Obscura
| Obscura | |
|---|---|
 Hand, keyhole, and dagger | |
| History | |
| Founded on | Capenna |
| Active | Mending Era |
| Membership | |
| Members | Raffine, Kamiz |
| Information | |
| Colors |
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| Scryfall Statistics | |
One of the five crime families of New Capenna, the Obscura are gifted magicians. They are associated with mana, but are centered in blue.[1][2][3]
Description
The Obscura are a cabal of gifted wizards and mystics who rely on cunning, secrets, and manipulation to maintain their influence in New Capenna. Masters of misdirection, illusions, and subtle trickery, they create distractions and weave hidden plots to extort and deceive those who stand in their way. Their talents extend to prophecy, dream reading, and communing with the spirits of the dead, giving them an uncanny edge in predicting events across the city. Through their unique aperture magic, they record glimpses of the future and preserve them within extensive secret archives.[3]
To the outside world, the Obscura appear to lead respectable lives, cultivating an air of normalcy that hides their schemes in plain sight. Their leader, Raffine, is a sphinx-demon whose cryptic visions shape the Obscura's plots and guide their hand behind the scenes. Rather than fight for control through brute force, the Obscura wield information like a blade, manipulating rumors, blackmailing rivals, and orchestrating cons to keep the other families in check. By dominating the flow of secrets, they ensure no corner of the city escapes their watchful gaze.[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 can 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 tend toward institutional corruption, though the lack of honest institutions makes 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 the New Phyrexian Invasion, 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
The Obscura mechanic is Connive, which loots, then adds +1/+1 counters on the conniving creature for each discarded nonland card.
Members
- Raffine, the family's Sphinx Demon leader.[4]
- Kamiz, Raffine's right hand cephalid.[4]
- "Navy," a spy secretly aligned with the Adversary.[7]
- Oskar, a human informant.[4]
- Queza, Kamiz's right hand cephalid.[4]
- Tivit, a Sphinx seer and fortune teller.[4]
- Toluz, a Human woman and barehanded fighter.[8]
Creature types
Classes
Trivia
- Their musical theme is known as the Fortune Teller.
In-game references
- Associated cards:
- Referred to:
References
- ↑ a b Criminal History (Video). The Command Zone. YouTube (March 31, 2022).
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 11, 2022). "Hitting the Streets of New Capenna, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d Miguel Lopez (April 28, 2022). "Planeswalker's Guide to Streets of New Capenna". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2022-04-28.
- ↑ a b c d e f Kaitlyn Zivanovich (March 29, 2022). "What You Expect to See". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 7, 2022). "Hitting the Streets of New Capenna". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Elise Kova (March 27, 2023). "March of the Machine - New Capenna: The Fall of Park Heights". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Elise Kova (March 30, 2022). "The Side of Freedom". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ K. Arsenault Rivera (April 4, 2022). "The Family Man". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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