So Estrid seems to be a fighter of some kind, making masks of beings in the multiverse to let her mimic their skills and abilities, shows off her colors in her personality very well. Her Invocation is lot more flavorful now.
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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"
Brudiclad: No character from New Phyrexia, but just a single, isolated "time traveller" from Dominaria's rift era. This may be disappointing to some people, but it's also kind of understandable, seeing how Sarcomite Myr was printed years before New Phyrexia came out. To be honest, I like the mystery that comes with him (it?) being from a possible future.
Aminatou: Yep, still overpowered. The more I read about her, the more I hope she never appears in the main story...
Yuriko: She's a Robin Hood-type character, not just some ruthless assassin. Interesting angle for a person with an UB color identity. Would like to read more about her.
Gyrus: I don't know if there have been instances of this before (maybe last year when we got Kess?), but "[...] Jund, one of the reunited shards of Alara [...]" implies that the shards still exist in some way, probably like continents on a single big world with overlapping zones inbetween. This is what I expected Alara to look like at the time of an eventual return, and it seems like WotC is indeed taking this route.
Estrid: She has a pretty creepy face if you look at it up close. Somehow I get more of a Naruto vibe from her than from the actual Ninjas in this set, probably because her mask magic kind of mimics the Sharingan But it's about what I expected from a character like her. It certainly is a cool ability. Aside from that she seems to be pretty bland.
Kestia: Nice fluff text, but she doesn't have any connection whatsoever to the combat-related ability on her actual card.
Tuvasa: Doesn't seem to be a shaper like some people speculated, just some famous Merfolk.
Gyrus: I don't know if there have been instances of this before (maybe last year when we got Kess?), but "[...] Jund, one of the reunited shards of Alara [...]" implies that the shards still exist in some way, probably like continents on a single big world with overlapping zones inbetween. This is what I expected Alara to look like at the time of an eventual return, and it seems like WotC is indeed taking this route.
That is exactly how the shards have always been described since their reuniting. The book, short stories and incidental flavor text, make it clear that every shard is still in existence but have 'bled' into the shards next to each other. Its undetermined how large these mixed zones are or how large the 'pure' zones are nor is their knowledge of how large they were originally; but they were described as their own worlds so the combined Alara should be quite large even if less than half the worlds remain 'pure'.
Is it really, though? I mean, she is using B means (fear, subterfuge) to U ends (giving people an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of the privilege they were born into)
Well, I read the blurbs and they are kind of okay. I am glad that we got more on Aminatou from the preview article.
Yennett and Varina unfortunately follow the vein of Arjun or Anya. Yennett is especially disappointing, because after the fire-and-ice Arjun, we have another peculiar and odd-looking sphinx (three demonic horns, third eye and vampire-like fangs) - with absolutely zero relevant info on, besides some generic fantasy ballast.
Arixmethes's discrepancy in description was mentioned. Unfortunately, people writing this apparently do not bother anymore to check sources.
Also, the "blast caused by Urza by detonating a magical device, that devastated Windgrace's people"? What? Looks like a retro-justification of the Windgrace acolytes...
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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)
I'm really more an artwork than a flavor text/story kind of guy, so I often miss details like this (the Alara thing as well).
I love your signature image. You even linked to my Ask Seems like WOTC has been misinterpreting Kamigawa requests this whole time. I hope we can clear that up. Seems like a unanimous and resounding yes to me, which is great.
I was pretty surprised to see Arixmethes' blurb considering two sources confirm that the city was sunk by that point. Even inhabitants of Theros thought the place was a myth. It probably existed as seen on the card during Agnomakhos' reign, which is beyond ancient relative to Kiora.
Re: Windgrace and Urza's magical detonation: Any chance we can chalk up the note here to the Legacy Weapon and Null Moon during the Invasion to end Yawgmoth and the harm caused to Urborg? The Sylex blast does not seem applicable unless we expand that to include the Ice Age when some pantherfolk may have fallen to extinction?
Re: Aminatou: Commodore Guff and clockworking are no longer the two continuity power issues! I appreciate that we got more information on Aminatou; strange that WotC is allowing a character of such power to exist (after the Mending nonetheless). Maybe she can go set herself up on Equilor and, once she ages, realize she should become a hermit so as to not cause destruction with her powers. Or Bolas can take her in. Or Ob Nixilis. Or Nahiri. Baseless speculation aside, I'll be curious to see if we ever hear from her again.
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Dominian Scholar of the Old Guard, specializing in pre-revisionist (Armada comics) and revisionist (Brothers' War through Apocalypse)history
Also, the "blast caused by Urza by detonating a magical device, that devastated Windgrace's people"? What? Looks like a retro-justification of the Windgrace acolytes...
The Sylex Blast transformed Urborg from a jungle in a swamp. From Invasion novel:
"The first had long been a resident of much-maligned Urborg, though he was no swamp-water snake. The panther warrior Lord Windgrace had lived on that isle when it had been a jungle mountaintop—before Argoth had sunk it. Though his land had died, Windgrace had remained. Though undead arose, Windgrace fought for the living. He remembered what Urborg had been and hoped to return it to its former state."
The Sylex Blast transformed Urborg from a jungle in a swamp. From Invasion novel:
"The first had long been a resident of much-maligned Urborg, though he was no swamp-water snake. The panther warrior Lord Windgrace had lived on that isle when it had been a jungle mountaintop—before Argoth had sunk it. Though his land had died, Windgrace had remained. Though undead arose, Windgrace fought for the living. He remembered what Urborg had been and hoped to return it to its former state."
Brudiclad still seems like a Phyrexian to me, not a New Phyrexian, but a Phyrexian from a possible future where they won the Invasion.
Then he wouldn't make Myr tokens. I think he's supposed to be from Mirrodin-turned-Phyrexia, but in a timeline where the newly formed Phyrexia didn't split into the five factions.
I love your signature image. You even linked to my Ask Seems like WOTC has been misinterpreting Kamigawa requests this whole time. I hope we can clear that up. Seems like a unanimous and resounding yes to me, which is great.
Well, your ask had simply generated the most buzz on that day, so it was the most opportune choice. Obviously I won't be able to reach many people with a measly signature, but let's hope some more comments trickle in over time to show Maro how the "old fans" think about a return. The more input, the better.
Also, while it can be quite annoying when you talk about your favourite topics all the time, your tenacity when it comes to the things your care about is something I can appreciate. Bringing a whole (formerly unpopular) plane back into Standard is obviously much more difficult than bringing back a single character (who was popular anyway) in a supplemental set, but let's do the best we can.
Brudiclad still seems like a Phyrexian to me, not a New Phyrexian, but a Phyrexian from a possible future where they won the Invasion.
Then he wouldn't make Myr tokens. I think he's supposed to be from Mirrodin-turned-Phyrexia, but in a timeline where the newly formed Phyrexia didn't split into the five factions.
I love your signature image. You even linked to my Ask Seems like WOTC has been misinterpreting Kamigawa requests this whole time. I hope we can clear that up. Seems like a unanimous and resounding yes to me, which is great.
Well, your ask had simply generated the most buzz on that day, so it was the most opportune choice. Obviously I won't be able to reach many people with a measly signature, but let's hope some more comments trickle in over time to show Maro how the "old fans" think about a return. The more input, the better.
Also, while it can be quite annoying when you talk about your favourite topics all the time, your tenacity when it comes to the things your care about is something I can appreciate. Bringing a whole (formerly unpopular) plane back into Standard is obviously much more difficult than bringing back a single character (who was popular anyway) in a supplemental set, but let's do the best we can.
It's actually up to 446 responses right now. Just crazy. I really do feel WOTC have been misinterpreting our requests for a Return to Kamigawa all these years. His second response to me seemed promising, in that he may have an easier time selling it to the powers that be. I think a return set is closer than we imagine, though. It wouldn't surprise me that it's already in the works.
Aw, thank you. I tend to be persistent and unrelenting when I want something. I wouldn't say Arixmethes was popular though, since a lot of the early hate I got was all about how he wasn't popular and would never see a card I wonder how many people will think of me or my posts when they see the card IRL. Probably no one lol But I will agree Kamigawa will be our toughest battle yet. At this rate it may be as long as the Kami War itself! But I'm confident it'll happen.
I had no idea Xantcha was such an intriguing character until I watched a YT video about her. Can't believe I'm saying this about an old Rakdos character I never knew about, but I'm excited she got carded too. This idea of a "defective" agent afflicted with human compassion as a guide to defeating her previous masters, right down to choosing the gender opposite of her oppressor Gix? Wow. That's some deep poetry, not to mention this was before the representation movement and all. Like, it feels lore justified. Not that new attempts at inclusion aren't, but it has a very authentic feel. This whole new character female thing though, that's about as nauseating as it gets.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/Commander-2018
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Brudiclad: No character from New Phyrexia, but just a single, isolated "time traveller" from Dominaria's rift era. This may be disappointing to some people, but it's also kind of understandable, seeing how Sarcomite Myr was printed years before New Phyrexia came out. To be honest, I like the mystery that comes with him (it?) being from a possible future.
Aminatou: Yep, still overpowered. The more I read about her, the more I hope she never appears in the main story...
Yuriko: She's a Robin Hood-type character, not just some ruthless assassin. Interesting angle for a person with an UB color identity. Would like to read more about her.
Gyrus: I don't know if there have been instances of this before (maybe last year when we got Kess?), but "[...] Jund, one of the reunited shards of Alara [...]" implies that the shards still exist in some way, probably like continents on a single big world with overlapping zones inbetween. This is what I expected Alara to look like at the time of an eventual return, and it seems like WotC is indeed taking this route.
Estrid: She has a pretty creepy face if you look at it up close. Somehow I get more of a Naruto vibe from her than from the actual Ninjas in this set, probably because her mask magic kind of mimics the Sharingan But it's about what I expected from a character like her. It certainly is a cool ability. Aside from that she seems to be pretty bland.
Kestia: Nice fluff text, but she doesn't have any connection whatsoever to the combat-related ability on her actual card.
Tuvasa: Doesn't seem to be a shaper like some people speculated, just some famous Merfolk.
Kestia's blurb was interesting for me. I'm definitely converting my Ephara deck into a Kestia one.
Arixmethes's blurb is actually inaccurate lol The city-state he has had long since sunk by the time Thassa and Kiora fought.
|| 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 ||
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
Is it really, though? I mean, she is using B means (fear, subterfuge) to U ends (giving people an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of the privilege they were born into)
Well, it was not exactly a *speculation*...
https://mtg.gamepedia.com/River_Heralds
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I'm really more an artwork than a flavor text/story kind of guy, so I often miss details like this (the Alara thing as well).
Yennett and Varina unfortunately follow the vein of Arjun or Anya. Yennett is especially disappointing, because after the fire-and-ice Arjun, we have another peculiar and odd-looking sphinx (three demonic horns, third eye and vampire-like fangs) - with absolutely zero relevant info on, besides some generic fantasy ballast.
Arixmethes's discrepancy in description was mentioned. Unfortunately, people writing this apparently do not bother anymore to check sources.
Also, the "blast caused by Urza by detonating a magical device, that devastated Windgrace's people"? What? Looks like a retro-justification of the Windgrace acolytes...
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I was pretty surprised to see Arixmethes' blurb considering two sources confirm that the city was sunk by that point. Even inhabitants of Theros thought the place was a myth. It probably existed as seen on the card during Agnomakhos' reign, which is beyond ancient relative to Kiora.
|| 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 ||
Re: Aminatou: Commodore Guff and clockworking are no longer the two continuity power issues! I appreciate that we got more information on Aminatou; strange that WotC is allowing a character of such power to exist (after the Mending nonetheless). Maybe she can go set herself up on Equilor and, once she ages, realize she should become a hermit so as to not cause destruction with her powers. Or Bolas can take her in. Or Ob Nixilis. Or Nahiri. Baseless speculation aside, I'll be curious to see if we ever hear from her again.
The Sylex Blast transformed Urborg from a jungle in a swamp. From Invasion novel:
"The first had long been a resident of much-maligned Urborg, though he was no swamp-water snake. The panther warrior Lord Windgrace had lived on that isle when it had been a jungle mountaintop—before Argoth had sunk it. Though his land had died, Windgrace had remained. Though undead arose, Windgrace fought for the living. He remembered what Urborg had been and hoped to return it to its former state."
Thank you for locating that!
I was wondering if perhaps Brudiclad is from a future where New Phyrexia invades Dominaria....
Well, your ask had simply generated the most buzz on that day, so it was the most opportune choice. Obviously I won't be able to reach many people with a measly signature, but let's hope some more comments trickle in over time to show Maro how the "old fans" think about a return. The more input, the better.
Also, while it can be quite annoying when you talk about your favourite topics all the time, your tenacity when it comes to the things your care about is something I can appreciate. Bringing a whole (formerly unpopular) plane back into Standard is obviously much more difficult than bringing back a single character (who was popular anyway) in a supplemental set, but let's do the best we can.
Aw, thank you. I tend to be persistent and unrelenting when I want something. I wouldn't say Arixmethes was popular though, since a lot of the early hate I got was all about how he wasn't popular and would never see a card I wonder how many people will think of me or my posts when they see the card IRL. Probably no one lol But I will agree Kamigawa will be our toughest battle yet. At this rate it may be as long as the Kami War itself! But I'm confident it'll happen.
I had no idea Xantcha was such an intriguing character until I watched a YT video about her. Can't believe I'm saying this about an old Rakdos character I never knew about, but I'm excited she got carded too. This idea of a "defective" agent afflicted with human compassion as a guide to defeating her previous masters, right down to choosing the gender opposite of her oppressor Gix? Wow. That's some deep poetry, not to mention this was before the representation movement and all. Like, it feels lore justified. Not that new attempts at inclusion aren't, but it has a very authentic feel. This whole new character female thing though, that's about as nauseating as it gets.
|| 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 ||