[x] Dark charisma and ruthless will to power.

I will admit being very unfamiliar with Magic continuity after the defeat of Yawgmoth and the death of Urza. I did however hear of the Mending performed by Karn the Silver Golem with several others and how it severely weakened Planeswalkers... except Nicol Bolas.

I suggest that Nicol not lose the sheer POWER that makes a True Planeswalker. He is less a wizard, dragon or anything else then a force of nature. The cunning of the mind cannot be lost by any means, nor can natural charisma be removed, therefore, I must conclude that those options refer to some form of magical augmentation of those abilities, possibly to overcome the limitations of our flesh and blood body (which is disturbing, really. Urza was more pure mana then flesh and blood after his Ascension).

Red Mana it is. Black and Blue mana can be regained later, as we will find more sources of mana to restore our abilities. We shall be an unrelenting storm of strength and power.

[X] Raw might and crushing force of personality!

It will be good to play an utterly powerful force for once. Mayhap we will challenge the gods themselves?

[X] Calculated stratagems and icy, unbreakable composure.
Blue, the best color of magic.

[x] Calculated stratagems and icy, unbreakable composure.

[x] Raw might and crushing force of personality!

Can we has thunderbolt? Or even incenerate? Pyroclasm, maybe?

[x] Calculated stratagems and icy, unbreakable composure.

Go blue, recruit Faeries.

>>136401
I'd rather have Counterspell.

[X] Calculated stratagems and icy, unbreakable composure.

Raw power means nothing in a land of game breakers.

Also, Gensokyo is landlocked. No islands to tap.

Oh, joy. Nicol Bolas.
I HATE Nicol Bolas.

[x]Drown yourself in the nearby lake and rid the multiverse of your insufferable douchebaggery.

But most importantly, faeries.

Dem sexy faeries man. Dat Spellstutter Sprite and dat Sower of Temptation.

Dat sexy Cirno~

>>136398

Bolas was severely weakened by the Mending, though it didn't show until Alara block. The entire plot of Conflux is basically about Bolas trying to regain his former power. As a true planeswalker, he was the one force that could have seriously contemplated throwing down with Yawgmoth mano a mano; as a neowalker, he's nowhere near that strong, and he's subject to the limitations of biology. It's been implied that he's actually aging, or at least losing his immortality. In time, however, I fully intend to explore a true planeswalker's full potential - if you guys don't screw up and somehow get him killed. It'll be a long road, but - hopefully - an entertaining one as well.

>>136407
Hmm. We'll see how it goes. I personally hated what the Mending did to Planeswalkers, so I can understand Bolas' determination to regain his power. Especially since Phyrexia is pulling a comeback thanks to Phyrexian Oil, as a coalition of Planeswalkers, all of Dominaria and the Legacy was needed to beat it. With the Legacy gone, Nicol Bolas at full power might be the only thing capable of destroying Phyrexia and Yawgmoth again... if he feels like it.

Blue seems to be winning this vote. Urza's path it is. Techno-arcanism, here we come.

>>136409
Yawgmoth's dead. Probably.

There better be in-story infodumps for all the people that have no idea what you guys are talking about.

A "Magic the Gathering" theme eh.."

Man I haven't touched that card game in a long tine; stopped after their Ice Age deck came out.

Aside from a few spell names and terms I'm lost to everything else...

>>136414

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_the_Gathering

OP ought make the info dumps...

You won't need to know much about Magic in order to enjoy the story. It's enough for readers to know that 1) Planeswalkers are spellcasters of considerable power that can dimension hop, and 2) there are five colors of magic, each of which is intuitively associated with certain types of spells:

White - Holy, purity, healing effects, defensive spells, angel summoning

Green - Nature, powerful creatures, druidic effects

Blue - Dispassion, Mind magic, aquatic creatures, spatial magic, metamagic (counterspells)

Red - Destruction, energy manipulation, wild emotion, dragons

Black - Corruption, pacts, death, darkness, undead, etc

Planeswalkers usually specialize in one or more colors. For example, Nicol Bolas in his prime was attuned to Red, Blue, and Black. A planeswalker's colors usually reflect their worldview as well as their actual spells. If you've played D&D or Mage before, the colors of mana can be seen as Schools or Spheres of magic. Nicol Bolas used to be a dragon planeswalker of near deific power. He's a dick, but depending on readers' choices he may change.

Okay, I'm going to start writing the update. If people have questions I can explain more later. For readers unfamiliar with Magic: did you feel exceptionally lost reading the first post?

>>136413
It's the probably I'm worried about. But even if he's really dead, a headless Phyrexia is still damn dangerous.

[x] Calculated stratagems and icy, unbreakable composure.

Just from the first update, this seems like the kind of person Nicol Bolas is. Granted, I could just be completely wrong though, since I've never played any of the Magic the Gathering games.

>>136417
>did you feel exceptionally lost reading the first post?

Nope, it was actually well written enough that I could get the gist of who Nicol is and what was going on.

As the arcane energies of your dying Spark surge through you, time seems to slow; the rapidly approaching foot of your attacker moves as if through gelatin. Yes, you decide, an analytical perspective would be best. The initial release of arcane power will heighten your thought processes for a time; you'd best take advantage of it fully.

You are in a body controlled by hormones you have never experienced, assailed constantly by irrational biological urges and the demands of the flesh. If reason does not provide a counterbalance, you could end up descending into savagery, becoming like a human, hardly thinking at all! You will have be careful how far you push this limited brain, though. Tax it too heavily, and the fragile thing may simply fail.

Now, on to the matter of your attacker. She appears to possess strength and speed far in excess of that demonstrated by normal humans, and has referred to herself as a ‘youkai.’
You do not recall encountering this term before, but her usage implies that the youkai, as a group, do not possess a unified alignment. Her statement further implies that she does not normally see humans as kill-on-sight threats.

She is not capable of discerning your true identity. The marks on her hat and dress could be factional indicators; removing her could arouse the ire of as-yet-unknown forces. Posture, demeanor, and bodily cues indicate that she is pursuing your extinction with zealous aggression, but also with a vague sense of disbelief. That may be exploitable; she has the air of someone who's gotten a bit carried away and hasn't realized it.

It is likely that despite her bold opening words, she did not truly anticipate your appearance. Therefore, the best course of action would be...

[ ] Mind Control [M]. No one (tries to) strike Nicol Bolas and gets away with it. Further, a superhuman bodyguard is more than worth the risk of aggrieving whatever pathetic organization she may be part of. The spell requires minimal mental contact, reducing chances of mental contamination.* Powerful mages may be able to reverse the magical enslavement, but they’d have to defeat your defensive countermagics. Even if it's not the most practical option, it's the only option our pride as a magus ought allow!

*You are unused to wielding mind magics with a human brain and your limbic system inflicts on you the emotional maturity of a teenager. Immersing yourself in someone else’s consciousness could have drastic side effects, such as identity dissociation. Obviously, it’s never a problem you’ve had before, so you can only guess at how great the risks are. Human mages seem to be able to read each other's minds without trouble, but they've had decades of experience being human.

[ ] Telepathy. Figure out what she’s after and what the context of her actions is, then talk her out of attacking you. You are not afraid of a little mental contamination; yours was the will that subjugated entire worlds!

[ ] Simple Persuasion. While avoiding her attacks, talk her out of attacking you. Surely you can manipulate this simple simian.

[ ] Removal. Teleport her somewhere else while you gain your bearings, or put her to sleep. You must control the outside variables until you have gotten a rein over your unstable emotions. As long as you can interact with her, there’s the risk of your simian hormones overriding your better judgment.

[ ] Those plans are simplistic drivel. Obviously, the best course of action is...!

[M]: Powerful magical actions, such as Mind Control, may leave Bolas tired for a time, weakening the spells he casts later. I will indicate such actions with a [M] at the end.

[x] Telepathy. Figure out what she’s after and what the context of her actions is, then talk her out of attacking you. You are not afraid of a little mental contamination; yours was the will that subjugated entire worlds!

Fuck yeah, contamination! I'm having no trouble understanding this story despite only having played the card game. It's all the lore discussion that has me lost.

>Magic:The Gathering story
Yay!
>OP pic
Christ these new cards are overpowered. Shit is no longer fun because they keep adding new special powers with every edition.

>>136423
>8 mana card
>3 different colors
>op

You're worse than /tg/ at magic.

[x] Mind Control

Eh, mental contamination is actually dangerous, here. And besides. This has a great number of benefits in the long run.

>>136425
It has even more drawbacks in the long run. If nothing else, there are far better targets than China.

[X] Telepathy. Figure out what she’s after and what the context of her actions is, then talk her out of attacking you. You are not afraid of a little mental contamination; yours was the will that subjugated entire worlds!
-[X] Try not to let on that you're reading her mind. That would probably be somewhat counterproductive.

I don't think the situation calls for a measure as drastic as mind control, and it would probably have major negative consequences in the long run.

Besides, I think we should be hoarding our power right now. The narrative implies we're running on a nearly empty tank, so it's probably better to conserve what little we have left.

[M] Mind Control
We need information more than anything. This is a two-for-one special: stop the attack, and get her to share all that she knows about this place.

[X] Telepathy. Figure out what she’s after and what the context of her actions is, then talk her out of attacking you. You are not afraid of a little mental contamination; yours was the will that subjugated entire worlds!

>Nicol Bolas doesn't distinguish between servants and victims.
Mind control is bad.

What exactly is mental contamination? I'm assuming it'd make him more human.. er. youkai. So I'm all for it. This guy needs a literal blow to the ego.

>>136424
I didn't necessarily mean the op card. It's pretty broken once you get it into play but it costs a lot and it's multi colored. Just look at some of the other cards though. Even friggin 1 mana cost creatures have abilities now.

>>136423
Tell me about it. I stopped playing frequently after... Judgment, I think, and most of my cards are from the Urza's blocks. Which means I can still spank most new sets handily, mind you, since Urza's blocks were freaking broken.

>>136425
And you would weaken us? We must conserve what little of our strength and power remains. This simian can easily be manipulated, instead of wasting power to control her mind simple as it may be.

Our mind is still strong. We can talk this through, save our strength and gain knowledge of this Plane we find ourself in. Mayhap we can even gain knowledge of artifacts or spells to drain of their energies to fuel our Spark back into its full radiance (my interpretation of the "destroy target non creature permanent.")
[X] Telepathy. Figure out what she’s after and what the context of her actions is, then talk her out of attacking you. You are not afraid of a little mental contamination; yours was the will that subjugated entire worlds!

I'm amused no one has chosen Simple Persuasion. Poor Bolas; no one thinks he can talk his attacker into being his friend without the use of magic!

>>136434
You showed a bunch of monkeys cool toys. Naturally we're playing with them.

>>136434

>>136427 here. She didn't even let us get a word in when we opened our mouth, and she looks pretty worked up; you even used the word 'zealous'. Since we didn't take 'crushing force of personality' or 'charisma' earlier, I figured that path was, for the moment, closed to us.

tl;dr I didn't think she'd listen.

Oh, I'm not saying it's necessarily a good idea. I'm just amused.

Meiling doesn't run on logic. All attempts to reason would end in failure~

>>136432
Fear the power creep.
Look at this thing. It's an indestructible 22/11 with wither and trample for 12 mana. You can cheat it in to play as early as turn 3, earlier if you build a deck around it.
What the fuck.

[x] Removal.

Because nothing pisses off someone more than having their giant stompy creature get unsummoned.

>>136440
>wither
Hahahaha, no. Infect is a hell of a lot scarier than that. Ten infect tokens on a player and they're dead, and there's only one card that removes infect tokens.

Someone playing with an infect deck is playing by the rules of "everyone else has 10 health and can't gain health."

My, I had no idea there were such conflicted feelings about Magic simmering beneath the surface~ Nonetheless, if you guys could move the general magic discussion / venting elsewhere, I'd be much obliged. I'd like to keep the thread clean; discussing aspects of the game related to this story is obviously fine, of course.

>>136443
I know how infect works. That's why I said its power was 22.

>>136444
You're the boss.
Expect some off-story comments here and there, though. It's inevitable.

You decide that a telepathic probe should be enough to ascertain the course of action necessary to turn this situation to your advantage. By limiting the amount of information you extract, you can minimize any risk of contamination while gaining valuable insight into how humans employ telepathic magics. Your eyes, flaring azure, meet hers, and, at the speed of thought, you plunge into the mind of Hong Meiling.

It’s not as bad as you thought - perhaps you underestimated the limits of this body. Eddies of emotion surge and ebb around you, pulling your mental focus in several directions, but the dispassionate mana of your core keeps you steady.

Hong Meiling saw a shadow at dawn plunge downwards from the sky - your unconscious body, no doubt. Intuiting via ambient mana (“chi”) your malicious nature, a combination of boredom, daydreaming, and poor reasoning lead her to the not entirely serious conclusion that you were the second coming of “Taisuei Shengjun,” the Buddha of Misfortune.
Upon being confronted by ‘youkai assassins’ which may or may not have been normal residents of this plane humoring her, she was somewhat carried away by this personal narrative. The fact that your impact site was saturated with your characteristic madness-inducing mana only encouraged her delusions. A wave of uncharacteristic pity shudders through your mental avatar, and you prepare to escape the mind of the Red Dragon of the-

Dragon? Where? What? Diving into the depths of her mindscape, you at once realize both that your course of action is dangerous and that you cannot stop yourself. How can this human female think of herself, even partially, as a dragon? Is it the fate of all dragons trapped on this plane to be transformed into lesser creatures? You must know. You must know--

Yes, there. Buried deep; sealed away; little more than a motif, a sense of style, an aesthetic appreciation, but there, at her core, this pitiable creature once was - is? will be? - one of the Noble Species. Things are unclear at this subconscious level; if only you had the power to _force_ clarity on the issue! But you wouldn’t do that to her; not only would it be a waste of resources, it would be too sad, too cruel, even for you.

A wave of revulsion churns through you as you think those last thoughts. You’ve been contaminated. Escape is the ultimate priority. This will have to be investigated later. Later. Yes. For now, you must wake up. Saukya will be mad if you don’t wake up. You’re always falling asleep; how are you supposed to guard- guard-

You’re free. Reeling back, gasping for air, an oof escapes you as Meiling’s fist connects with your sternum. Had you been bereft of all magic, the blow would have riven you in twain; as it is you escape merely with several cracked bones and heavy internal bleeding. Curse this wretched, filthy, scaleless husk of a body!

Hissing, you calm yourself. You are Nicol Bolas and you lose control only when it benefits you to do so. Your probes gathered useful information while your main avatar lost his way; you can stop this battle with a single word.

“Enough.” The clipped, icy tone of your command is a perfect cadence match for an enraged Izayoi Sakuya. You can see the instinctive conditioning take hold in Meiling’s body; fear flares in her eyes, now lucid. Her fist stops an inch from your nose. Now, you simply exploit her fear of "screwing up" and the fact that no one tells her anything.

Honestly, isn’t it completely irrational to have a fear of screwing up when no one tells you how not to screw up? It isn’t as if she’s the agent at fault.

You grimace, repressing those uncharacteristically sympathetic thoughts. You resolve not to let such feeling show outwardly. At all costs you must avoid humanizing draconizing her. Pain follows sentimentality; that is the way of the world.

“I was willing to humor you to a point, but you’ve gone too far. Do you have ANY idea what you’ve done, wench? Worthless creature, the fate of Gensokyo hangs in the balance and you presume to attack your most important ally? After fifty-seven stances of dodging, it was unclear that I had no quarrel with you?” Your tirade is interrupted by the need to cough up blood. Gasping, you fall to a knee, pain a red haze over your eyes. The flesh of humanity really is unacceptably weak.

“Help me up!”

“B-But!” She begins, but you silence her with a carefully mimicked glare. It’s rather difficult, concentrating through the pain.

Hesitantly, she approaches, laying a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“Um,” she begins, “I-I’m sorry, I guess I got carried away and messed up again...but...”

“It’s not your fault, this place affects the mind.” You grumble, looking away. Now what prompted you to say that? You’re...beginning to go into shock?

“You will take me to your...mistress, and pray that your actions haven’t doomed Gensokyo already. Support me.” Incredible. Even though it feels as if nails are churning through your insides, the human reproductive urge still manifests.

“Okay. I-If you don’t mind me asking, what are we going to do then? And what’s this threat to Gensokyo? Does it have to do with the great shadow I saw at dawn?”

So many questions! She’s like a wyrmling barely hatched. Your whelps had to earn their answers, but you suppose it doesn’t matter if you spoil this distant descendant or whatever she is.

“First, I’m going to get some medical attention. Then, we’ll speak to your Mistress. There are urgent matters at hand.”

You will have to revise your opinion of human biology. The upper limits of their intelligence are higher than you expected, but willpower is in shockingly short supply. Then again, perhaps you have gotten a bit too used to getting your way these last few centuries. True adversity was so rarely encountered, and that was exactly the way you liked it.

[ ] Teleport [M]: Transport yourself and Meiling to the mansion. Less chance of aggravating your wounds, but it’ll take considerable effort to transport yourself to a place you’ve only seen in unfocused memories.

[ ] Fly: Expend some energy to fly to the Mansion. With your wounds acting up, you won’t have focus to spare for Meiling during the journey, but it’ll be short. It’s possible that sudden inclement weather or the strongest aerial interceptors could give you trouble.

[ ] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

[x] Walk
Trouble leads to worsened injuries.

[x] Fly: Expend some energy to fly to the Mansion. With your wounds acting up, you won’t have focus to spare for Meiling during the journey, but it’ll be short. It’s possible that sudden inclement weather or the strongest aerial interceptors could give you trouble.

While wasting power is a concern, we are in Gensokyo. It won't do to not fly.

[┼] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

And gaining information about one's surroundings when suddenly dumped into an odd place should be way up there in importance.

Walk. Information is a vital, vital force. We don't want to have to root around in the mind of these inferior beings, we might catch something.

[X] Fly: Expend some energy to fly to the Mansion. With your wounds acting up, you won’t have focus to spare for Meiling during the journey, but it’ll be short.

Bolas strikes me as being to impatient to walk when there is a quicker route available, but to cautious to teleport. Also, being knew, he would have no knowledge about local conditioTHESTRONGESTns , and no qualms about drawing attention.

[x] Fly: Expend some energy to fly to the Mansion. With your wounds acting up, you won’t have focus to spare for Meiling during the journey, but it’ll be short. It’s possible that sudden inclement weather or the strongest aerial interceptors could give you trouble.

[♠] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely that you will run into trouble. You will also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.
-[♠] Think about the bluff you pulled. Improve it. You are likely to be questioned, and as it is, it will not hold up to anything resembling a close inspection.

Seriously, I think the lines we fed Meiling only worked because we were doing a really good Sakuya impression. If we leave our lie as it is, we are almost certain to be caught in it. And we do not have any real ground to stand on yet; I can see that ending badly.

[x] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

First individual we meet is a dragon? Surely this isn't a coincidence. Let's get to know her.

[┼] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

One of the Noble Race, even diminished, weak and unknowing of her own nobility, could be a good ally. But we must know first.

[♠] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely that you will run into trouble. You will also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.
-[♠] Think about the bluff you pulled. Improve it. You are likely to be questioned, and as it is, it will not hold up to anything resembling a close inspection.

[x] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

[X] Walk: You may injure yourself further, but you deem it unlikely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll also be able to converse with your attacker. Perhaps you can figure out what the Dragon is to her.

Meiling route is a go? She should be honoured to be given a clutch of eggs fathered by such a powerful Ancient Dragon.

>>136474
>Meiling route is go?
I hope not. She'll draw out the Red in Nicol.

“Tell me what you know of dragonkind.”

