Cybaros (set)

Cybaros is a set designed by Splitmoon that officially finished development and was submitted into the Revolution Custom Standard format on November 19th, 2022. It received a small update on February 20th, 2023 and has not had any set development since.

Set Details
Cybaros is a premier-style Custom Magic set containing 290 cards (6 basic lands, 109 commons, 85 uncommons, 65 rares, 20 mythic rares, and 5 special rarity). It adopts a unique set structure that heavily features C mana, introduced in canon Magic's Oath of the Gatewatch set. In Cybaros, C mana has equal representation to the 5 main colors in the set, effectively turning the set into a "6 color" set.

Additionally, Cybaros is a two-faction set. Unlike many sets that feature two factions distributed throughout each of the colors (for example, Mirrodin Besieged), Cybaros ' factions are tied to set color combinations like most five-faction sets (Such as Alara and Khans of Tarkir). The two factions are the Resistors (URG) and the Invaders (CWB), which also feature their own unique mechanics.

Colorless
Cybaros utilizes a multitude of strategies in order to accommodate its use of C as a heavily featured aspect of the set. The primary solution is the special drafting rule that allows players to add basic wastes to their deck freely, like other basic lands. This is different compared to other environments, where basic wastes had to be drafted directly from packs in order to be used in your deck. Secondly, Cybaros uses hybrid cards in order to increase the available card pool for each color, making up for the reduced number of slots available to each color from having C cards. Lastly, C was given a coherent visual and mechanical identity, focusing on the plane-native Vukoroq and effects such as copying and ones that involved the exile zone.

The Resistors
The Cybarosian inhabitants that have banded together to defeat the Invaders, represented by the colors blue, red, and green. The faction contains 4 different draft archetypes, including UR Theft, UG Discharge, RG Solidarity, and URG Spellslinger. It also has 2 unique mechanics, detailed below:

Discharge (Remove a counter from this to cast a copy.): Discharge is a special type of spell featured on artifact creatures, similar to adventures, but able to be cast as long as the creature is on the battlefield. It offers a special way to synergize with effects that grant counters of any kind. Flavorfully, discharge showcases the awesome power of Cybaros’ technological achievements, and are a major weapon imparted on the side of the Resistors.

Solidarity (When you attack with six or more different creature types, create a Solidarity enchantment with “Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0.” if you haven’t this turn.): Solidarity is connected to a special enchantment token by the same name, which rewards you when a certain point has been reached in the game. As it is featured in the more aggressive faction of the set, the mechanic acts like a second wind, giving a player the ability to come from the back foot or make a final push towards victory. It also encourages you to think about deck construction a bit more carefully, as it rewards diversity. Solidarity represents the Resistor’s appreciation for individuality and desire to push back against the hardships brought on by the invasion.

The Invaders
An antagonistic force consisting of both Cybarosian inhabitants and the impressionable Vukoroq, waging war on the rest of the world. They are represented by colorless, black, and white. The faction contains 4 different draft archetypes, including CW advisor tribal, CB Integrate, WB Cybersoul, and CWB artifact creatures. It also has 2 unique mechanics, detailed below:

Integrate (To integrate a card, exile it, then choose a permanent it’s integrated onto.): Integrate is a keyword action that lets permanents of the Invader faction utilize other cards as a resource for their own gain. Many cards with integrate gain a special bonus when integrated with cards of certain types, and some cards will increase in power as they gather more integrations. Integration represents the Invader’s propensity for both exploitation and their reflection of those they see around them.

Cybersoul ([Cost]: Transform this. Each artifact you tap while activating this ability pays for one. Activate only as a sorcery.): A value-based mechanic, Cybersoul creatures generally feature an early-game nonartifact drop on the front side, and a mid-to-late game artifact creature on the back. This ensures that the card is a reasonable pull at all stages of the game, and turns every creature into an eventual threat. Cybersoul showcases those willing to give up their bodies and embrace the Invader’s mysterious technology.

A Power Unleashed
For thousands of years, Cybaros existed as a plane steeped in relative mediocrity. Aside from tales of mythological beasts in the outer rims of society, Kingdoms existed as one would expect, with the average political intrigue of nobles and day-to-day trappings of commonfolk. A few kingdoms grew to become quite large; with their influence and flourishing economies, a golden age began. Astronomy, biology, medicine, mathematics, technology, and various other scientific pursuits were at the forefront of society’s focus and respect.

With advancement came exploitation, digging into mountains and cutting into forests. Out in the farthest reaches of civilization, discovered by accident like nearly all great scientific advancement, a phenomenon was found that would forever change the plane: magic. Like removing a cork from a bottle, mana no longer leaked into the world from its leylines, but poured bountifully. What was myth turned into reality, and what was impossible became attainable.

Upon the infusion of magic into Cybaros, the Magical Revolution began, turning theoretical concepts into practical applications. Technology advanced at a rate completely unprecedented relative to before, and with change came strife. Stehlia, Cybaros’ largest kingdom by area, rejected the use of magic and viewed it as an unnatural perversion of reality. Teqien (Then known as Barneese), the most economically powerful kingdom, was overthrown internally by a band of mages who have led the kingdom down the path of fully embracing magical technology. Other regions lie somewhere in between these two extremes, with the plane as a whole developing at a rapid pace.

Moths to a Flame
Far beyond the terrestrial reaches of Cybaros proper, an entity that lacked both form and purpose drifted in the utterly dark void of space. It resided there for many years, and may have done so for all of time, until a beacon pierced through the darkness. Inexplicably drawn to this–what we know to be the unleashed magic of Cybaros–the entity began its journey towards the source of this new sensation. A century passed, and Cybaros experienced what would be described as the Magical Revolution.

Technology flourished alongside magic and the nations that embraced it grew, while those that opposed it began to have their former glory fade. It would be during this critical moment in history that the space-bound object arrived on Cybaros, like an immense semi-solid mass of burnished steel.

Stehlia, a kingdom that rejected the use of magic and lamented its loss of power, would be the first to investigate the strange object. In addition to the sphere-like object, they also discovered what appeared to be small animals and plants made of the same material, as if they had been molded from metal. Not long after the scouts and scientists arrived, humanoid figures began to emerge from the object. These people born of the sphere would later come to call themselves the Vukoroq.

Visions of Lost Glory
Stehlia saw power and potential at their fingertips. More specifically, General Diadem and her followers, long dissatisfied with their king, took this as an opportunity to take the fate of Cybaros into their own hands. They found the Vukoroq to be incredibly impressionable, and molded the alien beings to fit their needs as weapons of war. Armed not only with soldiers, but also with the strange technology that the Vukoroq morphology was able to create, the Stehlian military enacted a coup against their king, slaying and supplanting him with Diadem herself.

Branding themselves as the newly found Neo Stehlia, the kingdom's new ruler enacted her first decree to wage war with the neighboring countries and regain the kingdom's former status as the most powerful in the world. Partnered with the Vukoroq, Neo Stehlia began to quickly take ground, taking the rest of the world by surprise with their relatively advanced technology.

Not all were opposed to Neo Stehlia's warmongering; a group called the Iris Cult had already been a radical critic of the status quo, and welcomed what they would describe as a new world order. The three main powers of Neo Stehlia, the Vukoroq, and the Iris cult would act as the combined entity known colloquially as the Invaders.

The World Fights Back
War on Cybaros had begun. It would be the smaller, scattered territories of the Edgelands that would fall prey to the Neo Stehlian war machine, which had formerly been areas within Stehlia's power in the golden age of their kingdom. In order to stand a chance against this daunting foe, the territories banded together to form the Edgeland Union, but even that had not proved enough. They would need more allies.

Teqien had somewhat recently concluded its own revolution of sorts. Having fully embraced the Magical Revolution and all the advancements it brought, the nation is now led by an oligarchy of mages who have put scientific and magical progress above all other priorities. Though the nation as a whole has undoubtedly prospered, now arguably the most advanced nation on all of Cybaros, not all would reap the spoils nor support the exploitation necessary to achieve it. A schism had occurred not long ago from scientists, mages, and other government positions who took their work and left the nation to live in the jungles of the Ozanwood, vowing to weigh ethics more highly in the pursuit of societal progression.

The Edgeland Union would reach out to both of these powers to join them in fighting back Neo Stehlia. Though the Ozanwood had less to give, they offered their assistance freely. Teqien, however, used their more plentiful resources to negotiate a portion of land from the Union, as they would never miss a chance to gain even more power. And thus the opposition to the Invaders were solidified, labeled simply The Resistors.

Peace Prevails
The invasion would take a sudden turn. As the battles raged on, the Resistors gained a deeper understanding of the Vukoroq technology. They began to reverse engineer it in an effort to both combat the Invaders and make new scientific discoveries. The Resistors would finally begin to hold their own against the invaders as another peculiar event came to light: dissent among the Vukoroq.

Although the Vukoroq are naturally aimless, they had existed on Cybaros for some time now, and their beings began to change from a combination of exposure to both the denizens of the planet and the influences of the Leylines themselves. This all came ahead in the Battle of Londel; an elite group of Vukoroq turned against the Invaders in the climax of the battle, aligning themselves thereafter with the Resistors. This anomaly would occur on multiple fronts, and tipped the outcome of the war against the Invaders. Eventually, Neo Stehlia itself fell. The acting queen Diadem surrendered, and all their bloodied spoils of war were lost.

As part of their agreements to helping the Edgeland Union, Teqien gained control of all land that had been lost to Neo Stehlia during the conflict. Though it was already arguably one of the most powerful nations in Cybaros, that fact now laid undisputed. Most of the Vukoroq showed a desire to exist within the newfound peace, and found homes across Cybaros, though their reception was mixed. The Teqien oligarchy employed many to continue researching their technology and physiology, which would lead to further rapid scientific advancements into the future. In the shadows, the Iris Cult, secret factions of Neo Stehlia, and the remaining Vukoroq would have their rage continue to fester, swearing vengeance against all of Cybaros.

Cycles
Cybaros has two strict cycles, not counting lighter cycles such as arcuns and planeswalkers.

Leystone Cycle: Leystone of Being (W), Leystone of Depths (U), Leystone of Ruin (B), Leystone of Storms (R), Leystone of Growth (G)

Coalesced Cycle: Coalesced Mesa (W), Coalesced Glacier (U), Coalesced Core (B), Coalesced Peaks (R), Coalesced Cliff (G)

Mega-Cycles
Cybaros has a single card called Unity that is a part of the Villainy mega-cycle. Villainy was first printed in 2018 in the set Storytime, designed by ThatDamnPipsqueak, and has since become one of the most popular mega cycles in custom magic history.

Guest Planeswalkers
Cybaros features three planeswalkers in its set that are guests from other designers. They include Vasilisa (from Avarelle, character by Philippe Saner), Sheng Fa (From Panxiou, character by Scribbl), and Marilye (From a currently unknown plane, character by Zangy).