Friendship is Card Games: Movie Prequel #3 and #4 · 1:10pm Dec 30th, 2018
Time to close out 2018 by finishing up the prequel comics for 2017’s pony movie. At this rate, I should catch up by June! You know, barring Season 9. 
Issue #3: Capper of Abyssinia
We begin right where we left off, with Capper and Chummer, the Abyssinian refugees, heading for who-knows-where. Granted, when your entire goal is “escape the Storm King,” your destination isn’t nearly as important as the distance between you and the satyr-yeti.
No wonder the airship crashed. Going by that life preserver, it was only designed for three-hour tours.
And there’s the Misfortunate Malachite. It seems like the sort of artifact that makes sure it doesn’t get left behind.
No one ever willingly goes to Klugetown. It’s just the only option they have.
Huh. Even the Observer’s selling something in the Klugetown marketplace.
Also, I do like how apples qualify as a “weird, exotic fruit” this far south. Granted, in a desert town, any fruit that doesn’t come from a cactus probably qualifies as weird and exotic.
Hmm. I trult have no idea what species that would-be pickpocket is. It’s like if someone crossed a typical goblin with E.T.
Nice bit of backstory for the two cat burglars, and establishing Capper’s longing for a more stable life. A few lines of dialogue to this effect would’ve done a lot for him in the movie.
The anticlimactic payoff of the whimsical theft montage is actually pretty amusing.
Capper definitely has the right idea; Klugetown is the sort of place that can be very hard to leave if you’re not careful.
Huh. Interesting to see a wanted poster for Chrysalis so far from Equestria. She really has ranged far afield.
Huh. One of those goons is clearly a rhox. And with no mythological name involved, I can use Magic’s usual rhino-people. Neat!
Ah, context for Verko, the anthropomorphic mole who wanted to sell the ponies to the circus. Not merely a crime boss, but the crime boss of Klugetown.
I do like the “everything costs in Klugetown” refrain. Nice narrative device.
Oh, Verko. Shame on you, letting a bargain slip through your claws like that. Still, credit to him for not backing out and making sure the cats get their money’s worth.
Wonderful bit of contrast between the toms: Capper wants tools and luxuries. Chummer wants weapons, the better to prepare for piracy.
Ah, and now we return to the theme of the mini-series as a whole: When friendship falls through. Verko’s cynicism plants the seeds of doubt into soil more fertile than it looks at first glance.
Hmm. Who or what is “Judge Errant,” and how can that person come by a nearly-new airship?
Bit of a missing scene. We go straight from Capper yelling up to the deck to shock and confusion with little in the way of a transition. A bit odd, that.
At least the goons don’t blame Capper for Chummer’s last-minute double cross… not until he’s the one who has to pay back the debt by default.
And so they are sundered by greed and paranoia. A tragedy that explains how Capper came to be where and who he is by the start of the movie, and how he got a debt so great it would take six ponies sold into slavery to wipe away. All told, this is a great story, especially given the contrast between Rarity and Chummer.
Issue #4: Tempest of Equestria
And so we finally come to the pony part of this pony comic. I know, I’m surprised too. 
At least Tempest knows to travel at night in a desert.
Tempest’s quest for something to heal her does raise the question of why her horn didn’t grow back at all, and what medical advice, if any, she sought in Equestria. Of course, such questions have hung about her since her inception.
How timely. Do the Storm King’s forces have something that can detect the Malachite, or is this just a lucky coincidence?
I do have to wonder how many times Tempest tried to cast something before now. These sparks are certainly less impressive than what we see in the movie.
I also have to wonder if she has any idea how to heal her horn. She seems to think that throwing enough magic at the problem will solve it without putting any thought into how it’ll do that… though if she did leave home at a terribly young age, she may have no idea how magic actually works. No education and next to no experience means she’s running on blind, desperate hope.
Lastly, I have to wonder what led to Klugetown banning changelings, Umbrum, and square dancing. I hope it was all caused by the same incident.