Meiling hesitates. “Eh...well, the creator of Gensokyo is a dragon, or so I’ve heard! He hasn’t been seen since the creation of the Hakurei Border, but both humans and youkai worship him, as he can create and destroy anything. Uh...I don’t really remember anything else, sorry!” So saying, she cheerfully rubs the back of her head. This girl recovers from being cowed rather easily, though she seems to have accepted you as her superior for the moment. It’s merely a matter of bearing, you think. Unfortunately, her value as a source of information is dismal. You certainly will not discover this whelp’s secrets by engaging her in conversation.

Well, at least some things are right in this world; none here challenge draconic superiority. This potential rival merits future consideration, but given that you’re still alive, it’s likely the dragon god is either non-hostile or, more likely, simply asleep. Many of your kin, unskilled in the magics of the mind, succumb to the long, slow sleep after a mere few millenia, dead in all but name.
Trapped in this frail, bleeding coil, you have never before been so acutely aware of your own mortality. You don’t have anything as trite as a favorite phrase, but if you had to choose one, the foremost candidate would be, “there is always a greater power.”

Nine times out of ten it is the last thing your enemies hear at the moment of your crushing masterstroke, but does it not perfectly describe this situation as well? Now there are many powers in the multiverse greater than yourself! It is a scenario you have not seriously contemplated for twenty thousand years.

But yes, certainly you at one point anticipated the day that even Nicol Bolas would meet a greater power. You just hadn’t imagined that it would be the result of losing all your carefully amassed ability! You were not born with crushing physical pedigree or especial magical talent for your race. Of your brothers, you were the runt and sometimes outcast. Your only saving grace was that while they slept, you slaved away, honing your mind, spanning horizons of thought until it felt like all creation was eclipsed by the borders of your eyelids, the stars grains of sand in your claws!

The stabbing pain in your insides shakes you from your reverie. Hong gives you a concerned, guilty look as you wince; good, things are moving along on that front. Again you turn inward.

It is a strange thing, to be young again, and weak. Your memories of that time are distant, as faded as watercolors on fired stone. But you have no nostalgia for or illusions about the past. Weakness was not a state you enjoyed. It was the constant threat of pain, the degrading yolk of submission, the gnawing lightness of hunger. In this reality which acknowledges only strength, a wyrmling once resolved, twenty-five thousand years ago, to become the very strongest of all. Not once has that resolve faltered. Not once has it failed. That resolve is where it all began - and where it will all begin, again.

“We’re here. Are you alright?”

You manage a scoff. "Never better."

[ ] Talk to Remilia. Brazenly acknowledging that you lied about the great threat to Gensokyo, ruthlessly seize that mammalian obsession, the “moral high ground,” by pointing out that Hong, unprovoked, attacked you with intent to kill. Your exaggerations were justified to preserve your life. Given that you were injured by a member of her staff, it is the Mistress’ duty to disown the staff member or pay reparations. You will not demand either; medical attention and a place to stay are enough, for now. In a land with inhabitants you still do not fully comprehend, a fortress-mansion with defenses you can copy will provide valuable insight into both the composition and strength of roaming creatures.

[ ] Talk to Remilia. Construct a plausible alarmist thesis around one of the many planar-level threats roaming the multiverse; perhaps the Eldrazi, or the resurgent Phyrexians. Give an arrival deadline generous enough for you to have amassed sufficient power to render her ire irrelevant; two weeks should do the trick, given the scale of the threat. You may be able to extract additional resources out of the arrangement under the pretense of 'preparing to fight the Eldrazi.' You're not lying. You do intend to fight (and enslave) the Eldrazi...someday.

[ ] As above, only do not mention an arrival deadline. Instead, play the angle that threats on the level of the Eldrazi or the Phyrexians are too powerful for anyone else to stop and you, the only sage learned in their ways, are the multiverse’s only hope. Given what Meiling’s memories say about Remilia, even this somewhat thin excuse should justify your residence for a time.

[ ] Avoid any of the more savvy members of the Scarlet household; go immediately for medical aid and do not speak coherently with anyone until your mental faculties have fully recovered from this series of ordeals.

[ ] Convince Meiling that she owes you a debt of honor; have her place you in another place of healing with less inconveniently curious masters.

[ ] Those plans must have been written by a simian! Obviously, the proper course of action would be...!

You may choose to magically augment your persuasive skills in any of the above options by putting the [M] sign next to your vote.

[x] Convince Meiling that she owes you a debt of honor; have her place you in another place of healing with less inconveniently curious masters.

Eientei, ho! I also support simply mind controlling Remilia.

I was going to mention it when you actually met Remilia, but some characters are immune to / very resistant to some of the more devastating things you can do with blue or black magic. Essentially, in MtG terms, they're treated as 'players' instead of 'creatures,' so they can only be affected by effects that can target planeswalkers. 'Creature'-tier characters, however, are still vulnerable to most anything you can do to a 'player.' This does not mean that it is impossible to mind control the likes of Remilia or Yukari; you'll simply have to use a far more powerful spell (Mindslaver or Sorin Markov's Ultimate) to do so, and pierce their additional magical defenses, if any. Of course, this protection does not extend to spells; Twincast will duplicate Yuuka's Master Spark just as easily as it does a weak Exorcism. It's also important to note that this protection extends both ways; the immanence of your Spark prevents Yuyuko from simply wishing you dead or Yukari from directly altering your essence.

[X] As above, only do not mention an arrival deadline. Instead, play the angle that threats on the level of the Eldrazi or the Phyrexians are too powerful for anyone else to stop and you, the only sage learned in their ways, are the multiverse’s only hope. Given what Meiling’s memories say about Remilia, even this somewhat thin excuse should justify your residence for a time.
[M] While you're doing this, tap the mansion for Black mana.
[M] Drink a glass of blood, and use said mana to heal yourself.

[x] Put Meiling to sleep. Enter the mansion alone.
[x] Do not speak coherently with anyone until your mental faculties have fully recovered from this series of ordeals.

Fuck this fate of Gensokyo bullshit. China was just having a weird dream. Again.

[x] Convince Meiling that she owes you a debt of honor; have her place you in another place of healing with less inconveniently curious masters.

[X] Convince Meiling that she owes you a debt of honor; have her place you in another place of healing with less inconveniently curious masters.

>>136480
How would effects that activate upon attacking/being attacked function? By individual spell card, once per full duel, or otherwise? Picture related.

[┼] Talk to Remilia. Brazenly acknowledging that you lied about the great threat to Gensokyo, ruthlessly seize that mammalian obsession, the “moral high ground,” by pointing out that Hong, unprovoked, attacked you with intent to kill. Your exaggerations were justified to preserve your life. Given that you were injured by a member of her staff, it is the Mistress’ duty to disown the staff member or pay reparations. You will not demand either; medical attention and a place to stay are enough, for now. In a land with inhabitants you still do not fully comprehend, a fortress-mansion with defenses you can copy will provide valuable insight into both the composition and strength of roaming creatures.

I like this. And maybe Bolas'll get a chance to peruse Patchy's library at some point. There's bound to be something of use to him there.

>>136490

Generally, Spell Cards (in the context of danmaku) count as Spells and not attacks, so you'd just counter 'em. Of course, it's rather unlikely that Nicol Bolas will play by the rules of danmaku.

Attacking with a creature would be more along the lines of Meiling beating you up. In the case of the card you posted, she'd have to tithe a continual stream of energy in order to continue attacking you, which could weaken her efforts or stop her from attacking entirely.

If it's an enchantment, then it lasts the entire scene (or possibly indefinitely, depending). I will do my best to translate Magic mechanics into logical real-world effects. At present Nicol is only capable of casting a dozen or so spells, but they're a fairly versatile lot and he's capable of some minor magical effects (like flying) without spells. I could post his spell list if you guys want. I don't want to scare off people unfamiliar with the game.

[x] Talk to Remilia. Brazenly acknowledging that you lied about the great threat to Gensokyo, ruthlessly seize that mammalian obsession, the “moral high ground,” by pointing out that Hong, unprovoked, attacked you with intent to kill. Your exaggerations were justified to preserve your life. Given that you were injured by a member of her staff, it is the Mistress’ duty to disown the staff member or pay reparations. You will not demand either; medical attention and a place to stay are enough, for now. In a land with inhabitants you still do not fully comprehend, a fortress-mansion with defenses you can copy will provide valuable insight into both the composition and strength of roaming creatures.

Spell list would be nice, familiar with the game or not.

>>136495
Post his spell list, if you please. It would aid our efforts to know what we are capable of at this time. I assume we can summon creatures, of course. But which and what abilities do they have?

What wouldn't I give for some Llanowar Elves and their mana generating abilities. Even Green mana would serve us well now. No matter. The Mansion could offer a source of Black Mana, but we can't be sure. The Misty Lake, however, is surely a source of Blue Mana. Mayhap one of those mountains in the distance will be a reliable source of Red mana.

I would suggest a mix between the first and third option.
[x] Admit that you lied about the doom of Gensokyo, but point out that such a stable artificial Plane can't help but attract the attention of either the Eldrazi or the resurgent Phyrexians. Offer your advice, aid and support in establishing protections and plans against the invasion or subversion from such entities in exchange for their own assistance in recovering your strength and power.

Of course, we mustn't mention that our own curiosity will likely be piqued by the very stability of Gensokyo as an artificial Plane, and its possible utility as a base of operations.

I don't think that the Voile Library has much to teach a Planeswalker of Nicol Bolas' age and power. However diminished our recalling capacity and dulled our memories are, we are still an inexhaustible fountain of arcane knowledge. Only Mages and Wizards of the caliber of Barrin, Rayne and Jodah can dare to teach things to Planeswalkers, and I dare think not a single mage of Gensokyo is their equal.

>>136496
And try not to do it in front of Meiling

To elaborate on Scribbler's summary of the MTG magic system, pic related. This is the color pie, and through it anything is possible.

Each color embodies an attitude, and this is why certain types of effects are relegated to certain colors.

For example, Red has Action and Impulse in it's domain. To respond to a threat, a mage who specializes in red mana will take the quickest and simplest method: kill it with fire (direct damage).
A black-specialized mage, Paranoia and Parasitism, will also be quick to respond to a threat (real or imagined). However, direct damage is not enough; the black mage will instead drain health, and maybe animate the corpse later.

Colors adjacent to each other on the pie are said to be allied, and their borders are simple to cross even with strong convictions. Green has interdependence, and knowing that your survival requires teamwork can easily spawn morality, which is a decidedly white-mana trait. Note, however, that each of a color's allies are antagonistic to each other! Continuing the example, green's allies are white and red. Order on one side, and Chaos on the other. This philosophical conflict makes mixtures of more than two colors (or just two antagonistic colors) uncommon, but not impossible. In fact, unorthodox color combinations often have very powerful effects. In the past, a sect of Green/Blue mages developed a form of genetic engineering. The final result of their work (Experiment Kraj) was a creature that could mimic any ability it ever saw by manipulating its own body structure. To quote Momir Vig on the subject: "Of course it will grow beyond control- it was designed to choose its own evolution." Logic and Growth!

Hopefully this was more helpful than confusing.

[X] Admit that you lied about the doom of Gensokyo, but point out that such a stable artificial Plane can't help but attract the attention of either the Eldrazi or the resurgent Phyrexians. Offer your advice, aid and support in establishing protections and plans against the invasion or subversion from such entities in exchange for their own assistance in recovering your strength and power.

[x] Admit that you lied about the doom of Gensokyo, but point out that such a stable artificial Plane can't help but attract the attention of either the Eldrazi or the resurgent Phyrexians. Offer your advice, aid and support in establishing protections and plans against the invasion or subversion from such entities in exchange for their own assistance in recovering your strength and power.

I’m still not sure how I’m going to handle lands and mana-producing sources, but I don’t think I’ll be able to translate this portion of the mechanics effectively. For one, Magic cards are balanced under the assumption that land drops can be missed over turns and the uncertainty of ever reaching later turns. Thus, it’s okay for a 6-mana spell to be many times more powerful than a 5-mana spell, because a 6-mana spell will actually see play significantly less. In this RPG-like scenario, Nicol has access to all his spells and mana all the time, which changes things considerably. Of course, locations may still play a large part in the story, either as places of power that can generate magical effects of their own or amplifiers / dead zones that affect magic cast within them.

Spell List:

As Bolas grows more powerful and meets new people, he will be able to safely channel more mana without exertion, use more colors of mana, or remember more spells.

Number in parenthesis is mana cost; mana cost 4+ is [M]. Each 1 increase in cost above 4 represents an exponential increase in effort and commensurate tiredness. However, in pitched battles, if you lead with weaker spells and build up to stronger spells, you may find that you can cast several powerful spells in a row by the end of the battle. Sadly, no one has ever successfully replicated this effect under controlled conditions.

(Telepathic) Peek (1) - Look at target player’s hand. Draw a card.
Mana Leak (2) - Counter target spell unless its caster pays 3 mana (this will tire most enemies and outright stop their most powerful attacks).
Trickbind (2) - Counters activated and triggered abilities, can’t be countered itself. Boomerang (2) - Return target permanent to its owner’s hand.
Twincast (2) - Copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Mulldrifter (3 or 5) - Draw two cards, or draw two cards and summon a 2/2 flying elemental. Cryptic Command (4) - Choose two: Counter target spell, or return target permanent to its owner’s hand, or tap all creatures target player controls, or draw a card.
Clone (4) - Enters the battlefield as a copy of creature already on the battlefield.
Mind Control (5) - You control enchanted creature.
Tidings (5) - Draw four cards.

Time Stop (6) - Stops time, variety of effects.
Draining Whelk (6) - Suck the power out of an enemy spell, use it to create a flying squid monster!
Blatant Thievery (7) - For each opponent, gain control of target permanent that player controls. If it's not countered, it can't be dispelled like Mind Control can, but enemies can still Mind Control their minions back.
Inkwell Leviathan (9) - When you really need a mountain-sized, magic-immune, tsunami-breaking, sea-swallowing, battalion-flattening apocalypse monster.

Peek, Mulldrifter, Clone, Tidings, Thievery, Mind Control, and Inkwell are not Instant speed.

This is Bolas' general list; there are a few situational spells he may recall in times of exigency. As a Blue mage, he prefers to play reactively and outwit his opponents, using their own powers against them. There's no Mana Drain or Time Walk. Bolas used to be able to use those ridiculously overpowered spells before the Mending, but no longer! When you look at it that way, he's almost sympathetic - what's the fate of a few billions if it means casting Mana Drain again? Additionally, no one need inform us that this list would be unviable in modern constructed play.

Game Effects Explanation:

Most game effects are translate pretty intuitively (you control target creature, copy target spell, etc). The ones that aren’t, I’ve outlined below.

Instant - An Instant spell can be cast at any time, and can be used to interrupt the actions of others. For example, if you had an instant spell with “copy target spell, you may choose new targets for the copy,” you could clone your enemy’s lightning bolt and hit him with it before he hits you.

Sorceries / Permanents - You can only cast these spells when you have a moment of uninterrupted concentration. You can do so in combat, but unless you have someone to block for you, you’ll probably get injured.
“Counter target spell / exile target spell:” Interrupts the casting of a spell. Not useful after a spell has already resolved, but can easily shut down powerhouse effects if you can predict them coming.

“Return target permanent to its owner’s hand:” Basically teleportation. I’m a bit iffy as to where exactly you teleport enemies; in general the spell is used to make an immediate threat disappear, so maybe they’ll get deposited right outside Gensokyo at the Hakurei border or something. Teleporting yourself or allies can be done as well, but moving to places you’re not familiar with requires additional effort or knowledge. “Return target permanent” spells are colloquially referred to as “bounce” spells.

“Scry // Draw Cards:” Information magic that either directly augments Bolas’ mental capabilities or seeks out knowledge in the world and reports it to him.

“Counter target activated ability:” Some effects are classed as abilities rather than spells; this is generally the case when their source is a particular artifact with pre-stored powers or a nonmagical supernatural effect. Sakuya’s watch has the activated ability to stop time.

“Tap target creature:” Temporarily put a creature out of commission. Usually flavored as putting them to sleep, but tripping, dazing, or freezing also work. Tapped creatures generally have their available actions restricted.

In general, a physical attack such as a thrown fist cannot be countered, but you could tap the creature who intends to attack you before they’re capable of launching it. Spell cards can be countered, but in most cases tapping the initiator won’t help. However, the magical attacks of characters that are creature-tier can be either prevented via tapping (pun...somewhat intended?) or countered with spells.

Combination effects are also possible. For example, a “draw a card, then return target permanent to its owner’s hand” spell might be a teleportation spell that scries an unknown location beforehand, allowing you to seamlessly transport yourself there, or it could be a spell that rips arcane secrets from a creature’s mind as you banish it back into the aether. This makes Cryptic Command very useful.

Do you guys really think Remilia is going to believe that bullshit?

[x] Admit that you lied about the doom of Gensokyo, but point out that such a stable artificial Plane can't help but attract the attention of either the Eldrazi or the resurgent Phyrexians. Offer your advice, aid and support in establishing protections and plans against the invasion or subversion from such entities in exchange for their own assistance in recovering your strength and power.

Let's try to do things right...

>>136513
But I think this is the bullshit he was talking about

>>136515
Besides. I want to see charisma clash

>>136516
There's got to be a way to get one that doesn't involve admitting Nicol lied and then proceeding to spew a crazy story that ~surprise surprise~ he's the only one capable of preventing.

I don't mind, since it'll be funny whether it works or not, but really.

>>136515
Actually, it's more of a bargain based on th possibility that either Eldrazi or Phyrexians might be tracking Nicol Bolas as one of the few, very real threats to their power. They might want to finish the job while he is still weak, and Gensokyo itself might prove a valuable bonus to anyone coming after Nicol.

Really, it's something of a "scratch my back, i'll scratch yours" with a starting point of "Okay, my arrival here might put the entire place in danger." It's not demands or lies, just a [somewhat] honest bargain between "equals" (not that a mere vampire could equal either one of the Noble Species or a Planeswalker, but they tend to have even more inflated egos then regular simians due to their undeath).

>>136518
Anyone that gets told this story will try to kill Nicol, not help him.

>>136517
You misunderstand. I'm against that shit.

>[┼] Talk to Remilia. Brazenly acknowledging that you lied about the great threat to Gensokyo, ruthlessly seize that mammalian obsession, the “moral high ground,” by pointing out that Hong, unprovoked, attacked you with intent to kill. Your exaggerations were justified to preserve your life. Given that you were injured by a member of her staff, it is the Mistress’ duty to disown the staff member or pay reparations. You will not demand either; medical attention and a place to stay are enough, for now. In a land with inhabitants you still do not fully comprehend, a fortress-mansion with defenses you can copy will provide valuable insight into both the composition and strength of roaming creatures.

I voted for this

[x] Talk to Remilia. Brazenly acknowledging that you lied about the great threat to Gensokyo, ruthlessly seize that mammalian obsession, the “moral high ground,” by pointing out that Hong, unprovoked, attacked you with intent to kill. Your exaggerations were justified to preserve your life. Given that you were injured by a member of her staff, it is the Mistress’ duty to disown the staff member or pay reparations. You will not demand either; medical attention and a place to stay are enough, for now. In a land with inhabitants you still do not fully comprehend, a fortress-mansion with defenses you can copy will provide valuable insight into both the composition and strength of roaming creatures.

There was some debate over what option to use, complicated by the fact that one of the write-ins included one of the initial options. As the overwhelming majority of people agreed that the initial approach should be Nicol Bolas admitting he lied, though, I wrote that scene and made the 'threats' option a longer-term prospect that you can continue to argue about.

---

“Ara, what do we have here? Meiling, you’re late for dinner~ And what’s this, you brought home a man? My, he doesn’t seem to be doing too well, does he. Sakuya, could you bring this gentleman a chair while Meiling explains what is going on?”

“Mistress, it’s terrible! A great threat is coming to Gensokyo!” Meiling exclaims, setting you down on the cushioned chair.

“...Hm?” Remilia Scarlet raises an eyebrow. “Is that what our visitor brings?”

“Oh, that,” You remark, stifling a gasp of pain as you sit. “That was a lie.”

“Urk.” Meiling turns to stare at you, her eyes wide. You shrug.

“I had just arrived in Gensokyo when I encountered your servant. With no apparent provocation, she attacked me head-on with lethal force and broke my ribcage, so I acted to preserve my own life. I told her an outlandish tale about how only I could save Gensokyo. Had my impression of you been that you were as unreasonable as your servant I would have continued the ruse; however, it serves no further purpose now.”

Remilia laughs, a sound both musical and intensely disturbing; wind chimes dangling on a meat hook.

“You’re awfully certain of my benevolence, stranger. But, to boldly stake your life on that bluff, you’re really something..." She taps her chin playfully. "I do have to wonder why Meiling decided to attack you in the first place. Would you by any chance be the Taisuei Shengjun?”

“Yes. I am that evil god that all youkai must join forces and fight against.” You recline indolently in your chair, pain seemingly forgotten. “And you, Remilia Scarlet, have invited me into your home.”

Meiling watches the exchange, shocked! The conversation continues in this vein for some time.

Remilia giggles. “Oh my~ What will you do to us, dread Taisuei Shengjun?”

“Extort medical care and shelter. Do you yield?”

“Don’t be cruel, Buddha of Misfortune. Of course we are powerless against one such as you. Oh, Meiling, don’t make that face - ahh, you’re so adorable!”

And so it was that you secured habitation and medical care. Centuries-old vampiric aristocracy really is one of the most predictable demographics. A hint of spine, a clever turn of phrase, genuine emotion and playfully disingenuous words - the things primates call charisma really amount to such trivialities.

There is no doubt that Remilia Scarlet believes you to be obscenely dangerous, but she did not achieve five centuries of age by brazenly challenging every demigod in her way. Bored as she is, interesting as you are, she’ll gladly accept such a danger as long as she believes the playing field to be at least remotely even; it will, in fact, only excite her more. She’s savvy enough to know what’s going on, but too confident in her own abilities.

It’s not a large mistake - sane vampires that old tend not to make them - but it’s large enough.

For a moment you feel a pang of guilt at the ruthless orchestrations you’ve pulled, playing with Meiling’s emotions - then you laugh bitterly, sandpaper over stone. You are Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker. You have literally tread entire human villages beneath your claw-heel in the pursuit of objectives far less important than the ones you now pursue. This body really is getting to you. You hope that you have not miscalculated, that Remilia does not decide to visit you in bed. You really need to sleep right now. You’re losing your edge.

[ ] Remilia visits you in bed.
-It will be tasteful. This is not optional.

[ ] Morning time. Since Remilia (thankfully) did not visit you in bed , you’ve calculated that, given the level of danger Remilia believes you to represent, she will remain in the current nonhostile state of mind for at most four days. This is plenty of time to guarantee your victory, but how should you go about it?

-[ ] Convince the Librarian, Knowledge, that either the Eldrazi or the Phyrexians are coming. Given the size of the Voile, it’s unlikely they won’t have an incorrect text on them that you can bring up. This will, of course, require that you reveal how you came to know so much about the Eldrazi. There is potential to stave off a hostile transition indefinitely, depending on certain factors outside your immediate control.

-[ ] Bide your time; avoid performing activities that would trigger Remilia early. Implant a subconscious control word in Meiling. On the day of the likely attack, expend your stored magical energy to steal metaphysical ownership of Remilia’s maid; your combined time magics with Meiling as a physical buffer should more than suffice. A Mind Control on the insane sister wouldn’t hurt as well. Of course, expending so much magical energy in a blitzkrieg-style stroke will leave you weakened for weeks, but the servants you gain should be able to defend you.

-[ ] There is no need to be flashy. Though acquiring the household staff would be useful, it is an unnecessary risk and somewhat unrealistic. You need to keep your mana open in order to counter Scarlet’s actions against you. Without her magic there’s no practical way for her to stop you from simply killing her in her sleep. Of course, the aftermath of the battle won’t do wonders for your standing in Gensokyo should they possess an omniscient or limited omniscient among their number, and you won’t have any guards. However, you are confident you can manage those risks; the important thing is removing the immediate threat of Scarlet.

We're voting for whether Remilia visits and our actions afterwards?

[x] Remilia visits you in bed
-[x] There's no need to be flashy.

[x] Remilia visits you in bed.

>>136526

If Remilia visits, you won't need a plan to kill her. You're voting if Remilia visits or not; and if she doesn't visit, you're voting for which path you're going to take (try to be "nice" / save some of them / kill them all).

>>136528
Oh, okay. I'll be surprised if anyone votes to have Remilia not visit.

[x] Morning time. Since Remilia (thankfully) did not visit you in bed , you’ve calculated that, given the level of danger Remilia believes you to represent, she will remain in the current nonhostile state of mind for at most four days. This is plenty of time to guarantee your victory, but how should you go about it?

I want her to visit but I also want to see at least one vote on this since it sounds fun.
>'threats' option
There was a 'threats' option??

>>136529

The things you learn~

>>136530

The option of deflecting hostility away from yourself by portraying other entities as greater threats (the Eldrazi, etc).

> Inkwell Leviathan (9) - When you really need a mountain-sized, magic-immune, tsunami-breaking, sea-swallowing, battalion-flattening apocalypse monster.

Instant Incident, just add ludicrous amounts of magic.

[X] Remilia visits you in bed.

[┼] Remilia visits you in bed.

[♠] Remilia visits you in bed.

[┼] Remilia visits you in bed.
Just because Bolas plans to be tasteful doesn't mean Remilia won't try seduction out. The inevitable charisma break will be hilarious.

...and if she succeeds, I'm sure Flandre will be jealous.

[x] Remilia visits you in bed

Why is it so hard to vote for being a dick, even when I know it makes the story that much better?!

>>136553

Because this way we can be a bigger dick somehow?

[ ] Morning time. Since Remilia (thankfully) did not visit you in bed , you’ve calculated that, given the level of danger Remilia believes you to represent, she will remain in the current nonhostile state of mind for at most four days. This is plenty of time to guarantee your victory, but how should you go about it?

-[ ] Convince the Librarian, Knowledge, that either the Eldrazi or the Phyrexians are coming. Given the size of the Voile, it’s unlikely they won’t have an incorrect text on them that you can bring up. This will, of course, require that you reveal how you came to know so much about the Eldrazi. There is potential to stave off a hostile transition indefinitely, depending on certain factors outside your immediate control.

Best Path.

>>136553
Having Remilia visit him in bed is being a dick. To Nicol.

[x] Remilia visits you in bed

[x] Remilia visits you in the bathbed.

I can dream, can't I?

-[ ] Bide your time; avoid performing activities that would trigger Remilia early. Implant a subconscious control word in Meiling. On the day of the likely attack, expend your stored magical energy to steal metaphysical ownership of Remilia’s maid; your combined time magics with Meiling as a physical buffer should more than suffice. A Mind Control on the insane sister wouldn’t hurt as well. Of course, expending so much magical energy in a blitzkrieg-style stroke will leave you weakened for weeks, but the servants you gain should be able to defend you.

Mah bitches.

[X] Remilia visits you in bed.
Yes!

[x] Morning time. Since Remilia (thankfully) did not visit you in bed , you’ve calculated that, given the level of danger Remilia believes you to represent, she will remain in the current nonhostile state of mind for at most four days. This is plenty of time to guarantee your victory, but how should you go about it?

-[x] Convince the Librarian, Knowledge, that either the Eldrazi or the Phyrexians are coming. Given the size of the Voile, it’s unlikely they won’t have an incorrect text on them that you can bring up. This will, of course, require that you reveal how you came to know so much about the Eldrazi. There is potential to stave off a hostile transition indefinitely, depending on certain factors outside your immediate control.

>>136573
This.

“Trying to kill me in my sleep?” You rumble, sitting up. A pair of gentle hands moves across your back.

“You might feel like you want to die, after~” Remilia’s dulcet tones whisper in your ear.

You issue a low growl. It doesn’t sound as impressive as when your real body does it, but it’s fairly authentic given your limits. “Taking advantage of me? I am a Buddha, you know.”

“I’m a naughty girl.”

You scoff. “You may think so.”

You’ve already seen the paths this conversation will take, but nonetheless you are slightly amused. Anything to distract from the arousal your pathetic human shell has inflicted on you. It is hard to think coherently in the face of her closeness, her smell. You find yourself reconsidering the value of a night’s sleep.

“I am not often kind, so heed this well. You may think you know your limits. You may be confident on your abilities. You have no idea who you are playing with. I do not mean you harm, but get involved with me and tragedy shall inevitably befall you.”

“My, how mysterious! After a speech like that, don’t you think I’ll find you too yummy to resist?”

“That’s what I was counting on, yes. Do try to keep up.”

Inside, you have already resigned yourself. It’s simply a matter of scarcity - for her and for you. You’ve not felt the mating urge since you were a young dragon of five thousand, but in this body...sadly, the vampire princess may be the closest thing you have to an equal, in this lessened state. Cerebrally you are far superior, but your lack of control over this body’s limbic system drags you down, and it is this vulnerability that her vampiric allure attacks relentlessly.

“This is your first time in a human body, isn’t it? I’ll be sure to make it a good~ experience for you...”

Afterwards...

“...Wow...”

In response, you emit a satisfied purr. After all, as they say - brute force may open some doors, but knowledge is a skeleton key. Remilia, laying on your chest, peeks up at you. “You’re such a silly man, Nicol. With how responsive this body of yours is to my touch, did you really have a chance?”

You shrug. “The mating habits of humans were not my preferred topic of study.”

She smiles. “You knew enough~”

“The adept application of pain does require a knowledge of the human nervous system, yes.” That, and you were one of the five progenitors of every dragon in Dominaria.

“Ahh, you’re so refreshing, Nicol. I was lonely for a long time, you know. Young males are so predictable and boring, and there aren’t any mature ones at all in here.” You know the feeling. Controlled by reproductive and survival drives, human interaction at the mortal scale is full of neediness, posturing, and pretense. The behavior of a human begging for his life is, at its core, quite similar to that of one in heat.

“Consider yourself lucky, whelp. Had I been anywhere near the fullness of my power the closest you would ever have gotten to me would’ve been as a mind-controlled slave.”

She pouts, then breaks into a devilish grin. “Fate’s always been good to me.”

In a way, it does your human side good to have a confidant, even if you’ll have to erase her memories or kill her later. For your part, it is nice to copulate with someone without having to endure a simpering imbecile who constantly requires self-validation.

“Enough gloating, woman. I do recall that the social convention post-coitus, if we are not going to sleep - and there is hardly time for that - is that you feed me. Get to it.”

“Right away, darling.” She giggles and slips on her dress. “Sakuya?”

The maid appears. “Mistress?”

You stifle the urge to crush the chronomancy of her artifact - it’s most certainly keyed to her, so stealing it would be pointless.

“Be a dear and grab something for our guest to eat, won’t you? Who knows what could happen if the evil buddha feels mistreated.”

“Oh, I already ate.”

Sakuya’s eyes flicker to your throat, then narrow as she sees no marks. Inwardly, you sigh. Honestly, these creatures are dense. Of course Remilia didn’t bite you there, her mouth was on the other side of your body.

Well, that was a satisfying, if supremely disturbing and unproductive evening. You’ll nap after you eat, and then you’ll...

[ ] Go to the Library.

[ ] Investigate Meiling’s draconic nature.

[ ] Seek out the artificer who created the restorative potions you imbibed. Those claw marks sting.

[ ] Clearly you’ve addled your mind. The best thing to do would of course be...

EDIT: Correction. In the last post, Remilia's statement should read, "Be a dear and grab something for our guest to eat, won’t you? Who knows what could happen if the evil buddha feels mistreated. Oh, [and don't worry about me,] I already ate.”

[x] Go to the Library.

[x] Go to the Library.

It's a LOT of books. While I'm sure there is something for Nicol there, it might be hard to find it. Maybe Tidings could help? I'm not sure how drawing cards would work in this situation.

>>136603

You guys can decide how much you want to use magic to augment your learning. As this CYOA goes on, I'd like to encourage write-ins and creative use of magic on part of the readership. The rough scale of it would be something like:

Divination - If you're far away, lets you scry the library. Inside the library, allows you to get a general summary of all the books inside, working as a sort of 'search engine' of topics.

Tidings [M] - If you're far away, lets you scry up to five locations simultaneously with no loss of detail. Inside the library, casting this spell gives you knowledge equal to if you'd read every single book inside. May tax your brain.

To clarify, if you spend enough time around certain characters you'll remember how to access colors / spells associated with them. Greater skill in a color affects what is considered [M]. Here's a short list:

Remilia / Scarlet Devil Mansion: Red and Black Mana, vampiric & control spells

Patchouli / Voile Library: Blue Mana x2, information gathering & universal forces spells

Flandre / Scarlet Devil Mansion: Red Mana x2, high-cost destructive spells

Sakuya / Scarlet Devil Mansion: Blue Mana x2, temporal & utility spells

Meiling / Mansion Gates: Red Mana x2, draconic spells

Cirno / Forest: Blue & Black Mana, Faeries

Artifacts: Artifact spells, unlike others, are schematics that require materials and forging time. If Bolas has access to the appropriate tools and materials, he can choose from numerous artifacts to create. Higher-end artifacts may require multi-part fetch quests in order to get all the stuff. A low-end artifact would be something on the level of giving immortality to a human. Since artifacts, if well-maintained, don't disappear over time, if you build up a sizeable arsenal, you can win most fights without ever having to dip into [M] spells.

[x] Go to the Library.

I'm not seeing any in-character reason for Nicol to spend time with Cirno. This saddens me.

>>136614
I underestimated Remilia's charisma, but I was right about Remilia seducing Nicol.

[X] Go to the Library

Meiling should be done as well, because Nicol should be interested in something that can do that to a dragon, especially once he hears about that huge rainbow dragon that helped create Gensokyo.

Why, you ask? Meiling is a dragon that is associated with rainbows. 2+2=Oh god, what can these people do?!

>>136619

Well, the first chance was the flying option, but there will be others. He'll have to get out of the mansion before he can meet Cirno, though.

>>136620

To be fair, though the rainbow trail is most strongly associated with the Hong dragon, it's found to a lesser degree in accounts of all eastern dragons. While Hong' storyline is closely associated with the identity of the Dragon who made Gensokyo, she's not it. That title goes to someone much...older...

>>136624
>He'll have to get out of the mansion before he can meet Cirno.
Welp. I'd best give up hope now; those that enter SDM rarely leave.

>>136625

Is that the pattern? Hm. Well, at 10+ updates a week, we've got a shot. I certainly don't plan on staying in SDM all the time; though it may become Nicol's general base of operations, he'll certainly have to visit more places if he wants to figure out what happened to him.

[X] Seek out the artificer who created the restorative potions you imbibed. Those claw marks sting.

[x] Investigate Meiling’s draconic nature.

>>136625
>>136619

Surely I can't be the only one that doesn't want to see Cirno in another story for no reason.

I don't have anything against her, but it's overdone.

>>136633
On one level, I agree with you. On another level, I really, really like faeries and would like for Nicol to be capable of summoning them. And in case you can't tell, those posts were both by me so I'll definitely get outvoted.

use Daiyousei instead, go mono-blue. Faerie Swarms everywhere.

When you wake, you see that someone - the maid, probably - has set out a dress shirt, jacket, and slacks for you. Idly you wonder why the mansion has high-quality clothing for males if all its inhabitants are female. Given the industrial base - or lack thereof - on this plane, clothes like these shouldn’t be easily accessible. You’ll have to investigate the matter later. For now, you must establish just how much knowledge you’ve lost. The library here is supposedly the best you will find on this plane, so that’s where you’ll start.

You walk down the hall, taking note of the innumerable faeries that populate the mansion. Turning the corner, you step into the library onto to be knocked flat on your posterior by a running, flailing figure, dislodging the pointed hat they were wearing and sending it spinning into the air.

“Watch where you’re going, you imbecile!” You snap, inhaling slowly to calm your smoldering emotions. You’ve only gotten three hours of sleep since you came here and your nerves are starting to fray.

“Oww...hey, who’re you calling imbecile!” The blond woman stands up, dusting off her apron.

“It’s people like you who make the long-standing tradition of borrowing books from library unpopular nowadays, ze!”

You don’t have time for this. You’re not sure how badly the cranial trauma you received from smashing into her thick skull head-first is, but given how frail humans are it’s likely significant.

“Cease your blathering, wench. This isn’t a public-access library.” Your eyes flicker to the tomes in her hand. Fairly advanced magics. You might have need of those. Humans take a dim view of thieves. You should be able to employ violence without too much complication.

Marisa opens her mouth to reply. "Now just-"

Charging forward with sudden brutality, you punch her in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of her body and causing her to drop the books. Wasting no time, you grab her by the throat, a blue rune flaring into existence on the back of your hand as you hurl her away, banishing her to the borders of this plane. Would that you had your black or red mana - a more permanent solution would have been so much more satisfying.

With that taken care of, you scoop up the books and continue to the library.

[ ] Focus on increasing your number of spells known. Voters may suggest spells they wish Bolas to research; pre-Mending magics (we’ll say before 9th Edition) are closed to him. Generally, it’s easier to reconstruct spells found in core sets rather than realm-specific spells.

[ ] Focus on ways to restore your black mana.

[ ] Focus on ways to restore your red mana.

[ ] Increase your adeptness at channeling blue mana.

[ ] Learn more about Gensokyo.

In your vote, please also include 1) How much magic you would like Bolas to use to enhance his research efforts and 2) If you’d like Bolas to spend time interacting with Patchouli and Koakuma. Bolas will use non-[M] spells at his own discretion, but he’ll only use [M] spells with a vote.

Under his normal power, Bolas can research 2 core spells or 1 block-specific spell (choose from Shards of Alara, Scars of Mirroden, Lorwyn, Zendikar, and Time Spiral). If you vote to increase your number of spells known, please also include which spells you’d like Bolas to research.

If he uses Tidings, an [M] spell, Bolas’ research output doubles.

If he spends time getting to know the library residents, Bolas’ research output is halved.

Bolas can learn at most 4 spells from the library.

[x] Increase your adeptness at channeling blue mana.
[x] Use Tidings.
[x] Interact with Patchouli.

I'll leave the spell research option to people that know what they're doing.

[x] Focus on increasing your number of spells known.
-[x] Upheaval
[x] Get to know library residents.

I'm not sure Bolas will ever have to use it, but better safe than sorry.

>>136642

Since that spell returns all lands as well, casting it will temporarily destroy Gensokyo or at least large parts of it. If that's what you guys wanna do, more power to you, but you'll probably have to use the more-expensive Worldpurge as I'm not comfortable with an apocalypse button sitting at only 6 cmc.

>Marisa opens her mouth to reply. "Now just-"
>Charging forward with sudden brutality, you punch her in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of her body and causing her to drop the books. Wasting no time, you grab her by the throat, a blue rune flaring into existence on the back of your hand as you hurl her away, banishing her to the borders of this plane. Would that you had your black or red mana - a more permanent solution would have been so much more satisfying.
Thank fuck somebody finally did that! Been imagining it for ages. You sir, are awesome.

[x] Focus on ways to restore your red mana.
[x] Increase your adeptness at channeling blue mana.
[x] Learn more about Gensokyo.
We're a freaking dragon, get some of our awesome power back(blue kicks ass), learn more about sorroundings.

