Code Geass
Code Geass by Alex
229 cards in Multiverse
33 with no rarity, 95 commons, 57 uncommons,
39 rares, 5 mythics
3 colourless, 36 white, 42 blue, 37 black, 37 red,
34 green, 16 multicolour, 20 hybrid, 3 artifact, 1 land
570 comments total
Bringing the epic anime series into Magic.
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I'm designing a Magic: the Gathering cardset based on the anime Code Geass.
Current candidate mechanics include:
Geass
Lelouch's Geass is a fascinating power. He can compel absolute obedience, but only once from each person. This is reflected by the new Geass subtype, shared by many instants, sorceries and Auras in the set. Some are positive, some are negative, but each one can only be used on a creature that hasn't already been Geassed.
Target creature gets +1/+1 and first strike until end of turn.
Tap target creature. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
Target creature deals damage to itself equal to its power.
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has haste.
When Geass to Betray enters the battlefield, untap enchanted creature and gain control of it until end of turn.
(Enchanted creature has protection from other Geasses.)
Enchant creature
If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead regenerate it and its controller sacrifices another permanent or discards a card.
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature can't attack or block.
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+1 and has lifelink.
Instants and Prepare
Code Geass is a series characterised by tactical plots, ploys and counterploys, dramatic turnarounds and secret plans being revealed at the best (or worst) possible moment. I want the experience of playing Code Geass to feel like you're a master strategist, making plans, predicting your opponents' moves, and perhaps thinking on your feet, to come out ahead. The flagship mechanic for this aspect of the series is prepare, a mechanic which allows you to take cards which would normally be cast at sorcery speed and set them up exiled face down, from where they can later be cast at instant speed often for a discount. There's also a higher than usual number of instants, cantrips and combat tricks, to keep the combat step feeling dynamic and unpredictable.
(
as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets -5/-0, doesn't untap during its controller's untap step, and its activated abilities can't be activated.
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
Each creature you control becomes a copy of target creature you control until end of turn, except they aren't legendary if that creature is legendary.
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
If you control a Mountain or a Plains, target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
Seismic Instability deals X damage to each creature without flying and each planeswalker.
Draw a card.
Knightmares and Eject
The Knightmare Frame mecha in the series are represented by Equipment cards. They mostly have a new keyword mechanic eject representing the ejection pods built into most Knightmare Frames in the series, which save their pilot when the mech is severely damaged in combat. A number of blue and white cards give you bonuses for using artifacts or equipment.
Eject (If equipped creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Equipment.)
Equip
: Equipped creature becomes 3/2 and gains flying.
: Equipped creature becomes 5/4 and loses flying.
Eject (If equipped creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Equipment.)
Equip
At the beginning of each combat, choose first strike, vigilance, or lifelink. Equipped creature gains that ability until end of turn.
Equip
Eject (If equipped creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Equipment.)
Equip
When Test Pilot enters the battlefield, you may attach target Equipment you control to it.
Whenever an equipped creature you control blocks, draw a card.
: Add two mana of any one color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells or activate abilities of artifacts.The Britannian Empire and Decadence
The world-spanning Holy Britannian Empire believe they're naturally superior to other races. They have a very well-organised military, but suffer from excessive internal politics, entitlement, arrogance, and racism, especially towards the conquered natives. Some of their most corrupt and indulgent characters have the new decadence mechanic. This grants you powerful effects, getting more powerful as you accumulate more of them, but also costing you most of your mana each turn. Britannia is represented by mostly white and black cards and some in blue.
, where X is your total decadence.)
Whenever you pay decadence, Smug Cavalier gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the amount you paid.
, where X is your total decadence.)
Whenever you pay decadence, you may tap up to that many target creatures.
, where X is your total decadence.)
Whenever you pay decadence, you may destroy target creature with converted mana cost that much or less.
, where X is your total decadence.)
Whenever you pay decadence, up to that many target creatures gain lifelink until end of turn.
