Note: This proposed expansion is neither created by, nor authorized by Wizards of the Coast. It is presented here merely for the interest of anyone who cares.
This material was originally written in January of 1994 after a dream Christine had. It was proposed to Wizards of the Coast in the first quarter of that year (after dealing with all of their reams of paperwork and having everything addressed to Tim Morgan when the cover letter was written and signed by Christine). When I spoke to Peter Adkinson at Norwescon that April (I think it was) he remembered the proposal and said that he didn't know when it would be considered, but that it would was in the top half of the pile. We eventually forgot about it. A year went by, and we decided to e-mail Peter and see what was going on. We recieved back a very rude e-mail claiming to have never heard of us, that WotC did not accept proposals from outside the company, and even if they did, they would have to be set in Dominia, not ancient Earth.
So, here it is...
Magic: The Gathering Greek Myths Expansion Set. by Tim and Christine Morgan ******************************************************************************* Creatures and Spells: Chimaera - Multi creature. 2RGW. 3/3. R: +1/+0. G: +0/+1. WW: gives Chimaera Plainswalk until end of turn. "Lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of bright-fired flame" (Homer, Iliad, Book 6) *******************************************************************************Black: Cerberus - Black Creature. 2/3. 3B. As long as Cerberus is untapped, no player may remove cards from the graveyard. "... monstrously couched in a cave confronting them Made the whole region echo with his three-throated barking" (Virgil, Aeneid IV) Charon - Black creature. 3B. 0/2. (T) to cancel to effects of the River of Styx or River of Lethe. B: target creature gains riverwalk. "A dreadful ferryman looks after the river crossing ... he must haunt this place for a hundred years" (Virgil, Aeneid VI) Harpies - Black creature. 1B. 2/1 Flying. "A feathered flurry, a ghastly screech, and the Harpies beset us from all sides in their hideous hunger." Furies - Black creature. 1B. 1/1 Flying. Furies gain +1/+1 when blocking any non-flying creature. "Look at me then! I am come from the place where Furies are. War and death I bear in this hand" (Virgil, Aeneid VII) Orpheus (Hero) - Black. 2BB. 1/2. BB and (T): select a creature from the graveyard. Flip a coin. On heads, the creature is placed directly into play. On tails, the creature is removed from the game entirely. "But soon, too soon the lover turns his eyes; Again she falls, she dies, she dies! How wilt thou now the fatal sisters move? No crime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love." (Pope, "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day") Ajax (Hero) - Black. 2BB. 4/3. Must attack each turn except for the turn he comes into play. If he fails to attack, controller must sacrifice one other creature whose toughness is less than Ajax's power. If there are no other creatures to sacrifice, controller takes 4 points of damage. "Who then is this other ... of power and stature towering above ... by head and broad shoulders?" (Homer, Iliad, Book 3) Bellerophon (Hero) - Black. 2/2. 1B. When banded with a Pegasus, Bellerophon gains +1/+1 and the Flying ability. "Hated by all the immortals, he wandered alone ... skulking aside from the trodden track of humanity" (Homer, Iliad Book 6) Medea - Black. 2BB. 0/2. B: draw a card whenever a creature goes to the graveyard. "O haggard queen! to Athens dost thou guide Thy glowing chariot, steeped in kindred gore; Or seek to hide thy damned parricide Where peace and justice dwell for evermore?" (Campbell, "Medea") Bad Omen - Black. Enchantment. 2BB. Opponent must sacrifice one creature each turn or all of opponent's creatures suffer a -2/0. "The sun to me is dark And silent as the moon When she deserts the night" (Milton, Samson Agnostices) Pomegranate - Black. 1B. Enchant Creature. Tap target creature. Target creature remains tapped for a number of turns equal to its toughness. Discard Pomegranante when target creature becomes untapped. "The dark god wooed her, but Persephone spurned his gifts of jewels and finery, until at last she accepted six seeds of the pomegranate and doomed herself to be his queen for half the year." Sign of Hades - Black. 