I posted this yesterday and reposting it here now that the new sets name has been announced The Eldritch Moon.
I’ve been mulling around a theory or story in my head for a while now so if you will. Let me paint you the scenario. Before the battle of Zendikar took place, Elmrakul left the plane after taking her fill of mana and regaining her ability to enter the Æther and as so able to travel the blind eternities. The Eldrazi were lured from the Blind Eternities to Zendikar by their “ceaseless hunger” and it’s strange mana. What if not all Eldrazi were drawn to Zendikar? (“It is unknown whether more titans exist elsewhere in the multiverse”). (“The Eldrazi are an ancient race native to the Blind Eternities that have neither physical form nor color alignment. Their nature is ceaseless hunger, so they travel between planes devouring the mana and life energy until the plane’s destruction.”) – Wiki
What if the next highest source of mana after Zendikar was, feel me on this…The moon of Innistrad. And some Eldrazi happened to find their way to Innistrad and found its moon appetizing. What if the moon had the same effect of binding that the Helvault had but stronger and was holding something, say like an Eldrazi in it. Hell it’s even possible that some far more ancient being could have made the moon for that very purpose.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage came to Innistrad because she wanted to study the moon because it was different. (“On Innistrad she found the mystery of the great silver moon that hung in the sky.’) -Wiki
Here comes to the start of my ideas. I’m taking the name literally now Shadows of Innistrad as in plural. If at some point emrakul came to Innistrad found the moon and began feeding off of it. Breaking down its binding effect. Making it so that anything that was bound inside would start to break free and exerting a force that could be felt on Innistrad. It could be that the Helvault (being a piece of the moon) was the first sign of the moon degrading.
Another possibility is Emrakul’s ability to effect gravity is slowly pushing the moon out of orbit and making it crash to the surface. This is now starting to sound like a H.P Lovecraft novel or Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I don’t know if this will happen, but hell I like the idea of a plane we enjoyed being it getting obliterated and there is nothing we or anyone can do about it. Magic need something like this. It makes the world have weight to it, and making it more menacing and real. Also if Emrakul is on the moon or in the set I would like that no cards have her in them on them or mentioning her in any way other than the effects of her being around i.e. madness, delirium, a spot on the moon, even a whisper.
Edited to make it easier to read.
Well lets start by saying the the Moon can't be 'pure' mana and made of silver, it can be silver and filled with mana but not be 'pure' mana.
Second it is rather clear that its the silver which binds the dark beings of Innistrad, they would need a reason why this works on the eldrazi for this story to make sense.
"The Helvault is an object made out of pure moon silver. After its destruction what if the next true source was, feel me on this… The moon of Innistrad. What if it was made out of pure mana?" - Shotgun and 2 Red Shoes
I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here, at all. Did you mean after Zendikar was ravaged the next great source of mana is this moon?
It seems exceptionally strange to think that random eldrazi who happened too close to the moon became trapped inside.
The way you describe the ending it makes more sense for the moon to collapse or even explode because of the thing it contained being free, more than falling.
Over all, far form the worst theories that have been posted here (Nahiri=Avacyn) but either you need to explain some things better or simply add why certain strange events would work.
Just to add my two cents about Innistrad Moon, what if the prevasiveness of "evil" in Innistrad was caused because the plane's white mana was mostly used to create the moon. That would explain why white mages on the plane is very reliant on Avacyn to channel them white mana and when Avacyn got locked up they struggled in powering their spell. It will also give Avacyn a way to control how much power the humans have over the "things that go bump in the night" and a easy measuring stick by just measuring how much white mana is flowing through Innistrad.
I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here, at all. Did you mean after Zendikar was ravaged the next great source of mana is this moon?- user_938036
You right the whole thing is kinda hard to read. Mind was just jumping all over the place what to type. fixed it, hopefully its easier to read.
Just to add my two cents about Innistrad Moon, what if the prevasiveness of "evil" in Innistrad was caused because the plane's white mana was mostly used to create the moon. That would explain why white mages on the plane is very reliant on Avacyn to channel them white mana and when Avacyn got locked up they struggled in powering their spell. It will also give Avacyn a way to control how much power the humans have over the "things that go bump in the night" and a easy measuring stick by just measuring how much white mana is flowing through Innistrad. - sirleandenor7
The reason for most of the evil in the land is mostly to do with a demon called Shilgengar. He gave the Vampire curse to Sorins grandfather Edgar Markov. Which in away started a vampire out break. ("Over the centuries, as vampires spread further into human lands, Sorin spent more and more time away from his homeworld, sometimes disappearing for years at a time. Vampires became disdainful of the race from which they had spawned, hunting mortal humans more and more boldly, and Sorin became distant from his own lineage. From his world-hopping perspective, he could see the changes on his homeworld. As the vampires gained more and more power, the humans were being driven further and further back, suffering under the boots of his grandfather's legacy, and it would only be a matter of time before the vampires wiped out their former kin.")
All of this basically made all the evil come out of their holes and pray on humans. For this reason Sorin created Avacyn.
Second it is rather clear that its the silver which binds the dark beings of Innistrad, they would need a reason why this works on the eldrazi for this story to make sense.
Well, it doesn't just bind dark beings, since it bound Avacyn as well. The Helvault seemed good at binding, in general. That doesn't mean it's magic would necessarily apply to eldrazi, but who knows.
Second it is rather clear that its the silver which binds the dark beings of Innistrad, they would need a reason why this works on the eldrazi for this story to make sense.
Well, it doesn't just bind dark beings, since it bound Avacyn as well. The Helvault seemed good at binding, in general. That doesn't mean it's magic would necessarily apply to eldrazi, but who knows.
It binds dark beings. The reason it bound Avacyn was because her own binding spell backfired on her when Griselbrand impaled her in a last ditch effort of sacrificing himself to seal her too. The issue is, the Eldrazi aren't dark beings. Or even evil. Their purpose and reasoning has yet to be evaluated or understood.
Second it is rather clear that its the silver which binds the dark beings of Innistrad, they would need a reason why this works on the eldrazi for this story to make sense.
Well, it doesn't just bind dark beings, since it bound Avacyn as well. The Helvault seemed good at binding, in general. That doesn't mean it's magic would necessarily apply to eldrazi, but who knows.
It binds dark beings. The reason it bound Avacyn was because her own binding spell backfired on her when Griselbrand impaled her in a last ditch effort of sacrificing himself to seal her too. The issue is, the Eldrazi aren't dark beings. Or even evil. Their purpose and reasoning has yet to be evaluated or understood.
Minor nitpick: I would argue with that statement - Griselbrand has no desire to *sacrifice* himself. She made a last-ditch effort to seal him, and he managed to impale her heart with and draw her in too as a final act of spite.
But otherwise you are right, Avacyn's imprisonment was caused by her own spell backfiring.
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I put it as a mild joke in the Rumor Mill section, I'll just put it again. What if Tamiyo, by studying the moon, unlocked some ancient evil which caused it to turn the tides, break the cursemute and alter the protection of Avacynyan wards and anti-evil aura. Would be cliché, but still, the set is maybe not called Eldritch Moon for nothing.
It seems exceptionally strange to think that random eldrazi who happened too close to the moon became trapped inside.
I very much agree with this sentiment, it would be bad writing for Emrakul to just randomly decide to go to Innistrad next.
But we do know that the Eldrazi were always intended to be Lovecraftian, which has not been delivered on. We can also see that lately Innistrad is taking a decidedly Lovecraftian turn.
We also know that Nahiri blames Sorin for how things have unfolded on Zendikar, "As Zendikar has bled, so will Innistrad. As I have suffered, so will Sorin"
I think Nahiri lured Emrakul to Innistrad used the Moon as giant Helvault to reimprison Emrakul.
People seem to breeze over the fact that demons don't really die. They end up reborn as a different demon with a few memories of their prior existence. Surely this means Griselbrand and Withengar will regenerate into alternative badass demons with memories of their killers?
Exactly the thought I had recently, after writing a "Back to Innistrad" article for my webpage and rereading and relearning the fact.
The Innistradi demon essences return to the underworld and reform indeed. Withengar's killing just released his essence back instead of keeping him locked safely in Elbrus (kind of like Demogorgon and Watcher's Keep in Baldur's Gate 2), so him returning in some form is kind of possible.
As for Griselbrand, I think they can pull of something like that the power of the Chain Veil obliterated/erased him entirely, just to make things simpler.
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Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
People seem to breeze over the fact that demons don't really die. They end up reborn as a different demon with a few memories of their prior existence. Surely this means Griselbrand and Withengar will regenerate into alternative badass demons with memories of their killers?
I'm not, actually. It's possible, but unlikely that it was the intention. It's quite possible that Griselbrand WAS Withengar. We just don't know enough to say.
I'm not, actually. It's possible, but unlikely that it was the intention. It's quite possible that Griselbrand WAS Withengar. We just don't know enough to say.
But... If Griselbrand was locked in the Hellvault, how could he be Withengar if he was sealed in Elbrus?
I'm not, actually. It's possible, but unlikely that it was the intention. It's quite possible that Griselbrand WAS Withengar. We just don't know enough to say.
But... If Griselbrand was locked in the Hellvault, how could he be Withengar if he was sealed in Elbrus?
Saint Traft's story takes place before the Innistrad story.
As i said before. A good idea for Emrakul on Innistrad would be not in card form, but in art or flavor text only. Like if a random card as the picture of the moon in the background and somewhere on the moon was a dot or color discrepancy or flavor text saying "Each night i have the same nightmare about a many armed shadow that blots out the sky. Each morning i forget a little more." Something that shows effect of her like for Ashiok in Tormented Thoughts.
Also maybe Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver might make an appearance on Innistrad. Reason for saying this, core sets usually have cards that point to future events and there are two cards in Origins that referred to Ashiok. Tormented Thoughtsand, Mind Rot.
Innistrad's silver moon is a manifestation of Emrakul and always has been. The Titans are interplanar beings, so she could have been manifest in several planes at once, and perhaps she was largely inactive/in stasis because of the hedron prison on Zendikar. The moon silver that Avacyn's spear is made of is a piece of Emrakul herself, which explains why it twists when Avacyn goes mad, and why other people can hear the buzzing as Avacyn gets close to them. MAYBE the angels on Zendikar were affected the same way, and that's how Em became the angelic avatar of Emrakul. Remember, Emrakul can induce madness and affect gravity, which is what this moon has been doing in this plane from the beginning. Now that Emrakul is active again, maybe it's gotten stronger, more difficult to predict.
Emrakul, the Titan of Corruption, as far as I can see, is there in some way. I bet Jace's mind begins to unravel as he delves deeper into the secrets of Innistrad and as he gets closer to the truth, we will be left wondering if he has reached or if he's approaching a point of no return.
Innistrad's silver moon is a manifestation of Emrakul and always has been. The Titans are interplanar beings, so she could have been manifest in several planes at once, and perhaps she was largely inactive/in stasis because of the hedron prison on Zendikar. The moon silver that Avacyn's spear is made of is a piece of Emrakul herself, which explains why it twists when Avacyn goes mad, and why other people can hear the buzzing as Avacyn gets close to them. MAYBE the angels on Zendikar were affected the same way, and that's how Em became the angelic avatar of Emrakul. Remember, Emrakul can induce madness and affect gravity, which is what this moon has been doing in this plane from the beginning. Now that Emrakul is active again, maybe it's gotten stronger, more difficult to predict.
Emrakul, the Titan of Corruption, as far as I can see, is there in some way. I bet Jace's mind begins to unravel as he delves deeper into the secrets of Innistrad and as he gets closer to the truth, we will be left wondering if he has reached or if he's approaching a point of no return.
This theory has one flaw: Sorin would know. Innistrad was his plane long before the binding of the Eldrazi, so even if Emrakul disguised as the moon somehow slipped his attention, he would certainly know the effect of the binding and would put it together.
Ah. Maybe instead of the binding holding her back, it was the other two Titans keeping her in check. That would definitely explain Ugin's frustration at the Titans having been destroyed.
Ugin didn't completely understand the Eldrazi; he said so himself. His lack of understanding them is what made them imprison the Eldrazi, rather than kill them.
While Soarin should know if their is a titan disguised as a moon on his plane, keep in mind that Emrakul existed before the plane and many other things, and just as well, Emrakul is the titan of CORRUPTION. And has anyone brought up the fact that the moon on the plane is referred to as different names at different times? They call one moon the Hunter Moon, which could be saying there is more than one recorded moon? I don't delve too deeply into the lore but it seems quite possible for the 3rd eldrazi titan to be disguised. Especially since she is basically a large, moving landmass of a being.
I’ve been mulling around a theory or story in my head for a while now so if you will. Let me paint you the scenario. Before the battle of Zendikar took place, Elmrakul left the plane after taking her fill of mana and regaining her ability to enter the Æther and as so able to travel the blind eternities. The Eldrazi were lured from the Blind Eternities to Zendikar by their “ceaseless hunger” and it’s strange mana. What if not all Eldrazi were drawn to Zendikar? (“It is unknown whether more titans exist elsewhere in the multiverse”). (“The Eldrazi are an ancient race native to the Blind Eternities that have neither physical form nor color alignment. Their nature is ceaseless hunger, so they travel between planes devouring the mana and life energy until the plane’s destruction.”) – Wiki
What if the next highest source of mana after Zendikar was, feel me on this…The moon of Innistrad. And some Eldrazi happened to find their way to Innistrad and found its moon appetizing. What if the moon had the same effect of binding that the Helvault had but stronger and was holding something, say like an Eldrazi in it. Hell it’s even possible that some far more ancient being could have made the moon for that very purpose.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage came to Innistrad because she wanted to study the moon because it was different. (“On Innistrad she found the mystery of the great silver moon that hung in the sky.’) -Wiki
Here comes to the start of my ideas. I’m taking the name literally now Shadows of Innistrad as in plural. If at some point emrakul came to Innistrad found the moon and began feeding off of it. Breaking down its binding effect. Making it so that anything that was bound inside would start to break free and exerting a force that could be felt on Innistrad. It could be that the Helvault (being a piece of the moon) was the first sign of the moon degrading.
Another possibility is Emrakul’s ability to effect gravity is slowly pushing the moon out of orbit and making it crash to the surface. This is now starting to sound like a H.P Lovecraft novel or Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I don’t know if this will happen, but hell I like the idea of a plane we enjoyed being it getting obliterated and there is nothing we or anyone can do about it. Magic need something like this. It makes the world have weight to it, and making it more menacing and real. Also if Emrakul is on the moon or in the set I would like that no cards have her in them on them or mentioning her in any way other than the effects of her being around i.e. madness, delirium, a spot on the moon, even a whisper.
Edited to make it easier to read.
Second it is rather clear that its the silver which binds the dark beings of Innistrad, they would need a reason why this works on the eldrazi for this story to make sense.
"The Helvault is an object made out of pure moon silver. After its destruction what if the next true source was, feel me on this… The moon of Innistrad. What if it was made out of pure mana?" - Shotgun and 2 Red Shoes
I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here, at all. Did you mean after Zendikar was ravaged the next great source of mana is this moon?
It seems exceptionally strange to think that random eldrazi who happened too close to the moon became trapped inside.
The way you describe the ending it makes more sense for the moon to collapse or even explode because of the thing it contained being free, more than falling.
Over all, far form the worst theories that have been posted here (Nahiri=Avacyn) but either you need to explain some things better or simply add why certain strange events would work.
You right the whole thing is kinda hard to read. Mind was just jumping all over the place what to type. fixed it, hopefully its easier to read.
The reason for most of the evil in the land is mostly to do with a demon called Shilgengar. He gave the Vampire curse to Sorins grandfather Edgar Markov. Which in away started a vampire out break.
("Over the centuries, as vampires spread further into human lands, Sorin spent more and more time away from his homeworld, sometimes disappearing for years at a time. Vampires became disdainful of the race from which they had spawned, hunting mortal humans more and more boldly, and Sorin became distant from his own lineage. From his world-hopping perspective, he could see the changes on his homeworld. As the vampires gained more and more power, the humans were being driven further and further back, suffering under the boots of his grandfather's legacy, and it would only be a matter of time before the vampires wiped out their former kin.")
All of this basically made all the evil come out of their holes and pray on humans. For this reason Sorin created Avacyn.
Well, it doesn't just bind dark beings, since it bound Avacyn as well. The Helvault seemed good at binding, in general. That doesn't mean it's magic would necessarily apply to eldrazi, but who knows.
It binds dark beings. The reason it bound Avacyn was because her own binding spell backfired on her when Griselbrand impaled her in a last ditch effort of sacrificing himself to seal her too. The issue is, the Eldrazi aren't dark beings. Or even evil. Their purpose and reasoning has yet to be evaluated or understood.
|| 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 ||
Minor nitpick: I would argue with that statement - Griselbrand has no desire to *sacrifice* himself. She made a last-ditch effort to seal him, and he managed to impale her heart with and draw her in too as a final act of spite.
But otherwise you are right, Avacyn's imprisonment was caused by her own spell backfiring.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I very much agree with this sentiment, it would be bad writing for Emrakul to just randomly decide to go to Innistrad next.
But we do know that the Eldrazi were always intended to be Lovecraftian, which has not been delivered on. We can also see that lately Innistrad is taking a decidedly Lovecraftian turn.
We also know that Nahiri blames Sorin for how things have unfolded on Zendikar, "As Zendikar has bled, so will Innistrad. As I have suffered, so will Sorin"
I think Nahiri lured Emrakul to Innistrad used the Moon as giant Helvault to reimprison Emrakul.
Do you guys forgot about Withengar(yeah, the scary 13/13 Legendary Demon)?? He could be an very possible influence in the storyline of SOI/ELM!
The Angels bust him out, but his ominous essence still lives outside, leaving a giant hole of what has happened to him!
Think about it bros...
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Exactly the thought I had recently, after writing a "Back to Innistrad" article for my webpage and rereading and relearning the fact.
The Innistradi demon essences return to the underworld and reform indeed. Withengar's killing just released his essence back instead of keeping him locked safely in Elbrus (kind of like Demogorgon and Watcher's Keep in Baldur's Gate 2), so him returning in some form is kind of possible.
As for Griselbrand, I think they can pull of something like that the power of the Chain Veil obliterated/erased him entirely, just to make things simpler.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
But... If Griselbrand was locked in the Hellvault, how could he be Withengar if he was sealed in Elbrus?
http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Withengar
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Well, any plane she goes next will seem like a random decision anyway, so why not Innistrad?
Standard
BWC Eldrazi
UBR Grixis Tutelage
Modern
UR Storm
Legacy
Landless Dredge
Pauper
U Delver
Commander
UR Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Also maybe Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver might make an appearance on Innistrad. Reason for saying this, core sets usually have cards that point to future events and there are two cards in Origins that referred to Ashiok. Tormented Thoughtsand, Mind Rot.
Innistrad's silver moon is a manifestation of Emrakul and always has been. The Titans are interplanar beings, so she could have been manifest in several planes at once, and perhaps she was largely inactive/in stasis because of the hedron prison on Zendikar. The moon silver that Avacyn's spear is made of is a piece of Emrakul herself, which explains why it twists when Avacyn goes mad, and why other people can hear the buzzing as Avacyn gets close to them. MAYBE the angels on Zendikar were affected the same way, and that's how Em became the angelic avatar of Emrakul. Remember, Emrakul can induce madness and affect gravity, which is what this moon has been doing in this plane from the beginning. Now that Emrakul is active again, maybe it's gotten stronger, more difficult to predict.
Emrakul, the Titan of Corruption, as far as I can see, is there in some way. I bet Jace's mind begins to unravel as he delves deeper into the secrets of Innistrad and as he gets closer to the truth, we will be left wondering if he has reached or if he's approaching a point of no return.
This theory has one flaw: Sorin would know. Innistrad was his plane long before the binding of the Eldrazi, so even if Emrakul disguised as the moon somehow slipped his attention, he would certainly know the effect of the binding and would put it together.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath