Also small addition, Bolas created Amonkhet. Now I could of sworn, outside of Argentum, artificial planes were highly unstable. Perhaps Bolas keeps the place stable? They could also be going meh lets not worry bout that.
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SonofaBith - Wizards was so excited about making the packaging for Modern Masters 2 recyclable, they decided to make most of the rares and all but 1 of the UC's recycle-bin ready too. Convenient!
Also small addition, Bolas created Amonkhet. Now I could of sworn, outside of Argentum, artificial planes were highly unstable. Perhaps Bolas keeps the place stable? They could also be going meh lets not worry bout that.
We talking about a comment the author of the mirrodin trilogy in another forum how he believes Karn used a dead or mostly dead plane and/or found "free space" instead of forcing open a hole in the blind eternities to create his plane, which Bolas might have done the same. Knowing Bolas he might have also just destroyed all life on a plane then rebuilt it for Amonkhet.
“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"
This issue I'm going to have with these gods is they're likely going to be very animal based which is valid to the source material. So I will never understand why the Theros gods weren't all human like Heliod was in appearance. I understand many characteristic races dream up the gods there, but I still feel the pantheon should have been human-looking for the most part. I do admire it the way it was done regardless, but if these Amonkhet gods all look very animal inspired too, then it's a little awkward differentiating Greek-inspired and Egyptian-inspired.
This issue I'm going to have with these gods is they're likely going to be very animal based which is valid to the source material. So I will never understand why the Theros gods weren't all human like Heliod was in appearance. I understand many characteristic races dream up the gods there, but I still feel the pantheon should have been human-looking for the most part. I do admire it the way it was done regardless, but if these Amonkhet gods all look very animal inspired too, then it's a little awkward differentiating Greek-inspired and Egyptian-inspired.
I would expect at least 3/5ths* or 4/5ths* of the animal-like deities on Amonkhet, very few human looking gods.
We don't Bolas created Amonkhet, I thought that was just speculation by one of the characters. And artificial Planes can be maintained if they're balanced color-wise, but most don't seem to be.
And the gods of Theros aren't only human because of a number of reasons. Besides, the main unifying trait of the Theros gods is and should be the Nyx aspect, not everyone being human. That will make them stand out tons more. You're not going to think Thassa is from Amonkhet just because she's a merfolk.
Edit: Also there is a big issue with saying Amonkhet = animal and Theros = human and using that separate the gods. What about Norse, or Aztec, or any number of other cultures? Are they all going to be animals just to keep Theros unique?
We don't Bolas created Amonkhet, I thought that was just speculation by one of the characters. And artificial Planes can be maintained if they're balanced color-wise, but most don't seem to be.
And the gods of Theros aren't only human because of a number of reasons. Besides, the main unifying trait of the Theros gods is and should be the Nyx aspect, not everyone being human. That will make them stand out tons more. You're not going to think Thassa is from Amonkhet just because she's a merfolk.
Edit: Also there is a big issue with saying Amonkhet = animal and Theros = human and using that separate the gods. What about Norse, or Aztec, or any number of other cultures? Are they all going to be animals just to keep Theros unique?
No. I just expect the appearance of the gods to follow closely to the source material. Aztec has its own style. I'd expect its gods to represent those depictions, and when they do look human, to appear racially like the humans of that geographic region. Theros should have, IMO, had an entirely human appearing pantheon whose appearance, like Heliod, was racially Greek. Amonkhet would of course have gods that were human-animal hybrids, leaning more toward the latter. Norse would have Germanic appearing human gods stylized based on their depictions. Not to say I mind how the gods are done, just a thought.
As for Amonkhet, I just wonder if they're doing too much at once. Egypt World, Bolas World, and Lilliana's demon and the Gatewatch arc all at once? Many of us wanted Egypt World and I'm worried it's going to be Bolas, Gatewatch and Lilliana's demon with an Egyptian veneer instead of truly Egypt World.
As for Amonkhet, I just wonder if they're doing too much at once. Egypt World, Bolas World, and Lilliana's demon and the Gatewatch arc all at once? Many of us wanted Egypt World and I'm worried it's going to be Bolas, Gatewatch and Lilliana's demon with an Egyptian veneer instead of truly Egypt World.
This is what got a lot of people disappointed in Kaladesh. Until we know whether its bottom-up or top-down don't get your hopes up for a true Egypt inspired world. Though we haven't heard what this world is meant to evoke, while we heard rather early that Kaladesh was supposed to be their spin on steampunk. Then they tagline of feel like an inventor came along, which honestly did a good job of selling what the set was about.
So those hoping for Innistrad but Egypt be wary. Those hoping for Kamigawa but Egypt, why do you still dream so big? Personally I'm in the second camp but its hard to admit, I'm expecting it more Kaladesh than Innidstrad, and no where close to Kamigawa.
As for Amonkhet, I just wonder if they're doing too much at once. Egypt World, Bolas World, and Lilliana's demon and the Gatewatch arc all at once? Many of us wanted Egypt World and I'm worried it's going to be Bolas, Gatewatch and Lilliana's demon with an Egyptian veneer instead of truly Egypt World.
This is what got a lot of people disappointed in Kaladesh. Until we know whether its bottom-up or top-down don't get your hopes up for a true Egypt inspired world. Though we haven't heard what this world is meant to evoke, while we heard rather early that Kaladesh was supposed to be their spin on steampunk. Then they tagline of feel like an inventor came along, which honestly did a good job of selling what the set was about.
So those hoping for Innistrad but Egypt be wary. Those hoping for Kamigawa but Egypt, why do you still dream so big? Personally I'm in the second camp but its hard to admit, I'm expecting it more Kaladesh than Innidstrad, and no where close to Kamigawa.
Just based on what we've seen, Amonkhet seems very top-down. MaRo did say that he couldn't state whether it was top-down or bottom-up though, which seems weirdly evasive for what feels like a relatively spoiler-free question.
Regarding the Planewalkers that the story is going to focus on, my bet is on Nicol Bolas, Gideon, Lillianna, some new walker and strangely, I think Ashiok would fit this environment quite well.
Some suspect Jace would be a major focus planeswalker in the Amonkhet block but I feel like he'll be as present in this block as he was in Kaladesh: a protagonist doing stuff but not the main focus protagonist of the Gatewatch, with maybe a story or two dedicated to him tops.
I don't see why they would focus on Jace over Lillianna. Lillianna has a major plotpoint on Ammonkhet: Her third Demon Patron. Whereas Jace's only major plotpoint is Bolas.
However, I admit that Jace's perspective on the plane and the welfare of its people would also prove enlightening because he, like Bolas, also rules a plane, albeit Bolas is far more powerful and probably rules more than just Amonkhet...
Gideon, however, I can see as being more prominently featured in the block as he hasn't been the face of a recent set as the others have, besides Battle for Zendikar.
I think the presence of gods on Ammonkhet will provide similarities and contrasts to the Theran Deities that would be significant to Gids, and the duality of a paradisiacal, yet subtly despairing plane under the servitude of Bolas would also make for great story moments for Gideon.
Also, if speculations that Gideon is the son of the Theran Sun god Heliod are true, then this would be the plane where he'd probably discover it, one of the five Amonkhetu gods might even mention their sensing an aura of divinity about him, hence the indestructibility. If, of course, you put stock in such rumours...
As for Ashiok, I dunno, I kinda suspected he'd be a Bolas minion ever since he was introduced and his costuming does bear some semblance to the local populace.
I am also slightly worried that Maro seemed so elusive to such a non-spoilery question, but I remain confident that this is much more of an egypt world than Kaladesh was an indian world. I never understood how people got the idea that Kaladesh would be anything more than an artifact/inventor world with an indian aesthetic, it was clear from Origins onward that this wouldn't be the case in my opinion.
The fact that the sets focus is on the gods (including Nicol Bolas) and the challenges the Amonkhetu have to go through to be deemed worthy for the (maybe fake) afterlife instead of things that have nothing to do with egypt makes me hopeful that this will be at least an Innistrad-level top-down set. Perhabs even similar to Theros, but I will be happy either way.
I'm pretty sure the focus planeswalkers of this block will be Gideon and Liliana (as well as Nicol Bolas of course). For all those who don't like the Gatewatch, just remember that this will most definitely end in their defeat (I wouldn't get my hopes up that one of them dies though, something I don't really want to happen anyway) and that the next block might feature Ajani exclusively (similar to Jace in SOI).
I'm pretty hyped for this block, ever since Theros I've been waiting for an egyptian based world^^
A friend of mine had an awesome theory about Amonketh which is, due to poor story writing, probably too good to ever be true.
Nicol Bolas had freed the Eldrazi.
Nicol Bolas wanted a planar bridge.
Nicol Bolas had created Amonketh.
