Boring story. Sorry folks, can't relate with this at all. Random cathars and peasants that I couldn't care less about making part of an army and being 'afraid' of eldrazi, a random eldrazi drone encounter with It that Rides as One, different races that fought against each other for centuries quickly allying without so much as a second thought and a cheesy incorporation of a Lord of the Rings scene where spirits join the battleground. Aside from the last part, it was just BFZ rehashed. The final bossfight also very uninspirting, Thalia basically became an anime character to fight Brisela.
Considering there was just one story given for Thalia I really can't relate to her pain and problems at all. The story as a whole just breezed through me, wouldn't even care if Emrakul destroyed Innistrad. I suppose the good news is that I'm alone in my thinking and people think the story was good so... nice job WoTC?
I give this story a generous C-.
You're not alone,it's just that a lot of people that would agree with you have given up on the story or lowered their expectectations.Ive just become numb to the trash that most of the story has become and try to find a few nuggets of good in this sea of meh storytelling.
Boring story. Sorry folks, can't relate with this at all. Random cathars and peasants that I couldn't care less about making part of an army and being 'afraid' of eldrazi, a random eldrazi drone encounter with It that Rides as One, different races that fought against each other for centuries quickly allying without so much as a second thought and a cheesy incorporation of a Lord of the Rings scene where spirits join the battleground. Aside from the last part, it was just BFZ rehashed. The final bossfight also very uninspirting, Thalia basically became an anime character to fight Brisela.
Considering there was just one story given for Thalia I really can't relate to her pain and problems at all. The story as a whole just breezed through me, wouldn't even care if Emrakul destroyed Innistrad. I suppose the good news is that I'm alone in my thinking and people think the story was good so... nice job WoTC?
I give this story a generous C-.
You're not alone,it's just that a lot of people that would agree with you have given up on the story or lowered their expectectations.Ive just become numb to the trash that most of the story has become and try to find a few nuggets of good in this sea of meh storytelling.
This story was actually quite good!
...by James Wyatt standards.
Yeah. The story as a whole is pretty meh. We occasionally get a well written one, like Stone and Blood, or Games, but those are balanced by a pile of mediocre stories that would get ripped apart on a real writing forum. Don't get me wrong, the Creative team has its strengths (like worldbuilding) but writing a story in serial form is not one of them.
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"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
Well, these are different authors with different styles and capabilities. That's why some are a home run and others leave us disappointed. It's just lame because they're once a week, so a dud can be a major bummer.
Really the focus should have been Sigarda vs. Brisela. A lot of poetic, insightful material there to expand on - natural vs. corrupted, nature vs. alien, past vs. future, hope vs. loss. I hated how Thalia stole that thunder. Assisting her is one thing, but IDK. I just didn't really feel the story lived up to its potential and felt very distracted.
As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), MaRo has a decent grasp on everything throughout the development. Some story ideas are pitched early, some are edited, some are added, some are deleted (and then the changes to the cards, the art, the mechanics, etc.), and so he may have a grasp on the story, but I suspect keeping track of what ended up as the final version (as he also has a hand/grasp/idea of the future sets) is what leads to these "blunders" when he answers story questions.
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Dominian Scholar of the Old Guard, specializing in pre-revisionist (Armada comics) and revisionist (Brothers' War through Apocalypse)history
As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), MaRo has a decent grasp on everything throughout the development. Some story ideas are pitched early, some are edited, some are added, some are deleted (and then the changes to the cards, the art, the mechanics, etc.), and so he may have a grasp on the story, but I suspect keeping track of what ended up as the final version (as he also has a hand/grasp/idea of the future sets) is what leads to these "blunders" when he answers story questions.
I don't think Maro reads the final stories, so when he talks story stuff, it's what you're describing, what he remembers from pitch meetings and whats discussed during development.
We have now finished with the Innistrad story, and moved back to Oath of the Gatewatch. [sarcasm] I'm so happy! [/sarcasm]
Writing quality was okay. Better than Ari Levitch's or James Wyatt's. The only good line was the comment about Liliana's dress.
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"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
Not a huge fan of todays story, the cut between the Gatewatch arriving and getting to Thraben. Could have been smoother. Love Chandras line about Lilianas dress and Liliana calling Gideon meat. Also I did enjoy seeing Chandra and Nissa meeting Liliana as well as Gideon re-meeting her. Over it was just ok for me
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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"
It's pretty clear there are some pacing issues that still need to be worked out, but overall I thought it was fine.
I do think it's kind of amazing that every character the Gatewatch meet mocks them.
