new cards for Riven Turnbull

[folding_music]

from Legends:


Such a weird old-school design... silly stats, absurd mana cost, almost empty ability box, the mana symbols in an interesting order and flavour which puts overt political revolutionary action into colors known more for spying and deception. Eight decks on EDHREC allow Riven the big chair, half of them definitely the same person submitting revisions of their own zombie list.

If I could change his card I'd make him a 2/1 for (retaining his characteristic mana order!) with the same ability and add Rebel to his type line. Rebels have classically been white but the reason revolved around a particular setting; the type could easily be wrested away from that context for uses in various others. Plus the designation just suits him so well.

I don't know how much of a backstory the character has! I read a lot of the original fiction from the early years of MTG but all that sticks with me is the underworld cook book. Anyway, I'm reading Riven as a very well-read revolutionary, building up a radical pressure group of his own in preparation to depose the government he lives under; I guess he's partly based off of black mana because it's his ambition to introduce a new way of life based on the theories he prefers???

A precon official Commander type deck built around this guy's vibe would definitely need Propaganda, Attrition and Undermine <3

Riven's a card more or less unsupported and unwanted by the modern game. So here's a bunch of stuff designed around him, giggle:

Desperate Revolution 1bu
Enchantment - Saga (R)
Whenever a red or white source deals damage to you, remove all lore counters from Desperate Revolution.
i, ii:: All creatures you control must attack this turn if able.
iii:: Each opponent sacrifices a nonland permanent. For each opponent, you gain control of up to one target nonbasic land that player controls.

Know Your Theory! 1uu
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gains prowess.
Whenever a player casts an instant or sorcery spell, untap enchanted creature.

Put Into Praxis
Enchantment (R)
Discard two cards: Target attacking creature gains menace until end of turn. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to an opponent this turn, that player sacrifices a nonland permanent.

Reading Circle
Land (R)
Reading Circle enters the battlefield tapped.
: Add or .
Creatures you control are Rebels in addition to their other creature types. The same is true for creature spells you control and creature cards you own that aren't on the battlefield.

Refutation bu
Instant
Counter target noncreature spell. Untap up to one target nonland permanent you control.

Turnbullian Agitator
Creature - Human Rebel (U)
Whenever Turnbullian Agitator becomes blocked, you may tap another untapped permanent you control. If you do, defending player loses X life, where X is the converted mana cost of the permanent you tapped this way.
1/1

[SecretInfiltrator]

I always felt Riven Turnbull was a blue-black Advisor rather than a Rebel because his words were meant to stir others into action, but he himself has fine being a puppet master. He provides mana to cast spells, but was not actually a "doer". As such a smaller body and lowered mana cost would serve him well (though the illustration shows him eschewing the written word -handed down by dignitaries, no oubt- in favor of a blade, so who am I to say differently?).

On the topic of the mana cost: It's certainly not characteristic to him. It was just what they went with for blue-black before they came up with a consistent intuitive system based on the color order on the card back. I'd scrap it.

I could definitely see him having an agenda that he's keeping to himself.

I like the creative ideas you have for the cards. "Turnbullian" revolutionaries would be quite the thing to explore. The reprints you mentioned make sense as well.

Reading Circle fails to create happy feelings because it makes your deck retroactively tribal, but there are no tribal pay-offs among the proposed cards.

I think Turnbull would make for a neat villain protagonist in a setting where a very Boros-inspired police state is well deserving of opposition. That's building on your clever choice to place his blue-black theme opposite not the common enemy green, but opposite the two colors that are half-enemy half-ally.

[folding_music]

thanks! you're right that Reading Circle's unsupported, I guess it was an entirely thematic addition.

Turnbull's cell vs the police fits perfectly, I did have the Boros in mind when I wrote that line :3 My justification for considering him a Rebel is that I just can't take a 5/7 Advisor seriously, that's like Giant or Treefolk level of unnecessary stats, giggle.