Expansion Set: "Hear My Words" · 9:38pm May 16th, 2022
Instead of zooming in on a specific story, in this episode of "Watch RangerOfRhudaur make people who actually understand MtG scream in agony," we'll be zooming out, taking a look at regions of the Song of the Spheres world, even ones which may not see the author's pen.
Once again, any feedback is appreciated.
New terms:
<me>: Self-referential symbol. Replaces usage of CARDNAME as a self-reference to avoid confusion on non-legendary cards and to save space.
Guard: Whenever you would take damage, up to 1 creature you control with guard can take up to X damage to reduce the damage you take by an equal amount, X is equal to that creature's toughness.
(Type) Leader: Whenever this creature attacks or blocks, other (type)s you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Horde (N): This creature enters the battlefield with N +1/+1 counters on it. If damage would be dealt to this creature while it has a +1/+1 counter on it, instead prevent that damage and remove that many +1/+1 counters from it.
Version 1.3
1W Defender of the Peace
Creature - Human Soldier
Guard.
2/2
"To Serve and Protect" - Homestrian Royal Guard motto
2W Lily Valley Recruit
Creature - Human Soldier
Guard.
Defender.
2/4
Won as a chivalrity back in the Pre-Classical Age, Lily Valley has long paid Homestria back by providing the Royal Guard with some of its best recruits.
Shining Armor, Steadfast Shield 3WWW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
Vigilance.
Guard.
Whenever a creature you control with guard blocks, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
W: If you didn't lose life this turn, create a 2/2 White Soldier creature token. Activate this ability only during your opponent's end step and a maximum of three times per turn.
Spear of the Valley 1W
Artifact - Equipment
Equip 1.
Equipped creature gets +2/+1 and gains deathtouch while blocking.
The Lily Valley-Flashstone defensive line has long stood, but not without the aid of arms like this.
Flower of the Valley W
Legendary Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has lifelink and is a Knight in addition to its other types.
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, if it's blocking, you gain that much life.
Only the truest defenders of the weak are considered worthy of bearing the title of the Flower of the Valley.
Peace and Prosperity WWW
Enchantment
W: Create a 2/2 white Soldier creature token with guard.
At the beginning of each opponent's end step, if you didn't lose life this turn and you haven't drawn a card with this ability since your last turn ended, you may draw a card.
1W To Serve and Protect
Instant
Target blocking creature gets +5/+5 until end of turn. At end of combat, if that creature is on the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. It doesn't untap during their next untap step.
The Royal Guard stands between Homestria and all who mean her or her citizens harm.
1W The Flower of the East
Instant
Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to you this turn.
1W For the Good of All
Sorcery
Until end of turn, each creature you control gains "Whenever <me> blocks, <me> gets +1/+1 until end of turn."
Lily Valley
Legendary Land
T: Add W.
T: Each creature token you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it this turn.
1R Cloudsdale Rider
Creature - Human Soldier
Haste. Flanking.
2/1
Though the modern world often leaves them unbalanced, a Cloudsdaler in the saddle is a thing of beauty.
2RR Firehall Patrol
Creature - Human Soldier
Haste.
After dealing 5 or more damage to a single target, put a +1/+1 counter on <me>.
3/3
Some Cloudsdalers hate the reputation their state has for militancy. House Blaze isn't "some Clousdalers."
2R Skyspear Sentinel
Creature - Human Soldier
Flanking.
Whenever a creature you control dies, if Skyspear Sentinel is untapped, you may tap it. If you do, add R.
2/3
3RRR Wind Rider, Fallen Peak
Legendary Creature - Human Noble
Menace.
R, sacrifice a creature: <me> gets +X/+0 until end of turn, X is equal to sacrificed creature's mana value.
6/6
Some people keep climbing, even after they reach the top and the only way they can climb is down.
RR Cloudsdale Steed
Creature - Horse.
Flanking. Haste.
R, T: Untap target Human creature.
2/1.
Cloudsdale pride is pride in one's abilities. Cloudsdale humility is recognizing those who enable those abilities. The proudest riders boast of their skills, the humblest riders boast of their mounts'.
2R The Saga of Hurricane
Enchantment - Saga
I - Create a 2/2 Red Soldier creature token with haste and menace.
II - Return target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield, tapped.
III - Sacrifice target creature you control. Deal X to target opponent, X is equal to target creature's power.
1R Riders of the Storm
Sorcery
Target creature gets +1/+1 and gains double-strike until end of turn.
1R To the Stars and Back
Instant
The next creature you sacrifice this turn is returned to the battlefield, tapped, instead of being put into your graveyard.
1R Blaze of Glory
Instant
Draw two cards. Cast <me> only if a creature under your opponent's control has died this turn.
Storm's Deep
Legendary Land
T: Add R.
T: Target creature that entered the battlefield this turn gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
1U Castellot Scholar
Creature - Human Artificer
Give each instant or sorcery you cast "Scry 1."
1/2
2UU Crystallot Wonderworker
Creature - Human Artificer
Tap target artifact: <me> gets +1/+1 for turn (+2/+2 instead if target artifact's mana value is 3 or more).
3/3
Ever since the discovery of gemsteel, the High North has been the vanguard of Homestrian engineering innovation.
3UUU Professor Radiance, Leading Light
Legendary Creature - Human Artificer
Choose one: creature, artifact, or enchantment. Tap target of the chosen type to add U, which you can only use to cast spells of the unchosen types. You can choose each type only once per turn.
4/5
1U Ink Basin Records
Artifact
T: Exile target sorcery or instant just cast.
While <me> is untapped, you can cast spells exiled with <me> without requiring matching mana. As an additional cost to do so, T.
UUUU The Crystal Heart
Legendary Artifact - Geography
While <me> is untapped, each creature you control gains hexproof.
U Crystalline Legacy
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant artifact.
Enchanted artifact gains hexproof and "U: Untap <me>, limit once per turn."
1U The Spires Shine Bright
Instant
Ready a land.
1U Illuminating the Past
Sorcery
Copy target sorcery in graveyard.
1U The Heart is Life
Instant
Counter target instant or sorcery. If you don't control an artifact of mana value 3 or higher, target instant or sorcery's caster draws a card.
Canter Lake
Legendary Land
T: Add U.
U, T: Scry 1.
G Arbor Homesteader
Creature - Human Farmer
T, tap a land: Add GG
1/1
1G Appleseed's Sprout
Creature - Human Farmer
G, T: Create a 1/1 Green Farmer creature token.
1/1
1GG Timberwolf
Creature - Wolf
Haste.
G: Target creature must block <me> this combat, if able.
3/2
2GG Vanhoover Offshoot
Creature - Human Farmer
G, T: Put a +1/+1 counter on the highest power creature you control.
4/4
3GGGGG Grandwood Guards
Legendary Creature - Human Army
Host 9. Cannot be countered. Trample.
G, discard a copy of Grandwood Guards from your hand: Add +1/+1 counters to <me> until there are 9 on <me>.
G: <me> gains ward 1 for step.
1/1
1GG Spread the Bounty
Enchantment
When you would gain X life, you may instead create X 1/1 Green Farmer creature tokens.
1G From Humble Beginnings
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield, tapped. Shuffle.
1G Nature's Favored
Instant
Target creature with the highest power among creatures you control gains "Can't be blocked by creatures with less than X power, X is equal to half <me>'s power" for combat.
1G Roots Matter
Sorcery
Create a 1/1 Green Farmer creature token and a Food token.
Grandwood
Legendary Land
T: Add G.
G, T: Untap target creature, then place a +1/+1 counter on it.
1B Citrus-Scented Manehattanite
Creature - Human Spy
Exile <me> to cast a Human creature from your hand, reducing its cost by 2 [2 colorless].
2/1
2B Gemsteel-clad Knight
Creature - Human Knight
When you mill <me>, put <me> onto the battlefield.
3/3
2BB Heir of the Clever
Creature - Human Artificer
T, sacrifice an artifact: Each attacking creature gets -3/-3 for combat. <me> doesn't untap during your next untap step.
3/3
"Clover dipped the torch in Canter, and turned the river flame."
3BBB Sunset Shimmer, Shadowy Phoenix
Legendary Creature - Human Artificer
Lose 2 life: Add B.
5/5
"I help my friends, whatever it takes."
1B Remnant of Elder Days
Artifact - Equipment
When <me> enters the battlefield, exile target instant or sorcery from hand.
Equip 1.
Equipped creature gets +2/+2.
T: Cast spell exiled with <me>, reducing its cost by 2 [again, 2 colorless].
2B "My Past is Not Today"
Enchantment - Saga
I - Mill 2. Draw two cards.
II - The player with the largest hand discards half the cards in their hand.
III - Draw until your hand is half your hand cap.
1B Sweet, but Sharp
Sorcery
Exile target creature from your graveyard. Create a token copy of that creature.
1B No Star so Bright
Instant
Mill 2. Return two cards not named No Star so Bright from your graveyard to hand.
1B Strength Through Service
Sorcery
Lose 2 life. Target creature gains indestructible and leader (any type) for turn.
Castellot
Legendary Land
T: Add B.
B, T: When a spell would cause you to pay a cost of X to receive a benefit of X, either change the cost to "X-1" or the benefit to "X+1."
3 Harmonious Citizen
Creature - Human
<me> gets +1/+1 for each color you control.
1/1
4 Well-Traveled Guard
Creature - Human Guard
While you control a permanent that's...
-White, <me> gains vigilance.
-Red, <me> gains first strike.
-Blue, <me> gains ward 2.
-Green, <me> gets +2/+2.
-Black, <me> gains lifelink.
3/3
7 Princess Serena Majesty, Long May She Reign
Legendary Creature - Human Noble
The first time you cast a spell of a color other than the color which you control the most permanents of each turn, change a W, R, U, G, or B in its cost to 2.
5/5
2 Book of Common Law
Artifact
T: Choose target opponent colored permanent. Add 1 mana of target permanent's color.
1 Smartphone
Artifact - Equipment
Equip 1.
Equipped creature gains "1, T: Search the top five cards of your library for a card not of equipped creature's color and add it to your hand. Shuffle."
3 Relic of Magic (Dormant)
Artifact
2: Add W, R, U, G, or B.
W, R, U, G, B: Transform <me>.
Relic of Magic (Awakened)
Artifact
Counts as having a mana value of 3.
1, T: Choose 1: Create a 1/1 Spell creature token with flying and "Sacrifice <me> at end of turn," deal 1 damage to target, draw a card then put a card on top of your library, give target creature +1/+1 for turn, or mill 1 from target player.
2 All in Harmony
Sorcery
Draw a card. If you control a permanent that's...
-White, create a 2/2 Guard creature token.
-Red, add 3.
-Blue, scry 2.
-Green, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
-Black, target opponent discards a card.
2 The Families Belle
Instant
Colorless creatures get +1/+1 while participating in combat with creatures of target color, and vice-versa, for turn.
2 Homestria, the Land I Love
Sorcery
Search the top five cards of your library for one card of each color and add them to your hand. Shuffle.
Princess Majesty the First
Vanguard
Hand Size: +1
Starting Life: +1
Requirement - Exactly five different creature types among creatures in your library.
While you control the most creatures (at least one) of a single type, reduce the cost of the first creature of a different creature type you cast each turn by 1.
Guard is certainly interesting, though it can easily hit critical mass and lock your opponent out of ever actually harming you. Palisade Giant can attest that this effect can get out of hand. Still, we can template it properly.
Leader seems too complicated for its own good. For one, I'd adjust how it's presented. For another, it feels needlessly restrictive. Yes, a bunch of leader triggers going off at once can lead to some immense board states... but honestly? That should be a reward for putting together that many instances of the keyword. Yeah, it may not make much sense from a flavor standpoint, but you shouldn't be afraid of letting players do cool things.
Host has an iffy bit of intersection. Strictly speaking, it's a card type... but it's only a card type in silly Magic. You'll still probably want to rename it, but for now...
Now, in order to avoid absolutely swamping you, I'm going to tackle these by color.
Defender of the Peace: You'll want to make this a Soldier just for the sake of keeping creature types relatively under control; same goes for the other Guards. Other than that, it's serviceable. I will note that guard and vigilance do a lot of work, letting this potentially soak up hits from two different creatures on defense; that might justify making it cost WW or 2W.
Lily Valley Recruit: Damage does not work the way you think it does. Magic doesn't really have a "heal" mechanic in the sense of "restore lost HP to a creature that hasn't died from it yet" outside of the process of ending a turn. And it's limited to the cleanup step for a reason; there are better options. Let's adjust matters:
I'd recommend upping either the mana cost by 1 here. A 5-toughness guard for three mana (or 7 for four) basically lets you say you decide whether or not aggressive strategies can actually do anything to you unless they have hard removal (i.e. "Destroy target creature" effects.)
Shining Armor, Steadfast Shield: Just keep him a Human Soldier. Rank is implicit through flavor and being legendary.
You'll want the blocking effect to be until end of turn. Creatures are no longer blocking after combat ends, and thus the toughness buff goes away. That means that some of your guards could end up keeling over the moment the fighting's over. As for the activated ability... No. For one, that's very much a red ability, even with the "Don't get hurt" condition. For another, that degree of damage output is obscene. Seven white mana can represent a one-turn kill. This is not advisable. Yes, this is a very control-oriented deck that wants a rapidly achievable win condition, but this ain't it. Here's the templating for reference, but the Codex Astartes does not support this maneuver:
Lily Valley Shield: Absolutely not. I might assess this in the absence of guard, but "You and equipped creature are nigh-immortal" is not up for discussion. Absolutely not at three mana, but this should not exist anywhere near "Pariah, but I can make sure it won't die from it."
Flower of the Valley: Legendary Lifelink (the card.) Seems reasonable enough.
Peace and Prosperity: Enchantments don't tap. Especially since the wider use of colored artifacts, this is the key mechanical distinction between enchantments and artifacts. (Enchantment creatures are an exception for a reason.) Creating tokens with guard leads to the critical mass concerns I was talking about earlier. The key problem here is that not tking damage doesn't actually win the game, it just keeps you from losing it. Which is, not to put too fine a point on it, boring. (Granted, I've expressed my own concerns about the deck's win condition, but that's another matter.) The card draw is fine; it honestly feels like a very clever way for white to justify it. Templating for reference:
To Serve and Protect: That's not how spell types work. For one, all subtypes have to be single words, and I don't think you want to hyphenate this one. For another, instants and sorceries only get subtypes when it's mechanically relevant, and I don't see anything here that cares about casting a Royal Guard spell. Probably best to keep the guard association implied in the flavor here.
The same issue as Shining Armor's buff applies here. The "die from his wounds only after the battle is won" trope may be stirring in a story, but in Magic, if you're investing a card into a creature, it's because you want it to live to see the next turn. As for the tap trigger... why bother? You're generally tapping creatures before combat, so they aren't allowed to attack this turn. Yes, this opens up the opponent to a counterattack, but it feels mistimed. In all, this card feels like an almost strictly worse Righteousness. Still, let's polish it:
The Flower of the East: Same principles as before apply regarding spell types and how damage works. Given the power of damage redirection, I'd either tone this down to 3 or 4 or up the cost. I recommend the former; 5 damage doesn't come up as often as you might think.
For the Good of All: Any reason this couldn't be a creature? Also, you left out the criterion for the leader ability.
Lily Valley: For one, you haven't said that this is a land. I assume it is given that it's a Plains, but you do need to say that. You also gave it the same subtype as an instant, which is emphatically not how that works. I'd recommend just making it typeless. Creature types are obligatory. Everything else needs a reason, and giving a card basic land types is more powerful than you may think. Fetchlands are powerful enough as it is.
Meanwhile, the ability is... I think I understand what you're going for here, but I'm not sure. That said, going by Oran-Rief, I think you can get away with a bit more than you're willing to on this one:
I will note that this doesn't appear to support the guard strategy at all, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.
Next is... red? Okay then. For reference, the usual color order is white, blue, black, red, green.
Cloudsdale Rider: ...
Horsemanship was only put into one set because they couldn't justify shoving air forces into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I know horses are immensely important to Cloudsdale, but no. May I offer flanking as an alternative?
Flatmarch Patrol: Wow, this doesn't work for multiple reasons.
1. Surprise blockers is much more of a white or green thing. Or blue, given that they get flash as much as green does. Red generally does most of its surprises on offense.
2. Red is the second worst color when it comes to creatures, dragons not withstanding. A 4/4 for four usually has a drawback.
3. Unless an ability states otherwise, a creature can only block one other creature. This ability does work, since the Patrol will be entering the battlefield blocking two creatures, but I just wanted to emphasize that in case you didn't know.
