Avery Stermel, Cindy Lam, & Madeline Ong
Project Synopsis:
As a group, we are creating a set of informative playing cards inspired by Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh cards that are based on deep sea creatures with a focus on deep sea sharks. Each card will have their own “character” and have a power/ability that makes each creature unique.
Week 5 Update: The Final Week
This week, we finished our illustrations and edited them into their final forms. Moreover, we edited some of the descriptions and added another feature which has the animals' length, weight, which oceanic zone they are found in, and lastly, their attack points on the bottom of the card.
Deep Sea Trading Cards
Avery:
Black Sea Nettle/ Chrysaora Achlyos (✩✩✩✩✩)
Description:
Species of jellyfish that lives in the deep pacific ocean. It is the largest invertebrate discovered in the 20th century and sightings are incredibly rare.
Ability: Encapsulate/Venom Strike
Uses its tentacles and encapsulates one of your opponent’s creatures for 3 turns (or until this card is removed from play). If the encompassed creature attacks, it will be struck with a venom. If struck by this venom, the card will automatically be removed from play in 3 turns.
Length: 3 ft. full (27 ft.)︱Weight: ???︱Zone: Midnight ︱Att: 80/100
Ninja Lanternshark/Etmopterus Benchleyi (✩✩✩✩✩)
Description:
Discovered in 2015, this shark uses small photophores in its skin to produce a faint glow. This ability gives them the ability to blend in and sneak up on prey, hence the name “Ninja”.
Ability: Cloak
Using its bioluminescence, this shark becomes invisible to the naked eye. This card cannot be attacked by any means unless it attacks first.
Length: 13 in.︱Weight: ???︱Zone: Abyssal ︱Att: 60/100
Vampire Squid/ Vampyroteuthis Infernalis (✩✩)
Description:
Despite its scientific name meaning “vampire squid from hell”, this prey animal is quite timid. It feeds primarily on the remnants of plankton. It is the only cephalopod able to breathe normally in extreme deep sea conditions.
Ability: Distraction
The vampire squid blinds the opponent’s creatures with bioluminescent ink, stunning them for one round. During this round, the opponent cannot attack your cards unless a new creature is brought into play. They may only attack with that card.
Length: 12in.︱Weight: 1lb.︱Zone: Twilight ︱Att: 20/100
Cindy:
Gulper Eel/Eurypharynx pelecanoides (✩✩✩✩)
Description:
The Gulper Eel is able to expand its jaws, lined with sharp teeth, into a large pouch, allowing it to swallow prey much larger than itself. They also have a whip-like tail that creates light-emitting photophores to lure prey.
Ability: Gaping Black Hole
When this animal is on the field, target one opposing creature with equal or higher strength stats and remove it from play.
Length: 3 ft.︱Weight: 20lbs.︱Zone: Midnight ︱Att: 40/100
Cookiecutter Shark/Isistius brasilensis (✩✩✩✩✩)
Description:
The Cookiecutter shark has a long cylindrical body with a short snout, large eyes, and photophores that cover its underside with a dark brown "collar" around its gills. They can have more than 30 teeth lining its upper and lower jaws.
Ability: Razor Sharp
These sharks are known for ambushing its prey and biting round chunks of flesh off from other marine animals with its powerful jaws. This animal gains 10 attack points for every identical shark currently in play.
Length: 22 in. ︱Weight: ???︱Zone: Twilight︱Att: 50/100
Firefly Squid/Watasenia scintillans (✩✩)
Description:
With a lifespan of about one year, these bioluminescent squids migrate to the shores of Japan during the spring to mate and reproduce. The Firefly Squid emits bright blue lights from the many photophores that cover its body. The largest and brightest lights are found on the tips of its long arms.
Ability: Twinkling by the Dozen
When this animal is in play, choose one of the opponent's cards and return it to their hand or choose one card that was destroyed on your field and return it to your hand.
Length: 3 in. ︱Weight: 0.31 oz.︱Zone: Twilight︱Att: 30/100
Madeline:
Atolla Jellyfish/Atolla Wyvillei (✩✩✩)
Description:
A species of deep-sea crown jellyfish. Its bioluminescence is mimicked by scientists to attract various deep sea creatures for research.
Ability: Alarm/Captivating Flare
Emits a swirling pattern of glowing blue light in distress, allowing you to summon a creature card with an offence stat larger than your opponent's strongest on field. If you have none, the opponent is temporarily stunned and skips a turn.
Length(Bell): 8 in.︱Weight: ???︱Zone: Midnight ︱Att: 40/100
Frilled Shark/Chlamydoselachus anguineus (✩✩✩✩)
Description:
Considered a living fossil because of its primitive, eel-like physical traits. Its common name, the frilled shark derives from the fringed appearance of the six pairs of gill slits at the shark's throat.
Ability: A Thousand Needle Trap
The shark extends its long flexible jaws and lunges, 300 recurved, needle-like teeth sinks into a soft-bodied creature on field. The animal is snagged and swallowed whole. Remove the attacked card from active play.
Length: 7 ft.︱Weight: ???︱Zone: Midnight ︱Att: 60/100
Mariana Snailfish/Pseudoliparis swirei (✩✩✩✩✩)
Description:
A species of snailfish found at hadal depths in the Mariana Trench. It is apparently the top predator along certain stretches, feeding on tiny crustaceans in a deep-water habitat with few larger predators.
Ability: Ghost of the Abyss
Adapted to have transparent skin lacking in pigment, thinner muscles and incomplete skulls, the snailfish has the amazing flexibility needed to survive in a dark and high pressure habitat. When this card is in active, animals on the players's side of field will be immune to environmental effects.
Length: 11.3 ft.︱Weight: 0.35lbs.︱Zone: Hadal ︱Att: 30/100
Final Thoughts:
Overall, we enjoyed this collaborative process in making these cards. We hope that these cards can educate people on deep sea creatures that are more unknown to the general public and in a way that is fun and engaging.
You can view this artwork now in the Art±Biology Methods Exhibition.