And I'm not some kid being given what they want, for the record. While I admire past characters getting cards (so that I get the ones I want, which I haven't yet, this year) I actually don't care for Dominaria or any of its characters or even most of its cards. I have a pretty solid reputation for caring only about Jace, Theros and Kamigawa lore. I never read any of the old material, and the only thing I care to know about Dominaria is the Umezawa connection with the Myojin of Night's Reach and passing references to Marit Lage. So I fail to see how getting cards I didn't care to have dictates how critical I can be about the story.
You forgot Innistrad....*Jenrik* If you do not care for Dominaria characters, I see no point in criticizing that Teferi ascended offscreen. Maybe you should read the old materials. Then you would be more able to see through my eyes and learn to appreciate things.
I consider my post amusing. Innistrad is dead, and no offense, but I don't need to see things through your eyes to have my own opinions. Considering I don't care about Teferi and you seem to, it doesn't bother me that we got a story about a mold instead of Teferi re-sparking, even if is a glaring deficit in the lore from a critical perspective. If you ask me, I find Dominaria to be boring and basic and the nostalgia nauseating, but you won't find me applying those emotions to my assessment of the story. I'm far too much of a True Blue mage to be so unreasonable. If anything, reading the old material seems to create more confusion than it resolves, what with the glancing retcons and unexplained revisions.
I doubt there is anything they could do that would actually resolve the whole resparking thing to the more focused Vorthos' satisfaction. Dealing with it off screen is probably for the best because of that. Better to be vague than have people go after specifics, especially when the causal Vorthos aren't going to care.
And I'm not some kid being given what they want, for the record. While I admire past characters getting cards (so that I get the ones I want, which I haven't yet, this year) I actually don't care for Dominaria or any of its characters or even most of its cards. I have a pretty solid reputation for caring only about Jace, Theros and Kamigawa lore. I never read any of the old material, and the only thing I care to know about Dominaria is the Umezawa connection with the Myojin of Night's Reach and passing references to Marit Lage. So I fail to see how getting cards I didn't care to have dictates how critical I can be about the story.
You forgot Innistrad....*Jenrik* If you do not care for Dominaria characters, I see no point in criticizing that Teferi ascended offscreen. Maybe you should read the old materials. Then you would be more able to see through my eyes and learn to appreciate things.
I consider my post amusing. Innistrad is dead, and no offense, but I don't need to see things through your eyes to have my own opinions. Considering I don't care about Teferi and you seem to, it doesn't bother me that we got a story about a mold instead of Teferi re-sparking, even if is a glaring deficit in the lore from a critical perspective. If you ask me, I find Dominaria to be boring and basic and the nostalgia nauseating, but you won't find me applying those emotions to my assessment of the story. I'm far too much of a True Blue mage to be so unreasonable. If anything, reading the old material seems to create more confusion than it resolves, what with the glancing retcons and unexplained revisions.
I doubt there is anything they could do that would actually resolve the whole resparking thing to the more focused Vorthos' satisfaction. Dealing with it off screen is probably for the best because of that. Better to be vague than have people go after specifics, especially when the causal Vorthos aren't going to care.
TBH I would have been happy with a Ob like deal where the rift drained Teferi spark but didn't steal it and Jhoira figured out a way to jump start it.
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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"
And I'm not some kid being given what they want, for the record. While I admire past characters getting cards (so that I get the ones I want, which I haven't yet, this year) I actually don't care for Dominaria or any of its characters or even most of its cards. I have a pretty solid reputation for caring only about Jace, Theros and Kamigawa lore. I never read any of the old material, and the only thing I care to know about Dominaria is the Umezawa connection with the Myojin of Night's Reach and passing references to Marit Lage. So I fail to see how getting cards I didn't care to have dictates how critical I can be about the story.
You forgot Innistrad....*Jenrik* If you do not care for Dominaria characters, I see no point in criticizing that Teferi ascended offscreen. Maybe you should read the old materials. Then you would be more able to see through my eyes and learn to appreciate things.
I consider my post amusing. Innistrad is dead, and no offense, but I don't need to see things through your eyes to have my own opinions. Considering I don't care about Teferi and you seem to, it doesn't bother me that we got a story about a mold instead of Teferi re-sparking, even if is a glaring deficit in the lore from a critical perspective. If you ask me, I find Dominaria to be boring and basic and the nostalgia nauseating, but you won't find me applying those emotions to my assessment of the story. I'm far too much of a True Blue mage to be so unreasonable. If anything, reading the old material seems to create more confusion than it resolves, what with the glancing retcons and unexplained revisions.
I doubt there is anything they could do that would actually resolve the whole resparking thing to the more focused Vorthos' satisfaction. Dealing with it off screen is probably for the best because of that. Better to be vague than have people go after specifics, especially when the causal Vorthos aren't going to care.
TBH I would have been happy with a Ob like deal where the rift drained Teferi spark but didn't steal it and Jhoira figured out a way to jump start it.
Hypothesis time:
Jhoira had Teferi's spark in a powerstone, and claimed she got it from the Mana Rig. We know the Mana Rig was used to produce two things: powerstones and thran metal. Therefore, it seems likely that the Mana Rig produced the powerstone with Teferi's spark. The question then becomes how. Acknowledging that powerstones can absorb or contain physical space to enhance their power, perhaps this particular powerstone was either made using the space containing the sealed rift and Teferi's spark or was used after its creation to do so. With the rift inside the powerstone, Teferi's spark could potentially be extracted from it while the rift remains safely contained (destroying the space held within the powerstone, while unable to escape and harm the space outside of it).
It could have been handled more elegantly, I think. Teferi himself speculated in Time Spiral that he might some day get his spark back because he didn't fully understand what the rift had done. He assumed it to be most likely that it straight up ate his spark (which clearly it didn't), but that it could also return on its own.
They left themselves with an out, which is why I always hope that when we returned to Dominaria someday Teferi might be alive and well and regain his spark.
Sadly, the explanation they went with is extremely unsatisfying and like someone commented earlier, they could have made it an Ob Nix style resparking. His spark simply being dormant or him going back the the Shivan rift site and through some mana-rig magic pull the spark back out. Just throwing random ideas out there.
The explanation for why he hasn't aged is also just not an explanation at all.
That said, while a lot of things can be criticised, compared to previous years of Vorthosing, most things are very minor. I'm grateful for what we got because, quite frankly, I expected things to be much much worse. Reading about how much work and true Vorthos effort went into the Dominaria map was truly heartwarming.
Also, can we make Liliana's official theme song "Poison" by Alice Cooper?
My problem with the aging is really they wanted to proverbially have their cake and eat it to. They wanted him to look older but they didn't want him to age normally. So he just randomly ages for a decade or two and then stops or virtually stops for no clear reason.
My problem with the aging is really they wanted to proverbially have their cake and eat it to. They wanted him to look older but they didn't want him to age normally. So he just randomly ages for a decade or two and then stops or virtually stops for no clear reason.
He just ages slowly. I’m not really seeing the complication.
Teferi reascending offscreen...no explanation how Jhoira extracted the spark back into the stone...extensive focus on Gideon and Liliana, and at best, the neWeatherlight crew...
Why would any of that be relevant when we can have a story about mushrooms. Which is exactly what Creative was on when it decided that.
There is no point in being salty.
A year ago, we would never expect to even SEE Dominaria and its characters again. Now, we got an outright great set stuffed to the roof with awesome references. Jodah card, Jaya PW card, awesome new cards for Teferi, Jhoira. Weatherlight vehicle card. Updated Dominaria map. Tell me, how many of this you would thought possible at the beginning on 2017?
That's terrible fanboy logic. No, I won't be grateful and happy just because they brought something back I used to like. It's this attitude which allows companies (not just Wotc) to just keep doing the minimum effort and why there are so many rehashes today. Just returning things from the past does not make them automatically as engaging, creative and good as they were way back.
Teferi reascending offscreen...no explanation how Jhoira extracted the spark back into the stone...extensive focus on Gideon and Liliana, and at best, the neWeatherlight crew...
Why would any of that be relevant when we can have a story about mushrooms. Which is exactly what Creative was on when it decided that.
There is no point in being salty.
A year ago, we would never expect to even SEE Dominaria and its characters again. Now, we got an outright great set stuffed to the roof with awesome references. Jodah card, Jaya PW card, awesome new cards for Teferi, Jhoira. Weatherlight vehicle card. Updated Dominaria map. Tell me, how many of this you would thought possible at the beginning on 2017?
That's terrible fanboy logic. No, I won't be grateful and happy just because they brought something back I used to like. It's this attitude which allows companies (not just Wotc) to just keep doing the minimum effort and why there are so many rehashes today. Just returning things from the past does not make them automatically as engaging, creative and good as they were way back.
There are a lot of rehashes because it lightens the load on Creative a bit (making three+ new Planes a year seems a bit much to ask), and there are a lot of places people want to go back to. Many Planes out there that a second visit would be nice. Look at how much traction a Return to Kamigawa gets, and it’s not even supposed to be that popular.
My problem with the aging is really they wanted to proverbially have their cake and eat it to. They wanted him to look older but they didn't want him to age normally. So he just randomly ages for a decade or two and then stops or virtually stops for no clear reason.
He just ages slowly. I’m not really seeing the complication.
My point is he aged normally for like two decades then inexplicably stopped visually aging at 50. No reason for this is given at all. So my conclusion is they wanted Teferi to look older and have few grays but didn't really want to take away his immortality or near immortality.
I also disagree we as fans have to eat any crap that gets served to us. If the story is the story is bad doesn't matter if I wanted Teferi back. Execution Matters.
My problem with the aging is really they wanted to proverbially have their cake and eat it to. They wanted him to look older but they didn't want him to age normally. So he just randomly ages for a decade or two and then stops or virtually stops for no clear reason.
He just ages slowly. I’m not really seeing the complication.
My point is he aged normally for like two decades then inexplicably stopped visually aging at 50. No reason for this is given at all. So my conclusion is they wanted Teferi to look older and have few grays but didn't really want to take away his immortality or near immortality.
I also disagree we as fans have to eat any crap that gets served to us. If the story is the story is bad doesn't matter if I wanted Teferi back. Execution Matters.
Has Teferi been shown physically post Time Spiral excluding Dominaria? To the best of my recollection up to Dominaria his most recent chronological appearance was still Time Spiral, but maybe I missed something.
If that was his last appearance then I’m definitely sure I don’t get your complaint.
My point is he aged normally for like two decades then inexplicably stopped visually aging at 50. No reason for this is given at all. So my conclusion is they wanted Teferi to look older and have few grays but didn't really want to take away his immortality or near immortality.
I also disagree we as fans have to eat any crap that gets served to us. If the story is the story is bad doesn't matter if I wanted Teferi back. Execution Matters.
The explanation is that he is aging slowly. The 60ish years since the mending has aged him 30ish years.
"My father used to be an immortal," Niambi explained kindly. "He ages very slowly. I've been catching up to him for years."
If you have a problem that that explanation is probably bull, because other immortals don't appear to be aging slowly then that is fine. But don't claim that they gave no reason for him to look aged. There are also a few viable answer for why he ages slowly. Being a time mage it could just be a by product of his magic. Could he slow others aging? Possibly but it could be a strain or he could simply choose not to because messing with people's natural life span is dangerous. Or this could be a result of him drinking slow time water from before he knew he had ascended. That second one doesn't make a whole lot of sense but it works better than 'he used to be immortal'.
You make a number of good points but its hard to agree with you when you are so often hyperbolic, exaggerating valid criticisms/claims into ridiculous falsehoods.
And the explanation is what? My reading of Niambi's statement is he was aging at a normal rate then stopped or slowed to a crawl allowing Niambi to catch up. He didn't have gray hairs before Time Spiral so that is an after the fact thing. Your argument is what he ages 2 years for every 1 Niambi ages?
The fact there are a few "Viable" answers proves my point...they didn't explain it.
Er... my reading of her statement is she's been catching up to him, he ages... let's just arbitrarily say 1/2 a year for every real year. I'm... not really sure how Niambi's statement would instead read the opposite.
My point is he aged normally for like two decades then inexplicably stopped visually aging at 50. No reason for this is given at all. So my conclusion is they wanted Teferi to look older and have few grays but didn't really want to take away his immortality or near immortality.
I also disagree we as fans have to eat any crap that gets served to us. If the story is the story is bad doesn't matter if I wanted Teferi back. Execution Matters.
The explanation is that he is aging slowly. The 60ish years since the mending has aged him 30ish years.
"My father used to be an immortal," Niambi explained kindly. "He ages very slowly. I've been catching up to him for years."
If you have a problem that that explanation is probably bull, because other immortals don't appear to be aging slowly then that is fine. But don't claim that they gave no reason for him to look aged. There are also a few viable answer for why he ages slowly. Being a time mage it could just be a by product of his magic. Could he slow others aging? Possibly but it could be a strain or he could simply choose not to because messing with people's natural life span is dangerous. Or this could be a result of him drinking slow time water from before he knew he had ascended. That second one doesn't make a whole lot of sense but it works better than 'he used to be immortal'.
You make a number of good points but its hard to agree with you when you are so often hyperbolic, exaggerating valid criticisms/claims into ridiculous falsehoods.
The slow water explanation would fill in the Jhoira not aging at all plot hole as well. There isn't any slow water left AFAIK, yet she hasn't aged a day since TS. She had been one of the most prolific consumers of slow water though, drinking it from its discovery until she phased out with Teferi on Shiv. She has perhaps drank so much that her aging has slowed to become imperceptibly slow even without more slow water, and Teferi having drank a decent amount before ascending and then stopping because walkers didn't age would explain his aging only half or a third of the normal rate.
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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"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
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!
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!
And the explanation is what? My reading of Niambi's statement is he was aging at a normal rate then stopped or slowed to a crawl allowing Niambi to catch up. He didn't have gray hairs before Time Spiral so that is an after the fact thing. Your argument is what he ages 2 years for every 1 Niambi ages?
The fact there are a few "Viable" answers proves my point...they didn't explain it.
The only way to draw this conclusions is by ignoring the actual words used and assuming. She doesn't say. He hasn't aged since I was born. Nor does she say he was already old when she was born. She says he ages slowly and she has been catching up because she obviously ages at a normal rate. The viable explanations are for why he ages slowly not why he appears as he does because we know why, he ages slowly. He shouldn't have looked any different in timespiral than he did during Prophecy, because he was still an immortal walker then. It wasn't until he gave up his spark that he should have begun aging 60ish years ago. Typing this out the immortal thing holds a bit more water. Other depowered walkers don't appear to age slowly, however Teferi isn't a depowered walker he is a desparked walker which could act completely differently, preserving a portion of his immortality as slow aging.
As for his power being nerfed, no *****, he was nerfed because he lost his spark, the source of most of his power. We are comparing him as an Oldwalkers and him as a sad out of practice mage. He's stronger now with it back, but not Oldwalkers strong.
Also, of Jhoira got his spark into a powerstone, something that we know can be done, I have a (joke) theory has to why he resparked offscreen. Like Karn, he didn't absorb the spark fr the stone, he had to put the stone in him. I don't think we needed a chapter on Teferi using the prison pocket or having surgery, and it would explain why he wouldn't want it.
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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"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
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!
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!
I don't see how people here can reasonably can defend the "explanation" they give. It's not consistent within the story. "He was an immortal" is the explanation they give us through his daughter. Yet we see other immortals do age (both Jaya and Liliana as examples, one of which has a story arc based on the fact that time was catching up with her). Thus it's not a valid explanation.
But whatever, it's not really that important in the grand scheme of things. The only complaints I have, have to do with the old lore. Most people playing the game these days probably don't know enough about that to care.
If I ignore anything that has to do with older, established lore, I quite like what we got. Martha's writing means there is no inconsistent quality anymore. The Liliana/Gideon story line is very good imo. Slimefoot was a great little surprise. Sure, at times things felt rushed, but I get that she likely had to deal with certain constraints and that Dominaria going from 2 to 1 set must have had its influence, too.
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Modern
Affinity
UW Control
Commander
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dragonlord Ojutai
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
The Ur-Dragon
I don't see how people here can reasonably can defend the "explanation" they give. It's not consistent within the story. "He was an immortal" is the explanation they give us through his daughter. Yet we see other immortals do age (both Jaya and Liliana as examples, one of which has a story arc based on the fact that time was catching up with her). Thus it's not a valid explanation.
Disagreement: while we have seen immortals age, we've also seen a particularly notable subset of immortals, Oldwalkers, that didn't age until after the Mending which Teferi happened to be a part of. Unlike Liliana, Teferi imbibed slow time water prior to sparking/after sparking, and so had an effect on himself that made him age slowly after the Mending (much as Jhoira has since she imbibed the slow time water).
So him not aging when he was an immortal is entirely supported within the story, and the reason for aging slowly after losing his immortality is also entirely supported within the story. He is not unique in either case individually, and is only unique in possessing the combination of the two (having been an oldwalker and having drunk slow time water).
As for his power being nerfed, no *****, he was nerfed because he lost his spark, the source of most of his power. We are comparing him as an Oldwalkers and him as a sad out of practice mage. He's stronger now with it back, but not Oldwalkers strong.
Also, of Jhoira got his spark into a powerstone, something that we know can be done, I have a (joke) theory has to why he resparked offscreen. Like Karn, he didn't absorb the spark fr the stone, he had to put the stone in him. I don't think we needed a chapter on Teferi using the prison pocket or having surgery, and it would explain why he wouldn't want it.
Obviously he lost power the problem is the degree of power he lost and why under Wells pen he seemingly doesn't know how to use any magic that doesn't involve time despite being a prodigy and learning plenty of non temporal related magic pre Oldwalker. Jhoira is more versatile spellcaster then Teferi and she is not even a primary Wizard.
That and of course the intelligence nerfing. Where he cannot solve the puzzle by himself and even worse then that it took him decades or so according to Wells to think maybe Urza has some artifacts that could help. As for the puzzle Jhoira assumes spirits based on what? There is nothing in lore that would suggest Teferi wouldn't think of spirits or that Urza would think Teferi wouldn't consider them. Urza lack of morals is well known. And Teferi is not especially close to getting Zhalfir back anyway.
He also doesn't get his own spark back. And the reason why Jhoira thinks he doesn't want isn't explained well at all.
So point is Teferi hasn't done much so far certainly not enough to be the focal point of marketing for Dominaria. He has done more then more then Saheeli Rai did but is that really the bar?
The character that is, the card on the other hand has performed amazingly well carrying Jeskai Control in Modern and UW Control in Standard. I certainly expect more if you are going to slap "Hero of Dominaria" on the card. Hopefully he delivers in Ravnica Trilogy since he seems unlikely to do much in Dominaria. Not that Ravnica won't be similarly overcrowded.
Teferi reascending offscreen...no explanation how Jhoira extracted the spark back into the stone...extensive focus on Gideon and Liliana, and at best, the neWeatherlight crew...
Why would any of that be relevant when we can have a story about mushrooms. Which is exactly what Creative was on when it decided that.
There is no point in being salty.
A year ago, we would never expect to even SEE Dominaria and its characters again. Now, we got an outright great set stuffed to the roof with awesome references. Jodah card, Jaya PW card, awesome new cards for Teferi, Jhoira. Weatherlight vehicle card. Updated Dominaria map. Tell me, how many of this you would thought possible at the beginning on 2017?
That's terrible fanboy logic. No, I won't be grateful and happy just because they brought something back I used to like. It's this attitude which allows companies (not just Wotc) to just keep doing the minimum effort and why there are so many rehashes today. Just returning things from the past does not make them automatically as engaging, creative and good as they were way back.
Heh. Fanboy logic. It's been some time anyone called me a fanboy
Or, you know, it is just a result of my age, having different values in life and being able to appreciate even small things in the game I love.
And for the record, I am not glad JUST because they brought back something I like (that's just you putting words in my mouth), but also how they did it. Yes, the story won't ever be again like in the Artifacts cycle or the WTL saga. Not enough space, time and devotion from Wizards any more for that. But the whole set, for a flavor lover, is a gem.
Yeah. Maybe I should be just enjoying it and not engaging in pointless discussions with people who apparently neither share nor want to share my viewpoint
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100% Vorthos Spike and Storyline Expert
Former Fact Prospector of the Greek Alliance.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Caranthir, from one old Dominian historian to another, I'm right with you! The vehicle for telling the story has changed. We aren't going to get epics or a story that is grand in its pacing and development. What we do have now is something fun. The links to Revisionist history and pre-Mending and the Weatherlight Saga is enjoyable in its way; we just can't take it too seriously.
I appreciate the parallels in the crew and revisiting Dominaria in such a way that it does feel like a homecoming.
I am getting the itch to write some fan fiction again though... I wish WotC/Wells would have taken a Rath and Storm approach with a frame story to fill in gaps and help with pacing. If I were to rewrite what we've gotten, I'd have an elderly Master Ilcaster telling the story to a novice. Also, I kinda wish that somehow Jhoira would have captured Teferi's spark in Gerrard's hourglass pendant that Gerrard left behind in Benalia before he departed for Rath. That would have been fun--a Legacy artifact and a time reference for Teferi...
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Dominian Scholar of the Old Guard, specializing in pre-revisionist (Armada comics) and revisionist (Brothers' War through Apocalypse)history
As for his power being nerfed, no *****, he was nerfed because he lost his spark, the source of most of his power. We are comparing him as an Oldwalkers and him as a sad out of practice mage. He's stronger now with it back, but not Oldwalkers strong.
Also, of Jhoira got his spark into a powerstone, something that we know can be done, I have a (joke) theory has to why he resparked offscreen. Like Karn, he didn't absorb the spark fr the stone, he had to put the stone in him. I don't think we needed a chapter on Teferi using the prison pocket or having surgery, and it would explain why he wouldn't want it.
Obviously he lost power the problem is the degree of power he lost and why under Wells pen he seemingly doesn't know how to use any magic that doesn't involve time despite being a prodigy and learning plenty of non temporal related magic pre Oldwalker. Jhoira is more versatile spellcaster then Teferi and she is not even a primary Wizard.
That and of course the intelligence nerfing. Where he cannot solve the puzzle by himself and even worse then that it took him decades or so according to Wells to think maybe Urza has some artifacts that could help. As for the puzzle Jhoira assumes spirits based on what? There is nothing in lore that would suggest Teferi wouldn't think of spirits or that Urza would think Teferi wouldn't consider them. Urza lack of morals is well known. And Teferi is not especially close to getting Zhalfir back anyway.
He also doesn't get his own spark back. And the reason why Jhoira thinks he doesn't want isn't explained well at all.
So point is Teferi hasn't done much so far certainly not enough to be the focal point of marketing for Dominaria. He has done more then more then Saheeli Rai did but is that really the bar?
The character that is, the card on the other hand has performed amazingly well carrying Jeskai Control in Modern and UW Control in Standard. I certainly expect more if you are going to slap "Hero of Dominaria" on the card. Hopefully he delivers in Ravnica Trilogy since he seems unlikely to do much in Dominaria. Not that Ravnica won't be similarly overcrowded.
His time magic was only weak in the flashback when he had not been using magic as a matter of choice (to help himself hide) and was therefore out of practice, so I'd have to quibble that he wasn't really that weak during the present period of the story. He froze Multani and all his trees, a bunch of creatures over a sizeable area, while leaving Karn, Chandra, and Jaya unaffected. I'd say that's a fairly impressive feat of magic. He leans on time magioc because its his schtick, and its effective. Stop things without killing them: time magic. Break some murderous robots: time magic. Sneak some friends into the villains heavily guarded lair: time magic. Win a fight: time magic. He doesn't really need anything else, at least not in the situations we've seen, with one exception that I'll get to. The only thing in W/U's toolbox that would have helped him that time magic couldn't replace is mind magic. Making himself smarter to solve Urza's puzzle or reading minds to gauge the trustworthiness of new companions/interrogate enemies.
