Home Orb of Insight: Drinni - 3
Congratulations to Popeclone, the winner of our impromptu guess the name of Collector Number 1. Here’s the card!
Where to begin? Well, we’ve had this card mentioned before. Look at the flavor text on Netherion. Rowen is the character that this card represents. Of course, Ancestral Paladin isn’t a legend, but this is just following in the standard of letting non-legendary cards have the ability to represent characters. I hope that cards like this will encourage you to look at the flavor text and try to tie things together, since they aren’t made explicit. Each person/place/event can be seen across multiple cards usually, and even for the cards that aren’t linked to anything specific, the mood of the Wastelands and the flavor openness of the non-legendary approach should suggest stories even when none is written.
The Wastelands’ humans survive on the few things that have endured since the cataclysm. Not all of those things are castles or treasures. In fact, few are. The sands have heaped on every castle man has built, and treasures are easily lost, stolen, or degrade. The true treasure of mankind is the hope brought by this holy order, passed down through the generations. Each Paladin, even if he be the only one in all the Wastes, never stands alone. His forebears stand with him, giving him strength. This order stands in hope to turn the tide of decay, to undo the terrible bargain that undid the Wastelands and gave it that name.
The first
Serpentine Autarch, ruler of the plane, whose name long ago was lost in the
swallowing Void, consulted an oracle concerning the fate of his land. He
was told that the Wastelands could unfold into the center of interplanar
dealing, like a multiversal hub. But the oracle also mentioned that it
could degenerate into a spiraling void. The choice that the first Autarch
made is lost to time, but the results seem obvious. The order of the
Ancestral Paladins do not consciously know their purpose, but the actions of
each are guided to the undoing of the Wastelands’ ruin.
I had mentioned that I thought this card was splashy and I hope you think it is. I hope that it ends up being a powerful white creature that can support any deck well. Tell me what you think about this card’s flavor and function. Does it have enough in it to be a win condition? I know it’s a weenie, and it works best with other cards, too, but that’s what makes this card different from a blue or black top-notch creature.