Depends on your definition on pollution. But if we describe pollution as "introduction of toxic substances to an environment", then yes, it is a naturally occuring thing. Volcanoes come to mind, for example. Even the word "toxic" is malleable, because different organisms react differently to different substances, so it's about as vague as it gets.
I think you might be confusing 'artificial' with 'non-biological'.
Artificiality has nothing to do with whether or not something is biological. Crystals occur naturally. Humans can also make artificial crystals. Neither are biological.
I literally said in my post that aetherborn are not biological but natural nevertheless. So obviously I am not confusing the two.
In the end it largely depends on what definition of "artificial" and "natural" you use. It appears you use the more lax definition, which is largely a feel thing. "Aetherborn feel unnatural, because they're tied to the aether refinement process". While I can't directly say it's a wrong definition, it's at least less useful for debating the "naturalness" of a thing, because everyone's feelings will be different.
The Aetherborn are most definitely artificial. It doesn't matter if they are the intended outcome or not, they only occur due to the refinement process. They explicitly only started appearing when the refinement process began. That makes them artificial rather than naturally occurring.
Drop the "most definitely". I stated my opinion in my post ("I would say") and so should you. Your definition of artificial varies from mine. That doesn't make you objectively right.
To actually address this point: Just because the aetherborn on Kaladesh come from the aether refinement process doesn't mean the race as a whole is artificial. We can create fire through unnatural means, but that doesn't make the concept of fire unnatural, just specific instances of it. Similarly, the very fact that the aetherborn can come into being without being engineered shows that they can happen naturally whenever the conditions are right. Thopters, servos and myr are all artifical beings, because someone needs to design and create them. The same is not true for aetherborn. If the conditions in the natural world would be right for the aetherborn to form, they will, without any intelligent design required.
Plus, your reasoning of aetherborn not being natural, because they are not "born" in the biological sense implies you are conflating "natural" with "biological", betraying your previous point.
Depends on your definition on pollution. But if we describe pollution as "introduction of toxic substances to an environment", then yes, it is a naturally occuring thing. Volcanoes come to mind, for example. Even the word "toxic" is malleable, because different organisms react differently to different substances, so it's about as vague as it gets.
I think you might be confusing 'artificial' with 'non-biological'.
Artificiality has nothing to do with whether or not something is biological. Crystals occur naturally. Humans can also make artificial crystals. Neither are biological.
I literally said in my post that aetherborn are not biological but natural nevertheless. So obviously I am not confusing the two.
In the end it largely depends on what definition of "artificial" and "natural" you use. It appears you use the more lax definition, which is largely a feel thing. "Aetherborn feel unnatural, because they're tied to the aether refinement process". While I can't directly say it's a wrong definition, it's at least less useful for debating the "naturalness" of a thing, because everyone's feelings will be different.
The Aetherborn are most definitely artificial. It doesn't matter if they are the intended outcome or not, they only occur due to the refinement process. They explicitly only started appearing when the refinement process began. That makes them artificial rather than naturally occurring.
Drop the "most definitely". I stated my opinion in my post ("I would say") and so should you. Your definition of artificial varies from mine. That doesn't make you objectively right.
To actually address this point: Just because the aetherborn on Kaladesh come from the aether refinement process doesn't mean the race as a whole is artificial. We can create fire through unnatural means, but that doesn't make the concept of fire unnatural, just specific instances of it. Similarly, the very fact that the aetherborn can come into being without being engineered shows that they can happen naturally whenever the conditions are right. Thopters, servos and myr are all artifical beings, because someone needs to design and create them. The same is not true for aetherborn. If the conditions in the natural world would be right for the aetherborn to form, they will, without any intelligent design required.
Plus, your reasoning of aetherborn not being natural, because they are not "born" in the biological sense implies you are conflating "natural" with "biological", betraying your previous point.
This is all true for angels too though. On many planes angels, and demons even, are naturally occurring beings formed as a "byproduct" of a coalescence of the appropriate mana. They just show up, all on their own. They still can't have sparks though because they're artificial, not biological.
In the end it largely depends on what definition of "artificial" and "natural" you use. It appears you use the more lax definition, which is largely a feel thing. "Aetherborn feel unnatural, because they're tied to the aether refinement process". While I can't directly say it's a wrong definition, it's at least less useful for debating the "naturalness" of a thing, because everyone's feelings will be different.
The Aetherborn are most definitely artificial. It doesn't matter if they are the intended outcome or not, they only occur due to the refinement process. They explicitly only started appearing when the refinement process began. That makes them artificial rather than naturally occurring.
Drop the "most definitely". I stated my opinion in my post ("I would say") and so should you. Your definition of artificial varies from mine. That doesn't make you objectively right.
I was using the definitions of Artificial and Natural. Both Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster agree, the Aetherborn are not natural. This isn't about opinions, I'm just using the dictionary definition of the words.
To actually address this point: Just because the aetherborn on Kaladesh come from the aether refinement process doesn't mean the race as a whole is artificial. We can create fire through unnatural means, but that doesn't make the concept of fire unnatural, just specific instances of it. Similarly, the very fact that the aetherborn can come into being without being engineered shows that they can happen naturally whenever the conditions are right. Thopters, servos and myr are all artifical beings, because someone needs to design and create them. The same is not true for aetherborn. If the conditions in the natural world would be right for the aetherborn to form, they will, without any intelligent design required.
What it means is that the race, as we know them, are artificial. If there are naturally occurring Aetherborn, obviously those would not be artificial. If your argument is that there could be naturally occuring Aetherborn, sure, why not. But the Aetherborn as we know them as a race on Kaladesh are a direct byproduct of Aether refinement.
If by making something else, I made a crystal as a byproduct, that isn't a natural crystal. It's artificial. There are still natural crystals in the world, but that one in particular is not.
Plus, your reasoning of aetherborn not being natural, because they are not "born" in the biological sense implies you are conflating "natural" with "biological", betraying your previous point.
This isn't what I was saying at all. I was saying only natural creatures get sparks (or souls, for that matter), and in magic the definition of natural has been a creature born through biological means. It was to follow-up on the point of whether or not Aetherborn can be planeswalkers, and if they're not natural they can't have a spark. It's the same reason why Phyrexian Newts couldn't have sparks, even before being compleated.
I don't know that the artificial/natural distinction even matters here, since Aetherborn aren't biological lifeforms, and only biological lifeforms can have sparks. Elementals are completely natural, and they can't be planeswalkers.
I don't know that the artificial/natural distinction even matters here, since Aetherborn aren't biological lifeforms, and only biological lifeforms can have sparks. Elementals are completely natural, and they can't be planeswalkers.
But can they acquire one?
Again, Karn is an exception, but he first absorbed Urza's spark as a side effect of the legacy weapon being used (iirc, if I'm wrong, please correct me) then after he lost it, Venser gave his to him. (still iirc, and again, if I'm wrong, please correct me).
Karn is fully artificial and is made of silver... Which by any definition it is neither organico nor biological, yet he can host a spark.
Would an Aetherborn be able to host a spark if she absorbed it from a planeswalker?
Could an aetherborn even be able to absorb someone's spark if she absorbed life force from a planeswalker?
That was my initial point before it kind of derailed into "can aetherborn be born with a spark?" which the answer probably is "only if wizards sees fit to print one", I suppose.
Sure, it's possible that an Aetherborn could get a spark through artificial means, like Karn.
So today's article was quite good I thought, definitely liking Baral as a villain. Today's story also implies that Dovin Baan knows Baral and told him Chandra was still alive. This contradicts what Dovin earlier said that Baral was part of a previous administration and had been punished/was looked down upon by the current one. Perhaps Dovin Baan isn't as benign as I thought he was.
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My Decks:
UG Merfolk RG 8-Whack BWG Abzan midrange GRB Living End UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin" RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!" BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
Is there any hint that Liliana ever met Ajani before btw?
I mean she knows that Tezzeret is likely the shadow of Bolas, and we know that Ajani is likely adverse to Bolas.
Ajani met Elspeth and Koth but never set a paw on Phyrexia for a chance encounter with Tezzeret, did he? He also wasn't involved with the Consortium plot on Ravnica to make acquaintance with Liliana or Jace.
And despite both coming from the same plane, he never met Tezzeret on Alara as far as we know, didn't he?
I don't see any connection between the Gatewatch and my favorite kitty, I love that he appears but I honestly don't see why if not by coincidence.
Was his not-quite-victory versus Bolas such a remarkable/observed feat that other Planeswalkers heard about it? Liliana wasn't in cooperation with the elder dragon at that point anymore, but she probably would've liked to hear about that.
It is somewhat possible that he seeks help for the elspeth-problem and heard of this planeswalker agency and they'll help him if he helps them, but the timing would be highly convenient. (and they refused Dovin's quest for being too lowscale, Ajani's is even more personal tbh)
Very curious about the next story.
(and Ajani would make a great sparring partner for Gideon btw!)
I agree that Ajani showing up is really weird. But then again many stories are a result of convenient timing. Ajani doesn't know anyone involved that we know of and there are no Leonin in Kaladesh for him to check in on. My problem with Ajani asking for help is it's way to far in advance. We already know we're not going back to Theros next. So what he asks for help and Lili is like sure but you gotta help us first? (of course this is under the idea that Amonkeht has at least something to do with one of Lili's demons.) So far the tie in to Amonkhet as well as Ajanis presence make no sense.
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
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"For the sake of Hasbro's half-year financial report, we will keep watch."
-- The Gatewatch
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
If Ajani shows up to discuss the gatewatch with Jace and Giddeon and then the conversation gets crash d by Lili who retrieves them after trouble hits I think his placement in the story is organic enough.
I'm not really sure why Dovin would recruit the gatewatch if he was in league with trzzeret TBH. What does he have to gain... if it works the resistance is put down and they get a handful of useful gizmos and if it fails he makes 5ish absurdly powerful enemies that can follow him to other planes. I just don't think the payoff is there. I mean surely there are better ways procure technology right...theft, spies (thopter spy network much?), government mandates, etc.
If Bolas got wind of the gatewatch through Tamiyo's PW network and forces Dovin and Tezz to deal with it then sure, I can buy that. Then the gatewatch is like nah, that's some bull and takes the fight to Bolas for screwing with them. Sure I can see that. Curious how it'll all unfold but having Dovin turn out evil is kind of luke warm for me.
I feel like having characters with cloudy or undisclosed motivations hurts the story more than helps it sometimes. Dovin just kind of feels like this random wild card now. Hopefully Jace mind scrambles him for being a wet tissue.
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
If Ajani shows up to discuss the gatewatch with Jace and Giddeon and then the conversation gets crash d by Lili who retrieves them after trouble hits I think his placement in the story is organic enough.
I'm not really sure why Dovin would recruit the gatewatch if he was in league with trzzeret TBH. What does he have to gain... if it works the resistance is put down and they get a handful of useful gizmos and if it fails he makes 5ish absurdly powerful enemies that can follow him to other planes. I just don't think the payoff is there. I mean surely there are better ways procure technology right...theft, spies (thopter spy network much?), government mandates, etc.
If Bolas got wind of the gatewatch through Tamiyo's PW network and forces Dovin and Tezz to deal with it then sure, I can buy that. Then the gatewatch is like nah, that's some bull and takes the fight to Bolas for screwing with them. Sure I can see that. Curious how it'll all unfold but having Dovin turn out evil is kind of luke warm for me.
I feel like having characters with cloudy or undisclosed motivations hurts the story more than helps it sometimes. Dovin just kind of feels like this random wild card now. Hopefully Jace mind scrambles him for being a wet tissue.
Well, first of all the short summary of the first poster is not accurate and not fair in several regards: Tezzeret doesn't flee, the gatewatch does together with Pia and Tezzeret seemingly not only takes control of the fairs inventions but also of the consulate as a whole (implied by the last picture of the campaign) and thereby Kaladesh. He obviously wants to make an example of Pia in public (something the public is shocked by mind you, they thought it would be just a fight between the artificers inventions and not be to the death). He didn't achieve his victory over the Prime Renegade thanks to the gatewatch, but his larger goal is achieved.
For why Dovin did what he did: Remember that a) he didn't know that Chandra was part of the gatewatch, b) he is loyal to the consulate, c) Tezzeret has probably taken his time to establish himself as powerful member of the consulate and is supposedly trying to bring order back to Kaladesh, which a UW character like Dovin can only be in favor of, d) he didn't know that the gatewatch would know Tezzeret. He only tried to get them to secure the fair until the confiscation takes place, nothing more. If Chandra hadn't been part of the team the gatewatch would have probably not even interfered, except maybe if Lili or Jace had recognized Tezzeret, at which point it would have probably been to late.
And last but not least: It's only the short summary of the game. The Eldritch Moon campaign never sayed anything about the story twist which made the story as a whole worthwhile for example. Ajani wasn't even mentioned in the campaign and we know that he plays a part in all of this. So let's not be too rash with the criticism here.
EDIT: Sorry, misread the spoilers a bit: Tezzeret still doesn't flee, but he retreats (because his bigger goal is nearing completion of course). Still, the Gatewatch were only barely able to save Pia and he does seem to take over the plane.
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
If Ajani shows up to discuss the gatewatch with Jace and Giddeon and then the conversation gets crash d by Lili who retrieves them after trouble hits I think his placement in the story is organic enough.
I'm not really sure why Dovin would recruit the gatewatch if he was in league with trzzeret TBH. What does he have to gain... if it works the resistance is put down and they get a handful of useful gizmos and if it fails he makes 5ish absurdly powerful enemies that can follow him to other planes. I just don't think the payoff is there. I mean surely there are better ways procure technology right...theft, spies (thopter spy network much?), government mandates, etc.
If Bolas got wind of the gatewatch through Tamiyo's PW network and forces Dovin and Tezz to deal with it then sure, I can buy that. Then the gatewatch is like nah, that's some bull and takes the fight to Bolas for screwing with them. Sure I can see that. Curious how it'll all unfold but having Dovin turn out evil is kind of luke warm for me.
I feel like having characters with cloudy or undisclosed motivations hurts the story more than helps it sometimes. Dovin just kind of feels like this random wild card now. Hopefully Jace mind scrambles him for being a wet tissue.
Bhogal's summary of the story is clearly colored by the fact that he's determined to hate this story no matter what. We've already seen the part where Dovin and Tezzeret capture Pia in the story articles, and there is nothing that indicates that Dovin is on board with Tezzeret's plans—they just happen to be on the same side because they're both working for the government. Indeed, as you said yourself, if he was truly in league with Tezzeret, he wouldn't try to recruit the Gatewatch.
For those who want to take a look at the Duels spoilers themselves, they can be found here.
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Also known as Blitzer or Romanoff Blitzer. WIXOSS wiki admin.
That's a little disappointing to see, but I guess the overall story is carrying on the general lack of real danger facing our leads. Tezzeret has in captivity a very significant renegade who's been foiling his plan and decides to make a convoluted spectacle out of it? I mean just be a little less obvious with the plot devices. Could it get anymore anime? (wait i forgot about tsundere Chandra and awkward Nissa)
That said, it's interesting how the revolt against the consulate/government is shaping up. In addition to them stealing the genius of others, we also have seen the way natural life is treated on this plane, the extermination of gremlins, hunting of whales and other animals, the siphoning of aether, etc. There's some nice subtext going on.
Now back to totally not-gay Chandra and Nissa hoping for Liliana to save them but instead having a giant kitty coming to bust them out of their magical closet.
Remember: The Magic Duels summaries aren't completely accurate. Don't take them as definitive, in reality we know only a little more than we did when the story cards were revealed.
The story mode didn't mention Ajani or Mrs. Pashiri either. Going by the decks, it also looks like Tezzeret is sticking to being UB.
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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"
For those of you who care about this terrible story, the new Kaladesh campaign mode for Magic Duels adumbrates the general plot.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
If Ajani shows up to discuss the gatewatch with Jace and Giddeon and then the conversation gets crash d by Lili who retrieves them after trouble hits I think his placement in the story is organic enough.
I'm not really sure why Dovin would recruit the gatewatch if he was in league with trzzeret TBH. What does he have to gain... if it works the resistance is put down and they get a handful of useful gizmos and if it fails he makes 5ish absurdly powerful enemies that can follow him to other planes. I just don't think the payoff is there. I mean surely there are better ways procure technology right...theft, spies (thopter spy network much?), government mandates, etc.
If Bolas got wind of the gatewatch through Tamiyo's PW network and forces Dovin and Tezz to deal with it then sure, I can buy that. Then the gatewatch is like nah, that's some bull and takes the fight to Bolas for screwing with them. Sure I can see that. Curious how it'll all unfold but having Dovin turn out evil is kind of luke warm for me.