Now, I'll agree that the "Oh, Urza's using spirits" thing was lazy. There isn't any reason that Jhoira should know that or figure it out, or that Teferi couldn't, and its really a cop out borne out of Well's need to find something out of the box to cram in to explain why Teferi wasn't getting it. The real issue here isn't that Teferi isn't smart enough to solve the puzzle, he clearly is, because he's solved it. The idea that he's been intellectually nerfed would come from him not recognize Urza being a cheater. There's a better explanation for this than Teferi suddenly being dumber, however, and that's Teferi's self doubt (emphasized throughout the story and his previous one).
Teferi always thought he was the smartest guy in the room, and thought that phasing out Zhlafir (and Shiv, and the other one) was a brilliant plan that would spare them all the invasion and the aftermath at no cost. Well, he was partially right, but it all went to ***** for Zhalfir and contributed to the time rift crisis. He sacrificed his home to his hubris. That first story, where he meets his wife, is all about how he changed from Time Spiral block and why. In TS, he was still the same guy he was when he phased out, brash and dealing with a crisis. In the aftermath though, he had to deal with his failure, and deal with people cursing his name. He went into hiding, and had brooded. That changed him. He no longer had confidence in himself, nor did he feel like he deserved the power he lost, because he committed accidental genocide against his own people. That story is all about him moving on, and making peace with just being a normal guy, getting married, settling down, and raising a family. That's what he does, for like 50 years. Then, his mind returns to Zhalfir, and he either decides to try the Urza labyrinth or learns of it. He solves the puzzles, he's still a smart guy, but he's cautious, he takes his time, he knows the stakes and knows that he doesn't get do overs as a mortal. He solves the puzzles through trial and error, but solves them he does, until the last one. Brash Teferi would have concluded that he was right and Urza cheated, but old Teferi, humbled by his failures and still full of self doubt, found it easier to believe that he was wrong. After all, Urza didn't cheat until the last step, and Teferi had been monumentally wrong before. Still, we don't get to see whether he'd end up figuring it out eventually. He was taking a methodical approach, and he hadn't just given up. Over time, he may have done more tests and concluded that Urza was cheating. We never get to see that because the Weatherlight arrives soon after so the next time he goes to the Urzalynth its with a team and they figure it out. Again, Jhoira figuring it out doesn't really make sense beyond realizing that Urza is cheating (because she knew him as well as Teferi and she ISN'T suffering a crisis of confidence), but Teferi not getting it makes sense based on how his character has developed this arc.
As for his spark, we really don't know much about how Jhoira gets it back or when, which is a weakness likely caused by Dominaria being cut in half, from 2 sets to one. Honestly, I think most of the problems with the story come from this, especially it feeling pretty rushed. But as for the spark, Jhoira comes out looking *****ty if she's been holding on to it and never talked to Teferi about it, but if its a recent acquisition this might really be the first time she's got a chance to meet him about it. We also don't know what contact, if any, they've had since TS block. Teferi has settled down as a family man with a nice little homestead, and only recently returned to dungeon delving with his daughter. If she knew of this change in character, and his misgivings about how he used his power previously, that could be why she was unsure if he'd want the spark back. She was asking him to take on a responsibility to travel the planes and fight evil, leaving his daughter and comfortable life behind. The problem here, as you point out, is that none of this is explained, none of the details are filled in, all of it happens off screen and we are left to assume parts of it. Again, this is likely a result of the story being cut in half at the last minute. Like BFZ and Shadows blocks both suffered from the switch from 3 set blocks to 2 set blocks, Dominaria has suffered from the switch to 1 set blocks and the frankly stupid decision not to just give Dominaria 2 sets considering Ravnica is getting 3. That's not on Wells AT ALL though, and I'm not the sort to go easy on the writers.
Wells has turned out one of the better story lines in years, despite its length being cut in half at the last minute and her needing to rush and make cuts. Look at the absolute pile of ***** BFZ block was, then look at this. Even Shadows block was bad, and they had an extra year to figure that one out (it only seemed decent, not good but decent, next to the abortion that was BFZ). Dominaria has been entertaining pulp that adds to the overall story, develops important characters in a satisfying way, introduces some interesting new ones, and yes, provides a healthy dose of nostalgia, but not empty nostalgia. Dominaria is liked as a plane because the story was at its best back then, and Dominaria today is the closest we've come to that in years. Its still falls short, but its a lot better than either Innistrad, either Zendikar, Return to Ravnica, Alara, Tarkir, Theros, or Mirrodin/New Phyrexia. Ixalan comes close, solely because of the Jace/Vraska (Vrace? Jraska?) thing, which elevated a sub par race story set in an unevenly developed plane (the sun empire and merfolk were incredibly boring, to the point of making even the tropey as hell pirates and vampires look developed). Amonkhet was OK I guess, lots of filler though. Kaladesh too.
Actually, I'd put the stories since Alara (when the neowalkers started to get the spotlight) into 4 categories 1) I've legitimately enjoyed this: Dominaria 2)This was pretty decent with some enjoyable parts: Ixalan, Kaladesh, Amonkhet 3) This wasn't a steaming pile of *****, and there are some aspects that are decent: Theros (Sorry Jenrik), RTR, Innistrad, Innistrad 2, Tarkir and 4) The writers should be ashamed, this is flat out garbage that ruins the plane/retcons for no reason in a way that makes everything worse/is a painful chore to read: Mirrodin 2, both Zendikars, Alara. Of course, that's just the block stories. Purifying Fir and Agents of Artifice were in the top tier, Test of Metal was in the bottom. In terms of the larger pool of lore, Dominaria has been somewhere near the middle of the pack, leaning closer to the good end. Most of the old stuff is better, but OG Mirrodin, Lorwyn, and stuff like Prophecy and Onslaught are out there.
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():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
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!
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!
By times he could have used other Magic you mean when he could have shielded a wave of sand or simply flew out the way? But yes he does have telepathy and mind magic which I guess he could have used to mind read all these new friends Jhoira brought along. Still that is another problem power inconsistency. He can freeze an army of Elementals from what a couple hundred feet in the air but cannot stop a wave of sand? This is all pre spark I should note.
Not sure what self doubt has to do with the spirits. The main problem is as noted there is no reason for spirits to be a solution to the question that Jhoira easily figures out while Teferi doesn't. The cheating as you call is made even worse because Teferi tells his daughter Urza is not a good person and didn't have friends so its not like he doesn't know Urza doesn't play fair.
My point is it shouldn't take decades for Teferi to think maybe Urza has an artifact that can help. Teferi knows Urza was meddling with Time, he knows what Karn is and does. That is all I say on this since I don't like the wife and daughter idea at all. Meanwhile what does Karn do who is also suffering from "self-doubt" and "depression"...he goes right for an "Urza Artifact" to solve his problem. Doesn't take him decades to consider the option. And he is far more directly guilty for New Phyrexia and losing Mirrodin then Teferi is for the Time Spiral and losing Zhalfir.
However, the main point is Teferi has not done enough story wise to justify being the Center of Marketing for Return to Dominaria. Jhoira sure, she at least raised the Weatherlight, solved some puzzles/mysteries and is the driving force of this mission. But Teferi? Not really he didn't get his own spark back, he is not close to restoring Zhalfir, plus he is inexplicably forgotten most of his spell book (Raff is more versatile) and sorry some random irrelevant Daughter doesn't make up the difference for me.
I’m starting to suspect that Much of Well’s weaknesses in the writing are more due to the inherent problems of trying to tell an epic tale through a series of limitated short stories and Wizards’ own demands than deficits within herself, albeit there are some creative points I would have done differently.
Regardless, I think having other authors write the stories can be helpful if the company is careful to keep the characterizations the same for those properties that span multiple arcs and authors.
I bet Doug Beyer will write the Ravnica stories.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards. listen. 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
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I doubt there is anything they could do that would actually resolve the whole resparking thing to the more focused Vorthos' satisfaction. Dealing with it off screen is probably for the best because of that. Better to be vague than have people go after specifics, especially when the causal Vorthos aren't going to care.
TBH I would have been happy with a Ob like deal where the rift drained Teferi spark but didn't steal it and Jhoira figured out a way to jump start it.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Hypothesis time:
Jhoira had Teferi's spark in a powerstone, and claimed she got it from the Mana Rig. We know the Mana Rig was used to produce two things: powerstones and thran metal. Therefore, it seems likely that the Mana Rig produced the powerstone with Teferi's spark. The question then becomes how. Acknowledging that powerstones can absorb or contain physical space to enhance their power, perhaps this particular powerstone was either made using the space containing the sealed rift and Teferi's spark or was used after its creation to do so. With the rift inside the powerstone, Teferi's spark could potentially be extracted from it while the rift remains safely contained (destroying the space held within the powerstone, while unable to escape and harm the space outside of it).
They left themselves with an out, which is why I always hope that when we returned to Dominaria someday Teferi might be alive and well and regain his spark.
Sadly, the explanation they went with is extremely unsatisfying and like someone commented earlier, they could have made it an Ob Nix style resparking. His spark simply being dormant or him going back the the Shivan rift site and through some mana-rig magic pull the spark back out. Just throwing random ideas out there.
The explanation for why he hasn't aged is also just not an explanation at all.
That said, while a lot of things can be criticised, compared to previous years of Vorthosing, most things are very minor. I'm grateful for what we got because, quite frankly, I expected things to be much much worse. Reading about how much work and true Vorthos effort went into the Dominaria map was truly heartwarming.
Also, can we make Liliana's official theme song "Poison" by Alice Cooper?
Affinity
UW Control
Commander
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dragonlord Ojutai
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
The Ur-Dragon
He just ages slowly. I’m not really seeing the complication.
That's terrible fanboy logic. No, I won't be grateful and happy just because they brought something back I used to like. It's this attitude which allows companies (not just Wotc) to just keep doing the minimum effort and why there are so many rehashes today. Just returning things from the past does not make them automatically as engaging, creative and good as they were way back.
There are a lot of rehashes because it lightens the load on Creative a bit (making three+ new Planes a year seems a bit much to ask), and there are a lot of places people want to go back to. Many Planes out there that a second visit would be nice. Look at how much traction a Return to Kamigawa gets, and it’s not even supposed to be that popular.
My point is he aged normally for like two decades then inexplicably stopped visually aging at 50. No reason for this is given at all. So my conclusion is they wanted Teferi to look older and have few grays but didn't really want to take away his immortality or near immortality.
I also disagree we as fans have to eat any crap that gets served to us. If the story is the story is bad doesn't matter if I wanted Teferi back. Execution Matters.
Has Teferi been shown physically post Time Spiral excluding Dominaria? To the best of my recollection up to Dominaria his most recent chronological appearance was still Time Spiral, but maybe I missed something.
If that was his last appearance then I’m definitely sure I don’t get your complaint.
If you have a problem that that explanation is probably bull, because other immortals don't appear to be aging slowly then that is fine. But don't claim that they gave no reason for him to look aged. There are also a few viable answer for why he ages slowly. Being a time mage it could just be a by product of his magic. Could he slow others aging? Possibly but it could be a strain or he could simply choose not to because messing with people's natural life span is dangerous. Or this could be a result of him drinking slow time water from before he knew he had ascended. That second one doesn't make a whole lot of sense but it works better than 'he used to be immortal'.
You make a number of good points but its hard to agree with you when you are so often hyperbolic, exaggerating valid criticisms/claims into ridiculous falsehoods.
The fact there are a few "Viable" answers proves my point...they didn't explain it.
The slow water explanation would fill in the Jhoira not aging at all plot hole as well. There isn't any slow water left AFAIK, yet she hasn't aged a day since TS. She had been one of the most prolific consumers of slow water though, drinking it from its discovery until she phased out with Teferi on Shiv. She has perhaps drank so much that her aging has slowed to become imperceptibly slow even without more slow water, and Teferi having drank a decent amount before ascending and then stopping because walkers didn't age would explain his aging only half or a third of the normal rate.
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!
Also, of Jhoira got his spark into a powerstone, something that we know can be done, I have a (joke) theory has to why he resparked offscreen. Like Karn, he didn't absorb the spark fr the stone, he had to put the stone in him. I don't think we needed a chapter on Teferi using the prison pocket or having surgery, and it would explain why he wouldn't want it.
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!
But whatever, it's not really that important in the grand scheme of things. The only complaints I have, have to do with the old lore. Most people playing the game these days probably don't know enough about that to care.
If I ignore anything that has to do with older, established lore, I quite like what we got. Martha's writing means there is no inconsistent quality anymore. The Liliana/Gideon story line is very good imo. Slimefoot was a great little surprise. Sure, at times things felt rushed, but I get that she likely had to deal with certain constraints and that Dominaria going from 2 to 1 set must have had its influence, too.
Affinity
UW Control
Commander
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dragonlord Ojutai
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
The Ur-Dragon
Disagreement: while we have seen immortals age, we've also seen a particularly notable subset of immortals, Oldwalkers, that didn't age until after the Mending which Teferi happened to be a part of. Unlike Liliana, Teferi imbibed slow time water prior to sparking/after sparking, and so had an effect on himself that made him age slowly after the Mending (much as Jhoira has since she imbibed the slow time water).
So him not aging when he was an immortal is entirely supported within the story, and the reason for aging slowly after losing his immortality is also entirely supported within the story. He is not unique in either case individually, and is only unique in possessing the combination of the two (having been an oldwalker and having drunk slow time water).
Obviously he lost power the problem is the degree of power he lost and why under Wells pen he seemingly doesn't know how to use any magic that doesn't involve time despite being a prodigy and learning plenty of non temporal related magic pre Oldwalker. Jhoira is more versatile spellcaster then Teferi and she is not even a primary Wizard.
That and of course the intelligence nerfing. Where he cannot solve the puzzle by himself and even worse then that it took him decades or so according to Wells to think maybe Urza has some artifacts that could help. As for the puzzle Jhoira assumes spirits based on what? There is nothing in lore that would suggest Teferi wouldn't think of spirits or that Urza would think Teferi wouldn't consider them. Urza lack of morals is well known. And Teferi is not especially close to getting Zhalfir back anyway.
He also doesn't get his own spark back. And the reason why Jhoira thinks he doesn't want isn't explained well at all.
So point is Teferi hasn't done much so far certainly not enough to be the focal point of marketing for Dominaria. He has done more then more then Saheeli Rai did but is that really the bar?
The character that is, the card on the other hand has performed amazingly well carrying Jeskai Control in Modern and UW Control in Standard. I certainly expect more if you are going to slap "Hero of Dominaria" on the card. Hopefully he delivers in Ravnica Trilogy since he seems unlikely to do much in Dominaria. Not that Ravnica won't be similarly overcrowded.
Heh. Fanboy logic. It's been some time anyone called me a fanboy
Or, you know, it is just a result of my age, having different values in life and being able to appreciate even small things in the game I love.
And for the record, I am not glad JUST because they brought back something I like (that's just you putting words in my mouth), but also how they did it. Yes, the story won't ever be again like in the Artifacts cycle or the WTL saga. Not enough space, time and devotion from Wizards any more for that. But the whole set, for a flavor lover, is a gem.
Yeah. Maybe I should be just enjoying it and not engaging in pointless discussions with people who apparently neither share nor want to share my viewpoint
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I appreciate the parallels in the crew and revisiting Dominaria in such a way that it does feel like a homecoming.
I am getting the itch to write some fan fiction again though... I wish WotC/Wells would have taken a Rath and Storm approach with a frame story to fill in gaps and help with pacing. If I were to rewrite what we've gotten, I'd have an elderly Master Ilcaster telling the story to a novice. Also, I kinda wish that somehow Jhoira would have captured Teferi's spark in Gerrard's hourglass pendant that Gerrard left behind in Benalia before he departed for Rath. That would have been fun--a Legacy artifact and a time reference for Teferi...
His time magic was only weak in the flashback when he had not been using magic as a matter of choice (to help himself hide) and was therefore out of practice, so I'd have to quibble that he wasn't really that weak during the present period of the story. He froze Multani and all his trees, a bunch of creatures over a sizeable area, while leaving Karn, Chandra, and Jaya unaffected. I'd say that's a fairly impressive feat of magic. He leans on time magioc because its his schtick, and its effective. Stop things without killing them: time magic. Break some murderous robots: time magic. Sneak some friends into the villains heavily guarded lair: time magic. Win a fight: time magic. He doesn't really need anything else, at least not in the situations we've seen, with one exception that I'll get to. The only thing in W/U's toolbox that would have helped him that time magic couldn't replace is mind magic. Making himself smarter to solve Urza's puzzle or reading minds to gauge the trustworthiness of new companions/interrogate enemies.
Now, I'll agree that the "Oh, Urza's using spirits" thing was lazy. There isn't any reason that Jhoira should know that or figure it out, or that Teferi couldn't, and its really a cop out borne out of Well's need to find something out of the box to cram in to explain why Teferi wasn't getting it. The real issue here isn't that Teferi isn't smart enough to solve the puzzle, he clearly is, because he's solved it. The idea that he's been intellectually nerfed would come from him not recognize Urza being a cheater. There's a better explanation for this than Teferi suddenly being dumber, however, and that's Teferi's self doubt (emphasized throughout the story and his previous one).
Teferi always thought he was the smartest guy in the room, and thought that phasing out Zhlafir (and Shiv, and the other one) was a brilliant plan that would spare them all the invasion and the aftermath at no cost. Well, he was partially right, but it all went to ***** for Zhalfir and contributed to the time rift crisis. He sacrificed his home to his hubris. That first story, where he meets his wife, is all about how he changed from Time Spiral block and why. In TS, he was still the same guy he was when he phased out, brash and dealing with a crisis. In the aftermath though, he had to deal with his failure, and deal with people cursing his name. He went into hiding, and had brooded. That changed him. He no longer had confidence in himself, nor did he feel like he deserved the power he lost, because he committed accidental genocide against his own people. That story is all about him moving on, and making peace with just being a normal guy, getting married, settling down, and raising a family. That's what he does, for like 50 years. Then, his mind returns to Zhalfir, and he either decides to try the Urza labyrinth or learns of it. He solves the puzzles, he's still a smart guy, but he's cautious, he takes his time, he knows the stakes and knows that he doesn't get do overs as a mortal. He solves the puzzles through trial and error, but solves them he does, until the last one. Brash Teferi would have concluded that he was right and Urza cheated, but old Teferi, humbled by his failures and still full of self doubt, found it easier to believe that he was wrong. After all, Urza didn't cheat until the last step, and Teferi had been monumentally wrong before. Still, we don't get to see whether he'd end up figuring it out eventually. He was taking a methodical approach, and he hadn't just given up. Over time, he may have done more tests and concluded that Urza was cheating. We never get to see that because the Weatherlight arrives soon after so the next time he goes to the Urzalynth its with a team and they figure it out. Again, Jhoira figuring it out doesn't really make sense beyond realizing that Urza is cheating (because she knew him as well as Teferi and she ISN'T suffering a crisis of confidence), but Teferi not getting it makes sense based on how his character has developed this arc.
As for his spark, we really don't know much about how Jhoira gets it back or when, which is a weakness likely caused by Dominaria being cut in half, from 2 sets to one. Honestly, I think most of the problems with the story come from this, especially it feeling pretty rushed. But as for the spark, Jhoira comes out looking *****ty if she's been holding on to it and never talked to Teferi about it, but if its a recent acquisition this might really be the first time she's got a chance to meet him about it. We also don't know what contact, if any, they've had since TS block. Teferi has settled down as a family man with a nice little homestead, and only recently returned to dungeon delving with his daughter. If she knew of this change in character, and his misgivings about how he used his power previously, that could be why she was unsure if he'd want the spark back. She was asking him to take on a responsibility to travel the planes and fight evil, leaving his daughter and comfortable life behind. The problem here, as you point out, is that none of this is explained, none of the details are filled in, all of it happens off screen and we are left to assume parts of it. Again, this is likely a result of the story being cut in half at the last minute. Like BFZ and Shadows blocks both suffered from the switch from 3 set blocks to 2 set blocks, Dominaria has suffered from the switch to 1 set blocks and the frankly stupid decision not to just give Dominaria 2 sets considering Ravnica is getting 3. That's not on Wells AT ALL though, and I'm not the sort to go easy on the writers.
Wells has turned out one of the better story lines in years, despite its length being cut in half at the last minute and her needing to rush and make cuts. Look at the absolute pile of ***** BFZ block was, then look at this. Even Shadows block was bad, and they had an extra year to figure that one out (it only seemed decent, not good but decent, next to the abortion that was BFZ). Dominaria has been entertaining pulp that adds to the overall story, develops important characters in a satisfying way, introduces some interesting new ones, and yes, provides a healthy dose of nostalgia, but not empty nostalgia. Dominaria is liked as a plane because the story was at its best back then, and Dominaria today is the closest we've come to that in years. Its still falls short, but its a lot better than either Innistrad, either Zendikar, Return to Ravnica, Alara, Tarkir, Theros, or Mirrodin/New Phyrexia. Ixalan comes close, solely because of the Jace/Vraska (Vrace? Jraska?) thing, which elevated a sub par race story set in an unevenly developed plane (the sun empire and merfolk were incredibly boring, to the point of making even the tropey as hell pirates and vampires look developed). Amonkhet was OK I guess, lots of filler though. Kaladesh too.
Actually, I'd put the stories since Alara (when the neowalkers started to get the spotlight) into 4 categories 1) I've legitimately enjoyed this: Dominaria 2)This was pretty decent with some enjoyable parts: Ixalan, Kaladesh, Amonkhet 3) This wasn't a steaming pile of *****, and there are some aspects that are decent: Theros (Sorry Jenrik), RTR, Innistrad, Innistrad 2, Tarkir and 4) The writers should be ashamed, this is flat out garbage that ruins the plane/retcons for no reason in a way that makes everything worse/is a painful chore to read: Mirrodin 2, both Zendikars, Alara. Of course, that's just the block stories. Purifying Fir and Agents of Artifice were in the top tier, Test of Metal was in the bottom. In terms of the larger pool of lore, Dominaria has been somewhere near the middle of the pack, leaning closer to the good end. Most of the old stuff is better, but OG Mirrodin, Lorwyn, and stuff like Prophecy and Onslaught are out there.
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!
Not sure what self doubt has to do with the spirits. The main problem is as noted there is no reason for spirits to be a solution to the question that Jhoira easily figures out while Teferi doesn't. The cheating as you call is made even worse because Teferi tells his daughter Urza is not a good person and didn't have friends so its not like he doesn't know Urza doesn't play fair.
My point is it shouldn't take decades for Teferi to think maybe Urza has an artifact that can help. Teferi knows Urza was meddling with Time, he knows what Karn is and does. That is all I say on this since I don't like the wife and daughter idea at all. Meanwhile what does Karn do who is also suffering from "self-doubt" and "depression"...he goes right for an "Urza Artifact" to solve his problem. Doesn't take him decades to consider the option. And he is far more directly guilty for New Phyrexia and losing Mirrodin then Teferi is for the Time Spiral and losing Zhalfir.
However, the main point is Teferi has not done enough story wise to justify being the Center of Marketing for Return to Dominaria. Jhoira sure, she at least raised the Weatherlight, solved some puzzles/mysteries and is the driving force of this mission. But Teferi? Not really he didn't get his own spark back, he is not close to restoring Zhalfir, plus he is inexplicably forgotten most of his spell book (Raff is more versatile) and sorry some random irrelevant Daughter doesn't make up the difference for me.
Regardless, I think having other authors write the stories can be helpful if the company is careful to keep the characterizations the same for those properties that span multiple arcs and authors.
I bet Doug Beyer will write the Ravnica stories.
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