Ruin of Seffala – Parasites

Getting back on the wagon of posting this MtG set. I think it's important to post this set, both for the sake of completion and to get back to chugging along working on my art skills. I'd barely gotten started posting this set when my blog went on hiatus, since I got caught up in non-game projects.

But I'm back now and I've got weird cards for everybody!

Click to embiggen. My only regret is the lack of space for flavor text.

In this set, one of the issues I wanted to address was the two-for-one aspect of Auras. I wanted Tron to be a viable strategy for Black, mostly in the form of Golgari, but to also work out the two-for-one Aura kink by introducing a new Aura subtype: Parasite. The subtype doesn't do anything on its own, but it acts as a keyword to remind the player that all of these Parasite auras have a similar theme: when the enchanted creature dies, you get a 1/1 with the bonus of the original aura tacked on. This allows Tron strategies to have a backup plan of going wide, or at least having chump blockers with a little extra value until being able to build back up on another creature.

The above image shows the Aura Parasite on top, and below it, the matching Parasite token that appears when the enchanted creature dies.

Dripping Symbiont, Sucking Leech, and Venomous Worm all all fairly self-explanatory, giving the enchanted creature Lifelink, Wither, and Deathtouch, respectively. In the case of Sucking Leech, for instance, when the enchanted creature dies, you get a 1/1 Parasite token with Wither.

The oddball of this group is Protecting Parasite, which stops the enchanted creature from gaining -1/-1 counters (any -1/-1 counters already on the creature remain on it). Since this is a -1/-1 counter-heavy set, particularly with Wither, this can allow the enchanted creature to get away with blanking a Wither creature without worry.

I've debated over whether there should be at least a power/toughness boost of +1/+1 on each of these, but as we'll see later on, some Parasite Auras are better attached to an opponents' creatures, and have a negative effect. Then, when the enchanted creature dies, that opponet creates a 1/1 Parasite token with the same negative effect! But in any case, that comes later.

Also to come later are the "Parasite matters" cards and other payoffs, which is why I gave the Aura the subtype that matches the creature type of the token, instead of simply making a reminder keyword.

But for now, this is just a quick introduction to the type.

Black (as you can see) is the primary color for parasites, but it is also secondary in Blue and Green.