With the reveal of the Kaladesh Masterpieces, imagine how crazy it is that all of those artifacts now exist canonically on Kaladesh simultaneously. Sol Ring's flavor text from its' more recent printings imply that no one has been able to replicate such an artifact since the Thran civilization. The Mox Opal is a legendary artifact from New Phyrexia, and its' reference to being from a private collection seems to imply that Tezzeret brought it to Kaladesh with him. The bit about the anonymous artificer that created the Mana Crypt is also quite intriguing, The bits of flavor text make you feel like you're at an actual exhibition. I don't know if it's just me, but with this level of artifice, it seems as if the reign of the Consuls has brought Kaladesh into a Golden Age, and that makes me sad that Chandra will likely be burning it to cinders. The dynamics of this plane are certainly quite interesting, so much so that I'm starting to waver to the side of the Consuls against Chandra.
It's just that The Purifying Fire was the quintessential White villainy novel, and now that shat on that too. Plus, every White/Black character in Magic is evil, more so than even mono-Black characters.
What? Athreos was one of the more benign gods of Theros. Sorin is an anti-hero, maybe an anti-villain at worst. Teysa isn't evil at all, and I actually see her motives as being fairly benevolent. Kaya seems to be a straight-up hero. There are plenty of non-villainous White/Black characters, I'm not really sure where you got the idea that they're all evil.
I wouldn't exactly call Kaya a hero, since she fully enabled the ascent of a tyrant.
I wonder about the connection between the very flimsy design of basically everything on Kaladesh and Aether, could it possibly be necessary to channel or guide it?
Especially considering Dovin's analness about efficiency, it feels a bit weird to me that this is so important to him while at the same time being surrounded by artifacts and whatnot, and maybe even making some himself with very intricate superficial design choices.
Unless all those twirls are somehow important for everything to function, otherwise living on Kaladesh must trigger him constantly.
With the reveal of the Kaladesh Masterpieces, imagine how crazy it is that all of those artifacts now exist canonically on Kaladesh simultaneously. Sol Ring's flavor text from its' more recent printings imply that no one has been able to replicate such an artifact since the Thran civilization. The Mox Opal is a legendary artifact from New Phyrexia, and its' reference to being from a private collection seems to imply that Tezzeret brought it to Kaladesh with him. The bit about the anonymous artificer that created the Mana Crypt is also quite intriguing, The bits of flavor text make you feel like you're at an actual exhibition. I don't know if it's just me, but with this level of artifice, it seems as if the reign of the Consuls has brought Kaladesh into a Golden Age, and that makes me sad that Chandra will likely be burning it to cinders. The dynamics of this plane are certainly quite interesting, so much so that I'm starting to waver to the side of the Consuls against Chandra.
Kaladesh is the closest we've come to a Thran technological level since The Thran themselves. Everything is engineered rather than animated, so to speak, so it doesn't surprise me Kaladesh has invented a lot of the same things.
But I also wouldn't read too much into the Kaladesh Inventions.
I wonder about the connection between the very flimsy design of basically everything on Kaladesh and Aether, could it possibly be necessary to channel or guide it?
Especially considering Dovin's analness about efficiency, it feels a bit weird to me that this is so important to him while at the same time being surrounded by artifacts and whatnot, and maybe even making some himself with very intricate superficial design choices.
Unless all those twirls are somehow important for everything to function, otherwise living on Kaladesh must trigger him constantly.
Presumably the filigree is in part due to the aether?
With the reveal of the Kaladesh Masterpieces, imagine how crazy it is that all of those artifacts now exist canonically on Kaladesh simultaneously. Sol Ring's flavor text from its' more recent printings imply that no one has been able to replicate such an artifact since the Thran civilization. The Mox Opal is a legendary artifact from New Phyrexia, and its' reference to being from a private collection seems to imply that Tezzeret brought it to Kaladesh with him. The bit about the anonymous artificer that created the Mana Crypt is also quite intriguing, The bits of flavor text make you feel like you're at an actual exhibition. I don't know if it's just me, but with this level of artifice, it seems as if the reign of the Consuls has brought Kaladesh into a Golden Age, and that makes me sad that Chandra will likely be burning it to cinders. The dynamics of this plane are certainly quite interesting, so much so that I'm starting to waver to the side of the Consuls against Chandra.
Well, I doubt Kaladesh is the only Plane that's managed it. Just means it's the only Plane we've ever been to that has. Given these new Masterpiece cards it's probable we will see other Planes that have managed it in the future. It's just something that would warp your usual set too much, and not really the kind of thing I see them making new art for in a Commander deck, the only place it's that widespread.
Also agree on Consulate not seeming super bad. Invasive sure, but I'd need more to go off of before I write them off.
It's just that The Purifying Fire was the quintessential White villainy novel, and now that shat on that too. Plus, every White/Black character in Magic is evil, more so than even mono-Black characters.
What? Athreos was one of the more benign gods of Theros. Sorin is an anti-hero, maybe an anti-villain at worst. Teysa isn't evil at all, and I actually see her motives as being fairly benevolent. Kaya seems to be a straight-up hero. There are plenty of non-villainous White/Black characters, I'm not really sure where you got the idea that they're all evil.
I wouldn't exactly call Kaya a hero, since she fully enabled the ascent of a tyrant.
It still shows a decent level of not evil White/Black. Kaya is fairly arguable too. Brago seems to have been someone that was making things worse, and we really don't know much about what Marchesa wants with Fiora. But given that we haven't seen much of Kaya I'd wait until we get more of a proper light on her before saying she isn't a hero.
I wonder about the connection between the very flimsy design of basically everything on Kaladesh and Aether, could it possibly be necessary to channel or guide it?
Especially considering Dovin's analness about efficiency, it feels a bit weird to me that this is so important to him while at the same time being surrounded by artifacts and whatnot, and maybe even making some himself with very intricate superficial design choices.
Unless all those twirls are somehow important for everything to function, otherwise living on Kaladesh must trigger him constantly.
I assumed that the filigree is vital in channeling the aether through the artifact, basically the aetherpunk equivalenth of cables and circuits.
Also, Dovin's ability is to find faults. He's not so much about redundancy but actual errors.
But I also wouldn't read too much into the Kaladesh Inventions.
This, basically. Or otherwise we'd also have to assume that a Flamekin from Lorwyn brought the Brighthearth to Kaladesh. Now, I wouldn't be against that at all, but I don't think that was Wizards' intention.
I don't see why a Flamekin is necessary. It's not as though it works that way with instants and sorceries, why would it need to with artifacts. Could just be an artifact that was made that does the same thing, nothing about it seems Flamekin specific.
I don't see why a Flamekin is necessary. It's not as though it works that way with instants and sorceries, why would it need to with artifacts. Could just be an artifact that was made that does the same thing, nothing about it seems Flamekin specific.
Because the original flavor of the rings came directly from Lorwyn. It would be like constables on every plane being called cathars.
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I'm sure we'll find out soon why exactly Ajani is on Kaladesh, but here's my proposal: Bolas runs the Consulate, or at least is in the process of consolidating control over it from behind the scenes, and Ajani knows this. That explains Tezzeret's presence: he's eliminating the last vestiges of opposition to the Consulate and paving the way for Bolas to overtly seize control of Kaladesh. (If Tezz was only there to seize some invention or something similiar, why would he bother trying to seek out and eliminate Pia Nalaar?)
Not only would that establish a reason for the Gatewatch to become involved in Aether Revolt, but also nicely leads into Amonkhet - perhaps the Gatewatch decides to take the battle to Bolas directly, or else is working to unravel whatever larger scheme Bolas is currently cooking up?
I've got an idea about why/how Ajani gets involved. Ajani is still on Theros when either Tamiyo or one of her associates shows up. Ajani learns of the Gatewatch, and ventures to Ravnica to meet with them. While Ajani is meeting with Jace and Gideon, someone 'walks back(Lilliana if the art of Nissa and Chandra in prison is any indication) and tells them whats going on and mentions Tezzeret. Tezzeret leads to Bolas and Ajani is in.
Hm. Storyline wise, I'm having difficulty remembering if Ajani has interacted with any member of the Gatewatch.
We don't know if he actually met any of the others in Lorwyn.
Shards storyline he met Elspeth, Sarkhan, and Bolas. Tezzeret was largely off-screen for that, if I remember correctly.
He wasn't involved in Zendikar.
He met Koth while he was fighting Elspeth (sort of). Dunno if he met Venser on Dominaria as well.
He wasn't involved in Innistrad, or RTR.
He showed up in Theros block, helped Elspeth out, and met Kiora and Xenagos.
He wasn't in Khans, BFZ, or Shadows.
I can't think of any on-screen interaction he's had with any of the characters in this block.
Hm. Storyline wise, I'm having difficulty remembering if Ajani has interacted with any member of the Gatewatch.
We don't know if he actually met any of the others in Lorwyn.
Shards storyline he met Elspeth, Sarkhan, and Bolas. Tezzeret was largely off-screen for that, if I remember correctly.
