Now what?
Her profile in duels mentions that she seeks (or maybe SEAks out ;D) planes with big nasty sea monsters because she venerates them as godlike beings. Kind of like how Sarkhan venerates dragons, I suppose. But that alone does not an interesting character make.
Characters with similar "big animals are neat" mindsets quickly evolved beyond that, Garruk what with his sworn revenge, and Sarkhan with his insanity-inducing servitude to Nicol Bolas.
What do you hope or expect of Kiora going forward?
More specifically, she respects ancient sea monsters as being able to endure time, weather, predators, just about any kind of threat, and for their knowledge and wisdom that comes with such vast lifespans. I also remember mention of her having rather bizarre dreams.
I like her because I like depictions of that are outside of the "Dr. Moreau" Simic stuff. I'm also excited to learn about Kruphix for the same reason.
I still really want her to show up the next time we visit Zendikar. It's the perfect plane for her.
That would be nice if her quest for ancient creatures of the deep would uncover something older and 'bigger' than the gods, maybe an ancient overbeing or some sunken civilization even the Tritons could'nt reach.
I feel she is just like Tamiyo, no real angst, just the simple enjoyment of exploring the unknown and researching new things.
I get a distinctly different inflection from her exploration, largely concerned with the fact that her quest takes her to territory of "here there be monsters" and the fact that they... are, well, monstrous. Her veneration tends to mean the end of ships at least, if not cities entirely.
Everyone knows that the planeswalker most interested in Kiora's arrival in Nissa Revane. Up until now, Nissa has been undefeated in the multiverse's much-loved, high stakes game of planeswalker racing, ever since she lashed a harness to Emrakul's topmost cranial pyramid and swept the Zendikar Classic, easily beating out Gideon and his meager efforts to tame an Eldrazi Spawn, and Jace, who simply leapt on Chandra's shoulders and began shouting instructions.
Kiora Atua and her kraken mount Gigglepuss the Unrepentant represent the greatest threat to Nissa's title. The Theros Open is coming up, and with a field previously sparse due to Elspeth's moral objection to the sport, Xenagos's consistent failure of the drug test, and Ashiok being unable to communicate with other beings outside the realm of terrifying thoughts, it becomes a heated race to see if newcomer Kiora can spur her kraken to victory against Nissa.
Of course, one can't discount the possibility of the mysterious, masked Racer M showing up astride The Unspeakable. Her sudden appearance at the Innistrad Rally is what cost Sorin Markov and his chariot of multicolored angels their victory.
You rarely get these impressions from the Magic cards, though. But if we're interpreting Kiora through that meager lens, I would assume she'll either play an integral role in the overarching story, or... not. There's really only two kinds of planeswalkers. Important ones on whose back a story can be carried, and the ones who get thrown in for the heck of it.
We tend to take things easier around here, but even then there's a limit, and this manages to hop over it. While it is important to foster a relaxed atmosphere, this kind of devolved into gibberish and spam. We try to make things cool for everyone, but something so elaborate really doesn't contribute as much as it should.
Nah. Kiora's not going to do anything on Theros at all. Emrakul will sense her as the last essence of Zendikar it has not eaten, and will move to Theros - but Emrakul will enter via Nyx first.
So Ajani and Elspeth will fight Xenagos, Xenagos is losing, makes a bid for Nyx, and then gets promptly eaten in while going insane with disbelief that something stronger than the god-planeswalkers have arrived.
Journey to Nyx - From Zendikar by Emrakul.
(And then because Kiora's background art reminds us of the Great Wave of Kanagawa - she would go the visit Kamigawa (and Tamiyo) - Emrakul follows, fulfilling the prophecy that we will return for a Kamigawa Mortals & Sprits VS Eldrazi set that was mentioned months back.)
Seriously though, I think she's on Theros on the same capacity as Tamiyo - she has absolutely no reason to be there unless it's for sea creature research or she thinks Thassa is kraken-leviathan-serpent of some kind. (Or both)
Although I believe the actual fb post was 'VERY mean'.
Nature isn't kind.
This is part of why I want her on Zendikar, so she can side with the Eldrazi like Sarkhan has devoted himself to Bolas, maybe even end up as a Galactus-style "herald" scouting out planes for them to consume.
This is part of why I want her on Zendikar, so she can side with the Eldrazi like Sarkhan has devoted himself to Bolas, maybe even end up as a Galactus-style "herald" scouting out planes for them to consume.
She wouldn't side with the Eldrazi though. They are quintessential outsiders, they do not fit the model she strives for, but exist outside it.
REGARDLESS of what the deck was like in DotP.
Nobody of the material realms would side with what is essentially not them.
I should probably let this slide, but no. Their character archetypes are essentially different.
