I don't get it...Maro says the cards are finalized first then why do the characters in story never lineup with the cards. I mean Greg has worked on the story for what less then a year and they tell us sets are like 2 years ahead. Ergo the characters in the story should matchup with the cards.
I don't get it...Maro says the cards are finalized first then why do the characters in story never lineup with the cards. I mean Greg has worked on the story for what less then a year and they tell us sets are like 2 years ahead. Ergo the characters in the story should matchup with the cards.
Kasmina filled another of our monocolor uncommon planeswalker slots we didn't have a character for. Six other characters have appeared on a mono-blue planeswalker card (Jace, Mu Yanling, Tamiyo, Teferi, Tezzeret, and Will Kenrith). Jace was a rare card. Tamiyo appeared as a rare green-blue card, Teferi appeared as a rare white-blue card, and Tezzeret was the Buy-a-Box promo. We had other plans for both Mu Yanling and Will Kenrith, so that opened up a slot for a new character. We had an interesting idea for a Planeswalker for a future story, so this was the perfect opportunity to introduce her. I don't want to say too much about Kasmina, but I will say her abilities were made to match her character as a small tease of things to come.
I'm curious about "other plans" for Yanling and Will (as well as seeing more on Kasmina). Kaya for example was written for this storyline and was put in Conspiracy take the crown to introduce her so it might be a lot of these side set walkers might be the lead in a future storyline.
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"
A wizard mentor with transformation magic. Her negative it seems flavorful of her teaching (looting) and making wizards (metaphorically in flavor, literal on the card). A few people also notice her wizard tokens have a symbol on their foreheads that might have some meaning later on.
Classical fantasty and/or camelot fantasty world has been asked for as well so Kasmina could play a merlin like role.
“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"
Can't say I am either. We have finite universe filled with an untold amount of worlds, and most of the planeswalkers are humans or were humans at some point.
Kasmina filled another of our monocolor uncommon planeswalker slots we didn't have a character for. Six other characters have appeared on a mono-blue planeswalker card (Jace, Mu Yanling, Tamiyo, Teferi, Tezzeret, and Will Kenrith). Jace was a rare card. Tamiyo appeared as a rare green-blue card, Teferi appeared as a rare white-blue card, and Tezzeret was the Buy-a-Box promo. We had other plans for both Mu Yanling and Will Kenrith, so that opened up a slot for a new character. We had an interesting idea for a Planeswalker for a future story, so this was the perfect opportunity to introduce her. I don't want to say too much about Kasmina, but I will say her abilities were made to match her character as a small tease of things to come.
I'm curious about "other plans" for Yanling and Will (as well as seeing more on Kasmina). Kaya for example was written for this storyline and was put in Conspiracy take the crown to introduce her so it might be a lot of these side set walkers might be the lead in a future storyline.
I am very curious what they have planned for Will (and I assume Rowan). I was always sorry they had no lore attached to them when BB released.
I'm looking forward to more Yanling and Kasmina. Not terribly excited for the twins but I'm sure they'll be neat enough. Though I do have to wonder what about the plans they have for these characters (and Garruk as another example) that precludes them from being in War of the Spark.
Well, considering the head/body/leg ratio, maybe, just maybe, she could be a dwarf?
Bigger picture on Magali's pages.
As someone else who also cannot get excited for more human walkers, dwarf is still way too close to human to be excited about. If you're unsure whether or not they're human or this other thing that's really really close to human, then it's too close to human.
Human PWs: 33
Dragon PWs: 2
Elf PWs: 2
Cat warrior PWs: 2
Werewolf PWs: 1
Minotaur PWs: 1
Kor PWs: 1
Merfolk PWs: 1
Vampire PWs: 1
Demon PWs: 1
Moonfolk PWs: 1
Devil PWs: 1
Gorgon PWs: 1
Satyr PWs: 1
Goblin PWs: 1
Vedalken Pws: 1
Golem PWs: 1
Unknown PWs: 1
Meanwhile: No orc, no dwarf, no giant, no ogre, no viashino, no centaur, no kithkin, no angel (yes, I know the soul problem), no treefolk, no naga, no harpy, no faerie, no mutant (but Koth and Tezzeret are not regular humans), no sphynx (at least not proper), no elemental (do they have the old "no soul" problem like regular undead?)
I was hoping this story would be the end of the Gatewatch era of Magic, but that ending with all the oaths caused me more despair than 65 chapters of Bolas sitting on his throne killing scores of nameless people... uh... more in my sig.
If you thought that then you simply weren't paying attention. This was the end of Bolas, not the Gatewatch. The Gatewatch is very successful, until it ceases to be well liked don't expect it to go away.
Except it isn't definitely the end of Bolas, they put him on ice. They brought him back once before from what we thought was actually dead, so explicitly not killing him off all but ensures he will return.
I also wonder how popular the gatewatch actually is. For people who care about the story I mean. There are plenty of people who like the cards but don't know much about the story.
It's the end of him as a focus for the time being, not the end as in forever. It should be rather clear contextually what I meant if you're paying attention to the story, but if you're not I'll be more explicit next time.
And the Gatewatch, according to data we can look at, seem to be popular at least on an individual level. As a group it's probably a bit harder to measure, but if it wasn't popular I'm sure Wizards would just go back to the old format (which really wasn't all that different from what's currently going on anyways, speaking of stuff Alara onward for reference). The Gatewatch are just the result of a positive feedback loop from what I can see though, so it's not surprising.
Also I'm glad Ugin is so popular, if a bit surprised. Makes me hopeful that they'll show him doing more, he's been pretty background for now.
I'm sorry, the fault is mine, I should have been more explicit that I was calling out creative for half assing it and not having the balls to actually off the character, and in fact making it clear that he's just getting a time out and will be back as a villain, thus making this supposed narrative climax with a decade of buildup even more of a shallow, cynical letdown. It's a ***** decision made for ***** reasons that weakens the overarching story.
Wizards fumbled the Bolas arc from start to finish. They brought him back from the dead without really knowing what to do with him, had him fumble through a few plans before sidelining him while they figured out what to do, briefly brought him in as a real threat after creating a team to oppose him (giving us like, 2 years of him actually being a good villain), then ruined it by having his war have few tangible consequences that we as readers are invested in and not even having the decency to finish him off.
They've been trying to copy the MCU, but they've been hitting mid 90s marvel in terms of quality.
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!
Eh, I don't agree with any of that. Killing off Bolas wouldn't really be all that great, both from a narrative sense and a moral sense being imprisoned without power is a better end. And he in general has always been a weak villain, acting like this is somehow a new thing is rather silly. They just were trying to make the most of a bad character.
Magic is really good at presenting interesting worlds and characters, but when it comes to actually giving those characters voices beyond the cards (flavor text) and incorporating them into a story/plot, it fails more often than it succeeds.
I only read an extract (from the first few chapters) on Google Books, but the absolutely wooden way in which exposition was handled didn't exactly make me want to buy the book (although, for example, the concept of Teyos homeworld and powers was pretty interesting). I know it has to be written in a way that makes it easy to read for people who are unfamiliar with the story, but in the first few chapters you can already feel the cost of having such a large cast and, at the same time, limited room to work with the characters.
Maybe they could've split the whole thing, with the event in the book being described purely from Teyo's perspective while the web fiction would've handled the Gatewatch member's side of the story?
Eh, I don't agree with any of that. Killing off Bolas wouldn't really be all that great, both from a narrative sense and a moral sense being imprisoned without power is a better end. And he in general has always been a weak villain, acting like this is somehow a new thing is rather silly. They just were trying to make the most of a bad character.
And they failed. Miserably. They made the most of him in Amonkhet. He was mustache twirlingly over the top, but he was effective. They did a terrible job before that, and they did a terrible job this set. There were flashes where they did well, with him brushing Gideon aside and shattering the blackblade, but overall he just failed and looked like a chump. And while imprisoning him without power is a better punishment, it's really stupid to do, as it leaves him a window to come back. It's also not what they actually did. They imprisoned him without a spark, so he can't planeswalkers and he has less power, but he's still Nicol Bolas Elder Dragon. He still is nigh immortal and graced with magnificent powers. He had basically all his powers before sparking. It's just such a clear case of a story decision being made for meta reasons over what's right for the story. What's right for the story would have been ending the threat he poses to the multiverse. They didn't. And we've already seen lesser beings get their spark back, so Bolas, an immortal genius and one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, is almost assured to do so narratively, and absolutely going to do so when wizards decides its time.
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!
I mean come on Bolas already spent like a millenium? centuries imprisoned before Venser got him out so its nothing new for him lol.
It leaves a window for him to come back granted we have seen characters come back from death but this makes it obvious he gets out eventually.
Dragon PWs: 2
Elf PWs: 2 (One is half-human)
Cat warrior PWs: 2
Werewolf PWs: 1 (Also human)
Minotaur PWs: 1
Kor PWs: 1
Merfolk PWs: 1
Vampire PWs: 1 (Previously human)
Demon PWs: 1 (Previously human)
Moonfolk PWs: 1
Devil PWs: 1 (Half-human, also previously human)
Gorgon PWs: 1
Satyr PWs: 1
Goblin PWs: 1
Vedalken Pws: 1
Golem PWs: 1
Unknown PWs: 1 (Possibly human)
Meanwhile: No orc, no dwarf, no giant, no ogre, no viashino, no centaur, no kithkin, no angel (yes, I know the soul problem), no treefolk, no naga, no harpy, no faerie, no mutant (but Koth and Tezzeret are not regular humans), no sphynx (at least not proper), no elemental (do they have the old "no soul" problem like regular undead?)
Added a few obvious addendum to show how even fewer there are as even among the more fantastical. That there are those that have human ancestry or may.
Specifically: Freyalise is canonically half-elf born. Arlinn is still human unless in werewolf form. Sorin Markov is a human whose spark ignited upon being transformed into a vampire. Ob Nixilis was a human who obtained the chain veil previously but went demon. Tibalt was a human until he casted a spell that turned him half-devil. The Wanderer can be anything but the simple answer is they are a human and that them secretly being an Eldrazi or being a returned Elspeth is part of the myth built up around them based on the speculation of others.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/more-war-games-2019-04-29
I'm curious about "other plans" for Yanling and Will (as well as seeing more on Kasmina). Kaya for example was written for this storyline and was put in Conspiracy take the crown to introduce her so it might be a lot of these side set walkers might be the lead in a future storyline.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I am simply not excited for more Human Walkers.
A wizard mentor with transformation magic. Her negative it seems flavorful of her teaching (looting) and making wizards (metaphorically in flavor, literal on the card). A few people also notice her wizard tokens have a symbol on their foreheads that might have some meaning later on.
Classical fantasty and/or camelot fantasty world has been asked for as well so Kasmina could play a merlin like role.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I am very curious what they have planned for Will (and I assume Rowan). I was always sorry they had no lore attached to them when BB released.
But we finally got a viashino walker in War of the Spark!
And then it was promptly killed.
Of course...like look the global series walkers and Aminatou fine but you are telling me that Kasmina and the Kenriths need to be white humans....
Well, considering the head/body/leg ratio, maybe, just maybe, she could be a dwarf?
Bigger picture on Magali's pages.
Dragon PWs: 2
Elf PWs: 2
Cat warrior PWs: 2
Werewolf PWs: 1
Minotaur PWs: 1
Kor PWs: 1
Merfolk PWs: 1
Vampire PWs: 1
Demon PWs: 1
Moonfolk PWs: 1
Devil PWs: 1
Gorgon PWs: 1
Satyr PWs: 1
Goblin PWs: 1
Vedalken Pws: 1
Golem PWs: 1
Unknown PWs: 1
Meanwhile: No orc, no dwarf, no giant, no ogre, no viashino, no centaur, no kithkin, no angel (yes, I know the soul problem), no treefolk, no naga, no harpy, no faerie, no mutant (but Koth and Tezzeret are not regular humans), no sphynx (at least not proper), no elemental (do they have the old "no soul" problem like regular undead?)
I'm sorry, the fault is mine, I should have been more explicit that I was calling out creative for half assing it and not having the balls to actually off the character, and in fact making it clear that he's just getting a time out and will be back as a villain, thus making this supposed narrative climax with a decade of buildup even more of a shallow, cynical letdown. It's a ***** decision made for ***** reasons that weakens the overarching story.
Wizards fumbled the Bolas arc from start to finish. They brought him back from the dead without really knowing what to do with him, had him fumble through a few plans before sidelining him while they figured out what to do, briefly brought him in as a real threat after creating a team to oppose him (giving us like, 2 years of him actually being a good villain), then ruined it by having his war have few tangible consequences that we as readers are invested in and not even having the decency to finish him off.
They've been trying to copy the MCU, but they've been hitting mid 90s marvel in terms of quality.
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!
I only read an extract (from the first few chapters) on Google Books, but the absolutely wooden way in which exposition was handled didn't exactly make me want to buy the book (although, for example, the concept of Teyos homeworld and powers was pretty interesting). I know it has to be written in a way that makes it easy to read for people who are unfamiliar with the story, but in the first few chapters you can already feel the cost of having such a large cast and, at the same time, limited room to work with the characters.
Maybe they could've split the whole thing, with the event in the book being described purely from Teyo's perspective while the web fiction would've handled the Gatewatch member's side of the story?
And they failed. Miserably. They made the most of him in Amonkhet. He was mustache twirlingly over the top, but he was effective. They did a terrible job before that, and they did a terrible job this set. There were flashes where they did well, with him brushing Gideon aside and shattering the blackblade, but overall he just failed and looked like a chump. And while imprisoning him without power is a better punishment, it's really stupid to do, as it leaves him a window to come back. It's also not what they actually did. They imprisoned him without a spark, so he can't planeswalkers and he has less power, but he's still Nicol Bolas Elder Dragon. He still is nigh immortal and graced with magnificent powers. He had basically all his powers before sparking. It's just such a clear case of a story decision being made for meta reasons over what's right for the story. What's right for the story would have been ending the threat he poses to the multiverse. They didn't. And we've already seen lesser beings get their spark back, so Bolas, an immortal genius and one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, is almost assured to do so narratively, and absolutely going to do so when wizards decides its time.
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!
It leaves a window for him to come back granted we have seen characters come back from death but this makes it obvious he gets out eventually.
As for genius...I don't know that seems in doubt.
Specifically: Freyalise is canonically half-elf born. Arlinn is still human unless in werewolf form. Sorin Markov is a human whose spark ignited upon being transformed into a vampire. Ob Nixilis was a human who obtained the chain veil previously but went demon. Tibalt was a human until he casted a spell that turned him half-devil. The Wanderer can be anything but the simple answer is they are a human and that them secretly being an Eldrazi or being a returned Elspeth is part of the myth built up around them based on the speculation of others.