Don't know why this hasn't been brought up yet, so I'm going to.
A few days ago there's been a small article on Bolas' endgame theory. Clicky clicky
In short:
Bolas is trying to trap most/many planeswalkers on Ravnica via Project Lightning sucking them into the plane, and locking them with the Immortal Sun.
Then, his army of eternals kills them (maybe even with his help if he cares enough).
Result - the multiverse/blind eternities sense this massive imbalance of power, thus balancing it out by strengthening the remaining PWs. Optimally only Bolas himself.
Bolas is trying to regain his powerlevel as an oldwalker. As was mentioned a few times that's his goal.
Don't know why this hasn't been brought up yet, so I'm going to.
A few days ago there's been a small article on Bolas' endgame theory. Clicky clicky
In short:
Bolas is trying to trap most/many planeswalkers on Ravnica via Project Lightning sucking them into the plane, and locking them with the Immortal Sun.
Then, his army of eternals kills them (maybe even with his help if he cares enough).
Result - the multiverse/blind eternities sense this massive imbalance of power, thus balancing it out by strengthening the remaining PWs. Optimally only Bolas himself.
Bolas is trying to regain his powerlevel as an oldwalker. As was mentioned a few times that's his goal.
Project Lightning Bug tracks planeswalkers that come to and leave Ravnica. It cannot pull planeswalkers from anywhere to anywhere. At best, it could be used to track down planeswalkers and warp them to a plane of choice via the planar bridge (much like how Vraska was sent to find the planar bridge for Tez to fetch).
And if that were his goal, I see no reason for Bolas to be interested in Ravnica outside of retrieving the results of Project Lightning Bug on a regular basis. Why conquer a plane to use as a planeswalker death trap when he has an already conquered plane at his disposal and his army is already there? No, there's gotta be a reason why he specifically wants Ravnica.
Don't know why this hasn't been brought up yet, so I'm going to.
A few days ago there's been a small article on Bolas' endgame theory. Clicky clicky
In short:
Bolas is trying to trap most/many planeswalkers on Ravnica via Project Lightning sucking them into the plane, and locking them with the Immortal Sun.
Then, his army of eternals kills them (maybe even with his help if he cares enough).
Result - the multiverse/blind eternities sense this massive imbalance of power, thus balancing it out by strengthening the remaining PWs. Optimally only Bolas himself.
Bolas is trying to regain his powerlevel as an oldwalker. As was mentioned a few times that's his goal.
The problem is we have no reason to think that that's how the multiverse works. You're right however that it seems to be slipping peoples minds that everything Bolas does has to be viewed through the filter of reattaining his pre-mending powers.
What I think is pretty close though. Ravnica is a pretty popular Planeswalkers hangout. Many planeswalkers have been known to at least pass through not to mention having a high population its the plane most likely to birth a walker. So what if Bolas chose Ravnica because its the place walkers are most likely to go to, get trapped by the Sun and now he can have them hunted down and killed so he can take their sparks to empower his own?
Story is pretty fun lately, this is minor but just wondering if it makes sense to anyone else.
Who originally built Orazca? Azor came back, gave the Sun to the...Sun Empire for a while, then decided to hide with it and told the River Heralds to keep it secret or something, right? Was Orazca built during the Sun Empire's reign?
So he took the fabulous golden city, gathered Elder Dinosaurs there for some reason, and then kind of buried it underground or something? And everybody forgot where it was even though it's more or less next to a navigable river that goes all the way to the ocean?
After Azor took the sun from the proto legion, he gave it to the sun empire, with the sun their civilization flourished and during this time they built orazca. After they too got to high on power, he joined forces with the river heralds, the only people he thought where wise enough not to abuse its power, to conquer oracza and drive the empire out. He then cast a spell to sink the city and tell the river heralds to keep watch, so that no one would find the city. The general direction was known, but the entrance was a bit more complicated, then Kumena unraveled it. I think that was a mechanic from Azor, to raise the city again if he ever heard from Ugin, or simply Kumena undoing the sinking, I’m not entirely through the art book yet. I guess the elders where “tamed” at the time the empire was at their prime, with the power of the sun.
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Maybe Bolas has figured he can't get himself returned to the old powers that he had before the MEnding.
But power is relative. Against an ant, I'm like a god. Against a dragon, I'm food.
So maybe Bolas just wants to make sure he's the only non-ant in the Multiverse.
