I have been out of the loop for a long time but while trying to catch up on storyline an idea came to me. Ixalan cannot be planeswalked away from. What if the whole time Tezzeret has set things in motion to get Bolas to Ixalan and trapping him? Is there any hope for redemption for Tez?
I really don't think there's any hope for "redemption" for Tezzeret. After all of the innocent people he hurt during his brief tyrannical stint on Kaladesh, he isn't being written to deserve any sympathy. That said, there is some tension in his relationship with Nicol Bolas, and I could see Tez possibly trying to betray Bolas at some point down the line. But I don't think it's likely to have anything to do with Ixalan or the planeswalker-trapping power of the Immortal Sun. For one thing, Bolas clearly already knows about the anti-planeswalk thing, and in fact that may be why he sent Vraska to get the Immortal Sun for him.
In addition, formally speaking, the arc of the Ixalan block is not directly about Bolas or Tezzeret. To the extent that it is related to the main narrative stream of the Magic multiverse, it's just an interstitial story about one small element of Bolas's master plan. It's mostly a character-developing side-story about Jace and Vraska (and maybe Huatli and Angrath, if they end up staying relevant to the story after the block is over). Right now Bolas is the overarching super-villain of the entire Magic story. They wouldn't put such a massive plot twist in a minor story, nor would they do it so soon after Hour of Devastation clearly positioned Bolas as the big bad antagonist of the whole saga.
They're going to spend a long time building up to the next major conflict with Bolas. The next few blocks are going to lay the groundwork for that, showing various elements of Bolas's big scheme coming together (the planar bridge, the Immortals, the Immortal Sun, something from Dominaria, etc.) and then revealing the true purpose that he's going for. At that point, the Gatewatch will probably get another crack at thwarting him, and only then might there be some new drama about Tezzeret. Until then, I think we can expect to see Tez just sticking to his role as Bolas's gofer.
It wouldn't be the first time Tez has tried to kill Bolas. However this will not be one of those times. We don't even know that Tez knows about this portion of the plan. Bolas is the one who introduced Ixalan after all, not Tez.
Tez is like a much nastier version of Gin Ichimaru from Bleach. He will almost certainly try to backstab Bolas in the future but unlike Gin it won't be for anynoble purpose.
I just finished reading the Test of Metal and I really enjoyed that take on his character. Sadly, it seems that the book has been Retconned. His performance in Kaladesh was nothing more then an insane comic book villan. Sad, after the Test of Metal take. Ah well.
I just finished reading the Test of Metal and I really enjoyed that take on his character. Sadly, it seems that the book has been Retconned. His performance in Kaladesh was nothing more then an insane comic book villan. Sad, after the Test of Metal take. Ah well.
Even if Test were canon, Tezzeret we're seeing is the one Bolas rebuilt after being all but killed in Kamigawa by Nezumi and mind-dumped by Jace.
Bolas already lost his grip on Sarkhan; until we're introduced to some other goons I don't see him losing any other right-hand men. Plus, Tezz is an evil sonuva through and through, so a face-turn would be totally out of left field from my perspective.
Long answer: Tezzeret would love to betray Nicky B, and has done so before with his hostile takeover of the Infinite Consortium, but he's not good by any stretch of the imagination, and I doubt he had anything to do with the formation of Bolas's Ixalan scheme. If he's scheming against Bolas, it's something else he has in mind, and it wouldn't be for the good of anyone but himself.
Even when he was on Esper before his spark ignited, he was cruel and manipulative. The sad thing about Tezzeret is that his extreme ambition and cruelty has led him to this; had he just stuck with his artificing instead of trying to be a Seeker (he's terrible at spellcasting, which the Seekers valued), he would have still been living his life on Esper doing what he does best. Had he not been such an ***hole to Jace, Jace wouldn't have mindsculpted him.
What I'm saying is that Tezzeret deserves his current fate.
If Tezzeret tries anything against Bolas, I think the dragon wouldn't be able to pick his teeth with the scrap metal that's left of the poor guy after.
If Tezzeret tries anything against Bolas, I think the dragon wouldn't be able to pick his teeth with the scrap metal that's left of the poor guy after.
It'd be a shame if that happened since Tezzeret is one of my favourite walkers, his Kaladesh depiction notwithstanding.
Tezzeret did turn on Bolas once before and he did it quite succesfully. I am pretty sure he is going to try something again. His behavior post origins has been giving small hints that he might have plans of his own.
Where do I find these storylines? Is there some greater story, like from A-Z or is it all bits and pieces?
Its a bit of a mess really, at least for the older ones. I am not going to talk about the pre-mending stuff, just the ones who are relevant to the current story.
