I get what you're saying, I just don't see how there's no depth. Easy to say in retrospect. When was the last time a character, their actions, their motivations, and their place in the plot/multiverse this heavily dissected across almost every thread about their respective block? Not that it equals "depth!" I know, but, it just seems like "What I expected did not occur, therefore: lack of substance." I can list long paragraphs about what I think is depth and complexity, so it's mostly a matter of opinion. But I think her popularity has more to do with fans finding a lot of substance, than not.
And the terrible truth about gaming literature is, convenience advances the plot.
I get what you're saying, I just don't see how there's no depth. Easy to say in retrospect. When was the last time a character, their actions, their motivations, and their place in the plot/multiverse this heavily dissected across almost every thread about their respective block? Not that it equals "depth!" I know, but, it just seems like "What I expected did not occur, therefore: lack of depth."
And the terrible truth about gaming literature is, convenience advances the plot.
Both fair points. Like I said, it's just my opinion that there could have been more depth and nuance. It could very well just be a case of me wanting more outnof it. The story so far has still been far better than BFZ.
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Vorthos-player with way too much time on his hands and a love of thematic decks.
EDH - Yes, Each One is Named After a Song. I love tying music to my decks.
I don't get the repeated label of villain for Nahiri. This is a one-time affair between her and Sorin. She's not out to wreck havoc on all planes from then on. She's been acting like an old-walker, like a little god of her plane with conflicts with other little god and their planes. I think this kind of story and the ethical and morality problems is more interesting than new-walker super-heroes pew-pew-pew.
I am curious how Sorin neglected his vows? Also what has he done to be a villain? Is he a villain because he is a vampire and B aligned?
When Nahiri came to call upon Sorin to simply check to see that the Eldrazi containment measures were in place, he refused to go. True, he was weakened at said time and true, he did check up on things later on, but his motives have often been self-preservation or preservation of his interests over those of others. At a minimum it makes him an anti-hero. I'd argue imprisoning Nahiri in the Helvault and leaving her there for a thousand years, killing off Avacyn when there was at least a way he could attempt to cure her and on several occasions sacrificing numerous unnamed people for his own ends tends to be villainous. We just haven't had a plot with Sorin as the antagonist, yet.
She came by, told him they were testing the locks but she checked and fixed them. He was concerned until she mentioned she made sure they were fixed. He was going to go with her, but not at that moment. He had just woken up from being passed out due to how much energy the work he had done took out of him. He did not refuse her or refuse to live up to what he had promised, he just wanted to regain his strength and make sure everyone he had just done was working before he left. There was no immediate threat as it had been dealt with. Why not blame Nahiri more for hibernating for 1000 years? Her sitting around in stone ignoring her duties for a 1000 years gets a pass but him wanting to wait a day or a week to go by and admire her handy work is the most unfathomable evil ever?
He imprisoned Nahiri because she refused to stop assaulting him and Avacyn. Even after telling her to go away. It was at a point where he was either going to possibly die, her die, or lock her up. There is also no evidence of Sorin being able to selectively release Nahiri or even release her at all. B can't destroy artifacts. Not sure why people harp on the time spent in there and that its on Sorin. Sorin didn't even know Avacyn was in there so he probably can't get any signal from in there. People seemed to have taken the point of Nahiri calling out and thinking he simply ignored it but there is no evidence he heard it.
Nahiri had twisted Avacyn so much that she even said if Sorin tried to fix her she was still going to revert back to this state. Nahiri saw everything and everyone on this plane as evil and she twisted Avacyn to see it the same way. Sorin wanted to fix her but realised it was not an option.
Oh agreed. And I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to change your mind. It just sounds extreme to say there's no depth after -everything- that's gone on. It is probably fair to say that her "endgame" is lacking depth though. It can be disappointing for sure to not have the payoff you thought was hiding somewhere.
Oh agreed. And I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to change your mind. It just sounds extreme to say there's no depth after -everything- that's gone on. It is probably fair to say that her "endgame" is lacking depth though. It can be disappointing for sure to not have the payoff you thought was hiding somewhere.
Yeah, I guess my wording was poor. The end result being a bit shallow for my taste is a better way to put it. I appreciate the conversation we've been having today.
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EDH - Yes, Each One is Named After a Song. I love tying music to my decks.
