We know it will be black, as that is a pretty solid part of their color identity. I could also see it being green due to their abilities (draining power and toughness, gaining life from creatures dying, that sort of thing) and parts of their philosophy (they seem unhappy with killing unnecessarily, they know and appreciate their place in "the Great Conduit," they get along with Nissa, etc.).
A bigger question in my mind is whether Yahenni will be a legendary creature or a planeswalker. There's really no evidence to suggest they will be a planeswalker, other than the fact that, assuming it would be BG, it would balance out the colors for the block. That said, they are getting a lot of focus in this set and they would represent an exciting and unique addition to the current planeswalker pantheon.
Still, there's more evidence against Yahenni sparking in this set. For starters, assuming Tezz and Ajani both get cards, there would be no room as we would already have 6 walkers which is above average. Yahenni could push Tezz out, as it's reasonable that he could show up in Amonkhet instead, but I don't think it's likely. Also, as much as I would love to see a Yahenni planeswalker, I think there are more compelling, flavorful, and synergistic designs for them as a creature.
Anyway, that's my speculation. What do you guys think?
I don't think they will end up a walker for two primary reasons:
1. Spark ignition. It's hard to think of a more traumatic moment than feeling powerless at their imminent death while watching their friend being beaten to death. If they were to spark, I reckon they would have done so by now.
2. Character difficulties. At then end of the most recent story, they had less than a month to live. WOTC likes making walkers they can use again later. I think it would get tiresome explaining how they continued to live for years while maintaining that moral struggle that makes them so compelling a character.
I could be wrong, but I think they're headed for some sort of tragic self-sacrificing storyline where they die to save a gatewatch member or something similar.
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EDH UBRJeleva, Nephalia's Scourge BWTeysa,Orzhov Scion GWKarametra, God of Harvests UW Dragonlord Ojutai R Daretti, Scrap Savant
I figure Yahenni will be WB, since she has moral quandaries about essence draining.
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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.
The Planeswalker colors are already balanced, and Yahenni has no evidence of their being a planeswalker.
(Balance being 1.0 White, 1.5 Blue, 0.5 Black, 1.5 Red, 1.5 Green. Kaladesh isn't a very evil grim plane.)
From the two stories, Monoblack does not seem to fit on a character level. They just aren't that self-interested enough to really feel the role of a monoblack legend. Their anger at the consulate isn't driven by the 'rights of all people' it's far more personal than that, which is in Green or Red's camp of getting angry, not white. Blue is right out.
So I'm going to go with a BG legendary creature on the grounds that a Yahenni EDH that can't run Nissa feels wrong. I feel like she'll have Deathtouch + when ~ destroys a creature good stuff happens for you. Probably on a decent body but nothing too aggressive.
Given that Yahenni gives herself -I know aether born identify neutral but for some reason Yahenni reads feminine to me- more life time by "eating" living things lifelink would be a safe call on a keyword.
On the plains walker note I wouldn't think aether born could be walkers, sense they are basically made of pure energy wouldn't they be more akin to angels or demons, neither of which can have sparks because they are made of pure mana?
To show the whole life-extending business, they could be 0/0 with a bunch of +1/+1 counters, losing one each turn and replenishing some when they kill something. And deathtouch is pretty much a given. That would capture the flavor and also sits neatly in the BG part of the Pie.
What exactly is green about Yahenni? Sure, they like Nissa, but Chandra likes Gideon, doesn't make her white (altough it's not her worst choice for a secondary color, given her altruistic side). Yahenni has a problem with killing, but it's because they find it morally reprehensible, not unnatural.
Given that Yahenni gives herself -I know aether born identify neutral but for some reason Yahenni reads feminine to me- more life time by "eating" living things lifelink would be a safe call on a keyword.
On the plains walker note I wouldn't think aether born could be walkers, sense they are basically made of pure energy wouldn't they be more akin to angels or demons, neither of which can have sparks because they are made of pure mana?
Correction: Angels and Demons cannot be born with a spark because they're artificial, much like with Golems. However, sparks can be transferred to them from another being. Aetherborn presumably work the same way.
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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.
What exactly is green about Yahenni? Sure, they like Nissa, but Chandra likes Gideon, doesn't make her white (altough it's not her worst choice for a secondary color, given her altruistic side). Yahenni has a problem with killing, but it's because they find it morally reprehensible, not unnatural.
I'd say Yahenni's empathic nature falls in that blurry space between red and green. You can view the empathic gregarious nature of Yahenni at a party in the emotional place of red or the instinctual place of green as easy as each other. Green feels a little better based off the conversation with Gonti and the rapport with Nissa back during Kaladesh stories.
The internal countdown, the knowing exactly how long you have doesn't fall anywhere itself. But Yahenni openly greeting it (with their own grandeur of a party and a high life) also adds to that somewhere in Green's Destiny and Red's 'Live Now.' Basically I'm leaning more toward green, but off of a 50/50 split. The Black/Green dynamic of the Sultai seem to fit with a lot of the Aetherborn lifestyle, but at the same time Rakdos 'high on life experiences' would also fit.
Basically White and Blue just are out. White feels like it could fit due to the life draining (which is typically in White/Black) and morality of stealing life, but everything else in Yahenni's story doesn't fit to White's wheelhouse of sacrifice and morality.
It mentions she has twenty-two days to live. This story article was posted on November 30.
Anyone else find that more than a little cute, that Yahenni will possibly 'die' during the winter solstice, aka three days before Christmas?
I think she's going to drain a walker and take their spark on the day she's supposed to die. She may even disappear, having apparently died, for three days, until she returns from her first planeswalk.
And that's when we get our Christmas spoiler of Yahenni's planeswalker card.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Aetherborn don't use a gender pronoun. That is made abundantly clear in the storyline. Please refrain from using 'she' because it makes little sense to Yahenni's character.
Yahenni's greatest skill is their ability to drain life. I'm wondering about something like:
The gender pronoun thing occurred to me as I proofread my post, and I almost changed it until I realized
Just how many instances of gendered pronouns there were to change in my post and how little time I had left to spend.
As a B-aligned character, Yahenni would endorse my freedom of speech.
I interpret many qualities in my reading of Yahenni's character to be culturally feminine, and am entitled to my expression of this and use of 'she' thereof.
I felt the point I made in my post had greater significance.
It's common convention to use gendered pronouns for subjects without gender, since the pluralism in 'they' often lends itself to vague address and 'it' lends itself to referencing objects in sentences.
Anyway viridiancircle I do like your mockup has Yahenni as mono black, though I still expect a planeswalker card
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
If she costs 3 it would have wonderful synergy with Yahenni's Expertise. Perhaps 1GB or 1BB. Yahenni is a very black character, so perhaps BBB?
Well, them not having this synergy would be a major flavor fail, unless there is another Yahenni-centric card that has it. I mean, why else would they put that bit on a spell that is all about draining life?
Two things:
A Yahenni 'walker card would either be a seventh planeswalker this block, or pushes Tezzeret out of this block proper. Even if his Introwalker card isn't Pyrogenius terrible, I don't see the set villain getting pushed out.
I think Yahenni surviving their own spell is just as important as Yahenni being castable off the spell's flavor rider. So 3 toughness doesn't feel on the ball (unless they have a text rider that says this card cannot have power/toughness reduced).
Just because Yahenni would be the seventh planeswalker in a block doesn't mean Wizards would never do it. It's just unusual.
We could safely guess Amonkhet could feature less than the four or five average, for instance. Indeed it might, just to keep the focus on Nicol Bolas.
Also 3 tougness for a creature card would be fine, because the -3/-3 effect of Yahenni's Expertise resolves prior to the free 3 cmc cast effect.
By the time the creature card would come in, it wouldn't be affected.
I'm still holding out for a planeswalker. Yahenni is too cool and has too much potential not to be.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
I am about 90% certain Maro replied to an ask that confirmed that Ajani and Tezzeret are the only walkers in this set, but that post seems to be missing... as are a few others I recall from last week on the subject of planeswalkers. If I'm not imagining things, he probably deleted them for revealing too much.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
It mentions she has twenty-two days to live. This story article was posted on November 30.
Anyone else find that more than a little cute, that Yahenni will possibly 'die' during the winter solstice, aka three days before Christmas?
I think she's going to drain a walker and take their spark on the day she's supposed to die. She may even disappear, having apparently died, for three days, until she returns from her first planeswalk.
And that's when we get our Christmas spoiler of Yahenni's planeswalker card.
Calling it, it's just too perfect.
I really like this theory. It'd also balance things out if she ended up mono-black as well. Good story ideas - you should be the one writing for them, haha!
Yahenni is not going to be a PW, and Yahenni's not going to be mono black, IMO. Let's make an assumption here that they started a cycle of enemy-colored Legendary creatures in Kaladesh and will finish that cycle in Aether Revolt. The cards we have thus far are:
BG - most likely to be Yahenni UR - not going to be Yahenni (and apparently also not going to be the UR artifact-themed Legend Commander players want)
This seems pretty likely, given their propensity to finish cycles (excluding rare land cycles, of course!). Another reason for Yahenni not being mono black is because Gonti already fills that role. Having one doesn't preclude having a second, but it would be abnormal.