1B. Instant. All creatures sent to the graveyard this turn are removed from play and cannot regenerate. "Night and day lie open the gates of death's dark kingdom; But to retrace your steps, to find the way back to daylight That is the task, the hard thing" (Virgil, Aeneid VI) Sign of Hecate - Black. 1B. Enchantment. All creatures require payment of mana equal to casting cost before each attack or tap, except black or artifact creatures. "And I, the mistress of your charms, The close contriver of all harms ..." (Shakespeare, Macbeth) ******************************************************************************* Blue: Scylla - Blue creature. 1/6. 2UU. Can block any number of creatures as long as their total power does not exceed Scylla's toughness. "He runs on Scylla, wishing to avoid Charybdis" (Virgil) Charybdis - Blue creature. 1U. 0/2. Tap to destroy any Merchant Ship, Pirate Ship or Argo. May not attack. "... gulps whole tons of waves into her maw Then spews them up again, flailing the heavens with spray" (Virgil, Aeneid III) Naiads - Blue creature. U. 1/1. Riverwalk. "Come, ye Naiads! to the fountains lead! Propitious maids! the task remains to sing" (Armstrong, "Art of Preserving Health") Craken - Blue creature. 4UU. 5/6. Tap to destroy any island in play. Craken cannot attack unless opponent has islands in play. Craken is destroyed immediately if controller has no islands in play. "Fearsome servant of Poseidon, the Craken would obey his call to crush cities and entire kingdoms." Gorgon - Blue creature. 3UU. 4/6. All non-wall or non- artifact creatures blocked by or blocking Gorgon are destroyed. The player responsible for destroying Gorgon must immediately choose one of his or her own creatures in play to bury. If that player controls no creatures, Gorgon does 4 points of damage to that player. "I was beautiful once, before the goddess cursed me and set my flowing locks to serpentine tresses. But even now, I do not lack for lovers who give their lives to look upon my visage." Lotus Eaters - Blue creature. U. 1/1. (T) to tap any one of opponent's mana-producing permanents and take the mana into your own mana pool. This tapping can be played as an interrupt. "To hear each other's whispered speech; Eating the Lotus, day by day, To watch the crisping ripples on the beach, And tender curving lines of creamy spray" (Tennyson, "Lotus-Eaters") Siren - Blue creature. 1U. 1/1. Once during opponent's turn, controller may spend U to force target creature to attack. This creature must be blocked by the Siren. If Siren is unable to block, then Siren is destroyed. Controller must have island in play, or Siren is destroyed. "Oh beauty! Oh song of compelling bliss! And oh, the rending rocks and pounding surf, and broken bodies cast to the merciless shore!" Jason (Hero) - Blue. 2U. 1/1. Jason gains +1/+1 for each Greek Hero in play. "All I ever wanted was adventure. Never did I think it would include such evil betrayal." Theseus (Hero) - Blue. UU. 2/2. Gains +1/+1 when blocked by or blocking minotaurs, amazons, or black creatures. "Each seven years, seven youths and seven maidens were sent as tribute to the cruel king. I vowed to destroy the monster and end this bloody sacrifice." Paris (Hero) - Blue. 1U. 1/2. Tap to take control of Helen of Troy. "But Hektor saw him and in words of shame rebuked him -- Evil Paris, beautiful, woman-crazy, cajoling, better you had never been born, or killed unwedded." (Homer, Iliad Book 3) Circe - Blue. 1UU. 1/2. Tap to turn any creature into a pig (1/1) until the end of the turn. Use counters to mark transformed creatures. "Who knows not Circe, The daughter of the Sun? whose charmed cup Whoever tasted lost his upright shape And downward fell into a groveling swine" (Milton's Comus) Ears of Wax - Blue. U. Enchant Creature. Target creature is immune to spells or effects forcing it to attack or block. "Odysseus ordered his men to stop their ears with wax that they might not be lured by the sirens, but lashed himself to the mast to hear their sweet song." Achilles' Heel - Blue. UU. Instant. Target creature's toughness becomes 1 until the end of the turn. Target creature cannot regenerate. "His mother dipped him in the water to make him invulnerable, but forgot the place she held him by the foot." Calypso - Blue. 1B. Enchant Enchantment. Take control of target enchantment until enchantment is discarded or game ends. If enchantment must have target, you must choose target as Calypso is cast. If destroyed, target enchantment is put in its owner's