He left the Gatewatch alive because, let's face it, the Gatewatch are a bunch of dumb kids who aren't a threat to him. In fact, their so dumb, their meddling might just play into his hands (even now, JACE was the one who figured out how to get Vraska to the Immortal Sun) Notice the only one he actively tried to avoid fighting- Lilliana, another oldwalker, and one who barely qualifies. The other four he took on all at once, and curbstomped them without even spending much effort.
Bolas doesn't need every other Planeswalker dead. He just needs the ones who are a threat. The Ugins, the Azors (maybe?), the Karns. I'm sure a few others we haven't entirely met yet. And I think that's where his problems are going to lie. One ant can't hurt you. Enough of them will devour you.
Considering Lilliana's options in Hour of Devastation after she agreed to work with Bolas were A) Leave B) Be forced to kill a very very very angry Chandra, I'm not sure Lili's gonna be meeting up with the Gatewatch anytime soon.
Ajani doesn't know she did that, which is why it's my firm belief that he will be the one to find her. Based on Release, we've seen how gentle and kind he could be. He knows the pain of loss, many times over. I'm not saying he could heal Liliana completely, but she's got to be at her lowest point after what happened on Amonkhet. Ajani can help her, and I feel she might be at the point where accepting his help is more preferable than ending up a pawn of Bolas.
What if Nicol Bolas wants to use the metaphysics of the plane of Ravnica to set up a law across the whole Multiverse where he is the one true ruler? This would mean to warp the core of ravnica as he did with amonkhet
I think that Nicol Bolas's plan is to use the Immortal Sun to create a new Shard (a la Shard of Twelve Worlds) based on Ravnica in the hopes that isolating part of the multiverse will increase the magical power of that part of the multiverse sufficiently to regain oldwalker status.
A theory of my brother's is that Niv-Mizzet's price for helping Jace will be the spark in the Immortal Sun.
Still not sure what the Eternals are for. We now know why the Eternals had to be made on Amonkhet (lazotep protects them from the Blind Eternities) and we can infer why Nicol Bolas destroyed Amonkhet (no one else can have an army that can move between planes), but... really, what are they for? Are they just enforcers?
The glaring hole here in most theories (including mine) is that the Bridge is tied to Tezzeret. I don't think Bolas will show up on a plane where the Immortal Sun is located without a surefire means off that plane. What's to stop Tezzeret from turning on Bolas and trapping him somewhere?
I think that Nicol Bolas's plan is to use the Immortal Sun to create a new Shard (a la Shard of Twelve Worlds) based on Ravnica in the hopes that isolating part of the multiverse will increase the magical power of that part of the multiverse sufficiently to regain oldwalker status.
A theory of my brother's is that Niv-Mizzet's price for helping Jace will be the spark in the Immortal Sun.
Still not sure what the Eternals are for. We now know why the Eternals had to be made on Amonkhet (lazotep protects them from the Blind Eternities) and we can infer why Nicol Bolas destroyed Amonkhet (no one else can have an army that can move between planes), but... really, what are they for? Are they just enforcers?
The glaring hole here in most theories (including mine) is that the Bridge is tied to Tezzeret. I don't think Bolas will show up on a plane where the Immortal Sun is located without a surefire means off that plane. What's to stop Tezzeret from turning on Bolas and trapping him somewhere?
If Nissa's vision is any indication, the immortal sun will be destroyed when it is used to destroy/break something (symbolized by a circular stone tablet covered with strange sigils). In which case, he'd only be trapped until the sun fulfilled that purpose.
I think that Nicol Bolas's plan is to use the Immortal Sun to create a new Shard (a la Shard of Twelve Worlds) based on Ravnica in the hopes that isolating part of the multiverse will increase the magical power of that part of the multiverse sufficiently to regain oldwalker status.
A theory of my brother's is that Niv-Mizzet's price for helping Jace will be the spark in the Immortal Sun.
Still not sure what the Eternals are for. We now know why the Eternals had to be made on Amonkhet (lazotep protects them from the Blind Eternities) and we can infer why Nicol Bolas destroyed Amonkhet (no one else can have an army that can move between planes), but... really, what are they for? Are they just enforcers?
The glaring hole here in most theories (including mine) is that the Bridge is tied to Tezzeret. I don't think Bolas will show up on a plane where the Immortal Sun is located without a surefire means off that plane. What's to stop Tezzeret from turning on Bolas and trapping him somewhere?
