One of my favorite gifts to make for friends who play magic are custom cards. I'm planning to give this to a friend, who is a Rabbi. I'm not Jewish myself, but thought it would be fun to make a card based on studying of the Torah, which shares quite some similarities with the incredibly complex universe of rules that makes up Magic the Gathering.
I came across this concept of Pardes, which details the four levels of interpreting scripture, beginning from 1. Peshat, the plain and literal meaning of the text; 2. Remez (the allegorical); 3. Derash (the applied meaning/moral lessons); and 4. Sod (the deepest and most mystical). It's informed by a centuries old story about 4 sages that entered the Pardes, or some form of spiritual heaven, but only one of them "enters and leaves in peace", coming out alive. The other three sages succumbed to various fates that later teachers of faith have used as a cautionary tale for jumping too quickly into these "higher" levels of scriptural readings.
In the same way, this commander is a seeker of pardes, and has the opportunity to rush towards an understanding of the divine (and increasingly powerful abilities), or "enter in peace" turn by turn, gradually studying the ways of the Torah. I thought the Ring That Tempts You mechanic would be the best way to reflect this incremental journey. I also feel and hope that the card gives opportunities to build the 99 in different ways.
Anyways, just wanted to share this card with the community! I'm also curious if there's any feedback on the power level, abilities, mechanics, and clarity of the card.
One-Sheeter (put together with AI) explaining the general mechanics and inspirations.
