, note how freely given magic doesn’t exhaust the donor like forcibly taken magic does. Possible changeling parallel there.
Also also, human Twilight effectively invented and built the Element of Magic. Hot damn.
And so the world was saved by… sad puppy dog eyes. Huh.
Uh. While I do like the stylistic pull from anime—rather appropriate given the circumstances—going to black outlines that then get wiped away usually means someone died. Though I suppose in a certain sense, Twilight did. She’s a new person afterwards, a wiser one.
Twilight taking Sunset’s hand isn’t just coming full circle, it’s also the fulfillment of foreshadowing I didn’t even realize was there from pony Twilight’s arrival at CHS in Rainbow Rocks. Probably not intentional foreshadowing, but still neat.
So, that’s what they’re going for in terms of why the world doesn’t already know about the magic? No one will believe it? They did get photographic proof in the first movie.
That said, credit to Principal Cinch for keeping her dignity as she retreats.
That may be the only time “we’re all winners” can ever be even kind of meaningful.
I figured the trigger for the magic had gone from musical to elemental harmony around Pinkie Pie, but it’s nice to know I was right. (Granted, they were hammering it in by the end, but still.) Also, if it only activates when people are being their deepest, truest selves, doesn't that mean that the magic is effectively trying to give people cutie marks?
It’s kind of a shame that Crystal Prep still seems to be under Cinch’s heel, but with her credibility shot among the student body… Well, it remains to be seen. Though going by the soundtrack, it seems we’re missing a rather important scene in the credits. I suppose we’ll have to wait until the DVD release to know for sure.
Scratch that. I was able to find an uncut version. The credits just do a yearbook photo montage sort of thing. Fun, but not plot-relevant.
Ooh, teaser for the Season 5 finale? Fun times ahead, it seems. Pun intended.
In all… well, I’m clearly suffering from the same sort of bias that I experienced when I watched “It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies.” Because this hews rather closely to my stories—Twilight going mad with power, magical escalation in the human world leading it breaking down, and so forth—I find myself heavily inclined to like it.
Still, the fact remains that the movie is effectively trying to tell the plot of one story while focusing on the characters of another. Most of the Crystal Prep characters barely get any development. Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat get running gags, while the other three get, at best, a few seconds of character establishment each. Dean Cadence is just kind of there, Shining Armor more so. Principal Cinch is well-portrayed, but after a series of megalomaniacs, a bitter woman tampering with forces she doesn't understand feels a little out of place as primary antagonist. Beyond Cinch, all of the real narrative investment is in Twilight and Sunset. Introducing seven new characters just wouldn’t have worked given the story the writers wanted to tell. No wonder they only really tried with one of them.
That being said, while I can’t deny the story’s failings, I also can’t deny that I enjoyed it. The songs have been stuck in my head since, the evolving magical behavior of that world is certainly intriguing, and there’s a wealth of new ideas and characters to explore. Not the best story, no, but fertile ground for fan fiction.
On that note, time for cards:
Therapy Bunny W
Creature — Rabbit
When Therapy Bunny enters the battlefield, you gain 2 life.
"Who could possibly feel said with one in their lap?"
—Fluttershy
1/1
Marching Band 3W
Creature — Human Band
Whenever Marching Band attacks, you may put a verse counter on target Song.
Whenever you sacrifice a Song, untap Marching Band.
As tireless and relentless as a tune stuck in your head.
3/3
Exquisite Archer 4W
Creature — Human Archer
2W, T: Exquisite Archer deals 3 damage divided as you choose among one, two, or three target attacking and/or blocking creatures.
Archery is a part of the Crystal Prep core curriculum. Rare is the student who can't hit a bullseye with minimal effort.
2/2
Seven-Layer Titan 5WW
Enchantment Creature — Cake Giant
Vigilance
All other permanents are Cake enchantments in addition to their other types.
”Called it!”
—Pinkie Pie
7/7
Researcher’s Familiar U
Creature — Hound
You have no maximum hand size.
Spike was an invaluable asset to Twilight even before he became sapient.
1/1
Twilight, Thaumologist 1U
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard
Whenever a player casts a spell, put a study counter on Twilight, Thaumologist.
1UU: Counter target spell that targets Twilight. Put a study counter on Twilight.
U: If there are twelve or more study counters on Twilight, remove all of them and transform it.
1/1
Midnight Sparkle, Planeripper
(UBR) Legendary Creature — Demon
Alicorn (This creature is a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying, hexproof
At the beginning of your draw step, draw an additional card.
3BR, Discard a card: Exile target nonenchantment permanent.
6/6
“What More Is Out There” 1U
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “What More Is Out There”.
Sacrifice “What More Is Out There”: Choose up to X cards you own from outside the game and shuffle them into your library, where X is the number of verse counters on “What More Is Out There”.
Cinch’s Influence 1UU
Enchantment
Spells you cast can’t be countered by spells or abilities.
Whenever a spell or ability you control would counter a spell, exile that spell instead.
When Abacus Cinch speaks, the academic community always listens.
Festoon 1UU
Sorcery
Proliferate, then proliferate again.
"One party cannon is never enough."
—Pinkie Pie
Overthink 2U
Instant
Counter target spell unless its controller pays X, where X is the total number of cards in all players’ hands.
”You’d think a place as academically inclined as Crystal Prep would appreciate some careful consideration.”
—Twilight Sparkle
Pinkie’s Insight 2U
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Scry 3, then draw a card.
• Planeswalk, then draw a card.
"Am I really the only one who's following this?"
Spectrometer Scan 2U
Sorcery
Converge — Draw X cards, where X is the number of colors of mana spent to cast Spectrometer Scan.
"My initial analysis of Canterlot High has revealed readings the likes of which I've never seen. I have to learn more."
—Twilight Sparkle
Independent Study 3U
Enchantment
At the beginning of your draw step, if you control no creatures, draw an additional card.
"I won't discover the secrets of the universe by making friends."
—Twilight Sparkle
Sealed Portal 3U
Instant
If a permanent would enter the battlefield this turn, put it on the bottom of its owner’s library instead.
No matter how many times Sunset ran her hands over the base of the statue, all she felt was cold, inert stone.
Connect the Dots 3UU
Sorcery
Draw a card for each conspiracy card in the command zone. (Face-down cards have no types.)
After months of research and investigation, Twilight had settled on two possibilities: Either Canterlot High was the site of unprecedented phenomena, or the Illuminati was transmitting thought-controlling radio waves from the moon.
Icy Demeanor 3UU
Instant
Choose one or both —
• Counter target spell.
• Tap up to two target creatures. They don’t untap during their controller’s next untap step.
Joy never lasts long around Principal Cinch.
Late Arrival XU
Instant
X can’t be 0.
Exile target creature spell with two times X time counters on it. If that card doesn’t have suspend, it gains suspend. (At the beginning of its owner's upkeep, remove a time counter from that card. When the last is removed, the player plays it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)
“Unleash the Magic” BB
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “Unleash the Magic”.
BB, Sacrifice “Unleash the Magic”: Look at target opponent’s hand and choose a nonland card with converted mana cost X or less from it, where X is the number of verse counters on “Unleash the Magic”. You control that player until this ability finishes resolving. The player casts that card if able. If he or she does, you control him or her while that spell is resolving.
Piecake Eating 1B
Enchantment
Whenever you sacrifice Piecake Eating or another permanent, you gain 3 life.
0: Sacrifice Piecake Eating.
"The sport of kings. Fat kings."
—Pinkie Pie
Through the Rift 4BB
Sorcery
Exile two target creatures.
Midnight Sparkle only wanted to clear the way to the world full of magic. Her old tormentors' demise was merely a side benefit.
Derisive Outburst RR
Instant
Each creature deals 1 damage to its controller.
A long legacy of failure has made Canterlot High resigned at best when it comes to the Friendship Games.
Runaway Reaction 1R
Instant
Runaway Reaction deals 1 damage to target player for each spell that player cast this turn.
"Oh, I still have eyebrows this time."
—Ditzy Doo
Speed Skater 1R
Creature — Human Warrior
Haste
When Speed Skater enters the battlefield, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
There's nothing quite like that first burst of adrenaline.
1/1
Erratic Archer 2R
Creature — Human Archer
T: Choose target creature or player. Flip a coin. If you win the flip, Erratic Archer deals 2 damage to that creature or player.
"Did I get it?"
1/1
Motocross Racer 4R
Creature — Human Knight
Whenever Motocross Racer attacks, it gets +2/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.
"All the horrible speeding death and barely contained explosions of a car with half of the wheels. What is wrong with humans?"
—Sunset Shimmer
2/2
“Acadeca” 1G
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on "Acadeca".
G, Sacrifice “Acadeca”: Target creature you control gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of verse counters on “Acadeca”. It fights target creature you don’t control.
Frank Assessment 1G
Instant
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player this turn, draw a card.
”You’re pretty bad at this game.”
—Sugarcoat
Otherworldly Creeper 2GG
Creature — Plant Horror
At the beginning of each upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on Otherworldly Creeper.
When the Everfree senses weak prey, it doesn't care where it has to go to get to it.
1/1
Canterlot Banner 3
Artifact
T: Add G, W, or U to your mana pool.
GWU, T, Sacrifice Canterlot Banner: Draw a card.
Friendship to unite, magic to shine.
Crystal Prep Banner 3
Artifact
T: Add W, U, or B to your mana pool.
WUB, T, Sacrifice Crystal Prep Banner: Draw a card.
Reputation to outshine, focus to outperform.
The Spectrocapacitor 4
Legendary Artifact — Contraption
T: Add 1 to your mana pool for each charge counter on The Spectrocapacitor. Spend this mana only to activate The Spectrocapacitor’s activated abilities.
6: Counter target spell. Put a charge counter on The Spectrocapacitor. Activate this ability only once each turn.
Sacrifice The Spectrocapacitor: Add 3 to your mana pool for each charge counter on The Spectrocapacitor.
Cut in Front (ur)(ur)
Instant
Put target spell or ability on top of the stack. (It resolves immediately after this spell.)
Draw a card.
Twilight subconsciously followed the currents of the Æther, often to others' displeasure.
Professional Welder 1UR
Creature — Human Artificer
T: Add 2 to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells or activate abilities of artifacts.
T: Professional Welder deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
Flame is a tool, as creative or destructive as the one who uses it.
0/1
Canterlot Rally 2GW
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on Canterlot Rally.
1GW, Sacrifice Canterlot Rally: Creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of verse counters on Canterlot Rally.
Principal Abacus Cinch 3UB
Legendary Creature — Human Advisor
When Principal Abacus Cinch enters the battlefield, search your library for a card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
2UB: Return Principal Abacus Cinch to its owner’s hand.
To her, anything less than perfection is failure.
1/2
Sunset Seraph 1WUBRG
Legendary Creature — Angel
Alicorn
Convoke
Flying, indestructible
When Sunset Seraph enters the battlefield, each player may put any number of permanent cards he or she controls from exile onto the battlefield.
4/4
Sweet 1W//Sour 1B
Instant//Instant
Sweet: Target player gains 4 life.
Sour: Target player loses X life, where X is two times the amount of life that player has gained this turn.
Fuse (You may cast one or both halves of this card from your hand.)
My Legacy Will Be Assured
Scheme
When you set this scheme in motion, exile all cards from your opponents’ graveyards, then shuffle any number of cards from your graveyard into your library.
"Yours will, at best, be a footnote."
Perhaps We Can Help One Another
Scheme
When you set this scheme in motion, each of your opponents may search his or her library for a card, put it into his or her hand, then shuffle his or her library. Then you may search your library for up to X cards, put them in your hand, and shuffle your library, where X is the number of opponents who searched their libraries this way.
Would they really go and pull that?
I don't know. I thought Cinch's character seemed fairly complete. She's got a distinct voice, she has recognisable mannerisms, her motives are clear... I know she doesn't really have any backstory or anything, but neither does Trixie, and people don't seem to mind it with her.
I don't know why I expected you to do anything but take a throwaway line from Pinkie and turn it into a cool card.
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Given that there are two songs on the soundtrack that weren't part of the presumably edited-for-time airing, I wouldn't put it past them. I suppose they could be part of follow-up animations... though the songs for the Rainbow Rocks follow-ups are part of the Friendship Games soundtrack.
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I suppose some of it was disappointment. I was hoping something more important than Cinch's reputation hinged on Crystal Prep's continued winning streak. Demonic pacts, deals with the mob, something that would give a nice bit of karmic backlash for nearly annihilating the world. But no, she's just a proud, bitter woman.
Conclusion: You have a good point and I have a clarification to make in the blog post itself.
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Pinkie's tangents are a great opportunity to branch out a little. As an added bonus, this means that one of the few beings that can survive the fury of Midnight Sparkle is a giant cake monster.
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Good. From now on, we should only ever write about Cinch. No other characters are necessary anymore.
I really like the design on the alicorn Twilight and Sunset. I wondered why Twilight didn't just take the Spectrocapacitor off, near the beginning I could understand her being curious about what was happening but near the end and especially with Rainbow it was clear she didn't want it to happen.
I was totally thinking of your fic when I saw the humane six transforming left and right.
I blame Superintendent Discord.
And then Celestia was a boardwipe. I also love how it completely counters Twi, Planeripper's activated ability.
Speaking of Twi, would it even be possible to use her as a commander? Or is her flipside not part of her color identity?
Derisive Outburst compares vastly unfavorably to Rakdos Charm, which can do its job or another two choices at instant speed for two fewer mana.
The Spectrocapacitor is going straight into my hypothetical Twi commander deck.
You know how I said I wanted a Twi commander deck? Now I want Sunset Seraph. Great idea making her convoke, by the way. Very flavorful.
I have gotten an idea for a Loop/fic similar to this: Ravnica High joins CHS and Crystal Prep.
The Implicit Maze is how Principal Beleren chooses the team.
In other words, Crystal Prep is the school for Orzhov initiates.
I had the thought at Rarity's transformation. Then, for the rest of the movie, I was exasperatedly yelling at them for not getting it yet.
During the baking competition, I said "Never go against a Pinkie when a cake is on the line!"
I saw someone use the name "Brilliant Sunset" for Sunset's new form somewhere. I think I like that better that "Daydream Shimmer." That sounds like she's just staring out into space when she should be doing other things. Love the card, though.
Also, love the Spectrocapacitor (though that sounds like something Jack Fenton would make). Better hope Bolas doesn't get a hold of it.
Canada got the uncut version of the movie.
The real skill is being able to exit a scene like Batman does.
Got to watch them wrap around programming errors. Always remember to zero limit your signed variables or just use unsigned if you don't have to deal with negatives.
Like Harry Potter potions you have to have the right touch.
Bake the impossible, cook the delectable
Roll! Roll! Make the batter!
Melt the unmeltable, glaze the unglazeable
Roll! Roll! Make the batter!
Wait, Fluttershy actually speaks at an audible level?
And now for the cards.
OK, you asked for this. Seven-Layer Titan; In Soviet Equestria you eat Titan. (Attack on Titan reference.)
I want Festoon, I want it so bad.
I could maybe see them doing something like Pinkie’s Insight if they ever printed more Plane Chase.
I know draw spells are powerful but Connect the Dots seems highly under-powered to me for what it does. 3UU at Sorcery speed and your card draw is restricted by a factor you have very little control over, and it might just be a dead card all together if you didn't open/select any conspiracy cards.
Tidings draws four, Ugin's Insight draws three with a rather good Scry beforehand, Heed the Mists is probably the closest because it's overly variable but still within your power to control somewhat.
Maybe make it an Instant and the rules text "Draw X plus one cards, where X is the number of conspiracy card in the command zone. (Face-down cards have no types.)" so you always get at least one card from it and probably not much more than three, which is what the mana cost seems to net you these days (Jace's Ingenuity).
The wording for “Unleash the Magic” seems a little wonky but I think that's the only way you can really get it to work the way I think you want it to work without just totally taking over that player for a turn. I am also tempted to say that you can make it so that player can cast the spell as though it had flash but I think that might be a little too powerful and most definitely too wordy on an already wordy card.
OK, so, cards (normally) only have an effect on the game while they are on the stack or the battlefield. When you sacrifice something it is no longer on the battlefield. So, timing question; do you gain the 3 life for having sacrificed a permanent or is Piecake Eating no longer on the battlefield when the ability would trigger so you don't gain the life?
I think you do, because it triggers when a sacrifice triggers thanks to "Whenever" but it's still a bit iffy. Maybe reword it to say "sacrifice another permanent" and "0: Sacrifice Piecake Eating. Gain 3 life." just to eliminate any possibility of a timing issue.
So, I can either shove two people Through the Rift or I can Hex six bodies to death for the same cost? Really depends on the situation. Exile is a bit stronger some of the time and the targeting requirements are not as restrictive... . I just don't know, seems a bit over-costed to me.
Makes you wounder how we, as a species, survived this long.
Shear. Dumb. Luck.