Ok, here is the theory:
Artificial planes aren't too stable and because Nicol Bolas had lost a good portion of his power due to the Mending we can assume that whatever power he had to hold Amonketh together is probably slowly fading away and the plane is eventually going to fall apart. Although he is a tyrant, Nicol Bolas still has at least a bit of care for the plane that he had created and his subjects who worship him. Enough care to find them a new home? He chose Zendikar as their new home but first he had to get rid of the eldrazi on the plane so he had forced Ugin to tell him how to break their prison. The goal was to release the titans so that they can go somewhere else. After that he had needed a planar bridge but he didn't know how to make one. He had sent Tezzeret to phyrexia because he knew that the ancient phyrexians had a planar portal and he had hoped that these new phyrexians have one or at least know how to make one but it turned out that they had no idea on either. Then he sent Tezzeret to Kaladesh where Tezzeret had discovered someone who can make a planar bridge but the bridge was destroyed. Luckily, Tezzeret had escaped with the knowledge on how to make such a device and now he and Bolas are constructing one because Bolas needs a way to transport his people to Zendikar. Unfortunately, the Gatewatch appears and they destroy the newest planar bridge because they think that it will be used for something evil. The entire plane is doomed because of their rash actions and Bolase hopefully kills Chandra before dealing with Gideon. The end.
Problem number one: Nicol Bolas "killed" Ugin long before the mending (about a millennia earlier).
A friend of mine had an awesome theory about Amonketh which is, due to poor story writing, probably too good to ever be true.
Nicol Bolas had freed the Eldrazi.
Nicol Bolas wanted a planar bridge.
Nicol Bolas had created Amonketh.
Ok, here is the theory:
Artificial planes aren't too stable and because Nicol Bolas had lost a good portion of his power due to the Mending we can assume that whatever power he had to hold Amonketh together is probably slowly fading away and the plane is eventually going to fall apart. Although he is a tyrant, Nicol Bolas still has at least a bit of care for the plane that he had created and his subjects who worship him. Enough care to find them a new home? He chose Zendikar as their new home but first he had to get rid of the eldrazi on the plane so he had forced Ugin to tell him how to break their prison. The goal was to release the titans so that they can go somewhere else. After that he had needed a planar bridge but he didn't know how to make one. He had sent Tezzeret to phyrexia because he knew that the ancient phyrexians had a planar portal and he had hoped that these new phyrexians have one or at least know how to make one but it turned out that they had no idea on either. Then he sent Tezzeret to Kaladesh where Tezzeret had discovered someone who can make a planar bridge but the bridge was destroyed. Luckily, Tezzeret had escaped with the knowledge on how to make such a device and now he and Bolas are constructing one because Bolas needs a way to transport his people to Zendikar. Unfortunately, the Gatewatch appears and they destroy the newest planar bridge because they think that it will be used for something evil. The entire plane is doomed because of their rash actions and Bolase hopefully kills Chandra before dealing with Gideon. The end.
Well, your mileage may vary on whether this would count as better storytelling. First: Why would he choose Zendikar, a notoriously dangerous world where he has no gods with which to control the masses and which already has quite the population? And what should it help releasing the Eldrazi? Had they not been destroyed, Ulamog and Kozilek would have made most if not all of Zendikar uninhabitable. This doesn't make this world particularly colonizable. His fight with Ugin also was premending, at a time in which he still had his godlike powers and therefore no need for evacuation of the Amonkhetu. The planar bridge explicitely can't transport organic matter (at least the prototype couldn't without killing it and as far as I know Tezzeret wanted to send artifact creatures through to compensate for that weakness). Chandra as the second most popular planeswalker certainly won't die (especially considering what happened at the end of Aether Revolt). And I really hope they don't kill of Gideon just for the sake of killing someone off. The only thing I would like to see (and which will happen almost certainly) is that Bolas defeats the Gatewatch devastatingly (I mean the second set isn't called "Hour of Devastation" for nothing I think). Hubris has to be dealt with in stories about it, and the Gatewatches hubris is pretty extreme at this point.
They will probably deal with Lilianas demon first though.
I doubt all of the plans are connected though. Bolas doesn't seem like the kind of guy who has one end goal as far as plans go (barring get more power, but I'm talking more specific stuff), so whatever he did with the Eldrazi may have nothing to do with Amonkhet, which may have nothing (though this is probably a bit less likely) to do with Tezzeret on Kaladesh. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they kind of drop the Bolas released the Eldrazi thing, it just doesn't seem to be something they have in mind.
We don't Bolas created Amonkhet, I thought that was just speculation by one of the characters. And artificial Planes can be maintained if they're balanced color-wise, but most don't seem to be.
And the gods of Theros aren't only human because of a number of reasons. Besides, the main unifying trait of the Theros gods is and should be the Nyx aspect, not everyone being human. That will make them stand out tons more. You're not going to think Thassa is from Amonkhet just because she's a merfolk.
Edit: Also there is a big issue with saying Amonkhet = animal and Theros = human and using that separate the gods. What about Norse, or Aztec, or any number of other cultures? Are they all going to be animals just to keep Theros unique?
No. I just expect the appearance of the gods to follow closely to the source material. Aztec has its own style. I'd expect its gods to represent those depictions, and when they do look human, to appear racially like the humans of that geographic region. Theros should have, IMO, had an entirely human appearing pantheon whose appearance, like Heliod, was racially Greek. Amonkhet would of course have gods that were human-animal hybrids, leaning more toward the latter. Norse would have Germanic appearing human gods stylized based on their depictions. Not to say I mind how the gods are done, just a thought.
Pan wasn't shown as human.
Also remember that creative will also intentionally change things from the source material in order to have it feel more original (I.e Heliod not Zeus, or that fact the Theros gods don't have demigod children). One aspect of this is finding ways to add in their iconic and characteristic races in, for Theros it seems to be a mix of humans, cats, merfolks, zombies, minotaurs, centaurs and satyrs which the gods in Theros. If you put them together you see the greek influences but some of them being non-human helps make them feel more like Theros gods and not Greek gods.
Also I except gods of different planes will reflect the cultures they show up in, I'm also prepared for the gods to be changed in order to fit in what vision creative has for the plane, which might include changing them to non-human looking race of that world.
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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"
Regarding the Planewalkers that the story is going to focus on, my bet is on Nicol Bolas, Gideon, Lillianna, some new walker and strangely, I think Ashiok would fit this environment quite well.
Some suspect Jace would be a major focus planeswalker in the Amonkhet block but I feel like he'll be as present in this block as he was in Kaladesh: a protagonist doing stuff but not the main focus protagonist of the Gatewatch, with maybe a story or two dedicated to him tops.
Gideon will definitely be in Amonkhet, he would have rotated out with BFZ on Amonkhet's release prior to their revising the rotation schedule again and they make the sets too far in advance to change it now. They were spacing the Gatewatch walkers out pretty obviously to generally keep at least one version of the 5 in Standard at a time.
I'd like to point out that Bolas is definitely not the kind to leave all his eggs in one basket. He probably has dozens of plans happening all at once in attempt to find a way to restore his power (his only real goal).
Something I was wondering about that I didn't see brought up (unless I missed it).
What if Amonkhet's trials are actually attempts to make any dormant planeswalker sparks ignite? Only a select few make it through, and they sound pretty brutal, conditions that might be fertile soil for planeswalker ignition.
Also, if they saw Bolas as a god, they might think it's a gift from him and be beholden to him, so he has a group of worshipping planeswalkers he helped create/ignite.
Something I was wondering about that I didn't see brought up (unless I missed it).
What if Amonkhet's trials are actually attempts to make any dormant planeswalker sparks ignite? Only a select few make it through, and they sound pretty brutal, conditions that might be fertile soil for planeswalker ignition.
Also, if they saw Bolas as a god, they might think it's a gift from him and be beholden to him, so he has a group of worshipping planeswalkers he helped create/ignite.
I don't think it was brought up in this thread, but it was talked about a lot in the Amonkhet reveal thread in the Rumor Mill.
Something I was wondering about that I didn't see brought up (unless I missed it).
What if Amonkhet's trials are actually attempts to make any dormant planeswalker sparks ignite? Only a select few make it through, and they sound pretty brutal, conditions that might be fertile soil for planeswalker ignition.
Also, if they saw Bolas as a god, they might think it's a gift from him and be beholden to him, so he has a group of worshipping planeswalkers he helped create/ignite.
I don't think it was brought up in this thread, but it was talked about a lot in the Amonkhet reveal thread in the Rumor Mill.
Yeah, I brought up earlier that I believe Ashiok is a Worthy. At the very least, it's an army fanatically loyal to Bolas.
Something I was wondering about that I didn't see brought up (unless I missed it).
What if Amonkhet's trials are actually attempts to make any dormant planeswalker sparks ignite? Only a select few make it through, and they sound pretty brutal, conditions that might be fertile soil for planeswalker ignition.
Also, if they saw Bolas as a god, they might think it's a gift from him and be beholden to him, so he has a group of worshipping planeswalkers he helped create/ignite.
I don't think it was brought up in this thread, but it was talked about a lot in the Amonkhet reveal thread in the Rumor Mill.
Yeah, I brought up earlier that I believe Ashiok is a Worthy. At the very least, it's an army fanatically loyal to Bolas.
I can definitely see that. Though I don't think Ashiok will make an appearance in Amonkhet block. 2 back-to-back villainous, Bolas serving, UB planeswalkers doesn't seem likely to me. Assuming:
- WotC will balance the colors among planeswalkers
- Bolas will be a planeswalker representing RBU
- We will be getting another Gideon (so as to keep a version of all gatewatch members in standard pre-reversal of the 1.5 year rotation change)
it seems to me that one of Bolas' "worthy" will be a G aligned walker.
That army of planeswalkers theory is quite feasible. Especially given that bolas loves power and what's more powerful than an army of planeswalkers. For that matter even a battalion would suffice for most villains but not bolas. If this is true bolas genius will show.
Im sorry but Chandra being hot headed and childish doesn't make her deserving to die. It makes her deserving of growth. And she's clearly been doing that. As for how she spoke to Ugin; if you just immolated two extra-dimensional behemoths of untold power you'd be a little on the cocky side too. Killing people just to kill people or "up the ante" isn't good story telling its just spectacle creep.
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GW Rhys the Redeemed EDH
RUGAnimar, Soul of Elements EDH
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death EDH
We talking about a comment the author of the mirrodin trilogy in another forum how he believes Karn used a dead or mostly dead plane and/or found "free space" instead of forcing open a hole in the blind eternities to create his plane, which Bolas might have done the same. Knowing Bolas he might have also just destroyed all life on a plane then rebuilt it for Amonkhet.
Also interesting to note is Maro is being quiet if this is a top down or bottom up block;
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/156790042058/are-you-allowed-to-tell-us-yet-whether-amonkhet-is
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
I would expect at least 3/5ths* or 4/5ths* of the animal-like deities on Amonkhet, very few human looking gods.
* We know there is exactly five gods on Amonkhet.
And the gods of Theros aren't only human because of a number of reasons. Besides, the main unifying trait of the Theros gods is and should be the Nyx aspect, not everyone being human. That will make them stand out tons more. You're not going to think Thassa is from Amonkhet just because she's a merfolk.
Edit: Also there is a big issue with saying Amonkhet = animal and Theros = human and using that separate the gods. What about Norse, or Aztec, or any number of other cultures? Are they all going to be animals just to keep Theros unique?
As for Amonkhet, I just wonder if they're doing too much at once. Egypt World, Bolas World, and Lilliana's demon and the Gatewatch arc all at once? Many of us wanted Egypt World and I'm worried it's going to be Bolas, Gatewatch and Lilliana's demon with an Egyptian veneer instead of truly Egypt World.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
So those hoping for Innistrad but Egypt be wary. Those hoping for Kamigawa but Egypt, why do you still dream so big? Personally I'm in the second camp but its hard to admit, I'm expecting it more Kaladesh than Innidstrad, and no where close to Kamigawa.
Just based on what we've seen, Amonkhet seems very top-down. MaRo did say that he couldn't state whether it was top-down or bottom-up though, which seems weirdly evasive for what feels like a relatively spoiler-free question.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Probably a safe bet to say that many(most) of the new planes we visit for the foreseeable future will be "Gatewatch-down."
Some suspect Jace would be a major focus planeswalker in the Amonkhet block but I feel like he'll be as present in this block as he was in Kaladesh: a protagonist doing stuff but not the main focus protagonist of the Gatewatch, with maybe a story or two dedicated to him tops.
I don't see why they would focus on Jace over Lillianna. Lillianna has a major plotpoint on Ammonkhet: Her third Demon Patron. Whereas Jace's only major plotpoint is Bolas.
However, I admit that Jace's perspective on the plane and the welfare of its people would also prove enlightening because he, like Bolas, also rules a plane, albeit Bolas is far more powerful and probably rules more than just Amonkhet...
Gideon, however, I can see as being more prominently featured in the block as he hasn't been the face of a recent set as the others have, besides Battle for Zendikar.
I think the presence of gods on Ammonkhet will provide similarities and contrasts to the Theran Deities that would be significant to Gids, and the duality of a paradisiacal, yet subtly despairing plane under the servitude of Bolas would also make for great story moments for Gideon.
Also, if speculations that Gideon is the son of the Theran Sun god Heliod are true, then this would be the plane where he'd probably discover it, one of the five Amonkhetu gods might even mention their sensing an aura of divinity about him, hence the indestructibility. If, of course, you put stock in such rumours...
As for Ashiok, I dunno, I kinda suspected he'd be a Bolas minion ever since he was introduced and his costuming does bear some semblance to the local populace.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
The fact that the sets focus is on the gods (including Nicol Bolas) and the challenges the Amonkhetu have to go through to be deemed worthy for the (maybe fake) afterlife instead of things that have nothing to do with egypt makes me hopeful that this will be at least an Innistrad-level top-down set. Perhabs even similar to Theros, but I will be happy either way.
I'm pretty sure the focus planeswalkers of this block will be Gideon and Liliana (as well as Nicol Bolas of course). For all those who don't like the Gatewatch, just remember that this will most definitely end in their defeat (I wouldn't get my hopes up that one of them dies though, something I don't really want to happen anyway) and that the next block might feature Ajani exclusively (similar to Jace in SOI).
I'm pretty hyped for this block, ever since Theros I've been waiting for an egyptian based world^^
Problem number one: Nicol Bolas "killed" Ugin long before the mending (about a millennia earlier).
Well, your mileage may vary on whether this would count as better storytelling. First: Why would he choose Zendikar, a notoriously dangerous world where he has no gods with which to control the masses and which already has quite the population? And what should it help releasing the Eldrazi? Had they not been destroyed, Ulamog and Kozilek would have made most if not all of Zendikar uninhabitable. This doesn't make this world particularly colonizable. His fight with Ugin also was premending, at a time in which he still had his godlike powers and therefore no need for evacuation of the Amonkhetu. The planar bridge explicitely can't transport organic matter (at least the prototype couldn't without killing it and as far as I know Tezzeret wanted to send artifact creatures through to compensate for that weakness). Chandra as the second most popular planeswalker certainly won't die (especially considering what happened at the end of Aether Revolt). And I really hope they don't kill of Gideon just for the sake of killing someone off. The only thing I would like to see (and which will happen almost certainly) is that Bolas defeats the Gatewatch devastatingly (I mean the second set isn't called "Hour of Devastation" for nothing I think). Hubris has to be dealt with in stories about it, and the Gatewatches hubris is pretty extreme at this point.
They will probably deal with Lilianas demon first though.
Pan wasn't shown as human.
Also remember that creative will also intentionally change things from the source material in order to have it feel more original (I.e Heliod not Zeus, or that fact the Theros gods don't have demigod children). One aspect of this is finding ways to add in their iconic and characteristic races in, for Theros it seems to be a mix of humans, cats, merfolks, zombies, minotaurs, centaurs and satyrs which the gods in Theros. If you put them together you see the greek influences but some of them being non-human helps make them feel more like Theros gods and not Greek gods.
Also I except gods of different planes will reflect the cultures they show up in, I'm also prepared for the gods to be changed in order to fit in what vision creative has for the plane, which might include changing them to non-human looking race of that world.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Gideon will definitely be in Amonkhet, he would have rotated out with BFZ on Amonkhet's release prior to their revising the rotation schedule again and they make the sets too far in advance to change it now. They were spacing the Gatewatch walkers out pretty obviously to generally keep at least one version of the 5 in Standard at a time.
What if Amonkhet's trials are actually attempts to make any dormant planeswalker sparks ignite? Only a select few make it through, and they sound pretty brutal, conditions that might be fertile soil for planeswalker ignition.
Also, if they saw Bolas as a god, they might think it's a gift from him and be beholden to him, so he has a group of worshipping planeswalkers he helped create/ignite.
I don't think it was brought up in this thread, but it was talked about a lot in the Amonkhet reveal thread in the Rumor Mill.
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I can definitely see that. Though I don't think Ashiok will make an appearance in Amonkhet block. 2 back-to-back villainous, Bolas serving, UB planeswalkers doesn't seem likely to me. Assuming:
- WotC will balance the colors among planeswalkers
- Bolas will be a planeswalker representing RBU
- We will be getting another Gideon (so as to keep a version of all gatewatch members in standard pre-reversal of the 1.5 year rotation change)
it seems to me that one of Bolas' "worthy" will be a G aligned walker.