I could be wrong but I think that Bolas is able read/speak into/control Tezzeret's mind even if they aren't on the same plane. Presumably, if Tezzeret traps Bolas, Bolas could mind control Tezzeret to teleport the Sun away and free himself, and afterward Bolas would probably kill or at least horribly torture Tezzeret for his betrayal. Being a partially black-aligned character with his own best interests in mind, and someone who has already suffered the consequences of betraying Bolas in the past, Tezzeret's best bet is to not betray Bolas unless he has absolute certainty that it will kill Bolas permanently. He could potentially even help the Gatewatch if they can actually fotrmulate a quick, effective, and permanent solution to the Bolas problem. But given how extremely negatively Tezzeret has been portrayed in stories recently, I have a feeling that Tezzeret will stay with Bolas to the end. Either Tezzeret will be killed in the Gatewatch vs. Bolas conflict or he'll outlive Bolas and pick up the pieces of Bolas's empire and become a future main antagonist.
I think that Nicol Bolas's plan is to use the Immortal Sun to create a new Shard (a la Shard of Twelve Worlds) based on Ravnica in the hopes that isolating part of the multiverse will increase the magical power of that part of the multiverse sufficiently to regain oldwalker status.
A theory of my brother's is that Niv-Mizzet's price for helping Jace will be the spark in the Immortal Sun.
Still not sure what the Eternals are for. We now know why the Eternals had to be made on Amonkhet (lazotep protects them from the Blind Eternities) and we can infer why Nicol Bolas destroyed Amonkhet (no one else can have an army that can move between planes), but... really, what are they for? Are they just enforcers?
The glaring hole here in most theories (including mine) is that the Bridge is tied to Tezzeret. I don't think Bolas will show up on a plane where the Immortal Sun is located without a surefire means off that plane. What's to stop Tezzeret from turning on Bolas and trapping him somewhere?
I could be wrong but I think that Bolas is able read/speak into/control Tezzeret's mind even if they aren't on the same plane. Presumably, if Tezzeret traps Bolas, Bolas could mind control Tezzeret to teleport the Sun away and free himself, and afterward Bolas would probably kill or at least horribly torture Tezzeret for his betrayal. Being a partially black-aligned character with his own best interests in mind, and someone who has already suffered the consequences of betraying Bolas in the past, Tezzeret's best bet is to not betray Bolas unless he has absolute certainty that it will kill Bolas permanently. He could potentially even help the Gatewatch if they can actually fotrmulate a quick, effective, and permanent solution to the Bolas problem. But given how extremely negatively Tezzeret has been portrayed in stories recently, I have a feeling that Tezzeret will stay with Bolas to the end. Either Tezzeret will be killed in the Gatewatch vs. Bolas conflict or he'll outlive Bolas and pick up the pieces of Bolas's empire and become a future main antagonist.
Speaking of Tezzeret, I didn't read the entire Kaladesh story saga, but did Ajani ever comment on Tezzeret being from the same plane as him? Does Ajani even know?
So, in this week's story, Jace stated this idea he had that Niv might be close enough to Bolas' league to be a problem for him. I don't know Ravnica lore that well, but other than the fact that he's a big shot on Ravnica, is there anything in story to suggest Niv would serve as even a reasonably tough speed bump against Nicol Bolas? Is Niv being big, old and smarter than the Tarkir dragons enough to give us reason to think Jace isn't just engaging in wishful thinking here?
Finally got around to read the latest chapter, and I gotta say I'm conflicted: plot-wise it was REALLY well written, it gave us some MASSIVE news for understanding where the plot is going from here, and they seem to be building towards a stint on Dominaria followed by Ravnica part 3, which I'm absolutely pumped for.
But grammar-wise, this episode was horrible. Typos, words repeated twice, misplaced punctuation. Lately it has felt like the company's intention is to step up their game in regards to the lore, and build a true-blue multimedia universe... But if that is the case, they need to step up the quality of their writing too, or they'll end up embarrassing themselves.
I only noticed one or two typos, but I read it pretty quickly. I've also noticed repetition of the exact same words/phrases WAY too close to each other in past weeks, but I didn't see a problem with it this week. Granted, that doesn't mean it wasn't there; I probably just missed it. You're definitely right that they should clean up their act. To their credit, they are willing to edit things after publishing the stories. At least twice during the Ixalan story they accidentally said "ogre" and later edited it to say correctly say "orc", and of course, there was the infamous Chandra/Nissa friendzone edit. So at least they're willing and able to correct their mistakes. It would be much better if they corrected the mistakes BEFORE publishing the articles rather than after, but it's better than nothing I suppose.
