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Nahiri on Ravnica makes no sense unless she wants to fight Sarkhan, Jace, and Chandra for releasing the Eldrazi titans in the first place. Sorin finally getting free of his prison and going after Nahiri makes sense but why emphasize the uncertainty to which he would be free of his prison when Nahiri seals him? Only to have him free a couple of sets further down? I don't get it... Oh, and Tibalt coming to Ravnica maybe to continue his beef with Sorin. But why didn't he go kill Sorin when he was stuck in the stone?
It is becoming clear that the Beacon is forcing planeswalkers to come, the majority of the Planeswalkers here have absolutely no reason to actually go to Ravnica naturally, and don't have personality types that would bring them to a place because something shiny is going on. Angrath has exactly zero reason to go walking anywhere given that War can't be taking place to long after Ixalan, same with Sorin who was trapped.
Also, why is Angrath on Bolas's side? That makes, like, zero sense.
He isn't he is angry and setting fire to everything. Nobody is really on "Bolas" side because all the walkers on the plane are targets to get their sparks stolen.
Angrath threw me at first, however it does make sense...if you make a couple of assumptions (which you know what that says). He shares colors with Bolas, he hates Jace and Hualti, probably Varaska as well. Varaska’s false memories probably have him featured. Bolas could be using him to to gather sparks, having forced him by “sparing” his family or holding them hostage.
Having a beacon summon every random planeswalker should then summon every planeswalker. There are many planeswalkers that aren't dead in lore that still need a card. Sandruu came to mind. Sandruu has yet to be able to return to Ulgrotha and WotC missed a golden opportunity to have him be the minotaur planeswalker trapped on Ixalan. If they were making weak planeswalkers to justify their uncommon and rare rarity, then could've easily just added a handful more that are elsewhere. And bump the number up from 36 in the set (not counting the planeswalker decks and the buy-a-box promo) to Daretti + Garruk + the Kenrith twins + Dack Fayden + Mu Yangling + Aminatou + Estrid + Koth + so many others that exist in the lore but have not had a card yet.
Hell, some planeswalkers have visited Ravnica before in the lore like Masrath and Tessebik. Ramaz is also a planeswalker that could've easily been included here being as he has been shown to be a servant of Nicol Bolas, just as Tezzeret is.
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Angrath threw me at first, however it does make sense...if you make a couple of assumptions (which you know what that says). He shares colors with Bolas, he hates Jace and Hualti, probably Varaska as well. Varaska’s false memories probably have him featured. Bolas could be using him to to gather sparks, having forced him by “sparing” his family or holding them hostage.
Or he’s like Ob and Tibalt, sewing chaos
He's never actually met Jace, though? (Or Vraska, for that matter.)
Like, literally the closest Angrath and Jace/Vraska ever came to interacting in the Ixalan story was that Jace "sensed" a minotaur off in the jungle while he and Vraska were rowing their boat toward Orazca. Their paths never actually crossed, and Angrath would never have even known Jace existed.
This is twice that I've seen the idea that Angrath hates Jace posited, and I have no idea where people are getting it from. (The planeswalker decks? Which are full of events that never actually happened in the story?)
As was pointed out in the Ixalan story, Ravnica is practically inundated with hieromancy. As we should also remember from the Ixalan story, Azor originally planned to pull Bolas onto Ixalan using his skill with hieromancy boosted by the power of the immortal sun to target a specific point in the multiverse at Ugin's signal.
Project lighting bug then provides the method of targeting those who are planeswalking/trying to planeswalk and then pull them toward Ravnica by utilizing the plane's natural hieromancy. Then, the immortal sun stops them from leaving.
In other words, no other known plane possesses strong natural hieromancy to draw Bolas's tragets to the plane. Add into that the role the guildpact and immortal sun would seem to play in casting the elder spell (Nissa's vision), and Ravnica becomes the plane of choice even without full control of it.
Because I have literally nothing else to do for a couple hours, I decided to compile a list of all planeswalkers and my predictions whether they'll die or not.
Samut: Thematically it'd feel weird if Samut died. She represents the "only" surviving part of Amonkhet (until we return at least) and having her die would feel almost like defeat. I think the fact that she has to fight her former friends and gods seems tragic enough that I think her death would be a bit overkill. Winning the war would already be pyrrhic enough for her. Prediction: Survival
Nicol Bolas: I think it's all but confirmed that he dies or at the very least loses and retreats, severely wounded. Prediction: Death
Ashiok: Honestly I find Ashiok's inclusion kind of odd. However I don't think their death would add anything to the conflict. They're neither on the good side nor a major threat like Ob to make their death feel like it matters. Realistically I'd say Ashiok should die, because their suite of spells shouldn't work against eternals, but narratively I don't see that happening. Prediction: Survival
Kasmina: I'm hesitant to call for the death of any of the new characters, because introducing a new character just to kill them off feels like a waste. On the other hand she seems like an extra to off, if you need to fill some body count quota. Prediction: Survival, but could go either way. (We also don't know anything about her so there's that.)
Domri Rade: Domri is in a weird spot, because he has no arc going and being on Bolas' side kind of puts a big target on his forehead. Additionally, being a Ravnican, having him as a casualty reinforces the idea that Ravnica is damaged in the conflict. Prediction: Death
Teyo Verada: Considering Teyo acts as "the player" (or reader) in the story, it makes little sense to kill him off. Prediction: Survival
Ral Zarek: As with Domri, I could see him getting offed based on the fact he's a (disposable) Ravnican. Paradoxically, his turning on Bolas may actually increase his odds of dying, redeeming himself through martyrdom. Prediction: Death
Tamiyo: I don't want Tamiyo to die and I will not accept the possibility that she will! Prediction: Survival (wishthinking)
Karn: Oof, this is a difficult one. Technically he does have unfinished business with New Phyrexia, but there's already Koth and Ajani/Elspeth who could carry the torch. Could see this going either way, really and any point I could make in his favour could easily be used as a reason for why he should die (Karn represents stability, but killing him would raise the stakes exactly because of this.) Prediction: Could go either way, but if forced for one, I'd say Survival.
Jaya Ballard: People already predicted her death in Dominaria and it makes a lot of sense. Between the trope of the mentor dying and Chandra basically occupying her role as the resident pyromancer, I rate her chances for survival to be very slim. Furthermore I predict a heartfelt moment between her and Chandra as Jaya dies, possibly coming at a time of despair and her death refuels Chandra's rage. Prediction: Death
Tibalt: I think Tibalt is confirmed to show up in a later story? Prediction: Survival
The Wanderer: Before the poster was spoiled, I would have said that the Wanderer dies, because she does seem rather gimmicky, which doesn't feel like it could be expanded on much. Now I'm not so sure anymore. Still I give it my original prediction, because I need to make a cut somewhere as I don't want to keep updating this list. Prediction: Death
Kiora: I'm not sure she still has an arc? She does have the bident, but if she dies, it could give Gideon reason to return the bident to Thassa, which could kickstart a bigger story with Heliod and Erebos. Prediction: Death
Sorin Markov: Oof. Like with Karn this is a tricky one. I assume Sorin's and Nahiri's survival hinge the whether their conflict gets resolved in this arc or not. Just to be contrarian, I'll say Sorin will die. Prediction: Death, but could go either way.
Teferi: I have to admit, I felt Teferi's addition into the gatewatch and current storyline as a whole very forced and shoehorned. His story was told and he represents an earlier generation of planeswalkers. Unless he dies in War of the Spark, his inclusion to the main roster feels very fan servicey. Prediction: Death
Angrath: So Angrath showed up twice, in precisely the same context (being trapped on a plane). It'd be very lame if Angrath died now, especially since he is such a multi-faceted character (which isn't easy to do for black-red). Plus he's a minotaur and we need more nonhuman planeswalkers. Prediction: Survival
Dovin Baan: I'm not sure Dovin's survival would add anything to the storyline going forward. He is not welcome in Kaladesh anymore and he's a natural henchman, not a villain. Without Bolas, there'd be some stumbling around to include him into any storyline. Prediction: Death
Ajani Goldmane: I think Ajani is confirmed to survive because of the upcoming Chandra story? At any rate, he still has unfinished business on Theors, especially the underworld. Also he is probably the only character who can reliably serve as a pillar of strength in the inevitably pyrrhic aftermath. Prediction: Survival
Arlinn Kord: Yet another character without an arc. I'd argue she is expendable and being a werewolf planeswalker makes her very limited in terms of usage in sets. On the other hand, she is very unique, which may be her saving grace. Mmh. Predition: Could go either way, but if I was forced to pick one, I'd say Survival
Ob Nixilis: I don't think Ob kicks the bucket solely for the fact that we need new villains once Bolas dies. Prediction: Survival
Jiang Yanggu: WotC won't kill children. Mowu will totally die though to pull on your heart strings. Prediction: Survival
Huatli: Urgh. Huatli's death would add nothing to the story. She has no real stakes in this conflict, she doesn't have ties to either Bolas nor the gatewatch. And she's never been to Amonkhet. Her inclusion is pretty random. Maybe she followed Saheeli, who knows. Anyway, I don't find her death likely. Prediction: Survival
Sarkhan Vol: If there's one planeswalker who is expendable, it's Sarkhan. His story is told. So told in fact that sometimes I forget he still exists. Prediction: Death
Saheeli Rai: Saheeli is one of those characters who doesn't really fit into the conflict. She comes from a relatively peaceful world and her profession is that of an inventor not a fighter. Thematically it feels wrong to kill her, but maybe that's precisely why she might die. She's as civilian as it gets. (Apart from Jiang maybe.) Still, prediction: Survival, but could go either way.
Narset: I don't think Narset will die. Save for Ugin, she'd be our only tie to Tarkir, which we will likely return to one day. Plus, she already died before. As with Angrath, repeating the same trick twice seems lame. Prediction: Survival
Nahiri: Compared to Sorin, Nahiri has much better chances to live. She fills a very peculiar villain spot that is hard to fill naturally otherwise. Prediction: Survival
Ugin: Now Ugin is interesting. Ugin's entire arc revolves around Bolas (the Eldrazi and Tarkir arcs are semi-resolved, as in there's more stories to tell, but they don't need to involve Ugin). Ugin dying together with his twin has a certain poetry to it. Will Ugin die? I don't know, but it feels like a real possibility. Prediction: Death
Davriel Cane: I have to admit I haven't read his story yet. (It's on my list though! I just didn't have the time yet. Maybe I should've done that before writing the list. Heh, now it's too late.) At any rate, I doubt they'd kill off a previously created planeswalker after their first appearance as an uncommon. Prediction: Survival
Vraska: I'm not entirely sure, but Vraska seems essential in defeating Bolas. Whether that makes her safe is up to debate. Personally I feel like she is the least expendable from all the Ravnican planeswalkers. I could see her turning around from her Golgari-first mindset and help rebuild Ravnica after. Prediction: Survival
Kaya: Kaya is another character who feels odd to kill. She's not a villain and her involvement is almost coincidental. Judging by the book cover she seems to side with the gatewatch too. There is little her death would add to the story. Prediction: Survival
Jace Beleren: I don't think Jace will die before we visit his homeplane. Plus, he's the posterchild of Magic. I'm not sure Jace will die soon. Prediction: Survival.
Gideon Jura: As with Jace, I doubt we'll see Gideon die before we return to his home plane. Not only does he have unfinished business there, but there's also the prophecy from Hazoret, that Gideon will die to a god. And I somehow doubt WotC intended that god to be Bolas. Prediction: Survival
Liliana Vess: If there's one character who still has an arc to finish it's Liliana. Who is the Raven Man?! Prediction: Survival
Nissa Revane: Unlike the rest of the (original) gatewatch, Nissa's story is told. In fact, her dying to protect a dying plane would redeem her from leaving the gatewatch earlier. Prediction: Death
Chandra Nalaar: Apparently she has a contract extending to at least another comic. Chandra won't die. Prediction: Survival
Vivien Reid: Now Vivien is an interesting story. On the one hand, she's a new character and I'm hesitant to kill those off, but on the other hand 90% of her reason to exist is because of Bolas. Killing Bolas resolves her arc and the main reason for her (narrative) existence. Then again she could still be an eco-villain, but that feels rather weak. I'd prefer a new green character to fill that spot. Prediction: Death
Survival: 23
Death: 13
Not quite 50/50, but good enough.
Having all that said, I am always a fan of surprise in these matters as too much predictability tends to be immersion breaking, but I'm mostly going by WotC's track record, which always seems very narrative/thematics driven.
Because I have literally nothing else to do for a couple hours, I decided to compile a list of all planeswalkers and my predictions whether they'll die or not.
Having all that said, I am always a fan of surprise in these matters as too much predictability tends to be immersion breaking, but I'm mostly going by WotC's track record, which always seems very narrative/thematics driven.
Just a note, we have been told that there is second Ravnica book from Weisman to come in autumn, that continues the War story with Teyo, Rat, Kaya and Liliana, so we can, I think, take all three walkers as confirmed survivors.
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Because I have literally nothing else to do for a couple hours, I decided to compile a list of all planeswalkers and my predictions whether they'll die or not.
Having all that said, I am always a fan of surprise in these matters as too much predictability tends to be immersion breaking, but I'm mostly going by WotC's track record, which always seems very narrative/thematics driven.
Just a note, we have been told that there is second Ravnica book from Weisman to come in autumn, that continues the War story with Teyo, Rat, Kaya and Liliana, so we can, I think, take all three walkers as confirmed survivors.
I must have missed that announcement, do you have a link ready?
I'm also wondering if there is a middle path in terms of characters dying. It definitely looks like Dak dies, but more from being stabbed with a spear than from losing his spark. Could the story conclude with one or more PW losing their sparks but surviving, trapped on Ravnica? (The irony for Teferi would be interesting).
Having a beacon summon every random planeswalker should then summon every planeswalker. There are many planeswalkers that aren't dead in lore that still need a card. Sandruu came to mind. Sandruu has yet to be able to return to Ulgrotha and WotC missed a golden opportunity to have him be the minotaur planeswalker trapped on Ixalan. If they were making weak planeswalkers to justify their uncommon and rare rarity, then could've easily just added a handful more that are elsewhere. And bump the number up from 36 in the set (not counting the planeswalker decks and the buy-a-box promo) to Daretti + Garruk + the Kenrith twins + Dack Fayden + Mu Yangling + Aminatou + Estrid + Koth + so many others that exist in the lore but have not had a card yet.
Hell, some planeswalkers have visited Ravnica before in the lore like Masrath and Tessebik. Ramaz is also a planeswalker that could've easily been included here being as he has been shown to be a servant of Nicol Bolas, just as Tezzeret is.
For all we know the beacon might just force planeswalkers to planeswalk to Ravnica whenever they try to go anywhere else. Considering Angrath usually planeswalks to places and brings his daughters back gifts from other planes, that would be a plausible reason for why he's stuck on Ravnica now. It'd also explain how certain planeswalkers aren't on Ravnica, simply because they just haven't tried to planeswalk anywhere since the beacon was ignited, as well as some planeswalkers with no apparent dog in the fight against Bolas.
(Of course, lorewise there must be more than 36 non-Bolas planeswalkers on Ravnica with all the sparks floating around in the basic land art and in the trailer, so there's likely a bunch of unnamed planeswalkers present.)
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Why isn't Nahiri a vampire? Sorin bit her neck right before she imprisoned him.
Because Innistrad Vampires are different, Sorin isn't a "real" vampire in the sense of Dracula lord of vampires. His Uncle made him drink a mix of Angel and Demon blood that granted him immortality and a thirst for blood. He never really "died" which is why he still has his spark.
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It is becoming clear that the Beacon is forcing planeswalkers to come, the majority of the Planeswalkers here have absolutely no reason to actually go to Ravnica naturally, and don't have personality types that would bring them to a place because something shiny is going on. Angrath has exactly zero reason to go walking anywhere given that War can't be taking place to long after Ixalan, same with Sorin who was trapped.
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Also, why is Angrath on Bolas's side? That makes, like, zero sense.
Generally I'm rather disappointed in the writing here. It's a shame, though, 'cos Weisman is a genuinely good writer and deserves better.
He isn't he is angry and setting fire to everything. Nobody is really on "Bolas" side because all the walkers on the plane are targets to get their sparks stolen.
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Or he’s like Ob and Tibalt, sewing chaos
Hell, some planeswalkers have visited Ravnica before in the lore like Masrath and Tessebik. Ramaz is also a planeswalker that could've easily been included here being as he has been shown to be a servant of Nicol Bolas, just as Tezzeret is.
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He's never actually met Jace, though? (Or Vraska, for that matter.)
Like, literally the closest Angrath and Jace/Vraska ever came to interacting in the Ixalan story was that Jace "sensed" a minotaur off in the jungle while he and Vraska were rowing their boat toward Orazca. Their paths never actually crossed, and Angrath would never have even known Jace existed.
This is twice that I've seen the idea that Angrath hates Jace posited, and I have no idea where people are getting it from. (The planeswalker decks? Which are full of events that never actually happened in the story?)
As was pointed out in the Ixalan story, Ravnica is practically inundated with hieromancy. As we should also remember from the Ixalan story, Azor originally planned to pull Bolas onto Ixalan using his skill with hieromancy boosted by the power of the immortal sun to target a specific point in the multiverse at Ugin's signal.
Project lighting bug then provides the method of targeting those who are planeswalking/trying to planeswalk and then pull them toward Ravnica by utilizing the plane's natural hieromancy. Then, the immortal sun stops them from leaving.
In other words, no other known plane possesses strong natural hieromancy to draw Bolas's tragets to the plane. Add into that the role the guildpact and immortal sun would seem to play in casting the elder spell (Nissa's vision), and Ravnica becomes the plane of choice even without full control of it.
What writing? Aren't you (and all of us) making lots of assumptions and leaps based on what little tidbits we have seen from cards so far?
Mowu will totally die though to pull on your heart strings.Prediction: SurvivalDeath: 13
Not quite 50/50, but good enough.
Having all that said, I am always a fan of surprise in these matters as too much predictability tends to be immersion breaking, but I'm mostly going by WotC's track record, which always seems very narrative/thematics driven.
Just a note, we have been told that there is second Ravnica book from Weisman to come in autumn, that continues the War story with Teyo, Rat, Kaya and Liliana, so we can, I think, take all three walkers as confirmed survivors.
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I must have missed that announcement, do you have a link ready?
Tibalt survives and lacks a plus ability on his card.
According to the Planeswalker's guide, Sorin has to "infect" her with his own blood, which he probably hasn't done...
Well that confirms the whole Nahiri and Sorin only there to fight theory.
Edit: Im hoping the feud ends in this set. I know that sounds corny , but st this point the feud is pathetic.
Edit two: It reminds me of the Peter vs chicken fights in family guy. Lol made me chuckle.
Has it been stated when new stories will start showing up on the Mothership?
For all we know the beacon might just force planeswalkers to planeswalk to Ravnica whenever they try to go anywhere else. Considering Angrath usually planeswalks to places and brings his daughters back gifts from other planes, that would be a plausible reason for why he's stuck on Ravnica now. It'd also explain how certain planeswalkers aren't on Ravnica, simply because they just haven't tried to planeswalk anywhere since the beacon was ignited, as well as some planeswalkers with no apparent dog in the fight against Bolas.
(Of course, lorewise there must be more than 36 non-Bolas planeswalkers on Ravnica with all the sparks floating around in the basic land art and in the trailer, so there's likely a bunch of unnamed planeswalkers present.)
Because Innistrad Vampires are different, Sorin isn't a "real" vampire in the sense of Dracula lord of vampires. His Uncle made him drink a mix of Angel and Demon blood that granted him immortality and a thirst for blood. He never really "died" which is why he still has his spark.
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Why do I have a feeling this was meant to be printed in amonkhet