Friendship is Card Games: d20 Pony, Ch. 1 · 12:42pm Sep 12th, 2021
This one’s a bit unusual. It comes as a request from SirNotAppearingInThisFic (and yes, I do plan on doing the official chapter books, including one next week.) I didn’t really know what I was getting into when he suggested, but having taken a look, this does work.
That said, it’s a similar situation to when I do a fanfic: Reviewing the story doesn’t work well when most people probably haven’t looked at the source material. d20 Pony is a Problem Sleuth-style interactive adventure comic, though as the name implies, it tries to emulate both tabletop and video game RPGs more than old-school text adventures.
We follow Trailblazer, a young explorer only now putting down roots in Hoofington. Like most stories told in this style, the opening’s slow, more about establishing the setting before the plot can really get going. (Plus, the audience participation factor means even the author can’t be certain what the plot will be.) It’s a bit like starting Homestuck, but with fewer data structures and more flirting ponies.
… Probably not selling many people on this. Suffice to say, it’s very cute thus far, and it looks like there are plenty of more exciting adventures down the road. But for now, we’ll work with Trailblazer’s and our introduction to this pixellated Equestria.
Aerial Cartographer 1W
Creature — Pegasus Scout
Flying
When Aerial Cartographer enters the battlefield, investigate. (Create a Clue artifact token with “2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.)
2, Sacrifice an artifact: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. Activate this ability only if an opponent controls more lands than you.
1/1
Sunstone Amulet 1W
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+2 and has vigilance.
Equip (wb)
Daybound (If a creature casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)
Solid as Celestia’s resolve.
Moonstone Charm
(B) Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+1 and has lifelink.
Equip (wb)
Nightbound (If a creature casts at least two spells during their own turn, it becomes day next turn.)
Soothing as Luna’s care.
Mayor Hoofingold 3W
Legendary Creature — Pony Advisor
When Mayor Hoofingold enters the battlefield, create your choice of a 1/1 blue Unicorn creature token or a 1/1 black Bat Pegasus creature token with flying.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you have a full herd, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. (Your herd consists of up to one each of Bat, Pegasus, Pony, and Unicorn.)
3/3
Foalshire Rains 1U
Instant
Creatures target player controls get -2/-0 until end of turn.
Landfall — Those creatures get -3/-0 until end of turn instead if a land entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
“Dry” is one of the funniest words in Foalshire.
Precocious Puppeteer 2U
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
When Precocious Puppeteer enters the battlefield, put four +1/+1 counters on up to one target noncreature artifact. That artifact becomes a 0/0 artifact creature.
T: Untap target artifact.
1/2
Hoofington Militia Captain 4U
Creature — Pony Soldier
When Hoofington Militia Captain enters the battlefield, tap up to X target creatures, where X is the number of creatures in your herd as this ability triggers. Creatures tapped this way don’t untap during their controllers’ next untap step.
3/3
Live Modeling XU
Instant
Tap target creature with power X or less. You draw cards equal to that creature’s power.
“Just hold that pose.”
—Leaf Chaser, aerial cartographer
Changeling Droneservant 1B
Creature — Shapeshifter Serf
Whenever another player gains life, you may gain that much life.
Morph B (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
Life under Chrysalis prepared her hive for other servitude.
2/2
Midnight Merchant 2B
Creature — Bat Pegasus Citizen
Flying
If it’s neither day nor night, it becomes day as Midnight Merchant enters the battlefield.
B, Pay 2 life: Draw a card. Activate this ability only if it’s night.
Store hours are not a suggestion.
2/1
Ruby Spellstone 1R
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant permanent
As long as enchanted permanent is a creature, it gets +2/-2.
As long as enchanted permanent is an Equipment, it has “Equipped creature gets +2/-2.”
Winnow the Chaff 1R
Instant
Discard any number of land cards, then draw that many cards.
A meal from the Sungrain Fields is delicious, but demands a good amount of work first.
Combat Training 1RR
Instant
Roll a d20.
1-9 | Creatures you control get +2/+0 until end of turn.
10-19 | Creatures you control get +2/+0 and gain first strike until end of turn.
20 | Creatures you control get +2/+0 and gain double strike until end of turn.
Bounty of the Everfree 1G
Sorcery
Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a permanent card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.
Amid the wild magic and savage beasts lie untold treasures.
Hidden Threats 1G
Enchantment
When an opponent draws their second card this turn, if Hidden Threats is an enchantment, it becomes a 4/4 Beast creature and you draw a card.
The Everfree only lashes out when provoked. The catch is knowing what provokes it.
Fall of the Everfree 1GG
Enchantment — Saga
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — Destroy up to one other target enchantment.
II — Destroy up to one target artifact.
III — Exile all cards from target player’s graveyard. You gain 1 life for each card exiled this way.
Trailblazer, Adventurer 2G
Legendary Creature — Pony Scout
Vigilance
Whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, Trailblazer and that creature explore. (For each of them, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it’s a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on the creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
2/2
Lens of Honesty 1
Artifact
You may look at face-down creatures you don’t control any time.
T: Look at target player’s hand.
Like a mirror, it shows only the truth, in all its wonder and horror.
Brass Horseshoes 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has trample.
As long as Brass Horseshoes or equipped creature is enchanted, equipped creature can’t be blocked by more than one creature.
Equip (2g)
Firefly Lantern 2
Artifact
T: Add C.
1, T, Sacrifice Firefly Lantern: Create a 1/1 red Insect creature token with flying.
Ungula’s pun-based ecology extends to many adventurers’ supplies.
Trailblazer’s Saddlebags 2
Legendary Artifact
You have no maximum hand size.
12, T: Draw three cards. This ability costs 1 less to activate for each land you control.
No explorer should have to worry about carrying capacity.
Dancing Dummy 3
Artifact Creature — Scarecrow
2, Exile an artifact card from your graveyard: Put a +1/+1 counter on Dancing Dummy.
Each broken training dummy is one more partner for Marionette’s performance.
3/2
Warm Welcome (gw)(gw)
Instant
Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature that entered the battlefield this turn. If three or more counters are put on creatures this way, draw a card.
The mayor’s family stuffed Trailblazer until she could barely walk.
Cryotherapy 1UB
Instant
Tap target creature. It gains indestructible for as long as it remains tapped and doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
Draw a card.
Magical or not, ice packs need time to work.
Crystal Charm, Gemwright 2WU
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Artificer
Artifact and enchantment spells you cast cost X less to cast, where X is the number of creatures in your herd.
“Ooh, that’s a gorgeous sapphire. Let’s see what it can do.”
2/4
Algal Spring
Land
Algal Spring enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or more other lands.
T: Add G or U.
Deep in the Everfree, wonders and horrors lurk in equal measure.
Sungrain Fields
Land
Sungrain Fields enters the battlefield tapped.
T: Add W. When that mana is spent to cast a white spell, you gain 1 life.
The fields’ endless bounty nourishes all who lend a hoof.
I've not read any interactive comics before, so this is an interesting concept.
Quite a few of those seem like pretty late game cards, like Fall of Everfree and Hoofington Militia Captain.
d20 pony is amazing and I'm super happy to see cards based on it ^^ At SirNotAppearingInThisFic's suggestion I binged through the whole thing a few months back and really enjoyed it.
Also yay new mechanics, time for my parser to choke again XD
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Under normal circumstances, Sunstone Amulet and Moonstone Charm will stay equipped to the same creature when they transform. The most likely abnormal circumstance is protection, which will unattach them if it applies to their changed color.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Hidden Threats' ability to become a creature will make it stop being an enchantment. Hilarity ensues if it was already a creature by other means, especially if those means weren't relying on it being an enchantment (they probably were).
The saddlebags are interesting, but sungrain fields would be hella tasty for anything soul-sistery but a little slower.
I don't know what half of this means, but I approve.
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Sorry I didn't reply until the next time I did one of these, but I'm glad you like them!