Black can wait. More spells can wait. We have enough spells for now(we didn't even get to use most of them yet and we have quite an arsenal of them).

[x] Focus on increasing your number of spells known.
-- [X] Wall of Air

[x] Get to know library residents.

Wait, so Marisa is on the other side of the border now?

>>136644
[x] Focus on ways to restore your red mana.
[x] Increase your adeptness at channeling blue mana.
[x] Learn more about Gensokyo. Listen when they mention the spellcard rules.

Even if Nicol isn't inclined to care, breaking the spellcard rules is serious business here in Gensokyo. Reimu can attack from what amounts to Exile, and I don't think there are many cards that let him target that zone.

>>136643

Phooey.

-[x] Thirst

3 CMC with an extremely tiny upkeep to keep someone locked down for however long we see fit.

>>136644

You should see what Nicol would have done if you guys had picked Black. =0

>>136648

A tap effect, good idea. You are missing those except for Cryptic Command. Now, are you partial to the flavor of Thirst, or would you be fine with anything that performs the same action mechanically? I ask not only because Narcolepsy is 1 cheaper, but because debilitating thirst is extremely painful and sleeping isn't. It'd be within character for Nicol Bolas to learn Thirst just so he could inflict agony on his enemies while destroying their usefulness, but whether he would sacrifice effectiveness to do so is an important character decision.

Also, guys, I am assuming that if you do not include a mention about how much magic to use in your vote, it's a vote for Divination (most powerful information spell he can use without getting tired). If this is not the case, please indicate so.

>>136649
> =0
Friendly hint, Scrib: Never fucking use emoticons here ...aside from ;_; and ಠ_ಠ but even then, only in the right circumstances.

In fact, why don't you and every other recent newcomer (whether you write, read, vote, or ar just passing through here) give >>/gensokyo/6052/ a read so you know some of the ultra-basic rules here?

>>136649
Would adding Red mana make him more impulsive as well? I don't want to see an impulsive Nicol capable of blowing shit up.

>>136649

Narcolepsy seems to be the better choice in this case with how close Thirst is to Cryptic Command in CMC. That's just mechanics though.

Blue Nicol Bolas doesn't have any low level pain inducing spells, except for that creature I guess.

Banishing someone out of their plane is good, but it's not really the best method for convincing people through show of force.

Not really trying to paint Nicol Bolas as more of a sadist than he already is; it'd just be nice to have a torture spell handy for later on when not everyone is so friendly.

>>136654

I'm not adding in how much mana to use because I don't want to use Tidings. Anything 3 or lower is fine.

>>136646

She's the furthest Nicol can make her be without leaving this plane of existence or causing her harm. So, she's at the border of Gensokyo, but still on this plane.

>>136653

Yes, if Nicol gets his Red Mana back he will begin to exhibit the more red aspects of his personality. Since you guys chose Blue as his primary, he probably won't lose control that often, but it will affect certain encounters. He'll also begin to exhibit specific Red + Blue traits, such as Izzet Guild's spontaneous genius and propensity for invention.

>>136654
Why use a spell to torture? Just hold them down and bust out a knife. Blue is good at holding down.

[X] Focus on ways to restore your black mana.
[X] Research new spells: Drain Soul, Phyrexian Arena. (Both are 9th edition spells, so should be ok, right? They appear in earlier/later sets and editions too, but they are still in 9th.)

Black mana will be very useful for two reason:
One: it can create some really powerful effects and sometimes even muscle in on the other colors' territories. It does this at the cost of being very self-destructive.
Two, the self-destructive cost of black mana is balanced by it's vampiric effects.

So as long as you manage your spells right, you can cause your opponent incredible pain, at the cost of receiving a fraction of it yourself. Which you then transfer over to your opponent in addition to you first spell by simply draining their life force to make up for the bit you just lost.

Our first spell to pick up as a Black mana user should be Consume Spirit, for that specific reason. It will be rather weak at first since it is restricted to only using black mana, but it should help us regain power faster and it could mean the difference between life and death (or at least victory or defeat) in battle.
More importantly, we will need it to use the second spell more efficiently.
(Card effect: You spend X black mana to deal X damage and gain X life.)

Phyrexian Arena.
It slowly drains your life in exhange for giving you extra cards. (Each turn you lose one life and draw one card. This effectively doubles your card draws at the cost of setting a "win within this many turns" clock. Of course, you can always slow the clock down by regaining life. Usually by stealing it from your opponent.)

I imagine the in-story effect of the Arena would be something like tapping the Black side of his Spark for extra power, but it slowly burns away his human body which can't handle that much raw power.
So we use Drain Soul to keep it going.
The Arena would probably also allow us to research more efficiently too. (Extra card draws = more power/knowledge, after all.) Maybe not right now, but in the long run I imagine it will do quite a bit of difference as long as we can balance it.
Ah, the joys of Black mana.. Using your very soul as fuel to gain more power, because you can always just rip someone else's out to restore your own.

Right now Nicol needs power, fast.We can always branch out later, but right now need a major boost.
Black offers a short term boost in power at a possible, but very avoidable, long term loss. It also gives you everything you need to avoid that long term loss as long as you don't let things like "morality" or "ethics" stand in your way, but I doubt Nicol has any problems there.

>>136642
>>136643
I suggest Evacuation. Slightly cheaper, and only affects creatures.
Breaking the land when we're actually standing on it is a bad idea when we really only want to get rid of all the pests around us.

>>136660
Because that has no finesse, causes a mess, requires our continued attention and concentration, and most of all: It's so inefficient. Blue mana hates inefficiency.
A spell like Thirst is a "fire and forget" method for torture, so we can deal with something else at the same time.

>>136647
That's a very good point about the spellcard rules.
I want to add that to my vote. (>>136661)
It would be rather unlikely that the subject doesn't come up when he's researching spells, so it shouldn't interfere with that anyway. (Especially since I voted for Black mana.)

>>136658
It doesn't sound so bad when you put it that way. Add another

[x] Focus on ways to restore your red mana.

>>136661
>Right now Nicol needs power, fast.We can always branch out later, but right now need a major boost.
Why? We currently don't have any enemies on this plane and no reason to expect extraplanar enemies. If there's ever going to be a time to take it easy, this is it.

>>136665
Taking it easy is something you do after you've made sure that there are no threats. Not because they aren't around yet, but because you have eliminated them. Or at the very least made preparations so you can eliminate them when they appear.
Besides, there is a major threat present. And it has been there ever since he came to Gensokyo:
His human body.
He can barely keep it under control, and he has lost incredible amounts of knowledge just because a human brain couldn't handle that much information.
From Nicol's point of view he has been reduced to something less than worthless. He wouldn't want to stay as a human any longer than absolutely necessary.

The way I see it, he would want to get a boost in power and stretch/extend the limitations of "this primitive simian body" (and especially it's brain) before it causes his mind to degenerate completely.

I need a refresher on spellcard rules. Can someone post / link a list of what is canon (only canon) with regards to spell cards?

The vote was pretty split this time, but +Blue Mana barely managed to eke out a victory. Guys, do remember that Bolas has access to Twincast. He can do stuff like have Remilia use a life-draining spell on an enemy and then copy it in order to heal himself. Of course, he’ll have to do that every time he wants to cast a spell he doesn’t know, so it’s somewhat inconvenient, but it is there.

You enter the library, walking past a very surprised Patchouli Knowledge. “Afternoon,” you say, cheered by your recent disposal of the thief. It’s amazing what a bout of ferocious violence can do for one’s demeanor.

Patchouli regards you warily. “Remilia is confident she can manage you, but I’m not so sure.”

“Smart girl,” you remark, browsing through the tomes. Picking one up, you flip it open and begin to read.

Drivel. You put it back, suppressing the urge to hurl it across the room. “This Library...what’s the ratio of books about real spells to books about this useless Spell Card system?”

The librarian looks unamused. “I wasn’t finished. I think you’re even more dangerous than she suspects. Meiling found you at that impact site...I sent my familiar there last night to investigate it. She found some youkai mutated beyond all recognition near the epicenter, turned feral and strange. And, she got a trace of the mana signature of that creature.”

You raise an eyebrow. Now that was interesting. You wonder if your notoriety has spread so far that even the inhabitants of this remote plane have reference materials with your mana signature in them.

“I didn’t believe it at first, but my alternate sources checked it out too. I know who you are. You’re-”

“Nicol Bolas, yes. Father of Dragons. Planeswalker. Emperor of Mandara. And here I am, laid low, the weakest I’ve been in twenty-four thousand years. You are thinking you should strike me down where I stand, rules be damned...while it is still within your power.”

She tenses. “Y-you...”

“Yes, me. Don’t make me laugh, girl. Weakened though I am, crippled and shackled in this miserable body...I am still more than a match for you. Don’t try to be a hero. It’s not as if Remilia is ignorant of my identity.”

A steely determination enters her eyes. You’ve seen that look before - oh, how many times you’ve seen it before! So the magus has a spine after all. Does she think she can stand against twenty-five millenia of experience with a wish and a prayer? Still, you shouldn’t kill Remilia’s librarian if you can help it.

You abruptly turn your back to Patchouli, eliciting a soft gasp, and open the next book. Trash. Ah, it’s just as well. “Go ahead, then. Take...your best shot. I won’t bite.”

Minutes pass. You move through twenty more books, still in search of something worthwhile. Snapping the tome closed, you place it back on its shelf.

“Can’t do it, can you?”

“I-”

“Ssh, don’t talk. You are unused to analyzing your own emotions. Just this once, I will do it for you. Fear notwithstanding, your desire to righteously rid the universe of me has been counterbalanced by the opportunity this interaction represents. Righteousness, Miss Knowledge, is not the foundation of your strength.” Yes, you can wheels spinning in her mind. This one can be turned. Compared to Remilia, it will be as easy as taking relatives from a human.

An envelope of blue mana surrounds a book on a far shelf, which leisurely floats over to your hand and opens with a crisp snap. You glance down. Ahh, now you’re getting somewhere.

“Allow me first to assure you that, for the foreseeable future, I truly do not mean the inhabitants of this mansion any harm. I told Remilia that, were I anywhere near the fullness of my power, the closest she would get to me would be as a mind-controlled slave. The same can be said for you. Presently, however, I am nowhere near such a state, and it may be several mortal lifetimes before I am again. It would appear that some of Miss Scarlet's good fortune has rubbed off on you. Why throw your life away when everything you’ve strived for is looking you in the face? Why exchange spells when you could exchange ideas?”

“Why be Nicol Bolas’ murderer...when you could be his student?”

A fruitful evening ensues. You learn much about Gensokyo and its environs, and, with that knowledge, can more properly attune yourself to this plane, increasing your powers over reality. In return, you teach Miss Knowledge some minor tricks, utility spells that have served you well in the past.

Tiredness is just beginning to catch up to you when you hear a massive thrashing noise coming from the mansion gates. It’s time to...

[ ] Investigate. If you let these incompetents take care of their own problems, they’ll inevitably screw it up somehow. If you choose this option, please give specifics (investigate in person? investigate in magic? What to do if it’s a serious threat, etc)

[ ] ...Take it easy. You’re tired and running off three hours of sleep. Surely Remilia’s minions can take care of whatever the issue is. Imbibe of those nightmare pills and knock yourself out.

Blue mana level-up! You may now cast spells of up to CMC 4 without tiring, and all other spells have become commensurately easier to cast. It’s possible you could summon the Inkwell Leviathan without dying! The next Blue Mana level-up will be twice as hard.

[x] Investigate using magic. If it's a threat, use Clone on it while countering its magic or abilities with Trickbind or Mana Leak.

[x] Investigate using magic. If it's a threat, use Clone on it while countering its magic or abilities with Trickbind or Mana Leak.

Nicol is tired, but it's not like we've cast any M spells yet.

Oh, if it's Marisa and she casts Master Spark, use Twincast on it.

... Wait, can we cast Twincast and Mana Leak? That'd be hilarious.

[x] Investigate using magic. If it's a threat, use Clone on it while countering its magic or abilities with Trickbind or Mana Leak.

I suspect it's Marisa coming to pay us back, as it were, for our violence upon her. Pitiful fool, no matter her strength, so long as her mind is clouded by shame, anger, rage and fear, she will be easy prey for us.

I suggest that our next step be to re-awaken our Red mana, so that we will be more inventive and spontaneous, but also may start to work on regaining our rightful draconic body.

>>136670
This guy's a total Mary Sue. Removing the human body would remove the only decent source of conflict.

Not that fapping to Magic cards isn't interesting, but it doesn't make a good story.

[x] Investigate using magic. If it's a threat, use Clone on it while countering its magic or abilities with Trickbind or Mana Leak.

>>136676
I'm not saying I want him to go back to "fuck you, I'm a planeswalking dragon", but he would want that.
It's called "thinking/voting in character".

Anyway.
[X] Investigate with scrying magic to find out what it is. Only interfere if it seems powerful enough to actually be a serious threat, otherwise get some rest in case a real threat shows up later.

We might not have used any [M] level spells yet, but there's no point in getting involved in pointless fights just because we can, either.

If the threat is serious enough to warrant intervention we should use misdirection and denial to control the battle.
Like a true Blue mana user we will abuse the fuck out of Mana Leak, Trickbind and Boomerang.
We will most likely leave the actual fighting to whoever is already fighting there, but we can provide a hell of a lot of support through controlling the battlefield.
Blue aren't combat powerhouses like green or black and they don't have the same blasting power as red but what they can do, and do really well, is make sure that no one else gets what they want.

With some time to cast, Clone might give us an edge in actual combat as well since our clone will most likely be just as strong as the original.
(I imagine Clone has a reduced effect on anyone who is "player level", though. So a clone of Remilia would be a lot weaker than a clone of, say, Daiyousei if you compare them to their respective originals.)


>>136674
I'm interested in knowing this too.
What are the limitations for casting several spells at the same time?
Since 4 is the cap for what Nicol can spend on a single spell without pushing himself too far, does that mean he could cast two (or more) instant speed spells at the same time as long as the total cost doesn't go above 4 or could he just spam them because they're cheaper than 4 CMC?
Basically, is the 4 mana limit for single spells, or is it a "per turn" cap?

I'm assuming it's closer to a "per turn" cap than for single spells, but I just want to make sure.
I mean, if it is only a limit on how much we can spend on a single spell then we could just twincast something a dozen times before countering it, and destroy anyone with an undodgeable wall of their own bullets.

Which also makes me wonder, what's the limits of casting the same spell several times in a row/at once in case of instant spells? (Like double-casting Mana Leak or Twincast.)
And how many instant spells can we cram into how short a timeframe?

You did want specifics on how to deal with combat in case we decide to investigate and Blue cant just beat/blast their face and call it a day. They actually have to [i]think[i].

>>136674

Yup, you can cast multiple spells in response to one spell, as long as you don't mind the mana cost. Since you can use cmc 4 spells without getting tired now, you can leak / twincast to stop the spell and fire one of your own off...or twincast, then respond to your own twincast with another twincast, for epic overkill. Against uncounterable spells, in fact, that's your only option so far.

>>136676

This is somewhat correct. While Bolas has severe issues, he can smash through the many of the complications his douchebag-like personality generates because of his power level relative to the power level of the setting. It will be a long time before he gets his full power back. Of course, simply acquiring a draconic body doesn't mean he'll be what he once was. The information he lost won't magically come back. Of course, since readers are in Bolas' head the entire time, it can be easy to buy into Bolas' perception of himself.

>>136679

To elaborate on my previous post: Yes, it'd be more accurate to say it's a per-turn limit. If you spam too many spells, you will eventually run out of readied magic, but you can refuel by casting draw spells. I will warn you when this is about to happen. It's not likely that you'll run out of readied spells when matching 1-for-1 against an opponent. However, if you're casting two spells to every one of theirs, or if you're fighting two enemies at once, you may begin to run low. You can mitigate this by instead casting a more powerful spell (for example, Cryptic Command can counter an enemy's spell and bounce another enemy's summon). This replicates the 'cards' mechanic from MtG.

>>136679
Yes, normally he'd try to become powerful as quickly as possible. However, right now, his black mana and traits are dormant. He craves knowledge rather than power.

It's going to be very interesting when he goes red/blue. Opposing colors, fuck yeah.

>>136685
True, good point.
I guess I'm just too used to playing black decks.

>>136684
So, in short, there are two major limits to his spellcasting:
1. His 4 mana/turn mana pool.
2. His "hand size", which is more like mental stamina, I guess. He spams too many spells and he'll have to stop to "catch his breath".

In that case, elaborating a bit on my vote:
>>136679
If the threat is important enough to deal with, we should go there and provide support.
Use Mana leak often, match 1-for-1 if reasonably possible, tire them out.
Keep Boomerang ready as personal defense if the person in question gets too close. Anything that is strong enough to be a threat probably won't be sent to the ends of Gensokyo by it, though, but we could at least use it to blast them away from us and buy time. (I imagine the only reason we could send Marisa that far was because we caught her by surprise.)
If our ally(/ies) can buy us some time, we should try to do some light mind-reading if safely possible for the "draw card" effect to refresh our "hand size/magical stamina" and gather more information.
The more information we can gather on everyone and everything, the more power we'll have.

Keep Trickbind as an ace for when we really need it (countering abilities can be a lot more powerful than countering spells, and a lot more unexpected. Blocking a spell is not entirely unexpected, temporarily shutting down Satori's mind reading or Reisen's Red Eyes of Madness is a much bigger shock) and avoid using big spells if at all possible. We don't want to go around showing off.
This includes Clone. I'd even go so far as to say especially Clone, if we can somehow use it outside combat. (Spy on someone in order to get the chance to "target them" with the spell, or something like that.)
We can do a lot of things with it, as long as nobody know we can cast it.
And the best part is that the blame for whatever happens goes right where it belongs: To anyone but us.
Hell, if we want something; just Clone Marisa and have "her" go steal whatever catches our fancy. Nobody will actually be surprised that Marisa stole something again.
We could also use it for psychological warfare. Sow discord and break down relationships by sending a Clone to do whatever...
The "evil twin" plot is horribly cliché, but it can be incredibly useful for getting our hands on just about anything we want, really.

Blue's main strength lies in keeping their opponents off balance and paranoid.
We should do most of our work from the shadows.
Espionage, sabotage, theft, anything that gives us an edge for when someone tries to go toe-to-toe with us. because we will never challenge them to a straight up fight. Either we shut them down and lock them out, or we avoid them. We never go brawling.
Direct combat is for Green and Red. Both of which are opposed to Blue on the color wheel, so yeah.

As a meta-gaming example from the card game:
Blue decks should always keep at least one card in their hand. It might be completely useless, like a land when you've already got 10+ of them in play, but keep it in your hand.
As long as a blue deck has a card and some mana, there is always the threat of a counterspell. As long as you don't know what that card in his hand is, you can't be sure that you will be allowed to play an important card and thus you have to start thinking. Does he have a counterspell or is he bluffing? Can you actually play your winning card or not? If you play it and he does have a counterspell, what do you do then? What can you do?

The problem for you at that point is this:
You worry about these things every time you play against a Blue deck. Your opponent is playing a Blue deck, so he faces these questions every time he plays. Period.
This means that he is probably a lot better at this than you are.

Of course we can't do that kind of meta-game here, but that's the kind of dilemma we want to put our opponents in. We want to paralyze them with indecision because they're not sure what they should do, if they even can.
That's why we should try to keep everyone in the dark about the limits of our powers as much as possible.

Hum. Is there any chance we could get access to Green or White with ~character development~"

I'm not saying we should, just wondering if it's a possibility.

>>136696
this story seems to be evoking large walls of text. I wonder if they're scaring anyone off? Anyway, I disagree, Nicol should flaunt his power because he already boasted to Patchy and needs to back up his words.

[X] Investigate with scrying magic to find out what it is. Only interfere if it seems powerful enough to actually be a serious threat, otherwise get some rest in case a real threat shows up later.

[X] Investigate with scrying magic to find out what it is. Only interfere if it seems powerful enough to actually be a serious threat, otherwise get some rest in case a real threat shows up later.

>>136702
I'm guessing it's possible, but unlikely.
Going over to green/white would mean Nicol changing his entire... Everything.
He is mainly black, with some red and blue. (well, right now he's just blue, but originally.) Black combined with allied colors is very destructive with some controlling/manipulative streaks... Just look at his abilities:
1. Break stuff.
2. Control stuff.
3. Break lots of stuff, all at once.
Green/White is nurturing, caring, protective, a.s.o.
It would take a complete 180 for him to go there.


If he had gone Red, I'd be all for showing off and backing up his boasts with whatever magic he's got, because they're the impulsive type.
But he's still Blue, and Blues are logical thinkers. They fight information wars much better than physical wars, and as such he should hoard as much information to himself as possible.
Information you have and your opponent doesn't is a strength you can use, and a weakness (in them) that you can exploit.
Besides, since Patchouli knows how powerful he originally was, she won't need a demonstration to understand that he's not to be taken lightly, even when weakened.
She agreed to be his student just because he is Nicol Bolas. He didn't do anything other than confirm his name, and she's already "on his side". Why give away more than necessary?

He should exploit the fact that he's still a bit of a wild card to keep his enemies (and his allies) cautious for now.
There are two main ways to beat a Blue: One is to play their game better than they do. You "out-Blue" them, so to speak.
The other, and in this case far easier, method is to simply use excessive amounts of brute force.
No amount of trickery and careful planning will help once their fist is, repeatedly, applied to your face.
With his Black, or even better, Red mana back he could probably match many Touhous blow for blow and have a good chance of them only getting a pyrrhic victory at best.
As it is right now, he lacks the brute force to do that, so he needs to pick his fights carefully and make sure they're always on his terms, if possible.



I could cut down on the wall of texting if you want. I tend to write too much once I get started, anyway.

>>136702
What? Why would huge walls of non update text scare anyone off? Quite contrary, it might attract people. Whoever doesn't want to read them text walls can just skip them anyway.

Are we still going for a new tap spellcard? I have a few suggestions
http://tinyurl.com/6flsdz7
Sinking Feeling has both the tap effect and the "torture" factor plus it only costs 3 and has no annoying comulative upkeep. It's also post 9th.

http://tinyurl.com/5un5x58
Bonds of Quicksilver just has a "does not untap" effect but it's a flash spell. Costs 4. Personally I prefer Sinking Feeling but instant cast is something worth considering.

I've seen people bitch about walls of text before, that's all. I guess they'll speak up if they want us to tone it down.

Since instant-cast is so useful, I suggest this. It'd be pretty awesome from a flavor standpoint as well.

I don't mind walls of text. Discussion is good.

>>136702

It is possible, yes. Fairly unlikely though.

You weigh your options carefully. You haven’t slept much, and mental acuity is crucial to a battle in which you have only your blue mana available. Disruptions of this scale don’t seem common in Gensokyo, though. With only your blue mana available, you’ll be hard-pressed to stop effects that have already been cast, but, as long as you stay alert, you should be able to prevent further effects from entering play. The crucial question now is, would the time and energy spent scrying the battlefield be better used teleporting there and using countermagic? Is the risk of losing a crucial timing window worth the security of a divination?

Yes, you decide. The thunderous boom already occurred; it’s likely you wouldn’t have been in time to stop the initiating event anyway. Summoning a pool of water, you stir it with a finger while looking at your new apprentice.

“You’re apprehensive. Something you’d like to tell me?”
“I...think I might know who it might be.”

“Ah. The alternate source you verified my mana signature with.”

She nods. “Keine Kamishirasawa...she’s a youkai with control over history. Given that tonight’s a full moon, it’s unlikely to be anyone else. She probably came to the same conclusion I did, and is here to kill you.”

You narrow your eyes. You can ask for specifics later. The relevant parts of this Kamishirasawa’s portfolio will reveal themselves to your divination. Perhaps you can bait a remote attack from her. The water in your scrying pool bubbles, and as your clawed hand scoops through its depths, it emerges with a glowing orb of congealed mana, a substance with the texture of polished ice. Staring into its depths for but a moment, you rumble unpleasantly and clench your fist, fingers passing through the orb as if it were again water. As the crystal, unmade, streams back into the pool, you turn around and gesture at the air. A jerking feeling on your sternum and-

You’re at the gate - or, at least, its shattered remains.
A bolt of viridian energy streaks towards the fallen Meiling, and with a sharp motion you banish her into the relative safety of the mansion. You grit your teeth as time grinds and unfurls around you. Your eyes, scanning the battlefield, note the prone and unconscious form of the maid as well.

Keine Kamishirasawa. On the night of the full moon, she can access all information within Gensokyo, and is capable of manipulating history. Furthermore, she possesses temporal copies of the three Imperial Treasures that constitute this country’s Regalia. Clearly she used her limited omniscience to learn the weaknesses of the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s servants. In the state you’re in, she’s one of the worst enemies for you, but if you don’t attack now, she’ll grow more used to using her reality revision to cause harm. She probably hasn’t thought of the most abusive indirect methods yet, so you’ll have to strike quickly.

Talking would be pointless. Bluffs don’t work here. Your whirl around, countering three pockets of disruptive time headed for your back, and leap upwards to dodge the horizontal swipe of Kusanagi. She’s capable of manipulating history such that her attacks always come from angles unfavorable to you. Luckily, your Spark renders you immune to direct interference with your history, or this battle would already have been over. For this night only, she’s a threat on the level of a Myojin.

You growl, frustrated. To be stifled by this amateur chronomancer! It’s nothing short of humiliating. You, who defeated Teferi of Zhalfir, unable to handle a simple limited omniscient? She need only concentrate for a moment to look into her archives and see that you’ve managed to dodge every attack so far only because you calculated the angles most unfavorable to yourself in advance, a constant stream of virtuosity that is taxing your mental and magical limits.

You draw a shuddering breath and manage to calm down a bit. What are her weaknesses? She has access to all the information in Gensokyo, but her mind can’t process it all at once. She possesses the imperial blade Kusanagi, but her swordsmanship is unexceptional if brutally powerful. It’s likely her technique relies mostly on her transformed strength and speed and not on the memories of the greatest swordsman in Gensokyo. Since she had plenty of time to prepare, she’s probably incapable of deep-integrating memories even if she can access them. She can alter the history of your environment, but the mystical strength of her power is probably not terribly high.

It is only the minor precognition that comes from saturation in blue mana that saves your life. Thousands of calculations and a single mistake damns you...if only you’d slept more! Leaping to the side, you trip over an inconveniently placed rock and slip into an inauspiciously jagged ravine, but you’ll gladly suffer such wounds if it means escaping with only a severed limb. Clutching the stump where your arm once was, you stumble out of the craggy stone, thankful that Remilia’s interference has prevented the youkai from simply turning the history of the air around you into the history of sarin. Thoughts are coming slower, harder to ignore pain of arm. Going into shock..."

Catching a moment’s breath, you manage to counter her history revision attempt, then counter her attempt to revise the history of your counter, leaving her open to a ferocious headbutt to the chin. Unfortunately, without the mighty horns of your draconic form, you stagger yourself more than her. Mind foggy.

She comes at you from the side with the sword. You smirk. Silly human. She thought she could land a finishing blow this early? Tricks are for children. You banish the sword back to whence it came, countering her cyclone of strike-potentialities in the same utterance. Too bad. She won’t make that mistake again.

You turn to meet your enemy, teeth bared, but you’re beginning to feel lightheaded. So much blood..."Above, thunder booms and rain begins to fall. Ah. You’d wondered when she would figure that one out. She’d probably just read the history of your thoughts and stole the i-id-idea...

Your heart beats, pumping precious blood out of your arm.

Hard to focus. Lightning incoming any second. You must prolong this somehow. Countering’s unreliable, she could be looking into your thought right now and easily beat you on timing. You can open small windows of opportunity by rapidly switching the language you’re thinking in, forcing her to switch access points in the Akashic Record, but that’s a plan that relies on her making a mistake. You could twincast the temporal manipulation and fork the bolt at her, but that would lead to mutual death at best, unacceptable. You could think seven different things at once and randomly pick a course of action the very instant- no, too risky.

Another heartbeat. One more and the lightning strikes. You-

The human mind is a curiously fragile thing. There are certain concepts fundamentally alien and hostile to it, certain aspects of reality that grind sanity away as surely as water erodes stone. Certain concepts beyond the ken of man and beast, coiling and churning around the Blind Eternities between the dance of dimensions, more in the realm of the Eldrazi than in this world. Men cannot think these things, but planeswalkers, gorged on the mana of madness, can. What an planeswalker can think, a man can remember, and what a man can remember, the Akashic Record can inscribe, and what the Akashic Record can inscribe, Keine Kamishirasawa can perceive...

There is a sound of thunder.

A low, gurgling laugh emanates from your throat as you fall over, face-first. Did she really think striking herself with lightning would purge that information from her mind?

Aftermath. The Scarlet Devil inhabitants are opposed to you killing her, so...

[ ] Restore Keine’s sanity. She doesn’t need your help, but it would certainly speed her recovery along. That she wakes up screaming “ALL IS DUST!” exactly seven times a night is creeping out the household staff, and, more importantly, disturbing your already-scarce beauty sleep. The humans are beginning to wonder what’s become of her as well...plus, it’s hard to interrogate an insane person.

[ ] Let her suffer! Lock her in with Flandre, throw away the key!

[ ] Screw the rules, you're Nicol Bolas! No one cuts your freaking arm off and lives to tarnish your reputation!

Also, how much of Bolas' internal monologue do you guys feel is necessary? Do I need to explain his mind games more, or would you prefer fewer explanations? Should I point out the things that Bolas has missed?

>>136751
Sinking Feeling isn't really a torture effect. The ability to put -1/-1 counters on it belongs to the controller.
Basically, the creature usually stays down, but it can push itself beyond it's normal limits to get up. And, as long as it can take it, it can keep doing so to actually become MORE effective than usual, at the cost of burning out.

Overall for long term tap effects, I'd go with Narcolepsy.
We're Blue, so we want efficiency. Torture is for when we regain our Black mana.

For short effects, I like Twitch. Twiddle is better, but it's 8th edition.
Both are good because they give you a lot of versatility.
Both cards tap or untap a creature, artifact or land. Twiddle only costs one blue mana, while Twitch costs three mana but let's you draw a card.

I also looked through a few other cards, and one that would be really fun to add to our spell repertoire would be the creature Gomazoa. For Nicol it would be a summoning spell. Older cards even have "summon X" on them instead of "Creature - X".
It's great for protecting anything important (like us) because as long as the opponent doesn't have some very tricky evasive maneuvers (i.e. would be Unblockable in M:tG) it will make anything disappear for a while. It's also a non-lethal effect, so we don't have to worry about catching flak for killing anyone.
The drawback is that it is very passive (Defender) and it disappears along with whatever it catches.

I would also love to see what would happen if Nicol started playing around with spells like Quickchange and similar effects. (Change the color of target creature until end of turn.)
I'm not even sure how it would work, but I'm sure it would be fun.
I guess it'd shuffle their personality a bit for a while.

Of course, these are all blue, as I'm assuming that we won't get a chance to pick up another color for a little while at least.
When/if we're picking up another color, I'm still in favor of Phyrexian Arena if we go for Black.
For Red, you really can't go wrong with Lightning Bolt/Shock/Incinerate/Whatever. Get some burn spells to bring some brute force.
Also, Ricochet Trap is great.

That was cool. Losing an arm seems... kinda important, but I guess a blue mage thinks so hard that it's just an afterthought. Other than that, don't point out what he's missing until he notices.

[x] Restore Keine’s sanity. She doesn’t need your help, but it would certainly speed her recovery along. That she wakes up screaming “ALL IS DUST!” exactly seven times a night is creeping out the household staff, and, more importantly, disturbing your already-scarce beauty sleep. The humans are beginning to wonder what’s become of her as well...plus, it’s hard to interrogate an insane person.

Nicol's got a good thing going with this "some people don't want to kill him" thing. Let's try to keep it up. For now.

[┼] Restore Keine’s sanity.

And it might help put off the possibility of her trying this again. Or Nicol could, ya know, slip some sort of mental shunt deep in there to make it seem overly dangerous/unlikely to succeed.

Wow, that's what I get for not refreshing the page occasionally while writing more walls of text.

Anyway...
[X] Get medical aid.
We can't do much when our arm is pumping out precious blood. We can find a way to regenerate/replace it later, but we at least have to stop the bleeding.

[X] Restore Keine’s sanity.
But let's leave enough cracks in there for her to remember that using her omniscience to spy on us is not a good thing. (A phobia of us, or maybe even her knowledge powers, would be great. Irrational fear is so deliciously exploitable. ...Ah damn it, I'm thinking in Black mana mode again.)
She is one of the few, if not the only, person around who can "out-Blue" us, even if only on a full moon.
Shutting her down as an effective threat will improve our chances of survival a lot.

>>136777
I agree. The mind games are pretty fun, but since we're seeing things from Nicol's point of view we don't have to know what he doesn't know. (Unless it's obvious and/or very important for us to know, of course.)
It makes it more interesting that way.

[X] Get medical aid.
[x] Restore Keine’s sanity.
-[X] Be particularly dickish about it.

>Silly human. Tricks are for children.
I see what you did there. And I think I love you now.

>>136777
Thirded.

[x] Restore Keine’s sanity. She doesn’t need your help, but it would certainly speed her recovery along. That she wakes up screaming “ALL IS DUST!” exactly seven times a night is creeping out the household staff, and, more importantly, disturbing your already-scarce beauty sleep. The humans are beginning to wonder what’s become of her as well...plus, it’s hard to interrogate an insane person.

Goddamnit Tzeentch. She probably saw some part of the Architect of Fate, which explains the "ALL IS DUST!" thing. Looking at even a part of a Chaos God is... unadvisable, unless you happen to be a Grey Knight. We really don't want Chaos to start running around Gensokyo.

Although Tzeentch's sacred number is 9, not 7... 9... OH FUCK YOU TZEENTCH!

Hey look what we just did!
[x] Get to your room
[x] Restore Keine’s sanity. She doesn’t need your help, but it would certainly speed her recovery along. That she wakes up screaming “ALL IS DUST!” exactly seven times a night is creeping out the household staff, and, more importantly, disturbing your already-scarce beauty sleep. The humans are beginning to wonder what’s become of her as well...plus, it’s hard to interrogate an insane person.
I'd really rather not do this though

[X] Restore Keine’s sanity.

>>136776

I was thinking of giving him Mindbreak Trap, actually. It fits his flavor pretty well, but I don't know if I want to give you guys the ability to counter uncounterables so early.

>>136785

It's a reference to the Eldrazi card All Is Dust, a world-destroying sorcery with a converted mana cost of 7.

>>136786

Head Games is an awesome card. Even though it's not as powerful as Mind Shatter / Sludge, I like the flavor a lot more.

Restore her sanity, but do it in a manner that leaves her under our control. She cut off our arm and tried to kill us.
So a vote for Restoring sanity and Put her under Mind control. We can lay the control in the foundations of her shattered mind before we rebuild it.
Simply restoring the sanity of an enemy is far from an optimal solution. Doing so while gaining a minion? Great.

There's no need to turn her into a minion. She's only a threat (and thus useful) one day of the month.

>>136775
Luckily she panicked and failed at spellcard rules first, so we're good.

[X] Get medical aid.
[x] Restore Keine’s sanity.
-[X] Be particularly dickish about it. Mind control her in a dickish and arrogant fashion - let her remember she failed.

Spellcard rules: Beauty is power, no killing anything other than a fairy, no perfect shielding forever, leave the possibility for your attacks to miss, no ignoring when you do get hit, and remember that spellcards time out. The last is the least likely to be an actual rule, but even Yukari does it.

[x] Restore Keine’s sanity. She doesn’t need your help, but it would certainly speed her recovery along. That she wakes up screaming “ALL IS DUST!” exactly seven times a night is creeping out the household staff, and, more importantly, disturbing your already-scarce beauty sleep. The humans are beginning to wonder what’s become of her as well...plus, it’s hard to interrogate an insane person.
[X]Make her your minion in the process.

Also, I hope that we get Red mana back next. Picture related, one of the reasons why. Not only would he be a highly useful minion, but he'd also give us information on whether all dragons are forced into humanoid forms in Gensokyo when we summon him. We could also use him to help us gain control over the Kappa, as well, since he has experience running an organization of similar sorts of people.

>>136800
Yes, but she harmed us. Such a slight cannot go unanswered.

>>136804
Then torture her. Restoring her sanity and mocking her at the same time isn't going to make her stop trying to kill us.

In the shadowed cloister, the one-armed dragon surveys his conquest. Reigning over the bedpost like a lord on a mountain, he scrutinizes hissing tube and beeping scanner with gimlet eye, a displeased growl emanating from deep within his throat as he reaches with one clawed hand to slightly, ever-so-slightly-

A giggle. “My, you’re so melodramatic, Nicol.”

You grunt. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m working, woman.”

“Afraid your toy won’t be subtle enough?”

You hadn’t the materials or time to forge a proper Mindslaver, but the spinal augmentation you’ve given the woman will render it difficult for her to effectively oppose you, should you choose to use it. Remilia had wanted to sweep the whole incident under the rug, so the official story was that Keine had had an unfortunate accident and undergone care at the Mansion. No one had been informed because “Keine” did not want to risk youkai overhearing of the village protector’s incapacitation. When she wakes up in a few days, you’ll discuss certain matters with her further.

Remilia walks over and strokes the stump of your arm. You can’t help yourself - you’re flustered. It’s been several days now since you’ve been transmuted into a human, and you are slowly growing adapted to the circumstances of your reality. Still, you do your best not to enjoy it - something Remilia has made particularly difficult. Of course, things haven’t deteriorated to the point where you feel actual pairbonding occur. What a nightmare that would be. You shudder. Remilia takes this as encouragement, and moves in closer.

“Hmmm~ I don’t know how I feel about the loss of your left arm, Nicol. On one hand,” she says, treading her slender fingers through yours, “it’s so manly and dark, really suits you! On the other - oh, but you don’t have the other.”

You growl and try to jerk out of her grasp. “Enough.” It’s getting harder to resist her the more human you become. This must end.

“Ufufufu~ You’re so cute when you’re angry. Makes me want to eat you all up.”

“...Here?” You’re so off-balance around this woman. And it’s not just the missing arm.

“Ara, does the great and terrible Bolas feel he’s...transgressing? Oh my! Is that a second arm I see in your pants, or are you just happy to see me~”

Afterwards, you decide that you need a new arm. These one arm jokes have got to stop. Everyone makes them! Even Meiling!

You’ve decided that two courses of action are most reasonable. The first would be traveling to the resident healer of Gensokyo, a nurse or pharmacist by the name of Eirin. The second would be scouring the town and wilderness for the components of etherium, a magical metal that would seamlessly graft onto your body. You could construct a normal artifact arm, but you fear it’ll lower your magical potential.

Eirin apparently belongs to a faction called the Lunarians, who have not made their stance on you clear. Remilia seems to believe that the more powerful members of Gensokyo are aware of your presence. That the Lunarians have not acted against you could be a good sign, or it could merely show that they are not foolish or arrogant enough to rush into battle directly.

If you decide to construct an etherium arm for yourself, you could make it in a draconic likeness and endow it with superhuman strength and flexibility. However, you’d be more vulnerable to the boundary magic of Yukari Yakumo and also to artifact destruction spells.

Remilia says she can lend either Meiling or Sakuya to help you on your quest, but not both. One of the two will have to remain behind to run errands for you. You’re fairly certain you’d synergize better with Meiling, and she’d be less likely to subtly challenge your authority, but Sakuya is more diplomatic and competent at locating even obscure objects.

[ ] Take Meiling with you.
[ ] Take Sakuya with you.

[ ] Seek the nurse, Eirin.
[ ] Seek the components for an etherium arm.

[x] Take Sakuya with you.
[x] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

Eirin knows Sakuya, so yeah.

[X] Take Sakuya with you.
[X] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

Bah.. It's too late at night here, so I can barely make sense of my own texts.
No wall of text in this post, going to sleep.

[X] Take Sakuya with you.
[X] Seek the components for an etherium arm.

If nothing else, we could just summon a creature from Esper, kill it, and take its etherium. Also, Etherium is awesome; it's one of my favorite setting-elements from the recent Magic sets.

Pic related, one of the cheapest Etherium creatures I can find.

[┼] Take Sakuya with you.
[┼] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

Because I just prefer Sakuya.

[x] Take Meiling with you.
[x] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

[x] Take Meiling with you.
[X] Seek the components for an etherium arm.

Spending time with Meiling means greater draconic affinities, right? And considering we're a spell countering, interrupt slinging, Blue mana wielding badass, a little vulnerability to artifact destroying spells or Yukari's powers means little in exchange for greater strength and magical ability. Especially since few, if any other then Yukari, in Gensokyo are capable of destroying artifacts.

The Flesh is Weak. It will be replaced by the Purity of Steel... until our proper Draconic body is restored.

[X] Take Sakuya with you.
[X] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

It’s the time immediately after your morning Danmaku practice. You don’t see any reason to adhere to Spellcard Rules - who’s going to catch you? - but as Spell Card duals are the primary method of conflict resolution on this blasted plane, you’ve decided you might as well excel at them, just so you can preserve the veneer of legitimacy when you attack someone.

Wiping your neck with a towel, you sulk.

“Aww, don’t be sad Nicol.” Hong strikes a pose.

“Even though I’m not great at these duals either, I’ve been doing them for many decades! And, I’ve got both my arms! You need balance to dodge, you know.”

It’s not that your spell cards are inadequate - to the contrary, they’re crushing masterstrokes of beautiful destruction - it’s that your dodging skills are completely pathetic. Without wasting enormous amounts of mana on physically calculating the location of every bullet at every time, this human body simply can’t keep up with the swarming irritants. If this were a real battle you could simply counter the damn Spell Card, but that isn’t allowed.

In any event, Sakuya’s finished and prepared a list of chores for the staff to do while she’s away, so you can finally get your arm back now. The maid said she was familiar with the Bamboo Forest and Eientei, so you decided she would be the best companion for this mission, despite your lack of synergy in combat. If you’re forced to extract healing out of the Lunarians, Sakuya won’t be much help, but perhaps she can keep things from deteriorating into that state.

Unfortunately, you haven’t been able to gather much information on the Lunarians. Your divinations were stifled by the magical defenses on their palace, presumably placed there by Eirin Yagokoro herself. If this ‘Mind of the Moon’ can live up to her claims, your chances of restoring your arm are quite good.

“My lord.” Sakuya bows. “I am prepared. We may set off at your discretion.”

“Good,” you rumble, strapping on a traveling cloak. “Picture the destination in your mind.” With a telepathic transfer, you add her impressions of Eientei to the canvas of your mind, then wrap the two of you in a cocoon of blue mana which compresses to a single point in space.

In an instant, the two of you appear at the doorstep of Eientei. Sakuya looks a bit surprised, but quickly regains her composure. You nod to her. “You’ll do the talking.”

Acknowledging your command, she moves forward and rings the door-gong. A few moments later, the door slides opening, revealing...nothing? Ah, it was opened by a rabbit, apparently. The creature takes a look at the two of you, then scurries off.

“Can I help you?” It appears to be a human-rabit hybrid, though only the ears reflect the latter. You frown. For some reason, you find this creature arousing. Humans - they never fail to find new ways to disgust and repulse you.

“Yes. My lord has lost his arm and wishes to see Eirin.”

“Ah, Eirin’s not here right now, she’s somewhat busy...I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more. She won’t be back for at least two weeks.”

“Two weeks!?” You roar. “Unacceptable!” It’s bad enough that you’re trapped in this thing, now you’ll be forced to exist in a flawed model for fourteen more days at the minimum? “Is this one of those ‘incidents’ I keep hearing about?”

“Er...” The rabbit-human cowers from your ferocity. “I’m really, truly sorry, but we can’t help you, goodbye!”

“Wait.” Sakuya stops the door with a knife.

“This doesn’t make sense. Lunarians have advanced transportation and powerful magic. Where could she possibly be going that it would require two weeks for her to return?”

“Um...er...ah, my apologies, please go away, bye!” The creature runs off.

You ponder for a moment. If Eirin is not here, it’s possible the scrying wards she has on her person will be less powerful than the entrenched ones at Eientei. You fire off a divination, searching for her...


...”Is Miss Yuyuko going to be alright?” The girl in the green blouse worries, dabbing with a kerchief at her mistress’ forehead.

“I don’t know.” Eirin is examining something though a microscope. “These new spirits...they’re carrying a pathogen like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It corrupts and empowers at the same time, and it seems to be...self-aware. It’s directing its own evolution to prey on whatever’s most abundant. The speed with which it destroys tissue is ferocious. They even attack medicines. I could try giving her some of my Elixer, but I fear they’d destroy it before it could integrate into her body. Plus, I’m not certain what the side effects would be for her... ”

“Well, at any rate, you should consider yourself lucky. If Yuyuko hadn’t absorbed all the misery from the spirits into her own body, you would have a pandemic of epic proportions on your hands.”

Ah. It appears that the bacteria around your impact site were suffused with dispersing mana from your true body. With only the spirits of the youkai and humans killed by your impact to feed upon, they developed to hunt spirits.

The faster ones must have slain their hosts instantly, so this breed has an incubation period...long enough for their hosts to have made it to the Netherworld. Yes, in order to defeat it on a nanological scale she’d need to engineer a microbe of her own, a feat requiring Phyrexian-level technology. Even a jury-rigged version would take several weeks for a human or near-human intellect to conceptualize and generate.

Well, in any case, it’s not your problem. The gatekeepers here seem rather incompetent, especially considering how intricate and powerful the magic defenses are. Have they simply grown complacent, or has a larger disruption occurred...

“Sakuya, you mentioned that the medicines Eirin creates are stored in her office. Does she have anything capable of reversing this?” You nod at your arm. Perhaps you can simply take what you need.

“Well, there may be one thing, but I don’t know if she has any in stock...”

Irritating. “Can you stop time and go check?”

“I could try, my lord, but she likely has temporal wards around her office. If she was planning on going away for a long time, she’ll have activated any passive defenses as well.”

“I see. Then, this is what we’ll do...”

[ ] Break into her office and take what you need. If the ruler of the dead dies, you’ll have no competition once you get your mana back. Besides, you want to investigate what's wrong with Eientei.
-[ ] Just take what you need.
-[ ] Ransack the place for alchemical ingredients and tools. That’ll show her not to leave her office! when Nicol Bolas needs healing!

[ ] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[ ] Admit that it’s your fault she’s sick.
-[ ] Deny any association with the sickness.

“Yes, mai lordo!”

[x] Take Meiling with you.
[x] Seek the nurse, Eirin.

Let's spend more time with Hong

[┼] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[┼] Admit that it’s your fault she’s sick.

I love the idea of offsetting everyone's concerns in the short term while preparing to crush them in the long term.

[X] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[X] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.
-[X] Now, if they could just let you gather a few samples in order to create a cure, the more the better. You need samples of the bacteria of course. Also as many different samples from the patient as possible. Tissue, blood, DNA, spiritual... You will have to run a lot of tests to make sure that there aren't any dangerous side effects, as any properly educated physician would know.

Of course he will keep some of each type of sample for other purposes, but they don't need to worry about (or even know) that.

I'm tempted to have Nicol try and leverage this into getting his arm fixed early (it's very awkward to perform these tests and experiments with only one arm, after all), but I think that would be pushing it.


We are lacking in combat power, so we want to have allies servants everywhere, and/or having everyone else at least owe us favors of some sort. Allies have this annoying tendency to expect to be treated as people or even equals. But when they owe you their life, or even their very existence, they know their place.
Especially if you have the means to put them in an even worse situation, if the start getting too mouthy.

>>136908

Well, do keep in mind that you're going to be doing this in front of Eirin, one of the most intelligent characters in Gensokyo. Getting her to accept the idea that you're not trying to sabatoge her will require being pretty open. She'll definitely know if you try anything fishy, and you don't have anywhere to actually store tissue samples (unless you wanna put 'em in the Scarlet refrigerator or something).

[ ] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[ ] Admit that it’s your fault she’s sick.
I'm kinda late to all postings... that's good it means you are updating very fast!

[x] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[x] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.
Just this will do. Hopefully

[x] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[x] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.

Nicol Bolas, spreader of love and hope!

>>136911

Thanks, I try to update whenever I'm awake and have enough votes.

Hm. It really looks like I need to start offering more controversial choices. Then again, you guys keep choosing the 'relatively good guy' picks, so maybe I should just make all the votes more evil..."I guess I could also go the opposite direction and have Nicol experience some more character development, but it does take a lot to knock down twenty-five thousand years of habits.

>>136915
It doesn't seem very logical to go around being evil while weak.

>>136915
>Then again, you guys keep choosing the 'relatively good guy' picks, so maybe I should just make all the votes more evil..."

It's a bit difficult to indulge in evil when you're constantly worried about someone sneaking up and ganking you. Just trying to reinforce the power base before expansion, ya know?

>>136910
I'm not suggesting we sabotage her in any way. We are going to help, just with a hidden fee.

But good point, we have nowhere to store most of the samples and I was just throwing some examples out anyway.
Let's at least try to get spare samples of the bacteria.
Blood samples should be fine too, and we can get a lot of useful information out of a blood sample, no matter what we intend to do with it. (And don't try to tell me there isn't anywhere to store a bit of blood in the SDM.)
Even if it's just to study the various bullshit extraordinary powers of the inhabitants of Gensokyo, because the amount of super-powered people here is clearly whack, to use a technical term.
Besides, we will need at least those two things in order to create a cure with a minimum amount of horrible side-effects, even Eirin will have a hard time arguing against that.
The bacteria are the most important one to have, but any other samples we can get away with (and that we can store for long enough to get something useful out of) are a bonus.


What we have here is a disease so mutated on mana that it can infect things that are:
A. Already dead
and more importantly
B. Incorporeal

Regular spirits don't even have a body, much less organs and a cardiovascular system so how can they get infected in the first place?
Never mind future projects, as Blue we just want to know how and why that even works!

>>136915
Good guy? Moi?
Picture related.

But yeah, as others said: It's hard to be evil when you're at the bottom of the pecking order.
His twenty five thousand years habit of being a dick is only possible because he has a twenty five thousand years habit of being alive.

[x] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[x] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.
Best to start setting yourself up as either a good guy or having changed your ways, all the better to regain your power without pests annoying you over your actions.

I bet going to the Netherworld wouldn't even be an option if Nicol had any Red or Black.

[X] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[X] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.

[X] Go to the Netherworld and help Eirin cure this Yuyuko. The ruler of the dead could be a powerful ally.
-[X] Admit that you are technically responsible for her illness. An unfortunate side effect of your banishment. While it's not actually your fault this happened, you are willing to offer your expertise in assisting with this problem.
-[X] Get as many samples as you can without burning any bridges, collaborate with this Eirin woman. This is also an excellent chance to covertly evaluate her competence- we don't want an idiot trying to fix our arm.

We don't have anywhere to store samples- but Eirin might. Since we're counting on her help getting our arm back, why not ingratiate ourselves with her by actually being helpful?

I have gone with a somewhat unconventional characterization for one of the characters in this scene. I believe that, for a character with literally a thousand years to refine her social skills, she has always gone underestimated in most portrayals. Tell me what you think.

Hakugyokuro, Ghost Shrine of the Netherworld, Spire of White Jade. To reach it, one must venture past the Sanzu river, into mist veil and spirit-fog, up one thousand thousand flights of steps and through the Gates of Yin and Yang. It is an arduous, trying, and spiritually enlightening journey.

That is, for people who can’t teleport. Sakuya is familiar enough with the place, having visited it a few winters ago, so with a muttered incantation and a sweeping gesture you’re off.

Stepping through the Gate of Yin, you survey the scene around you. Rather peaceful, for a land without its monarch, but you suspect the court has been keeping this quiet. It’s surprising that no one has moved to intercept you, but you’ll take conveniences where you can find them in this bizarre land. Sakuya informs you that there are many places like this one connected to Gensokyo - you move your estimation of the plane’s size and complexity upwards. Apparently many of these places are layered over a non-magical world separated by the Hakurei Border, like a spiderweb over an unused scrying orb.

Moving through the peaceful gardens, you wander in the direction Sakuya leads you. After a while, you’re confronted by the lunar pharmacist, Eirin Yagokuro, who regards you with wariness. “You! What do you want? Come to finish the job?”

You chuckle. “How rude. I heard that there was an ill lady here, so I came to help treat her.”

“As if that’s believable, coming from your mouth. It’s your mana that’s the cause of all this!”

“Indeed. When I impacted here and was transformed into a human, my former body dissipated into mana. It is that mana which suffuses the bacteria you are trying to oppose. This was never my intention; hence, I’m here to correct the situation.”

“Hmph. Nicol Bolas, the altruist? I don’t think so. It’s far more likely that you foresaw this and decided to use it as a pretense for entering Hakugyokuro. What scheme are you up to?”
“Alright, I’ll tell you. Here’s my scheme. I’ve lost my arm and need you to replace it. Seeing as how you were occupied by something I indadvertedly caused, I decided to help you so as to free up your time for dealing with my arm.”

“And what makes you think I’d let Nicol Bolas have his arm back, even if it meant saving Yuyuko’s life?”

You scoff. “Don’t try to bluff me.”

“...Alright. Your help would be appreciated. I haven’t been making any progress for the last two days and Yuyuko’s prognosis isn’t looking good. But don’t try any funny business, mister. I’ve heard the stories about you.”

“Allow me to assure you, my dear, that they were all understatements.”

Eirin rolls her eyes and leads you to the room. Before opening the door, she stops, taking a long, hard look at you. “Alright. But, I’m warning you. Betray my trust and I _will_ find a way to hurt you.”

“Yes, yes, get on with-” She slides the door back, and you get your first real look of Yuyuko Saigyouji.

She’s...pearlescent. Her alabaster skin contrasts sharply with a flood of light pink hair. A lithe, perfectly formed arm, folded over her blanket, terminates in five delicate fingers. It is not, however, her immaculate physical form that renders you unable to respire. Rather, it’s the shock of her presence, a quiet but immanent majesty that strikes you like the flash of dawn. A sense of infinite gentleness and kindness emanates from her. Paradoxically, she simultaneously embodies patient wisdom and a fresh, innocent purity. There is a restful calm to her presence, like blossoms floating in a stream, a sense that this is someone to whom men could look and think, “I wouldn’t mind spending eternity with this person.”

A human would barely notice it, but your social instincts, calibrated through millenia of existence, can sense them - the tiny microexpressions and barest hints of gesture that tell you this person is supremely at peace. Truly, you think, the death that resides within Gensokyo is a terrifying being. For a moment, you feel a pang of regret at roads not taken, decisions made long ago...

“Y-You! Get your perverted gaze off Miss Yuyuko!” The swordswoman in the green blouse has her hand on her scabbard. You shake your head, nodding to yourself. That was stupid, losing yourself in contemplation at this crucial juncture. The full complexity of the Ruler of the Netherworld’s presence is something that only the most highly perceptive minds can begin to perceive. You should not expect others to be affected as you were. In a way, she is the shadow reflection of the Eldrazi: while their presence is so incomprehensible as to shatter minds, hers is so incomprehensible it sets them at ease. Even though this woman represents everything you've looked down on and despised, you can't help but feel a quiet respect for her.

“My apologies. I was simply overcome by the beauty of Your Majesty.” Ignoring the gardener, you bow. “I have come to treat your illness.”

“You flatter us, father of dragons. We are honored to receive you.” Her voice is weak, barely above a whisper. She coughs into her hand, and you feel a burst of irrational rage at the bacteria who did this, but quell it quickly.

She continues. “But surely, that is not the only reason you have come here? Mine is but an illness of the body. Yours, however, is graver by far.” She reaches a hand out to cup your cheek. You feel a stirring within you, the presence of something you killed long ago. A spasm of hatred crosses your face and you tear yourself out of her grasp.

“I- You- Do not condescend to me, incarnation of death! I am not the one laid low by a simple bacterium!” How dare she! Does she think you can so easily be swayed? You had long crushed that part of your heart, and even if you hadn’t, mere emotions have never governed the actions of Nicol Bolas! You feel a trickle of moisture down your throat, and realize that there is an edge of steel poised at your carotid.

Yuyuko closes her eyes. “Youmu, please stand down. He has come here in the spirit of generosity. Bolas-sama, I have wronged you. Please accept my humble apologies.”

“It’s fine. You are not the first to have failed there.” You snap, sitting down. “Now, let’s not waste any more of your - or, what is infinitely worse - my time. Eirin, what do you know?”

Well, here you are and here she is. How are you gonna cure Yuyuko?

[ ] [M] This is no time for half measures. Blatant Thievery on the bacterium, seize control of them with raw metaphysical might! Though their incredibly destructive nature will make them difficult to study or build on, perhaps you can construct a bomb out of them or something...of course, you’ll be laid low for a full month after casting a spell of that power, but the benefits (one free use of Plague Wind, a spell that destroys every creature on the plane you don’t explicitly spare) outweigh the costs.

[ ] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.

[ ] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium, can’t you?

[ ] Write In.

Can we somehow absorb the mana to regain some more of our former strength if we force it to manifest?
Assuming we win, of course, but even the possibility of a hint of the mere thought that bacteria could actually defeat him is not something for Nicol Bolas so that's a moot point.

I'm very tempted to go for the Plague Wind option, too. Even if we're laid low, we have our finger on the "Fuck you all!" button, so nobody in their right mind should dare mess with us.
If he had his Black Mana I'd be all over it, but with him being mono-Blue, he'll be thinking over his options carefully.
The threat of wiping out the entire world is a strong deterrent, but depending on how weakened we are someone might be able to assassinate him without giving him a chance to cast it.
Some people might also believe that he isn't willing to actually go through with that threat, and try to get him anyway.
Not to mention it would set him back quite far, as far as getting his body back and getting out of Gensokyo is concerned.

[x] [M] This is no time for half measures. Blatant Thievery on the bacterium, seize control of them with raw metaphysical might! Though their incredibly destructive nature will make them difficult to study or build on, perhaps you can construct a bomb out of them or something...of course, you’ll be laid low for a full month after casting a spell of that power, but the benefits (one free use of Plague Wind, a spell that destroys every creature on the plane you don’t explicitly spare) outweigh the costs.
-[X] When Eirin gives you anything to heal your arm, Eirin dinks it First, by force if necersary(If you can't Sakuya can do it in time stop).

I do not trust Eirin completly and niether should nicol (after all she knows who we are and wouldn't mind us dead) and plauge wind will help us when things get tough.

>>136921

I dunno guys. Nicol's met enemies who have been bad matchups for him so far, but he would absolutely murderstop the vast majority of characters here. Look at his battle with Marisa - that's more the speed of what an average encounter would be like. Now, granted, he's not very strong defensively, but offensively he is a monster if played right, and he has the social and mental skills to back it up. Against anyone with low or average intelligence, it'd be a total one-sided rout, which is why this story focuses only on scenes where Nicol is actually up against relevant opposition.

I think it's more that the consequences of the evil options may be too great. To that, I'll point out that while there will be fallout from being evil, Nicol is crafty and aggressive enough to get away with a lot more than an average human. Of course, I'm not suggesting that you guys change your voting preferences; I'm fine with how this story is turning out so far.

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat.

Fucking awesome. This. Do this. The other option are being bedridden and boring work.

[x] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.

lessee - Option 1 is essentially opens THE LAKE as an option, being that at least some of the people that would provoke this level of response are likely to be immune to is somehow. And/or be pissed even if you spared them. Still, it could be an end of story [Derp Sign] "Forever Alone"

Option 2 is the "not taking chances many option", but runs the risk of the disease evolving more, which I think you will agree is bad.

Option 3 is tempting, especially since there are unlikely to be many opportunities to gain 17% of your mana back at once. Still, that disease is probably smart, given Gensokyo's habit of turning everything into girls.

In the end?

[x] Option three - [Reclamation Sign] "Get Your Mana Back"

>>136939

To clarify, you will NOT get 17% of your mana back if you successfully defeat it in combat. It will almost certainly spend a large quantity of that mana defending itself from you, and there's also the issue of transfer efficiency.

A mix of two and three. Work with Eirin to make an artifact that will help you beat the creature in combat. Then start a battle with it. Ideally, it will be an artifact that helps us absorb it better.

Eirin is moderately competent for an ape, she should be able to assist us in making an artifact that will ensure victory on our terms.
I'm sure we can think of several reasons why our absorbing the mana will be better than any other outcome. They may even be true.

We care about this far less than Eiren does, which means we have a far better leverage over how to fix it. As such, we will fix it in a manner that benefits us the most.

Never start a fight without stacking the deck in advance as much as you can get away with.

Hmm, would the avatar count as an enchanted creature, and if so would it be too powerful for mind control to work on it?

>>136942

The Avatar is a Planeswalker-level threat and thus cannot be directly targeted by spells that affect creatures (Mind Control, Cryptic Command's Bounce / Tap functions, etc).

>>136940
Then the question is how much mana we can get back from it, compared to how much power we must spend to defeat it.
Hmm...

As for the "at least not a bad guy" votes.
Right now we're down one arm with no major victories to show for it, except blindsiding Marisa.
You can't blame us for being cautious.

Once he's had some time to power back up, you can bet that at least I will vote to make him the glorious bastard he really is.
That's why I'm very tempted to go for Plague Wind. A disease this dangerous isn't something you'd just leave behind or, even worse, wipe it out by curing the only current victim without saving a sample for a rainy day.

...Ah fuck it.
[X][M] Plague Wind, here we go!

I'm just a bit worried about how we're gonna get the bacteria out of there with Eirin around.
I don't really think we can just walk out the door with the deadliest disease in Gensokyo right under her nose.
Of course, I'm sure Nicol can think of some reasonable bullshit to explain why he must hold on to it. Probably something Planar, like the volatility of the mixed mana. While she is extremely intelligent, she's a physician not a Planeswalker.

...Come to think of it, that mana is fucking batshit insanely dangerous.
Mixing Red and Blue is never a good safe idea, and in this case we also have the double whammy of death and entropy added in the mix.

>>136944
>Eirin
>just a physician
Wow, you're in for a rude surprise.

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat.

What direction do you guys think I should take routes / pairings in? Obviously Bolas needs serious character development before he enters an actual romantic relationship. The routes I can currently see are:

Remilia 'route' - Not really a route since Bolas is already getting it on, but they're not trying to be soul mates or anything. I guess I could develop their relationship more if there's demand.

Meiling route - Fairly easy
Sakuya route - Moderately hard
Patchouli route - Moderately hard
Eirin route - Hard
Yuyuko route - EX

Of course, there are characters we haven't seen yet that may factor in as well. I'm open to suggestions.

Incidentally, I will again ask, what do you guys think of my characterization of Yuyuko? Do you think I'm making her too powerful socially, and, regarding the passage describing her, are you easily able to picture it in your mind? The same goes for my characterization of the others. Is there anything you'd change?

>>136948
For now, I have no preferences. I'll just let the story move as it will.
When the voting option appears, I will decide what to do then.

>>136945
I never said that she's "just a physician", what I said was that she sure as hell isn't a Planeswalker.
Only one I can think of in Gensokyo who could reasonably be one (or similar enough, at least) is Yukari, with her manipulation of borders.

Just because Eirin is a genius doesn't mean she magically understand how Planeswalking works.
It's more likely that she is smart enough to accept that Nicol is trying to pull a fast one on her somehow, but since he is the only one who really knows how his mana actually works she has only got two choices:
1. Call him out on his bullshit and hope that he isn't actually telling the truth and the shit really will hit the fan if she tries to dispose of it herself.
2. Accept that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, and just watch him extra carefully in the future.

EX-Keine who knows everything there is to know, ever, about everything in Gensokyo went insane from trying to view a single thought related to planar mysteries and now needs a magical lobotomy to stop the nightmares. So Eirin should be smart enough to understand that the intricacies of a Planeswalking dragon's mana might just be beyond even her.

>>136948
>Yuyuko route - EX
Why you gotta tempt us like that?

[┼] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.

As much as drop-kicking the bacteria into their place would please me I don't like the idea of spending a month that vulnerable regardless of the possession of a 99.99% efficient Kill EVERYTHING button or no.

I say that, should things take a turn for the worse for Yuyuko, we fall back to the 'Bitch slap the bacteria' option.

>>136948
I'd prefer to pretend routes don't exist. At least until Nicol actually has the change of heart necessary to make any route possible.

And your Yuyuko feels like we stumbled across your waifu, frankly. I guess, as a powerful White being, she kinda warrants it. Eirin has at least millennium or two on her, though, and I didn't see Nicol swooning over her.

>>136948
I think the passage was perfect. It's strangely fascinating to see a cosmic horror that works not by shattering your mind, but by setting it at ease. That Nicol alone, as a thing nearly as Eldritch and an Immortal, recognizes what she truly is merely natural.

In fact, I'm amused no one thought of it before. Yuyuko is literally a walking antithesis of Life, anyone who crosses her path should have their survival instincts be screaming at them to get away. But they don't, don't they? That could be expected from the Celts (as their legends state, they came from the Underworld and were the first to master the craft and company of Death), but any other people?

Logically, for the routes thing, I think Nicol would think Meiling alone, as she is [maybe] another of the Noble Species trapped in a human shell like Nicol, would be (eventually/hypothetically) worthy of his [empathy?/affection?/love?]. When she is restored to proper draconic nature, she would probably be the best suited mentally, emotionally and physically to understand his motivations, emotional responses and thinking process as a Dragon trapped in a simian's body.

But as >>136950 said, we'll vote when the time is right and I also frankly have no personal preference. And anyway, we first have to solve the mystery of Meiling's state and our own.

>>136954
I'm not sure how highly Nicol thinks of Rainbow Dragons myself, but Meiling is more draconic than anyone other than maybe Iku, Messenger of the Dragon Palace.

Also, while Nicol might not acknowledge it yet, but there are a fair number of people in Gensokyo who can out-ridiculous him in certain areas, which might gain them some respect at some point, especially if we aim him for being less of a dick.

I mean, is there any card which duplicates the Hourai Elixer, for example? Or Fantasy Heaven? Or the Shinki's feats?

>>136948
Routes... Eh, I'm kinda sick of every story having a romance angle. If we MUST have a route, I'd probably go for Meiling or Yuyuko, but that really is a question for later.

Speaking of Yuyuko, I like what you've done with her. I really don't have anything to add to what has already been said, though.

[X] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.

Don't take unnecessary risks. We're not in any real hurry, and this will give us time to ingratiate Nicol with the Eientei folks.

>>136951

Tempt?

>>136953

Yeah, since I don't really know that much about touhou characters it's hard for me to calibrate everyone. I usually just end up reading their profiles on touhou wiki and writing based off that. As for why Nicol isn't similarly affected by every millenial he meets, Yuyuko was deemed mature / charismatic enough to be picked for rulership of the Netherworld when she killed herself at like 14. Basically, Yuyuko put all her XP into social stats and Eirin put them all into mental stats.

>>136954

Ah, I'm glad you caught the "Eldritch Beyond...OF COMPASSION!" angle.

I have to agree with >>136953.
Mostly because everyone else has been rather plainly described and then Yuyuko shows up, suddenly there's purple prose everywhere.
I had to bring out a dictionary just to confirm that "pearlescent" is actually a real word.
I liked the scene, but it was just a bit too much.

>>136954
There are many deaths that aren't "oh shit have to get away from this".
Many people would agree that dying of old age, just falling asleep and not waking up, surrounded by your family and loved ones is a death to look forward to.
I imagine Yuyuko would be giving off that kind of "feeling of peaceful death" instead of a slow and painful death from disease or a violent death on the battlefield, which would make your survival instincts go nuts.

Either that, or everyone in Gensokyo are too crazy/drunk/stupid to actually care.


And while I said that I didn't have any specific preference, I'm starting to lean towards a Yuyuko route the more I think about it.

>>136957
>Tempt?
It's a challenge. Who doesn't love a good challenge?

>>136961
Are you a wussy enough dude to drive Nicol motherfucking Bolas down the path of good and court the princess Yuyuko?

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium, can’t you?

Let's go. This should be awesome.

>>136962
Or: Are you a villainous enough dude to corrupt the princess Yuyuko & win her over to the forces of "darkness" or whatever it is the "good guys" are calling it nowadays.

[x] [M] This is no time for half measures. Blatant Thievery on the bacterium, seize control of them with raw metaphysical might! Though their incredibly destructive nature will make them difficult to study or build on, perhaps you can construct a bomb out of them or something...of course, you’ll be laid low for a full month after casting a spell of that power, but the benefits (one free use of Plague Wind, a spell that destroys every creature on the plane you don’t explicitly spare) outweigh the costs.

Eirin learning how to make something that can destroy part of our empowered body doesn't bode well.

>>136961
"We chose to seduce Eldritch!Yuyuko in this decade. Not because it is easy, but because it is Hard and a challenge worthy of this great Dragon."

Jokes and JFK paraphrases aside, the contrast of the uncaring, cruel Dragon Planeswalker being tempered by the caring, warm and kind embodiment of Death is amusing. Mostly because technically, Yuyuko is also a Black Mana user... or rather a Black and White Mana user/spirit.

Black and White decks can be surprisingly lethal, you know.

>>136959
You're quite right. Despite how ingrained our instincts will us to survive, there are certain deaths which can be thought of as agreeable and even good. However, I should think that, despite her aura, a certain part of the primitive mind, of the primordial instinct would rebel at the sight of her. Not hard enough to be noticeable by the conscious mind which is soothed by her warmth, unlike with the normal Cosmic Horrors where their existence cannot be processed by the conscious mind and shatters it leaving only the desperate fight or flight instinct to direct the body, but enough for an unconscious urge to stay away. To make visits, agreeable as they are, short and seldom; to not risk her anger or displeasure.

And now, they've got me thinking that way too, the bastards.

Speaking of which, I forgot to vote.

[X] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.
[x] If possible, find a way to reclaim the mana empowering the bacteria. 17% of our power is nothing to sneer at. If not possible, no matter. We have almost as much time available as the Time Lords.

Time to see if the Father of Dragons can get along with the Princess of Death and the Lunarian Pharmacist for 2 weeks. Testing the waters, so to speak... Character Development, ladies and gentlemen!

Wow, close race. Vote is currently almost tied in all directions. I'll give it another half hour before it becomes too close to sleep time to write another update.

>>136955
There's no card that grants complete immortality, for game balance reasons only. And, looking at some of the newer cards, it feels like power creep is slowly getting us there anyway.

But there are cards like Platinum Angel, ("You can't lose the game and your opponents can't win the game") and the various Lich cards (you don't lose for having 0 life, but whenever you take damage you lose something else. If you run out of that "something else", you lose.)

Not to mention all the infinity combos.
Gain an infinite amount of life and you're pretty much at the level of the hourai elixir anyway.
Nothing (other than an infinite damage combo) can actually even hurt you. Your opponent would have to use a "win/lose the game" effect or deck you. (Decking means removing your opponent's deck, because if you can't draw a card at the beginning of your turn, you lose.)

Magic is much better at breaking stuff, though.
You have "Destroy all Creatures", "Destroy all Lands", "Destroy all Permanents", "Exile target permanent(s)" ("exile" basically means erasing from existence. Game-wise it means you can't get them back, in any way, until the next game) "Target player loses the game", a.s.o.
That last one is Door to Nothingness. It could probably "kill" even the immortals. The flavor text implies that you don't die, you simply cease to have ever existed.


So yeah, I think Magic can match Touhou pretty well when it comes to the level of bullshit powers, it's just that magic's bullshit powers are very focused on destroying everything and everyone forever.
I mean, there is a card that makes the entire world cease to exist. ("Remove from the game" is the old wording for "exile".)

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium.

Definitely not going for an ultimate evil end. The balance must be maintained.

I'm more interested in seeing what happens when we get our Red mana back than any ending.

And Cirno as Blue/Black? Is it really ambition when she believes she's already the strongest?

[X] Work with Eirin to manufacture an artifice-based cure. This will take two weeks of intensive effort.

Slow and steady wins the race. They'll never expect us to actually be helpful.

Personally, with a vote this tied, I'd merge the two options. Of course, I'm pretty biased.

>>136969

t3 Jhoira of the Ghitu -> t4 suspend Emrakul & Ulamog -> t5 Armageddon is always hilarious.

>>136985

Yeah, I think that's what I'll probably do when I wake up. Can someone tally up all the votes and double-check that the options are within one vote of each other?

>>136990
By my count we have...
>1) Blatant Thievery on the bacterium, seize control of them with raw metaphysical might!
3 votes strictly for this with another in case option 2 takes too long
>2) Work with Eirin
5 votes for this with one wanting to try & recover what mana we can for ourselves
>3) Combat their Avatar!
5 votes

[x] A mix of two and three. Work with Eirin to make an artifact that will help you beat the creature in combat. Then start a battle with it. Ideally, it will be an artifact that helps us absorb it better.

>>137000
There's no way in hell Eirin will help make an artifact meant to empower Nicol.

[x] [M] This is no time for half measures. Blatant Thievery on the bacterium, seize control of them with raw metaphysical might! Though their incredibly destructive nature will make them difficult to study or build on, perhaps you can construct a bomb out of them or something...of course, you’ll be laid low for a full month after casting a spell of that power, but the benefits (one free use of Plague Wind, a spell that destroys every creature on the plane you don’t explicitly spare) outweigh the costs.

>>137001
What makes you think that? Nevermind not my idea anyway. And I'm only posting because I'm changing my vote anyway

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium, can’t you?
Screw things. All sorts of 'em.

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium, can’t you?

If we're going to fight the bactierium it's worth noting we're not alone here. Eirin, Sakuya and Youmu are all competent fighters and thats if Yuyuko dosn't just wish them dead. It may make the difference if this thing can throw some nasty spells as i think it'll prefer instants to spell cards somehow.

>>137016
>Yuyuko dosn't just wish them dead.
>>136943
>The Avatar is a Planeswalker-level threat and thus cannot be directly targeted by spells that affect creatures (Mind Control, Cryptic Command's Bounce / Tap functions, etc).
>>136480
>It's also important to note that this protection extends both ways; the immanence of your Spark prevents Yuyuko from simply wishing you dead or Yukari from directly altering your essence.

[x] Force the mana suffused in the bacterium to adopt the form of an avatar and engage it in magical combat. This will take the least amount of time and mana, but there’s a certain aspect of risk involved - namely, you could die. It does have a full 17% of the mana previously stored in your body, and you only have 3%. Still, you can outsmart a semisentient bacterium, can’t you?

I'll point out that we have Sakuya, and more importantly, her watch, with us. We could just stop time and stab it to death with the half-ghost's sword.

>>137022
>>137014
Fools! This is not the reasoned and carefully planned action of Blue, but the rash folly of Red or the boundless arrogance of Black! You'll doom us all!

>>137024
This one has it entirely right. You have the chance to gain a sword right at the throat of Gensokyo and you pass it up? I certainly hope we'll be able to live to regret that.

[X][M] Plague Wind, here we go!

>>137024
Hence why I vote for combining the options. Risk reward ratio is best that way. Even if we only gain half of the mana it has, that is still a huge leap in our power level.

It would be an understatement to say that Eirin Yagokuro did not trust Nicol Bolas. That he had shown up and offered to help one of his principal rivals for dominion over Gensokyo was suspicious enough, but that he had somehow convinced Yuyuko to approve the construction of this ridiculous ‘Cloneforge’ was another level altogether!

The dragon-man claimed that the enormous metal contraption they had been working on for the last three days was a prototype that would only function once. She had, of course, done her level best to verify that claim, and it appeared he was telling the truth...but who could know what went on in that head of his? Plots within plots, wheels within wheels, surely there were layers to his scheme that she just didn’t see. She sometimes got the impression that Bolas was ruled not by one mind but by dozens, their unknowable and eldritch voices propelling him towards incomprehensible courses of action.

Pulling grease-stained goggles off of her eyes, she sighed. People always expected her, ‘Mind of the Moon,’ to come up with ideas, to think of everything. Surely, they reasoned, if lesser intellects like theirs could conceive of certain ideas, she would have already thought of them long ago. Intelligence simply did not work that way.

The totality of ideas one received could not be modeled with a two-dimensional plane the radius of which was a function of one’s IQ! Ingrained heuristics and immediate experience had as much, if not more, to do with the ideas one had than intellect alone.

That was why she felt pressured. As the only one present who could challenge Bolas in this technical field of expertise, she could not be certain she had thought of everything Bolas had.

There was a sort of cold magnificence about him, a sense that he did nothing without a reason and that his reasons were as inexplicable as the movements of the stars. There was a certainty in his manner, an absolute surety in his movements she had encountered only in masters of the martial disciplines or the utterly insane.

There was just something about him that sparked her curiosity, that made her want to go along with his schemes no matter how absurd or evil they sounded. It felt as if she were constantly on the precipice of a revolutionary breakthrough, as if his presence alone would be enough to spark some great discovery. A terrible discovery, for sure...but nonetheless great.

Eirin shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. She’d been awake too long. She couldn’t let Bolas affect her, let him get into her head. The fate of Gensokyo depended on it. Eirin was certain that, the moment Bolas sensed weakness, he would find some way to turn this against them all and acquire unfathomable power in the process.

Sakuya could have done most of the make-work with ample rest time, but the maid didn’t possess the technoarcanological expertise to work on a project of this delicacy. Thus, she and Bolas had, with a minimum of sleep - him more than her, owing to the fact that he would have to fight the product of the Cloneforge - constructed the machine by themselves. And now, it was ready.

Bolas turned to her and popped his own soot-caked goggles up to his forehead. He coughed. “This wretched thing is finally done. Though it pains me to say it, your assistance was invaluable. It would have taken me a full extra day to complete it on my own, and by that point the bacterium may have evolved to a state where I would be unable to easily defeat it.”

“Gee, thanks.” Eirin rolled her eyes. The nerve of this guy!

“The truly difficult part begins now. Evacuate the ghost princess and her retinue, and tell Sakuya not to approach either. Temporal tricks won’t lay this beast low.”

Eirin narrowed her eyes. “Are you mad!" We’re not going to leave you to deal with this thing alone!” And, she added mentally, I don’t trust you to deal with this thing alone. More likely, you’ll try to fuse with it or something...

Bolas stiffened, then turned very slowly around. When he spoke, it was not in his usual ferocious cant, but in an icy whisper that chilled her to the bone, a slow, grinding, lacerating monologue that built in power and volume like the advance of winter itself. “Mad? ...You call me mad? The only thing that’s mad about what is going on here is your imbecilic refusal to let go of your suspicions! This. Foe. Is. Beyond. You. It’s beyond me! Fly, you fool, and don’t look back!”

So she did. Without thinking, without hesitation, she did. Because Nicol Bolas had never looked so sincere as he did in that moment.

---

“Now,” you murmur to yourself, “now we see who the greater monster is.” You nod to the servitor-drones, steeling yourself inside. Casting off the tattered remnants of your laboratory coat, you roar, “IGNITE...THE CLONEFORGE!”

Okay guys, battle strategy time. Your enemy has access to vast depths of mana and all three of your original colors. Your only advantage will be your cunning, wits, and ruthless pragmatism. To be honest, I don’t expect anon to escape this fight without severe maiming, but if you do, the rewards will be great. Because the work of extracting the avatar has already been done by the machine, you won’t have to expend magical energy forcing the avatar out yourself. No matter what happens, Yuyuko has already been cured. Of course, if your uberdoppelganger wins, Hakugyokuro will have to be nuked from orbit, but at least the balance between the spirit world and the living world won’t be compromised.

[ ] Match your enemy on the board, using Clone and Mulldrifter to establish a presence and bait out his removal spells, then drop Inkwell Leviathan when the time is right and smash him to pieces. Save your counters for crucial spells like Cruel Ultimatum.

[ ] Your enemy lacks card-drawing spells. Try to trade 1-for-1 as much as possible, countering everything he casts and accumulating additional readied spells whenever he lets up. Eventually he’ll run out of magic or make a mistake, and that’s when you’ll strike.

[ ] Proactively try to damage your enemy as much (or more) than he damages you. You can’t win trying to trade with him when he holds stronger cards and more mana. When he Blightnings you, twincast it twice instead of using Cryptic Command to counter it and draw a card. Eventually, since your twincasted spells hit him before the originals hit you, you’ll get finishing blow in and kill him before he completes his last spell.

Your enemy’s spell list.

-Lightning Bolt
-Preordain
-Countersquall
-Terminate
-Soul Manipulation
-Grixis Charm
-Sedraxis Specter
-Blightning
-Consuming Vapors
-Consume the Meek
-Profane Command
-Banefire
-Cruel Ultimatum (yes, that bastard has your favorite spell!)

>>137043
Yup. We're doomed. You idiotic fools. I hope on of you has a good plan against that spell selection, because I don't. Each option offered has it's risks and each of them could spell our doom at the slightest mistake or faltering of our luck.

[+] Match your enemy on the board, using Clone and Mulldrifter to establish a presence and bait out his removal spells, then drop Inkwell Leviathan when the time is right and smash him to pieces. Save your counters for crucial spells like Cruel Ultimatum.

Looks, to me at least, like it plays the most to Blue's (what we currently are) strengths.

And, seriously, fuck Cruel Ultimatum.

[+] Match your enemy on the board, using Clone and Mulldrifter to establish a presence and bait out his removal spells, then drop Inkwell Leviathan when the time is right and smash him to pieces. Save your counters for crucial spells like Cruel Ultimatum.

I concur, this is the most blueish strategy. i just hope Bolas does not have my usual luck in drawing cards...

>>137047

Well, it's not quite as bad as that. Though your clone packs some serious magical firepower, the vast majority of his spells are are impressive-looking but technically not very useful. Cruel Ultimatum, Banefire, and Profane Command are all finisher-type spells, and someone running all three of them is very vulnerable to simply being beaten by counters. Well, Banefire can't be countered, but it'd take more mana than even your foe has to one-shot you with that. Note also that a full four of his spells are primarily removal, so if you choose not to play anything that can be removed, he'll had a lot of 'dead' spells in hand, creating effective card advantage for you. Finally, at least one of his spells is completely and totally useless against your list. His list would be extremely strong against creature-tier inhabitants of Gensokyo, which is what he has evolved to prey on, but it's not actually that good versus planeswalkers who know what they're doing.

We do know what we're doing, right?

In fact, why bother countering Cruel Ultimatum at all? We can twincast it twice and let his hit, and we're ahead of him by one Cruel Ultimatum.

Power is nothing without mastery. The bacterium is a slave to mere instinct. Use our mind to ensure that we counter his vital cards and wait for an opening. We cannot overpower it, but we can out think it.

This isn't so much a battle strategy (yet) as me just throwing my thoughts out there so we can build a proper strategy.
But here goes..
GIANT wall of text incoming.

Mono-Blue doesn't have the brute force necessary to go head to head with Black/Red. Especially since he also has some Blue for counters of his own.

We should try to Twincast his cheap direct damage spells Lightning Bolt and Blightning. They're too cheap (especially Lighting Bolt) for us to spend mana on countering, so we can at least trade him 1-for-1 on the damage.
Hopefully we can bait him into using them for creature removal instead of casting directly at us.
We will always use them for head-on damage, because there are way better ways of getting rid of his Specters than Twincasting his damage spells.

Countersquall is gonna sting. Not only is it cheaper than our hard counter, it hurts us as well. It can't deal with creatures, though.
Unfortunately, the only creature spell we can reliably cast is Clone, and maybe Mulldrifter.
Our best hope is to starve him for Black mana by baiting him into creature removal before we cast something important.

Preordain, we can't do much about that. Just leave it. He probably isn't smart (cheesy) enough to use his superior mana pool to cast it every "turn".

Consuming Vapors is rather nasty, but due to it's mid-level mana cost, we can Leak it instead of a straight up counter. It will most likely stop it, unless he feels that he absolutely has to spend 7 mana to get that creature out of the way/gain that life.
And if so, he could just go for Ultimatum.

Speaking of which, even with an improved mana pool, could he really handle a Twincast-Mana Sink combo after casting Ultimatum?
Hopefully, we can bait him into over-extending himself before he goes Ultimatum so he doesn't have the extra Blue or Black mana for Countersquall, because we're not really trading him 1-for-1 if he Squalls us for 2 life on our Mana Sink.
If he's over-extending himself, we could also Whelk his Ultimatum. Not only do we stop it, we get a giant monster cheaper than Inkwell.
The risk is that he pulls a Soul Manipulation on us. In which case we're boned. Not only were we pushing ourselves to cast the Whelk, we're also eating an Ultimatum right after.
Soul Manipulation costs 3 mana, but requires two colors, so it's a little bit more expensive than you'd think at first glance.

Sedraxis Specter can be met with a Mulldrifter or bounced. In a pinch, we take the hit and Trickbind the discard effect, but that's only if Boomerang is somehow unavailable.
With a bit of luck, we might be able to Clone it and hit him with some discard as well.

Consume the Meek probably won't see much play, because it's expensive and it can only kill his own Specter.

Grixis Charm is a bit tricky, because it has variable effects.
The big advantage is that is has a variable effect for us as well, so we can use it to kill Specters/increase the power of our own creatures.
If he tries to use the draining effect to kill our creature, we Boomerang. Because I'm assuming that re-casting the same summoning is cheaper/easier than "summoning a new one".
The bounce effect is useless for us, since we have Boomerang and it costs the same as Twincasting his charm, unless we can somehow use it for psychological warfare. ("Everything you can do, I can do better" and so on.)

The X spells (Profane Command and Banefire) should be Sinked or multi-Twincast depending on their effect.
He casts a big enough Banefire and our only choice is to Twincast it as much as possible because we can't counter it.
The same goes for a big life-loss Command. If we trade him 2-for-1 (or maybe more if we overextend our mana pool for an extra Twincast) it's probably worth taking the hit as long as it doesn't kill us.
Again, we could go for a Twincast/Sink combo on a Command if he's getting too cocky, and not leaving extra mana to defend himself.
Any other large X effect on Command should be Sinked, because it eats a lot of mana to cast it and that extra cost can break him.

Overall, I'd say our one advantage is focus. It's quite a big advantage, though.
We're mono-Blue while he's triple-color.
Anyone who has played Magic knows that even with a mono-color deck you can sometimes run completely dry on mana. With each additional color you add, the risk of that increases, because you might have lots of mana, but not the color you need.
As I said earlier, we should be able to starve him of his black mana pretty easily with some strategic baiting, because most of his reactive spells require black mana.
One "best possible" situation is that we keep him starved for black mana, keep him frustrated that he can't bring out the big guns until we "slip up" and let him have enough to cast an Ultimatum or a big Command, and then we Whelk or Drain/Twincast it.
The problem is that we probably can't deal with both his Red AND Black mana at the same time, so Banefire is still a big risk.
The only thing we can do against that is, as previously mentioned, Twincast the fuck out of it and hope we end up on top after the flames die out.


That's what I can think of to deal with his spells. Did I forget anything?
And yes, I know I haven't really gotten into how we're actually gonna win yet. That's because this will be an uphill battle and we'll be on the defensive more often than not to begin with.
I'm gonna go over our own spell list next, and see what I can think of there.

Wow, at first I thought you guys would be totally screwed but walloftextanon is really pulling through for the team.

>>137061
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Jerk.

I still think saving our Twincasts for Ultimatum is a good idea. this is probably why I'm a Timmy

>>137062

Twincasting Ultimatum isn't a bad idea; it's actually a really good idea. I was just surprised you guys considered the first option the 'most blue' one.

>>137062
Hey, don't blame the author for the fools who pointedly ignored the "THIS CHOICE CAN LEAD TO YOUR DEATH IN BATTLE! THIS WILL BE EXCEEDINGLY HARD!" part of the 3rd option. I warned you all, but no one listened.

>>137060
Friend, you are Planeswalker among men. Thank God you're here to pull us out of the fire, 'cause I'm way too rusty (and tired) to correctly analyze all the cards and their counters. I will support any plan you can come up with to win/survive this.

>>137063
I didn't even notice the second option when voting, or I would have picked it.

At this point our battle strategy is basically whatever walloftext-anon comes up with, anyway.

All of my thoughts on this are based on that we can't just match him 1-for-1 and call it a day because our spells hit first, by the way.
I'm assuming that he is more durable than us, due to being almost pure Planeswalker mana, and Nicol being weakened by the limitations of a his human body.
Not to mention with his bigger mana pool, he can hit us with Countersquall if we're too cocky. Double-Twincasting an Ultimatum sounds fine and dandy if you're Red, because you'll be hitting TWICE AS HARD AS HIM! FUCK YEAH!
But we're Blue, so we think a step, or twelve, further. (No offense to anyone who suggested that. I'm just trying to channel my "Blue side". Blue is the control color. You have to be a bit of a scheming bastard to play it to 100% efficiency.)
If he hits one of our Twincasts with a Squall, we're suddenly trading him 1-for-1, and we're down 2 health in addition to the Ultimatum. If he has enough spare mana to Squall both, it's Game Over, Bad End, Thank You for Playing.


Now, on to our own spells:

We want to use Peek as often as safely possible. His mind should be pretty simple to read, as even surface thoughts can help a lot. (If he's thinking "Yee-haw! I'm gonna hit him with everything but the kitchen sink!", we will prepare to cast different spells than if he's going "SHIT! SHIT! SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!")
Him being bacteria we can probably assume that he doesn't have the mental skills to "layer" his thoughts and keep his plans hidden under the surface. This is somewhat of a mirror match, though, so we can't make too many assumptions. Bacteria or no, it's still our own mana we're dealing with.

Mana Leak is obvious. We will use it to harass every mid- to high cost spell he casts in order to keep him off balance, mana-wise, so he can't bring his big guns to bear. He should never have the mana to brute force us with an uncounterable Banefire unless we're allowing him to cast it, because we're gonna return it at least twice.

Trickbind will be a bit of a dead spell in this battle. The only thing we can really use it for is to stop his Specter from eating our cards, in which case we've already done something wrong by letting it through. Besides, Boomerang is a better choice in that case, anyway.


Speaking of Boomerang, we will probably be using it quite a lot. It will be our main spell to control the battlefield since it is cheap and versatile. It can be used as both (temporary) removal and as a method of saving our own forces from the majority of his removal.
I'm assuming we can also use it in various sneaky ways on different objects in Hakugyokurou, but I'm not quite sure of what possibilities and limitations there are for that, so I'm just gonna say that I've thought of it but can't pin anything down.

Twincast. Oh baby, this is what I'm talking about. This will probably be our main win condition as Beatdown will be hard. We only have Clone and Mulldrifter as reliable casts. Whelk and, especially, Inkwell would have been a very good secondary win condition as they can be fucking lethal due to their size. And Inkwell is immune to direct removal, as well. (It will still die to indirect removal like Vapors and Ultimatum, though, so we need to have some chumps who can take one for the team for it to have a decent chance.)

Mulldrifter will be our main creature, but it will only really do three things:
1. Get us cards.
2. Trade for Specters.
3. Protect the Inkwell Leviathan if we manage to cast it.
It can also be used for some removal baiting, depending on the situation.


Cryptic Command will most likely see less use than Mana Leak due to Leak being cheaper and the extra cost of 3 mana can really break up his plans. We will have to hard counter some of his spells though, and the occasional extra card will really help.
The other two effects won't be very necessary. If we're bouncing something, Boomerang is better, even including the extra card. Tapping all opposing creatures.. Eh. If he has enough creatures to make that worth it, then we're most likely fucked.
The only exception would be if we're using it to open up a route for a Big One. (Whelk or Leviathan.)


Clone... Could be used to bolster our ranks a bit, but then we're better off getting the extra cards from the Mulldrifter, unless we're "stealing" a Specter.
Main use for it: Cheap as fuck Inkwells. Because I realized that if we copy a Whelk, it won't get the extra size.

Mind Control... Eh. Only creature to control around here is the Specter. Then we're better off just keeping it bounced, or killing it with a Twincast Charm.

Tidings is an excellent spell to use if we ever get a window of opportunity. It will most likely get us a "second wind", so to speak, so we can keep up the pressure.

Time Stop is very much a panic button, because this is a spell that can stop anything. Especially time. (In game effect is instantly ending the turn. Anything that was about to happen, doesn't.)
It's not cheap, though, so we're not going to cast it unless it's do or die. Like if a fuckhuge Banefire is heading for our face and he's got a Countersquall ready to stop us from Twincasting it.

Draining Whelk should try to eat an Ultimatum or a big Command if possible.

Blatant Thievery is completely fucking useless in this battle.
Only thing we could grab is a Specter, in which case we're better off just Mind Controlling it. Or just Cloning and bouncing it.

Inkwell Leviathan.. Well, it IS a mountain-sized, magic-immune, tsunami-breaking, sea-swallowing, battalion-flattening apocalypse monster.
There isn't much to say about it, other than that if we manage to get it out there with some Mulls to eat Vapors and maybe even a Clone of it.. Then yeah, start up the victory music, because we're golden baby.


Phew..
Well, those are my thoughts on his and our resources, and I guess you could count that as a "vote" if you want.
Hopefully it will at least be of some help to give everyone some extra insight into what I think is a decent strategy for this battle.
I'm not that good at Magic, (causal player only and I usually play Black, not Blue) so I can't say that this will actually work, but it's the best I can think of.


>>137062
Yeah, one of my two suggestions for Ultimatum is a Twincast/Mana Sink combo, especially if we can starve him for Black or Blue mana before the cast to block his Countersquall.
Double-Twincast is a bit too risky and should be saved for Banefires, since we literally have no other options if they're big enough.
That, or a situation where we're sure to finish him off. An equivalent cardgame situation would be him tapped out on mana and at <10 health. Then we double-Twincast him and we're good. Unfortunately, we can't see health in numbers now, so we can't be too certain that he will actually go down.
Better to drag out a battle that we're sure to win, than risk a quick victory/possible defeat situation, because of impatience and arrogance.
Of course, Nicol is arrogant, but he has a double dose of Blue patience to hold it back, so things should work out.
I hope.

>>137061
Heyyy I was gonna do that
Guys we're gonna need a write in.

>[ ] Match your enemy on the board, using Clone and Mulldrifter to establish a presence and bait out his removal spells, then drop Inkwell Leviathan when the time is right and smash him to pieces. Save your counters for crucial spells like Cruel Ultimatum.
This burns so much mana it's sad to look at. We'd be exhausted for months. Plus it'd take a lot of time to win in this manner and we want to end this fast. He also burns a lot of mana with this option.

>[ ] Your enemy lacks card-drawing spells. Try to trade 1-for-1 as much as possible, countering everything he casts and accumulating additional readied spells whenever he lets up. Eventually he’ll run out of magic or make a mistake, and that’s when you’ll strike.
This is probably the worst of the three. Waiting it out is not a good idea when our clone has almost 6 times the amount of mana

>[ ] Proactively try to damage your enemy as much (or more) than he damages you. You can’t win trying to trade with him when he holds stronger cards and more mana. When he Blightnings you, twincast it twice instead of using Cryptic Command to counter it and draw a card. Eventually, since your twincasted spells hit him before the originals hit you, you’ll get finishing blow in and kill him before he completes his last spell.
This seems like the best of the three. It's inside the 4 mana limit but it's the most damaging of the three. If we just twincast everything we're gonna be in a world of pain when we're done with him. Fastest though.

Keep in mind that we also want to preserve as much of HIS mana as we possibly can since we may be able to get some of it back.

>>137065
Sorry if I'm sort of stealing this update but technically I still have only one vote, even if an extremely wordy one.
I've just never liked posting a copy/paste vote without at least explaining why I voted for that option, and since this suddenly turned into a game of mini-Magic.. Well, you can't play magic by saying "here's my deck" and waiting for the match to be over.

>>137066
Thing is, Mana Leak may not be as helpful as we hope it will be. He has enough mana to simply trainwreack through it. Good going though. You sure did think this through nicely

>>137070
Yes, but if he has a big enough mana pool to just crash through all of them, then we never had a chance in the first place.
That's why I suggested Leak to be used for harassment rather than as a straight up counter. And, in the card game, that really is the main use of that card once everyone has built up a decent mana pool.
Cryptic Command will still be used on the really vital targets, since we know that he can just brute force through some of the Leaks at least.

>>137066
If we're using Peek, we should be able to tell when it can deal with a double (or more) Twincast-Ultimatum. It's very important that we finish it off with Ultimatum for the sweet, sweet life gain.

I'll go ahead and change my vote, for what it's worth.
[x] Your enemy lacks card-drawing spells. Try to trade 1-for-1 as much as possible, countering everything he casts and accumulating additional readied spells whenever he lets up. Eventually he’ll run out of magic or make a mistake, and that’s when you’ll strike.

With this strategy, it has a lot of dead cards and we'll have a lot of twincasts available to capitalize on its blunders. Try to use Mana Burn as much as possible rather than Cryptic Command; that'll run it out of mana faster.

>>137072
Never count on your opponent to make mistakes

>>137072
That a very good point about Peek.
I tried to keep the various uses of it generally vague, because it feels like I'm already influencing the story too much with these, even for me, giant walls of text.
And I didn't even think of that, anyway.

>>137073
It's a semi-sentient bacteria colony. I'm counting on it to make mistakes.

>>137073
We might not want to base a strategy on him making mistakes, but we can still try to use every scrap of information to our advantage which is, I believe, what that anon meant.

Me, I'm not counting on it to make mistakes, but I am counting on it to be stupid (compared to Nicol).

Oh hey, bump limit. New thread soon. That was fast.

>>137077
Being stupid against Nicol is a mistake.

>>137078
That sort of sounds like a bad "The Last Action Hero"-line.
"You were stupid against Nicol... BIG mistake." (/Ahnold)

New Thread is up.

http://www.touhou-project.com/th/res/137088.html