I don't really know what to say about them... I think I'll avoid using them.
Ravnica sets have always had very hit or miss basic land art due to the city setting. And these look like some very clear misses. They just don't really capture the feel of the lands they are meant to inhabit.
The panorama doesn't help. They don't look different from one another except for very minor color pallet changes. Every single one of them could have been a swamp.
The thing is - all these flying things are sparks.
We have seen so many of them in the trailer which means planeswalkers from the entire Multiverse are dying here and there every few seconds.
The thing is - all these flying things are sparks.
We have seen so many of them in the trailer which means planeswalkers from the entire Multiverse are dying here and there every few seconds.
That was confusing me, too. The quantity seemed way larger than the few dozen we expected.
The panorama doesn't help. They don't look different from one another except for very minor color pallet changes. Every single one of them could have been a swamp.
And Guardman also hit the nail right on the head. Only the Mountain has good strong color clearly indicating a mountain. The Forest is ah... so so. It's greenish I guess. But the Island, Plains and Swamp look far too alike. There is so much blue and the rest of the colors are so dark that they might as well be art for the same basic land.
I get that WotC wants, "dark and forboding" but there are definitely different ways this could have been portrayed without sacrificing the intent here.
The Mountain is done correctly, there is more red than any other color and they're clearly mountains.
The Forest is a close second but the problem is is that I tend to see gray where others see green. I can see green in this one but am I seeing less green than I should? The darker the green the more likely I can't see it. The only saving grace is, like the Mountain, there is very little blue.
The Plains, Island and Swamp are alll garbage. Sorry.
The Swamp actually looks like it's supposed to be the centerpiece for some epic event. There is so much blue here that I couldn't understand at first why this was the swamp. I thought it was a misprint.
I can see how the artist tried to make this a Plains but it doesn't work. There is so much blue here as well that the nearest spark trail looks like a river. It just overwhelms the sun in the background. Is there more? I know WotC likes to do terrible cropping on the art. Maybe WotC cropped out some important bits. Either way, this one falls flat.
The Island has so much yellow in the center that, again, I was confused as to what this was supposed to be. I had to look for a time to find the water. Island water doesn't have to be a tropical blue but it has to be readily recognizable as one.
I get that WotC wants, "dark and forboding" but there are definitely different ways this could have been portrayed without sacrificing the intent here.
I agree and they've shown in the past that they can do dark and forboding without sacrificing color scheme, in sets like Shadowmoor and Innistrad.
I don't think the art is bad so much as it's misused. If we'd seen the layers lightened a little or maybe we'd gotten different frames or full arts (the frame juxtaposes heavily from the art and makes the whole thing look weird, imo) then I think it would have been much more acceptable.
As a thematic piece which conveys the actual war happening (like, an event rather than just a place) these could be the most flavourful lands ever printed in MTG since the beginning of the game.
That gives them a high rating in my book. I don't think this has ever been done before so clearly or thematically. Whether you like the result is kind of immaterial, they are still a success. I won't be using these personally but I only use old-bordered lands anyway, so it's neither here nor there. Out of all the colourful, generic lands we've seen in the last few years, this panorama showing an actual event is more exciting to me than all of them.
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Just in case it wasnt obvious, these arent the basic lands included in the set. Those are already on the mothership's spoiler.
These are the premium basics for this set, which will be given away at some event sometime in the next 2 months and everyone else will check ebay for them if they want them.
There are collector numbers on these. So there are 3 basics per color. Some generic ones, this awesomeness, and another set yet to be spoiled.
I don't really know what to say about them... I think I'll avoid using them.
Ravnica sets have always had very hit or miss basic land art due to the city setting. And these look like some very clear misses. They just don't really capture the feel of the lands they are meant to inhabit.
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We have seen so many of them in the trailer which means planeswalkers from the entire Multiverse are dying here and there every few seconds.
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That was confusing me, too. The quantity seemed way larger than the few dozen we expected.
Well, they ought to look very nice in my Atraxa Superfriends deck?
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And Guardman also hit the nail right on the head. Only the Mountain has good strong color clearly indicating a mountain. The Forest is ah... so so. It's greenish I guess. But the Island, Plains and Swamp look far too alike. There is so much blue and the rest of the colors are so dark that they might as well be art for the same basic land.
I get that WotC wants, "dark and forboding" but there are definitely different ways this could have been portrayed without sacrificing the intent here.
The Mountain is done correctly, there is more red than any other color and they're clearly mountains.
The Forest is a close second but the problem is is that I tend to see gray where others see green. I can see green in this one but am I seeing less green than I should? The darker the green the more likely I can't see it. The only saving grace is, like the Mountain, there is very little blue.
The Plains, Island and Swamp are alll garbage. Sorry.
The Swamp actually looks like it's supposed to be the centerpiece for some epic event. There is so much blue here that I couldn't understand at first why this was the swamp. I thought it was a misprint.
I can see how the artist tried to make this a Plains but it doesn't work. There is so much blue here as well that the nearest spark trail looks like a river. It just overwhelms the sun in the background. Is there more? I know WotC likes to do terrible cropping on the art. Maybe WotC cropped out some important bits. Either way, this one falls flat.
The Island has so much yellow in the center that, again, I was confused as to what this was supposed to be. I had to look for a time to find the water. Island water doesn't have to be a tropical blue but it has to be readily recognizable as one.
I agree and they've shown in the past that they can do dark and forboding without sacrificing color scheme, in sets like Shadowmoor and Innistrad.
I don't think the art is bad so much as it's misused. If we'd seen the layers lightened a little or maybe we'd gotten different frames or full arts (the frame juxtaposes heavily from the art and makes the whole thing look weird, imo) then I think it would have been much more acceptable.
The only one that does not convey its color well is the blue one.
That gives them a high rating in my book. I don't think this has ever been done before so clearly or thematically. Whether you like the result is kind of immaterial, they are still a success. I won't be using these personally but I only use old-bordered lands anyway, so it's neither here nor there. Out of all the colourful, generic lands we've seen in the last few years, this panorama showing an actual event is more exciting to me than all of them.
these arent the basic lands included in the set. Those are already on the mothership's spoiler.These are the premium basics for this set, which will be given away at some event sometime in the next 2 months and everyone else will check ebay for them if they want them.There are collector numbers on these. So there are 3 basics per color. Some generic ones, this awesomeness, and another set yet to be spoiled.