Friendship is Card Games: A Royal Problem · 11:09am Jun 11th, 2017
This week, we get what we’ve been asking for for years.
And it is glorious.
Very interesting to see that the map can call ponies other than the Mane Six. There’s a bit of Oversaturation that just became canon. Even more interesting is that solo missions are possible. Given the nature of Harmony, I had doubted that that they could be.
I do love the reluctant, deflated tone as Twilight acknowledges that there’s precedent for diarchial disputes. The voice work this episode was amazing, mostly in the princesses lowering their regal masks, but there were some great Twilight moments as well.
“No, Sister. Nothing is the matter. Certainly not with getting me a throne. Clearly that is still on schedule.”
Heh. During the first bit with Twilight’s surveillance chatchka, she makes music box sounds as she moves about. A shame they didn’t keep that up; it was a cute touch.
Huh. I guess princesses can cook. One of them, anyway.
Dang. Luna has incredibly strong jaws.
Good point on Starlight’s unbiased perspective. Given her revolutionary roots, she may be the only pony in Equestria who could address the princesses’ problem without getting blinded by awe. (Well, her and the population of Manehattan, but she presented the fewest logistical issues.)
Yeah, Celestia’s reaction with the dignitaries? That is not happy laughter. That is “Luna, put the flowers away and help me, they’ve been talking at me for two hours” laughter.
Also, nice touch in having Luna snarl about Celestia overlooking her contributions in front of the window commemorating their defeat of Discord.
The sisters disagreeing is even worse than Twilight makes it out to be; unless the Tree lets the Elements go again, banishment isn’t an option.
Also, I love how Twilight all but cries “Heresy!” when Starlight says that the diarchs aren’t the best at something.
Subtle touch, but Celestia made the next batch of pancakes with pineapple, possibly in an attempt to appeal to what Luna ate the day before. She’s certainly trying, just not in a way that Luna’s in any state to notice.
Wait, I thought “Twilight’s Kingdom” established that that black splotch wasn’t part of Luna’s mark. On the other hand, the moon on its own would be almost invisible on Celestia’s hindquarters.
It’s very important to note that Starlight’s mark swap is not Star Swirl’s unfinished spell. No memory overwrite, no compulsion to perform the other’s talent, and actual exchanges of magical capabilities, as seen in how the sisters’ horn auras switch colors. No, Starlight just seems to have a talent in soul manipulation.
So… where was Raven in all of this? Starlight’s kind of doing her job. I suppose she reserves the right to opt out of sufficiently insane shenanigans; can’t say I blame her.
Poor Luna. Especially how she was savaged by the freakishly speedy press. (Seriously, that was at most an hour from photo to front page.)
Tia, you raised the moon for a millennium. No one’s impressed. Partially because no one’s awake. Does Canterlot have zero night life?
I can’t speak from experience, but this does seem like what would happen to an extrovert forced to be alone.
Hmm. Dream bubbles. Particularly interesting ones. Analyzing those could take up a full blog on its own.
“I know how to deal with Nightmare Moon.”
Again, not without the Elements. Those never stopped being a thing.
Daybreaker’s design is amazing, especially the flame-shaped pupils. Also, her personality says a lot about Celestia’s: her vanity, her pride, all the aspects of herself that she keeps under wraps.
That being said, whose dream is this anyway? Daybreaker seems far too personal a boogeymare to be the figment of an imagination other than Celestia’s. Can she drag her own inner demons into dreams a la Inception or what?
Fun fact: Dreaming that your teeth are falling out is one of the most common dreams on record.
Good continuity from “Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?” Sun magic has no power in the realm of dreams. That said, how does Luna know Daybreaker’s name? Has she seen the shadow of the sun before?
One of this episode’s greatest strengths is in how it shows the royal sisters being actual people and giving one another the opportunity to be actual people.
Boldness and stupidity are separated only by degrees of success.
