Magic Enemy George

The card name came immediately, then I built the design around the card. Obviously I was looking at the families of New Capenna, and examining the cards shows the 'family is family' protective ideal is most expressed by the Brokers.

Next part is what the card actually did. Now, the main influence is the dreaded Banding keyword. It's fine if you don't know what that does, but it involved someone who isn't the owner of a damage source distributing damage. The family shoulders the burden and protects the members with solidarity... but then I noticed this effect could be used to explicitly redirect damage to kill one of your creatures. I liked it, and that's where the flavour text came from.

Back to my Cosmic supertype! In the past I've been doing various space-themed cards that also follow on Theros' connection of stars to enchantments. Cosmic is a supertype similar to Snow, in that it affects the mana produced by sources with it, and has effects that care about it.

There's only one Earth, so Legendary. I made the assumption that Planets would be a land type things would care about in later designs, so that's there. Now, I wanted to show Earth as out home, but the jumping-off point for humanity's ventures into the wider universe. The memory of it gives humans strength and resilience, so that's why it has the anthem. It also converts mana to cosmic mana for Humans, or just taps for cosmic mana. I added colourless as something it could make because... space.

I took a real photo of Earth from a distance, and quoted Carl Sagan because of course. What else could I do?

This design just came together quite easily. Wish that was the case all the time!

Last one for today. This went though a lot of changes.

Initially I wanted a sort-of cryptid-ish tree creature lurking in the fog and shadows, not entirely clear if it's just a trick of the mind or not. I found wonderful art for that, but I couldn't make the mechanics for a nebulous maybe-monster work flavourfully and concisely.

While browsing I came across this image, and my mind went back to an early 2000s series from the BBC called 'Strange', about a disgraced former priest investigating various demonic killers. One episode revolved around a vampiric tree called a Dubykk (which has nothing to do with the very-similarly-named Jewish mythological possessing spirit Dybbuk, and much more in common with the Jubokko yōkai). What they did with it in that episode was quite interesting, but that's not relevent now other than the fact that it made 'vampire tree' stick in my mind forever.

Anywho, it's a vampire tree. It doesn't move about, but if you get close enough, it'll drain you. Defender, reach, power greater than 0.
I gave it the 'Sengir Vampire' ability. Also wither, 'cos it's draining them!
Now the Blood Token is from the Jubokko, as if you tap one for sap, you get blood instead. Tapping it. For Blood.

I did the hybrid cost because I like the hybrid frame and that's the only reason. I could have just made it cost 3GB, but I like it better this way. I'm not sure the cost is judged right, but I'm happy with it.

Roles were just introduced in Wild of Eldraine and I adore them. Magically enforced narrative roles in the tales that happen as part of life on Eldraine? So good. Naturally, when this prompt came up I went right to it.

Now all Roles so far printed are tokens. But if you were the lead character, you couldn't have something as menial as a token saying you are! So, actual card! The reminder text is there as the rules for Roles are intrinsic to the Role type. Anyway, the protagonist becomes Legendary, because of course, and grows overtime. They can take their knocks as the story beats them about a bit, but they'll always rise up to continue! They might not win, but they will be there 'till the end!

The painting of someone portraying Richard III I thought was quite right for this kind of card.