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loreholdlesbian · 10 months

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Lost Caverns of Ixalan Draft Booster Challenge

With every set, I like to make a booster pack of custom cards that fit naturally in the set. My goal is to push in novel directions, as much as allowable within the confines of the necessary rarity distribution and within the confines of trying to make cards that don't still feel natural as part of the set. I also aim to try and cover a wide variety of mechanics and themes. I think this is probably my favorite one of these I've done so far, so let's get into it!!!

Art links

Lucía

Grim Captain's Herald

Jade Trident Bearer

Cosmium Compass

Wargnome Smithy // Gnomemaster's Weaponry

Oltec Sun Dial

Caving Gear

Deepriver Frillback

Lost to the Dark

Mycoid Blightwing

Reckless Descent

Sudden Sinkhole

Malamet Combat Rite

Mouth of the Depths

Rare

Lucía, Herald of Aclazotz Legendary Creature- Vampire Demon [mythic] Flying Descend 4 - Whenever Lucía attacks while there are four or more permanent cards in your graveyard, create a 1/1 black Bat creature token with flying that's tapped and attacking. Whenever a Bat, Demon, or Vampire you control deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2 life. If you do, draw a card. 3/4

An underground set feels like a fun place to put a bat typal effect, but an ixalan set kinda wants its typal focused in the main four creature types. Luckily, Bat pairs very thematically with vampire so I made a the card batch, and threw in Demons for good measure since the card ended up being a vampire demon. Ironically, I think the rare is one of the less boundary pushing cards in this pack, but i like it and within this set it could only be done at rare since all non-Dino typal effects are being kept to rare so I stand by it.

Uncommons

Grim Captain's Herald 4 Creature- Skeleton Spirit Grim Captain's Herald is also a Dinosaur, a Merfolk, a Pirate, and a Vampire. Whenever you cast a Dinosaur, Merfolk, Pirate, and/or Vampire spell, create a Treasure token and put a +1/+1 counter on Grim Captain’s Herald. This ability triggers only once each turn. 2/2

Okay I know I just talked about this set not having a typal thing and all non-dinosaur typal being kept to rare but hear me out. My intention here is to give a reward if you want to build any of the 4 types without devoting larger set structure to it, and I like how since a decent number of the set's creatures are these types it'll always have some hits in whatever deck you put it in or can build a deck specifically filled with just those kinds of creatures. I like it for EDH too, I could see throwing it in decks for any of the 4.

Jade Trident Ranger 3G Creature- Merfolk Warrior When Jade Trident Bearer enters the battlefield, create a tapped Map token. (It’s an artifact with “1, T, Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.”) Whenever a creature you control explores, it fights up to one target creature you don’t control. 3/3

I wanted to do something fun with maps, and "Fight whenever a creature explores" felt like a fun reward, since it takes advantage of the way explore can help make creatures bigger as well as, with ETB make a map as opposed to ETB explore, the better ability to select what creature of yours you want to fight and when you want it to fight. I went with a tapped map because I don't like green creatures that fight on ETB and an untapped map would be too similar to that.

Cosmium Compass 2 Artifact 2, T: Scry 2. As you discover, you may increase or decrease the discover value by 1. This effect can’t reduce a discover value to less than 1. It points not to the north, but to the unknown.

Here's a discover reward I'm very happy with. The obvious discover reward is the second ability of course, but the scry helps a lot too while also giving the card a use case outside of discover. Originally the use case was "being a creature", but I switched it to artifact with this ability and I'm just much happier with this.

Commons

Wargnome Smithy 2 Artifact When Wargnome Smithy enters or leaves the battlefield, create a 1/1 colorless Gnome artifact creature token. Craft with white 3W (3W, Exile this artifact, Exile a white permanent you control or a white card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner’s control. Craft only as a sorcery.) // Gnomemaster's Weaponry Artifact- Equipment Whenever equipped creature attacks, each attacking creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Equip 1 (1: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.) “As one, the machinery lifts its voice to tell you this: ‘Gnome.’”

First things first, appreciate my flavor text callback. I knew I wanted a craft design in here, and it took me a bit to get something I'm happy with that felt appropriately boundry-pushing but still felt cclean, but i'm very happy with the result. I intend this to be a cycle of colorless artifacts with a colored craft that all have a trigger on ETB and LTB. I like how it has a bit of the flavor of incorporating an aspect of what you craft it with by gaining white as a color. The leave the battlefield effect means it triggers when you use its craft ability, but also that it makes really good craft fodder for other cards. That's the benefit of the cycle being all colorless- you might even take the off color ones to be craft fodder. I think this'll play really interestingly.

