Yeah, yeah, I know that the full set of Ixalan was just spoiled and Rivals is months away, but to be fair, Ixalan really teased a lot of future characters for us: in card names alone, we have Arguel, Captain Vance, Kumena, and Angrath, and that’s not even counting flavor text. Those four are almost certainly going to get cards, because nowadays a character’s name appearing on a card almost always guarantees a legendary creature card (Djeru's Resolve in Amonkhet, Djeru in Hour of Devastation). Yes, there have been times in the past when they’ve failed to do so, at least right away (looking at you, Taigam), but it seems they’ve learned their lesson.
Before anyone asks, I know that Tillonalli, Ixalli, and Kinjalli appear in various card titles and flavor texts, but I think that the dino avatar mini-cycle is the closest we’re going to get. For one thing, they seem to be more of abstract concepts representing sun phases than actual characters, and I don’t think we’re going to be seeing more gods this block, both because we just go them in the last block and because WotC doesn’t want to offend anyone. The bat god might appear, but probably with not with the god creature type. Instead, I think he’ll appear in the form of Arguel (more on that later).
Anyway, all those card names referring to characters seem like obvious foreshadowing, and it got me thinking about what characters would show up in Rivals. I waited until today because I wanted to see all the flavor text before making this post. Interestingly, the legendary creatures of Ixalan hardly appear in flavor text at all. Captain Storm gets a couple references, but Beckett Brass, Gisharth, Vona, Mavren Fein, Tishana, and Kopala don’t even get referenced once. Instead, we get a bunch of other characters, most of which we haven’t heard of. Some are your run-of-the-mill throwaway flavor text characters that appear on one card and aren’t mentioned again, but there are actually quite a few that show up on multiple cards, and some even have some amount of lore already.
I’ve listed all the characters who show up in card names and/or flavor text in the set. In parentheses are cards that are related to them – some clearly depict them, others only reference them indirectly. I included characters that only appear in flavor text because even though they are unlikely to get cards, it’s not unheard of for it to happen. Take the seemingly meaningless flavor text on Fumigate that ended of referencing Sram, for example. By the time they’re writing flavor text for Ixalan, the legends in Rivals have already been decided, so they can and often will drop hints. Sometimes it’s obvious like with Baral or Yahenni, other times it’s more subtle like with Sram.
Enough introduction, let’s dive into the actual characters:
Grik Doobin is dead, so I think we can rule him out. Captain Rage’s only purpose seems to be telling us how dangerous the other factions are in flavor text. Captain Vance shows up in a card’s name, so she will almost certainly have a card, probably mono-red. My theory is that we will see a monocolored legendary pirate for each pirate color: Parrish is blue, Thorn is black, and Vance is red. If they want a Grixis legend to mirror a Naya legend in Rivals (probably the emperor), though, I could see Thorn being UBR instead. But it’s not like Grixis has any shortage of legends, so seeing a RGW legend but not a UBR legend wouldn’t be all that surprising.
Amautl and Caparocti are probably throwaway flavor text characters, but never say never. Chitlati seems to be some sort of religious/spiritual leader, considering that (s)he describes all the sun avatar, but “lightning rider” doesn’t scream priest to me. I guess Chitlati is probably some sort of religious warrior type, which might make for an interesting card. Lightning Rider definitely implies that Chitlati is at least partially red, probably RW. From the flavor text, Itzama seems to be associated with dinosaurs and not a fan of the invading forces. Itzama is probably at least partially white, perhaps GW.
The only one on this list I think is guaranteed is the Emperor. Not only is it an extremely important position in the empire, but he also showed up in the story already. He could be just GW I suppose but as the leader of the faction anything less than RGW would feel wrong. The Sun Empire is the only faction to get only one legend in Ixalan so the Sun Empire should be getting at least two in Rivals, maybe even three. In addition to the emperor, we could see Chitlati, Itzama, or both. Or it could be a character we haven’t hear of yet. I suppose that Huatli’s cousin from her story is a candidate as well.
Viceroy Elia is weird because the world guide shown at PAX said that a vampire named Relo was the current viceroy. Of course, that could have been changed along the way, so I assumed that Relo name was changed to Vona. But apparently Elia is the viceroy? Or at least a viceroy? It appears that there are more than one. I’m not terribly optimistic about Elia getting a card though.
Queen Miralda seems like an offscreen influence. Her name might have been changed as well, in fact, Miralda might have actually been renamed Elenda. The flavor text mentioning Elenda implies to me that she probably isn’t around anymore unless she’s the queen. Both (if they are two different people) would be good candidates for a Commander set, though, even if Elenda is dead.
