Yawgmoth. Konda. Memnarch. Ixidor. Phage. The First. Hell, even Emrakul, in the end. Every single one of these villains was better written, better-developed, and more nuanced than Bolas. Yes, God of Evil Yawgmoth was more complex.
Bolas struggles from poor characterization more than actual concept. He's supposedly the oldest, wisest, most malevolent planeswalker in the multiverse, but until very recently he lacked any actual sense of awe or majesty, cackling from one plane to the next like a cartoon villain, always up to some dastardly deed motivated by simple greed or spite. He didn't behave like a millenia-old god-dragon, he didn't sound like one when he talked. Whereas Yawgmoth actually felt majestic, overpowering, and indeed, Ineffable (after "only" 9,000 years), Bolas has been around over twice as long and still isn't past the Bond Villain stage.
However, Bolas in Hour of Devastation actually looks like the apocalyptic, nightmarish, godlike terror he always should have been. Watching the Hour of Devastation trailer, I could feel it in the swarms of locusts, the thundering titans, and the descending plagues. In the Hour of Revelation fiction, I could sense it in the despair of Naktamun's crumbling faith and the waters of the Luxa turning to blood. On Amonkhet he has finally succeeded in becoming an awe-inducing presence, and I'm going to enjoy him now, because he might never be this cool again.
Do people just get hard-ons from him as a character because he's powerful and such an incredible douche? It's pretty hard to believe that a 25,000 year old dragon can act so juvenile.
That was always my problem, but I actually don't mind this flavor text. I can at least picture a villain of Darth Vader's caliber saying it.
Exile target attacking or blocking white creature. If it's a Gideon planeswalker card gain 5 life.
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"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again"
Bolas struggles from poor characterization more than actual concept. He's supposedly the oldest, wisest, most malevolent planeswalker in the multiverse, but until very recently he lacked any actual sense of awe or majesty, cackling from one plane to the next like a cartoon villain, always up to some dastardly deed motivated by simple greed or spite. He didn't behave like a millenia-old god-dragon, he didn't sound like one when he talked. Whereas Yawgmoth actually felt majestic, overpowering, and indeed, Ineffable (after "only" 9,000 years), Bolas has been around over twice as long and still isn't past the Bond Villain stage.
However, Bolas in Hour of Devastation actually looks like the apocalyptic, nightmarish, godlike terror he always should have been. Watching the Hour of Devastation trailer, I could feel it in the swarms of locusts, the thundering titans, and the descending plagues. In the Hour of Revelation fiction, I could sense it in the despair of Naktamun's crumbling faith and the waters of the Luxa turning to blood. On Amonkhet he has finally succeeded in becoming an awe-inducing presence, and I'm going to enjoy him now, because he might never be this cool again.
My issue with "concepts" like Bolas is that the bad guy is so ridiculously above most everything around them that it induces apathy (and I equate them with real-life villains like crime lords and corrupt politicans who keep getting away with crap). I know when someone like Bolas shows up that the good guys will rarely be allowed to win because Bolas is arbitrarily more "powerful" than they are. It feels like a Dragon Ball Z situation where the only way to defeat the bad guy is by becoming stronger than said bad guy as opposed to, I dunno, exploiting some fatal flaw or, better yet, doing something to prove the merit of virtue?
My favorite Bolas moment is in FRF when Ugin summons a bunch of Dragons to kick his ass and Bolas' smile fades. For a brief moment, he was having an "oh, crap" reaction that proves, even before the Mending, he wasn't invincible or unstoppable. The only reason he won that fight is because he was able to talk one of the local humans into turning Ugin's weapon against him. A suitably cunning strategy that better fits the nature of a mastermind, and didn't require being ridiculously OP to pull off.
Yet ironically in an era where PWs aren't gods, Bolas just comes off as a boring, invincible villain. It's like if everything broken about Eternal formats manifested collectively as a big, evil dragon. And this problem doesn't just plague Bolas's character; I have the same issue with the Eldrazi and the Phyrexians. Defeating them required over-the-top strategies that went far beyond the scope of a story about heroic merit; courage, cunning, wisdom, none of those were enough to beat the bad guys. It was all about overwhelming "I have more mana than you" force (though using Zendikar to pull the Eldrazi into reality was an interesting touch).
