That would be hilarious! However, I think he would be far more interested in "acquiring" Darretti.
Disgruntled Rakdos artificer planeswalker with talent at invention would make an excellent potential minion. Emphasis on "disgruntled", since he's been disrespected to the point of joining up with Grenzo, and it'd be a shame if his genius were to go to waste.
So it seems people are assuming there's only one way for an ancient ultra powerful being to act. But that's just not true. Sure one can go the route of Sorin or Ugin and become cold amd disconnected. But that's not the only way. Bolas is obsessed with power and is clearly mad with it. The way he behaved in this story was absolutely perfect. It was entirely within the range of a powermad dragon who looks down on LITERALLY everyone. Of course he ***** talks them. Of course he treats them as non-threats, playthings even. And each of the gatewatches defeats were perfectly done. Jace didn't have a plan and got crushed when he took Bolas' bait. Lili once again has someone else's will exerted over her. Chandra's fire was literally useless, Nissa's control over the earth was outmatched and Gideon had his invulnerability broken with a single finger. And as he said at the emd, hes done lurking in the shadows. Its time for him to stop plotting and act.
1) There's a lot more in this story than people realize, I think, or at least they're commenting on. Ral Zarek is about 4th on this list. Let's go through them.
A) The Gatewatch is NB's creation and tool.
NB clearly believes--and in most cases can back up--the idea that the Gatewatch is his creation and tool. It is discovered that Jace has been relatively surrounded by his agents in his PW 'life'. Tezzeret, Ral Zarek, and Liliana all qualify, and before the Gatewatch, are the PWs that Jace met and interacted with. Chandra and Nissa were manipulated into releasing the Eldrazi. Liliana's dealings with NB are well known. Gideon's is the least well known, but Gideon's forays in Bant give a clear ability for NB to manipulate him and learn about him.
More importantly than this, defeating the Gatewatch is an accomplishment the equal of obtaining the Planar Bridge and the Eternals in NB's mind. He describes the Gatewatch as 'loose in the Multiverse'. Not 'scattered', not 'lost', not 'not a threat'. He makes clear at the beginning that 'kill the Gatewatch' was an acceptable but not preferred outcome of the situation. He wants the Gatewatch as the Gatewatch around. Why?
B) Ugin (and perhaps Jace) may have a much longer plan.
Jace runs into NB's mind, and encounters something that reminds him of another mind. I (and most) thought it was Alhammeret, but then someone pointed out that it was a verbatim description of Ugin's mind. And... why would Jace not only not remember something like that, but it seems that Jace himself erased the memory. Why? When have Jace and Ugin met? Only twice; at the Eye when Ugin lectures him and after the defeat of the Titans when Ugin berates the Gatewatch. So... what was there to forget? Only the meeting at the Eye was one-on-one. Perhaps Ugin and Jace discussed more than the story revealed? Perhaps NB? Perhaps a plan? The point is not that I know what's going on. It's that there's clearly a gap in Jace's mind regarding Ugin and we know of no reason for there to be one. It should be noted here that 'creating a plan and then wiping it from your own mind' is a known plan for dealing with a mind mage. There's also the fact that Jace is known to be able to survive his mind being fractured... given that he's been doing so for most if not all of his life.
The other option is that this indeed is Alhammeret's mind and not Ugin's and they recycled the text for... little to no gain.
C) Ral Zarek is an agent of NB.
I think Jay said everything appropriate here, but I might point out that there is some discussion that Ral may have become an agent of Bolas because of Jace becoming the Guildpact or something similar. The opposite may be much more compelling: Ral was trying to become the Guildpact as a way to get out of being an agent of Bolas. Tezzeret and Liliana both make clear that working for Bolas royally sucks. Ral might have been searching for a way out of that tyranny. He tried to kill Jace in the Maze because Jace was going to win.
Also realize that if Ral is an agent of Bolas, maybe his report of Vraska PWing to 'nowhere' was simply a lie. We have only his word for it. Alternately, a very long plan of NB would be for him to say that to Jace so that when Jace fled on Amonkhet his mind would take him to the first plane it attached to... being Ral's reference to nowhere. IOW, some form of (nonmagical) hypnotic suggestion.
2) Liliana didn't betray the Gatewatch.
Why does anyone believe that? She first pleaded with them to run away and then ran away herself. She did whatever she had to do to get away. Where is there any indication that she plans to uphold her end of the 'bargain' with NB? There is none. Now, NB played it for all it was worth (see below) and Liliana was forced to go along--the alternative being death--but her entire arc is regaining her self-control and not being beholden to anyone for anything. She may have taken (another) step back here, but she is slowly learning that part of her self-control is not being self-reliant. So yeah.
3) NB's personality is fine.
Who's going to tell him how he should behave? Who can compel him otherwise? He's a classic example of an internet persona. He says what he wants and does what he wants because there can be no consequences for those actions. So sure, he's a dick. (He has other reasons as well.) He's a ham. What are you going to do, kill him? Pssh. As if.
