Brothers War is in fact in the queue! Kaburi and I are reading and rereading all the old books. That's a much longer term project, though, as we're looking at something like 20 books between the brothers war and Future sight. The goal will be to break down the history that led to the mending and new Phyrexia, since those are story events that are relevant today. That's something you shouldn't expect until much later in the year. If there is demand for it, we can break it down more and get a brother's war era article out sooner.
I do have one odd note: I'm not convinced that ANY of Magic's vampires are undead. The Zendikar lore says those ones aren't, and Ravi got vamped by Baron Sengir without losing her Spark. I think that may just be how vampirism is in the multiverse.
Otherwise, good stuff, and I appreciate the soft touch around the ambiguities of the Cursemute.
I do have one odd note: I'm not convinced that ANY of Magic's vampires are undead. The Zendikar lore says those ones aren't, and Ravi got vamped by Baron Sengir without losing her Spark. I think that may just be how vampirism is in the multiverse.
I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but I don't think Ravi was actually turned into a vampire. Her card is a human wizard.
While it's possible that the Zendikari Vampires aren't true undead either, all the old Vamps we've encountered are, officially.
I do have one odd note: I'm not convinced that ANY of Magic's vampires are undead. The Zendikar lore says those ones aren't, and Ravi got vamped by Baron Sengir without losing her Spark. I think that may just be how vampirism is in the multiverse.
Otherwise, good stuff, and I appreciate the soft touch around the ambiguities of the Cursemute.
Pretty sure the Grixis/Alara and Ravnica ones are undead.
Anyways thank you for the Innistrad one! I have friends who aren't into the story much asking about Innistrad now its back and its useful just to point them here, since Innistrad had no real story.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
What does the Archive Trap queue look like (meaning, what's on top and so forth)? I'd like to prepare myself to be excited for the article(s) on New Phyrexia.
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A giant dork. Who likes to eat with forks. Never used a spork.
Decks: Casual R Burn R
EDH R Godo Voltron R RUG ETB Overload RUG BW Clerics Pain and Drain BW GW Spirits!!! GW RUG Landfall Silliness RUG
What does the Archive Trap queue look like (meaning, what's on top and so forth)? I'd like to prepare myself to be excited for the article(s) on New Phyrexia.
Fiora/Conspiracy will drop any day now
BFZ is sitting at 90%(ish) finished.
Ajani & Elspeth near future (not necessarily up next)
Some guest articles should be up soon, especially on pre-mending lore.
Alara, Theros, Ravnica & New Phyrexia are outlined
New Phyrexia and Ravnica will both definitely be multi-parters, so they're further out.
New Phyrexia is especially long because I want to cover Urza's Saga/Artifacts Cylce -> Weatherlight Saga -> Mirrodin (with a tiny bit on Jeska and the Mirari as prologue) -> Time Spiral -> New Phyrexia. Some of the guest articles could accelerate it, because they'll cover pre-mending stuff for Phyrexia that I don't have to.
I go on four weeks of leave with my three-month-old starting on monday, where while he naps I'm planning on writing, so I should be able to crank out a few in this timeframe.
Just to note, everything is subject to change. My current thinking for New Phyrexia is that I would do the pre mending stuff as an article focusing on Phyrexia and Karn before Mirrodin, but I'm writing it as one long article as kind of the history and rebirth of Phyrexia, then I'll figure out how best to divide it up.
Hey, in the World of Innistrad article, you have Jenrick's tower listed as being located in Stesnia, when it is in fac on the Nephalia coast.
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Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Hey, in the World of Innistrad article, you have Jenrick's tower listed as being located in Stesnia, when it is in fac on the Nephalia coast.
I've fixed it now.
Problem is, in my head I keep getting the names for Stensia and Nephalia mixed up. It was a problem when I wrote the thing, and I thought on editing I'd caught it all. I even mention earlier that he's in Nephalia! Anyway, Thanks!
Hey, in the World of Innistrad article, you have Jenrick's tower listed as being located in Stesnia, when it is in fac on the Nephalia coast.
I've fixed it now.
Problem is, in my head I keep getting the names for Stensia and Nephalia mixed up. It was a problem when I wrote the thing, and I thought on editing I'd caught it all. I even mention earlier that he's in Nephalia! Anyway, Thanks!
No problem. I was reading the article, trying to see if it could help me figure out the geography of Innistrad, so I can start at least planning my map while I work on Zendikar. It didn't help, sadly, as it ended up confusing me even more. I had a fairly solid picture as to what the continent looked like, until I read the Hypnotoad story. Apparently, Nephalia is supposed to be directly south of Gavony, with a large mountain range between them. My previous configurations had Nephalia to the north or west. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a mistake on the part of the story writer.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Hey, in the World of Innistrad article, you have Jenrick's tower listed as being located in Stesnia, when it is in fac on the Nephalia coast.
I've fixed it now.
Problem is, in my head I keep getting the names for Stensia and Nephalia mixed up. It was a problem when I wrote the thing, and I thought on editing I'd caught it all. I even mention earlier that he's in Nephalia! Anyway, Thanks!
No problem. I was reading the article, trying to see if it could help me figure out the geography of Innistrad, so I can start at least planning my map while I work on Zendikar. It didn't help, sadly, as it ended up confusing me even more. I had a fairly solid picture as to what the continent looked like, until I read the Hypnotoad story. Apparently, Nephalia is supposed to be directly south of Gavony, with a large mountain range between them. My previous configurations had Nephalia to the north or west. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a mistake on the part of the story writer.
As I understand it, Nephalia stretches around multiple sides of Gavony.
Sacrifice doesn't actually include any compass directions, so it's hard to say where Lake Zhava is exactly. Likely, it's in the 'North East' by my reckoning, near the border with both gavony and stensia.
Hey, in the World of Innistrad article, you have Jenrick's tower listed as being located in Stesnia, when it is in fac on the Nephalia coast.
I've fixed it now.
Problem is, in my head I keep getting the names for Stensia and Nephalia mixed up. It was a problem when I wrote the thing, and I thought on editing I'd caught it all. I even mention earlier that he's in Nephalia! Anyway, Thanks!
No problem. I was reading the article, trying to see if it could help me figure out the geography of Innistrad, so I can start at least planning my map while I work on Zendikar. It didn't help, sadly, as it ended up confusing me even more. I had a fairly solid picture as to what the continent looked like, until I read the Hypnotoad story. Apparently, Nephalia is supposed to be directly south of Gavony, with a large mountain range between them. My previous configurations had Nephalia to the north or west. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a mistake on the part of the story writer.
As I understand it, Nephalia stretches around multiple sides of Gavony.
Sacrifice doesn't actually include any compass directions, so it's hard to say where Lake Zhava is exactly. Likely, it's in the 'North East' by my reckoning, near the border with both gavony and stensia.
Can't be too near Stensia since they're not worried about vampires.
As I understand it, Nephalia stretches around multiple sides of Gavony.
Sacrifice doesn't actually include any compass directions, so it's hard to say where Lake Zhava is exactly. Likely, it's in the 'North East' by my reckoning, near the border with both gavony and stensia.
What about this idea: Take a look at the art for Clifftop Retreat. http://i.imgur.com/bUviLMp.jpg
It looks like the manor is perched on the edge of a moor, atop a towering cliff, overlooking a watery lowland. Also, we know that the Gavony "coast" is in fact a 2000 foot cliff that drops straight down into the sea. I think that Gavony is a vast plateau, jutting out into the ocean, and ringed by a towering cliff face. Where the Gavony lowlands meet the Nephalia coast, the cliff continues inland for some ways. The cliff starts to deteriorate, and the Nephalia low lands begin to gain elevation, resulting in an inland region of low hills and mountains, sandwiched between the two provinces. This is where Lake Zhava would be.
Did I say west above? I meant I usually placed Nephalia to the north or east.
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Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
I mean, we know Nephalia is rocky, and that Lake Zhava is at least somewhat near Drunau. It's possible it's nestled in the foothills.
Compass directions are arbitrary of course, except in the case of Thraben, which we know is on one end of Gavony. It's been stated as being the foothills of Stensia, so I designated Gavony's direction as north.
Otherwise, Stensia connects to all three other provinces, Kessig connects to Gavony and Stensia, as does Nephalia. There were other clues, but yeah. I'll have an updated description when SOI block is over.
And, I want to announce that we're currently planning to release an Archive Trap every other week for at least the next six months. I've got 4-5 articles (working on splitting the fourth, as it's a bit long) in the queue, followed by 7 guest articles, and many more in the works! This plan is subject to change, as it depends on our editor's availability... and I make a LOT of typos.
In the queue: The World of Zendikar Parts 4-6, then we're going back in time to The Brother's War, followed by the Weatherlight Saga in Remember the Weatherlight Parts 1-5(a,b,c) (guest article originally posted here 10 years ago).
In the works or outlined: Ajani & Elspeth, The World of Innistrad Part 2, The World of Alara, The World of Theros, The Rise and Fall of Phyrexia, The World of Mirrodin/New Phyrexia, The Ice Age, and The Mending.
If any of you are interested in submitting a guest article, PM me and let me know. I've invited a couple people to do so, but if we're going to keep up the pace we could use more writers.
I would also appreciate it if you all spread the word about Archive Trap. Kaburi and I put a lot of work into these articles, and if they're not going to be featured on the Mothership (MTGS is not well liked at Wizards for unrelated reasons to our storyline section), we need to spread the word in other ways. It would mean a lot to me if you like them for you to talk it up elsewhere when you get the chance.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Fiora is next (it's already written), followed by the World of Zendikar Part IV.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I do have one odd note: I'm not convinced that ANY of Magic's vampires are undead. The Zendikar lore says those ones aren't, and Ravi got vamped by Baron Sengir without losing her Spark. I think that may just be how vampirism is in the multiverse.
Otherwise, good stuff, and I appreciate the soft touch around the ambiguities of the Cursemute.
While it's possible that the Zendikari Vampires aren't true undead either, all the old Vamps we've encountered are, officially.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Edit: I've fixed it, with a note both in-article and on the OP here.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Pretty sure the Grixis/Alara and Ravnica ones are undead.
Anyways thank you for the Innistrad one! I have friends who aren't into the story much asking about Innistrad now its back and its useful just to point them here, since Innistrad had no real story.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Decks:
Casual
R Burn R
EDH
R Godo Voltron R
RUG ETB Overload RUG
BW Clerics Pain and Drain BW
GW Spirits!!! GW
RUG Landfall Silliness RUG
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Decks:
Casual
R Burn R
EDH
R Godo Voltron R
RUG ETB Overload RUG
BW Clerics Pain and Drain BW
GW Spirits!!! GW
RUG Landfall Silliness RUG
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Problem is, in my head I keep getting the names for Stensia and Nephalia mixed up. It was a problem when I wrote the thing, and I thought on editing I'd caught it all. I even mention earlier that he's in Nephalia! Anyway, Thanks!
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
No problem. I was reading the article, trying to see if it could help me figure out the geography of Innistrad, so I can start at least planning my map while I work on Zendikar. It didn't help, sadly, as it ended up confusing me even more. I had a fairly solid picture as to what the continent looked like, until I read the Hypnotoad story. Apparently, Nephalia is supposed to be directly south of Gavony, with a large mountain range between them. My previous configurations had Nephalia to the north or west. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a mistake on the part of the story writer.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Sacrifice doesn't actually include any compass directions, so it's hard to say where Lake Zhava is exactly. Likely, it's in the 'North East' by my reckoning, near the border with both gavony and stensia.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Can't be too near Stensia since they're not worried about vampires.
What about this idea: Take a look at the art for Clifftop Retreat. http://i.imgur.com/bUviLMp.jpg
It looks like the manor is perched on the edge of a moor, atop a towering cliff, overlooking a watery lowland. Also, we know that the Gavony "coast" is in fact a 2000 foot cliff that drops straight down into the sea. I think that Gavony is a vast plateau, jutting out into the ocean, and ringed by a towering cliff face. Where the Gavony lowlands meet the Nephalia coast, the cliff continues inland for some ways. The cliff starts to deteriorate, and the Nephalia low lands begin to gain elevation, resulting in an inland region of low hills and mountains, sandwiched between the two provinces. This is where Lake Zhava would be.
Did I say west above? I meant I usually placed Nephalia to the north or east.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Compass directions are arbitrary of course, except in the case of Thraben, which we know is on one end of Gavony. It's been stated as being the foothills of Stensia, so I designated Gavony's direction as north.
Otherwise, Stensia connects to all three other provinces, Kessig connects to Gavony and Stensia, as does Nephalia. There were other clues, but yeah. I'll have an updated description when SOI block is over.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
And, I want to announce that we're currently planning to release an Archive Trap every other week for at least the next six months. I've got 4-5 articles (working on splitting the fourth, as it's a bit long) in the queue, followed by 7 guest articles, and many more in the works! This plan is subject to change, as it depends on our editor's availability... and I make a LOT of typos.
In the queue: The World of Zendikar Parts 4-6, then we're going back in time to The Brother's War, followed by the Weatherlight Saga in Remember the Weatherlight Parts 1-5(a,b,c) (guest article originally posted here 10 years ago).
In the works or outlined: Ajani & Elspeth, The World of Innistrad Part 2, The World of Alara, The World of Theros, The Rise and Fall of Phyrexia, The World of Mirrodin/New Phyrexia, The Ice Age, and The Mending.
If any of you are interested in submitting a guest article, PM me and let me know. I've invited a couple people to do so, but if we're going to keep up the pace we could use more writers.
I would also appreciate it if you all spread the word about Archive Trap. Kaburi and I put a lot of work into these articles, and if they're not going to be featured on the Mothership (MTGS is not well liked at Wizards for unrelated reasons to our storyline section), we need to spread the word in other ways. It would mean a lot to me if you like them for you to talk it up elsewhere when you get the chance.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath