Love the Will and Rowan artworks and hope they receive individual cards, but why are they depicted so much older? Has that much time really passed?
Evil witch art is absolutely phenomenal - I love the mirrored hood exposing her true appearance and age. Excellent touch.
I'm feeling a vibe that WOE may be Eldraine done right, as the Storybook/Camelot world we originally wanted
The artwork on the packaging for WOE is phenomenal, as usual. I really hope those will appear on the cards, but they never do sadly, which makes no sense
Relative to the fact it didn't receive a novel to resolve the Theros Beyond Death story with Elspeth, Heliod, Daxos, Ajani, Dack Fayden, and Ashiok, etc. only to have a Phyrexian invasion occur and WOTC claim Aftermath as the Epilogue set, which revealed nothing about any of its gods, at the very least, in all 50 of the cards. So in addition to an unresolved original plot, Theros now has this invasion with no details as well.
Wait, is half of your complaint that the set doesn't do anything about story threads from an entirely different set?
The addition of loose ends for a plane that already had loose ends to resolve, and never did
Except that we indeed know next to nothing about Theros.
We still know way more than about most of the other planes referenced in the set. Your complain would be valid if this was the "Phyrexia vs Theros" set, but it isn't, and you're coming off as a whiny child who didn't get the toy they want, so they moan and moan.
But we still know next to nothing about Theros.
And the fact that the quality of the lore is so abysmal that we know even less about other planes, does even more to reinforce my point than any of you seem to realize.
Know next to nothing about Theros? Compared to what, exactly?
Relative to the fact it didn't receive a novel to resolve the Theros Beyond Death story with Elspeth, Heliod, Daxos, Ajani, Dack Fayden, and Ashiok, etc. only to have a Phyrexian invasion occur and WOTC claim Aftermath as the Epilogue set, which revealed nothing about any of its gods, at the very least, in all 50 of the cards. So in addition to an unresolved original plot, Theros now has this invasion with no details as well.
Except that we indeed know next to nothing about Theros.
We still know way more than about most of the other planes referenced in the set. Your complain would be valid if this was the "Phyrexia vs Theros" set, but it isn't, and you're coming off as a whiny child who didn't get the toy they want, so they moan and moan.
But we still know next to nothing about Theros.
And the fact that the quality of the lore is so abysmal that we know even less about other planes, does even more to reinforce my point than any of you seem to realize.
I think my biggest frustration with the idea of this set is that the slow-drip method they're aiming at isn't really taking into account the length of time between sets.
Every set now has to deal with whatever was the issue the last time we left, and whatever happened as a result of the Phyrexians.
It's been 14 years since we've had a set on Alara. How have things changed since the reunification? Do the shards still exist? We've never gotten great confirmation, with some of it coming from no longer canon sources, and now if we ever visit again, we have to answer those questions and what remains after Phyrexia.
It's been 8 years since Tarkir. What's going on there? Is the khanate actually coming back? Or are the dragons still holding strong? And now we have to cover whatever the plan was to deal with that and the Phyrexians.
Ixalan was 6 years ago, and there's so many questions just raised by the cards of MOM, let alone Aftermath. But we've had stories in between then any now that covered Ixalan, and there's still a whole bunch of questions from what happened at the end of Rivals, let alone what's been changed by Phyrexia.
What about a new plane? Any new plane is going to have to be defined with "How it was," Overall idea behind it, and "What happened because of Phyrexia?"
And it's going to be happening for years. If every plane that has ever had a set gets a set to describe what happened as a result of Phyrexia, even if every set was a return, it would take over four years to cover them all. Even more if we count the planes that only appeared in supplemental sets before now.
And it's all just going to get even more complicated by interplanar travel.
By the time they've covered everything, it'll almost have been long enough for Phyrexia to invade again, by the seven year rule.
I was ridiculed in the storyline thread for having this exact concern, albeit regarding Theros (but it applied to most if not all planes). We never received any proper Theros lore resolving consequences of Elspeth's death, defeat of Heliod, Thassa and her spear(s), Purphoros and Kruphix, the titans, etc. Yet here we are with a fundamentally changed plane without any resolution to the prior lore to contend with
Buddy, you were "ridiculed" because you claimed that "we knew almost nothing about what happened on Theros", wheb comparatively (with other planes) we had some of the most extensive info of the planes ever - because you did not get what you wanted, as usual.
The concerns are valid, but you were simply not saying the truth... exactly as you are doing now.
Except that we indeed know next to nothing about Theros.
The Kaya casually slitting Heliod's throat moment dropped in a passing statement was reason enough not to engage in the lore, if there weren't already so many other reasons. But I should have known that Surral vs. Ulamog couldn't stand forever as the penultimate story pitfall.
One moment he can dispatch a legion of angels with just a glance, the next, lol dis knife
You know what would have been a favorable approach? Realizing the guy is clearly a fan of the game, that there was a mistake, and cultivating something positive by offering him an alternative opportunity (like spoiling future cards on his channel, growing his viewership through an approved and amicable manner, for example) and alternative product, in exchange for what he purchased early.
That's an excellent idea.
...
If the goal is to make other youtubers follow in his footsteps in order to become a previews partner...
Otherwise buffntuff said what I wanted to say as well. Can you legally buy a product that was illegally sold?
Also, love that Wizard's statement reveals that they actually tried to reach him via phone several times before they sent the pinkertons. "Couldn't they have tried exploring other methods first." Everyone said. Turns out they did. It's almost as if WotC and Hasbro (I assume they coordinated on this) is a company and its in their own best interest to solve this issue without a potential PR disaster and spending money on the pinkertons.
Occam's Razor was right after all, who woulda thunk.
How often is it that such mistakes occur? Not often. The opportunity doesn't exist frequently enough to warrant my proposed solution serving as an incentive. This situation is an exception, not the standard for leaks. If people who have active YT channels like OSM intentionally steal product to become spoiler partners with WOTC, then they will be dealt with accordingly via the law. But the OSM situation wasn't addressed by an attorney or law enforcement, was it? He was addressed via the Pinkertons. There were no legal obligations here, it was a simple mistake that while warranting investigation, could have been diffused amicably.
Who is to say OSM didn't see missed calls from an unknown or spam risk number and ignore them, over the span of 15 minutes? This all occurred within barely a week. We have the whole set now, all 50 cards of it, and people are still bemoaning that it revealed nothing, lore-wise.
I think my biggest frustration with the idea of this set is that the slow-drip method they're aiming at isn't really taking into account the length of time between sets.
Every set now has to deal with whatever was the issue the last time we left, and whatever happened as a result of the Phyrexians.
It's been 14 years since we've had a set on Alara. How have things changed since the reunification? Do the shards still exist? We've never gotten great confirmation, with some of it coming from no longer canon sources, and now if we ever visit again, we have to answer those questions and what remains after Phyrexia.
It's been 8 years since Tarkir. What's going on there? Is the khanate actually coming back? Or are the dragons still holding strong? And now we have to cover whatever the plan was to deal with that and the Phyrexians.
Ixalan was 6 years ago, and there's so many questions just raised by the cards of MOM, let alone Aftermath. But we've had stories in between then any now that covered Ixalan, and there's still a whole bunch of questions from what happened at the end of Rivals, let alone what's been changed by Phyrexia.
What about a new plane? Any new plane is going to have to be defined with "How it was," Overall idea behind it, and "What happened because of Phyrexia?"
And it's going to be happening for years. If every plane that has ever had a set gets a set to describe what happened as a result of Phyrexia, even if every set was a return, it would take over four years to cover them all. Even more if we count the planes that only appeared in supplemental sets before now.
And it's all just going to get even more complicated by interplanar travel.
By the time they've covered everything, it'll almost have been long enough for Phyrexia to invade again, by the seven year rule.
I was ridiculed in the storyline thread for having this exact concern, albeit regarding Theros (but it applied to most if not all planes). We never received any proper Theros lore resolving consequences of Elspeth's death, defeat of Heliod, Thassa and her spear(s), Purphoros and Kruphix, the titans, etc. Yet here we are with a fundamentally changed plane without any resolution to the prior lore to contend with
This is what happens when WOTC has no value for their settings. They're conservative with their Planeswalker characters but careless with the settings, constantly plunging them into apocalypse scenarios for lack of storytelling talent. It always feels cheap. Some of the best lore were simply moments exploring a plane's thematic features or characters bonding, such as Jace and Vraska on Ixalan. I enjoyed Ixalan being an adventure quest, taking a survey of the plane through various factions on a mission.
Lorwyn on the other hand... is among my top 5 planes. The gorgeous, idyllic artwork of the original is just stunning. I absolutely adore Lorwyn. And I resent that natural regions of Kamigawa, such as Minamo and its beautiful panoramic river waterfall were never featured in Neon Dynasty.
Eldraine had potential but it ended up being a bunch of non-legendary cards of clearly distinct legendary creatures from unique fairytales and the excuse was what... standard and draft? A strong pass for me. It did not evoke anything that I hoped for and I kept wishing it was Lorwyn.
Frankly, with just the changes to Theros implied or suggested by Aftermath, I've lost interest in seeing it or returning there.
This set absolutely fails in it's 'mission' to give an epilogue on the story that they've been building up for the past few years. What it does succeed in is selling us less (5-card packs) for more $. I guess with Secret Lairs they learned they can sell us tiny amounts of cards for the same amount if not more. Hasbro really makes me not want to follow this game anymore.
The passion just isn't there anymore. Most of the good MTG writers have already left the company If I'm not mistaken.
Note that apparently a lot of Eldraine and Ixalan were held back from this set to their respective sets later this year.
That's why we got two random dinosaurs that tell us nothing about anything. Three, if we count the Thopteryx.
Imagine we would've gotten a card that clarifies which of the Theros gods survived.
That's what I was hoping for... a rather major cliffhanger if you ask me. We can infer Klothys did I suppose? Kruphix and Ephara? Was hoping for more than educated guesswork after this set. Strange to consider the most popular members of the pantheon, the mono-color gods, erased.
So is Kiora a queen among merfolk on Zendikar now?
I'm very pleased that there's a regular art for Calix in the set, which looks great!
People are still upset about the violation of consumer confidence with Magic 30th. Only to have someone who legally acquired a product in advance, through human error (otherwise litigation would be involved and announced, as it was with the theft of the Ixalan sheet) become an example of corporate flex on a lone, lowly consumer with nothing more than a minor YouTube channel, relative to a billion dollar industry exercising its privilege (within the context of lacking a legal leg to stand on, no less). It's an unfortunate narrative from a PR perspective for WOTC, before factoring in the Pinkerton's historical record, Oldschoolmagic clearly being a patron of the game that happened upon a meager opportunity of minimal benefit few would resist regardless, or the sight of his wife crying at the door when thugs appeared to repossess legal product they weren't entitled to relinquish, through intimidation.
It's just not a good look.
You know what would have been a favorable approach? Realizing the guy is clearly a fan of the game, that there was a mistake, and cultivating something positive by offering him an alternative opportunity (like spoiling future cards on his channel, growing his viewership through an approved and amicable manner, for example) and alternative product, in exchange for what he purchased early. Thus preserving the integrity of their consumer base while diffusing a regrettable, but not illegal, situation. Brute force and resentment was selected instead, and the fields were salted behind them. After M30, people are rightfully disgusted.
Actually, this article is the entire problem. Neo-Nazis? Really? Way to buy into propaganda. And the Trump reference about "locker room talk" - way to push your political agendas on a card game forum and assume your opinions are the status quo, and the only right way to think. That's why everyone is sick of liberals and SJWs. Arrogance and ignorance. No one gives a damn bro, we're here for card games. Get over yourselves and off your righteous soapbox.
Evil witch art is absolutely phenomenal - I love the mirrored hood exposing her true appearance and age. Excellent touch.
I'm feeling a vibe that WOE may be Eldraine done right, as the Storybook/Camelot world we originally wanted
The artwork on the packaging for WOE is phenomenal, as usual. I really hope those will appear on the cards, but they never do sadly, which makes no sense
Read that character as Antikythera. Amazing art but... is there even an Erebos anymore
Evil witch art is absolutely phenomenal - I love the mirrored hood exposing her true appearance and age. Excellent touch.
I'm feeling a vibe that WOE may be Eldraine done right, as the Storybook/Camelot world we originally wanted
And the fact that the quality of the lore is so abysmal that we know even less about other planes, does even more to reinforce my point than any of you seem to realize.
One moment he can dispatch a legion of angels with just a glance, the next, lol dis knife
Who is to say OSM didn't see missed calls from an unknown or spam risk number and ignore them, over the span of 15 minutes? This all occurred within barely a week. We have the whole set now, all 50 cards of it, and people are still bemoaning that it revealed nothing, lore-wise.
This is what happens when WOTC has no value for their settings. They're conservative with their Planeswalker characters but careless with the settings, constantly plunging them into apocalypse scenarios for lack of storytelling talent. It always feels cheap. Some of the best lore were simply moments exploring a plane's thematic features or characters bonding, such as Jace and Vraska on Ixalan. I enjoyed Ixalan being an adventure quest, taking a survey of the plane through various factions on a mission.
Lorwyn on the other hand... is among my top 5 planes. The gorgeous, idyllic artwork of the original is just stunning. I absolutely adore Lorwyn. And I resent that natural regions of Kamigawa, such as Minamo and its beautiful panoramic river waterfall were never featured in Neon Dynasty.
Eldraine had potential but it ended up being a bunch of non-legendary cards of clearly distinct legendary creatures from unique fairytales and the excuse was what... standard and draft? A strong pass for me. It did not evoke anything that I hoped for and I kept wishing it was Lorwyn.
Frankly, with just the changes to Theros implied or suggested by Aftermath, I've lost interest in seeing it or returning there.
Absolutely.
So is Kiora a queen among merfolk on Zendikar now?
I'm very pleased that there's a regular art for Calix in the set, which looks great!
It's just not a good look.
You know what would have been a favorable approach? Realizing the guy is clearly a fan of the game, that there was a mistake, and cultivating something positive by offering him an alternative opportunity (like spoiling future cards on his channel, growing his viewership through an approved and amicable manner, for example) and alternative product, in exchange for what he purchased early. Thus preserving the integrity of their consumer base while diffusing a regrettable, but not illegal, situation. Brute force and resentment was selected instead, and the fields were salted behind them. After M30, people are rightfully disgusted.