First of all, I apologize if this theory has been posted before. This is actually the first time I have ever posted in this thread, but I wanted to because of this theory.
Essentially, as many have heard/theorized, there will be evil angels, and there certainly seems to be a theme of madness going on (even if not directly stated.) This, and the fact that the next set is called "Eldritch Moon" (and that SOI was meant to be third in the BFZ block) leads to the obvious theory that the "shadow" OI is Emrakul.
My theory, however, is that we will barely see any eldrazi spawn, perhaps not even one. In fact, it might even be so that we might not get a proper Emrakul creature card (yet?). My theory is two parts.
1. Killing the Titans also creates a tear in the blind eternities, which is a problem because it blends planes and blind eternities together.
2. With this blend, Emrakul is able to influence Innistrad without directly being in Innistrad. This means that the majority of the populace doesn't even know he is there. This fits in with the "eldritch" theme of madness/insanity, because if emrakul was physically there, we would see him as the obvious threat, people would know exactly what is going on, etc. etc.
So, essentially it'll be up to the planeswalkers to try and fix this distortion in the blind eternities, and Sorin Markov will be there to help since Innistrad is in great trouble.
Let's hope this is the case, because it means we can get the classic Innistrad we love with a twist of Lovecraft WITHOUT eldrazi creatures.
Also, a third theory. SOI won't feature an emrakul creature card. At best, perhaps some enchantments that reference him and his effect on the planes. I believe that Emrakul will be controlling creatures themselves as opposed to using eldrazi spawn, so in Eldritch moon I imagine Emrakul will be a creature card, but he will have a different form of sorts (or not), and so he will be the only eldrazi leading an army of horrors and creatures transformed from insanity.
Here's to hoping we get a proper Cult of Cthul- I mean, Emrakul, in the set.
Not a bad theory at all, though my distaste for the Eldrazi makes me biased against their inclusion in one of my favorite planes. Still, Emrakul or Marit Lage as the moon have been widely theorized for months now, so we'll see in a few weeks how it all plays out.
FYI: Emrakul was revealed to a female in Oath. Think of her like a "Mother of Monsters" type and you get the idea.
There are a lot of potential reasons for what's going on in Innistrad. While Emrakul would explain biological distortions, she's not associated with Insanity. I have a feel we'll be seeing a 'new' or different Eldritch entity on Innistrad, or at least I hope so.
I would LOVE to see Emrakul pop up in a new Kamigawa block, where the plane responds with Kaiju and other things that emulate more modern Japanese Pop Culture, rather than classical Japanese lore.
Who stated that SOI was to be the third set in BFZ block?
I always thought they basically jammed three sets into two, and SOI was always going to be the next block.
There are a lot of potential reasons for what's going on in Innistrad. While Emrakul would explain biological distortions, she's not associated with Insanity. I have a feel we'll be seeing a 'new' or different Eldritch entity on Innistrad, or at least I hope so.
I would LOVE to see Emrakul pop up in a new Kamigawa block, where the plane responds with Kaiju and other things that emulate more modern Japanese Pop Culture, rather than classical Japanese lore.
Eh... Well, Emrakul is kind of associated with insanity though it's not really talked about at any length anywhere recently but the artbook. All the Titans are in one capacity or another, though, so the point is still a a little moot.
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They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
Who stated that SOI was to be the third set in BFZ block?
I always thought they basically jammed three sets into two, and SOI was always going to be the next block.
Tolarian stated it in his video about his own theories. He states "while I hope this isn't true, we have to remember that SOI was going to be the third set in BFZ back when the 3 set in a block turned into 2 format."
There are a lot of potential reasons for what's going on in Innistrad. While Emrakul would explain biological distortions, she's not associated with Insanity. I have a feel we'll be seeing a 'new' or different Eldritch entity on Innistrad, or at least I hope so.
I would LOVE to see Emrakul pop up in a new Kamigawa block, where the plane responds with Kaiju and other things that emulate more modern Japanese Pop Culture, rather than classical Japanese lore.
Eh... Well, Emrakul is kind of associated with insanity though it's not really talked about at any length anywhere recently but the artbook. All the Titans are in one capacity or another, though, so the point is still a a little moot.
Has there been *any* magic set that has had a proper cult? I feel like a lot of magic sets dive too deep into "magic" and never really focus on a realistic appeal. I would love to see a set inspired by real life history and mythology. The closest we got was greek mythology, but it just didn't feel relatable enough. Would love to see a set where magic is practiced by a select few, where gods are man-like and fight beside their followers, and especially where we see subtle magical properties like historic berserkers (who claimed that the blessings of their gods or a god, mixed with divination, granted them madness and skill in combat) as opposed to full blown mages.