One of the major aspects of Aquaman's character premise is the parallelism drawn between Atlantis and Camelot. There's a reason his name is Arthur after all.
Kiora is more essentially a Merlin-esque archetype than the Arthurian one.
She wouldn't side with the Eldrazi though. They are quintessential outsiders, they do not fit the model she strives for, but exist outside it.
REGARDLESS of what the deck was like in DotP.
Nobody of the material realms would side with what is essentially not them.
Planeswalkers take sides with people and things that are alien to them all the time. And it seems extreme to say that literally nobody would possibly ally themselves with the Eldrazi; people do stupid things in the pursuit of power, or to attempt self-preservation *cough*Nissa*cough*, or simply because they're a bit unhinged.
The Eldrazi seem like the ultimate example of what Kiora admires, the absolute top of the food chain, the most primeval and unstoppable force the multiverse has ever seen. Eat or be eaten, that's the natural way, and that's exactly what the Eldrazi do from an extra-planar perspective. She's not just a green character, but a blue one as well, which allows for a more flexible and adaptable perspective on what is "natural" or not. Not to mention her bizarre and alien inner thoughts and dreams.
Planeswalkers take sides with people and things that are alien to them all the time. And it seems extreme to say that literally nobody would possibly ally themselves with the Eldrazi; people do stupid things in the pursuit of power, or to attempt self-preservation *cough*Nissa*cough*, or simply because they're a bit unhinged.
But the difference there in is that they are ESSENTIALLY the same. They are of the material world. They exist as beings of a basic sort of order, where as the Eldrazi are everything they are not. There is no understanding to be made for the frame of reference is utterly abstract.
The Eldrazi seem like the ultimate example of what Kiora admires, the absolute top of the food chain, the most primeval and unstoppable force the multiverse has ever seen. Eat or be eaten, that's the natural way, and that's exactly what the Eldrazi do from an extra-planar perspective. She's not just a green character, but a blue one as well, which allows for a more flexible and adaptable perspective on what is "natural" or not. Not to mention her bizarre and alien inner thoughts and dreams.
Kiora doesn't admire the creatures of the deep simply because of those reasons or else she'd admire the grand beasts of land as well and she's exceedingly particular about those of the OCEAN.
Aside from that, there is still a natural order, and the Eldrazi, as I stated, fall very much outside that natural order. Not to mention the Titans reduce everything to dust. Everything. That's highly unnatural, that is essentially antithesis to life itself.
And she most certainly is about the celebration and mystery of life, in its grandest scale.
The Eldrazi are entropy manifest and only the truly suicidally mad would celebrate them.
Removes all interesting aspects of putting a character in that situation. Characters who are little more than thralls to alien intelligences are just mouthpieces.
Does anyone ever had a relevant way of somehow communicating to the Eldrazi? I concur that they're not just a faction she would side with, to do that she'd had to become one of them, "à la Glissa", except that in the latter case, Phyrexia was still a definite group with politics etc that could be interacted with. To my modest knowledge, the Eldrazi are not concerned by alliances, politics and plans: they just consume everything.
But the difference there in is that they are ESSENTIALLY the same. They are of the material world. They exist as beings of a basic sort of order, where as the Eldrazi are everything they are not. There is no understanding to be made for the frame of reference is utterly abstract.
Where there is power or things to be worshiped, there will be those hunting for it or worshiping.
It doesn't matter how abstract or impossible (and honestly this word has no meaning in the mtg universe).
The Eldrazi will eventually need their Mad Prophet, and I hope they get one. After all, that's part of the trope.
I agree that it makes no logical sense for an individual, when faced with the Eldrazi, to work to advance the cause of those world-eaters. But constructing a narrative is more important than that kind of logic. There can always be reasons or motivations contrived to justify something happening (some more satisfying than others), what really matters is how an event or character serves the narrative. All fictional constructs serve to contribute to their story. That is their alpha and omega.
Do the Eldrazi need a more humanoid "face" character? That's debatable; a large part of their design is in just how alien they are, with no motivations we can understand or common points of reference. Adding a "face" removes some of that impact, but it makes them something more than simply a force of nature; it grants a method of communicating with them, which opens up other narrative potential that wasn't possible before. And if that's a route to be pursued, Kiora is the best possible candidate in my opinion.
I don't think we need a prophet to guide the Eldrazi to their next meals. Bolas technically engineered their release, so unless they dumped Bolas completely, I'd say he's planning to redirect the Eldrazi somewhere. So said prophet would probably be just another puppet of Bolas.
That said, I think my theory that the Eldrazi could sense every last vestige of their meal might still be possible, so they might be able to detect Kiora whichever plane she goes to.