Ooooooh, The Spectrocapacitor is just begging to be given more activated abilities though some overly complicated method.
To the Johnny cave!
We need more stack manipulation. Though I don't think they'll ever print something like Cut in Front it's nice to dream.
I haven't seen to movie so I can't give you a suggestion like I normally do but I'm going to try and get you to change the name of Canterlot Rally into something that follows the "<Song Name or major verse>" format like I do for every Song sub-type card that doesn't already follow that format.
Ack, Sweet & Sour is just nasty. i like it!
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Most "Cursed" items, or items of dubious moral quality, tend to prevent their wearer from removing them, be it physically preventing it or just a mental block. Twilight might have just simply not been able to even consider removing it at that point.
I absolutely loved this movie: I watched it first thing when I got up on Sunday morning, and spent the entire day in a pony high afterwards. Gonna see if I can put my own thoughts together in a blog post later today.
A character, mind you, who is concerned above all else with keeping her reputation intact. I think they named her from the fracas over Go Set A Watchman more than just To Kill A Mockingbird.
It's probably time I finally read that book, actually.
Great. They've dropped a huge spoiler about Twilight having to sabotage Starlight's attempt to 'save' the world. My head canon has them steal from Guardian of Forever and have her arrive at each critical point at least a week before Starlight does. This means that each of the other five is primed to vaguely remember a violet unicorn mare who was such a great motivational speaker, she TALKED them into getting their cutie marks!!!
Also, Midnight Sparkle, my eye. That's Mandie from Oddparents. She might as well have been promising to kill Timmy Turner.
3426512 Seeing as Twilight built it herself I doubt she planned it to develop its own consciousness and hunger for magic, I would assume it acts similar to a magnet with magic drawing other magic.
Lot of replies to get through. Let's split this up to keep the scrolling reasonable.
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I wouldn't go that far. It's not like she's Ms. Harshwhinny.
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Superintendent Discord would probably explain the motocross, though I doubt a school board run by him would have any problems with what's going on at CHS.
Both sides of a double-faced card are considered in its color identity. Civilized Scholar, for example, is considered blue and red for the purposes of Commander decks. Twilight thus allows a Grixis build.
Derisive Outburst:
I was thinking of Stronghold Discipline rather than Rakdos Charm. I'll make some adjustments.
Daydream Shimmer: There are few mechanics in Magic that capture the power of friendship quite like convoke. And given how Sunset visiibly pulled in mana from her friends, how could I not put it on?
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That Loop sounds amazing. (Though I will note that Jace is apparently the vice principal, though he does do all of the work. Principal Mizzet is rarely seen doing much administrative work. Or at all.)
With Rarity's transformation, I still wasn't sure if it was following special talent or Element of Harmony, especially since I wasn't sure if Dash's was caused by inspiring loyalty or the musical number. By the time Pinkie rolled around, I could see the theme.
As for Daydream Shimmer, well, it's the official name. I personally prefer Sunset Seraph, but what can you do?
... Wait a minute. I still call best pony Ditzy Doo. When have I let official names stop me? That's so getting changed back.
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I take it my little conspiracy theory was off the mark, then?
3426512
Typo fixed. Thanks as always.
Connect the Dots: Remember, the command zone is a public one. This doesn't only count your conspiracies. It counts every face-up conspiracy. Period. And when you consider that Conspiracy games generally take place between four players...
Honestly? In its niche, this may be too good.
"Unleash the Magic": Considering that this is a Song version of Word of Command, I think I did the best I could with what I had to work with.
Piecake Eating: I'll add a rider similar to that on Zulaport Enforcer to clarify matters.
The Spectrocapacitor: Note that it's a Contraption. Given how I've designed Riggers to give Contraptions abilities, there's a wealth of possibilities there.
Canterlot Rally: The official name is "CHS Rally Song." Personally, I feel it sounds more like a playtest name than anything I'd want to see on a card. I made an executive decision.
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I thought that might be the case. Honestly, I just want to pretend that Go Set a Watchman doesn't exist. Marketing the rough draft of Mockingbird as Harper Lee's lost novel just feels crass.
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Personally, I'm wondering whether Starlight Glimmer will paradox herself out of existence with her careless use of time travel.
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Twilight was a mad scientist toying with forces she didn't comprehend. Is it really surprising that her creation grew beyond her expectations and control?