I still feel like Yahenni belongs in WB. She was hung up on making sure she only drained "the bad ones who deserve it". Plus we just got twoBG legends in SOI block.
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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.
Yahenni is not going to be a PW, and Yahenni's not going to be mono black, IMO. Let's make an assumption here that they started a cycle of enemy-colored Legendary creatures in Kaladesh and will finish that cycle in Aether Revolt. The cards we have thus far are:
BG - most likely to be Yahenni UR - not going to be Yahenni (and apparently also not going to be the UR artifact-themed Legend Commander players want)
This seems pretty likely, given their propensity to finish cycles (excluding rare land cycles, of course!). Another reason for Yahenni not being mono black is because Gonti already fills that role. Having one doesn't preclude having a second, but it would be abnormal.
There's no actual cycle parity (outside of lands because lands are sorta... unique on that front) unless the set says there needs to be. Thus far nothing in Kaladesh says Legendary creatures have to follow specific rules. As both BfZ and SoI were not looking for any parity in their characters and colors. Just that certain pairs/colors needed a level of existing thanks to the sort of planes in question. Zendikar got two RG Legends. Innistrad got a spread of legends based on the tribes in question (White for Angels, BR for Vampires, RG for Werewolves).
I still feel like Yahenni belongs in WB. She was hung up on making sure she only drained "the bad ones who deserve it". Plus we just got twoBG legends in SOI block.
And two BG for 'horrible kill you monsters' because Innistrad is not your friend. So yes, they could do two WB legends in Kaladesh block, but WB isn't really the core of the plane's dynamic. And if the "Aetherborn Vampire" typing is correct, then making Yahenni work with Innistrad Vampires would put Red on the table instead of White.
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We know it will be black, as that is a pretty solid part of their color identity. I could also see it being green due to their abilities (draining power and toughness, gaining life from creatures dying, that sort of thing) and parts of their philosophy (they seem unhappy with killing unnecessarily, they know and appreciate their place in "the Great Conduit," they get along with Nissa, etc.).
A bigger question in my mind is whether Yahenni will be a legendary creature or a planeswalker. There's really no evidence to suggest they will be a planeswalker, other than the fact that, assuming it would be BG, it would balance out the colors for the block. That said, they are getting a lot of focus in this set and they would represent an exciting and unique addition to the current planeswalker pantheon.
Still, there's more evidence against Yahenni sparking in this set. For starters, assuming Tezz and Ajani both get cards, there would be no room as we would already have 6 walkers which is above average. Yahenni could push Tezz out, as it's reasonable that he could show up in Amonkhet instead, but I don't think it's likely. Also, as much as I would love to see a Yahenni planeswalker, I think there are more compelling, flavorful, and synergistic designs for them as a creature.
Anyway, that's my speculation. What do you guys think?
1. Spark ignition. It's hard to think of a more traumatic moment than feeling powerless at their imminent death while watching their friend being beaten to death. If they were to spark, I reckon they would have done so by now.
2. Character difficulties. At then end of the most recent story, they had less than a month to live. WOTC likes making walkers they can use again later. I think it would get tiresome explaining how they continued to live for years while maintaining that moral struggle that makes them so compelling a character.
I could be wrong, but I think they're headed for some sort of tragic self-sacrificing storyline where they die to save a gatewatch member or something similar.
UBRJeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
BWTeysa,Orzhov Scion
GWKarametra, God of Harvests
UW Dragonlord Ojutai
R Daretti, Scrap Savant
Modern
GB Tron
UW UW Control
RGWMayael the AnimaRGW
UBRMarchesa, the Black RoseUBR
Modern Decks
RGWNaya BurnRGW
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 know it doesnt mean its impossible we get another w/b legendary but i think he/she it will either be b/u or b/g or even b/u/g
i just hope its something pushed like Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet and not a Gonti, Lord of Luxury
top 5 anime of all time (tv, not books because dragon ball would be first)
1. Sword art online 2. Fairy tail 3. Naruto(shipuden) 4. Bleach 5. Claymore
(Balance being 1.0 White, 1.5 Blue, 0.5 Black, 1.5 Red, 1.5 Green. Kaladesh isn't a very evil grim plane.)
From the two stories, Monoblack does not seem to fit on a character level. They just aren't that self-interested enough to really feel the role of a monoblack legend. Their anger at the consulate isn't driven by the 'rights of all people' it's far more personal than that, which is in Green or Red's camp of getting angry, not white. Blue is right out.
So I'm going to go with a BG legendary creature on the grounds that a Yahenni EDH that can't run Nissa feels wrong. I feel like she'll have Deathtouch + when ~ destroys a creature good stuff happens for you. Probably on a decent body but nothing too aggressive.
On the plains walker note I wouldn't think aether born could be walkers, sense they are basically made of pure energy wouldn't they be more akin to angels or demons, neither of which can have sparks because they are made of pure mana?
Correction: Angels and Demons cannot be born with a spark because they're artificial, much like with Golems. However, sparks can be transferred to them from another being. Aetherborn presumably work the same way.
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.
The internal countdown, the knowing exactly how long you have doesn't fall anywhere itself. But Yahenni openly greeting it (with their own grandeur of a party and a high life) also adds to that somewhere in Green's Destiny and Red's 'Live Now.' Basically I'm leaning more toward green, but off of a 50/50 split. The Black/Green dynamic of the Sultai seem to fit with a lot of the Aetherborn lifestyle, but at the same time Rakdos 'high on life experiences' would also fit.
Basically White and Blue just are out. White feels like it could fit due to the life draining (which is typically in White/Black) and morality of stealing life, but everything else in Yahenni's story doesn't fit to White's wheelhouse of sacrifice and morality.
Not only do I hope she will be a planeswalker, but I think everything is falling into place for her to steal someone's spark.
A funny thing is, when you look at
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/dead-night-2016-11-30
It mentions she has twenty-two days to live. This story article was posted on November 30.
Anyone else find that more than a little cute, that Yahenni will possibly 'die' during the winter solstice, aka three days before Christmas?
I think she's going to drain a walker and take their spark on the day she's supposed to die. She may even disappear, having apparently died, for three days, until she returns from her first planeswalk.
And that's when we get our Christmas spoiler of Yahenni's planeswalker card.
Calling it, it's just too perfect.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
Yahenni's greatest skill is their ability to drain life. I'm wondering about something like:
1BB
Lifelink
3BB: CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target creature.
2/3
Custom Card / Set Reviewer
When reviewing custom cards / sets, I look for (a) flavour, (b) function, and (c) cohesiveness, generally through a risk focus.
Anyway viridiancircle I do like your mockup has Yahenni as mono black, though I still expect a planeswalker card
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
UBRKess, Dissident MageUBR - Controlling Dissidents
GRhonas the IndomitableG - Indomitable Four Drops
WUBOloro, Ageless AsceticWUB - Loot & Renanimate
Well, them not having this synergy would be a major flavor fail, unless there is another Yahenni-centric card that has it. I mean, why else would they put that bit on a spell that is all about draining life?
A Yahenni 'walker card would either be a seventh planeswalker this block, or pushes Tezzeret out of this block proper. Even if his Introwalker card isn't Pyrogenius terrible, I don't see the set villain getting pushed out.
I think Yahenni surviving their own spell is just as important as Yahenni being castable off the spell's flavor rider. So 3 toughness doesn't feel on the ball (unless they have a text rider that says this card cannot have power/toughness reduced).
We could safely guess Amonkhet could feature less than the four or five average, for instance. Indeed it might, just to keep the focus on Nicol Bolas.
Also 3 tougness for a creature card would be fine, because the -3/-3 effect of Yahenni's Expertise resolves prior to the free 3 cmc cast effect.
By the time the creature card would come in, it wouldn't be affected.
I'm still holding out for a planeswalker. Yahenni is too cool and has too much potential not to be.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
I really like this theory. It'd also balance things out if she ended up mono-black as well. Good story ideas - you should be the one writing for them, haha!
WR - Depala, Pilot Exemplar
WB - Kambal, Consul of Allocation
GU - Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Leftover we have:
BG - most likely to be Yahenni
UR - not going to be Yahenni (and apparently also not going to be the UR artifact-themed Legend Commander players want)
This seems pretty likely, given their propensity to finish cycles (excluding rare land cycles, of course!). Another reason for Yahenni not being mono black is because Gonti already fills that role. Having one doesn't preclude having a second, but it would be abnormal.
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.
And two BG for 'horrible kill you monsters' because Innistrad is not your friend. So yes, they could do two WB legends in Kaladesh block, but WB isn't really the core of the plane's dynamic. And if the "Aetherborn Vampire" typing is correct, then making Yahenni work with Innistrad Vampires would put Red on the table instead of White.