Maybe the reason Azor did this was to make Ixalan somehow 'invisible' for Eldrazis to live on a world that would never get destroyed? Or maybe he thought that at some point the Eldrazis would come to Ixalan and would be unable to leave forever?
As for the second part, Eldrazi don't planeswalk, they just move through Blind Eternities. I don't think Binding could stop them. Even if yes, by consuming whole plane they would inevitably destroy Immortal Sun, so that wouldn't work for long.
As for first, possible, but not probable. Planeswalkers may enter this plane normally, but can't leave, why would it work totally different for Eldrazi?
From a gameplay point of view, considering Azor is said to have influenced Sphinxes the Multiverse over, I'm hoping that he directly supports Sphinx tribal like Unesh does. That's probably unlikely, since he'll probably do something "Azorius" like tax or binding effects, but one can hope.
The Elder Dinosaurs were apparently preserved for ages in the Golden City. Compared to their smaller cousins they have less colorful plumage and more grayish scales, but their feathers are a bright gold that matches the city itself. They are strong willed and ferocious, but the power of the Immortal Sun give the Sun Empire warriors who wield it the ability to bring these elder dinosaurs under their command.
This leads me to believe that you need City's Blessing to cast the Elder Dinosaurs.
No you don't need city's blessing
If ghalta doesn't need it neither does the other 5
Oh I have special news that 5colors found more than happy to be wrong
It'd be really piss-poor story telling, even for Wizards' standards, to finally reveal Azor as a planeswalking sphinx who is still alive after all this time, only to trap him on a plane that the story will not revisit again for several years, if ever.
I fail to see how. "Something I don't like," or "something I think is a waste" =/= "piss-poor storytelling."
It doesn't have anything to do with my personal preference. It's the fact that those who have been following the MtG story in Ixalan have made predictions about Azor's involvement since the start (go ahead and check the Storyline forums if you don't believe me). He's a big character in the MTG multiverse, with a lot of expectations from readers (you know, the audience for whom these stories are written?). To simply introduce him in a bit part and essentially trap him on a backwoods plane that stands zero chance of getting any kind of exposure in the near future is poor storytelling. You'd typically use a nobody character for something like that. Someone forgettable that audiences aren't going to be clamoring to see more of in the future. Not one of the most profound individuals on Ravnica, one of the most popular planes in all of Magic.
It'd be really piss-poor story telling, even for Wizards' standards, to finally reveal Azor as a planeswalking sphinx who is still alive after all this time, only to trap him on a plane that the story will not revisit again for several years, if ever.
I fail to see how. "Something I don't like," or "something I think is a waste" =/= "piss-poor storytelling."
It doesn't have anything to do with my personal preference. It's the fact that those who have been following the MtG story in Ixalan have made predictions about Azor's involvement since the start (go ahead and check the Storyline forums if you don't believe me). He's a big character in the MTG multiverse, with a lot of expectations from readers (you know, the audience for whom these stories are written?). To simply introduce him in a bit part and essentially trap him on a backwoods plane that stands zero chance of getting any kind of exposure in the near future is poor storytelling. You'd typically use a nobody character for something like that. Someone forgettable that audiences aren't going to be clamoring to see more of in the future. Not one of the most profound individuals on Ravnica, one of the most popular planes in all of Magic.
Just to add, as SultaiAscendancy has pointed out multiple times, Azor can also be Jace's ticket out of the Living Guildpact job that he clearly hates, which in turn lets him do Gatewatch stuff more freely.
Unlike Jace, legislation is something one would presume Azor lives for, so he wouldn't mind being annoyed by Teysa or other guild officials, or having to do mountains of paperwork. Also, it's possible that Bolas has an interest in Ravnica, so for the sake of the plane's safety, it'd be better to have Azor around than not.
I hate to say this, but what hack wrote that? Its so absolutely terrible from a story standpoint. Its like any feelings or thoughts the two might have had about each other after going through all of that just got thrown out the window as they go back to the status quo.
Why would it go back to status quo? Just because Jace gets his memories back doesn't mean what happened on Ixalan and what he learned of Vraska and how the Azorius truly work. If they meet again he will, most likely, act less like she's a criminal and someone he cared for, which will probably confuse her.
There doesn't seem to be a reason to believe those two will go back to the same thing they did years ago with RTR block.
Jace might act different, but Vraska might as well not have existed on Ixalan in the first place. Even if he acts differently to her, he locked those memories away, making Vraska's mindset pre-Ixalan of Jace.
Just to add, as SultaiAscendancy has pointed out multiple times, Azor can also be Jace's ticket out of the Living Guildpact job that he clearly hates, which in turn lets him do Gatewatch stuff more freely.
Unlike Jace, legislation is something one would presume Azor lives for, so he wouldn't mind being annoyed by Teysa or other guild officials, or having to do mountains of paperwork. Also, it's possible that Bolas has an interest in Ravnica, so for the sake of the plane's safety, it'd be better to have Azor around than not.
It would be so funny if it turned out Azor was actually trying to avoid going back to Ravnica because of all the guild madness and created the Sun as an excuse not to leave.
Azor: You want me to go back and take over the Guildpact job? Why do you think I exiled myself to this backwater plane in the first place? I needed a break from the guilds requesting all manner of crazy, asinine legislation. Orzhov trying to legalize slavery, Rakdos lobbying for "Slaughter Sunday", Izzet trying to create "smart devices". And the media leeches! I could hardly scratch my back on a tree without some Dimir journalist trying to make a headline scandal out of it! The tree was Selesnyan, granted, but my back was itchy! And my assistants could be scary when paperwork got backed up.
Jace: I'm not feeling very prepared for this whole "Living Guildpact" gig.
Azor: You think I knew what I was getting into when I made that Guildpact thousands of years ago? Welcome to the club.
In more seriousness, could Azor actually be Alhammarret's ancestor, hence the resemblance?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I hope the big blue dinosaur has some kind of big water monster creature type for tribe support
I doubt it though.
I don't think Leviathan tribal is going to be a big thing for the foreseeable future (but then again, we got random Horse tribal support, so who knows).
Just to add, as SultaiAscendancy has pointed out multiple times, Azor can also be Jace's ticket out of the Living Guildpact job that he clearly hates, which in turn lets him do Gatewatch stuff more freely.
Unlike Jace, legislation is something one would presume Azor lives for, so he wouldn't mind being annoyed by Teysa or other guild officials, or having to do mountains of paperwork. Also, it's possible that Bolas has an interest in Ravnica, so for the sake of the plane's safety, it'd be better to have Azor around than not.
It would be so funny if it turned out Azor was actually trying to avoid going back to Ravnica because of all the guild madness and created the Sun as an excuse not to leave.
Azor: You want me to go back and take over the Guildpact job? Why do you think I exiled myself to this backwater plane in the first place? I needed a break from the guilds requesting all manner of crazy, asinine legislation. Orzhov trying to legalize slavery, Rakdos lobbying for "Slaughter Sunday", Izzet trying to create "smart devices". And the media leeches! I could hardly scratch my back on a tree without some Dimir journalist trying to make a headline scandal out of it! The tree was Selesnyan, granted, but my back was itchy! And my assistants could be scary when paperwork got backed up.
Jace: I'm not feeling very prepared for this whole "Living Guildpact" gig.
Azor: You think I knew what I was getting into when I made that Guildpact thousands of years ago? Welcome to the club.
In more seriousness, could Azor actually be Alhammarret's ancestor, hence the resemblance?
Possible although I doubt it, I think Azor is kinda suppose to be the perfect Sphinx or sort of an Ur Sphinx, not necessarily the father of all sphinxes but the ideal Sphinx that sphinx all other sphinxes aspire to be like whether they directly knew Azor or just model themselves based off legends and concepts about him
It doesn't sound like he seeded the multiverse with sphinxes although this is possible but rather that he impressed every sphinx he encountered to the point that they literally all aspire to be like him
although in all honesty how do sphinxes reproduce anyway?
Vraska might as well not have existed on Ixalan in the first place.
this is a dumb comment for several reasons. first of all, jace will go forward with the memory of their relationship on ixalan. secondly, we learned a lot about vraska's character. lastly, and perhaps most importantly, vraska stole the immortal sun and delivered it to nicol bolas who will likely use it to dominate the multiverse with his army of super zombies.
so the fact that she had her memory of jace wiped doesn't make her presence completely unimportant.
