Just want to put this out there. MaRo has been talking about how they design every world with a way to return to it and also talked about how Egyptian tropes are really two different categories. The first being the alive Egyptian world (like what Amonkhet is currently doing) and the dead Egyptian World that is discovered by future generations (like the Mummy movies).
I would bet dollars to donuts that any return to Amonkhet is exploring the second trope - i.e. unearthing the now dead world of Amonkhet. I mean hour of devastation essentially kills the world - leaving it to nicely set up for the future return to the "other side" of the Egyptian tropes.
Yes, that seems very likely. I thought the same thing based on what Maro says.
The other possibility is that the return block is a second confrontation between the Gatewatch and Bolas (since they obviously are going to lose the first one). It really depends on how this block ends though. If Bolas leaves and sees no reason to return, then the Gatewatch can fight him elsewhere and the return block can be all about Egyptian tomb-raiding ("dead Egypt"). But if Bolas stays on Amonkhet with his zombie army and uses the plane as his personal headquarters, then the return block might be Gatewatch vs. Bolas.
I do think that dead Egypt is the more likely of the two, mainly because Maro mentioned how they deliberately avoided using tomb-raiding tropes and if they wanted to save them for a return it would make a whole lot of sense.
Well, there is already an enormous dead part of Amonkhet full of tombs and ruins of old civilizations that can be explored right now outside the Hekma. I also don't think Amonkhet will "die" so much as just Naktamun will fall and join the rest of the ruined world. Yet after Bolas leaves there will be survivors and they'll live among the ruins and they'll make their own luck and own oasises.
In a way I expect future Amonkhet to contain more ruin delving, yes, since the Hekma will be gone and there is no clear border anymore to separate the hellscape from the paradise, the desert from the oasis. But I also suspect that without the clear delineation between the thriving world and the undead waste there could be a return to balance in which the sustaining colored mana overtakes the black/colorless desert in more places than a singular city of survivors. I can see the greenery spreading and the new-Amonkhet population building on top of their own once-lost great civilization.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
It is pretty clear from the cards revealed so far, particularly in green that Amonkhet not only survives Bolas's Assault, but successfully starts to fight back, causing Bolas to take his toys (the Eternals) and goes home (or wherever). It is pretty blatant that the Planeswalker Deck Nissa is her after she returns to Amonkhet to help the people rebuild, and breathe life back into the plane. Both from her name (Nissa, Genesis Mage) and her abilities (untapping lands and creatures, helping creatures grow, and coaxing creatures out hiding and lands to bloom). In addition several other cards, such as Avid Reclaimer, Nissa's Encouragement, Oasis Ritualist, and Ramunap Excavator, among others, clearly take place after the devastation is done and Bolas has taken his army elsewhere.
Yeah, sure Bolas wins, the Gatewatch gets their asses handed to them on a silver platter and get scattered, but Amonkhet survives, and without Bolas's influence might even recover fully to how it was before he arrived.
The question is not really if Amonkhet survives, but whether or not upon a return we will get new gods or the old ones will have reformed without Bolas's corruption.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Upon such a return, will we see +1/+1 counters? Or will we see -1/-1 counters evolve?
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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.
Upon such a return, will we see +1/+1 counters? Or will we see -1/-1 counters evolve?
I reckon -1/-1 counters will stick around in a return set, but I'm not sure.
On another note, apparently Amonkhet itself (the worldsoul, that is) hates death, which is why the Curse of Wandering exists, so we should still see plenty of zombies.
The Gatewatch (or what was left of it) arrived on Amonkhet once again.
Then they all looked around and planeswalked away rather than get their butts kicked again.
The End.
More like: Nissa arrives on Amonkhet after getting invited by Samut, and they together with Hazoret tries to heal Amonkhet's world soul and resurrect the other gods, however a demon gets in the way (or an evil planeswalker who is not Bolas).
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
It'd be nice if Ashiok made an appearance as the villain - I imagine with all those horrors and zombies running around it would be a nice soothing vacation for him on that plane to just drop in, give everyone a bunch of nightmares and then run off when things get too hot.
I doubt we'll get -1/-1 counters back as MaRo stated the other day that they've pretty much minded that well dry, for the moment. It will probably be +1/+1 counters if they decide to go that direction.