4) His plan for taking out the Gatewatch was precise and subtle.
Ignore the banter and taunting that was just surface glitter on the plan. He took the Gatewatch out like dominos, one falling after another, and each fall causing the next. I'm guessing the only reason 'falling like dominos' wasn't explicitly used was because dominos aren't around or easily referenced in Magic.
A) Target #1: Jace. Why Jace first? He's the weakest, for one; for two, his weakness is his own mind. He is his own greatest weakness. You start dominos falling with a domino that is already unbalanced, and Jace is certainly that.
B) Target #2: Liliana. Jace makes Liliana fall. He is her pressure point, particularly within the Gatewatch. (Note also that Chandra is becoming one.) The only reason Liliana was still around was because Jace was there. As soon as he vanished, the scales tilted towards 'getting out of here'. And then things unfolded as discussed above.
C) Target #3: Chandra. Liliana wasn't Chandra's pressure point, per se, but she would definitely take betrayal that way. Particularly after the sisterly escapades in Kaladesh and regaining her family, loyalty has become important to her, and she falls because she can't deal with Liliana's (very rational) response to a terrible situation.
D) Target #4: Nissa. Chandra's fall then leads to Nissa. This mainly hearkens back to Kaladesh and the fact Gideon had to be last. Also, NB had to know how long it would take for Nissa to use her animistic powers, so she could be pushed back in the list. Finally, it should be noted that Nissa was the most effective member of the Gatewatch here.
E) Target #5: Gideon. Gideon thinks he's strong when he doesn't have to worry about his friends. He's wrong. He needs his friends. For a purpose if nothing else. A very appropriate weakness for a White character in Magic is an external locus of control; he defines himself by his friends. And so he is left alone.
5) NB is lying about being able to control the Chain Veil. If he isn't, and he can use the Veil safely, why didn't he take it? There wasn't anything preventing him, as far as I could tell. The only way he isn't lying is if he believes that it serves him better for Liliana to have it. And how would that work out?
Anyway, it was very interesting and, appropriately, left more questions. The biggest question in my mind is what is Ral doing that NB wants and why is he late? What timetable is NB working from, and are there consequences (for NB) for not meeting it?
We seriously need you to analyze all the stories, because this analysis was just as interesting a read as the story itself. I guess whatever Bolas has Vraska doing on Ixalan (with the compass apparently mentioned in flavor text), Ral didn't want Jace to know, which makes sense if he's an agent of Bolas.
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I kinda feel like Ral is more likely to be an unwilling agent for Bolas.
We already know how much he chafes being subordinate to one arrogant, millennia old, self absorbed dragon. I find it hard to believe he'd willingly subjugate himself to another even worse dragon.
I think he's got a Bontu situation going. He chose survival.
TO add to my post previously, while I don't have strong dislike or such to this ending, I'm worried about the future of stories involving Bolas.
That Ral is actually Bolas' agent pretty much means Ravnica is doomed, but that brings about a farther implication now that I think about it: Bolas cannot lose.
Okay, you may accuse me of saying this out of spite or something in that the only ancient being Wizards ever like or care about is Bolas, but another reason why I flat-out say we'll never see Bolas lose is that the part with Ral pretty much implies that Bolas has been too thorough in setting up plans for dominations everywhere (except, maybe, in Theros, unless Kruphix himself is Bolas' agent much like Bontu), which means his threat level has gone from beyond "super powerful ancient dragon planeswalker" to "omniscient being who has all his weaknesses covered", and thus it will be impossible to put him in a losing situation that doesn't feel like a deus ex machina (like, say, Ugin working together with Emrakul to take him on).
I sincerely hope they'll never put him into any future story (although I know it's not gonna happen). He's won completely thoroughly already, any story involving him in the near future likely will end with yet more of his victory, and there's no way we can set him in a disadvantage in a believable and acceptable manner.
5) NB is lying about being able to control the Chain Veil. If he isn't, and he can use the Veil safely, why didn't he take it? There wasn't anything preventing him, as far as I could tell.
Uhmmm where would he were it then? Even his pinky is to big.
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I really expected Gideon to die. It was pretty clear Wizards intended us to believe so with Ajani joining the Gatewatch, Bontu showing Gideon his mortality, finding such strong faith in Oketra and losing her, and all his buddies porting away while he stayed.
Has Gideon returned to Theros? Has Gideon gotten over his guilt over getting his Irregulars killed? Has Gideon's hidden desire that he shouted at Erebos that we didn't hear during Jace's mental struggle against Emrakul come to light yet? Is Ajani (post-Theros) or his Oath mono-white?
If you've answered "No" to all of these questions, I want to know how you drew your conclusions. I've said it before, but I can't understand how anyone who's been following the story expects Gideon to die here.
Couldn´t that be said about Elspeth too? I´m sure there were a lot of unanswered questions too before she died.
Except that Elspeth's death isn't absolute, and never has been, because of where she died.
If Gideon died on Amonkhet, he would have died for good, and then be raised by the Curse of Wandering.
With how Wizard is doing stories, i´m pretty sure they would find a way to revive him in some way on a return to Amonkhet
I would like to point out that NOBODY likes Bolas.
Tezz hates him
Lily hates him
Sarkhan only liked his dragonishness now, but he is away working too much. Ugin was there for him, so he left Bolas for Ugin.
We could probably assume Ral and Vraska hate him too.
For all we know they are under "work for me or die" from Bolas. If there is anything Vraska hates it is being controlled.
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That Ral is actually Bolas' agent pretty much means Ravnica is doomed
Why would Ravnica be doomed? What does destroying Ravnica gain Bolas?
What does Bolas gain by ending Amonkhet?
Okay, some argue we have survivors in Amonkhet after the Hours, but looking at the situation the plane's just all but thoroughly busted up like Innistrad, pretty much doomed. But does it have to? Does Bolas have to, poetically-speaking, destroy Amonkhet?
Admittedly the arrival of the Gatewatch might have led to his plans being found out, prompting him to silence everyone, but from the looks of it, even if the Gatewatch never came, the Hours would still proceed with Naktamun being ground down anyway, there's no hint that Bolas would spare Naktamun just because Gatewatch never bothered him. Or to put it in another words, he never seems to plan on just picking up his army of eternals then scoots off, leaving the populace minding their own business once again.
And do not forget Slave Of Bolas, which sums up his use of Amonkhet and its gods perfectly:
Nicol Bolas doesn't distinguish between servants and victims.
And thus why, regardless of what plans Bolas might have for Ravnica, something very, very, VERY bad will happen to the plane once he actually takes action.
Although, that reminds me.... What about the Locust God and the Scarab God? I suspect the Scarab God will serve as his army-commander of sorts (to lead his Eternals), but the Locust God? (of course, having said what I have said, he'll probably just kill him off too, or maybe just let him alive to hunt down the survivors of Amonkhet)
B) Ugin (and perhaps Jace) may have a much longer plan.
Jace runs into NB's mind, and encounters something that reminds him of another mind. I (and most) thought it was Alhammeret, but then someone pointed out that it was a verbatim description of Ugin's mind. And... why would Jace not only not remember something like that, but it seems that Jace himself erased the memory. Why? When have Jace and Ugin met? Only twice; at the Eye when Ugin lectures him and after the defeat of the Titans when Ugin berates the Gatewatch. So... what was there to forget? Only the meeting at the Eye was one-on-one. Perhaps Ugin and Jace discussed more than the story revealed? Perhaps NB? Perhaps a plan? The point is not that I know what's going on. It's that there's clearly a gap in Jace's mind regarding Ugin and we know of no reason for there to be one. It should be noted here that 'creating a plan and then wiping it from your own mind' is a known plan for dealing with a mind mage. There's also the fact that Jace is known to be able to survive his mind being fractured... given that he's been doing so for most if not all of his life.
This is actually... a very very cool twist, if true. Ugin plotting against Bolas, carefully letting Jace wipe his own mind, so Bolas wouldn't learn their plans. That's actually pretty amazing. Only problem is that Ugin didn't seem particularly thrilled with working with Jace at the end of BZF... unless that was just an act so Bolas would think they wouldn't work together... wow we're getting into advanced psychology tricks here.
As an aside, while my first thought was Alhammaret when I read the passage, it seemed rather odd and not very fitting. Describing Alhammaret's mind as crystalline doesn't evoke the correct associations and his mind was evidently not all that impenetrable. I wouldn't rule out that the similar wording to Ugin was just a coincidence and it was supposed to reference Alhammaret, but after the Amonkhet arc I like to give creative the benefit of doubt. Looks like after the difficulties of a 180° turn to a new form of storytelling and the resulting mess in BFZ, they're slowly getting their act together.
C) Ral Zarek is an agent of NB.
I think Jay said everything appropriate here, but I might point out that there is some discussion that Ral may have become an agent of Bolas because of Jace becoming the Guildpact or something similar. The opposite may be much more compelling: Ral was trying to become the Guildpact as a way to get out of being an agent of Bolas. Tezzeret and Liliana both make clear that working for Bolas royally sucks. Ral might have been searching for a way out of that tyranny. He tried to kill Jace in the Maze because Jace was going to win.
Also realize that if Ral is an agent of Bolas, maybe his report of Vraska PWing to 'nowhere' was simply a lie. We have only his word for it. Alternately, a very long plan of NB would be for him to say that to Jace so that when Jace fled on Amonkhet his mind would take him to the first plane it attached to... being Ral's reference to nowhere. IOW, some form of (nonmagical) hypnotic suggestion.
Personally I don't think Ral lied to Jace in regards to Vraska's travels. It would be a weird lie and I don't think there is a satisfactory answer to "Why would Ral say that rather than just making up something more mundane and believable?"
Edit: What I find more likely is that Ixalan has special metaphysical properties as a plane, like how Shandalar moves through the multiverse on its own. Maybe it's some sort of black hole that attracts metaphysical objects in the vicinity but doesn't let them go, so planeswalkers would be trapped on the world. (Just as an example, there could be other reasons why Ixalan appears as a "void" on Ral's monitoring devices.)
PROBABLY THE FRIGGIN' BEST POST I HAVE READ HERE IN LAST 2 YEARS
Sir, I tip my proverbial hat to you. This was an amazing read.
I am definitely with you on the Liliana's issue. She basically reminded me of Lando Calrissian in Empire Strikes Back. And we know what happened with Lando afterwards.
And she has demonstrated clearly at the end of Agents of Artifice that trading the demons for another master is a no-go for her. She knows that she must take down Belzenlok, and that she does not want to be Bolas's slave.
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Edit: What I find more likely is that Ixalan has special metaphysical properties as a plane, like how Shandalar moves through the multiverse on its own. Maybe it's some sort of black hole that attracts metaphysical objects in the vicinity but doesn't let them go, so planeswalkers would be trapped on the world. (Just as an example, there could be other reasons why Ixalan appears as a "void" on Ral's monitoring devices.)
Ixalan has a native planeswalker, so if it was a "black hole" of sorts that traps walkers, I'd wonder how Miss Boros Planeswalker's ascension went about.
And thus why, regardless of what plans Bolas might have for Ravnica, something very, very, VERY bad will happen to the plane once he actually takes action.
It's worth pointing out that Bolas chose Amonkhet because it's a backwater plane no-one who mattered cared about. Ravnica is as far from that status as you could get where walkers are concerned, as it's a virtual hub for them, and is one of the more advanced planes we've been introduced to. If Bolas decided to lay waste to it for any reason, it'd attract an enormous amount of negative attention, which (as powerful as he is) he might not prefer.
Edit: What I find more likely is that Ixalan has special metaphysical properties as a plane, like how Shandalar moves through the multiverse on its own. Maybe it's some sort of black hole that attracts metaphysical objects in the vicinity but doesn't let them go, so planeswalkers would be trapped on the world. (Just as an example, there could be other reasons why Ixalan appears as a "void" on Ral's monitoring devices.)
Ixalan has a native planeswalker, so if it was a "black hole" of sorts that traps walkers, I'd wonder how Miss Boros Planeswalker's ascension went about.
I have been thinking about that as well and had an idea as I was watching the Black Panther trailer. My theory is this: From what we know the story of ixalan will have to do with finding a mythical lost city (think El Dorado). What if the plane itself is the multiverse's El Dorado? Something about it makes it hidden from magical means of detection like the Lightning Bug and possibly the Planar Portal. Not an actual void but a cloaking device. What if the only way to get to Ixalan is by accident or if you know how to find it, with a map or a guide? Pure speculation of course.
Regardless, the story was good. Bolas was written well for the most part although some lines were a bit over the top for me. I loved that he is so self aware about his flaws... And then he rightly points out that its not fun pretending to be someone he isnt. Thats a very red thing to do. Tezzeret's appearance was a nice twist although I dont think I've ever seen him call Bolas master before. That was Sarkhan's thing. Perhaps his tattoos do a little more than just compelling him to follow the dragons orders?
Edit: What I find more likely is that Ixalan has special metaphysical properties as a plane, like how Shandalar moves through the multiverse on its own. Maybe it's some sort of black hole that attracts metaphysical objects in the vicinity but doesn't let them go, so planeswalkers would be trapped on the world. (Just as an example, there could be other reasons why Ixalan appears as a "void" on Ral's monitoring devices.)
Ixalan has a native planeswalker, so if it was a "black hole" of sorts that traps walkers, I'd wonder how Miss Boros Planeswalker's ascension went about.
I have been thinking about that as well and had an idea as I was watching the Black Panther trailer. My theory is this: From what we know the story of ixalan will have to do with finding a mythical lost city (think El Dorado). What if the plane itself is the multiverse's El Dorado? Something about it makes it hidden from magical means of detection like the Lightning Bug and possibly the Planar Portal. Not an actual void but a cloaking device. What if the only way to get to Ixalan is by accident or if you know how to find it, with a map or a guide? Pure speculation of course.
It wouldn't be anything entirely new. The original Guildpact kept planeswalkers out of Ravnica, so a protective shroud keeping intruders from finding Ixalan would be interesting and entirely plausible. That said, if this is the case, it's now basically useless since Jace, Vraska, Ajani (if the "Conquest of Power" mock-up boosters were any indication) and maybe even Bolas (based on the fuzzy flavour text of River's Rebuke, one of the leaked Ixalan cards) are now aware of the place.
That Ral is actually Bolas' agent pretty much means Ravnica is doomed
Why would Ravnica be doomed? What does destroying Ravnica gain Bolas?
What does Bolas gain by ending Amonkhet?
Okay, some argue we have survivors in Amonkhet after the Hours, but looking at the situation the plane's just all but thoroughly busted up like Innistrad, pretty much doomed. But does it have to? Does Bolas have to, poetically-speaking, destroy Amonkhet?
Admittedly the arrival of the Gatewatch might have led to his plans being found out, prompting him to silence everyone, but from the looks of it, even if the Gatewatch never came, the Hours would still proceed with Naktamun being ground down anyway, there's no hint that Bolas would spare Naktamun just because Gatewatch never bothered him. Or to put it in another words, he never seems to plan on just picking up his army of eternals then scoots off, leaving the populace minding their own business once again.
And do not forget Slave Of Bolas, which sums up his use of Amonkhet and its gods perfectly:
Nicol Bolas doesn't distinguish between servants and victims.
And thus why, regardless of what plans Bolas might have for Ravnica, something very, very, VERY bad will happen to the plane once he actually takes action.
Although, that reminds me.... What about the Locust God and the Scarab God? I suspect the Scarab God will serve as his army-commander of sorts (to lead his Eternals), but the Locust God? (of course, having said what I have said, he'll probably just kill him off too, or maybe just let him alive to hunt down the survivors of Amonkhet)
Bolas reflects in the story that one of the reasons he chose Amonkhet is that it was already dying, and he merely sped the process up. This all but confirms that the catastrophe that the 8 gods lamented they could not prevent and which reduced Amonkhet's life to the confines of the Hekma had nothing to do with Bolas. He's merely uprooting a plant after the harvest, a plant that will soon die to frost.
I'm beginning to believe that if Amonkhet wasn't already doomed, Bolas would have set the process up to be repeatable, but that Amonkhet being doomed and reduced to the single city of Naktamun was what enabled him to enact his plan in the first place. It allowed him to take over the entire plane, and remake it's entire culture, by taking a single city. This city would be easy to control because it would be under the direct supervision and constant presence of his puppets, the gods, and shielded from any outside influences that could subvert his lie. He had to accomplish all this in a matter of a few days with waning power. Looking back, even at the zenith of his power he never took over entire full sized planes, his crowning achievement was the Madaran Empire. He came in like a buzzard to feast on a dying plane, and he is only accelerating the destruction of its life to tie up loose ends and to "be the dragon", having some fun by embracing his nature, like a CEO on a camping trip but for dragon wizards.
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That Ral is actually Bolas' agent pretty much means Ravnica is doomed
Why would Ravnica be doomed? What does destroying Ravnica gain Bolas?
What does Bolas gain by ending Amonkhet?
Okay, some argue we have survivors in Amonkhet after the Hours, but looking at the situation the plane's just all but thoroughly busted up like Innistrad, pretty much doomed. But does it have to? Does Bolas have to, poetically-speaking, destroy Amonkhet?
Admittedly the arrival of the Gatewatch might have led to his plans being found out, prompting him to silence everyone, but from the looks of it, even if the Gatewatch never came, the Hours would still proceed with Naktamun being ground down anyway, there's no hint that Bolas would spare Naktamun just because Gatewatch never bothered him. Or to put it in another words, he never seems to plan on just picking up his army of eternals then scoots off, leaving the populace minding their own business once again.
And do not forget Slave Of Bolas, which sums up his use of Amonkhet and its gods perfectly:
Nicol Bolas doesn't distinguish between servants and victims.
And thus why, regardless of what plans Bolas might have for Ravnica, something very, very, VERY bad will happen to the plane once he actually takes action.
Although, that reminds me.... What about the Locust God and the Scarab God? I suspect the Scarab God will serve as his army-commander of sorts (to lead his Eternals), but the Locust God? (of course, having said what I have said, he'll probably just kill him off too, or maybe just let him alive to hunt down the survivors of Amonkhet)
Bolas reflects in the story that one of the reasons he chose Amonkhet is that it was already dying, and he merely sped the process up. This all but confirms that the catastrophe that the 8 gods lamented they could not prevent and which reduced Amonkhet's life to the confines of the Hekma had nothing to do with Bolas. He's merely uprooting a plant after the harvest, a plant that will soon die to frost.
I'm beginning to believe that if Amonkhet wasn't already doomed, Bolas would have set the process up to be repeatable, but that Amonkhet being doomed and reduced to the single city of Naktamun was what enabled him to enact his plan in the first place. It allowed him to take over the entire plane, and remake it's entire culture, by taking a single city. This city would be easy to control because it would be under the direct supervision and constant presence of his puppets, the gods, and shielded from any outside influences that could subvert his lie. He had to accomplish all this in a matter of a few days with waning power. Looking back, even at the zenith of his power he never took over entire full sized planes, his crowning achievement was the Madaran Empire. He came in like a buzzard to feast on a dying plane, and he is only accelerating the destruction of its life to tie up loose ends and to "be the dragon", having some fun by embracing his nature, like a CEO on a camping trip but for dragon wizards.
I'm not sure if this story is more or less tragic when we take this into consideration. Yes, Bolas is directly responsible for what we saw in HOU, but they were all doomed anyway to either death --> undeath or becoming desert survivors regardless of Bolas's actions, so Bolas at least took its best denizens and "preserved" them as his army.
Then again, if they were really good at keeping that Hekma up, maybe...eh I don't know.
C) Ral Zarek is an agent of NB.
I think Jay said everything appropriate here, but I might point out that there is some discussion that Ral may have become an agent of Bolas because of Jace becoming the Guildpact or something similar. The opposite may be much more compelling: Ral was trying to become the Guildpact as a way to get out of being an agent of Bolas. Tezzeret and Liliana both make clear that working for Bolas royally sucks. Ral might have been searching for a way out of that tyranny. He tried to kill Jace in the Maze because Jace was going to win.
Also realize that if Ral is an agent of Bolas, maybe his report of Vraska PWing to 'nowhere' was simply a lie. We have only his word for it. Alternately, a very long plan of NB would be for him to say that to Jace so that when Jace fled on Amonkhet his mind would take him to the first plane it attached to... being Ral's reference to nowhere. IOW, some form of (nonmagical) hypnotic suggestion.
It wouldn't be anything entirely new. The original Guildpact kept planeswalkers out of Ravnica, so a protective shroud keeping intruders from finding Ixalan would be interesting and entirely plausible. That said, if this is the case, it's now basically useless since Jace, Vraska, Ajani (if the "Conquest of Power" mock-up boosters were any indication) and maybe even Bolas (based on the fuzzy flavour text of River's Rebuke, one of the leaked Ixalan cards) are now aware of the place.
To further the thinking with regard to Ral Zarek, lets combine the two trains of thought.
We know that Ral really only cares about Ravnica, he's shown little to no interest in really exploring beyond the confines of "His" world.
We know that he hates being subservient to Niv, and can reasonably assume he'd find Bolas even worse.
We know that the original Guildpact locked planeswalkers out of the plane.
It's possible then, that Ral had intended to use the position of Guildpact to somehow restore the lock and isolate Ravnica from the multiverse again, thus protecting his plane, and himself, from Bolas.
So it hit me a little while ago on the reason Bolas is killing everyone. Because note he's not destroying the plane, just killing off all the people. Remember that one of the hours said that the God-Pharoah would judge those who remained untested. Well now there are a whole bunch of dead initiates and viziers and he does still have the necropolis where the eternals were made. That's why he's killing the rest. To make more eternals.
It's worth pointing out that Bolas chose Amonkhet because it's a backwater plane no-one who mattered cared about. Ravnica is as far from that status as you could get where walkers are concerned, as it's a virtual hub for them, and is one of the more advanced planes we've been introduced to. If Bolas decided to lay waste to it for any reason, it'd attract an enormous amount of negative attention, which (as powerful as he is) he might not prefer.
Fair points. I guess I was overreacting, but otherwise, until Bolas does have enough of Ravnica he'll likely keep his claws off it (as in, not directly meddling with Ravnica, just reading news from Ral), thus staving off its destruction indirectly. And also, I guess your argument is supported by Alara; sure, there were chaos and destruction left and right, but hey, at least the plane endures.
But again as I said, does Bolas really have anyone else left to fear? Sure, Ugin is alive right now, but what are the chances that Yasova didn't tell him one way or another that something happened to Ugin after the beatdown, which means he'd have Ugin on tabs for a millenia+ and have countermeasures in case the spirit dragon decides to act? Liliana, the strongest of the Gatewatch, is still nothing to him, much less anyone else.
Bolas reflects in the story that one of the reasons he chose Amonkhet is that it was already dying, and he merely sped the process up. This all but confirms that the catastrophe that the 8 gods lamented they could not prevent and which reduced Amonkhet's life to the confines of the Hekma had nothing to do with Bolas. He's merely uprooting a plant after the harvest, a plant that will soon die to frost.
I'm beginning to believe that if Amonkhet wasn't already doomed, Bolas would have set the process up to be repeatable, but that Amonkhet being doomed and reduced to the single city of Naktamun was what enabled him to enact his plan in the first place. It allowed him to take over the entire plane, and remake it's entire culture, by taking a single city. This city would be easy to control because it would be under the direct supervision and constant presence of his puppets, the gods, and shielded from any outside influences that could subvert his lie. He had to accomplish all this in a matter of a few days with waning power. Looking back, even at the zenith of his power he never took over entire full sized planes, his crowning achievement was the Madaran Empire. He came in like a buzzard to feast on a dying plane, and he is only accelerating the destruction of its life to tie up loose ends and to "be the dragon", having some fun by embracing his nature, like a CEO on a camping trip but for dragon wizards.
Does he have a sleeper in Tarkir among the Silumgar perhaps?
Was Leovold his agent on Fiora all along?
That would be hilarious! However, I think he would be far more interested in "acquiring" Darretti.
Disgruntled Rakdos artificer planeswalker with talent at invention would make an excellent potential minion. Emphasis on "disgruntled", since he's been disrespected to the point of joining up with Grenzo, and it'd be a shame if his genius were to go to waste.
We seriously need you to analyze all the stories, because this analysis was just as interesting a read as the story itself. I guess whatever Bolas has Vraska doing on Ixalan (with the compass apparently mentioned in flavor text), Ral didn't want Jace to know, which makes sense if he's an agent of Bolas.
Bolas was just following the natural strategy.
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We already know how much he chafes being subordinate to one arrogant, millennia old, self absorbed dragon. I find it hard to believe he'd willingly subjugate himself to another even worse dragon.
I think he's got a Bontu situation going. He chose survival.
That Ral is actually Bolas' agent pretty much means Ravnica is doomed, but that brings about a farther implication now that I think about it: Bolas cannot lose.
Okay, you may accuse me of saying this out of spite or something in that the only ancient being Wizards ever like or care about is Bolas, but another reason why I flat-out say we'll never see Bolas lose is that the part with Ral pretty much implies that Bolas has been too thorough in setting up plans for dominations everywhere (except, maybe, in Theros, unless Kruphix himself is Bolas' agent much like Bontu), which means his threat level has gone from beyond "super powerful ancient dragon planeswalker" to "omniscient being who has all his weaknesses covered", and thus it will be impossible to put him in a losing situation that doesn't feel like a deus ex machina (like, say, Ugin working together with Emrakul to take him on).
I sincerely hope they'll never put him into any future story (although I know it's not gonna happen). He's won completely thoroughly already, any story involving him in the near future likely will end with yet more of his victory, and there's no way we can set him in a disadvantage in a believable and acceptable manner.
Art is life itself.
Uhmmm where would he were it then? Even his pinky is to big.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
With how Wizard is doing stories, i´m pretty sure they would find a way to revive him in some way on a return to Amonkhet
Tezz hates him
Lily hates him
Sarkhan only liked his dragonishness now, but he is away working too much. Ugin was there for him, so he left Bolas for Ugin.
We could probably assume Ral and Vraska hate him too.
For all we know they are under "work for me or die" from Bolas. If there is anything Vraska hates it is being controlled.
What does Bolas gain by ending Amonkhet?
Okay, some argue we have survivors in Amonkhet after the Hours, but looking at the situation the plane's just all but thoroughly busted up like Innistrad, pretty much doomed. But does it have to? Does Bolas have to, poetically-speaking, destroy Amonkhet?
Admittedly the arrival of the Gatewatch might have led to his plans being found out, prompting him to silence everyone, but from the looks of it, even if the Gatewatch never came, the Hours would still proceed with Naktamun being ground down anyway, there's no hint that Bolas would spare Naktamun just because Gatewatch never bothered him. Or to put it in another words, he never seems to plan on just picking up his army of eternals then scoots off, leaving the populace minding their own business once again.
And do not forget Slave Of Bolas, which sums up his use of Amonkhet and its gods perfectly:
Nicol Bolas doesn't distinguish between servants and victims.
And thus why, regardless of what plans Bolas might have for Ravnica, something very, very, VERY bad will happen to the plane once he actually takes action.
Although, that reminds me.... What about the Locust God and the Scarab God? I suspect the Scarab God will serve as his army-commander of sorts (to lead his Eternals), but the Locust God? (of course, having said what I have said, he'll probably just kill him off too, or maybe just let him alive to hunt down the survivors of Amonkhet)
This is actually... a very very cool twist, if true. Ugin plotting against Bolas, carefully letting Jace wipe his own mind, so Bolas wouldn't learn their plans. That's actually pretty amazing. Only problem is that Ugin didn't seem particularly thrilled with working with Jace at the end of BZF... unless that was just an act so Bolas would think they wouldn't work together... wow we're getting into advanced psychology tricks here.
As an aside, while my first thought was Alhammaret when I read the passage, it seemed rather odd and not very fitting. Describing Alhammaret's mind as crystalline doesn't evoke the correct associations and his mind was evidently not all that impenetrable. I wouldn't rule out that the similar wording to Ugin was just a coincidence and it was supposed to reference Alhammaret, but after the Amonkhet arc I like to give creative the benefit of doubt. Looks like after the difficulties of a 180° turn to a new form of storytelling and the resulting mess in BFZ, they're slowly getting their act together.
Personally I don't think Ral lied to Jace in regards to Vraska's travels. It would be a weird lie and I don't think there is a satisfactory answer to "Why would Ral say that rather than just making up something more mundane and believable?"
Edit: What I find more likely is that Ixalan has special metaphysical properties as a plane, like how Shandalar moves through the multiverse on its own. Maybe it's some sort of black hole that attracts metaphysical objects in the vicinity but doesn't let them go, so planeswalkers would be trapped on the world. (Just as an example, there could be other reasons why Ixalan appears as a "void" on Ral's monitoring devices.)
Sir, I tip my proverbial hat to you. This was an amazing read.
I am definitely with you on the Liliana's issue. She basically reminded me of Lando Calrissian in Empire Strikes Back. And we know what happened with Lando afterwards.
And she has demonstrated clearly at the end of Agents of Artifice that trading the demons for another master is a no-go for her. She knows that she must take down Belzenlok, and that she does not want to be Bolas's slave.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Ixalan has a native planeswalker, so if it was a "black hole" of sorts that traps walkers, I'd wonder how Miss Boros Planeswalker's ascension went about.
It's worth pointing out that Bolas chose Amonkhet because it's a backwater plane no-one who mattered cared about. Ravnica is as far from that status as you could get where walkers are concerned, as it's a virtual hub for them, and is one of the more advanced planes we've been introduced to. If Bolas decided to lay waste to it for any reason, it'd attract an enormous amount of negative attention, which (as powerful as he is) he might not prefer.
I have been thinking about that as well and had an idea as I was watching the Black Panther trailer. My theory is this: From what we know the story of ixalan will have to do with finding a mythical lost city (think El Dorado). What if the plane itself is the multiverse's El Dorado? Something about it makes it hidden from magical means of detection like the Lightning Bug and possibly the Planar Portal. Not an actual void but a cloaking device. What if the only way to get to Ixalan is by accident or if you know how to find it, with a map or a guide? Pure speculation of course.
Regardless, the story was good. Bolas was written well for the most part although some lines were a bit over the top for me. I loved that he is so self aware about his flaws... And then he rightly points out that its not fun pretending to be someone he isnt. Thats a very red thing to do. Tezzeret's appearance was a nice twist although I dont think I've ever seen him call Bolas master before. That was Sarkhan's thing. Perhaps his tattoos do a little more than just compelling him to follow the dragons orders?
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW
It wouldn't be anything entirely new. The original Guildpact kept planeswalkers out of Ravnica, so a protective shroud keeping intruders from finding Ixalan would be interesting and entirely plausible. That said, if this is the case, it's now basically useless since Jace, Vraska, Ajani (if the "Conquest of Power" mock-up boosters were any indication) and maybe even Bolas (based on the fuzzy flavour text of River's Rebuke, one of the leaked Ixalan cards) are now aware of the place.
Bolas reflects in the story that one of the reasons he chose Amonkhet is that it was already dying, and he merely sped the process up. This all but confirms that the catastrophe that the 8 gods lamented they could not prevent and which reduced Amonkhet's life to the confines of the Hekma had nothing to do with Bolas. He's merely uprooting a plant after the harvest, a plant that will soon die to frost.
I'm beginning to believe that if Amonkhet wasn't already doomed, Bolas would have set the process up to be repeatable, but that Amonkhet being doomed and reduced to the single city of Naktamun was what enabled him to enact his plan in the first place. It allowed him to take over the entire plane, and remake it's entire culture, by taking a single city. This city would be easy to control because it would be under the direct supervision and constant presence of his puppets, the gods, and shielded from any outside influences that could subvert his lie. He had to accomplish all this in a matter of a few days with waning power. Looking back, even at the zenith of his power he never took over entire full sized planes, his crowning achievement was the Madaran Empire. He came in like a buzzard to feast on a dying plane, and he is only accelerating the destruction of its life to tie up loose ends and to "be the dragon", having some fun by embracing his nature, like a CEO on a camping trip but for dragon wizards.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
I'm not sure if this story is more or less tragic when we take this into consideration. Yes, Bolas is directly responsible for what we saw in HOU, but they were all doomed anyway to either death --> undeath or becoming desert survivors regardless of Bolas's actions, so Bolas at least took its best denizens and "preserved" them as his army.
Then again, if they were really good at keeping that Hekma up, maybe...eh I don't know.
To further the thinking with regard to Ral Zarek, lets combine the two trains of thought.
We know that Ral really only cares about Ravnica, he's shown little to no interest in really exploring beyond the confines of "His" world.
We know that he hates being subservient to Niv, and can reasonably assume he'd find Bolas even worse.
We know that the original Guildpact locked planeswalkers out of the plane.
It's possible then, that Ral had intended to use the position of Guildpact to somehow restore the lock and isolate Ravnica from the multiverse again, thus protecting his plane, and himself, from Bolas.
Fair points. I guess I was overreacting, but otherwise, until Bolas does have enough of Ravnica he'll likely keep his claws off it (as in, not directly meddling with Ravnica, just reading news from Ral), thus staving off its destruction indirectly. And also, I guess your argument is supported by Alara; sure, there were chaos and destruction left and right, but hey, at least the plane endures.
But again as I said, does Bolas really have anyone else left to fear? Sure, Ugin is alive right now, but what are the chances that Yasova didn't tell him one way or another that something happened to Ugin after the beatdown, which means he'd have Ugin on tabs for a millenia+ and have countermeasures in case the spirit dragon decides to act? Liliana, the strongest of the Gatewatch, is still nothing to him, much less anyone else.
I see. I guess that works.