And dwarves. What's with the bloody lack of dwarves?
Back to topic: The closest thing to a "realistic approach" has always been innistrad for me (though Ravnica is my favorite set), so while I understand them wanting to shake it up a bit, I really do hope they keep the focus on Innistrad's events, I want to see the events going on before the Shadow continue going after it's appearanance, as opposed to "hold the presses! Everyone focus on Emrakul and eldritch stuff! No one take advantage of the distraction!"
SOI was never going to be the third set in the BFZ block, they started design on SOI knowing there was the two set paradigm.
This is too soon for Emrakul from both a game and story standpoint. You dont create a mystery of where the third titan is, then immediately find it the next place you look. And they wont have 2 eldrazi blocks in a row, just like they dont have 2 gold blocks in a row. It oversaturates standard and no on likes it.
Who stated that SOI was to be the third set in BFZ block?
I always thought they basically jammed three sets into two, and SOI was always going to be the next block.
The problem is people glazing over a question MaRo said on his tumblr. He admitted that there was initial work done on a third set before they decided on the two-block paradigm, and that it would feature Emrakul. However, in that same post, he also said that absolutely no Creative besides the concept of Emrakul being on Zendikar was done for the set, and it never even left design.
Yes, there was a "third set" being designed, in the same way that Duke Nukem Forever was in "development" for the first of its fifteen years of it.
The new art for mindwrack demon has some spongy lattice work on him resembling those on emrakul and its brood...emrakul is known to mutate and warp living beings
Demons aren't living beings, they are constructs of pure black mana. They are more likely to be consumed than transformed.
Er, I dunno if I wouldn't call angels and demons and etc. as beings that aren't "alive." I think most people would think of them as such. They might not have "souls" but I would consider them "alive". It's also probably not a distinction that creative would be too concerned with making if the opposite served the story they wanted to tell if it were the case that demons were not considered "living beings".
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They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
I am not sure how angels work but Demons aren't "alive" like we are. They don't age and don't require sustenance. And after they are "killed" they just reform again.
I am not sure how angels work but Demons aren't "alive" like we are. They don't age and don't require sustenance. And after they are "killed" they just reform again.
Being "alive like we are" and "not being living beings" are different assertions I think. I can agree they aren't "alive" like we are. But I wouldn't think of them as non-living entities like, say, an artifact creature or something.
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They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
The problem with your Shadow theory is that all the Zendikari cults of Emrakul (Emeria and Kamsa) have her being a source of light rather than shadows...
So, kinda like the moon? An Eldritch Moon? Also, you can't get shadows without light.
It would be a very strange flavor twist to have Emrakul worshipped has an angel of light on Zendikar, and having a cult of the dark deep sea on Innistrad.
I don't think the Stromkirk cult has anything to do with Em, really. It probably precedes it by a few hundreds of years. Their dark divinity is probably something else (Marit Lage anyone? Huh, huh?). I actually find the symmetry of Emrakul twisting Innistrad's angels after what she did in Zendikar quite... poetic.
I am not sure how angels work but Demons aren't "alive" like we are. They don't age and don't require sustenance. And after they are "killed" they just reform again.
Being "alive like we are" and "not being living beings" are different assertions I think. I can agree they aren't "alive" like we are. But I wouldn't think of them as non-living entities like, say, an artifact creature or something.
I suppose that is correct, but as they are made of mana wouldn't Emrakul just consume them?
I am not sure how angels work but Demons aren't "alive" like we are. They don't age and don't require sustenance. And after they are "killed" they just reform again.
Being "alive like we are" and "not being living beings" are different assertions I think. I can agree they aren't "alive" like we are. But I wouldn't think of them as non-living entities like, say, an artifact creature or something.
I suppose that is correct, but as they are made of mana wouldn't Emrakul just consume them?
Dunno. We really don't know how Emrakul works. To be honest we're barely familiar with the exact specifics of what the Eldrazi do in general. All we pretty much know is they drain mana from the land and leave Wastes. My interpretation is that she doesn't leave lands wasted, but her "wastes" are the things she mutates, which would mean that she probably drains mana from living things anyway which makes the distinction irrelevant.
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They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
Who stated that SOI was to be the third set in BFZ block?