Oh agreed. And I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to change your mind. It just sounds extreme to say there's no depth after -everything- that's gone on. It is probably fair to say that her "endgame" is lacking depth though. It can be disappointing for sure to not have the payoff you thought was hiding somewhere.
I think part of the problem is that Nahiri and Sorin both come off as flat, two-dimensional characters this whole block. Which is a shame because her 'past' segments had her as a rather compelling character, it felt wrong for her 'present' character to be so single-minded, and to deliberately doom a plane because she hates one guy on it.
I don't get the repeated label of villain for Nahiri. This is a one-time affair between her and Sorin. She's not out to wreck havoc on all planes from then on. She's been acting like an old-walker, like a little god of her plane with conflicts with other little god and their planes. I think this kind of story and the ethical and morality problems is more interesting than new-walker super-heroes pew-pew-pew.
I was anticipating this duel but didn't feel very satisfied with the writing honestly. The descriptive text was often passive. It did a lot of telling, not showing. At least not until the end. I expected swelling tides of excitement and emotion, but it was all very limited. "Nahiri planeswalked away" was too linear and literal. Describe her feelings, demonstrate something with her now that she's won. It felt like a checklist of plot points.
That said, Sorin got royally manipulated by Olivia. Nice to see her maintained as a villain.
"A courtesy, returned" - very nice touch. Sorin's end was fitting and poetic, but it was delivered very anti-clamatically. Shame we didn't see him react to Nahiri wielding twisted horrors from his own world. Or the fact the stones she was carving weapons from had origins in his grandfather's ruined fortress. The art book did a better job of creating tension in far fewer words than I felt this story did (with notable exceptions of strong one-liners here and there).
"Emrakul had to go somewhere" - clearly Nahiri is not a villain. She may have doomed Innistrad but that inherently spared Zendikar and its inhabitants. Besides, that was all well deserved by Sorin. These are Oldwalker mentalities we're discussing. Planes to them are about the Planeswalker guardian's domain. It's a god-like perspective of attacking the domain of the foe. Regardless, Nahiri is likely operating under the same pretense that Sorin was. He surrendered Innistrad as a lost cause when Emrakul merely appeared. It's only fair to suspect Nahiri felt that Emrakul had no solution considering the great feat it took to seal her the first time. The Gatewatch didn't even consider this until Tamiyo, who had been studying the moon, seemed to suggest it. So it may never have dawned on Nahiri that Emrakul could be imprisoned. Even if it should have been obvious and was to us, Nahiri may not know that the Helvault was a sliver of the silver moon. She literally encountered it and found herself sealed in it. She spent the rest of her time on Innistrad enacting her revenge plot, not researching.
Worst thing about Sorin is the idea of wanting Nahiri to pay for Avacyn's death? Um. Sorin bargained with Avacyn's life in exchange for an army to enact revenge on Nahiri - revenge for fury that he himself was responsible for in his neglect and carelessness. No matter how it's spun, Sorin is responsible for everything that has gone wrong on Innistrad with Avacyn and Emrakul, and on Zendikar with Nahiri. Olivia demonstrates his poor decision making skills perfectly. She benefits at his expense.
I mean really:
You seal Nahiri for presumably an eternity because you can't be bothered to show some remorse.
Emrakul isn't re-sealed when free because you did this.
Emrakul is lured to Innistrad because you did this.
Emrakul enters Innistrad because YOU end Avacyn.
You end Avacyn for an army to enact revenge on someone that's angry because of what you're responsible for?
So Sorin basically traded Avacyn for Emrakul.
Even if Emrakul is defeated, Innistrad is now without Avacyn.
Was an army worth this?
Who REALLY ends Innistrad?
Sorin does.
Oh agreed. And I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to change your mind. It just sounds extreme to say there's no depth after -everything- that's gone on. It is probably fair to say that her "endgame" is lacking depth though. It can be disappointing for sure to not have the payoff you thought was hiding somewhere.
I really do think it's just an issue with the amount of space they have to tell a story. Cards as a medium feel very constricting to me in this storyline more so than any other.
The story is much less shallow than in the past imo, but I still feel like there is room for improvement. Nahiri just leaving felt abrupt and left some open ends for me. No one but Sorin really knows the extent of what transpired and why...it could be very useful info for the gatewatch and other interested planar saving parties. Her end game destroying the planet does make our heroes seem overly convenient in appearance and solution both.
I enjoyed this story despite that it's emblematic of my biggest gripes with the totality of this block's narrative (Sorin's and Nahiri's mutual arrogance, terrible communication skills, and cosmically bad timing). I hope that Nahiri's next act is to planeswalk to Zendikar to catch what she thinks will be a final glimpse thereof:
Nahiri: "Whoa. Uh, excuse me, ma'am? Where'd the Eldrazi go?"
Tazri: "Oh, those old things? Gone."
Nahiri: "Wait, what? Even the titans?"
Tazri: "Y'mean the two super-big ones that a lot of us worshiped before last January? Yup. Totally dead."
Nahiri: "How are they DEAD?"
Tazri: "Planeswalkers."
Nahiri: "What planeswalkers?!"
Tazri: "They all wear bright colors for some reason. Uh, they went to a place called Innistrad to --"
Nahiri: "CRAP."
Tazri: "...No, not to do that -- well, maybe that too? Gross, though."
I was wondering as well. Though I think they are going to go with the vampire has to do something more than feed on you to turn you. Possibly you have to drink the vampire's (or an angel's) blood.
I was wondering as well. Though I think they are going to go with the vampire has to do something more than feed on you to turn you. Possibly you have to drink the vampire's (or an angel's) blood.
I have a vague memory that the Planeswalker Guide the 1st time around had a bit on that, but I can't remember the specifics, but I do think your right, there's more that just one bite.
I like the way they handled the characters, if anything it would have helped to have more time with them (this is the main weakness of the short story telling of the Uncharted Realms) to get the feel why their actions were more complex. These aren't imo 2 dimensional characters since those usually just have 1 line of thinking, no motivation, and are just plot functional (in a cheap way).
I was wondering as well. Though I think they are going to go with the vampire has to do something more than feed on you to turn you. Possibly you have to drink the vampire's (or an angel's) blood.
I have a vague memory that the Planeswalker Guide the 1st time around had a bit on that, but I can't remember the specifics, but I do think your right, there's more that just one bite.
I was wondering as well. Though I think they are going to go with the vampire has to do something more than feed on you to turn you. Possibly you have to drink the vampire's (or an angel's) blood.
No. According to the first guide, you become a vampire if they introduce their own blood into your body when they bite you (usually by cutting their tongue). Afterwards, you have 31 days to find the one who bit you and consume their blood. Once you do, you become a vampire, fail to do so and death is a high possibility.
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"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
I like the way they handled the characters, if anything it would have helped to have more time with them (this is the main weakness of the short story telling of the Uncharted Realms) to get the feel why their actions were more complex. These aren't imo 2 dimensional characters since those usually just have 1 line of thinking, no motivation, and are just plot functional (in a cheap way).
TBF, it isn't JUST Maro. I've seen Nahiri as 'villain' popping up in a number of official places now.
As for the two-dimension part, perhaps I just mean they felt flat in their modern appearances.
I like the way they handled the characters, if anything it would have helped to have more time with them (this is the main weakness of the short story telling of the Uncharted Realms) to get the feel why their actions were more complex. These aren't imo 2 dimensional characters since those usually just have 1 line of thinking, no motivation, and are just plot functional (in a cheap way).
So for a while people have been asking for a B hero and a W villain. As it has been stated that any color can be either. Though the default for the story team seems to be the other way all the time. The retort to it is "we did it once in Kamigawa, isn't that good enough for you?" I think they did it in the story and wanted to make sure it was very clear that W is the villain (Nahiri) and make B the hero in this story (in Sorin and Liliana). So that is why they characters might seem 2 dimensional to some people. Even after this people still refuse to accept it which shows they did not go hard enough with it.
Been mulling this over and I think this plot has single-handedly destroyed any interest I had in Magic's storyline.
Sorin before SOI was long-term minded, patient, pragmatic, pretty unemotional, generally selfish but aware of the importance of balance and the need to keep the big things on an even keel - even if only to preserve the things that he personaly cared about. None of that was villainous. He was at worst ambivalent. I could relate to that. I find it hard to get too emotionally invested in others. I'm a bit reclusive; introverted. There are a few things that matter to me, everything else is noise. I want selfish pleasure but I understand duty. I'll be turns indulge and deprive myself. I'm grey, like Sorin. Or at least, like he was.
But then we get SOI Sorin: short-sighted, stupid, tetchy, petulant, easily provoked, quick to give up on the only stuff he actually cared about (Avacyn, Innistrad). Seriously - who in Wizards' creative department hated the character so much that they wanted to ruin every single good thing about him? It's like some sadist went "I detest this guy. Let's utterly destroy his character. Then, let's destroy everything he cares about - in fact, we'll make him destroy some of it himself. And then let's give him the most ignominious end we can come up with." Has any character been so royally shafted by a depiction and storyline in the history of Magic?
All the stuff that I related to before has been conspicuously absent in this block; a load of contrary crappy traits have been written in. And after all that, he still loses. He plays the fall guy to every ridiculous plot contrivance to allow Nahiri to win. Why would pre-SOI Sorin rush to destroy Avacyn? Ignore the big threat of Emrakul in the rush for petty vengeance to fight Nahiri in Markov Manor instead - a place he knew full well she had total mastery over? I thought he was supposed to hold grudges for centuries? Why the haste to give away such a huge tactical advantage? Even then, why, when his magic was turned aside (because 'leylines' - the new 'because Bolas') and he was clearly at a major disadvantage did he carry on? Where was his long-term thinking, his patience, his pragmatism? He was just blindly, emotionally, stupidly rash here.
So yeah - someone decided he'd be the fall guy for this block and character consistency be damned. Well, for me, Sorin and Elspeth were the only two planeswalkers I cared about, and Sorin the only one I could relate to. I don't expect anyone else to give a toss, but *my* representation amongst the PW cast is finished. Even though Sorin isn't technically dead, pre-SOI Sorin certainly is. What's left is a neutered, toothless shell of him, bereft of everything that previously appealed. And since I couldn't give a rat's ass for any of the Gatewatch, I can't see what the Magic story has left to offer me. So, though no-one else will care, I'm done. There's no point in me investing my energy in this mythos any more when it can so casually be upended for some sadist's whim.
Man, I'm going to need so much popcorn when Nahiri is going to meet Ugin. Let's hope they at least find the time and temper to explain things, rather than rushing to hasty action.
Ah, who am I kidding, that'd make for a terrible story.
A mercy killing is not the same as disembowelling someone with a blunt spoon because you enjoy it. And both of those are not like dissembling someone with a blunt spoon and dutifully recording the reactions of the victim's nervous system, from the first cut until final shut down.
Actions have colours as much as motivations do.
Except that they don't. A mercy killing can be black depending on why it's done. Gutting someone with a spoon can be red depending on why it's done. Characters of any color can perform any action as long as it is justified by a reason that fits within their color. Nahiri was driven and controlled by her emotions she wanted her vengeance more than anything consequences and collateral be damned. Being controlled by one's emotions is as red as you get. It doesn't matter whether that had led her to go cry at Sorins feet or drive Innistrad to the brink of annihilation it's still red because of what motivated her. If she had done it because she thought that all of Innistrad was corrupt due to it's association with the corrupt Sorin and that destroying it was the morally right thing to do and that it was best for the multiverse that way it would be white. If she had done it to learn about Emrakul it would have been blue. Had she done it so that she could absorb the power released as the plane collapsed ala Bolas with the Alara maelstrom it would have been black. Had she done it because it was the destruction of Innistrad and all of its "unnatural" things was the best way to restore the natural order them it would have been green. But as it is she was angry at Sorin and she let that control her. That's red. I literally know if no one else on this forum that would disagree with this. If you go to blogatog and ask Rosewater, the man considered to be the guru and protector of the color pie, he will not disagree. Actions do not have color. The motivations behind then do.
Man, I'm going to need so much popcorn when Nahiri is going to meet Ugin. Let's hope they at least find the time and temper to explain things, rather than rushing to hasty action.
Ah, who am I kidding, that'd make for a terrible story.
I guess Ugin could use some tips. Don't call her a child, she hates that and will throw a big tantrum. Also don't try to use some excuse of why you didn't hear the phone ring like being passed out, signal interference, or being dead. Finally, if she attacks you its your fault.
I doubt Nahiri would be out to hurt Ugin. Like it was mentioned before, being dead/in stasis for a thousand years is a pretty damn good excuse and probably something Nahiri can relate to. That said, if the art book and the actual story are so out of sync, anything can happen. Quality control is slacking right now.
It'll be interesting if, in seeking Ugin and learning of his death, Nahiri learns of Nicol Bolas orchestrating the Eldrazi release, and killing Ugin to prevent his response to the Eye's call for assistance. How she'll feel about that intrigues me, especially if she crosses paths with the Gatewatch, who are no doubt headed down a long and winding road the leads to a clash with the elder dragon.
And the terrible truth about gaming literature is, convenience advances the plot.
Both fair points. Like I said, it's just my opinion that there could have been more depth and nuance. It could very well just be a case of me wanting more outnof it. The story so far has still been far better than BFZ.
EDH - Yes, Each One is Named After a Song. I love tying music to my decks.
B Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief B - Fear of the Dark
WG Sigarda, Heron's Grace WG - Strength in Numbers
RG Xenagos, God of Revels RG - Fullmoon (It's werewolves)
RW Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier RW - The End is Nigh
60 Card Kitchen Table Decks
WUB Avacyn, Spirit Ferrier
RG Arlinn Kord's Howlpack
She came by, told him they were testing the locks but she checked and fixed them. He was concerned until she mentioned she made sure they were fixed. He was going to go with her, but not at that moment. He had just woken up from being passed out due to how much energy the work he had done took out of him. He did not refuse her or refuse to live up to what he had promised, he just wanted to regain his strength and make sure everyone he had just done was working before he left. There was no immediate threat as it had been dealt with. Why not blame Nahiri more for hibernating for 1000 years? Her sitting around in stone ignoring her duties for a 1000 years gets a pass but him wanting to wait a day or a week to go by and admire her handy work is the most unfathomable evil ever?
He imprisoned Nahiri because she refused to stop assaulting him and Avacyn. Even after telling her to go away. It was at a point where he was either going to possibly die, her die, or lock her up. There is also no evidence of Sorin being able to selectively release Nahiri or even release her at all. B can't destroy artifacts. Not sure why people harp on the time spent in there and that its on Sorin. Sorin didn't even know Avacyn was in there so he probably can't get any signal from in there. People seemed to have taken the point of Nahiri calling out and thinking he simply ignored it but there is no evidence he heard it.
Nahiri had twisted Avacyn so much that she even said if Sorin tried to fix her she was still going to revert back to this state. Nahiri saw everything and everyone on this plane as evil and she twisted Avacyn to see it the same way. Sorin wanted to fix her but realised it was not an option.
Yeah, I guess my wording was poor. The end result being a bit shallow for my taste is a better way to put it. I appreciate the conversation we've been having today.
EDH - Yes, Each One is Named After a Song. I love tying music to my decks.
B Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief B - Fear of the Dark
WG Sigarda, Heron's Grace WG - Strength in Numbers
RG Xenagos, God of Revels RG - Fullmoon (It's werewolves)
RW Archangel Avacyn // Avacyn, the Purifier RW - The End is Nigh
60 Card Kitchen Table Decks
WUB Avacyn, Spirit Ferrier
RG Arlinn Kord's Howlpack
Maro listed her in his Villains bracket.
What more do you want?
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That said, Sorin got royally manipulated by Olivia. Nice to see her maintained as a villain.
"A courtesy, returned" - very nice touch. Sorin's end was fitting and poetic, but it was delivered very anti-clamatically. Shame we didn't see him react to Nahiri wielding twisted horrors from his own world. Or the fact the stones she was carving weapons from had origins in his grandfather's ruined fortress. The art book did a better job of creating tension in far fewer words than I felt this story did (with notable exceptions of strong one-liners here and there).
