-Chandra is very very hurt by Nissa running off, taking it personally. Poor Chandra
-It looks like Chandra "steals" the googles as a way to start a chat with Jaya
-Hmmm oh hey other luti, glad you here to remind us your a person
-So show my point of needing the weatherlight this story took Chandra 5 days to travel around fully
-
Muttering to herself, "Don't burn down the forest,"
Chandra, showing restraint
-Multani is still asleep at this point and has animated trees as a defense reflex
-Chandra bumps into Karn as well as Mother Luti....or should I say Jaya Ballard!
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Cool story, introducing the other major players of the story (Jaya, Karn, Multani, Chandra...basically everyone but Squee), and confirming what a few of us suspected all along about Mother Luti. Quite a few of the predictions by this group have been spot on. hope this doesn't mean MTG storylines are getting to be too predictable.
Looks like Chandra is going to be hanging around longer than I expected. I actually thought she was just going to run into Jaya at Regatha, and send her to Dominaria while she continued training or something. yeah I know that sounds dumb, but that's what I thought.
Also, I just realized...they're bringing the old Weatherlight band back together...without a Minotaur? how they gonna disrespect Tangarth like that? I call foul.
So... how did Mother Luti/Jaya got to Dominaria before Chandra, consider by the time Chandra arrived the city has already "hired" a pyromancer/Jaya to help? Twins?
I like how they bring Prossh into this, though Karn's appearance is a little hasty; could've taken a grander entrance. Chandra's shock at Mother Luti = Jaya could also use one more paragraph.
suspected all along about Mother Luti. Quite a few of the predictions by this group have been spot on. hope this doesn't mean MTG storylines are getting to be too predictable.
I am not sure we can call Luti being Jaya a huge prediction, mysterious Pyromancy Master, lives in a Cult to Jaya without being an official member of it and understands Chandra is a Planeswalker and tells her to go help her friends, the bigger twist would for her to not be Jaya I think.
Didn't like the hand waving that Chandra just stumbles accross Jaya's aether trail on dominaria. I mean I guess you could just assume since she founded the keep her essence was familiar, but cmon. This just didn't feel like good story telling to me, and I don't blame that on Martha - her hands were probably tied. It felt like incredibly weak circumstances. Jaya not telling Chandra sooner is also kind of a head scratcher to me. She's going off fighting the largest threats in the multiverse and appears to be much less restrained or powerful compared to Jaya (luti), who is constantly giving her tidbits on improving.
You have a small force of soldiers going to face down Prosh without the powerful pyromancer at their side (I'm inclined to think they're going to get wiped out). Jaya is just going to leave them like that? Love the call out to an edh card, but if kobolds are wiping out their scouts...wtf is going to happen to an entire regiment if they face a dragon.
It would have been nice to have a better introduction for karn imo. This just felt meh to me. Especially considering the power of both his walker cards and the quote on argentum armor. He is such a BA on things that reference him, and he's just sooooo, ehhhh in our first taste. Where is that world shaking power at? Show, don't tell.
I am not sure we can call Luti being Jaya a huge prediction, mysterious Pyromancy Master, lives in a Cult to Jaya without being an official member of it and understands Chandra is a Planeswalker and tells her to go help her friends, the bigger twist would for her to not be Jaya I think.
That's an easy assertion to make after the fact. Let people have their fun.
It's a pretty big deal that a major pre-Mending planeswalker has been part of the story for the last decade. A LOT of the old vorthos did not think this was something that was going to happen, even back when the idea was first floated after The Purifying Fire came out.
So wait, Chandra was able to sense Jaya's aether trail on Dominaria, despite being on an entirely different continent, but she doesn't sense anything when she's back in Regatha, in the same building where Jaya planeswalked to as well?
Also, did Jaya return to Regatha in the middle of the mission because... She felt Chandra's aether trail and immediately assumed she must've gone home?
One of the weaker entries. I haven't read an author who could write Chandra in a way that makes me interested in her. Generally I don't find her very interesting, but this is obviously subjective, and so I won't deride those who find her interesting. I just don't.
Objectively, several things made me go 'hmmm.' Chandra sense Jaya's 'trail,' which seems 'old', I guess? And she felt it almost immediately upon arriving on Dominaria after Amonkhet, developed her plan, and took off to the pyromancer plane, in the time it took Nissa to leave? Didn't make much sense to me.
But then she doesn't sense that same trail on pyromancer plane, where Jaya, in fact, was? And then she returned to Dominaria, and instantly has a conversation with someone where we find out Baird has a pyromancer. That pyromancer will be Jaya, but Chandra just ditched Jaya on pyromancer plane and immediately went to Dominaria. How is this at all possible?
Now, a while later, Baird tells Chandra that Jaya left them in the ridges. Where did she go? Yavimaya, which Chandra easily reaches. But then it seems she encounters Karn, who has not yet encountered Jaya, even though Jaya left a while earlier. And has Karn just been antagonizing Multani for weeks, or is he a recent arrival?
I dunno, time made no sense in this story. Objectively, there were issues, but subjectively, I thought it was just poorly done.
So wait, Chandra was able to sense Jaya's aether trail on Dominaria, despite being on an entirely different continent, but she doesn't sense anything when she's back in Regatha, in the same building where Jaya planeswalked to as well?
Also, did Jaya return to Regatha in the middle of the mission because... She felt Chandra's aether trail and immediately assumed she must've gone home?
*squints sceptically*
I'm kinda hoping the next story clears up some of this, but on a more positive note, we finally get official confirmation that Luti is Jaya.
Yeah, this'un felt...rushed. After how well she's handled Gideon and Liliana, Wells' take on Chandra read to me like a de-aging of the character into her early teenage years (what with the Nissa-pining and general lack of forethought, neither of which are new, but they're...worse?).
I feel like this story was somewhat underwhelming and light on progression. It feels like the big reveal that Mother Luti was Jaya was supposed to carry more weight, but that was the predominant theory people had going into this story. So what I really wanted to know here was how Chandra reacted, why Jaya decided to go into hiding (essentially), and the backstory for Jaya and Karn's relationship, which unfortunately didn't make it into this story.
I'm hoping we get a big reunion soon, with the older characters reconnecting and Jace 2.0 showing up at some point. It also sort of feels like the ending is going to be somewhat rushed. It'd be really cool if they find room to shed some light on Belzenlok's backstory, the war of the abyss, and how he/Bolas brokered Liliana's contract.
So much time talking about Chandra traveling and no time on the substance of the matters. First story I was really dissapointed in. The last paragraph should have been the second or third. Just junk until the rushed good part at the end.
Timing as others have said makes absolutely no sense either. Kinda dumbfounded.
Only four stories left?? This will be terribly rushed it seems.
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
Yeah waste of plot time if you ask me. Chandra is not even getting a real training arc.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Yeah waste of plot time if you ask me. Chandra is not even getting a real training arc.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Didn't they hang out during Time Spiral? Also, I always kinda got that Karn was a pretty genial silver robot who made friends easily.
But yeah, its a Chandra story, so she perpetuates the stereotype the red is stupid. "Oh, this super old lady that's been around forever doesn't have a rank, but she knows a ton of stuff about pyromancy and is allowed to pretty much go anywhere and do whatever she wants in the monastery founded by Jaya, a super old lady who knows a ton about pyromancy and would be allowed to go anywhere an do whatever in said monastery, I won't stop to consider it might be her". I don't hate Chandra, but I go into all of her stories expecting her to miss the most blatant clues and make poor choices, and she never disappoints. At least her tomfoolery is moderately entertaining, sort of like Liliana's mustache twirling and generally being a Hela/Loki mashup or Gideon's casual indestructibility and being a Thor/Captain America mashup.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
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Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
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Yeah waste of plot time if you ask me. Chandra is not even getting a real training arc.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Didn't they hang out during Time Spiral? Also, I always kinda got that Karn was a pretty genial silver robot who made friends easily.
But yeah, its a Chandra story, so she perpetuates the stereotype the red is stupid. "Oh, this super old lady that's been around forever doesn't have a rank, but she knows a ton of stuff about pyromancy and is allowed to pretty much go anywhere and do whatever she wants in the monastery founded by Jaya, a super old lady who knows a ton about pyromancy and would be allowed to go anywhere an do whatever in said monastery, I won't stop to consider it might be her". I don't hate Chandra, but I go into all of her stories expecting her to miss the most blatant clues and make poor choices, and she never disappoints. At least her tomfoolery is moderately entertaining, sort of like Liliana's mustache twirling and generally being a Hela/Loki mashup or Gideon's casual indestructibility and being a Thor/Captain America mashup.
Yeah waste of plot time if you ask me. Chandra is not even getting a real training arc.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Didn't they hang out during Time Spiral? Also, I always kinda got that Karn was a pretty genial silver robot who made friends easily.
But yeah, its a Chandra story, so she perpetuates the stereotype the red is stupid. "Oh, this super old lady that's been around forever doesn't have a rank, but she knows a ton of stuff about pyromancy and is allowed to pretty much go anywhere and do whatever she wants in the monastery founded by Jaya, a super old lady who knows a ton about pyromancy and would be allowed to go anywhere an do whatever in said monastery, I won't stop to consider it might be her". I don't hate Chandra, but I go into all of her stories expecting her to miss the most blatant clues and make poor choices, and she never disappoints. At least her tomfoolery is moderately entertaining, sort of like Liliana's mustache twirling and generally being a Hela/Loki mashup or Gideon's casual indestructibility and being a Thor/Captain America mashup.
You'd think that with characters like Daretti, Pia Nalaar and even Jaya here, that stereotype would have less weight.
Yeah waste of plot time if you ask me. Chandra is not even getting a real training arc.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Didn't they hang out during Time Spiral? Also, I always kinda got that Karn was a pretty genial silver robot who made friends easily.
But yeah, its a Chandra story, so she perpetuates the stereotype the red is stupid. "Oh, this super old lady that's been around forever doesn't have a rank, but she knows a ton of stuff about pyromancy and is allowed to pretty much go anywhere and do whatever she wants in the monastery founded by Jaya, a super old lady who knows a ton about pyromancy and would be allowed to go anywhere an do whatever in said monastery, I won't stop to consider it might be her". I don't hate Chandra, but I go into all of her stories expecting her to miss the most blatant clues and make poor choices, and she never disappoints. At least her tomfoolery is moderately entertaining, sort of like Liliana's mustache twirling and generally being a Hela/Loki mashup or Gideon's casual indestructibility and being a Thor/Captain America mashup.
You'd think that with characters like Daretti, Pia Nalaar and even Jaya here, that stereotype would have less weight.
The Gatewatch more then color stereotypes...I perish the thoughts.
I love reading about Chandra probably because i can relate to her and red so i enjoyed the story i'm bias to this chapter, but still that was a huge waste of time, if Dominaria doesn't get a follow up on Core 2019 we're screwed and just like i said in the previous story, Belzenlok story is probably going to suck which is quite sad giving all the amazing black villains Dominaria had.
This is the only of the Dominaria stories that I've had to force myself to get through so far, whereas the rest have held my attention in a vice grip.
Also, there's SO much that has to happen in the story that either:
1. The next four installments are VERY long; or
2. The story continues through Core 2019.
This is the only of the Dominaria stories that I've had to force myself to get through so far, whereas the rest have held my attention in a vice grip.
Also, there's SO much that has to happen in the story that either:
1. The next four installments are VERY long; or
2. The story continues through Core 2019.
Probably going to be a rush job.
This set either needs to not have to deal with Belzenlok at all and just reintroduce old Legends.
Or start with way more of these Legends on the same page working together like an old RPG where Lili and Gids walk into a Bar and see the Legends of Old getting drunk and making merry at a table. We didn't have time to spend collecting all these Legends.
Teferi took two issues, one of pure backstory for a wife and daughter who wont be relevant. One issue getting the new Weatherlight Crew, is this strictly needed especially if the Weatherlight cannot Planeswalk. One of Angel Flashback, definitely not needed unless she is like someone reborn. One at the Academy, so we can see Jodah, could have had Sisay hang on to one of those Cabal agent from earlier or Gids and Lili grab one. One killing Josu which was kinda anti climatic. One getting Jaya and Karn, I suppose the two for one is great. Assuming everyone gets together next story that is 9 issues spent getting the team together.
But we still don't have any reason to see Belzenlok as a real threat. Especially when you consider how much fail Lilis Demons are. In fact again the main reason he seems to be effective is cause no one bothered to stop him. Cause Jodah is too much of hypocrite to bother. Teferi is weak and busy. Karn is depressed and busy. Jaya was offplane. And Jhoira was doing what?
So Issue 9 Get Everyone Together, 10 Assault on Base, 11 Fight Belzenlok and 12 Bolas Appears?
Doesn't seem to leave much time to explain stuff and mend fences on the core issues.
That is not even counting for this story being overpacked with characters. I mean really how are the Legends: Teferi, Karn, Jaya and Jhoira. Gatewatch: Liliana, Gideon, Chandra and Jace. New Weatherlight: Shanna, Arvad, Raff,and Tiana. All suppose to shine in the coming fights. I know I said I like to see more of normals (nonwalkers) but I am thinking this is the wrong set for that.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/return-dominaria-episode-8-2018-05-02
-Chandra is very very hurt by Nissa running off, taking it personally. Poor Chandra
-It looks like Chandra "steals" the googles as a way to start a chat with Jaya
-Hmmm oh hey other luti, glad you here to remind us your a person
-So show my point of needing the weatherlight this story took Chandra 5 days to travel around fully
- Chandra, showing restraint
-Multani is still asleep at this point and has animated trees as a defense reflex
-Chandra bumps into Karn as well as Mother Luti....or should I say Jaya Ballard!
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Looks like Chandra is going to be hanging around longer than I expected. I actually thought she was just going to run into Jaya at Regatha, and send her to Dominaria while she continued training or something. yeah I know that sounds dumb, but that's what I thought.
Also, I just realized...they're bringing the old Weatherlight band back together...without a Minotaur? how they gonna disrespect Tangarth like that? I call foul.
Click the pic for more info.
I like how they bring Prossh into this, though Karn's appearance is a little hasty; could've taken a grander entrance. Chandra's shock at Mother Luti = Jaya could also use one more paragraph.
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Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
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"wait but I..."
I am not sure we can call Luti being Jaya a huge prediction, mysterious Pyromancy Master, lives in a Cult to Jaya without being an official member of it and understands Chandra is a Planeswalker and tells her to go help her friends, the bigger twist would for her to not be Jaya I think.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
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Hive World
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Abzan
I woulda thought she’d visit a healer
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Umm..magical fire healing magic?
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 have a small force of soldiers going to face down Prosh without the powerful pyromancer at their side (I'm inclined to think they're going to get wiped out). Jaya is just going to leave them like that? Love the call out to an edh card, but if kobolds are wiping out their scouts...wtf is going to happen to an entire regiment if they face a dragon.
It would have been nice to have a better introduction for karn imo. This just felt meh to me. Especially considering the power of both his walker cards and the quote on argentum armor. He is such a BA on things that reference him, and he's just sooooo, ehhhh in our first taste. Where is that world shaking power at? Show, don't tell.
It's a pretty big deal that a major pre-Mending planeswalker has been part of the story for the last decade. A LOT of the old vorthos did not think this was something that was going to happen, even back when the idea was first floated after The Purifying Fire came out.
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Also, did Jaya return to Regatha in the middle of the mission because... She felt Chandra's aether trail and immediately assumed she must've gone home?
*squints sceptically*
Objectively, several things made me go 'hmmm.' Chandra sense Jaya's 'trail,' which seems 'old', I guess? And she felt it almost immediately upon arriving on Dominaria after Amonkhet, developed her plan, and took off to the pyromancer plane, in the time it took Nissa to leave? Didn't make much sense to me.
But then she doesn't sense that same trail on pyromancer plane, where Jaya, in fact, was? And then she returned to Dominaria, and instantly has a conversation with someone where we find out Baird has a pyromancer. That pyromancer will be Jaya, but Chandra just ditched Jaya on pyromancer plane and immediately went to Dominaria. How is this at all possible?
Now, a while later, Baird tells Chandra that Jaya left them in the ridges. Where did she go? Yavimaya, which Chandra easily reaches. But then it seems she encounters Karn, who has not yet encountered Jaya, even though Jaya left a while earlier. And has Karn just been antagonizing Multani for weeks, or is he a recent arrival?
I dunno, time made no sense in this story. Objectively, there were issues, but subjectively, I thought it was just poorly done.
I'm kinda hoping the next story clears up some of this, but on a more positive note, we finally get official confirmation that Luti is Jaya.
I'm excited to see more of Jaya and Karn, though!
I'm hoping we get a big reunion soon, with the older characters reconnecting and Jace 2.0 showing up at some point. It also sort of feels like the ending is going to be somewhat rushed. It'd be really cool if they find room to shed some light on Belzenlok's backstory, the war of the abyss, and how he/Bolas brokered Liliana's contract.
Timing as others have said makes absolutely no sense either. Kinda dumbfounded.
Only four stories left?? This will be terribly rushed it seems.
Also her tracking of Jaya makes no sense how does she even know what Jaya's signature looks like in the first place.
And beyond that sorry since when are Jaya and Karn friends? Karn and Jhoira? Yes. Jodah and Jaya? Yes. Karn and Jaya though what?
Didn't they hang out during Time Spiral? Also, I always kinda got that Karn was a pretty genial silver robot who made friends easily.
But yeah, its a Chandra story, so she perpetuates the stereotype the red is stupid. "Oh, this super old lady that's been around forever doesn't have a rank, but she knows a ton of stuff about pyromancy and is allowed to pretty much go anywhere and do whatever she wants in the monastery founded by Jaya, a super old lady who knows a ton about pyromancy and would be allowed to go anywhere an do whatever in said monastery, I won't stop to consider it might be her". I don't hate Chandra, but I go into all of her stories expecting her to miss the most blatant clues and make poor choices, and she never disappoints. At least her tomfoolery is moderately entertaining, sort of like Liliana's mustache twirling and generally being a Hela/Loki mashup or Gideon's casual indestructibility and being a Thor/Captain America mashup.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
So Chandra is Star Lord/Rocket Raccoon?
You'd think that with characters like Daretti, Pia Nalaar and even Jaya here, that stereotype would have less weight.
The Gatewatch more then color stereotypes...I perish the thoughts.
Art student, EDH lover and a strong believer that Delver has the best design in all of MTG.
Also, there's SO much that has to happen in the story that either:
1. The next four installments are VERY long; or
2. The story continues through Core 2019.
Probably going to be a rush job.
This set either needs to not have to deal with Belzenlok at all and just reintroduce old Legends.
Or start with way more of these Legends on the same page working together like an old RPG where Lili and Gids walk into a Bar and see the Legends of Old getting drunk and making merry at a table. We didn't have time to spend collecting all these Legends.
Teferi took two issues, one of pure backstory for a wife and daughter who wont be relevant. One issue getting the new Weatherlight Crew, is this strictly needed especially if the Weatherlight cannot Planeswalk. One of Angel Flashback, definitely not needed unless she is like someone reborn. One at the Academy, so we can see Jodah, could have had Sisay hang on to one of those Cabal agent from earlier or Gids and Lili grab one. One killing Josu which was kinda anti climatic. One getting Jaya and Karn, I suppose the two for one is great. Assuming everyone gets together next story that is 9 issues spent getting the team together.
But we still don't have any reason to see Belzenlok as a real threat. Especially when you consider how much fail Lilis Demons are. In fact again the main reason he seems to be effective is cause no one bothered to stop him. Cause Jodah is too much of hypocrite to bother. Teferi is weak and busy. Karn is depressed and busy. Jaya was offplane. And Jhoira was doing what?
So Issue 9 Get Everyone Together, 10 Assault on Base, 11 Fight Belzenlok and 12 Bolas Appears?
Doesn't seem to leave much time to explain stuff and mend fences on the core issues.
That is not even counting for this story being overpacked with characters. I mean really how are the Legends: Teferi, Karn, Jaya and Jhoira. Gatewatch: Liliana, Gideon, Chandra and Jace. New Weatherlight: Shanna, Arvad, Raff,and Tiana. All suppose to shine in the coming fights. I know I said I like to see more of normals (nonwalkers) but I am thinking this is the wrong set for that.
Honestly I expect nothing less from (a member of) the Gatewatch.
Blindly stumbling on the answer to their problems has been their modus operandi from day one.