I always thought they basically jammed three sets into two, and SOI was always going to be the next block.
Tolarian stated it in his video about his own theories. He states "while I hope this isn't true, we have to remember that SOI was going to be the third set in BFZ back when the 3 set in a block turned into 2 format."
There are a lot of potential reasons for what's going on in Innistrad. While Emrakul would explain biological distortions, she's not associated with Insanity. I have a feel we'll be seeing a 'new' or different Eldritch entity on Innistrad, or at least I hope so.
I would LOVE to see Emrakul pop up in a new Kamigawa block, where the plane responds with Kaiju and other things that emulate more modern Japanese Pop Culture, rather than classical Japanese lore.
Eh... Well, Emrakul is kind of associated with insanity though it's not really talked about at any length anywhere recently but the artbook. All the Titans are in one capacity or another, though, so the point is still a a little moot.
Has there been *any* magic set that has had a proper cult? I feel like a lot of magic sets dive too deep into "magic" and never really focus on a realistic appeal. I would love to see a set inspired by real life history and mythology. The closest we got was greek mythology, but it just didn't feel relatable enough. Would love to see a set where magic is practiced by a select few, where gods are man-like and fight beside their followers, and especially where we see subtle magical properties like historic berserkers (who claimed that the blessings of their gods or a god, mixed with divination, granted them madness and skill in combat) as opposed to full blown mages.
And dwarves. What's with the bloody lack of dwarves?
Back to topic: The closest thing to a "realistic approach" has always been innistrad for me (though Ravnica is my favorite set), so while I understand them wanting to shake it up a bit, I really do hope they keep the focus on Innistrad's events, I want to see the events going on before the Shadow continue going after it's appearanance, as opposed to "hold the presses! Everyone focus on Emrakul and eldritch stuff! No one take advantage of the distraction!"
Sounds like you yearn for Kaladesh, since the people there rely on artifacts and aether for acts of 'magic'. It's steampunk, but using aether instead of steam. ...Aetherpunk?
Still, depending on how they do it the set could go any number of ways. Is all magic banned, or just pyromancy? Is there a cult to a certain kind of mana? Wouldn't be hard to become a cult leader if you're the only mage in your country, and people think it's impossible without devices.
Perhaps direct contact results in being consumed but anything close to her aura will be warped and mutated kind of how like direct contact with kozilek results in you being consumed but if your within his area of effect you will see space time being distorted
It's been theorized in the past that destroying the titans can cause tears that would blend the blind eternities and the physical planes that people inhabit. If this is the case, it's very possible that this "insanity" could be the cause of the blind eternities (and emrakul within them.) What we have to realize here is that the set is called "shadows over Innistrad" and not "shadow", meaning it's more than likely a metaphorical shadow and not a physical one.
And this fits with the lovecraftian theme *very* well. Emrakul appears in the physical planes as she does on the cards, but what if someone caught a glimpse of her form in the blind eternities? They would go mad, because mortal minds can not even begin to fathom what they would see. It's the equivalent of dropping a human from earth into a fourth dimensional plane that has 128 more color spectrums (that the human eye can see). On their return, they would probably be mentally damaged beyond repair. So too is it with the blind eternities in which, with the tears (which, since the BE are not like the physical planes, could not be a literal tear that we think of) could cause those who glimpse them to go insane.
The problem with your Shadow theory is that all the Zendikari cults of Emrakul (Emeria and Kamsa) have her being a source of light rather than shadows... Most are speaking of her halo and everything.
It would be a very strange flavor twist to have Emrakul worshipped has an angel of light on Zendikar, and having a cult of the dark deep sea on Innistrad.
Not to mention that the way the Shadow is affecting Innistrad is not very eldrazi, since no mana seems drained anywhere.
Also, the unfathomable aspect of eldrazis, although interesting as a scary image, does not fit perfectly the madness/delirium theme and gothic horror of Innistrad. The flavor is too much "human" feelings and romance. Eldrazi aliens are explicitly not emotionnal.
The religious beliefs of one culture on a different plane for Em would have no bearing on how another culture on a different plane would perceive it. Yes, Merfolk and Kor of Zendikar associate Em with light, but that's after thousands of years of distorted history. It would be a nice twist that a separate culture focusing on dark depths would see/mistake Em as their god. Mortals tend to fit the unknown to their preconceived notions.
I am certain this won't be the case as of the recent spoilers, but I really hoped that there would be eldrazi among us in the form of DFC. BEAR WITH ME HERE. one side of the card is a normal looking person, and the other side of the card is that same person after they have been corrupted by emrakul. they don't need to look very much like en eldrazi as long as they become devoid and maybe look a little crazier and maybe sport a tentacle. I got this idea from the character Wilbur from the dunwich horror, who is part human part old ones.
realistically, I think emrakul is just corrupting everything while remaining unseen. it has been mentioned emrakul has the least amount of spawn. in fact there are literally only 3: hand of emrakul, emrakul's hatcher, and vestige of emrakul from BFZ. the first two were from when emrakul was out in the open, so there are probably even less spawn when she is manipulating people without being seen.
and how do you explain the eye on the arm for the art of magnifying glass? then theres that stuff thraben inspector or whatever its called has in her hands. if that ain't eldrazi corruption im not sure what is. although I admit I am not sure what to make of the ormendahl mentions in last weeks uncharted realms. it would be kind of lame in my opinion to have another demon bad guy when we just had griselbrand who was supposed to be very strong or something.
Essentially, as many have heard/theorized, there will be evil angels, and there certainly seems to be a theme of madness going on (even if not directly stated.) This, and the fact that the next set is called "Eldritch Moon" (and that SOI was meant to be third in the BFZ block) leads to the obvious theory that the "shadow" OI is Emrakul.
My theory, however, is that we will barely see any eldrazi spawn, perhaps not even one. In fact, it might even be so that we might not get a proper Emrakul creature card (yet?). My theory is two parts.
1. Killing the Titans also creates a tear in the blind eternities, which is a problem because it blends planes and blind eternities together.
2. With this blend, Emrakul is able to influence Innistrad without directly being in Innistrad. This means that the majority of the populace doesn't even know he is there. This fits in with the "eldritch" theme of madness/insanity, because if emrakul was physically there, we would see him as the obvious threat, people would know exactly what is going on, etc. etc.
So, essentially it'll be up to the planeswalkers to try and fix this distortion in the blind eternities, and Sorin Markov will be there to help since Innistrad is in great trouble.
Let's hope this is the case, because it means we can get the classic Innistrad we love with a twist of Lovecraft WITHOUT eldrazi creatures.
Also, a third theory. SOI won't feature an emrakul creature card. At best, perhaps some enchantments that reference him and his effect on the planes. I believe that Emrakul will be controlling creatures themselves as opposed to using eldrazi spawn, so in Eldritch moon I imagine Emrakul will be a creature card, but he will have a different form of sorts (or not), and so he will be the only eldrazi leading an army of horrors and creatures transformed from insanity.
Here's to hoping we get a proper Cult of Cthul- I mean, Emrakul, in the set.
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[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
FYI: Emrakul was revealed to a female in Oath. Think of her like a "Mother of Monsters" type and you get the idea.
I would LOVE to see Emrakul pop up in a new Kamigawa block, where the plane responds with Kaiju and other things that emulate more modern Japanese Pop Culture, rather than classical Japanese lore.
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
I always thought they basically jammed three sets into two, and SOI was always going to be the next block.
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Eh... Well, Emrakul is kind of associated with insanity though it's not really talked about at any length anywhere recently but the artbook. All the Titans are in one capacity or another, though, so the point is still a a little moot.
But the people behind the barrier knew.
Tolarian stated it in his video about his own theories. He states "while I hope this isn't true, we have to remember that SOI was going to be the third set in BFZ back when the 3 set in a block turned into 2 format."
Has there been *any* magic set that has had a proper cult? I feel like a lot of magic sets dive too deep into "magic" and never really focus on a realistic appeal. I would love to see a set inspired by real life history and mythology. The closest we got was greek mythology, but it just didn't feel relatable enough. Would love to see a set where magic is practiced by a select few, where gods are man-like and fight beside their followers, and especially where we see subtle magical properties like historic berserkers (who claimed that the blessings of their gods or a god, mixed with divination, granted them madness and skill in combat) as opposed to full blown mages.
And dwarves. What's with the bloody lack of dwarves?
Back to topic: The closest thing to a "realistic approach" has always been innistrad for me (though Ravnica is my favorite set), so while I understand them wanting to shake it up a bit, I really do hope they keep the focus on Innistrad's events, I want to see the events going on before the Shadow continue going after it's appearanance, as opposed to "hold the presses! Everyone focus on Emrakul and eldritch stuff! No one take advantage of the distraction!"
This is too soon for Emrakul from both a game and story standpoint. You dont create a mystery of where the third titan is, then immediately find it the next place you look. And they wont have 2 eldrazi blocks in a row, just like they dont have 2 gold blocks in a row. It oversaturates standard and no on likes it.
The problem is people glazing over a question MaRo said on his tumblr. He admitted that there was initial work done on a third set before they decided on the two-block paradigm, and that it would feature Emrakul. However, in that same post, he also said that absolutely no Creative besides the concept of Emrakul being on Zendikar was done for the set, and it never even left design.
Yes, there was a "third set" being designed, in the same way that Duke Nukem Forever was in "development" for the first of its fifteen years of it.
Er, I dunno if I wouldn't call angels and demons and etc. as beings that aren't "alive." I think most people would think of them as such. They might not have "souls" but I would consider them "alive". It's also probably not a distinction that creative would be too concerned with making if the opposite served the story they wanted to tell if it were the case that demons were not considered "living beings".
But the people behind the barrier knew.
Being "alive like we are" and "not being living beings" are different assertions I think. I can agree they aren't "alive" like we are. But I wouldn't think of them as non-living entities like, say, an artifact creature or something.
But the people behind the barrier knew.
So, kinda like the moon? An Eldritch Moon? Also, you can't get shadows without light.
I don't think the Stromkirk cult has anything to do with Em, really. It probably precedes it by a few hundreds of years. Their dark divinity is probably something else (Marit Lage anyone? Huh, huh?). I actually find the symmetry of Emrakul twisting Innistrad's angels after what she did in Zendikar quite... poetic.
That's assuming she works like the other two, and we know she doesn't. She twists and consumes living things.
I suppose that is correct, but as they are made of mana wouldn't Emrakul just consume them?
Dunno. We really don't know how Emrakul works. To be honest we're barely familiar with the exact specifics of what the Eldrazi do in general. All we pretty much know is they drain mana from the land and leave Wastes. My interpretation is that she doesn't leave lands wasted, but her "wastes" are the things she mutates, which would mean that she probably drains mana from living things anyway which makes the distinction irrelevant.
But the people behind the barrier knew.
Sounds like you yearn for Kaladesh, since the people there rely on artifacts and aether for acts of 'magic'. It's steampunk, but using aether instead of steam. ...Aetherpunk?
Still, depending on how they do it the set could go any number of ways. Is all magic banned, or just pyromancy? Is there a cult to a certain kind of mana? Wouldn't be hard to become a cult leader if you're the only mage in your country, and people think it's impossible without devices.
It's been theorized in the past that destroying the titans can cause tears that would blend the blind eternities and the physical planes that people inhabit. If this is the case, it's very possible that this "insanity" could be the cause of the blind eternities (and emrakul within them.) What we have to realize here is that the set is called "shadows over Innistrad" and not "shadow", meaning it's more than likely a metaphorical shadow and not a physical one.
And this fits with the lovecraftian theme *very* well. Emrakul appears in the physical planes as she does on the cards, but what if someone caught a glimpse of her form in the blind eternities? They would go mad, because mortal minds can not even begin to fathom what they would see. It's the equivalent of dropping a human from earth into a fourth dimensional plane that has 128 more color spectrums (that the human eye can see). On their return, they would probably be mentally damaged beyond repair. So too is it with the blind eternities in which, with the tears (which, since the BE are not like the physical planes, could not be a literal tear that we think of) could cause those who glimpse them to go insane.
The religious beliefs of one culture on a different plane for Em would have no bearing on how another culture on a different plane would perceive it. Yes, Merfolk and Kor of Zendikar associate Em with light, but that's after thousands of years of distorted history. It would be a nice twist that a separate culture focusing on dark depths would see/mistake Em as their god. Mortals tend to fit the unknown to their preconceived notions.
realistically, I think emrakul is just corrupting everything while remaining unseen. it has been mentioned emrakul has the least amount of spawn. in fact there are literally only 3: hand of emrakul, emrakul's hatcher, and vestige of emrakul from BFZ. the first two were from when emrakul was out in the open, so there are probably even less spawn when she is manipulating people without being seen.
and how do you explain the eye on the arm for the art of magnifying glass? then theres that stuff thraben inspector or whatever its called has in her hands. if that ain't eldrazi corruption im not sure what is. although I admit I am not sure what to make of the ormendahl mentions in last weeks uncharted realms. it would be kind of lame in my opinion to have another demon bad guy when we just had griselbrand who was supposed to be very strong or something.