Oltec Sun Dial W Artifact Whenever Oltec Sun Dial becomes tapped, tap target artifact or creature an opponent controls. 4W, T: You gain 3 life.

This card should probably have flavor text but. Eh. This is meant to be a good card for the RW "tap your stuff as a cost" archetype, but I gave it a tap ability to make sure it stood by itself. I wanted the tap ability to be expensive tho to heavily encourage the archetype more.

Caving Gear 2U Artifact- Equipment As a creature you control explores Caving Gear, put this card into your hand. Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and can't be blocked. Equip 2 (2: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)

I liked that first line of text on something, but had to figure out what would be a good card to do it on. Something that rewards big creatures felt best, since if this card gets explored that means whatever explored it got a +1/+1 counter on it. Originally it was on a green bite spell, but when I made Jade Trident Bearer that felt to close, so I switched it to blue. Unblockable felt like the best reward in blue for a big creature.

Deepriver Frillback 4U Creature- Dinosaur Vigilance Descend 4 — Deepriver Frillback can’t attack unless there are four or more permanent cards in your graveyard or you discard a card as it attacks. 5/5 The dread it evokes as it chases is almost as deadly as its bite.

"Big blue creature that can only attack conditionally" is well-treaded design space (though it tends to be more upside these days). However, I like the addition I made here of letting you pay a cost if you don't meet the condition yet. And in this particular case I'm happy with how that cost helps you build up to the condition.

Lost to the Dark 1B Instant Target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn. Put a finality counter on it. (If a creature with a finality counter on it would die, exile it instead.) Diego’s elation at narrowly surviving the cave-in quickly turned to horror when he realized he now knew no way out.

Finality counters!! love those little guys. Especially since I was able to guess what they were when Mark mentioned a new deciduous counter. I wanted to show off a new way to use them that wasn't in the set (though I can't take credit for this particular innovation, someone in a discord server came up with it). They were only used to limit recursion so far, but here I'm using it in place of the "If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead" with the added benefit that it's not limited to just this turn. a -N/-N effect felt a little better than a red damage spell, because I think the -n/-n is something you're a little more likely to use just to make a creature smaller, instead of killing it. (though still pretty unlikely)

Mycoid Blightwing 3B Creature- Fungus Bat Imp Flying When Mycoid Blightwing is put into your graveyard from anywhere, create a 1/1 black Fungus creature token with “This creature can’t block.” 3/2 Once infected, it feels no hunger or thirst, only the drive to spread spores further.

Here's a card to play into the graveyard themes. Sacrifice it, discard it, mill it, whatever, and you'll get a small reward. I could see it seeing play in modern, getting a reward- especially something on the board- for free always has potential. But a 1/1 that can't block is a small enough thing that I'm not like, worried.

Reckless Descent 1R Sorcery Mill two cards. You may play those cards from your graveyard until end of turn. Though goblins are rarely welcomed into the Sun Empire, Gleet’s willingness to jump into strange pits and shocking ability to return alive proved invaluable.

I've used this mill-based impulse draw in at least two of these booster packs so far, but I see absolutely no reason to stop until wotc finds this for themselves. It seems like an extremely useful tool for graveyard themes, and it's also a great way to show off something novel at common so it feels just perfect for this kind of project. The flavor text is exploring an aspect of the world that's just so odd to me, with the Sun Empire being only humans when there's several sentient species native to the continent. I also like taking goblins usually mocked traits and frames them positively, while staying humorous.

Sudden Sinkhole 3R Sorcery This spell costs 3 less to cast if it targets an artifact. Exile target artifact or nonbasic land. The building collapsed into the previously-unknown depths, never to see the suns again.

Here's a somewhat new take on the pillage design we've seen over and over again. This is a very strong version of the effect, both by itself and in the context of the set which has a strong artifact theme and an unusally high number of nonbasic lands you'll want gone. I went with exile over destroy to hate on craft and caves. This is hopefully even a constructed playable version of this effect which I'm pretty happy with, since the land destruction portion isn't at all strong but having it attached to a more playable card makes it more likely to be around when you really need it.

Malamet Combat Rite 2G Instant Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature you control. You gain life equal to the difference between its power and its base power. Malamet magic enhances not just the warrior’s body, but the warrior’s soul.

This is a version of the "increased power" thing we saw on the two legendary Malamets simplified for common, by giving it a base use case and only caring about a single creature only once. Fun fact- the maximum amount of life you could gain using just the cards in this pack (and basic lands to cast them I suppose) is 7.

Mouth of the Depths Land- Cave T, Mill a card: Add C. Even the most unassuming of entrances can swallow you whole.

This is a mana ability we've seen on creatures before including at common, but never a land, and it felt like a good fit for caves' whole deal and for a very simple synergistic common so I made this once and never changed a thing.

That's all folks!!

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #lost caverns of ixalan #ixalan #booster challenge

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postambientlux · 9 months

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BEST AMBIENT OF 2023

BEST AMBIENT ALBUMS of 2023 curated by @holsgr

50 : Linus Alberg - Elements

49 : Laurel Halo - Atlas

48 : Alex Smalley - Moments at the Re-engage

47 : Pepo Galán - Family Harmony

46 : Oval - Romantiq

45 : Lunar Corp - Tourism

44 : Henrik Lindstrand - Klangland

43 : Memory Scale - And All Things Begin to Drift

42 : Elskavon - Origins

41 : Bruno Sanfilippo - Ver Sacrum

40 : André 3000 - New Blue Sun

39 : Eluvium - (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality

38 : Martin Kohlstedt - Feld

37 : Loris S. Sarid - A Tiny Reminder

36 : Subheim - Raeon

35 : Claire M Singer - Saor

34 : Faten Kanaan - Afterpoem

33 : Matt Elliott - The End of Days

32 : Gunn Truscinski Nace - Glass Band

31 : Bill Seaman, Tim Diagram & Stephen Spera - The World Was Turning Before

30 : Yosuke Tokunaga - 8 Quadrants

29 : Deepriver - Volume One

28 : Ali Sethi & Nicolas Jaar - Intiha

27 : Maps And Diagrams - A Study of Ends or Purpose

26 : Tim Hecker - No Highs

25 : Tobias Preisig - Closer

24 : Maxime Dangles - Les Délivrés

23 : Graham Lambkin - Aphorisms

22 : Loscil & Lawrence English - Colours Of Air

21 : Hania Rani - Ghosts

20 : Chaz Knapp & Mariel Roberts - Setting Fire to These Dark Times

19 : Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani - Les Égarés

18 : Grotta Veterano & Music For Sleep - Endless Vacation

17 : Cicada - 棲居在溪源之上 (Seeking the Sources of Streams)

16 : Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Music For A Cosmic Garden

15 : Oneohtrix Point Never - Again

14: Raphael Rogiński - Talàn

13 : Lucy Liyou - Dog Dreams (개꿈)

12 : Greg Foat & Gigi Masin - Dolphin

11 : Mette Henriette - Drifting

10 : Marine Eyes & IKSRE - Nurture

9 : Awakened Souls - Unlikely Places

8 : Lemon Quartet - ArtsFest

7 : Zander Raymond - Secrets From A Squirrel

6 : Purelink - Signs

5 : Mary Lattimore - Goodbye, Hotel Arkada

4 : Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View

3 : Lia Kohl - The Ceiling Reposes

2 : Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective - *1

1 : Canaan Balsam - Eternity Lies Within Or Nowhere

BEST AMBIENT EP's OF 2023

10 : KMRU & Abul Mogard - Drawing Water

9 : Hannes Kretzer - Species

8 : Billow Observatory - Calque

7 : Alex Smalley & Lucia Adam - Shapes

6 : Max Ananyev - Scenery

5 : Ben Zucker - After Along the Way

4 : Ideophone - April

3 : James Osland - Sharing Time With You Has Been My Biggest Joy

2 : Jeremixyz - xyz

1 : Lake Haze - Pure Movements

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nicistrying · 5 months

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Thurs 11th April

Saw James Acaster last night and he was so good and we had a great night

Soooo tired at work today as only got about 5 hours sleep but had a good day. It was nice to wear proper clothes and go into the office. Wanted to work out but having cramps, v sleep deeprived and emotional so just letting myself have an easy week tbh. Maggie gets the vibes

#personal #fitblr #resting #rest day #Maggie #healthblr #personal fitblr

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n5md · 1 year

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Deepriver

Thanks for answering a few questions for us guys; let us start with the project itself: Some may not be aware, but you've worked together in the past on Trance compositions; what brought the two of you to collaborate on something in the ambient sphere?

Joni - I think we were always both interested in exploring genres outside of trance. Ambient was something we were always talking about and were both inspired by. Jason of course, has also released more music in the genre, and I eventually ended up doing work in the genre as well, so it felt very natural to create a full album together like this.

