All Tomorrows

[Nanonox]

All Tomorrows: A visual cube experience​

Cube list (WIP)

@TrainmasterGT introduced me to All Tomorrows on a random preview thread and I've fallen in love with this story. I've always been amazed by space and the incomprehensible age of the universe, the distance between stars and galaxies and the sheer quantity of them. I'm also a fan of fantasy books like the Malazan book of the fallen, which goes into detail about ancient people, random architecture from lost civilizations and beings whose lives span thousands of years.

I want to recreate the universe described in the book using Magic's own history to tell that story. One way to accomplish this is using the various frames of Magic to give a feel of antiquity or advancement. Here we go.

The book talks about the story of humans through a period of half a billion years. While it focuses mostly on the evolutionary aftermath of an alien invasion, humans as we know them are still often referred to and remnants of their civilization and technology shine through. This is going to be the first use of the old-bordered Magic frame

Early humans

For the earliest traces of humanity, the earliest Magic aesthetics are perfect. The art is evocative and all over the place, creating the feeling of ancient history. The artifacts are distinctive compared to the more classic brown or grey frame and the art is something.

This is all we have left of the traces of humanity before they started exploring space. We don't know much about these legends, except that they somehow marked humanity. They are present in all colors, but divided.



These buildings and contraptions are some of the various artifacts that have resurfaced on different planets. Their use or purpose is unclear, but could jumpstart technological advancements of future humans.



The Star people

After the Earth-Mars conflict, humanity created a new species, the Star people. These new humans explored space, terraformed new worlds and populated them. They created a multiple solar system wide empire using advanced technology and science. In the grand scheme of things though, this is still the infancy of humanity and is expressed through the old-border card frame. The style is distinct from the earlier humans and shows an advancement in the timeline. This faction is going to stay in Jeskai.

Here are some examples of the Star people who lived exponential growth through their science and technology.



The "new old border" artifact frame offers a clean break from the previous age and reflect the available tech. From machines used to make worlds habitable to engineering marvels, there is a feel of space exploration and willingness to expand.



Traces of the Star people's way of life have survived and influenced other civilizations. These are sparce throughout the cube as befits a long extinct people.



The Qu



The Qu are an alien civilization who's goal is to remake life as they see fit. They are a billion year old and roam the galaxies in search of their next victims. I chose to go full alien here using the Eldrazi titans. This era marks the use of the border we see on Magic cards today.

The idea here is that you have this looming threat and presence in a pack that makes you double take. I don't have the exact number yet, but these four are the strongest candidates (no annihilator and Ulamog just looks like a funky Godzilla).



The Qu have bred creatures to serve them including a drone and a modified tracing creature. I'm choosing to break singleton on these two



I have three copies of each as I imagine the Qu would duplicate a successful servant rather than have unique ones. The Coatl looks a lot like the drone in the picture and the name Growth Spasm is evocative of the Qus mission. The Eldrazi spawn token represents the workers used to get the work done.

Modified humanity

I haven't fleshed this out yet. This is where the fucked up creatures of the Qu come in. This is going to be one hell of a Scryfall search and I'll be looking at some keywords like Graft, Evolve, Adapt and Proliferate as examples.

The newly released Guiding Hydra that reminded Train of this book is a great example of the twisted looks I will be going after.



Gravitals

This civilization evolved from the Ruin Haunters a Qu modified race of humanity. They had to lose their fleshy form and become machines in order to survive a dying sun. For the first time in my life, I am happy for the UB frame as I'll be using the Warhammer 40k Necrons to represent the threat to humanity.

Biotransference is so perfect it's uncanny. The Necrons themselves are artifact creatures dishing out violence and exterminating whole planets.



These effects help give a scale to the genocides they are committing on a galaxy wide theatre.



Rediscovery

There is another aspect of history that can transpire through the use of Magic's frame, rediscovery.

Here are two examples. Having the same art but different frames means you get the impression that something old has been found and used again by a newer civilization. Mind Stone takes it a step further thanks to the Warhammer frame. The art changes with the Necrons, but that's ok because they abandoned their flesh and adapted the machine. I don't want to be too heavy handed with this, but a few sprinkled in seems like a cool feature.



Second Empire/Unified Humanity

I'm not yet 100% sure how I want to represent this, but one idea I had was slivers!

These five color creatures represent unity and slivers are unique in working together to be greater than the sum of their parts.



There is also a nice progression between:
1. the early humans who spanned 5 colors, divided
2. the Star people who unified over their technology: Legacy Weapon
3. the Second empire who's people are actually unified as embodied by the 5 color slivers.

So that's it for now! If you have ideas on how to use Magic's frame to retell history, I'd love to hear them. Also, if you know of an All Tomorrows cube, I'd love to see it. I haven't been able to find one, which is great at first, but would be helpful for finding modified humans.

Thanks for reading this weird project of mine, I am way out of my comfort zone, so would love feedback if you have any.

 

[KhitriyKrab]

Cool to see more and more flavour-based cubes on Riptide!

Breaking singleton for a couple cards only is very cool and gets the theme across well. You could oversupport , and all these very heavily Black cards suggest playing Mono-Black specifically. Such color imbalance sounds exciting to play with and tough to get right.

I think the process of digging for the perfect artistic fit is one of the most rewarding activities, so I'm just leaving you some examples of cards that could represent screwed-up humans:
+ all the phyrexianized guys, obviously.

Eagerly looking forward to the developements! And now I should probably finally read All Tomorrows... And guide you to read Stapledon's "Star Maker", which shares a lot of similar themes and contains very outlandish sapient species designs like actual Living Ships or gaseous beings that feed on stellar emissions. The best part is that it's actually a great and thought-provoking philosophical/existential novel first, the wildly imaginative alien biology being a wonderful addition.

 

[Nanonox]

You could oversupport , and all these very heavily Black cards suggest playing Mono-Black specifically. Such color imbalance sounds exciting to play with and tough to get right.

You hit the nail on the head here. That's definitely going to be a challenge and one that sounds tough to balance when it's flavor + art first.

so I'm just leaving you some examples of cards that could represent screwed-up humans:

These are some solid choices. I want some humans to be distorted, but will likely use some completely degenerate creations too.

And guide you to read Stapledon's "Star Maker",

Ooh, love a recommendation, thanks!

---

More rediscovery

I had an idea for an interesting narrative




Here the story is that the early humans had a primitive technology that the Star people perfected. Then, later in the timeline, another civilization finds that Star people tech and use it as is.
I don't know that I want to include both of these, especially because triple Icy seems miserable for a format. But Ornithopter seems like a slam dunk to triplicate.

---

Qu

Regarding the Qu, there are a few cards that would fit the narrative and play well with some potential choices down the line.



Nobody wants to run the Eldrazi tribal instant, so having that lurking in the pack a reminder to everyone of the Qu seems appropriate.
Then Gaze is actually a playable card with good art and will work well with some modified human ideas I'll get into. Mutation is perfectly on theme and would be a nice way to boost the Ornithopters among others.

---

Modified humans

One idea is to use the DFC cards as a nod towards the forced transformations of the Qu. There aren't a ton of humans that flip, but those that do fit nicely



The important part here is that the transformation is permanent, so that excludes some decent werewolf cards unfortunately. I also want the transformation to be feasible otherwise what are we even doing here? The four cards offer a decent spread of creature horrors, which is perfect.

There are also some emergent synergies appearing here to go along with the flavor. Otherworldly Gaze sets up your Delver and Angler flips. Ornithopters provide colorless creatures for Angler. Untable Mutation allows you to flip Lone Rider and boost your Ornithopters.

I'm a little on the fence about the Youth as the transformation is optional. I'm not sure if I can justify the flavor of forced mutation on a may. At the same time, getting a one to one perfect equivalent is ambitious, so even though not absolutely on point flavorwise, it's close enough that it works. I think. Does anyone feel strongly about this?

 

[TekLazar]

Does anyone feel strongly about this?

I think that having it as a "may" is going to be conducive to all of the transform cards. Like, Lone Rider is a "may" if you don't attack or block with them. But I think it's a good flavor choice to have it be the player's choice and not the "creature's" choice or bounce back and forth like with the werewolves.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

This is really cool!

 

[Nanonox]

Modified humans, first pass

My first pass of modified humans was to look through the horror type. One thing to remember is that the card needs a modern frame printing to be consistant with the timeline. I would love an Anurid Brushhopper here, but can't do it. There are a lot of other cool ones though, here are my favorites various possible evolutions of humanity



These aren't related to any of the books civilizations, because honestly, it's really tough finding 1 for 1 equivalents. So I guess I'll lean into Magic's weird arts and some of these deliver.

My top three is probably
1. Ridged Kusite
2. Plague Spitter
3. Temperamental Oozewagg
With honorable mention to Kami of the Painted Road who is desperately trying to keep a trace of humanity.

I am also looking for some connections with these creatures. For example

->

We don't know if they are related, but the big eyes found on both suggest evolution spanning an incredible amount of time.

The Overlord cycle

These are great fits as a modified humanoid, though the Red one is pushing it. The bigger issue is going to be around gameplay as these will be huge power outliers. For now though, I am just cataloging.



Old humanity candidate



Fucking love this stupid card and maybe this is a cube for it? While it doesn't depict any human precisely like the gold legends, it shows an ancient ritual (religious or otherwise) lost to time and incomprehensible. I think it can fit and any excuse to run this + Oozewagg in the same cube is worth exploring!



This one can also translate a celebration with an unknowable purpose. It has funky art to be noticeable in packs.



Some sort of ritual surrounding death? Unclear and that's the point.

Next I'm going to actually try and find cards to fit into the civilizations from the book.

 

[KhitriyKrab]

Some great finds for sure! But some of the more fantasy/whimsical art doesn't really suit the vibes. Patron of the Arts and Essence Channeler look the most jarring to me, but then again, maybe it's just me. Satyrs look out of place at first, but have just enough support to be plausible, that's a creative find. On a similar note, there's some intersting official lore regarding the biology of khenra that could fit the themes well. I know Slivers are a good thematic fit, but I don't know if you'll be able to support them properly....

Mistmeadow Skulk to Ridged Kusite evolution is amazing. More of that.

Have you thought about using the Amonkhet Invocation frame for "Early Humans" too? Loyal Retainers is even relevant mechanically.

And since I can't help sticking my nose into your choices I'm these leaving for your consideration:
.

And yes, I am doubling down on Beetleform Mage. It's the first card I thought of reading your initial post and it's in Blue-Green!

 

[Nanonox]

But some of the more fantasy/whimsical art doesn't really suit the vibes. Patron of the Arts and Essence Channeler look the most jarring to me, but then again, maybe it's just me.

Nope you are 100% right. I shared the cube list, but truth be told, it's a little early as I'm mostly cataloging right now. Patron of the Arts could represent the Saurosapients who have a rich culture, but it looks like ass as a whole.

On a similar note, there's some intersting official lore regarding the biology of khenra that could fit the themes well.

That is a fantastic find and now I am dreading going through 20k Magic cards looking for flavor text. I don't even know how to start a task that large.

I know Slivers are a good thematic fit, but I don't know if you'll be able to support them properly....

Slivers are a good find on paper, but even in the list, I'm not a huge fan of the way they look intermixed with the other civilizations. A little too homogenized for a galaxy spanning population. I'm open to other ideas, but right now I'm trying to finish finding weird species.

Have you thought about using the Amonkhet Invocation frame for "Early Humans" too? Loyal Retainers is even relevant mechanically.

I haven't, because honestly I love that ancient frame so much. However that's another frame that could be explored, maybe with the second empire to replace slivers. Or maybe I could use full art frames to represent that one. Thanks for the inspiration!

And since I can't help sticking my nose into your choices I'm these leaving for your consideration:

Please do suggest! As cool as they are though, I'm going to veto the UB frame ones, because that bleeds into my Gravitals section. Maybe I am being too rigid, but right now it's helping me stay on track.

Cephalid Broker: slam dunk, no notes.
Carrier Thrall: less convinced, it looks like a dude wearing a mask (see Fleshtaker)
Shore Keeper: I don't see the humanity in that one, but that might be the point (see Mantelopes, who looked like ordinary beasts)
Shielding Plax: Good fit, but I hate it because that means I'll need to go through so many non-creatures
Dutiful Thrull: What am I even looking at? Love it.
Loam Dryad: Also a great find. I find it tough in Green to draw the line with nymphs, dryads, elementals and so on.

And yes, I am doubling down on Beetleform Mage. It's the first card I thought of reading your initial post and it's in Blue-Green!

Forgot to add it! Definitely a slam dunk. Also forgot to add Underrealm Lich. Like Simic, Golgari is looking stacked.

Appreciate all the feedback!

 

[Nanonox]

No deckbuilding desert cubes are all the rage right now in the cube community and I was thinking, why couldn't I join in on the fun. Can this project turn into such a beast, where players would be forced to look at and enjoy all the weird creatures included? Maybe, but I don't have a clean way to make that happen like Goblin Game (Red is predominant) or Ball Pit (every card is a MDFC Chromatic Sphere).

With the way the color imbalance is shaping up, I could see a semi-desert cube with Islands in the basic land box and drafting the rest (like Pulp Nouveau which uses Swamps).

Not committing to anything, it's too early, but that could be a sweet direction to take the cube to impose the visuals to everyone.

---

I finished looking at all the Blue creatures and these are my favorite so far

Weird anatomy



There are some wild ones here. Diviner Spirit, Creeping Peeper, Kami of Twisted Reflection, Forgotten Creation and Teller of Tales are a mockery of what humans used to be. I'm a little on the fence with the Kami, it almost feels magical with the body parts floating around.

Wandering Ones, Amoeboid Changeling and Frilled Oculus are fun little guys.

I'm thinking Mind Meanderer kind of looks like the Lopsiders, those flat creatures on a high gravity planet.

Another satisfying historical connection exists with these two

->

Spoiler: Weird civilization candidates

Good candidates, but less enticing than the above

Techonological civilizations

Some cards transpire innovation and technology. I think having some to represent later stages of the second empire is important.



The first two are my favorites. Graft mage having the actual Graft ability goes a long way and the Anatomist looks alien, and that's enough for me. Lonis is nice to have with evolve and references genetics, but doesn't look too special.

Spoiler: Technological society candidates

Good candidates, but less enticing than the above

Humanoid

You can kind of guess a human lineage from these creatures and it echoes ancient humanity



Stream Hopper is borderline too cartoony, not 100% convinced even though it's a twisted creature.

And we have these two that transform.

Spoiler: Other humanoid candidates

Good candidates, but less enticing than the above

Aquatic societies

I find this a tough category to flesh out. The Finger fishers are out of the question, the look is too distinct. Instead, I'll be jaming some random merfolk that look cool. The Swimmers though, look like fish and that is something I didn't take into account in my first pass, so I'll have to do another.



Mistmeadow Skulk strikes again! This time in the water. I like that the same origin can end up in different environments.

->

Spoiler: Other aquatic candidates

Good candidates, but less enticing than the above

New empire

These are cards that would have the full art frame as a way to signal that they are further along in their timeline. Breaking free of the border is also similar to the theory that they escape to another plane of existence at the end of the book. I really haven't looked hard on Scryfall yet, it's going to be a long one

 

[gaytransmulldrifter]

I think no-deckbuilding is a really good solve for these kind of weird mixed power environments that are really focused on aesthetic. How do you get people to play with these goofy cards? Well just make it so they have no choice

 

[Nanonox]

I've been selecting some diverse representations of various civilizations, but I think the cube would be more resonant with lineages you can come across yourself. I'm talking about stuff like these

One eyeball gang

-> -> or

With a lot of back up support: Kami of the Painted Road, Nothic, Unblinking Bleb, Arc-Slogger

Glowing eyes

-> -> or

Glimpse offers us the moment the Qu transformed humanity into Mistmeadow Skulk, which is a nice find. Plenty of others like Mistmeadow Witch can establish this as a supported theme.

The memes

I'm a little on the fence with this, regarding fauna and flora of the galaxy. I'd like the focus to be on humans and their evolution, but I can't pass up on this one.

-> ->

The Qu, facing the pinnacle of evolution when they set out to modify humanity, decided to preserve nature's crown jewel, the Brushwagg. Millions of years of evolution have accomplished remarkably little.

Lorwyn changelings

Not necessarily an evolution, but a recognizable pattern that ties them together.



(And maybe Riptide Survivor)

Reptiles (lizards and snakes)

There is enough representation across the colors to have this become a theme. I need to find some defining characteristic to unify them at least a little I hope.



Water people

Touched on them in the Blue creature post, not concerned about having enough density.

Long legs (Striders in the book)



Tall, long-limbed and gaunt. We have some corresponding imagery in Magic, so I'd like to include them, including these examples:



Defenders (Colonials in the book)



These weird fuckers look like a wall in MTG and we have a perfect fit



To go alongside it, I'm thinking of add more walls that look like stuff



This needs to be fleshed out, but might have potential and is faithful to the book.

Satyrs (Hedonists)



Not a perfect match, but damn close enough! We have many in Gruul, so I think it's worth adding them.



Insects (Insectophagi)



Another one we can adapt relatively easily. Need to flesh it out though.



So a bit from the book, a bit from Magic, it's tough to find common characteristics that stand out and suggest evolution, but I think this is the right approach for a coherent cube that touches on evolution.

 

[Miasmir]

Looking at your eyeball section reminded me of some of my favorite magic eyes:

I'm enjoying watching your progress here!

 

[Nanonox]

Looking at your eyeball section reminded me of some of my favorite magic eyes:

Good shoutouts! I'm definitely adding Power Sink as a weird ancient thing and a playable counterspell. Vortex is tougher mechanically and visually to include, but it could be represent the Star people's advanced cognition or something. You made me think of another weird one



The name is perfect for the Earth-Mars to Star people transition, but once again, the mechanics are rough!

---

Keeping the timeline, losing the civilizations

The more I think about this project, the less I want to stick to the actual details of the book. I like the general idea for sure, but adapting the details to fit Magic doesn't always work and makes it inconsistant. So I'm thinking of keeping the guiding principles and adding my own interpretation of the events.

The timeline would be as follows

1. Ancient humanity: These are ancient legends and relics that survived millions of years. They don't make a ton of sense visually, but inspire future civilizations.
(frame: arn, atq, leg, drk, ice, fem, all, hml)

2. Star people: These people are the result of the Earth-Mars conflict. Contrary to the book, I think I will keep them human. This opens up some cool cards like Cartographer and Archivist. Their pursuit of knowledge and space exploration will be the main themes being represented.
(frame: old border Mirage and up)

3. The Qu: This is the alien invasion that modified humanity forever. They are represented by Eldrazi titans and will have some helpers. I haven't completely settled on the exact details, but they should invoke larger than life alien terror.
(frame: modern)

4. Modified humanity: This is where the cube's visuals go wild. Trying to go for established lineages that hopefully drafters can identify through density, and also some fun, weird one of species that are visually striking.
(frame: modern)

5. The Gravitals: One of the modified humans had to abandon their flesh and transition to machines in order to survive. These Gravitals (Necrons for this project) then decided to wipe out other civilizations they deemed inferior (spoiler: all of them).
(frame: universes beyond)

6. New Empire: Following millions of years of evolution, modified humanity finds itself back in space, this time living harmoniously.
(frame: full frame modern)

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The Qu/Eldrazi

Going back the the Qu (Eldrazis), if I am not following the book, I think I can afford to be a little more loose and move away from trying to copy the pictures. This means that some Eldrazi cards are worth a second look. First of all, I think it's better to have a single Eldrazi titan.



I don't want to have many power outliers like this and this one has the best art and name IMO. I do like having some big Eldrazis because the scale is so cool, so going with some more generic ones



Also going for the Emerge mechanic as a way to show that the altered nature physically manifests. I like having a flyer, an aquatic Eldrazi and a random ground creature.



Then we have some Eldrazi with solid names and/or flavor text that add to the immersion.



This next one is chosen because it looks like it has a single eye, maybe making humanity in it's image with the various Homunculi.



Since we are down to one Titan, it makes more sense to have these two specifically calling out her name.



I'm keeping Growth Spasms as a Qu event that is happening galaxy wide.

I also like some world building ones where you see a giant presence looming.



This overall Eldrazi package has some visual and flavor hits that make me think it hits harder than 4 titans and a single singleton break.

---

Heavy-handed evolution

One way to communicate evolution to the drafters could be to double or triple some cards that start the evolutionary chain. In the previous post, the glowing eyes, the cyclops', the changeling and aquatic folk all had a good showing and are definitely part of the civilizations I want represented. So having more copies floating around in the draft means that more players will be able to see these and make connections. Right now, I'm thinking this makes sense



The glowing eyes and water folk have a lot of representation, so having three copies of each communicates they are important somehow. I chose the Guardian as the start to the aquatic civilizations because the mechanic works in multiples and it gives Green the start of a lineage. Truth be told, not 100% sold on it.
I also have a lot of one-eyed creatures, so I could see having more Frilled Oculus, but the connection between one-eyed species is more obvious, so I don't think I need to go as hard there. Changelings aren't playing a huge role, so they can probably stay at one copy.

---

New civilizations

If I don't follow the book in term of new species, I can use what Magic's art offers more easily. One civilization I'd like to have represented is one that is nature based. Here is the start of it



They would be closely tied to the various Kamis/spirits who look wild



I'd also like to do a hyperfocused civilization, where they evolved collecting numerous single body parts.



White is underrepresented and has an interesting direction to explore with advanced artifact people that could be the precursors to the Gravitals before they went full machine. Cards like



Reptiles could be a well supported species in Temur. I don't love the Satyrs or the Jackals, so those may be cut.

Lots of ideas and possibilities, but things are slowly getting clearer and more organized. I think departing from the book a little makes this project more interesting, curious what people think. Also always open to new cards, civilizations and critique. Thanks for reading!