There have been two planeswalker novels (one for jace, one for chandra) which are decent reads and mostly cannon. There's a third one called Test of metal but its not considered cannon (shame cause it really made Tezzeret awesome). There are also a few webnovels, one for ravnica and one for theros and some old webcomics in the old website. Most of these might be hard to acquire or find. Honestly I think if you just want the basic summary of what happened pre-origins you can just skip all of these and read the wiki.
The more recent stories are being put up on the mtg website in the articles section under Magic Story. New stories are being put up every wednesday. I think if you read those you can get a decent grasp of what happened before and who/what is going to relevant in the future. If you are new to magic's story I would recommend starting with the Origins stories, then Tarkir and then Battle for zendikar.
There have been two planeswalker novels (one for jace, one for chandra) which are decent reads and mostly cannon. There's a third one called Test of metal but its not considered cannon (shame cause it really made Tezzeret awesome).
From what I've heard of clockworking though, maybe that's for the best.
There have been two planeswalker novels (one for jace, one for chandra) which are decent reads and mostly cannon. There's a third one called Test of metal but its not considered cannon (shame cause it really made Tezzeret awesome).
From what I've heard of clockworking though, maybe that's for the best.
Personally I enjoyed the book immensely. I view clockworking as an attempt to translate gameplay into flavour via the form of time magic. It didnt work well but really thats a problem all stories involving time travel have.
In addition, formally speaking, the arc of the Ixalan block is not directly about Bolas or Tezzeret. To the extent that it is related to the main narrative stream of the Magic multiverse, it's just an interstitial story about one small element of Bolas's master plan. It's mostly a character-developing side-story about Jace and Vraska (and maybe Huatli and Angrath, if they end up staying relevant to the story after the block is over). Right now Bolas is the overarching super-villain of the entire Magic story. They wouldn't put such a massive plot twist in a minor story, nor would they do it so soon after Hour of Devastation clearly positioned Bolas as the big bad antagonist of the whole saga.
They're going to spend a long time building up to the next major conflict with Bolas. The next few blocks are going to lay the groundwork for that, showing various elements of Bolas's big scheme coming together (the planar bridge, the Immortals, the Immortal Sun, something from Dominaria, etc.) and then revealing the true purpose that he's going for. At that point, the Gatewatch will probably get another crack at thwarting him, and only then might there be some new drama about Tezzeret. Until then, I think we can expect to see Tez just sticking to his role as Bolas's gofer.
Tez is like a much nastier version of Gin Ichimaru from Bleach. He will almost certainly try to backstab Bolas in the future but unlike Gin it won't be for anynoble purpose.
I just finished reading the Test of Metal and I really enjoyed that take on his character. Sadly, it seems that the book has been Retconned. His performance in Kaladesh was nothing more then an insane comic book villan. Sad, after the Test of Metal take. Ah well.
Modern: Storm
Legacy: ANT
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Long answer: Tezzeret would love to betray Nicky B, and has done so before with his hostile takeover of the Infinite Consortium, but he's not good by any stretch of the imagination, and I doubt he had anything to do with the formation of Bolas's Ixalan scheme. If he's scheming against Bolas, it's something else he has in mind, and it wouldn't be for the good of anyone but himself.
Even when he was on Esper before his spark ignited, he was cruel and manipulative. The sad thing about Tezzeret is that his extreme ambition and cruelty has led him to this; had he just stuck with his artificing instead of trying to be a Seeker (he's terrible at spellcasting, which the Seekers valued), he would have still been living his life on Esper doing what he does best. Had he not been such an ***hole to Jace, Jace wouldn't have mindsculpted him.
What I'm saying is that Tezzeret deserves his current fate.
It'd be a shame if that happened since Tezzeret is one of my favourite walkers, his Kaladesh depiction notwithstanding.
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW
Where do I find these storylines? Is there some greater story, like from A-Z or is it all bits and pieces?
Its a bit of a mess really, at least for the older ones. I am not going to talk about the pre-mending stuff, just the ones who are relevant to the current story.
There have been two planeswalker novels (one for jace, one for chandra) which are decent reads and mostly cannon. There's a third one called Test of metal but its not considered cannon (shame cause it really made Tezzeret awesome). There are also a few webnovels, one for ravnica and one for theros and some old webcomics in the old website. Most of these might be hard to acquire or find. Honestly I think if you just want the basic summary of what happened pre-origins you can just skip all of these and read the wiki.
The more recent stories are being put up on the mtg website in the articles section under Magic Story. New stories are being put up every wednesday. I think if you read those you can get a decent grasp of what happened before and who/what is going to relevant in the future. If you are new to magic's story I would recommend starting with the Origins stories, then Tarkir and then Battle for zendikar.
Hope this helps
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW
From what I've heard of clockworking though, maybe that's for the best.
Personally I enjoyed the book immensely. I view clockworking as an attempt to translate gameplay into flavour via the form of time magic. It didnt work well but really thats a problem all stories involving time travel have.
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW