There are no Surrakar cards in BFZ and there have been no mention of them. I know that Bala Ged was their home continent and it has been mostly wiped out. So that makes me wonder....are they done for?
We don't know, but the lack of any Surrakar is disturbing. On the other hand, we do know that some Surrakar escaped Bala Ged prior to its destruction, as seen in the battle at Fort Keff, where a surrakar is washed up on the shores of Akoum and warns the people about the Eldrazi.
So basically it could be that some Surrakar escaped, but it could also be that those were killed in the aftermath.
Heck, it could even be that the Surrakar's home continent has been retconned into Akoum or Murasa. Sigh.
Yeah there's no reason to retcon them. They usually don't retcon things that exist on cards, anyway. Just stuff from various fiction. Here's hoping we'll hear something about them soon or even see one or two in OGW! I miss those cuddly guys.
PS. Maybe someone who uses Tumblr can ask MaRo about them?
It would have been hard for the Surrakar to take off when they were never given any good cards. Even the merfolk got themselves a cheap lord and some other weenies back in ye olden days of Alpha/Beta and the vintage stuff.
I think we don't have Surrakar because the eldrazi took up all the med-large blue creature slots.
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Well biologically speaking they seem like amphibians which are the most sensitive group of animals to climate change. .or planar destruction. So that could be a good way creative could explain their absence and write then off.
I believe the Surrakar were one of many attempts to test the waters on non-Merfolk creatures. It's possible that they're extinct, since their home was in Bala Ged which was mostly destroyed by the Eldrazi. The Surrakar in the Battle of Fort Keff might have been the last one.
Or we just won't see them again until the next Zendikar set. Remember, BFZ is a sequel to Rise of the Eldrazi much more than Zendikar proper.
They're not appearing in Battle for Zendikar for the same reason Slith didn't show up in Scars of Mirodin. There's a limited amount of cards that can be in a set and it's better to focus on a large amount of few things than it is to focus on a small number of many things. In return set at least - since most of the world building has already been done.
Besides, BFZ is about mainly about the Eldrazi, the Allys, the vampires, and the land that represents Zendikar itself. Adding Surrakar, or Minotaurs, or anything else detracts from this focus.
They're not appearing in Battle for Zendikar for the same reason Slith didn't show up in Scars of Mirodin. There's a limited amount of cards that can be in a set and it's better to focus on a large amount of few things than it is to focus on a small number of many things. In return set at least - since most of the world building has already been done.
Besides, BFZ is about mainly about the Eldrazi, the Allys, the vampires, and the land that represents Zendikar itself. Adding Surrakar, or Minotaurs, or anything else detracts from this focus.
Because there were no minotaurs in BFZ, right? Or giant mantises...
Still, the most likely reason the Surrakar don't show up is because there wasn't any reason to add them.
Diversity. Technically, every single non-tribal creature could be the same creature type, or even lack creature types altogether, but it's more interesting to have diversity across the cards. Plus, you don't even necessarily need to make a Surrakar creature card, it would have been enough to show them in card art, but they are absent from BFZ completely, they do not appear in the typeline, not in the art, not even mentioned in the flavour text.
So basically it could be that some Surrakar escaped, but it could also be that those were killed in the aftermath.
Heck, it could even be that the Surrakar's home continent has been retconned into Akoum or Murasa. Sigh.
Given that the Surrakar were supposed to take off but failed to its also possible that the Surrakar have been reconnected out of existence.
But there's nothing to gain from retconning them out of Zendikar. Right now they have the perfect opportunity to get rid of them, if they wanted to.
PS. Maybe someone who uses Tumblr can ask MaRo about them?
You know, I'd point out that this is a Doug question, but sadly you're probably more likely to get an answer from Maro than Doug.
Doug is useless on Tumblr. MaRo can probably explain, from a design perspective, why no Surrakar made it in.
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Or we just won't see them again until the next Zendikar set. Remember, BFZ is a sequel to Rise of the Eldrazi much more than Zendikar proper.
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Besides, BFZ is about mainly about the Eldrazi, the Allys, the vampires, and the land that represents Zendikar itself. Adding Surrakar, or Minotaurs, or anything else detracts from this focus.
Because there were no minotaurs in BFZ, right? Or giant mantises...
Most of the exotic creatures fill niches for limited. Or landfall stuff.
Still, the most likely reason the Surrakar don't show up is because there wasn't any reason to add them.
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Diversity. Technically, every single non-tribal creature could be the same creature type, or even lack creature types altogether, but it's more interesting to have diversity across the cards. Plus, you don't even necessarily need to make a Surrakar creature card, it would have been enough to show them in card art, but they are absent from BFZ completely, they do not appear in the typeline, not in the art, not even mentioned in the flavour text.