It'd be cool to see either ally pair planeswalker commanders, or class-based tribal decks in pairs, shards, or wedges. They could even have multiple tribal lord commanders per deck... something like
WU - Birds and Wizards
UB - Rogues and Zombies
BR - Orcs and Warriors
I would love to see some tribal support for some lesser-profile tribal (2015's Kaseto was a nice Snake tribal inclusion). However, it's more likely that they would focus on big tribes, such as Elves and Goblins.
How cool would it be to see a ridiculously sweet legendary Aven tribal lord? Faeries? Minotaurs? Centaurs or Treefolk? Etc?
They'll never have a three mana walker unless it's complete and total rubbish. LotV saw to that. You can have power or you can have an early cast, but you can't have both.
It'd be more like:
Chandra, the Annoying One
1RRR
3 Loyalty
+1: Chandra deals 1 damage to you.
-2: Chandra deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
-7: Exile all red cards from all libraries, then begin crying.
I was thinking the same thing. There's NO question this release is trying to capitalize on the current popularity of Game of Thrones, and there do seem to be some top-down designs that resonate with that show.
I have a suspicion (or at least a pipe dream) that the block after Kaladesh may be high fantasy, with R/W dwarves, and an Equipment matters theme, at least in that faction... They are seeding equipment pretty hard in Innistrad 2...
Or maybe there's going to be a R/W equip matters theme in Kaladesh, since there's the RW uncommon that cares about equipment in BFZ...
What if Saheeli is actually sympathetic to the resistance? She could be a mole inside the consulate, working to help undermine their efforts.
We know nothing about her motivations or her character, or her role in the block. We just know she is the face of Kaladesh, and she seems to be an artificer.
It's quite possible that Chandra is the only Gatewatch PW to get an actual card in this block, since the others have all gotten their "new era round 1" PW cards and will be in Standard for a while. If this is NOT the case, it's totally up for grabs which other Gatewatch planeswalker(s) get cards in this block.
The art can (and does) depict planeswalkers who are not cards in the block and I suspect this is how the Gatewatch will be handled going forward, with their cards sprinkled among other 'walkers (who could also be the face of sets periodically, as seems to be the case with Saheeli Rai).
Also, it seems that Wizards is ramping up its antagonist planeswalker roster - in BfZ block we had Ob Nixilis as a planeswalker who stood in the way of the Gatewatch, and in SoI block we had Nahiri causing massive problems for the others (though the spat with she and Sorin seemed more a side-plot, the ramifications of her actions definitely made trouble for the Gatewatch).
Due to this, I am of the belief that we will see one (or more) antagonist planeswalkers in Kaladesh block, and the two most likely candidates from my perspective (and earlier speculation) are Garruk (BG) or Tezzeret (UB). I believe Garruk is more likely due to the Chain Veil foreshadowing we got in Magic fiction during the SoI cycle (not to mention his colors don't overlap Jeskai), but Tezzeret does fit thematically and it would be interesting (and about time!) to hear what Bolas, or at least his minion, is up to. Certainly we could also have both...
I don't think Liliana will follow Chandra to Kaladesh. Liliana feels at home on Innistrad and she still has two more demons to hunt down; I doubt any of them reside on Kaladesh. The Inventor's Fair attracting other planeswalkers reminds me of the Mox Beacon that ignited the Planeswalkers' War. Hopefully we can get something similar where we could have a bunch of unknown and known (but haven't been seen again) planeswalkers coming instead of the usual 'walkers (the only 'walker I'd forgive from the Gatewatch is Chandra).
The set tagline says "The Gatewatch go to the Inventor's Fair." The Gatewatch contains 5 members, one of whom is Lili. It's almost certain Lili will be on Kaladesh.
Each expansion set in this "new age of storytelling" has a clear headliner planeswalker:
BFZ = Gideon
OGW = Nissa
SOI = Jace
EMN = Liliana
KLD = Saheeli Rai
It seems pretty evident to me that AER will feature Chandra headlining. She seems like the one we would want to see leading a revolt on her home plane against those who killed her parents and threatened her.
After that, Wizards may feel free to use the Gatewatch 'walkers less often as set headliners, opening the door for some "B-listers" to reappear.
About KLD, it sounds like this "Inventor's Fair" may attract attention from across the multiverse, which suggests we could see Tezzeret or Deretti making an appearance. If Saheeli has some command of artifacts, there may be some redundancy, however.
Regarding the BG 'walker, if Liliana follows Chandra to Kaladesh, it's possible Garruk will follow Liliana, since presumably there is some connection to the Chain Veil and if that story arc is reaching a conclusion, Garruk should probably be involved.
WU - Birds and Wizards
UB - Rogues and Zombies
BR - Orcs and Warriors
etc
How cool would it be to see a ridiculously sweet legendary Aven tribal lord? Faeries? Minotaurs? Centaurs or Treefolk? Etc?
Liliana, the Last Hope begs to differ.
Or maybe there's going to be a R/W equip matters theme in Kaladesh, since there's the RW uncommon that cares about equipment in BFZ...
We know nothing about her motivations or her character, or her role in the block. We just know she is the face of Kaladesh, and she seems to be an artificer.
The art can (and does) depict planeswalkers who are not cards in the block and I suspect this is how the Gatewatch will be handled going forward, with their cards sprinkled among other 'walkers (who could also be the face of sets periodically, as seems to be the case with Saheeli Rai).
Also, it seems that Wizards is ramping up its antagonist planeswalker roster - in BfZ block we had Ob Nixilis as a planeswalker who stood in the way of the Gatewatch, and in SoI block we had Nahiri causing massive problems for the others (though the spat with she and Sorin seemed more a side-plot, the ramifications of her actions definitely made trouble for the Gatewatch).
Due to this, I am of the belief that we will see one (or more) antagonist planeswalkers in Kaladesh block, and the two most likely candidates from my perspective (and earlier speculation) are Garruk (BG) or Tezzeret (UB). I believe Garruk is more likely due to the Chain Veil foreshadowing we got in Magic fiction during the SoI cycle (not to mention his colors don't overlap Jeskai), but Tezzeret does fit thematically and it would be interesting (and about time!) to hear what Bolas, or at least his minion, is up to. Certainly we could also have both...
The set tagline says "The Gatewatch go to the Inventor's Fair." The Gatewatch contains 5 members, one of whom is Lili. It's almost certain Lili will be on Kaladesh.
BFZ = Gideon
OGW = Nissa
SOI = Jace
EMN = Liliana
KLD = Saheeli Rai
It seems pretty evident to me that AER will feature Chandra headlining. She seems like the one we would want to see leading a revolt on her home plane against those who killed her parents and threatened her.
After that, Wizards may feel free to use the Gatewatch 'walkers less often as set headliners, opening the door for some "B-listers" to reappear.
About KLD, it sounds like this "Inventor's Fair" may attract attention from across the multiverse, which suggests we could see Tezzeret or Deretti making an appearance. If Saheeli has some command of artifacts, there may be some redundancy, however.
Regarding the BG 'walker, if Liliana follows Chandra to Kaladesh, it's possible Garruk will follow Liliana, since presumably there is some connection to the Chain Veil and if that story arc is reaching a conclusion, Garruk should probably be involved.