He wasn't involved in Zendikar.
He met Koth while he was fighting Elspeth (sort of). Dunno if he met Venser on Dominaria as well.
He wasn't involved in Innistrad, or RTR.
He showed up in Theros block, helped Elspeth out, and met Kiora and Xenagos.
He wasn't in Khans, BFZ, or Shadows.
I can't think of any on-screen interaction he's had with any of the characters in this block.
HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE'S AJANI!
Yeah, he hasn't met any of the Gatewatch, at least, not on screen. Not that I'm complaining, it's great to have him back! Character aside, as far as I know he's the only one who also knows about New Phyrexia (via Elspeth), so this could definitely move things along as far as plot goes. I can't wait!
I don't see why a Flamekin is necessary. It's not as though it works that way with instants and sorceries, why would it need to with artifacts. Could just be an artifact that was made that does the same thing, nothing about it seems Flamekin specific.
Because the original flavor of the rings came directly from Lorwyn. It would be like constables on every plane being called cathars.
l
I know that. But nothing about it is necessarily tied to Lorwyn. Brighthearth is pretty generic combination of words, and that's about it. If it had been called "Flamekin Rings" that's a bit more harder to ignore, but even then that's still a very simple combination of words. It seems exceedingly odd that only one plane in the multiverse could pair up those words that way, and that's the only part of the artifact that is tied to there. It's not like it's Thassa's Bident.
Hm. Storyline wise, I'm having difficulty remembering if Ajani has interacted with any member of the Gatewatch.
We don't know if he actually met any of the others in Lorwyn.
Shards storyline he met Elspeth, Sarkhan, and Bolas. Tezzeret was largely off-screen for that, if I remember correctly.
He wasn't involved in Zendikar.
He met Koth while he was fighting Elspeth (sort of). Dunno if he met Venser on Dominaria as well.
He wasn't involved in Innistrad, or RTR.
He showed up in Theros block, helped Elspeth out, and met Kiora and Xenagos.
He wasn't in Khans, BFZ, or Shadows.
I can't think of any on-screen interaction he's had with any of the characters in this block.
HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE'S AJANI!
Yeah, he hasn't met any of the Gatewatch, at least, not on screen. Not that I'm complaining, it's great to have him back! Character aside, as far as I know he's the only one who also knows about New Phyrexia (via Elspeth), so this could definitely move things along as far as plot goes. I can't wait!
Huh. Doing a quick scan, it looks like Ajani actually learned about Phyrexia from Koth, not Elspeth.
"Koth said he saw you a second time after Urborg, but he never told me the circumstances. I hope you didn't try to find me on Mirrodin, but at least you know some of what's happened. You know that Phyrexia reared up and engulfed the metal plane. You know that a young Mirran named Melira provided us with a natural immunity to the Phyrexian contagion. You've wandered the planes more than me, so you probably understand the contagion more than I do."
But yeah, Ajani can spread the knowledge of Phyrexia to the Gatewatch...assuming Tezzeret doesn't just show them firsthand.
Hm. Storyline wise, I'm having difficulty remembering if Ajani has interacted with any member of the Gatewatch.
We don't know if he actually met any of the others in Lorwyn.
Shards storyline he met Elspeth, Sarkhan, and Bolas. Tezzeret was largely off-screen for that, if I remember correctly.
He wasn't involved in Zendikar.
He met Koth while he was fighting Elspeth (sort of). Dunno if he met Venser on Dominaria as well.
He wasn't involved in Innistrad, or RTR.
He showed up in Theros block, helped Elspeth out, and met Kiora and Xenagos.
He wasn't in Khans, BFZ, or Shadows.
I can't think of any on-screen interaction he's had with any of the characters in this block.
HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE'S AJANI!
Yeah, he hasn't met any of the Gatewatch, at least, not on screen. Not that I'm complaining, it's great to have him back! Character aside, as far as I know he's the only one who also knows about New Phyrexia (via Elspeth), so this could definitely move things along as far as plot goes. I can't wait!
Huh. Doing a quick scan, it looks like Ajani actually learned about Phyrexia from Koth, not Elspeth.
"Koth said he saw you a second time after Urborg, but he never told me the circumstances. I hope you didn't try to find me on Mirrodin, but at least you know some of what's happened. You know that Phyrexia reared up and engulfed the metal plane. You know that a young Mirran named Melira provided us with a natural immunity to the Phyrexian contagion. You've wandered the planes more than me, so you probably understand the contagion more than I do."
But yeah, Ajani can spread the knowledge of Phyrexia to the Gatewatch...assuming Tezzeret doesn't just show them firsthand.
Ah, quite possibly. He met Koth before, though I was referring to the letter Elspeth wrote to Ajani on Theros. She threw it away, but she mentioned that she told Ajani about New Phyrexia, so either way we're good. And as of the story 2 weeks ago, the Gatewatch are officially "open for business", so being introduced to the ACTUAL multi-planar threats that Ajani (And Tezzeret) know about (New Phyrexia and Nicol Bolas), the fact that they're both showing up, and the set being followed by Amonkhet, are all adding up to great things.
I don't see why a Flamekin is necessary. It's not as though it works that way with instants and sorceries, why would it need to with artifacts. Could just be an artifact that was made that does the same thing, nothing about it seems Flamekin specific.
Because the original flavor of the rings came directly from Lorwyn. It would be like constables on every plane being called cathars.
l
I know that. But nothing about it is necessarily tied to Lorwyn. Brighthearth is pretty generic combination of words, and that's about it. If it had been called "Flamekin Rings" that's a bit more harder to ignore, but even then that's still a very simple combination of words. It seems exceedingly odd that only one plane in the multiverse could pair up those words that way, and that's the only part of the artifact that is tied to there. It's not like it's Thassa's Bident.
Using that logic we could justify just about everything. "Kaladesh has this giant machine, a giant construct made of filigree which can store physical things by converting them into raw energy. In a hilarious twist of fate the natives on this plane have decided to call it: The Helvault."
Seriously, the Brighthearth is a thing. It's an organization on Lorwyn. While technically in the infinite expanse of the multiverse it is possible that there could be another object/group of people/location/whatever with the same name it's terrible for the setting as a whole. We shouldn't get a forest on another plane named Havenwood or Skyshroud. We also shouldn't get a new character named Urza, even though U, R, Z and A are common letters. And we also shouldn't get things like Brighthearth on other planes.
I don't see why a Flamekin is necessary. It's not as though it works that way with instants and sorceries, why would it need to with artifacts. Could just be an artifact that was made that does the same thing, nothing about it seems Flamekin specific.
Because the original flavor of the rings came directly from Lorwyn. It would be like constables on every plane being called cathars.
l
I know that. But nothing about it is necessarily tied to Lorwyn. Brighthearth is pretty generic combination of words, and that's about it. If it had been called "Flamekin Rings" that's a bit more harder to ignore, but even then that's still a very simple combination of words. It seems exceedingly odd that only one plane in the multiverse could pair up those words that way, and that's the only part of the artifact that is tied to there. It's not like it's Thassa's Bident.
Using that logic we could justify just about everything. "Kaladesh has this giant machine, a giant construct made of filigree which can store physical things by converting them into raw energy. In a hilarious twist of fate the natives on this plane have decided to call it: The Helvault."
Seriously, the Brighthearth is a thing. It's an organization on Lorwyn. While technically in the infinite expanse of the multiverse it is possible that there could be another object/group of people/location/whatever with the same name it's terrible for the setting as a whole. We shouldn't get a forest on another plane named Havenwood or Skyshroud. We also shouldn't get a new character named Urza, even though U, R, Z and A are common letters. And we also shouldn't get things like Brighthearth on other planes.
Given one is legendary and the other isn't it doesn't seem as unbelievable that something else exists that can do the same thing as the rings. Making the entire thing exclusive to Lorwyn seems rather extreme. If the name is a deal breaker I guess it's just one of those difference of opinions on things. Though either way it doesn't mean it is/isn't an actual artifact on Kaladesh.
Edit: And Maro at least said that the Masterpiece series cards are chosen for ones that thematically fit the world, so the Rings seem fine to Wizards elsewhere.
But I also wouldn't read too much into the Kaladesh Inventions.
This, basically. Or otherwise we'd also have to assume that a Flamekin from Lorwyn brought the Brighthearth to Kaladesh. Now, I wouldn't be against that at all, but I don't think that was Wizards' intention.
