As to why Bolas would destroy Amonkhet, could the answer not simply be "leaving no witnesses" in regards to where his Eternal army comes from? I don't find it unrealistically at all that the biggest Mastermind Villain in MTG lore does everything he can to cover his tracks.
Again, why? It's not like there's a World-Bottling Kit for Amonkhet. Leaving no witnesses is a trope that is correctly used only when there's a real reason to not leave a witness. You're posing as someone else, there's a great weakness that the builders know about. So far we've learned nothing of the sort other than "Bolas evil."
He's not killing the plane off to leave no witnesses, he is killing the plane off to prevent future enemies from appearing. His plans span an unorthodox amount of time due to his life span and it is far too easy to leave a plane with a legend about a great evil, have the survivors pass this knowledge down, and eventually some champion will rise and start nagging him. Given he probably doesn't want yet another repeat of the events of Alara and Dominaria, just killing everybody sounds like a logical thing to do.
But in this case they will only have this legend because he showed up killing everyone. If he had just shown up, taken his army, and left the plane with a new prophecy about his second return there would be no need for this.
"God is here, Yay!"
"Sorry, but you didn't clap hard enough. Prepare for trials two: Electric Boogaloo. Also who's older than 20? You guys will get to go to the necropolis because I'm, uh, merciful."
*kills all older people to start system again*
As to why Bolas would destroy Amonkhet, could the answer not simply be "leaving no witnesses" in regards to where his Eternal army comes from? I don't find it unrealistically at all that the biggest Mastermind Villain in MTG lore does everything he can to cover his tracks.
Again, why? It's not like there's a World-Bottling Kit for Amonkhet. Leaving no witnesses is a trope that is correctly used only when there's a real reason to not leave a witness. You're posing as someone else, there's a great weakness that the builders know about. So far we've learned nothing of the sort other than "Bolas evil."
He's not killing the plane off to leave no witnesses, he is killing the plane off to prevent future enemies from appearing. His plans span an unorthodox amount of time due to his life span and it is far too easy to leave a plane with a legend about a great evil, have the survivors pass this knowledge down, and eventually some champion will rise and start nagging him. Given he probably doesn't want yet another repeat of the events of Alara and Dominaria, just killing everybody sounds like a logical thing to do.
But in this case they will only have this legend because he showed up killing everyone. If he had just shown up, taken his army, and left the plane with a new prophecy about his second return there would be no need for this.
"God is here, Yay!"
"Sorry, but you didn't clap hard enough. Prepare for trials two: Electric Boogaloo. Also who's older than 20? You guys will get to go to the necropolis because I'm, uh, merciful."
*kills all older people to start system again*
Well, I didn't say it was a good idea given that he has five fairly resilient planeswalkers visiting him, a sixth walker running around getting allies, and a brand new walker that Bolas is probably just thrilled to have running around his testing zone. For a villain that wants to have an airtight plan, Nicol Bolas makes a LOT of tactical mistakes on an almost cyclical basis.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
He knows all the gimmicks of the Jacetice league, they are on his turf and are already exhausted from trying to save the city. Plus, what will Samut do? Give them double strike? There are no tactical errors when the gatewatch is trash.
Alternatively they'd be exhausted from fighting the entire population of Amonkhet because their whole plan is to defeat the God Pharaoh, which I'm sure the local culture would be against. (And then Bolas could say "Too much Dissent, why haven't you killed them yet? Time for another 30 years of me not being here!")
I suspect that literally the only reason is so the art director could ask the artists to make lots of generically "badass" art with lots of shiny black armor and fire and fighting and stuff.
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Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching.
Somehow, I don't think Bolas wants to waste his effort fighting Phyrexians. I don't recall if he ever had a first hand encounter with them, but they are probably one force in the multiverse he does not want to tango with. Those guys work off of corrupting beings and a planeswalker, while immune to phyrexian oil, is still subject to plague, famine, etc. Plus the phyrexians have little need to maintain an ecosystem hospitable to those not "compleated". Fighting them means fighting plague, famine, and an enemy with a borg cube mentality.
Man, a return to Phyrexia is probably going to reveal a world turned upside down with the seachrome coasts looking like someone just had an oil tanker capsize.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think the piece people are missing is that bolas didn't have to collect his eternal army anytime soon he has an endless amount of years where the fact that he can't really do anything with his army doesn't matter. all he needs is for some unique event or unique technology to give him the opportunity and suddenly he has an army on standby that he can use.
so the fact that he didn't know the planar bridge would be invented before he started his army doesn't really matter. he's seen enough of the multiverse to know that something can happen to make an army useful even if he doesn't know what specifically.
The first thing I can think of is that Bolas doesn't have a main base plane and he would need an army to set up one. That would be the first step to regaining the glory of a walker of old, having your own paradise plane.
The first thing I can think of is that Bolas doesn't have a main base plane and he would need an army to set up one. That would be the first step to regaining the glory of a walker of old, having your own paradise plane.
But Amonkhet isn't really a paradise plane. Remember, it's still dying, whatever that means.
Also, he still has his meditation realm, as we saw in the last story.
Personally, I think someone needs to do an "Everything Wrong with Amonkhet" series, à la CinemaSins.
"I don't know about the woman, or the trials, or the hours. But there is no deception in Oketra."
They fancied themselves The Gatewatch. As though for some bizarre reason there were gates scattered throughout the Multiverse. That deserved watching.
Nicol Bolas would be good at CinemaSins.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Maybe he's trying to cause another Rift to be created, to undo the effects of the Great Mending?
Here's my guess -
Bolas knew that over time someone from a plane like Ravnica or Kaladesh would be able to create a facsimile of a Planar Gate, both the Izzet Guild and Rashmi were able to do what he needed in time.
The next thing he needs is some kind of tool that he could use to amplify his power. His original plan appeared to have been the Chain Veil, but since he can't get it from Liliana, he would have to find something else. Perhaps his mind wandered to the Mirari, but he would know that he couldn't safely go to New Phyrexia - it's a good thing the Mirari was not unique, having been a simple probe of what would become Mirrodin. Perhaps, he recalls having found something similar to the Mirari on a plane, and remembering what havoc and damage that had caused, he had hid it away, and sealed the plane so Planeswalkers would not be able to see it, or leave if they had found themselves there. Remember that Ral Zarek wasn't sure where Vraska had gone at all.
Finally, during the events of the Mending, he knew his power would disappear. He also knew that there would be ways he could get temporary boosts of power akin to Godhood. He shows up on Amonkhet, storing power within the Gods, rewove their very being, and planted the "seeds" for some kind of mineral that would allow him to channel his power into it. He knows that he will not be able to bring chunks of stone to Dominaria, but a horde of the undead following him might be just what he needs. Knowing not what would be on the other side of whatever tool he will use to bring things over, he decides that he will have them turned into the very stone he would need - allowing them to fight freely if the other side of this gate is guarded.
The last step will come to fruition when the Suns align on Amonkhet, which will not happen until he decides he is ready - the Gods will prepare themselves, and they will die - releasing an impossible amount of mana back into the plane for him to soak up. From there he will send his planeswalking minions to grab the Immortal Sun on Ixalan, which will immediately break the seal allowing walkers to leave. He will collect his weapon - his Mirari - take his horde of undead through the gate to Dominaria, he will take his army to Shiv (because Bolas is a little vain, and wishes to spit on the soon to be grave of Teferi) - he will focus all of the mana that he absorbed from the gods of Amonkhet into his new Mirari, and that mana will then be focused into the lazotep bodies of the Eternals, which will overload and explode with the power of what should be almost an entire plane in one centralized and tiny area on the most important plane in the Multiverse - he hopes to open a rift like the original Madaraan rift, and he will be the first Planeswalker to have his original power returned, and in a rush he will try to kill all those who have opposed him.
I also imagine it will all backfire spectacularly.
Not really, The Problem the Eldrazi had is that they were portrayed as something so powerful that not even 3 Old Walkers could stand against them, one of them being as powerful as Nicol Bolas (who is straight up the most powerful being we have seen in the setting pre-eldrazi) so that the "fall of the titans" felt cheap when it happened, the same sort of thing would likely happen with whatever happens to beat Lord Nicolas.
TBH, I'd just like to see Richard Garfield get a chance to close the book on Dominaria and get a chance to embiggin his (?) D&D baddie elder dragon into a massive foil that again wrecks the universe. Maybe that is just me.
Not really, The Problem the Eldrazi had is that they were portrayed as something so powerful that not even 3 Old Walkers could stand against them, one of them being as powerful as Nicol Bolas (who is straight up the most powerful being we have seen in the setting pre-eldrazi) so that the "fall of the titans" felt cheap when it happened, the same sort of thing would likely happen with whatever happens to beat Lord Nicolas.
Whatever will eventually lead to Bolas's demise, it has to be something that backfires in combination with a set up plan by the good guys. There's nothing we know off that realistically can beat him in a straight up fight.
Maybe some scheme of Ugin where he uses his binding magic to bind and seal Nicol Bolas, similar to what he did with the Eldrazi, through some sort of elaborate trap.
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The secret to enjoyable Commander games is not winning first, but losing last.
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But in this case they will only have this legend because he showed up killing everyone. If he had just shown up, taken his army, and left the plane with a new prophecy about his second return there would be no need for this.
"God is here, Yay!"
"Sorry, but you didn't clap hard enough. Prepare for trials two: Electric Boogaloo. Also who's older than 20? You guys will get to go to the necropolis because I'm, uh, merciful."
*kills all older people to start system again*
Well, I didn't say it was a good idea given that he has five fairly resilient planeswalkers visiting him, a sixth walker running around getting allies, and a brand new walker that Bolas is probably just thrilled to have running around his testing zone. For a villain that wants to have an airtight plan, Nicol Bolas makes a LOT of tactical mistakes on an almost cyclical basis.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Because Bolas knows better than to work with traitors.
The Eternals are nothing inside of the crystal, and not metal, so they are well suited to take on the phyrexian hordes.
Or the writers can create a new place with a new threat.... Probably related to whatever Ral is dealing with....
Man, a return to Phyrexia is probably going to reveal a world turned upside down with the seachrome coasts looking like someone just had an oil tanker capsize.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
so the fact that he didn't know the planar bridge would be invented before he started his army doesn't really matter. he's seen enough of the multiverse to know that something can happen to make an army useful even if he doesn't know what specifically.
RWU
GUB
WBR
URG
BGW
But Amonkhet isn't really a paradise plane. Remember, it's still dying, whatever that means.
Also, he still has his meditation realm, as we saw in the last story.
Personally, I think someone needs to do an "Everything Wrong with Amonkhet" series, à la CinemaSins.
https://i.imgur.com/EJDY8MG.png
Or
Nicol Bolas would be good at CinemaSins.
On phasing:
Ding.
Here's my guess -
Bolas knew that over time someone from a plane like Ravnica or Kaladesh would be able to create a facsimile of a Planar Gate, both the Izzet Guild and Rashmi were able to do what he needed in time.
The next thing he needs is some kind of tool that he could use to amplify his power. His original plan appeared to have been the Chain Veil, but since he can't get it from Liliana, he would have to find something else. Perhaps his mind wandered to the Mirari, but he would know that he couldn't safely go to New Phyrexia - it's a good thing the Mirari was not unique, having been a simple probe of what would become Mirrodin. Perhaps, he recalls having found something similar to the Mirari on a plane, and remembering what havoc and damage that had caused, he had hid it away, and sealed the plane so Planeswalkers would not be able to see it, or leave if they had found themselves there. Remember that Ral Zarek wasn't sure where Vraska had gone at all.
Finally, during the events of the Mending, he knew his power would disappear. He also knew that there would be ways he could get temporary boosts of power akin to Godhood. He shows up on Amonkhet, storing power within the Gods, rewove their very being, and planted the "seeds" for some kind of mineral that would allow him to channel his power into it. He knows that he will not be able to bring chunks of stone to Dominaria, but a horde of the undead following him might be just what he needs. Knowing not what would be on the other side of whatever tool he will use to bring things over, he decides that he will have them turned into the very stone he would need - allowing them to fight freely if the other side of this gate is guarded.
The last step will come to fruition when the Suns align on Amonkhet, which will not happen until he decides he is ready - the Gods will prepare themselves, and they will die - releasing an impossible amount of mana back into the plane for him to soak up. From there he will send his planeswalking minions to grab the Immortal Sun on Ixalan, which will immediately break the seal allowing walkers to leave. He will collect his weapon - his Mirari - take his horde of undead through the gate to Dominaria, he will take his army to Shiv (because Bolas is a little vain, and wishes to spit on the soon to be grave of Teferi) - he will focus all of the mana that he absorbed from the gods of Amonkhet into his new Mirari, and that mana will then be focused into the lazotep bodies of the Eternals, which will overload and explode with the power of what should be almost an entire plane in one centralized and tiny area on the most important plane in the Multiverse - he hopes to open a rift like the original Madaraan rift, and he will be the first Planeswalker to have his original power returned, and in a rush he will try to kill all those who have opposed him.
I also imagine it will all backfire spectacularly.
I hope he succeeds, it would be a pretty cool development!
but it means that Nicolas will be pretty well unbeatable.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Not really, The Problem the Eldrazi had is that they were portrayed as something so powerful that not even 3 Old Walkers could stand against them, one of them being as powerful as Nicol Bolas (who is straight up the most powerful being we have seen in the setting pre-eldrazi) so that the "fall of the titans" felt cheap when it happened, the same sort of thing would likely happen with whatever happens to beat Lord Nicolas.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Edit: Legends was not a Garfield set: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/history-legends-2002-12-24
Maybe some scheme of Ugin where he uses his binding magic to bind and seal Nicol Bolas, similar to what he did with the Eldrazi, through some sort of elaborate trap.
If my post has no tags, then i posted from my phone.