Friendship is Card Games: To Change a Changeling · 11:49am Sep 3rd, 2017
Turns out Thorax’s leadership woes had more immediate payoff than some of us had anticipated. Let’s see how the changelings are getting along. Or not, as the case may be.
I do appreciate how they didn’t let Starlight be so overpowered that she could match Discord’s teleportation range.
I also like how the Badlands are revitalizing… though the explanation feels a bit weird. Apparently the changelings were draining the plants’ love. Either the closest thing vegetation has to emotion is life force or the ‘lings are working with a most peculiar definition of love. I feel like we need an earth pony archmage to consult on this one.
I love how immediately after the first commercial break, Trixie asks what I was asking just before it; why isn’t Starlight teleporting them out of the bag? Also the return of Trixie thinking that a spell consists of lighting your horn and shouting the desired outcome. 
Nice.
Nice work with the changelings embracing the faerie aesthetic. In the nice “tenders of nature” sense, mind you, not the “dream stealing agent-extensions of a giant flower woman” one.
I like Thorax’s throne. Very nice “king of of the elves” vibe going. And not the “haughty elves” sense as with Aspen. More Schlemiel Elves.
And so we get our answer for how changelings view siblinghood: You need to be broodmates, laid in the same clutch of eggs. Makes sense to me. And it seems like we know where most of Thorax’s aggression and self-assertion ended up.
The hive still has holes, Pharynx. You’re just being pissy.
Pharynx doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Any color that bright clearly indicates that that changeling is highly poisonous.
Let’s take a look at that potluck lunch. We appear to have several forms of nectar or honey, eggs or seeds, and a whole lot of grubs. Some are floating in gelatin cubes. And that’s saying nothing of the presumably roast beetle with some manner of fruit wedged between its mandibles. Very interesting indeed.
So, if Pharynx isn’t eating love, what has he been eating? Was physical matter always on the dining table for changelings?
Interesting that Pharynx hasn’t heard of Twilight. I suppose he might have been guarding the homefront during the Invasion of Canterlot, but I figured Chrysalis would make sure every one of her underlings knew the face of her archnemesis du jour.
Welp, you heard it here, folks. Starlight canonically described herself as a dictator.
To be fair, Trixie, being second best against Twilight Sparkle is still insanely impressive… though you’re third at absolute best. Starlight does exist. As do the other alicorns, if we’re counting them. And…
Look, you’re definitely up there. Maybe. Haven’t gotten the tests back yet.
Body dysmorphia (dyschromia?) in a changeling. I can’t tell if that’s ironic or just bizarre.
I like how all of the changelings enjoy the opportunity to have a creative outlet. Even Pharynx takes the chance to actually make something rather than just tear things down… though he does do a lot of that as well. Still, a sign that he appreciates at least some aspect of the new hive.
Pharynx is apparently Voldemort. Now all we need is for the feelings guru to pronounce a prophecy involving him and one of two larvae.
Speaking of whom, the feelings guru amuses me far more than she has any right to. Someone get Wheat Grass and Tree Hugger to the Badlands. We need to concentrate this flower power.
Pharynx teaching little changelings to growl and hiss implies that there are little changelings to teach. There’s the reproductive issue quietly dealt with… unless these are just hatchlings from Chrysalis’s last brood.
Interesting to see another stage of changeling life in the flashback. I guess their young are more accurately described as nymphs rather than grubs or other larvae. (No pupation, just a series of different maturation stages called instars. Much like ponies, given what we’ve seen of how they age.)
Also, Pharynx’s eyes were always purple, apparently. And, indeed, Thorax’s were green. I’d forgotten about that. I guess that clutch was just full of novel mutations.
I hope Thorax has mentioned that good side to the other changelings at some point. Keeping his one counterargument close to the vest would be pretty ridiculous.
Rule of thumb: When even Trixie is concerned about your plan, rethink it. Immediately. That’s a bigger warning sign than Scootaloo.
I'm immensely pleased with how Thorax calls out Starlight on how terrible this idea was and expects her to help clean up after herself.
That was a good speech.
I like the maulwurf design, especially since they incorporated star-nosed mole into it. Also, a quick bit of research shows that Maulwurf (or Maulwürfe) is just German for “mole.” Wonder how they’re going to localize that one in Germany…
If the hide is thick, then aim for the open mouth. This is Boss Fighting 101 here.
Interesting to see the changelings use the term “hive” again. I guess “pack” was meant to refer to the people and not the place? That or the writers of this episode and “Triple Threat” didn’t confer with one another, especially since Pharynx is still using "swarm."
I do love how Pharynx brings some much needed balance to changeling culture once he accepts that he can’t single-hoofedly change things back to the way they were. He can do a lot more for the hive by supporting it from the inside than aggravating it from without, especially as the new head of defense… which was pretty much what he was doing before Chrysalis was deposed. It’s always nice to see a solution that makes everyone happy.
On that note, I really like his transformed design. A middling stage between standard Crayola bughorse and full glorious faerie moose. A prince caste, if you will. Plus he gets to keep a darker color scheme, which I’m sure he appreciates.
Again, consequences for Starlight’s actions! Thorax is such a good friend.
In all, I quite liked this one. The conflict addresses the broader issues of trying to transform an entire culture overnight, Pharynx is still recognizably himself post-transformation (anyone who’d dunked his head into the friendship Kool-Aid wouldn’t regale everyone with stories of how he used to get his wussy brother to beat himself up,) and Trixie was hilariously terrible throughout.
Now, time to unveil my (booster) pack.
Cunning Maneuver W
Instant
If target creature would deal damage this turn, it deals that damage to itself instead.
”Your strengths are our strengths. Your weaknesses you can keep.”
—Pharynx, Prince of Defense
Kinder and Gentler 1W
Instant
Up to two target creatures can’t attack or block this turn.
Thorax had greatly enriched his subjects lives, but at the cost of combat preparedness.
Pharynx’s Fortifications 2W
Enchantment
Whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control, Pharynx’s Fortifications deals 1 damage to that creature.
”Obsidian’s getting hard to find these days, but these thorns should do for now.”
Creative Outlets 3W
Enchantment
Nontoken creatures you control have fabricate 1. (Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on it or create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.)
All social insects are industrious. Changelings just take it further than most.
Jeweled Lovebug 3W
Creature — Insect Pony
Flying
Whenever Jeweled Lovebug deals combat damage to a player, choose a color. You gain 1 life for each permanent of the chosen color defending player controls.
”I feel blue today.”
2/2
Inspired March 3WW
Sorcery
Creatures you control get +2/+1 and gain vigilance until end of turn. Exile Inspired March with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3 — 1W (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay 1W and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost.)
Buck Tradition 1UU
Instant
Counter target spell. If that spell was green, look at the top card of its owner’s library. You may put that card on the bottom of that library.
”The future does not belong to the past.”
—King Thorax
Lovebug Thespian 3UU
Creature — Insect Pony
1UU: Lovebug Thespian becomes a copy of target creature and gains this ability.
”We’re not so different from ponies. We just have an easier time with costumes.”
2/3
Cultural Enrichment 5UU
Sorcery
Draw a card for each creature target opponent controls. Detain those creatures. (Until your next turn, they can’t attack or block and their activated abilities can’t be activated.)
After a lifetime of war, anything else is a welcome alternative.
Head of Patrols 2B
Creature — Shapeshifter Warrior
Head of Patrols can’t attack unless defending player has 10 or less life.
”As long as our prey is strong enough to resist, I’ll leave them to the hunters.”
4/4
Hive Hulk 4BB
Creature — Insect
Flying, trample
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Hive Hulk unless you pay 3 life.
Chrysalis encouraged nymphs to imagine ever more horrible forms to wear.