Ooh, a plot device salesfish. Too bad we’re already in the middle of a different story.
Apparently the Storm King’s subjugated half the world… and Equestria has zero awareness of his existence. I can only hope Twilight’s efforts improve global communication among other things.
Oooh. Very cool to see Tempest cast something that isn’t an explosion. Even more cool to see the effects.
Bleak Valley. There’s a name that’ll inspire confidence.
Another rhox, this one pulling the whole darn caravan.
Nice touch with Rambler correcting himself from “somebody” to “somepony” after spending so long among other species.
So… does Rambler not notice the broken horn, or is he actually unable to connect the dots between that and Tempest’s tale of loss?
In any case, there’s some genuinely great dialogue here.
Yeah, they must have some kind of tracking to find the Malachite in these circumstances. That or they interrogated people in Klugetown to figure out where Tempest went.
Ironically, it’s friendship that nearly got Tempest out of this, despite what she says to the Storm King. (And, indeed, it’s clear she doesn’t really believe the whole “you can’t rely on anyone else” thing given how she immediately starts relying on the King to restore her horn.)
Both I and the comic have been calling her Tempest until now, but it’s entirely possible that Fizzlepop chose her new name in this moment.
Once again, I have to question the Storm King’s motives. Power without purpose is just watching your numbers grow. Satisfying, yes, but ultimately pointless. Even if he had won in the end, I imagine he’d have gotten bored quite quickly.
I and others have theorized that the petrification grenades seen in the movie were made from the Malachite, but the reality is unclear. They might have harvested its fragments, but the Storm King’s dismissive tone towards them makes another origin possible. That said, I hope it’s the case, or this whole comic has something of a shaggy dog aspect to it, to say nothing of making the Malachite itself nothing more than a Mineral MacGuffin.
Huh. So the unawareness cut both ways: The Storm King was as unfamiliar with Equestria as it was with him. It certainly explains why he didn’t know who kept the sun and moon moving.
All told, this is some fantastic sequential art. Good story, great art… it’s just a shame that it’s not nearly as accessible as the movie itself, because it really does do a lot to flesh out the nonpony characters.
And now, our feature presentation:
Tavern Meeting 1W
Sorcery
Search your library for an Ally card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
”It may be cliche, but it works.”
—Shining Armor
Scavenging Refugees 1W
Creature — Cat Survivor
When Scavenging Refugees enters the battlefield, if you control a Desert or there is a Desert card in your graveyard, return target artifact or enchantment card from your graveyard to your hand.
Opportunity lies buried in the sands.
2/1
Hard Landing 1WW
Instant
Destroy target attacking or blocking creature. If that creature was a Vehicle, each creature that crewed it this turn doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Pilots’ licenses exist for a reason.
Peacebond 2W
Enchantment — Aura
As long as you control a Gate, you may cast Peacebond as though it had flash.
Enchanted creature can’t attack or block.
Klugetown is a city of few laws, but the weapons ban is strictly enforced.
New Cat in Town U
Creature — Cat Rogue
3U: Adapt 2. (If this creature has no +1/+1 counters on it, put two +1/+1 counters on it.)
As long as New Cat in Town has a +1/+1 counter on it, it has hexproof and can’t be blocked except by Rogues.
Klugetown changes people.
1/1
Psychometry 1U
Sorcery
Scry X, where X is the greatest converted mana cost among artifacts you control, then draw a card. (To scry X, look at the top X cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom of your library, then put the rest on top in any order.)
Merchant of Mysteries 2U
Creature — Fish Wizard
When Merchant of Mysteries enters the battlefield, each opponent may search their library for an artifact card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle their library. Each opponent who doesn’t draws two cards.
5/5
Broken-Horn Wanderer 3U
Creature — Unicorn Nomad
When Broken-Horn Wanderer enters the battlefield, if you control a Desert or there is a Desert card in your graveyard, return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.
Devastated by her loss, she seeks anything powerful enough to undo it.
2/2
Rumor Squatter BB
Creature — Frog Rogue
When Rumor Squatter enters the battlefield, target player draws a card and loses 1 life.
Barflies swarm around him, and he feasts on their gullibility.
1/1
Alley Scrabbler 2B
Creature — Cat Rogue
Scavenge 3BB (3BB, Exile this card from your graveyard: Put a number of +1/+1 counter equal to this card’s power on target creature. Scavenge only as a sorcery.)
Today, he digs through the refuse. Tomorrow, he’ll be a part of it.
3/1
Shared Loss 2B
Enchantment
At the beginning of each upkeep, if an opponent lost life last turn, you may pay 2 life. If you do, draw a card.
”Knowing that someone else suffers is a cold comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.”
—Tempest Shadow
Vulturous Baker 2B
Creature — Harpy Citizen
B, T: Exile target creature card from a graveyard. You gain 2 life.
“Bone meal makes for a terrible flour. A seasoning, on the other talon…”
2/3
Crushing Grip R
Sorcery
Destroy target artifact. Crushing Grip deals 2 damage to that artifact’s controller.
The Storm King’s strength isn’t just for firm handshakes.
Goblin Pickpocket 1R
Creature — Goblin Rogue
Whenever Goblin Pickpocket deals combat damage to a player, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card.
Ungula’s goblins are as multifarious as its dragons, adapting to any environment in a few generations.
2/1
Burning Airship 1RR
Creature — Cat Pirate
Flying, trample, haste
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Burning Airship.
“Chummer always did want to go out in a blaze of glory.”
—Capper Dapperpaws
4/2
Uncertain Outcome 3R
Sorcery
Reveal cards from the top of target opponent’s library until you reveal a nonland card. Cast that card without paying its mana cost if able. Then that player shuffles their library. If you didn’t cast a spell this way, return Uncertain Outcome to its owner’s hand.
Mana Gout X
(R) Instant
Spend only red mana on X.
Mana Gout deals X damage to target creature.
“The only thing my horn can do reliably is spit out caustic magic. I suppose that makes it my signature spell.”
—Tempest Shadow
Produce Vendor 1G
Creature — Turtle Citizen
T: Add one mana of any type that a land an opponent controls could produce.
“Hey there, stranger. How about a little taste of home? Best prices in the city, guaranteed.”
1/2
Rambling Caravan 3G
Creature — Pony Scout
Whenever Rambling Caravan attacks, another target attacking creature explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
3/4
Rhox Goon 3G
Creature — Rhino Rogue
When Rhox Goon enters the battlefield, target player sacrifices an artifact.
“Be a shame should something happen to your everything.”
3/3
Exotic Trinket 3
Artifact
When Exotic Trinket enters the battlefield, draw a card.
T: Add C.
Anything worth half of what you pay to get it is a great value in Klugetown’s marketplace.
Storm Fleet Surveyor 4
Artifact — Vehicle
Flying
Whenever Storm Fleet Surveyor attacks, scry 1.
Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
4/2
Haunting Memories 2WB
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has afterlife 2. (When it dies, its controller creates two 1/1 white and black Spirit creature tokens with flying.)
Tempest’s losses plague her thoughts even as they give her the resolve to press on.
Verko’s Enforcer 2UB
Creature — Mole Rogue
When Verko’s Enforcer enters the battlefield, target player draws two cards, then discards two cards.
“The boss would like a word with you.”
3/2
Scour the Wreckage 2BG
Sorcery
For each card type, exile up to one target card of that type from a graveyard. Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature for each card exiled this way.
“It’s not like the crew will use any of this.”
—Tempest Shadow
Verko, Klugetown Kingpin 4UB
Legendary Creature — Mole Rogue
Whenever an opponent draws a card, exile the top card of that player’s library face down. For as long as that card remains exiled, you may look at it, you may cast it, and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any type to cast it.
“I own this town, and by extension, you.”
3/4
Rhox Teamster 5GW
Creature — Rhino Scout
Convoke (Your creatures can help you cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 1 or one mana of that creature's color.)
