So, what is Tezzeret up to? Serving Bolas, or attempting to break away from him? It seems most people here seem to want to ignore that Test of Metal every happened (I'm not going to object), but perhaps Tezzeret and the Phyrexians reached some other kind of understanding?
I'm guessing based on the last story and him wanting to transport gearhulk's plus sized object, the planar bridge, Tezzeret "the Schemer", dark intimidation card and us going to a nicol bolas plane next that Tezz is going to attack Bolas with this robotic army he has built up from Kaladesh
From what I can gather of Dark Intimations Bolas or the Gatewatch stop that plan right in its tracks. The ruined machine in the art of that card also looks suspiciously like the planar bridge... which makes me kinda sad because of all the story possibilities it could create.
Tezzeret felt icnredibly childish and petty in this one, he felt very red in this having tantrums. I was expecting more arrogance but in a calm expression like he wasn't trying hard to act superior. Not a fan of making generic villains like how they turned Ob Nixlis into one and now looks like tezzeret became one aswelll :/
Tezzeret to me always seemed to be a sore loser (he has reasons for being this way, but still). And the problem is: He isn't superior.... and knows it deep down, which is why he is incapable of the cold and calm expression of other villains. As has been stated even before this story, Tezzeret is quite good in a few magical disciplines (like his metalbending), but very uncreative and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. That's why he lost to Bolas as well as Jace and now to Rashmi. He is cunning, but has to use other people to do creative work for him. And when he notices that he has been bested he can't handle it well.
By the way: What is a generic villain in your opinion? Because that could include "cold and calculating" villains as well as "hot-tempered and insane" ones and everything inbetween.
I also like that Rashmi is the very first non-planeswalker person living after the mending to experience other planes. So much story potential opened right there
What's annoying is they keep referencing it via Tamiyo, even visiting the plane in the story articles.
I mean for a plane they allegedly don't ever want to return to, they sure give it a lot of attention. You'd think they wouldn't have bothered creating Tamiyo in the first place and they would've never mentioned Kamigawa again.
So I think they're just figuring out how much of all the boring stuff they can cut before going back and making it all about ninjas and all that good stuff.
They'll make the announcement to return come off like a surprise thing but really I think they're teasing the hell out of it.
They'll get mega hype and with the 2 sets to a block going on now and faster storytelling, they're risking a lot less if they mess it up again.
Well the "teasing" is actually their way of trying to give fans of Kamigawa at least something they can hold onto even though they will never get a full fledged return. That's also the reason they are printing Kamigawa-themed cards in supplemental products. Maro more or less confirmed this. They know that there is a group of players who like that world, but they don't see it worth a return. You don't have to like that decision, but I actually am happy that they are trying to at least give us these tidbits instead. They could have just let the world disappear completely like they did with Golgothra.
This is terrible, like its just a terrible card. Merciless Eviction is just one mana more and better. I'd hate to get this as a rare considering it really isn't that amazing. Maybe in limmited with all the artifacts but in constructed its garbage.
I have to agree plenty. This could easily have cost 2WW and it still wouldn't be as strong as Creeping Corrosion ever was during the years SoM block was in standard or Shatterstorm was at any time. For being a board artifact wiping Oblivion Ring isn't worth the 5 CMC.
While I wouldn't say that the card is particularly strong it is still an interesting one in my opinion and you both forget that it only wipes your opponents artifacts. One sided board wipes have to be more costly than symmetrical ones. With all the crazy artifacts in EDH I think this card may find a place there as well. I also don't think that it will see Constructed play, but not everything has to.
But I will say RTR is a return done right, regardless of my personal feelings toward Ravnica. Objectively speaking, it was good - was true to the original block but delivered modern twists and intriguing updates to the setting.
It wasn't true at all. Most if not each guild was completely simplified in their philosophy. Selesnya are no longer a brainwashing cult. Just a bunch of peaceful hippies. Boros are no longer policemen, this is now the job of the Azorious for no other reason than to dillute their straight control identity into tempo. Why did the Boros just allow that? This was their role on the plane. They are completely obsolete now. Dimir make no sense at all. They have public services? Why would anyone allow this after what happened in the original Ravnica? Or atleast keep control on them? Oh and they are secretly working behind the scenes even though everyone knows they are around (what a twist!). Their mechanic is boring and about creatures attacking because that's cool now I guess? Orzhovs are literally a clear cut mafia organization, cackling with glee as they rip people off. I think Wotc forgot what that religion part was supposed to be. People didn't go and pay money to priests for absolution because they got scammed or forced. But because they believed they would go to heaven. Orzhov could be mono black in RtR, with no problems. Their mechanic is just boring. Reading Maros columns on guild philosophy and identity on the original block is completely different than what they did now.
RtR features mostly boring mechanics related to creatures and combat. Some completely terrible art, and some art that is clearly from Innistrad (who cares about that as long as we save some money!). Ignores world-building from previous set for marketing reasons. No merfolks on the plane? Just invent an undiscovered ocean... Oh and the merfolks also introduce an environmental agenda, which is now a top priority for the Simic because reasons. Previous dragons besides Niv-Mizzet are a hunted dragon and a chained pit dragon, because Dragons are believed extinct? Who cares, just print the obligatory mythic dragon in two sets. Where are the Moroii? It was established they were the agents of Dimir. The only ''generic'' vampire we saw was Szadek. Here we have a bunch of generic vampires all over the place, just because vampires are a ''race'' on every plane now. Too many cards with a straight up jungle in their backgrounds. Also not enough slavic names and references. Story was terrible. The plane was just a placeholder to insert Jace into it, and combine their most popular plane with their most popular walker for marketing purposes. The resolution was completely dumb, and as it turns completely pointless. Since Jace can just leave Ravnica at will with no consequences the Guildpact becomes meaningless. But who cares, because when we get the inevitable Ravnica 3.0 none of these things will matter because all that matters is the Ravnica name. The setting will become even more dumbed down and generic.
That's not to say RtR is a terrible set. I enjoyed it, and it certainly beats some horrendous sets from recent history. But there was no reason for it to be made. No reason for it to be called Ravnica, except for nostalgia and brand recognition. The original block was the pinnacle of Wizards creativity. The design and worldbuilding was the best they have ever done. The new one is boring, and completely changes some things for no reason other than marketing. It just has no soul.
Ok, I see that you are a bit bitter about the last handling of Ravnica, but let's be a bit more rational here, ok? First of all, the guilds had lost much of their presence in Agents of Artifice because the nonmagic Guildpact couldn't keep them together. When they returned many guilds saw the opportunity to overstep the boundaries previously enforced by the Guildpact: The Azorius took partial control of the executive branch previously held by the Boros (but not total), the Dimir infiltrated public services (they didn't openly control the libraries etc. they overtook, it was only rumored that they did), the Selesnya spread their influence (and where does it say they aren't still brainwashing? RtR has the same amount of references to that than the original block did (the silent man where of course disbanded after the catastrophe they caused)) the Boros became more of a paramilitary force etc. The Orzhov are the mafia, they always were. Even in the original block they make perfectly clear that they are only interested in the enrichment of their aristocratic families. Money for them IS the religion (see the Guilpact novel) and every other aspect of it was always a front. The Simic didn't even really exist anymore after Dissension, so when the merfolk reappeared (something I personally have no problem with, it reminds me of the lost oceans beneath the galactic empires main planet Thrantor in the Foundation cycle of Asimov) they took over the rest of the guild and had no problem in changing their whole doctrine drastically because there was no one capable of challenging them. They are not even really environmentalists, they are holists (otherwise they wouldn't continue using biomantic genetic engineering). I think in some respects guilds became more complicated instead of simplified. In the original block the Rakdos for example were little more than chaotic, savage BDSM fanatics, here we finally see their relevance for the city, providing entertainment in many different forms (also slave labor). The same is true for many of the other guilds. Most of the additions to the guilds added not removed unique qualities to them.
The dragons are imperfect clones or specimen of the Izzet mostly, they are NOT the same race of hyperintelligent dragons that Niv stems from. I give you the Vampires, those really are strange. Szadek wasn't generic, he didn't drink blood but mental energies or something like that.
What do the mechanics of the guilds have to do with the story? And while I personally didn't find the RtR storyline very engaging the goal of it was to reestablish the guildpact, so in the end it really becomes a "Return" to the original Ravnica. I might be in a minority, but there are so many things left hanging in the story of Ravnica that I would really like to see it continued.
Again I'm basing this on my observations. Most buzz that I've seen on the internet on the gatewatch has been negative. And regardless if their data indicates that they are the best candidates it's a mute point if the characters don't develop.
Always remember that people with negative reactions tend to be louder than people with positive reactions even though they are in a minority in reality. They also tend to flock to the internet to vent their frustration with likeminded people, which creates echo chambers for their own opinion. At the end of the day, even though something is very popular, looking at "internet buzz" as your only source will give you a horribly warped, negative perspective of it. Sadly that's not only true for card games...
And the Gatewatch story is still at it's beginning. I don't agree that the characters didn't develop but even if I did there is still much time for creative to get the hang of it.
Yeah but lets take Jace for example. He was supposed to be the face of the Shadows over Innistrad we spent quite a bit of time with him during that block and I learned nothing new about him that I didn't know before the block began. The two characters who I think they developed the most were Tamiyo and Emerakul and they aren't members of the gatewatch. I just think if they want this to be a story driven franchise they have to have characters that are evolving that make me want to read next weeks story. They should have either given the spots to characters who have had development and continued to develop them or they should have given them each a block to be the star so that we could get to know them.