6/6
Feelings Guru 2RR
Creature — Insect Pony Shaman
At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player exiles the top card of his or her library. He or she may play that card this turn.
”The forum is open to anyone and everyone.”
3/3
Potluck Lunch G
Sorcery
Join forces — Starting with you, each player may pay any amount of mana. Each player reveals the top X cards of his or her library, then may put a creature card with convered mana cost X or less revealed this way onto the battlefield, where X is the amount of mana paid this way, then shuffles his or her library.
Dread Maulwurf 4G
Creature — Mole
Dread Maulwurf has hexproof and trample as long as an opponent controls a nonbasic land.
”Sure, it’s herbivorous. So are ponies, and we’ve seen what they can do.”
—Reasonable Caution, former patroller
4/4
Ravage the Novel 4G
Sorcery
Destroy target noncreature permanent. If B was spent to cast Ravage the Novel, put two -1/-1 counters on up to one target creature.
Pharynx destroyed everything unfamiliar, seeing only potential dangers to the hive.
Throne of the Symbiote King 3
Legendary Artifact
Whenever you gain life, you may draw a card.
4, T: You gain 1 life.
From policy to furniture, Thorax tries to be as different from his mother as possible.
Pharynx, the Isolated 2BR
Legendary Creature — Shapeshifter
Flying
Pharynx, the Isolated can’t be the target of spells or abilities you control.
1W: Transform Pharynx. Activate this ability only if you control four or more creatures.
”I know when I’m not wanted.”
4/3
Pharynx, Prince of Defense
(WBR) Legendary Creature — Insect
Alicorn (This creature is also a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.)
Flying
Whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell or ability you don’t control, you gain 2 life and that spell or ability’s controller loses 2 life.
5/5
Pouncing Practice 3(br)(br)
Instant
Creatures you control get +3/+0 until end of turn.
”I don’t actually want them to tear out throats once they’re in the field. It just amuses me.”
—Queen Chrysalis
Demand Banishment 3WB
Sorcery
Target creature’s controller exiles it unless that player exiles all other creatures he or she controls.
The ultimatum was clear: If Pharynx didn’t leave, the rest of the hive would.
Flourishing Wastes
Land
Flourishing Wastes enters the battlefield tapped.
As long as Flourishing Wastes is on the battlefield, it has the activated abilities of all land cards in all graveyards.
Around the hive, forgotten biomes live anew.
One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong!
I agree. Although the plants looked alien so I guess they could be magical plants that have the ability to love, but that would just raise further questions - such as, are there any vegan changelings? Is it wrong to eat a plant that loves you?
The issue of their reproduction is still bothering me. Did the female drones become fertile after Chrysalis left? Did Thorax father any of the nymphs?
Me too. I wish more of the changelings had a darker color scheme.
Am I the only one who noticed that the feelings guru used a wing carapace as a gong? Are they using a body part from a recently deceased changeling? Or do they molt their entire carapaces like crustaceans?
Anyway, good episode overall. I love the world-building even though I still have some unanswered questions. And I like how Starlight wasn't OP.
I've already named that feelings guru "Tree Bugger".
I didn't like this episode. It all just felt wrong. I'm honestly behind the idea of reformed changelings, I like them and I even like their designs - but it feels like Thorax has no more ideas than the writers do, and the new hive is simply boring. It's the Crystal Empire all over again; a new race filled with promise, but they get sidelined and turned into a bunch of whiny idiots. At least the hive we saw in "To Where And Back Again" was intimidating and felt like an actual place with an actual society living in there. Did the love explosion wipe out all but fourteen changelings or something?
Also, changeling powers are now officially of the "whatever the heck we feel like" variety, which sucks.
Also, I really can't figure out why they were holding back on the maulwurf reveal, because it did nothing but confuse the episode. There was no reason why we couldn't have seen the maulwurf earlier; knowing that it's out there and an potential threat would have actually improved the mood of the episode a fair bit. Why am I watching Starlight lay down a trail of plants? Did she see the monster? Does she even know where it is? Why can't she just re-lay the trail once they find out Pharynx isn't there? The episode makes no effort to clarify any of this.
In the end, the maulwurf turns out to be just hanging out in the wasteland, apparently not interested in plants at all.
4657175
Sometimes it feels like fanfics have already wrote up a whole bunch of better changeling reformation plots without pushing the whole technicolor for everybody thing.
I was looking forward to your design for Pharynx's card as I watched the episode.
As you probably guessed, I wanted to talk color philosophy. I am glad that his color identity did not differ between transform sides. Though mana cost is where I'd like to have a discussion. His transformed state is Mardu while his original form is Rakdos (only using the names, not mentality). I feel like there could have been some mechanical overlap to better reflect his "protective" nature such as BW's lifelink or RW's first strike. A nice underpinning of his nature while still showing his self ostracism in your original rules text.
That said, I once again am thinking about the good old RB argument for good characters. What range do you think there is in this color pair for positive characters. You've offered Pinkie as an example, but there could be a greater range with ones like Pharynx. Heck, I surmise that a hair trigger mage (ex:Lina Inverse) probably fits into this color scheme
4657134
Thanks for the catch; changing card names can be tricky at times. Any other thoughts?
4657140
I did notice the carapace gong, though I couldn't think of a good card design to go with it. Given the size of it compared to the guru, I'd say it came from a different species entirely.
4657161
Derpibooru's calling her "Free Love." I suppose there aren't any insect parts that correspond well to the concept of hippies.
4657166
The apparent depopulation seems like a story waiting to happen to me. Diplomatic missions? Hiding from Pharynx? Elsewhere in the area? Executing Thorax's true master plan while he lulls the ponies into a false sense of security? I'll grant it's an issue, but it's an issue we can turn into an asset.
As for the maulwurf, I admit, that was a pretty bad case of telling rather than showing. The show does have a history of saving monsters for the third act whether or not it's necessary.
4657234
Only sometimes? Don't get me wrong, I'm actually in favor the lovebugs, but I do agree that many people here have done changeling reformation a lot less ham-handedly.
4657237
Pharynx protection comes in the form of his "don't touch us" trigger.
4657264
Oh there it is! I missed it, mornings are never easy for me @_@
I thought the color scheme was a nice touch, too. If nothing else, it's nice to know the "changedlings" come in more color variants than eye-searingly bright. They've been growing on me, I'll admit, but they can be a bit a bit visually trying at times.
As for whether the change was necessary... in this instance, I tend to think it was. I agree that giving the whole changeling race a "now you're good" makeover has its issues, especially given how it emphasizes using physical appearance to judge personality, but it did set a precedent for how changeling biology works -- when a changeling does a certain thing, it changes in a certain way. In this instance specifically, given the precedent established, it just would have made everything messier and confusing if Pharynx hadn't changed after doing the exact same thing that made the other 'lings transform.
On another note, there's one thing that's been bugging me since I saw the episode: is the spider-fly-tank thing Pharynx turned into an actual creature that actually exists, or is it a unique form changelings can take for combat? If the latter, can changelings outright turn into whatever they can visualize, or do they have a specific "library" of unique forms they can take?
4657264
Hippieling called Free Love works quite well
4657309
I was thinking that they can probably turn into anything they want, but they'd have a library of forms they've practiced with. So, Thorax's bear, and Pharynx's giant bug.
Then again... they're broodmates, and both members of the brood that we know about are deviants in their own way, and have the moose form instead of the smaller candy form. Was Chrysalis doing experiments on her children? Is the combat transformation part of that? The other changelings fight in their base form.
Unless you're in Guardians of the Galaxy II.
As much as I love Glimmy, I too appreciated Thorax growing a (spine? More rigid carapace?? Dohangelings have endo- or exoskeletons?) and calling Starlight out in a productive fashion.
