Friendship is Card Games: Nightmare Knights #5 & Spirit of the Forest #1 · 12:20pm Mar 15th, 2020
This week, we have a bit of an awkward transition, going from one side series to another, beginning with an ending and ending with a beginning. Let’s see how this goes.
Nightmare Knights #5
I admit, I have a weakness for confident women in suits. The King Dice tie is a nice touch for the former right-hand pony of a horned archvillain.
Capper lost his family? Oh. Oh wow. First hint we’re seeing of the truly irreparable damage the Storm King did to Abyssinia… assuming Capper’s telling the truth. I mean, he’s all but coming out and saying “I’m waiting for the perfect moment to double-cross you.”
Sad to see Daybreaker completely reject her old identity—though if she can’t remember it, it’s understandable—but at least she regrets not helping her own sister.
Stygian is in a unique position to recreate the Nightmare Moon armor, given how he saw a set created by his alternate self.
There’s something surreal yet delightful about a deity of chaos being entertained by legerdemain. I wonder if this is unique to Eris or if Discord appreciates Trixie’s performances more than he lets on.
Hmm. If Capper had broken the staff, would the power travel back to Luna or be lost forever? probably the former if I had to guess.
“It looks like everything is working,” says Eris, not noticing that the orb has gone from blue to yellow. Silly daemon.
Huh. No one’s tried to get their stolen property back before? I honestly find that hard to believe. Or maybe they were just frightened off by the whole “luck god” thing.
Also, was the pet poodle a random example, or has Eris actually stolen somepony’s dog?
I have to appreciate Tempest taking the Scott Evil approach.
Huh. Kind of sad this wasn’t a July issue with a declaration of independence this epic.
You know, only as Trixie dispels the illusory shackles—great use of her, incidentally—do I realize that the only ponies Luna recruited were unicorns. Granted, any pegasus or earth pony antagonists didn’t really have the right antiheroic bent. Maybe Lightning Dust.
Ah, the reveal. A must of any heist flick.
And there’s double cross. And looking back, Capper does grab that yellow orb after Tempest blows up the Wheel of Magic.
Yup, breaking the sphere sends the power back where it came from.
And now comes the pleading. Interesting to see that once her tricks and deceptions are peeled back, Eris fears Luna. She may mock Discord, but she doesn’t appear to have his raw power. That or she tied far too much of it into that staff.
“I’m just a goddess of chaos. I’m just doing what’s in my nature.”
Speaking of whom, Discord makes that argument fall utterly flat. Chaos is change; Eris had every opportunity to redefine her nature. (Not so much that she erased her own existence, but still.)
I’m honestly on Daybreaker’s side here. The attempted redemption might have been sincere, but Eris has shown she’s happy to bide her time and plot her revenge. Frying her in sunfire certainly takes care of that. Of course, here comes the new boss…
Okay, that is clearly the portal to an EqG world among the mirrors as the Knights leave that world. Certainly explains some of the patrons. (Speaking of, I have to wonder if Daybreaker will still run the casino or if she’ll switch business models.)
A bittersweet ending to a fantastic comic. I’m always up for a good parallel universe, and this one was fantastic. Plus it leaves plenty of opportunities to get the proverbial band back together. Daybreaker’s still there, after all, and it’s been so long that there may not be any way to get her back to a pastel mane. As Luna says, you can’t force someone to be good.
Spirit of the Forest #1
And we go from Promethean god-theft with multiversal stakes to the Cutie Mark Crusaders camping in the woods. Bit of a tonal shift.
There’s definitely a story about bears trying to steal the Crusaders’ food while they were camping. The question is which side came out of the experience more traumatized.
Ah yes, the prickly pear thing. I wonder if this artist understand that they aren’t actual pears.
“Does nature kind of stink to anypony else?”
I mean, waste, rot, filth… A forest isn’t exactly the most hygenic place in the world. Though in this case, it’s litterers.
That is a lot of plastic among the trash. I mean, I know ponies are established as having petrochemical processing, but still.
Holy crap, Twist spoke!
Double holy crap, Diamond Tiara absolutely shut down Silver Spoon trying to shirk the duty.
Wow. That is the nicest Spoiled Rich I have ever seen. It helps that it was before the muzzle job. Also some very cute Diamond Tiaras.