I'm hoping they revisit the plane in Commander 2018 so they can up the power level and maybe put some cards into the setting that had to get shelved due to standard / modern. Printing the original Desert, Quicksand, and Oasis would be a start. They also missed a golden opportunity to reprint Unstable Obelisk. I know it was printed in commander, but seriously these Amonkhet architects really loved their Obelisks.
They also have lands like Petrified Field and Deserted Temple that could get printed. I'd love to see the later in Ixalan, but I don't know if they even remembered it existed when they made the set. They'll probably do something weird like make a completely new land that is temple themed.
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!
In a way I expect future Amonkhet to contain more ruin delving, yes, since the Hekma will be gone and there is no clear border anymore to separate the hellscape from the paradise, the desert from the oasis. But I also suspect that without the clear delineation between the thriving world and the undead waste there could be a return to balance in which the sustaining colored mana overtakes the black/colorless desert in more places than a singular city of survivors. I can see the greenery spreading and the new-Amonkhet population building on top of their own once-lost great civilization.
Amonkhet Rebuilding?
I could see a Masterpieces set called "Amonkhet Excavations". It plays up a flavor of ancient and long-dead things being rediscovered by the living people. Artifacts, enchantments, and zombies galore!
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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.
My entire hope isn't for Amonkhet to be revitalized, necessarily. I would really just want the block to be like Lorwyn where sure there is a main plotline but the whole world isn't in peril and there isn't some big multiversal threat (have you noticed that just about every set since Theros has had stories like that?), but maybe we just see the new ways that societies of Amonkhet live now like how in lorwyn we pretty much just explored how the elves, goblins, merfolk and such lived and what small scale conflicts they had. That would be nice and refreshing to me. Plus Amonkhet has already done both the apocalypse and multiversal threat schticks in this current block.
A big theme that I would like for a return to Amonkhet is discovering the past. The people of Amonkhet don't really know anything about their culture before Bolas showed up and reshaped their culture in his image. It would make sense if many Amonkheti wanted to delve into whatever ruins they could find, Indiana Jones style, to learn more about where they come from and what their ancestors knew. Therefore I give you what I believe is the most fitting idea for an egyptian plane:
Return to Amonkhet: The Archaeology Set
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"Pop in, find a dragon, roast a dragon."
-Chandra Nalaar
I'm thinking Amonkhet Rebuilding's main conflict centers around the scary and dangerous things roaming the desert and lurking within the yet to be rediscovered tombs and ruins. Zombies, Horrors, tomb raiders, hostile wildlife, Curses...it's a classic Egyptian archaeology adventure in the making. All we need is a whip-wielding adventurer archaeologist to complete the package (I'm thinking a cross between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft). And maybe a certain red-handed thief to play the role of tomb raider.
In fact, that would make for a great adventure story; Dack Fayden meets said whip-wielding archaeologist lady and they work together to help rediscover Amonkhet's lost secrets, perhaps accompanied by Djeru and Samut. If Gatewatch were to return to the plane, they could be a separate team with a more pointed mission tying into the larger narrative. And then of course you'd have a team of villainous tomb raiders as one of the antagonist factions.
Actually, I like the idea of a two plots format where you have Dack, Djeru, and "Lara Jones" competing with the tomb raider villains in one story and Gatewatch helping Samut fight some manner of planeswalker-lead necromancy cult in the other, with points of overlap.
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.
Hope we see the old Pharaohs, as undead or at least in the story articles.
There is much room for story yet.
Maybe they could expand the world, tell more about Ifnir and it's demons (why they are so caracteristics and why soo diferent than Razakhet). Say way the world has become an undead desert, etc...
Explain why all the gods of the plane came to a single city leaving the rest of the plane(t) for the zombies and wild animals
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I would bet dollars to donuts that any return to Amonkhet is exploring the second trope - i.e. unearthing the now dead world of Amonkhet. I mean hour of devastation essentially kills the world - leaving it to nicely set up for the future return to the "other side" of the Egyptian tropes.
The other possibility is that the return block is a second confrontation between the Gatewatch and Bolas (since they obviously are going to lose the first one). It really depends on how this block ends though. If Bolas leaves and sees no reason to return, then the Gatewatch can fight him elsewhere and the return block can be all about Egyptian tomb-raiding ("dead Egypt"). But if Bolas stays on Amonkhet with his zombie army and uses the plane as his personal headquarters, then the return block might be Gatewatch vs. Bolas.
