I've spent the last year, studying, and designing a custom Arthurian set, originally intended to be based on Le Morte d'Arthur (like how P3k was based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms). However, as I continued to study, and look into different (and some obscure sources) this turned into a much more wider net. This set, which is no where near finished includes>Welsh Triads and The Magnibong>Pre-Vulgate Arthur traditions>Vulgate/Post Vulgate/Lancelot cycles>some English/Welsh fairy tales>and even a bit of the Victorian Arthurian revival (especially for art). I avoided the Italian and German romances entirely, and tried not to include weird outliners except when needed. Outside of art, nothing is sourced from the 20th century or onward. Also all art is public domain. I'm mainly posting here for feedback. Some will be art recommendations, flavor text (especially sourced) will be always welcomed.Let's start with the man himself.
>>97282821That is pretty cool, reminds me of arabian nights.
I figure it's only appropriate I start with Arthur's gear, since the gear makes the man.His Mantle is admittedly more Welsh than romance, but it's still a piece of equipment attributed to him, and according to The Thirteen Treasures of Britian, can allow the wearer invisibility.I honestly don't like this art, which is weird, because I normally like Pyle's work.
>>97282836FML
>>97282821>Le Morte d'Arthur>a whole page listing every single knight that beat Gawain in a duel
It's a little known fact, but King Arthur has two swords in most traditions. Clarent is a purely ceremonial sword, used for traditions such as knighting. Mordred steals the sword after he marries Guenevere, and it's the weapon he uses (along with his poisonous spear) at the Battle of Camlann. With this, I wanted a purely ornamental sword. One that commands respect, but serves little in actual combat.>>97282835Thanks! AN was just what Garfield was reading in 1993. Honestly, had he been reading Wagner, we could have gotten a set based on Norse Gods.
Excalibur is a top down design based primarily on what common legends say its powers are. It increases the wielders strength in combat, and every wound it deals is impossible to heal. It's scabbard keeps the wielder from harm. Instead of doing the flavorfully correct thing, and making them separate cards, I just included them into one.I do like the art on this one, and I had a lot of art to choose from, but Rhead just felt different enough to work.>>97282845Yeah I will never forgive the French, though if not for them, Arthur might have been lost forever.
The last legendary romance equipment I have is Galatine. This is Sir Gawain's sword, and like him, is strongest at noon.
>>97282854...the Saxons are gonna be black mana aren't they?
The Kaldheim showcase border is to distinguish Welsh myths. Reserved for Welsh myths, these typically are characters that are different from their romance counterparts, or in a few cases, different characters all together. One character in this border is the exception to this rule. Do note, this is not Morgan le Fay's chariot, but one of the Thirteen Treasures.
>>97282871Nope. They are Barbarians. They are red. Mordreds camp and Corbernic is black.
>>97282879How does the mana system work, i.e. which factions (?) go with which colors?
I originally planned this to be a equipment, but I didn't really like that idea, so I made it global artifact instead, that 'proves death' as suggested by a friend of mine. I did almost call it The Bleeding Spread.
I also originally intended this to be a equipment as well. I like it as a Lich a bit more though.>>97282881Its kinda loose, honestly. Camelot is all five colors. Avalon is blue, but can bleed into white and black. Corbernic and Mordred are black. Cornwall, Saxons and Giants are red, ect.
Here we have The Round Table, which ends all the current Legendary Artifacts.I know it's just a coat of arms on crack, but honestly, why wouldn't it be? It clearly works well with Arthur, and destroying it breaks the fellowship.So far, any opinions?
>>97282896Fml
Next we will delve into The Knights of the Round Table I felt to include and have designed (with the exception of Tristan). We start with Agravain. He is the knight that lead the conspiracy to reveal the Lancelot/Guinevere affair to the public at large (with others of course). Generally described as sneaky, opportunistic, and manipulative. He eventually ambushes Lancelot with three other knights, and suffers a swift end, because he attempted to ambush Lancelot.I felt there wasn't enough Enchantment removal in the set. Honestly though, this art is probably too cool for him.
Balin is the chaotic stupid knight, if there was one. His list of accomplishments includes:>knowingly grabbing a cursed sword and wielding it, because it looks stronger than the serviceable one he has.>killing either The Lady of the Lake or her daughter (an act openly condemned by Arthur himself)>destroying relics>openly kills the Brother of a king, in that kings court. The brother was wanted for murder, but he never explains that. He then stabs the king with the Spear of Longinus, causing a small magical nuclear blast that he is the only survivor of.>Fights with his brother to the death.I wanted to emulate this reckless nature, and show him as 'The Destroyer of Relics' in an easy, but beneficial way.
Despite being one of the only hold overs from the original tales, not much is written about him, in either ends. He is one of the first knights to join Arthur's cause, and he is the last knight alive, the one who throws Excalibur into the lake, and carries Arthur onto the boat. Other than that, he spends the years by Arthurs side, not going on quests. I wanted to emulate these two things in his design.
Yes, the set has Saga's, because it fits the theme and it's a card type I enjoy. Dinadn is a practical knight, kidster, and minstrel. He is a bit of a deep cut, but was very popular in the Italian romances. He is however a character in Le Morte, and as such, I included him.He finds chivalry and courtly love stupid, and calls it out whenever he can. He is however, skilled in combat despite this, and will right wrongs when he can, he just doesn't go looking for themThe art is probably a place holder.
The purest knight. The bastard child of Sir Lancelot produced through rape (he was the one raped). Galahad ultimately completes the Grail Quest, and redeems his insane father. He's less of a character, and more of an dues ex to end the Chalice cycle.
The original champion of King Arthur. Gawain was a mostly top down design. His 'return' ability represents his unfeathered loyalty, and his +1/+1 ability (like his sword) represents how he is strongest at noon/during the day.
The man who wishes he was the hero. Cocky, arrogant, but loyal to his adopted brother to death. Kay is an incompetent warrior, but a great administrator. He in almost all stories keeps Camelot running, as the Senechal.
Here we go the big man himself. The most famous knight of the round table. I wanted Lancelot to completely dominated combat, and outside intervention, only two creatures in the set can beat him 'fairly'.Vigilance was included for the fact he's the fast knight. The attack/block clause was both to show his madness, and the fact he can't possibly stay out of anything.The final drawback is to show just how corrosive he is. Every victory he gets somehow gets back to Arthur, for better or worse. He's one of the catalysts for Arthur's fall.I really like Pyle's work here, because Lancelot is somewhat different looking from everyone else in the set, and that was good, since he comes from the lake.
>>97282821While I dropped MtG years ago and never looked back, I respect the effort anon. What do you recommend I read to learn more about the actual Arthurian legends?
Is anyone still lurking?
>>97283024Howard Pyle wrote a series of four books, that is the definitive editions, especially in the United States, for everything that came after it. They are also beautifully illustrated by him. Le Morte de Arthur is the definitive unified story. Chreitens six stories aren't bad as well, but they do suffer from 'Early Adaption Weirdness'. Avoid the High History of the Holy Grail.
>>97283051Appreciate it, I'll add them to my reading list
With Tristan here, we go into Tristan and Isolde, one of the more famous splinter tales (which was originally a story completely independent from Arthurian legend.Before you say this is a commander mechanic "Partner with X) was originally a 60 card mechanic, and was mostly features on non-legendary creatures.
>>97283075I'll end this here tonight. With Isolde the Fair, which. Three other cards directly tie into Isolde and Tristan.
>>97283027All other cards are low power level yet this is unfairly strong.
>>97283116What about Sir Not Appearing in this Film as an un card?
>>97282899>>97282891I cast Shatter.
>>97282854>Instead of doing the flavorfully correct thing, and making them separate cards, I just included them into one.Why's that?
In general:I'd ask ChatGPT for an icon for the set, all of this effort deserves more than a square. Also for a small set that is a throwback to better times, drop the mythic rarity, orange does not look good (I have stopped using colored symbols, rarity can be seen in collector's info).The cards: I don't like most of artifacts at all, only the grail being a throwback to Lich's tomb seems like an interesting choice. I think you are trying to put too many characteristics from the source and everything is bloated. Like destroying the round table already punishes the knights, they don't have to commit hara-kiri!The knights are better, although I hate Arthur and Lancelot for different reasons: Arthur for being just bad and 5c commander-bait, and Lancelot for being a doom machine. I mean, Lancelot and Arthur were friends for long years, it is more nuanced than you make it to be.