Whenever Rhox Teamster attacks, untap all other creatures you control.
4/5
Klugetown Hideout
Land
Klugetown Hideout enters the battlefield tapped.
When Klugetown Hideout enters the battlefield, scry 1.
T: Add B.
”It’s a great view, but what’s there to see?”
—Capper Dapperpaws
Lovely.
You know, this (and blog from last week) inspires an idea:
follows him to prevent that and ensure that the Storm King has motives and a background.
The Storm King is so disgusted by the very idea of back-story that he travels back in time to erradicate his own history (or at least all records of himself). A author pony, let's call him Foamy,
4988078
Nah, Stormy is too lazy for that.
He'd just hire Shadow Lock to erase him from history.
No joke, Capper's story is actually fantastic, his own issue especially, but I mean his previous appearances in this miniseries also.
I make no secret of the fact that I disliked how the movie centred around a bunch of new celebrity-voiced cameos that were invented wholesale for the movie instead of just doing something interesting with the characters and world they'd already spent seven seasons building, and Capper was one of the worst examples of this. But this comic actually makes him work in a way the movie never did. It gives him what he was missing - conflict, relationships, a backstory, a reason to sympathise with him and care about what he does. And like what FIENDship did for Sombra, it uses a tragic tale of death and betrayal to turn a flat character into an interesting one in a surprisingly dark fashion for this franchise. That is commendable, and it's the kind of quality I wish IDW could bring to bear for all their works.
The whole power for the sake of power motivation reminds me of a webcomic I was reading several years back. Can't even remember the name now but it was about a couple of guys jumping dimensions in a broken ship trying to get home. At one point they end up in a dimension caught in a battle between the planet's armies and a supervillain. Turns out the villain had conquered the world in the past but became bored so gave it back. Ever since it was all a game with him repeatedly trying to take over, while leaving a major fatal flaw in his plan so he could be thwarted. Of course once he learns about there being other dimensions he decides to conquer the multiverse instead. Didn't read much beyond that but I always liked that setup.
Also someone should definitely write the story behind the changing, umbrum, and square dancing incident!
Yeah, the Capper issue is especially nice. While I wasn't as bugged by his lack of backstory in the movie as others, I definitely agree that his issue managed to make him much more involving as a character. The fact that he was betrayed by his best friend really shows how he got his 'dog-eat-dog' mentality in the movie, as well as showing why he was eventually redeemed through Rarity's kindness.
The Tempest issue is more of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, the art is pretty good and I like seeing Tempest doing her own solo adventure. On the other, I actually thought "The Stormy Road to Canterlot" did her relationship with Grubber better and explained just how traumatic her childhood and long-spanning journeys really were. Though I'm not sure how much of that's the comic's fault and the rest is me simply being exposed to a lot of MLP material.
Pretty interesting that the head honcho of a near-lawless town would actually upcharge on a deal.
Guess he knows it's a bad idea to stiff creatures with few moral scruples?
I noticed in hindsight that Capper Storm King and the Malachite were a connecting thread through most of the miniseries, with the Malachite being the only one to appear in them all. So it raised an eyebrow that they it was pushed aside in the same issue that Tempest appears in. With the revelation that the movie was really Tempest's story it makes more sense now: they were all just red herrings to build up towards who the real star of the show was.
Don't know if I'm reading too much into it though.
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Honestly I'd say Songbird is the single most superfluous character. At the very least the other celebrity guest stars had actual roles in the movie, Songbird is just there for waste more budget on. She's also the only one to get no book or comic to pick up the slack!
Worse considering how redundant she was when they could just use Sapphire Shores or Rara instead.
4988119
Oh, I'm with you 100% on that. I said I thought Capper was one of the worst in that regard, and he's certainly much more unnecessary to the plot than, for example, Queen Novo, but Songbird definitely beats him for sheer redundancy. Like you say, there's no story-based reason why her role couldn't have been given to Sapphire Shores or Coloratura. She's literally just there because Sia wanted a cameo.