Jason - Definitely. Even back when we were making trance, whenever we’d send references over or things to spark inspiration, most of the time, it was from the ambient and experimental genre. I specifically remember Brian Eno and Stars of the Lid were big favourites.

Eno and SotL are good signposts for sure. Eno has a wandering aesthetic, where as Stars of the Lid are masters at glacial paced ambient. The works on Volume One, to me, seem to have a sense of purpose, a traversing of something, slow soundtracks to grand actions. It's difficult to actualise but It seems like there is a form of exploration in the songs and a poignant endpoint to these explorations. I might be reading too much into the nature of the tracks but they surely aren't "ambient to have on in the background" nor "tranquil music to relax to". I am drawn to this sort of visceral ambient, which sort of demands listening. Was there conscious thought from the two of you to make the album more permeable?

Joni - I do think we made all the music on Volume One for conscious listening rather than something you'd have on in the background that melts away with everything else. Perhaps we didn't say or think it outright, but there was definitely intention and purpose with each piece. I like how they flow together in such a way that requires you to listen to each piece but also the album as a whole. I think I can speak for both of us in that we have always leandt more towards mood and feeling as the main focus of our music, and that sort of sound requires a more focused approach from the listener.

So why the name Deepriver? Is there some significance to the name?

Joni - We are both quite big cinephiles and love the work of David Lynch. “Deepriver” is a reference to that as “Deep River” is mentioned in at least two of his films, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. One of us suggested it as a project name, and it stuck. I know there is also a Deep River in Cape Town, but I can't remember if that at all influenced the name...

Jason - The Cape Town link is a complete coincidence. There’s a suburb here called Diep River. A few people have asked if it was named after that. It isn’t, but it’s a cool connection, I think.

Cinephiles eh? Many a musician has been influenced in one way or another by cinema. I can personally call out movies that have been of inspiration to a subset of my output. Care to share any influential movies or directors (other than Lynch of course)?

Joni - There are so many! Having known Jason for some time, we've touched on quite a lot of directors and films...and we still share tips and discoveries to this day. Just this week, we were discussing Cronenberg and Friedkin. We are also both big David Fincher fans (I think the music and mood in "Gone Girl," for example, is brilliant), as well as Bergman, Kubrick, Malick, Tarkovsky, Fellini, the list continues. But there are so many, it's hard to pinpoint...I could probably ramble for a whole day on this topic.

I feel like I can hear each of your input on Volume One. Maybe I'm off base, but the album has Threads (van Wyk) meets Rymd (Ljungqvist) feel. Were these songs written from previous uncompleted works that you each had that you then allowed the other to complete? Or was the album written from the ground up with the explicit idea of collaborating on something fresh?

Joni - I think that's a very good observation. It was mostly music we wrote from the ground up by sending ideas and pieces back and forth over many years. A few of the tracks were also from the "original" Deepriver project, which was very beat-centric. That music sounded a lot different from what you hear on Volume One. I'm very happy with what we achieved and how we managed to get it to where it is.

Jason - We had a completed version as far back as 2013, but it wasn’t quite there in terms of us wanting to release it. Over the years, we kept coming back to it. Once the beats and the heavier sounds came out, things started to come together. A big part of the process also came down to choosing which tracks worked together to form the album. The track count was huge, as you can imagine from around a decade of sending ideas back and forth, so getting it down to around the 40-minute mark was a bit of a challenge.

Yeah, when things are flowing it can be difficult to edit things down to the limitations of a LP pressing. I feel you did a really great job with that though. In regards to the LP pressing and specifically the art: how did you guys find and come to agreement on such an iconic cover image? Were you fans of Karen's work prior?

Jason - We discovered Karen on Instagram actually and reached out to her on there. After days of searching, her image “Scenic Elevator” caught my eye. I sent it over to Joni, and he agreed. We reached out to Karen, and she very kindly allowed us to use it.

Coming out of the gate with an album called Volume One implies there will be more volumes. What do you collectively think we might expect from the project in the future?

Joni - We have, as time permits, talked already about a follow-up and even exchanged some ideas. There might be another concept for that follow-up, and I'm sure we will manage to do it in a shorter time than Volume One!

Jason - I think so too. Further exploration of this sound is what you can expect.

Great news for n5 and fans of Volume One! Volume One is out now: https://n5.md/318

#jasonvanwyk #ambient #ambient music #bandcamp #electronic music #experimental music #n5md #interview #learn more #neo classical #Spotify #Bandcamp

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