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|image=Obscura.png
|image=Obscura.png
|name=Obscura
|name=Obscura
|plane=[[Elspeth's home plane]]
|plane=[[Capenna]]
|timepoint=[[Mending Era]]
|timepoint=[[Mending Era]]
|members=[[Raffine]], [[Kamiz]]
|members=[[Raffine]], [[Kamiz]]
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|caption = {{{caption|Hand, keyhole, and dagger}}}
|caption = {{{caption|Hand, keyhole, and dagger}}}
}}
}}
One of the five crime families of [[New Capenna]], the '''Obscura''' are gifted magicians. They are associated with {{W}}{{U}}{{B}} mana, but are centered in blue.<ref name="Criminal History">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTK3BofsvWg Criminal History] (Video). ''The Command Zone''. YouTube (March 31, 2022).</ref>
One of the five crime families of [[New Capenna]], the '''Obscura''' are gifted magicians. They are associated with {{W}}{{U}}{{B}} mana, but are centered in blue.<ref name="Criminal History">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTK3BofsvWg Criminal History] (Video). ''The Command Zone''. YouTube (March 31, 2022).</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/hitting-streets-new-capenna-part-2-2022-04-11|Hitting the ''Streets of New Capenna'', Part 2|[[Mark Rosewater]]|April 11, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Guide">{{DailyRef|feature/planeswalkers-guide-streets-new-capenna-2022-04-28|Planeswalker's Guide to Streets of New Capenna|[[Miguel Lopez]]|April 28, 2022}}</ref> 


==Description==
==Description==
The Obscura are talented [[wizard]]s and [[mystic]]s who use their power to deceive and blackmail, using distractions, illusions, and hidden mechanisms. They orchestrate scenarios and manipulate outcomes to their benefit. They endeavor to maintain a façade of normalcy in their everyday lives which allows them to run their schemes without disruption.
The Obscura are talented [[wizard]]s and [[mystic]]s who use their power to deceive and blackmail, using distractions, illusions, and hidden mechanisms. They orchestrate scenarios and manipulate outcomes to their benefit. They deal in prophecy, fortune telling, and esoteric communion with dreams and the realm of the dead. If an event happens in the city, the Obscura will have predicted it, captured it with their signature aperture magic, and filed it away in their archives.<ref name="Guide"/> They endeavor to maintain a façade of normalcy in their everyday lives which allows them to run their schemes without disruption.
 
The Obscura are led by [[Raffine]], a [[sphinx]]-[[demon]] from [[Old Capenna]] prone to portentous visions of the future. The Obscura work to keep balance between the five families; if they can't conquer the city by sheer muscle, they can at least command the flow of information in New Capenna by running cons, blackmailing powerful adversaries, rumormongering, grifting, and laundering reputations.<ref name="Guide"/>
 
The Obscura are concentrated in the [[Mezzio]], though they are also found among the rarified parlors of [[Park Heights]] and scummy sewers of the [[Caldaia]]. As diviners—and directors—of prophecy, fate, and fortune, it is the Obscura's job to be everywhere in the city, and to appear as if they are nowhere but the warm confines of their shops and parlors. Their headquarters is the Cloud Spire, a seemingly inaccessible skyscraper in Park Heights, where Raffine and their high officers keep tabs on the city through an extensive network of surveillance magics.<ref name="Guide"/>
 
'''Exactors''' are family members who collect and parse evidence to find patterns and new information. '''Echo Readers''' are able to view spectral afterimages. They work in teams, speaking simultaneously as they experience past events. '''Ruiners''' destroy an individual's reputation<ref name="Expect"/>


===History===
===History===
Before the city's founding, the Obscura served as mystics, wizards, and advisers to the Angels.<ref name="Criminal History"/>
Before the city's founding, the Obscura served as mystics, wizards, and advisers to the Angels.<ref name="Criminal History"/>


'''Exactors''' are family members who collect and parse evidence to find patterns and new information. '''Echo Readers''' are able to view spectral afterimages. They work in teams, speaking simultaneously as they experience past events. '''Ruiners''' destroy an individual's reputation<ref name="Expect"/>
The Obscura were designed to reflect blackmail and information brokering, which would normally trend to institutional corruption, though the lack of honest institutions make this less apparent. The group was meant to be the "heist" group, but without major legitimate targets it would be difficult to depict.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/hitting-streets-new-capenna-part-1-2022-04-07|Hitting the Streets of New Capenna|[[Mark Rosewater]]|April 7, 2022}}</ref>
 
During [[New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse]], the Obscura, Riveteers, and Brokers defended New Capenna in sparse groups, with the Cabaretti absent in action for as of yet unknown reasons.<ref name="Fall">{{DailyRef|magic-story/the-fall-of-park-heights|''March of the Machine'' - New Capenna: The Fall of Park Heights|[[Elise Kova]]|March 27, 2023}}</ref>


==Mechanics==
==Mechanics==
The Obscura mechanic is [[Connive]], which [[Looting|loots]], then adds +1/+1 counters on the conniving creature for each discarded nonland card.  
[[File:SNC punch card 5.png|right|thumb|200px|Obscura family counters]]
The Obscura mechanic is [[Connive]], which [[Looting|loots]], then adds +1/+1 counters on the conniving creature for each discarded nonland card.


==Members==
==Members==
* [[Raffine]], the family's [[Sphinx]] [[Demon]] leader.<ref name="Expect">{{DailyRef|magic-story/what-you-expect-see-2022-03-29|What You Expect to See|[[Kaitlyn Zivanovich]]|March 29, 2022}}</ref>
*[[Raffine]], the family's [[Sphinx]] [[Demon]] leader.<ref name="Expect">{{DailyRef|magic-story/what-you-expect-see-2022-03-29|What You Expect to See|[[Kaitlyn Zivanovich]]|March 29, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Kamiz]], Raffine's right hand cephalid.<ref name="Expect"/>
*[[Kamiz]], Raffine's right hand cephalid.<ref name="Expect"/>
* "[[List of secondary characters#New Capenna|Navy]]," a spy secretly aligned with [[Ob Nixilis|the Adversary]].<ref name="Side Freedom">{{DailyRef|magic-story/side-freedom-2022-03-30|The Side of Freedom|[[Elise Kova]]|March 30, 2022}}</ref>
*"[[List of secondary characters#Capenna|Navy]]," a spy secretly aligned with [[Ob Nixilis|the Adversary]].<ref name="Side Freedom">{{DailyRef|magic-story/side-freedom-2022-03-30|The Side of Freedom|[[Elise Kova]]|March 30, 2022}}</ref>
* [[List of secondary characters#New Capenna|Oskar]], a human informant.<ref name="Expect"/>
*[[Oskar]], a human informant.<ref name="Expect"/>
* [[List of secondary characters#New Capenna|Queza]], Kamiz's right hand cephalid.<ref name="Expect"/>
*[[Queza]], Kamiz's right hand cephalid.<ref name="Expect"/>
* [[List of secondary characters#New Capenna|Tivit]], a Sphinx seer and fortune teller.<ref name="Expect"/>
*[[Tivit]], a Sphinx seer and fortune teller.<ref name="Expect"/>
* [[List of secondary characters#New Capenna|Toluz]], a Human woman and barehanded fighter.<ref name="Family Man">{{DailyRef|magic-story/family-man-2022-04-04|The Family Man|[[K. Arsenault Rivera]]|April 4, 2022}}</ref>
*[[Toluz]], a Human woman and barehanded fighter.<ref name="Family Man">{{DailyRef|magic-story/family-man-2022-04-04|The Family Man|[[K. Arsenault Rivera]]|April 4, 2022}}</ref>


==Creature types==
==Creature types==
*[[Angel]]s
*[[Aven]]
*[[Aven]]
*[[Cephalid]]s
*[[Demon]]s
*[[Demon]]s
*[[Cephalid]]s
*[[Human]]s
*[[Human]]s
*[[Ogre]]s
*[[Sphinx]]es
*[[Sphinx]]es


===Classes===
===Classes===
*[[Advisor]]s
*[[Advisor]]s
*[[Assassin]]s
*[[Citizen]]s
*[[Rogue]]s
*[[Wizard]]s
*[[Wizard]]s


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Their musical theme is known as the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd3U_truU0A Fortune Teller].


==In-game references==
==In-game references==
Line 49: Line 64:
*<c>Obscura Ascendancy</c>
*<c>Obscura Ascendancy</c>
*<c>Obscura Charm</c>
*<c>Obscura Charm</c>
*<c>Obscura Confluence</c>
*<c>Obscura Interceptor</c>
*<c>Obscura Initiate</c>
*<c>Obscura Polymorphist</c>
*<c>Obscura Storefront</c>
|referred=
|referred=
*<c>Case the Joint</c>
*<c>Echo Inspector</c>
*<c>Even the Score</c>
*<c>Illuminator Virtuoso</c>
*<c>Jailbreak</c>
*{{card|Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin}}
*<c>Omen Hawker</c>
*<c>Raffine's Tower</c>
*<c>Raffine's Tower</c>
}}
}}

Latest revision as of 21:35, 2 June 2023

Obscura
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Obscura.png}}|150px]]
Hand, keyhole, and dagger
History
Founded on Capenna
Active Mending Era
Membership
Notable members Raffine, Kamiz
Associated Colors
{W}{U}{B}

One of the five crime families of New Capenna, the Obscura are gifted magicians. They are associated with {W}{U}{B} mana, but are centered in blue.[1][2][3]

Description

The Obscura are talented wizards and mystics who use their power to deceive and blackmail, using distractions, illusions, and hidden mechanisms. They orchestrate scenarios and manipulate outcomes to their benefit. They deal in prophecy, fortune telling, and esoteric communion with dreams and the realm of the dead. If an event happens in the city, the Obscura will have predicted it, captured it with their signature aperture magic, and filed it away in their archives.[3] They endeavor to maintain a façade of normalcy in their everyday lives which allows them to run their schemes without disruption.

The Obscura are led by Raffine, a sphinx-demon from Old Capenna prone to portentous visions of the future. The Obscura work to keep balance between the five families; if they can't conquer the city by sheer muscle, they can at least command the flow of information in New Capenna by running cons, blackmailing powerful adversaries, rumormongering, grifting, and laundering reputations.[3]

The Obscura are concentrated in the Mezzio, though they are also found among the rarified parlors of Park Heights and scummy sewers of the Caldaia. As diviners—and directors—of prophecy, fate, and fortune, it is the Obscura's job to be everywhere in the city, and to appear as if they are nowhere but the warm confines of their shops and parlors. Their headquarters is the Cloud Spire, a seemingly inaccessible skyscraper in Park Heights, where Raffine and their high officers keep tabs on the city through an extensive network of surveillance magics.[3]

Exactors are family members who collect and parse evidence to find patterns and new information. Echo Readers are able to view spectral afterimages. They work in teams, speaking simultaneously as they experience past events. Ruiners destroy an individual's reputation[4]

History

Before the city's founding, the Obscura served as mystics, wizards, and advisers to the Angels.[1]

The Obscura were designed to reflect blackmail and information brokering, which would normally trend to institutional corruption, though the lack of honest institutions make this less apparent. The group was meant to be the "heist" group, but without major legitimate targets it would be difficult to depict.[5]

During New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, the Obscura, Riveteers, and Brokers defended New Capenna in sparse groups, with the Cabaretti absent in action for as of yet unknown reasons.[6]

Mechanics

Obscura family counters

The Obscura mechanic is Connive, which loots, then adds +1/+1 counters on the conniving creature for each discarded nonland card.

Members

Creature types

Classes

Trivia

In-game references

Associated cards:
Referred to:

References

  1. a b Criminal History (Video). The Command Zone. YouTube (March 31, 2022).
  2. Mark Rosewater (April 11, 2022). "Hitting the Streets of New Capenna, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. a b c d Miguel Lopez (April 28, 2022). "Planeswalker's Guide to Streets of New Capenna". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. a b c d e f Kaitlyn Zivanovich (March 29, 2022). "What You Expect to See". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. Mark Rosewater (April 7, 2022). "Hitting the Streets of New Capenna". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. Elise Kova (March 27, 2023). "March of the Machine - New Capenna: The Fall of Park Heights". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Elise Kova (March 30, 2022). "The Side of Freedom". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. K. Arsenault Rivera (April 4, 2022). "The Family Man". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.