This is a bit roundabout, but I want to know if I'm missing anything.
Okay, so I have been trying to keep up with the story postings thus far (finished Amonkhet recently). I remember the Kaladesh storyline and others actually beginning to develop planeswalkers as characters (Chandra's relationship with her mother, developing a friendship with Nissa, getting horny from Gideon -- usual teen girl stuff but actually somewhat compelling).
They also delved into non-Planeswalker characters, which I liked. Amonkhet did do a good job at communicating the horror and struggle of the regular folks (in my opinion at the expense of developing any of the Gatewatch besides Nissa, but I digress).
ANYWAYS, I also decided to look at each Planeswalker alive right now and saw many one-dimensional characters. To be fair though, many have not had much time in the spotlight, if any.
Then I got to Kiora. She's been featured in Theros and Battle for Zendikar. From what I can remember, the only things of note she's done is steal Thassa's Bident (which in my opinion is the ONLY potential relevance she has to the story anymore) and kill our first legendary octopus (which is actually her biggest contribution to the story).
Moving on from that, what does she do? I don't remember anything noteworthy about her personality wise, and I don't know of any connection she has to the story now beyond the Bident.
Other planeswalkers have had less time in the spotlight, but that also means they have potential if the writers make it happen. Kiora, on the other hand, has no more potential.
So, is she the most expendable planeswalker at the moment? Is there a planeswalker I missed who's been more of a wasted opportunity story wise? Is there a key thing about Kiora I'm forgetting?
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Haven't played anything but EDH and casual for over a year
Tibalt hasn't done anything though. That's why I don't view him as expendable.
He's in a rough patch since his card sucked and, beyond his origin, the only thing we know about him is he got whooped by Sorin. I see Tibalt as having potential, despite the community perspective of him as a joke.
It's just that I can't think of Kiora doing anything, and unlike Tibalt she's had two expansions and story spotlight to do so.
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Haven't played anything but EDH and casual for over a year
It depends on what exactly you mean by expendable. Mostly easily killed on or off screen? Has least story potential? Finished their personal story arcs? Least popular thus lacking plot armor? While most characters have some kind of on going story there is literally limitless story potential in every walker. Kiora is possibly the number 1 walker that could be killed off screen(as in not in a card set/story) and not impact anything, as she has finished her character arc/story. Samut, Koth, Darreti and Dack could all bite it off screen. Samut is helping her people but if we go back and find her dead it won't be a big deal. Koth should by all rights be dead if we ever go back to New Phyrexia but we would still see him as a card, just not a walker. Darreti had is character arc off screen so he could bite it as a lead into the next conspiracy set. Dack was last seen going into the Theros underworld but it wouldn't be surprising if he is just never mentioned again. As for death stories Gideon probably hits number 1. His entire character arc is begging for him to meet his end when he goes back to Theros. Following Gids, oddly enough Vivien Reid has the second slot for story death vs Bolas at any point. Then possibly Liliana once her raven man arc is done. Nahiri and Ugin could both die in their next encounter. For other off screen deaths Jaya has a lot of potential as Chandra is the focus of the comic series and they like killing mentors in comics.
It depends on what exactly you mean by expendable. Mostly easily killed on or off screen? Has least story potential? Finished their personal story arcs? Least popular thus lacking plot armor? While most characters have some kind of on going story there is literally limitless story potential in every walker. Kiora is possibly the number 1 walker that could be killed off screen(as in not in a card set/story) and not impact anything, as she has finished her character arc/story. Samut, Koth, Darreti and Dack could all bite it off screen. Samut is helping her people but if we go back and find her dead it won't be a big deal. Koth should by all rights be dead if we ever go back to New Phyrexia but we would still see him as a card, just not a walker. Darreti had is character arc off screen so he could bite it as a lead into the next conspiracy set. Dack was last seen going into the Theros underworld but it wouldn't be surprising if he is just never mentioned again. As for death stories Gideon probably hits number 1. His entire character arc is begging for him to meet his end when he goes back to Theros. Following Gids, oddly enough Vivien Reid has the second slot for story death vs Bolas at any point. Then possibly Liliana once her raven man arc is done. Nahiri and Ugin could both die in their next encounter. For other off screen deaths Jaya has a lot of potential as Chandra is the focus of the comic series and they like killing mentors in comics.