The Spirit of the Forest seems similar in both nature and appearance to the Great Seedling. Interesting. And not surprising that earth pony folklore would have many tales of nature spirits.
The dollar sign on Filthy Rich’s baseball cap bothers me to an unreasonable degree.
Ooh, ominous shadow. Neat.
Yeah, that’s the thing about cleaning up someone else’s mess without confronting them about it. They’re liable to make another one. (Of course, confronting them might lead to them making a worse one out of spite. This is where diplomacy factors into it.)
Wait, the whole Ponyville Mysteries line took place in a single week? Does that include the novels?
It does feel weird for the Crusaders to keep doing “Cutie Mark X” activities after already having their marks. Needs of the story, I guess? Or force of habit.
Oh. Oh my. I have to wonder how a lumber mill got constructed with no one noticing… though in this case, “no one” means a bunch of schoolchildren. Still, one of them is Diamond Tiara, which raises some curious questions about how much Filthy actually knows about this.
Sweetie Belle will not stand for this injustice!
Okay, I have to appreciate how the reception desk has a bunch of cans on strings. Telephone networks are more a Manehattan thing.
Ah. Filthy’s taking on what could be a more nuanced approach… maybe. We’ll have to see how he’s handling the situation. And given how he sees the woods as a resource to be exploited more than a place to be appreciated…
Well, at least it works better than his human counterpart’s characterization in Legend of Everfree. Though it's funny how the Whitetail Woods aren't the Ponyville-adjacent forest with a bunch of eco-sensitive militant deer hiding in hidden elf villages.
A bit early to tell on this one. It probably won’t be as heavy-handed as, say, Captain Planet, but it’s hard for anything to compare to the avatar of nature who nearly died when Hitler glared at him. We’ll see how it turns out in a few weeks.
That said, next week, I have something a bit unusual. I’m sure you’ll all find it enchanting. For now, though, let’s see what I can make of these odds and ends.
Guilt Strike W
Instant
Target creature deals damage to itself equal to the damage it dealt this turn.
Sweetie Belle employed every lesson in passive aggression the Bearers hadn’t known they’d taught her.
Lunar Divestiture 1W
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Destroy target artifact. That artifact’s controller can’t cast artifact spells until your next turn.
• Destroy target enchantment. That enchantment’s controller can’t cast enchantment spells until your next turn.
Driven Taskmaster 3W
Creature — Pony Advisor
When Driven Taskmaster enters the battlefield, return target creature card with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
“You can rest when we’re finished.”
2/2
Illusory Shackles 1UU
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step.
1U: Turn Illusory Shackles face down. (Creatures can’t be attached to permanents.)
Morph 1U
As Illusory Shackles is turned face up, you may attach it to a creature.
Spellwarp 3UU
Instant
Counter target instant or sorcery spell. Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal an instant or sorcery card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Put all revealed cards not cast this way on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Sleight of Paw 4U
Instant
Exchange control of target nonland permanent and another target spell. The spell’s new controller may choose new targets for it. (If the spell becomes a permanent, that player controls that permanent.)
Nightmare Guise XB
Instant
Spend only black mana on X.
Target creature gets +X/+X and gains indestructible until end of turn.
“I can’t believe i thought this was a good look.”
—Princess Luna
Careless Littering 2R
Sorcery
Put a junk counter on each of up to three target lands. As long as one of those lands has a junk counter on it, it loses all abilities and has “T: Add C” and “1, T: Remove a junk counter from this land.”
Nature’s beauty is all too fragile.
Meteoric Rise 2R
Instant
This spell cost 1 less to cast if it targets a creature you control with power 4 or greater.
Target creature you control deals damage equal to its power to target creature or planeswalker.
The Chaos Casino is no place for reformation.
Resource Exploitation 2RR
Enchantment
Sacrifice an untapped noncreature permanent: Add CR.
Sustainability is just an excuse for suboptimal profits.
Bathe in Sunfire 3RR
Instant
If an opponent controls an Island, you may sacrifice a Mountain rather than pay this spell’s mana cost.
This spell can’t be countered.
Bathe in Sunfire deals 4 damage to any target.
“Enough games.”
—Daybreaker
Break the Collar G
Instant
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn. You may destroy up to one target Aura attached to that creature. If you do, it gets +4/+4 until end of turn instead.
