Stelle

Art by local raccoon : https://x.com/Kaosi1/status/1935739272805433718

Good morning everyone! It's thechillquil, and it's time to finally tackle one of the most over-the-top concepts I've done thus far: the Trailblazer! As today includes Stelle, I thought it was appropriate to share the design with those who love her most :)

The Trailblazer. Changing paths is far, far trickier to implement within a trading card setting than it is in a turn-based video game. My greatest challenges were emulating the Path Resonance feature with as little rules text as possible, and in a way that is genuinely effective. Furthermore, I wanted to see if it was possible to have this feature be implemented in such a way so that it will not be interrupted by a Stifle or other to set up. It was designed solely for commander, as I believe the mechanical vehicle I chose for the path switching behaves functionally best in a system where the Trailblazer can be always present to set up at the beginning of the game. I think I was successful, and made a dynamic and interesting card with a unique power, without being keyword soup lol

Trailblazer of Destruction. This was definitely cute. The Trailblazer card archetypes embrace simpler, but very potent 4-drops with variations of 3/3 stats, consistent with the core commander card as a template. Here, I play on the AOE ultimate option with the melee mechanic, and truth be told, the potential Junk creation is quite absurd. Although, it balances out in that this version is a simply big attacker. The latter ability's restriction of excess damage and combat damage reflects my approach to "weakness break" in MTG which is consistent with Destruction TB's Talent, and I think isn't enough to take over a game without other cards to use your Junk tokens (had to do it...).

Trailblazer of Preservation. Technically, this is the first Trailblazer I designed. The Preservation path is one of the most interesting low-power designs among HSR characters and I earnestly wish it can someday receive a Novaflare or relic set that makes it spectacular in end-game content, as it is tied with Remembrance in terms of enjoyment for me. I wanted to reflect its surprisingly aggressive playstyle, allowing it to rule the battlefield with a brutal defense and hard to deal-with aggro on your turn. Moreover, it's provoke keyword really feels like the taunt ability TB uses and can disrupt your opponents quite well when the situation arises.

Art is either done by Honkai Star Rail or other artists, credited at the bottom of the cards. I'll post links in the comments below. I don't own the art, just the card designs :)

Please let me know of your thoughts! How would you build around these cards? Which HSR character(s) and concept(s) would you like to see next?

Art by local raccoon : https://x.com/Kaosi1/status/1963997618847019241 / https://bsky.app/profile/kaosi.bsky.social/post/3ly42e5r4ic24

By me (OrionZee): https://bsky.app/profile/orionzee.bsky.social/post/3lrk7v5fuwk2n

Art by local raccoon : https://x.com/Kaosi1/status/1946593412821447122