One argument in favor of Kiora is that she's established to show up for future return sets for either Theros or Zendikar, while her general theme of "let's find cool sea creatures" is enough to explain her showing up in almost any set in the future.
If Wizards is developing a new Green-Blue walker, someone's going to say "Hey, why can't we just have Kiora show up in the storyline?" and I'd imagine you'd need very specific needs (a very non-Merfolk/Ocean version of Green-Blue) to make that happen.
I would also argue that killing off a planeswalker is a move that closes so many doors down the line that you're not looking for the most expendable, for storyline purposes, but the one that means the most if killed off. So Gideon, for example, is one close to the top of this list because it fulfills a lot of storyline.
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Ob Nixilis is pretty expendable too, he has nothing going on except a huge hate-boner for the Gatewatch.
I'm pretty sure there is a interesting story to tell when him and Nahiri bump into each other yet again.
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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"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Kiora essentially fail to protect Zendikar as she aspired to when she panicked and didn't have the guts to see the Gatewatch's plan through? There's something to build on there, whether it be Kiora dealing with her shame or resenting the Gatewatch for succeeding where her fear made her fail or championing the Zendikari recovery. These are all things WotC can build on as all three are common character motivation tropes.
In a set I designed, I had Kiora as the protagonist dealing with the guilt and shame of her fear causing her to fail where her quest for more power was meant to succeed (ironically, it was a prison plane that allowed planeswalkers in but not out to play into her habit of letting fear get the best of her, thanks a lot Ixalan for taking the wind right out of my sails). I think she's actually a great protagonist because she isn't a typical hero. She's prideful, arrogant, and she very frequently ignores collateral damage. She amasses power for noble goals (saving her sister/Zendikar), but relishes in others respecting her power (even if she's lying). And at a critical moment, her fear overruled her willpower. That makes Kiora a character they can build a story off of, particularly after the cooling reception of the very basic Gatewatch.
I like Kiora. Just as I like many characters of the Gatewatch, They've all grown on me to some extent. Even Jace. Now I realize that Kiora isn't a member of the Gatewatch but I have serious issues when people rag on how much they dislike this character or that guild, because as a game shared by an entire community of gaming and fiction lovers, not everything is gonna be tailored to what you individually like. I know, surprise surprise!
That doesn't mean one cannot discuss the flaws and problems associated with a character, but rather than just asking why a character or faction is expendable, 'dance with the devil' abit and ask the opposite question:
What makes <insert personally disliked character or faction here> integral to the story and game? Why might people actually like them?
I like Kiora. She's not a nice character, or a character without serious flaws, but flawed characters should be what designers aim to create. Furthermore, nobody should represent our views, opinions and normative considerations perfectly, and we need to seriously move beyond the belief that if a person thinks or believe differently than ourselves, then they must be altered and reformed to express our vision of what we want them to be. Kiora is stubborn, belligerent, proud and fierce. She is also familial, daring, and upfront. Kiora understands that sometimes, extreme circumstances warrant similarly extreme measures, and it is pleasure to watch her experience the consequences of that, good and bad.
Maybe its just my orientation, but I see no sexual fetish in Kiora. Instead I see a brave and flawed character that makes me reflect upon my own qualities and their tradeoffs. Characters and people also change and we haven't had the pleasure of seeing any development in this regard yet for Kiora.
Contending a character as irrelevant due to being associated with a fetish also encourages a puritan view of sex and sexuality that simply ought not be propagated as some normative standard for all to follow. Now in my opinion, people, identities, and communities shouldn't be fetishized or made to seem sexual objects rather than what they are, people and self-determining agents, but by Ephara people! Get outta people's bedroom!
I agree my favorite e planeswalkers are Garruk, Kiora and Lily. They are multidimensional characters, i think they have a lot of depth compared to other walkers right now. Kiora's only fault is her two cards were developed as "weak" cards.
Id say the most disposable of the planeswalkers right now are Arlinn Kord and Samut and Huatli. Theyre too bound to their homeworld.
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MtG is where you can hate white players or black players, and still not be racist.
I agree my favorite e planeswalkers are Garruk, Kiora and Lily. They are multidimensional characters, i think they have a lot of depth compared to other walkers right now. Kiora's only fault is her two cards were developed as "weak" cards.
Id say the most disposable of the planeswalkers right now are Arlinn Kord and Samut and Huatli. Theyre too bound to their homeworld.
They can't kill off Huatli before she teams up with Saheeli to make clockwork dinosaurs!
Isn’t Jaya the most expendable? She’s already accomplished so much, she’s going to die of old age anyway, and the 2nd most popular planeswalker is mono red.
It’s kind of like stories you hear of old people in Japan cleaning up radiation, because they figure they’re going to die of old age before the radiation affects them and they want to leave behind a better place for future generations.
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Modern
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Isn’t Jaya the most expendable? She’s already accomplished so much, she’s going to die of old age anyway, and the 2nd most popular planeswalker is mono red.
So, basically, Kid Flash in Crisis. (For those who don't recall, both Flash and Teen Titans comics referenced that he was dying for years leading up to Crisis. In fact, once they defeated Trigon and Raven was presumed dead, he had no arcs left other than his death.)
It's also important to ask how relevant they are to the plot once their current storyline is over. This would put Koth, Domri, Samut, and Ral high up there: Koth wants to destroy Phyrexia, Domri wants to destroy Ravnica, Samut wants to kill Bolas, and Ral? I don't know, he does seem to be an unwitting pawn, though. None of them except Ral (whose agenda eludes me) have an agenda beyond "kill the antagonist". You also have Arlinn Kord and Tibalt for not really doing anything. (I swear I don't hate red.) I would put Koth higher just because red "lands matter" isn't a lot of design space; they really hit just about all of it available to colors other than green with the first card: Animate Land, High Tide, Hecatomb.
Could Bolas have cursed Tezzeret to die just in case Bolas dies? I mean, while he was brainwashing him and everything.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
I don't think Kiora will die now, but if she does then it could make the return to Theros with Gideon returning the bident and Ajani going to rescue Elspeth a bit more interesting (give a reasson to gideon to return).
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Okay, so I have been trying to keep up with the story postings thus far (finished Amonkhet recently). I remember the Kaladesh storyline and others actually beginning to develop planeswalkers as characters (Chandra's relationship with her mother, developing a friendship with Nissa, getting horny from Gideon -- usual teen girl stuff but actually somewhat compelling).
They also delved into non-Planeswalker characters, which I liked. Amonkhet did do a good job at communicating the horror and struggle of the regular folks (in my opinion at the expense of developing any of the Gatewatch besides Nissa, but I digress).
ANYWAYS, I also decided to look at each Planeswalker alive right now and saw many one-dimensional characters. To be fair though, many have not had much time in the spotlight, if any.
Then I got to Kiora. She's been featured in Theros and Battle for Zendikar. From what I can remember, the only things of note she's done is steal Thassa's Bident (which in my opinion is the ONLY potential relevance she has to the story anymore) and kill our first legendary octopus (which is actually her biggest contribution to the story).
Moving on from that, what does she do? I don't remember anything noteworthy about her personality wise, and I don't know of any connection she has to the story now beyond the Bident.
Other planeswalkers have had less time in the spotlight, but that also means they have potential if the writers make it happen. Kiora, on the other hand, has no more potential.
So, is she the most expendable planeswalker at the moment? Is there a planeswalker I missed who's been more of a wasted opportunity story wise? Is there a key thing about Kiora I'm forgetting?
He's in a rough patch since his card sucked and, beyond his origin, the only thing we know about him is he got whooped by Sorin. I see Tibalt as having potential, despite the community perspective of him as a joke.
It's just that I can't think of Kiora doing anything, and unlike Tibalt she's had two expansions and story spotlight to do so.
If Wizards is developing a new Green-Blue walker, someone's going to say "Hey, why can't we just have Kiora show up in the storyline?" and I'd imagine you'd need very specific needs (a very non-Merfolk/Ocean version of Green-Blue) to make that happen.
I would also argue that killing off a planeswalker is a move that closes so many doors down the line that you're not looking for the most expendable, for storyline purposes, but the one that means the most if killed off. So Gideon, for example, is one close to the top of this list because it fulfills a lot of storyline.
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
I'm pretty sure there is a interesting story to tell when him and Nahiri bump into each other yet again.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
In a set I designed, I had Kiora as the protagonist dealing with the guilt and shame of her fear causing her to fail where her quest for more power was meant to succeed (ironically, it was a prison plane that allowed planeswalkers in but not out to play into her habit of letting fear get the best of her, thanks a lot Ixalan for taking the wind right out of my sails). I think she's actually a great protagonist because she isn't a typical hero. She's prideful, arrogant, and she very frequently ignores collateral damage. She amasses power for noble goals (saving her sister/Zendikar), but relishes in others respecting her power (even if she's lying). And at a critical moment, her fear overruled her willpower. That makes Kiora a character they can build a story off of, particularly after the cooling reception of the very basic Gatewatch.
Archatmos
Excellion
Fracture: Israfiel (WBR), Wujal (URG), Valedon (GUB), Amduat (BGW), Paladris (RWU)
Collision (Set Two of the Fracture Block)
Quest for the Forsaken (Set Two of the Excellion Block)
Katingal: Plane of Chains
That doesn't mean one cannot discuss the flaws and problems associated with a character, but rather than just asking why a character or faction is expendable, 'dance with the devil' abit and ask the opposite question:
What makes <insert personally disliked character or faction here> integral to the story and game? Why might people actually like them?
I like Kiora. She's not a nice character, or a character without serious flaws, but flawed characters should be what designers aim to create. Furthermore, nobody should represent our views, opinions and normative considerations perfectly, and we need to seriously move beyond the belief that if a person thinks or believe differently than ourselves, then they must be altered and reformed to express our vision of what we want them to be. Kiora is stubborn, belligerent, proud and fierce. She is also familial, daring, and upfront. Kiora understands that sometimes, extreme circumstances warrant similarly extreme measures, and it is pleasure to watch her experience the consequences of that, good and bad.
Maybe its just my orientation, but I see no sexual fetish in Kiora. Instead I see a brave and flawed character that makes me reflect upon my own qualities and their tradeoffs. Characters and people also change and we haven't had the pleasure of seeing any development in this regard yet for Kiora.
Contending a character as irrelevant due to being associated with a fetish also encourages a puritan view of sex and sexuality that simply ought not be propagated as some normative standard for all to follow. Now in my opinion, people, identities, and communities shouldn't be fetishized or made to seem sexual objects rather than what they are, people and self-determining agents, but by Ephara people! Get outta people's bedroom!
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
Id say the most disposable of the planeswalkers right now are Arlinn Kord and Samut and Huatli. Theyre too bound to their homeworld.
They can't kill off Huatli before she teams up with Saheeli to make clockwork dinosaurs!
It’s kind of like stories you hear of old people in Japan cleaning up radiation, because they figure they’re going to die of old age before the radiation affects them and they want to leave behind a better place for future generations.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
—Mowagh the Gwyllion, Fang Skulkin
So, basically, Kid Flash in Crisis. (For those who don't recall, both Flash and Teen Titans comics referenced that he was dying for years leading up to Crisis. In fact, once they defeated Trigon and Raven was presumed dead, he had no arcs left other than his death.)
It's also important to ask how relevant they are to the plot once their current storyline is over. This would put Koth, Domri, Samut, and Ral high up there: Koth wants to destroy Phyrexia, Domri wants to destroy Ravnica, Samut wants to kill Bolas, and Ral? I don't know, he does seem to be an unwitting pawn, though. None of them except Ral (whose agenda eludes me) have an agenda beyond "kill the antagonist". You also have Arlinn Kord and Tibalt for not really doing anything. (I swear I don't hate red.) I would put Koth higher just because red "lands matter" isn't a lot of design space; they really hit just about all of it available to colors other than green with the first card: Animate Land, High Tide, Hecatomb.
Could Bolas have cursed Tezzeret to die just in case Bolas dies? I mean, while he was brainwashing him and everything.
On phasing:
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