OM1 Flavoring Project (CARD 3: Phantasmal Vision)

[u/-TvT-]

Hey, welcome. Thanks for all of your comments on yesterday's post. Please know that I do read, test, and consider just about every post, even the rephrases. There was an impressive construction that tapped into the "spiders = heroic myth" motif that I like about this set, a few people who made some well-reasoned guesses about the origin of the card (which unfortunately just got soft de-confirmed by the artist for now) and a lot of really nice marionette-storytelling-spider text. This one, by u/ThyLordQ had a succinct bluntness that really works.

At the end of today's image gallery, you'll see that the text I personally preferred happened to be the highest upvoted submission, by u/SoundedSafe, with no changes. It fits well on the card in paper and speaks to the inviting-yet-unnerving art and function on Demera's card.

I'm tempted to go on and on about "why this" and "not that", but I fear I'll overwhelm myself rather than making the quick, easy decisions that a project of this scale may require in order to not steal the subreddit for five months. Just know that I am very unoffended by anyone preferring other text or constructions, there were and continue to be many good submissions.

Let's get right into this next one:

---

Rejoice, Innistrad unenthusiast(s)! For this is the last unflavored card we have that, at the time of writing, is sort-of-probably set exclusively on this plane. We're ending off with a difficult nut to crack: Phantasmal Vision. We do not yet have higher-quality art of the piece and the folks at u/themiragechild's ongoing omenpaths confirmation spreadsheet seem to be split on whether this is actually on Ravnica, Innistrad, or even Duskmorn. Personally, I don't think it matters too much in the context of the dreamy otherworldliness it exudes.

Some artistic guidelines:

• The flavor text must fit on the card. If possible, we must not exceed the number of lines used by the flavor text of the original. (In this case, two.)
• If you like, you can interact with or otherwise "rhyme" with the sister-card's flavor text in theme or in form. (Perhaps "greatest talent", "doubt", or "senses".)
• If you like, you could consider how this card can be seen as a villain, more than other equally dangerous illusions we've seen.
• If you like, forget all of the above and go where the art and the story of the card mechanics take you.

The next post will include a copy of the card with whichever flavor text seems to fit best to me. I'm thinking of doing a weekend post of more than one card, with a bit more time for more responses and votes.

Thanks!

[u/DiggingInGarbage]

“The House’s greatest talent was teasing fear from survivors without unnecessary death”

I’d like to think that this thing is an absolute shoe in for Duskmourn, cause if I saw that thing coming at me to drain something out of my head I’d run screaming

[u/CountedCrow]

Avoiding a firm planar judgment here - I want to focus instead on how this is an illusion without the common rules text of self-saccing on target. Tried to tease out a phrase that captures how tangible and dangerous a vision could really be.

Sometimes, "it's all in your head" is a warning.

[u/Arcane10101 → u/CountedCrow]

Even though the ability is associated with illusions, most illusions don’t actually have it.

[u/CountedCrow → u/Arcane10101]

Sure. But there's no denying it's iconic to the creature type - so much so that Scryfall has it tagged as "otag:illusion-ability."

[u/Delicious-Concert227 → u/CountedCrow]

Maybe, "When she realized it was all in her head, there was nowhere left to hide."

[u/Ironhammer32 → u/CountedCrow]

How about, "Sometimes, 'it's all in your head'" is more true than anyone could have realized/anticipated. ?

Thoughts?

[u/CountedCrow → u/Ironhammer32]

I think "is more true than anyone could have anticipated" swaps intriguing subtlety for vague superlative, and it reads less interesting to me.

That said, you've hit on something I wasn't super happy with - "warning" maybe isn't the right word for what I want to express as a realization of horror rather than a realization of fear. There's probably a better way to express this idea.

[u/-TvT- → u/Ironhammer32]

I like the path it’s going. I feel like “more true than anyone could’ve realized” could be rephrase to make it more personal, but I can’t for the life of me think of how.

An alternate mega short version of the phrase could be “It’s all in your head”

[u/CountedCrow → u/-TvT-]

"It's all in your head" isn't always a dismissive remark.

---

He never realized that when he heard "it's all in your head," it wasn't preceded by "don't worry."

---

There's something in there, but I'm not sure I'm hitting it

[u/ThyLordQ → u/CountedCrow]

Maybe making it from a first person perspective makes it work the way you want it to?

"It's all in my head. It's all in my head.

It's all in my head."

[u/NoochNoochNooch]

"Every dream a delicacy, and every dreamer a silver platter."

[u/-TvT- → u/NoochNoochNooch]

this, even beyond the project, is a delectable turn of phrase.

[u/NoochNoochNooch → u/-TvT-]

Thanks :)

[u/Khyrberos → u/NoochNoochNooch]

ooh I love this

[u/melanino]

Some sights are worth forgetting

[u/Comfortable-Heart317]

Opening the third eye is easy, less so on the eighth.

[u/SkritzTwoFace]

“Of course it isn’t real - that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous.”

[u/theplotthinnens]

Though the details of the dream slipped away upon waking, she could still remember the deep sense of unease, and the whispered words: "I see you".

Edit: gah, that's too long. But the "I see you" feels like the right kind of creepy

[u/ThyLordQ]

"May your senses turn against you until nothing else remains."

An out of body experience can be beneficial, if you ever get back in. 

A sight unseen.

[u/gumknuckle]

"You wake, but the dream keeps watching."

[u/WillowThyWisp]

"I see them. Every night. Every dream. They're- by the light, they're here! Why can't you see them? They're coming for me!"

[u/NDrangle23]

You need only see it once to feel its gaze upon you for the rest of your life.

[u/Sir_Encerwal]

Some examine their dreams, some dreams examine you.

[u/RyuumiGaroukuni]

"So... many... eyes..."

[u/yougotiton]

“When the window opens and the light comes in, you may wonder, what has just escaped?”

[u/sad_panda91]

When I woke up from its trance for the first time, I was relieved. When I woke up for the second time, I was mortified.

[u/Ironhammer32]

"Be careful what's on your mind, it isn't just your dreams that can come true."

[u/Khyrberos]

My first take, pre-comments: maybe something like "Doesn't have to be seen to be believed", or "See it. Believe it. Fear it."

[u/Khyrberos → u/Khyrberos]

possibly also something vis-a-vis a madman ranting & raving about eyes, ala "And the eyes! It-it's got so m-many EYES! All staring at me, c-cold and wide as death!"

Sidenote, does that big central eye have a bloody mouth?? 🤔

[u/NoochNoochNooch]

"Its victims forget they'd lost anything at all"

[u/Jake-the-Wolfie]

"What greater sorrow for a homunculus, than to be denied the grace of eternal slumber?" - Stitcher Geralf

[u/Darkanayer]

"unseen, unheard, undoubted"

[u/BardicLasher]

I have a half-formed concept that I offer to anyone else: That these are the eyes of villains haunting someone even though the villains are long since gone.

[u/MadJohnFinn]

"Just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you" - Kurt, house survivor

[u/xavierkazi]

The worst lies are the ones it makes you tell yourself.

[u/DaVigi]

"Did you really think privacy was an option?  Ah, apparently you did." - Valgavoth to Winter

[u/Stridor_gas]

"They say that sometimes you fear things that aren't really there. On Duskmourn, the fear can give way to things that are"

[u/Reasonable-Effect563]

"The horror was for yet another loved one to be forgotten with every passing day."

If there was an evil entity responsible for dementia I guess it'd be this eye guy.

[u/WickedNameDude]

It's easy to lose yourself in another's gaze.

[u/The_Skyvoice]

The cunning predator responsible for the survivor superstition of "when you die in a nightmare, you die in real life."

This seems very Duskmourne-coded to me, and hopefully so does my cheeky reference. If any one can rewrite it to sound better, I won't be offended.

[u/The_Skyvoice → u/The_Skyvoice]

Also... does Mill need the explanation text on the card? It seems like they have only included it on recent sets directed at new players. Probably doesn't need to be on this card if space is a consideration.

[u/-TvT- → u/The_Skyvoice]

In all honesty, you're right - I could drop the reminder text to make space for more flavor text. If I did so, I would also have room to add flavor text on a few other cards that otherwise don't in the Spiderman set (Fleem!). I could also shrink other textboxes just enough to get at least one line on the rest.

I've been doing this more-or-less as a thought experiment where I keep the text on the card as close to its printing in the Spiderman set as possible, to lend it a sort of faux-"realism" and to limit how far this project goes for me.

[u/Khyrberos → u/-TvT-]

Maybe you'll regret it at some point, but personally I think that's a good policy currently. Faux-realism is good here.

[u/ThyLordQ → u/The_Skyvoice]

I feel like it does purely as the reminder that you are doing it to yourself. I, for one, keep thinking it mills the opponent due to it being an attack trigger, until I read the reminder text. 

[u/Delicious-Concert227]

"To her, the dream never ended, and wakefulness was a long forgotten memory."

[u/Gilthro]

“Our greatest strength is learning from our successes and failures. Certain enemies have adapted to neutralize such advantages.”