New Card: Elixir of Energy (Seven Seas #1)

Years ago, there was a Yahoo Mailing List for the Guardians CCG. I was a regular contributor, and I had a tendency to sign off each of my emails with a homebrew card, some serious, some silly (and unplayable), but usually related to whatever the discussion was about.

Back around 2002, some of the Guardians players online decided that they wanted to create the proposed Seven Seas expansion, which never got past the naming stage. (There was a name for an expansion, and that's it.)

As this progressed, many of the cards I suggested on the list were made into cards, and they were better at it than I am.

For those who want to see them all right now, the rules and cards can be found at Phil, the Bar Fly's website.

On the off chance that his site ever disappears, I'm going to import some of my cards over here, now that there are people actually visiting this site.

Elixir of Energy Hand Magic Item, Up 12,
Play after any primary matchup is resolved. Turn any face-up channeler face down again. This card may not be removed from the discard pile. (Artwork: Giancola, Text: C.J. Burke, Design: Cath)

I originally made a comment about Champs, the Wonder Dog, which is why this card couldn't be removed from the discard pile. It might have made more sense to say, "after playing, remove this card from the game".

New Card: Naiad

I saw this posted as a Writing Prompt, and I got a thousand-word story out of it. I also thought that it would look nice on a card. But what kind? A creature or a Spell?

I went with creature, and made it a variant of the Water Nymph. It's not a Selkie, as it's wearing clothes, not a seal skin. It's not a Siren, because you wouldn't find one walking the beach. Even Mermaid didn't seem to fit. Then I remembered Naiads, which are similar to Dryads, only with water, not wood. That would do. (I stumbled across another name ... but I didn't bookmark the link or write it down, so ... it's gone.)

The stats are similar to Water Nymphs, and there aren't any crazy new abilities. Just an old-style card with nice artwork.

I could not find the creator for this image. I'm seem it copied to many boards, but have no idea who made it or when. If anyone knows, I'll happily update this card and give proper credit.
Update: I saw a repost that says the original artist is Foo Midori, @foomidori on Twitter.

Naiad, External, Vitality 6, OCB 1, M, Nymph, Gold, green bar. +2 Vitality in Rivers & Lakes.

I see now that I wrote "+2" instead of "+2 Vitality", which is game-standard language. I'll fix that at some point.

I have nothing else to add. Any comments?

New Card: Shield Maiden

I saw a Shield Maiden posted, and knew that I had a new Knight card. It was just a matter of deciding what protection she gives.
First thing though, I saw this image by Daniel Comerci, which was posted three years ago (either 2017 or late 2016). Had I search, I would have found many suitable images, but I saw this one first, and I liked it. I did have a problem with its width -- I literally could not zoom out any farther to get the rest of her shield or the top of her spear without black bars appearing on the sides.

Shield Maiden, Mortal, Vitality 4/6, OCB 0, M, Knight, red bar. +3 Vitality to the next Knight you play. If your next primary attacker is a Knight, it gets +5 instead.

I couldn't decide if she should be a 3/5 or a 4/6. Five and sixes are good for Knight shields. I thought 3/6 was too much of a stacking penalty, considering that she doesn't have the traditional Knight off-color bonus (which is roughly half their Vitality).

Her ability applies only to other Knights (which could even be another Shield Maiden) but you don't have to play the Knight as the next card, so there's a little unpredictability. Also, the +5 only applies if it's a primary match-up, not as a secondary attacker.

And, of course, even though I didn't write it on the card, the bonus only applies for this combat. You don't get the +5 in your next battle.

New Card: Skeletal Lawman

I saw this image, and I didn't think "Sheriff of an Undead Town". Instead, I thought "Even in death, I'm still the Law!"

Same disclaimers as my other homebrew cards

Reminder: the lightning bolt symbol was just handy. I don't have a new or theme for any imaginary expansion sets. However, if anyone has a recommendation for a set name, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'll likely wait until I find an image that looks like a Stronghold.

The original image is Western by Roman Chaliy, 2017.

Comments are welcome.

Creature: Skeletal Lawman

Skeletal Lawman, External, Vitality 3/5, OCB 0, M, Undead, green bar.
3 pt. ranged attack; 5 pt. ranged attack if the primary attacker is a Misc. Human.

I saw this picture and I wanted to use it. Western-themed. What if instead of being a ranged attack for Undead, it was a Lawman who was still dedicated to his job?

The limiting factor is that the bonus if only for Misc. Humans, and not for all Mortals. There are a lot of Misc. Humans out there, but no so many where this would be unbalanced.

New Card: Napping Fairy

Without mentioning the source of the artwork that inspired some of these cards, I have identified the ones that, in my opinion, look like they belong on Guardians cards. When this is exhausted, I may have to find another source, or just start trolling Deviant Art.

Same disclaimers as my other homebrew cards

Reminder: the lightning bolt symbol was just handy. I don't have a new or theme for any imaginary expansion sets. However, if anyone has a recommendation for a set name, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'll likely wait until I find an image that looks like a Stronghold.

The original image is Fairy and Bees by Sandara, 2019.

Comments are welcome.

Creature: Napping Fairy

Napping Fairy, Elemental, Vitality 3, OCB 1, S, F, Fairy, green bar.
-2 in primary attacks, +2 as a secondary attacker

I wanted to work in the idea that the fairy was asleep and shouldn't be disturbed. Originally, I wanted to force it to be a secondary attacker "if possible" -- but then what happens if it isn't possible? And how do you know in advance?

The possible wording got so crazy that I gave up and decided that it should have a bonus and a penalty. The penalty can be ameliorated a little if it goes against an External. Plus, it can receive channeling.

The other concern was the name. I started with Sleeping Fairy, but there is already an unrelated Sleeping Spirit. Then I wanted something alliterative like Sleeping Spirit, but nothing came to mind, and searches of synonyms didn't help. So "Napping" it is.

New Card: Asylum

Some free time, so I worked on a couple more cards.

Full disclosure: it's been a while since I've been able to play, so it's hard to gauge the ability of the card, whether it's useful or not. It could be mean in combination with other cards. Or maybe not.

Again, the lightning bolt symbol was just handy. I don't have a new or theme for any imaginary expansion sets.

The original image is Asylum by Sandara, 2012.

Comments are welcome.

Spell: Asylum

Asylum, Spell, Up 14. Play during primary match-ups. remove 1 Creature with Vitality 5 or less from play. It becomes Unchallenged in melee, but can be attacked by secondary attackers.

I don't have any game card notes, except that I liked the picture when I saw it, and tried to think what effect might go well with the name "Asylum".

New Card: Death's Library

I've been wanting to do another card since I posted the first one. I just haven't had the time with so many other things to worry about.

Full disclosure: it's been a while since I've been able to play, so it's hard to gauge the ability of the card, whether it's useful or not. It could be mean in combination with other cards. Or maybe not.

Again, the lightning bolt symbol was just handy. I don't have a new or theme for any imaginary expansion sets.

The original image is Death's Library by La-Chapeliere-Folle, 2016.

Comments are welcome.

Spell: Death's Library

Death's Library, Spell, Up 28. Choose up to 2 Creature & 2 Spell cards from your discard pile. Reveal & Shuffle them into your deck. For each card you took, remove the top card of your Deck from the game.

If you take 2 cards from your discard, then you remove the top two cards from the game. You shouldn't look at them. You shouldn't know what is gone.

The cards need to be revealed that you are taking only Creature and Spell cards, and not going over the limit. No Artifacts.