4988125
Ja.
There's also the bit where there's contradicting statements on how much the movie net grossed. But regardless of how much Hasbro still thought it a failure and is why we ain't getting a proper sequel.
Every time I hear about that I can't help but think "You would've made a helluva lot more if you didn't have so many B-list Celebrities. Could've probably saved half a mill or so just by omitting Sia."
4988129
Yep. Not to mention how much they could've saved on animation by just doing it in the show's style like they did for Equestria Girls, rather than going for the faux-Disney look. As a reminder, Equestria Girls did well enough to get three sequels, plus specials and a spin-off series, despite everybody at the time thinking it was terrible.
Extremely poor communication seems to be a fairly widespread thing. Equestria didn't catch on to the utter collapse of a neighboring nation until Rainbow and Pinkie popped over for a visit — heck, communication between different parts of Equestria is poor enough for Daring Do to keep the fact that her adventures and persona are real a secret while being notorious as that same persona in the southern end of the country.
4988137
I'll agree that cutting down on the guest stars would have helped the movie both cost-wise and time-wise, but I felt that the animation was one of its strong parts. The story had its issues, but the movie itself was a delight to look at.
4988188
I guess this is just one of those matters of personal taste, but I really wasn't a fan. Sure, it was nice and colourful, and the motion was generally smooth, but I really didn't like the redesigns and the abundance of anthro characters instead of quadrupeds, and the CGI was... well, I didn't think it was very good. This scene with the airship in Canterlot particularly stuck out to me:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/6/6b/Storm_King%27s_airship_descends_on_Canterlot_%28new_version%29_MLPTM.png/revision/latest?cb=20180113030020
I don't know. Maybe it's just me and I'm making a bigger deal of this than I should, but that looks to me like some pretty low-quality CGI for a movie with the kind of budget this had. I've seen Source Film-Maker fan videos that looked better than that.
4988211
Yeah, that scene was very clunkily animated. By the same token, however, the movie also has scenes like these:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/1/24/1639951__safe_screencap_applejack_fluttershy_pinkie+pie_rainbow+dash_rarity_spike_twilight+sparkle_my+little+pony-colon-+the+movie_spoiler-colon-my+lit.png
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derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/1/24/1640020__safe_screencap_rainbow+dash_my+little+pony-colon-+the+movie_spoiler-colon-my+little+pony+movie_airship_cloud_color+porn_eyestrain+warning_pega.png
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/1/25/1640216__safe_screencap_my+little+pony-colon-+the+movie_spoiler-colon-my+little+pony+movie_bare+tree_fog_hippogriffia_no+pony_ruins_tree_treehouse.png
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/8/3/1502178__safe_my+little+pony-colon-+the+movie_spoiler-colon-my+little+pony+movie_background_cavern_city_color+porn_coral_no+pony_scenery_scenery+porn_s.jpeg
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/1/27/1642358__safe_screencap_storm+king_tempest+shadow_my+little+pony-colon-+the+movie_spoiler-colon-my+little+pony+movie_betrayal_broken+horn_duo_fight_mag.png
Which, for me, more than makes up for a few clunky airships.
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Which is fair. I'm not saying that the animation didn't have its good qualities. I just tend to be less forgiving of these sorts of things. The airship scene sticks out in my mind a whole lot more than any of these moments do, and like I said, I was bothered by a lot of the design choices as well, so the movie's animation just didn't leave a good impression on me.
I haven't read any of the comics yet, so all I can do is discuss the cards, which are really cool. I have questions about two of them, though.
Scour the Wreckage: does this allow for multiple target creatures (one per card type), or does it only buff a single target creature?
Verko, Klugetown Kingpin: does the "you may cast it..." effect persist after Verko leaves the battlefield?
5173660
All the counters go on a single creature... I think. 99% sure on that one. Verko's acquisitions are definitely playable for as long as they remain exiled, no matter what happens to him.