Fine as in "not painful to read." This article was too short to effectively build any tension. It just kinda happened, and then it was over. I suppose we do only have two, maybe three articles left.
That actually kind of makes sense, at least with the planeswalkers they meet. A planeswalker is the ultimate pinnacle of independence. They can go anywhere, anytime the want. You could settle down, start a life, etc, but why would you, when there is so much to see and do? Planeswalkers are by nature solitary and self-sufficient. I guess the other walkers find the notion of a group of them banding together for some greater purpose to be absolutely ridiculous and counter-intuitive.
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"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
Chapter was okay, pretty average. Mostly it felt short (not much happened, so it wasn't rushed, just short on length and content).
By the way, Jace calling the Gatewatch makes perfect sense... That's exactly the reason they made the oaths in the first place anyway, and he's got no change to defeat Emrakul alone...
Story was ok not too great other than lili calling Gideon meat and Chandra describing liliana's dess . was hoping this story would explain why zombies aren't affect but walls are but I feel like were getting close to that explanation.
It's pretty clear there are some pacing issues that still need to be worked out, but overall I thought it was fine.
I do think it's kind of amazing that every character the Gatewatch meet mocks them.
Fine as in "not painful to read." This article was too short to effectively build any tension. It just kinda happened, and then it was over. I suppose we do only have two, maybe three articles left.
I think that's a fair assessment. This was half the length of the typical article. Many (most?) of them are closer to 7,000 words, this one was just 3,000.
It was just okay. I don't have the same problems with the writing styles that some people do, but the pacing of some of these does bother me a bit. You're right, there's basically no tension around Nissa's failure and the Gatewatch's situation.
The Gatewatch's climactic and timely arrival and battle at Thraben probably shouldn't read like a forgetful filler piece, but it did. Just completely benign.
With how short it was, it would have helped to include a section on the non-walker force and their reaction to being saved by the Gatewatch and then Liliana & zombies. Without the reactions of Innistrad's denizens, the severity of what's going on isn't felt at all. No one is scared for anyone in the Gatewatch at this point. And this isn't their plane that's under assault. Huge disconnect there, and for what? Some snark between our "beloved" main heroes? Zzzz.
I will say Jace killing the werewolves was a good display of how deadly he can be, if only he wanted to be...
Edit: If it says anything about this latest story, I've summarized it in like six sentences for the next archive trap, compared to last week's taking three or four paragraphs.
I think that's a fair assessment. This was half the length of the typical article. Many (most?) of them are closer to 7,000 words, this one was just 3,000.
It was just okay. I don't have the same problems with the writing styles that some people do, but the pacing of some of these does bother me a bit. You're right, there's basically no tension around Nissa's failure and the Gatewatch's situation.
Let's do some crunching.
Archmage of Goldnight ~ 7000 words Stone and Blood ~ 7200 words Emrakul Rises ~ 4300 words Innistrad's Last Hope ~ 3800 words Campaign of Vengeance ~ 4500 words Saint Traft and the Flight of Nightmares ~ 7500 words Battle of Thraben ~ 3000 words
Average length for ENM ~ 5300
So yeah. Some are longer, some are shorter. This is by far the shortest, which doesn't make sense because it was supposed to be the beginning of the apocalyptic third act. Like you said, nothing felt like it meant anything. Not Nissa's failure, not Liliana's rescue.
I'm an amateur writer. I've spent some time hanging around a writing forum, and while I'm not very good, I do understand what makes good writing good and bad writing bad. I don't mind reading the story articles, unless they are particularly bad. This one was okay with everything but the length. It's just obvious to me that not all of the members of Creative have a lot of experience writing narrative prose. Hopefully, they will learn and evolve over time.
Edit: I don't know. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I'm a Brandon Sanderson fan. Sanderson has incredible writing skills, and he certainly doesn't skimp when it comes to length. The current novel he is working on is expected to be upward of 400,000 words long.
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
The story ended abruptly. Too many characters in play without one to focus on. I guess that will be a common issue in stories involving the Gatewatch. Overwall, some amusing interactions between our heroes, but ultimately just serves as a transition from one story to the next. B- for todays story.
The story ended abruptly. Too many characters in play without one to focus on. I guess that will be a common issue in stories involving the Gatewatch. Overwall, some amusing interactions between our heroes, but ultimately just serves as a transition from one story to the next. B- for todays story.
It'd probably had been better if they'd kept it with one primary POV instead of bouncing between the four (they tried to make it too much like an avengers-like action film). But there is a focus- Liliana. This is just getting the gatewatch to where she can factor in with them.
From here on out, its gonna be all about that Vess.
Also, the Gatewatch needs better action movie one liners. Like when Jace killed the werewolves "Yeah, what do you THINK about that?"
The story ended abruptly. Too many characters in play without one to focus on. I guess that will be a common issue in stories involving the Gatewatch. Overwall, some amusing interactions between our heroes, but ultimately just serves as a transition from one story to the next. B- for todays story.
It'd probably had been better if they'd kept it with one primary POV instead of bouncing between the four (they tried to make it too much like an avengers-like action film). But there is a focus- Liliana. This is just getting the gatewatch to where she can factor in with them.
From here on out, its gonna be all about that Vess.
Until Tamiyo has her Big Damn Hero moment...
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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
Edit: I don't know. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I'm a Brandon Sanderson fan. Sanderson has incredible writing skills, and he certainly doesn't skimp when it comes to length. The current novel he is working on is expected to be upward of 400,000 words long.
I love Sanderson too, but I know there are people out there who hate his writing. That's why I try and keep it all in perspective, after all I find The Lord of the Rings basically unreadable (but the audiobooks are great).
What I'm really salty about is the fact that the art book summary had better pacing and a side story them seem to have cut out. I'm putting it in spoiler tags since it is from another source then the online fiction but it dose seem like they cut this out;
So the Gatewatch start at the Drownyard Temple and make their way to the city. Along the way they find a small town that has been mostly abounded as the eldrazi horror mutants followed Emrakul to Thraben, except for a few heavily mutated humans and animals left. As they leave Chandra ends up completely burning the town down because of how much of Emrakul has tainted it.
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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"
Story was ok not too great other than lili calling Gideon meat and Chandra describing liliana's dess . was hoping this story would explain why zombies aren't affect but walls are but I feel like were getting close to that explanation.
But we were already told that zombies and geists can't be corrupted, because zombies don't have a mind that can go insane and geists don't have a biological body that can mutate. Walls on the other hand-
Too short, therefore the pacing is off. I wonder how the Gatewatch withstand Emrakul's warping ability; Jace could barely protect himself until Tamiyo helped him.
Liliana, Jace, and Chandra were all from the first planeswalker cards, it's interesting that this is the first time Chandra meets Liliana.
So, Jace goes to Zendikar and the multiversal avergers all suit up and planeswalk immediately? I wish they hadn't made that so, "uninspired". This story felt really short, and the introduction of the zombies while good didn't have enough of that "BOOM, we're moment".
Interesting notes,
I'm surprised how much Gideon actually trusts Jace, and his judgement calls. Nissa needs come more character development and Chandra seems, "oh I'm like SO RAD dudes". This one could've been more detailed. I'm usually able to finish my entire cup of Joe, and I'm not even half way.
On Liliana, that's the kind of women that marries you, cleans out your bank account and takes your dog with her. I like her, and she stands out the most in this story. Jace, for all his "insight" and "Intelligence" doesn't know how to handle that. Gideon on the other hand, I can see those 2 having a hell of a time Lili's too much women for Jace imo.
You're not alone,it's just that a lot of people that would agree with you have given up on the story or lowered their expectectations.Ive just become numb to the trash that most of the story has become and try to find a few nuggets of good in this sea of meh storytelling.
This story was actually quite good!
...by James Wyatt standards.
Yeah. The story as a whole is pretty meh. We occasionally get a well written one, like Stone and Blood, or Games, but those are balanced by a pile of mediocre stories that would get ripped apart on a real writing forum. Don't get me wrong, the Creative team has its strengths (like worldbuilding) but writing a story in serial form is not one of them.
"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
Really the focus should have been Sigarda vs. Brisela. A lot of poetic, insightful material there to expand on - natural vs. corrupted, nature vs. alien, past vs. future, hope vs. loss. I hated how Thalia stole that thunder. Assisting her is one thing, but IDK. I just didn't really feel the story lived up to its potential and felt very distracted.
|| 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 ||
As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), MaRo has a decent grasp on everything throughout the development. Some story ideas are pitched early, some are edited, some are added, some are deleted (and then the changes to the cards, the art, the mechanics, etc.), and so he may have a grasp on the story, but I suspect keeping track of what ended up as the final version (as he also has a hand/grasp/idea of the future sets) is what leads to these "blunders" when he answers story questions.
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
http://magic.wizards.com/node/1047631
We have now finished with the Innistrad story, and moved back to Oath of the Gatewatch. [sarcasm] I'm so happy! [/sarcasm]
Writing quality was okay. Better than Ari Levitch's or James Wyatt's. The only good line was the comment about Liliana's dress.
"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
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I do think it's kind of amazing that every character the Gatewatch meet mocks them.
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
Fine as in "not painful to read." This article was too short to effectively build any tension. It just kinda happened, and then it was over. I suppose we do only have two, maybe three articles left.
That actually kind of makes sense, at least with the planeswalkers they meet. A planeswalker is the ultimate pinnacle of independence. They can go anywhere, anytime the want. You could settle down, start a life, etc, but why would you, when there is so much to see and do? Planeswalkers are by nature solitary and self-sufficient. I guess the other walkers find the notion of a group of them banding together for some greater purpose to be absolutely ridiculous and counter-intuitive.
"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
By the way, Jace calling the Gatewatch makes perfect sense... That's exactly the reason they made the oaths in the first place anyway, and he's got no change to defeat Emrakul alone...
It was just okay. I don't have the same problems with the writing styles that some people do, but the pacing of some of these does bother me a bit. You're right, there's basically no tension around Nissa's failure and the Gatewatch's situation.
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
With how short it was, it would have helped to include a section on the non-walker force and their reaction to being saved by the Gatewatch and then Liliana & zombies. Without the reactions of Innistrad's denizens, the severity of what's going on isn't felt at all. No one is scared for anyone in the Gatewatch at this point. And this isn't their plane that's under assault. Huge disconnect there, and for what? Some snark between our "beloved" main heroes? Zzzz.
I will say Jace killing the werewolves was a good display of how deadly he can be, if only he wanted to be...
Edit: If it says anything about this latest story, I've summarized it in like six sentences for the next archive trap, compared to last week's taking three or four paragraphs.
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
Let's do some crunching.
Archmage of Goldnight ~ 7000 words
Stone and Blood ~ 7200 words
Emrakul Rises ~ 4300 words
Innistrad's Last Hope ~ 3800 words
Campaign of Vengeance ~ 4500 words
Saint Traft and the Flight of Nightmares ~ 7500 words
Battle of Thraben ~ 3000 words
Average length for ENM ~ 5300
So yeah. Some are longer, some are shorter. This is by far the shortest, which doesn't make sense because it was supposed to be the beginning of the apocalyptic third act. Like you said, nothing felt like it meant anything. Not Nissa's failure, not Liliana's rescue.
I'm an amateur writer. I've spent some time hanging around a writing forum, and while I'm not very good, I do understand what makes good writing good and bad writing bad. I don't mind reading the story articles, unless they are particularly bad. This one was okay with everything but the length. It's just obvious to me that not all of the members of Creative have a lot of experience writing narrative prose. Hopefully, they will learn and evolve over time.
Edit: I don't know. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I'm a Brandon Sanderson fan. Sanderson has incredible writing skills, and he certainly doesn't skimp when it comes to length. The current novel he is working on is expected to be upward of 400,000 words long.
"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
It'd probably had been better if they'd kept it with one primary POV instead of bouncing between the four (they tried to make it too much like an avengers-like action film). But there is a focus- Liliana. This is just getting the gatewatch to where she can factor in with them.
From here on out, its gonna be all about that Vess.
Also, the Gatewatch needs better action movie one liners. Like when Jace killed the werewolves "Yeah, what do you THINK about that?"
Until Tamiyo has her Big Damn Hero moment...
"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
Man i wished she would die
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 can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
But we were already told that zombies and geists can't be corrupted, because zombies don't have a mind that can go insane and geists don't have a biological body that can mutate. Walls on the other hand-
Waaaaait a minute.
Too short, therefore the pacing is off. I wonder how the Gatewatch withstand Emrakul's warping ability; Jace could barely protect himself until Tamiyo helped him.
Liliana, Jace, and Chandra were all from the first planeswalker cards, it's interesting that this is the first time Chandra meets Liliana.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Interesting notes,
I'm surprised how much Gideon actually trusts Jace, and his judgement calls. Nissa needs come more character development and Chandra seems, "oh I'm like SO RAD dudes". This one could've been more detailed. I'm usually able to finish my entire cup of Joe, and I'm not even half way.
On Liliana, that's the kind of women that marries you, cleans out your bank account and takes your dog with her. I like her, and she stands out the most in this story. Jace, for all his "insight" and "Intelligence" doesn't know how to handle that. Gideon on the other hand, I can see those 2 having a hell of a time Lili's too much women for Jace imo.
Modern: Decks I'm playing right now:
G Mono Green Tron (34-10-3 paper record, only SCG/Regionals/PPTQ record)
C Eldrazi Tron (9-5)
UG Infect
RW Burn