"Emrakul had to go somewhere" - clearly Nahiri is not a villain. She may have doomed Innistrad but that inherently spared Zendikar and its inhabitants. Besides, that was all well deserved by Sorin. These are Oldwalker mentalities we're discussing. Planes to them are about the Planeswalker guardian's domain. It's a god-like perspective of attacking the domain of the foe. Regardless, Nahiri is likely operating under the same pretense that Sorin was. He surrendered Innistrad as a lost cause when Emrakul merely appeared. It's only fair to suspect Nahiri felt that Emrakul had no solution considering the great feat it took to seal her the first time. The Gatewatch didn't even consider this until Tamiyo, who had been studying the moon, seemed to suggest it. So it may never have dawned on Nahiri that Emrakul could be imprisoned. Even if it should have been obvious and was to us, Nahiri may not know that the Helvault was a sliver of the silver moon. She literally encountered it and found herself sealed in it. She spent the rest of her time on Innistrad enacting her revenge plot, not researching.
Worst thing about Sorin is the idea of wanting Nahiri to pay for Avacyn's death? Um. Sorin bargained with Avacyn's life in exchange for an army to enact revenge on Nahiri - revenge for fury that he himself was responsible for in his neglect and carelessness. No matter how it's spun, Sorin is responsible for everything that has gone wrong on Innistrad with Avacyn and Emrakul, and on Zendikar with Nahiri. Olivia demonstrates his poor decision making skills perfectly. She benefits at his expense.
I mean really:
You seal Nahiri for presumably an eternity because you can't be bothered to show some remorse.
Emrakul isn't re-sealed when free because you did this.
Emrakul is lured to Innistrad because you did this.
Emrakul enters Innistrad because YOU end Avacyn.
You end Avacyn for an army to enact revenge on someone that's angry because of what you're responsible for?
So Sorin basically traded Avacyn for Emrakul.
Even if Emrakul is defeated, Innistrad is now without Avacyn.
Was an army worth this?
Who REALLY ends Innistrad?
Sorin does.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
I really do think it's just an issue with the amount of space they have to tell a story. Cards as a medium feel very constricting to me in this storyline more so than any other.
The story is much less shallow than in the past imo, but I still feel like there is room for improvement. Nahiri just leaving felt abrupt and left some open ends for me. No one but Sorin really knows the extent of what transpired and why...it could be very useful info for the gatewatch and other interested planar saving parties. Her end game destroying the planet does make our heroes seem overly convenient in appearance and solution both.
Nahiri: "Whoa. Uh, excuse me, ma'am? Where'd the Eldrazi go?"
Tazri: "Oh, those old things? Gone."
Nahiri: "Wait, what? Even the titans?"
Tazri: "Y'mean the two super-big ones that a lot of us worshiped before last January? Yup. Totally dead."
Nahiri: "How are they DEAD?"
Tazri: "Planeswalkers."
Nahiri: "What planeswalkers?!"
Tazri: "They all wear bright colors for some reason. Uh, they went to a place called Innistrad to --"
Nahiri: "CRAP."
Tazri: "...No, not to do that -- well, maybe that too? Gross, though."
I was wondering as well. Though I think they are going to go with the vampire has to do something more than feed on you to turn you. Possibly you have to drink the vampire's (or an angel's) blood.
I have a vague memory that the Planeswalker Guide the 1st time around had a bit on that, but I can't remember the specifics, but I do think your right, there's more that just one bite.
...But Maro :/
I like the way they handled the characters, if anything it would have helped to have more time with them (this is the main weakness of the short story telling of the Uncharted Realms) to get the feel why their actions were more complex. These aren't imo 2 dimensional characters since those usually just have 1 line of thinking, no motivation, and are just plot functional (in a cheap way).
No. According to the first guide, you become a vampire if they introduce their own blood into your body when they bite you (usually by cutting their tongue). Afterwards, you have 31 days to find the one who bit you and consume their blood. Once you do, you become a vampire, fail to do so and death is a high possibility.
"I hope to have such a death... lying in triumph atop the broken bodies of those who slew me..."
As for the two-dimension part, perhaps I just mean they felt flat in their modern appearances.
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
So for a while people have been asking for a B hero and a W villain. As it has been stated that any color can be either. Though the default for the story team seems to be the other way all the time. The retort to it is "we did it once in Kamigawa, isn't that good enough for you?" I think they did it in the story and wanted to make sure it was very clear that W is the villain (Nahiri) and make B the hero in this story (in Sorin and Liliana). So that is why they characters might seem 2 dimensional to some people. Even after this people still refuse to accept it which shows they did not go hard enough with it.