I'm going to cheer when Gatewatch finally get to whup Bolas good (probably with the help of a hundred other PWs all launching attacks at Bolas at once and overwhelming him with sheer numbers), even if it isn't for good. Give the Elder Dragon his own ironic defeat and let him retreat to the shadows to gather his minions for a rematch.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Yawgmoth. Konda. Memnarch. Ixidor. Phage. The First. Hell, even Emrakul, in the end. Every single one of these villains was better written, better-developed, and more nuanced than Bolas. Yes, God of Evil Yawgmoth was more complex.
Bolas struggles from poor characterization more than actual concept. He's supposedly the oldest, wisest, most malevolent planeswalker in the multiverse, but until very recently he lacked any actual sense of awe or majesty, cackling from one plane to the next like a cartoon villain, always up to some dastardly deed motivated by simple greed or spite. He didn't behave like a millenia-old god-dragon, he didn't sound like one when he talked. Whereas Yawgmoth actually felt majestic, overpowering, and indeed, Ineffable (after "only" 9,000 years), Bolas has been around over twice as long and still isn't past the Bond Villain stage.
However, Bolas in Hour of Devastation actually looks like the apocalyptic, nightmarish, godlike terror he always should have been. Watching the Hour of Devastation trailer, I could feel it in the swarms of locusts, the thundering titans, and the descending plagues. In the Hour of Revelation fiction, I could sense it in the despair of Naktamun's crumbling faith and the waters of the Luxa turning to blood. On Amonkhet he has finally succeeded in becoming an awe-inducing presence, and I'm going to enjoy him now, because he might never be this cool again.
Yes, Bolas is typically pretty one-note as a villain, but I think it's his hamminess combined with his "schemes within schemes" schtick that makes him appealing to a number of people. Also, you have to consider that Bolas is Grixis; the red part of his color identity does contribute to his personality IMO. This is a guy who just smiled when Ugin warned him about messing around, the guy who was ready to destroy Alara just because, and the guy who put up the huge horns monument on Amonkhet out of sheer vanity.
Yawgmoth. Konda. Memnarch. Ixidor. Phage. The First. Hell, even Emrakul, in the end. Every single one of these villains was better written, better-developed, and more nuanced than Bolas. Yes, God of Evil Yawgmoth was more complex.
Bolas struggles from poor characterization more than actual concept. He's supposedly the oldest, wisest, most malevolent planeswalker in the multiverse, but until very recently he lacked any actual sense of awe or majesty, cackling from one plane to the next like a cartoon villain, always up to some dastardly deed motivated by simple greed or spite. He didn't behave like a millenia-old god-dragon, he didn't sound like one when he talked. Whereas Yawgmoth actually felt majestic, overpowering, and indeed, Ineffable (after "only" 9,000 years), Bolas has been around over twice as long and still isn't past the Bond Villain stage.
However, Bolas in Hour of Devastation actually looks like the apocalyptic, nightmarish, godlike terror he always should have been. Watching the Hour of Devastation trailer, I could feel it in the swarms of locusts, the thundering titans, and the descending plagues. In the Hour of Revelation fiction, I could sense it in the despair of Naktamun's crumbling faith and the waters of the Luxa turning to blood. On Amonkhet he has finally succeeded in becoming an awe-inducing presence, and I'm going to enjoy him now, because he might never be this cool again.
Yes, Bolas is typically pretty one-note as a villain, but I think it's his hamminess combined with his "schemes within schemes" schtick that makes him appealing to a number of people. Also, you have to consider that Bolas is Grixis; the red part of his color identity does contribute to his personality IMO. This is a guy who just smiled when Ugin warned him about messing around, the guy who was ready to destroy Alara just because, and the guy who put up the huge horns monument on Amonkhet out of sheer vanity.
Well, he *is* a dragon, and dragons are nothing if not vain, petty, and greedy. Even the whitest of white dragons will collect treasure, take vengeance for slights (real or imagined), and like being worshipped for their power and beauty. The only difference is in personality, their long term goals, and how the dragons go about achieving those goals. Bolas is sadistic, yeah. But his ultimate goal is to achieve the same power he had prior to the mending, and he is fully willing to destroy any number of planes to do it. I am assuming he corrupted Amonkhet to use its natural life/death cycle as a way to gain power in some way.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I really wish the rider effects weren't planeswalker specific though, and that they just worked with any planeswalker. It would still be just as flavorful.
Can you also translate Bolas's sass in the flavour text?
Here's my best attempt, fwiw:
“Nissa. The soul of this world is dead, you see. I suppose I will gladly kill it again.
-Nicol Bolas“
Not sure how to interpret this, but it definitely says “dead“ and “kill again“, so...
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It always a good thing to seek to unnerstand your enemy. You gotta walk a mile in his shoes to unnerstand him, right? Dat way, if he still your enemy, you a mile away and you got his shoes.
-Plateau, troll philosopher
That and Maro already stated they aren't doing cycles like that due to a power level decline after the first card in a cycle is designed through the last card. I.e. 1st is good, 2nd is ok, 3rd is meh, 4th/5th are usually bad and feel forced.
You mean like they aren't making Oaths? Or like they didn't make already a cycle out of Gainsay? You are misrepresenting what he said. He said there is an issue and it applies to a certain problem (Masterpieces) - but he didn't say that the issue stops them from ever going the cycle route. Indeed they have a very good reason to do cycles and this one is neat and justified - mechanically a follow up to an existing cycle, thematically makes sense in the set.
It's not like they discontinued Masterpieces either.
I don't feel that I misrepresented what he said at all. If you get a full cycle here it's because the cards were already designed.
I think the " attacking or blocking " clause isn't necessary since " white " is imho restrictive enough.
But white doesn't get just straight creature kill these days. Pretty much all white removal (especially these days) deals with attacking and blocking creatures, so this seems right up white's street.
3 damage to target red permanent/planeswalker? If it was a Chandra 3 damage to controller?
At this rate we will see soon.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
3 damage to target red permanent/planeswalker? If it was a Chandra 3 damage to controller?
At this rate we will see soon.
I'm hoping for something spicyier: Gain control of target red permanent until end of turn. If that permanent is a Chandra Planeswalker, sacrifice it at beginning of the next end step.
3 damage to target red permanent/planeswalker? If it was a Chandra 3 damage to controller?
At this rate we will see soon.
I'm hoping for something spicyier: Gain control of target red permanent until end of turn. If that permanent is a Chandra Planeswalker, sacrifice it at beginning of the next end step.
3 damage to target red PW may not be enough to kill it for sure which every other card of the cycle does.
the second option seems much more likely, but considering it's an uncommon cycle, I would expect the CMC to be way above the rest of them. probably 4 or even 5
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
I love the GW, but this was inevitable. They were fortunate to have Ugin who had studied the Eldrazi for millennia against the Titans on Zendikar. They were fortunate to have Emrakul's insight on Innistrad, and Nahiri preoccupied with revenge on Sorin. But here, they should have listened to Ajani. Sadly, if they had, it would have been too late for Amonkhet anyhow, as the Hours took place while the GW was rushed there. So damned if you do, or don't.
Sad to see Egypt World go, even if it wasn't truly the Egypt World I had wanted or expected.
Sad to see Egypt World go, even if it wasn't truly the Egypt World I had wanted or expected.
Or! The Return of the God-Pharaoh means the end of the remaining failed gods of Amonkhet and the destruction of the perverse endless cycle of service on for the living and the dead. Now Bolas will give them the place in the afterlife everyone deserved and these reckless upstarts who came to topple the social order will pay dearly for bringing a new conflict to Amonkhet.
#BolasDidNothingWrong
First of all, I'm frantically refreshing this page to see the Chandra one and hopefully get the flavor text for Gideon and Nissa. These cards are exciting!
Second, I am glad to see the Gatewatch lose even though they have kind of grown on me especially Chandra, (I'm a scatterbrain with ADHD, so Chandra's personality is similar to mine). I think heroes are more interesting when they aren't invincible, so it's good, but I do hope they can rally back at a future date.
Finally, seems like a lot of people are writing Amonkhet's last rites a little early. No one else thinks it's possible that Bolas crushes the Gatewatch,but still loses? For example, Samut and Djeru team up and banish Bolas to wherever else or something after he's spent from smacking around the interlopers. The plane isn't necessarily doomed just cause the gatewatch lose.
Sometimes people enjoy a one-dimensional villain simply because he's an ancient dragon. I for one, enjoy seeing Bolas calling the Gatewatch a bunch of scrubs while not seeing the allure of Yawgmoth (or Phyrexia for that matter) despite how "deep" he is even after reading all the material involved.
People like what they like and hate what they hate.
First of all, I'm frantically refreshing this page to see the Chandra one and hopefully get the flavor text for Gideon and Nissa. These cards are exciting!
Second, I am glad to see the Gatewatch lose even though they have kind of grown on me especially Chandra, (I'm a scatterbrain with ADHD, so Chandra's personality is similar to mine). I think heroes are more interesting when they aren't invincible, so it's good, but I do hope they can rally back at a future date.
Finally, seems like a lot of people are writing Amonkhet's last rites a little early. No one else thinks it's possible that Bolas crushes the Gatewatch,but still loses? For example, Samut and Djeru team up and banish Bolas to wherever else or something after he's spent from smacking around the interlopers. The plane isn't necessarily doomed just cause the gatewatch lose.
Don't worry despite the ixalan leaks we will still get previews today it said on the defeat cards (they said after the GPvegas rounds)
And here's gideons flavor text
"Gideon, how easy it must be to play the protector when you think yourself untouchable. How wrong you are."
-Nicol Bolas
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Yawgmoth. Konda. Memnarch. Ixidor. Phage. The First. Hell, even Emrakul, in the end. Every single one of these villains was better written, better-developed, and more nuanced than Bolas. Yes, God of Evil Yawgmoth was more complex.
Bolas struggles from poor characterization more than actual concept. He's supposedly the oldest, wisest, most malevolent planeswalker in the multiverse, but until very recently he lacked any actual sense of awe or majesty, cackling from one plane to the next like a cartoon villain, always up to some dastardly deed motivated by simple greed or spite. He didn't behave like a millenia-old god-dragon, he didn't sound like one when he talked. Whereas Yawgmoth actually felt majestic, overpowering, and indeed, Ineffable (after "only" 9,000 years), Bolas has been around over twice as long and still isn't past the Bond Villain stage.
However, Bolas in Hour of Devastation actually looks like the apocalyptic, nightmarish, godlike terror he always should have been. Watching the Hour of Devastation trailer, I could feel it in the swarms of locusts, the thundering titans, and the descending plagues. In the Hour of Revelation fiction, I could sense it in the despair of Naktamun's crumbling faith and the waters of the Luxa turning to blood. On Amonkhet he has finally succeeded in becoming an awe-inducing presence, and I'm going to enjoy him now, because he might never be this cool again.
That was always my problem, but I actually don't mind this flavor text. I can at least picture a villain of Darth Vader's caliber saying it.
Gideon joins the Bolas-party!
Exile target attacking or blocking white creature. If it's a Gideon planeswalker card gain 5 life.
My issue with "concepts" like Bolas is that the bad guy is so ridiculously above most everything around them that it induces apathy (and I equate them with real-life villains like crime lords and corrupt politicans who keep getting away with crap). I know when someone like Bolas shows up that the good guys will rarely be allowed to win because Bolas is arbitrarily more "powerful" than they are. It feels like a Dragon Ball Z situation where the only way to defeat the bad guy is by becoming stronger than said bad guy as opposed to, I dunno, exploiting some fatal flaw or, better yet, doing something to prove the merit of virtue?
My favorite Bolas moment is in FRF when Ugin summons a bunch of Dragons to kick his ass and Bolas' smile fades. For a brief moment, he was having an "oh, crap" reaction that proves, even before the Mending, he wasn't invincible or unstoppable. The only reason he won that fight is because he was able to talk one of the local humans into turning Ugin's weapon against him. A suitably cunning strategy that better fits the nature of a mastermind, and didn't require being ridiculously OP to pull off.
Yet ironically in an era where PWs aren't gods, Bolas just comes off as a boring, invincible villain. It's like if everything broken about Eternal formats manifested collectively as a big, evil dragon. And this problem doesn't just plague Bolas's character; I have the same issue with the Eldrazi and the Phyrexians. Defeating them required over-the-top strategies that went far beyond the scope of a story about heroic merit; courage, cunning, wisdom, none of those were enough to beat the bad guys. It was all about overwhelming "I have more mana than you" force (though using Zendikar to pull the Eldrazi into reality was an interesting touch).
I'm going to cheer when Gatewatch finally get to whup Bolas good (probably with the help of a hundred other PWs all launching attacks at Bolas at once and overwhelming him with sheer numbers), even if it isn't for good. Give the Elder Dragon his own ironic defeat and let him retreat to the shadows to gather his minions for a rematch.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
What in the actual...
Yes, Bolas is typically pretty one-note as a villain, but I think it's his hamminess combined with his "schemes within schemes" schtick that makes him appealing to a number of people. Also, you have to consider that Bolas is Grixis; the red part of his color identity does contribute to his personality IMO. This is a guy who just smiled when Ugin warned him about messing around, the guy who was ready to destroy Alara just because, and the guy who put up the huge horns monument on Amonkhet out of sheer vanity.
Well, he *is* a dragon, and dragons are nothing if not vain, petty, and greedy. Even the whitest of white dragons will collect treasure, take vengeance for slights (real or imagined), and like being worshipped for their power and beauty. The only difference is in personality, their long term goals, and how the dragons go about achieving those goals. Bolas is sadistic, yeah. But his ultimate goal is to achieve the same power he had prior to the mending, and he is fully willing to destroy any number of planes to do it. I am assuming he corrupted Amonkhet to use its natural life/death cycle as a way to gain power in some way.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
I really wish the rider effects weren't planeswalker specific though, and that they just worked with any planeswalker. It would still be just as flavorful.
Here's my best attempt, fwiw:
“Nissa. The soul of this world is dead, you see. I suppose I will gladly kill it again.
-Nicol Bolas“
Not sure how to interpret this, but it definitely says “dead“ and “kill again“, so...
-Plateau, troll philosopher
I don't feel that I misrepresented what he said at all. If you get a full cycle here it's because the cards were already designed.
But white doesn't get just straight creature kill these days. Pretty much all white removal (especially these days) deals with attacking and blocking creatures, so this seems right up white's street.
3 damage to target red permanent/planeswalker? If it was a Chandra 3 damage to controller?
At this rate we will see soon.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I'm hoping for something spicyier: Gain control of target red permanent until end of turn. If that permanent is a Chandra Planeswalker, sacrifice it at beginning of the next end step.
The Gatewatch haven't learned to combine their powers and form Voltron/Captain Planet/Megazord!
3 damage to target red PW may not be enough to kill it for sure which every other card of the cycle does.
the second option seems much more likely, but considering it's an uncommon cycle, I would expect the CMC to be way above the rest of them. probably 4 or even 5
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
I love the GW, but this was inevitable. They were fortunate to have Ugin who had studied the Eldrazi for millennia against the Titans on Zendikar. They were fortunate to have Emrakul's insight on Innistrad, and Nahiri preoccupied with revenge on Sorin. But here, they should have listened to Ajani. Sadly, if they had, it would have been too late for Amonkhet anyhow, as the Hours took place while the GW was rushed there. So damned if you do, or don't.
Sad to see Egypt World go, even if it wasn't truly the Egypt World I had wanted or expected.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
Or! The Return of the God-Pharaoh means the end of the remaining failed gods of Amonkhet and the destruction of the perverse endless cycle of service on for the living and the dead. Now Bolas will give them the place in the afterlife everyone deserved and these reckless upstarts who came to topple the social order will pay dearly for bringing a new conflict to Amonkhet.
#BolasDidNothingWrong
They have to make sure they don't steal thunder from their Ixalan leaks.
I play Magic: the Gathering, not Magic: the Commandering.
Second, I am glad to see the Gatewatch lose even though they have kind of grown on me especially Chandra, (I'm a scatterbrain with ADHD, so Chandra's personality is similar to mine). I think heroes are more interesting when they aren't invincible, so it's good, but I do hope they can rally back at a future date.
Finally, seems like a lot of people are writing Amonkhet's last rites a little early. No one else thinks it's possible that Bolas crushes the Gatewatch,but still loses? For example, Samut and Djeru team up and banish Bolas to wherever else or something after he's spent from smacking around the interlopers. The plane isn't necessarily doomed just cause the gatewatch lose.
Again, I want to play to black one against a Bolas PW.
People like what they like and hate what they hate.
"Kiora is the Aquaman of planeswalkers."
"Useless and everyone pretends to like her?"
Don't worry despite the ixalan leaks we will still get previews today it said on the defeat cards (they said after the GPvegas rounds)
And here's gideons flavor text
"Gideon, how easy it must be to play the protector when you think yourself untouchable. How wrong you are."
-Nicol Bolas