As her servant broke her bindings to overthrow her, Eris’s fear made her miss the irony of the situation.
Young Campers G
Creature — Pony Child
When Young Campers enters the battlefield, it 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 this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
0/1
Indifferent Aide 1G
Creature — Pony Citizen
Indifferent Aide can’t attack unless you control a red or white creature.
Some fight for freedom. Some fight for a cause. Some fight because one from the other groups told them to.
2/3
Treetop Wardens 2G
Creature — Pony Warrior
1G: Treetop Wardens can’t be blocked this turn except by creatures with flying or reach.
1G: Treetop Wardens gains reach until end of turn.
How they got up there is less important than keeping the forest pristine.
3/3
Soul of the Whitetail 3G
Creature — Spirit
Whenever you cast a Spirit or Arcane spell, untap up to two target lands you control.
Unlike the other tribes, the earth ponies haven’t completely forgotten nature spirits they communed with in ancient times.
2/3
Hungry Bear 5G
Creature — Bear
This spell costs 1 less to cast for each artifact your opponents control.
When Hungry Bear enters the battlefield, you may destroy target artifact.
He’s learned that pony things have something sweet inside, just not which pony things.
4/4
Act of Antiheroism 1(rw)(wb)
Instant
Target player sacrifices an artifact and an enchantment.
“Was it noble? No. Was it chivalrous? Not in the least. Did it work? We’re all still standing, aren’t we?”
—Capper Dapperpaws
Casual Despoiler 2(ub)
Creature — Pony Citizen
Whenever Casual Despoiler attacks or blocks, each player puts the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.
“Who’s going to care about a little trash, the squirrels?”
3/2
Tyrant Star 3WB
Enchantment
As Tyrant Star enters the battlefield, choose a color.
Spells your opponents cast of the chosen color cost 1 more to cast.
Creatures your opponents control of the chosen color get -1/-1.
A dark era dawns.
Riverside Lumber Mill
Land — Forest Island
(T: Add G or U.)
Riverside Lumber Mill enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or more basic lands.
The Whitetail Woods are so lush that loggers can work for months before anypony even notices.
Aether Fracture
Phenomenon
When you encounter Aether Fracture, the planar die costs 1 more to roll until a player planeswalks away from a plane. (Then planeswalk away from this phenomenon.)
Even with some of the head scratching moments in Nightmare Knights, I was overall very happy with the story. Every pony is utilized and the ending is rather bold for a series known for forgiveness and redemption. I would welcome a return to this setting, perhaps with a different set of knights.
And as I've stated before, the best way to reconcile those comics with canon is to retcon them so that it is.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Illusory Shackles only targets when actually cast as an aura. Go ahead and slap them onto something with hexproof... although if they have protection from a relevant property that still causes it to fall off. You can also just plain not attach it to anything if you think sanity is overrated. (There are other mechanics that take advantage of this, but I felt that I should pick the one that would specifically want an enchantment, and enchantments are probably the hardest card type to get into your graveyard.)
Maro Get Your Gun Alert: Treetop Wardens is at least as much of a color pie bend as actual green fliers. Blogatog has stated that the non-reach bit of the card should never have been a thing.
Bathe in Sunfire should say "This spell can't be countered by spells or abilities"
5220918
Not anymore. They changed the rules on that so that spells whose targets are all rendered illegal just... don't resolve, instead of being officially "countered".
Oh, I missed one:
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Guilt Strike counts all damage dealt by that creature. Used a fight effect against something with toughness lower than the target's power? It still dealt damage equal to its power, even if it was some other card that initiated the fight.
Back when Nightmare Knights came out I saw multiple reactions declaring this version of Daybreaker the scariest villain in the franchise. She may not be as powerful as Discord or Cosmos but the patience, ruthlessness, and competence she displayed are chilling. She played the Knights masterfully to help her take over and then talked them into leaving her new rule uncontested. Compared to her Eris' skills of manipulation came across as a rank amateur's.
I forget the novella's timeline, but the book hexology (yes I had to look up that word) could've taken place in a week. Although it would be pushing it.
So, something honestly pretty stupid I just thought of. You know Sally the squirrel from Maro's blog? I just realized that if she were to obtain on off-the-cuff last name, she'd probably end up as Sally Acorn.