Guilds of Ravnica WORKSHOP

[Skyver]

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WELCOME
to the

Guilds of Ravnica

Workshop Thread!

Part 1: Introduction

So I wanted to try and kickstart a new line of AotP customs, as well as share some of the recent things I've been working on with regard to Arena of the Planeswalkers. I specifically intend this thread to be focused around the recent line of Wizkid's Magic: The Gathering themed D&D miniatures.

There are three main goals in this thread:

1). Present my ideas on some new Card Types/Rules Variants.
2). Aid both MTG and non-MTG players in the design of Custom units
3). Create a Public Design space where people can share their related creations and give feedback to each other.

I'll start by talking about the first one. But first, let me give you a brief rundown on what exactly this whole Guild stuff is all about.

Background:

Spoiler Alert!

For those who don't know, the City of Ravnica is a planet-wide city and one of the most popular Planes in Magic: The Gathering. There have been several sets based on Ravnica, including a couple of the most recent ones.

Ravnica's most distinctive feature are its 10 Guilds, with each guild representing a different two-color combination:



Those 10 Guilds are (in order):

{W/U} --- Azorius Senate
{R/W} --- Boros Legion
{U/B} --- House Dimir
{B/G} --- Golgari Swarm
{R/G} --- Gruul Clans
{U/R} --- Izzet League
{W/B} --- Orzhov Syndicate
{B/R} --- Cult of Rakdos
{G/W} --- Selesnya Conclave
{G/U} --- Simic Combine

(Note that U = Blue; B = Black)

Ok, so what does this all have to do with Arena of the Planeswalkers? Well, it turns out that one of the newer D&D line of miniatures has all of their figures based on these Guilds. So if we want to stay true to the MTG theme, it helps to be familiar with the source material.

In addition, it helps me set up the pitch for my super cool custom design idea for Guilds of Ravnica customs in AotP: Hybrid cards!

Hybrid Cards:

Spoiler Alert!

Hybrid cards have been around in Magic for quite some time. As it turns out, the first Hybrid cards were actually released along with the original "Ravnica: City of Guilds" expansion back in 2005.

Here is what they look like in Magic: the Gathering


Hybrid cards are considered to be both of their respective colors, but can be summoned using just one of their listed mana types. For example, a hybrid card that belongs to the Selesnya Guild (W/G) can be summoned using either White or Green mana.

In AotP, I picture this working the same way. Hybrid creatures from these guilds would be able to be drafted by Planeswalkers who match at least one of their color types. Here is an example of some Hybrid creature designs I thought up, using specific Wizkids miniatures and their respective MTG card artworks:

Example 'Hybrid' Card:

Spoiler Alert!

(Click card to Expand)

I'm not suggesting that ALL of the new units be made into hybrid cards, but it is definitely something I think should be worth considering for certain units. After all, the more choices one has while Army building, the better! Hybrid cards certainly help with that.

Other cards, especially Unique Heroes and other iconic figures, should be multicolored in the 'traditional' gold-bordered way. That's because they specifically must embody both colors, not just one or the other.

Speaking of which, that brings me to my second addition / suggestion for custom Arena content: Generals!

(Before you ask: No... I don't mean THOSE generals!....)

General Variant:

The lack of multicolored Planeswalkers in AotP, combined with the plethora of multicolored Squads and Heroes in the Ravnica set caused me to think of a new Gameplay type / format.

Rather than choosing a Planeswalker, Players could choose any UNIQUE Hero Creature to be their General before the game. All creatures in that player's army must match one or more of the colors on the General's Army card, and cannot include other colors. (For those who play MTG, this is very similar to the Commander format rules).

Unique Heroes are usually named characters with powerful abilities or stats. As generals, they cannot summon creatures and do not have a Spellbook. Instead, your armies deploy in a starting zone, akin to standard Heroscape armies.

It is potentially possible to mix games between Planeswalkers and Generals. I have not tested this type of gameplay (yet) but I hope to do so in the near future. Planeswalkers would have the advantage of the Spellbooks, while Generals would have the advantage of being able to field more units.

Here are some examples I typed up of what these Unique Hero cards could look like, again using the Wizkid miniatures as well as the art of the characters they were based on. I even managed to add in some hitzones:

Example Generals:

Spoiler Alert!

(Click cards to Expand)

(Note: these designs are not final, and haven't been thoroughly tested. They are just preliminary representations that still require tweaking to be table ready)

Look below for more information.

All feedback is appreciated!