So heres my theory on bolas's plan and why he chose the guilds he did.
In order to take over ravnica he needs the azorious. They make the laws on rav and nothing happens w/o their say so. But esperia would never be foolish enough to trust bolas. So that's where golgari comes in.
With jerrad out of the way he could install vraska. Who he knows had a deep seated hatred of the azorious,from being tortured by them as a youth. So it was only a matter of time before she killed esperia. And with her gone dovin could take over the azorious from within. But having dovin wouldn't be enough. They'd need to find a way to get bolas into power. Thats where emergency powers come into play. But they'd need some sort of upheaval for that to be enacted. Enter the Gruul. The outsiders of ravnica. It wouldn't take much to prod them into rioting through the streets and creating havoc, with the promise of recognition. But that wouldn't be enough. Eventually the boros will quell the riots and bring order back to ravnica. He'd need to topple ravnicas financial sector as well. And for that he'd need the orzhov. But with the eternal ghost council running the show hed never be able to take the reins from them. But if the ghost council could be eliminated it would be all too easy to decimate ravnicas economy. And with kaya in his employ the leaders of the orzhov are all to easy to eliminate. But theirs still one x-factor. Niv mizzet and the izzet league. Not only do they control ravnicas resouce infrastructure but niv might be the one being smart enough to figure out bolas's plan. Plus with project lighting bug niv was close to figuring out not only the truth about planeswalkers but the true nature of the spark. Luckily for bolas he found in ral a willing party who could not only unseat niv mizzet but could have niv chassing ghosts and out of the picture. All culminating with the eternal army as bolas's strike force as he walks onto ravnica and seizes power. Waiting to lay the eternal sun and trap any walkers who dare stand in his way.
I don't think it's that complicated as to why he chose the guilds he did. Azorius, Golgari, and Orzhov are fundamental parts of any society. Law, Food and Money(bonus points that he gets a major religion too) The other two are pretty simple as well. He's got a high ranking minion in the Izzet adn the Gruul are probably pretty easy to manipulate.
Also: Autumn we did get get the Leviathan fight. It just turned out that the Leviathan was Ugin.
Yeah he controls the Government, The Food Supply and Waste Management, The Money and one of the major religions, the tech and infrastructure and the Gruul is a disenfranchised group that provides muscle.
So heres my theory on bolas's plan and why he chose the guilds he did.
In order to take over ravnica he needs the azorious. They make the laws on rav and nothing happens w/o their say so. But esperia would never be foolish enough to trust bolas. So that's where golgari comes in.
With jerrad out of the way he could install vraska. Who he knows had a deep seated hatred of the azorious,from being tortured by them as a youth. So it was only a matter of time before she killed esperia. And with her gone dovin could take over the azorious from within. But having dovin wouldn't be enough. They'd need to find a way to get bolas into power. Thats where emergency powers come into play. But they'd need some sort of upheaval for that to be enacted. Enter the Gruul. The outsiders of ravnica. It wouldn't take much to prod them into rioting through the streets and creating havoc, with the promise of recognition. But that wouldn't be enough. Eventually the boros will quell the riots and bring order back to ravnica. He'd need to topple ravnicas financial sector as well. And for that he'd need the orzhov. But with the eternal ghost council running the show hed never be able to take the reins from them. But if the ghost council could be eliminated it would be all too easy to decimate ravnicas economy. And with kaya in his employ the leaders of the orzhov are all to easy to eliminate. But theirs still one x-factor. Niv mizzet and the izzet league. Not only do they control ravnicas resouce infrastructure but niv might be the one being smart enough to figure out bolas's plan. Plus with project lighting bug niv was close to figuring out not only the truth about planeswalkers but the true nature of the spark. Luckily for bolas he found in ral a willing party who could not only unseat niv mizzet but could have niv chassing ghosts and out of the picture. All culminating with the eternal army as bolas's strike force as he walks onto ravnica and seizes power. Waiting to lay the eternal sun and trap any walkers who dare stand in his way.
This is actually a pretty solid theory. I think the Orzhov Council being removed is important since by controlling the cash flow of Ravnica will allow you total control over everything else. Without money, the Izzet's projects stop being funded and they will wither. Without money, the Azorius will probably use their law magic to enforce control since they can no longer buy or fine people into obedience.
I'm confident that Bolas has a plan to deal with Niv. I find it unlikely that Bolas is unaware of Niv-Mizzet's existence and power level and would thus expose himself and his plan to Niv's legitimate genius. It would be cool if Project Lightning Bug was instigated by Bolas through Ral and has some purpose in being able to control the only other power on Ravnica that could stand against Bolas.
Otherwise, it's a great theory. Strike while the plane is destabilized and unable to mount an effective, concerted response is a great idea.
Also: Autumn we did get get the Leviathan fight. It just turned out that the Leviathan was Ugin.
No Ugin wasn't the Leviathan.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
From Sphinx's Insight it seems Isperia realized Bolas's plot through Dovin which might have lead to her death. Seems like Dovin was able to become Grand Arbiter and might be how is able to become guild master after Isperia gets stoned.
Indeed. It fills the gaps nicely.
Dovin somehow becomes the Grand Arbiter of the Azorius.
Isperia uncovers Dovin's intentions and plans (and the master), and unfortunately lets Dovin know it.
Isperia calls the Guild Summit.
Dovin notices Bolas about Isperia's revelation.
Bolas orders Isperia turned to garden decoration by Vraska.
Dovin takes over as second-in-command and activates Emergency Powers.
Anyway, I am quite surprised that Dovin's six-fingered hands (clearly visible at Emergency Powers) did not attract attention of anyone; the six fingers are a specific Kaladeshi trait. On the other hand, he could always say he volunteered as Simic test subject when he was at college and needed money.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
100% Vorthos Spike and Storyline Expert
Former Fact Prospector of the Greek Alliance.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
From Sphinx's Insight it seems Isperia realized Bolas's plot through Dovin which might have lead to her death. Seems like Dovin was able to become Grand Arbiter and might be how is able to become guild master after Isperia gets stoned.
Indeed. It fills the gaps nicely.
Dovin somehow becomes the Grand Arbiter of the Azorius.
Isperia uncovers Dovin's intentions and plans (and the master), and unfortunately lets Dovin know it.
Isperia calls the Guild Summit.
Dovin notices Bolas about Isperia's revelation.
Bolas orders Isperia turned to garden decoration by Vraska.
Dovin takes over as second-in-command and activates Emergency Powers.
Could also explain why they would let Dovin become guild master, the Azorius would think it would be temporary as they figure out what happened not realizing Dovin planned for a full take over.
Anyway, I am quite surprised that Dovin's six-fingered hands (clearly visible at Emergency Powers) did not attract attention of anyone; the six fingers are a specific Kaladeshi trait. On the other hand, he could always say he volunteered as Simic test subject when he was at college and needed money.
Well as its not unheard of humans in real life to sometimes be born with an extra finger on each hand, so I'm guessing it would be possible for non- Kaladeshi vedlkan to have six fingers. Really if anything is a give away for Kaladeshi vedlkan is hair and being able to smile
I will be bummed if Dovin ends up a total villain, but its seems Ral and Vraska (without her memories) don't know full extent of Bolas. It will be interesting to see why Kaya and Dovin become guild master as the outsiders.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
Anyway, I am quite surprised that Dovin's six-fingered hands (clearly visible at Emergency Powers) did not attract attention of anyone; the six fingers are a specific Kaladeshi trait. On the other hand, he could always say he volunteered as Simic test subject when he was at college and needed money.
And ears, "normal" Vedalken on Ravnica don't have visible ears, but yeah the Simic and the other districts we never hear of make thinks like this possible.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
I think people are overthinking Bolas choosing those guilds. He was most likely spreading his influence around, scattering seeds to take over every guild, but knew he wouldn't be successful everywhere, so it was just statistically very likely he gets like half of them, which is good enough for his purposes. He doesn't want to take over Ravnica's guilds. He wants to decpaitate them so they are unable to mount a resistance. So he didn't care which guilds exactly would fall, just that enough would.
Niv has an established track record of running from not just fights he cannot win, but fights where he actually risks death. He, unlike the other guildmasters replaced by Bolas, wasn't killed or overthrown. Instead, he figured out that he was in danger, ran away, and hid, putting out a cover that he was working on a super secret project and ceding the running of the guild to the Izmagus. He's the only OG Parun still around and alive besides Mat Selesnya and Rakdos, and she is inactive while he spends most of his time sleeping (the ghost council is, by definition, dead, though still around). He enjoys that distinction because he is manifestly unwilling to risk harm to himself, and smart enough to avoid it. Azor is trapped on Ixalan, Razia and Szadeck are dead, the Golgari guy is dead/powerless, Gruul guy and Simic whomever died ages ago,
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
From Sphinx's Insight it seems Isperia realized Bolas's plot through Dovin which might have lead to her death. Seems like Dovin was able to become Grand Arbiter and might be how is able to become guild master after Isperia gets stoned.
Indeed. It fills the gaps nicely.
Dovin somehow becomes the Grand Arbiter of the Azorius.
Isperia uncovers Dovin's intentions and plans (and the master), and unfortunately lets Dovin know it.
Isperia calls the Guild Summit.
Dovin notices Bolas about Isperia's revelation.
Bolas orders Isperia turned to garden decoration by Vraska.
Dovin takes over as second-in-command and activates Emergency Powers.
The sphinx on Sphinx's Insight looks more like a random Azorius sphinx to me. Headgear is similar to Isperia's, but the suit of armour doesn't match her canon depiction, as reinstated on Guild Summit. No elaborate collar, no forearm pieces.
yawn. The elf looks so boring. Was expecting some kind of a crazy looking mutant, like the elf in the traielr with crab arms. Instead we got a boring humanoid looking character like the all so memorable new characters like Izoni and Etrata.
Just found that art on the wpn page, the face betrayed
ATTACHMENTS
rna_alg_1280x1024_simic_en
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
Is her lower body a jellyfish, or is that just a dress?
I'm guessing both, she also seems to have jelly fish stingers.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“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"
How does Dovin Baan show up and jump to Grand Arbiter in what under a year? This plot would work way better with Oldwalkers where at least this plan could take decades.
Kaya I assume slaughtered her way to the top and at least with the Orzhov you figure the living would love to take out the Ghost Council to give themselves a chance of running the show. Then they can kill her to takeover or try to force a political marriage to try to acquire that magic themselves. And I think Kaya is minor noble or something so she might be good at court politics. If not well she got experience dealing with Marchesa.
Domri might makes right in the Gruul makes sense even if he was a bit of minor member before. Vraska and Ral are at least around and notable guild members.
But Dovin pops up out of nowhere and jumps to top of the most rule bound guild?
Obviously Dovin simply filled out the proper paperwork (in triplicate) and filed it with the proper people and thus became grand arbiter. Hoesntly it seems the easiest of the bunch to usurp as you don't have to be strong or intelligent, just be told what to do by Bolas.
Joking aside I feel this may actually be almost exactly what happened. Kind of like the south park episode where people keep coming in going "who's in charge here...not any more you're not." And by rules of the azorious if you speak the proper phrase at the proper time to the proper people everything works out as you want.
Obviously Dovin simply filled out the proper paperwork (in triplicate) and filed it with the proper people and thus became grand arbiter. Hoesntly it seems the easiest of the bunch to usurp as you don't have to be strong or intelligent, just be told what to do by Bolas.
Joking aside I feel this may actually be almost exactly what happened. Kind of like the south park episode where people keep coming in going "who's in charge here...not any more you're not." And by rules of the azorious if you speak the proper phrase at the proper time to the proper people everything works out as you want.
Given that they are Vogon Style Lawful Neutral it is entirely possible that Dovin just needed a week with all the laws and found "Obscure Rule number 454184088904980948094 that allows him to be Grand Arbiter."
Obviously Dovin simply filled out the proper paperwork (in triplicate) and filed it with the proper people and thus became grand arbiter. Hoesntly it seems the easiest of the bunch to usurp as you don't have to be strong or intelligent, just be told what to do by Bolas.
Joking aside I feel this may actually be almost exactly what happened. Kind of like the south park episode where people keep coming in going "who's in charge here...not any more you're not." And by rules of the azorious if you speak the proper phrase at the proper time to the proper people everything works out as you want.
Given that they are Vogon Style Lawful Neutral it is entirely possible that Dovin just needed a week with all the laws and found "Obscure Rule number 454184088904980948094 that allows him to be Grand Arbiter."
On that note, let's not forget that Dovin's innate ability is to see the flaws inherent in a system/object. Outlandish as it may be, it could well really be possible.
Obviously Dovin simply filled out the proper paperwork (in triplicate) and filed it with the proper people and thus became grand arbiter. Hoesntly it seems the easiest of the bunch to usurp as you don't have to be strong or intelligent, just be told what to do by Bolas.
Joking aside I feel this may actually be almost exactly what happened. Kind of like the south park episode where people keep coming in going "who's in charge here...not any more you're not." And by rules of the azorious if you speak the proper phrase at the proper time to the proper people everything works out as you want.
Given that they are Vogon Style Lawful Neutral it is entirely possible that Dovin just needed a week with all the laws and found "Obscure Rule number 454184088904980948094 that allows him to be Grand Arbiter."
On that note, let's not forget that Dovin's innate ability is to see the flaws inherent in a system/object. Outlandish as it may be, it could well really be possible.
Not even possible it is quite probable, You have a group that exists only to make convoluted laws and has existed for 10K years without real oversight, The actual laws in Ravnica are probably completely insane and would take someone like Dovin Bann who has a specific skill set in "Systems" to actually understand any of it.
There is very likely an immortal sentient being somewhere in Ravnica's law Library who has been there for 1000+ years trying to sort it all out and has gone completely mad.
Edit : Omg Short story idea - Orzhov Debtor, made and agreement to sort out Ravnica's Law Library did not realize it was a sisyphusian job that is impossible..spends his entire life in eternal torment.
In order to take over ravnica he needs the azorious. They make the laws on rav and nothing happens w/o their say so. But esperia would never be foolish enough to trust bolas. So that's where golgari comes in.
With jerrad out of the way he could install vraska. Who he knows had a deep seated hatred of the azorious,from being tortured by them as a youth. So it was only a matter of time before she killed esperia. And with her gone dovin could take over the azorious from within. But having dovin wouldn't be enough. They'd need to find a way to get bolas into power. Thats where emergency powers come into play. But they'd need some sort of upheaval for that to be enacted. Enter the Gruul. The outsiders of ravnica. It wouldn't take much to prod them into rioting through the streets and creating havoc, with the promise of recognition. But that wouldn't be enough. Eventually the boros will quell the riots and bring order back to ravnica. He'd need to topple ravnicas financial sector as well. And for that he'd need the orzhov. But with the eternal ghost council running the show hed never be able to take the reins from them. But if the ghost council could be eliminated it would be all too easy to decimate ravnicas economy. And with kaya in his employ the leaders of the orzhov are all to easy to eliminate. But theirs still one x-factor. Niv mizzet and the izzet league. Not only do they control ravnicas resouce infrastructure but niv might be the one being smart enough to figure out bolas's plan. Plus with project lighting bug niv was close to figuring out not only the truth about planeswalkers but the true nature of the spark. Luckily for bolas he found in ral a willing party who could not only unseat niv mizzet but could have niv chassing ghosts and out of the picture. All culminating with the eternal army as bolas's strike force as he walks onto ravnica and seizes power. Waiting to lay the eternal sun and trap any walkers who dare stand in his way.
I am still annoyed we missed the Elder Dragon War and the Levithan Fight. So lets have Bolas fight someone his own side.
Also: Autumn we did get get the Leviathan fight. It just turned out that the Leviathan was Ugin.
This is actually a pretty solid theory. I think the Orzhov Council being removed is important since by controlling the cash flow of Ravnica will allow you total control over everything else. Without money, the Izzet's projects stop being funded and they will wither. Without money, the Azorius will probably use their law magic to enforce control since they can no longer buy or fine people into obedience.
I'm confident that Bolas has a plan to deal with Niv. I find it unlikely that Bolas is unaware of Niv-Mizzet's existence and power level and would thus expose himself and his plan to Niv's legitimate genius. It would be cool if Project Lightning Bug was instigated by Bolas through Ral and has some purpose in being able to control the only other power on Ravnica that could stand against Bolas.
Otherwise, it's a great theory. Strike while the plane is destabilized and unable to mount an effective, concerted response is a great idea.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
No Ugin wasn't the Leviathan.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Indeed. It fills the gaps nicely.
Dovin somehow becomes the Grand Arbiter of the Azorius.
Isperia uncovers Dovin's intentions and plans (and the master), and unfortunately lets Dovin know it.
Isperia calls the Guild Summit.
Dovin notices Bolas about Isperia's revelation.
Bolas orders Isperia turned to garden decoration by Vraska.
Dovin takes over as second-in-command and activates Emergency Powers.
Anyway, I am quite surprised that Dovin's six-fingered hands (clearly visible at Emergency Powers) did not attract attention of anyone; the six fingers are a specific Kaladeshi trait. On the other hand, he could always say he volunteered as Simic test subject when he was at college and needed money.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Could also explain why they would let Dovin become guild master, the Azorius would think it would be temporary as they figure out what happened not realizing Dovin planned for a full take over.
Well as its not unheard of humans in real life to sometimes be born with an extra finger on each hand, so I'm guessing it would be possible for non- Kaladeshi vedlkan to have six fingers. Really if anything is a give away for Kaladeshi vedlkan is hair and being able to smile
I will be bummed if Dovin ends up a total villain, but its seems Ral and Vraska (without her memories) don't know full extent of Bolas. It will be interesting to see why Kaya and Dovin become guild master as the outsiders.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
And ears, "normal" Vedalken on Ravnica don't have visible ears, but yeah the Simic and the other districts we never hear of make thinks like this possible.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
At least that's how I see it.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
The sphinx on Sphinx's Insight looks more like a random Azorius sphinx to me. Headgear is similar to Isperia's, but the suit of armour doesn't match her canon depiction, as reinstated on Guild Summit. No elaborate collar, no forearm pieces.
Just found that art on the wpn page, the face betrayed
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
I think it's a jellyfish not just a dress, but I can't tell what is going on with her arms.
Thanks to DarkNightCavalier from Heroes of the Plane Studios for this sick Signature.
I'm guessing both, she also seems to have jelly fish stingers.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Kaya I assume slaughtered her way to the top and at least with the Orzhov you figure the living would love to take out the Ghost Council to give themselves a chance of running the show. Then they can kill her to takeover or try to force a political marriage to try to acquire that magic themselves. And I think Kaya is minor noble or something so she might be good at court politics. If not well she got experience dealing with Marchesa.
Domri might makes right in the Gruul makes sense even if he was a bit of minor member before. Vraska and Ral are at least around and notable guild members.
But Dovin pops up out of nowhere and jumps to top of the most rule bound guild?
Joking aside I feel this may actually be almost exactly what happened. Kind of like the south park episode where people keep coming in going "who's in charge here...not any more you're not." And by rules of the azorious if you speak the proper phrase at the proper time to the proper people everything works out as you want.
Given that they are Vogon Style Lawful Neutral it is entirely possible that Dovin just needed a week with all the laws and found "Obscure Rule number 454184088904980948094 that allows him to be Grand Arbiter."
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
Huh, you're right. From the booster image I assumed she was simply wearing gloves, but looking at it again...
Looks like the Simic are back to their mad "animal body parts for everyone!" self.
Not even possible it is quite probable, You have a group that exists only to make convoluted laws and has existed for 10K years without real oversight, The actual laws in Ravnica are probably completely insane and would take someone like Dovin Bann who has a specific skill set in "Systems" to actually understand any of it.
There is very likely an immortal sentient being somewhere in Ravnica's law Library who has been there for 1000+ years trying to sort it all out and has gone completely mad.
Edit : Omg Short story idea - Orzhov Debtor, made and agreement to sort out Ravnica's Law Library did not realize it was a sisyphusian job that is impossible..spends his entire life in eternal torment.
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