Aside from the obvious need for a cohesive vision of what rules the multiverse operate under, I personally think that MtG needs to have the good guys, you know, win once in a while.
Scars is the third block in a row that has seen the heels walk away with the Tag-team titles.
Aside from the obvious need for a cohesive vision of what rules the multiverse operate under, I personally think that MtG needs to have the good guys, you know, win once in a while.
Scars is the third block in a row that has seen the heels walk away with the Tag-team titles.
I don't get why people think that Rise was a victory for the bad guys. Remember that the Eldrazi titans were originally beings capable of freely moving about the multiverse; getting trapped and then sealed on Zendikar took quite a lot of work and was the only way to stop them from continuing to devour planes. The Eldrazi may have been released, yes, but they're still trapped on Zendikar. That's not a victory for the good guys, sure, but it's not a victory for the bad guys either - it's an intermission where the story is put on hold so we can ship out to see Mirrodin phyrexianized. Presumably we'll come back and see who the real victor is, since the Eldrazi conflict is far from over.
I don't get why people think that Rise was a victory for the bad guys. Remember that the Eldrazi titans were originally beings capable of freely moving about the multiverse; getting trapped and then sealed on Zendikar took quite a lot of work and was the only way to stop them from continuing to devour planes. The Eldrazi may have been released, yes, but they're still trapped on Zendikar. That's not a victory for the good guys, sure, but it's not a victory for the bad guys either - it's an intermission where the story is put on hold so we can ship out to see Mirrodin phyrexianized. Presumably we'll come back and see who the real victor is, since the Eldrazi conflict is far from over.
Yes, truly how the Eldrazi getting loose isn't in any way a victory for the "bad guys" overall. There's simply no way it amounts to much of anything. Oh, except:
-MASSIVE loss of life on Zendikar already.
-Further destruction of Zendikar's already limited civilization.
-The Eldrazi paving the way to their true escape, which of course would mean once again, entire planes - some with life - falling to their wrath.
-In the interim, creatures with prominent parasitic tendencies like vampires being enslaved by the Eldrazi, their own culture further degraded.
Hmm...feels like I'm forgetting something...oh yeah. That guy. Not like he had anything to do with it.
Maybe next time you'll check a wiki before you make a grand statement like "the bad guys haven't really advanced much of anywhere".
About any "subpar" mechanics or cards: Context is king.
If I make a templating or grammar error, let me know.
The franchise MtG most resembles is Battlestar Galactica. Why? Its players exist in, at most, a dozen different models at any given point in time, with perhaps up to 3% variation, 5% if you're lucky.
Aside from the obvious need for a cohesive vision of what rules the multiverse operate under, I personally think that MtG needs to have the good guys, you know, win once in a while.
Scars is the third block in a row that has seen the heels walk away with the Tag-team titles.
Also note that people were getting upset that the blocks before that were all essentially "John Cena Title Reign" of the faces ultimately overcoming the "supposedly doom-to all things" that the block was supposed to be focused on. After Apocalypse we had a two-block story ending with Dominaria saved by the Un-Men, Mirrodin saved by Slobad, Kamigawa saved by the albeit banished-from-the-plane Toshi, Ravnica saved (but still in turmoil) by Argus Kos, the entire multi-verse saved by the oldwalkers in Time Spiral and Lorwyn I still have no idea what happened so wont comment on.
Yes, the bad guys have been winning as of late. But, much like the pro-wrestling industry you compared it to, the bad guys need to win for a while as well or else no one will care what the story is about, they will KNOW the good guys come out on top in the end.
I think that is the main reason they did the "New Phyrexia/Mirrodin Pure" campaign. Either you believed one thing would happen or the other, and no matter which one happened you would have been surprised in the end.
Yes, truly how the Eldrazi getting loose isn't in any way a victory for the "bad guys" overall. There's simply no way it amounts to much of anything. Oh, except:
-MASSIVE loss of life on Zendikar already.
-Further destruction of Zendikar's already limited civilization.
-The Eldrazi paving the way to their true escape, which of course would mean once again, entire planes - some with life - falling to their wrath.
-In the interim, creatures with prominent parasitic tendencies like vampires being enslaved by the Eldrazi, their own culture further degraded.
Hmm...feels like I'm forgetting something...oh yeah. That guy. Not like he had anything to do with it.
Maybe next time you'll check a wiki before you make a grand statement like "the bad guys haven't really advanced much of anywhere".