“Wait. I’m not doing this.”
I guess Starlight lied about the spell having a locked-in twenty-four hour duration. Still, it certainly worked.
Apparently the Cutie Map has some way of indicating that a mission is complete, given that Twilight knew the moment Starlight did. Maybe the marks keep orbiting the mission site until it’s over.
Consider the following: We know what bases Celestia has to cover today, but she took a whole night to soothe a single sleeper. How many nightmares went unaddressed without Luna’s expertise? For that matter, who was looking after the dreams of Equestria for the millennium of banishment. I give the bat ponies that responsibility in my work, but the show hasn’t even acknowledged their existence since “Luna Eclipsed” (not counting Flutterbat.)
In all, this was an amazing episode. It’s especially interesting to note that the map has experienced a sort of underflow error: From the first, its missions have narrowed in scope. Now, as with “Top Bolt,” the issue was a two-pony squabble… that happened to also hold the fate of the world in the balance. Plus the sisters demonstrate the white-black conflict of community vs. individuality in a very apt way by each being out of her element.
Yeah, I could go on for some time, but I think that’s more than enough. Let me show you what I’ve dreamed up for this one:
Into the Wardrobe W
Enchantment
When Into the Wardrobe enters the battlefield, exile target artifact or enchantment until Into the Wardrobe leaves the battlefield.
Dear Starlight,
Please stop shoving golems into the castle furniture. It isn’t good for either.
Princess Celestia
Pillow Barrage 2W
Instant
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt by creatures other than target creature this turn.
Chaotic W (You may cast this spell for its chaotic cost. If you do, choose its target at random.)
“No one expects weapons that prevent harm.”
—Discord
Clash of the Heavens 3WW
Sorcery
Destroy all nonlegendary creatures.
When sun and moon battle, the world is collateral damage.
Whitetail Elders 4W
Creature — Pony Elder
Whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield, untap all creatures you control.
Community leaders are expected to lead their towns, even if that means leading them in paranoia.
3/3
Scent of Lavender U
Instant
Reveal any number of blue cards from your hand. Creatures your opponents control get -1/-0 until end of turn for each card revealed this way.
”Let its calming aroma carry you to comforting dreams.”
—Princess Luna
Confirming Denial UU
Instant
Counter target spell an opponent controls. That spell’s controller may cast a nonland card in his or her hand that shares a card type with that spell without paying its mana cost.
”The diarchs disavow all knowledge of any organization known as the Royal Assassinorum.”
Twilight’s Reassurance 1U
Sorcery
Target player puts the top five cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
Retrace (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
“Some days I think I’m really the Princess of Neuroses.”
Bleary-Eyed Breakfast 1B
Enchantment
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may sacrifice another creature. If you do, put two +1/+1 counters on the first creature and tap it.
”Sorry, did you want some?”
—Princess Luna
Spitting Teeth 1B
Sorcery
Multikicker 1B (You may pay an additional 1B any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Target player loses 3 life unless he or she discards a card. Repeat this process for each time Spitting Teeth was kicked.
Foul Mooncakes 1BB
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Target player loses 4 life.
• Target player gets two poison counters.
”I am more than a millennium out of practice.”
—Princess Luna
Haunting Figments 2B
Creature — Nightmare Unicorn Child
Whenever you cycle or discard a card, you may pay 1. If you do, each opponent discards a card.
”It is enough to make me long for the gentle ministrations of the Tantabus.”
—Princess Luna
2/1
Rapid Succession 3B
Instant
Split second (As long as this spell is on the stack, players can't cast spells or activate abilities that aren't mana abilities.)
You become the monarch.
”Transfers of power are best done quickly.”
—Queen Ditzy Doo
Endless Debate 3BB
Sorcery
Will of the council — Starting with you, each player votes for a creature. Any player may pay 3 life. If a player does, repeat this process. Otherwise, destroy all creatures other than each creature with the most votes or tied for most votes. (Votes are cumulative.)
Soul Swap 8B
Sorcery
Undaunted (This spell cost 1 less to cast for each opponent.)
Choose two target players. Each of those players controls the other until your next turn. (Each sees all cards the other could see and makes all decisions for the other.)
Starlight’s talent has many applications, few of them subtle.
Void Invocation XB
Sorcery
Put X -1/-1 counters on target creature.
”What is the fury of a star to the emptiness beyond galaxies?”
—Nightmare Moon
Gut Reaction R
Instant
Exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card. You may cast that card this turn and as though it had flash.
Cast first, ask questions later.
Shocking Heresy R
Instant
Shocking Heresy deals 2 damage to target creature. If that creature is white or blue, Shocking Heresy deals 4 damage to it instead.
Twilight doesn’t worship the other princesses. At least, not consciously.
Coronal Ejection 2R
Instant
Coronal Ejection deals an amount of damage of your choice to you and target creature. The damage can’t be prevented.
Daybreaker is fireproof. Those who would emulate her magic are rarely so fortunate.
Daybreaker the Unfettered 6RR
Legendary Creature — Avatar
Alicorn (This card is a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying, indestructible
Whenever Daybreaker the Unfettered deals combat damage to a permanent or player, it deals that much damage to each other creature, planeswalker, and player. Damage that would be dealt to players this way can’t be dealt to planeswalkers instead.
5/5
Hidden Timberwolves 1G
Enchantment
When an opponent casts a spell during your turn, if Hidden Timberwolves is an enchantment, it becomes a 4/3 Elemental Wolf creature with hexproof.
Animate deadfall is terrifyingly good at lying in wait.
Lapine Goliath 5G
Creature — Rabbit
Vigilance
Fluttershy found that her fear of heights didn’t bother her if she had something warm and fuzzy underhoof.
5/6
Possessed Object 3
Artifact
Imprint — When Possessed Object enters the battlefield, you may exile a creature card from your hand.
Possessed Object has all activated abilities of the exiled card.
When Possessed Object leaves the battlefield, return the exiled card to its owner’s hand.
Innocuous Statue 4
Artifact Creature — Angel Horror
Haste
As long as an opponent controls an untapped creature, Innocuous Statue isn’t a creature.
The being who calls himself Time Turner dreams of horrors that no amount of magic can wipe from the subconscious.
5/5
Talk to Yourself UB
Sorcery
Target player draws two cards, then discards three cards.
”Some of the most intelligent conversation I’ve had since my return.”
—Princess Luna
I Will Rule Over Ashes
Scheme
When you set this scheme in motion, it deals 3 damage to each creature and player.
”I do nothing to my subjects that I would not do to myself. Can you say I am unjust?”
The subtle touch that I liked with Daybreaker is the design of her armor. Nightmare Moon’s armor is graceful, swooping curves. Daybreaker is all sharp points.
Simply, utterly, amazing
I have mixed feelings about this. If the Map doesn't call any new ponies besides Starlight, it makes her look Mary Sue-ish. Oh, look, the Map is calling Starlight! For the first solo mission ever! To help with the Royal Sisters' friendship problem! Isn't that special!
OTOH if the Map sends Spike, Trixie, Maud, or anypony else on future friendship missions, it won't single out Starlight as much, which would be a good development. So I'll try to reserve judgment until I watch the entire season.
To be fair, they probably aren't in the throne room at the same time very often.
I'll comment more later, but this is all I have time to write before (ugh) work.
I hadn't realized the purpose of the pineapple pancakes before. :D
It's probably been hashed out elsewhere, but it's interesting to note that Daybreaker didn't put in an appearance until Celestia had exerted an influence over Starlight's dream. It's clear she's not remotely familiar with dream magic. It also became clear that the dream became more Celestia's than Starlight's from the moment she began to manipulate it, which would be how her own fears began to manifest within the dreamspace.
So what you're saying is...Celestia's butt would eclipse the moon.
Oh god yes. I loved this episode so much I can't even
I like to think it's because the map "knows" Starlight quite well by this point. She's messed around with it enough times. Heck, maybe they're dating. Starmap OTP
I never noticed that!
...oh god, thank goodness she didn't get to make the next day's pancakes.
That bit confused me, because Starlight clearly stated the spell's duration herself, so I thought she was talking about her vibrating butt. Except that shouldn't be a new feeling either since the map already called her, unless maybe a success butt vibration is different to the calling butt vibration?
I noticed that too! That made me very excited, the idea that maybe Luna has met Celestia's nightmare form before. And I just love the paradoxical notion introduced here; even though Daybreaker exists only in a dream, she is real, because she's a nightmare, and she is Celestia, or rather, the Celestia that could exist if she gave in to temptation and embraced her true power. She is the Tyrant Celestia that's been joked about for years. The way they manage to convey this historic internal struggle in such a short scene is just brilliant. Even though it comes out of nowhere, it doesn't feel like an ass pull at all.
And then she did a solar flare thingy and I passed out from the awesomeness.
I want a foil Daybreaker the Unfettered.
it seemed strange to me that Celestia reacted so strongly to Daybreaker, when Daybreaker was just the figment of another pony's imangination.
Some people have commented that Celestia raised the moon before so her commenting on it was strange. But, she's never raised the moon with Luna's magic before. Maybe she actually had an easier time of it than she does regularly raising the sun
That typeline on Haunting Figments.
These cards are BADASS. I wish I could use them in a real Magic game. (Or play a real Magic game. Or that I'd played Magic in the last decade-and-a-half-ish.)
Personal favorite:
I thought land cards couldn't be cast because they're not spells?
Wait. Why is there a slightly weaker Wrath of God that costs one more?
Soul Swap sounds like it would be tons of fun to play.
Confirming Denial looks like it could be used to put a truly powerful card on the table if the other player pulls out the wrong spell.
I don't think Starlight lied; I think either she didn't have the magic power to do the switch again, or it leaves a mark or strain that prevents a second cast in a row. There wasn't an automatic timer to switch back, just a timer to when it could be used to again.
It's kind of neat that the colors of the magic aura actually are a cause of the soul/talent of the pony.
It's neat to know that the vice of Celestia is pride and selfishness. Then again it's fitting. The sun controls and shines on all things in its sphere, so does Daybreaker want to control everything. Unlike the lonely moon which reflects the light of the sun to be seen and who's power lies it's connection to other things, so does the Nightmare come from being left alone in the dark with envy.
4567946
It really showcases the sisters' approaches to evil. Even at her most insane, when dealing with anypony but Celestia, Nightmare Moon preferred the subtle, insidious route. She tried to horrify, to persuade, to turn the environment against the Mane Six before resorting to a direct confrontation, and even then she tried to divide and conquer. In her triumphant timeline, she coerced Twilight in to giving her what she wanted rather than seek it out herself.
Daybreaker would've likely reacted the same way in both cases: Incineration. When all you have is a fusion reactor, everything looks like ash.
4567950
The thing is, this wasn't really a solo mission per se. Oh, sure, Twilight wasn't called in to Canterlot, but that just meant that she meddled the exact amount she needed to. She lacked the physical agency to stop Starlight from going full Glimglam, but could still plant the idea of Nightmare Moon's return in Starlight's subconscious. Were it not for the dream that resulted from that idea, Celestia might have come out of her night shift with a feeling of smug superiority, which is just about the worst way the switch could've gone.
Long story short, the Cutie Map trolled Twilight for the greater good.
4567962
It also implies that Luna somehow failed at eating berries the day before Starlight's first breakfast. I'm not sure how she managed that, but it's a fantastic mental image.
4567964
Indeed. Daybreaker and Celestia's interactions didn't feel at all like something conjured up by another mind. As I said, I think Celestia dragged her own inner demons into Starlight's dreamscape, not realizing the risks. Or we could go with 4567985's hypothesis; Daybreaker is a persistent memetic entity lurking in ponykind's collective subconscious, waiting to be realized in realspace.
4567988
See above re: Daybreaker.
4567991
I've been playing this game for quite some time. Anything less ridiculous than Snake Elf Druids doesn't even make me bat an eye. And you can't deny the accuracy.
4567992
Ponies are far from the only thing I can cardify.
4567993
I'm following the wording on Counterlash. Also, this keeps some wise guy from trying to cast Dryad Arbor after countering a creature.
Future Sight was weird.
4567998
Because if you build your deck right, it's a one-sided Wrath of God. See also Extinguish All Hope.
Yes, enchantment creatures are a thing. Theros Block was weird.
4568003
Looking at the transcript, Starlight says "the spell lasts twenty-four hours." Knowing her, I'm inclined to believe she wasn't being completely truthful there.
And yes, the celestial vices are beautifully thematic.
I just realized that Confirming Denial is extremely broken. You can counter your own spell and cheat out something huge for two mana. IE: cast Bone Saw, counter it with this, play Blightsteel Colossus, GG.
"Maybe the cooks are fighting over who has the best (butternut) squash soup."
derpicdn.net/img/2013/5/3/315164/full.gif
4568024
Ugh, right, the Fold into Æther problem. You can now only confirmingly deny your opponents' spells.
4568026
I'm afraid the reference is lost me.
4568044
Consider yourself lucky.
Hmm, more thoughts on the episode. Kinda a bit of a rehash of a couple of the comics--if they're canon, Luna already knows what doing Celestia's job is like (and if Celestia didn't do Luna's job when Nightmare Moon was banished, who did?)*
Having said that, it's always fun to see the sisters interacting. Best moments were Luna eating the banana peel, and Music Box Twilight. Not a bad episode to start catching up on Season 7 with. Also, having their magic switch colors with their cutie marks was a nice touch by the animators.
_____________________________________
*I have considered that the thestrals were who took care of dreams in Luna's absence. It's possible that Celestia cannot; her power could have been limited to raising the moon and nothing else.
maybe it actually had been 24 hours and Equestria doesn't actually adhere to as tight a schedule on sunrise and sunset as we think
also maybe Starlight being called wasn't a sign it can just call any pony, but she's messed with it's mechanics so much, she's basically become downloadable content
We were talking about that earlier over on Oliver's blog. Either Starlight's spell was overactive (very possible!), or Luna secretly kept some of her magic in Twilight's Kingdom for a fallback plan that turned out not to be needed.
4568014
That's a very good point, one that I haven't seen before. I have seen many fans question Twilight's involvement and saying she was useless at best, and I was inclined to agree with them. But her worrying actually helped the situation! I'm not sure what lesson that sends the kids watching, but it's fascinating nonetheless.
First, Her Royal Shininess has ruled alone for around a millennium. Second, Canterlot seems to be mostly "Nobles" (like Blueblood) intent on being as close to the Solar Princess as possible without looking like some kind of stalker. If the City-Perched-in-the-Single-Silliest-Spot-on-the-Mountain has some form of nightlife, it's either floundering or dead. Nobles ruin everything...
4568014
>grabs cluster of berries by stem
>slurps up stem like spaghetti
>berries fall out all over the floor
>also on face
>can't tell cuz her coat's too dark
>tragedy for the ages
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/6/11/1459339.png
I'm happy now.
4568014
That's not quite what I meant; what I was trying to say was that even though Daybreaker exists only in Celestia's mind (and thus, you could argue, she doesn't really exist), she does really exist because she's a nightmare entity, and nightmare entities in Equestria are real, the same way Nightmare Moon is real. All it would take for Daybreaker to come into the real world would be for Celestia to lose control or give into temptation as Daybreaker insinuated.
4567992
This is sort of possible. PonyMTG can produce print sheets of any cards in the database, which with a bit of effort can be used to make a poor-man's-proxy-deck; or, it can also export cards into a format readable by the open source MtG client Cockatrice. I haven't yet been able to confirm if it's possible to play with custom cards on Cockatrice servers, although I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be.
I haven't yet updated with FoME's season 7 cards yet though, I'm waiting for the hiatus to do them all in one batch.
Loved everything about the dream portion of the episode. They went all-out with the visual effects on the battle, Daybreaker's design (and name) were amazing, and those dream bubbles! I see you saw Queen Derpy's ascension (and I guess that scepter Discord made is lodged into everypony's minds), but did you notice that the Doctor seemed to be hiding from statues?
And then I noticed Innocuous Statue. Well-played.
But yeah, Daybreaker. She was deliciously vain. And she does not care that she's about to set her world of cardboard on fire. A bit of flavor text I came up with for her after seeing her: "She won't ask for your love; she knows she already has it."
Though I suppose that same line might also apply to a nightmare Cadance. (Are we still calling these evil transformations "nightmares", even when"Nightmare" isn't technically part of the name?)
And thank you for proving that I wasn't the only one to see Twilight almost shout "HERESY!"
And now for some of the cards...
I remember those "scent of" cards.
The new "cycle or discard" text from Amonkhet bugs me, since cycling's reminder text clearly indicates that you are discarding as part of cycling.
Coronal Ejection is a little broken when combined with Repurcussion. Or with anything that gives a spell lifelink. Cool concept, though!
Interesting that Daybreaker hurts everything, including its conveniently indestructible self and its owner. I hope her regalia is just as fireproof as she is.
Clever, making Lapine Goliath a blocker that's the opposite of Vulpine Goliath.
And that flavor text on that scheme was genius. The (more literal interpretation of the) Golden Rule has a similar breakdown when applied to dragons.
Wow! Best breakdown/analysis I've seen of this episode, plus perceptive and clever comments! Yay!
A lot of people hold up the two sisters as Equestria's deities,[1] but the more I see of the Cutie Map and how it operates, the more convinced I am of it being a true god-level entity. And it's only an avatar of the Tree of Harmony.
----------
[1] In the Greek style: extremely powerful, but also flawed, impulsive, and reactionary.
I tend to think that the next Nightmare Entity to manifest itself won't be Daybreaker. The Entity I expect to be unleashed is Twilight's dark side and said event to be occasioned by her final realization that instead of "Celestia", her mentor might as well be named "Lori". (Yeah. A "The Loud House" reference. I don't apologize for it because it makes the most sense.) It'll make the MASH episode Fallen Idol look tame.
4568152
You coud try to port it to LackyCCG. I know of at least one community that uses it to play with non-official cards
4568152
I was unaware of all this stuff.
...maybe someday it'd be cool to play some online Pony-Magic with folks.
Lots of thoughts on this one.
Into the Wardrobe
Instant
Search your library for a Cat God creature and put it onto the battlefield.
Clash of the Heavens - And so my All-legends Progenitus EDH deck gets a second non-creature (the first being Heroes' Podium).
Foul Mooncakes - Strictly better than Foul Moonpies.
Haunting Figments 2B
Creature — Nightmare Unicorn Child
...Nyx?
Rapid Succession: love the implications of this being black. And the flavor text. And just anything with Split Second or becoming the Monarch, so just everything.
Endless Debate - I would love to see this actually played, to watch it play out. I have a feeling that at the professional level it might just be a Damnation.
Soul Swap seems like Shmuck Bait. Either you trade control of your turn for someone else's, or you are out information about your opponents' hands and have to hope that, even though you're at 9 converted and running a fiendish set of cards, your opponents will take the time to pound each other instead of you. I think it should cost less than Worst Fears.
Gut Reaction doesn't seem to match the flavor of the episode. I'd rather see the card be cast without paying its mana costs with random targets. It should be able to backfire.
I see Coronal Ejection and I instantly think "and the creature I choose is my Stuffy Doll with lifelink." I would work hard for that combo.
Innocuous Statue - I just love it when the show gives you a chance to make a card for another franchise.
I Will Rule Over Ashes: sweet, it's a scheme! Curse you, though, for now I have the itch to play Archenemy and nobody wants to play archenemy against me, ever, because I am cruel.
4568048
Definitely seems to be the case, given the insistence that she can't magically do squat in the dream realm. I've also given dream duty to the bat ponies, based on a fascinating tidbit from Starscribe's work.
And this episode jossed the comics hard.
4568057
From after breakfast to sunrise? That's one heck of a discrepancy, especially when you take into account the time Celestia took to make the pancakes. And why would Starlight say anything if it was just the duration running out?
Also, Best Pony DLC when?
4568088
Given that this is Starlight we're talking about, I suppose I should be grateful that she didn't end up fusing the sisters into some unholy amalgamation.
4568115
It's truly sad when a city has less to offer after sunset than does Ponyville.
Still, there's definitely a story there: Luna goes to Manehattan or Las Pegasus on royal business, discovers this strange modern invention known as the "night-club," and goes forth on a grand mission to drag Canterlot kicking and screaming into this brave new age of nocturnal entertainment.
4568150
Ah. That interpretation also definitely works. Rather like Carabas positing that every alicorn comes with a Nightmare. It's just a matter of tuning it out.
4568215
And yeah, the Tree and its sapling's coffee table definitely fit the ineffable mold better than any other arguably divine figure on the show.
Thank you very much!
4568243
I'm afraid the reference is lost on me. That said, Twilight embracing the dark side would be quite the sight to see. Especially if her human self confronted her.
4568161
It's still a convenient catch-all term. Plus, they're pretty nightmarish for everyone around them.
Yeah, I'm not over the moon with it either. Once Ixalan, the set after Hour of Devastation is out, I'll go back to the usual formatting.
Coronal Ejection: I've gotten so many accolades about this spell's originality. Apparently no one remembers Volcano Hellion..
Daybreaker the Unfettered: Given her various supernova spells, I'm pretty sure Daybreaker demonstrated that her armor is fully fireproof. Though given her vanity, I don't think she'd consider losing it to be much of a concern.
And writing flavor text for schemes is always fun.
4568776
Into the Wardrobe: Took me a moment, but that is hilarious. Though most people seem to find Satyrs the first time they cast it.
Haunting Figments: No, silly. Nyx would be a Nightmare Child with alicorn.
Rapid Succession: Her Effervescent Highness's Ministry of Information assures us that the previous rulers of Muffitopia are enjoying a long, hard-earned vacation at an undisclosed location.
Endless Debate: Not quite. The winners of the election get to survive.
Soul Swap: At its most expensive, Soul Swap costs as much as Worst Fears, and if you're running it at all, it's probably going to cost less. Undaunted can be a very fun ability.
Gut Reaction: "Cast if able" with random targets could be fun... or you could build your deck such that you can get a Darksteel Colossus or similar gigantic, untargeted threat far earlier than you should.
Innocuous Statue: So do I.
I Will Rule Over Ashes: Don't know if you heard, but Archenemy: Nicol Bolas is coming out soon, complete with brand new schemes.
4568790 If I had the money, I'd pay to see that.
And maybe this. Why does it seem all the good Ideas rot in comments scattered throughout this site?
4568795
I didn't remember Volcano Hellion, but that's a little different since it hits its owner as well.
4567998
Because you know it's in your deck. You can stuff your deck full of legends, and make it so this car it is essentially a one-way kill all of their creatures and none of yours. Your opponent Doesn't have that luxury.