It was also really nice to see the show avoided demonizing Pharynx, and all of his actions could be seen as reasonable from his perspective without stretching.
That color-confused changeling... Are they perhaps evidence that color has to do with some sort of caste system? Do blue ones have a different role from green ones? Are purple ones guards?
Does every player benefit from Potluck Lunch, or just the ones who payed into it?
"Throne of the Symbiote King" is an epic name for a card. Very simic-sounding. Also, I guess Thorax took Twilight's chair spiel to heart.
Clever making Pharynx Mardu. I approve.
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That's actually a really interesting possibility, especially considering both Thorax and Pharynx looked physically different from the other changelings even before transforming (Thorax with his green shell and Pharynx with his purple shell and eyes and red crest). And if you toss in the idea of Chrysalis experimenting on her brood, maybe to create better soldiers or infiltrators... that's definitely got potential.
EDIT: Adding to this a bit, cause I can't seem to leave it alone.
Maybe Chrysalis was trying to create changelings with a bit more independence -- I could see normal 'lings having serious crowd mentality and genuine difficulty not going with the flow (which might also explain why they changed so quickly and thoroughly -- when the hive swings one way, all the changelings follow). So maybe Chrysalis wanted soldiers who could look after themselves with minimal micromanaging: after all, doing what they felt was right and going against what the rest of the swarm is doing ended up being pretty central to both Thorax and Pharynx's characters.
And perhaps changelings can't normally change their mass beyond a point? That might explain why they always fight in their base form and only change shape to confuse and infiltrate. Maybe Thorax and Pharynx are the result of an attempt to create changelings who can change size too, which allows them to adopt large, strong forms for combat.
And the divergent appearance might be accidental, or it might be a way for Chrysalis to tell her experiments apart from the rest of the swarm.
Two big things I liked in this episode:
1- Gentle fun was poked at the feelings-centered be-who-you-want-to-be culture I grew up in and came to despise and reject. For a self-proclaimed post-Post-Modern work, it hit where hits needed to be hit. I love that cutie marks represent finding who you are and what you were meant to be, and that we can make a light jab at a changeling who just doesn't feel green.
2- I love how subtly Trixie is worried about a plan to bring a large monster towards a civilized area in order to prove a point about someone uninvolved in the luring of said monster. Because she's been there.
As for the cards, good as always. I was happy to see a true and simple take on what is now Cunning Maneuver.
4657357
I like the theory that changelings have both Endo and exos because of chitin not holding up well when scaled up.
4657580
Oh man. I completely missed that Trixie might be having Ursa Minor flashbacks from Starlight's plan.
4657264
You're right, not even Chrysalis was that big. But what species would have wing covers that huge?
I am sad that Pharynx’s Fortifications is not actually a Fortification.
Why is Lovebug Thespian not a Shapeshifter? I mean, it's doing a lot of shape shifting.
The wording on Potluck Lunch is a little off, it should be "where X is the total amount of mana paid this way"
Huh. There is a grand total of one mole in Magic (not counting cards with Changeling of course).
<Insert some sort of "number of particles" joke here.>
Also, is "Reasonable Caution" a pony or not? That sounds like a pony name.
To be fair AJ isn't eating a whole plant, just what the plant gives her to show its love so it's not a real comparison. When you eat an apple you still have the apple tree that gave it to you but when you eat a head of lettuce you've not got any more lettuce afterwards. (On that note where the feck are lettuce seeds grown? Are they at the core or something?)
Once again, Starlight and Trixie's interactions prove that putting them together was one of the best ideas the writers have had. And yeah, Pharynx's design made me a happy brony.
Nice trick in making Thorax GWU and Pharynx WBR. DOn't think I didn't notice.
Not sure wether it's still of interest, but the German localization for the Maulwurf is "Furchtmaulwurf", which means fear mole. Very original.
4754614
Good to know. That had been sitting in the back of my mind since the episode aired.