Could someone sum up wich guilds are pro- and wich are con Nicol Bolas?
From what I understood (and by all means, correct me if I'm wrong):
Pro:
- Golgari: Vraska is Pro Bolas, but only until Jace triggers the "Return Memories"
- Izzet: Guild Master replaced by Pro-Bolas Ral Zhek (Has "How" been explained anywhere?
- Azurios: Dovin Baan got installed as a Guild Master after Vraska Solidified Ispheria, has some renegades under latviana.
- Orzhof: Released their ghost powers under Kaja, who, as far as I got, also got installed by bolas?
Con:
- Dimir: Con
- Boros: Con
- Simic: Con
- Selesnya: Con, but for whatever reason have internal struggle?
No Clue:
Gruul (Is Domi Rade the guild leader now, installed by bolas?)
Rakdos (Would assume "Yey, Chaos but **** Bolas?")
It's not all that clear-cut. All the guidls have aspects that drive them against Bolas' influence and some towards it. The Selesnya for example have Trostani who is preparing for war and Emmara who is trying to get the guilds together in cooperation (like Isperia tried to).
The best we can say is which guild had their leader installed by Bolas and that is: Azorius, Gruul, Orzhov, Izzet and Golgari. The other guidls are less under Bolas' control. But it should be noted that both groups have pro and contra Bolas factions within them. As such it is difficult if not impossible tos ay which guild as a whole opposes Bolas and which doesn't.
As an aside each of the legendary creatures in each guild represents two more or less opposing factions, with the possible exception of Gruul, unless Domri and Nikya have different views on what the Gruul should be about.
The guilds with planeswalkers are directly controlled by Bolas. However the rare legendaries of those guilds represent the opposing side.
In guilds not led by a walker the mythic and rare legendaries represent conflict within the guilds. Many of which can be skewed as pro-Bolas
For example in the Simic Zegana represents the more isolationist side of the Simic while Vannifar represents the side that thinks they should be preparing for war among the guilds.
Could you tell me where the information, that trostani is preparing for war comes from? Would love to know ^^
The three Dryads that make up Trostani are actually in disagreement on what they (and thus the guild) should be doing. Ses/Order favors working with the other Guilds, Oba/Life favors focusing on strengthening the Conclave from within, while Cim/Harmony has fallen silent. Their inability to agree on a course of action isn't really a pro-Bolas stance, but it does favor Bolas in that they're disorganized and unprepared to oppose him. With Trostani is disagreement, Emmara is the one stepping up to try and align the Concalve with the other Guilds. This information comes from the Guilds of Ravnica Art Book.
It's similar to the situation with the Simic; Current prime speaker Vannifar (leader of the Adaptationist faction of the Combine) has directed the Guild's actions to prepare for conflict, where former prime speaker Zegana (who leads the Utopian faction of the Combine) favors an isolationist approach which would work in favor of Bolas even if not actually aligned with him, because the Simic are one of Ravnica's primary innovators (the other being Izzet), and WOULDN'T be prepared to fight him for control.
All of the guilds have factions that favor Bolas - directly or indirectly - it's mostly just a matter of if those factions are currently in charge.
Azorius - Is currently run by Dovin Baan, a Bolas agent, who's been expanding Azorius power and cracking down really harshly on several of the other guilds, sowing a LOT of resentment. Lavinia opposes him, but thus far it doesn't look like much of anyone else in the guild does. Looks more like she's on her own, or if there ARE other people within the Azorius who oppose the new Guildmaster, they seem to be very few. Boros - Aurelia is trying to cooperate with the other guilds, where Tajic is of the opinion that the Boros should only worry about protecting itself. (Almost a direct inversion of their viewpoints from the previous block, where Tajic was the one in favor of cooperation.) Tajic's stance obviously favors Bolas, since it would mean that the Guild wouldn't come to the aid of other Guilds in trouble when he takes over. Dimir - Lazav is still in charge, and it looks like he isn't happy that someone is trying to muscle in on his turf. Etrata isn't Bolas aligned, but she's in favor of getting rid of the old guard (such as Lazav) and making way for new people. The resulting power vacuum would likely throw the Dimir into chaos, making them a non-threat to Bolas. Golgari - Vraska is the current Guildmaster and is loyal to Bolas, until such a time as she gets her memories restored. Izoni is the current Matka (high priestess of the Devkarin elves), who while not-known if she's anti-Bolas IS apparently anti-Vraska. (The Devkarin lost a lot of influence within the Guild when Jarad was killed.) Gruul - These guys seem to be the outliers, in that there's really no anti-Bolas faction that we can see. They're pretty much all in on the end of days thing and both leaders that got a card in this set (Domri Rade and Nikya) are full steam ahead to just wreck the place. About the only indication that anyone opposes them is the fact that Ruric Thar flat out doesn't like Domri. That's not an indication that he opposes the end of days shtick, just that he's not a fan of Domri personally. Izzet - Niv went into seclusion to do some secret, personal research and left Ral Zerek in charge as a sort of temporary guildleader. We know that Ral is or was in Bolas' employ at the time of the Amonkhet storyline, but thus far there's been no real indication that he's actively working towards Bolas's goals. In fact, the information from the art book seems to indicate that Ral is actively working against Bolas (or the unknown threat that turns out to be Bolas). Who/What/Where/Why/How? None of that is explained. It kinda really just seems like Ral did a job for Bolas (because if Bolas wants to hire you for a job, you don't say no - if you value your life, that is), but has no idea what Bolas is doing/planning and is just being manipulated by him. Orzhov - Bolas hired Kaya to off the Ghost Council, then told her to take over. While she's in charge, she's been releasing all the bound spirits from guild control. She freed Teysa from Orzhov prison, and while we haven't seen much in the way of interation between the two, Teysa's been gunning for Guild leadership for a long time, and is just coming off a failed coup herself, so there's bound to be some resentment that Kaya beat her to it. Plus, by releasing the spirits, Kaya's directly undermining the Orzhov's power, and no doubt throwing Ravnica into economic disarray. (The Orzhov control the plane's economy, and contractual obligation and bound servitude are a key part of the Guild's strength.) Rakdos - Still lead by Rakdos, who would/will oppose Bolas, just because Ravnica is HIS. Opposed by Judith, who's not pro-Bolas, but is anti-Rakdos. She's flat out resentful and jealous of the reverence the Guild gives to the demon, who spends all his time sleeping and doing nothing worthy of their devotion. She's looking to steal the show from him. Selesnya - See above Simic - See Above
A LOT of this is from the art book, since what few story articles we're getting for the Ravnica sets don't feature any of the actual relevant plotlines in the slightest, which irks me to no end.
From what I understood (and by all means, correct me if I'm wrong):
Pro:
- Golgari: Vraska is Pro Bolas, but only until Jace triggers the "Return Memories"
- Izzet: Guild Master replaced by Pro-Bolas Ral Zhek (Has "How" been explained anywhere?
- Azurios: Dovin Baan got installed as a Guild Master after Vraska Solidified Ispheria, has some renegades under latviana.
- Orzhof: Released their ghost powers under Kaja, who, as far as I got, also got installed by bolas?
Con:
- Dimir: Con
- Boros: Con
- Simic: Con
- Selesnya: Con, but for whatever reason have internal struggle?
No Clue:
Gruul (Is Domi Rade the guild leader now, installed by bolas?)
Rakdos (Would assume "Yey, Chaos but **** Bolas?")
The best we can say is which guild had their leader installed by Bolas and that is: Azorius, Gruul, Orzhov, Izzet and Golgari. The other guidls are less under Bolas' control. But it should be noted that both groups have pro and contra Bolas factions within them. As such it is difficult if not impossible tos ay which guild as a whole opposes Bolas and which doesn't.
As an aside each of the legendary creatures in each guild represents two more or less opposing factions, with the possible exception of Gruul, unless Domri and Nikya have different views on what the Gruul should be about.
In guilds not led by a walker the mythic and rare legendaries represent conflict within the guilds. Many of which can be skewed as pro-Bolas
For example in the Simic Zegana represents the more isolationist side of the Simic while Vannifar represents the side that thinks they should be preparing for war among the guilds.
The three Dryads that make up Trostani are actually in disagreement on what they (and thus the guild) should be doing. Ses/Order favors working with the other Guilds, Oba/Life favors focusing on strengthening the Conclave from within, while Cim/Harmony has fallen silent. Their inability to agree on a course of action isn't really a pro-Bolas stance, but it does favor Bolas in that they're disorganized and unprepared to oppose him. With Trostani is disagreement, Emmara is the one stepping up to try and align the Concalve with the other Guilds. This information comes from the Guilds of Ravnica Art Book.
It's similar to the situation with the Simic; Current prime speaker Vannifar (leader of the Adaptationist faction of the Combine) has directed the Guild's actions to prepare for conflict, where former prime speaker Zegana (who leads the Utopian faction of the Combine) favors an isolationist approach which would work in favor of Bolas even if not actually aligned with him, because the Simic are one of Ravnica's primary innovators (the other being Izzet), and WOULDN'T be prepared to fight him for control.
All of the guilds have factions that favor Bolas - directly or indirectly - it's mostly just a matter of if those factions are currently in charge.
Azorius - Is currently run by Dovin Baan, a Bolas agent, who's been expanding Azorius power and cracking down really harshly on several of the other guilds, sowing a LOT of resentment. Lavinia opposes him, but thus far it doesn't look like much of anyone else in the guild does. Looks more like she's on her own, or if there ARE other people within the Azorius who oppose the new Guildmaster, they seem to be very few.
Boros - Aurelia is trying to cooperate with the other guilds, where Tajic is of the opinion that the Boros should only worry about protecting itself. (Almost a direct inversion of their viewpoints from the previous block, where Tajic was the one in favor of cooperation.) Tajic's stance obviously favors Bolas, since it would mean that the Guild wouldn't come to the aid of other Guilds in trouble when he takes over.
Dimir - Lazav is still in charge, and it looks like he isn't happy that someone is trying to muscle in on his turf. Etrata isn't Bolas aligned, but she's in favor of getting rid of the old guard (such as Lazav) and making way for new people. The resulting power vacuum would likely throw the Dimir into chaos, making them a non-threat to Bolas.
Golgari - Vraska is the current Guildmaster and is loyal to Bolas, until such a time as she gets her memories restored. Izoni is the current Matka (high priestess of the Devkarin elves), who while not-known if she's anti-Bolas IS apparently anti-Vraska. (The Devkarin lost a lot of influence within the Guild when Jarad was killed.)
Gruul - These guys seem to be the outliers, in that there's really no anti-Bolas faction that we can see. They're pretty much all in on the end of days thing and both leaders that got a card in this set (Domri Rade and Nikya) are full steam ahead to just wreck the place. About the only indication that anyone opposes them is the fact that Ruric Thar flat out doesn't like Domri. That's not an indication that he opposes the end of days shtick, just that he's not a fan of Domri personally.
Izzet - Niv went into seclusion to do some secret, personal research and left Ral Zerek in charge as a sort of temporary guildleader. We know that Ral is or was in Bolas' employ at the time of the Amonkhet storyline, but thus far there's been no real indication that he's actively working towards Bolas's goals. In fact, the information from the art book seems to indicate that Ral is actively working against Bolas (or the unknown threat that turns out to be Bolas). Who/What/Where/Why/How? None of that is explained. It kinda really just seems like Ral did a job for Bolas (because if Bolas wants to hire you for a job, you don't say no - if you value your life, that is), but has no idea what Bolas is doing/planning and is just being manipulated by him.
Orzhov - Bolas hired Kaya to off the Ghost Council, then told her to take over. While she's in charge, she's been releasing all the bound spirits from guild control. She freed Teysa from Orzhov prison, and while we haven't seen much in the way of interation between the two, Teysa's been gunning for Guild leadership for a long time, and is just coming off a failed coup herself, so there's bound to be some resentment that Kaya beat her to it. Plus, by releasing the spirits, Kaya's directly undermining the Orzhov's power, and no doubt throwing Ravnica into economic disarray. (The Orzhov control the plane's economy, and contractual obligation and bound servitude are a key part of the Guild's strength.)
Rakdos - Still lead by Rakdos, who would/will oppose Bolas, just because Ravnica is HIS. Opposed by Judith, who's not pro-Bolas, but is anti-Rakdos. She's flat out resentful and jealous of the reverence the Guild gives to the demon, who spends all his time sleeping and doing nothing worthy of their devotion. She's looking to steal the show from him.
Selesnya - See above
Simic - See Above
A LOT of this is from the art book, since what few story articles we're getting for the Ravnica sets don't feature any of the actual relevant plotlines in the slightest, which irks me to no end.