Right, I forgot that at the end of Zendikar block, the Eldrazi accomplished their "goals" - breaking free of Zendikar and returning to their previous ethereal forms and plane-devouring lifestyle, while Zendikar ceased to exist and numerous planeswalkers died in a desperate but ultimately failed attempt to re-imprison them, while Nicol Bolas was able to harvest the energy freed by Zendikar's annihilation for his own ends.
Thanks. I'll be sure to check the Wiki in the future before I post.
In any normal story arc, things get worse before they get better. Being at the nadir of the narrative does not mean the bad guys won if the story isn't even pretending to be over. What we've gotten is basically the equivalent of a mid-episode, "And we'll be back after this commercial break!" as the hero is trapped in some horrible situation and the villian cackles evilly.
Simply put: the Eldrazi are still locked on Zendikar, which means there is still a chance for them to be resealed or otherwise defeated. A number of planeswalkers are aware of what has happened, and several are now mobilizing to do something about it. The good guys not winning yet does not automatically mean the bad guys won. The story isn't over.
I think it's more that there hasn't been a clean finish to ANYTHING lately, and storylines just drag and drag and decay.
Bolas didn't regain his powers by harnessing the Maelstrom because Ajani stopped him, but there's not a satisfying conclusion here- Bolas basically pulled a "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" moment, and then we come to hear that Alara is not adapting well to being rejoined.
Zendikar left us knowing that the Eldrazi are trapped in corporeal forms and can't leave it, but the world is continuing to be ravaged by them, and Gideon is running around trying to marshall forces to confront them.
Scars block isn't over, but we already know that Phyrexia is going to continue in some form afterwards, so there's no conclusion here, either.
If they aren't going to make more than one book per block, and they're going to take so long creating the comics they need to start giving a little closure on some of the storylines, as so many of them aren't epic enough to keep people waiting- and then they toss random bits of story and back-story out that just muddy everything even more... How long as "Curse of the Chain Veil" just been sitting out there- we know a little more about what's going on with Liliana, but there hasn't been a whisper of what's going on with Garruk.
It just feels like there's really noone at the helm of all of this. If they're going to create characters they want to make the "face" of the game and keep them around so we can see character growth and change, they need to do a better job of managing it all- lest they end up with some planeswalker sitting around unused for 3-4 years, having been introduced with a card that wasn't constructed viable so they are mostly forgotten, and then try to do a big story push with them, and expect people to care.
So far, it seems like the only character that has had what seems like a reasonable character arc is Ajani, which is probably why they don't mind saying "Oh yeah, he's helping Alara adapt itself to it's new existance" while they toss Gideon front and center... which I wouldn't mind, as it seems like the core set planeswalkers are the ones that are, or at least should still be, involved with the Zendikar plotline.
Garruk knew of the plane, telling Jace that's where the map was to, Jace and Chandra helped open the "lock", and Gideon and Sorin have been tied to it from the start. Actually, it'd be kind of neat if they started to use the Core set as a storytelling device- with it coming out yearly, it could be "This is our main story", and then having the expansions be "These are our developing stories"
Actually, it'd be kind of neat if they started to use the Core set as a storytelling device- with it coming out yearly, it could be "This is our main story", and then having the expansions be "These are our developing stories"
It might be nice but that's not what the core sets are for. I think it's been established long ago by Wizards that core sets are for easing new players into the game, without any secondary concerns such as storyline. Though, some of the posters here might argue that storyline concerns are also relegated to beyond the actual expansion sets...*mumbles*
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Bolas didn't regain his powers by harnessing the Maelstrom because Ajani stopped him, but there's not a satisfying conclusion here- Bolas basically pulled a "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" moment, and then we come to hear that Alara is not adapting well to being rejoined.
Actually, you got your info mixed up here. Bolas nomm'ed up the Maelstrom. THEN Ajani stopped him from uselessly and needlessly destroying Alara BECAUSE HE SO EVIL. Bolas still got what he wanted.
So far, it seems like the only character that has had what seems like a reasonable character arc is Ajani, which is probably why they don't mind saying "Oh yeah, he's helping Alara adapt itself to it's new existance" while they toss Gideon front and center...
Yeah, the problem with that? Ajani ended Alara saying "Well, this isn't the place for me. See you guys later!" And then having Ajani's Mantra back that up. Suddenly... that's not the case since Elspeth had to get her armor back.
which I wouldn't mind, as it seems like the core set planeswalkers are the ones that are, or at least should still be, involved with the Zendikar plotline.
Garruk knew of the plane, telling Jace that's where the map was to, Jace and Chandra helped open the "lock", and Gideon and Sorin have been tied to it from the start. Actually, it'd be kind of neat if they started to use the Core set as a storytelling device- with it coming out yearly, it could be "This is our main story", and then having the expansions be "These are our developing stories"
Jace still had no business on that plane. I don't care what anybody says about "blue wanting secrets just because BLUE," it was a total derailment of his character for no good reason. Agents established a high bar for them and then they tossed the bar away because they decided they needed a blue walker for whatever reason. It's not like Jace didn't swear to help Liliana at all at the end of Agents of Artifice.... Oh wait, yes he did.
Zendikar was a trash storyline forced together out of puzzle parts that didn't really work. Gideon had more business being on Zendikar than Jace did, and they still wanted to force Jace in there blah blah blah rant rant grumble (I'll go on like this for a while, so just fill in a repeating rant.)
They still don't really have a consistant set of rules about how things work. Amazingly, even with super-ultra-mega-god-powered Planeswalkers, they typically managed to do this. (Of course, it did start to fall apart after they killed off Yawgmoth, degrading into the whole mess that was Karona (I'm guessing they didn't whole tight reign on the author of the books), then the random planeshopping, without paying much sense to the "whole"... if you look, a lot of the continuity that exists for those points are pretty much fan-cobbled together, or from one or two off "Word of God" references from Daily MTG articles- blink and you'll miss them.
sounds like the recipe for another reboot!
"Time Spiral2: The Crisis of all Wars." where Gideon's Jacetus league (because you know they're going to put Jace in there somewhere) throws down with the unified forces of the Eldrazi, Phyrexia and Bolas in the epic showdown for the future of the Multiverse!!!
in 3-D!!!
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Click the pic for more info.
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Scars is the third block in a row that has seen the heels walk away with the Tag-team titles.
I don't get why people think that Rise was a victory for the bad guys. Remember that the Eldrazi titans were originally beings capable of freely moving about the multiverse; getting trapped and then sealed on Zendikar took quite a lot of work and was the only way to stop them from continuing to devour planes. The Eldrazi may have been released, yes, but they're still trapped on Zendikar. That's not a victory for the good guys, sure, but it's not a victory for the bad guys either - it's an intermission where the story is put on hold so we can ship out to see Mirrodin phyrexianized. Presumably we'll come back and see who the real victor is, since the Eldrazi conflict is far from over.
Yes, truly how the Eldrazi getting loose isn't in any way a victory for the "bad guys" overall. There's simply no way it amounts to much of anything. Oh, except:
-MASSIVE loss of life on Zendikar already.
-Further destruction of Zendikar's already limited civilization.
-The Eldrazi paving the way to their true escape, which of course would mean once again, entire planes - some with life - falling to their wrath.
-In the interim, creatures with prominent parasitic tendencies like vampires being enslaved by the Eldrazi, their own culture further degraded.
Hmm...feels like I'm forgetting something...oh yeah. That guy. Not like he had anything to do with it.
Maybe next time you'll check a wiki before you make a grand statement like "the bad guys haven't really advanced much of anywhere".
About any "subpar" mechanics or cards: Context is king.
If I make a templating or grammar error, let me know.
The franchise MtG most resembles is Battlestar Galactica. Why? Its players exist in, at most, a dozen different models at any given point in time, with perhaps up to 3% variation, 5% if you're lucky.
Also note that people were getting upset that the blocks before that were all essentially "John Cena Title Reign" of the faces ultimately overcoming the "supposedly doom-to all things" that the block was supposed to be focused on. After Apocalypse we had a two-block story ending with Dominaria saved by the Un-Men, Mirrodin saved by Slobad, Kamigawa saved by the albeit banished-from-the-plane Toshi, Ravnica saved (but still in turmoil) by Argus Kos, the entire multi-verse saved by the oldwalkers in Time Spiral and Lorwyn I still have no idea what happened so wont comment on.
Yes, the bad guys have been winning as of late. But, much like the pro-wrestling industry you compared it to, the bad guys need to win for a while as well or else no one will care what the story is about, they will KNOW the good guys come out on top in the end.
I think that is the main reason they did the "New Phyrexia/Mirrodin Pure" campaign. Either you believed one thing would happen or the other, and no matter which one happened you would have been surprised in the end.
Right, I forgot that at the end of Zendikar block, the Eldrazi accomplished their "goals" - breaking free of Zendikar and returning to their previous ethereal forms and plane-devouring lifestyle, while Zendikar ceased to exist and numerous planeswalkers died in a desperate but ultimately failed attempt to re-imprison them, while Nicol Bolas was able to harvest the energy freed by Zendikar's annihilation for his own ends.
Thanks. I'll be sure to check the Wiki in the future before I post.
In any normal story arc, things get worse before they get better. Being at the nadir of the narrative does not mean the bad guys won if the story isn't even pretending to be over. What we've gotten is basically the equivalent of a mid-episode, "And we'll be back after this commercial break!" as the hero is trapped in some horrible situation and the villian cackles evilly.
Simply put: the Eldrazi are still locked on Zendikar, which means there is still a chance for them to be resealed or otherwise defeated. A number of planeswalkers are aware of what has happened, and several are now mobilizing to do something about it. The good guys not winning yet does not automatically mean the bad guys won. The story isn't over.
Bolas didn't regain his powers by harnessing the Maelstrom because Ajani stopped him, but there's not a satisfying conclusion here- Bolas basically pulled a "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" moment, and then we come to hear that Alara is not adapting well to being rejoined.
Zendikar left us knowing that the Eldrazi are trapped in corporeal forms and can't leave it, but the world is continuing to be ravaged by them, and Gideon is running around trying to marshall forces to confront them.
Scars block isn't over, but we already know that Phyrexia is going to continue in some form afterwards, so there's no conclusion here, either.
If they aren't going to make more than one book per block, and they're going to take so long creating the comics they need to start giving a little closure on some of the storylines, as so many of them aren't epic enough to keep people waiting- and then they toss random bits of story and back-story out that just muddy everything even more... How long as "Curse of the Chain Veil" just been sitting out there- we know a little more about what's going on with Liliana, but there hasn't been a whisper of what's going on with Garruk.
It just feels like there's really noone at the helm of all of this. If they're going to create characters they want to make the "face" of the game and keep them around so we can see character growth and change, they need to do a better job of managing it all- lest they end up with some planeswalker sitting around unused for 3-4 years, having been introduced with a card that wasn't constructed viable so they are mostly forgotten, and then try to do a big story push with them, and expect people to care.
So far, it seems like the only character that has had what seems like a reasonable character arc is Ajani, which is probably why they don't mind saying "Oh yeah, he's helping Alara adapt itself to it's new existance" while they toss Gideon front and center... which I wouldn't mind, as it seems like the core set planeswalkers are the ones that are, or at least should still be, involved with the Zendikar plotline.
Garruk knew of the plane, telling Jace that's where the map was to, Jace and Chandra helped open the "lock", and Gideon and Sorin have been tied to it from the start. Actually, it'd be kind of neat if they started to use the Core set as a storytelling device- with it coming out yearly, it could be "This is our main story", and then having the expansions be "These are our developing stories"
It might be nice but that's not what the core sets are for. I think it's been established long ago by Wizards that core sets are for easing new players into the game, without any secondary concerns such as storyline. Though, some of the posters here might argue that storyline concerns are also relegated to beyond the actual expansion sets...*mumbles*
Having a unified storyline would ruin this as the two forces (generic fantasy and Magic unique storyline) clash with each other.
Though i wouldn't mind more character quotes and cameoes, even from some planeswalkers who aren't reprinted in the set.
Would you count cards as, say, Jace's Ingenuity as a planeswalker cameo?
Actually, you got your info mixed up here. Bolas nomm'ed up the Maelstrom. THEN Ajani stopped him from uselessly and needlessly destroying Alara BECAUSE HE SO EVIL. Bolas still got what he wanted.
Yeah, the problem with that? Ajani ended Alara saying "Well, this isn't the place for me. See you guys later!" And then having Ajani's Mantra back that up. Suddenly... that's not the case since Elspeth had to get her armor back.
Jace still had no business on that plane. I don't care what anybody says about "blue wanting secrets just because BLUE," it was a total derailment of his character for no good reason. Agents established a high bar for them and then they tossed the bar away because they decided they needed a blue walker for whatever reason. It's not like Jace didn't swear to help Liliana at all at the end of Agents of Artifice.... Oh wait, yes he did.
Zendikar was a trash storyline forced together out of puzzle parts that didn't really work. Gideon had more business being on Zendikar than Jace did, and they still wanted to force Jace in there blah blah blah rant rant grumble (I'll go on like this for a while, so just fill in a repeating rant.)
Yeah the Planeswalker minon cycle is a good start, but i'd rather it be less blunt.
It would be nice to have Bolas show up on Doom blade or something.
sounds like the recipe for another reboot!
"Time Spiral2: The Crisis of all Wars." where Gideon's Jacetus league (because you know they're going to put Jace in there somewhere) throws down with the unified forces of the Eldrazi, Phyrexia and Bolas in the epic showdown for the future of the Multiverse!!!
in 3-D!!!
Click the pic for more info.