Friendship is Card Games: d20 Pony, Ch. 7, Pt. 2 · 12:17pm Mar 20th, 2022
This week, we return to Trailblazer and company as they explore the exotic land of Midgard. (No, it’s not an FF7 crossover.)
This Midgard is populated entirely by unicorns who have foresworn magic, as per the oaths of the Order of Dawn. The result is a technologically advanced land… and one where an undercurrent of isolationism and hostility runs under the surface towards anypony flaunting magic. There are shades of something sinister under the surface, and that’s not counting the mysterious Mists shrouding Yggdrasil.
But we’ll get to that when we get to that. (And by “we” I mean “I.” No reason for you not to read ahead just because I put myself on a drip feed. 
) Let’s see what I can make of this strange journey.
Augmented Engineer 1W
Artifact Creature — Unicorn Pilot
Augmented Engineer crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater.
Channel — 2W, Discard Augmented Engineer: Vehicles you control become artifact creatures until end of turn.
“Don’t worry. I know what I did wrong when I lost my first legs.”
1/3
Disciple of Dawn 1W
Creature — Unicorn Cleric
When Disciple of Dawn enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life for each noncreature, nonland permanent target player controls.
“Come, weary travelers. Rest a while and repent of your sins.”
2/1
Spiritual Diligence 1W
Sorcery
Creatures you control gain vigilance and lifelink until your next turn.
The Order of Dawn teaches that distraction and boredom are ailments of the soul that must be ignored, not indulged.
Elysia Bishop 4W
Creature — Unicorn Cleric
At the beginning of each player’s end step, that player draws a card unless they cast a noncreature spell this turn.
Every sermon damns with faint praise.
3/5
Eleven, Protean Prototype 2U
Legendary Creature — Pony Homunculus
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, untap Eleven, Protean Prototype. You may have it gain that creature’s activated abilities until it gains other abilities this way.
You may spend blue mana as though it were mana of any type to pay the activation costs of Eleven’s abilities.
2/4
Undercity Oranoscope 2U
Artifact
T: Add U.
Whenever you cast an artifact spell, untap Undercity Oranoscope.
Glimpses of the sky above inspire incredible work below.
Mists of Midgard 3U
Instant
Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you this turn, that creature’s owner puts it on the top or bottom of their library.
For a brief moment, the airship brushed against something wooden. Then it spiraled out to the horizon.
Novelty, Mother of Equinculi 4U
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Advisor
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, create an X/X blue Pony Homunculus creature token, where X is that spell’s mana value.
1U: Novelty and target Homunculus gain hexproof until end of turn.
3/4
Serpent of the Mist 4UU
Creature — Serpent
2U: Exile Serpent of the Mist. Return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.
King Empyrius personally slew the greatest of these fiends when the Order of Dawn landed on Midgard.
5/6
Laboratory Janitor 1B
Artifact Creature — Unicorn Citizen
T, Exile two cards from your graveyard: You get E (an energy counter).
T, Pay EEE: Exile all cards from target player’s graveyard.
Even at the most advanced institute, somepony has to take out the trash.
2/1
Tunnel Bandit 1B
Creature — Unicorn Rogue
Deathtouch
Whenever a creature dealt damage by Tunnel Bandit this turn dies, create a Treasure token. (It’s an artifact with “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
The early undercity wasn’t as welcoming.
1/2
Miasmic Horror 3B
Enchantment Creature — Horror
Deathtouch
Channel — 1B, Discard Miasmic Horror: Destroy target creature that was dealt damage this turn.
Born from dread magics in Elysia, monsters stalk the Midgardian wilds.
2/4
Maelstrom’s Rebuke 3BB
Instant
Destroy target creature. That creature’s controller loses life equal to its power.
The siren queen did not respond well to demands to surrender the Philosopher’s Stone.
Smoke’s Airlift 1R
Sorcery
Target creature you control gets +3/+0 and gains flying until end of turn. Sacrifice that creature at the beginning of the next end step unless mana from a Treasure was spent to cast this spell.
It’s always wise to tip your pilot.
Smoke, Ore Snatcher 2RR
Legendary Creature — Dragon Rogue
Flying, haste
Whenever Smoke deals combat damage to a player, choose one —
• Create a Treasure token.
