Soradyne Laboratories v1.2: Recent Activity
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Recent updates to Soradyne Laboratories v1.2: (Generated at 2025-08-18 21:29:26)
I think this new version ought to work.
The first ability is solid, but not outright busted. Even if you play him with no critters on the board, you get your two creatures on the first turn he comes in, and after that you only net one vanilla bear. I think that for a four-mana mythic, two bears is a pretty fair bare minimum. It also helps feed te second ability.
I've adjusted ability 2 to be able to target any player. It has a nice diplomacy element, and does great things in 2HG play. It also plays to his story well—more on that in a second.
The third ability is, I think, fine as it is and has been. Yes, it's really close to an auto-win. Several of the Planeswalker "ultimate" abilities are like that, and I don't really see a problem there. Dan, I know you generally dislike the inherent way Planeswalkers draw all the focus of the game once they hit, but they're a huge hook for sets and the game as a whole now.
I think that in this case we've got a guy who plays a very interesting role in the greater story (even if it's not apparent yet) without being a central player. Callimus Broadmoor is the former brains and heart behind Soradyne Laboratories. He walked away from his job there shortly after the Day of Silence, and nobody's quite sure why. It's probable that very few people in Debronia even realize he's become a Planeswalker—I think there's a good opportunity for some Fezzit/Dyble quotes in the flavor text referencing the fact that the common people rarely recognize a Planeswalker until they make it obvious. Which in itself has some nice, fat, long-term ramifications.
(Hint: There's another hidden Planeswalker manipulating conspiracies here, but that wouldn't be revealed until set three, "Terminus".)
Broadmoor has become something of a Yoda-hermit, popping up now and then, doing little more than watching things from the sidelines. We'll learn that he's got quite the fascination with the hunt for a cure to Tarkot's Cross, but more for the notion of it's bio/magical implications than for any feelings towards its victims. Once or twice he'll steer other primary players towards key bits of information he knows (see ability #2), but he's not himself gunning towards any agenda. He's become a scholar interested in cycles of growth and decay, and not much else.
Looking to D47, where we get stories of current and past running almost side-by-side, I'd like to feature a "young" Callimus Broadmoor just as he's reaching his decision to leave the Soradyne Corporation. His involvement with the secret weapon project has effectively heightened his scientific awareness and enlightened him to the point of his spark kicking in. He goes from brilliant technomancer to Planeswalker in what is probably the most gradual and methodical of Planeswalker origin stories—Planeswalker Buddha.
As such, I see his D47 card as a legendary blue wizard with three
abilities, the third of which sacs him and searches for The Reclusive Dr. Broadmoor. Seems like another really cool hook to me, and it functions mechanically in a way that perfectly matches his story. He literally transitions from a researcher and inventor to someone who's only real interest is the very basis of life-and-death struggles.
I like the general vibe on Houlding's model. The second ability casts a slightly wider net than I'd like to play to with Broadmoor, but that's a small item in the big picture.
At the very least, I think this is on the right track. Numbers and abilities can be massaged, but conceptually and stylistically this looks appropriate.
Some simple fiddlings:
Loyalty - 3
+2 - Look at top 4 cards, you may put a land card from among them onto the battlefield, rest into your graveyard.
-3 - You may return target card from your graveyard to your hand.
-7 - Original Tooth & Nail + Nekrataal thing.
No matter, things just need to be tested, and it's better to start with something exciting and pull it back, as most developmental problems seem to happen when they start with a mundane thing and rush to make it into something exciting. (i.e. Umezawa's Jitte, etc...)
That's...whoa. That ultimate is an autowin and the first ability is probably insane.
Going from 4 mana to 9 mana on turn 5 may be a little much and with a +3 loyalty, it's going to be nearly impossible to kill.
This brings up a critical point: how many effects in Soradyne can deal with planeswalkers? I count only one other mention of the card type in the set so far: Siphoning Sootcloud.
That's probably a mistake: repeating the issues of Zendikar block and Jace 2: the FU, is definitely unwise.
That's the spirit!
Hmm. Readjusted.
Hmmm, I think you've now gone in an overly conservative direction. The first two abilities are directed towards entirely different objectives, though you would hope the player has enough creatures in their deck that the +-ability feeds the other. But neither does much to the board, nor are they especially enticing.
Ooooh! I like that angle a lot, and it actually works really well for him in terms of his story too. A slight tweak, and...
As a suggestion for distinguishing it from other PWs and to adjust power level, I think it'd be neat if the + ability were just:
+1: Add
or 
to your mana pool for each creature card in your graveyard.
Your current plus-ability is very powerful, as it's removal AND ramp AND increases loyalty. This build is like every Innistrad PW smushed into one vicious machine of card advantage. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to try and cut back on text wherever possible.
New build. I think this design better reflects trying to reconstruct old events to find answers.