Magic: the Gathering - Innistrad

[Miracle overloading]

I don't know how many people here play Magic: the Gathering, but the latest expansion, Innistrad, has 'transformations' as a major gameplay mechanic.

The setting is based on classical gothic horror and features a great number of things like vampires and werewolves.

We're just now getting a look at some of them, but they look pretty cool.
I'll upload more as they become available

Here's some examples:

Edit: I'm working on finding as many B&A pics as I can, preferably full art, but I'll see what I can do. Also, the creative team recently released an article half-dedicated to the nature of Innistrad's werewolves, including a paragraph detailing the transformation!

"The transformation process is harrowing for the lycanthrope and incredibly disturbing to any witnesses. The eyes change first, the whites darkening and the iris filling with color. The claws go next; the hands elongate, knifelike claws extend from the fingertips, and the thumb forms a claw back near the wrist. The muzzle thrusts forward out of the human's skull, and the teeth jut through the gums in sharp points. Bones crack as they rearrange. Marrow spills into the bloodstream as ribs and skull fracture and telescope. Thick, wiry fur pushes through the skin, often pushing out normal human hair. The tailbone elongates and becomes a shaggy wolf's tail. Metabolism speeds up, increasing blood flow, oxygen flow, and glandular production, creating cravings for protein and fat. Any clothing that was worn at the time of the change is generally torn to shreds and falls away. If a werewolf dies in beast form, it changes back to human form, a process called death reversion."

Full article:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazin.../daily/stf/163
Scroll halfway down for the werewolf stuff.

[panahinuva]

So Excite

[blackshirtboy]

"Each form she takes is an exploration of the senses."
Nice

[wandering_spirit]

That quote would work for any shapeshifter, but I actually find it intriguing...

[Craper]

Looks like there will be a Day/Night mechanic aswell. And I am also quite excited for the expansion on the werewolf type.

[lordsathien]

Originally Posted by Craper

Looks like there will be a Day/Night mechanic aswell. And I am also quite excited for the expansion on the werewolf type.

Werewolves are in red and green and their changing isn't entirely controllable (yay?). If I recall things correctly, at the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were played during the previous turn the Werewolves transform into their Human or Wolf (I'm assuming there are some Wolf <-> Werewolf cards, it'd be kinda lame to just be Human and Werewolf) form. And the other side says if two or more spells were played on the previous turn, they transform into their Werewolf form.

There's a legendary creature for each of the big tribes (Humans, Vampires, Ghosts, Zombies, and Werewolves). The Vampire is your standard Northern European nobility trope with two abilities; one for feeding and one for controlling:
1R: Deals 1 damage to target creature other than herself. That creature now counts as a Vampire. Put a +1/+1 counter on her.
3BB: Gain control of target Vampire as long as you control her.
And yes, she's red and black. (Chaotic Evil)

[kaltenduck]

There's a white card called Cloistered Youth that apparently has a girl transforming into a demon, so I'm sure the EC group will approve. Hasn't been spoiled yet, though, so no complete images.

[lordsathien]

Originally Posted by kaltenduck

There's a white card called Cloistered Youth that apparently has a girl transforming into a demon, so I'm sure the EC group will approve. Hasn't been spoiled yet, though, so no complete images.

I'm aware that there IS a card in the set that produces a 5/5 black Demon token(s).

[wandering_spirit]

Originally Posted by lordsathien

Werewolves are in red and green and their changing isn't entirely controllable (yay?). If I recall things correctly, at the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were played during the previous turn the Werewolves transform into their Human or Wolf (I'm assuming there are some Wolf <-> Werewolf cards, it'd be kinda lame to just be Human and Werewolf) form. And the other side says if two or more spells were played on the previous turn, they transform into their Werewolf form.

Actually, the Werewolves work like this:

- Starts as human;
- If no spells are cast on the last turn, they transform into Werewolves;
- If the creature is a Werewolf and two or more spells are played on the last spell, the Werewolf reverts to human.

Some transformations are more controllable, like mana cost or effects. However, the controlled transformations may lead to more power, but at a cost. For instance, Clustered Youth's transformation is more powerful, but chips away 1 life at each of your upkeep. Or in the case of the "Dr.Jeckyll" card, the transformed form had insane power, but very little toughness.

Some of those transformations, you can't transform back from, so it can bite you in the keister if you're not careful. Garruk is one of those examples...

Originally Posted by Tharakaos

Oh man, this actually sounds super awesome, I used to play a lot of Magic as a kid and this seems like a really cool gameplay twist.

It's not the first time they do that. In the Kamigawa set, some cards had two forms on the same side, so the card was flipped one way or the other to represent the creature. This time, they just decided to make a full card on both sides of the card.

You might need to buy card protectors for those...

[aresx]

Yesssssssssssssssssssss I'm So Pumped

[Sephie]

No process shown. I like that garruk will transform

[lordsathien]

The full spoiler complete with its artwork, is now viewable here: http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/art...nistrad%2Fcig#