Well first of all we actually did get character developement for Jace long before Shadows already: Agents of Artifice, The Secretist and his Origin story gave as pretty much all the insight (and quite a few changes) to his character needed to establish him and his developement. He had slight developement in BFZ of becoming more proactive (in the storyline about Garruks corruption for example he send someomne else to deal with him at first) and even his relationships with Gideon, Nissa and first and foremost Liliana were deepened throughout this and SOIs storyline. SOI also gave us crazy Jace and I don't know about you, I found it enjoyable and horrifying how easy it was for him to lose himself, something he had to admit in EMN as well (when we learn that he at least devised some kind of contingency plan for this situation in case it happened again). I count all of this as "developement" the Agents of Artifice Jace would certainly not act the same way the Kaladesh Jace does in my opinion. The same is true for most of the Gatewatch, with Chandra and sadly Gideon being the weak links, but I hope to see their characters develope further in Kaladesh (which might be the last chance for Chandra, though Gideon shows promise in the latest story).
I'm not saying that he's had no development since inception I'm saying that he's hasn't developed much since the Gatewath story began. I did find his potential madness interesting, but what mark has it really left on him? With Emmy stuck in the largest Pokeball they have pretty much gone on there way. I would like examples of how his connections to Gideon and Nissa have grown and I'm not trying to be a jerk I just don't remember much interaction with any of the Gatewatch beyond them just fighting horrors in EMN. Do you think that Jace trusts Liliana anymore than he did in Agent's of Artifice? I think instead of returning to Innistrad it would have been more fullfilling for them to go to Vyrn and have him rediscover his past and learn what that means for him. I guess we can agree that Gideon hasn't really changed much.
In regards to Liliana and Jace I got the subtle feeling that he actually does trust her more than he did after Agents. He let her join the Gatewatch and it seems to me that his affection for her is steadily growing (without being focussed upon directly by the story). The connection to Gideon was established in BFZ and I have to admit, that relationship I find pretty adorable: Jace seems to see in him something he would perhabs like to be, but isn't, a headstrong leader. Whenever Jace thinks about him he seems to be ever so slightly more impressed and he tried to emulate Gideon quite a bit (leading to him becoming more proactive as I said before). They seem to think (from SOI forward) that they are the leaders of the Gatewatch, with Jace being the tactician and Gideon the strategist. Since the focus hasn't been on Jace or Gideon (in fact it hasn't been on Gideon since BFZ and not on Jace since EMN) neither has gotten much developement since then. Nissas relationship to Jace has also not been focussed on since OGW, which is why there is no further devlopement since then and I honestly can't remember BFZs story that well anymore to give you examples there, but I know that I had the feeling that there was a growing connection between them. Since Nissa has isolated herself on Ravnica from the others for a while I guess the developement will set in later again. And of course once the focus is back on him we will get more character developement (maybe as you said once we go to Vryn). The same is true for Gideon who only got a few tidbits of the story since OGW. I guess a Return to Theros or another fight against somneone he can't win against (Bolas perhabs?) will change him more. Just remember: You don't have to develope or change your character everytime they are on screen if their personality is relatively well defined. Homer Simpson for example is a character which is (or at least was) hugely popular, but he didn't change one bit over the course of multiple seasons. That said, of course this is a continuing story, which means sooner or later we will have to see an advance of thiose characters, but just wait until the focus is back on them for that to happen.
Again I'm basing this on my observations. Most buzz that I've seen on the internet on the gatewatch has been negative. And regardless if their data indicates that they are the best candidates it's a mute point if the characters don't develop.
Always remember that people with negative reactions tend to be louder than people with positive reactions even though they are in a minority in reality. They also tend to flock to the internet to vent their frustration with likeminded people, which creates echo chambers for their own opinion. At the end of the day, even though something is very popular, looking at "internet buzz" as your only source will give you a horribly warped, negative perspective of it. Sadly that's not only true for card games...
And the Gatewatch story is still at it's beginning. I don't agree that the characters didn't develop but even if I did there is still much time for creative to get the hang of it.
Yeah but lets take Jace for example. He was supposed to be the face of the Shadows over Innistrad we spent quite a bit of time with him during that block and I learned nothing new about him that I didn't know before the block began. The two characters who I think they developed the most were Tamiyo and Emerakul and they aren't members of the gatewatch. I just think if they want this to be a story driven franchise they have to have characters that are evolving that make me want to read next weeks story. They should have either given the spots to characters who have had development and continued to develop them or they should have given them each a block to be the star so that we could get to know them.
Well first of all we actually did get character developement for Jace long before Shadows already: Agents of Artifice, The Secretist and his Origin story gave as pretty much all the insight (and quite a few changes) to his character needed to establish him and his developement. He had slight developement in BFZ of becoming more proactive (in the storyline about Garruks corruption for example he send someomne else to deal with him at first) and even his relationships with Gideon, Nissa and first and foremost Liliana were deepened throughout this and SOIs storyline. SOI also gave us crazy Jace and I don't know about you, I found it enjoyable and horrifying how easy it was for him to lose himself, something he had to admit in EMN as well (when we learn that he at least devised some kind of contingency plan for this situation in case it happened again). I count all of this as "developement" the Agents of Artifice Jace would certainly not act the same way the Kaladesh Jace does in my opinion. The same is true for most of the Gatewatch, with Chandra and sadly Gideon being the weak links, but I hope to see their characters develope further in Kaladesh (which might be the last chance for Chandra, though Gideon shows promise in the latest story).
Again I'm basing this on my observations. Most buzz that I've seen on the internet on the gatewatch has been negative. And regardless if their data indicates that they are the best candidates it's a mute point if the characters don't develop.
Always remember that people with negative reactions tend to be louder than people with positive reactions even though they are in a minority in reality. They also tend to flock to the internet to vent their frustration with likeminded people, which creates echo chambers for their own opinion. At the end of the day, even though something is very popular, looking at "internet buzz" as your only source will give you a horribly warped, negative perspective of it. Sadly that's not only true for card games...
And the Gatewatch story is still at it's beginning. I don't agree that the characters didn't develop but even if I did there is still much time for creative to get the hang of it.
IF this is real, and IF we assume a vraska appearance would set up Ravnica 3.0, that seems very off. Why would Theros not be revisited beforehand when we've set that return up more than any other world? Why would we return to Ravnica before Koth and Phyrexian conflict is resolved. I'm not sure if this is real or not, but 3 new sets in a row and Vraska and Ajani both showing up again seems oddly timed.
Again, no idea if this is even real, but timing would seem odd.
Because sadly for whatever reason, Ravnica is "popular" and we are doomed into having to keep enduring it. The place doesn't even have anything interesting going for it, IMO. Woo, guilds. I suppose Niv discovering planes walkers could be a thing, and there's Ral. IDK. But I suspect a third return there would happen before a second return anywhere else, even before a popular and loved plane like Theros. Sadly.
Yeah nothing interesting besides the guilds, except the fact that it is a giant plane-covering city and mechanically features multicolor in a huge way (those are my main reasons for liking it, and I like it very much). Let's be rational here: New Phyrexia doesn't have a chance of being a return in the near future since they are more interesting now as an invasion force on other worlds (the only reason to get back to NP itself would be another uprising by the Mirrans and the final destruction of Phyrexia there which isn't going to happen anytime soon). We just had returns to Innistrad and Zendikar, those two are also out of the question. Alara, Tarkir and Dominaria might get returns in the future, but for now they don't factor much into the ongoing story. Kamigawa, Ulgothra and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor are planes so unpopular in general (although I personally liked Kamigawa at least) that we won't return there either. This leaves us with Theros and Ravnica. Both have quite a few story threads left hanging but only Ravnica factors into the Gatewatch storyline (for now). I give both equal chances to be the next return, although I must say that I believe that Theros (my number 1 favorite plane besides Ravnica) was more unpopular and will probably get its return later if I had to choose.
I really hope that this is real, whether Atlazan is mesoamerican or underwater world (I think it's the former) doesn't matter for me. First Egypt (finally!) and then another theme I was hoping for
Those points are fair, but what other than sales does Ravnica bring to the table? And I get it; sales rule the discussion. But Jace is getting away so far with abandoning his Guildpact duties. Comparatively, Elspeth is still trapped in the Underworld and atheism spread by Ajani are both major threads on Theros, along with Gideon's previewed meeting with Erebos from the last Innistrad story. Sorin is still trapped on Innistrad as the Voldaren and Falkenrath vampire houses fight for control over the dwindled population and Sigarda tries to revive the church. New Phyrexia or another setting, Koth and Melira are still alive and worth having resolution to their stories. I think Koth would be perfect for Amonkhet personally as a trial-goer, but the probability of that is likely slim to none.
At a minimum, 3 worlds have a more compelling narrative reason to revisit before Ravnica again. And I don't hate Ravnica; I love ral zarek and guilds are at least fun for me, although not overly compelling. Problem is I don't get why plot-wise we'd go back. Guildpact absence and guild fights arent compelling enough for a while block, and they won't sully Ravnica by having Bolas or Phyrexia invade it.
I don't know about you, but I'm very much not interested in Innistrad for a while. Those conflicts are even more uninteresting for me than the guild conflicts in Return to Ravnica were. For a side story maybe, but not for a block (at least not for now). Innistrad in my opinion doesn't have a more compelling narrative reason for the moment than Ravnica does (leaving aside that we just went there). Theros I give you and as I said, I would love a Return to Theros as much as I would love a Return to Ravnica 2: Electric Boogaloo. New Phyrexia (and with that Melira and Koth as well as maybe Karn) will probably appear once NP is strong enough to invade a (possibly new) world and I can't see that happening for the foreseeable future. That's the problem with it: It's most important story thread IS to invade another world. Therefore it won't be seen again until it's ready to do that. Ravnica has quite a few other story threads: The conspiracy of the Orzhov, Vraska, the changes brought upon Jace being the new Guildpact etc. It also has one thing that might make it easier to do than a Return to Theros: It isn't bound by any kind of narrative. It's a huge city with very varied guilds and feuds leading to who knows how many possible stories. Theros on the other hand is bound by it's mythological background, Ajanis anti-theism can't succeed since that would mean that the most recognizable thing about Theros (the gods) would vanish. And Elspeth has to undergo the second half of the monomyth. The story is more or less set in stone already. That isn't a bad thing, I'm just saying that it could make it difficult to integrate it into the continuing storyline. As I said, whether it's Theros or Ravnica again, I would be happy either way.
IF this is real, and IF we assume a vraska appearance would set up Ravnica 3.0, that seems very off. Why would Theros not be revisited beforehand when we've set that return up more than any other world? Why would we return to Ravnica before Koth and Phyrexian conflict is resolved. I'm not sure if this is real or not, but 3 new sets in a row and Vraska and Ajani both showing up again seems oddly timed.
Again, no idea if this is even real, but timing would seem odd.
Because sadly for whatever reason, Ravnica is "popular" and we are doomed into having to keep enduring it. The place doesn't even have anything interesting going for it, IMO. Woo, guilds. I suppose Niv discovering planes walkers could be a thing, and there's Ral. IDK. But I suspect a third return there would happen before a second return anywhere else, even before a popular and loved plane like Theros. Sadly.
Yeah nothing interesting besides the guilds, except the fact that it is a giant plane-covering city and mechanically features multicolor in a huge way (those are my main reasons for liking it, and I like it very much). Let's be rational here: New Phyrexia doesn't have a chance of being a return in the near future since they are more interesting now as an invasion force on other worlds (the only reason to get back to NP itself would be another uprising by the Mirrans and the final destruction of Phyrexia there which isn't going to happen anytime soon). We just had returns to Innistrad and Zendikar, those two are also out of the question. Alara, Tarkir and Dominaria might get returns in the future, but for now they don't factor much into the ongoing story. Kamigawa, Ulgothra and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor are planes so unpopular in general (although I personally liked Kamigawa at least) that we won't return there either. This leaves us with Theros and Ravnica. Both have quite a few story threads left hanging but only Ravnica factors into the Gatewatch storyline (for now). I give both equal chances to be the next return, although I must say that I believe that Theros (my number 1 favorite plane besides Ravnica) was more unpopular and will probably get its return later if I had to choose.
I really hope that this is real, whether Atlazan is mesoamerican or underwater world (I think it's the former) doesn't matter for me. First Egypt (finally!) and then another theme I was hoping for
Also I might be mistaken, but what if Dark Intimations actually depicts Tezzerets plans failing... plans which were actually against Bolas himself?
Since Dark Intimationsincreases Bolas' loyalty, I don't suspect that Tezzeret is plotting against his Dragon Bro.
Which is exactly my point: It shows Tezzeret failing (!) not succeeding (note that Grixis is not HIS but Bolas color combination). That's why it increases Bolas loyalty.
Battle at the Bridge isn't referring to a Bridge like goes over water, OR the portal.
It's Skysovereign's bridge! Tezzeret is building a new Weatherlight! That explains why the Gatewatch needs Heart of Kiran.
But wouldn't the card then be called "Battle ON the bridge"?
I still believe "The Bridge" is the portal itself. The question is, why is Tezzeret building one? Not for Bolas himself, that's for sure (why would the dragon need that?). Also I might be mistaken, but what if Dark Intimations actually depicts Tezzerets plans failing... plans which were actually against Bolas himself? That's why the flavor text of Battle at the Bridge doesn't seem to be threatening the Gatewatch or Kaladesh directly, Tezzeret wants to somehow use the portal against Bolas (he tried to revolt in Test of Metal as well (and I know that ones canonicity is in question)). The Gatewatch might actually win the fight against him... and then realize that the only one they helped by doing so was Nicol Bolas. That would be a nice twist in my opinion. But of course I could be entirely wrong.
Ok, this thread is definitely in danger of becoming an(other) echo chamber for people who don't like the direction of the story these days. Let me say this much: According to Rosewater (the evil financial executive apparently) the story never garnered as much attention as today. That's understandable, it's much more accessible than it was when it was published as novels. The quality of the story took a dip in BFZ but since then it has continually improved. Character growth has already set in, the Gatewatch has become much more of an interesting group with the addition of Liliana in my opinion, legendary creatures are getting their chances to shine (the problem is and always will be that those are limited to one world and can't be protagonists for longer than the block being set on this plane (except for a few short stories inbetween)) and I actually enjoy to finally have a continuous storyline again. And yes, such continuity needs protagonists which can be on multiple planes of Magics setting aka planeswalkers. The Gatewatch was therefore a good idea, whether it was "inspired" by the Avengers or super heroes in general or not. Those are after all also not bad stories. And there were quite a few really good story articles in the last year or so, so why shouldn't I keep my hopes up about the storyline? Of course the story isn't perfect in any sense of the word and it's not high literature (then again, it never was) and the lack of Commander stories was very disappointing, but in my opinion it is at this time close to being on par with the Weatherlight saga (which had huge problems too or need I remind anyone of Prophecy or parts of the Invasion block?). If the current story trend isn't your cup of tea I understand that, but that's in no way an objective assessment on your part and you shouldn't treat it as such.
There was time to literally give each C16 Legend a story. Instead, Kaladesh filler.
It's even worse that Kaladesh is my least favorite plane alongside Tarkir and Ravnica.
May I ask why that is? I mean Kaladesh is by far not my favorite plane (although I love the worldbuilding and technological feel behind it), but Khans-Tarkir and Ravnica? Certainly in my top five. Theros and Ravnica might share number one actually. What is it about those planes that you don't like? Really asking out of interest
I'm kinda disappointed about the storyless weeks too though. If it were at least some kind of new information, but no. Hopefully this week will be different.
Kaladesh is Steampunk India, two themes I don't care for. Ravnica and Kaladesh are neither modern-day nor ancient fantasy, but this awkward limbo between the two. In a magical fantasy game, I prefer other kinds of themed settings and worlds, like Innistrad for example. Artifice and the general aesthetic of Kaladesh and Ravnica just don't appeal at all to me and feel out of place in a Multiverse where magic is possible. Tarkir is easily the worst plane of all. It's just this horrid wasteland war world with a nauseating level of linear marketing that was just abhorrent and insulting with an overplay on testosterone, fighting, trashed landscapes, and next to nothing pleasing or redeemable about it outside of Alesha and Narset. I couldn't stand another sight of one homogenous scene of burly desiccated battleground of slaughter and flying reptiles. It's literally DudeBro world.
My favorite planes are Theros, Lorwyn, Kamigawa and pre-Eldrazi Zendikar. I love those lush, idyllic, magical realms that aren't too developed but aren't archaic either. Innistrad, with and without Avacyn is a plane I admire too, although it's not among my top favorites.
Interesting, I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum: I enjoy subversions or aversions of normal fantasy tropes much more than linear or classic fantasy. I especially love the thought of developed magical societies (as a science student I find classical fantasy societies often dull and stagnant). I instantly fell in love with Ravnica for that reason. Kaladesh is too cute in some regards for my personal taste, but I like the steampunk aspect, the aetherborn and the effect aether itself has on nature and society there. Zendikar on the other hand I found boring before the Eldrazi (and yes I know, I'm in a minority on this one). Adventure world just really doesn't do it for me. Most of what you describe of Tarkir were personified in Mardu (and to a lesser degree Temur), my least favorite aspect as well. But the rest I found fascinating, especially the cultures of Jeskai and the Abzan. Well, we both love Theros at least^^
There was time to literally give each C16 Legend a story. Instead, Kaladesh filler.
It's even worse that Kaladesh is my least favorite plane alongside Tarkir and Ravnica.
May I ask why that is? I mean Kaladesh is by far not my favorite plane (although I love the worldbuilding and technological feel behind it), but Khans-Tarkir and Ravnica? Certainly in my top five. Theros and Ravnica might share number one actually. What is it about those planes that you don't like? Really asking out of interest
I'm kinda disappointed about the storyless weeks too though. If it were at least some kind of new information, but no. Hopefully this week will be different.
From what I can gather of Dark Intimations Bolas or the Gatewatch stop that plan right in its tracks. The ruined machine in the art of that card also looks suspiciously like the planar bridge... which makes me kinda sad because of all the story possibilities it could create.
Tezzeret to me always seemed to be a sore loser (he has reasons for being this way, but still). And the problem is: He isn't superior.... and knows it deep down, which is why he is incapable of the cold and calm expression of other villains. As has been stated even before this story, Tezzeret is quite good in a few magical disciplines (like his metalbending), but very uncreative and not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. That's why he lost to Bolas as well as Jace and now to Rashmi. He is cunning, but has to use other people to do creative work for him. And when he notices that he has been bested he can't handle it well.
By the way: What is a generic villain in your opinion? Because that could include "cold and calculating" villains as well as "hot-tempered and insane" ones and everything inbetween.
I also like that Rashmi is the very first non-planeswalker person living after the mending to experience other planes. So much story potential opened right there
Well the "teasing" is actually their way of trying to give fans of Kamigawa at least something they can hold onto even though they will never get a full fledged return. That's also the reason they are printing Kamigawa-themed cards in supplemental products. Maro more or less confirmed this. They know that there is a group of players who like that world, but they don't see it worth a return. You don't have to like that decision, but I actually am happy that they are trying to at least give us these tidbits instead. They could have just let the world disappear completely like they did with Golgothra.
While I wouldn't say that the card is particularly strong it is still an interesting one in my opinion and you both forget that it only wipes your opponents artifacts. One sided board wipes have to be more costly than symmetrical ones. With all the crazy artifacts in EDH I think this card may find a place there as well. I also don't think that it will see Constructed play, but not everything has to.
Ok, I see that you are a bit bitter about the last handling of Ravnica, but let's be a bit more rational here, ok? First of all, the guilds had lost much of their presence in Agents of Artifice because the nonmagic Guildpact couldn't keep them together. When they returned many guilds saw the opportunity to overstep the boundaries previously enforced by the Guildpact: The Azorius took partial control of the executive branch previously held by the Boros (but not total), the Dimir infiltrated public services (they didn't openly control the libraries etc. they overtook, it was only rumored that they did), the Selesnya spread their influence (and where does it say they aren't still brainwashing? RtR has the same amount of references to that than the original block did (the silent man where of course disbanded after the catastrophe they caused)) the Boros became more of a paramilitary force etc. The Orzhov are the mafia, they always were. Even in the original block they make perfectly clear that they are only interested in the enrichment of their aristocratic families. Money for them IS the religion (see the Guilpact novel) and every other aspect of it was always a front. The Simic didn't even really exist anymore after Dissension, so when the merfolk reappeared (something I personally have no problem with, it reminds me of the lost oceans beneath the galactic empires main planet Thrantor in the Foundation cycle of Asimov) they took over the rest of the guild and had no problem in changing their whole doctrine drastically because there was no one capable of challenging them. They are not even really environmentalists, they are holists (otherwise they wouldn't continue using biomantic genetic engineering). I think in some respects guilds became more complicated instead of simplified. In the original block the Rakdos for example were little more than chaotic, savage BDSM fanatics, here we finally see their relevance for the city, providing entertainment in many different forms (also slave labor). The same is true for many of the other guilds. Most of the additions to the guilds added not removed unique qualities to them.
The dragons are imperfect clones or specimen of the Izzet mostly, they are NOT the same race of hyperintelligent dragons that Niv stems from. I give you the Vampires, those really are strange. Szadek wasn't generic, he didn't drink blood but mental energies or something like that.
What do the mechanics of the guilds have to do with the story? And while I personally didn't find the RtR storyline very engaging the goal of it was to reestablish the guildpact, so in the end it really becomes a "Return" to the original Ravnica. I might be in a minority, but there are so many things left hanging in the story of Ravnica that I would really like to see it continued.
In regards to Liliana and Jace I got the subtle feeling that he actually does trust her more than he did after Agents. He let her join the Gatewatch and it seems to me that his affection for her is steadily growing (without being focussed upon directly by the story). The connection to Gideon was established in BFZ and I have to admit, that relationship I find pretty adorable: Jace seems to see in him something he would perhabs like to be, but isn't, a headstrong leader. Whenever Jace thinks about him he seems to be ever so slightly more impressed and he tried to emulate Gideon quite a bit (leading to him becoming more proactive as I said before). They seem to think (from SOI forward) that they are the leaders of the Gatewatch, with Jace being the tactician and Gideon the strategist. Since the focus hasn't been on Jace or Gideon (in fact it hasn't been on Gideon since BFZ and not on Jace since EMN) neither has gotten much developement since then. Nissas relationship to Jace has also not been focussed on since OGW, which is why there is no further devlopement since then and I honestly can't remember BFZs story that well anymore to give you examples there, but I know that I had the feeling that there was a growing connection between them. Since Nissa has isolated herself on Ravnica from the others for a while I guess the developement will set in later again. And of course once the focus is back on him we will get more character developement (maybe as you said once we go to Vryn). The same is true for Gideon who only got a few tidbits of the story since OGW. I guess a Return to Theros or another fight against somneone he can't win against (Bolas perhabs?) will change him more. Just remember: You don't have to develope or change your character everytime they are on screen if their personality is relatively well defined. Homer Simpson for example is a character which is (or at least was) hugely popular, but he didn't change one bit over the course of multiple seasons. That said, of course this is a continuing story, which means sooner or later we will have to see an advance of thiose characters, but just wait until the focus is back on them for that to happen.
Well first of all we actually did get character developement for Jace long before Shadows already: Agents of Artifice, The Secretist and his Origin story gave as pretty much all the insight (and quite a few changes) to his character needed to establish him and his developement. He had slight developement in BFZ of becoming more proactive (in the storyline about Garruks corruption for example he send someomne else to deal with him at first) and even his relationships with Gideon, Nissa and first and foremost Liliana were deepened throughout this and SOIs storyline. SOI also gave us crazy Jace and I don't know about you, I found it enjoyable and horrifying how easy it was for him to lose himself, something he had to admit in EMN as well (when we learn that he at least devised some kind of contingency plan for this situation in case it happened again). I count all of this as "developement" the Agents of Artifice Jace would certainly not act the same way the Kaladesh Jace does in my opinion. The same is true for most of the Gatewatch, with Chandra and sadly Gideon being the weak links, but I hope to see their characters develope further in Kaladesh (which might be the last chance for Chandra, though Gideon shows promise in the latest story).
Always remember that people with negative reactions tend to be louder than people with positive reactions even though they are in a minority in reality. They also tend to flock to the internet to vent their frustration with likeminded people, which creates echo chambers for their own opinion. At the end of the day, even though something is very popular, looking at "internet buzz" as your only source will give you a horribly warped, negative perspective of it. Sadly that's not only true for card games...
And the Gatewatch story is still at it's beginning. I don't agree that the characters didn't develop but even if I did there is still much time for creative to get the hang of it.
I don't know about you, but I'm very much not interested in Innistrad for a while. Those conflicts are even more uninteresting for me than the guild conflicts in Return to Ravnica were. For a side story maybe, but not for a block (at least not for now). Innistrad in my opinion doesn't have a more compelling narrative reason for the moment than Ravnica does (leaving aside that we just went there). Theros I give you and as I said, I would love a Return to Theros as much as I would love a Return to Ravnica 2: Electric Boogaloo. New Phyrexia (and with that Melira and Koth as well as maybe Karn) will probably appear once NP is strong enough to invade a (possibly new) world and I can't see that happening for the foreseeable future. That's the problem with it: It's most important story thread IS to invade another world. Therefore it won't be seen again until it's ready to do that. Ravnica has quite a few other story threads: The conspiracy of the Orzhov, Vraska, the changes brought upon Jace being the new Guildpact etc. It also has one thing that might make it easier to do than a Return to Theros: It isn't bound by any kind of narrative. It's a huge city with very varied guilds and feuds leading to who knows how many possible stories. Theros on the other hand is bound by it's mythological background, Ajanis anti-theism can't succeed since that would mean that the most recognizable thing about Theros (the gods) would vanish. And Elspeth has to undergo the second half of the monomyth. The story is more or less set in stone already. That isn't a bad thing, I'm just saying that it could make it difficult to integrate it into the continuing storyline. As I said, whether it's Theros or Ravnica again, I would be happy either way.
Yeah nothing interesting besides the guilds, except the fact that it is a giant plane-covering city and mechanically features multicolor in a huge way (those are my main reasons for liking it, and I like it very much). Let's be rational here: New Phyrexia doesn't have a chance of being a return in the near future since they are more interesting now as an invasion force on other worlds (the only reason to get back to NP itself would be another uprising by the Mirrans and the final destruction of Phyrexia there which isn't going to happen anytime soon). We just had returns to Innistrad and Zendikar, those two are also out of the question. Alara, Tarkir and Dominaria might get returns in the future, but for now they don't factor much into the ongoing story. Kamigawa, Ulgothra and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor are planes so unpopular in general (although I personally liked Kamigawa at least) that we won't return there either. This leaves us with Theros and Ravnica. Both have quite a few story threads left hanging but only Ravnica factors into the Gatewatch storyline (for now). I give both equal chances to be the next return, although I must say that I believe that Theros (my number 1 favorite plane besides Ravnica) was more unpopular and will probably get its return later if I had to choose.
I really hope that this is real, whether Atlazan is mesoamerican or underwater world (I think it's the former) doesn't matter for me. First Egypt (finally!) and then another theme I was hoping for
Which is exactly my point: It shows Tezzeret failing (!) not succeeding (note that Grixis is not HIS but Bolas color combination). That's why it increases Bolas loyalty.
But wouldn't the card then be called "Battle ON the bridge"?
I still believe "The Bridge" is the portal itself. The question is, why is Tezzeret building one? Not for Bolas himself, that's for sure (why would the dragon need that?). Also I might be mistaken, but what if Dark Intimations actually depicts Tezzerets plans failing... plans which were actually against Bolas himself? That's why the flavor text of Battle at the Bridge doesn't seem to be threatening the Gatewatch or Kaladesh directly, Tezzeret wants to somehow use the portal against Bolas (he tried to revolt in Test of Metal as well (and I know that ones canonicity is in question)). The Gatewatch might actually win the fight against him... and then realize that the only one they helped by doing so was Nicol Bolas. That would be a nice twist in my opinion. But of course I could be entirely wrong.
Interesting, I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum: I enjoy subversions or aversions of normal fantasy tropes much more than linear or classic fantasy. I especially love the thought of developed magical societies (as a science student I find classical fantasy societies often dull and stagnant). I instantly fell in love with Ravnica for that reason. Kaladesh is too cute in some regards for my personal taste, but I like the steampunk aspect, the aetherborn and the effect aether itself has on nature and society there. Zendikar on the other hand I found boring before the Eldrazi (and yes I know, I'm in a minority on this one). Adventure world just really doesn't do it for me. Most of what you describe of Tarkir were personified in Mardu (and to a lesser degree Temur), my least favorite aspect as well. But the rest I found fascinating, especially the cultures of Jeskai and the Abzan. Well, we both love Theros at least^^
May I ask why that is? I mean Kaladesh is by far not my favorite plane (although I love the worldbuilding and technological feel behind it), but Khans-Tarkir and Ravnica? Certainly in my top five. Theros and Ravnica might share number one actually. What is it about those planes that you don't like? Really asking out of interest
I'm kinda disappointed about the storyless weeks too though. If it were at least some kind of new information, but no. Hopefully this week will be different.