Odyssey (Magic: The Gathering)
Encyclopedia
Odyssey is the 24th Magic: The Gathering
expert-level expansion set
. Released in September, 2001, Odyssey is the first set in the Odyssey Block. Its expansion symbol is a small image of the Mirari (see storyline).
. Odyssey 's protagonist is Kamahl, a formidable fighter-mage skilled in both throwing fireballs and melee combat. Kamahl has a close friend Chainer, a cabalist, and a cool-headed sister Jeska. The antagonist is Laquatus, a sly merfolk who uses trickery and mind control to bend others to his will. Other characters include the cephalid emperor Aboshan, Kamahl's centaur friend Seton, Kamahl and Jeska's dwarven trainer Balthor, the militaristic Kirtar, the mellow but dangerous Cabal Patriarch (The First), and the unpredictable sociopath Braids.
Almost everyone in the story is after the Mirari, a legendary artifact of immense power with the ability to make its wielder's innermost wishes come true. The Mirari is relatively small, resembling a metallic ball mounted on a wiry helix. The Mirari notoriously drives its wielder insane, often causing death and massive destruction, wherein it awaits a new master.
Creative Team began a new approach to Magic's storyline starting with Odyssey. Changes include:
Odysseys secondary theme is token creatures. Throughout the Odyssey block, all the colors receive more token creatures than usual, and green's token generating spells are some of the most powerful tokens generators in Magic history. This was because if spells had Flashback they could be played from the graveyard for its Flashback cost and would be removed from the game once it resolved. This essentially allowed you to play the same spell twice. The most notable card among these was Call of the Herd which was later reprinted as one of the Time Spiral
'Timeshifted' cards.
Many of Magic's marquee races like Elves and Goblins are completely absent from Otaria. White is represented by Nomads and the Aven birds of The Order; Blue has the deceitful, octopus-like Cephalids; Black is plagued by the Horrors and Minions of Cabal summoners; Red showcases Dwarves, Firecats, and Barbarians of the Pardic mountains; and Green is rife with Centaur
s, Squirrel
s, and the insect
-like Nantuko druid
s of the Krosan forest.
Red and green are the strongest flashback colors.
, the lead designer for Odyssey, claimed that the set was the one from which he learnt the most as a designer, as it was the set in which he made his biggest mistakes. Rosewater went into the Odyssey design deciding he wanted to challenge notions of card advantage
. Looking back on this he states that he was doing this for himself at the expense of the audience at large.
Other design mistakes highlighted by Rosewater included the Threshold mechanic. The mechanic forced players to keep track of the number of cards in their opponent's graveyard and which cards could put cards into the graveyard. It was found that this was largely not enjoyable for players.
creature card, printed at the "uncommon" level of rarity in the Odyssey expansion set in 2001. Its abilities, which allow the player to strengthen it by discarding cards or removing cards in the graveyard (discard pile) from the game, resulted in Psychatog being labeled "broken" (overpowered) by players; in an online poll conducted in 2002 at Magicthegathering.com, 35.9% of respondents said they believed that printing Psychatog had been a mistake. Six of the top eight players at the 2002 World Championship used Psychatog-based decks, including the winner, Carlos Romão
.
Psychatog forms part of a five-card cycle of multi-colored atogs, the others being (black and red), (red and green), (green and white), and (white and blue). Several other atogs exist; the first, printed in the Antiquities
set in 1994, was simply named . Atogs other than the original Atog are named for what they "eat": for example, eats corpses, and eats other atogs. Psychatog consumes thoughts, represented in Magic gameplay by the cards in a player's hand. Due to Psychatog's preeminence among the various atog cards, it is referred to informally simply as Tog. Another nickname is Dr. Teeth, due to its artwork.
), and this is reflected in the card's art. Psychatog has a modified version of Necratog's ability to "eat" cards in the graveyard, but it was felt that Chronatog's ability, which involves skipping turns, should not be continued in Psychatog. It was initially replaced with an ability that required removing 7 cards from the player's library (deck); running out of cards means losing the game, placing a limit on how many times this ability could be used. After developer William Jockusch showed that this could be circumvented simply by using a large enough deck, the number of cards removed was increased to 10, but even this was felt to be too powerful — , a card that wins the game for players with more than 200 cards in their library, was being planned for the same set, giving players more incentive to use unusually large decks. Eventually the "library-eating" ability was replaced with its current discard ability.
The coup de grâce
of most Psychatog decks is to play followed immediately by Psychatog, using mana that was "floated" prior to the Upheaval. By returning all cards in play to their owners' hands, Upheaval simultaneously removes the opponent's defenses while providing ample fuel for Psychatog's abilities.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
expert-level expansion set
Magic: The Gathering sets
These are tables of Magic: The Gathering card sets. A trading card game published by Wizards of the Coast, Magic is primarily marketed in base/core sets and in expansion sets...
. Released in September, 2001, Odyssey is the first set in the Odyssey Block. Its expansion symbol is a small image of the Mirari (see storyline).
Storyline
The storyline of Odyssey leaps forward 100 years after the events in the set Apocalypse on the remote continent OtariaMagic: The Gathering storylines
Although Magic: The Gathering is essentially a strategy game that uses decks of cards, an intricate storyline underlies the cards released in each expansion. This storyline is shown in the game in the card art and through quotations and descriptions on the bottom of most cards...
. Odyssey 's protagonist is Kamahl, a formidable fighter-mage skilled in both throwing fireballs and melee combat. Kamahl has a close friend Chainer, a cabalist, and a cool-headed sister Jeska. The antagonist is Laquatus, a sly merfolk who uses trickery and mind control to bend others to his will. Other characters include the cephalid emperor Aboshan, Kamahl's centaur friend Seton, Kamahl and Jeska's dwarven trainer Balthor, the militaristic Kirtar, the mellow but dangerous Cabal Patriarch (The First), and the unpredictable sociopath Braids.
Almost everyone in the story is after the Mirari, a legendary artifact of immense power with the ability to make its wielder's innermost wishes come true. The Mirari is relatively small, resembling a metallic ball mounted on a wiry helix. The Mirari notoriously drives its wielder insane, often causing death and massive destruction, wherein it awaits a new master.
A new approach
The Magic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
Creative Team began a new approach to Magic's storyline starting with Odyssey. Changes include:
- The 13 previous sets' storyline, beginning in Weatherlight and climaxing in ApocalypseApocalypse (Magic: The Gathering)Apocalypse is the name of a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released in June 2001. It is the third set of the Invasion Block.-Storyline:...
, that depicted the adventures of Urza Planeswalker, Gerrard Capashen and the Weatherlight crew's crusade against the Phyrexians, has been dropped. For Odyssey, a new story begins in a new setting with a new cast of characters. - Kamahl is a red protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
(Red is the color of chaos, destruction, and impulseImpulse (psychology)An impulse is a wish or urge, particularly a sudden one. It can be considered as a normal and fundamental part of human thought processes, but also one that can become problematic, as in a condition like obsessive-compulsive disorder....
). - Laquatus is a blue antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
(Blue is the color of knowledgeKnowledgeKnowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
, trickery, and now, even deceit). - Odyssey portrays black themes that include the entertainment and glory of the pit fights mixed with capitalismCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. These themes have relatively good connotations compared to black's themes in previous storylines, which included genocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, soul-harvesting, and finding the most agonizing tortureTortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
for captive victims. - New storylines can be as short as three sets, and each storyline can be revisited or cross paths (for an example, see MirrodinMirrodinMirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...
's storyline).
Set history
Odyssey 's main theme is the graveyard. All the colors interact with the graveyard and use it as a resource, though green and black are the strongest graveyard colors. Previously, the graveyard rarely affected gameplay, but Odyssey 's cards forced players to constantly keep track of both graveyards at all times.Odysseys secondary theme is token creatures. Throughout the Odyssey block, all the colors receive more token creatures than usual, and green's token generating spells are some of the most powerful tokens generators in Magic history. This was because if spells had Flashback they could be played from the graveyard for its Flashback cost and would be removed from the game once it resolved. This essentially allowed you to play the same spell twice. The most notable card among these was Call of the Herd which was later reprinted as one of the Time Spiral
Time Spiral
Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released October 6, 2006. The set is laden with references to previous Magic: the Gathering sets and is the first to take place in Dominaria since the May 2003 set Scourge...
'Timeshifted' cards.
Many of Magic's marquee races like Elves and Goblins are completely absent from Otaria. White is represented by Nomads and the Aven birds of The Order; Blue has the deceitful, octopus-like Cephalids; Black is plagued by the Horrors and Minions of Cabal summoners; Red showcases Dwarves, Firecats, and Barbarians of the Pardic mountains; and Green is rife with Centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
s, Squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, and the insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like Nantuko druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s of the Krosan forest.
Mechanics
Odyssey introduced two graveyard-centered mechanics:- Flashback - These spells can be played again from the graveyard, essentially getting a second use out of the spell. However, using a Flashback ability removes the card from the game.
Red and green are the strongest flashback colors.
- Threshold - Certain spells and creatures gain bonuses when your graveyard reaches or exceeds the seven card threshold. Blue is lacking in threshold cards but has the easiest time achieving threshold.
Reception
Odyssey was a poorly received set. Mark RosewaterMark Rosewater
Mark Rosewater is a Magic: The Gathering card designer. He is currently Magics head designer.-Biography:Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio, where he attended the Orange High School. Rosewater has a Jewish background. Rosewater has described himself in his youth as a "social outcast", who did...
, the lead designer for Odyssey, claimed that the set was the one from which he learnt the most as a designer, as it was the set in which he made his biggest mistakes. Rosewater went into the Odyssey design deciding he wanted to challenge notions of card advantage
Card advantage
Card advantage is a term used in collectible card game strategy to indicate one player having access to more cards than another player. The concept was first discovered early in the history of Magic: The Gathering strategy...
. Looking back on this he states that he was doing this for himself at the expense of the audience at large.
Other design mistakes highlighted by Rosewater included the Threshold mechanic. The mechanic forced players to keep track of the number of cards in their opponent's graveyard and which cards could put cards into the graveyard. It was found that this was largely not enjoyable for players.
Psychatog
"Psychatog" is a multi-colored (blue and black) Magic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
creature card, printed at the "uncommon" level of rarity in the Odyssey expansion set in 2001. Its abilities, which allow the player to strengthen it by discarding cards or removing cards in the graveyard (discard pile) from the game, resulted in Psychatog being labeled "broken" (overpowered) by players; in an online poll conducted in 2002 at Magicthegathering.com, 35.9% of respondents said they believed that printing Psychatog had been a mistake. Six of the top eight players at the 2002 World Championship used Psychatog-based decks, including the winner, Carlos Romão
Carlos Romão
Carlos Eduardo Romão is a Brazilian Magic: The Gathering player. He is best known for his win at the 2002 World Championships. Along with Diego Ostrovich, he is widely regarded as the first South American to achieve success on the Pro Tour, and was the first South American to win a Pro...
.
Psychatog forms part of a five-card cycle of multi-colored atogs, the others being (black and red), (red and green), (green and white), and (white and blue). Several other atogs exist; the first, printed in the Antiquities
Antiquities (Magic: The Gathering)
Antiquities was the fifth Magic: The Gathering set and the second expansion set. It was the first set to have an original backstory that explores the mythos of the Magic universe . The story is primarily about the brothers Urza and Mishra who are inseparable at first, but become sworn enemies over...
set in 1994, was simply named . Atogs other than the original Atog are named for what they "eat": for example, eats corpses, and eats other atogs. Psychatog consumes thoughts, represented in Magic gameplay by the cards in a player's hand. Due to Psychatog's preeminence among the various atog cards, it is referred to informally simply as Tog. Another nickname is Dr. Teeth, due to its artwork.
Development
The multi-colored atogs in Odyssey were intended as hybrids of the earlier, single-color atogs. Psychatog is a hybrid of the black (from Weatherlight) and the blue (from VisionsVisions (Magic: The Gathering)
Visions was the sixteenth Magic: The Gathering set and tenth expert level set, released in February 1997. This expansion continued the Mirage block by using the same setting and mechanics introduced in Mirage. The expansion symbol for Visions is a V-shaped symbol, which is the "triangle of war"...
), and this is reflected in the card's art. Psychatog has a modified version of Necratog's ability to "eat" cards in the graveyard, but it was felt that Chronatog's ability, which involves skipping turns, should not be continued in Psychatog. It was initially replaced with an ability that required removing 7 cards from the player's library (deck); running out of cards means losing the game, placing a limit on how many times this ability could be used. After developer William Jockusch showed that this could be circumvented simply by using a large enough deck, the number of cards removed was increased to 10, but even this was felt to be too powerful — , a card that wins the game for players with more than 200 cards in their library, was being planned for the same set, giving players more incentive to use unusually large decks. Eventually the "library-eating" ability was replaced with its current discard ability.
Strategy
Psychatog decks are usually constructed as Control decks, which focus on stalling against the opponent's threats until they can be defeated using Psychatog. Cards such as the blue , which disrupts the opponent's spells, and the black , which eliminates their creatures, fulfill this role. Another important class of cards are those that allow the player to draw extra cards, such as and . In addition to getting needed cards quicker, these provide more fuel for Psychatog's ability. , by deterring the opponent from playing cards and allowing the player to draw cards when they do, can fulfill both of the above roles, but it is less effective against other Psychatog decks.The coup de grâce
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
of most Psychatog decks is to play followed immediately by Psychatog, using mana that was "floated" prior to the Upheaval. By returning all cards in play to their owners' hands, Upheaval simultaneously removes the opponent's defenses while providing ample fuel for Psychatog's abilities.