Magic the Gathering Card: Baleful Polymorph

It also doesn't really illustrate the trope. "Ovinize" is not a word most people are likely to know, and only the card picture suggests a transformation of any sort.

Surely we can do better.

Get it, the creature becomes a 0/1 because it turns into a sheep, and sheep are small and weak and don't fight well!

Yeah, we can probably do better.

How about the pic in Ovinomancer◊? Shows the wizard casting a spell and a soldier turning into a sheep, complete with now ill-fitting armor.

MtG has a few other cards whose art might work as a standalone image.

Ovinomancer (which Ovinize is a callback to), Pongify (which has an end state somewhat more powerful than normal for this trope), and Snakeform.

Of the three, I prefer Ovinomancer's art.

EDIT: Sarnathed...

edited 2nd Feb '11 6:09:21 PM by Glidergun

Wow, I didn't know this would be possible.

I actually found a SFW XXXenophile example here.◊

The thing with Mt G cards as images is that like Demotivators, we generally don't like them as page images (hence this thread). If we took only the illustration from the card and used that, would it work?

For Snakeform and Pongify, it wouldn't, and Ovinomancer is a little sketchy.

The XX Xenophile image is a little blurry, and it doesn't show a "before" (it looks a little more like he's being struck by lightning), but otherwise excellent.

edited 2nd Feb '11 6:19:25 PM by AweStriker

I'll have to dig up my copy and scan a new version. Probably will post it somewhere tomorrow then.

Here's the Snakeform◊ artwork alone. I think it works: there's a bluish light indicating magic, and a snake slithering away from empty clothes.

I will admit that it's better than Pongify and Ovinize, but that particular image is up for debate on Empty Piles of Clothing, so let's not go with that one for now.

Problem with Snakeform is that there's no indication that someone else casted the spell on the guy. Might get mistaken for a shapshifter, which is not this trope.

I like Pongify better.

He's really going ape over this polymorph thing.

Except that just looks like a rampaging monkey/gorilla thing on a beach. If I showed that to Random Bystander, would they think that was a forcibly transformed person?

Nope.

edited 2nd Feb '11 7:29:18 PM by AweStriker

Damn, I thought this would've come off much better visually.

[1]◊

That one doesn't look very good either. More like he's casting the spell himself almost (even though I know that's not what's happening).

It still has its old armor. Visual cue right there.

Still prefering the Ovinomancer, since it shows a wizard casting it on someone else, decreasing the chances of people thinking that this trope would include Voluntary Shapeshifting.

edited 2nd Feb '11 8:25:11 PM by Servbot

^But...but the wizard is facing away from the target...

He is just showing off Improbable Magic Skills with a no-look cast, I think.

It's like the sorcerous version of Badass Back.

I just realized that the wizard is wearing Tim's hat.

edited 2nd Feb '11 8:30:26 PM by Scardoll

Ah. Okay.

Badass Baaaaaaaaack

Ovinomancer works just fine for this. I like.

Last panel here?

I like that. It makes it clear that the person formerly inhabiting the clothes is not supposed to be a lizard.

edited 2nd Feb '11 11:15:54 PM by INUH