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As FOME said, sometimes when you work with magic what you want is not always what you get. The whole "sufficiently advanced science" bit applies here I think.
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I know the command zone is all players, but I still had a two player game in mind, not four.
I looked at the conspiracy card type and I can see each player running one, maybe two. I don't know how often you get then, some players might not have any at all in their card pool. But with a four player game I think it is costed well enough.
See I read The Spectrocapacitor's type line, thought to myself "Oh, neat, Contraption, what funky ability is it going to give out. Oh, wait, no, that's Riggers that give out the abilities." And then read what this one did and promptly forgot about the already built in combo thinking of such things as making it into a creature and giving it the ability to copy other abilities and so on... .
3426963 Perhaps she'll run into a younger self who asks an armor piercing question. Perhaps she'll run into a future self trying to stop her from wrecking the world. Perhaps she'll find out that she can't actually change too much and end up catatonic like the woman in a webcomic I read called Foobar.
3427336 I can't think of anything that would let it copy other things' abilities, but I can name a few that can copy its abilities (you might also want a Mycosynth Lattice around so you don't have to worry about colors)
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Kraj was my first thought but I forgot the name and while on my phone card searches are not so easy.
And the Lattice is pretty much a given when dealing with artifact shenanigans.
Completely fair review from where I'm sitting. All of the parts that really mattered were covered in aplomb. I really, REALLY wish we'd gotten more substance for the CPA students, but in the end they did their jobs for the real plot and honestly? They still have more characterization than every other "inexplicably popular" character out there. :P More than enough for us ficcers to do our jobs.
And I've been warming up to Cinch as time goes on for... good lord, who knows what reason, really. >_< The only real snag, same as you, is the whole "exposure of magic in a world of smartphones" thing. Then again, I suppose if Youtube and Facebook exist in the human world, AfterEffects also has to.
Augh. This movie had so much to it. It's impossible to talk about it in one sitting.
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I think my biggest issue with the Shadow Five, as Derpibooru calls them, is the precise amount of characterization they got. See, with background ponies, the absence of concrete information means that they're open vessels ready to be filled with whatever personality the author wants or needs. Granted, fanon can aggregate and calcify to the point where people may claim that a character who's never spoken on the show is acting out of character, but background characters still ultimately act as untapped potential.
On the other hand, well-crafted canon characters give us a wealth of ideas to work with not by crafting the character to the situation, but the situation to the character. Just putting the right ponies in the right place can lead to an entertaining story, as "Made in Manehattan" recently demonstrated.
Then we get the Crystal Prep competitors. Too much characterization for the blank slate appeal, not enough to be fully fleshed-out characters. To me, they represent an unhappy medium that makes them frustrating to use beyond incidental appearances and running gags. Sunny Flare actually comes out the best in that regard; she barely did anything, and thus has the most potential.
Sorry for the lateness of the reply. And the thinking too much.
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I agree with the unhappy medium--I've experienced it before and I'm experiencing it now trying to come up with ideas for the Shadowbolts.
In the end, though? I still prefer working with said unhappy medium than I do with BG/wallpaper characters. I actually don't enjoy making OCs/working with blank slates in a fandom setting (original fiction is obviously something else entirely), and that's what BG pony fanfic is, which is why I don't read 99% of them either (unless someone makes Nerdy Vinyl then I'm there with bells on).
I enjoyed that one time I wrote Vinyl, and I have an EG Octavia shipfic outlined somewhere? But that's really about it.
In other words, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest work best with my mindset. Because Sugarcoat said things and Lemon Zest did things. :D Hell, Lemon and Vinyl bond at the end of the movie.
Sunny Flare, on the other hand, just saddens me, because she has one line and did noooooooooooooooooooothing. I'll never be able to use her!
This suggests September. So a year would have passed since the Fall Formal/first movie.
To further support this "Sunset Shimmer's Time To Shine" mentions the Friendship Games will be 'next year'.
Pinkie is an American who is probably into comedy. So it's no surprise she'd have picked up a bissel Yiddish. Plus, everybody knows you won't succeed on Broadway...
Alternatively, because it's Pinkie we're talking about, she picked it up from Rebecca Shoichet (I'm making an assumption based on her last name, which is Yiddish for "Butcher," more or less) or Tara Strong.
Ugh, and of course when I search
"My Little Pony" + Jewish
I get Nazi crap. Thanks Google.