The Black Knights and Revolt
The Black Knights are the rebel insurgency. Once terrorists, but now under the leadership of Zero they've become a fully-fledged resistance movement, a rebel army, trying to kick out the oppressors and reclaim their homeland for themselves. Their anger can be particularly provoked if some of their comrades have suffered, represented by the returning revolt mechanic. Cards with revolt give you extra bonuses if a permanent you control has left the battlefield this turn. The Black Knights are represented by mainly red cards with some green.
Revolt — Put it onto the battlefield instead if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn.
When Traditionalist Insurgents enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Revolt — Traditionalist Insurgents costs
less to cast if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn.Control Change
The anime is known for characters changing sides, whether due to shifting loyalties, blackmail, Geass, or more dramatic and spoilersome reasons. This is represented by a high density of control-change effects in the set. Who can you trust?
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
When target creature deals combat damage to an opponent this turn, put target creature card from that player's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
Until your next turn, if damage dealt by a source an opponent controls would reduce your life total to less than 1, instead prevent that damage and gain control of that source.
Other mechanics
A few other mechanics from Magic's history return. Raid cards in red and black give you rewards for attacking even if your attackers won't survive combat - which can give opponents a hard time knowing whether to block or not. The traditionalist Japanese soldiers have Bushido, making them more fearsome in combat. A few creatures have channel, giving the cards an alternate use as combat tricks. And the chess motif of the series is represented by a cycle of gambit cards where you deliberately put a creature of yours at risk for the sake of a greater reward.
Bushido 2 (Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn.)
Gambit — When target creature you control dies during combat this turn, create another two of those tokens.
Gambit — When target creature you control dies during combat this turn, choose another target creature. Aggressive Gambit deals 3 damage to that creature.
Channel –
, Discard Compassionate Athlete: Target creature gains lifelink until end of turn.Cardset comments (22) | Add a comment on this cardset
The set creator would like to draw your attention to these comments:
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On The Ends Don't Justify the Means (reply):
on 9 Dec 2016
by
Jack V:
Thinking it through, maybe it's something like this. Black: "Ends justify the means" is a central black tenet. Black is all about efficiency, selfishness and ruthlessness. There are some exceptions (eg. YOUR means trump OTHER PEOPLE'S ends :)) White: White is very conflicted. White is about the community, about systems, about having principles and sticking to them. That's not so much "means over ends" as there are LOTS of ends and white is torn between them. Every white paladin facing down a hostage situation is weighing up "keep my word, so people trust it in future" vs "save the innocent in front of me" vs "dispense justice, so fewer people take hostages in future" etc etc. Other colours conveniently "forget" about things that aren't in front of your face. White doesn't have that luxury. Sometimes your immediate end is sacrificed on the alter of the means of a HIGHER end. If you're lucky, a worthwhile one. Sometimes not. Green: What are these "ends" of what you speak? I do what comes naturally to me, and accept the consequences. Red: What are these "means" of which you speak? Why would you put, like, extra steps between me and my goal? DO THE GOAL. That's the point. Stop overthinking everything! Blue: I don't believe there's a one size fits all answer to this question, but if it helps, I'm absolutely definitely going to overthink everything. |
On Urban Guerrilla (reply): |
On Suzaku Kururugi (reply):
on 30 Aug 2014
by
Alex:
My rough feeling for power and toughness in this set goes:
Most combat tricks will only grant +1/+1 or less. No Giant Growth in this set. |
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( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
Until your next turn, if damage dealt by a source an opponent controls would reduce your life total to less than 1, instead prevent that damage and gain control of that source.
, Sacrifice a creature: Target creature becomes 1/1 until end of turn.
, Sacrifice a creature: Target player sacrifices a creature.When Marianne, "The Flash" dies, exile the top card of each player's library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play those cards and may spend mana as though it was mana of any colour to do so.
( as a sorcery: Exile this face down from your hand. On future turns you may cast it from exile for its prepare cost as if it had flash.)
If target creature attacked or blocked this turn, it gets +3/-3.
Hmm, well - Reverse Damage says this can be White. Control Magic says Blue. Black for the obvious "Yeah, I'm willing to freakin DIE to get control of that. And, you know, not actually die because that would be dumb." It's not really very green? It's the weak taking control of the strong, very un-green there. Red... is heavily against the planning flavour. Though for actual play value? "I'm playing a trap spell, and hoping you forget it exists. I'm sure that'll pay off for me. Shaddup." maybe :)
Honestly,
nails it for me. A red downside would be to make the control temporary (boo). Or global. ... ok, global is insanely Xanatos-roulette. I mean, in practical terms, when's it ever actually gonna come up that you fire this off and then you accidentally kill off an opponent so they get the effect and it keeps on trucking turn after turn? When you're a RED player, that's when!
Having realised I really want Emperor Charles zi Britannia to be a black-white mythic, that makes me think I might need to change this. Charles's card really needs to be black-white, but this could be whatever colours it fits. This wants to stay a mythic rare, as it represents the amazingly audacious plan which nobody except Lelouch could either come up with or carry out, but its colours are flexible.
I do quite like the current effects, so I'm wondering what colours this effect fits in? I think it could probably be anything part-blue (well, maybe not blue-green). If I were to make this blue-red, would the current rules text still fit that, do you think? I could maybe add "Your life total becomes 1" to make it feel a little more red.
The Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire. Unashamedly supremacist and discriminatory, as exemplified by this quote:
So I wanted some mechanics to represent his ruthlessness and imperial dogmas. Sacrificing creatures seems appropriate, and a way to get extra value from sacrificing your creatures seems apt as well.
Slightly annoyingly this design fits better with the (Black-green archetype) than the (White-black archetype), but not every rare has to fit into the archetypes. And the Emperor of Britannia, the black-white faction in this set, has to be black-white.
Marianne, Lelouch's mother and one of the Emperor's many consorts. As well as being a lightning-fast fighter in a Knightmare (hence her nickname), she also had the power to stowaway in other people's subconscious when she died. I dunno how you represent that on a card, but getting the opportunity to play a card from each player's library seems as good as anything.
Originally I had her having flash and haste, but then there was basically nothing white on her card, and I think she should have white in her cost because she's a Britannian noble and a relatively caring one, and the colour red in this set is mostly associated with the rebels opposed to Britannia. So I swapped haste for lifelink.
An initial stab at a signpost gold uncommon for the (Black-green archetype).
A straightforward Travel Preparations/Gird for Battle which Prepares into a double Battlegrowth or two-thirds of a Reap What Is Sown.
I wanted a few more cards with my Prediction / planning mechanic, prepare. This is much better as a combat trick than as slow removal, so I think the costs of 1 vs 4 are about right.
Art from inside one of the Britannian control rooms with computer readouts showing all their units dying.
I wanted a card to give the (White-black archetype) and (Blue-black archetype) some late-game bleeding-style reach/inevitability. I have fond memories of Death of a Thousand Stings so this is somewhat inspired by that. If this was an instant it'd need to cost at least 4, but I think as a sorcery 2 is fine because you can't leave mana up and have it as a "if you do nothing, I do this" backup plan for your mana.
I came up with this design, then tried to find a flavour for it. The Avenging Samurai is a compelling one, but that means I either need to have this have "Samurai" in the name but not on the type line (big no-no), or have it be creature type Samurai without bushido (that was a no-no in Kamigawa), or add bushido with reminder text which makes this super wordy, or add bushido without reminder text which doesn't make much sense when there's only about 5-6 cards in the set with bushido. Or just find another name which fits with this being a green (traditionalist Japanese) Soldier or Rebel or Citizen.
I think I'm most inclined to break the "all Samurai must have bushido" rule. I think the plan then is to leave bushido specifically to the Four Holy Swords and Tohdoh, but I might have a couple more Samurai without it.
I might do a bit more brainstorming for a non-Samurai name though.
Yeah, that's a good point about the stats