Thassa isn't exactly quick to anger, as stated in the PW Theros Guide. However, Heliod did effectively lasso her and dragged her across Theros against her will. A few words later and that was probably the tipping point for her. Daxos has also said that Heliod and Thassa often bicker like an old, married couple so I can't say that Thassa finds him particularly bearable.
I did find the "romantic feelings" a bit weird since the gods refer to one another as brother/sister. Then again, they don't have parents and Keranos practically stalks Thassa 24/7 so w/e.
As for today's UR, it was very interesting. I knew it was Ashiok from the first section cuz nightmares but the city dream was surprising. Ashiok is an interesting individual. From what I read, it feels like Ashiok told Xenagos the ritual for godhood or at least pointed him in the right direction.
Also, I believe the boon Ashiok wanted was "I wish to hide from the gods." It's interesting that anything that Ashiok does from here on out is on Phenax. Ashiok was willing to do what Phenax wanted for free but Phenax didn't want to owe anyone anything. It seems that Ashiok's boon was used to create Cacophony without being detected since it was pointed out that the boon was temporary. Since Ashiok wanted to hide from the gods, Ashiok does seemed to be concerned for its well-being.
Especially since Jace has taken a turn towards white. And someone who loves collecting nightmares would probably enjoy the most populated plane in the Multiverse.
It actually isn't the most populated plane in the multiverse. According to a census that Brady Dommermuth gave us there are only several million people on Ravnica.
I think the thing that they haven't really explored is that Ravnica isn't very large. Which makes sense when you get down to it.
Today's UR also makes me think that Ashiok will almost certainly be one of the Planeswalkers in the next Duel Decks. They are committing quite a bit to building up his/her story, and the kind of shenanigans that s/he's been up to has affected the entire plane. That begs the question as to which 'walker will be starring opposite Ashiok. I wouldn't think it could be Kiora, since she doesn't care at all about what's going on in the plane that she's visiting. She just wants to find the big fish to fight the Eldrazi on Zendikar (plus, if she were featured in a Duel Decks, it would almost certainly have to be "Kiora vs. Thassa"). Xenagos looks like he's going to die during Journey's storyline, and I doubt that Wizards will recycle Elspeth into another Theros storyline, so my money is on Ajani to step in. GW and UB seem like a nice range of colors for the Duel Deck, anyhow.
But I thought the justification for Gideon being all "I'll help prevent a war on Ravnica" instead of recruiting help to deal with the Eldrazi was that the population of Ravnica was several orders of magnitude greater than the one of Zendikar. Okay, Zendikar may not exactly have very high density of population, but from what we've seen it's pretty big with deserts, ice caps, rainforests, steppes, oceans and so on...
The reason why he helped the Boros was people were suffering right in front of him. Gideon can't generally help himself if he sees someone in pain or danger.
the plane itself was normally wide and that most of it was quite densely populated, if not as densely as the tenth district. Less than 10 million inhabitants is really unimpressive.
It's very densely constructed, but that is a world of difference between being populated.
You have huge sections, like the Rubblebelt and Utvara which have an essentially negligible population. A few thousand scattered across what passes for wilderness.
Even places like Dravhoc, which is meant to be a fairly nice district, ends up having a low population, but that's most owed to the fact that there is such an extreme class separation on Ravnica.
Do you have a link for this census? Does it also give population figures for other planes?
We have the information tucked away on google drive (my group dedicated to preserving this sort of stuff) but Wizards nuked their own forums last year and every direct link and bookmark broke as a result. The forum is nigh unusable, but I could point you in the right direction. It'd still take ages to find though, since it was in a massive thread where we got answers to our questions from Brady.
So Purphoros has a thing for Nylea and Thassa has a thing for Purphoros? (I could see them making an Island based Elemental together) As for Jace vs Ashiok, I bet it will happen, considering that while MaRo wanted an Evil Anti-Jace character for Theros, Ashiok is the substitute for that design concept, they likely will fight one of these days.
Also, as for Phenax feeling reluctant to be in dept to anyone is interesting, because ASIDE from his deceptive nature, he is also patron god to gamblers
3WWU, 2GWW, and 4RWW! These were the mana costs chosen to summon the perfect little angel! But Professor Avacyn accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction! Chemical x Thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra super powers, Gisela, Bruna, and Sigarda have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!
So Purphoros has a thing for Nylea and Thassa has a thing for Purphoros?
And Nylea has a thing for Daxos.
Lol One real-life demi-god coming right up
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3WWU, 2GWW, and 4RWW! These were the mana costs chosen to summon the perfect little angel! But Professor Avacyn accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction! Chemical x Thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra super powers, Gisela, Bruna, and Sigarda have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!
Don't forget Keranos and Thassa. He's always there. I wonder if she cares. I mean she has to know when the god of storms is around. Keranos isn't exactly subtle.
Even then, I doubt this is like actual love. Everybody with siblings has one they love and one they love to hate. With 14 of them, there are bound to be favorites and such. I'm fairly certain 4 of the big 5 hate Heliod by the end of part 1. He's banished Erebos, brawled with Purphoros, sunlanced Thassa and indirectly ordered the murder of Nylea's favorite hydra. The dude is a bully.
Don't forget Keranos and Thassa. He's always there. I wonder if she cares. I mean she has to know when the god of storms is around. Keranos isn't exactly subtle.
Even then, I doubt this is like actual love. Everybody with siblings has one they love and one they love to hate. With 14 of them, there are bound to be favorites and such. I'm fairly certain 4 of the big 5 hate Heliod by the end of part 1. He's banished Erebos, brawled with Purphoros, sunlanced Thassa and indirectly ordered the murder of Nylea's favorite hydra. The dude is a bully.
I get the impression that Thassa doesn't care much about most things....
I like the parallels between this UR's Ephara priesthood subplot and real world events like Anaxagoras' exile and Socrates' execution. A very fitting reminder of historical ugliness.
Fantastic article.
Quite possibly my favorite UR to date.
Continuity, character evolution, and a hook for future stories.
More of this please.
@Ral recognizing Jace as a walker;
As far as we know, there isn't a way for walkers to, by virtue of being a walker, recognize other walkers.
It's more likely that, Ral, as a native Ravnican, can recognize tourists because of their differences in attitude/dress/accent, etc.
@Ral recognizing Jace as a walker;
As far as we know, there isn't a way for walkers to, by virtue of being a walker, recognize other walkers.
It's more likely that, Ral, as a native Ravnican, can recognize tourists because of their differences in attitude/dress/accent, etc.
That being said, Jace and Ashiok can peek into someone's head and see that they are without much trouble.
@Ral recognizing Jace as a walker;
As far as we know, there isn't a way for walkers to, by virtue of being a walker, recognize other walkers.
It's more likely that, Ral, as a native Ravnican, can recognize tourists because of their differences in attitude/dress/accent, etc.
Uh...
In the novel, if I remember correctly, Ral didn't recognize Jace as a PW until Jace greeted Ral with a "Hey, Planeswalker!" Ral's not stupid; almost nobody on Ravnica knows about Planeswalkers, so if somebody were to greet him as one, it would be safe to assume that guy is also a Planeswalker.
Interesting UR. This definitely sets Ashiok up as a major villain for future MTG storylines. At first I thought he was just a UB version of Tibalt, but now they're starting to add a little depth to him. I approve.
Ashiok definitely sees himself as an artist...of course, the canvas is other people's dreams and the paint is anguish and pain. But s/he's certainly a unique character, and kudos to Wizards for continuing to create fresh Planeswalkers after all of this time.
I just read through Ashiok's story in UR and I'm wondering if the previous RG god before Xenagos was absorbed by Purphoros or Nylea...
There's a good chance Athreos is doing only his work so he won't get absorbed by Erebos or Heliod (especially the latter). Or he's plotting to absorb the two of them?
Considering the gods maybe unconsciously absorbing the nyxborn and proto-gods into themselves (and sometimes consciously doing that by keeping a rein on them), are the multicolored ones more prone or resistant to getting absorbed? Can Chromanticore be easily taken in by any of them, or none of them?
I'm starting to think that Nyx works like the Spirit World in Kamigawa, except in reverse. O-Kagachi creates spirits (by splitting himself) whenever a physical form or idea exists, but the spirit only becomes prominent only when worshipped, otherwise it stays close and almost as part of the Serpent. Nyx keeps creating Nyxborn whenever a physical form or idea exists, but the gods have to actively keep them in rein, and may do it unconsciously or otherwise.
Thassa isn't exactly quick to anger, as stated in the PW Theros Guide. However, Heliod did effectively lasso her and dragged her across Theros against her will. A few words later and that was probably the tipping point for her. Daxos has also said that Heliod and Thassa often bicker like an old, married couple so I can't say that Thassa finds him particularly bearable.