I do think that dead Egypt is the more likely of the two, mainly because Maro mentioned how they deliberately avoided using tomb-raiding tropes and if they wanted to save them for a return it would make a whole lot of sense.
In a way I expect future Amonkhet to contain more ruin delving, yes, since the Hekma will be gone and there is no clear border anymore to separate the hellscape from the paradise, the desert from the oasis. But I also suspect that without the clear delineation between the thriving world and the undead waste there could be a return to balance in which the sustaining colored mana overtakes the black/colorless desert in more places than a singular city of survivors. I can see the greenery spreading and the new-Amonkhet population building on top of their own once-lost great civilization.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Anyway, for the topic at hand:
It is pretty clear from the cards revealed so far, particularly in green that Amonkhet not only survives Bolas's Assault, but successfully starts to fight back, causing Bolas to take his toys (the Eternals) and goes home (or wherever). It is pretty blatant that the Planeswalker Deck Nissa is her after she returns to Amonkhet to help the people rebuild, and breathe life back into the plane. Both from her name (Nissa, Genesis Mage) and her abilities (untapping lands and creatures, helping creatures grow, and coaxing creatures out hiding and lands to bloom). In addition several other cards, such as Avid Reclaimer, Nissa's Encouragement, Oasis Ritualist, and Ramunap Excavator, among others, clearly take place after the devastation is done and Bolas has taken his army elsewhere.
Yeah, sure Bolas wins, the Gatewatch gets their asses handed to them on a silver platter and get scattered, but Amonkhet survives, and without Bolas's influence might even recover fully to how it was before he arrived.
The question is not really if Amonkhet survives, but whether or not upon a return we will get new gods or the old ones will have reformed without Bolas's corruption.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Upon such a return, will we see +1/+1 counters? Or will we see -1/-1 counters evolve?
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 reckon -1/-1 counters will stick around in a return set, but I'm not sure.
On another note, apparently Amonkhet itself (the worldsoul, that is) hates death, which is why the Curse of Wandering exists, so we should still see plenty of zombies.
Ch.1
The Gatewatch (or what was left of it) arrived on Amonkhet once again.
Then they all looked around and planeswalked away rather than get their butts kicked again.
The End.
More like: Nissa arrives on Amonkhet after getting invited by Samut, and they together with Hazoret tries to heal Amonkhet's world soul and resurrect the other gods, however a demon gets in the way (or an evil planeswalker who is not Bolas).
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
They also have lands like Petrified Field and Deserted Temple that could get printed. I'd love to see the later in Ixalan, but I don't know if they even remembered it existed when they made the set. They'll probably do something weird like make a completely new land that is temple themed.
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!
Amonkhet Rebuilding?
I could see a Masterpieces set called "Amonkhet Excavations". It plays up a flavor of ancient and long-dead things being rediscovered by the living people. Artifacts, enchantments, and zombies galore!
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.
A big theme that I would like for a return to Amonkhet is discovering the past. The people of Amonkhet don't really know anything about their culture before Bolas showed up and reshaped their culture in his image. It would make sense if many Amonkheti wanted to delve into whatever ruins they could find, Indiana Jones style, to learn more about where they come from and what their ancestors knew. Therefore I give you what I believe is the most fitting idea for an egyptian plane:
Return to Amonkhet: The Archaeology Set
-Chandra Nalaar
In fact, that would make for a great adventure story; Dack Fayden meets said whip-wielding archaeologist lady and they work together to help rediscover Amonkhet's lost secrets, perhaps accompanied by Djeru and Samut. If Gatewatch were to return to the plane, they could be a separate team with a more pointed mission tying into the larger narrative. And then of course you'd have a team of villainous tomb raiders as one of the antagonist factions.
Actually, I like the idea of a two plots format where you have Dack, Djeru, and "Lara Jones" competing with the tomb raider villains in one story and Gatewatch helping Samut fight some manner of planeswalker-lead necromancy cult in the other, with points of overlap.
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.
There is much room for story yet.
Maybe they could expand the world, tell more about Ifnir and it's demons (why they are so caracteristics and why soo diferent than Razakhet). Say way the world has become an undead desert, etc...
Explain why all the gods of the plane came to a single city leaving the rest of the plane(t) for the zombies and wild animals