In the announcement for Amonkhet, WotC tells us about the competitions on the plane that are supposed to find the (Capital W) "Worthy". We also know that the plane is ruled by bolas. It has been theorized already that Bolas is trying to create a group of planeswalkers that would be loyal to him. I would assume that the "Worthy" are Amonkhet planeswalkers, but this leaves me with some questions: First, is the percentage of potential planeswalkers on Amonkhet high enough that it is practical to organize such events? If so, Why could that be? Additionally, if the five gods are in fact fabricated by bolas, maybe he uses his known, non-Amonkhet planeswalkers as "demoigods" or maybe even "incarnations" of the gods themselves? Color me intrigued!
I'd assume it's a cruel game orchestrated by Bolas to find Planeswalkers, yes. But, it's more than likely he's not found much success. After all, if he had found some Worthy already, why haven't we seen them?
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A giant dork. Who likes to eat with forks. Never used a spork.
Decks: Casual R Burn R
EDH R Godo Voltron R RUG ETB Overload RUG BW Clerics Pain and Drain BW GW Spirits!!! GW RUG Landfall Silliness RUG
Today's Magic Story revealed a 'matter transporter' that works by transporting items through the Blind Eternities. In theory, such a device could used to transport people between planes.
- Tezzeret will show up on Kaladesh in order to obtain this technology
- The Worthy chosen by Bolas in the next set will be granted artificial sparks using this technology
I don't know. Personally it doesn't seem feasibly to set yourself up as a ruler for an entire plane just to maybe get some planeswalkers. I mean there are so many ifs that you need to overcome only to get something. What if the planeswalker sees that Bolas is just a planeswalker like himself and decides to oppose him. What if the planeswalker dies or can't come back. What if Bolas gets unlucky and nobody is born with the planeswalker spark while Bolas is there? And even then, how would the afterlife be connected to this. Only dead people go to the afterlife and when you die, you can't become a planeswalker. Yes, some sparks ignite from a near-death experience, but by far not all of them. And even if that all works out, Bolas gets what, a minion? One who is pretty inexperienced regarding planeswalking. Bolas has easier ways to get to minions, ways that aren't as resource intensive as dominating an entire world and possibly even creating fake-gods to keep the population in line.
I do believe the afterlife is some sinister lie made up by Bolas, but not related to planeswalkers or the spark. Now what would he do with the people who die and "enter" the afterlife? Maybe he collects their souls to become stronger? Maybe he uses them in even more gruesome ways? Honestly I can't come up with things that he couldn't achieve through other, easier means. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Right now the best bet is that he somehow uses their souls. Otherwise there is no link to the afterlife.
Edit: Also hello there maxie. Nice to see a fellow greater elemental.
Bolas doesn't have to constantly be on the plane to pose as a god. Maybe he just checks in every couple years to see if any Worthy have been found and remind everyone of his power. Its not a great source of minions but walkers are uniquely useful.
Bolas doesn't have to constantly be on the plane to pose as a god. Maybe he just checks in every couple years to see if any Worthy have been found and remind everyone of his power. Its not a great source of minions but walkers are uniquely useful.
Yup. Walkers are uniquely useful as minions since they can go to whatever plane you require. They can also combine magic from multiple planes which is what makes planeswalkers so powerful (and why Modern is stronger than Standard). Bolas' one limitation is that he cannot physically be in multiple places (that I am aware of), and many people are leery of a sinister Dragon.
I could see putting some small effort into a couple planes to generate loyal planeswalking servants.
If any planeswalker finds out that bolas is a walker and tries to oppose him theyre making a poor mistake. Bolas isnt just a planeswalker, if fact he is quite literally one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse, and to the best of our knowledge, his power is only rivaled by ugin and possibly the eldrazi. Ajani, Tezzeret, Sarkhan, and Elspeth only barely managed to defeat him at the conflux. Yes, he can get minions easily, but perhaps hes after the spark, not the walker themself. Also, i dont think lack of walkers will be a massive issue. We know jace is aware of bolas's existence and role in the eldrazi's release, so it would be logical for jace to be looking for him, because the gatewatch is meant to prevent other walkers from wreaking havoc (something tells me jace doesnt realize bolas's power though). On a completely separate note, here's to hoping that bolas ends jace!