graveyard. "But not in silence past Calypso's isles The sister tenants of the middle deep" (Byron). Sign of Poseidon - Blue. 1U. Instant. Untap all islands and blue creatures in play. "At airy distance, with majestic motion, A ruler of the waters and their powers" (Byron, Childe Harold IV) Sign of Aphrodite - Blue. 1U. Enchantment. All spells that target creatures require double casting cost. "From the waves she stepped, clad only in seafoam and shining hair, and wherever her dainty footfalls fell, flowers bloomed and all nature wept at the beauty of the goddess of love." ******************************************************************************* Green: Amazons - Green creature. G. 1/1. When an amazon goes to the graveyard, place a +1/+1 counter on one other amazon in play. "A warrior-maid, her woman's hand unaccustomed to womanly tasks" (Virgil, Aeneid VIII) The Python - Green creature. 3GGG. 6/6. Controller gains 1 life each time a creature goes to the graveyard during a turn in which The Python damaged it. "I am the teller of secrets, the tempter, the deciever of women, the Serpent primeval." Satyr - Green creature. 2G. 0/2. (T): untap a creature of power no greater than the toughness of the Satyr. "These were the lurking Satyrs, a wild brood Of gamesome deities;" (Wordsworth, "Excursion") Hunting Dogs - Green creature. 1G. 1/1 Banding Trample. "But when the goddess saw Actaeon watching her, a fierce rage overcame her, and she transformed him to a stag and set her hounds upon him, and he was soon torn to pieces." Deer and Stags - Green creature. 1G. 0/1 Banding. All creatures attacking in a band with the deer gain the Forestwalk ability. "A graceful presence in the dappled shade A fleeting shape across the glade The hunter's arrow cannot find Its mark in hart or lovely hind." Wild Boar - Green creature. GG. 2/1 Trample. Only creatures with First Strike may damage Wild Boar. All other creatures deal no damage to Wild Boar. "For he ripped up whole tall trees from the ground and scattered them headlong, roots and all, even to the very flowers of the orchard" (Homer, Iliad Book 9) Hippolyta (Hero) - Green. 1GG. 2/2. Caster chooses a color when Hippolyta is summoned. For as long as Hippolyta remains in play, she and all amazons gain protection from that color. "Men? We have no need of them, unless as breeders or brute laborers. No man could ever equal me, the Amazon Queen." Heracles (Hero) - Green. 2G. 1/1. During upkeep, controller may spend GG and tap Heracles to place a +1/+1 counter on him up to a maximum of +12/+12. "All the torments, every toil of earth Juno's hatred on him could impose, Well he bore them, from his fated birth To life's grandly mourning close." (Schiller, "Ideal and Life") Orion (Hero) - Green. 1GG. 2/2. When banded with Hunting Dogs, Orion gains +1/+1 and the Trample ability. "The mighty hunter, lifting up his eyes Toward the crescent Moon, with grateful heart" (Wordsworth, "Excursion") Daphne - Green. GG. 1/2. Forestwalk. When Daphne is in play, all nymphs recieve +1/+1. "With flower-enwoven tresses ... The nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets ..." (Milton, "Hymns on the Nativity") Echo - Green. 2G. Enchantment. Select any enchantment in play. Echo acts as a duplicate of the chosen enchantment. Echo's caster chooses target if necessary. Echo remains even if original enchanment is destroyed. "And in the violet-embroidered vale Where the love-lorn nightingale Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well" (Milton, Comus). Wine of Dionysus - Green. G. Instant. Target creature deals no damage in combat and does not untap during the next untap phase unless creature's controller pays 1 life. "... That first from out the purple grape Crushed the sweet poison of misused wine" (Milton, Comus) Sprig of Moly - Green. 2G. Enchant Creature. Target creature cannot be affected by any further spells although any enchantments on the creature can be targeted. "She will not even so be able to enchant you, for this good medicine which I give you now will prevent her." (Homer, The Odessey, Book 10) Sign of Artemis - Green. 1G. Instant. All untapped green creatures gain +3/+3 until end of turn. "And hence a beaming goddess with her nymphs Across the lawn and through the darksome grove" (Wordsworth, "Excusrion") Sign of Demeter - Green. 1G. Enchantment. All lands produce 1 additional green mana when they become tapped. "By my hand growing things grow. By my will flowers bloom." ******************************************************************************* Red: Cyclops - Red creature. 2RR. 4/3. May only block creatures with power 3 or greater. "A horrible monster, misshapen, vast, whose only eye had been put out" (Virgil) Titan - Red creature. 1R. 2/2. Can only attack if opponent has mountains in play. Titan is buried immediately if at any time controller has no mountains in play. "Here Earth's primeval offspring, the breed of Titans ... who sought to pull down heaven itself with their own Bare hands" (Virgil, Aeneid VI) Salamander - Red creature. RR. 0/3. Cannot attack. R: +1/+0 when blocking only. "The tiny lizard, the shifting color of coals under a breath of air, was harmless enough until attacked, and then its foes became its victims." Atlas - Red creature. RRRR. 0/10. If Atlas is destroyed, all creatures and all lands in play are buried. "He doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus" (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar) Perseus (Hero) - Red. 1RR. 3/2. Protection from blue. If Aegis is in play, Perseus gains +1/+1. Gains +2/+0 when blocking Gorgon or Craken. "And Zeus beheld Danae, so lovely her own father locked her away in jealousy, and the god visited her as a form of glittering gold and gave her a son." Odysseus (Hero) - Red. 1RR. 2/3. Cannot attack any player with islands in play. R: to tap Cyclops. "This one is Laertes' son, resourceful Odysseus, who grew up in the country, rough though it be, of Ithaca, to know every manner of shiftiness and crafty counsels" (Homer, Iliad, Book 3) Agamemnon (Hero) - Red. 3RR. 2/3. Controller must pay R each upkeep or Agamemnon is buried. (T) to double a defending creature's current power and toughness. "He needed no crown to be a king. He needed no more than his stature and bearing, his commanding voice and stern gaze, and men bowed before him." Ariadne - Red. 1R. 1/1. Tap to make a creature immune to effects of Mazes or Labyrinths. "She gave to him an endless spool of golden thread, and bid him find his way to safety through the maze." Flaming Robe - Red. 1R. Instant. Buries target Greek Hero. ". . . The earthly part foresaken, From the man in flames asunder taken." (Schiller, Ideal and Life). Riddle of the Sphinx - Red. 2RR. Enchantment. Flip a coin for each creature brought into play. On heads, the creature survives. On tails, it is buried. "What is it that goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" Sign of Hephaestus - Red. 1R. Enchantment. All artifacts in play gain protection from red and protection from white. "Mother, see what I have made for you! See what jewels and weapons your crippled, rejected son crafts in your honor! See me, and love me!" Sign of Apollo - Red. 1R. Instant. All mountains produce an additional red mana and all attacking creatures gain Firebreathing until end of turn. "His hair like burnished gold, haloed all about with bright fire, his hunter's bow and minstrel's lyre adance with Phoebus' light." ******************************************************************************* White: The Hundred Handed Ones - White creature. WW. 1/4. W: to block one additional creature. "The young gods had allies in their battle against the Titans, the Hundred-Handed Ones, loyal and courageous." Centaurs - White creature. 1WW. 2/2. W: Centaurs gain Trample ability. W: Centaurs gain First Stike ability. "Though many believed the Centaurs to be savage barbarians, some, like Cherion, were wise sages and skilled in medicine. But most were warriors, and the thunder of their hooves across the grasslands would make the bravest man quake in fear." Griffon - White creature. 3W. 2/2 Flying. Trample. "As when a Gryphon through the wilderness With winged course, o'er hill and moory dale." (Milton, "Paradise Lost", Book II) Sleepless Dragon - White creature. 3W. 1/4. When summoned, choose any one of your artifacts or enchantments for the Dragon to guard. This artifact or enchantment cannot be enchanted or destroyed while the dragon is untapped. "But treacherous magic shut his golden eyes, and let the hero escape with his prize." Gadfly - White creature. 2W. 0/1. Flying. (T) target creature loses Trample ability until end of the turn. "In holm-oak swarms an insect We call the gadfly -- a brute with a shrill buzz that drives whole herds crazy" (Virgil, Georgics III) Castor & Pollux (Hero) - White. 