I also love the Gatewatch shows up on Amonkhet just as this Hours thing is about to happen. What a coinkidink.
I know it's a movie/story but it's just funny.
For all we know the second sun cycle is 20,50,100 years or more. And the Gatewatch shows up just at that moment.
Flavor texts and some cards also lead you to think the whole plane is built on a lie. The hour of devastation seems to be left out of the prophecies. All these things would happen whether or not the Gatewatch was there or not. But here they are ready to kick Dragon butt ( hahaha plot armor) and mess up something that could have been going on for centuries or millenia
You would think the Gatewatch would learn to stop messing with stuff they know nothing about.
1) I think you might a little harsh on what cultures and ideas people are able to pick up on, with both Moana and Pokemon Sun and Moon showing off Polynesian culture and mythology that people seemed really respond too.
2) From what I've read on the subject, Wizards said the mistake was overusing the unfamiliar elements and not using enough of the familiar elements in Kamigawa, not using Shinto mythology and Japanese culture in general.
3) On how differ the worlds are, well yes they are very different since wizard designed each world in a different manner. Kamigawa as I said above was designed to be as close to the source material as it could to a point where unless you knew a lot about shinto mythology you didn't get the references. Theros while very close to the source material but its own elements added, such as there being more then one Minotuar, Sphinx, Hydra, etc, Gorgans being immune to each other stare, the additions of Leonin and Returned etc as well as focus more on what the public knew about Greek mythology more, then the more obscure stuff. Amonkhet isn't just Egyptian mythology but also mixed with Bolas world, meaning it isn't just one top down focus like the other two mythology worlds.*
Top-down design is still a new thing for wizards since we have only had really 4 block that are top down (Abrain Nights block which i count as .5 since it was pure copy and paste, Kamigawa, Innistrad, Theros, SoI as a return set is more bottom up according to Maro but I think since its a retune to top down world it counts as .5) with Amonkhet still in the process of being reveled. It just looks like Wizards is still figuring out the line of originality, familiar elements and being true to the mythological sources for top down design. Innistrad (I think) was easier since Gothic horror and its cousin cosmic horror, are genres and aren't just from "one source" like mythologies giving their elements a more familiar tone to the average person.
*I know your already ready to write off Amonkhet when they said now it was part top down Bolas world but I would like to wait until the end of the block as well as know what the creative process what like for Amonkhet since all the "it part Bolas world" is from designers and we haven't heard how creative went about this, to say how much is Bolas world and how much is Egyptian world. Also I find it funny how people had complained that Theros was too copy and paste but now we are having a discussion on how Amonkhet isn't seemingly true enough Egyptian world.
1. I would argue that Sun and Moon doesn't have any real connection to Polynesian Mythology except in the general sense of where it's located. Sun and Moon is closer to Lilo and Stitch than Moana if we're talking Disney movies. And we've had Japanese movies do really well here in the past, yet Japanese Mythology is too much.
2. They've said Kitsune might not show up for a new Japanese Mythology plane, and they're arguably the most well-known creature from Japanese Mythology. If Kitsune aren't a guarantee, I don't hjave any hope for them doing Japanese Mythology. Note that they can, and likely will, do a new Japanese plane, but it'll resemble Sengoku Basara more than Kamigawa.
3. I wouldn't really count multiple creatures as being it's own twist, but yes, I know that Theros is different from Kamigawa. That's... kind of my point. The entire point on what you're saying is only enforcing what I said. Other new planes for top-down are not going to be as close, and even Greek Mythology wound up dealing with the low-hanging fruit. The low-hanging fruit for almost all other cultures they could do, when looking at their mythology, is a lot higher up than the stuff that Theros did as a general rule. Which, again, is why I'm saying that any future places aren't going to be built as top-down X mythology, they'll be built either top-down or bottom-up Y with a coat of X. Another good example is Ravnica and the Slavic aspect.
1) Many of the Pokemon, the legendary Island protectors and many of the the new Pokemon forms are all based in Polynesian Mythology such as Dugtrio being symbolic of Pele and Marrowak being a Nightmarcher. And while it might not be as deep as a magic set would need to go, this and Moana have raised the west interest in the subject.
2) Where was the Kitsune thing said?
3) Just saying Theros wasn't as copy and pasted as Kamigawa had been. They focused on the familiar more, added in the unfamiliar as seasonings to the world building and then added there own twists, one of which that many being in Greek mythology had only one of them and in Theros they were made into entire races, as well as making it more inline of what Magic the Gathering worlds are like (such the Returned being zombies for the black characteristic race).
And, bout not being able to use other mythology, I simply disagree I think people have enough passing knowledge of other cultures for their mythology to work for top-down design, adding in when they add in the Magic the Gathering elements as well as the low hanging fruit elements you find outside the mythology.
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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"
1. I'd like some citations on them making Pokemon as references to Polynesian Mythology. And I don't think that either really makes the compelling case you're claiming.
3. That... really isn't arguing against my point with regards to Theros.
4. I disagree. Egyptian Mythology wasn't well-known enough to get its own exclusive plane. Regardless of what either of us may think, Wizards clearly doesn't have faith their player base would support it. I'm sure they'll do cultures, but not Mythology. His response on kitsune drives that home.
1. I'd like some citations on them making Pokemon as references to Polynesian Mythology. And I don't think that either really makes the compelling case you're claiming.
Not official has been stated, however if you look through the lore of the Tapu pokemon it lines up pretty well to the four main Hawaiian gods. I will say, looking back the Pokemon I thought of have are more inline to the overall Hawaiian culture then the mythology.
So how is saying that kitsune have a decent chance on showing up on "Japan inspired world 2.0" saying they won't show up? Seems like a Maro answer of yes. Like I could see them not use them since they did on Kamigawa and want to make the worlds different (which is why we didn't get Goblins on Kaladesh) but it looks more like an augment for them being on the plane then not.
4. I disagree. Egyptian Mythology wasn't well-known enough to get its own exclusive plane. Regardless of what either of us may think, Wizards clearly doesn't have faith their player base would support it. I'm sure they'll do cultures, but not Mythology. His response on kitsune drives that home.
The upper management of Magic R&D was having an all-day meeting to try to figure out the next few years of the game (at the end of the part we had already figured out—we work far ahead). One of the first things we did was to write on a giant pad every world concept that we could think of but hadn't yet done. The inspiration for the world could come from any source including mechanical and creative. Aaron had tasked me with making a list of the many worlds players had been asking for over the years. At the top of that list was an Egyptian-inspired world, so I wrote it on the pad.
Next we wrote down a bunch of the different ideas for stories that the creative team was interested in telling. Remember at this point, the Gatewatch had been formed. We then looked at all the world ideas and all the stories ideas and figured out if there were any good synergies. At some point soon after, maybe even at the meeting, the idea of the Egyptian setting being tied to Bolas came up. What if Bolas, in his previous more powerful incarnation, made the Egyptian-inspired world? Everyone agreed that was pretty cool.
Themes are important to making each Magic set feel different from every other Magic set. When we began exploratory design for Amonkhet block, we knew that we wanted to make a set based on ancient Egypt, just as Innistrad was based on the gothic horror genre and Theros was based on Greek mythology. Due to the needs of the overall Magic storyline, we also wanted the world of Amonkhet to be ruled by the Elder Dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas.
Which, unless I missed something, so far point that Amonkhet is half Bolas world was to bring Bolas back into the storyline and everyone thought it was a cool idea.
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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"
1. As near as I can tell the Tapu are not related to the Four Gods. That seems to be a fan theory that seems to hinge mostly on there being Four Gods and four Tapu. But they don't seem to have any connection. Also for Moana, again, as near as I can tell the only thing based on Polynesian Mythology directly is Maui, the rest is original creation. So... I'm not really seeing either of these as strong cases for Polynesian Mythology as a top-down set. Polynesian top-down set sure, but that isn't the same as focusing on it's mythology.
2. I'm saying that Kitsune should be a definitely for a Japanese Mythology set. They're easily one of, if not the most well-known of Japanese Yokai. That it's only a decent chance says that they aren't really interested in Japanese Mythology. Again, Japanese top-down set sure, but that means Ninja and Samurai the Plane, nothing to do with Mythology.
Now, I will add that it's all dependent on what "decent" means. I'm interpreting that in the realm of a 70% at best. Kitsune should be in the 90% though, it's like doing a Greek Mythology set without Centaur.
4. I'm not... really sure how you're expecting that to be a rebuttal again. If they wanted to do a Bolas world they could have done that without co-opting the Egyptian Mythology world. They didn't do that with Greek Mythology world after all. I mean, I guess we'll see, but I'm pretty confident on this. Again, it's based on Theros too, not just Amonkhet. If Hecatoncheir is too obscure, or Catoblepas, then there isn't any chance of us getting a top-down mythology set of anything else except Norse.
Amonkhet being a planeswalker factory almost makes it like the matrix: an uninhabitle world with a small habitable pocket where the people live. Once every X years the safe haven is broken down, the people killed, and the cycle starts anew. Bolas is the architect, Oketra the Oracle? Liliana is agent Smith: working for Bolas still, because of her pact, but grown outside of his control because of the power the chan veil gives her. All we need is for Gideon to go Super Saiyan on Liliana for Bolas in exchange for him not destroying the Hekma at the end of the story, and the analogy is complete.
Only remaining question is where is the white rabbit?
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The secret to enjoyable Commander games is not winning first, but losing last.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
Pokemone sun and moon isn't really a representation of Polynesian mythology..Moana is a lot better with Maui, the kakamora, aumakua, and the great eel, but even that,as Xeruh says, is more inspired by Polynesian mythology than a direct representation.
I would make the argument though that it isn't a bad thing for magic to have it's own interpretation of and stamp upon the top-down sets based on real world-cultures. I loved the flavor and design of Kamigawa, but if we're lucky enough to get a return block I wont mind if it is pop-cultured up a little. I really enjoy the top down worlds but especially for those inspired by real world mythology I think WOTC SHOULD try to deviate from the source material and put their own spin on things.For the mythology/history buffs there can be a few cards like Loathsome Catoblepas and Bounty of the Luxa and I'll be stoked if in a return to Kamigawa we get a skeleton spirit card that is a reference to a gashudokuro, but I think in general we shouldn't expect a boatload of mythology easter eggs every set, even Kamigawa played a little fast and loose with its source material.
Meanwhile, on Amonkhet, the story event cards are starting to be spoiled and it looks like Gideon's honeymoon with devotion doesn't last very long.
Also, UG Nissa. I'm really not happy about that and am going to need an explanation as to why she fits in those colors for this block. I don't mind getting card after card of the gatewatch members but they should stay to the character that they are. I very much doubt Nissa is going to be UG from now on which means it was probably done to fix color balancing issues, and if that's the case I'd prefer they just create a new Amonkhetu walker. By shoehorning GW members into other colors they use up space for other existing (or new) walkers who don't already have 4 or more versions in print
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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"
Yeah, I like the new Nissa mechanically, but it really feels like she was made UG because they couldn't think of another mono-G variant (no wonder, there are so many monogreen Nissas by now). I'd rather have seen a new Naga planeswalker or something.
Yeah, I like the new Nissa mechanically, but it really feels like she was made UG because they couldn't think of another mono-G variant (no wonder, there are so many monogreen Nissas by now). I'd rather have seen a new Naga planeswalker or something.
Alternatively, we could be witnessing a shift in Nissa's character in this block. The stories have been playing up Nissa's connection to Jace (as being Nissa's second-most significant relationship after her connection to Chandra), so this might be a legitimately-foreshadowed shift.
In general, this could mark the beginning of Wizard's willingness to explore secondary colors for the non-Ajani members of the Gatewatch (e.g. Jace's well-documented use of white magic in the lore).
Well, my point wasn't so much that Wizards shouldn't include pop culture, it was that without a significant pop culture presence and awareness that Wizards is unlikely to do a block with a specific Mythology as a top-down focus. Because most mythologies are simply not well-known enough to have the presence Wizards seems to want.
I know I said this in the actual thread for it, but how is the Hekma protecting anyone in this place? We now have Protecton of the Hekma and it can only prevent 1 damage to you the player, not to your creatures. The average zombie in MTG has 2 power. Most of the zombies in Amonkhet have 2+ power. Are there multiple layers of the Hekma?
All that I'm trying to drive in here is that the mechanical representation of the Hekma is such a huge flavor fail within this set that I would have preferred if it was not a card at all and would have been just cozy with the thought of how it was just plot armor for the city state that Amonkhet citizens and other creatures dwell in.
I know I said this in the actual thread for it, but how is the Hekma protecting anyone in this place? We now have Protecton of the Hekma and it can only prevent 1 damage to you the player, not to your creatures. The average zombie in MTG has 2 power. Most of the zombies in Amonkhet have 2+ power. Are there multiple layers of the Hekma?
