The desert oasis of Amonkhet forges warriors. You have trained your entire life for a chance to face the Trials of the Five Gods and join the elite ranks of the Worthy. Using your strength, speed, and cunning, overcome deadly challenges and rise above the competition to claim an honored place in the Afterlife!
Images for discussion: Amonkhet key art, Vengeful Pharaoh (Observe the Bolas Iconography), Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver (Possible Worthy?), Liliana's Demon Razaketh (for discussion, not confirmed).
In THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET, the Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering™, will introduce readers to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet awaits readers as the final hours draw near!
“THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET reveals a world of harsh beauty and incredible contrast. While withering sandstorms rip across barren and treacherous deserts, a thriving city-state worships the God-Pharaoh who protects their verdant oasis,” says Elaine Chase, Senior Director of Global Brand Strategy and Marketing for Magic: The Gathering. “Of course, beneath this utopian surface lies a darker truth, and James Wyatt guides fans through the lore of Amonkhet masterfully.”
Excited to see the old salamander again. Its been a good while. Otherwise I'm honestly not particularly hype. Currently it's all being sucked up by Kaladesh.
Excited to see the old salamander again. Its been a good while. Otherwise I'm honestly not particularly hype. Currently it's all being sucked up by Kaladesh.
Exact opposite for me. I was just starting to warm up to Kaladesh, even if the initial premise wasn't really exciting me, just because it's very pretty and might be less awful, but Amonkhet is something I've been waiting a long time for. Only issue I have is that Bolas may take up the place too much.
Excited to see the old salamander again. Its been a good while. Otherwise I'm honestly not particularly hype. Currently it's all being sucked up by Kaladesh.
Exact opposite for me. I was just starting to warm up to Kaladesh, even if the initial premise wasn't really exciting me, just because it's very pretty and might be less awful, but Amonkhet is something I've been waiting a long time for. Only issue I have is that Bolas may take up the place too much.
Same for me actually. Not only is Kaladesh a "well not quite but still kinda somehow" return plane after BFZ and SOI, but its premise is also not all that exciting. The only thing it had going for it were the land arts. And now we got the much needed new plane and setting we haven't had before and my hype is off the charts. I kinda wanna skip Kaladesh at this point.
The only thing keeping my interest on Kaladesh is that I forgot it was supposed to be Mirrodin 3.0 (thanks Inventor's Fair) and I might get a ton of new foil swag for Kemba. It might have some great story behind it but right now Bolas has distracted me too much.
He already has his horns on all the architecture so I'm curious to see how much of his influence is on the entire plane from the clothing to whatever the gods will be. Plus, I'm interested to see what lives on this plane.
My only worry is that "Bolas controlled world" will over shadow "Egyptian myth world". Otherwise I'm pretty happy I not very familiar with South Asia culture or Egyptian Mythology (more in to Greek) so I intreated to see what both Kaladesh and Amonkhet will bring. Plus I wonder which of the gatewatch will go there, with Jace and Liliana both personally knowing Bolas and Chandra knows of him, be interesting to see the conflict that happens. And while people are guess Liliana 3rd demon might be here, that seems like a lot of things going on.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
My only worry is that "Bolas controlled world" will over shadow "Egyptian myth world". Otherwise I'm pretty happy I not very familiar with South Asia culture or Egyptian Mythology (more in to Greek) so I intreated to see what both Kaladesh and Amonkhet will bring. Plus I wonder which of the gatewatch will go there, with Jace and Liliana both personally knowing Bolas and Chandra knows of him, be interesting to see the conflict that happens. And while people are guess Liliana 3rd demon might be here, that seems like a lot of things going on.
I expect that if Lili's third demon is there he will be the focus of the first set, possibly even one of the five gods, only to have Bolas revealed after the demons defeat in Hour of Devastation.
My only worry is that "Bolas controlled world" will over shadow "Egyptian myth world". Otherwise I'm pretty happy I not very familiar with South Asia culture or Egyptian Mythology (more in to Greek) so I intreated to see what both Kaladesh and Amonkhet will bring. Plus I wonder which of the gatewatch will go there, with Jace and Liliana both personally knowing Bolas and Chandra knows of him, be interesting to see the conflict that happens. And while people are guess Liliana 3rd demon might be here, that seems like a lot of things going on.