The way I see it, the Kaladesh Inventions portray artifacts that are functionally similar to artifacts from other words (to the point where they have identical game mechanics), despite working very differently in-universe. They're all technological devices, whereas most of their counterparts on other planes were magical in nature: Mirrodin's Lightning Greaves are normal greaves made from a magical lightning-infused iron ore, whereas Kaladesh's Lightning Greaves are sci-fi jet boots equipped with deflector shields. A Lotus Petal on Rath is a literal flower petal with magical properties, while a Lotus Petal on Kaladesh is some sort of advanced miniature reactor. The Kaladesh version of Mind's Eye is a cyberpunk-esque neural interface device that plugs into the back of the user's neck, rather than a mystical gem worn on the user's forehead. The Painter's Servant we saw on Shadowmoor was an actual scarecrow that had been magically animated, while the Kaladeshi Painter's Servant is a complex yet purely mechanical automaton. They might be the same cards, but they're definitely not the same things. I actually think it's quite clever, and allows for reprints of Artifact cards that wouldn't seem to fit on Kaladesh at first glance. (Mox Opal is the sole exception, since it's a Legendary card representing the one and only Mox Opal, but the flavor text heavily implies that Tezzeret or another Planeswalker brought it to Kaladesh from Mirrodin.)
Also, if it makes you feel any better, the Rings of Brighthearth might not even be called "Rings of Brighthearth" on Kaladesh. Maybe the people of Kaladesh know them as "Rings of Vatyam" or "Dwarf-Forge Lemniscates" or "Recursive Aetheric Amplifiers".
But I also wouldn't read too much into the Kaladesh Inventions.
This, basically. Or otherwise we'd also have to assume that a Flamekin from Lorwyn brought the Brighthearth to Kaladesh. Now, I wouldn't be against that at all, but I don't think that was Wizards' intention.
The way I see it, the Kaladesh Inventions portray artifacts that are functionally similar to artifacts from other words (to the point where they have identical game mechanics), despite working very differently in-universe. They're all technological devices, whereas most of their counterparts on other planes were magical in nature: Mirrodin's Lightning Greaves are normal greaves made from a magical lightning-infused iron ore, whereas Kaladesh's Lightning Greaves are sci-fi jet boots equipped with deflector shields. A Lotus Petal on Rath is a literal flower petal with magical properties, while a Lotus Petal on Kaladesh is some sort of advanced miniature reactor. The Kaladesh version of Mind's Eye is a cyberpunk-esque neural interface device that plugs into the back of the user's neck, rather than a mystical gem worn on the user's forehead. The Painter's Servant we saw on Shadowmoor was an actual scarecrow that had been magically animated, while the Kaladeshi Painter's Servant is a complex yet purely mechanical automaton. They might be the same cards, but they're definitely not the same things. I actually think it's quite clever, and allows for reprints of Artifact cards that wouldn't seem to fit on Kaladesh at first glance. (Mox Opal is the sole exception, since it's a Legendary card representing the one and only Mox Opal, but the flavor text heavily implies that Tezzeret or another Planeswalker brought it to Kaladesh from Mirrodin.)
Also, if it makes you feel any better, the Rings of Brighthearth might not even be called "Rings of Brighthearth" on Kaladesh. Maybe the people of Kaladesh know them as "Rings of Vatyam" or "Dwarf-Forge Lemniscates" or "Recursive Aetheric Amplifiers".
I wanted to write something similar, but there is nothing I can add to this excellent post. Bravo.
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Given one is legendary and the other isn't it doesn't seem as unbelievable that something else exists that can do the same thing as the rings. Making the entire thing exclusive to Lorwyn seems rather extreme. If the name is a deal breaker I guess it's just one of those difference of opinions on things. Though either way it doesn't mean it is/isn't an actual artifact on Kaladesh.
So, I guess having, say, a "Simic Signet" among the masterpieces would also not be a problem, because it's not legendary? (In before someone completely misses this point by a landslide by pointing out that the signets are not likely to be included in the masterpieces.)
Edit: And Maro at least said that the Masterpiece series cards are chosen for ones that thematically fit the world, so the Rings seem fine to Wizards elsewhere.
The masterpieces weren't chosen because they thematically fit the world. Rather some were simply declined because they were too much of a stretch. Umezawa's Jitte wouldn't have worked for multiple reasons. Brighthearth also is problematic, but it's slightly less "obviously" bad. You need to remember that the masterpieces don't exist to enrich Kaladesh as a setting. They only exist to drive sales. The flavour text and art changes are merely excuses to justify having them in the Kaladesh block. While it is not a terrible problem (at least not because of this) people really need to stop acting as if the masterpieces make perfect sense for Kaladesh, because that was never Wizards' intention.
