Crow | Raven

[storyteller]

 

low attack
low HP

some Darkness
steal Permanent
possibly a 'Snatch' ability, that holds an item hostage, out of play, until the bird is killed

-airborne-

[whatifidogetcaught?]

I always thought crows and ravens to just be noisy. Maybe that instead? A creature with the ability to steal doesn't seem to have a deep connection with a crow.

[storyteller]

they are historically associated with stealing shiny objects. so are raccoon. I was going for that, snatching small objects and hiding them away.

[dragonsdemesne]

It might better fit some sort of undead card, but what about having the crow//raven 'steal' hp from the opponent?  Every time it successfully attacks, the opponent loses 1hp from their maximum (shard of void style) and you gain 1hp max.  HP are shiny... aren't they?

[Naesala]

Magpie's are more well known for stealing

[storyteller]

Magpie == Big Black Bird == Raven == Big Black Bird.

The other thought for Raven is "Nevermore", some effect that prevents something from being played again, or prevents death effect from occurring etc. Maybe it could stop RT from affecting undead?

Id really like these to be darkness.

[Naesala]

Magpie == Big Black Bird == Raven == Big Black Bird.

The other thought for Raven is "Nevermore", some effect that prevents something from being played again, or prevents death effect from occurring etc. Maybe it could stop RT from affecting undead?

Id really like these to be darkness.

Naesala does not approve of being called a magpie. And iirc, there was a raven card with a nevermore ability somewhere...

[storyteller]

a Raven, by definition, is just a large black bird. it can be a magpie, crow, mockingbird etc. Just, large black bird. its not a species in and of itself.

[Naesala]

a Raven, by definition, is just a large black bird. it can be a magpie, crow, mockingbird etc. Just, large black bird. its not a species in and of itself.

By whose definition?

Ravens Magpies Crows Mokingbirds

Ravens are a specific group of large black birds of the genus Corvus. Crows are small black birds of the same genus. Magpies are about equally black and white, and not of the same genus. Mocking birds are mostly brown and not closely related to either Ravens/Crows or Magpies.

Ravens are well known for a few things: Poe's "Nevermore" Raven, eating carrion, being associated with wizards (often telling the future), speaking, and being capable of play. Magpies are known for being devilishly intelligent, stealing, being able to recognize themselves in mirrors. At closest they are both Corvidae, but that is the family and involves jays (amongst other things) which dont tend to be black.

[storyteller]

Ravens are a specific group of large black birds of the genus Corvus. Crows are small black birds of the same genus

well, thats a pretty clear trend for regular and upgraded cards. Crow -> Raven

so, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Raven

"Common Ravens are known to steal and cache shiny objects such as pebbles, pieces of metal, and golf balls. One theory is that they hoard shiny objects to impress other ravens."


steal is a good pick, or hoard...

they can mimic speech, mate for life, are very intelligent problem solvers. they are omnivores, and do scavenge. I dont think scavenge is a good pick though, condor is fine for that.

They have a lot of representation in mythology, Huginn and Muninn come to the forefront, as Im of Scandinavian descent , however, I dont think they fit this instance.


I see steal, snatch, or hoard, Hoard being some ability that caches quanta or permanents away for later use. Of interest, would be tucking away quanta each turn, from your, or the opponents pool, and then using an active ability to restore them to your pool. If from your own, it acts as a nice counter to black hole, if your opponents, a nice addition to Devour.

So... Snatch a permanent from the enemy so they cant use it until the Raven/Crow is killed, or Hoard some quanta to use later?

Hoard offers a fairly nice way to store quanta, possibly to double up on high effect spells, like fractal, or skyblitz, skyblitz being of course a preferred.

[Naesala]

http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,35325.0.html

For reference. A temprary steal mechanic sounds cool

[storyteller]

well, if they target a permanent to 'hide', then you could, with two, possibly use it to your advantage, say 'hide' with one, say an hourglass. Then the next turn, 'reveal' it, use it, then 'hide' with the other.

However, this is a lot of control over the ability. I had thought of these as  birds, primarily for synergy with Skyblitz, Eclipse and Condor/Vulture, for a nice deck. I want to give them a good skill, so they are not vanilla, and so they can offer a new mechanic to the game.

I like Quanta Accumulation, as a compliment to Devour, that takes random quanta and keeps it of that type,so it can be used for different things. It goes with the hoarding nature.

Snatching and hiding a random item until killed is pretty handy, but it is overshadowed by both Steal and regular Destruction of permanents.

If it is a Hiding mechanic, its versatile, cunning and handy, but I fear its a bit powerful, combining permanent control, with permanent protection.