I definitely think that Arguel will get a card. Not only was he mentioned in the name of the card (which virtually guarantees a legendary creature card, unless WotC wants another Taigam incident), but he also seems to have a story arc: he starts out as High Marshal, leading a force of vampires in search of Orazca (Queen’s Commission), but then he goes off on his own (maybe his minions were all killed), goes on a blood fast, has a vision of the bat god (Arguel’s Blood Fast), finds the temple (Temple of Aclazotz) and… we’ll see what happens next. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arguel possessed by Aclazotz, maybe even as a DFC that transforms from a regular vampire into a possessed demon bat god vampire. He’ll probably be mono-black.
Adrian Adanto could get a card as well. He seems to be the vampire who led the first successful colonization attempt by the Dusk Legion, Adanto (named after him of course), and he’s probably in charge of the fort now and having to defend it from his enemies. He could easily be mono-white but I suppose that WB is a possibility as well.
Lots and lots of shapers. First off, no way that Kumena doesn’t get a card. Much like Arguel, he is both mentioned in a card name and he seems to have a story arc. He has an epiphany that he needs to claim Orazca for himself in spite of the rest of his species (Overflowing Insight), so he sets off with his own group of followers (Speaker of Kumena) and eventually comes into conflict with at least one rival faction (Spell Pierce). Kumena is definitely at least partially blue. Nonblue mages don’t use countermagic. While he could a blue character with green followers, it seems likely that he’s simply GU, especially since we already got a mono-blue merfolk legend this block. As for the other shapers, any of them could get cards, but none of them seem particularly important so far. There could also be a card for a merfolk who is completely unknown so far, or Kumena could be the only merfolk legend in rivals. Only time will tell.
These are only the characters I’m almost completely certain will get cards, and the color identities I think they’ll most likely have:
• Captain Vance (R)
• Emperor Apatzec Intli III (RGW)
• High Marshal Arguel (B)
• Shaper Kumena (GU)
And these are the characters I think are pretty likely to have cards, but there’s no guarantee:
• Captain Parrish (U)
• Captain Thorn (B)
• Either Chitlati, Lightning Rider (RW) or Itzama the Crested (GW)
• Adrian Adanto of Lujio (W)
It's possible that we get others, but eight is already pushing it for a small set. These characters might get cards if we're lucky, but it's more likely that they'll end up on the "put them in a Commander product" list:
If Angrath gets a proper card it'll be a Planeswalkers card.
Djeru didn't get a creature card because he was named on another card but the reverse. He got named on a card because they were going to give him a creautre card because he was an important story character. Now this may mean were getting a similar situation and we will get a card for Captain Vance or Arguel but I get the feeling we wont. They're already on legendary cards. Likely depicting their major accomplishments. I mean how much more cool do you need to be than "I carved a base out of a volcano using cannon fire"?
The only legend I will predict is a legendary ship.
Well, we didn't get any B or G legends this set. I agree with Arguel in B, but i would predict Kumena in G. Yes for the Emperor in WRG and Vance in R. Potentials would be Chitlati in WR, Adanto in W, Parrish in U or UB, Thorn in UBR or UR or a RG dino.
I think id be pretty safe to say each tribe will get another legendary creature (following other blocks with similar mechanical structures, I hope Dinosaurs and Pirates might get hybrid legend like Fate Reforge) and so far only one I think for sure will be a UG Kumena.
Only issue I can think of the emperor showing up is he fight for a another dinosaur slot so maybe we will see him in mono-color since the other factions got a mono-colored legend.
I'm with everyone else thinking Angrath is BR
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Great job with this list. It would be nice if we got the other colors not covered by legends already, so a GU Tribal Merfolk, a WB Tribal Vampire, a non-tribal black vampire and a non-tribal green merfolk.
Ot We're definitely getting a black-red Angrath, and a white-green Ajani is possible based on his appearance in the test packaging for 'Conquest of Power' (also he's the other existing mesoamerican planeswalker). That would mean the planeswalkers in Ixalan are color-balanced. I would love Ugin, too, if only for my theory to be born out.
Huatli seems to 'count' as the second legend for the Sun Empire, so Angrath might count as another pirate legend.
Elenda (Saint Elenda, Elenda of Garrano) seems like a sure thing, as both Fein and Vona's profiles indicate they're searching for her.
I wouldn't mind getting the emperor over another dino, as long he has a dino centric ability. I wouldn't mind him being white, with a red/green ability to make room for one more dino legend though.
I think pirates will have at least two more legends one being red/blue, the other blue/black.
Vamps should get a mono black legend and merfolk a mono green.
I actually am hoping that Ajani isn't in rivals and was just used a placeholder to keep a secret.
If Angrath is red/black (which I very much think he will be, Mardu wouldn't be bad colors for him but I just don't see that happening) then I don't see them hitting the same color balance we had in Ixalan without having a third walker.
I wouldn't mind getting the emperor over another dino, as long he has a dino centric ability. I wouldn't mind him being white, with a red/green ability to make room for one more dino legend though.
I think pirates will have at least two more legends one being red/blue, the other blue/black.
Vamps should get a mono black legend and merfolk a mono green.
I'd like to see that happen, but the legendary creatures in Ixalan weren't symmetrical, and I don't expect the legends in Rivals to be either. The only thing that we can be certain of is that each faction will get at least one new legend. The only merfolk who seems to need a card so far is Kumena, and he's definitely at least partially blue. A mono-black vampire could happen with Arguel, however.
I actually am hoping that Ajani isn't in rivals and was just used a placeholder to keep a secret.
Yep, at this point I think that most likely Ajani is in Dominaria and the fifth walker is either Ugin or the agent of Bolas that Vraska is supposed to call.
If Angrath is red/black (which I very much think he will be, Mardu wouldn't be bad colors for him but I just don't see that happening) then I don't see them hitting the same color balance we had in Ixalan without having a third walker.
They don't have to balance the colors in small sets. Black and red are the colors that have the least planeswalkers in standard right now anyway (black more so than red), so a BR planeswalker makes a lot of sense. The other walker could be basically anything, including colorless.
Anyway, here are the revised predictions:
Pirates: No non-planeswalker pirates are relevant to the story so far (including the ones that already have cards), and Maro commented that Breeches (and presumably Vraska's other crew members) were probably added to the story after the cards were already decided, much like Shadowblade or Hal and Alena, so they won't be getting cards. I still definitely think that Vance will get a card, with Parrish and Thorn being possibilities as well. The Ixalan plane page mentions that there's at least one siren captain, which they probably wouldn't put in there for no reason, so if we get two pirates they'll probably be Vance and a siren (who could in theory be Parrish or Thorn).
Sun Empire: The Emperor still seems likely. Huatli's cousin would be a candidate, except he's probably going to get killed by Vona before the first set's story ends. They could make a second legendary dinosaur with the right flavor justification, which seems especially likely because 1. dinosaurs are popular and 2. the Sun Empire is the only faction not to get a second legend in Ixalan, so it would make sense for them to get two in Rivals.
Vampires: This is a toss-up between Arguel, Adrian Adanto, Aclazotz, and Elenda. Arguel is the most likely because he appears in a card title and WotC won't pull another Taigam if they know what's good for them. Aclazotz might be mythological or a background force, and he could be partially represented by either Arguel or Elenda being either priests for him or directly possessed by him, so I don't think we'll see a card directly representing him. The second legend could be either Elenda or Adrian: the former seems important but could mythological or dead, while the latter seems unimportant but is definitely alive and real.
Merfolk: Kumena. Just Kumena. I don't see any reason to expect anyone else. Counting Kumena we're already at the same number of legends as the first set, so adding a second merfolk would put the second set at more than the first, which would be very unusual.
I actually am hoping that Ajani isn't in rivals and was just used a placeholder to keep a secret.
Yep, at this point I think that most likely Ajani is in Dominaria and the fifth walker is either Ugin or the agent of Bolas that Vraska is supposed to call.
The problem with that is the timing on the art. The creative panel for Ixalan indicated that the art concepting for Ixalan didn't start until late last year, making the idea of finished artwork for a card from two sets beyond that being ready for a packaging survey seem dubious. Especially because we now know the Huatli art is from her planeswalker card.
IF Ajani isn't in RIX, I'd imagine that art was concept for the super expensive Level One figure, since they have similar poses. Either that or the Key Art from Dominaria, but I would think Liliana would be the focus of that.
I actually am hoping that Ajani isn't in rivals and was just used a placeholder to keep a secret.
Yep, at this point I think that most likely Ajani is in Dominaria and the fifth walker is either Ugin or the agent of Bolas that Vraska is supposed to call.
The problem with that is the timing on the art. The creative panel for Ixalan indicated that the art concepting for Ixalan didn't start until late last year, making the idea of finished artwork for a card from two sets beyond that being ready for a packaging survey seem dubious. Especially because we now know the Huatli art is from her planeswalker card.
IF Ajani isn't in RIX, I'd imagine that art was concept for the super expensive Level One figure, since they have similar poses. Either that or the Key Art from Dominaria, but I would think Liliana would be the focus of that.
But why would Ajani go to Ixilan. He has no particular reason to go there, can't have gone there before and no reason to know it exists. Unless Ajani is the agent of Bolas, which would be a strange twist.
