revision: clash-support-v2.2-20260925 status: reviewed-art-freeze commander_manifest: cards/commanders.yaml supersedes_text: clash-support-v2-proposal-20260925 image_status: Flavor additions reverted; renames, centered Judgment, and three-mana modal Athena retained. source_revisions: zeus: zeus-design-v2.0-proposed-tuning1 poseidon: poseidon-design-v2-proposal-tuning1 hades: hades-text-v2-proposal-1-tuning1 athena: athena-design-v2 review_dispositions: docs/revisions/v2.2/review.md required_tokens: - id: T01 name: Giant colors: - R type_line: Creature — Giant power: '4' toughness: '4' rules_text: '' used_by: - Z02 - Z03 - Z09 - id: T02 name: Construct colors: [] type_line: Artifact Creature — Construct power: '4' toughness: '4' rules_text: '' used_by: - Z04 - id: T03 name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null rules_text: '{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.' used_by: - Z05 - Z06 - Z08 - H00 - H05 - H06 - id: T04 name: Bird colors: - W type_line: Creature — Bird power: '3' toughness: '3' rules_text: Flying used_by: - Z08 - Z10 - id: T05 name: Kraken colors: - U type_line: Creature — Kraken power: '4' toughness: '4' rules_text: '' used_by: - P10 note: Triton creates these tapped and attacking and supplies a delayed end-of-combat sacrifice; that is not a token ability. - id: T06 name: Soldier colors: - W type_line: Creature — Soldier power: '1' toughness: '1' rules_text: '' used_by: - A00 - A07 - A09 - A10 note: Athena modifies these while present; their intrinsic statistics remain 1/1. - id: T07 name: Kraken colors: - U type_line: Creature — Kraken power: '6' toughness: '6' rules_text: '' used_by: - P00 - name: Copy of targeted land copy_source: Target land you control copy_exceptions: power: '8' toughness: '8' additional_card_types: - Creature additional_subtypes: - Elemental additional_abilities: - Trample note: Other copiable characteristics, including name, colors, supertypes, land types and abilities, are inherited. This is a variable copy token rather than a fixed generic Elemental token. id: T08 used_by: - P01 cards: - id: Z01 name: The Cyclopes' Thunderbolt mana_cost: '{R}{W}' colors: - R - W type_line: Instant rules_text: 'The Cyclopes'' Thunderbolt deals 10 damage to target creature or planeswalker. If that permanent would die this turn, exile it instead. Draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Fierce Guardianship primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: Hesiod 139–146 names the Cyclopes as the makers of Zeus's thunderbolt. A single enormous strike removes a monster; Zeus doubles it into a barrage. narrative_beat: The allies arm Zeus for the war. design_note: Replaces a free counter with an exceptionally efficient paid battlefield answer. Damage can fail against protection or indestructible; the exile replacement denies resurrection after lethal damage. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter the spell, give the target protection or indestructible, or make its sole target illegal. A spell whose sole target is illegal does not draw a card. art_brief: A single white-hot thunderbolt taking shape between a Cyclops's tongs, against dark forge smoke. Emphasize the weapon, with no surrounding army. tokens: [] - id: Z02 name: The Titanomachy mana_cost: '{2}{W}{W}{R}' colors: - W - R type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Exile up to two target creatures with power 4 or greater. For each creature exiled this way, create a 4/4 red Giant creature token. Exile The Titanomachy.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Winds of Abandon primary_role: answer signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: Hesiod 617–735 makes the freed allies decisive against the Titans. A targeted intervention confines the great opposing powers and brings the allied giants forward; the tokens represent victory by allies, not the literal transformation of Titans. narrative_beat: Allied force ends the stalemate and confines the old powers. design_note: An instant targeted reversal, not a one-sided wrath. Zeus can choose two additional targets for the copy; both resolutions can matter. The exchange removes at most four creatures and supplies at most four Giants. Self-exile prevents recovery spells from repeating it. signature_demo: With Zeus and five mana untapped, respond to four large attackers by exiling two with the copy and two with the original, then receive four 4/4 Giants plus the Zeus card. Alternatively remove two engines on the end step before your turn and untap with two new attackers. Without Zeus, five mana still buys two exile answers and two 4/4 bodies. counterplay: Hexproof, protection, phasing, sacrifice, and reducing power below 4 can invalidate targets. If all targets of a resolution are illegal, it makes no Giants. Removal of Zeus before casting prevents the copy; removal after the trigger does not. Surviving small creatures and other permanents stay in play. Tokens have no haste or evasion. art_brief: One defeated Titan falling into a dark cleft beneath a towering Hundred-Handed ally, with a single lightning stroke above. Bold silhouettes and restrained background. tokens: - name: Giant colors: - R type_line: Creature — Giant power: '4' toughness: '4' abilities: [] - id: Z03 name: Break the Adamantine Bonds mana_cost: '{2}{W}{U}' colors: - W - U type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Exile up to two target artifacts or enchantments. For each permanent exiled this way, its controller creates a 4/4 red Giant creature token. Draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Austere Command primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: In Library 1.2.1 Zeus releases the prisoners whose aid will win the war. Removing a constructed or magical restraint releases a substantial body in its place; this can free your own allies or give an opponent a dangerous consolation. narrative_beat: The war is won by releasing strength that had been bound. design_note: Removes up to four engine permanents when copied, but leaves their controllers finite combat threats. Can sacrifice the value of your own spent rock for a Giant. All four Gods are enchantments and legal targets. signature_demo: null counterplay: Protect or sacrifice the targeted permanents; retain and use the resulting Giants. The spell cannot remove ordinary creatures. Counterplay must account for a Zeus copy separately. art_brief: A massive wrist emerging as one iron shackle bursts, Zeus's small luminous silhouette above it. Focus on the broken bond and the liberated hand. tokens: - name: Giant colors: - R type_line: Creature — Giant power: '4' toughness: '4' abilities: [] - id: Z04 name: Rhea's Swaddled Stone mana_cost: '{W}' colors: - W type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Up to one target creature you control phases out. An opponent of your choice creates a 4/4 colorless Construct artifact creature token. Draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Teferi's Protection primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: Apollodorus 1.1.7 describes Rhea hiding the infant Zeus and giving Cronus a wrapped stone. Phasing hides the threatened creature without killing or returning it; the substantial Construct is the physical substitute. The draw is the preserved future, while giving away a real body makes the deception cost something. narrative_beat: The threatened child survives through a substitution rather than force. design_note: One-mana rescue that works against targeted abilities and untargeted sweepers as well as spells. The opponent receives a real 4/4, without defender. Can be cast with zero targets as a costly-to-the-board cantrip; copied with Zeus it can rescue two creatures but gives away two 4/4s. The copy retains the original’s target count. With a one-target original, change the copy to a second legal creature to protect two and give two gifts; if both target Zeus, the copy phases him out and the original fails entirely. A zero-target original produces a zero-target copy, two gifts, and two cantrips. signature_demo: null counterplay: If the sole chosen creature becomes illegal, that resolution does nothing, including the gift and draw. If cast with zero targets it still gives away a Construct. Phasing Zeus out also turns off future Zeus triggers until he phases in at the next untap. The opponent can attack with or otherwise exploit the 4/4; this protects no noncreature permanent. art_brief: Rhea's hands wrapping a smooth dark stone in a pale infant's cloth. The deceptive bundle is the focus; no crowd or battlefield. tokens: - name: Construct colors: [] type_line: Artifact Creature — Construct power: '4' toughness: '4' abilities: [] - id: Z05 name: Brontes, Steropes, and Arges mana_cost: '{1}{U}{R}' colors: - U - R type_line: Legendary Creature — Cyclops rules_text: 'Flash The first instant or sorcery spell you cast each turn costs {2} less to cast. Whenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, create a Treasure token.' power: '3' toughness: '4' rarity: rare replaces: Smothering Tithe primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: Hesiod 139–146 names Brontes, Steropes, and Arges and emphasizes their strength and craft. The three craftsmen supply one especially well-prepared intervention every turn; their work produces both a discount and the next reserve of power. narrative_beat: The coalition supplies Zeus with weapons. design_note: Flash lets the forge deploy after holding up an answer. A 3/4 blocker is an immediate floor, while subsequent first spells supply a generic discount and a Treasure. Copies do not trigger it; Treasures arrive after paying for the original. Reduction cannot pay colored costs. No untap engine or repeatable spell-replay engine is present. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the Cyclopes before a spell is cast, or force multiple exchanges in the same turn. Flashing them in consumes three mana and does not itself receive a discount or Treasure. art_brief: Three Cyclopes sharing the work on one brilliant thunderbolt at a low anvil. Keep the forge quiet and the composition centered on their hands. tokens: - name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null abilities: - '{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.' - id: Z06 name: Nectar of the Deathless mana_cost: '{2}{U}{R}' colors: - U - R type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Draw three cards. Create three Treasure tokens. Exile Nectar of the Deathless.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Rhystic Study primary_role: resource signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: 'Hesiod 639–653 has Zeus restore the Hundred-Handed Ones with nectar and ambrosia before seeking their aid. The feast restores the pilot’s ability to intervene: fresh plans and usable reserves arrive together. It is a finite meal, not a permanent reward for owning a large creature.' narrative_beat: The feast restores the coalition and makes the decisive intervention possible. design_note: A four-mana emergency refill and mana reserve that is naturally instant speed and copied by Zeus. It depends on no creature mana value, creature count, or prior spell count. Each resolution creates three untapped Treasures, so the pilot can keep answering later opponents. Self-exile bars ordinary spell recovery. This is deliberately far above the efficiency of routine card draw. signature_demo: During an opponent’s end step, four mana and Zeus turn Nectar into six cards and six Treasures, plus the Zeus draw. The pilot has paid one card and four mana for seven cards and six temporary mana sources. This finances answers on later turns and a finite army; it does not cast spells for free or replay itself. Without Zeus it still produces three cards and three Treasures immediately. counterplay: Counter the spell and copy separately, or remove Zeus before the cast. Removing Zeus after his trigger has triggered does not prevent the copy. Instant graveyard hate is not an answer to a resolving Nectar, and no creature-based condition can be disrupted; the fair response is to contest the stack or the next battlefield commitments. Treasures remain vulnerable to artifact removal. art_brief: A huge exhausted hand receiving a small luminous cup from Zeus, against a simple dark cavern wall. The golden nectar supplies the only warm light. tokens: - name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null abilities: - '{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.' - id: Z07 name: Metis mana_cost: '{2}{W}{U}' colors: - W - U type_line: Legendary Creature — Nymph Advisor rules_text: 'Flash Whenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, draw a card.' power: '2' toughness: '4' rarity: mythic replaces: Archmage Emeritus primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: Library 1.2.1 credits Metis with helping Zeus recover his siblings. Each new intervention receives one piece of counsel, represented by a card; this is a gameplay adaptation of her assistance. narrative_beat: Counsel makes force possible, and allies are recovered through knowledge. design_note: 'A restrained ongoing engine: every turn’s first instant or sorcery draws one card. Flash permits deployment after holding up an answer. Copies are not casts; she does not trigger from her own cast. Four qualifying casts across a full round draw four cards, not eight selected cards. Nectar and Titanomachy retain the Zeus signature roles.' signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove Metis before the first instant or sorcery is cast on a turn, pressure life so mana must go to survival, or force repeated exchanges in the same turn. Removing her after a trigger does not stop that trigger. She offers no protection, mana, or recursion. art_brief: Metis quietly giving an adult Zeus counsel beside a small cup of medicine. Two figures, a plain stone setting, and a cool pool of light. tokens: [] - id: Z08 name: The Lots of the Cosmos mana_cost: '{W}{U}{R}' colors: - W - U - R type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Choose three. You may choose the same mode more than once — • Draw a card. • Create a Treasure token. • Create a 3/3 white Bird creature token with flying. Exile The Lots of the Cosmos.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Mystic Confluence primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: Library 1.2.1 ends the war with Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades dividing the cosmos by lot. Three allocations become a choice between knowledge, buried wealth, and creatures of the sky. These associations are creative mechanical interpretations, not a claim that the source awards cards or birds. narrative_beat: Victory's spoils become the resources of the next contested order. design_note: Three colored mana buys three flexible allocations at instant speed. Three Bird choices create three 3/3 flyers, or six with Zeus. Three draw choices draw three, or six with Zeus plus his own draw. Copies retain the chosen modes. The Cyclopes cannot reduce this all-colored cost. Self-exile bounds successful reuse. signature_demo: null counterplay: 'Counter original and copy separately or answer the resulting tokens before attackers are declared. Zeus copies the selected modes: the pilot cannot turn a draw-mode original into a Bird-mode copy. Birds have no haste; an end-step deployment immediately before the pilot’s turn still offers stack and precombat response windows.' art_brief: Three marked lots resting in Zeus's open palm, with a sliver of pale sky beyond. No cosmic panorama or collage of three kingdoms. tokens: - name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null abilities: - '{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.' - name: Bird colors: - W type_line: Creature — Bird power: '3' toughness: '3' abilities: - Flying - id: Z09 name: The Hundred-Handed Ones mana_cost: '{3}{R}{W}' colors: - R - W type_line: Legendary Creature — Giant rules_text: 'Flash Reach When The Hundred-Handed Ones enters, it deals 6 damage divided as you choose among up to two target creatures and/or planeswalkers your opponents control. Whenever you cast your first instant or sorcery spell each turn, create a 4/4 red Giant creature token.' power: '6' toughness: '6' rarity: rare replaces: Metallurgic Summonings primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: Hesiod 713–735 describes the Hundred-Handed Ones overwhelming the Titans with stones. Their arrival is the opening volley; continued spell interventions bring further allied strength onto the field. The generic Giant tokens abstract the coalition, not additional named Hundred-Handed brothers. narrative_beat: The freed allies take the front line and break the enemy formation. design_note: A five-mana flash 6/6 with immediate divided damage replaces the delayed attack payoff. Subsequent interventions recruit 4/4 allies; the army is generated by playing the deck, not by committing to attack before getting value. The damage is an enters ability, not a spell Zeus can copy. Each allocation must be at least 1; damage allocated to an illegal target is not reassigned. The token trigger is once per turn in practice because it requires the first instant/sorcery. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter the creature, protect its damage targets, or kill it before later first casts. Removal after entry does not erase the damage trigger. Giants have no haste, evasion, or built-in protection. A six-toughness body can trade in combat or die to ordinary removal. art_brief: The three immense allies poised above the battlefield, one foreground hand releasing a single boulder. Suggest their many arms with a few readable silhouettes rather than hundreds of tiny limbs. tokens: - name: Giant colors: - R type_line: Creature — Giant power: '4' toughness: '4' abilities: [] - id: Z10 name: The Oath of Styx mana_cost: '{1}{W}{U}' colors: - W - U type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Choose an opponent. Until your next turn, whenever that player casts a spell, draw a card and create a 3/3 white Bird creature token with flying. Draw a card. Exile The Oath of Styx.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Akroma's Will primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html myth_connection: 'Hesiod 383–403 gives Styx authority over divine oaths; 793–806 describes the cost of breaking one as exclusion from divine fellowship. The card adapts a time-bounded demand for restraint: acting despite it empowers the ruler’s side. Birds are Zeus’s aerial authority, not literal beings born from Styx or a claim that the poem imposes this exact bargain.' narrative_beat: After victory, Zeus’s order constrains rival gods through binding promises rather than another army-wide combat bonus. design_note: 'An instant vow with immediate cantrip floor, not an attack-count enchantment. It offers one opponent a finite choice: abstain from further spellcasting until your next turn, or strengthen Zeus’s hand and aerial force with every cast. The pilot chooses an opponent as each resolution happens, so Zeus can place two oaths on one opponent or cover two opponents. Spell copies are not casts. It restricts no legal action, charges no mana, has no recursion, and ends at the next turn.' signature_demo: null counterplay: Cast important spells before the Oath resolves, wait until the effect ends, accept the finite reward and answer the Birds, or counter original and copy. Removing Zeus after resolution does not end the delayed triggers. An opponent who does not cast gives no delayed reward; the cantrip still happens. art_brief: Styx extending her hand in pledge toward Zeus over still black water, with a restrained silver reflection. The oath gesture carries the scene. tokens: - name: Bird colors: - W type_line: Creature — Bird power: '3' toughness: '3' abilities: - Flying - id: P01 name: Nisyros Falls mana_cost: '{3}{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Sorcery rules_text: 'Create a token that''s a copy of target land you control, except it''s an 8/8 Elemental creature with trample in addition to its other types. Return up to one target nonland permanent to its owner''s hand. Exile Nisyros Falls.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Cyclonic Rift primary_role: threat signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Gigante/GigantePolybotes.html myth_connection: Poseidon tears away part of Kos to form Nisyros and overwhelm Polybotes. Copying an existing land enacts the creation of a new island; the enormous land creature and displacement adapt its impact. The animate island is a game interpretation, not a claim that the myth describes a living elemental. narrative_beat: An existing coastline becomes a new island, displacing an obstacle and remaining as a force in the world. design_note: Five mana creates both a lasting 8/8 trampling threat and an additional land, with optional nonland bounce. It works with no prior army. The land copy causes landfall, retains copied abilities and entry conditions, and has summoning sickness. Choosing a utility land changes future options; a basic land is the clean default. No haste, mass pump or wrath. The required land target and optional bounce target are independently checked on resolution. Self-exile bounds successful reuse. The landfall/ramp examples assume an actual land among the source’s copiable values. A nonland temporarily made a land by The Ship Becomes a Stone copies its underlying nonland characteristics instead, plus the 8/8 Elemental/trample exceptions, and normally is not a land. signature_demo: 'With five lands and Poseidon, copy a basic Island and return an opposing blocker or engine to hand. The 8/8 land creature entering triggers an unused Poseidon mode: choose a 6/6 Kraken, two cards, or another bounce. Without the god or any army, the spell still supplies an 8/8 trampler, a future mana source, and optional displacement. None of the new creatures has haste.' counterplay: Counter it or remove the land target before resolution to prevent the copy. If another chosen target is still legal, its bounce and self-exile still resolve. Removing only the bounce target does not stop a legal land copy. With no bounce target chosen, losing the sole land target stops the whole spell. The token is vulnerable to creature removal and cannot attack or use tap-symbol abilities immediately without haste. Legendary land copies force the normal legend-rule choice; Surrak and Goreclaw does not give tokens haste. art_brief: Poseidon hurls one immense limestone island fragment downward; a tiny giant silhouette below establishes scale. Open sea and a spare storm sky. No crowd of combatants. tokens: - name: Copy of targeted land copy_source: Target land you control copy_exceptions: power: '8' toughness: '8' additional_card_types: - Creature additional_subtypes: - Elemental additional_abilities: - Trample note: Other copiable characteristics, including name, colors, supertypes, land types and abilities, are inherited. This is a variable copy token rather than a fixed generic Elemental token. - id: P02 name: The Raft Breaks mana_cost: '{1}{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Instant rules_text: Return all attacking creatures to their owners’ hands. You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Aetherize primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey5.html myth_connection: 'Odyssey 5.365–387: Poseidon shatters the raft when land seems close. A committed advance collapses while another shore becomes accessible.' narrative_beat: The apparent arrival becomes another voyage. design_note: A cheap finite defensive reversal; its land entrance can access an unused Poseidon mode on the attacking turn. Tokens vanish, while creature cards can be recast. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter it, pressure with noncombat effects, or send a smaller force before committing the rest. It does not remove creatures held back. art_brief: One wooden raft splits beneath a single curling wave, with a distant strip of shore. The stranded voyager is a small clear silhouette, not a crowded scene. tokens: [] - id: P03 name: Polyphemus's Prayer mana_cost: '{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Choose one — • Destroy target artifact or enchantment. • Return target nonland permanent to its owner''s hand. Draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Force of Vigor primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey9.html myth_connection: 'Odyssey 9.528–535: Polyphemus asks Poseidon to obstruct Odysseus''s return. The answered prayer wrecks an instrument of the journey or sends progress backward; it does not require its controller to lose life.' narrative_beat: A petition makes the voyage longer. design_note: Green supplies artifact/enchantment destruction; blue supplies nonland bounce and the unconditional cantrip. Two useful modes make it live against almost every developed board. This is a finite, efficient answer rather than a combat-damage reward. signature_demo: null counterplay: Protect or remove the chosen target, or counter the spell. Both modes target; if its sole target becomes illegal, the spell also loses its draw. Bounce is temporary and can rescue an ally or your own creature. art_brief: Polyphemus kneels on a dark shore and raises one hand toward the sea; his wounded eye is covered. One pale line of surf answers him. tokens: [] - id: P04 name: The Ship Becomes a Stone mana_cost: '{1}{U}' colors: - U type_line: Enchantment — Aura rules_text: 'Enchant artifact, creature, or land Enchanted permanent is a colorless land with “{T}: Add {C}.” and loses all other card types and abilities.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Reality Shift primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey13.html myth_connection: 'Odyssey 13.153–164: Poseidon petrifies the Phaeacian ship and roots it by the shore. A mobile source of power becomes inert geography.' narrative_beat: The grudge reaches those who enabled safe passage. design_note: The efficient Imprisoned in the Moon family is an exact narrative fit. It disables a god without a death trigger but leaves its controller a mana source. The enchant ability includes land so the Aura stays attached after the change. signature_demo: null counterplay: Destroy or exile the Aura to restore the permanent. A commander remains on the battlefield, so its owner cannot simply move it to the command zone. The card does not destroy lands. art_brief: A single Greek ship has become pale stone, its oars and prow rooted beside a quiet coastline. Still water, one restrained god-shadow across the hull. tokens: [] - id: P05 name: The Sea Makes Way mana_cost: '{4}{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Sorcery rules_text: 'Reveal the top twelve cards of your library. Put up to four land cards from among them onto the battlefield tapped and the rest into your hand. Exile The Sea Makes Way.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Rhystic Study primary_role: resource signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad13.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 13.17–31: the sea opens before Poseidon and its creatures recognize their lord. What obstructs a mortal becomes an immense route for the god.' narrative_beat: Unimpeded passage displays divine authority. design_note: 'Signature resource event: twelve cards change the scale of a turn. At most four become tapped lands; the remainder supply the future hand. Six mana and self-exile keep this a finite pivotal event, not a recurring draw tax or immediately usable mana loop.' signature_demo: On turn six with six lands and no commander, reveal twelve cards containing four lands. Put those four lands in tapped and keep eight cards. A turn that began with an ordinary mana base ends poised to cast two large spells next turn. With Poseidon already present the four entrances can also use each still-available mode once, never four Krakens. counterplay: Counter the six-mana sorcery, answer the landfall engines before it resolves, or attack the pilot who spent a turn on resources. Lands enter tapped. Hand-size limits still apply without an independent enabler. art_brief: Poseidon drives along one luminous channel opening through a dark calm sea. The route, rather than background ornament, conveys vast distance. tokens: [] - id: P06 name: Leucothea's Veil mana_cost: '{1}{U}' colors: - U type_line: Enchantment rules_text: 'Whenever one or more creatures deal combat damage to you, draw two cards. {U}, Sacrifice Leucothea''s Veil: Target creature you control gains hexproof until end of turn.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Mystic Remora primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey5.html myth_connection: 'Odyssey 5.333–353: Leucothea gives the endangered Odysseus her veil. Help arrives when the traveler suffers, and the gift can be spent to preserve a life.' narrative_beat: The victim still has a way to survive. design_note: Two cards rewards surviving an attack without the old three-card deterrent. Simultaneous combat damage produces one trigger; separate first-strike and regular damage steps can produce two. Sacrificing the veil spends the gift and ends the engine. signature_demo: null counterplay: Destroy the enchantment before damage, attack lethally, or attack another player. Hexproof does not stop sweepers and spending the veil ends its draw engine. art_brief: A white veil stretches from a sea-goddess’s hand toward one exhausted swimmer. Keep the scene intimate, with dark water and a single soft highlight. tokens: [] - id: P07 name: River's Mercy mana_cost: '{3}{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Instant rules_text: Draw four cards. You may put up to two land cards from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to you this turn. power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Rishkar's Expertise primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey5.html myth_connection: 'Odyssey 5.441–463: a river stills its current and receives Odysseus. Reaching shelter restores resources and creates one turn of safety.' narrative_beat: A refuge interrupts the god’s pursuit. design_note: Five mana purchases a finite refill, access to shore, and safety for the pilot. It protects neither creatures nor planeswalkers. Casting it outside combat sacrifices the defensive rider for development. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter it, inflict noncombat damage, or attack the pilot on a later turn. The listed deck has only finite spell recovery, not a repeated-fog engine. art_brief: An exhausted voyager reaches a sheltered river mouth; rough sea ends at the boundary of smooth shallow water. No additional figures or architecture. tokens: [] - id: P08 name: Poseidon's Hippocamps mana_cost: '{1}{G}' colors: - G type_line: Creature — Horse Fish rules_text: 'You may play an additional land on each of your turns. At the beginning of your end step, if two or more lands entered under your control this turn, draw two cards.' power: '2' toughness: '3' rarity: rare replaces: Exploration primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad13.html myth_connection: Iliad 13.17–38 gives Poseidon swift sea-crossing horses. The extra land permission carries development forward; completing a substantial crossing yields fresh resources. Horse-Fish anatomy is a Greek-art adaptation, not a claim that Homer calls the horses fish-tailed. narrative_beat: Swift passage replenishes the expedition. design_note: 'The rider now rewards the deck''s ordinary work: a second land play, a fetchland played and cracked, or a normal land plus ramp. It checks all land entries that turn, including before Hippocamps entered. No combat-only timing; only the pilot''s end step pays cards. Extra permission still applies only during your own turn.' signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the 2/3 before the end step, restrict land supply, or counter the trigger. Once triggered, removing Hippocamps does not stop the draw. art_brief: One bronze-hoofed hippocamp surges through clear turquoise water; a gold mane and the curve of its fish tail define the silhouette. Empty sea behind it. tokens: [] - id: P09 name: The Trojan Ketos mana_cost: '{4}{U}{U}' colors: - U type_line: Legendary Creature — Kraken rules_text: 'Whenever The Trojan Ketos enters or attacks, return up to two target nonland permanents your opponents control to their owners'' hands. Whenever a creature an opponent controls is returned to its owner''s hand, The Trojan Ketos can''t be blocked this turn.' power: '8' toughness: '8' rarity: mythic replaces: Kiora Bests the Sea God primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Ther/KetosTroias.html myth_connection: The Laomedon tradition describes Poseidon sending a sea-monster against Troy after an unpaid obligation. Its arrival already disrupts the city; each subsequent advance demands more retreat. narrative_beat: A grudge takes bodily form and advances on the shore. design_note: Six mana immediately displaces up to two nonland permanents and establishes an 8/8. Subsequent attacks pressure one or several enemies through targeted displacement. Creature bounce opens its path, but no target is forced and no land is touched. This bounded tempo threat replaces the old six-mana wait-a-turn design. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter the creature or its trigger, protect the chosen permanents, or remove it before combat damage. Bounce does not answer ETB creatures permanently; they can generate value again. It has no intrinsic protection. art_brief: A single long-jawed Greek ketos rises beside a plain stretch of Trojan sea wall. Its head and the small scale of the wall carry the image; no siege army. tokens: [] - id: P10 name: Triton, Poseidon's Herald mana_cost: '{2}{G}{U}' colors: - G - U type_line: Legendary Creature — Merfolk rules_text: 'Creatures you control have trample. Whenever Triton, Poseidon''s Herald attacks, you may pay {3}. If you do, create three tapped and attacking 4/4 blue Kraken creature tokens. Sacrifice those tokens at end of combat.' power: '4' toughness: '5' rarity: mythic replaces: Koma, World-Eater primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses1.html myth_connection: 'Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.330–347: Triton’s conch signals the waters to withdraw at Poseidon’s command. The temporary host is a game adaptation of a wave summoned and then recalled.' narrative_beat: Divine command turns the sea into a timed advance. design_note: Pay three mana from any legal source when the attack trigger resolves. The wave is always three temporary Krakens, with no per-land counting. Triton grants trample immediately even when summoning-sick. Tokens enter attacking and do not trigger abilities requiring attackers to be declared. The sea withdraws at end of combat. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove Triton before attackers are declared to prevent the trigger, remove him before damage to remove his trample effect, or counter the trigger. The three-mana payment competes with interaction. Removing Triton after the trigger resolves does not remove the tokens. art_brief: Triton blows a single pale conch above the water. One broad crest behind him suggests a host taking shape, with a clean horizon. tokens: - name: Kraken colors: - U types: - Creature - Kraken type_line: Creature — Kraken power: '4' toughness: '4' abilities: [] - id: H01 name: The Host's Welcome mana_cost: '{4}{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Sorcery rules_text: 'Each opponent chooses a creature they control, then sacrifices the rest. For each opponent, choose up to one creature card in that player''s graveyard. Return the chosen cards to the battlefield under your control with a finality counter on each of them. Exile The Host''s Welcome.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Toxic Deluge primary_role: answer signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/HaidesPersephone1.html myth_connection: The Hymn to Demeter's Host of Many receives the dead from every earthly allegiance. The mass arrival and exceptional release of chosen guests are a game adaptation of that jurisdiction, not a claim that Hades commanded this battle in the source. narrative_beat: The host receives the casualties of the other gods' wars, then permits selected guests a conditional return. design_note: A six-mana reversal keeps our established army, reduces each opposing army to its chosen survivor, and adds up to three creatures. Sacrifice gets through indestructibility; finality and self-exile prevent routine recycling. This is deliberately stronger than an ordinary six-mana sweeper. signature_demo: On turn six, three opponents have five, four, and seven creatures. They preserve one each and sacrifice thirteen. Choose the best eligible corpse in each opposing graveyard and return those three with finality. Hades draws one card and makes one Treasure for the simultaneous nontoken deaths, not thirteen. The new army normally waits to attack. Recruiting Surrak and Goreclaw can grant the other nontoken recruits haste, and a recruited Puppeteer Clique can give its own borrowed creature haste; these are earned exceptions with response windows before combat. counterplay: Counter the sorcery, phase out a threatened army, remove valuable old graveyard targets before resolution, or keep the best blocker or engine as the survivor. Graveyard removal before resolution does not stop recruitment of creatures newly sacrificed during this spell; there is no priority window between its sacrifice and return instructions. A sacrificed commander selected during this resolution stays under our control; it is already on the battlefield when state-based actions are next checked, so its owner has no automatic command-zone escape. A later eligible zone change can give its owner the normal command-zone choice. Exile and bounce answer the returned creatures. art_brief: Hades receives a single fallen warrior at the foot of his throne; two distant silhouettes imply the larger procession. Quiet black stone and one seam of gold, no crowded underworld panorama. tokens: [] - id: H02 name: The Helm of Darkness mana_cost: '{1}{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Legendary Artifact — Equipment rules_text: 'Flash When The Helm of Darkness enters, attach it to up to one target creature you control. Then that creature phases out. Equipped creature has menace and ward {2}. Equip {2}' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Teferi's Protection primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/HaidesTreasures.html myth_connection: Apollodorus describes the Cyclopes giving Hades a helmet, and the collected ancient accounts describe its invisibility. Phasing briefly conceals a creature without resetting its identity or finality counter; menace and ward represent the difficult-to-perceive wearer. narrative_beat: Conceal a vulnerable returned guest for one dangerous passage. design_note: The Equipment attaches during the same resolving trigger before its wearer phases out. Under CR 702.26g, the attached Helm phases out indirectly, then phases in attached when its wearer returns. Finality counters remain; no enter or death ability triggers. With no creature, choose zero targets and keep the Helm for a later equip. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter the enter trigger or remove its chosen target in response. Removing the Helm before its trigger resolves prevents attachment but does not prevent the legal target from phasing out. Equip is still a sorcery-speed action; this is not a repeatable phasing activation. art_brief: A dark Greek helmet held just above a warrior's head, with the face beneath fading from sight. Close framing, empty smoky background. tokens: [] - id: H03 name: Don't Look Back mana_cost: '{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Until your next turn, creatures you control with finality counters on them gain hexproof, indestructible, and “This creature can''t block.” Draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Anguished Unmaking primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: 'Apollodorus, Library 1.3.2, makes the return depend on Orpheus not turning around during the journey. Protection paired with inability to block is an explicit game metaphor: the returned may continue forward under protection, but may not turn back to defend home. The old attacker-exile clause is removed: the myth contains no invented pursuing monster.' narrative_beat: Protect a return by committing to the forward journey, accepting a vulnerable home front. design_note: This is always an untargeted protection spell, and draws a card even if there are no marked creatures. The longer duration carries the protected company through a turn cycle, but prohibits blocking. This is useful before attacking and protects surviving returned engines through opponents' turns; it does not protect an unmarked Hades. The restriction does not remove an already-blocking creature from combat. signature_demo: null counterplay: 'There are no targets: removing a marked creature cannot cause an all-targets-illegal failure. Opponents can attack around the protected company, use sacrifice or toughness reduction, or remove unmarked supporting creatures. The effect covers the creatures present with finality when it resolves, not later arrivals.' art_brief: Orpheus walks toward a small wedge of daylight with his face resolutely forward; Eurydice follows one step behind. Two figures and the light are the whole composition. tokens: [] - id: H04 name: Judgment in the Underworld mana_cost: '{2}{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Sorcery rules_text: Destroy all creatures that don't have finality counters on them. power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Austere Command primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/HaidesTreasures.html myth_connection: The underworld court includes Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus; the collected Statius passages describe judgment beside Hades. Dividing creatures by an existing mark of conditional release is a game adaptation of adjudicated status. It does not present Hades alone as the only judge. narrative_beat: A prior permission to return changes who survives the next judgment. design_note: A four-mana selective sweeper with one job. Finality-marked creatures survive regardless of controller; an unmarked Hades dies. Removal of the unrelated artifact/enchantment clause shortens the card and removes its all-targets-illegal failure mode. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter the spell, protect unmarked creatures with indestructibility, or remove the marked army beforehand. Opposing creatures with finality survive too. art_brief: Three seated judges in a simple row, one lowering a small bronze voting stone. A pale standing shade is the only foreground figure. tokens: [] - id: H05 name: Charon mana_cost: '{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Legendary Creature — Spirit Pilot rules_text: 'Whenever one or more nontoken creatures die, create two Treasure tokens. This ability triggers only once each turn. {1}, {T}, Sacrifice a Treasure: Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.' power: '2' toughness: '3' rarity: rare replaces: Smothering Tithe primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Kharon.html myth_connection: Ancient accounts identify Charon as the ferryman and Aristophanes' Frogs explicitly discusses the fare. Deaths produce passage money, then paying a coin recovers access to one named dead creature. Return to hand is an abstraction of passage, not a claim that Charon habitually resurrects his passengers. narrative_beat: Each arrival pays; a later crossing requires a deliberate payment. design_note: Replaces a generic tax with powerful event-driven Treasure production. Recovering a creature also spends mana, a Treasure, and a tap; it cannot sacrifice creatures or create a self-funding resurrection loop. Hades and Charon together can earn three Treasures on the first nontoken death each turn. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove this fragile two-mana creature, exile creatures instead of destroying them, or exile the selected card in response to the paid return. No death means no automatic income. Returned finality creatures that are exiled do not trigger Charon. art_brief: Charon extends an open hand for a single coin beside the dark edge of his narrow boat. No queue of souls or elaborate river landscape. tokens: - name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Token Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null abilities: '{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.' - id: H06 name: Plouton's Buried Riches mana_cost: '{3}{B}{B}' colors: - B type_line: Legendary Enchantment rules_text: When Plouton's Buried Riches enters and at the beginning of your upkeep, mill six cards. Then you may exile up to three creature cards from your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, draw a card and create a tapped Treasure token. power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Necropotence primary_role: resource signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/HaidesGod.html myth_connection: Plato's Cratylus connects Plouton's name to wealth arising from below the earth. The game turns an underworld population into buried riches. Exiling the creature cards makes that wealth a choice against bringing those same people back, rather than pretending corpses are inexhaustible coins. narrative_beat: The host can extract astonishing wealth from his realm, but every extraction relinquishes a possible return. design_note: Immediate self-fueled output, then one payout each own upkeep. Each creature card exiled buys one card and one tapped Treasure, at most three of each per trigger. The six-card mill is mandatory, but cashing out is optional and spends resurrection fuel. Milling does not trigger Hades or Charon. Treasures made during upkeep are created after the untap step and normally remain tapped until the next untap. signature_demo: Cast Riches with one expendable creature already in the graveyard, then mill two more. Exile all three for three cards and three tapped Treasures, or keep a desirable returnee and take two cards and two Treasures. With an empty graveyard, two creatures milled buy two of each; a six-card miss gives none. Further upkeep triggers require fresh fuel and consume a finite library. counterplay: Counter the enchantment or its trigger, exile the graveyard in response to a trigger, or answer the tapped Treasures before they untap. Destroying the enchantment after its trigger has triggered does not stop that trigger. Graveyard exile before resolution clears old fuel but cannot intercept the mill-to-exile sequence within resolution. Without an untap effect, the fresh Treasures do not cast more spells that turn. Repeated mandatory mill plus drawing can exhaust the library; spending fewer corpses is a real choice. art_brief: A single pale hand opens a crack in black earth, revealing a concentrated vein of gold. No skeletal army, vast treasure room, or extra symbolic objects. tokens: - name: Treasure colors: [] type_line: Token Artifact — Treasure power: null toughness: null abilities: '{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.' - id: H07 name: Orpheus mana_cost: '{1}{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Legendary Creature — Human Bard rules_text: 'When Orpheus enters, return target creature card with mana value 4 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it. Whenever one or more creatures you control with finality counters on them attack, you draw two cards and you lose 1 life.' power: '3' toughness: '2' rarity: rare replaces: Black Market Connections primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: Library 1.3.2 describes the musician descending and persuading Hades to release Eurydice. An enter trigger petitions for a particular modest-sized creature; subsequent card draw requires taking returned people forward into danger. Combat is the game's metaphor for continuing the journey, not a claim that Orpheus led a military campaign. narrative_beat: Petition for one return, then lead the returned onward. design_note: Three mana can recover a real value creature, including Eurydice or Charon, with finality attached. The draw rewards risking that marked board in ordinary combat and costs 1 life per trigger, whether one marked creature or several attack; there are no extra-combat effects here. Orpheus does not return himself from his own enter trigger. signature_demo: null counterplay: Exile the graveyard target in response, remove Orpheus before attackers are declared, or block the marked creatures so drawing two and losing 1 life also costs irreplaceable bodies. The resurrection cap prevents returning Hades, major removal angels, or Cerberus. art_brief: Orpheus plays his lyre before a seated ruler mostly lost in shadow. Focus on the musician's hands and the ruler's listening posture. tokens: [] - id: H08 name: The Descent for Eurydice mana_cost: '{2}{W}{B}' colors: - W - B type_line: Enchantment — Saga rules_text: 'I — Mill six cards. II — Return up to two target creature cards from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on each of them. III — For each creature you control with a finality counter on it, you draw two cards and you lose 1 life.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Sepulchral Primordial primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus1.html myth_connection: Library 1.3.2 supplies descent, petition, and a return endangered by a later choice. The chapters move from entering the realm of the dead to recovering people to rewarding their continued survival. The game permits two returned creatures so the relationship can occupy the battlefield together; this is an adaptation rather than a second Eurydice in the source. narrative_beat: Descend, retrieve, and preserve long enough to reach the light. design_note: Replaces immediate mass theft with a telegraphed but exceptionally large staged recovery. Each chapter offers a response window, and the final reward depends on marked creatures still being present. Two survivors mean four cards and 2 life lost; five mean ten cards and 5 life lost. This preserves the whole draw reward while giving its black card advantage a life price. No Saga reminder text is needed in the image; normal Saga rules apply. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the Saga before chapter II, exile the graveyard targets in response, or answer returned creatures before chapter III. Removing the Saga after a chapter has triggered does not counter that chapter. Creatures whose finality counters are removed no longer count toward chapter III. art_brief: 'A spare vertical Greek relief in three connected scenes: a lyre descending, two hands almost meeting, and a narrow opening of daylight. Keep the figures large and the surrounding stone plain.' tokens: [] - id: H09 name: Eurydice mana_cost: '{1}{W}' colors: - W type_line: Legendary Enchantment Creature — Nymph rules_text: 'Whenever Eurydice enters or attacks, if you control a creature with a finality counter on it, draw a card. As long as Eurydice has a finality counter on it, other creatures you control get +2/+2.' power: '2' toughness: '2' rarity: rare replaces: True Conviction primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses10.html myth_connection: Ovid's account places Eurydice's death, retrieval, and second loss at the emotional center of Orpheus's descent. The anthem makes the returned person's continued presence matter to everyone around her. She is not merely a generic corpse to sacrifice; losing her immediately diminishes the host. The battle empowerment is a creative game adaptation. narrative_beat: The person recovered is the reason the whole journey matters. design_note: Cast normally, Eurydice is a modest body with conditional draw. Returned with finality, she supplies cards and a large army-wide bonus while remaining a vulnerable 2/2 herself. This replaces generic double strike with a visible individual whose preservation supplies closing power. signature_demo: null counterplay: Exile, bounce, or destroy Eurydice before combat damage. If she has finality, destruction loses her permanently; if bounced, she returns to her owner's hand and loses the anthem unless brought back with finality later. The anthem does not protect Eurydice herself. art_brief: Eurydice alone at the edge of morning light, looking toward a path outside the frame. Quiet, recognizably human emotion; no army or throne. tokens: [] - id: H10 name: Cerberus mana_cost: '{3}{B}{B}' colors: - B type_line: Legendary Creature — Dog rules_text: 'Menace Creatures you control with finality counters on them have menace. Whenever Cerberus enters or attacks, mill six cards. Then you may return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand.' power: '5' toughness: '5' rarity: rare replaces: Grave Titan primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Ther/KuonKerberos.html myth_connection: Hesiod, Theogony 767ff., describes the hound receiving arrivals while preventing unauthorized departure. Milling receives new inhabitants; returning one card to hand represents a chosen guest admitted back into reach under the host's authority. This second action is an explicit game adaptation, not an assertion that Cerberus freely resurrects the dead. Menace lets the host's permitted company advance behind the hound. narrative_beat: The hound receives the growing host and accompanies a permitted company back toward the living. design_note: Five mana immediately supplies six cards of graveyard fuel, recovers a creature to hand if available, and leaves a 5/5 menace body. Attacking repeats that finite-library value and grants the finality army evasion. Returning to hand spends mana to redeploy and does not reset any living creature's finality; there is no corpse-exile competition or incidental counter minigame. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove Cerberus before attackers are declared, answer the graveyard before its trigger resolves, or present two blockers. Removing Cerberus after its trigger has triggered does not stop milling or recovery. No target is chosen, so the trigger can recover a newly milled creature, but no player gets priority between milling and selection. The deck contains no sacrifice outlet that can loop Cerberus. art_brief: Cerberus stands beside one arriving shade in the underworld entrance, one head watching the path outward. A large, clear three-headed hound; no army or elaborate architecture. tokens: [] - id: A01 name: Lift the Mist mana_cost: '{1}{W}' colors: - W type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Exile target enchantment. Scry 2, then draw a card.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Krosan Grip primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.121–132: Athena removes the mist from Diomedes''s eyes so he can distinguish gods from mortals. The spell identifies and expels an enchantment, then turns revelation into selection and a card. Exile is a game adaptation of exposing a god, not a claim that Athena banishes every god she reveals.' narrative_beat: The mist lifts. design_note: A clean, efficient answer to every enchantment god, replacing split-second reliability with exile and substantial selection. It does not bypass hexproof. signature_demo: null counterplay: Counter it, protect the targeted enchantment with hexproof, or remove that target before resolution; with its only target illegal the entire spell fails to resolve. art_brief: A close view of Diomedes as a thin veil of gray mist parts before his eyes; one distant divine silhouette, no army panorama. tokens: [] - id: A02 name: Wound the Deathless mana_cost: '{R}{W}' colors: - R - W type_line: Instant rules_text: Target creature you control deals damage equal to twice its power to target creature or planeswalker you don't control. If a permanent dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead. power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Force of Vigor primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.846–863: Athena helps Diomedes drive his spear into Ares. A mortal body must actually deliver the blow; divine empowerment can make an ordinary Soldier capable of removing a god. The exile replacement represents the wounded immortal leaving the battle.' narrative_beat: A mortal wounds Ares. design_note: Converts an established creature into a powerful two-mana exile answer. Athena makes a token deal eight; the effect remains useful with a normal three-power champion. Replaces an alternate-cost answer with a conditional, paid one. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove or shrink the friendly target in response; hexproof, indestructible, or damage prevention can save the opposing target. No damage is dealt if the friendly target is illegal on resolution. art_brief: One bronze spear piercing Ares's armor at the waist, Diomedes's hand on the shaft and Athena's hand guiding it; tight action composition. tokens: [] - id: A03 name: Athena Turns the Spear mana_cost: '{1}{R}{W}' colors: - R - W type_line: Instant rules_text: 'Choose one — • Creatures you control gain hexproof and indestructible until your next turn. • Athena Turns the Spear deals 4 damage to each attacking or blocking creature.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Austere Command primary_role: answer signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.846–863: Athena deflects the spear aimed at Diomedes, then guides his answering strike. The modal spell offers divine shelter or a counterstroke against creatures committed to combat. It adapts a duel into a formation-level intervention, without sweeping every opposing army.' narrative_beat: The chariot becomes the turning point. design_note: Three-mana instant with two exclusive choices. Protection grants abilities to the creatures present on resolution until the caster’s next turn. The second mode deals a fixed 4 damage to all attacking or blocking creatures, including friendly ones. It cannot clear idle blockers before attackers are declared and does not scale with the army. Additional protection from another paid spell can spare friendly combatants; this is a two-card interaction, not this card granting both modes. signature_demo: Choose protection to preserve Athena and an established token formation through a destroy sweeper and later targeted removal until your next turn. Alternatively, before declaring blockers, deal 4 to an attacking formation of small creatures while your noncombatants survive; 6/6 Krakens survive absent other damage. After blockers, your own 4/4 tokens also die to the damage mode unless separately protected. This remains a major defensive intervention rather than a table-wide offensive clear. counterplay: The chosen mode is announced on casting. Protection does not stop sacrifice, toughness reduction, untargeted exile or bounce, nor damage to players; later creatures do not gain the abilities. The damage mode leaves noncombatants and creatures with sufficient toughness alive, and protection, indestructible or prevention can save combatants. Existing marked damage matters. Neither mode targets. Copying the spell preserves its mode; the two modes cannot be combined by a normal copy. art_brief: Athena catches a descending spear above a chariot, her calm hand stopping the impact; a single bright counterstroke across the lower frame, minimal background. tokens: [] - id: A04 name: The Aegis mana_cost: '{1}{W}' colors: - W type_line: Legendary Artifact — Equipment rules_text: 'Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has vigilance. Whenever equipped creature attacks, another target attacking creature gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Equip {1}' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Clever Concealment primary_role: answer signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: Iliad 5.733–747 describes Athena putting on the aegis with its terrifying Gorgon image before entering battle. Here a bearer advances under its protection and shelters a companion. The effect is a combat interpretation of the armor, not an invented property claimed for the ancient object. narrative_beat: An ally must survive the advance. design_note: Strong offensive protection and a credible creature bonus, exchanging broad phasing for a specific companion's safe attack. It cannot protect its own bearer or shelter an army during opponents' turns. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the Equipment or its bearer before attacks, answer the companion in response to the trigger, or use a sweeper on a later turn. The protected attacker can still be blocked and does not automatically gain evasion. art_brief: Athena's dark aegis with a single severe Gorgon face over one advancing warrior's shield arm; quiet smoky backdrop. tokens: [] - id: A05 name: Counsel Before the Charge mana_cost: '{1}{G}{W}' colors: - G - W type_line: Enchantment rules_text: Whenever you attack with one or more creatures, look at the top four cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Sylvan Library primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.121–132 and 814–834: Athena''s instructions determine which divine enemies Diomedes may confront, and he remembers them when Ares appears. Choosing two of four cards while committing an attack makes information a tactical resource that requires action.' narrative_beat: The mist lifts, and courage becomes informed. design_note: An intentionally excellent selection engine replacing a generic library staple. It requires a creature that can attack and supplies no mana, protection, or board by itself; it functions without Athena. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the enchantment, deny profitable attacks, or sweep its creatures. It cannot draw on the turn it is cast into an empty battlefield. Existing enchantment answers all interact cleanly. art_brief: Athena leaning beside Diomedes to point toward one distant opponent, with the chariot rail and a pale sky as the only supporting details. tokens: [] - id: A06 name: Sthenelus, Son of Capaneus mana_cost: '{1}{W}' colors: - W type_line: Legendary Creature — Human Soldier rules_text: Whenever one or more creatures you control die, draw a card. Then return up to one target creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to your hand. This ability triggers only once each turn. power: '2' toughness: '3' rarity: rare replaces: Skullclamp primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.105–121: Sthenelus leaps down and draws the arrow out of Diomedes''s shoulder. He represents mortal aid preceding divine intervention. Losing members of the formation earns information and can restore a small companion to hand for another paid deployment.' narrative_beat: A companion draws out the arrow. design_note: Counts Sthenelus himself as well as tokens and other creatures. One simultaneous death event supplies one trigger; if Sthenelus dies normally he may target his own card in the graveyard because his mana value is 2. The ability can trigger only once per turn for that battlefield object, even if the trigger fails to resolve. Redeploying him creates a new object, requiring another paid cast; the deck has no free sacrifice outlet or mana-positive loop. Finality replaces the move to the graveyard with exile, so an exiled creature did not die. signature_demo: null counterplay: Exile or bounce Sthenelus, or use exile/bounce sweepers. If its controller chooses a graveyard target and that sole target becomes illegal, the entire ability fails to resolve, including the card draw; its once-per-turn trigger is still used. Choosing zero targets preserves the draw against graveyard removal. With a finality counter, Sthenelus cannot trigger from his own replacement-exile; he can still see another creature die in the same event. Each recovered creature must be paid for again. art_brief: Sthenelus kneels beside the chariot and pulls a broken arrow from Diomedes's shoulder; two figures and one bloodied shaft, intimate rather than panoramic. tokens: [] - id: A07 name: Athena Among the Argives mana_cost: '{3}{G}{W}' colors: - G - W type_line: Sorcery rules_text: 'Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token for each creature you control, then draw a card for each creature token you control. Exile Athena Among the Argives.' power: null toughness: null rarity: mythic replaces: Shamanic Revelation primary_role: resource signature: true myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.778–834: Hera and Athena reach the faltering Argive formation, rallying courage before Athena goes to Diomedes. The army already present becomes the basis of reinforcements and overwhelming new confidence. The number of surviving bodies determines the size of the restoration.' narrative_beat: The line gives ground, then divine aid changes the scale of the battle. design_note: 'The signature resource event is far beyond an ordinary draw spell: it doubles creature count and refills according to the resulting token count. The new troops have no haste, an empty board yields nothing, and self-exile makes this a single surge rather than a recurring Witness engine.' signature_demo: 'On turn six, Athena, a token maker, and five tokens become fourteen creatures: seven new Soldiers, twelve tokens total, and twelve cards drawn for five mana. With Athena those twelve tokens represent 48 power, but the seven new Soldiers must survive to a later attack. Even without the god, six existing creatures produce six fresh bodies and at least six cards.' counterplay: Counter the sorcery or remove creatures before it resolves to reduce both halves. The new army is exposed to sweepers, bounce, and Athena removal. No priority occurs between creating tokens and drawing, and normal maximum hand size applies at cleanup. art_brief: Athena arrives beside a shaken Argive standard-bearer who straightens his spear; a restrained row of three silhouettes conveys the formation behind them. tokens: - name: Soldier colors: - W type_line: Token Creature — Soldier power: '1' toughness: '1' abilities: [] - id: A08 name: Diomedes's Chariot mana_cost: '{2}{G}{W}' colors: - G - W type_line: Legendary Artifact — Vehicle rules_text: 'Vigilance, trample Whenever Diomedes''s Chariot attacks, draw a card for each creature that crewed it this turn. Crew 2' power: '6' toughness: '6' rarity: rare replaces: Ohran Frostfang primary_role: resource signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.835–845: Athena steps into Diomedes''s chariot, whose axle groans beneath goddess and warrior, then takes the reins. Crewing makes the participants matter; adding companions increases the insight earned on the charge.' narrative_beat: Mortal and immortal ride together. design_note: A substantial independent combat body and scalable attack-earned cards. Each distinct creature that crewed it counts once, even if crew is activated repeatedly. Extra crew trades available bodies for information; the Vehicle retains its printed 6/6 because it is not a token. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the Vehicle before attackers are declared, counter its attack trigger, or exploit the tapped crew to attack back. After declaring it as an attacker, vigilant creatures can crew it before the draw trigger resolves to increase the count, but those creatures become tapped and stop being available as untapped defenders. It grants no untap or extra combat. art_brief: A low close view of a bronze-bound chariot axle bowing under Athena and Diomedes; two reins arc into an otherwise simple pale background. tokens: [] - id: A09 name: Diomedes, Son of Tydeus mana_cost: '{1}{R}{W}' colors: - R - W type_line: Legendary Creature — Human Soldier rules_text: 'First strike Whenever Diomedes attacks, create two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens that are tapped and attacking. If you control a God, Diomedes gains double strike until end of turn.' power: '3' toughness: '3' rarity: rare replaces: Rabble Rousing primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.121–132 and 825–863: Athena gives Diomedes his father''s courage and later aids the blow against Ares. He is already a capable mortal leader; a god beside him gives his attack a second, extraordinary impact.' narrative_beat: A mortal wounds Ares. design_note: A finite attack engine and commander-independent combat threat. The new Soldiers enter combat immediately, but only Diomedes receives double strike; the deck has no global extra-combat or double-strike package. Any God, including a stolen one, can provide aid. signature_demo: null counterplay: Kill or bounce Diomedes before attackers; remove the God before the attack trigger resolves to deny double strike; remove Athena later to shrink the attacking tokens. Blocking Diomedes still works, and his new tokens do not trigger Athena's player-attack draw by themselves. art_brief: Diomedes advances with a lowered spear, two ordinary spearmen following; a narrow reflection of Athena in his bronze shield suggests divine aid. tokens: - name: Soldier colors: - W type_line: Token Creature — Soldier power: '1' toughness: '1' abilities: [] - id: A10 name: The Argives Hold mana_cost: '{2}{G}{W}' colors: - G - W type_line: Enchantment rules_text: 'Creature tokens you control get +1/+1 and have reach. At the beginning of your end step, if you control fewer than six creatures, create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.' power: null toughness: null rarity: rare replaces: Angel of Invention primary_role: threat signature: false myth_source: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerIliad5.html myth_connection: 'Iliad 5.699–824 and 907–909: the Argives give ground under Ares''s assault before the goddesses intervene and end his slaughter. A thinning formation receives reinforcements, then holds with improved strength and defensive coverage. Reach is a game adaptation of a braced spear line, not an assertion of a particular aerial battle in the poem.' narrative_beat: The line gives ground without ceasing to be an army. design_note: An independent anthem and rebuilding engine replaces a creature anthem. The six-creature threshold limits free accumulation; the extra power remains if Athena leaves. It provides a useful answer to flying attackers through blocking rather than another removal spell. signature_demo: null counterplay: Remove the enchantment, sweep after its end-step trigger, or leave its controller above the threshold while attacking elsewhere. The condition is checked both when the ability would trigger and when it resolves; new tokens cannot attack immediately and can be removed normally. art_brief: Three exhausted Argive soldiers brace their long spears together as the front soldier takes one step forward; plain dusty ground and generous empty sky. tokens: - name: Soldier colors: - W type_line: Token Creature — Soldier power: '1' toughness: '1' abilities: []