Royal Problem... I was lukewarm, honestly.
...Yeah, I know. I swear I’m not trying to be a contrarian. And it isn’t just because of Starlight getting special treatment yet again, though that admittedly doesn’t help.
It’s actually mainly about the IDW comics. I don’t always like the comics, but Hasbro tells us that they’re meant to be canon, and I do like cohesive expanded universes. Only, the show writers often don’t treat the comics as part of a cohesive expanded universe. They treat them as an idea bin. They’ll ignore and contradict them most of the time, and occasionally lift the broad plot of a story. That irritates me, even when those episodes are good. Amending Fences was good, but I didn’t like Moondancer having a different design and the ages all being different. Magic Sheep was good, but I didn’t like them rehashing Nightmare Rarity. This episode was actually a worse case than both; it basically removed the only other Royal Sisters stories we had from canon while simultaneously ripping them off. I'm sorry, but I can't help but grumble at that.
And even aside from that, the rest of the story just felt sloppy to me. Luna's cutie mark in particular was major continuity slip, but the characterisation also struck me as feeling wrong. I know that Celestia has become a much more flawed character as the seasons have gone by, but I still find it hard to believe that she'd ever let her relationship with her sister get this bad again. These are the exact same issues that led to Luna's fall last time, and both of these characters have been haunted by those mistakes for a thousand years, but they're repeating them again here as if neither of them learned anything. This is actually somehow even worse for Luna. She felt so guilty over the path that her jealousy took her down last time that she tortured herself with a dream demon for years as penance. Now she gets legitimately angry at Celestia for not noticing her flowers. What even.
Daybreaker kinda saved it at the last moment, but I'm sour on the rest of the episode. On balance, I'd call it a 7/10, but without Daybreaker, it's a low 5 at best.
...I'm sure I didn't used to be this cynical.
4570218
Yeah, this one's a creme brulee of fridge logic. Once you break through the thin, scorched crust, it's a morass of contradictions and custard. I did consider mentioning how this feels like the ultimate example of an episode that belonged in an earlier season—somewhere around Season -1003, specifically—but it occured to me that this could paradoxically be seen as a sort of healing process. The royal sisters taking one another for granted show them moving past the Nightmare tragedy... just in a way that shows even they don't learn their lesson on the first go-around.
That said, I can certainly understand your stance.
4570235
Yeah, but them not learning their lesson the first time is exactly what makes this characterisation so weird. Celestia failed to make Luna feel appreciated, and as a result, she destroyed her relationship with her only sister, was separated from her for a longer period than most beings are even alive for, and caused that sister to go through untold amounts of physical and emotional suffering, even years after the two finally reconciled.
The main six occasionally backsliding and having to relearn a lesson, I can excuse, but Nightmare Moon was the biggest mistake Celestia ever made. It must've haunted her for what would feel like an eternity to you and I. If that didn't teach her to be a more attentive sister, then I can't imagine anything that could, least of all Starlight Glimmer. This is especially bad when you consider it in context of the Tantabus, which is yet another instance of Celestia failing to notice her sister's deep emotional problems. That's three times now she's failed Luna, and there'll probably be a fourth.
4570320
actually the ponies of Equestria didn't make Luna feel appreciated and Celestia just didn't know about it originally. This time she's feeling unapppreciated by Celestia
4574030
Either way it translates to Celestia being an inattentive sister, so it's still her fault. One doesn't just betray their only family because of other people's actions if their relationship is great. Expanded universe material backs this up as well.
Aaaaaand my new headcanon is that Daybreaker is a result of Celestia having no idea of how to control Luna's dream magic. I'm guessing she accidentally willed it into the dream realm like Luna did the Tabtabus.
Another thing to note. Look at Daybreaker's cutie mark. It wasn't just Celestia's sun. It had that odd shape around it, much like with Luna's moon. Perhaps that bit is some lingering Nightmare contamination?