But why would Ajani go to Ixilan. He has no particular reason to go there, can't have gone there before and no reason to know it exists. Unless Ajani is the agent of Bolas, which would be a strange twist.
It's been over two months since Ajani parted ways with the rest of the group, and they were supposed to meet up on Dominaria not too long afterward. He's probably figured things out.
Ajani went to go find allies. But who does Ajani actually know? Sarkhan, Tezzeret, Koth, and Tamiyo. He might have heard of Karn. Tezzeret and Koth are probably immediately off the table for various reasons. Tamiyo is his most likely connection, meaning the story-circle, meaning Narset. Both the Sarkhan and Narset connections mean Ugin. Ugin connects him back to Ixalan.
Granted, it's unlikely, but still possible. We'll have to see how things play out.
That is only if Ugin is connected to Ixalan though, and that counts on him remembering and caring about it as at this point if Ugin is the cause of the Immortal Sun's theft that was several thousand years ago at this point.
We also don't know how the new block structure will balance planesawlkers. Normally we get an average of 10-12 planeswalker cards a year (used to be 5-6 in core sets and 5-6 in the block of that year, now its 3/2 or a 4/2 split between the sets of the two blocks a year we got). I'm guess we will get 3 walker cards in each set and one featured walker in the core set but we don't know fore sure as well as not knowing how many set wee will be on Dominaria. If we go with that everyone is guessing (Liliana and Ajani) that already eaten up most of the slot for Dominaria and I'd think they want a few returning planeswalkers from there to get a card (like Karn, a re-sparked Teferi etc).
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Thank's to Ghalta, Primal Hunger I can now point out a fatal mistake all of you made
This is because I can say I'm 100% sure this is a cycle 3 legendary mono colored dinosaurs
Thank's to Ghalta, Primal Hunger I can now point out a fatal mistake all of you made
This is because I can say I'm 100% sure this is a cycle 3 legendary mono colored dinosaurs
If it was kinjalli this avatar would have been a legendary creature.
If that was the case then Ghalta would be named Ixalli. We might get a cycle of elder dinosaurs but your theory doesn't hold up of them being the aspects of the suns.
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With the Sphinx likely being a PW--IMO, Azor--Ajani's inclusion in Rivals seems... less likely.
Wouldn't it be a hoot, though, if Bolas is just using Vraska? What if Ajani is the 'Bolas representative' and Vraska is nothing more than a tool to strand Ajani on Ixalan? Not very likely, as Creative is highly implying that Bolas wants the Immortal Sun, but it is a possibility.
With the Sphinx likely being a PW--IMO, Azor--Ajani's inclusion in Rivals seems... less likely.
Wouldn't it be a hoot, though, if Bolas is just using Vraska? What if Ajani is the 'Bolas representative' and Vraska is nothing more than a tool to strand Ajani on Ixalan? Not very likely, as Creative is highly implying that Bolas wants the Immortal Sun, but it is a possibility.
There is zero evidence that the sphinx is a planeswalker. Its possible that it is. But its not likely. Right now its just as likely that he is the leader of a group of sphinxes that guard Orazca. Guardians have been mentioned a few times. Don't get me wrong; itd be cool for it to be a walker, even cooler for it to be As or, and I agree that Ajani wont be here. But lets slow our rolls on this sphinx being a walker so we don't overhype ourselves and get angry if it turns out its not.
*shrug* Likely is subjective these days, more's the pity. We clearly disagree on the likelihood that the sphinx is a PW (specifically Azor). Conservation of Narrative Detail suggests that Azor (or at least the Azorius guild) was involved ever since Ixalan's Binding was revealed. The specific logic chain is:
1) Triangle-in-circle binding patterns have been established as referring to the Azorius, and therefore are likely to be from Azor. (Other guild insignia--Izzet, for example--reflect their parun.)
2) The Ixalan binding shows up as a triangle-in-circle mandala.
3) That specific mandala pattern was chosen by Creative. That is, narratively nothing is random.
4) Therefore, people viewing the Binding are meant to think of the Azorius guild.
5) Therefore, either Creative is deliberately misleading us, or there is some connection to the Azorius guild causing the binding. The most likely is Azor himself.
Counterevidence:
1) Vraska hasn't commented on the similarity. Unlike Jace, she certainly remembers the Azorius and its symbol, and has seen the binding (as Jace has tried to PW in her presence, IIRC).
Tripartite triangles are not something that needs to be locked into a single thing in any fictional universe(much less a multiverse). Its the repetition of the number three, which across many real world cultures is an important number for perfection. The Azorius connection was almost immediate when Ixalan's binding was spoiled. But as Jay can attest that same mandala can be used as evidence for Ugin. My point is that we have an image of a sphinx on a deck box, not even the full art that would be on the card. That's not nearly enough to say that it's likely a Planeswalkers, much less that it's likely Azor specifically. The fact that he's wearing triangles only connects him to the binding.
Like I said, best situation, its Azor because that would be really cool.
*sigh* I wrote an entire post and just deleted it as it won't matter. People will believe whatever they wish (and I include myself in that statement). Nothing is to be gained by arguing this point (or almost any other story point), for that very reason.
So if there is going to be a cycle of 5 elder dinosaurs, and if we can still safely expect at least one Merfolk, Pirate, and Vampire legend for those respective factions... we may be looking at 8+ legendary creatures in the next set. When was the last time a small set had so many legendary creatures?
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So if there is going to be a cycle of 5 elder dinosaurs, and if we can still safely expect at least one Merfolk, Pirate, and Vampire legend for those respective factions... we may be looking at 8+ legendary creatures in the next set. When was the last time a small set had so many legendary creatures?
Merfolk should have Kumena at least, and any of the other Shapers without a card are also possibilities.
Pirates have a fair number of named pirates to choose from.
Vampires have Queen Miralda, Saint Elenda and Arguel.
The Sun Empire could have Emperor Apatzec.
Regarding the last time a small set had 8+ legendary creatures:
Fate Reforged had 10 legendary creatures (the 5 ancient Khans and the 5 dragon leaders).
Eldritch Moon technically had more than 8, but two of them are Meld creatures.
Holy crap!! My dad works for WOTC and he got a pic of this. Yes, it is real, and yes its from RIX!! He said that the CMC is 2B in case you are wondering, so how's this for legendary creatures!
Holy crap!! My dad works for WOTC and he got a pic of this. Yes, it is real, and yes its from RIX!! He said that the CMC is 2B in case you are wondering, so how's this for legendary creatures!
OH MY GAWWWWWD ADRIAN THIS IS SOOOOOOOOOO AMAZINGG !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOOOOOOOOOVE YOUR DAAAAAAAAAAD.
On a more serious note, i think having a second dinosaur cycle is a waste.
I wonder which colors Kumena is going to be, alot of you guys are saying UB, but i don't see him as a black type, it not like the dude is cruel/selfish or even a sadist (i know black isn't all bad things)
Yeah, yeah, I know that the full set of Ixalan was just spoiled and Rivals is months away, but to be fair, Ixalan really teased a lot of future characters for us: in card names alone, we have Arguel, Captain Vance, Kumena, and Angrath, and that’s not even counting flavor text. Those four are almost certainly going to get cards, because nowadays a character’s name appearing on a card almost always guarantees a legendary creature card (Djeru's Resolve in Amonkhet, Djeru in Hour of Devastation). Yes, there have been times in the past when they’ve failed to do so, at least right away (looking at you, Taigam), but it seems they’ve learned their lesson.
These are only the characters I’m almost completely certain will get cards, and the color identities I think they’ll most likely have:
Before anyone asks, I know that Tillonalli, Ixalli, and Kinjalli appear in various card titles and flavor texts, but I think that the dino avatar mini-cycle is the closest we’re going to get. For one thing, they seem to be more of abstract concepts representing sun phases than actual characters, and I don’t think we’re going to be seeing more gods this block, both because we just go them in the last block and because WotC doesn’t want to offend anyone. The bat god might appear, but probably with not with the god creature type. Instead, I think he’ll appear in the form of Arguel (more on that later).
Anyway, all those card names referring to characters seem like obvious foreshadowing, and it got me thinking about what characters would show up in Rivals. I waited until today because I wanted to see all the flavor text before making this post. Interestingly, the legendary creatures of Ixalan hardly appear in flavor text at all. Captain Storm gets a couple references, but Beckett Brass, Gisharth, Vona, Mavren Fein, Tishana, and Kopala don’t even get referenced once. Instead, we get a bunch of other characters, most of which we haven’t heard of. Some are your run-of-the-mill throwaway flavor text characters that appear on one card and aren’t mentioned again, but there are actually quite a few that show up on multiple cards, and some even have some amount of lore already.
I’ve listed all the characters who show up in card names and/or flavor text in the set. In parentheses are cards that are related to them – some clearly depict them, others only reference them indirectly. I included characters that only appear in flavor text because even though they are unlikely to get cards, it’s not unheard of for it to happen. Take the seemingly meaningless flavor text on Fumigate that ended of referencing Sram, for example. By the time they’re writing flavor text for Ixalan, the legends in Rivals have already been decided, so they can and often will drop hints. Sometimes it’s obvious like with Baral or Yahenni, other times it’s more subtle like with Sram.
Enough introduction, let’s dive into the actual characters:
• Captain Brandis Thorn (Cancel, Walk the Plank, Headstrong Brute)
• Captain Brinely Rage (Run Aground, Thundering Spineback)
• Captain Parrish (Chart a Course)
• Captain Vance (Vance’s Blasting Cannons, Spitfire Bastion)
• Grik Doobin (Lightning Strike)
Grik Doobin is dead, so I think we can rule him out. Captain Rage’s only purpose seems to be telling us how dangerous the other factions are in flavor text. Captain Vance shows up in a card’s name, so she will almost certainly have a card, probably mono-red. My theory is that we will see a monocolored legendary pirate for each pirate color: Parrish is blue, Thorn is black, and Vance is red. If they want a Grixis legend to mirror a Naya legend in Rivals (probably the emperor), though, I could see Thorn being UBR instead. But it’s not like Grixis has any shortage of legends, so seeing a RGW legend but not a UBR legend wouldn’t be all that surprising.
• Amautl, Knight of Atzocan (Bonded Horncrest)
• Caparocti Sunborn (Shining Aerosaur)
• Chitlati, Lightning Rider (Wakening Sun’s Avatar, Burning Sun’s Avatar, Verdant Sun’s Avatar)
• Emperor Apatzec Intli III (Tocatli Honor Guard, Emperor’s Vanguard, Sky Terror)
• Itzama the Crested (Goring Ceratops, Steadfast Armasaur, Spreading Rot, Nest Robber)
Amautl and Caparocti are probably throwaway flavor text characters, but never say never. Chitlati seems to be some sort of religious/spiritual leader, considering that (s)he describes all the sun avatar, but “lightning rider” doesn’t scream priest to me. I guess Chitlati is probably some sort of religious warrior type, which might make for an interesting card. Lightning Rider definitely implies that Chitlati is at least partially red, probably RW. From the flavor text, Itzama seems to be associated with dinosaurs and not a fan of the invading forces. Itzama is probably at least partially white, perhaps GW.
The only one on this list I think is guaranteed is the Emperor. Not only is it an extremely important position in the empire, but he also showed up in the story already. He could be just GW I suppose but as the leader of the faction anything less than RGW would feel wrong. The Sun Empire is the only faction to get only one legend in Ixalan so the Sun Empire should be getting at least two in Rivals, maybe even three. In addition to the emperor, we could see Chitlati, Itzama, or both. Or it could be a character we haven’t hear of yet. I suppose that Huatli’s cousin from her story is a candidate as well.
• Adrian Adanto of Lujio (Legion’s Landing, Adanto, the First Fort, Regisaur Alpha)
• Elenda, the First Vampire (Hierophant’s Chalice)
• High Marshall Arguel (Queen’s Commission, Arguel’s Blood Fast, Temple of Aclazotz)
• Queen Miralda
• Viceroy Elia Sotornes (Vicious Conquistador)
Viceroy Elia is weird because the world guide shown at PAX said that a vampire named Relo was the current viceroy. Of course, that could have been changed along the way, so I assumed that Relo name was changed to Vona. But apparently Elia is the viceroy? Or at least a viceroy? It appears that there are more than one. I’m not terribly optimistic about Elia getting a card though.
Queen Miralda seems like an offscreen influence. Her name might have been changed as well, in fact, Miralda might have actually been renamed Elenda. The flavor text mentioning Elenda implies to me that she probably isn’t around anymore unless she’s the queen. Both (if they are two different people) would be good candidates for a Commander set, though, even if Elenda is dead.
I definitely think that Arguel will get a card. Not only was he mentioned in the name of the card (which virtually guarantees a legendary creature card, unless WotC wants another Taigam incident), but he also seems to have a story arc: he starts out as High Marshal, leading a force of vampires in search of Orazca (Queen’s Commission), but then he goes off on his own (maybe his minions were all killed), goes on a blood fast, has a vision of the bat god (Arguel’s Blood Fast), finds the temple (Temple of Aclazotz) and… we’ll see what happens next. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arguel possessed by Aclazotz, maybe even as a DFC that transforms from a regular vampire into a possessed demon bat god vampire. He’ll probably be mono-black.
Adrian Adanto could get a card as well. He seems to be the vampire who led the first successful colonization attempt by the Dusk Legion, Adanto (named after him of course), and he’s probably in charge of the fort now and having to defend it from his enemies. He could easily be mono-white but I suppose that WB is a possibility as well.
• Shaper Falani (Deeproot Warrior)
• Shaper Kumena (Overflowing Insight, Spell Pierce, Speaker of Kumena)
• Shaper Pashoma (Star of Extinction)
• Shaper Tuvasa (One With the Wind, Crushing Canopy)
Lots and lots of shapers. First off, no way that Kumena doesn’t get a card. Much like Arguel, he is both mentioned in a card name and he seems to have a story arc. He has an epiphany that he needs to claim Orazca for himself in spite of the rest of his species (Overflowing Insight), so he sets off with his own group of followers (Speaker of Kumena) and eventually comes into conflict with at least one rival faction (Spell Pierce). Kumena is definitely at least partially blue. Nonblue mages don’t use countermagic. While he could a blue character with green followers, it seems likely that he’s simply GU, especially since we already got a mono-blue merfolk legend this block. As for the other shapers, any of them could get cards, but none of them seem particularly important so far. There could also be a card for a merfolk who is completely unknown so far, or Kumena could be the only merfolk legend in rivals. Only time will tell.
• Captain Vance (R)
• Emperor Apatzec Intli III (RGW)
• High Marshal Arguel (B)
• Shaper Kumena (GU)
And these are the characters I think are pretty likely to have cards, but there’s no guarantee:
• Captain Parrish (U)
• Captain Thorn (B)
• Either Chitlati, Lightning Rider (RW) or Itzama the Crested (GW)
• Adrian Adanto of Lujio (W)
Thoughts?
Updated list:
Sources:
It's possible that we get others, but eight is already pushing it for a small set. These characters might get cards if we're lucky, but it's more likely that they'll end up on the "put them in a Commander product" list:
Djeru didn't get a creature card because he was named on another card but the reverse. He got named on a card because they were going to give him a creautre card because he was an important story character. Now this may mean were getting a similar situation and we will get a card for Captain Vance or Arguel but I get the feeling we wont. They're already on legendary cards. Likely depicting their major accomplishments. I mean how much more cool do you need to be than "I carved a base out of a volcano using cannon fire"?
The only legend I will predict is a legendary ship.
As for me:
100%: Angrath gets a PW card, Kumena and Arguel legendary cards.
Maybe: Apatzec, Chitlati.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Only issue I can think of the emperor showing up is he fight for a another dinosaur slot so maybe we will see him in mono-color since the other factions got a mono-colored legend.
I'm with everyone else thinking Angrath is BR
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Ot We're definitely getting a black-red Angrath, and a white-green Ajani is possible based on his appearance in the test packaging for 'Conquest of Power' (also he's the other existing mesoamerican planeswalker). That would mean the planeswalkers in Ixalan are color-balanced. I would love Ugin, too, if only for my theory to be born out.
Huatli seems to 'count' as the second legend for the Sun Empire, so Angrath might count as another pirate legend.
Elenda (Saint Elenda, Elenda of Garrano) seems like a sure thing, as both Fein and Vona's profiles indicate they're searching for her.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I think pirates will have at least two more legends one being red/blue, the other blue/black.
Vamps should get a mono black legend and merfolk a mono green.
I actually am hoping that Ajani isn't in rivals and was just used a placeholder to keep a secret.
If Angrath is red/black (which I very much think he will be, Mardu wouldn't be bad colors for him but I just don't see that happening) then I don't see them hitting the same color balance we had in Ixalan without having a third walker.
I'd like to see that happen, but the legendary creatures in Ixalan weren't symmetrical, and I don't expect the legends in Rivals to be either. The only thing that we can be certain of is that each faction will get at least one new legend. The only merfolk who seems to need a card so far is Kumena, and he's definitely at least partially blue. A mono-black vampire could happen with Arguel, however.
Yep, at this point I think that most likely Ajani is in Dominaria and the fifth walker is either Ugin or the agent of Bolas that Vraska is supposed to call.
They don't have to balance the colors in small sets. Black and red are the colors that have the least planeswalkers in standard right now anyway (black more so than red), so a BR planeswalker makes a lot of sense. The other walker could be basically anything, including colorless.
Anyway, here are the revised predictions:
Pirates: No non-planeswalker pirates are relevant to the story so far (including the ones that already have cards), and Maro commented that Breeches (and presumably Vraska's other crew members) were probably added to the story after the cards were already decided, much like Shadowblade or Hal and Alena, so they won't be getting cards. I still definitely think that Vance will get a card, with Parrish and Thorn being possibilities as well. The Ixalan plane page mentions that there's at least one siren captain, which they probably wouldn't put in there for no reason, so if we get two pirates they'll probably be Vance and a siren (who could in theory be Parrish or Thorn).
Sun Empire: The Emperor still seems likely. Huatli's cousin would be a candidate, except he's probably going to get killed by Vona before the first set's story ends. They could make a second legendary dinosaur with the right flavor justification, which seems especially likely because 1. dinosaurs are popular and 2. the Sun Empire is the only faction not to get a second legend in Ixalan, so it would make sense for them to get two in Rivals.
