I just noticed that a) Karametra's Blessing is actually pretty good, potentially giving full protection to a creature at W and b) Its art would accurately represent its main use in Standard if Oko was still legal.
Don't know if others noticed this and mentioned it already but another weak thing is that there isn't a single enchantment creature with Constellation. Last time literally everything with Constellation was an enchantment and most were also creatures. Honestly, this set has plenty of good cards but it's pretty disappointing. I'm just not feeling the theme as much as last visit.
Don't know if others noticed this and mentioned it already but another weak thing is that there isn't a single enchantment creature with Constellation. Last time literally everything with Constellation was an enchantment and most were also creatures. Honestly, this set has plenty of good cards but it's pretty disappointing. I'm just not feeling the theme as much as last visit.
WotC has been upfront that they intentionally did Constellation on non-enchantment creatures for play design reasons. I think the enchantment theme is stronger here than in the first two sets of Theros, which had relatively little in the way of actual enchantment matters, and comparable to Journey into Nyx. Plenty of Constellation cards and a bunch of additional miscellaneous enchantment matters cards. It's less 'loud' in a way because more of the enchantment creature cards are just creatures that are also enchantments and not Bestow creatures or Constellation creatures.
This is quite arguably a very weak set (where’s all the evasion?!), and - so far as I’m personally concerned - yawn inducing on the order of magnitude of Amonkhet. So unexcited and ready to move on already; no wonder there was much ado about the other upcoming sets leading into this spoiler season.
Also: that story article? Horribly written. I could teach a high schooler to do better.
I'm personally feeling the theme, first Theros set had no enchantment mechanic and no non-creature non-aura enchantments until Journey into Nyx. This time the enchantment stuff doesn't feel like an after thought.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
A couple of times during spoiler season the team variously said (and I'm paraphrasing a little) "we f***ed up, wasted a bunch of time getting it wrong and then course corrected. The new set is gonna be, well, a set". (The Stygian mechanic, overly complicated cards that were caught late in the dev cycle and needed a quick fix).
They weren't wrong about that. This is 264 new cards alright. There are things to live about this set and there are some really weird things that seem to be the result of getting it wrong.
Building M:TG is a hard job, I'm glad it isn't mine. The R&D team put their heart and soul into it. This is going to be a fun set to play and there are cards I love at all rarities but there's those weird gaps.
Yeah, I think they deserve at least a little sympathy. Solidarity for the labor at MtG.
The lack of a developed story for Theros is the most unfortunate part. One of the main benefits of a set that returns to an established plane is that it gives you an opportunity to deepen the storyline, provide character development, and build a coherent plot through larger story arcs. These were issues they had when they kept on going to a new setting every block. After the presumed end of the Bolas arc with Ravnica, Theros was the first plane where old plot threads were present to be picked up. But the most we have to show for that is a synopsis, so the narrative is pretty much in limbo. That's something that I feel is especially critical to resolve since Bolas was honestly a terrible villain and we need to move on to something better asap.
A couple of times during spoiler season the team variously said (and I'm paraphrasing a little) "we f***ed up, wasted a bunch of time getting it wrong and then course corrected. The new set is gonna be, well, a set". (The Stygian mechanic, overly complicated cards that were caught late in the dev cycle and needed a quick fix).
They weren't wrong about that. This is 264 new cards alright. There are things to live about this set and there are some really weird things that seem to be the result of getting it wrong.
Building M:TG is a hard job, I'm glad it isn't mine. The R&D team put their heart and soul into it. This is going to be a fun set to play and there are cards I love at all rarities but there's those weird gaps.
Yeah, I think they deserve at least a little sympathy. Solidarity for the labor at MtG.
The lack of a developed story for Theros is the most unfortunate part. One of the main benefits of a set that returns to an established plane is that it gives you an opportunity to deepen the storyline, provide character development, and build a coherent plot through larger story arcs. These were issues they had when they kept on going to a new setting every block. After the presumed end of the Bolas arc with Ravnica, Theros was the first plane where old plot threads were present to be picked up. But the most we have to show for that is a synopsis, so the narrative is pretty much in limbo. That's something that I feel is especially critical to resolve since Bolas was honestly a terrible villain and we need to move on to something better asap.
I'm hoping that Ikoria brings us some delightful new story directions. I'd almost be happy to see the very early stages of a new phyrexian invasion, then leave that plane for like 2 years and come back to see it progressing.
Now that the titans are loose we have some new Eldrazi-ish baddies to use for some plot. What existing antagonists do we have left in the MTG multiverse except for Phyrexia?
Now that the titans are loose we have some new Eldrazi-ish baddies to use for some plot. What existing antagonists do we have left in the MTG multiverse except for Phyrexia?
There's no telling how far Phyrexia has spread thanks to Karn. Elspeth's unnamed home plane was ruled by Phyrexia. So there's plenty to do there. Other than that we have Emrakul who locked itself in the moon for reasons only known to it. There's also whatever is going on with the Raven Man and the Chain Veil. And the Hunt for Lili(Ana?), Dovin, and Tezzeret. And with all the knowledge and resources Tezz had he could probably, himself, be a big bad. He also has ties to Phyrexia.
This is less of a design & development failure than BFZ. It could have been worse.
They made a set, its not pretty, mistakes were made, a lot of patchwork holds it together, but it works. Its a functional set. It treads heavily into trodden ground and especially blurs the lines of 'arbitrary markers' like BFZ did (what does it mean to be a 'colorless' permanent? What does it mean to be an 'enchantment'?), and it didn't flesh out its scope even as much as the original Theros did (I know what an enchantment on Theros 1.0 was, and it wasn't an artifact equivalent). Escape just remixed older graveyard recursion mechanics with both the risky 'reusable indefinitely' clause as well as the self-limiting resource clause. Its a clunky mashup but at least designwise it both gives a payoff and a safety valve to keep it in check, again, not pretty, but functional. And the story, well, at least they have a clear vision in mind, its telling a coherent narrative, just not fleshed out, not given the resources it should have. Oh well. It could have been BFZ, it could have been worse.
So does anyone know where the missing gods are? Ephara and company?:frown:
It was mentioned early on that the other nine gods aren't in the set for space reasons. There isn't space for the nine of them in the mythic slot, apparently.
And the Hunt for Lili(Ana?), Dovin, and Tezzeret. And with all the knowledge and resources Tezz had he could probably, himself, be a big bad. He also has ties to Phyrexia.
The fate of Dovin was described in the book War of the Spark: Forsaken. Also, in that book, Liliana was found.
The lack of a developed story for Theros is the most unfortunate part. One of the main benefits of a set that returns to an established plane is that it gives you an opportunity to deepen the storyline, provide character development, and build a coherent plot through larger story arcs. These were issues they had when they kept on going to a new setting every block. After the presumed end of the Bolas arc with Ravnica, Theros was the first plane where old plot threads were present to be picked up. But the most we have to show for that is a synopsis, so the narrative is pretty much in limbo. That's something that I feel is especially critical to resolve since Bolas was honestly a terrible villain and we need to move on to something better asap.
Given the arguably substandard storywriting of the War of the Spark novels and past novels and some of the web stories, we may be better off with synopses for the set narratives and let the fans fill the gaps with their headcanons.
Well, the set is a mess. The main problem is mechanics: They have three major themes in the mechanics that have nothing to do with one another and do not operate together (devotion, enchantments-matter and escape/graveyard recursion). They should have focused on just one or maybe two at most. Given Theros's thematic history, Escape was a mistake, and they could have made a better and more cohesive set without it, or perhaps limiting it to a non-keyworded ability for just a few cards, like maybe just Elspeth and the titans themselves. And of course it's not a top-down set, either, with essentially zero plot or character development. It certainly won't satisfy anyone who wanted a return to Theros, since those people mostly wanted an expansion of the Greek mythology (not really explored other than token nods), more enchantment-matters stuff (what they did for enchantments in this set is weak and kind of a joke) and devotion (also pretty weak), and no one asked for more graveyard mechanics.
The lack of a developed story for Theros is the most unfortunate part. One of the main benefits of a set that returns to an established plane is that it gives you an opportunity to deepen the storyline, provide character development, and build a coherent plot through larger story arcs. These were issues they had when they kept on going to a new setting every block. After the presumed end of the Bolas arc with Ravnica, Theros was the first plane where old plot threads were present to be picked up. But the most we have to show for that is a synopsis, so the narrative is pretty much in limbo. That's something that I feel is especially critical to resolve since Bolas was honestly a terrible villain and we need to move on to something better asap.
Given the arguably substandard storywriting of the War of the Spark novels and past novels and some of the web stories, we may be better off with synopses for the set narratives and let the fans fill the gaps with their headcanons.
I haven't even had my coffee yet today. What a super depressing comment.
I actually think escape is a pretty good graveyard mechanic. It's just too bad it had to be on Theros in a single set taking up a massive amount of space not only in itself but with all the grave hate they printed with it. Enchantments deserve to be explored mechanically with the same level of innovation that artifacts have received across several blocks. I resent that artifacts get all the love.
Overall, Theros Beyond Death is my favorite set in Magic. I really love some of the cards we saw added on the last day, namely Alirios, Chained to Memory and of course Medomai's Prophecy (from the leaks).
That said, it isn't without its flaws. We all know how vehemently opposed I am to the sore lack of lore and story for Return to Theros. We waited six years, and this is one of their most promising plot points, especially being self-contained and involving only Ajani from the Gatewatch. We needed a story like this after the Gatewatch fatigue, but we didn't get anything. No details, not even elaboration on Daxos and Elspeth's reunion or relationship or her motivations to depart the plane.
The set itself. I agree wholeheartedly that part of the set felt Bottom-up instead of Top-Down Greek Mythology. Especially Escape. I feel strongly opposed to Escape and more Graveyard mechanics. I really wish they had just let Theros Beyond Death be Top-Down Greek Mythology World and let this be more of a survey of Theros and its Underworld. Like a journey, the way Ixalan felt. It was just unnecessary to have Escape and all this mechanical baggage. I hate mechanics driven designs, or when sets are held back for a mechanic or because of limited and draft, etc.
That said, choosing to return Devotion and Constellation was absolutely the right call, as was delivering the mono-color gods, while depicting the other gods on various spells so they had a cameo. I loved the enchantment matters theme, getting Calix as an Enchantment Planeswalker, and getting a lot of Greek and Theros Myth flavor cards (such as Kiora Bests the Sea God, and Achilles, etc.). Personally, I would have skipped the Titans entirely and made Kruphix instead Uro, etc. though. Leave the Titans for a third visit. I know it was to have Escape, but again, I don't really approve of Escape and I wouldn't introduce something like the Titans only to make two cards for them. They probably should have canned Escape and saved the Titan concept for later.
Honestly, Theros deserves two sets to really be able to flesh out the story and the intentions. While I think the art and theme of this set is absolutely phenomenal, and truly my favorite set in the game thus far (will likely remain so until our third Theros visit), I did feel like this set felt a lot more dark and sinister. Our last visit to Theros felt idyllic, charming and vibrant. This set feels very somber and at times unnerving. Perhaps it's the Underworld and death depictions and the fact the gods are warring without buildup to that. Last Theros was introducing the plane and had more sets to build up to the conflict, whereas we drop right into the conflict with this one? And we also had a story that fleshed Theros out more before this. We had an opportunity to explore the world itself a bit more. This time Theros had a bit of sadness to it, not the bright balmy world I remember.
Heliod deserves punishment but I hope he doesn't die or fade away from lack of devotion. I really admire the Theros pantheon as it is, and while he does deserve to pay for his crimes, I'd like to see him on a third visit to Theros again. For the love of Thassa, don't bring Phyrexia to Theros. We have a very deep well of Greek Myth Legendary creatures we still need. Go wreck planes that lack a rich source material to mine from and just allow Theros to be Greece.
Overall, Theros Beyond Death is my favorite set in Magic. I really love some of the cards we saw added on the last day, namely Alirios, Chained to Memory and of course Medomai's Prophecy (from the leaks).
That said, it isn't without its flaws. We all know how vehemently opposed I am to the sore lack of lore and story for Return to Theros. We waited six years, and this is one of their most promising plot points, especially being self-contained and involving only Ajani from the Gatewatch. We needed a story like this after the Gatewatch fatigue, but we didn't get anything. No details, not even elaboration on Daxos and Elspeth's reunion or relationship or her motivations to depart the plane.
The set itself. I agree wholeheartedly that part of the set felt Bottom-up instead of Top-Down Greek Mythology. Especially Escape. I feel strongly opposed to Escape and more Graveyard mechanics. I really wish they had just let Theros Beyond Death be Top-Down Greek Mythology World and let this be more of a survey of Theros and its Underworld. Like a journey, the way Ixalan felt. It was just unnecessary to have Escape and all this mechanical baggage. I hate mechanics driven designs, or when sets are held back for a mechanic or because of limited and draft, etc.
That said, choosing to return Devotion and Constellation was absolutely the right call, as was delivering the mono-color gods, while depicting the other gods on various spells so they had a cameo. I loved the enchantment matters theme, getting Calix as an Enchantment Planeswalker, and getting a lot of Greek and Theros Myth flavor cards (such as Kiora Bests the Sea God, and Achilles, etc.). Personally, I would have skipped the Titans entirely and made Kruphix instead Uro, etc. though. Leave the Titans for a third visit. I know it was to have Escape, but again, I don't really approve of Escape and I wouldn't introduce something like the Titans only to make two cards for them. They probably should have canned Escape and saved the Titan concept for later.
Honestly, Theros deserves two sets to really be able to flesh out the story and the intentions. While I think the art and theme of this set is absolutely phenomenal, and truly my favorite set in the game thus far (will likely remain so until our third Theros visit), I did feel like this set felt a lot more dark and sinister. Our last visit to Theros felt idyllic, charming and vibrant. This set feels very somber and at times unnerving. Perhaps it's the Underworld and death depictions and the fact the gods are warring without buildup to that. Last Theros was introducing the plane and had more sets to build up to the conflict, whereas we drop right into the conflict with this one? And we also had a story that fleshed Theros out more before this. We had an opportunity to explore the world itself a bit more. This time Theros had a bit of sadness to it, not the bright balmy world I remember.
Heliod deserves punishment but I hope he doesn't die or fade away from lack of devotion. I really admire the Theros pantheon as it is, and while he does deserve to pay for his crimes, I'd like to see him on a third visit to Theros again. For the love of Thassa, don't bring Phyrexia to Theros. We have a very deep well of Greek Myth Legendary creatures we still need. Go wreck planes that lack a rich source material to mine from and just allow Theros to be Greece.
I think you have very poetically hit the nail on the head. Other than that as a devout fairy tales & myths guy Eldraine and Llorwyn trump Theros for me but that's a very personal decision.
Overall, Theros Beyond Death is my favorite set in Magic. I really love some of the cards we saw added on the last day, namely Alirios, Chained to Memory and of course Medomai's Prophecy (from the leaks).
That said, it isn't without its flaws. We all know how vehemently opposed I am to the sore lack of lore and story for Return to Theros. We waited six years, and this is one of their most promising plot points, especially being self-contained and involving only Ajani from the Gatewatch. We needed a story like this after the Gatewatch fatigue, but we didn't get anything. No details, not even elaboration on Daxos and Elspeth's reunion or relationship or her motivations to depart the plane.
The set itself. I agree wholeheartedly that part of the set felt Bottom-up instead of Top-Down Greek Mythology. Especially Escape. I feel strongly opposed to Escape and more Graveyard mechanics. I really wish they had just let Theros Beyond Death be Top-Down Greek Mythology World and let this be more of a survey of Theros and its Underworld. Like a journey, the way Ixalan felt. It was just unnecessary to have Escape and all this mechanical baggage. I hate mechanics driven designs, or when sets are held back for a mechanic or because of limited and draft, etc.
That said, choosing to return Devotion and Constellation was absolutely the right call, as was delivering the mono-color gods, while depicting the other gods on various spells so they had a cameo. I loved the enchantment matters theme, getting Calix as an Enchantment Planeswalker, and getting a lot of Greek and Theros Myth flavor cards (such as Kiora Bests the Sea God, and Achilles, etc.). Personally, I would have skipped the Titans entirely and made Kruphix instead Uro, etc. though. Leave the Titans for a third visit. I know it was to have Escape, but again, I don't really approve of Escape and I wouldn't introduce something like the Titans only to make two cards for them. They probably should have canned Escape and saved the Titan concept for later.
Honestly, Theros deserves two sets to really be able to flesh out the story and the intentions. While I think the art and theme of this set is absolutely phenomenal, and truly my favorite set in the game thus far (will likely remain so until our third Theros visit), I did feel like this set felt a lot more dark and sinister. Our last visit to Theros felt idyllic, charming and vibrant. This set feels very somber and at times unnerving. Perhaps it's the Underworld and death depictions and the fact the gods are warring without buildup to that. Last Theros was introducing the plane and had more sets to build up to the conflict, whereas we drop right into the conflict with this one? And we also had a story that fleshed Theros out more before this. We had an opportunity to explore the world itself a bit more. This time Theros had a bit of sadness to it, not the bright balmy world I remember.
Heliod deserves punishment but I hope he doesn't die or fade away from lack of devotion. I really admire the Theros pantheon as it is, and while he does deserve to pay for his crimes, I'd like to see him on a third visit to Theros again. For the love of Thassa, don't bring Phyrexia to Theros. We have a very deep well of Greek Myth Legendary creatures we still need. Go wreck planes that lack a rich source material to mine from and just allow Theros to be Greece.
I think you have very poetically hit the nail on the head. Other than that as a devout fairy tales & myths guy Eldraine and Llorwyn trump Theros for me but that's a very personal decision.
Thank you, I appreciate it. Glad I could convey my thoughts. I would like to add that I don't think Greg Weisman should be used as justification for having the story exclusively on cards with no web fiction or ebooks/novels. Greg Weisman was the exception, not the rule. He was an outsourced author that wrote two horrible novels that inflicted irreparable damage to the Magic brand. But that does not and cannot discredit the work of people such as Kelly Digges or Alison Lurhs, who contributed remarkable material to the Magic story and brand, which, had they continued with Theros Beyond Death, would have no doubt been coveted by many. I still remember even the competitive players talking about Heliod betraying Elspeth and Emrakul in the moon etc. between rounds while my group played Commander nearby. They'd jump into quick games with us if a round was taking long or they get the bye and actually surprised me with a respectable knowledge of the lore. My group and I would have weekly discussions about the story web articles over commander games, debating motivations or morals of characters, etc. It was always fun. The lore truly contributed something amazing to the game while in the hands of the in-house creative team, and seeing my favorite plane and storyline deprived of it this time was heartbreaking to say the least. Theros as another Greg Weisman causality only increased the pain that could have been limited to War of the Spark.
We shouldn't be departing Theros with a feeling like so much was left unaddressed. I wanted to know about Elspeth and Daxos's relationship, Daxos's mother, follow up with Thassa, see the characters and other gods, get some insight on Calix and his personality, and understand Kruphix's perspective on what transpired. To witness Elspeth's moment of glory against Heliod, and see what can or will become of him. We had the RG god appear and we know next to nothing about a new major Theros character. Ah, well. I hope all the new Commander products this year will feature some more glimpses of Theros. Commander Legends is a good place for some more Greek Myth figures like Antigone (who probably should have been in this set).
Next time, I'd like Theros to be completely Top-Down. And I would really appreciate WOTC to consider Nic Kelman's influence on the brand, please. Theros is the second example of an outcry. I really hope they're not awaiting a third scandal to finally sit down and evaluate the very apparent disaster. Kelly Digges's and Alison Lurhs's departures could arguably be considered a controversy in itself. I don't like to advocate for anyone to be harmed, but perhaps his talents are better suited in an alternate department.
Can anyone refresh me on all the 'crimes' Heliod committed?
Other than stabbing elspeth in the back, something she deserved for being overpowered anyway.
Can anyone refresh me on all the 'crimes' Helios committed?
Other than stabbing elspeth in the back, something she deserved for being overpowered anyway.
He was justified for a lot of his actions to be fair, including killing Elspeth to an extent. I lost respect for Heliod in this set when he instructed Daxos to erase all traces of the other gods so they’d be forgotten and lose devotion, thus dying, so that no one could overthrow him. That’s just evil and he deserved to be punished for trying to kill his brothers and sisters and be the only god left. Him trying to lead the pantheon is the root cause of most divine conflicts on Theros as well
Anax is the Uncommon legend in the Demigod cycle. Red got left out of the cycle of Taranika, Thryx, Aphemia, and Arasta.
I think Ox of Agonas should have been Legendary.
WotC has been upfront that they intentionally did Constellation on non-enchantment creatures for play design reasons. I think the enchantment theme is stronger here than in the first two sets of Theros, which had relatively little in the way of actual enchantment matters, and comparable to Journey into Nyx. Plenty of Constellation cards and a bunch of additional miscellaneous enchantment matters cards. It's less 'loud' in a way because more of the enchantment creature cards are just creatures that are also enchantments and not Bestow creatures or Constellation creatures.
RUNIN: Norse mythology set (awaiting further playtesting)
FATE of ALARA: Multicolour factions (currently on hiatus)
Contibutor to the Pyrulea community set
I'm here to tell you that all your set mechanics are bad
#Defundthepolice
Also: that story article? Horribly written. I could teach a high schooler to do better.
---
#BLM
#DefundThePolice
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Yeah, I think they deserve at least a little sympathy. Solidarity for the labor at MtG.
The lack of a developed story for Theros is the most unfortunate part. One of the main benefits of a set that returns to an established plane is that it gives you an opportunity to deepen the storyline, provide character development, and build a coherent plot through larger story arcs. These were issues they had when they kept on going to a new setting every block. After the presumed end of the Bolas arc with Ravnica, Theros was the first plane where old plot threads were present to be picked up. But the most we have to show for that is a synopsis, so the narrative is pretty much in limbo. That's something that I feel is especially critical to resolve since Bolas was honestly a terrible villain and we need to move on to something better asap.
I'm hoping that Ikoria brings us some delightful new story directions. I'd almost be happy to see the very early stages of a new phyrexian invasion, then leave that plane for like 2 years and come back to see it progressing.
There's no telling how far Phyrexia has spread thanks to Karn. Elspeth's unnamed home plane was ruled by Phyrexia. So there's plenty to do there. Other than that we have Emrakul who locked itself in the moon for reasons only known to it. There's also whatever is going on with the Raven Man and the Chain Veil. And the Hunt for Lili(Ana?), Dovin, and Tezzeret. And with all the knowledge and resources Tezz had he could probably, himself, be a big bad. He also has ties to Phyrexia.
They made a set, its not pretty, mistakes were made, a lot of patchwork holds it together, but it works. Its a functional set. It treads heavily into trodden ground and especially blurs the lines of 'arbitrary markers' like BFZ did (what does it mean to be a 'colorless' permanent? What does it mean to be an 'enchantment'?), and it didn't flesh out its scope even as much as the original Theros did (I know what an enchantment on Theros 1.0 was, and it wasn't an artifact equivalent). Escape just remixed older graveyard recursion mechanics with both the risky 'reusable indefinitely' clause as well as the self-limiting resource clause. Its a clunky mashup but at least designwise it both gives a payoff and a safety valve to keep it in check, again, not pretty, but functional. And the story, well, at least they have a clear vision in mind, its telling a coherent narrative, just not fleshed out, not given the resources it should have. Oh well. It could have been BFZ, it could have been worse.
Set had fantastic cards but you still say “I hate this set”
It was mentioned early on that the other nine gods aren't in the set for space reasons. There isn't space for the nine of them in the mythic slot, apparently.
The fate of Dovin was described in the book War of the Spark: Forsaken. Also, in that book, Liliana was found.
Given the arguably substandard storywriting of the War of the Spark novels and past novels and some of the web stories, we may be better off with synopses for the set narratives and let the fans fill the gaps with their headcanons.
I haven't even had my coffee yet today. What a super depressing comment.
I actually think escape is a pretty good graveyard mechanic. It's just too bad it had to be on Theros in a single set taking up a massive amount of space not only in itself but with all the grave hate they printed with it. Enchantments deserve to be explored mechanically with the same level of innovation that artifacts have received across several blocks. I resent that artifacts get all the love.
That said, it isn't without its flaws. We all know how vehemently opposed I am to the sore lack of lore and story for Return to Theros. We waited six years, and this is one of their most promising plot points, especially being self-contained and involving only Ajani from the Gatewatch. We needed a story like this after the Gatewatch fatigue, but we didn't get anything. No details, not even elaboration on Daxos and Elspeth's reunion or relationship or her motivations to depart the plane.
The set itself. I agree wholeheartedly that part of the set felt Bottom-up instead of Top-Down Greek Mythology. Especially Escape. I feel strongly opposed to Escape and more Graveyard mechanics. I really wish they had just let Theros Beyond Death be Top-Down Greek Mythology World and let this be more of a survey of Theros and its Underworld. Like a journey, the way Ixalan felt. It was just unnecessary to have Escape and all this mechanical baggage. I hate mechanics driven designs, or when sets are held back for a mechanic or because of limited and draft, etc.
That said, choosing to return Devotion and Constellation was absolutely the right call, as was delivering the mono-color gods, while depicting the other gods on various spells so they had a cameo. I loved the enchantment matters theme, getting Calix as an Enchantment Planeswalker, and getting a lot of Greek and Theros Myth flavor cards (such as Kiora Bests the Sea God, and Achilles, etc.). Personally, I would have skipped the Titans entirely and made Kruphix instead Uro, etc. though. Leave the Titans for a third visit. I know it was to have Escape, but again, I don't really approve of Escape and I wouldn't introduce something like the Titans only to make two cards for them. They probably should have canned Escape and saved the Titan concept for later.
Honestly, Theros deserves two sets to really be able to flesh out the story and the intentions. While I think the art and theme of this set is absolutely phenomenal, and truly my favorite set in the game thus far (will likely remain so until our third Theros visit), I did feel like this set felt a lot more dark and sinister. Our last visit to Theros felt idyllic, charming and vibrant. This set feels very somber and at times unnerving. Perhaps it's the Underworld and death depictions and the fact the gods are warring without buildup to that. Last Theros was introducing the plane and had more sets to build up to the conflict, whereas we drop right into the conflict with this one? And we also had a story that fleshed Theros out more before this. We had an opportunity to explore the world itself a bit more. This time Theros had a bit of sadness to it, not the bright balmy world I remember.
Heliod deserves punishment but I hope he doesn't die or fade away from lack of devotion. I really admire the Theros pantheon as it is, and while he does deserve to pay for his crimes, I'd like to see him on a third visit to Theros again. For the love of Thassa, don't bring Phyrexia to Theros. We have a very deep well of Greek Myth Legendary creatures we still need. Go wreck planes that lack a rich source material to mine from and just allow Theros to be Greece.
|| 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 think you have very poetically hit the nail on the head. Other than that as a devout fairy tales & myths guy Eldraine and Llorwyn trump Theros for me but that's a very personal decision.
We shouldn't be departing Theros with a feeling like so much was left unaddressed. I wanted to know about Elspeth and Daxos's relationship, Daxos's mother, follow up with Thassa, see the characters and other gods, get some insight on Calix and his personality, and understand Kruphix's perspective on what transpired. To witness Elspeth's moment of glory against Heliod, and see what can or will become of him. We had the RG god appear and we know next to nothing about a new major Theros character. Ah, well. I hope all the new Commander products this year will feature some more glimpses of Theros. Commander Legends is a good place for some more Greek Myth figures like Antigone (who probably should have been in this set).
Next time, I'd like Theros to be completely Top-Down. And I would really appreciate WOTC to consider Nic Kelman's influence on the brand, please. Theros is the second example of an outcry. I really hope they're not awaiting a third scandal to finally sit down and evaluate the very apparent disaster. Kelly Digges's and Alison Lurhs's departures could arguably be considered a controversy in itself. I don't like to advocate for anyone to be harmed, but perhaps his talents are better suited in an alternate department.
|| 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 ||
Other than stabbing elspeth in the back, something she deserved for being overpowered anyway.
|| 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 ||