Small tidbit someone on reddit mentioned which is really nice:
Bolas says in the Emperor's Fist novel by McGough that he respected his siblings as equals and did not harm them. Which means that Ugin is actually worse than Bolas for trying to assassinate a sibling and initiating the conflict between the two.
I like how they portrayed Bolas in this story. Not quite as adept as his siblings, implying his rise to power was more through his cunning and smarts than natural prowess, which is cool. Also, a demeanor change, though a learned one, as his more brash personality does show at times.
He also doesn't come over as conniving as Ugin.
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Modern
Affinity
UW Control
Commander
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dragonlord Ojutai
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
The Ur-Dragon
You know what would be crazy? If those two eggs that fell into the volcano were actually still viable, and they've been lying dormant under the surface of Dominaria this whole time.
Could it be possible that Niv-Mizzet is also a son of the Ur-Dragon? I wonder if Ugin in his quest of knowledge found the Ur-Dragon and that lead him to transcend his colors. What if Nicol is trying to become a being just like the Ur-Dragon? I love the story and that they are twins. I bet we will get cards for all the elder dragons in this core set
You know what would be crazy? If those two eggs that fell into the volcano were actually still viable, and they've been lying dormant under the surface of Dominaria this whole time.
Return to Dominaria would be quite interesting if that's the case.
This means Ugin plotted fratricide, and Nicol in turn consummated it.
Interesting, being born with full sentience and knowledge, being aware of your own nascent consciousness.
I hope they go this route as I don't want Ugin to be the clear good guy the entire story. He seems distant enough at first blush to try and remove bolas if he thinks he's not good for the universal system (i.e. Him ending planets and enslaving entire civilizations). Maybe some kind of culmination with the onnake is what drove Ugin to action?
Could it be possible that Niv-Mizzet is also a son of the Ur-Dragon? I wonder if Ugin in his quest of knowledge found the Ur-Dragon and that lead him to transcend his colors. What if Nicol is trying to become a being just like the Ur-Dragon? I love the story and that they are twins. I bet we will get cards for all the elder dragons in this core set
It would appear Ugin follows closer to the footsteps of the Ur Dragon, having birthed greater dragons and their dragon broods on Tarkir not too dissimilar to the way the elders were born here.
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Bolas says in the Emperor's Fist novel by McGough that he respected his siblings as equals and did not harm them. Which means that Ugin is actually worse than Bolas for trying to assassinate a sibling and initiating the conflict between the two.
Nice quote, but also keep in mind that Bolas is not above blatantly lying and twisting the truth to get what he wants. He may have wanted whoever he was telling that to THINK he wouldn't go after his siblings. That doesn't mean he actually wouldn't if it would serve his ultimate goal.
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Based on the Spirit Dragon's ultimate, I'm actually leaning towards Bant. Gain 7 life = white, Draw seven cards = Blue, Put up to seven permanent cards onto the battlefield = Green. Blue is obviously one of his colors, if he had colors, but he's also interested in preserving the natural order, which is a green trait. White is also something that wouldn't be far-fetched for what we've seen of his personality thus far.
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Based on the Spirit Dragon's ultimate, I'm actually leaning towards Bant. Gain 7 life = white, Draw seven cards = Blue, Put up to seven permanent cards onto the battlefield = Green.
Bant might be possible, if Arcades Sabboth is left out.
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Thanks to SpiderBoy4 @ High-Light Studio's for the awesome banner
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.” —Volrath
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Based on the Spirit Dragon's ultimate, I'm actually leaning towards Bant. Gain 7 life = white, Draw seven cards = Blue, Put up to seven permanent cards onto the battlefield = Green.
Bant might be possible, if Arcades Sabboth is left out.
If Ugin wasn't initially colorless, then maybe the egg that Bolas and Ugin emerged from was WUBRG, but the colors got split between the two. This would be why they're so radically different from each other personality-wise.
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Based on the Spirit Dragon's ultimate, I'm actually leaning towards Bant. Gain 7 life = white, Draw seven cards = Blue, Put up to seven permanent cards onto the battlefield = Green.
Bant might be possible, if Arcades Sabboth is left out.
I’m betting we will get all the previous Elder dragons and Ugin to be initially rival to Nicol he will be Jeskai, that’s my bet. Curiously in Tarkir the ones with the ghostfire mark were of the Jeskai Clan
Came here to say today's story was pretty dope. Are they going to make us feel bad for Bolas right before his 'defeat' on Ravnica? It's hard to feel bad for 'big evil' characters like Yawgmoth or Bolas. But if this story goes in the direction of making me feel even a little bad for Bolas, then that would be good storytelling. At least, to me.
What would be interesting is if Bolas ended up "hurt" (or as hurt Bolas could be by something like that) by Ugin trying to kill him. That would make the 6D chess match between the two more interesting IMO.
Came here to say today's story was pretty dope. Are they going to make us feel bad for Bolas right before his 'defeat' on Ravnica? It's hard to feel bad for 'big evil' characters like Yawgmoth or Bolas. But if this story goes in the direction of making me feel even a little bad for Bolas, then that would be good storytelling. At least, to me.
Another thing to consider here is that Ugin is not native to Tarkir. If we're to assume that Tarkir existed before he was born, Ugin actually condemned the plane to its fate with his dragonstorms. Remember that Tarkir was the way it was in both of its timelines in large part because the rest of the locals had to adapt to fighting the dragons there, and the ecology was shaped by the dragons.
I wonder if Bolas' story will lead to more info on the "leviathan planeswalker" he eats and leaves at Talon gate. I think if they go over that story in more detail we will find out it was actually an eldrazi
Like the Kenrith siblings, both of the twins got the spark.
That was my thought as well. Looks like the spark is given in the womb, and as such both twins in a set receive it (share one?). This, if true, has some interesting implications for Khenra and goblins.
The original Elder Dragons all get new creature cards? Rosewater did say they are the ones being referenced to. Plus a Colorless Pre Spark Ugin? I don't see any reason not to just full cycle the Elder Dragons.
He never said they'll get new creature cards. I really hope they do, but they didn't like printing multicolored cards in coresets in the past. They might have shifted from that stance, though.
They're practically guaranteed to be multi-color. There's no way the poster-childs (and infact, namesakes) for EDH will not be made to be as exciting as commanders can come. And that includes being three-coloured.
As I've been chewing over this story, I surprisingly found myself not liking baby Ugin, and liking baby Bolas more. Bolas seems to show more of a kinship with the attacked dragon. He's ready to face death to save her. But Ugin keeps shutting him up and taking his time to free Bolas, and doesn't seem as interested. As the descriptions of the horrible wounds flew past my eyes, I felt like baby Bolas, and I was annoyed with baby Ugin.
Which leads me to think about Ugin generally, and some other things people brought up so far in this thread. My impression of Ugin is that his interests and goals take precedence over any others (duh, dragon!). Bolas is pinned and ready to die for his sister anyway. Ugin isn't. Sorin and Nahiri want to stop the Eldrazi forever; Ugin doesn't. Ugin has Azor seal his spark away for Ugin's plan. Ugin introduces dragonstorms on Tarkir, terrorizing non-dragons for who knows how long. Ugin just doesn't really care. Didn't he even set up Jace as a trap to get Bolas on Ixalan?
Which leads me to something someone asked about Yasova. Maybe Bolas went to her and told her the dragons hunting her people was a result of Ugin. Ugin was to blame for all that suffering. And so, she worked with Bolas to take down Ugin. And it worked: All the dragons were wiped out, until Sarkhan undid it. And now it's even worse for people on Tarkir, and Ugin is alive again! Not liking him even more now! And functionally, is Bolas' impact on Amonkhet worse than Ugin's impact on Tarkir? Something to think on.
And the dragonstorms on Tarkir are very similar to the description of the ur-dragon and the generation of the first elder dragons, as others have pointed out. Is Ugin trying to become a new ur-dragon of Dominia(not Dominaria)? Would his study of the Eldrazi have assisted in his goal of becoming godlike over all planes?
Speculation, but fun speculation. Bolas is a bad dude, but I don't see Ugin as a boy scout either. He'd be an interesting next 'big bad.'
As I've been chewing over this story, I surprisingly found myself not liking baby Ugin, and liking baby Bolas more. Bolas seems to show more of a kinship with the attacked dragon. He's ready to face death to save her. But Ugin keeps shutting him up and taking his time to free Bolas, and doesn't seem as interested. As the descriptions of the horrible wounds flew past my eyes, I felt like baby Bolas, and I was annoyed with baby Ugin.
Which leads me to think about Ugin generally, and some other things people brought up so far in this thread. My impression of Ugin is that his interests and goals take precedence over any others (duh, dragon!). Bolas is pinned and ready to die for his sister anyway. Ugin isn't. Sorin and Nahiri want to stop the Eldrazi forever; Ugin doesn't. Ugin has Azor seal his spark away for Ugin's plan. Ugin introduces dragonstorms on Tarkir, terrorizing non-dragons for who knows how long. Ugin just doesn't really care. Didn't he even set up Jace as a trap to get Bolas on Ixalan?
Which leads me to something someone asked about Yasova. Maybe Bolas went to her and told her the dragons hunting her people was a result of Ugin. Ugin was to blame for all that suffering. And so, she worked with Bolas to take down Ugin. And it worked: All the dragons were wiped out, until Sarkhan undid it. And now it's even worse for people on Tarkir, and Ugin is alive again! Not liking him even more now! And functionally, is Bolas' impact on Amonkhet worse than Ugin's impact on Tarkir? Something to think on.
And the dragonstorms on Tarkir are very similar to the description of the ur-dragon and the generation of the first elder dragons, as others have pointed out. Is Ugin trying to become a new ur-dragon of Dominia(not Dominaria)? Would his study of the Eldrazi have assisted in his goal of becoming godlike over all planes?
Speculation, but fun speculation. Bolas is a bad dude, but I don't see Ugin as a boy scout either. He'd be an interesting next 'big bad.'
Excited for next week!
Ugin was keeping the storms quelled to some degree allowing a balance to take place. His death removed the storms, yeah. His slumber just let the storms rage unrestrained. If anything bolas just upset the natural balance of tarkir to just rid himself of Ugin. Present day dragon dominance on tarkir is Bolas' fault as much as Ugin.
It'll be interesting to see who cast the first stone, so to speak. Ugin shows signs of care to his twin, but not to the other dragon. Which is interesting. Knowing now that his plan was to imprison bolas via the immortal sun (and he successfully orechstrated sealing the eldrazi for that matter), killing seems pretty far removed from his agenda.
Maybe he refuses to fight in the dragon wars and Bolas takes it as him forsaking his duty to his family and the feud spirals out of control from there? Given his methods thus far it wouldn't surprise me.
I'm eager to eventually find out what Ugin has been up to that makes him on par with Bolas potentially (we don't know for certain this is even the case). Bolas is over there eventually eating planeswalkimg leviathans (which I'm assuming are eldrazi or akin to market lage), getting the gem thing he wears between his horns, creating zombie factories, destroying skalla, brokering demon pacts for lili, beating teferis face in, etc. All we know of Ugin is he helped seal the eldrazi and he helped create the immortal sun (at least conceptually).
Also, if Ugin was around I wonder if he would have stepped in for the phyrexian invasion. I also wonder if he has any ties to Dominaria still. This story is creating more questions than I realized I had for Ugin, at least for me lol.
For Ugins abilities his card can ghostfire and mass exile colored permanents. We know he has sealing spells (eldrazi prison/immortal sun plan) and we know he's no slouch at time manipulation. Wonder what else may fall in his wheelhouse. (A planeswalker card with repeatable extra turns sounds so filthy).
I remember Ugin saying something along the lines of "Well he's been acting more careless than I remembered." when he was told that Bolas orchestrated the release of the Eldrazi.
This twin relationship makes that line even more interesting.
"By naming itself it takes control of its own destiny. No dragon would allow another to name it."
(...)
"You're Nicol, aren't you? That's your name."
"Of course it's my name. Hsst, quiet, Ugin."
They named each other. Could be relevant.
Each of them controls the destiny of the other. So no matter how much they hate each other, their fates are too tightly linked for one to just dispose of the other. Bolas's murder of Ugin failed because of time shenanigans, and Ugin's plan to trap Bolas on Ixalan also failed because Azor couldn't stop bragging to people.
^ Eh, I took that more as they knew each other's names, not that they named each other. Being twins and all. I doubt they've got a Voldemort/Harry Potter shared fate type of situation (on top of that being totally lame).
They just, from a writing standpoint, didn't want to introduce them the way the other three were. "I am Nicol Bolas! And I .... need help getting out of this." "I am Ugin, yeah here I come." Wouldn't exactly have the same impact as the previously introduced dragons.
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It’s also cool that even early on, Ugin could break the ‘3rd wall’ so to speak and sense the past-scrying of Yasova.
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
I like how they portrayed Bolas in this story. Not quite as adept as his siblings, implying his rise to power was more through his cunning and smarts than natural prowess, which is cool. Also, a demeanor change, though a learned one, as his more brash personality does show at times.
He also doesn't come over as conniving as Ugin.
Affinity
UW Control
Commander
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Dragonlord Ojutai
Gishath, Sun's Avatar
The Ur-Dragon
Interesting, being born with full sentience and knowledge, being aware of your own nascent consciousness.
I hope we get new cards for the Elder Dragons
Return to Dominaria would be quite interesting if that's the case.
I hope they go this route as I don't want Ugin to be the clear good guy the entire story. He seems distant enough at first blush to try and remove bolas if he thinks he's not good for the universal system (i.e. Him ending planets and enslaving entire civilizations). Maybe some kind of culmination with the onnake is what drove Ugin to action?
It would appear Ugin follows closer to the footsteps of the Ur Dragon, having birthed greater dragons and their dragon broods on Tarkir not too dissimilar to the way the elders were born here.
I do wonder, if we get creature cards of the elder dragons, if Ugin will be colorless. I would bet on Jeskai colors myself.
Nice quote, but also keep in mind that Bolas is not above blatantly lying and twisting the truth to get what he wants. He may have wanted whoever he was telling that to THINK he wouldn't go after his siblings. That doesn't mean he actually wouldn't if it would serve his ultimate goal.
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Based on the Spirit Dragon's ultimate, I'm actually leaning towards Bant. Gain 7 life = white, Draw seven cards = Blue, Put up to seven permanent cards onto the battlefield = Green. Blue is obviously one of his colors, if he had colors, but he's also interested in preserving the natural order, which is a green trait. White is also something that wouldn't be far-fetched for what we've seen of his personality thus far.
Bant might be possible, if Arcades Sabboth is left out.
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.”
—Volrath
If Ugin wasn't initially colorless, then maybe the egg that Bolas and Ugin emerged from was WUBRG, but the colors got split between the two. This would be why they're so radically different from each other personality-wise.
I’m betting we will get all the previous Elder dragons and Ugin to be initially rival to Nicol he will be Jeskai, that’s my bet. Curiously in Tarkir the ones with the ghostfire mark were of the Jeskai Clan
What would be interesting is if Bolas ended up "hurt" (or as hurt Bolas could be by something like that) by Ugin trying to kill him. That would make the 6D chess match between the two more interesting IMO.
Sad but true
That was my thought as well. Looks like the spark is given in the womb, and as such both twins in a set receive it (share one?). This, if true, has some interesting implications for Khenra and goblins.
They're practically guaranteed to be multi-color. There's no way the poster-childs (and infact, namesakes) for EDH will not be made to be as exciting as commanders can come. And that includes being three-coloured.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Which leads me to think about Ugin generally, and some other things people brought up so far in this thread. My impression of Ugin is that his interests and goals take precedence over any others (duh, dragon!). Bolas is pinned and ready to die for his sister anyway. Ugin isn't. Sorin and Nahiri want to stop the Eldrazi forever; Ugin doesn't. Ugin has Azor seal his spark away for Ugin's plan. Ugin introduces dragonstorms on Tarkir, terrorizing non-dragons for who knows how long. Ugin just doesn't really care. Didn't he even set up Jace as a trap to get Bolas on Ixalan?
Which leads me to something someone asked about Yasova. Maybe Bolas went to her and told her the dragons hunting her people was a result of Ugin. Ugin was to blame for all that suffering. And so, she worked with Bolas to take down Ugin. And it worked: All the dragons were wiped out, until Sarkhan undid it. And now it's even worse for people on Tarkir, and Ugin is alive again! Not liking him even more now! And functionally, is Bolas' impact on Amonkhet worse than Ugin's impact on Tarkir? Something to think on.
And the dragonstorms on Tarkir are very similar to the description of the ur-dragon and the generation of the first elder dragons, as others have pointed out. Is Ugin trying to become a new ur-dragon of Dominia(not Dominaria)? Would his study of the Eldrazi have assisted in his goal of becoming godlike over all planes?
Speculation, but fun speculation. Bolas is a bad dude, but I don't see Ugin as a boy scout either. He'd be an interesting next 'big bad.'
Excited for next week!
Ugin was keeping the storms quelled to some degree allowing a balance to take place. His death removed the storms, yeah. His slumber just let the storms rage unrestrained. If anything bolas just upset the natural balance of tarkir to just rid himself of Ugin. Present day dragon dominance on tarkir is Bolas' fault as much as Ugin.
It'll be interesting to see who cast the first stone, so to speak. Ugin shows signs of care to his twin, but not to the other dragon. Which is interesting. Knowing now that his plan was to imprison bolas via the immortal sun (and he successfully orechstrated sealing the eldrazi for that matter), killing seems pretty far removed from his agenda.
Maybe he refuses to fight in the dragon wars and Bolas takes it as him forsaking his duty to his family and the feud spirals out of control from there? Given his methods thus far it wouldn't surprise me.
I'm eager to eventually find out what Ugin has been up to that makes him on par with Bolas potentially (we don't know for certain this is even the case). Bolas is over there eventually eating planeswalkimg leviathans (which I'm assuming are eldrazi or akin to market lage), getting the gem thing he wears between his horns, creating zombie factories, destroying skalla, brokering demon pacts for lili, beating teferis face in, etc. All we know of Ugin is he helped seal the eldrazi and he helped create the immortal sun (at least conceptually).
Also, if Ugin was around I wonder if he would have stepped in for the phyrexian invasion. I also wonder if he has any ties to Dominaria still. This story is creating more questions than I realized I had for Ugin, at least for me lol.
For Ugins abilities his card can ghostfire and mass exile colored permanents. We know he has sealing spells (eldrazi prison/immortal sun plan) and we know he's no slouch at time manipulation. Wonder what else may fall in his wheelhouse. (A planeswalker card with repeatable extra turns sounds so filthy).
(...)
"You're Nicol, aren't you? That's your name."
"Of course it's my name. Hsst, quiet, Ugin."
They named each other. Could be relevant.
This twin relationship makes that line even more interesting.
Each of them controls the destiny of the other. So no matter how much they hate each other, their fates are too tightly linked for one to just dispose of the other. Bolas's murder of Ugin failed because of time shenanigans, and Ugin's plan to trap Bolas on Ixalan also failed because Azor couldn't stop bragging to people.
They just, from a writing standpoint, didn't want to introduce them the way the other three were. "I am Nicol Bolas! And I .... need help getting out of this." "I am Ugin, yeah here I come." Wouldn't exactly have the same impact as the previously introduced dragons.