Vampires: This is a toss-up between Arguel, Adrian Adanto, Aclazotz, and Elenda. Arguel is the most likely because he appears in a card title and WotC won't pull another Taigam if they know what's good for them. Aclazotz might be mythological or a background force, and he could be partially represented by either Arguel or Elenda being either priests for him or directly possessed by him, so I don't think we'll see a card directly representing him. The second legend could be either Elenda or Adrian: the former seems important but could mythological or dead, while the latter seems unimportant but is definitely alive and real.
Merfolk: Kumena. Just Kumena. I don't see any reason to expect anyone else. Counting Kumena we're already at the same number of legends as the first set, so adding a second merfolk would put the second set at more than the first, which would be very unusual.
In conclusion, I think the legends will be:
That would give another way to create another "Fixed" Iconic land reprint.
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
IF Ajani isn't in RIX, I'd imagine that art was concept for the super expensive Level One figure, since they have similar poses. Either that or the Key Art from Dominaria, but I would think Liliana would be the focus of that.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
But why would Ajani go to Ixilan. He has no particular reason to go there, can't have gone there before and no reason to know it exists. Unless Ajani is the agent of Bolas, which would be a strange twist.
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
Ajani went to go find allies. But who does Ajani actually know? Sarkhan, Tezzeret, Koth, and Tamiyo. He might have heard of Karn. Tezzeret and Koth are probably immediately off the table for various reasons. Tamiyo is his most likely connection, meaning the story-circle, meaning Narset. Both the Sarkhan and Narset connections mean Ugin. Ugin connects him back to Ixalan.
Granted, it's unlikely, but still possible. We'll have to see how things play out.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
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
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
This is because I can say I'm 100% sure this is a cycle 3 legendary mono colored dinosaurs
You missed one legendary name in ixalan
Kinjalli
And Wakening Sun's avatar this is "NOT" kinjalli
If it was kinjalli this avatar would have been a legendary creature.
If that was the case then Ghalta would be named Ixalli. We might get a cycle of elder dinosaurs but your theory doesn't hold up of them being the aspects of the suns.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Wouldn't it be a hoot, though, if Bolas is just using Vraska? What if Ajani is the 'Bolas representative' and Vraska is nothing more than a tool to strand Ajani on Ixalan? Not very likely, as Creative is highly implying that Bolas wants the Immortal Sun, but it is a possibility.
There is zero evidence that the sphinx is a planeswalker. Its possible that it is. But its not likely. Right now its just as likely that he is the leader of a group of sphinxes that guard Orazca. Guardians have been mentioned a few times. Don't get me wrong; itd be cool for it to be a walker, even cooler for it to be As or, and I agree that Ajani wont be here. But lets slow our rolls on this sphinx being a walker so we don't overhype ourselves and get angry if it turns out its not.
1) Triangle-in-circle binding patterns have been established as referring to the Azorius, and therefore are likely to be from Azor. (Other guild insignia--Izzet, for example--reflect their parun.)
2) The Ixalan binding shows up as a triangle-in-circle mandala.
3) That specific mandala pattern was chosen by Creative. That is, narratively nothing is random.
4) Therefore, people viewing the Binding are meant to think of the Azorius guild.
5) Therefore, either Creative is deliberately misleading us, or there is some connection to the Azorius guild causing the binding. The most likely is Azor himself.
Counterevidence:
1) Vraska hasn't commented on the similarity. Unlike Jace, she certainly remembers the Azorius and its symbol, and has seen the binding (as Jace has tried to PW in her presence, IIRC).
Like I said, best situation, its Azor because that would be really cool.
Merfolk should have Kumena at least, and any of the other Shapers without a card are also possibilities.
Pirates have a fair number of named pirates to choose from.
Vampires have Queen Miralda, Saint Elenda and Arguel.
The Sun Empire could have Emperor Apatzec.
Regarding the last time a small set had 8+ legendary creatures:
Fate Reforged had 10 legendary creatures (the 5 ancient Khans and the 5 dragon leaders).
Eldritch Moon technically had more than 8, but two of them are Meld creatures.
OH MY GAWWWWWD ADRIAN THIS IS SOOOOOOOOOO AMAZINGG !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOOOOOOOOOVE YOUR DAAAAAAAAAAD.
On a more serious note, i think having a second dinosaur cycle is a waste.
I wonder which colors Kumena is going to be, alot of you guys are saying UB, but i don't see him as a black type, it not like the dude is cruel/selfish or even a sadist (i know black isn't all bad things)
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