Older art from 2015.

Artist’s description from DA:

So, allow me if I may to promote a biiit further my proposal for an Everfree Tribes fan unit.

Certainly you remember (hopefully) the unit sheets that I think, now in retorspective, I kinda rushed. (Heck I even read some mean comments about my poor english that I find funny and friendly but seriously, screw you guys. XD)

Oh well, I am not even feeling like re-making them but rather expanding some in order to make them more visually attractive, and who knows, maybe someone with lore-building skills can find some nice backstory or make the history that I did for them even better.

So ok, this is one such unit: The Everfree Mastodon (Which I called ‘Everfree Oliphant’ in the original unit sheet. Renamed it because obviously all of these are heavy-tusked mammal behemots. Also, I liked the ring of the name.) And their variations. The way I envisioned…all units really, is that the Everfree Tribes somehow evolve during time. They start taming the smallest of the heavy beasts and they progress until they tame the higher beasts. Of course, Poor Yorick’s take on the Swamp Hydra is THE ultimate Everfree Unit. Just compare the tiny pony beside it.

Obviously I used references for the units. Thankfully there is no shortage of war beasts illustrations and paintings on the net, so I only adapted them to the theme of the Everfree.

Notice not only the beasts but the riders as well. Celtic, Aztec, Indian, Amazonian, voodoo and African themes are all over it. Also, I highlighted the diversity of the house by putting donkeys and griffins there as well. I was even tempted to include a Tapir variation, but I thought that it wasn’t too menacing because of the lack of tusks and also I had no place to put the poor dude so that’s that.

So, individual comment on each beast variation:

-Boar. I like to think that they are the non-sentient cousins of the domestic pigs. Small but fierce, they eat all they can find. Stronger than a Wraith, Heavier than a Juggernaut. Won’t stand a chance agaisnt two of them, though.

-Hippo. The next level of this heavy unit. Fast despite its size. The massive mouth and tusks give them high resistance.

-Rhino. I love to imagine that Equestria has its own version of the Unicorn legend. You know, that only a fair virgin was able to tame the unicorn beast? Well, Rhinos are not exactly unicorns, but sure are as fierce as the one of the legends. Hence the limitaton that only mares can tame these beasts. Also, I even came up with a crazy headcannon: What if enemy houses (Specially Earthborn) like to compete for taking down a Rhino Mastodon in order to claim the female riders as sexual bounty (Assuming they are able to submit them as well)? (Story material right here, boys)

-Elephant. Nothing much to say about this one, it was a must.

-Oliphant. The original one. It IS a LOTR ripoff. And maybe not that well-received, but I hope you reconsider. Used a figurine photo for reference (coughpartiallytracingcoughcough). Yet, even if the design is the same, I’ve made them smaller than their original movie/novel counterparts.

Say, you want a mobile land aircraft carrier? Fill these guys with pegasi. One note, these giants and unicorn magic don’t mix well. So an unicorn tamer or rider can mean about 35% chances that you’ll have a rampaging Mumakil on your map.

God, I love this lore. Can you tell?