Perfect. As a big fan of both Brandon Sanderson and MtG—and Innistrad being my favourite plane—I almost feel as if this book was written just for me.
Davriel Cane has quickly become my favourite planeswalker. The day his card is released I intend on obtaining a complete playset as fast as possible! I predict he’ll be U/B and exiles the top card of the opponents deck to play for yourself, and possibly even the ability to steal abilities from other planeswalkers. And what of Tacenda? A G/W origins style flip-planeswalker? Very excited.
Alright, enough geeking out over predictions for printed cardboard; this is a review for a book, after all. I must admit, I didn’t really enjoy the first couple of chapters. They moved by quite fast—especially for a Sanderson story—however once Tacenda reached Davriel’s manor, I quickly fell in love with the story. The characters shined brightly and that Sanderson charm spilled over Innistrad.
Tacenda is a twin to Willia, they are cursed with Blindness. Tacenda during the day, Willia at night. Along with their curse, they each have special powers. Tacenda can sing a special ward to protect the town. Willia has exceptional warrior strength.
The bloke on the cover, Davriel, doesn’t perceive himself as all that powerful. His only magical ability is to steal spells from others, and his ability to planeswalk is the only thing that allows him to remain confident through conflict. He also has claimed an ‘entity’, which resides inside his head and wills him on to ‘use it’. The full extent of this entity is unknown—Possibly linked to the origin of Eldrazi or even something greater from the Multiverse?—however, he claimed it by killing someone, and is pursued by others because of it. One could assume those after him to be Nicol Bolas, his henchmen, or other planeswalkers. Remaining hidden from these pursuers is a big part of his motivation.
This book should also receive the award for Most Charming Demons. I absolutely loved Crunchgnar and Miss Highwater. Basically, before the events of this book, there was a time where most demons—along with Avacyn—were imprisoned away in the ‘Helvault’. During the last visit to Innistrad, Lilliana Vess destroyed the Helvault, releasing the demons and Avacyn. Another planeswalker, Nahiri from Zendikar, also was released. She was mad at Sorin (Avacyn’s creator) for not protecting her home realm. Hence, she wanted to destroy Innistrad the same way Zendikar had been. She did this by pulling Emrakul (a giant Eldritch-like entity called an Eldrazi). Avacyn went mad by its near presence, Sorin killed Avacyn, and then the whole plane got all messed up by Emrakul infecting its soil. If you aren’t a MtG fan, go look at some artwork for the ‘Eldritch Moon’ set. Bit of a tangent there, but that explains why the angels went mad.
Back to the demons, after being released, we can assume they were eager to ‘form contracts’ to consume souls. Davriel took advantage of this, promising his soul to several demons if they fulfilled contracts; contracts they would be unable to complete. This adds quite a bit of humour to the story, and I loved the way he and his demons bickered with each other.
The plot focuses on a small Kessig town, called Verlasen, and how one day everyone, bar Tacenda, dies. She sets out to exact revenge upon Davriel. Tacenda's failed assassination inconveniences Davriel. But not as much as all his peasants disappearing. Or the fact he is out of dustwillow tea. Davriel sets out to find the answers to the problems, with Tacenda tagging along. Also, Davriel is hunting for hidden reserves of tea. Surely those peasants had some stashed somewhere?
At first they assume the work of a necromancer had claimed the lives of Verlasen. Davriel knows the bog is far too powerful for a mere mortal to go up against. He wonders if it was the bog itself who claimed the souls. After all, most the townsfolk worship the bog and sacrifice their souls to it when they die. They believe it protects them from the horrors of Innistrad. And it has. Until everyone died. The Church of the Nameless Angel is his other suspect. They had been slowly converting the people of the town. But what would that force the bog to do?
The story is full of mystery, action, and great interactions between humans and demons. Pacing is everything you’d expect from a Sanderson book. I absolutely loved it. Other than the start, if I was going to complain about anything else, it would be the length. I want more!
Would love to see a sequel to this, or the continuation of these characters in the MtG Multiverse.
My all time favourite would have to be the Monster Hunter series, absolutely love that!
Mass Effect, Halo (up to 3), Gears of War, Bomberman (Pre 64), and Powerstone 2 would have to be my most memorable games.
I don't know why, but I always like keys and wallet in my right pocket, phone and 3DS in my left. If I reach for that pocket and they are in the other, I flip out!
I like brewing my own, but am pretty easy. Guiness is a great stout, but definitely tastes better in Ireland, no idea why! My favourite beer in the USA would be anything New Glarus, that brand rocks. Here in Aus I have to say I love anything from Lucky Bay Brewing, but that's hard to get outside of Esperance. Tooheys Old for a dark ale, or James Squire 50 Lashes for a pale ale!
I also don't mind the odd corona with a chunk of fruit in it during a hot day.
G'day, been playing on and off since 2012, and just getting back into it again with the Tezzeret premade deck, tweaked of course!
My favourite card of all time is Primordial Hydra, I also love playing Munchkin and Monster Hunter. I love reading and writing, almost finished Emperor of Thorns, but need to catch up on MTG story! Haven't read anything since Kaladesh. I love to travel and currently living in Tasmania!
I also play Magic Duels on both PC and Xbox (When I have access to it!).
I too recently grabbed a copy of this deck after a year not playing MTG. Did a few switch ups and went into a standard tournament. Lost the first 2 games, won the second 2. I added a couple more Dhund Operatives. Deathtouch is great with all the constant pumping up of green/red that I saw.
Only had the one ornithoptor, but would like to get a few more. Basically try to dump everything out as quick as possible, hope for touch of Tezz and get the kill. Had a playset of Cheif of the Foundry too, great helper.
I also used a playset of Efficient Construction at first. Dropped down to a single one after my losses though. It's very handy, but not what you want to play on turn 4. can be a decent survival card late game.
I splurged on a couple of Noxious Gearhulk, GREAT card, and far better than Tezzeret's Betrayal! I also had a single Untethered Express which worked really nice. Not sure if it is the perfect vehicle for the deck, but it definitely helped!
I'm thinking a playset of Battle at the Bridge would be a great removal spell for this deck. And not sure if I should add a couple of Herald of Anguish, or 2 more Noxious Gearhulks with some Whir of Inventions to help. Keen to hear what others are doing.
It is definitely playable with some tweaking, but probably not going to win every game! I'd love to hear of some other ridiculous good cards to pop into the deck!
Perfect. As a big fan of both Brandon Sanderson and MtG—and Innistrad being my favourite plane—I almost feel as if this book was written just for me.
Davriel Cane has quickly become my favourite planeswalker. The day his card is released I intend on obtaining a complete playset as fast as possible! I predict he’ll be U/B and exiles the top card of the opponents deck to play for yourself, and possibly even the ability to steal abilities from other planeswalkers. And what of Tacenda? A G/W origins style flip-planeswalker? Very excited.
Alright, enough geeking out over predictions for printed cardboard; this is a review for a book, after all. I must admit, I didn’t really enjoy the first couple of chapters. They moved by quite fast—especially for a Sanderson story—however once Tacenda reached Davriel’s manor, I quickly fell in love with the story. The characters shined brightly and that Sanderson charm spilled over Innistrad.
Tacenda is a twin to Willia, they are cursed with Blindness. Tacenda during the day, Willia at night. Along with their curse, they each have special powers. Tacenda can sing a special ward to protect the town. Willia has exceptional warrior strength.
The bloke on the cover, Davriel, doesn’t perceive himself as all that powerful. His only magical ability is to steal spells from others, and his ability to planeswalk is the only thing that allows him to remain confident through conflict. He also has claimed an ‘entity’, which resides inside his head and wills him on to ‘use it’. The full extent of this entity is unknown—Possibly linked to the origin of Eldrazi or even something greater from the Multiverse?—however, he claimed it by killing someone, and is pursued by others because of it. One could assume those after him to be Nicol Bolas, his henchmen, or other planeswalkers. Remaining hidden from these pursuers is a big part of his motivation.
This book should also receive the award for Most Charming Demons. I absolutely loved Crunchgnar and Miss Highwater. Basically, before the events of this book, there was a time where most demons—along with Avacyn—were imprisoned away in the ‘Helvault’. During the last visit to Innistrad, Lilliana Vess destroyed the Helvault, releasing the demons and Avacyn. Another planeswalker, Nahiri from Zendikar, also was released. She was mad at Sorin (Avacyn’s creator) for not protecting her home realm. Hence, she wanted to destroy Innistrad the same way Zendikar had been. She did this by pulling Emrakul (a giant Eldritch-like entity called an Eldrazi). Avacyn went mad by its near presence, Sorin killed Avacyn, and then the whole plane got all messed up by Emrakul infecting its soil. If you aren’t a MtG fan, go look at some artwork for the ‘Eldritch Moon’ set. Bit of a tangent there, but that explains why the angels went mad.
Back to the demons, after being released, we can assume they were eager to ‘form contracts’ to consume souls. Davriel took advantage of this, promising his soul to several demons if they fulfilled contracts; contracts they would be unable to complete. This adds quite a bit of humour to the story, and I loved the way he and his demons bickered with each other.
The plot focuses on a small Kessig town, called Verlasen, and how one day everyone, bar Tacenda, dies. She sets out to exact revenge upon Davriel. Tacenda's failed assassination inconveniences Davriel. But not as much as all his peasants disappearing. Or the fact he is out of dustwillow tea. Davriel sets out to find the answers to the problems, with Tacenda tagging along. Also, Davriel is hunting for hidden reserves of tea. Surely those peasants had some stashed somewhere?
At first they assume the work of a necromancer had claimed the lives of Verlasen. Davriel knows the bog is far too powerful for a mere mortal to go up against. He wonders if it was the bog itself who claimed the souls. After all, most the townsfolk worship the bog and sacrifice their souls to it when they die. They believe it protects them from the horrors of Innistrad. And it has. Until everyone died. The Church of the Nameless Angel is his other suspect. They had been slowly converting the people of the town. But what would that force the bog to do?
The story is full of mystery, action, and great interactions between humans and demons. Pacing is everything you’d expect from a Sanderson book. I absolutely loved it. Other than the start, if I was going to complain about anything else, it would be the length. I want more!
Would love to see a sequel to this, or the continuation of these characters in the MtG Multiverse.
Originally posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2633419452
Mass Effect, Halo (up to 3), Gears of War, Bomberman (Pre 64), and Powerstone 2 would have to be my most memorable games.
I also don't mind the odd corona with a chunk of fruit in it during a hot day.
My favourite card of all time is Primordial Hydra, I also love playing Munchkin and Monster Hunter. I love reading and writing, almost finished Emperor of Thorns, but need to catch up on MTG story! Haven't read anything since Kaladesh. I love to travel and currently living in Tasmania!
I also play Magic Duels on both PC and Xbox (When I have access to it!).
Only had the one ornithoptor, but would like to get a few more. Basically try to dump everything out as quick as possible, hope for touch of Tezz and get the kill. Had a playset of Cheif of the Foundry too, great helper.
I also used a playset of Efficient Construction at first. Dropped down to a single one after my losses though. It's very handy, but not what you want to play on turn 4. can be a decent survival card late game.
I splurged on a couple of Noxious Gearhulk, GREAT card, and far better than Tezzeret's Betrayal! I also had a single Untethered Express which worked really nice. Not sure if it is the perfect vehicle for the deck, but it definitely helped!
I'm thinking a playset of Battle at the Bridge would be a great removal spell for this deck. And not sure if I should add a couple of Herald of Anguish, or 2 more Noxious Gearhulks with some Whir of Inventions to help. Keen to hear what others are doing.
It is definitely playable with some tweaking, but probably not going to win every game! I'd love to hear of some other ridiculous good cards to pop into the deck!