• Exile the top card of that player’s library. You may cast that card this turn and may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast that spell.
3/2
Vertical Farming 1G
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant land
Whenever enchanted land is tapped for mana, its controller adds an additional G.
3G: Create a token that’s a copy of Vertical Farming.
The Undercity’s greenhall makes the most of the resources at hoof.
Norora Hosteller 2G
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
Whenever Norora Hosteller deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
3/2
Earn Your Keep 4G
Instant — Adventure
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player this turn, draw a card.
Archive Terminal 3
Artifact
When Archive Terminal enters the battlefield, target player mills three cards.
5, T: Draw a card. This ability costs 1 less to activate for each card type among cards in your graveyard.
It provides everything you ever wanted know once you figure out how to work the thing.
Elysia Generator 3
Artifact
T: Add C.
1, T: You get E.
Pay EE: Untap Elysia Generator.
Snowmelt waterfalls power the entire capital.
Polymorphic Mishap (ur)
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature’s power and toughness are switched. (Switch them after applying all modifiers.)
Antimagic fields and transmuting items rarely mix well.
Order of Dawn 2WB
Creature — Unicorn Knight
Vigilance
Whenever a player casts a noncreature spell, that player loses 2 life.
“The Order has overseen Midgardian society for centuries. And they don’t let anypony forget it.”
—Justice, lead of security
3/4
Stray from the Path 2GW
Instant
Choose target creature you control. That creature deals damage equal to its power to each creature target player controls that’s attacking or blocking.
Those who get lost in Midgard often find nothing but trouble.
Spelldrinker Giant 3RG
Creature — Giant
Trample
Whenever a player casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Spelldrinker Giant.
“The ancient giants passively absorbed magic from all of existence. An active application of that ability would be invaluable.”
—Novelty, research notes
4/4
Abysmal Schemer 6BGU
Creature — Kraken Demon
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for 1.)
Menace, ward 3
At the beginning of your upkeep, return a card at random exiled with Abysmal Schemer to its owner's hand.
5/5
Cathedral of Dawn
Land
Cathedral of Dawn enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add W.
1WBB, T, Sacrifice Cathedral of Dawn: Until end of turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 and creatures you don’t control get -1/-1.
Protection From Editors Alert: Something went wrong with Spiritual Diligence and Archive Terminal.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Novelty needs a legal target to activate her own hexproof, and it needs to stay legal in order or she won't gain it either. On the other hand, she can activate it in response to targeted removal and those stipulations will play out in her favor instead. Including in response to removal that was itself cast in response to a previous activation of the ability, because activated abilities default to instant speed.
So I only read the FICG blogs these days for things I've either seen or (in the case of the Berrow books) intend to see eventually, but I still look at these D20 ones because they're short, and some of the cards and brief descriptions you give are interesting, like this interpretation of Midgard, and these mentions of a siren queen. So, I could use some additional context. What exactly is this game? Is this actually something Hasbro put out, or is it another fan creation? What's the premise? Where and when is this all actually meant to be taking place? If this is a game you're playing, how closely is your adventure hewing to the official module, or whatever it's called (IDK I don't play tabletop RPGs)?
5645099
Believe it or not, this is actually a webcomic. There are RPG elements like inventory management and skill checks, but the story has been largely emergent based on reader input. The first chapters were spent establishing the corner of Equestria the protagonist has decided to call home. Only more recently has she found a larger scale quest, as part of helping a friend in her quest to become the next oracle of her village.
I will note that Trailblazer is, due to reader input, an incorrigible and sometimes successful flirt. There's nothing explicit on screen, but the implications are obvious. Needless to say, I've made very little reference to those moments in the cards.
Is Smoke, Ore Snatcher supposed to be legendary?
I'm not familiar with how copying auras works - when you use Vertical Farming's activated ability, does the token come into play attached to the same land, or can you choose a land to attach it to?
5645107
Oh, neat. Thanks.
5645115
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Not only can you choose different, you can choose things that you wouldn't have been able to target with the original casting. Protection will still cause it to fall off, and those stipulations don't matter too much for lands anyway, but it's worth knowing just in case.