4. "the grassy plains of Flatmarch" kind of undercuts a red card.
Skyspear Sentinel: Red does not get vigilance. It also usually doesn't get reusable mana abilities. I'm also not sure how that one's actually supposed to work. Some possibilities below:
• T: Add R. Activate this ability only if a creature died under your control this turn.
• T: Whenever a creature you control dies this turn, add R.
• Whenever a creature you control dies, if Skyspear Sentinel is untapped, you may tap it. If you do, add R.
Note that the second one is kind of busted in the right deck. Whatever the case, this is a green or black-green creature who's gotten horribly lost.
Wind Rider, Fallen Peak: Same reaction regarding horsemanship, though for Wind Rider, menace or trample are also viable options. Also, it's okay. You can let power/toughness buffs last all the way to the end of the turn.
Cloudsdale Steed: You... you do know that Horse is a creature type, right? Last I checked, Cloudsdalers rode living creatures, not sophisticated machines that just sit there when not in use. (Heck, even if they were, they'd probably qualify more as Vehicles.)
"You're Dead, Hurricane!": Okay, I've been leaving the real estate concerns of flavor text out of this for the most part, but Sagas don't have room for any. Also, you may want to give the Saga a name more like the title of a historical or mythical story rather than a prominent quote from said story.
As for the chapter abilities, the second one is 100% black. The others work fine. If anything, the third one's quite harsh in demanding the creature be exiled. Consider Fling.
Riders of the Storm: Don't know if you know this, but trample and double strike have an interesting interaction. If the first strike damage is enough to clear out any blockers, the creature might as well not be blocked for the normal damage (and any excess from the first hit.) This should cost around four or five mana; putting these keywords together is always a dangerous proposition.
Also, standard comment regarding spell types. I think you may want a watermark for the houses instead.
To the Stars and Back: Cool idea. Still black. Plus it has memory issues; how often are people going to remember which of their creatures they sacrificed five or six turns ago?
Swift as the Wind: This is a white effect. And almost strictly worse than Swift Response.
Storm's Deep: There's a distinct lack of haste in that effect. There are a lot of power-matters effects on display here, but this is rather underwhelming, assuming I'm interpreting it correctly. Still:
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Thanks for the templating help, though do you know if there's any way to make it so that you can only activate one guard keyword against a single damage source? That was the main counter to the "Create a bunch of guards to make yourself completely indestructible" strategy I thought of, though if you have any other thoughts regarding that I'd appreciate them.
Again, thanks for the templating help, and advice regarding balancing combo power.
Okay, so magic uses N as a random variable for keywords, thanks.
In terms of the cards, after reviewing your feedback, I've decided to change them to (assume flavor text is unchanged):
Defender of the Peace 1W
Creature - Human Soldier
Guard.
2/2
Lily Valley Recruit 2W
Creature - Human Soldier
Defender.
Guard.
3/4
Shining Armor, Steadfast Shield 3WWW
Legendary Creature - Human Soldier
Vigilance.
Guard.
Whenever a creature you control with guard blocks, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
W: If you didn't lose life this turn, create a 2/2 White Soldier creature token. Activate this ability only during your end step and a maximum of three times per turn. (Is there any official way to say "You can only do this a certain number of times per turn?")
Spear of the Valley 1W
Artifact - Equipment
Equip 1.
Equipped creature gets +2/+1 and gains deathtouch while blocking.
Flower of the Valley W
Legendary Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has lifelink and is a Knight in addition to its other types.
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, if it's blocking, you gain that much life.
Peace and Prosperity WWW
Enchantment
W: Create a 2/2 white Soldier creature token with guard. (Frequency limit on activation of guard should hopefully prevent this from becoming as much of an issue.)
At the beginning of each opponent's end step, if you didn't lose life this turn and you haven't drawn a card with this ability since your last turn ended, you may draw a card.
To Serve and Protect 1W
Instant
Target blocking creature gets +5/+5 until end of turn. At end of combat, if that creature is on the battlefield, tap target creature an opponent controls. It doesn't untap during their next untap step.
The Flower of the East 1W
Instant
Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to you this turn.
For the Good of All 1W
Sorcery
Until end of turn, each creature you control gains "Whenever <me> blocks, <me> gets +1/+1 until end of turn."
Lily Valley
Legendary Land
T: Add W.
T: Each creature token you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it this turn.
Thanks again for the assistance.
Castellot Scholar: Strictly speaking, this works as written. In practice, this would be a lot easier to handle:
You could probably beef up the Scholar to a 1/2 as well, or remove the once per turn restriction. Blue gets the weakest creatures, but not to that degree.
Crystallot Wonderworker: Hmm. Blue doesn't generally get pump effects. This is arguably a white or possibly green effect. Really, this card wants to be multicolored; using the means of one color to achieve the ends of another is a classic way to make that work. (The same applies to the Saga of Hurricane.)
Professor Radiance, Leading Light: ... Hoo boy. Blue gets some mana abilities, but creatures are usually a no-go for it, and enchantments can depend on the overarching themes of the set. And this particular ability is definitely too complicated for its own good. (Plus, again, enchantments generally don't tap.) This also wants to be a green-blue card.
Ink Basin Records: I think I see where you're going with this. Let me just make an adjustment so multiple Records can't infinitely recycle the same spell.
I'd bump up the cost by one; this is a potent effect.
The Crystal Heart: Dangerous effect, this one, though I'd bump the cost down to 2UU. It's still no Asceticism. As a side note, the Heart doesn't really seem blue in concept, especially if it's still an emotional resonator. That's red's department.
Crystalline Legacy: Pseudo-Instill Energy for artifacts? Interesting. Potentially dangerous with mana rocks, but interesting.
The Spires Shine Bright: ... What? "Ready" has no rules meaning in Magic. I'm going to assume you don't mean "untap;" you'd be spending two mana to get back one, and that's more of a green effect anyway.
Illuminating the Past: At first, I thought this was horrendously overpowered, but I think you have the right idea. It depends on the execution:
• Copy target sorcery card in a graveyard. You may cast the copy.
• Copy target sorcery card in a graveyard. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
The second version, for the record, is the horrendously overpowered one.
The Heart is Life: Strictly worse Negate. I know there are a lot of people out there who'd love it if Negate were strictly worse, but the point stands.
Canter Lake: I'd up the activation cost a bit, but just to 1U. This is a legendary land, after all. I do appreciate the unintended echo of Castle Vantress.
Arbor Homesteader: "Farmer" isn't really a creature type. Peasant and Druid have been used before, though given the local level of social and magical development, Citizen would be more appropriate. Beyond that, interesting spin on the traditional one-drop mana dork.
Appleseed's Sprout: This sort of tiny token generation is more white's wheelhouse in recent days, though this could work as a green-white hybrid card. I'm a bit hesitant about the low activation cost, but it's... probably fine?
Timberwolf: Ooh, nice. The double green and green activation is a bit rough, but I can't deny that this is a bit ridiculous at 2G. Seems fine to me.
Vanhoover Offshoot: That is one burly farmer. The reverse-bolster is certainly interesting. A bit "all eggs in one basket," but that can work.
Grandwood Guards: That is way too much green in the cost. Yes, this is huge, but let's give it some hope of being played outside of monogreen decks. The pseudo-grandeur effect is bizarre; if you have this on the field, you can probably get more value out of more copies by just playing them. Plus, Magic does few effects that directly refer to specific cards.
... Oh, this is a legend? With that name, I never would have guessed.
Finally, temporarily gaining ward is generally useless. It only triggers when the creature is being targeted. If you do it in response to something, it won't trigger. If you do it preemptively, they can respond.
Perhaps the funniest thing here is that you can amass onto these guys. Don't know if that's meant as a bug or a feature, but you may want to make them a Warrior.
Spread the Bounty: Definitely a white effect, but I like where you're coming from. For the record:
From Humble Beginnings: This is literally Rampant Growth.
Nature's Favored: Green does get this ability, but it's usually simplified to "This creature can't be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less." You could easily remove the "greatest power" rider on this one and it'd be fine.
Roots Matter: Simple and effective. No complaints.
Grandwood: I'd up the activation cost a bit. After all, counters stack.
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Castellot Scholar: If you think the scry 1 doesn't need a limit, I trust you.
Crystallot Wonderworker: Okay, looks like I really, really misunderstood what I should have been doing when I designed this set. There were two main things I tried to focus on during the design process; come up with 10 cards of each color and 10 colorless and try to get them to form what, in most of the card games I know, are called "Trait" archetypes, basically a set of really emphasized tribal characteristics. That's why Skyspear Sentry is so strange; it wasn't just designed as a red creature, it was designed as a red House Skies creature, and the intersection of that color and tribe meant a focus on mitigating the cost of sacrificing so many creatures, representing how Soarin's peacemaking (the mechanical focus of the House Skies tribe) and red's occasional sacrifice of its resources would work together. Crystallot Wonderworker was designed under the same questionable philosophy; make it a blue card, but also make it noticeably tribal. In this case, it's meant to represent the High North, which, due to their reliance on the Crystal Heart, is reflected as an emphasis on artifacts of cost 3 or more. As for why it's a strength buff... I honestly don't know, I guess I assumed "power/toughness buffs are universal," yet another thing I apparently failed to do my research on.
The Spires Shine Bright: I'm covering this one next because it's related to the previous point. First off, you're right, "Ready" is the term for "Untap" I'm more familiar with. Second, the reason it looks like it does nothing is because it's really meant to be an enabler, in this case for another tribe I tried designing, one for House Canter that triggers off of instants and sorceries. On its own, the Spires Shine Bright will do nothing, but ideally if you got the accompanying tribal cards up as well it would enable some jank-tastic nonsense.
Illuminating the Past: *notices comment*
*realizes that I originally planned on making it option 2*
Frantically scribbles in notes while saying, "Yes, yes, option 1, of course."
The Crystal Heart: In Homestria, the Crystal Heart, as a mountain range, is less of an emotional resonator than in Equestria. The main reason I made it blue was... Well, it's an artifact. Blue likes artifacts. That was enough justification for my inexperienced brain.
Citrus-Scented Manehattanite: Firstly, Spy is technically a creature type, but only in the silly sets. Use Rogue.
Secondly, that's not generally how casting a spell works. This technically works within the rules, but it's messy.
Thirdly, this is a green or possibly blue effect.
Gemsteel-Clad Knight: Huh. I'd recommend making this a 3/1. Free creatures already have value in being, you know, free creatures. No one's playing Narcomoeba for the stats.
Heir of the Clever: Each? Yikes. Two of these and a decent supply of Treasure would be a nightmare to go up against. Compare Bog Naughty. I recommend bringing it down to a single target and removing the "doesn't untap" rider, at least.
Sunset Shimmer, Shadowy Phoenix:
So... did you mean to invoke Phyrexian mana with Sunset, or is that just a happy coincidence?
Also, I'll note that if anyone in this setting qualifies as a Wizard, it's the telepathic ex-unicorn.
Remnant of Elder Days: Hmm. As written, this casts the exiled card... once. Then it goes to your graveyard. Did you intend more of an Isochron Scepter effect? Whatever the case, this is more colorless or blue than black.
"My Past is Not Today": Unfortunate interaction here with Spellbook effects. I have some recommendations:
Sweet, but Sharp: Up the cost to at least 1BB, if not 3B. This is just a slightly easier-to-answer Zombify.
No Star so Bright: Black is usually limited to bringing back creatures and planeswalkers. Green's the one with unrestricted revival. And bringing back any two cards is huge, especially when this is, at minimum a draw-two effect. 3GG at minimum.
Strength Through Service: Leader as an ability makes the most sense in white, followed by green and red. Black doesn't really do the whole "mutual support thing."
Castellot: That's... really not how X works. You'd be better served in just tapping this for mana to pay for the X. And X values that depend on something else can't really be interacted with in that way. This one will need a complete rework.
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That was what dummy-me designed the whole set around, mono-color decks. That was also the idea behind the legendary lands; enhance some of the core strengths of the colors.
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Citrus-Scented Manehattanite: More color confusion, got it.
Gemsteel-clad Knight: Understood. Yes, free is always good.
Heir of the Clever: Okay, yeah, the visual of the Treasure-fed flamethrower is horrifying. Noted. Very firmly.
Sunset Shimmer, Shadowy Phoenix: Oh, hey, confusion regarding creature types, something different! (This isn't targeting you, this is me laughing at myself.) Also, coincidence? I think... yes.
Remnant of Elder Days: And back to color confusion. Also, yes, it was meant to be just a one-shot effect.
"My Past is Not Today:" Understood.
Sweet, but Sharp: Noted.
No Star So Bright: You're right, it is "squint and draw two cards!" I'm usually better at spotting those, but apparently not when I'm actually designing cards. Huh. This might explain all those "how did this get past the playtesters/other gatekeepers of the system" moments when something completely busted is released; it is easy to notice, for a gamer. For a game dev...
Strength Through Service: More color confusion, but not necessarily in theme; thematically, this is supposed to represent black's determination to do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. A black member of House Majesty would bleed themselves dry leading an army into the fray, if it means they succeed at their mission, though it's only now that I realize the very idea of a mission is more of a white thing. Oops.
Castellot: And finally, some confusion in how X works! Whoo, line of five in Ignorance Bingo!
In all honesty, thank you. It looks like I should leave designing MtG cards to you, someone who actually plays the game. On the bright side, I can still design them for myself for fun, and keep doing so for cards for the AGoT LCG by Fantasy Flight-
Wait, I don't play that either.
Well, that's a lot of pages to hide from the light of day...
Harmonious Citizen: Potential three-mana 6/6, but you have to work for it (or play a Transguild Courier next turn.) This is probably fine.
Well-Traveled Guard: You will need to spell it all out in one paragraph, but this is fine as is. You may want to have green provide a keyword, though. A four-mana 5/5 with potential further upside is a bit ridiculous.
Princess Serena Majesty, Long May She Reign: I can state with confidence that this name will not fit on a Magic card. And this is another case of too complicated for its own good, especially something this expensive.
And you can probably throw on a few more effects while you're at it.
Book of Common Law: Meteor Crater meets Fellwar Stone Interesting. Good way to balance out a two-drop mana rock.
Smartphone: This seems absolutely absurd, especially on a colorless creature. This version might be balanced:
Relic of Magic: You'll want a more evocative name for the front side. Mysterious or Enigmatic Relic, maybe? You also don't need to specify the back side's mana value; that's baked into the rules of transforming cards. Also, "Spell" as a creature type seems like it's bound to cause all kinds of rules issues. Finally, the reward isn't worth it. It's a bunch of minor effects, and it costs a minimum of nine mana to use the first one. This might be simplified by just presenting the back side as a card with five color-coded activated abilities, or greatly enhancing the payoff for all this work.
All in Harmony: Manamorphose is one of the iconic enablers for combo and storm decks. This one actually gives you positive net mana along with that card draw. Let's tweak things a little...
The Families Belle: You can't target colors. Also, giving both attackers and blockers +1/+1 cancels itself out, barring first strike or double strike.
Homestria, the Land I Love: A potential two-mana draw five is a big no-no. This is a blue card.
Princess Majesty the First: Sorry, I'm not really qualified to assess vanguards of all things.
To be clear, I don't think you should stop making these. I'm always happy to see other folks try this. I just recommend some degree of exposure to Magic as she is played first.
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Thanks for the reassurance, though I still think I'm going to bend the knee and bow out of MtG card creation. My past times on Pokemon Showdown have taught me that I don't do particularly well in a competitive game with a constantly-changing meta. I like theorizing about it, but actually playing the game, emotionally investing myself in a process where I'm working with limited information and trying to make allowances for hundreds of thousands of potential events (card/move choices), I'm not so good at, or as keen on doing. This limits my ability to actually gain experience in the game, something which, as you said, I need more of in order to design balanced cards. I might come back to this later, but for now I think I'm going to keep any ideas I have in my head or my notes; the experience I would need to refine them into something worthwhile is something I currently lack, and, to be honest, lack the inclination to obtain. I'm a deep Blue theoretician, and the competitive scene, for pretty much any game, seems deeply Red to me; passion-filled, chaotic, filled with more ideas, strategies, and philosophies than I could ever dream of, and too intimidating to even think of approaching. Not that I'm afraid of the community, I have no doubt that you and your fellow planeswalkers are perfectly friendly people, but you're still people, and my preferred play-style of "No surprises that I can't recover from" can't handle the innumerable surprises people would throw at me.
/end spiel
I feel like my brain overloaded.