Speaking of Tezzeret, I didn't read the entire Kaladesh story saga, but did Ajani ever comment on Tezzeret being from the same plane as him? Does Ajani even know?
[Tamiyo:]"I don't know. Not precisely. It was at the behest of a planeswalking criminal named Tezzeret. He wanted them to bend their necks. To serve his consortium."
[Ajani:]"Tezzeret? I've heard of this man. Elspeth...she met him on Mirrodin."
[Tamiyo:]"Two years? Impossible, Ajani. Tezzeret died...three years ago, I think? Betrayed by his comrades. Nashi's village, those that survived, they killed him. A dragon bargained for the corpse."
[Ajani:]"...a dragon?"
Later, Ajani says:
"Where are you going?"
"To find the man who killed your family. Our friends found him in a place called Kaladesh. Someone's given him money and secrets. He used them to buy his way into power."
So what I assume happened is that Dovin Baan spoke with Tamiyo before she left for Innistrad (this story takes place before SOI). He told her something ambiguous about a planeswalker with a metal arm taking control of Kaladesh. When Tamiyo and Ajani talk to each other afterward, Tamiyo learns that Tezzeret is still alive and assumes that the planeswalker on Kaladesh in Tezzeret. Ajani infers that Tezzeret is working for Bolas and realizes that he needs to be stopped. And so Ajani goes to Kaladesh. Later, after SOI and Eldritch Moon, Tamiyo talks to Dovin again, and tells him about the Gatewatch, which causes him to try to recruit them. Of course, this whole explanation requires a lot of convenient missing details - namely that Dovin isn't specific about which planeswalker took over Kaladesh and doesn't make an enemy of Tamiyo by revealing that he's working for him - but it's the only way I can think of to make the timeline line up.
So ultimately, the three people that Ajani gets information from regarding Tezzeret are Elspeth, Tamiyo, and presumably Dovin (indirectly). None of those people know about where Tezzeret is from. It makes sense that Tezzeret, being a pretty secretive person and possibly without some of his memories due to mental intrusions from both Jace and Bolas, wouldn't tell anyone about his plane of origin. So it's safe to say that Ajani doesn't know where Tezzeret is from and it's just a giant coincidence that two planeswalkers from the same plane ended up clashing on an entirely different plane. But in a story in an infinite multiverse that revolves around only a handful of planes and planeswalkers, such things are bound to happen. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Tezzeret and Ajani will ever have the chance to have a civil conversation and bond over their home plane, on account of them being enemies now, but maybe we could see it become relevant if they ever decide to return to Alara.
I think people are missing something with the Niv Mizzet thing. They specifically went with Niv over Ugin because Niv is a Ravnican Guildmaster/Parun. They're seeking to use Ravnica's inherent law magic against Bolas and Niv is the current Guildmaster most capable of formulating a plan to do so. (Honestly this is where Azor's expertise would have been very helpful Jace.)
Their plan isn't going to be Niv Mizzet vs Nicol Bolas. It's going to be The Guildpact and Guildmasters (using a plan devised in large part by Niv Mizzet) vs Nicol Bolas
I think people are missing something with the Niv Mizzet thing. They specifically went with Niv over Ugin because Niv is a Ravnican Guildmaster/Parun. They're seeking to use Ravnica's inherent law magic against Bolas and Niv is the current Guildmaster most capable of formulating a plan to do so. (Honestly this is where Azor's expertise would have been very helpful Jace.)
Their plan isn't going to be Niv Mizzet vs Nicol Bolas. It's going to be The Guildpact and Guildmasters (using a plan devised in large part by Niv Mizzet) vs Nicol Bolas
A fair point. But that being said, I for one was referring to the bit where Jace said, and I quote, "Niv-Mizzet. He could challenge Nicol Bolas both physically and mentally". I dunno, that sounds like a stretch to me.
Ah, yeah, That's a blatant exaggeration of Niv's power (or a continued underestimation of Bolas').
I'm not entirely sure he meant that he wanted Niv to fight Bolas. Niv may be the third most intelligent being in the Multiverse. If anyone could concoct a plan against Bolas' invasion that isn't Ugin its Niv. It's a convenient bonus that He's also probably properly Elder dragon status(at least if the Tarkir Dragonlords are) and a known powerful mage. If anyone is going to go mano-a-dragano with Bolas it'd probably be Rakdos.
The problem with the guildlaw vs. Bolas theory is that Nicol Bolas is not bound in anyway to Ravnican law. The Guildpact only works against people directly under its authority, and Bolas is not, nor has he ever been, affiliated with any of the guilds. Of course, I could be mistaken. if you're just saying the guilds all team up to bring Bolas down, then that is feasible.
So the bit about Ugin laying a trap in Jace's mind gave me an idea.
Bolas thought Ugin dead, but Ugin is a powerful being and has openly acted on Zendikar. And we know how much Bolas values a working information network. I'd say I'ts unlikely Ugin can keep his existence hidden from BOlas for long, if at all.
So what if Ugin knows this too and the trap in Jace's mind was not to much to stay hidden from Bolas, but to make Bolas think that Ugin thinks Bolas doesn't know Ugin is back? Basically, so Bolas would think he has the advantage, when he does not.
And what if Bolas knows that Ugin would do this, because he's a clever millenia old dragon. But Ugin is too, so he might know that Bolas would know that Ugin would do this.
So we end up in an infinite loop of reverse psychology, each dragon banking on the possibility that they have a level of surprise. Basically an open secret that both act like the other doesn't know.
[quote from="Ertai Planeswalker »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-storyline/778130-ixalan-general-discussion?comment=2041"]
The whispers started when Sarkhan went to the Eye of Ugin (that is why he was Mad at that point, he was sitting at the eye hearing Ugin/Eldrazi voices) Really..call it a matter of Ugin being heavily involved in the creation of the Eye of Ugin...
This is inaccurate.
As stated in the Madness of Sarkhan Vol story, he started earing Ugin voice when he was a young Mardu raider,years before his spark ignited.
Up into the Qal Sisma Mountains I traveled, seeking a call whose words I did not understand. I wandered alone through the snow, sometimes fighting the huge beasts that prowled there, but I did not know what it was I heard.
He went to see a Temur shaman;
They remembered the old ones. Although the dragons flew no more, these folk heard the roaring and whispered songs of claws and blood. There was a word. A memory. A name I should know. Do I hear it now?
I spent many moons there among the whisperers, but in the end I could not stay. Talk of memories, echoes of voices: these were not enough to sustain me. I had found a kind of peace, though. Maybe I could carry it with me.
It is stated in the Planewalker Guide to Tarkir that Temur shaman are able to speak with people from the past
Shamans speak of "frozen memories," but every Temur lives simultaneously in the days of the ancestors and in the present. Temur whisperers are also sometimes known as the "weavers of the three destinies," referring to the past, the present (which they call "the now,"), and the future (called "the unwritten now"). They are far more aware of the continual and overlapping nature of time than ordinary Temur, seeing the past and the various possible presents all at the same time.
So the bit about Ugin laying a trap in Jace's mind gave me an idea.
Bolas thought Ugin dead, but Ugin is a powerful being and has openly acted on Zendikar. And we know how much Bolas values a working information network. I'd say I'ts unlikely Ugin can keep his existence hidden from BOlas for long, if at all.
So what if Ugin knows this too and the trap in Jace's mind was not to much to stay hidden from Bolas, but to make Bolas think that Ugin thinks Bolas doesn't know Ugin is back? Basically, so Bolas would think he has the advantage, when he does not.
And what if Bolas knows that Ugin would do this, because he's a clever millenia old dragon. But Ugin is too, so he might know that Bolas would know that Ugin would do this.
So we end up in an infinite loop of reverse psychology, each dragon banking on the possibility that they have a level of surprise. Basically an open secret that both act like the other doesn't know.
I figured that Ugin being alive wouldn't remain a secret for long, too. And honestly the rest of what you said seems almost inevitable when talking about probably the two most intelligent being a in existence. Each one on either side of the chess board both never really moving because each one is not only trying to out think the other but aware that the other is doing so too. They both want to be 5 moves ahead of the other but Bolas knows that Ugin is doing that so he has to get ten moves ahead, Ugin has to get 15 and so on.
Which could actually make the gatewatch even more important. If Ugin and Bolas are in analysis paralysis against each other the gatewatch becomes the deciding factor.
Wouldn't be easier to create internal chaos on Ravnica instead of invading it with an army of super zombies. Bolas already did sutch a thing in Alara and Ravnica seems to be an easier way to create chaos since the guilds are constant odds at each other. Maybe he's planing to do that and The Eternal Army is the clean up crew. Im kinda hyped to see The Scarab god with the Eternal Army atatcking Ravnica while the guilds fight the enemy together.
Re: Ravnican law magic vs. Bolas -
I think the idea is more that if Jace, as the Living Guildpact, can unite the ten guilds - all ten guilds working together towards a single goal, like 'Protect Ravnica from the invader!' or 'Destroy Nicol Bolas!', instead of the status quo of balancing one another out so no one becomes more powerful than another - then Ravnica's inherent law magic and the enhanced power of the Guildpact could give Niv Mizzet a significant enough power boost that he could take on an unsuspecting Nicol Bolas and hold his own for at least long enough for the planewalker alliance to take him out.
So the bit about Ugin laying a trap in Jace's mind gave me an idea.
Bolas thought Ugin dead, but Ugin is a powerful being and has openly acted on Zendikar. And we know how much Bolas values a working information network. I'd say I'ts unlikely Ugin can keep his existence hidden from BOlas for long, if at all.
So what if Ugin knows this too and the trap in Jace's mind was not to much to stay hidden from Bolas, but to make Bolas think that Ugin thinks Bolas doesn't know Ugin is back? Basically, so Bolas would think he has the advantage, when he does not.
And what if Bolas knows that Ugin would do this, because he's a clever millenia old dragon. But Ugin is too, so he might know that Bolas would know that Ugin would do this.
So we end up in an infinite loop of reverse psychology, each dragon banking on the possibility that they have a level of surprise. Basically an open secret that both act like the other doesn't know.
I figured that Ugin being alive wouldn't remain a secret for long, too. And honestly the rest of what you said seems almost inevitable when talking about probably the two most intelligent being a in existence. Each one on either side of the chess board both never really moving because each one is not only trying to out think the other but aware that the other is doing so too. They both want to be 5 moves ahead of the other but Bolas knows that Ugin is doing that so he has to get ten moves ahead, Ugin has to get 15 and so on.
Which could actually make the gatewatch even more important. If Ugin and Bolas are in analysis paralysis against each other the gatewatch becomes the deciding factor.
Two grandmasters each planning hundreds of moves ahead, a four year old comes along and moves several pieces and then scurries away. Both grandmasters then try to play it off as if they intended for the four year old to interfere in the way they did. This seems to be almost exactly what is going on.
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A few days ago there's been a small article on Bolas' endgame theory. Clicky clicky
In short:
Bolas is trying to trap most/many planeswalkers on Ravnica via Project Lightning sucking them into the plane, and locking them with the Immortal Sun.
Then, his army of eternals kills them (maybe even with his help if he cares enough).
Result - the multiverse/blind eternities sense this massive imbalance of power, thus balancing it out by strengthening the remaining PWs. Optimally only Bolas himself.
Bolas is trying to regain his powerlevel as an oldwalker. As was mentioned a few times that's his goal.
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Project Lightning Bug tracks planeswalkers that come to and leave Ravnica. It cannot pull planeswalkers from anywhere to anywhere. At best, it could be used to track down planeswalkers and warp them to a plane of choice via the planar bridge (much like how Vraska was sent to find the planar bridge for Tez to fetch).
And if that were his goal, I see no reason for Bolas to be interested in Ravnica outside of retrieving the results of Project Lightning Bug on a regular basis. Why conquer a plane to use as a planeswalker death trap when he has an already conquered plane at his disposal and his army is already there? No, there's gotta be a reason why he specifically wants Ravnica.
The problem is we have no reason to think that that's how the multiverse works. You're right however that it seems to be slipping peoples minds that everything Bolas does has to be viewed through the filter of reattaining his pre-mending powers.
What I think is pretty close though. Ravnica is a pretty popular Planeswalkers hangout. Many planeswalkers have been known to at least pass through not to mention having a high population its the plane most likely to birth a walker. So what if Bolas chose Ravnica because its the place walkers are most likely to go to, get trapped by the Sun and now he can have them hunted down and killed so he can take their sparks to empower his own?
After Azor took the sun from the proto legion, he gave it to the sun empire, with the sun their civilization flourished and during this time they built orazca. After they too got to high on power, he joined forces with the river heralds, the only people he thought where wise enough not to abuse its power, to conquer oracza and drive the empire out. He then cast a spell to sink the city and tell the river heralds to keep watch, so that no one would find the city. The general direction was known, but the entrance was a bit more complicated, then Kumena unraveled it. I think that was a mechanic from Azor, to raise the city again if he ever heard from Ugin, or simply Kumena undoing the sinking, I’m not entirely through the art book yet. I guess the elders where “tamed” at the time the empire was at their prime, with the power of the sun.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
But power is relative. Against an ant, I'm like a god. Against a dragon, I'm food.
So maybe Bolas just wants to make sure he's the only non-ant in the Multiverse.
He left the Gatewatch alive because, let's face it, the Gatewatch are a bunch of dumb kids who aren't a threat to him. In fact, their so dumb, their meddling might just play into his hands (even now, JACE was the one who figured out how to get Vraska to the Immortal Sun) Notice the only one he actively tried to avoid fighting- Lilliana, another oldwalker, and one who barely qualifies. The other four he took on all at once, and curbstomped them without even spending much effort.
Bolas doesn't need every other Planeswalker dead. He just needs the ones who are a threat. The Ugins, the Azors (maybe?), the Karns. I'm sure a few others we haven't entirely met yet. And I think that's where his problems are going to lie. One ant can't hurt you. Enough of them will devour you.
Ajani doesn't know she did that, which is why it's my firm belief that he will be the one to find her. Based on Release, we've seen how gentle and kind he could be. He knows the pain of loss, many times over. I'm not saying he could heal Liliana completely, but she's got to be at her lowest point after what happened on Amonkhet. Ajani can help her, and I feel she might be at the point where accepting his help is more preferable than ending up a pawn of Bolas.
A theory of my brother's is that Niv-Mizzet's price for helping Jace will be the spark in the Immortal Sun.
Still not sure what the Eternals are for. We now know why the Eternals had to be made on Amonkhet (lazotep protects them from the Blind Eternities) and we can infer why Nicol Bolas destroyed Amonkhet (no one else can have an army that can move between planes), but... really, what are they for? Are they just enforcers?
The glaring hole here in most theories (including mine) is that the Bridge is tied to Tezzeret. I don't think Bolas will show up on a plane where the Immortal Sun is located without a surefire means off that plane. What's to stop Tezzeret from turning on Bolas and trapping him somewhere?
If Nissa's vision is any indication, the immortal sun will be destroyed when it is used to destroy/break something (symbolized by a circular stone tablet covered with strange sigils). In which case, he'd only be trapped until the sun fulfilled that purpose.
I could be wrong but I think that Bolas is able read/speak into/control Tezzeret's mind even if they aren't on the same plane. Presumably, if Tezzeret traps Bolas, Bolas could mind control Tezzeret to teleport the Sun away and free himself, and afterward Bolas would probably kill or at least horribly torture Tezzeret for his betrayal. Being a partially black-aligned character with his own best interests in mind, and someone who has already suffered the consequences of betraying Bolas in the past, Tezzeret's best bet is to not betray Bolas unless he has absolute certainty that it will kill Bolas permanently. He could potentially even help the Gatewatch if they can actually fotrmulate a quick, effective, and permanent solution to the Bolas problem. But given how extremely negatively Tezzeret has been portrayed in stories recently, I have a feeling that Tezzeret will stay with Bolas to the end. Either Tezzeret will be killed in the Gatewatch vs. Bolas conflict or he'll outlive Bolas and pick up the pieces of Bolas's empire and become a future main antagonist.
Speaking of Tezzeret, I didn't read the entire Kaladesh story saga, but did Ajani ever comment on Tezzeret being from the same plane as him? Does Ajani even know?
So, in this week's story, Jace stated this idea he had that Niv might be close enough to Bolas' league to be a problem for him. I don't know Ravnica lore that well, but other than the fact that he's a big shot on Ravnica, is there anything in story to suggest Niv would serve as even a reasonably tough speed bump against Nicol Bolas? Is Niv being big, old and smarter than the Tarkir dragons enough to give us reason to think Jace isn't just engaging in wishful thinking here?
I only noticed one or two typos, but I read it pretty quickly. I've also noticed repetition of the exact same words/phrases WAY too close to each other in past weeks, but I didn't see a problem with it this week. Granted, that doesn't mean it wasn't there; I probably just missed it. You're definitely right that they should clean up their act. To their credit, they are willing to edit things after publishing the stories. At least twice during the Ixalan story they accidentally said "ogre" and later edited it to say correctly say "orc", and of course, there was the infamous Chandra/Nissa friendzone edit. So at least they're willing and able to correct their mistakes. It would be much better if they corrected the mistakes BEFORE publishing the articles rather than after, but it's better than nothing I suppose.
In Release, we get the following exchange:
Later, Ajani says:
So what I assume happened is that Dovin Baan spoke with Tamiyo before she left for Innistrad (this story takes place before SOI). He told her something ambiguous about a planeswalker with a metal arm taking control of Kaladesh. When Tamiyo and Ajani talk to each other afterward, Tamiyo learns that Tezzeret is still alive and assumes that the planeswalker on Kaladesh in Tezzeret. Ajani infers that Tezzeret is working for Bolas and realizes that he needs to be stopped. And so Ajani goes to Kaladesh. Later, after SOI and Eldritch Moon, Tamiyo talks to Dovin again, and tells him about the Gatewatch, which causes him to try to recruit them. Of course, this whole explanation requires a lot of convenient missing details - namely that Dovin isn't specific about which planeswalker took over Kaladesh and doesn't make an enemy of Tamiyo by revealing that he's working for him - but it's the only way I can think of to make the timeline line up.
So ultimately, the three people that Ajani gets information from regarding Tezzeret are Elspeth, Tamiyo, and presumably Dovin (indirectly). None of those people know about where Tezzeret is from. It makes sense that Tezzeret, being a pretty secretive person and possibly without some of his memories due to mental intrusions from both Jace and Bolas, wouldn't tell anyone about his plane of origin. So it's safe to say that Ajani doesn't know where Tezzeret is from and it's just a giant coincidence that two planeswalkers from the same plane ended up clashing on an entirely different plane. But in a story in an infinite multiverse that revolves around only a handful of planes and planeswalkers, such things are bound to happen. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Tezzeret and Ajani will ever have the chance to have a civil conversation and bond over their home plane, on account of them being enemies now, but maybe we could see it become relevant if they ever decide to return to Alara.
Their plan isn't going to be Niv Mizzet vs Nicol Bolas. It's going to be The Guildpact and Guildmasters (using a plan devised in large part by Niv Mizzet) vs Nicol Bolas
Ah, yeah, That's a blatant exaggeration of Niv's power (or a continued underestimation of Bolas').
Click the pic for more info.
Bolas thought Ugin dead, but Ugin is a powerful being and has openly acted on Zendikar. And we know how much Bolas values a working information network. I'd say I'ts unlikely Ugin can keep his existence hidden from BOlas for long, if at all.
So what if Ugin knows this too and the trap in Jace's mind was not to much to stay hidden from Bolas, but to make Bolas think that Ugin thinks Bolas doesn't know Ugin is back? Basically, so Bolas would think he has the advantage, when he does not.
And what if Bolas knows that Ugin would do this, because he's a clever millenia old dragon. But Ugin is too, so he might know that Bolas would know that Ugin would do this.
So we end up in an infinite loop of reverse psychology, each dragon banking on the possibility that they have a level of surprise. Basically an open secret that both act like the other doesn't know.
This is inaccurate.
As stated in the Madness of Sarkhan Vol story, he started earing Ugin voice when he was a young Mardu raider,years before his spark ignited.
He went to see a Temur shaman;
It is stated in the Planewalker Guide to Tarkir that Temur shaman are able to speak with people from the past
I figured that Ugin being alive wouldn't remain a secret for long, too. And honestly the rest of what you said seems almost inevitable when talking about probably the two most intelligent being a in existence. Each one on either side of the chess board both never really moving because each one is not only trying to out think the other but aware that the other is doing so too. They both want to be 5 moves ahead of the other but Bolas knows that Ugin is doing that so he has to get ten moves ahead, Ugin has to get 15 and so on.
Which could actually make the gatewatch even more important. If Ugin and Bolas are in analysis paralysis against each other the gatewatch becomes the deciding factor.
I think the idea is more that if Jace, as the Living Guildpact, can unite the ten guilds - all ten guilds working together towards a single goal, like 'Protect Ravnica from the invader!' or 'Destroy Nicol Bolas!', instead of the status quo of balancing one another out so no one becomes more powerful than another - then Ravnica's inherent law magic and the enhanced power of the Guildpact could give Niv Mizzet a significant enough power boost that he could take on an unsuspecting Nicol Bolas and hold his own for at least long enough for the planewalker alliance to take him out.