1W. 2/2. May block two attacking creatures; divide damage between them however Castor and Pollux's controller chooses. "So like they were, no mortal Might one from the other know; White as snow their armour was, Their steeds were white as snow" (Macauley, "Lays of Ancient Rome") Achilles (Hero) - White. 2WW. 4/4. W: regenerates. "We are all held in a single honor, the brave with the weaklings. A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much" (Homer, Iliad, Book 9) Daedalus (Hero) - White. 3W. 1/1. Flying. Bands. W: Gives any one creature in the band the flying ability until the end of the attack phase. At the end of the turn flip a coin; on tails the creature is buried. "... with melting wax and loosened strings Sunk hapless Icarus on unfaithful wings; Headlong he rushed through the affrighted air, With limbs distorted and dishevelled hair" (Darwin) Helen of Troy - White. 1WW. 0/2. As long as Helen is untapped, all of controller's creatures gain +1/+1. Should Helen of Troy become the only creature of the controller's in play, opponent gains control of Helen. "It is not the beauty of hated Helen, it is not Paris Though you hold him to blame -- the gods, the gods, I tell you, are hostile" (Virgil, Aeneid II) Arachne - White. 1W. 2/2. Sacrifice Arachne to remove or counter any Sign. "A goddess at her art defied And soon the daring mortal fell The hapless victim of her pride" (Garrick, "Upon a Lady's Embroidery") Midas Touch - White. 1W. Enchant Creature. Any creature blocking or blocked by target creature becomes tapped and does not untap as normal. If this enchantment is removed, creature it enchants is destroyed. "Gold, gold, beautiful gold!" Olive Branch - White. WW. Instant. Opponent may not make any attacks this turn. This spell must be cast during opponent's turn, before attacks are declared. "Poseidon raised high a tidal wave, but Athena stood forth with her olive branch and the people clamored for her." Laurel Wreath - White. 1W. Enchantment. Gain 1 life for each of your creatures that attacks each turn and is not sent to the graveyard. "To the victor go the spoils." Sign of Zeus - White. 1W. Enchantment. All Greek Myths creatures in play gain +1/+2. "He spoke, and awful bends his sable brows, Shakes his ambrosial curls and gives the nod, The stamp of fate and sanction of the god. High heaven with reverence the dread signal took, and all Olympus to the centre shook." (Homer's "Iliad", Pope's translation) Sign of Athene - White. 1W. Instant. All damage done to target creature is added to your life total; target creature is returned to your hand instead of the graveyard. "From his split brow leapt a maid girt in glittering mail, grey-eyed and stern, and all about her owls flew." ******************************************************************************* Land: Maze of Minos - Land. Toss a coin for each non-landwalking creature attacking controller before blocking is declared. On tails, creature remains tapped but does not deal or receive damage. "And so Minos commanded that a maze be built, of so cunning design that nothing could ever escape its winding paths." Oracle of Delphi - Land. (T): look at and replace the top card in any player's library. "For then he was inspired, and from him came, As from the Pythian's mystic cave of yore, Those oracles which set the world in flame, Nor ceased to burn till kingdoms were no more." (Byron) Elysian Fields - Land. 2 and (T) to regenerate a creature that was destroyed in combat. "The green and genial glades where the fortunate live, the home of the blessed spirits" (Virgil, Aeneid VI) River Styx - Land (River). (T) add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool; or (T) 1 + X to do X damage to an attacking creature. "Abhorred Styx, the flood of deadly hate" (Milton, "Paradise Lost", Book III) River Lethe - Land (River). (T): add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool, or to counter target summoning spell, or to remove target enchantment from creature. "Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls Her watery labyrinth whereof who drinks Forthwith his former state and being forgets, forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain." (Milton, "Paradise Lost", Book III) Rivers - Land. Tap to add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool or to give an attacking creature 0/+1 until the end of the turn. Mount Olympus - Land. Tap to produce one mana of any color or to give target Hero +3/+0 until end of turn. "... Olympus, this reputed seat Eternal of the gods, which never storms Disturb, rains drench, or snow invades, but calm The expanse and cloudless shines with purest day There the inhabitants divine rejoice For ever." (Homer, "Odessey") ******************************************************************************* Artifacts: Golden Fleece - Artifact. 