I did find the "romantic feelings" a bit weird since the gods refer to one another as brother/sister. Then again, they don't have parents and Keranos practically stalks Thassa 24/7 so w/e.
As for today's UR, it was very interesting. I knew it was Ashiok from the first section cuz nightmares but the city dream was surprising. Ashiok is an interesting individual. From what I read, it feels like Ashiok told Xenagos the ritual for godhood or at least pointed him in the right direction.
Also, I believe the boon Ashiok wanted was "I wish to hide from the gods." It's interesting that anything that Ashiok does from here on out is on Phenax. Ashiok was willing to do what Phenax wanted for free but Phenax didn't want to owe anyone anything. It seems that Ashiok's boon was used to create Cacophony without being detected since it was pointed out that the boon was temporary. Since Ashiok wanted to hide from the gods, Ashiok does seemed to be concerned for its well-being.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
It actually isn't the most populated plane in the multiverse. According to a census that Brady Dommermuth gave us there are only several million people on Ravnica.
I think the thing that they haven't really explored is that Ravnica isn't very large. Which makes sense when you get down to it.
The reason why he helped the Boros was people were suffering right in front of him. Gideon can't generally help himself if he sees someone in pain or danger.
It's very densely constructed, but that is a world of difference between being populated.
You have huge sections, like the Rubblebelt and Utvara which have an essentially negligible population. A few thousand scattered across what passes for wilderness.
Even places like Dravhoc, which is meant to be a fairly nice district, ends up having a low population, but that's most owed to the fact that there is such an extreme class separation on Ravnica.
We have the information tucked away on google drive (my group dedicated to preserving this sort of stuff) but Wizards nuked their own forums last year and every direct link and bookmark broke as a result. The forum is nigh unusable, but I could point you in the right direction. It'd still take ages to find though, since it was in a massive thread where we got answers to our questions from Brady.
Also, as for Phenax feeling reluctant to be in dept to anyone is interesting, because ASIDE from his deceptive nature, he is also patron god to gamblers
And Nylea has a thing for Daxos.
Lol One real-life demi-god coming right up
Even then, I doubt this is like actual love. Everybody with siblings has one they love and one they love to hate. With 14 of them, there are bound to be favorites and such. I'm fairly certain 4 of the big 5 hate Heliod by the end of part 1. He's banished Erebos, brawled with Purphoros, sunlanced Thassa and indirectly ordered the murder of Nylea's favorite hydra. The dude is a bully.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
I get the impression that Thassa doesn't care much about most things....
Maybe it's like in Highlander and you hear a noise when another planeswalker gets near.
Quite possibly my favorite UR to date.
Continuity, character evolution, and a hook for future stories.
More of this please.
@Ral recognizing Jace as a walker;
As far as we know, there isn't a way for walkers to, by virtue of being a walker, recognize other walkers.
It's more likely that, Ral, as a native Ravnican, can recognize tourists because of their differences in attitude/dress/accent, etc.
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That being said, Jace and Ashiok can peek into someone's head and see that they are without much trouble.
Uh...
In the novel, if I remember correctly, Ral didn't recognize Jace as a PW until Jace greeted Ral with a "Hey, Planeswalker!" Ral's not stupid; almost nobody on Ravnica knows about Planeswalkers, so if somebody were to greet him as one, it would be safe to assume that guy is also a Planeswalker.
Interesting UR. This definitely sets Ashiok up as a major villain for future MTG storylines. At first I thought he was just a UB version of Tibalt, but now they're starting to add a little depth to him. I approve.
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"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
There's a good chance Athreos is doing only his work so he won't get absorbed by Erebos or Heliod (especially the latter). Or he's plotting to absorb the two of them?
Considering the gods maybe unconsciously absorbing the nyxborn and proto-gods into themselves (and sometimes consciously doing that by keeping a rein on them), are the multicolored ones more prone or resistant to getting absorbed? Can Chromanticore be easily taken in by any of them, or none of them?
I'm starting to think that Nyx works like the Spirit World in Kamigawa, except in reverse. O-Kagachi creates spirits (by splitting himself) whenever a physical form or idea exists, but the spirit only becomes prominent only when worshipped, otherwise it stays close and almost as part of the Serpent. Nyx keeps creating Nyxborn whenever a physical form or idea exists, but the gods have to actively keep them in rein, and may do it unconsciously or otherwise.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
Even as a child, Xenagos was a dick.
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RIP Scryfish. ;-;
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"