I feel like having characters with cloudy or undisclosed motivations hurts the story more than helps it sometimes. Dovin just kind of feels like this random wild card now. Hopefully Jace mind scrambles him for being a wet tissue.
Bhogal's summary of the story is clearly colored by the fact that he's determined to hate this story no matter what. We've already seen the part where Dovin and Tezzeret capture Pia in the story articles, and there is nothing that indicates that Dovin is on board with Tezzeret's plans—they just happen to be on the same side because they're both working for the government. Indeed, as you said yourself, if he was truly in league with Tezzeret, he wouldn't try to recruit the Gatewatch.
For those who want to take a look at the Duels spoilers themselves, they can be found here.
Thanks for that! It's not as bland as I imagined it to be, though they clearly omitted things and phrased things so they would make more sense in a duel context.
For those who want to take a look at the Duels spoilers themselves, they can be found here.
Wonder who Nissa travels with in the third panel... because it looks like some other random person cosplaying Chandra and not herself.
I like that Tezzeret seems to be way outmatching Pia though. And it seems like he just overtakes the Consulate at the end.
Because I somewhat doubt that they make giant statues from all their "honored guests" on Kaladesh.
I swear, Nissa and Chandra's appearance can vary between 20 and 30 years, depending on who's drawing them. It's kinda unsettling.
Remember: The Magic Duels summaries aren't completely accurate. Don't take them as definitive, in reality we know only a little more than we did when the story cards were revealed.
At least we know what went between Fateful Showdown and Confiscation Coup (mainly Dramatic Reversal). It sort of justifies Tezzeret's actions of using force directly though, any subtle plan he might of "Nice invention, come work for me" is probably going to get ruined real fast by a possibly active-pursuing Gatewatch (since it's now their business) and with a generous assumption he's the link to Amonkhet/Bolas (and that Bolas is the mastermind), some result by force has a better chance of getting spared by Bolas than no results because Gatewatch ruined subtle plans.
I won't be surprised that Aether Revolt is largely a plane-locked storyline and Tezz is merely fighting on the lines because he needs to buy time to transfer all the artifacts over to Bolas (and when he's done, he just leaves), I'm expecting the revolt to be a success for the plane locally, but Tezz to succeed (at least halfway) in his ongoing plot. I don't expect any direct foreshadowing of New Phyrexia this set (Tezz does not count).
Either way, it's neat to see Tezz get out of the cold storage (running joke was he moved to Creative and was in charge of all the retcons since then due to his Clockworking and now that they established that, he's permitted to return).
I honestly hope that whatever Tezz is up to isn't a directive of Bolas. It's know that he actually hated Bolas and only continues to work for him because of Dr. Jest(Dr. Jest hype!). And Tezz probably has schemes and machinations of his own when Bolas isnt giving Tezz a direct order.
I wish mtgstory would hurry up. Why don't they release the other stories. Is it one a week?
This is why I didn't even know about the twist in Eldritch moon that made the story good..Story release so far after the set can lead to forgetfulness on my part. Think it would be earlier.
Any interesting new info from the Fat Pack Bundle brochure? I am not getting mine before Tuesday, so I am curious...
Mostly world building stuff, better defined the "6" steps of the aether cycle, naming some groups of interest as well as the events at the fair. However, this seemingly minor info ...
Aether Science
Perhaps the category that has received the most attention from the Consulate is Aether Science. Head Judge Tezzeret himself has put out the call for any and all theoretical breakthroughs in the areas of New Refinement Methods, Enhanced Power Extraction Techniques, and Alternate Matter Transportation (Teleportation)...
As well as confirming the fact Tezzeret is building...something, makes the planar portal seeming having more footing now.
Still unknown 100% if Mrs. Pashiri dies, but the book hints Ajani saves all three woman.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
As well as confirming the fact Tezzeret is building...something, makes the planar portal seeming having more footing now.
Still unknown 100% if Mrs. Pashiri dies, but the book hints Ajani saves all three woman.
Yep, basically all we learned between Duels and the Fat Pack is that Tezz has retreated to a tower with all of the inventions.