Also, if Jace brings the Gatewatch to Amonkhet, Bolas will likely just step on them if they don't have the help of beings that have experience fighting Bolas, such as Ajani, Sarkhan, and not to mention, Ugin. I'd imagine people will say "If they killed two titans and sealed the third and most powerful, then they can beat Nicol Bolas." But, let's not forget, there is only one reason they killed Kozilek and Ulamog, and only one reason they sealed Emrakul: Nissa's connection to Zendikar itself is the only reason they were able to kill the first two and Tamiyo's forbidden scroll is the only reason they sealed the third.
Well, that and Emrakul wanted to be sealed. Ajani only really beat Bolas because of the Conflux from what I can gather, which really only leaves Ugin as someone who could reasonably defeat Bolas. But I can't imagine Ugin getting involved. Who knows though, if the Planeswalkers get help from the Gods I could see them at least making Bolas not enjoy being on Amonkhet, but like others I'm kind of expecting this to be a loss.
I'd assume it's a cruel game orchestrated by Bolas to find Planeswalkers, yes. But, it's more than likely he's not found much success. After all, if he had found some Worthy already, why haven't we seen them?
I don't know why but the idea of a cruel Hunger Games type test to find the Worthy reminded me a little bit of the first Magic book "Arena." Makes me suspect that as much as the plane believes the Worthy are lavished with rewards, bad things probably happen to them.
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Hm, this "competition to find Planeswalkers" train of thought has led me to a weird point.
We know that Sparks can be transferred, but do we know if they can be collected? Can they be moved from one body to another? What happens if one being holds multiple sparks?
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
I hope we see a pantheon and afterlife similar to the mythology, with Bolas have tricked the Amonkhet pantheon (or maybe even taking it over by force, since he know he is still nearly godly levels of power or when he was still an old walker), so what the who set in just Bolas infusing everything in the flavor.
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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"
Bolas isn't an old walker anymore though. The Gatwwatch knows that, and he isn't capable of the same impressive feats anymore. This could be the undoing of his control over Amonkhet. The gods seeing he's a shell of his former self. That said I hope this plane has Millennium Items!
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
Bolas got what he wanted from Alara. He didn't fail, he just didn't get to destroy the plane to flex his new power because Ajani summoned the soul duplicate.
Also, I'm not above suspicion that Theros isn't a different plane from Amonkhet. Theros is flat... what if Amonkhet is on the flip side of the world or something.
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
Bolas got what he wanted from Alara. He didn't fail, he just didn't get to destroy the plane to flex his new power because Ajani summoned the soul duplicate.
Also, I'm not above suspicion that Theros isn't a different plane from Amonkhet. Theros is flat... what if Amonkhet is on the flip side of the world or something.
Isn't Theros also stacked like a three layer cake with the Underworld, the Mortal Plane, and Nyx?
I mean, planar dynamics are already weird, but that'd be some fourth dimensional censored-word.
Baseless speculation: Perhaps Bolas is simply building an army of powerful warriors. If he could get a hold of and alter Rashmi's teleportation tech, they wouldn't need sparks, and could help Bolas take planes by sheer force.
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
Bolas got what he wanted from Alara. He didn't fail, he just didn't get to destroy the plane to flex his new power because Ajani summoned the soul duplicate.
Also, I'm not above suspicion that Theros isn't a different plane from Amonkhet. Theros is flat... what if Amonkhet is on the flip side of the world or something.
Since Greek gods were thought to be the inspiration for the Egyptian gods, when the gods fled Greece disguised as animals to escape Typhoeus, it would be neat if Amonkhet were a remote part of Theros across the Siren Sea, and its 5 gods being different manifestations of the major gods.
Still, this most certainly will not be the case and I like having Egypt World be its own plane. I would, however, like some link to Theros. Greece and Egypt communicated often.
I'm sure it's some big elaborate thing set up by Bolas. At this point, if after all this time Bolas DOESN'T have some giant convoluted Rube Goldberg machine set up, I'll be quite disappointed.
Bolas may be powerful but he has sunk his toes into a lot of messy plots - who knows if he can keep ahead enough of all of it. Alara failed for such a reason after all. That said, I wonder if Amonkhet has an afterlife like Theros does, and if the spark might survive that afterlife. Factoring in the living *and* the dead might give Amonkhet a large pool of planes walkers.
Bolas got what he wanted from Alara. He didn't fail, he just didn't get to destroy the plane to flex his new power because Ajani summoned the soul duplicate.
Also, I'm not above suspicion that Theros isn't a different plane from Amonkhet. Theros is flat... what if Amonkhet is on the flip side of the world or something.
Since Greek gods were thought to be the inspiration for the Egyptian gods, when the gods fled Greece disguised as animals to escape Typhoeus, it would be neat if Amonkhet were a remote part of Theros across the Siren Sea, and its 5 gods being different manifestations of the major gods.
Still, this most certainly will not be the case and I like having Egypt World be its own plane. I would, however, like some link to Theros. Greece and Egypt communicated often.
The problem with any direct connection between Amonkhet and Theors would be Kruphix: He knows everything anyone entering Theros knows and should therefore know about this too. But it was Ajani whose mind gave him knowledge about Nicol Bolas, so that's out of the window I fear.
I think it would be cool if Rashmi sabotaged her own tech as a way to prevent all this from happening and, in doing so, merges with her portal giving her a spark or something. I know that she was grabbed up with all the inventions, it's definitely a stretch but stranger things have happened (although it would be that much of a curve ball that it more than likely won't come to fruition).
While nothing we couldn't have already assumed, today's information from the Amonkhet art book announcement does indeed seem to confirm that Bolas has set himself out to be a God figure, along with minor insight as to the set up of the trials.
The Art of Magic: The Gathering—Amonkhet will offer readers insights about the people of Amonkhet, whose lives are a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh's return. The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet awaits readers as the final hours draw near!
Decks:
Casual
R Burn R
EDH
R Godo Voltron R
RUG ETB Overload RUG
BW Clerics Pain and Drain BW
GW Spirits!!! GW
RUG Landfall Silliness RUG
Today's Magic Story revealed a 'matter transporter' that works by transporting items through the Blind Eternities. In theory, such a device could used to transport people between planes.
- Tezzeret will show up on Kaladesh in order to obtain this technology
- The Worthy chosen by Bolas in the next set will be granted artificial sparks using this technology
I do believe the afterlife is some sinister lie made up by Bolas, but not related to planeswalkers or the spark. Now what would he do with the people who die and "enter" the afterlife? Maybe he collects their souls to become stronger? Maybe he uses them in even more gruesome ways? Honestly I can't come up with things that he couldn't achieve through other, easier means. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Right now the best bet is that he somehow uses their souls. Otherwise there is no link to the afterlife.
Edit: Also hello there maxie. Nice to see a fellow greater elemental.
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
Yup. Walkers are uniquely useful as minions since they can go to whatever plane you require. They can also combine magic from multiple planes which is what makes planeswalkers so powerful (and why Modern is stronger than Standard). Bolas' one limitation is that he cannot physically be in multiple places (that I am aware of), and many people are leery of a sinister Dragon.
I could see putting some small effort into a couple planes to generate loyal planeswalking servants.
I don't know why but the idea of a cruel Hunger Games type test to find the Worthy reminded me a little bit of the first Magic book "Arena." Makes me suspect that as much as the plane believes the Worthy are lavished with rewards, bad things probably happen to them.
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
We know that Sparks can be transferred, but do we know if they can be collected? Can they be moved from one body to another? What happens if one being holds multiple sparks?
|| 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 ||
I hope we see a pantheon and afterlife similar to the mythology, with Bolas have tricked the Amonkhet pantheon (or maybe even taking it over by force, since he know he is still nearly godly levels of power or when he was still an old walker), so what the who set in just Bolas infusing everything in the flavor.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
|| 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 ||
Also, I'm not above suspicion that Theros isn't a different plane from Amonkhet. Theros is flat... what if Amonkhet is on the flip side of the world or something.
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
Isn't Theros also stacked like a three layer cake with the Underworld, the Mortal Plane, and Nyx?
I mean, planar dynamics are already weird, but that'd be some fourth dimensional censored-word.
Since Greek gods were thought to be the inspiration for the Egyptian gods, when the gods fled Greece disguised as animals to escape Typhoeus, it would be neat if Amonkhet were a remote part of Theros across the Siren Sea, and its 5 gods being different manifestations of the major gods.
Still, this most certainly will not be the case and I like having Egypt World be its own plane. I would, however, like some link to Theros. Greece and Egypt communicated often.
|| 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 problem with any direct connection between Amonkhet and Theors would be Kruphix: He knows everything anyone entering Theros knows and should therefore know about this too. But it was Ajani whose mind gave him knowledge about Nicol Bolas, so that's out of the window I fear.
(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/announcing-art-magic-gathering-amonkhet-2016-11-02