Friendship is Card Games: A Hearth's Warming Tail · 7:51pm May 14th, 2016
I have commencement tomorrow, and I go to Rutgers. Obama’s the commencement speaker, so I have no idea how early I’ll need to leave ahead of time. As such, this one’s going up a day early. Ahem:
Starlight Glimmer apparently has phasing, which makes sense given her dabbling in chronomancy. This week, she’s phased in, and we’re dipping into the stock plots for a bit of out-of-seasonal cheer.
I think I’m going to phase out the bullet points, but there is one more interesting thing to consider about “Newbie Dash”: Given Starlight’s absence in that episode, impressions included, does this mean that Dash was already a Wonderbolt at the time of “The Cutie Re-Mark”?
Anyway, back on topic:
I can understand Rarity’s frustration, but she kind of set herself up. Besides appointing Derpy to be the one to hang that ornament—about as good an idea as sending her to retrieve migratory birds—how else was she going to end a verse that went “Not one mistake/Don’t let that break”?
Windigoes are considered mythical? Odd, but understandable. Nightmare Moon went from reality to nearly forgotten myth in a thousand years. Windigoes presumably had longer, and it’s not like anypony’s going to look for them. Furthermore, Equestria’s generally positive emotional atmosphere can’t be good for them, assuming they exist.
Starlight’s pop culture blindness continues. Makes sense that someone who’s never heard of the Wonderbolts would also be unfamiliar with the local analogue of “A Christmas Carol.”
Hmm. Ponies at least have the concept of elemental transmutation, though it’s unclear whether they can actually do it. We’re at Fiction Depth Two here.
I do like the adjustments to the usual formula. The Grinchy attempts to eradicate the holiday definitely work; I imagine a lot of cautionary tales in Equestria involve the dangers of magic abuse. And Rainbow Dash would never work as the meek Bob Crachit, but a snarkier, flightier, Dashier character who fulfills the same role definitely works.
I probably shouldn’t overthink the song, but the calendars aren’t going to be shorter by a day. Maybe. Given how seasons are adjusted manually in Equestria, it’s not like the calendar’s a function of orbital period. Hmm… 
I do have to appreciate how this story lets Starlight have her evil and eat it too. Or something like that. Plus, it lets us have a more gradual redemption for her by proxy.
Yeah, Spike’s right on the money, Starlight. Heck, it turns out that Snowfall has a better excuse.
Ooh, explicit reference to spirit summoning. And that one’s definitely canon. After all, the Mane Six summoned Discord in the Season 4 premiere.
Also, no Marley equivalent to forewarn Snowfall ahead of time, which makes sense. Given Snowfall’s backstory, the closest thing she’d have to an old business partner would be Professor Flintheart.
Speaking of that backstory, it makes sense that Snowfall’s story parallels Starlight’s, though it does mean we have yet another dark Twilight analogue. At this point, “incredibly powerful unicorn who went astray” is a trope in-universe.
Also, Severus Flintheart provides a fantastic false dichotomy. After all, it’s not like you can make the world a better place by working with others.
I do love how utterly inappropriate Pinkie’s musical number is. Seasonal cheer on one end, apocalyptic gloom on the other, and in the middle a mid-century Hollywood performance complete with tap dancing interlude.
Oh, and note the chimney sweep and Featherweight as Tiny Tim. That’s how you know that it’s Dickens. Though I suppose this means that Canterlot resembled 19th century London at some point.
Victrola Scratch is actually kind of perfect. Also, a bit of research indicates that the first headphones intended for listening to music were made in 1895 and looked just as much like a stethoscope as Vinyl’s. Still an anachronism relative to the story (as is the phonograph itself, though that is using wax cylinders) but not nearly as much of one as I thought.
Twilight apparently has a Pinkie voice, one that Starlight has heard before. That’s genuinely adorable, as is how Twilight has apparently been singing all of the songs as she’s read the story. That, or that one’s her favorite.
“Flutterholly”? Really? I can forgive Snowdash, but that’s getting a little ridiculous.
Luna looks awesome as the Spirit of Hearth’s Warmings that will Never Be, and the devastation makes sense. Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it, and that’s assuming the spell didn’t remove the reason for the celebration by directly undoing the founding of Equestria. I do have to appreciate how whether it’s brainwashing or rewriting history, it’s still something Starlight’s already done.
So, does the bottle contain a dragon’s toenail dissolved in potent acid, a fluid extracted from a dragon’s toenail, or a really strong liquor that tastes like dragon feet?
Of all the Charlie Browns in Canterlot, Snowfall Frost was said to be the Charlie Browniest. (What? What did “Hearth’s Warmiest” make you think of?)
Those were clearly cords. The Palace-Tree is apparently wired for electricity, which makes sense. Besides being one of the most prominent buildings in Ponyville, it’s also Twilight Sparkle’s home. I’d expect her to want to be up on the latest technologies.
Ah, bouncy Lyra. May your irrational exuberance forever oscillate.
White berries. That’s definitely mistletoe on Fluttershy’s ear. Make of that what you will.
In all, this was a delightful fluff episode. There wasn’t much to it, and the framing device was little more than an excuse for something Dickensian, but it was still fun, and a musical and visual spectacle besides. Seriously, this one was beautiful. I never wanted to look away from the screen. Not every episode needs to have the depth of “Amending Fences,” not when they’re as entertaining as this was. Really, my only complaint is that I’m running out of Song design space.
Now, time for my presents to all of you:
Ornament Mishap W
Instant
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. That permanent’s controller puts a 1/1 white Pegasus creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
”I’ll just stay up here. I can’t break anything else that way.”
—Ditzy Doo
Deck the Halls 1W
Sorcery
You gain 5 life. Proliferate. (You choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, then give each another counter of a kind already there.)
“Hearth’s Warming’s a time to make all decorations decoratier.”
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Hearth’s Warming Choir 2W
Creature — Pony Citizen
Whenever a verse counter is placed on a Song you control, you gain 1 life.
New carols are written every year, much to the relief of retail workers.
1/4
Snowfall’s Assistant 1UU
Creature — Pegasus Advisor
Flying
If an effect causes you to discard a card, discard it, but you may put it on top of your library instead of into your graveyard.
”If it weren’t for me, the boss would be up to her neck in broken components.”
2/2
Phase Through 2U
Sorcery
Spirit creatures can’t be blocked this turn.
”Intangibility means you can always make an unforgettable entrance.”
—Discord
“The Seeds of the Past” 2U
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “The Seeds of the Past”.
1U, Sacrifice “The Seeds of the Past”: Put target nonland permanent into its owner’s library just beneath the top X cards of that library, where X is the number of verse counters on “The Seeds of the Past”.
Snowfall's Incantation BB
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on Snowfall's Incantation.
B, Sacrifice Snowfall's Incantation: Search target player’s library for up to X cards, where X is the number of verse counters on Snowfall’s Incantation. Exile those cards, then that player shuffles his or her library.
Flint-Hearted Mentor 2B
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
B, T: Reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost.
The only lessons he teaches are harsh ones.
2/1
Tragic Figures 2B
Creature — Pegasus Spirit
Flying
When Tragic Figures dies, target player discards a card.
Only snow and memories dance in Canterlot’s streets now.
2/1
Troubling Dichotomy 2BB
Sorcery
Target player reveals his or her hand. Separate all cards revealed this way into two piles. That player discards all cards in the pile of his or her choice.
"I made my choice long ago. Regret would serve no purpose."
—Snowfall Frost
“Luna’s Future” 3B
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “Luna’s Future”.
3B, Sacrifice “Luna’s Future”: Destroy up to X target nonsnow creatures, where X is the number of verse counters on “Luna’s Future”.
Frostfell Windigo 3BB
Snow Creature — Elemental Horse
Flying
2S: Nonsnow creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn. (S can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
Windigoes still circle the frozen waste of Equestria, ensuring that warm life never stirs again.
3/3
Festive Carol 1G
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on Festive Carol.
1G, Sacrifice Festive Carol: Regenerate up to X target creatures, where X is the number of verse counters on Festive Carol. Put a +1/+1 counter on each of those creatures.
Reflect on the Past 1G
Sorcery
Put up to three target cards from your graveyard on top of your library in any order.
To understand where you are now, look back on where you’ve been.
Spirit of the Presents 2G
Creature — Pony Spirit
When Spirit of the Presents enters the battlefield, each opponent may put a permanent card from his or her hand onto the battlefield.
As jolly and irrepressible as the season itself.
6/6
Spirit of the Past 4G
Creature — Pony Spirit
When Spirit of the Past enters the battlefield, you gain 2 life for each creature card in your graveyard.
Soulshift 4 (When this creature dies, you may return target Spirit card with converted mana cost 4 or less from your graveyard to your hand.)
2/4
Transmute Dross (bg)R
Instant
Exile target artifact. Put a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. It has “Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.”
”I enjoy finding proper uses for the frivolous.”
—Snowfall Frost
“Pinkie’s Present” 1G(ub)
Enchantment — Song
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a verse counter on “Pinkie’s Present”.
G(ub), Sacrifice “Pinkie’s Present”: Choose left or right. Each player reveals the top X cards of his or her library, where X is the number of verse counters on “Pinkie’s Present”. Each player may put onto the battlefield under his or her control a permanent card revealed by the next player in the chosen direction. Then each player shuffles his or her library.
Snowfall Frost 2UB
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Wizard
At the beginning of your draw step, draw two additional cards.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, discard a card.
Her concentration is like glass, hard and sharp but easily broken.
2/2
Smogmare 3WBR
Creature — Elemental Horse
Haste
When Smogmare enters the battlefield, destroy all tapped creatures, then tap all other creatures.
Snowfall gave no thought to how her spell would eradicate Hearth’s Warming.
5/5
Effusive Praise 4WU
Sorcery
You gain X life and draw X cards, where X is the highest converted mana cost among permanents you control.
Twilight literally can’t say enough about Star Swirl the Bearded.
Spirit of the Future 4UB
Creature — Spirit
Alicorn (This card is a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying, deathtouch
Your opponents play with the top card of their libraries revealed.
Whenever Spirit of the Future deals combat damage to a player, that player loses life equal to the converted mana cost of the top card of his or her library.
4/4
Towering Glacier
Snow Land
Towering Glacier enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add U or R to your mana pool.
”The snow and ice accrued for years,
Brought on by prejudice and fears.
Entombed we are by unshed tears.”
—The Dynasty of Winter Princesses
Awesome.
Thanks for the early Hearth's Warming gift!
Snowfall Frost looks like she'd be fun to play as the commander of a madness/reanimator EDH deck.
By the way, when I saw Applejack was the sp8rit of the past, I totally called Pinkie playing the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Presents.
P.s. Did anyone catch whether Glimmer's VA does her own singing?
Ah, yes. We have a sort of mash-up between Dickens and Seuss today. This is both delightful and sort of depressing because we didn't address the Ursa Minor in the living room: Starlight kind of let her life get away with her chasing a stupid idea and her family probably still doesn't know where she is.
Blatant and unapologetic Christmas Carol episode though it was, I certainly enjoyed the spectacle. More importantly, I enjoyed the world building; Twilight's initial narration strongly implied that Snowfall was a historical, rather than fictional, figure.
Therefore, we have a new time period to work with. I look forward to seeing what people make of it.
Snowfall had another key similarity with Starlight: they both very nearly destoyed the world through stupid and ill advised use of powerful magic. That sort of near miss seems to be startlingly common.
As a fan of the original "A Christmas Carol" and many of its retellings, I enjoyed the episode. Yet I feel a bit torn about it. They passed up an opportunity to show the "real" Starlight bonding with the Element Bearers other than Twilight. It's like the writers still aren't sure how she fits in with them. She always chooses to separate herself and only comes back at the end to pose with Twilight's friends. If I'm going to buy into Starlight's relationship with the rest of the main cast, I need more than just a couple of songs.
Also, am I the only one who noticed that a full year has passed since last season? If they show the Cake twins again they'd better have full-blown pupils by now.
I rolled my eyes at the concept at first, but this was actually a very enjoyable episode. I can definitely say I liked this one. It's the worldbuilding that hooked me, I think. Concept-representative spirits other than Discord are confirmed, and I find the implications of such to be fascinating. Also, those songs. Luna's especially was fantastic.