Vraska might as well not have existed on Ixalan in the first place.
this is a dumb comment for several reasons. first of all, jace will go forward with the memory of their relationship on ixalan. secondly, we learned a lot about vraska's character. lastly, and perhaps most importantly, vraska stole the immortal sun and delivered it to nicol bolas who will likely use it to dominate the multiverse with his army of super zombies.
so the fact that she had her memory of jace wiped doesn't make her presence completely unimportant.
From a character growth standpoint? Yes it does make her unimportant because her mind got wiped by Jace. Thats why its dumb, thats why I dislike it, that is why I think that plot point is hack writing.
There is no conesquence to be had from Bolas because Jace wiping her memory. Sure she delivered the immortal sun and is a minion of Bolas, but that is all you get. This same role could be fulfilled by any other minion of Bolas and get that same result. If Jace hadn't wiped her memory, it would have made Vraska that much more important to the story. He didn't even make a mental shield for her so that any thoughts or memories of Jace or betraying/scheming against Bolas. That some of her thoughts could become undetectable to Nicol Bolas. That in my opinion would count as a victory for the Gatewatch if he could turn Vraska into a double agent by allowing himself to trust someone.
From a character growth standpoint? Yes it does make her unimportant because her mind got wiped by Jace. Thats why its dumb, thats why I dislike it, that is why I think that plot point is hack writing.
She made Jace grow as a character which is something that was needed a long time ago, if she only served as a stepping stone for that, then yeah it is cheap writing, but the thing is we haven’t seen the actual writing. All we got is a roundup of things, from a source that we know isn’t that accurate when it comes to that stuff. The actual writing could be great, they made the Jace/Vraska “couple” grow on us, having Vraska ask Jace to manipulate her memory could be a great and impactful story, like the undoing of Avacyn, okay maybe not that impactful, but you get the point.
I can understand that the current state may upset you, I was indifferent on Vraska as a character before Ixalan, now I really like her and it makes me sad to see her “go”, but that’s also something a writer needs to invoke from time to time, sadness. It’s a sadness we could only feel if we lose something we care, which Vraska wasn’t before those stories. Is it cheap writing? I don’t know I haven’t seen the story yet, if he only seals her memories then she has a chance of remembering everything after she is done with Bolas, which is better than seeing her die or get the Tezzeret “Puppy” treatment.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
Vraska might as well not have existed on Ixalan in the first place.
this is a dumb comment for several reasons. first of all, jace will go forward with the memory of their relationship on ixalan. secondly, we learned a lot about vraska's character. lastly, and perhaps most importantly, vraska stole the immortal sun and delivered it to nicol bolas who will likely use it to dominate the multiverse with his army of super zombies.
so the fact that she had her memory of jace wiped doesn't make her presence completely unimportant.
From a character growth standpoint? Yes it does make her unimportant because her mind got wiped by Jace. Thats why its dumb, thats why I dislike it, that is why I think that plot point is hack writing.
There is no conesquence to be had from Bolas because Jace wiping her memory. Sure she delivered the immortal sun and is a minion of Bolas, but that is all you get. This same role could be fulfilled by any other minion of Bolas and get that same result. If Jace hadn't wiped her memory, it would have made Vraska that much more important to the story. He didn't even make a mental shield for her so that any thoughts or memories of Jace or betraying/scheming against Bolas. That some of her thoughts could become undetectable to Nicol Bolas. That in my opinion would count as a victory for the Gatewatch if he could turn Vraska into a double agent by allowing himself to trust someone.
I don't know if you read the artbook summary carefully, but Vraska asked Jace to "seal" her memories.
It's possible that she isn't going to permanently lose them, and they can be recovered later. So I would suggest not jumping to conclusions, as what you're saying is the better course of action could very well be what the story is actually going to do.
although in all honesty how do sphinxes reproduce anyway?
First the male sphinx mounts the female sphinx...
Now I'm getting images of Azor and Isperia being the Crucius and Sharuum of Ravnica.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
From a character growth standpoint? Yes it does make her unimportant because her mind got wiped by Jace. Thats why its dumb, thats why I dislike it, that is why I think that plot point is hack writing.
She made Jace grow as a character which is something that was needed a long time ago, if she only served as a stepping stone for that, then yeah it is cheap writing, but the thing is we haven’t seen the actual writing. All we got is a roundup of things, from a source that we know isn’t that accurate when it comes to that stuff. The actual writing could be great, they made the Jace/Vraska “couple” grow on us, having Vraska ask Jace to manipulate her memory could be a great and impactful story, like the undoing of Avacyn, okay maybe not that impactful, but you get the point.
I can understand that the current state may upset you, I was indifferent on Vraska as a character before Ixalan, now I really like her and it makes me sad to see her “go”, but that’s also something a writer needs to invoke from time to time, sadness. It’s a sadness we could only feel if we lose something we care, which Vraska wasn’t before those stories. Is it cheap writing? I don’t know I haven’t seen the story yet, if he only seals her memories then she has a chance of remembering everything after she is done with Bolas, which is better than seeing her die or get the Tezzeret “Puppy” treatment.
I agree in that we haven't seen all of the story. I don't want to see Jace just slip back into his old self. I'll also agree that I wasn't that enthusiastic about Vraska at first, but I grew to like her and how she interacted with Jace. With a plot point like "Jace gets flung onto Ixalan, a place he can't planeswalk away, he has no memories and becomes friends with an unlikely person" that can help serve as the means to help him grow.
What incredible storytelling! I can't wait to see what WotC has thought up for the Dominaria storyline!
The nightmares... oh the nightmares...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Arguing about the quality of the story based on a couple scanned pages of the artbook is like arguing about the quality of a movie based on a synopsis on imdb.
Maybe...wait until we actually have the proper story and not just an outline?
What incredible storytelling! I can't wait to see what WotC has thought up for the Dominaria storyline!
The nightmares... oh the nightmares...
I'm afraid to think about what they will do with sweet ravnica.
We actually have a good set up for Ravnica 3 honestly.
You have Jace being gone for months
The Orzhov ghosts being slimy
A Golgari Faction wanting to rise up against the Guildpact system
Ral being a Bolas Agent.
Jarad vs Vraska, since we have now seen both are generally good people, I would add Jace into this pot but yeah the Mindwipe was a thing, hopefully he does it in a way that he can undo it.
As for the second part, Eldrazi don't planeswalk, they just move through Blind Eternities. I don't think Binding could stop them. Even if yes, by consuming whole plane they would inevitably destroy Immortal Sun, so that wouldn't work for long.
As for first, possible, but not probable. Planeswalkers may enter this plane normally, but can't leave, why would it work totally different for Eldrazi?
No you don't need city's blessing
If ghalta doesn't need it neither does the other 5
Oh I have special news that 5colors found more than happy to be wrong
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/169042554788/hi-mark-can-i-get-a-maybe-for-a-mardu-vampire-and
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/169049713348/why-did-the-dinosaurs-on-ixalan-suddenly-change
The UB elder dinosaurs are the only UB
It doesn't have anything to do with my personal preference. It's the fact that those who have been following the MtG story in Ixalan have made predictions about Azor's involvement since the start (go ahead and check the Storyline forums if you don't believe me). He's a big character in the MTG multiverse, with a lot of expectations from readers (you know, the audience for whom these stories are written?). To simply introduce him in a bit part and essentially trap him on a backwoods plane that stands zero chance of getting any kind of exposure in the near future is poor storytelling. You'd typically use a nobody character for something like that. Someone forgettable that audiences aren't going to be clamoring to see more of in the future. Not one of the most profound individuals on Ravnica, one of the most popular planes in all of Magic.
Just to add, as SultaiAscendancy has pointed out multiple times, Azor can also be Jace's ticket out of the Living Guildpact job that he clearly hates, which in turn lets him do Gatewatch stuff more freely.
Unlike Jace, legislation is something one would presume Azor lives for, so he wouldn't mind being annoyed by Teysa or other guild officials, or having to do mountains of paperwork. Also, it's possible that Bolas has an interest in Ravnica, so for the sake of the plane's safety, it'd be better to have Azor around than not.
It would be so funny if it turned out Azor was actually trying to avoid going back to Ravnica because of all the guild madness and created the Sun as an excuse not to leave.
Azor: You want me to go back and take over the Guildpact job? Why do you think I exiled myself to this backwater plane in the first place? I needed a break from the guilds requesting all manner of crazy, asinine legislation. Orzhov trying to legalize slavery, Rakdos lobbying for "Slaughter Sunday", Izzet trying to create "smart devices". And the media leeches! I could hardly scratch my back on a tree without some Dimir journalist trying to make a headline scandal out of it! The tree was Selesnyan, granted, but my back was itchy! And my assistants could be scary when paperwork got backed up.
Jace: I'm not feeling very prepared for this whole "Living Guildpact" gig.
Azor: You think I knew what I was getting into when I made that Guildpact thousands of years ago? Welcome to the club.
In more seriousness, could Azor actually be Alhammarret's ancestor, hence the resemblance?
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I doubt it though.
I don't think Leviathan tribal is going to be a big thing for the foreseeable future (but then again, we got random Horse tribal support, so who knows).
Possible although I doubt it, I think Azor is kinda suppose to be the perfect Sphinx or sort of an Ur Sphinx, not necessarily the father of all sphinxes but the ideal Sphinx that sphinx all other sphinxes aspire to be like whether they directly knew Azor or just model themselves based off legends and concepts about him
It doesn't sound like he seeded the multiverse with sphinxes although this is possible but rather that he impressed every sphinx he encountered to the point that they literally all aspire to be like him
although in all honesty how do sphinxes reproduce anyway?
this is a dumb comment for several reasons. first of all, jace will go forward with the memory of their relationship on ixalan. secondly, we learned a lot about vraska's character. lastly, and perhaps most importantly, vraska stole the immortal sun and delivered it to nicol bolas who will likely use it to dominate the multiverse with his army of super zombies.
so the fact that she had her memory of jace wiped doesn't make her presence completely unimportant.
There is no conesquence to be had from Bolas because Jace wiping her memory. Sure she delivered the immortal sun and is a minion of Bolas, but that is all you get. This same role could be fulfilled by any other minion of Bolas and get that same result. If Jace hadn't wiped her memory, it would have made Vraska that much more important to the story. He didn't even make a mental shield for her so that any thoughts or memories of Jace or betraying/scheming against Bolas. That some of her thoughts could become undetectable to Nicol Bolas. That in my opinion would count as a victory for the Gatewatch if he could turn Vraska into a double agent by allowing himself to trust someone.
She made Jace grow as a character which is something that was needed a long time ago, if she only served as a stepping stone for that, then yeah it is cheap writing, but the thing is we haven’t seen the actual writing. All we got is a roundup of things, from a source that we know isn’t that accurate when it comes to that stuff. The actual writing could be great, they made the Jace/Vraska “couple” grow on us, having Vraska ask Jace to manipulate her memory could be a great and impactful story, like the undoing of Avacyn, okay maybe not that impactful, but you get the point.
I can understand that the current state may upset you, I was indifferent on Vraska as a character before Ixalan, now I really like her and it makes me sad to see her “go”, but that’s also something a writer needs to invoke from time to time, sadness. It’s a sadness we could only feel if we lose something we care, which Vraska wasn’t before those stories. Is it cheap writing? I don’t know I haven’t seen the story yet, if he only seals her memories then she has a chance of remembering everything after she is done with Bolas, which is better than seeing her die or get the Tezzeret “Puppy” treatment.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
I don't know if you read the artbook summary carefully, but Vraska asked Jace to "seal" her memories.
It's possible that she isn't going to permanently lose them, and they can be recovered later. So I would suggest not jumping to conclusions, as what you're saying is the better course of action could very well be what the story is actually going to do.
First the male sphinx mounts the female sphinx...
Now I'm getting images of Azor and Isperia being the Crucius and Sharuum of Ravnica.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I stand corrected
The nightmares... oh the nightmares...
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm afraid to think about what they will do with sweet ravnica.
Art student, EDH lover and a strong believer that Delver has the best design in all of MTG.
We've already got a time travel storyline, so this time it was all just a dream?
Is it really that difficult to fathom that the story might not play out how we're expecting it to based on this artbook summary?
It may be better, it may be exactly the same or it may be worse, but at least let the bombs drop fully before slaying Creative.
Maybe...wait until we actually have the proper story and not just an outline?
We actually have a good set up for Ravnica 3 honestly.
You have Jace being gone for months
The Orzhov ghosts being slimy
A Golgari Faction wanting to rise up against the Guildpact system
Ral being a Bolas Agent.
Jarad vs Vraska, since we have now seen both are generally good people, I would add Jace into this pot but yeah the Mindwipe was a thing, hopefully he does it in a way that he can undo it.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan