I believe, based on the spoiled AVR artwork and storyline thus far, that Saint Traft will be in Avacyn Restored, and have strong evidence to support this assertion.
EDIT: since everyone's confused on how Saint Traft will get a card if he's currently dead, here's how and why.
WHY: According to the storyline, Saint Traft's geist is wracked with guilt that he played into the hands of a demon, and longs to return to settle the score with Withengar. Guys in magic that have a score to settle in the storyline don't usually stay down.
HOW: Divine intervention, as strongly foreshadowed by the Restoration Angel promotional art. In recognition of Saint Traft's renown as a demon-slayer and his very strong friendship with angels, Avacyn made a special exception for him, allowing him to join the ranks of the angels who he fought aside so valiantly:
"Traft's prowess with the sword and his skill with evil-destroying magic was renowned—so renowned, in fact, that the angels themselves honored him. Avacyn's own ranks of warrior-seraphs trusted Traft's skill in battle and fought soul-hungry demons alongside him."
First, check the trailer [trailer] at 1:03, and you'll see a male angel kneeling in deference to another angel. That's very odd, since in MTG canon there are no female angels, but it's entirely possible, just based on the trailer, that the trailer art is from an angelic destiny-type card.
However, that's not the only art we've got of this "angel." Check the promo card art for restoration angel, and you'll see the *exact* same guy from the trailer - only here, he's not an angel, but a normal guy with white cloth where his wings were in the trailer. Given the same guy appears twice in artwork, it's quite likely that he's a legendary creature. It's also clear that he's a cather or demon slayer who's (at least temporarily) ascended to the angelic ranks.
Finally, check Geist of Saint Traft's art, and you'll see that our mystery man is kneeling in the exact same pose as Saint Traft in both places. Furthermore, in *both* the trailer and the Innistrad art, he's bathed in blue-and-white light from above - in the trailer it's from a stained glass window, and in the Innistrad art it's from the entrance to the Geist of Saint Traft's shrine. The angel/saint from the AVR art even has the same *hair* as Saint Traft (see the large version of Saint Traft's art. And in all three cases, we've got a guy kneeling at the feet of an angel, although in the Innistrad art the angel is a mere a statue of Avacyn and Saint Traft is facing away from her, as if unworthy.
Besides the artwork, there's plenty of storytelling basis for a martyred saint to become an angel, both in magic and elsewhere. And speaking of storytelling, Saint Traft had far too epic a story to be left out when Mikaeus, the out-of-touch jerk of a pope, got a second card.
Bottom line, mark my words, Saint Traft will have a card.
I doubt it's traft, seeing as he's dead and all, but couldn't there be the possibility of it being a new saint?
After actually watching the trailer, that totally doesn't look like a dude.
I doubt it's traft, seeing as he's dead and all, but couldn't there be the possibility of it being a new saint?
After actually watching the trailer, that totally doesn't look like a dude.
The guy/gal in the trailer is a bit hard to see because his face is obscured by shadow, but if you look closely has short cropped hair and is wearing a flat chestplate. He's a guy.
Also, his armor matches that of the man kneeling in the restoration angel promo art to a tee, down to the silver shoulder pads, the metal collar, and the dark blue color - and in the restoration angel art, it's clear enough we're looking at a guy.
Yeah, Saint Traft is dead. But whats to say that he can't be resurrected? After all, we're dealing with a set with concepts like Angels and Miracles; why not resurrection?
One could also interpret Restoration Angel's rules text as exiling Geist, and "restoring" him. Or, to follow OP's logic, elevating him into Angel-hood.
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Since when has that stopped anyone in MTG from coming back? He's got a score to settle with Withengar, at any rate, so the storyline needs to wrap that up.
And the fact that he's kneeling at the feet of an angel of restoration makes it clear how he'd return: divine intervention.
A close comparison of the two arts suggests that they are not the same person.
1) The sword weilded by the individual in the trailer is about the same length, but the handguard is thin and long, wheras Traft's sword as depicted in his art is barely there. Furthermore, the sword's hilt in the trailer is 2 hands long, whereas Traft's sword is easily three.
2) The figure in the trailer wears armor and has a helmet and wings, and Traft lacks any of these things.
Though it's an interesting theory, I don't think it's quite true. Traft's been a geist for too long, if he was to be restored to being human, his body would've rotted away a long time ago. If he was made into some sort of angel, well frankly, I just don't see that happening. He's already kicking arse at the Ashmouth as it is, I feel like Avacyn would be perfectly content with that and would be letting him go about his merry way.
Also, Traft was indeed a slayer of many evil things, but he was also priest, not a cathar or inquisitor. You can even see in Geist of Saint Traft's artwork, he wears the vestments of an Avacynian priest, not armor. Also, the sword Traft carries looks much larger and of a different style than this knight-type-character we see in the trailer and in the art for the Restoration Angel promo card. For the sake of familiarity, I don't think that Wizards would make a new style for Traft like that. Hey, look at Mikaeus, he died and became a zombie and he still looks like he did as the Lunarch, still very familiar looking.
I don't think this knight/angel-character-guy you've found is Traft. He might be a legendary creature, but that's doubtful.
I would totally entertain the idea that a new saint has been ordained or what have you, but I just have one thing to say... There are a lot of people who kneel.
A close comparison of the two arts suggests that they are not the same person.
1) The sword weilded by the individual in the trailer is about the same length, but the handguard is thin and long, wheras Traft's sword as depicted in his art is barely there. Furthermore, the sword's hilt in the trailer is 2 hands long, whereas Traft's sword is easily three.
Thanks. I noticed the sword wasn't the same too, but later realized that Saint Traft actually lost his original sword during his final battle at the Ashmouth.
Also, Traft was indeed a slayer of many evil things, but he was also priest, not a cathar or inquisitor. You can even see in Geist of Saint Traft's artwork, he wears the vestments of an Avacynian priest, not armor. Also, the sword Traft carries looks much larger and of a different style than this knight-type-character we see in the trailer and in the art for the Restoration Angel promo card. For the sake of familiarity, I don't think that Wizards would make a new style for Traft like that. Hey, look at Mikaeus, he died and became a zombie and he still looks like he did as the Lunarch, still very familiar looking.
I'm a little bemused by that too, but if Saint Traft wanted to return to fight a 13/13 demon like Withengar he'd probably dress appropriately. Plus, as an angel, he is no longer a priest, so he'd necessarily wear an angel's attire rather than a priest's.
The new armor is certainly a big strike against the theory. But there are so many other parallels between Saint Traft's art and the trailer art - the blue/white light shining from above, both figures kneeling at an angel's feet -that it still seems to be depicting Saint Traft.
That is a random soldier guy getting a blessing. Mark my words, that is just the art for an enchantment.
I thought so too, at first, but the "random soldier guy" appears twice: once in the trailer, and once in the restoration angel's art, which appear to be drawn by different people. Non-legendary creatures don't usually appear twice in artwork, especially in pieces that are likely drawn by different people.
If you look at the trailer you yourself posted, at 0:37, there is a field full of similarly clad people. It's called uniforms.
There's no need to be so condescending; I know that I'm making quite a bold claim here and I'm willing to go to the effort to support it. All the same, thanks for pointing that out.
However, the uniforms don't look alike. The mystery guy at 1:03 is wearing full plate and a knight's helm, which are really expensive stuff - in the middle ages, common soldiers couldn't afford that kind of armor, because it had to be specially forged to fit its wearer. Only knights (and kings wearing ceremonial armor) wore plate. And, true to form, the guys at 0:37 are wearing iron helms and banded mail, which are much cheaper and can be mass-produced.
I'm not being Luminum Can. Please refrain from calling me that.
By the way...you have no way of known what kind of material is scarce on Innistrad or what isn't. You can't compare our medieval times with anything on Innistrad, as far as I know.
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Another thing, the individual in the trailer appears to be getting wings. The wings are a different color than the wings of the angel/statue he kneels before and they appear to be wrapping themselves around him. Furthermore the wings start extended, which would not be the case if it were some random angel kneeling. This suggests to me some sort of aura that involves angels (perhaps Angelic Destiny reprint)
Another thing, the individual in the trailer appears to be getting wings. The wings are a different color than the wings of the angel/statue he kneels before and they appear to be wrapping themselves around him. Furthermore the wings start extended, which would not be the case if it were some random angel kneeling. This suggests to me some sort of aura that involves angels (perhaps Angelic Destiny reprint)
Which is essentially what I said:
That is a random soldier guy getting a blessing. Mark my words, that is just the art for an enchantment.
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As to the whole "No male angels!" business, I refer you to Malach of the Dawn.
I don,t know about this whole debate, but about Malach of the Dawn.: I don,t remember where, but i saw that he was specifically made as a male since he is from an alternate reality (note the card face). So to contrast with the all-female angels of Magic, he was made a guy
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If there is such a thing as too much power, I have not discovered it!
As to the whole "No male angels!" business, I refer you to Malach of the Dawn.
Alternate reality, doesn't count.
Trollface.jpg
Kidding. But for a canon example of a male angel, there's always Gabriel Angelfire.
While I'm not quite sold on Saint Traft being restored as either a human or an angel actually happening, I would love it if it did. Saint Traft's story is one of the best stories that the writers have come up with in a long time, and it would be a true shame not to continue it being being a mere parable to explain a Legend. Legends should have a place in the current storyline, where as Traft, awesome as he is, seems to have been relegated to the past.
Gabriel Angelfire has an MTGS wiki article and was the deity for a Benalian religion. Your argument is invalid.
And the Lady of the Mountain was the goddess of the dwarves and Fiers and Gaea's "Daughter" who came into existence when the goblins appeared on Dominaria.
Just because they have a story attached to Magic doesn't mean jack about their origins.
Gabriel had a story attached to him after the fact.
Best not to argue this sort of thing with me.
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EDIT: since everyone's confused on how Saint Traft will get a card if he's currently dead, here's how and why.
WHY: According to the storyline, Saint Traft's geist is wracked with guilt that he played into the hands of a demon, and longs to return to settle the score with Withengar. Guys in magic that have a score to settle in the storyline don't usually stay down.
HOW: Divine intervention, as strongly foreshadowed by the Restoration Angel promotional art. In recognition of Saint Traft's renown as a demon-slayer and his very strong friendship with angels, Avacyn made a special exception for him, allowing him to join the ranks of the angels who he fought aside so valiantly:
"Traft's prowess with the sword and his skill with evil-destroying magic was renowned—so renowned, in fact, that the angels themselves honored him. Avacyn's own ranks of warrior-seraphs trusted Traft's skill in battle and fought soul-hungry demons alongside him."
First, check the trailer [trailer] at 1:03, and you'll see a male angel kneeling in deference to another angel. That's very odd, since in MTG canon there are no female angels, but it's entirely possible, just based on the trailer, that the trailer art is from an angelic destiny-type card.
However, that's not the only art we've got of this "angel." Check the promo card art for restoration angel, and you'll see the *exact* same guy from the trailer - only here, he's not an angel, but a normal guy with white cloth where his wings were in the trailer. Given the same guy appears twice in artwork, it's quite likely that he's a legendary creature. It's also clear that he's a cather or demon slayer who's (at least temporarily) ascended to the angelic ranks.
Finally, check Geist of Saint Traft's art, and you'll see that our mystery man is kneeling in the exact same pose as Saint Traft in both places. Furthermore, in *both* the trailer and the Innistrad art, he's bathed in blue-and-white light from above - in the trailer it's from a stained glass window, and in the Innistrad art it's from the entrance to the Geist of Saint Traft's shrine. The angel/saint from the AVR art even has the same *hair* as Saint Traft (see the large version of Saint Traft's art. And in all three cases, we've got a guy kneeling at the feet of an angel, although in the Innistrad art the angel is a mere a statue of Avacyn and Saint Traft is facing away from her, as if unworthy.
Besides the artwork, there's plenty of storytelling basis for a martyred saint to become an angel, both in magic and elsewhere. And speaking of storytelling, Saint Traft had far too epic a story to be left out when Mikaeus, the out-of-touch jerk of a pope, got a second card.
Bottom line, mark my words, Saint Traft will have a card.
After actually watching the trailer, that totally doesn't look like a dude.
As prompted by certain threads on the forums, I'm now certain that the planeswalkers in DGM will be.... Ral Zarek, Morsel of the Firemind.
The guy/gal in the trailer is a bit hard to see because his face is obscured by shadow, but if you look closely has short cropped hair and is wearing a flat chestplate. He's a guy.
Also, his armor matches that of the man kneeling in the restoration angel promo art to a tee, down to the silver shoulder pads, the metal collar, and the dark blue color - and in the restoration angel art, it's clear enough we're looking at a guy.
Yeah, Saint Traft is dead. But whats to say that he can't be resurrected? After all, we're dealing with a set with concepts like Angels and Miracles; why not resurrection?
One could also interpret Restoration Angel's rules text as exiling Geist, and "restoring" him. Or, to follow OP's logic, elevating him into Angel-hood.
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Since when has that stopped anyone in MTG from coming back? He's got a score to settle with Withengar, at any rate, so the storyline needs to wrap that up.
And the fact that he's kneeling at the feet of an angel of restoration makes it clear how he'd return: divine intervention.
There actually was early concept art for his living version. Check here.
1) The sword weilded by the individual in the trailer is about the same length, but the handguard is thin and long, wheras Traft's sword as depicted in his art is barely there. Furthermore, the sword's hilt in the trailer is 2 hands long, whereas Traft's sword is easily three.
2) The figure in the trailer wears armor and has a helmet and wings, and Traft lacks any of these things.
Also, Traft was indeed a slayer of many evil things, but he was also priest, not a cathar or inquisitor. You can even see in Geist of Saint Traft's artwork, he wears the vestments of an Avacynian priest, not armor. Also, the sword Traft carries looks much larger and of a different style than this knight-type-character we see in the trailer and in the art for the Restoration Angel promo card. For the sake of familiarity, I don't think that Wizards would make a new style for Traft like that. Hey, look at Mikaeus, he died and became a zombie and he still looks like he did as the Lunarch, still very familiar looking.
I don't think this knight/angel-character-guy you've found is Traft. He might be a legendary creature, but that's doubtful.
As prompted by certain threads on the forums, I'm now certain that the planeswalkers in DGM will be.... Ral Zarek, Morsel of the Firemind.
Thanks. I noticed the sword wasn't the same too, but later realized that Saint Traft actually lost his original sword during his final battle at the Ashmouth.
I'm a little bemused by that too, but if Saint Traft wanted to return to fight a 13/13 demon like Withengar he'd probably dress appropriately. Plus, as an angel, he is no longer a priest, so he'd necessarily wear an angel's attire rather than a priest's.
The new armor is certainly a big strike against the theory. But there are so many other parallels between Saint Traft's art and the trailer art - the blue/white light shining from above, both figures kneeling at an angel's feet -that it still seems to be depicting Saint Traft.
I thought so too, at first, but the "random soldier guy" appears twice: once in the trailer, and once in the restoration angel's art, which appear to be drawn by different people. Non-legendary creatures don't usually appear twice in artwork, especially in pieces that are likely drawn by different people.
There's no need to be so condescending; I know that I'm making quite a bold claim here and I'm willing to go to the effort to support it. All the same, thanks for pointing that out.
However, the uniforms don't look alike. The mystery guy at 1:03 is wearing full plate and a knight's helm, which are really expensive stuff - in the middle ages, common soldiers couldn't afford that kind of armor, because it had to be specially forged to fit its wearer. Only knights (and kings wearing ceremonial armor) wore plate. And, true to form, the guys at 0:37 are wearing iron helms and banded mail, which are much cheaper and can be mass-produced.
By the way...you have no way of known what kind of material is scarce on Innistrad or what isn't. You can't compare our medieval times with anything on Innistrad, as far as I know.
Compare any of the other promos vs regular and you'll see a similar concept, ie, Diregraf Ghoul:
http://magiccards.info/query?q=Diregraf+Ghoul&v=card&s=cname
Which is essentially what I said:
That is a random soldier guy getting a blessing. Mark my words, that is just the art for an enchantment.
I don,t know about this whole debate, but about Malach of the Dawn.: I don,t remember where, but i saw that he was specifically made as a male since he is from an alternate reality (note the card face). So to contrast with the all-female angels of Magic, he was made a guy
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Alternate reality, doesn't count.
Trollface.jpg
Kidding. But for a canon example of a male angel, there's always Gabriel Angelfire.
While I'm not quite sold on Saint Traft being restored as either a human or an angel actually happening, I would love it if it did. Saint Traft's story is one of the best stories that the writers have come up with in a long time, and it would be a true shame not to continue it being being a mere parable to explain a Legend. Legends should have a place in the current storyline, where as Traft, awesome as he is, seems to have been relegated to the past.
GGG [Primer] Omnath, Big Green Beatstick Machine GGG
From Legends, doesn't quite count.
All the legendaries from Legends were the DnD characters of the design team for it.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/47
There is still Melesse Spirit though.
In lore, there are male angels. In the cards? None barring outliers.
Gabriel Angelfire has an MTGS wiki article and was the deity for a Benalian religion. Your argument is invalid.
GGG [Primer] Omnath, Big Green Beatstick Machine GGG
And the Lady of the Mountain was the goddess of the dwarves and Fiers and Gaea's "Daughter" who came into existence when the goblins appeared on Dominaria.
Just because they have a story attached to Magic doesn't mean jack about their origins.
Gabriel had a story attached to him after the fact.
Best not to argue this sort of thing with me.