New favourite of the season so far.
what does "Choose left or right" have to do with anything? As written, it does nothing...
Muppet Christmas Carol was just too good, it kind of killed all other Christmas Carols for me.
I did like the Grinch aspect though.
3944998
Reread the second-to-last sentence. Pay special attention to the phrase "in the chosen direction."
Now that I think about it, I would imagine the fact that ponies can literally farm minerals might have made alchemy long obsolete. Why use complicated formula and arcane transformations to turn coal into gold, when you can just grow gold.
I see Snowfall's Assistant studied at the Library of Leng.
I like how in the episode, when Twilight Sparkle says The End, the book she's holding is open to its middle.
Never-Ending Tale - 1
Artifact
When a spell or effect an opponent controls forces you to discard a card, you may put it on top of your library instead.
If you would draw a card from an empty library, instead shuffle half of the cards in your graveyard, rounded up, into your library, then draw a card.
Yeah, Songs do seem hard to design. Good job.
I do like that Luna is still Scaring ponies straight, even in the past. And yes I liked Victrola Scratch as well, maybe shades and groves are passed down in the scratch family for generations.
Did anyone catch Rarity's parents and Rainbow's Dad where both in town?
I enjoyed it.
Oh, good! Someone else noticed that Starlight had Snape for a teacher! Although the comics show Professor Snapepony as a teacher at Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, and I'd always thought Starlight never went there (an oversight? Poor recruiting? How do they decide things like this, anyway? Is there a standardized test?)
More later (probably), but congrats! Everyone in my family went to Rutgers, except for me. You can walk from the Old Queen's campus to my parents' house. This is possibly WHY I am the only member of my family not to go to Rutgers, not that there's anything wrong with it. Anyone, remember that nobody ever died for dear old Rutgers, and have a good time!
3945106
That seems quite high-powered for a one-drop artifact, though not inconceivable. The most similar existing card would probably be Wheel of Sun and Moon
Snowfall’s Assistant needs to read "instead of into your graveyard."
Standard comment about Snowfall's Incantation not being in quotes etc. Though, really, this one could very well be in quotes since that seems like it would be the name of the "song" in question, since musicals sometimes title things along the lines of <Character's monologue>.
And reiteration of standard comment for Festive Carol. Though this one is too generic to be the actual title of a song. If it has no official name maybe "Carol for Snowfall"?
I thought Reflect on the Past should have been more expensive than it was but then I went and looked at all the cards that have "from your graveyard on top of your library" on them and it's actually just about right, considering it is a Green Sorcery.
I'm a bit torn on Transmute Dross, I don't think it should have any black mana in the cost. Green does both Artifact removal and mana production, so, really, I could see it being GG, maybe 1GG because it is an instant. Maybe RG, because Red is good at getting rid of Artifacts, but, really, everything this card is doing is in Green's slice of the color pie. Expect for making the artifact token, but it produces mana. Little bit of a tough call on this one.
I'm going to be a bit more pedantic than normal and point out that it wasn't actually Pinkie, but the Ghost of
ChristmasHearth's Warming Present, Pinkie was just the actor slash Flash asset best suited for the role. So I'm going to say that “Pinkie’s Present” should be "Present's Present" instead. Which gives a great pun name for the card.And, again, this card doesn't feel like it should have any Black mana in it. The point of hybrid mana is to be on cards that feel like the effect could be in either color, and this feels very much like a Green-Blue card and nothing at all like a Green-Black card, the "stealing" of an opponent's card is counterbalanced by the fact you give up one of yours and that doesn't really feel Black to me.
Maybe a Green-White card, so maybe 1G(W/U) casting cost and G(W/U) activation cost if it really must be hybrid.
I had to look up the word "Effusive". I like learning new words.
Huh, I like that life-loss effect on Spirit of the Future, it is a novel use of the "reveal the top card of [a/all/your/their] deck". I don't think we've done anything with the casting cost yet.
Also, the ghost of Christmas Future is often portrayed by a Grim Reaper figure and that is a role Luna takes often enough in fanfiction. And I could see Pony!Reaper also having horn and wings so I'm not going to use the "not actually the actor slash Flash asset" argument on this one.
3944608
She seems to, going by the voice credits.
3944731
That's an excellent point. I certainly didn't see anyone from her village at the castle Hearth's Warming party. Starlight apparently cut all ties with her past before forming Our Town. It's possible that she erased even their memories of her. I wouldn't put it past her capability or mentality.
3944767
With great power comes the need for great responsibility, something few actually possess. Celestia probably instituted the personal student program to protect prodigies from the Flinthearts of the world.
3944816
Yeah, Starlight's still finding her niche on both the Watsonian and Doylist levels. Though we did get a little interaction between her and the Bearers other than Twilight in "No Second Prances."
Also, forget the Cake twins, when do the Crusaders get a growth spurt? It's been at least two and a half years now.
3944857
Agreed on the concept spirits. There's a wealth of possibility there.
3946649 True, and I remembered that Starlight interacted with the other Bearers in "No Second Prances" after I wrote that comment. Even so, she bonded with Trixie a lot more than anyone else. She still seems poorly integrated with the rest of the main cast.
And yeah, the animators need to catch up with the writers, for serious.
Hmmmm. Her mind-wiping the folks back home sounds like a story hook. I wonder if she realizes that people can usually figure out what something missing looks like by the hole it leaves.
3945082
Because making gold devalues it? Or gold ores are unfarmable for some reason, which would explain why it's used in currency. (But still, unless handled carefully, the alchemist's dream would do nothing more than flood the market with a soft, heavy metal that's virtually useless until the development of electronics. Given Snowfall's foresight, she was probably trying to bring wealth to all of Equestria.)
3945106
One question with Never-Ending Tale: How do you determine which half of your graveyard?
3945162
There have always been Scratches on the cutting edge of musical technology in Equestria.
And not only did I notice that those parents were there, I also noticed that Scootaloo's parents weren't. She had to share Sweetie Belle's.
3945403
I'm pretty sure my first words upon seeing Professor Flintheart were, "Oh my good, Alan Rickman pony."
Starlight probably started her quest for equality as soon as she could. Plus, Celestia's School likely had as many toxic associations for her as cutie marks.
And commencement was pretty fun, aside from half of New Jersey trying to use the same bus fleet. Thanks for showing me that song. It's going to hold a special place in my heart.
3946109
Every song has a name in the credits, and I try to use them whenever possible. When it isn't possible, it's because they're too long. "Say Goodbye to the Holiday" (Snowfall's Incantation) just barely fails my "too long" test after adding quotation marks. (Namely, is it longer than Rescue from the Underworld?) "Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again" (Festive Carol) is right out. "Pinkie's Present" and "Luna's Future" were both credited as such, and so those are the names I used.
Transmute Dross: Either it's an artifact killer (green) that make temporary mana (red) or a Gild that happens to work on artifacts instead.
Pinkie's Present: Aside from the Villainous Wealth connection, you can also think of this as a blend of Eureka and Praetor's Grasp. Not every black-green card has to be something the Golgari would cook up.
Glad I could expand your vocabulary.
3946713
Ah, true.
3945074 ... HOW DID I MISS THAT!?!?!?!?!?
3946713
I was thinking choose half of the cards; that would probably need to be specified in the wording.
Definitely a neat ep.
This card reminds me of a certain card and it's comments on the Gathere- ALL HAIL THE GREAT LORD EGOTIST
Also, I found a typo/inconsistency:
Considering what we learned of Tamiyo's magic (which I can only describe as bibliomancy) last week, I kinda want to see what she could do with the stories on Equestria. If it weren't for how cold she was to the plight of Innistrad, she'd have quickly risen into the top ten of my favourite Planeswalkers.
Actually, I'm now picturing Tamiyo getting power from TV Tropes.
I'm convinced this is why there's a school for gifted unicorns under Celestia's patronage. It basically keeps her worst problems within walking distance. Gifted pegasi and earth ponies have their schools elsewhere because they can't mess up as badly.
EDIT: Oh, missed the comment below where you more or less said the same thing.