My issue here is that Rashmi's device wasn't even shown off at the fair. I don't see how it's anything other than an accident that Tezz gets his hands on it.
As well as confirming the fact Tezzeret is building...something, makes the planar portal seeming having more footing now.
Still unknown 100% if Mrs. Pashiri dies, but the book hints Ajani saves all three woman.
Yep, basically all we learned between Duels and the Fat Pack is that Tezz has retreated to a tower with all of the inventions.
My issue here is that Rashmi's device wasn't even shown off at the fair. I don't see how it's anything other than an accident that Tezz gets his hands on it.
Yeah but Rashmi did show the device to Padeem, one of the judges, in a preliminary round. Given that it is a revolutionary invention, and that Saheeli pulled strings to give Rashmi the chance to show it off, I think its not a large stretch to assume the teleporter did impress Padeem.
My issue here is that Rashmi's device wasn't even shown off at the fair. I don't see how it's anything other than an accident that Tezz gets his hands on it.
I'm running out to class now, so I'll double check when I can, but I thought Rashmi had a private meeting with Padeem to get through the first rounds of the fair and if Padeem likes the device, she would move on to the finals.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
My issue here is that Rashmi's device wasn't even shown off at the fair. I don't see how it's anything other than an accident that Tezz gets his hands on it.
I'm running out to class now, so I'll double check when I can, but I thought Rashmi had a private meeting with Padeem to get through the first rounds of the fair and if Padeem likes the device, she would move on to the finals.
Still, the fact that a working teleporter showed up at the fair is pure coincidence. It can't have been his plan from the start, right?
Depends on your definition on pollution. But if we describe pollution as "introduction of toxic substances to an environment", then yes, it is a naturally occuring thing. Volcanoes come to mind, for example. Even the word "toxic" is malleable, because different organisms react differently to different substances, so it's about as vague as it gets.
I literally said in my post that aetherborn are not biological but natural nevertheless. So obviously I am not confusing the two.
In the end it largely depends on what definition of "artificial" and "natural" you use. It appears you use the more lax definition, which is largely a feel thing. "Aetherborn feel unnatural, because they're tied to the aether refinement process". While I can't directly say it's a wrong definition, it's at least less useful for debating the "naturalness" of a thing, because everyone's feelings will be different.
Drop the "most definitely". I stated my opinion in my post ("I would say") and so should you. Your definition of artificial varies from mine. That doesn't make you objectively right.
To actually address this point: Just because the aetherborn on Kaladesh come from the aether refinement process doesn't mean the race as a whole is artificial. We can create fire through unnatural means, but that doesn't make the concept of fire unnatural, just specific instances of it. Similarly, the very fact that the aetherborn can come into being without being engineered shows that they can happen naturally whenever the conditions are right. Thopters, servos and myr are all artifical beings, because someone needs to design and create them. The same is not true for aetherborn. If the conditions in the natural world would be right for the aetherborn to form, they will, without any intelligent design required.
Plus, your reasoning of aetherborn not being natural, because they are not "born" in the biological sense implies you are conflating "natural" with "biological", betraying your previous point.
This is all true for angels too though. On many planes angels, and demons even, are naturally occurring beings formed as a "byproduct" of a coalescence of the appropriate mana. They just show up, all on their own. They still can't have sparks though because they're artificial, not biological.
Commander Decks
WDarien, King of KjeldorW - WYomiji, Who Bars the WayW - UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
BPhage the UntouchableB - BShirei,
Shadowborn Ap-Shizo's CaretakerB - RZirilan of the ClawR(W/U)Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper(W/U) - (2/G)Phelddagrif Politics(W/U) - (U/B)Mishra, Artificer Prodigy(U/R) - Karona, God of Voltron
What it means is that the race, as we know them, are artificial. If there are naturally occurring Aetherborn, obviously those would not be artificial. If your argument is that there could be naturally occuring Aetherborn, sure, why not. But the Aetherborn as we know them as a race on Kaladesh are a direct byproduct of Aether refinement.
If by making something else, I made a crystal as a byproduct, that isn't a natural crystal. It's artificial. There are still natural crystals in the world, but that one in particular is not.
This isn't what I was saying at all. I was saying only natural creatures get sparks (or souls, for that matter), and in magic the definition of natural has been a creature born through biological means. It was to follow-up on the point of whether or not Aetherborn can be planeswalkers, and if they're not natural they can't have a spark. It's the same reason why Phyrexian Newts couldn't have sparks, even before being compleated.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
RG 8-Whack
BWG Abzan midrange
GRB Living End
UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin"
RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!"
BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
I agree that Ajani showing up is really weird. But then again many stories are a result of convenient timing. Ajani doesn't know anyone involved that we know of and there are no Leonin in Kaladesh for him to check in on. My problem with Ajani asking for help is it's way to far in advance. We already know we're not going back to Theros next. So what he asks for help and Lili is like sure but you gotta help us first? (of course this is under the idea that Amonkeht has at least something to do with one of Lili's demons.) So far the tie in to Amonkhet as well as Ajanis presence make no sense.
Dovin Baan turns out to be in league with Tezzeret, and together they twirl their moustaches and mwhahaha, and then kidnap Pia. Chandra gets mad as hell, and burns stuff. Tezzeret could easily kill Pia, but instead he twirls his moustache some more, and devises a long-winded plot to have Pia killed in the arena by one of his artifact creations. Then the Gatewatch arrive, combine their powers, and save the day. Tezzeret flees, waving his fist and screaming "I would have got away with it if it weren't for you pesky kids!"
And that's it.
-- The Gatewatch
Well isn't that disappointing, although I can't say it's entirely unexpected. I'm hoping there's more to it than that, but honestly, I'm far more interested in what this story sets up, than the story itself. The arrival of Ajani, the introduction and investment of the rest of the Gatewatch in Tezzeret (and by extension, Nicol Bolas), and the confirmation of Amonkhet being next, that's the block story I'm waiting on. Don't get me wrong, Kaladesh is a wonderful world, but when the only reason the group of protagonists show up at all is because one of them decides to go there on an unexplained whim, I can't shake the feeling that the entire block will amount to nothing more than a big plot device.
On another note, I find it funny you chose to characterize Tezzeret's fleeing remarks like that, I always found it odd and a little bizarre that the Gatewatch ran their group like the Scooby-Doo detective agency. I'm really banking on Aether Revolt and Amonkhet's story to kick things things into gear, but we'll see how things go. If there's one thing we learned from the Eldritch Moon story is that WotC is capable of writing twists, so I'm going to keep following every week and see where this goes.
If Ajani shows up to discuss the gatewatch with Jace and Giddeon and then the conversation gets crash d by Lili who retrieves them after trouble hits I think his placement in the story is organic enough.
I'm not really sure why Dovin would recruit the gatewatch if he was in league with trzzeret TBH. What does he have to gain... if it works the resistance is put down and they get a handful of useful gizmos and if it fails he makes 5ish absurdly powerful enemies that can follow him to other planes. I just don't think the payoff is there. I mean surely there are better ways procure technology right...theft, spies (thopter spy network much?), government mandates, etc.
If Bolas got wind of the gatewatch through Tamiyo's PW network and forces Dovin and Tezz to deal with it then sure, I can buy that. Then the gatewatch is like nah, that's some bull and takes the fight to Bolas for screwing with them. Sure I can see that. Curious how it'll all unfold but having Dovin turn out evil is kind of luke warm for me.
I feel like having characters with cloudy or undisclosed motivations hurts the story more than helps it sometimes. Dovin just kind of feels like this random wild card now. Hopefully Jace mind scrambles him for being a wet tissue.
Well, first of all the short summary of the first poster is not accurate and not fair in several regards: Tezzeret doesn't flee, the gatewatch does together with Pia and Tezzeret seemingly not only takes control of the fairs inventions but also of the consulate as a whole (implied by the last picture of the campaign) and thereby Kaladesh. He obviously wants to make an example of Pia in public (something the public is shocked by mind you, they thought it would be just a fight between the artificers inventions and not be to the death). He didn't achieve his victory over the Prime Renegade thanks to the gatewatch, but his larger goal is achieved.
For why Dovin did what he did: Remember that a) he didn't know that Chandra was part of the gatewatch, b) he is loyal to the consulate, c) Tezzeret has probably taken his time to establish himself as powerful member of the consulate and is supposedly trying to bring order back to Kaladesh, which a UW character like Dovin can only be in favor of, d) he didn't know that the gatewatch would know Tezzeret. He only tried to get them to secure the fair until the confiscation takes place, nothing more. If Chandra hadn't been part of the team the gatewatch would have probably not even interfered, except maybe if Lili or Jace had recognized Tezzeret, at which point it would have probably been to late.
And last but not least: It's only the short summary of the game. The Eldritch Moon campaign never sayed anything about the story twist which made the story as a whole worthwhile for example. Ajani wasn't even mentioned in the campaign and we know that he plays a part in all of this. So let's not be too rash with the criticism here.
EDIT: Sorry, misread the spoilers a bit: Tezzeret still doesn't flee, but he retreats (because his bigger goal is nearing completion of course). Still, the Gatewatch were only barely able to save Pia and he does seem to take over the plane.
Bhogal's summary of the story is clearly colored by the fact that he's determined to hate this story no matter what. We've already seen the part where Dovin and Tezzeret capture Pia in the story articles, and there is nothing that indicates that Dovin is on board with Tezzeret's plans—they just happen to be on the same side because they're both working for the government. Indeed, as you said yourself, if he was truly in league with Tezzeret, he wouldn't try to recruit the Gatewatch.
For those who want to take a look at the Duels spoilers themselves, they can be found here.
Cōnservātum album delenda est.
That said, it's interesting how the revolt against the consulate/government is shaping up. In addition to them stealing the genius of others, we also have seen the way natural life is treated on this plane, the extermination of gremlins, hunting of whales and other animals, the siphoning of aether, etc. There's some nice subtext going on.
Now back to totally not-gay Chandra and Nissa hoping for Liliana to save them but instead having a giant kitty coming to bust them out of their magical closet.
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"
Thanks for that! It's not as bland as I imagined it to be, though they clearly omitted things and phrased things so they would make more sense in a duel context.
I swear, Nissa and Chandra's appearance can vary between 20 and 30 years, depending on who's drawing them. It's kinda unsettling.
At least we know what went between Fateful Showdown and Confiscation Coup (mainly Dramatic Reversal). It sort of justifies Tezzeret's actions of using force directly though, any subtle plan he might of "Nice invention, come work for me" is probably going to get ruined real fast by a possibly active-pursuing Gatewatch (since it's now their business) and with a generous assumption he's the link to Amonkhet/Bolas (and that Bolas is the mastermind), some result by force has a better chance of getting spared by Bolas than no results because Gatewatch ruined subtle plans.
I won't be surprised that Aether Revolt is largely a plane-locked storyline and Tezz is merely fighting on the lines because he needs to buy time to transfer all the artifacts over to Bolas (and when he's done, he just leaves), I'm expecting the revolt to be a success for the plane locally, but Tezz to succeed (at least halfway) in his ongoing plot. I don't expect any direct foreshadowing of New Phyrexia this set (Tezz does not count).
Either way, it's neat to see Tezz get out of the cold storage (running joke was he moved to Creative and was in charge of all the retcons since then due to his Clockworking and now that they established that, he's permitted to return).
Fat PackBundle brochure? I am not getting mine before Tuesday, so I am curious...Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I wish mtgstory would hurry up. Why don't they release the other stories. Is it one a week?
This is why I didn't even know about the twist in Eldritch moon that made the story good..Story release so far after the set can lead to forgetfulness on my part. Think it would be earlier.
Mostly world building stuff, better defined the "6" steps of the aether cycle, naming some groups of interest as well as the events at the fair. However, this seemingly minor info ...
As well as confirming the fact Tezzeret is building...something, makes the planar portal seeming having more footing now.
Still unknown 100% if Mrs. Pashiri dies, but the book hints Ajani saves all three woman.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
My issue here is that Rashmi's device wasn't even shown off at the fair. I don't see how it's anything other than an accident that Tezz gets his hands on it.
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
Yeah but Rashmi did show the device to Padeem, one of the judges, in a preliminary round. Given that it is a revolutionary invention, and that Saheeli pulled strings to give Rashmi the chance to show it off, I think its not a large stretch to assume the teleporter did impress Padeem.
I'm running out to class now, so I'll double check when I can, but I thought Rashmi had a private meeting with Padeem to get through the first rounds of the fair and if Padeem likes the device, she would move on to the finals.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
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