I expect that if Lili's third demon is there he will be the focus of the first set, possibly even one of the five gods, only to have Bolas revealed after the demons defeat in Hour of Devastation.
I'm fine with that. I just don't want it to go from Shadows to Eldritch in terms of how much the world warped. While I realize that the world was built with Bolas in mind the draw feels like Egypt, so I would hope that isn't lost.
My only worry is that "Bolas controlled world" will over shadow "Egyptian myth world". Otherwise I'm pretty happy I not very familiar with South Asia culture or Egyptian Mythology (more in to Greek) so I intreated to see what both Kaladesh and Amonkhet will bring. Plus I wonder which of the gatewatch will go there, with Jace and Liliana both personally knowing Bolas and Chandra knows of him, be interesting to see the conflict that happens. And while people are guess Liliana 3rd demon might be here, that seems like a lot of things going on.
I expect that if Lili's third demon is there he will be the focus of the first set, possibly even one of the five gods, only to have Bolas revealed after the demons defeat in Hour of Devastation.
There's no way Bolas will be revealed in the second set. They've already announced Bolas's involvement so its not a secret.
I am very interested to see how long Bolas has ruled this world and what his scheme is. I hope that the gatewatch is handed a big defeat as well. I suppose there is a chance we see Ugin although last we saw him, he only seemed interested in studying the effects of dead eldrazi titans. And I am going to throw out some speculation here, just looking at the clothing of Ashiok, it gives off an Egyptian vibe. I know that as of last writing it was still on Theros but you never know.
I am very interested to see how long Bolas has ruled this world and what his scheme is. I hope that the gatewatch is handed a big defeat as well. I suppose there is a chance we see Ugin although last we saw him, he only seemed interested in studying the effects of dead eldrazi titans. And I am going to throw out some speculation here, just looking at the clothing of Ashiok, it gives off an Egyptian vibe. I know that as of last writing it was still on Theros but you never know.
Actually according to the stories Ashiok has appeared in, Ashiok`s clothes are a mockery of the local fashion in Theros.
There's no way Bolas will be revealed in the second set. They've already announced Bolas's involvement so its not a secret.
Not revealed to us but revealed to the gatewatch.
Because of the way the stories are told I very much doubt we'd get information so far in advance of the characters.
In storytelling it's ok for the reader to know more than the character.
I'm aware of that, just pointing out that Wizards doesn't seem to be telling their stories that way. SOI was not advertised in advance as the Gatewatch "visiting a plane being corrupted by Emrakul" for instance.
****. Now the Gatewatch is going to waltz up to Nicol Bolas, the most bad-ass villain since the mending, and defeat him within the space of two sets. Expect leyline shenanigans everyone.
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Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
****. Now the Gatewatch is going to waltz up to Nicol Bolas, the most bad-ass villain since the mending, and defeat him within the space of two sets. Expect leyline shenanigans everyone.
Jace: "I have trapped you in a web of leyline, Bolas!"
Bolas: "I call shenanigans!"
Gideon: "Alright we gotta let him go, Jace."
Jace: "But..."
Gideon: "Those are the rules! He declared shenanigans."
Charda: "Nissa and I accidentally killed him."
I am concerned that Egypt World will be crowded out by or come at the expense of Bolas. Not the world to re-introduce him IMO. But we'll have to see how that all plays out first of course. His presence may be no literal presence at all - but regardless, will either add to or detract from the flavor of the setting depending on how it's all spun. I find the latter a plausible risk to consider, but an ancient serpent dragon could fit well enough with the flavor and it'll all depend on how the gods and the source material is addressed. Hopefully not like Theros where gods were being humiliated by planes walkers. Which continues to be absurd to me, and disrespectful and even undermining the creative effort of making gods for the game in the first place.
Hopefully not like Theros where gods were being humiliated by planes walkers. Which continues to be absurd to me, and disrespectful and even undermining the creative effort of making gods for the game in the first place.
While I have not read the Theros novels I thought that in generally it was established that gods were beyond most planeswalkers (although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia). Kiora got her fins handed to her by Thassa (ok she got Deleka but still) while Elspeth prevented Heliod from killing her the first time because she had a god-forged weapon and later she used said weapon to slay xenagos. Ashiok had aid from Phenax to escape Ephara`s wrath and Gideon was incapable of even scratching Erebos with a spear made by Heliod. Have I gotten something wrong here or are there more instances of gods vs planeswalkers in the novels?
Hopefully not like Theros where gods were being humiliated by planes walkers. Which continues to be absurd to me, and disrespectful and even undermining the creative effort of making gods for the game in the first place.
While I have not read the Theros novels I thought that in generally it was established that gods were beyond most planeswalkers (although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia). Kiora got her fins handed to her by Thassa (ok she got Deleka but still) while Elspeth prevented Heliod from killing her the first time because she had a god-forged weapon and later she used said weapon to slay xenagos. Ashiok had aid from Phenax to escape Ephara`s wrath and Gideon was incapable of even scratching Erebos with a spear made by Heliod. Have I gotten something wrong here or are there more instances of gods vs planeswalkers in the novels?
i think I'm just bitter about Dekella as a Thassa fan. Even if it was exclusively luck and circumstantial.
The Theros pantheon could be defeated by the big 3 largely because the members are so petty. Too many rivalries and underhanded tactics and all that to make a solid team. Phenax would probably align with the villains for example. The Theros gods are all about their own self interest and tend to act as individuals which is why I think Kruphiz suspected they can be defeated by a powerful enemy like the big 3.
Hopefully not like Theros where gods were being humiliated by planes walkers. Which continues to be absurd to me, and disrespectful and even undermining the creative effort of making gods for the game in the first place.
While I have not read the Theros novels I thought that in generally it was established that gods were beyond most planeswalkers (although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia). Kiora got her fins handed to her by Thassa (ok she got Deleka but still) while Elspeth prevented Heliod from killing her the first time because she had a god-forged weapon and later she used said weapon to slay xenagos. Ashiok had aid from Phenax to escape Ephara`s wrath and Gideon was incapable of even scratching Erebos with a spear made by Heliod. Have I gotten something wrong here or are there more instances of gods vs planeswalkers in the novels?
i think I'm just bitter about Dekella as a Thassa fan. Even if it was exclusively luck and circumstantial.
The Theros pantheon could be defeated by the big 3 largely because the members are so petty. Too many rivalries and underhanded tactics and all that to make a solid team. Phenax would probably align with the villains for example. The Theros gods are all about their own self interest and tend to act as individuals which is why I think Kruphiz suspected they can be defeated by a powerful enemy like the big 3.
This is almost certainly why he was afraid of Bolas. The old dragon would play the gods like a piano. He probably wouldn't even have to fight any of them, he could just get them to wipe themselves out.
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Vorthos Cartography - Check out my completed maps of Zendikar and Innistrad!
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
(although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia).
That largely depends on how the phyrexian invasion on Theros manifests. Since the gods (and Nyx in general) is directly influenced by the dreams, hopes and ideas of mortals, it's very well possible that Nyx will be infected with nyxborn phyrexian horrors born out of corrupted mortals. Heck, it may even be possible that once the invasion is complete the father of machines on Theros becomes a literal god. (Actually, that'd be a genius way to bring Yawgmoth back. It's Him based on the memories of the oil, and it doesn't break continuity.)
(although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia).
That largely depends on how the phyrexian invasion on Theros manifests. Since the gods (and Nyx in general) is directly influenced by the dreams, hopes and ideas of mortals, it's very well possible that Nyx will be infected with nyxborn phyrexian horrors born out of corrupted mortals. Heck, it may even be possible that once the invasion is complete the father of machines on Theros becomes a literal god. (Actually, that'd be a genius way to bring Yawgmoth back. It's Him based on the memories of the oil, and it doesn't break continuity.)
Or since Phyrexia aren't really "living", Nyx could weaken away "destroying" the gods from lack of any "true" dreams, hopes and ideas.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
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Images for discussion: Amonkhet key art, Vengeful Pharaoh (Observe the Bolas Iconography), Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver (Possible Worthy?), Liliana's Demon Razaketh (for discussion, not confirmed).
The Viz Media Art Book Announcement also contains some intriguing details:
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Exact opposite for me. I was just starting to warm up to Kaladesh, even if the initial premise wasn't really exciting me, just because it's very pretty and might be less awful, but Amonkhet is something I've been waiting a long time for. Only issue I have is that Bolas may take up the place too much.
Same for me actually. Not only is Kaladesh a "well not quite but still kinda somehow" return plane after BFZ and SOI, but its premise is also not all that exciting. The only thing it had going for it were the land arts. And now we got the much needed new plane and setting we haven't had before and my hype is off the charts. I kinda wanna skip Kaladesh at this point.
He already has his horns on all the architecture so I'm curious to see how much of his influence is on the entire plane from the clothing to whatever the gods will be. Plus, I'm interested to see what lives on this plane.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I expect that if Lili's third demon is there he will be the focus of the first set, possibly even one of the five gods, only to have Bolas revealed after the demons defeat in Hour of Devastation.
I'm fine with that. I just don't want it to go from Shadows to Eldritch in terms of how much the world warped. While I realize that the world was built with Bolas in mind the draw feels like Egypt, so I would hope that isn't lost.
There's no way Bolas will be revealed in the second set. They've already announced Bolas's involvement so its not a secret.
Actually according to the stories Ashiok has appeared in, Ashiok`s clothes are a mockery of the local fashion in Theros.
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW
Not revealed to us but revealed to the gatewatch.
Because of the way the stories are told I very much doubt we'd get information so far in advance of the characters.
In storytelling it's ok for the reader to know more than the character.
I'm aware of that, just pointing out that Wizards doesn't seem to be telling their stories that way. SOI was not advertised in advance as the Gatewatch "visiting a plane being corrupted by Emrakul" for instance.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Jace: "I have trapped you in a web of leyline, Bolas!"
Bolas: "I call shenanigans!"
Gideon: "Alright we gotta let him go, Jace."
Jace: "But..."
Gideon: "Those are the rules! He declared shenanigans."
Charda: "Nissa and I accidentally killed him."
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
While I have not read the Theros novels I thought that in generally it was established that gods were beyond most planeswalkers (although when Kruphix said that any of the three big bads could defeat the pantheon I cringed. Doesnt make sense for phyrexia). Kiora got her fins handed to her by Thassa (ok she got Deleka but still) while Elspeth prevented Heliod from killing her the first time because she had a god-forged weapon and later she used said weapon to slay xenagos. Ashiok had aid from Phenax to escape Ephara`s wrath and Gideon was incapable of even scratching Erebos with a spear made by Heliod. Have I gotten something wrong here or are there more instances of gods vs planeswalkers in the novels?
UBarrin, Master WizardU
USticher GeralfU
UIxidor, Reality SculptorU
UWNoyan Dar, Roil ShaperUW
The Theros pantheon could be defeated by the big 3 largely because the members are so petty. Too many rivalries and underhanded tactics and all that to make a solid team. Phenax would probably align with the villains for example. The Theros gods are all about their own self interest and tend to act as individuals which is why I think Kruphiz suspected they can be defeated by a powerful enemy like the big 3.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
This is almost certainly why he was afraid of Bolas. The old dragon would play the gods like a piano. He probably wouldn't even have to fight any of them, he could just get them to wipe themselves out.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
That largely depends on how the phyrexian invasion on Theros manifests. Since the gods (and Nyx in general) is directly influenced by the dreams, hopes and ideas of mortals, it's very well possible that Nyx will be infected with nyxborn phyrexian horrors born out of corrupted mortals. Heck, it may even be possible that once the invasion is complete the father of machines on Theros becomes a literal god. (Actually, that'd be a genius way to bring Yawgmoth back. It's Him based on the memories of the oil, and it doesn't break continuity.)
Or since Phyrexia aren't really "living", Nyx could weaken away "destroying" the gods from lack of any "true" dreams, hopes and ideas.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"