Nicol Bolas is doing some next-level Sorin shenanigans with his world domination stuff.
There's implications that he's farming not just undead super soldiers but even the odd rare planeswalkers via the trials.
It's possible he may have a couple of supremely devoted planeswalkers he's 'created.' It would be cool to see those guys, if they exist. He probably sends them all around the multiverse to carry out especially important schemes.
If they go that far with it, well, as wadprime said "Bolas has quite the racket going." Nicol Bolas is totally boss.
Sorin: "Although it was difficult, I created an Archangel from my own essence and sent her to protect my beloved home plane."
Bolas: "Heh. Amateur."
You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. I can't wait till I can play my bicycle land out, thus making me heckbent, while I have Nessie on the field. You know, so I can attack with my Pervert.
The temple to the Ibis-headed god is clearly blue-centric, with open flowing waterfalls and blue banding on the structure. But it also has distinct white and black banding, suggesting that the Ibis god cares about white and black too, not to be tri-colored necessarily, but at least to not be pure-blue.
The image of Naktamun shows conspicuous black banding on the pyramids and obelisks, making sense with its professed affiliation with Bolas. The face on the large temple does not appear to be Bolas, not does it quite correspond to the Crocodile-headed god that we've assumed would be the black one or the Jackal-headed god that seems to be red. It's backlit, so it's hard to tell for sure.
It has appeared that the Crocodile-headed god is black oriented, but the dragon in the third picture is definitely red with fire and such. This suggests again that the color identities of the gods might overlap into adjacent colors, with the Crocodile being perhaps blue-black-red themed.
The Snake-headed person (maybe god? they've been depicted as giant figures, this one is small, seems more likely to be a Naga) is surrounded by animals and standing in lush nature, very clearly pointing the snake-headed god to being Green. Greens adjacent colors have no known affiliation with snakes, a strike against the 3-color identity.
And finally Hazorat(sic) executing the winners of the trials. This means that the Gods are either totally complicit with Bolas's rule of the plane, or that he has hijacked some normal activity of these Gods to suit his own purpose, and that they are not objecting to it. Combined with the story article in which a god defends the Gatewatch from monsters in the Broken Lands, I would say that they are part of the Bolas's control on the plane, perhaps even his own creations along the lines of Avacyn. They protect the people from the horrors beyond the barrier, but collect human (and demihuman?) sacrifices as well.
The Broken Lands also present a dilemma. The barrier protecting the people and cities indicates that the world was not always like it is now, that the decaying desert is something that happened to Amonkhet. Is it likely, or possible, that Bolas created this corruption? And to what end? Manufacturing a worldwide disaster, then coming in to save the people from it is a great way to gain grateful and devoted followers, and Bolas is certainly powerful enough to both destroy a world and carve out a sanctuary within that destruction.
I love the gay couple despicted in the magali villeneuve art.
How do you even know if they are gay?
Why does it even matter?
Men can't just be friends in tumblrland.
Which is ridiculously sexist, ironically.
No one can be friends anymore!! Two guys a re bonding = they're gay, two women trying to understand each other to be better friends since they're on a team together = lesbians, a man and a woman showing that they care for each others well being = get the lube and candles ready, it's gonna be shakin' tonight!!
It's worse to pretend they aren't gay than just accept and be happy and move on. We know they are subtly including minorities into all of the planes of magic and this is an example.
Looks like Nicol Bolas has constructed his own containment paradise a la The Island movie.
Funnily enough, it seems there's enough general peace and happiness abound that an average resident would be much better off here than living on Innistrad, Zendikar or even Ravnica.
It would be nice to see the Gatewatch coming to realize that dispatching Nicol Bolas would probably mean plunging the city into chaos.
I'd place it on par with Zendikar myself. Having to live a life of fighting and trials seems about par with adventure and treasure. Pre-Eldrazi that is. Ravnica seems better.
Ravnica does has all the conveniences of an industrialized city, but there are numerous legalized murder guilds that can kill you for a variety of reasons, like because someone paid them off to (Dimir) or for fun (Rakdos). And I think RtR block made it clear that guildless Ravnicans have kind of a *****ty life.
I mean, it's still infinitely better than Innistrad. I think pre-Aurora Lorwyn was technically the nicest plane to live on we've seen thus far, but for the essential tension of what we've seen so far to work, the city has to be a paradise and the rest of Amonkhet has to be a hellscape.
Lorwyn was definitely the "nicest" of the planes in general. I'm not sure we will ever see a plane nicer than it. Maybe Bant was pretty nice too I suppose.
As far as Ravnica goes, I doubt everything is horrible for them all the time. We're going to see the combat-focused aspects because of Magic, but at least the novels don't seem to indicate it's that bad. But it also depends on personal proclivities and such. Almost every plane there are trade offs going on, it's a matter of what you want and what you don't mind as opposed to one being leaps and bounds above the others barring rare exceptions like Lorwyn for good, or Shadowmoor for bad, though others exist for both especially the bad.
Looks like Nicol Bolas has constructed his own containment paradise a la The Island movie.
Funnily enough, it seems there's enough general peace and happiness abound that an average resident would be much better off here than living on Innistrad, Zendikar or even Ravnica.
It would be nice to see the Gatewatch coming to realize that dispatching Nicol Bolas would probably mean plunging the city into chaos.
I'd place it on par with Zendikar myself. Having to live a life of fighting and trials seems about par with adventure and treasure. Pre-Eldrazi that is. Ravnica seems better.
Ravnica does has all the conveniences of an industrialized city, but there are numerous legalized murder guilds that can kill you for a variety of reasons, like because someone paid them off to (Dimir) or for fun (Rakdos). And I think RtR block made it clear that guildless Ravnicans have kind of a *****ty life.
I mean, it's still infinitely better than Innistrad. I think pre-Aurora Lorwyn was technically the nicest plane to live on we've seen thus far, but for the essential tension of what we've seen so far to work, the city has to be a paradise and the rest of Amonkhet has to be a hellscape.
Lorwyn was definitely the "nicest" of the planes in general. I'm not sure we will ever see a plane nicer than it. Maybe Bant was pretty nice too I suppose.
As far as Ravnica goes, I doubt everything is horrible for them all the time. We're going to see the combat-focused aspects because of Magic, but at least the novels don't seem to indicate it's that bad. But it also depends on personal proclivities and such. Almost every plane there are trade offs going on, it's a matter of what you want and what you don't mind as opposed to one being leaps and bounds above the others barring rare exceptions like Lorwyn for good, or Shadowmoor for bad, though others exist for both especially the bad.
Yes, Bant was completely nice prior to the Conflux! Amazing what a lack of disease and war will do to a plane.
But yes, you're right, a lot of it's personal preference: I think I'd like it if I lived in Ravnica, as long as I had the chance to join a guild, but an outdoorsy person would consider it a hell. That same person might like pre-Eldrazi Zendikar very much though. And if you're a hardcore goth, there's a lot you might shrug off about Innistrad if you got to live in a world with that aesthetic.
Kaladesh is obviously also a very good place to live prior to the Crackdown, what with the aether-powered wonder devices.
Kaladesh is another big good plane I would say. Even it's big conflict was pretty tame compared to most other planes. But realistically it tends to go more Good, Neutral, and Bad as far as average living conditions go, usually within each tier I'd say it's pretty equal. Maybe you're more likely to die on Grixis than Jund, but I think that you'd have a hard time appreciating any nuance in that if you found yourself stuck on Jund instead of Grixis.
Personally I'd be pretty happy with Theros or Kamigawa I think. Depending on what post-Aurora Lorwyn is like I might enjoy there as well. I'd still rank both in the Neutral category, but I think for me personally I'd be fine there. Maybe. Hard to say really. If I had a chance to get used to them instead of just getting dropped in.
I'd say that Lorwyn, Bant, and Kaladesh are the emphatically "good" kind of places that have actually appeared as major blocks, Shadowmoor, New Phyrexia, Grixis, Jund, and Innistrad as the "bad" planes. Possibly some I'm missing, and Innistrad maybe could be bumped up to neutral. But otherwise I'd say the rest kind of run a gamut.
Personally I'd be pretty happy with Theros or Kamigawa I think. Depending on what post-Aurora Lorwyn is like I might enjoy there as well. I'd still rank both in the Neutral category, but I think for me personally I'd be fine there.
Lorwyn is peaceful, but having your base there as a human planeswalker would be pretty awkward. You'd have to permanently use some sort of illusion spell.
Personally I'd be pretty happy with Theros or Kamigawa I think. Depending on what post-Aurora Lorwyn is like I might enjoy there as well. I'd still rank both in the Neutral category, but I think for me personally I'd be fine there.
Lorwyn is peaceful, but having your base there as a human planeswalker would be pretty awkward. You'd have to permanently use some sort of illusion spell.
Claim you're a tiny Giant? And I'm not sure how much drama would really come up as a human if you did just show up there, it's hard to say because we don't really have any examples of... I don't know, Gideon showing up on Lorwyn.
It's worse to pretend they aren't gay than just accept and be happy and move on. We know they are subtly including minorities into all of the planes of magic and this is an example.
I've slept with my friend in a twin bed before (due to lack of space), I've also hooked my arm around his shoulder and he held my hand on the street as he led me to see something. We're Chinese, and we believe people with good friendship are welcome to behave intimately in the public, that does not mean we're involved.
There's no pretense here, the art suggests that the two men have very good relationship, but it doesn't have to be romantic or sexual. Were two women doing it, people would less likely see them as lesbian. I'm not denying the possibility either, but it is presumptuous to see all good relationship as potential romance.
Looks like Nicol Bolas has constructed his own containment paradise a la The Island movie.
Funnily enough, it seems there's enough general peace and happiness abound that an average resident would be much better off here than living on Innistrad, Zendikar or even Ravnica.
It would be nice to see the Gatewatch coming to realize that dispatching Nicol Bolas would probably mean plunging the city into chaos.
I'd place it on par with Zendikar myself. Having to live a life of fighting and trials seems about par with adventure and treasure. Pre-Eldrazi that is. Ravnica seems better.
Ravnica does has all the conveniences of an industrialized city, but there are numerous legalized murder guilds that can kill you for a variety of reasons, like because someone paid them off to (Dimir) or for fun (Rakdos). And I think RtR block made it clear that guildless Ravnicans have kind of a *****ty life.
I mean, it's still infinitely better than Innistrad. I think pre-Aurora Lorwyn was technically the nicest plane to live on we've seen thus far, but for the essential tension of what we've seen so far to work, the city has to be a paradise and the rest of Amonkhet has to be a hellscape.
Lorwyn was definitely the "nicest" of the planes in general. I'm not sure we will ever see a plane nicer than it. Maybe Bant was pretty nice too I suppose.
As far as Ravnica goes, I doubt everything is horrible for them all the time. We're going to see the combat-focused aspects because of Magic, but at least the novels don't seem to indicate it's that bad. But it also depends on personal proclivities and such. Almost every plane there are trade offs going on, it's a matter of what you want and what you don't mind as opposed to one being leaps and bounds above the others barring rare exceptions like Lorwyn for good, or Shadowmoor for bad, though others exist for both especially the bad.
Pretty much everyone in Ravnica ends up indebted to the Obzedat. And Kaladesh was filled with crime and chaos for non-inventors/non-consulate members.
Lorwyn really does seem the best plane to live in. Sure Ravnica and Kaladesh are super cool if you're living the exiting life of the 1% named character, but for most of the population society seems unfair to unbearable. And if I got to chose a 1% life, it'd rather be Tom Brady in this here world than a named character in pretty much any MtG plane.
It's worse to pretend they aren't gay than just accept and be happy and move on. We know they are subtly including minorities into all of the planes of magic and this is an example.
I've slept with my friend in a twin bed before (due to lack of space), I've also hooked my arm around his shoulder and he held my hand on the street as he led me to see something. We're Chinese, and we believe people with good friendship are welcome to behave intimately in the public, that does not mean we're involved.
There's no pretense here, the art suggests that the two men have very good relationship, but it doesn't have to be romantic or sexual. Were two women doing it, people would less likely see them as lesbian. I'm not denying the possibility either, but it is presumptuous to see all good relationship as potential romance.
They could as well be brothers, but social media is the world of virtue signaling nuts where neutrality means youre a "nazi".
The thread was redtexted to stop this discussion. Warning issued.
So Bolas is creating an army super soldier zombies?
The question is, where does Bolas intend to send his super soldier zombies?
Maybe somewhere he used to rule, like Madara on Dominaria?
Madara is a location on Dominaria.
So far, everything seems to align with what I predicted even before the end of Aether Revolt story:
- Gideon facing gods again, and his feelings (Renewed Faith)
- Gideon having a big introspection moment at the end of the first story
- Gatewatch now having two white-aligned tanks
- Name of his card: Gideon of the Trials
- the spoiler "reward" for completing the trials...
Gideon is not leaving Amonkhet. Either he will be killed, enslaved, or somehow becomes a part of this world forever. Gatewatch will probably finally LOSE (instead of a non-win), and will go back to Ajani to lick their wounds and accept him as new leader.
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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)
It looks like no-one's mentioned yet just how atrocious the language in these images is. It feels like a 12 year old fan girl wrote the text for her book report... I really hope this isn't indicative of what we can expect throughout the rest of the block.
eg. None of that makes it inside the barrier, the city state is protected and the denizens are happy!
"None of that" is just awkward as hell. There's an exclamation mark, it's a horrible run on sentence, and the words are all so short!
Certainly the most distinct narrative for a plane we have had in a while. I'm excited to see what relationship the Gods have with Bolas. Are they his creations, or did he perhaps usurp their rule long ago? Is the plane Bolas' creation or one that he took over? Is the end goal more pets/servants or is there a more specific goal? With Bolas, I'd imagine a greater scheme than "I want a handy pool of servants to pull from." Maybe it's more of an army he is creating. Perhaps there is even something special to the plane that he is taking advantage of, like a bloodline of warriors or some such.
It looks like no-one's mentioned yet just how atrocious the language in these images is. It feels like a 12 year old fan girl wrote the text for her book report... I really hope this isn't indicative of what we can expect throughout the rest of the block.
eg. None of that makes it inside the barrier, the city state is protected and the denizens are happy!
"None of that" is just awkward as hell. There's an exclamation mark, it's a horrible run on sentence, and the words are all so short!
I don't think the image descriptions are official. The Facebook group probably added the text in order to pass on the preview that Wizards gave them in their own words. There are too many errors for a real M:tG writer to have written it - for example, a person who actually wrote for the Amonkhet story would know how to spell Hazoret's name.
It looks like no-one's mentioned yet just how atrocious the language in these images is. It feels like a 12 year old fan girl wrote the text for her book report... I really hope this isn't indicative of what we can expect throughout the rest of the block.
eg. None of that makes it inside the barrier, the city state is protected and the denizens are happy!
"None of that" is just awkward as hell. There's an exclamation mark, it's a horrible run on sentence, and the words are all so short!
I don't think the image descriptions are official. The Facebook group probably added the text in order to pass on the preview that Wizards gave them in their own words. There are too many errors for a real M:tG writer to have written it - for example, a person who actually wrote for the Amonkhet story would know how to spell Hazoret's name.
Okay, that actually makes solid sense. I'll assume you're correct.
So Bolas is creating an army super soldier zombies?
The question is, where does Bolas intend to send his super soldier zombies?
Maybe somewhere he used to rule, like Madara on Dominaria?
Madara is a location on Dominaria.
So far, everything seems to align with what I predicted even before the end of Aether Revolt story:
- Gideon facing gods again, and his feelings (Renewed Faith)
- Gideon having a big introspection moment at the end of the first story
- Gatewatch now having two white-aligned tanks
- Name of his card: Gideon of the Trials
- the spoiler "reward" for completing the trials...
Gideon is not leaving Amonkhet. Either he will be killed, enslaved, or somehow becomes a part of this world forever. Gatewatch will probably finally LOSE (instead of a non-win), and will go back to Ajani to lick their wounds and accept him as new leader.
Ajani isn't a tank though, he's a healer. Maro has been pretty consistent on that being what Ajani is meant to be. And they didn't spend three blocks worth of build up for the Origin 5 as the Gatewatch only to kill one of them in the fifth block of the experiment.
It is a Gideon centered block. It will be a big deal for him. But it won't be him dying, or being enslaved.
Hmmmn... I have this nudging feeling that Amonkhet's Gods are what's keeping the plane stable, snuff them off and the plane starts to collapse.
That is if Amonkhet is really fully artificial like Serra's Realm and its sustenance is somewhat the same way...
Well i could see the Gods being the reason the barrier is maintained, but i don't think the plane breaks down if their destroyed.
Serra's realm, and a RW plane Urza tried to sustain, would start to collapse without them because the world had less than all five colors. Wether Bolas created Amonkhet or not, as long as it has all five colors it remains stable. Alara was just a plane having split personalities.
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WOut of the ground,I rise to grace...W BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
Catface God = White = Bant
Birdface God = Blue = Esper
Crocodileface God = Black = Grixis
Jackalface God = Red = Jund
Snakeface God = Green = Naya
Bant, protecting the weak, nurturing them so they can become strong as well.
Esper, the cold and calculating, fits the theme of the ibis-headed Toth, the Scribe of the Gods, recording all results of all trials.
Jund, natural life-cycle, also focus on the dead staying dead.
Naya, being one with nature, receiving it's bounties, fifth promo pic in OP made me instantly think of Trace of Abundance. Perhaps one full color and one hybrid-mana will be the theme of the Gods rather than 3 full colors?
Grixis, someone else linked Ammit ealier, an Egyptian demon with the head of a crocodile "Devourer of the Dead",
"Ammit was not worshipped; instead she embodied all that the Egyptians feared, threatening to bind them to eternal restlessness if they did not follow the principle of Ma'at."
Zombies anyone? What more fitting shard that then heavy Zombie themed shard of Grixis?
EDIT: Also makes perfect sense for the invocation art for Vindicate and Maelstrom Pulse, Cat doesn't have Black, Croc doesn't have White, they need to team up for the WB spell, same with Snake and Croc for the BG spell.
i really hope we see gideon die, leave, or (best case scenario) become a minion of bolas. gideon embalmed could join tezzeret and bolas as the primary villains. eldrazi and phyrexia are probably more threatening than bolas in the long term but they lack agency. bolas has the capacity for maniacal laughter that those two threats lack. creating a group that opposes the gatewatch would seem like a obvious turn
regardless a supergroup needs drama to stay interesting: betrayal, death, arguments, & romance. if wizards thinks they can keep the gatewatch going without any rank drama they are pretty naive. gideons interest in the trial seems like a perfect opportunity for something to happen.
Sorin: "Although it was difficult, I created an Archangel from my own essence and sent her to protect my beloved home plane."
Bolas: "Heh. Amateur."
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
The question is, where does Bolas intend to send his super soldier zombies?
Maybe somewhere he used to rule, like Madara on Dominaria?
The temple to the Ibis-headed god is clearly blue-centric, with open flowing waterfalls and blue banding on the structure. But it also has distinct white and black banding, suggesting that the Ibis god cares about white and black too, not to be tri-colored necessarily, but at least to not be pure-blue.
The image of Naktamun shows conspicuous black banding on the pyramids and obelisks, making sense with its professed affiliation with Bolas. The face on the large temple does not appear to be Bolas, not does it quite correspond to the Crocodile-headed god that we've assumed would be the black one or the Jackal-headed god that seems to be red. It's backlit, so it's hard to tell for sure.
It has appeared that the Crocodile-headed god is black oriented, but the dragon in the third picture is definitely red with fire and such. This suggests again that the color identities of the gods might overlap into adjacent colors, with the Crocodile being perhaps blue-black-red themed.
The Snake-headed person (maybe god? they've been depicted as giant figures, this one is small, seems more likely to be a Naga) is surrounded by animals and standing in lush nature, very clearly pointing the snake-headed god to being Green. Greens adjacent colors have no known affiliation with snakes, a strike against the 3-color identity.
And finally Hazorat(sic) executing the winners of the trials. This means that the Gods are either totally complicit with Bolas's rule of the plane, or that he has hijacked some normal activity of these Gods to suit his own purpose, and that they are not objecting to it. Combined with the story article in which a god defends the Gatewatch from monsters in the Broken Lands, I would say that they are part of the Bolas's control on the plane, perhaps even his own creations along the lines of Avacyn. They protect the people from the horrors beyond the barrier, but collect human (and demihuman?) sacrifices as well.
The Broken Lands also present a dilemma. The barrier protecting the people and cities indicates that the world was not always like it is now, that the decaying desert is something that happened to Amonkhet. Is it likely, or possible, that Bolas created this corruption? And to what end? Manufacturing a worldwide disaster, then coming in to save the people from it is a great way to gain grateful and devoted followers, and Bolas is certainly powerful enough to both destroy a world and carve out a sanctuary within that destruction.
No one can be friends anymore!! Two guys a re bonding = they're gay, two women trying to understand each other to be better friends since they're on a team together = lesbians, a man and a woman showing that they care for each others well being = get the lube and candles ready, it's gonna be shakin' tonight!!
Lorwyn was definitely the "nicest" of the planes in general. I'm not sure we will ever see a plane nicer than it. Maybe Bant was pretty nice too I suppose.
As far as Ravnica goes, I doubt everything is horrible for them all the time. We're going to see the combat-focused aspects because of Magic, but at least the novels don't seem to indicate it's that bad. But it also depends on personal proclivities and such. Almost every plane there are trade offs going on, it's a matter of what you want and what you don't mind as opposed to one being leaps and bounds above the others barring rare exceptions like Lorwyn for good, or Shadowmoor for bad, though others exist for both especially the bad.
Yes, Bant was completely nice prior to the Conflux! Amazing what a lack of disease and war will do to a plane.
But yes, you're right, a lot of it's personal preference: I think I'd like it if I lived in Ravnica, as long as I had the chance to join a guild, but an outdoorsy person would consider it a hell. That same person might like pre-Eldrazi Zendikar very much though. And if you're a hardcore goth, there's a lot you might shrug off about Innistrad if you got to live in a world with that aesthetic.
Kaladesh is obviously also a very good place to live prior to the Crackdown, what with the aether-powered wonder devices.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Personally I'd be pretty happy with Theros or Kamigawa I think. Depending on what post-Aurora Lorwyn is like I might enjoy there as well. I'd still rank both in the Neutral category, but I think for me personally I'd be fine there. Maybe. Hard to say really. If I had a chance to get used to them instead of just getting dropped in.
I'd say that Lorwyn, Bant, and Kaladesh are the emphatically "good" kind of places that have actually appeared as major blocks, Shadowmoor, New Phyrexia, Grixis, Jund, and Innistrad as the "bad" planes. Possibly some I'm missing, and Innistrad maybe could be bumped up to neutral. But otherwise I'd say the rest kind of run a gamut.
Lorwyn is peaceful, but having your base there as a human planeswalker would be pretty awkward. You'd have to permanently use some sort of illusion spell.
Claim you're a tiny Giant? And I'm not sure how much drama would really come up as a human if you did just show up there, it's hard to say because we don't really have any examples of... I don't know, Gideon showing up on Lorwyn.
I've slept with my friend in a twin bed before (due to lack of space), I've also hooked my arm around his shoulder and he held my hand on the street as he led me to see something. We're Chinese, and we believe people with good friendship are welcome to behave intimately in the public, that does not mean we're involved.
There's no pretense here, the art suggests that the two men have very good relationship, but it doesn't have to be romantic or sexual. Were two women doing it, people would less likely see them as lesbian. I'm not denying the possibility either, but it is presumptuous to see all good relationship as potential romance.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Pretty much everyone in Ravnica ends up indebted to the Obzedat. And Kaladesh was filled with crime and chaos for non-inventors/non-consulate members.
Lorwyn really does seem the best plane to live in. Sure Ravnica and Kaladesh are super cool if you're living the exiting life of the 1% named character, but for most of the population society seems unfair to unbearable. And if I got to chose a 1% life, it'd rather be Tom Brady in this here world than a named character in pretty much any MtG plane.
They could as well be brothers, but social media is the world of virtue signaling nuts where neutrality means youre a "nazi".
The thread was redtexted to stop this discussion. Warning issued.
I think you meant "Bolas akbar!"
Madara is a location on Dominaria.
So far, everything seems to align with what I predicted even before the end of Aether Revolt story:
- Gideon facing gods again, and his feelings (Renewed Faith)
- Gideon having a big introspection moment at the end of the first story
- Gatewatch now having two white-aligned tanks
- Name of his card: Gideon of the Trials
- the spoiler "reward" for completing the trials...
Gideon is not leaving Amonkhet. Either he will be killed, enslaved, or somehow becomes a part of this world forever. Gatewatch will probably finally LOSE (instead of a non-win), and will go back to Ajani to lick their wounds and accept him as new leader.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
eg. None of that makes it inside the barrier, the city state is protected and the denizens are happy!
"None of that" is just awkward as hell. There's an exclamation mark, it's a horrible run on sentence, and the words are all so short!
So much theory crafting!
I don't think the image descriptions are official. The Facebook group probably added the text in order to pass on the preview that Wizards gave them in their own words. There are too many errors for a real M:tG writer to have written it - for example, a person who actually wrote for the Amonkhet story would know how to spell Hazoret's name.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Okay, that actually makes solid sense. I'll assume you're correct.
Ajani isn't a tank though, he's a healer. Maro has been pretty consistent on that being what Ajani is meant to be. And they didn't spend three blocks worth of build up for the Origin 5 as the Gatewatch only to kill one of them in the fifth block of the experiment.
It is a Gideon centered block. It will be a big deal for him. But it won't be him dying, or being enslaved.
Well i could see the Gods being the reason the barrier is maintained, but i don't think the plane breaks down if their destroyed.
Serra's realm, and a RW plane Urza tried to sustain, would start to collapse without them because the world had less than all five colors. Wether Bolas created Amonkhet or not, as long as it has all five colors it remains stable. Alara was just a plane having split personalities.
BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
they could pull a han solo and have the team rescue him. this time they'll really come back for him, unlike elspeth.
........................
Catface God = White = Bant
Birdface God = Blue = Esper
Crocodileface God = Black = Grixis
Jackalface God = Red = Jund
Snakeface God = Green = Naya
Bant, protecting the weak, nurturing them so they can become strong as well.
Esper, the cold and calculating, fits the theme of the ibis-headed Toth, the Scribe of the Gods, recording all results of all trials.
Jund, natural life-cycle, also focus on the dead staying dead.
Naya, being one with nature, receiving it's bounties, fifth promo pic in OP made me instantly think of Trace of Abundance. Perhaps one full color and one hybrid-mana will be the theme of the Gods rather than 3 full colors?
Grixis, someone else linked Ammit ealier, an Egyptian demon with the head of a crocodile "Devourer of the Dead",
Zombies anyone? What more fitting shard that then heavy Zombie themed shard of Grixis?
EDIT: Also makes perfect sense for the invocation art for Vindicate and Maelstrom Pulse, Cat doesn't have Black, Croc doesn't have White, they need to team up for the WB spell, same with Snake and Croc for the BG spell.
regardless a supergroup needs drama to stay interesting: betrayal, death, arguments, & romance. if wizards thinks they can keep the gatewatch going without any rank drama they are pretty naive. gideons interest in the trial seems like a perfect opportunity for something to happen.
Definitely looking forward to Act II. I wonder what sorts of nasties Bolas-Desert world can cough up.
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