SFDD Custom Commander Set: Skittering Friends (WRG)

Skittering Friends (WRG)

Watermark: https://i.imgur.com/JWXxQUk.png

Focus Color: White ~ Community, Fairness, Cooperation

Enemy Color Splash: Red ~ Overcrowding, Expansionist, Small

Ally Color Splash: Green ~ Natural, Terrestrial, Beastly

Creature Race Types: Insect

Creature Class Types:

Influence of colors: White influences the Skittering Friends to tightly value community. They live in dense groups, similar to Goblins but with more decorum and yet more grotesqueness. These are friendly and peaceloving creatures that nonetheless are constantly in quarrels due to their tendency to seek new colonies in lands in every environment. Green gives a lean towards nature, with the Skittering Friends having many biological tools at their disposal. Red channels the "for the greater whole" mindset of white and turns it in to allowance for territorial aggression. Lacking Black and Blue, they have no interest in controlling others outright. Their needs are rarely selfish and so there's not much "go tall" or sacrificing other creatures for benefit.

Role Mechanic: Friendly

Friendly (Enchanted creature is a Friend in addition to its other creature types and has "as long as this creature has 3 or less power, prevent all combat damage dealt to it while attacking".)

The Skittering Friends are many small creatures who want to attack with impunity. The Friendly role makes it so that each creature can continually attack, without worry about bouncing off or dying. If they get through to the opponent, that's great. The Skittering Friends are more about continually attacking than getting huge or critical hits in.

This role is fantastic on anything that wants to attack, and can threaten being more effective than another faction's role. Therefore this probably shouldn't give additional power, relying on its effect.

It may or may not have this clause: "by creatures with equal or higher power", like Skulk. Needs playtesting to see if the additional complications are worth it.

Incentive Mechanics

The Friendly role is a great tool for encouraging continuous attacking.

Creatures with Vigilance are able to attack and survive for sure.

Triggers based on attacking with multiple creatures works, look to Battalion for inspiration.

We want to have many creatures, so affordable creatures are useful here. Do we want to make a focus on tokens or nontoken creatures?

Adventures being attached to additional bodies is good. Every Adventure/Creature is at least one body, so if we make a couple of token-making Adventures this faction could deploy that for many bodies.

Tempo: Tempo - If you attacked with one or more creatures on your previous turn, something something.

Convoke seems like a good fit given the go-wide nature.

Plays poorly with First Strike on the offense, but at least it plays well to ignore the damage and then get a hit in.

Relations to other Factions

The Caravan (UGW): Shares White and Green, has Red instead of Blue. The Caravan's want for preservation and profitable society contrasts the egalitarian nature of the Skittering Friends. White and Green should feature some adventures that are effective at making bodies so that The Caravan and Skittering Friends can both use them. Red should encourage some go-wide effect because The Caravan doesn't have it, and Blue should encourage some go-tall because Skittering Friends don't have it.
Meek Diplomats (BWU): Shares White, but not Blue and Black. Sanctity and formality could go in to Blue and Black to reflect the absence in Skittering Friends. Black can have really tall demons or something. To appeal to both factions, white should have cantrip-y or easily castable things. This will fill out bodies for Skittering Friends and allow for extortion triggers on Meek Diplomats. Should be careful not to put too many extortion triggers in white, because Skittering Friends might use it better with a basic gameplan.
Space Dragons (RUB): Shares Red, but not Blue and Black. The kind of self-centered ambition of Blue and Black should be shown here, with go-tall Blue and Black options. The greatness of Dragons should show through in Red, which Skittering Friends also has access to. There should be a focus on flexibility, utility, and manuevering here. Go-wide things should be available in Red, but perhaps have modal opportunity that makes them good for go-wide or go-tall?
Pikmin (GBR): Shares Green and Red, has White instead of Black. This suggests that go-wide things should be in Green for sure. The key to differentiate them is the White vs Black; White needs creature alive and on the board, but Black is more flexible with getting graveyard value. Reinforces that large creatures should be in Black so that the graveyard exiling effects can be used.
Perfect Machines: Skittering Friends care about number of Friends, which this shuts out. Can create a lot of creatures to upload to the hivemind, though.

Updated on 02 Oct 2023 by RatLantern