The way I see it, the Kaladesh Inventions portray artifacts that are functionally similar to artifacts from other words (to the point where they have identical game mechanics), despite working very differently in-universe. They're all technological devices, whereas most of their counterparts on other planes were magical in nature: Mirrodin's Lightning Greaves are normal greaves made from a magical lightning-infused iron ore, whereas Kaladesh's Lightning Greaves are sci-fi jet boots equipped with deflector shields. A Lotus Petal on Rath is a literal flower petal with magical properties, while a Lotus Petal on Kaladesh is some sort of advanced miniature reactor. The Kaladesh version of Mind's Eye is a cyberpunk-esque neural interface device that plugs into the back of the user's neck, rather than a mystical gem worn on the user's forehead. The Painter's Servant we saw on Shadowmoor was an actual scarecrow that had been magically animated, while the Kaladeshi Painter's Servant is a complex yet purely mechanical automaton. They might be the same cards, but they're definitely not the same things. I actually think it's quite clever, and allows for reprints of Artifact cards that wouldn't seem to fit on Kaladesh at first glance. (Mox Opal is the sole exception, since it's a Legendary card representing the one and only Mox Opal, but the flavor text heavily implies that Tezzeret or another Planeswalker brought it to Kaladesh from Mirrodin.)
This has been true for almost every reprint, like, ever. The only exception that comes to mind is the Erhnam Djinn reprint from judgement, but since natural portals between Rabiah and Dominaria are said to exist, it's at least excusable, as strange as the reprint is. Other than that every reprint has always been "reflavoured" to fit the current thematic of the block. Art and flavour texts were changed, but the name always had to fit the current setting.
Also, if it makes you feel any better, the Rings of Brighthearth might not even be called "Rings of Brighthearth" on Kaladesh. Maybe the people of Kaladesh know them as "Rings of Vatyam" or "Dwarf-Forge Lemniscates" or "Recursive Aetheric Amplifiers".
Yes they are, it says so right on the card. It's not up to me to justify Wizards' blunders with headcanon. Either they do it right, or they don't, but when they don't, people shouldn't just come and say it can all be explained away with pretty headcanon.
Having that said, the Rings of Brighthearth masterpiece is not a mistake on Wizards' part. They were fully aware of the fact that Brighthearth exists on other planes, they just went with it, because the inclusion of this particular popular artifact outwieghed its out-of-theme-ness. Meanwhile other artifacts didn't pass the test. I don't even think it's a big problem, because being on theme was never the core-task for the masterpieces, so compromises were made. But someone here said that the existence of a masterpiece means "something" and I merely pointed out that it doesn't because otherwise we'd also have to canonize other things the masterpieces supposedly hint at. I said nothing more, nothing less. Only that the masterpieces are to be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to information about the world.
So when he said "One of the rules for Masterpiece series is that they thematically fit the block and world they are in" he was lying? He bends the truth, but as far as that goes I'm not seeing a case for the Masterpiece stuff not working as stuff legitimately on Kaladesh. It would probably be better to get someone from the Creative team to weigh in on it though, but it's usually rather hard to get a hold of them.
So when he said "One of the rules for Masterpiece series is that they thematically fit the block and world they are in" he was lying? He bends the truth, but as far as that goes I'm not seeing a case for the Masterpiece stuff not working as stuff legitimately on Kaladesh. It would probably be better to get someone from the Creative team to weigh in on it though, but it's usually rather hard to get a hold of them.
Maro's definition of "fits thematically" is probably a lot different from Creative's. He's not lying, he just isn't as involved in the story as he once was, and doesn't know everything about it anymore.
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The flavor text is pretty clear, they've reflavored the brightheart in Rings of Brighthearth. It's not a place on Kaladesh, but a kind of ornamentation. That's all. Let's move on.
With the reveal of the Kaladesh Masterpieces, imagine how crazy it is that all of those artifacts now exist canonically on Kaladesh simultaneously. Sol Ring's flavor text from its' more recent printings imply that no one has been able to replicate such an artifact since the Thran civilization. The Mox Opal is a legendary artifact from New Phyrexia, and its' reference to being from a private collection seems to imply that Tezzeret brought it to Kaladesh with him. The bit about the anonymous artificer that created the Mana Crypt is also quite intriguing, The bits of flavor text make you feel like you're at an actual exhibition. I don't know if it's just me, but with this level of artifice, it seems as if the reign of the Consuls has brought Kaladesh into a Golden Age, and that makes me sad that Chandra will likely be burning it to cinders. The dynamics of this plane are certainly quite interesting, so much so that I'm starting to waver to the side of the Consuls against Chandra.
I wouldn't exactly call Kaya a hero, since she fully enabled the ascent of a tyrant.
Especially considering Dovin's analness about efficiency, it feels a bit weird to me that this is so important to him while at the same time being surrounded by artifacts and whatnot, and maybe even making some himself with very intricate superficial design choices.
Unless all those twirls are somehow important for everything to function, otherwise living on Kaladesh must trigger him constantly.
But I also wouldn't read too much into the Kaladesh Inventions.
Presumably the filigree is in part due to the aether?
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Well, I doubt Kaladesh is the only Plane that's managed it. Just means it's the only Plane we've ever been to that has. Given these new Masterpiece cards it's probable we will see other Planes that have managed it in the future. It's just something that would warp your usual set too much, and not really the kind of thing I see them making new art for in a Commander deck, the only place it's that widespread.
Also agree on Consulate not seeming super bad. Invasive sure, but I'd need more to go off of before I write them off.
It still shows a decent level of not evil White/Black. Kaya is fairly arguable too. Brago seems to have been someone that was making things worse, and we really don't know much about what Marchesa wants with Fiora. But given that we haven't seen much of Kaya I'd wait until we get more of a proper light on her before saying she isn't a hero.
I assumed that the filigree is vital in channeling the aether through the artifact, basically the aetherpunk equivalenth of cables and circuits.
Also, Dovin's ability is to find faults. He's not so much about redundancy but actual errors.
This, basically. Or otherwise we'd also have to assume that a Flamekin from Lorwyn brought the Brighthearth to Kaladesh. Now, I wouldn't be against that at all, but I don't think that was Wizards' intention.
Because the original flavor of the rings came directly from Lorwyn. It would be like constables on every plane being called cathars.
"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'm sure we'll find out soon why exactly Ajani is on Kaladesh, but here's my proposal: Bolas runs the Consulate, or at least is in the process of consolidating control over it from behind the scenes, and Ajani knows this. That explains Tezzeret's presence: he's eliminating the last vestiges of opposition to the Consulate and paving the way for Bolas to overtly seize control of Kaladesh. (If Tezz was only there to seize some invention or something similiar, why would he bother trying to seek out and eliminate Pia Nalaar?)
Not only would that establish a reason for the Gatewatch to become involved in Aether Revolt, but also nicely leads into Amonkhet - perhaps the Gatewatch decides to take the battle to Bolas directly, or else is working to unravel whatever larger scheme Bolas is currently cooking up?
We don't know if he actually met any of the others in Lorwyn.
Shards storyline he met Elspeth, Sarkhan, and Bolas. Tezzeret was largely off-screen for that, if I remember correctly.
He wasn't involved in Zendikar.
He met Koth while he was fighting Elspeth (sort of). Dunno if he met Venser on Dominaria as well.
He wasn't involved in Innistrad, or RTR.
He showed up in Theros block, helped Elspeth out, and met Kiora and Xenagos.
He wasn't in Khans, BFZ, or Shadows.
I can't think of any on-screen interaction he's had with any of the characters in this block.
HEREEEEEEEEEEEEE'S AJANI!
Yeah, he hasn't met any of the Gatewatch, at least, not on screen. Not that I'm complaining, it's great to have him back! Character aside, as far as I know he's the only one who also knows about New Phyrexia (via Elspeth), so this could definitely move things along as far as plot goes. I can't wait!
I know that. But nothing about it is necessarily tied to Lorwyn. Brighthearth is pretty generic combination of words, and that's about it. If it had been called "Flamekin Rings" that's a bit more harder to ignore, but even then that's still a very simple combination of words. It seems exceedingly odd that only one plane in the multiverse could pair up those words that way, and that's the only part of the artifact that is tied to there. It's not like it's Thassa's Bident.
Huh. Doing a quick scan, it looks like Ajani actually learned about Phyrexia from Koth, not Elspeth.
But yeah, Ajani can spread the knowledge of Phyrexia to the Gatewatch...assuming Tezzeret doesn't just show them firsthand.
Ah, quite possibly. He met Koth before, though I was referring to the letter Elspeth wrote to Ajani on Theros. She threw it away, but she mentioned that she told Ajani about New Phyrexia, so either way we're good. And as of the story 2 weeks ago, the Gatewatch are officially "open for business", so being introduced to the ACTUAL multi-planar threats that Ajani (And Tezzeret) know about (New Phyrexia and Nicol Bolas), the fact that they're both showing up, and the set being followed by Amonkhet, are all adding up to great things.
Using that logic we could justify just about everything. "Kaladesh has this giant machine, a giant construct made of filigree which can store physical things by converting them into raw energy. In a hilarious twist of fate the natives on this plane have decided to call it: The Helvault."
Seriously, the Brighthearth is a thing. It's an organization on Lorwyn. While technically in the infinite expanse of the multiverse it is possible that there could be another object/group of people/location/whatever with the same name it's terrible for the setting as a whole. We shouldn't get a forest on another plane named Havenwood or Skyshroud. We also shouldn't get a new character named Urza, even though U, R, Z and A are common letters. And we also shouldn't get things like Brighthearth on other planes.
And looks like one of those goons whom Lili insulted informs Baral about Chandra...
Given one is legendary and the other isn't it doesn't seem as unbelievable that something else exists that can do the same thing as the rings. Making the entire thing exclusive to Lorwyn seems rather extreme. If the name is a deal breaker I guess it's just one of those difference of opinions on things. Though either way it doesn't mean it is/isn't an actual artifact on Kaladesh.
Edit: And Maro at least said that the Masterpiece series cards are chosen for ones that thematically fit the world, so the Rings seem fine to Wizards elsewhere.
The way I see it, the Kaladesh Inventions portray artifacts that are functionally similar to artifacts from other words (to the point where they have identical game mechanics), despite working very differently in-universe. They're all technological devices, whereas most of their counterparts on other planes were magical in nature: Mirrodin's Lightning Greaves are normal greaves made from a magical lightning-infused iron ore, whereas Kaladesh's Lightning Greaves are sci-fi jet boots equipped with deflector shields. A Lotus Petal on Rath is a literal flower petal with magical properties, while a Lotus Petal on Kaladesh is some sort of advanced miniature reactor. The Kaladesh version of Mind's Eye is a cyberpunk-esque neural interface device that plugs into the back of the user's neck, rather than a mystical gem worn on the user's forehead. The Painter's Servant we saw on Shadowmoor was an actual scarecrow that had been magically animated, while the Kaladeshi Painter's Servant is a complex yet purely mechanical automaton. They might be the same cards, but they're definitely not the same things. I actually think it's quite clever, and allows for reprints of Artifact cards that wouldn't seem to fit on Kaladesh at first glance. (Mox Opal is the sole exception, since it's a Legendary card representing the one and only Mox Opal, but the flavor text heavily implies that Tezzeret or another Planeswalker brought it to Kaladesh from Mirrodin.)
Also, if it makes you feel any better, the Rings of Brighthearth might not even be called "Rings of Brighthearth" on Kaladesh. Maybe the people of Kaladesh know them as "Rings of Vatyam" or "Dwarf-Forge Lemniscates" or "Recursive Aetheric Amplifiers".
I wanted to write something similar, but there is nothing I can add to this excellent post. Bravo.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
So, I guess having, say, a "Simic Signet" among the masterpieces would also not be a problem, because it's not legendary? (In before someone completely misses this point by a landslide by pointing out that the signets are not likely to be included in the masterpieces.)
The masterpieces weren't chosen because they thematically fit the world. Rather some were simply declined because they were too much of a stretch. Umezawa's Jitte wouldn't have worked for multiple reasons. Brighthearth also is problematic, but it's slightly less "obviously" bad. You need to remember that the masterpieces don't exist to enrich Kaladesh as a setting. They only exist to drive sales. The flavour text and art changes are merely excuses to justify having them in the Kaladesh block. While it is not a terrible problem (at least not because of this) people really need to stop acting as if the masterpieces make perfect sense for Kaladesh, because that was never Wizards' intention.
This has been true for almost every reprint, like, ever. The only exception that comes to mind is the Erhnam Djinn reprint from judgement, but since natural portals between Rabiah and Dominaria are said to exist, it's at least excusable, as strange as the reprint is. Other than that every reprint has always been "reflavoured" to fit the current thematic of the block. Art and flavour texts were changed, but the name always had to fit the current setting.
Yes they are, it says so right on the card. It's not up to me to justify Wizards' blunders with headcanon. Either they do it right, or they don't, but when they don't, people shouldn't just come and say it can all be explained away with pretty headcanon.
Having that said, the Rings of Brighthearth masterpiece is not a mistake on Wizards' part. They were fully aware of the fact that Brighthearth exists on other planes, they just went with it, because the inclusion of this particular popular artifact outwieghed its out-of-theme-ness. Meanwhile other artifacts didn't pass the test. I don't even think it's a big problem, because being on theme was never the core-task for the masterpieces, so compromises were made. But someone here said that the existence of a masterpiece means "something" and I merely pointed out that it doesn't because otherwise we'd also have to canonize other things the masterpieces supposedly hint at. I said nothing more, nothing less. Only that the masterpieces are to be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to information about the world.
Maro's definition of "fits thematically" is probably a lot different from Creative's. He's not lying, he just isn't as involved in the story as he once was, and doesn't know everything about it anymore.
"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
Lying? Nah, it's just your normal marketing speech. Call it sugarcoating if you want.
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