All that I'm trying to drive in here is that the mechanical representation of the Hekma is such a huge flavor fail within this set that I would have preferred if it was not a card at all and would have been just cozy with the thought of how it was just plot armor for the city state that Amonkhet citizens and other creatures dwell in.
Makes perfect flavor, it protects the city state from the Sunscorched Desert.
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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"
I know I said this in the actual thread for it, but how is the Hekma protecting anyone in this place? We now have Protecton of the Hekma and it can only prevent 1 damage to you the player, not to your creatures. The average zombie in MTG has 2 power. Most of the zombies in Amonkhet have 2+ power. Are there multiple layers of the Hekma?
All that I'm trying to drive in here is that the mechanical representation of the Hekma is such a huge flavor fail within this set that I would have preferred if it was not a card at all and would have been just cozy with the thought of how it was just plot armor for the city state that Amonkhet citizens and other creatures dwell in.
It's pretty folly to relate the in game mechanics and power to the Magic Story. One could write several novels about how things such as this do not match up in game play to the actual story across many different games. It's akin to asking how Ulamog can wear Swiftfoot Boots. It's largely irrelevant because we know game play and story coexist but do not need to reflect each other
Makes perfect flavor, it protects the city state from the Sunscorched Desert.
Half true. If you actually zoom in on the artwork you will see a wave of undead pounding on the barrier that is the Hekma. Which is a threat that is being kept out by the force of the Hekma. That a child stares on at the hungry hoard and are naturally weary of retrieving their ball that rolled too close to the Hekma.
It's pretty folly to relate the in game mechanics and power to the Magic Story. One could write several novels about how things such as this do not match up in game play to the actual story across many different games. It's akin to asking how Ulamog can wear Swiftfoot Boots. It's largely irrelevant because we know game play and story coexist but do not need to reflect each other
That is just a looney toons retort. As nowhere in the actual story material is Ulamog stated to wear shoes and it doesn't come into play in the actual story. So tell me, when do we actually learn that the entire universe of MTG is just a child's pop-up book and the cards are actually just the child's drawings?
Also its not folly as part of MTG is that the cards within the set are supposed to help illustrate the story within that set. As the card in question, Protection of the Hekma, is not only a mechanical fail but also a flavor fail.
To put this in a reasonable comparison, Coax From the Blind Eternities, is a flavor win. Not only is it a significant moment in the story for Shadows Over Innistrad that is properly represented, but its also a mechanical win as its creates perfect harmony by weaving both sides.
Todays story comfier Amonkhet was not built by Bolas but taken over. Also the pantheon had three other gods, with the five remains not remembering before Bolas.
Also the Amonkhet planar profile on the main site has yet to be added. Hmmm
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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"
What I find strange is that Nissa believes Bolas corrupted the plane mere decades before. It must be a very different plane from what Liliana remembers.
The Sphinxes took a vow of silence and are all-knowing. They must remember what happened.
This story just became one of the most intriguing I've read in my reading of current Magic. I told my friend that Bolas did not create this plane. No-one believed me, but it was Liliana who said he created it. Were we supposed to assume she knew what she was talking about? I didn't. It's all coming in full circle. I can't wait to see the next Story Spotlight card.
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"The essence of every world, every spell and every thought is power. Nothing else matters, because nothing else exists."
That was GOOD. Raising many interesting questions and confirming a few theories.
New theory: Gideon will sacrifice himself to "free" Oketra and her pals.
Also, keep in mind we still have two Spotlights to go, and some cards that could be spotlights but are not (As Foretold, Ascension of the Second Sun)...
I predict that one of the Story Spotlights to see will be Hazoret trying to reward Gideon for his achievement (last scene from the trailer).
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100% Vorthos Spike and Storyline Expert
Former Fact Prospector of the Greek Alliance.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Writers in general have been knocking these stories out the park as of late. I'm impressed.
I wonder if the extra time taken in between Aether Revolt and Amonkhet story posts has given them time to fine-tune the short stories? Maybe they're better because they're not as rushed.
And BTW conquering a plane, rewriting the history and inserting himself as god-pharaoh is totally a Bolas thing to do.
Well, that and your socks. They're still part of Bolas' master plan.
What I find strange is that Nissa believes Bolas corrupted the plane mere decades before. It must be a very different plane from what Liliana remembers.
By the end of the story, I was wondering just exactly how long ago was Liliana here?
Today was a good story, got some fun details
1) the new Bolas card will have a cmc of 8 again
2) Chandra DOES have an actual crush on Nissa. Oh I hope they become a couple! <3 and as much as i hate the Gatewatch plot armor, it will be refreshing for them to be able to fall in love with no risk of one dying in front of the other in the next story
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I know it's a movie/story but it's just funny.
For all we know the second sun cycle is 20,50,100 years or more. And the Gatewatch shows up just at that moment.
Flavor texts and some cards also lead you to think the whole plane is built on a lie. The hour of devastation seems to be left out of the prophecies. All these things would happen whether or not the Gatewatch was there or not. But here they are ready to kick Dragon butt ( hahaha plot armor) and mess up something that could have been going on for centuries or millenia
You would think the Gatewatch would learn to stop messing with stuff they know nothing about.
1) Many of the Pokemon, the legendary Island protectors and many of the the new Pokemon forms are all based in Polynesian Mythology such as Dugtrio being symbolic of Pele and Marrowak being a Nightmarcher. And while it might not be as deep as a magic set would need to go, this and Moana have raised the west interest in the subject.
2) Where was the Kitsune thing said?
3) Just saying Theros wasn't as copy and pasted as Kamigawa had been. They focused on the familiar more, added in the unfamiliar as seasonings to the world building and then added there own twists, one of which that many being in Greek mythology had only one of them and in Theros they were made into entire races, as well as making it more inline of what Magic the Gathering worlds are like (such the Returned being zombies for the black characteristic race).
And, bout not being able to use other mythology, I simply disagree I think people have enough passing knowledge of other cultures for their mythology to work for top-down design, adding in when they add in the Magic the Gathering elements as well as the low hanging fruit elements you find outside the mythology.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
2. http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/158729944158/if-we-end-up-getting-a-different-japanese-plane
3. That... really isn't arguing against my point with regards to Theros.
4. I disagree. Egyptian Mythology wasn't well-known enough to get its own exclusive plane. Regardless of what either of us may think, Wizards clearly doesn't have faith their player base would support it. I'm sure they'll do cultures, but not Mythology. His response on kitsune drives that home.
Not official has been stated, however if you look through the lore of the Tapu pokemon it lines up pretty well to the four main Hawaiian gods. I will say, looking back the Pokemon I thought of have are more inline to the overall Hawaiian culture then the mythology.
So how is saying that kitsune have a decent chance on showing up on "Japan inspired world 2.0" saying they won't show up? Seems like a Maro answer of yes. Like I could see them not use them since they did on Kamigawa and want to make the worlds different (which is why we didn't get Goblins on Kaladesh) but it looks more like an augment for them being on the plane then not.
That your option, from what both Mark and Ethan have said said so far this doesn't seem to be the case;
Mark;
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/amonkhet-down-business-part-1-2017-04-03
Ethan;
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/card-preview/five-trials-2017-04-04
Which, unless I missed something, so far point that Amonkhet is half Bolas world was to bring Bolas back into the storyline and everyone thought it was a cool idea.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
2. I'm saying that Kitsune should be a definitely for a Japanese Mythology set. They're easily one of, if not the most well-known of Japanese Yokai. That it's only a decent chance says that they aren't really interested in Japanese Mythology. Again, Japanese top-down set sure, but that means Ninja and Samurai the Plane, nothing to do with Mythology.
Now, I will add that it's all dependent on what "decent" means. I'm interpreting that in the realm of a 70% at best. Kitsune should be in the 90% though, it's like doing a Greek Mythology set without Centaur.
4. I'm not... really sure how you're expecting that to be a rebuttal again. If they wanted to do a Bolas world they could have done that without co-opting the Egyptian Mythology world. They didn't do that with Greek Mythology world after all. I mean, I guess we'll see, but I'm pretty confident on this. Again, it's based on Theros too, not just Amonkhet. If Hecatoncheir is too obscure, or Catoblepas, then there isn't any chance of us getting a top-down mythology set of anything else except Norse.
Only remaining question is where is the white rabbit?
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.
I would make the argument though that it isn't a bad thing for magic to have it's own interpretation of and stamp upon the top-down sets based on real world-cultures. I loved the flavor and design of Kamigawa, but if we're lucky enough to get a return block I wont mind if it is pop-cultured up a little. I really enjoy the top down worlds but especially for those inspired by real world mythology I think WOTC SHOULD try to deviate from the source material and put their own spin on things.For the mythology/history buffs there can be a few cards like Loathsome Catoblepas and Bounty of the Luxa and I'll be stoked if in a return to Kamigawa we get a skeleton spirit card that is a reference to a gashudokuro, but I think in general we shouldn't expect a boatload of mythology easter eggs every set, even Kamigawa played a little fast and loose with its source material.
Meanwhile, on Amonkhet, the story event cards are starting to be spoiled and it looks like Gideon's honeymoon with devotion doesn't last very long.
Also, UG Nissa. I'm really not happy about that and am going to need an explanation as to why she fits in those colors for this block. I don't mind getting card after card of the gatewatch members but they should stay to the character that they are. I very much doubt Nissa is going to be UG from now on which means it was probably done to fix color balancing issues, and if that's the case I'd prefer they just create a new Amonkhetu walker. By shoehorning GW members into other colors they use up space for other existing (or new) walkers who don't already have 4 or more versions in print
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"
Alternatively, we could be witnessing a shift in Nissa's character in this block. The stories have been playing up Nissa's connection to Jace (as being Nissa's second-most significant relationship after her connection to Chandra), so this might be a legitimately-foreshadowed shift.
In general, this could mark the beginning of Wizard's willingness to explore secondary colors for the non-Ajani members of the Gatewatch (e.g. Jace's well-documented use of white magic in the lore).
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"
All that I'm trying to drive in here is that the mechanical representation of the Hekma is such a huge flavor fail within this set that I would have preferred if it was not a card at all and would have been just cozy with the thought of how it was just plot armor for the city state that Amonkhet citizens and other creatures dwell in.
Makes perfect flavor, it protects the city state from the Sunscorched Desert.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
It's pretty folly to relate the in game mechanics and power to the Magic Story. One could write several novels about how things such as this do not match up in game play to the actual story across many different games. It's akin to asking how Ulamog can wear Swiftfoot Boots. It's largely irrelevant because we know game play and story coexist but do not need to reflect each other
(Also known as Xenphire)
That is just a looney toons retort. As nowhere in the actual story material is Ulamog stated to wear shoes and it doesn't come into play in the actual story. So tell me, when do we actually learn that the entire universe of MTG is just a child's pop-up book and the cards are actually just the child's drawings?
Also its not folly as part of MTG is that the cards within the set are supposed to help illustrate the story within that set. As the card in question, Protection of the Hekma, is not only a mechanical fail but also a flavor fail.
To put this in a reasonable comparison, Coax From the Blind Eternities, is a flavor win. Not only is it a significant moment in the story for Shadows Over Innistrad that is properly represented, but its also a mechanical win as its creates perfect harmony by weaving both sides.
The genders of the gods are the inverse of the Theros ones (Oketra, Bontu, Hazoret = female / Rhonas, Kefnet = male).
Not a big deal but I thought people would like to know.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
Also the Amonkhet planar profile on the main site has yet to be added. Hmmm
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
The Sphinxes took a vow of silence and are all-knowing. They must remember what happened.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Hapatra seemed a little gleeful, she scares me.
New theory: Gideon will sacrifice himself to "free" Oketra and her pals.
Also, keep in mind we still have two Spotlights to go, and some cards that could be spotlights but are not (As Foretold, Ascension of the Second Sun)...
I predict that one of the Story Spotlights to see will be Hazoret trying to reward Gideon for his achievement (last scene from the trailer).
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Modern:
Grixis Shadow
Burn
Titanshift
Copycat (Given up currently, not entirely sure what it needs)
Legacy:
Burn
B/R Reanimator (slowly building
EDH:
Sedris Control/Reanimation
I wonder if the extra time taken in between Aether Revolt and Amonkhet story posts has given them time to fine-tune the short stories? Maybe they're better because they're not as rushed.
And BTW conquering a plane, rewriting the history and inserting himself as god-pharaoh is totally a Bolas thing to do.
Well, that and your socks. They're still part of Bolas' master plan.
Click the pic for more info.
By the end of the story, I was wondering just exactly how long ago was Liliana here?
Good call
1) the new Bolas card will have a cmc of 8 again
2) Chandra DOES have an actual crush on Nissa. Oh I hope they become a couple! <3 and as much as i hate the Gatewatch plot armor, it will be refreshing for them to be able to fall in love with no risk of one dying in front of the other in the next story