Is it possible to move to a completely Eldrazi-consumed plane? Is it possible for the Eldrazi to absorb the entire aspect of a plane and cause planeswalkers to instead to move to said plane, they end up on whatever plane the Eldrazi are on because they consumed the plane (and are technically speaking - what they eat.)
We need more answers to how the Eldrazi work exactly. And no one knows how. (I don't think Sorin actually knows anything much as well, he probably just did the sealing.)
The "Eldrazi prophet" as I shall refer to it will need to be designed from the ground up with that purpose to work. Kiora cannot be it.
Very well stressed. Kiora is her own thing and to shoehorn her into a role outside what is natural would be to subvert the point of the character.
If they add a character whose function is to act as the Harbinger, then it will be a character created for the role, not one mangled to fit the purpose.
That said, I think my theory that the Eldrazi could sense every last vestige of their meal might still be possible, so they might be able to detect Kiora whichever plane she goes to.
Is it possible to move to a completely Eldrazi-consumed plane? Is it possible for the Eldrazi to absorb the entire aspect of a plane and cause planeswalkers to instead to move to said plane, they end up on whatever plane the Eldrazi are on because they consumed the plane (and are technically speaking - what they eat.)
Yes, it is possible to move to a plane that has been rendered lifeless. Nissa traced Sorin through a few of them after the fiasco.
But more importantly though, the Eldrazi don't go to planes. They consume them from outside the world, never manifesting inside planar bounds. The only reason they are as they are is because of the Hedron Matrix and the Trio's spell forcing them into a physical body.
And no, it is unlikely they would recognize a particular thing and track it. They can certainly be lured, but that's different than having some desire to finish a job.
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/279
Thank you fish-based God.
Now what?
Her profile in duels mentions that she seeks (or maybe SEAks out ;D) planes with big nasty sea monsters because she venerates them as godlike beings. Kind of like how Sarkhan venerates dragons, I suppose. But that alone does not an interesting character make.
Characters with similar "big animals are neat" mindsets quickly evolved beyond that, Garruk what with his sworn revenge, and Sarkhan with his insanity-inducing servitude to Nicol Bolas.
What do you hope or expect of Kiora going forward?
Level 1 Judge
I write flavor articles for RoxieCards.
I play and judge at Giga Bites Cafein Marietta, Georgia.
I like her because I like depictions of that are outside of the "Dr. Moreau" Simic stuff. I'm also excited to learn about Kruphix for the same reason.
I still really want her to show up the next time we visit Zendikar. It's the perfect plane for her.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
People can stop asking for her.
I feel she is just like Tamiyo, no real angst, just the simple enjoyment of exploring the unknown and researching new things.
A thousand times this.
I get a distinctly different inflection from her exploration, largely concerned with the fact that her quest takes her to territory of "here there be monsters" and the fact that they... are, well, monstrous. Her veneration tends to mean the end of ships at least, if not cities entirely.
Kiora Atua and her kraken mount Gigglepuss the Unrepentant represent the greatest threat to Nissa's title. The Theros Open is coming up, and with a field previously sparse due to Elspeth's moral objection to the sport, Xenagos's consistent failure of the drug test, and Ashiok being unable to communicate with other beings outside the realm of terrifying thoughts, it becomes a heated race to see if newcomer Kiora can spur her kraken to victory against Nissa.
Of course, one can't discount the possibility of the mysterious, masked Racer M showing up astride The Unspeakable. Her sudden appearance at the Innistrad Rally is what cost Sorin Markov and his chariot of multicolored angels their victory.
You rarely get these impressions from the Magic cards, though. But if we're interpreting Kiora through that meager lens, I would assume she'll either play an integral role in the overarching story, or... not. There's really only two kinds of planeswalkers. Important ones on whose back a story can be carried, and the ones who get thrown in for the heck of it.
We tend to take things easier around here, but even then there's a limit, and this manages to hop over it. While it is important to foster a relaxed atmosphere, this kind of devolved into gibberish and spam. We try to make things cool for everyone, but something so elaborate really doesn't contribute as much as it should.
She is going to drop a Colossal Whale on Xenagos.
Nah. Kiora's not going to do anything on Theros at all. Emrakul will sense her as the last essence of Zendikar it has not eaten, and will move to Theros - but Emrakul will enter via Nyx first.
So Ajani and Elspeth will fight Xenagos, Xenagos is losing, makes a bid for Nyx, and then gets promptly eaten in while going insane with disbelief that something stronger than the god-planeswalkers have arrived.
Journey to Nyx - From Zendikar by Emrakul.
(And then because Kiora's background art reminds us of the Great Wave of Kanagawa - she would go the visit Kamigawa (and Tamiyo) - Emrakul follows, fulfilling the prophecy that we will return for a Kamigawa Mortals & Sprits VS Eldrazi set that was mentioned months back.)
Seriously though, I think she's on Theros on the same capacity as Tamiyo - she has absolutely no reason to be there unless it's for sea creature research or she thinks Thassa is kraken-leviathan-serpent of some kind. (Or both)
You sure?
Although I believe the actual fb post was 'VERY mean'.
YES! I approve!
Nature isn't kind.
This is part of why I want her on Zendikar, so she can side with the Eldrazi like Sarkhan has devoted himself to Bolas, maybe even end up as a Galactus-style "herald" scouting out planes for them to consume.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
REGARDLESS of what the deck was like in DotP.
Nobody of the material realms would side with what is essentially not them.
I should probably let this slide, but no. Their character archetypes are essentially different.
One of the major aspects of Aquaman's character premise is the parallelism drawn between Atlantis and Camelot. There's a reason his name is Arthur after all.
Kiora is more essentially a Merlin-esque archetype than the Arthurian one.
Planeswalkers take sides with people and things that are alien to them all the time. And it seems extreme to say that literally nobody would possibly ally themselves with the Eldrazi; people do stupid things in the pursuit of power, or to attempt self-preservation *cough*Nissa*cough*, or simply because they're a bit unhinged.
The Eldrazi seem like the ultimate example of what Kiora admires, the absolute top of the food chain, the most primeval and unstoppable force the multiverse has ever seen. Eat or be eaten, that's the natural way, and that's exactly what the Eldrazi do from an extra-planar perspective. She's not just a green character, but a blue one as well, which allows for a more flexible and adaptable perspective on what is "natural" or not. Not to mention her bizarre and alien inner thoughts and dreams.
And who's to say it would have to be an entirely willing alliance?
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
But the difference there in is that they are ESSENTIALLY the same. They are of the material world. They exist as beings of a basic sort of order, where as the Eldrazi are everything they are not. There is no understanding to be made for the frame of reference is utterly abstract.
Kiora doesn't admire the creatures of the deep simply because of those reasons or else she'd admire the grand beasts of land as well and she's exceedingly particular about those of the OCEAN.
Aside from that, there is still a natural order, and the Eldrazi, as I stated, fall very much outside that natural order. Not to mention the Titans reduce everything to dust. Everything. That's highly unnatural, that is essentially antithesis to life itself.
And she most certainly is about the celebration and mystery of life, in its grandest scale.
The Eldrazi are entropy manifest and only the truly suicidally mad would celebrate them.
Removes all interesting aspects of putting a character in that situation. Characters who are little more than thralls to alien intelligences are just mouthpieces.
We weren't already?
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
Where there is power or things to be worshiped, there will be those hunting for it or worshiping.
It doesn't matter how abstract or impossible (and honestly this word has no meaning in the mtg universe).
The Eldrazi will eventually need their Mad Prophet, and I hope they get one. After all, that's part of the trope.
Do the Eldrazi need a more humanoid "face" character? That's debatable; a large part of their design is in just how alien they are, with no motivations we can understand or common points of reference. Adding a "face" removes some of that impact, but it makes them something more than simply a force of nature; it grants a method of communicating with them, which opens up other narrative potential that wasn't possible before. And if that's a route to be pursued, Kiora is the best possible candidate in my opinion.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
I agree with everything except for this.
The "Eldrazi prophet" as I shall refer to it will need to be designed from the ground up with that purpose to work. Kiora cannot be it.
That said, I think my theory that the Eldrazi could sense every last vestige of their meal might still be possible, so they might be able to detect Kiora whichever plane she goes to.
Is it possible to move to a completely Eldrazi-consumed plane? Is it possible for the Eldrazi to absorb the entire aspect of a plane and cause planeswalkers to instead to move to said plane, they end up on whatever plane the Eldrazi are on because they consumed the plane (and are technically speaking - what they eat.)
We need more answers to how the Eldrazi work exactly. And no one knows how. (I don't think Sorin actually knows anything much as well, he probably just did the sealing.)
Very well stressed. Kiora is her own thing and to shoehorn her into a role outside what is natural would be to subvert the point of the character.
If they add a character whose function is to act as the Harbinger, then it will be a character created for the role, not one mangled to fit the purpose.
Yes, it is possible to move to a plane that has been rendered lifeless. Nissa traced Sorin through a few of them after the fiasco.
But more importantly though, the Eldrazi don't go to planes. They consume them from outside the world, never manifesting inside planar bounds. The only reason they are as they are is because of the Hedron Matrix and the Trio's spell forcing them into a physical body.
And no, it is unlikely they would recognize a particular thing and track it. They can certainly be lured, but that's different than having some desire to finish a job.
Well, it'll be easier to mobilize now.