WotC has stated that they intend to now give equal support to all ten two-color combinations.
In standard, IIRC, because of the Ravnican guilds. They believe they can't play favorites with the guilds, so they're giving them (roughly) equal support in the Theros block.
"Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block"
Quoted from doc.brown's signature. I sure hope he's right.
I think he isn't. WotC has explained before that the codenames have nothing to do with the contents of the expansions, and also that they prefer to wait a number of years (IIRC 3-4) between multicolored blocks. If memory serves this was decided after Shards of Alara.
Also, the lich spell that seems to turn you, the planeswalker, into a lich is temporary. You do not remain a lich in all future games after casting it. Thus, it is a temporary transformation done in battle as a means of avoiding attack. Also, given the two cards listed and their rarity and obscurity, it is both a difficult and uncommon procedure for planeswalkers to do on themselves. Old magic.
If I recall correctly, Innistradi vampires aren't undead specifically so that Sorin could make sense as a vampire planeswalker.
I would think it makes sense normally. Do we know what happens to your soul if you become a vampire? I had thought that the sentience and sapience of vampires and liches as opposed to other undead (at least in Magic) was a signifier of the retention of their soul. When you break it down, the only real difference between a zombie and a lich is the phylactery (and the soul contained therein).
Bolded for emphasis.
We know in no uncertain terms that dying does catastrophic damage to the soul, which has the spark housed within it.
A person who dies has any latent sparks within them destroyed.
I have doubts about this. Sorin is a vampire and (as far as I can tell) undead. I'll concede that a reanimated corpse probably couldn't be a Planeswalker, because I'm pretty sure the soul that a creature like a zombie had in life is far-gone, but I would think it possible for someone who goes from life directly into undeath.
If the transfer of a spark is possible, and the transfer of a soul into an artifact is possible, then I would assume there is the possibility of a Planeswalker whose soul and spark are contained within a phylactery.
Is there any literature relevant to this debate that comes to mind? There may be examples or counter-examples out there that I don't know about.
Flavor-wise that makes no sense because the titans are completely different in Greco-roman mythology. There are 12 titans, all unique...unless they do some stupid thing reminiscent of the titans in Disney Hercules.
I am surprised that I saw these nowhere else, especially considering someone mentioned them, but there seems to be two pieces of spoiled artwork. Xenagos can be seen at a godly stature, with the Nyx effect in one picture. We can see Ajani at Elspeth's side in the second.
Seems like a super odd name for an expansion. And with WotC alternating between returning to a plane then visiting a new one it seems suspect. I've heard rumors that next block is a return to zendikar (unconfirmed.)
So Warlords of Khanar...the Genghis Khan flavor has to be intentional. So like some have said, mounted warriors (even if that's just Flanking), combat/battle/armies themes, conquering territory, that kind of thing. And as it's a mechanics-up set versus top-down, Genghis Khan type flavoring would be a world that fit whatever mechanics they came up with for a block.
This seems probable to me if it does turn out to be a Magic set. The creative team use a lot of real-world names and terms to derive their own.
Style of Magic: White-mana based aura magic
Favored Creatures: Other Leonin, Champions of light
Favored Spells: Enchantments and rituals that strengthen others, not himself
I realize that this has been noted upon, but in addition to Ajani's specialty being auramancy, he has an appreciation for other leonin, which gives him additional reason to visit Theros. Champions (might be taking this out of context) exist numerously in a plane full of heroes, too.
The third part of the Planeswalker's Guide to Theros also states that
There was a time, centuries ago, when the leonin worshipped the same gods as their human counterparts, but after the era of the tyrannical archon Agnomakhos, the leonin rejected all human ways in a bitter backlash that has defined their role on Theros ever since. Most revere the hunt and the pride, but according to chronicler Lanathos, some leonin still make offerings to Heliod and Nylea.
May not be entirely relevant, but it would seem that many Theran leonin are aligned with white and green mana, so a GW Ajani makes sense to me.
Don't worry, Sarkhan. Since Shards of Alara, the only times we didn't get a dragon in a set was in Rise of the Eldrazi and the ironically named Dragon's Maze.
They will shove dragons wherever, even if they don't fit.
This.
Although, flavorfully, dragons are scarce on Ravnica. Or were. I haven't been paying much attention to the RTR block's story.
i would say, that theros will be a block without dragons.
they just dont fit in the theme.
we will have many hydras and mynotaurs, and some other random stuff. but i guess since we already get more than 1 hydra as big creatures, i guess we wont see any dragons like we know from other magic sets.
Wizards has some slots they have to fill in each set, usually this means the inclusion of dragonsin aworld where they wouldn't normally seem to fit. We will undoubtedly see dragons in a Greco-Roman plane because of the demands of the grid. Although one could use another creature type to fill the "Large Flyinng x Red" slot, MaRo has said that dragons are the iconic race for red. (He has better posts about that but I can't seem to find them.) Players seem to expect and definitely want them, which I believe will ultimately factor into their choice to include dragons in Theros.
No. Nowhere did WOTC ever say that this set would only be made up of cards that see play in competitive modern decks. Expect this set to be more along the lines of "Hey, here are some cool cards that we printed in the last ten years".
WOTC said that the point of the set was to make entry into the Modern format easier. Thus the cards in the set will be selected with competitive viability in mind.
Would make a nice guild champion because of his connection to the guild leader. Representing his bi(or tri)-raciality in the creature types would be cool, but potentially ugly and unnecessary.
I liked the first and second trilogies of books, but other than that, meh. It did have one of the coolest fantasy villains of all time though, a death knight so powerful that not even Ravenloft could contain him for long. (If you know Dragonlance, you know who I am talking about.)
But back on topic. It is not unusual for certain names to be reused in different properties. Remember how many different fantasy characters are named Rand. >.<
I think it's pretty clear that this is not for Magic. It's more likely a trademark for an already existing character in Wizards' other IP than a new plane that shares a name with said character.
And we where still told at the time of the Release of Nicol Bolas that he was the third oldwalker to get a planeswalker card. And since we have been able to eliminate all other planeswalkers (with the exception of Liliana for obvious reasons) as being born pre-mending, that still leaves us Garruk. Since, as I have pointed out dozens of times already: IS ALMOST TWICE THE SIZE OF A NORMAL HUMAN (in volume, not height). He is the size of an Ogre. A human walker who ascended post mending will not reach that size. Only two walkers given cards so far (whom are not Nicol Bolas) even come close to that size, and neither are human. One is a Nacatl, and the other is a Golem. Garruk is freakishly huge, and from what we have seen of his family and other people on his home plane, they are built normally.
Yes, and I'm telling you that more recent and equally official information contradicts that belief, regardless of what was said when Nicol was printed. Furthermore, even if he ascended pre-Mending, that wouldn't affect his size. If it were a result of the old 'Walker's shape-shifting ability, that would've disappeared like the other old 'Walker's ability did. If there is an explanation for his size, it'll probably be that he gains the strength of his prey after he defeats them.
But, you're right about one thing; this is not the proper place to discuss this.
Look, I can explain it to you again: When Nicol Bolas was revealed we where told that we now had three old walkers with cards. We knew that Liliana was one as it was mentioned in her backstory, and Bolas was #3.
Of those we could quickly eliminate Chandra and Jace as they had known ages (early 20's). We could also eliminate Elspeth as her backstory indicated that she was in her mid 20's.
That left Ajani, Garruk, Sarkhan, and Tezzeret. Of those four we eliminated Ajani and Tezzeret as they ascended during the story of Alara block.
That leaves Sarkhan and Garruk. However, Sarkhan's obsession with dragons would have caused him to alter his form to one permanently if he was an oldwalker. That leaves Garruk via the process of elimination.
Combine the above evidence with Garruks massive size compared to baseline humans (seriously, he is ogre sized), and that heavy use of green mana tends to slow the aging process (seriously druids tend to live for hundreds of years), the evidence towards him being the final oldwalker is overwhelming.
Also, his DotP profile says that he "appears to be in his 30's", while all the other planeswalkers have much more definitive age descriptions.
She just forgot, oh, and she was insane as well.
You must not have understood my last post. We can easily assume that the claim that we had three old walkers with cards at that time was a mistake because of the information on DotP, which does not say that he appears to be in his 30's. It says he's 36.
DotP 2013 lists Garruk as 36 and makes no mention of it being his apparent age. So either they changed their mind about having Garruk being over a hundred years old or he never was intended to be an oldwalker.
Pretty much this. Also, his size is not an indicator of age at all. It's an indicator that he's green. Your claim that green magic rejuvenates is the only evidence that you have at this point, which is not overwhelmingly pointing toward old 'walker-ship.
Please read his wiki entry. Garruk apparently ascended around 4470, which would make him a pre-mending walker.
We know two of the original five* ascended pre-mending. We also know that Liliana was one. And we know that the other can't be Chandra or Jace (To young), nor Ajani (ascended during Alara block). That leaves Garruk.
*Well technically we where told around the time that Bolas was revealed as a planeswalker that there now where three pre-mending planeswalkers with planeswalker cards. We had been told that Liliana was one, and Bolas was one as well. Due to simple process of elimination we ended up with either Sarkhan or Garruk being #3. However, we have since learned that Sarkhan is apparently around 30 or so. This combined with Garruk's abnormal size, and now revealed approximate age, has firmly entrenched Garruk as #3 (Sorin is #4, Venser/Karn #5).
I believe that statement was a mistake. Nothing about him suggests that he is over 100 years old. The only thing I can find that references his age is DotP, as the Wiki does not provide a source for the age it gives him.
In standard, IIRC, because of the Ravnican guilds. They believe they can't play favorites with the guilds, so they're giving them (roughly) equal support in the Theros block.
I think he isn't. WotC has explained before that the codenames have nothing to do with the contents of the expansions, and also that they prefer to wait a number of years (IIRC 3-4) between multicolored blocks. If memory serves this was decided after Shards of Alara.
That's because you died. But for real that time.
I would think it makes sense normally. Do we know what happens to your soul if you become a vampire? I had thought that the sentience and sapience of vampires and liches as opposed to other undead (at least in Magic) was a signifier of the retention of their soul. When you break it down, the only real difference between a zombie and a lich is the phylactery (and the soul contained therein).
I have doubts about this. Sorin is a vampire and (as far as I can tell) undead. I'll concede that a reanimated corpse probably couldn't be a Planeswalker, because I'm pretty sure the soul that a creature like a zombie had in life is far-gone, but I would think it possible for someone who goes from life directly into undeath.
If the transfer of a spark is possible, and the transfer of a soul into an artifact is possible, then I would assume there is the possibility of a Planeswalker whose soul and spark are contained within a phylactery.
Is there any literature relevant to this debate that comes to mind? There may be examples or counter-examples out there that I don't know about.
What are you considering the "main" theme? Mechanically, Innistrad was a tribal block until Avacyn Restored.
THEY ALREADY DID LOLOLOLOLOLOL
I am surprised that I saw these nowhere else, especially considering someone mentioned them, but there seems to be two pieces of spoiled artwork. Xenagos can be seen at a godly stature, with the Nyx effect in one picture. We can see Ajani at Elspeth's side in the second.
It seems probable to me that there will be an Ajani Planeswalker card printed in BNG, considering that art, Elspeth's message to him, his connection to enchantments (he's an auramancer), and his fondness for leonin (which exist on Theros).
Two does not a pattern make. First, Scars of Mirrodin was intended to test the waters in plane-returning, and the success of Scars did not inspire Return to Ravnica. Rather, the team at Wizards knew that regardless of the reception of the first revisit, we were going back to Ravnica. I'm not even sure that the success of Scars has had enough time to affect the near-future plans for Magic. Even if it has, given that the current plan is to wait around 4 years between multicolor blocks (assuming I recall correctly, anyway), it seems probable to me that a similar guideline will be set for returning to planes. IIRC, R&D have expressed their desire to mostly visit new settings most often.
This seems probable to me if it does turn out to be a Magic set. The creative team use a lot of real-world names and terms to derive their own.
I realize that this has been noted upon, but in addition to Ajani's specialty being auramancy, he has an appreciation for other leonin, which gives him additional reason to visit Theros. Champions (might be taking this out of context) exist numerously in a plane full of heroes, too.
The third part of the Planeswalker's Guide to Theros also states that
May not be entirely relevant, but it would seem that many Theran leonin are aligned with white and green mana, so a GW Ajani makes sense to me.
This.
Although, flavorfully, dragons are scarce on Ravnica. Or were. I haven't been paying much attention to the RTR block's story.
Wizards has some slots they have to fill in each set, usually this means the inclusion of dragons in a world where they wouldn't normally seem to fit. We will undoubtedly see dragons in a Greco-Roman plane because of the demands of the grid. Although one could use another creature type to fill the "Large Flyinng x Red" slot, MaRo has said that dragons are the iconic race for red. (He has better posts about that but I can't seem to find them.) Players seem to expect and definitely want them, which I believe will ultimately factor into their choice to include dragons in Theros.
WOTC said that the point of the set was to make entry into the Modern format easier. Thus the cards in the set will be selected with competitive viability in mind.
Implying that Ral Zarek's white hair is due to age rather than Izzet guild activities.
Would make a nice guild champion because of his connection to the guild leader. Representing his bi(or tri)-raciality in the creature types would be cool, but potentially ugly and unnecessary.
Implying Buddhism isn't prevalent in Japan and isn't the source of many of their major holidays.
I think it's pretty clear that this is not for Magic. It's more likely a trademark for an already existing character in Wizards' other IP than a new plane that shares a name with said character.
Yes, and I'm telling you that more recent and equally official information contradicts that belief, regardless of what was said when Nicol was printed. Furthermore, even if he ascended pre-Mending, that wouldn't affect his size. If it were a result of the old 'Walker's shape-shifting ability, that would've disappeared like the other old 'Walker's ability did. If there is an explanation for his size, it'll probably be that he gains the strength of his prey after he defeats them.
But, you're right about one thing; this is not the proper place to discuss this.
You must not have understood my last post. We can easily assume that the claim that we had three old walkers with cards at that time was a mistake because of the information on DotP, which does not say that he appears to be in his 30's. It says he's 36.
Pretty much this. Also, his size is not an indicator of age at all. It's an indicator that he's green. Your claim that green magic rejuvenates is the only evidence that you have at this point, which is not overwhelmingly pointing toward old 'walker-ship.
I believe that statement was a mistake. Nothing about him suggests that he is over 100 years old. The only thing I can find that references his age is DotP, as the Wiki does not provide a source for the age it gives him.