Yea, I actually agree, in terms of wishing that MTG would do a larger percentage of settings that AREN'T so blatantly/directly based on real life historical cultures (i.e. this "ride-down-the-Vegas-Strip" kind of thing that's currently being done).
Like, I am much more impressed when they come out with something like Ravnica or Mirrodin than when they come out with something like Theros or Kaladesh or Amonkhet, since it feels like a truly made up MTG world (even if they are borrowing aspects here and there from previous scifi/fantasy, the overall vibe ends up being it's own weird MTG-setting type of a thing).
That said, I am a fan of ancient cultures/civilizations and I did enjoy stuff like Arabian Nights, or the Viking-esque cards in the past or medieval-England-Knights type of stuff and so forth. So, I'm not saying I DON'T like having some cards with a Greco-Roman or Persian or Egyptian vibe. I like that, too.
But, I do think it feels a little too neat and tidy and uniform to have numerous blocks in a row that are such blatant tour-stops of historical civilizations. More of a mixing-with-Dominaria-style stuff, and slightly more vague/mysterious "flavor"-type stuff rather than full-on-storyline stuff for everything, would be more my cup of tea.
I guess for the "world tour" types of sets, this could be accomplished by having a plane be more of an entire universe, with a bit more of the sort of "mixing" that would go on if there were numerous planets per plane/universe and numerous cities/cultures per planet etc. They could still focus on one specific city or culture, to have that be the main overriding theme of that set, but without it feeling too much like that "tour-around-the-world" thing that a lot of people are getting from some of these most recent sets.
(Well... maybe. Or maybe not, I dunno, lol. It's def pretty tricky of a thing to balance out. No way to make everyone happy, that's for sure, lol)
I'd like to see a straight-up fairy tale world. Princesses, knights, wizards, faeries, merfolk... plus heaps of monstrous races like hags, humanoid wolves (I guess werewolves?), trolls, and of course dragons. Lorwyn/Shadowmoor was close, but lacked the human side of fairy tales.
Also an underwater plane.
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"Everything falls apart. But living things fall apart in the most fascinating ways."
—Mowagh the Gwyllion, Fang Skulkin
This with like Muraganda Petroglyphs & Imperiosaur
It would be nice to have no 'society'/ 'civilization' too. Have world where the most intelligent race are goblins or cavemen such. One step up from 'wild' animals. You could have planes walkers stumble across it and treat it as some kind of game preserve where they visit it but are sort of a vacation spot/down time. Or have some deranged hermit planeswalker defending it trying to protect from the other planeswalkers so they won't dispoil it of it's natural beauty.
I would like either Norse, Aztec/Mayan, pirates or space world. But it is true that it's been a while since they had a traditional D&D type world.
On a side note, it would be nice a return to Kamigawa done right and a Zendikar without spaghetti abominations
Space world would flop IMO
Possibly, it would probably be a challenge to know what to do with the PWs concerning gravity and lack of oxygen and so on, unless they just go with 'their spark protects them from everything' crap, which a lot of people wouldn't like, myself included. But it would definitely be different.
Yes they have, but Lorwyn for example is a good way to do it and Amonkhet, Kaladesh and quite a few of the other recent sets are a pile of pop culture drivel. And Dominaria, for all its faults, was more original than any of them.
You may think lorwyn was a good way to do it, but most people didn't. The lore of lorwyn was not liked.
Tropes and pop culture are what Wizards now uses for MtG, people. They're not going back on it, for better or worse.
In the meantime, I echo a Planeswalker tournament block, and a world where most of the action and relevance is underground, while the surface is abandoned/desolate/dangerous/etc.
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Vorthos-y Johnny. All will be One
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
Seeing as they decided that Greek mythology is all about loud battles between gods, heroes, and monsters, I absolutely do not want them to do Germanic, Celtic, or Slavic mythology in the future. It's certainly possible to show the tragedy and humanity of mythological stories in a format like this. I just don't believe they'll be willing to do it.
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Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching.
I would love to see one that is far more driven by the events taking place on the plane than by the plane itself.
I would love to see some middle-ages level technology world. The humans (white) and the king/queen are slowly exterminating all other sentient races from the plane in the name of order and safety. His(or her) populace is fiercely loyal to the rulership and will oppose all who are not human or aid non-humans. The ruler could even be massacring other races to secretly fuel a ritual to make him/her a planeswalker or something like that.
The story could be about the gatewatch who has to aid all the other races of the plane in a war for survival. Along they way they have to make some hard decisions like killing non-soldiers who are attacking them or using non-human civilians as bait to draw enemy soldiers into traps and things like that. I'm not up to date enough on Kamigawa lore to know if this is too similar to that world but this would be cool to show again that white is not always the "good guy" colors and that they can be just as horrible and evil as black, red, blue and green.
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Like, I am much more impressed when they come out with something like Ravnica or Mirrodin than when they come out with something like Theros or Kaladesh or Amonkhet, since it feels like a truly made up MTG world (even if they are borrowing aspects here and there from previous scifi/fantasy, the overall vibe ends up being it's own weird MTG-setting type of a thing).
That said, I am a fan of ancient cultures/civilizations and I did enjoy stuff like Arabian Nights, or the Viking-esque cards in the past or medieval-England-Knights type of stuff and so forth. So, I'm not saying I DON'T like having some cards with a Greco-Roman or Persian or Egyptian vibe. I like that, too.
But, I do think it feels a little too neat and tidy and uniform to have numerous blocks in a row that are such blatant tour-stops of historical civilizations. More of a mixing-with-Dominaria-style stuff, and slightly more vague/mysterious "flavor"-type stuff rather than full-on-storyline stuff for everything, would be more my cup of tea.
I guess for the "world tour" types of sets, this could be accomplished by having a plane be more of an entire universe, with a bit more of the sort of "mixing" that would go on if there were numerous planets per plane/universe and numerous cities/cultures per planet etc. They could still focus on one specific city or culture, to have that be the main overriding theme of that set, but without it feeling too much like that "tour-around-the-world" thing that a lot of people are getting from some of these most recent sets.
(Well... maybe. Or maybe not, I dunno, lol. It's def pretty tricky of a thing to balance out. No way to make everyone happy, that's for sure, lol)
Also an underwater plane.
—Mowagh the Gwyllion, Fang Skulkin
This with like Muraganda Petroglyphs & Imperiosaur
It would be nice to have no 'society'/ 'civilization' too. Have world where the most intelligent race are goblins or cavemen such. One step up from 'wild' animals. You could have planes walkers stumble across it and treat it as some kind of game preserve where they visit it but are sort of a vacation spot/down time. Or have some deranged hermit planeswalker defending it trying to protect from the other planeswalkers so they won't dispoil it of it's natural beauty.
I'm sick of horrible planes filled with the same planeswalkers again and again.
3BB
Sorcery
You lose the game.
On a side note, it would be nice a return to Kamigawa done right and a Zendikar without spaghetti abominations
Space world would flop IMO
Possibly, it would probably be a challenge to know what to do with the PWs concerning gravity and lack of oxygen and so on, unless they just go with 'their spark protects them from everything' crap, which a lot of people wouldn't like, myself included. But it would definitely be different.
3BB
Sorcery
You lose the game.
You may think lorwyn was a good way to do it, but most people didn't. The lore of lorwyn was not liked.
375 unpowered cube - https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/601ac624832cdf1039947588
In the meantime, I echo a Planeswalker tournament block, and a world where most of the action and relevance is underground, while the surface is abandoned/desolate/dangerous/etc.
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
I would love to see one that is far more driven by the events taking place on the plane than by the plane itself.
I would love to see some middle-ages level technology world. The humans (white) and the king/queen are slowly exterminating all other sentient races from the plane in the name of order and safety. His(or her) populace is fiercely loyal to the rulership and will oppose all who are not human or aid non-humans. The ruler could even be massacring other races to secretly fuel a ritual to make him/her a planeswalker or something like that.
The story could be about the gatewatch who has to aid all the other races of the plane in a war for survival. Along they way they have to make some hard decisions like killing non-soldiers who are attacking them or using non-human civilians as bait to draw enemy soldiers into traps and things like that. I'm not up to date enough on Kamigawa lore to know if this is too similar to that world but this would be cool to show again that white is not always the "good guy" colors and that they can be just as horrible and evil as black, red, blue and green.
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock