While the writing was fair and Vivian’s rage is easy to empathize with in this story-
-I find myself critical of environmental justice heroes whose main goal is to obliterate society. All things in balance. Would such a character maim farmers, tanners and such as well?
It is however likely true that animal menageries in the Age of Discovery were unlikely to have been humane and Black and White are sometimes negligent of Green values such as humble living, acceptance, etc.
I wonder how she’d view the Dromoka and their Abzan ancestors?
Yes, anti-civilization nature heroes can be a tiresome trope, hopefully Vivien doesn't get stuck too hard inside that box. That said, if you want to make such a hero sympathetic, this is a good way to do it. Have the "civilization" in question be pretty horrid and disgusting. And shout out to Cassandra Khaw for knocking that one out of the park! Pay attention, Wizards: if you want people to hate your vampire conquistadors, write 'em like this. The historically-inspired animal cruelty was highly effective in creating revulsion against them.
Maybe a little too effective, though. In this story, Vivien comes off as pretty immature and passive, what with all the waiting around and wallowing in internal disgust before taking any action. I'm not quite sure why seeing the starved monstrosaur was enough to push her over the edge, and not any one of the dozens of other awful things she'd already seen. There's also the unanswered question of what she's doing on Ixalan in the first place, which I hope we find out more about in the coming chapters. And it will be interesting to see her in a more balanced, sustainable civilizational situation, like among the Selesnya on Ravnica.
I see a lot of what I wanted to say has been noted above, so I'll just agree. While it's reprehensible to torture creatures, I don't like Planeswalkers taking it upon themselves to render justice from their own foreign perspectives to a plane they're only visiting. While I admire Kiora for example, did she really do the tritons justice scolding Thassa, while other races have their gods, such as humans and Heliod? That's just how it works on Theros. Just because it doesn't work the same way here as your world doesn't make the metaphysics and constructs of another world inherently wrong. Thassa isn't the same lie that Ulamog and Kozilek were for your people (as an example). And Torrezon doesn't need to be Skalla here.
It's one thing to take sides in a conflict, but attacking a crowd that's been courteous to you because you're personally disgusted with their practices doesn't make her any less savage than the show itself. The attendees were at least as helpless as observers as the creatures that were shackled, so she's pretty guilty of the same thing as I see it. While I too found the spectacle obscene (true to theme, and rightfully offensive to Viven), I can't help but find this being another way to shame White/European history and push some social environmentalist agenda all the same. They could have had a Charles Darwin character among the vampires for example - a traveler to Galapagos Islands trope (which Ixalan proper could serve as) who was a genuine researcher interested in evolutionary biology on the island continent. It's just too black and white for my tastes to depict Luneau as strictly villainous. I understand it's from Reid's perspective as a Green nature mage. But the recurring theme on Ixalan has been to engender disgust for European history tropes, when in reality, it's hardly so polarizing considering what we owe to their colonization today. It's easy to sit in an air conditioned office in your leather chair typing furiously about why we should live in huts and hug trees. It isn't going to dissuade me from toilet paper, though.
My favorite part was the frescoes of ships engaging a Kraken. Which makes me wonder... of all the pirate tropes on Ixalan, and all the sailing, with Ship vehicles even, where was our obligatory Legendary Kraken? Sad that my Sea Monster deck doesn't have an Ixalan themed Kraken to add to the fleet! This wounds me.
Honestly, I found the writing style to be overly verbose, to the point where I was skimming/skipping paragraphs just to "get on with it."
I'm also not a fan of just how much of a villainous caricature the Legion of Dusk has been portrayed as (in basically all of Ixalan). I've always preferred grey/sympathetic villains, though.
Notably, This story is set after the events of Ixalan block, yet there's been no mention of Elenda, and there's apparently a different Queen now?
The over-description of everything, the non-stop similes, the spacing out of a conversation of only a few sentences over several paragraphs . . . the author is in dire need of an editor. I've read books of varying complexity over the decades and I found myself having to reread paragraphs constantly in an effort to plow through needless words to get to the point. Some of the worst writing I've seen for MtG stories in quite some time. I guess I've been spoiled with the better authors they've been using.
That being said, I didn't learn much about Vivien. Before this story, I didn't know much more beyond the existence of her bow and the fact that Bolas destroyed her world. Neither really seemed to be delved into too deeply. Skalla is destroyed, but the context in which it was is unknown to me. The bow fires arrows correlating to summoned animal penumbras or spirits? The how and why isn't really explained with too much detail either.
So the benefit of today's story, to me, is the development of the Legion of Dusk world. At first I was really irritated at the French words. Then I was frustrated with the description of clothes and vampires better suited to Innistrad vamps (though the environment is obviously different). But then, I guess, this is a French-inspired holding of the Legion? Which then leads me to wonder what other European powers may be represented in fictional form in the Legion, and whether they too have diverging clothes/culture as stark as the French island we encountered today.
I agree with someone else that this has to have taken place after the events of Ixalan, unless Vivien actually lived long before the Immortal Sun was made and we're looking back in the past (but that wouldn't make sense when the story mentions the elder dinos).
Honestly, I found the writing style to be overly verbose, to the point where I was skimming/skipping paragraphs just to "get on with it."
I'm also not a fan of just how much of a villainous caricature the Legion of Dusk has been portrayed as (in basically all of Ixalan). I've always preferred grey/sympathetic villains, though.
Notably, This story is set after the events of Ixalan block, yet there's been no mention of Elenda, and there's apparently a different Queen now?
It was rather suffocating. Overly flowery, it felt like reading a fanfiction at times. I do like the thematic elements of depicting Luneau though.
My understanding is that Luneau's local royalty are subservient to Queen Miralda. And I believe Elenda was mentioned in passing as worthy of worship? The Church of Dusk had potential to be grey after Elenda, which is the timeframe of this story, so I am not sure. Not bowing to royalty as a visitor to that plane was also awfully crass. I somewhat hoped they'd imprison or execute her, just to finally see Planeswalkers humbled for their arrogance. You're a visitor here on their world. Respect it or face the same consequences as the locals. Having a spark only spares you from consequences if you leave. So leave. Otherwise, she's not above anyone else there.
I understand the intention is to illustrate Green vs. Orzhov philosophical conflicts. But, idk.
IIRC somewhere (like a world guid) it mentions the Brazen Coalition character names are rooted in Italian, so could be Torrezon is Spain controlled western Europe.
“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"
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I agree with the sentiment that the vampires are overly villainous. Especially coming off the back of kld and amonkhet where'd the aether born were not evil (crime lords in some instances - but relatable) and the amonkhet black cards were either initiates that were hardened by the truth or the world or straight up horrors and zombies.
I don't like the evil church/aristocracy vibe. It's a dangerous playground if you don't do it right. We already have the orzhov, vampires of INN and vampires of zendikar to boot. As bad as innistrad is, ixalan seems much worse for humans. I mean it's one thing to be snatched up and killed on INN, it's another to pay a blood/money tithe to the orzhov, but knowing you're a walking source of food OR currency to any vampire and being unable to leave is entirely different. That's depressing. I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of a blood tax honestly - as it would seem to fit the theme they are going for.
While the reintroduction of elenda could drive a division in the vampires and create good story...who is going to side with her? When society is okay with this stuff and everyone is reveling in torture and celebrating it, what chance is there for a redemption story? Maybe ma den rein or a few apostles, but man that seems like it would be hard to convey via cards (the good guys and the bad guys are both B and W) and hard to convey in writing.
not sure how a magic hydra and a wurm can't handle some aristocrats in short order. The story mentions the hydra losing heads (which I assume meant growing new ones) but then crossbow bolts fly through it harmlessly? Confusing.
I have two major problems with Unbowed so far. First, Vivien's character seems more subdued and humorless than how she's depicted on cards like Prodigious Growth and Gigantosaurus. I didn't get a sense that she genuinely appreciates the animals she's fighting to protect. Second, why the hell is she on Ixalan in the first place? Bolas was never there, so that can't be it. Is she trying to complete the planar Pokédex? If so, why didn't she try to 'catch' the injured dinosaurs to preserve their essences? There better be an explanation for the latter at some point in the next two parts, at least.
Story was overly done...ok not too terrible but ok. Vivien is captured at the end?
Again though with the ENTIRE MULTIVERSE to use we are rehashing another plane. We not only could handle variety but crave it WOTC. Im starting to think they dont have the imagination to introduce new places nor do they want to be "painted in a corner" on the cannon of a new place. Its just lazy though.
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
Luneau is defined as one of the vampire kingdoms. Miralda was IIRC implied to be the leader of the Legion of Dusk, implied to be a kind of over-queen of Torrezon, so no problem here. Though the local sovereigns could have been just vice-royals or some lower defined title.
I am glad they got rid of the capitalization of Brontodon, like it was in the excerpt from yesterday. I hate when they are doing this, I got used to seeing Planeswalker again capitalized like in the days of yore, but that is enough.
Seeing Pelakka Wurm means that she just happened to visit Zendikar and capture its essence, nothing more.
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Former Fact Prospector of the Greek Alliance.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Yeah, it's strange that she's on Ixalan of all places. That plane was just "reopened for easy access", so to say, during the current year of MtG story. What a coincidence! I would have preferred to actually read about Skalla before it got blown up by Bolas. Instead we got a cliché conflict thinly disguised under mountains of flowery prose. Well, I guess I was already prepared for that after reading the excerpt and I did think the story would veer in this direction beforehand, but could they really not think of something better than a literal torture show that leads the nature-loving protagonist to shoot up the place in the end in order to top things off with a standard action scene? Action is never that interesting to read, it would have been more interesting to see Vivien interact with the Vampires on a more nuanced basis. As a person who doesn't especially enjoy going to zoos and circuses, I could kind of emphasize with Vivien, but the whole thing was a bit muc.
Also I don't know about anyone else, but the animals being made out of pure magic kind.of robs them of the weight they should have for me. I know there's a reason for why they're doing things like this, but still.
The end surprised me though. I thought she would surely just planeswalk away or otherwise escape … but nope, she gets captured. Pretty strange.
Yeah, I was expecting her to get away at the end, too. Maybe Ajani finds and rescues her or something. I also agree that I find it extremely hard to sympathize with characters who are against civilization as a whole. But then, I find that a lot of single-color alignments come off as too extreme.
Well, we're only 1/3 of the way through her story...hopefully, there are better things to come.
“it's strange that she's on Ixalan of all places. That plane was just "reopened for easy access", so to say, during the current year of MtG story.“
It was opened to leave but planeswalkers like Jace and Angrath could go even before the Sun was removed. It’s possible she planeswalked to Ixalan before the events of the block. Could also explain why she didn’t planeswalk away when things started going south. She’s not yet aware that planeswalkers can leave again.
The literal first thing in the story is another character stroking her ego and telling us the readers "Zomg she is AMAZING."
and then they tell us about something far more interesting she did that would have been a far better way to hype her powers, because Dinosaurs > Eels.
Oh look they show the vampires methodology of Drinking blood without actually killing the victims to be "Horrible and Barbaric." Good Moral Greyness on the Moral Greyness Hat Plane there, I am sure that Miss Super Special Greenwalker here has never seen an actual evil vampire lord who has actually just straight up killed before to sate his biological need to drink blood.
Thanks for reminding me that you guys screwed up the Morality of Ixalan guys, I don't think I need to read any more of it I can guess.
Vivian brings "justice" to the terrible vampires for their terrible ways of treating animals because she is a planeswalker and the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong and the terrible vampires deserve it.
Yeah well we need more Humans....I mean sheesh usually I complain about Races that are basically humans but with height, width and ear differences like Dwarves and Elves. But Magic is all about the Humans. There needs to be a freeze on new human walkers, they got enough to work with already.
As others have already said, I find it a bit disappointing how there wasn't even any effort to make the legion of dusk more sympathetic. Even if it was done from Vivien's perspective (and thus exaggerated) then we'd still either require a counter perspective in an earlier or parallel installment. Unless of course they didn't even intend to paint the legion as more gray rather than black and white (pun intended).
On a related note, I was really hoping that Vivian was in fact not as smart as she thought she was the whole time. I was really wishing that her vampire companion was fully aware of her disgust and plans (afterall, he kinda lives in a society where subtle social cues are kinda pretty important, with nobility and etiquette and all but I digress...) and actually outmaneuvered and manipulated her from the start, rather than being caught off guard. Showing decadent people as stupid really gets old after a while.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised she was captured though. It was related to me hoping the vampire was actually competent and it was largely a ploy to get her bow. (The story is called unbowed, har har get it, I'm so full of puns today) This would've also given her more immediate agency beyond gotta catch em all. It's also a natural way to get a planeswalker to not run away from conflicts. She could leave the plane, but she kinda wants that bow back. See, a natural and compelling planeswalker plot presents itself and is immediately discarded.
Urgh, look at me rambling. Anyway, the story wasn't BAD. Personally I found the overuse of flowery language perfectly on-theme. It was a parallel of how sick Vivien was of the vampire's transparent lies and euphemisms. I found that to be pretty smart. It's hard to convey feelings and an atmosphere without outright telling the reader. And this did it. But to each their own I suppose.
I'm rambling again haha. Anyway, story was nice, even though the plot elements including the plane of choice felt... off, though I get the feeling the author didn't have much say in that.
I like vocabularies and similes, they describe the world well. I love the way this author writes his story, and indeed as a horror writer he's skilled at depicting horrible events, pleasure at the suffering of innocent.
Yet, I don't like Vivien and I blame the story for it. We get a good picture of Torrezon but I could not decipher Vivien's purpose on this plane, nothing except that she hates this place. They tried hard to make Vivien look independent and able, powerful and strong willed, then let her get captured? If those who subdued her are Keldons instead of vampires, she'd be dead before the second part of the story. Underwhelming.
Why can't WotC understand that "badassery" doesn't require aggression, it could also be implied through quiet resolve like Ajani and Tamiyo. I'd like Vivien a lot more if she's not so straightforward like her arrow.
Note: This is what vampiric culture AFTER Elenda is like. Elenda was portrayed as a savior who will return to right the corrupted church and society as a whole. While W/B evil society is overused via Orzhov and other similar societies in MtG, it's rather accurate of Torrezon thus far.
Overall the story was fine, I'm always down to see cruelty getting its' just desserts, but I confess to be a little disappointed in Vivien. The flavor texts attributed to her in M19 were really..well fun. She seemed like someone who just enjoyed exploring the natural world(s) of planes and seeing what was what. I knew her backstory was that Bolas had destroyed her world and I thought a really cool character concept would have been a walker who tries to bury their grief/trauma by fleeing from it, enjoying exploring the vast multiverse. Instead we got another grim, traumatized walker with a tragic backstory. She seems like an interesting character, but not vastly different from Samut, Elspeth, Gideon, Nissa, Chandra and really the majority of others. We still don't know much about her and it's not like she needed to be the Gatewatch's comic relief, but we just have so many walkers who look at the world with a grim, desperate, and haunted perspective. It would've been cool to have a more optimistic character who, despite her past, could realize that there was now an entire multiverse available for her to explore and learn about. Like Jane Goodall w/ a spark. I suppose this isn't so much a critique as hopes not matching reality.
Also, just want to echo the feeling that there REALLY need to be more non-human walkers.
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My Decks:
UG Merfolk RG 8-Whack BWG Abzan midrange GRB Living End UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin" RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!" BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
Why can't WotC understand that "badassery" doesn't require aggression, it could also be implied through quiet resolve like Ajani and Tamiyo. I'd like Vivien a lot more if she's not so straightforward like her arrow.
Second'd here, Toshiro Umewaza is the most badass guy in all the setting, and he wouldn't have gotten involved in any of it if they had let him alone in his crappy apartment instead of trying to kill him.
I'll throw my hat into the ring for more non-human 'walkers. Having an Ainok, Naga or Rhox walker walking around would be pretty swell.
On another note, can I just say that I'm starting to become exhausted with how Gis portrayed in the storyline? Like, when has a character ever been framed a wrong or objectionable for coming from a Green perspective? From the Brothers War to the Race for the Golden City, no one has ever pointed out how horrifying the Green philosophy is, in a lot of ways. And here comes Vivien Reid, the reactionary ecoterrorist who is utterly, unassailably convinced of her own rightness, plopped into nearly the only place in the multiverse where her scorched earth extremism makes even a modicum of sense. It seems a trifle convenient, really. Like, surely she must have visited other places that weren't as hyperbolically evil as Luneau (which, yes, may be an accurate representation of the evils of colonialist Western Europe, but is by no means the inevitable endpoint of all civilizations.)
I sincerely hope that Vivien is shown some kind of counterpoint to this, whether it's a city that manages to be fairly enlightened and harmonious while progressing forward (Meletis, Ghirapur, etc.) or cities that have to exist to protect their inhabitants from far worse (Thraben). Show her either second guessing herself, at least a little bit, or at least give an outside perspective on the immense harm her ideology has the potential to do, because there is almost nothing I find more grating than a character who is never portrayed as being in the wrong even as they unflinchingly vouch for an immensely destructive ideology.
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Yes, anti-civilization nature heroes can be a tiresome trope, hopefully Vivien doesn't get stuck too hard inside that box. That said, if you want to make such a hero sympathetic, this is a good way to do it. Have the "civilization" in question be pretty horrid and disgusting. And shout out to Cassandra Khaw for knocking that one out of the park! Pay attention, Wizards: if you want people to hate your vampire conquistadors, write 'em like this. The historically-inspired animal cruelty was highly effective in creating revulsion against them.
Maybe a little too effective, though. In this story, Vivien comes off as pretty immature and passive, what with all the waiting around and wallowing in internal disgust before taking any action. I'm not quite sure why seeing the starved monstrosaur was enough to push her over the edge, and not any one of the dozens of other awful things she'd already seen. There's also the unanswered question of what she's doing on Ixalan in the first place, which I hope we find out more about in the coming chapters. And it will be interesting to see her in a more balanced, sustainable civilizational situation, like among the Selesnya on Ravnica.
It's one thing to take sides in a conflict, but attacking a crowd that's been courteous to you because you're personally disgusted with their practices doesn't make her any less savage than the show itself. The attendees were at least as helpless as observers as the creatures that were shackled, so she's pretty guilty of the same thing as I see it. While I too found the spectacle obscene (true to theme, and rightfully offensive to Viven), I can't help but find this being another way to shame White/European history and push some social environmentalist agenda all the same. They could have had a Charles Darwin character among the vampires for example - a traveler to Galapagos Islands trope (which Ixalan proper could serve as) who was a genuine researcher interested in evolutionary biology on the island continent. It's just too black and white for my tastes to depict Luneau as strictly villainous. I understand it's from Reid's perspective as a Green nature mage. But the recurring theme on Ixalan has been to engender disgust for European history tropes, when in reality, it's hardly so polarizing considering what we owe to their colonization today. It's easy to sit in an air conditioned office in your leather chair typing furiously about why we should live in huts and hug trees. It isn't going to dissuade me from toilet paper, though.
My favorite part was the frescoes of ships engaging a Kraken. Which makes me wonder... of all the pirate tropes on Ixalan, and all the sailing, with Ship vehicles even, where was our obligatory Legendary Kraken? Sad that my Sea Monster deck doesn't have an Ixalan themed Kraken to add to the fleet! This wounds me.
|| 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 ||
I'm also not a fan of just how much of a villainous caricature the Legion of Dusk has been portrayed as (in basically all of Ixalan). I've always preferred grey/sympathetic villains, though.
Notably, This story is set after the events of Ixalan block, yet there's been no mention of Elenda, and there's apparently a different Queen now?
That being said, I didn't learn much about Vivien. Before this story, I didn't know much more beyond the existence of her bow and the fact that Bolas destroyed her world. Neither really seemed to be delved into too deeply. Skalla is destroyed, but the context in which it was is unknown to me. The bow fires arrows correlating to summoned animal penumbras or spirits? The how and why isn't really explained with too much detail either.
So the benefit of today's story, to me, is the development of the Legion of Dusk world. At first I was really irritated at the French words. Then I was frustrated with the description of clothes and vampires better suited to Innistrad vamps (though the environment is obviously different). But then, I guess, this is a French-inspired holding of the Legion? Which then leads me to wonder what other European powers may be represented in fictional form in the Legion, and whether they too have diverging clothes/culture as stark as the French island we encountered today.
I agree with someone else that this has to have taken place after the events of Ixalan, unless Vivien actually lived long before the Immortal Sun was made and we're looking back in the past (but that wouldn't make sense when the story mentions the elder dinos).
My understanding is that Luneau's local royalty are subservient to Queen Miralda. And I believe Elenda was mentioned in passing as worthy of worship? The Church of Dusk had potential to be grey after Elenda, which is the timeframe of this story, so I am not sure. Not bowing to royalty as a visitor to that plane was also awfully crass. I somewhat hoped they'd imprison or execute her, just to finally see Planeswalkers humbled for their arrogance. You're a visitor here on their world. Respect it or face the same consequences as the locals. Having a spark only spares you from consequences if you leave. So leave. Otherwise, she's not above anyone else there.
I understand the intention is to illustrate Green vs. Orzhov philosophical conflicts. But, idk.
|| 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 ||
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I don't like the evil church/aristocracy vibe. It's a dangerous playground if you don't do it right. We already have the orzhov, vampires of INN and vampires of zendikar to boot. As bad as innistrad is, ixalan seems much worse for humans. I mean it's one thing to be snatched up and killed on INN, it's another to pay a blood/money tithe to the orzhov, but knowing you're a walking source of food OR currency to any vampire and being unable to leave is entirely different. That's depressing. I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of a blood tax honestly - as it would seem to fit the theme they are going for.
While the reintroduction of elenda could drive a division in the vampires and create good story...who is going to side with her? When society is okay with this stuff and everyone is reveling in torture and celebrating it, what chance is there for a redemption story? Maybe ma den rein or a few apostles, but man that seems like it would be hard to convey via cards (the good guys and the bad guys are both B and W) and hard to convey in writing.
not sure how a magic hydra and a wurm can't handle some aristocrats in short order. The story mentions the hydra losing heads (which I assume meant growing new ones) but then crossbow bolts fly through it harmlessly? Confusing.
Again though with the ENTIRE MULTIVERSE to use we are rehashing another plane. We not only could handle variety but crave it WOTC. Im starting to think they dont have the imagination to introduce new places nor do they want to be "painted in a corner" on the cannon of a new place. Its just lazy though.
Luneau is defined as one of the vampire kingdoms. Miralda was IIRC implied to be the leader of the Legion of Dusk, implied to be a kind of over-queen of Torrezon, so no problem here. Though the local sovereigns could have been just vice-royals or some lower defined title.
I am glad they got rid of the capitalization of Brontodon, like it was in the excerpt from yesterday. I hate when they are doing this, I got used to seeing Planeswalker again capitalized like in the days of yore, but that is enough.
Seeing Pelakka Wurm means that she just happened to visit Zendikar and capture its essence, nothing more.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
|| 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 ||
Also I don't know about anyone else, but the animals being made out of pure magic kind.of robs them of the weight they should have for me. I know there's a reason for why they're doing things like this, but still.
The end surprised me though. I thought she would surely just planeswalk away or otherwise escape … but nope, she gets captured. Pretty strange.
Well, we're only 1/3 of the way through her story...hopefully, there are better things to come.
|| 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 ||
It was opened to leave but planeswalkers like Jace and Angrath could go even before the Sun was removed. It’s possible she planeswalked to Ixalan before the events of the block. Could also explain why she didn’t planeswalk away when things started going south. She’s not yet aware that planeswalkers can leave again.
and then they tell us about something far more interesting she did that would have been a far better way to hype her powers, because Dinosaurs > Eels.
Oh look they show the vampires methodology of Drinking blood without actually killing the victims to be "Horrible and Barbaric." Good Moral Greyness on the Moral Greyness Hat Plane there, I am sure that Miss Super Special Greenwalker here has never seen an actual evil vampire lord who has actually just straight up killed before to sate his biological need to drink blood.
Thanks for reminding me that you guys screwed up the Morality of Ixalan guys, I don't think I need to read any more of it I can guess.
Vivian brings "justice" to the terrible vampires for their terrible ways of treating animals because she is a planeswalker and the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong and the terrible vampires deserve it.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
No. I like Kiora much better. Faults, fins and all
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
|| 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 ||
On a related note, I was really hoping that Vivian was in fact not as smart as she thought she was the whole time. I was really wishing that her vampire companion was fully aware of her disgust and plans (afterall, he kinda lives in a society where subtle social cues are kinda pretty important, with nobility and etiquette and all but I digress...) and actually outmaneuvered and manipulated her from the start, rather than being caught off guard. Showing decadent people as stupid really gets old after a while.
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised she was captured though. It was related to me hoping the vampire was actually competent and it was largely a ploy to get her bow. (The story is called unbowed, har har get it, I'm so full of puns today) This would've also given her more immediate agency beyond gotta catch em all. It's also a natural way to get a planeswalker to not run away from conflicts. She could leave the plane, but she kinda wants that bow back. See, a natural and compelling planeswalker plot presents itself and is immediately discarded.
Urgh, look at me rambling. Anyway, the story wasn't BAD. Personally I found the overuse of flowery language perfectly on-theme. It was a parallel of how sick Vivien was of the vampire's transparent lies and euphemisms. I found that to be pretty smart. It's hard to convey feelings and an atmosphere without outright telling the reader. And this did it. But to each their own I suppose.
I'm rambling again haha. Anyway, story was nice, even though the plot elements including the plane of choice felt... off, though I get the feeling the author didn't have much say in that.
Yet, I don't like Vivien and I blame the story for it. We get a good picture of Torrezon but I could not decipher Vivien's purpose on this plane, nothing except that she hates this place. They tried hard to make Vivien look independent and able, powerful and strong willed, then let her get captured? If those who subdued her are Keldons instead of vampires, she'd be dead before the second part of the story. Underwhelming.
Why can't WotC understand that "badassery" doesn't require aggression, it could also be implied through quiet resolve like Ajani and Tamiyo. I'd like Vivien a lot more if she's not so straightforward like her arrow.
Note: This is what vampiric culture AFTER Elenda is like. Elenda was portrayed as a savior who will return to right the corrupted church and society as a whole. While W/B evil society is overused via Orzhov and other similar societies in MtG, it's rather accurate of Torrezon thus far.
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
Also, just want to echo the feeling that there REALLY need to be more non-human walkers.
RG 8-Whack
BWG Abzan midrange
GRB Living End
UWB Spirit Control
GU Kruphix's "Hug Assassin"
RW Kalemne's "Play Fatties and Hope for the Best!"
BUGW Atraxa's "All counters, all the time"
Second'd here, Toshiro Umewaza is the most badass guy in all the setting, and he wouldn't have gotten involved in any of it if they had let him alone in his crappy apartment instead of trying to kill him.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
On another note, can I just say that I'm starting to become exhausted with how Gis portrayed in the storyline? Like, when has a character ever been framed a wrong or objectionable for coming from a Green perspective? From the Brothers War to the Race for the Golden City, no one has ever pointed out how horrifying the Green philosophy is, in a lot of ways. And here comes Vivien Reid, the reactionary ecoterrorist who is utterly, unassailably convinced of her own rightness, plopped into nearly the only place in the multiverse where her scorched earth extremism makes even a modicum of sense. It seems a trifle convenient, really. Like, surely she must have visited other places that weren't as hyperbolically evil as Luneau (which, yes, may be an accurate representation of the evils of colonialist Western Europe, but is by no means the inevitable endpoint of all civilizations.)
I sincerely hope that Vivien is shown some kind of counterpoint to this, whether it's a city that manages to be fairly enlightened and harmonious while progressing forward (Meletis, Ghirapur, etc.) or cities that have to exist to protect their inhabitants from far worse (Thraben). Show her either second guessing herself, at least a little bit, or at least give an outside perspective on the immense harm her ideology has the potential to do, because there is almost nothing I find more grating than a character who is never portrayed as being in the wrong even as they unflinchingly vouch for an immensely destructive ideology.