Sorin before SOI was long-term minded, patient, pragmatic, pretty unemotional, generally selfish but aware of the importance of balance and the need to keep the big things on an even keel - even if only to preserve the things that he personaly cared about. None of that was villainous. He was at worst ambivalent. I could relate to that. I find it hard to get too emotionally invested in others. I'm a bit reclusive; introverted. There are a few things that matter to me, everything else is noise. I want selfish pleasure but I understand duty. I'll be turns indulge and deprive myself. I'm grey, like Sorin. Or at least, like he was.
But then we get SOI Sorin: short-sighted, stupid, tetchy, petulant, easily provoked, quick to give up on the only stuff he actually cared about (Avacyn, Innistrad). Seriously - who in Wizards' creative department hated the character so much that they wanted to ruin every single good thing about him? It's like some sadist went "I detest this guy. Let's utterly destroy his character. Then, let's destroy everything he cares about - in fact, we'll make him destroy some of it himself. And then let's give him the most ignominious end we can come up with." Has any character been so royally shafted by a depiction and storyline in the history of Magic?
All the stuff that I related to before has been conspicuously absent in this block; a load of contrary crappy traits have been written in. And after all that, he still loses. He plays the fall guy to every ridiculous plot contrivance to allow Nahiri to win. Why would pre-SOI Sorin rush to destroy Avacyn? Ignore the big threat of Emrakul in the rush for petty vengeance to fight Nahiri in Markov Manor instead - a place he knew full well she had total mastery over? I thought he was supposed to hold grudges for centuries? Why the haste to give away such a huge tactical advantage? Even then, why, when his magic was turned aside (because 'leylines' - the new 'because Bolas') and he was clearly at a major disadvantage did he carry on? Where was his long-term thinking, his patience, his pragmatism? He was just blindly, emotionally, stupidly rash here.
So yeah - someone decided he'd be the fall guy for this block and character consistency be damned. Well, for me, Sorin and Elspeth were the only two planeswalkers I cared about, and Sorin the only one I could relate to. I don't expect anyone else to give a toss, but *my* representation amongst the PW cast is finished. Even though Sorin isn't technically dead, pre-SOI Sorin certainly is. What's left is a neutered, toothless shell of him, bereft of everything that previously appealed. And since I couldn't give a rat's ass for any of the Gatewatch, I can't see what the Magic story has left to offer me. So, though no-one else will care, I'm done. There's no point in me investing my energy in this mythos any more when it can so casually be upended for some sadist's whim.
Ah, who am I kidding, that'd make for a terrible story.
Except that they don't. A mercy killing can be black depending on why it's done. Gutting someone with a spoon can be red depending on why it's done. Characters of any color can perform any action as long as it is justified by a reason that fits within their color. Nahiri was driven and controlled by her emotions she wanted her vengeance more than anything consequences and collateral be damned. Being controlled by one's emotions is as red as you get. It doesn't matter whether that had led her to go cry at Sorins feet or drive Innistrad to the brink of annihilation it's still red because of what motivated her. If she had done it because she thought that all of Innistrad was corrupt due to it's association with the corrupt Sorin and that destroying it was the morally right thing to do and that it was best for the multiverse that way it would be white. If she had done it to learn about Emrakul it would have been blue. Had she done it so that she could absorb the power released as the plane collapsed ala Bolas with the Alara maelstrom it would have been black. Had she done it because it was the destruction of Innistrad and all of its "unnatural" things was the best way to restore the natural order them it would have been green. But as it is she was angry at Sorin and she let that control her. That's red. I literally know if no one else on this forum that would disagree with this. If you go to blogatog and ask Rosewater, the man considered to be the guru and protector of the color pie, he will not disagree. Actions do not have color. The motivations behind then do.
I guess Ugin could use some tips. Don't call her a child, she hates that and will throw a big tantrum. Also don't try to use some excuse of why you didn't hear the phone ring like being passed out, signal interference, or being dead. Finally, if she attacks you its your fault.
Well, white has dabbled in counterspells on and off. A search showed as early as Mirage, so not entirely out of whites wheelhouse.
I doubt Nahiri would be out to hurt Ugin. Like it was mentioned before, being dead/in stasis for a thousand years is a pretty damn good excuse and probably something Nahiri can relate to. That said, if the art book and the actual story are so out of sync, anything can happen. Quality control is slacking right now.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||