4. Tap to prevent all damage done to any non-artifact creature by any single spell. "Could there be a greater prize than this, the shining gold fleece of the sacred ram?" Trojan Horse - Artifact. 6. Sacrifice Trojan Horse to make all attacking creatures unblockable until the end of the turn. Discard after use. "I fear the Greeks when they offer gifts" (Virgil) Bow of Artemis - Artifact. 6. (3): target creature gains First Strike until end of turn; (1) target creature may block flying creatures until end of turn. "Hence had the huntress ... her dread bow Fair silver-shafted queen forever chaste" (Milton, Comus) Bag of Winds - 3. (T), 3. As long as Bag of Winds is tapped, all flying creatures lose their flying ability and all ships become tapped. You may choose not to untap the Bag of Winds during your untap phase. "When the crew, thinking the bag held treasure, undid the knots, the winds were freed and the ship seized in a vicious gale and sped to the ends of the earth." Apollo's Chariot - Artifact. 5. (T), X. Destroys X lands of controller's choice and does X damage to each player. "Driver of Phoebus' chariot, Phaeton, Struck by Jove's thunder, rests beneath this stone. He could not rule his father's car of fire, Yet was it much so nobly to aspire." (Bullfinch's Mythology) Dragon Teeth - Artifact. 4. When any dragon, drake, or wurm dies, tap X mana to place X counters on Dragon Teeth. During upkeep, the controller may turn one counter into a 1/1 creature. "This land of ours has never been ploughed by bulls fire-breathing Nor sown with dragon's teeth It has never known a harvest of serried helmeted spearmen" (Virgil, Georgics II) Pan Pipes - Artifact. 3. All Green Creatures gain +1/+1 as long as there are Saytrs in play. "Syrinx fled his attentions and he pursued, his desire spurring him swiftly on, but at the river's edge she escaped him, leaving him nothing but an armful of sighing reeds." Pandora's Box - Artifact. 5. During your upkeep, flip a coin. On heads, all of your creatures in play gain +2/+2 until the end of turn. On tails, all of your creatures are -1/-1 until end of turn. Creatures whose toughness falls to zero are buried. Has no effect the turn it is brought into play. "When all the gods had given her their gifts save two, Hermes gave her a golden box of incredible beauty and told her she must never open it. And then Hera gave her the gift of curiosity." Galatea - Artifact Creature. 3. 2/3. Does not tap while attacking. May attack the turn it comes into play. "Then lived for me the bright creation, The silver rill with song was rife; The trees, the roses shared sensation, An echo of my boundless life." (Schiller, "Ideals") Golden Apples - Artifact. 5. 2: Target creature loses Banding until the end of the turn. "... amidst the gardens fair Of Hesperus and his daughters three, That sing about the golden tree." (Milton, "Comus") The Golden Bough - Artifact. 4. 1: target creature gains landwalking ability corresponding to the type of land tapped. "Just pull it out; that branch will come away quite easily If destiny means you to go; otherwise no amount of Brute force will get it, nor hard steel avail to hew it away" (Virgil, Aeneid VI) The Argo - Artifact. 4. 1X: Give X target Greek Heroes the banding ability. 1X: Give target Greek Heroes islandwalk. 1X: Give target Greek Heroes +1/+1. "So when first the bold vessel dared the seas, High on the stern the Thracian raised his strain, While Argo saw her kindred trees Descend from Pelion to the main. Transported demigods stood round And men grew heroes at the sound." (Pope, "Ode on St. Celia's Day") Aegis - Artifact. 3. 1: target creature is immune to non- damage special abilities that would otherwise destroy it (effects of Basilisk, Royal Assassin, etc.) "What was that snaky-headed Gorgon shield ..." (Milton, Comus) Odysseus's Bow - Artifact. 3. 2: Gives target Greek Hero +1/0 and First Strike "Come then, you who in your strength are greater than I am, make your attempts on the bow and let us finish the contest" (Homer, The Odessey, Book 21)
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