I'm reminded of an old article from the world-building perspective of IIRC Argoth and how they were building a place up worth feeling a loss over when it eventually gets destroyed in the story.
Seeing Tamiyo, not dead but fallen, hits harder than the loss of Domri Rade, not only since she was more beloved, but also because there was no reason to expect her compleation, no hint this set would feature New Phyrexia in a greater capacity than another lone Praetor skulking in the background, no War of the Spark that promises casualties and loss.
Tamiyo was taken from us on the eve of glory, the unexpected return to her homeplane awaited, called for, by many. Victory turned into a loss.
And with this loss there comes a keyword ability, a looming threat towards any and all planeswalkers you hold dear: This one was but the first.
A true War for the Spark has already begun, and no organized defense stands in the way of an enemy claiming victories without the Multiverse even knowing it.
All this in a single card. Without reading a single piece of lore outside the cards, you have been handed the essence of the unfolding story. I'm here for this good piece of story-telling. Bittersweet as the flavor is today.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Unless the cómics are no canon, Wey won't ve seeing Jace in a loooong time
They aren't canon, they are in their own timeline.
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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"
The frame on Tamiyo seems to be specific to compleated walkers also.
It doesn't look like the set-frames or the compleat edition praetor frame.
The number of different frame treatments really gets a bit out of hand lately...
There are definitely too many frames out there, but to be fair: Compleated planeswalkers are the kind of thing that I consider worthy of a special treatment. Maybe a bit unfortunate to occur in the set that doubles down on special frames with a separate one for each of its two major themes in the tradition vs. futurism.
I will say I liked Becca Scott's immediate reaction to the Imperial Court being "Do we trust them?".
It's implied we're getting a ton of sagas in this set: 2 of the saga backside leaks still haven't been accounted for.
Oh, so that first Kami War saga story picture was actually alt art for The Kami War after all? Pretty cool!
Teachings of the Kirin looks like quite a lot of creatures for 2 mana (and some time delays). Self-mill decks will love it anyway.
I don't like the alt art version of Surgehacker Mech - I was under the impression that the card is black and not colourless given its colouration.
The Wandering Emperor looks like our first threat-walker with Flash - and a removal-walker to boot! She'll be fun to end-step in Modern - I might even try her in the latest UW Control build. She kinda looks like a bootleg Solitude and pitches to that elemental at the very least.
I thought Phyrexian mana would never come back in a Standard-legal set, and then they give us Tamiyo, Compleated Sage. The funky part is now paying life comes with additional drawbacks, so maybe Phyrexian mana will be more balanced this round? Compleat Tamiyo seems kinda tough to evaluate but a touch expensive, but I likely shouldn't be underestimating the ability to reanimate any cheap enough nonland permanent I want, including ticking off my opponents by bringing back Teferi, Time Raveler.
The Reality Chip looks fun to use, although it's one of the worst examples of a jellyfish I've ever seen. It'll be funny to witness "I have Stoneforge Mystic tutor for The Reality Chip...you heard that right...nerfed Future Sight." It's also probably the only Future Sight effect to play nice with Lurrus of the Dream-Den.
Boseiju, Who Endures looks like one heck of a role player. While enabling dangerous levels of colour fixing for your opponent if they tutor for a Triome, this is an artifact/enchantment/nonbasic land destruction spell ability that costs 2 mana, works at instant speed, isn't dead if they have no good targets, and more. Cascade decks will be quite fond of this, and Green Tron will have one hell of an ace up its sleeve with this to Expedition Map for.
I am not happy. Not happy at all. All of my excitement for this set is gone lol. I may be overexaggerating but I was legit excited about this set and then it all went to zero in the last two card previewed. Ugghh lets just go to new phyrexia and get this horse dung over with.
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Embrace the dark you call a home,
Gaze upon an empty, white throne
A legacy of lies,
A familiar disguise
Sing with me a song of conquest and fate
The black pillar cracks beneath its weight
Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone
Lost in thoughts all alone
I figured if we ever got equipment creatures that they would be under the flavor of mounts first.
Kirin-touched Orochi seems a bit weak for having to play it turn two and then wait another two turns to get a 1/1 and then wait a turn to attack with it. Seems like it should have been a 3/3, but I guess at least two or three bodies isn't terrible.
Boseiju is a funny thing with "endures" since you toss it in the trash (graveyard).
Shouldn't a lot of the flip sagas be spirits or at least not human? With "memory" and "likeness" of a thing they're not actually human. Shouldn't the Nameless Conqueror be construct or golem what with it being a statue? The Portrait of Michiko can't be human, because it's a portrait. I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does.
I'm not a huge fan of the shrines being creatures, but I guess it works within this new Kamigawa. Still that white one putting out 3+ tokens a turn does sound nice.
I think the Emperor is the best PW of the bunch, instant speed removal that can spit out a token is great.
Kirin-touched Orochi seems a bit weak for having to play it turn two and then wait another two turns to get a 1/1 and then wait a turn to attack with it. Seems like it should have been a 3/3, but I guess at least two or three bodies isn't terrible.
<snip>
I think the Emperor is the best PW of the bunch, instant speed removal that can spit out a token is great.
Teachings of the Kirin is better compared to Satyr Wayfinder. The first stage of Teachings of the Kirin already almost looks like Satyr Wayfinder. The later pump counter and backside creature are gravy--if substantial gravy.
Tested The Wandering Emperor in Modern UW Control and she was pretty good there. Her bottom rate is either removal or a 2/2 and getting Bolted immediately afterwards, which already smells like hardcast Solitude. Opponents are already pretty determined to not let her take over the game, but even varying intermediate results (e.g. make 2 tokens, block with one of them, pump 1 token, die to removal) help UW Control stabilize and/or turn the corner pretty well. Bonus points for pitching to Solitude in a pinch.
In the meantime, The Reality Chip was significantly worse than I thought in Modern. It only got equipped once in testing, and Team Chip still lost that game because it couldn't dig fast enough. The Chip strongly tended to get booted before it got equipped, which makes it fail at performing a Sword of Fire and Ice impression. Ah well, at least I won a game by putting Colossus Hammer on the Chip and it somehow not dying!
I am not happy. Not happy at all. All of my excitement for this set is gone lol. I may be overexaggerating but I was legit excited about this set and then it all went to zero in the last two card previewed. Ugghh lets just go to new phyrexia and get this horse dung over with.
I'm in the same boat. I've wanted a return to Kamigawa for years, but Tamiyo was one of my favorite characters and I've honestly *never* really liked the phyrexians (they're just sci-fi zombies; zombies themselves being ridiculously overplayed and tired at this point), so losing her TO them just puts me off super hard.
Seriously, my enthusiasm for the set has completely tanked.
Kaito is 50/50 for me, but I do want a Ninja Planeswalker and shick
The Wandering Emperor is definitely a target for me in my UW Control or even gonna maybe focus on a White Aggro deck in my Modern deck or what-not.
That alternate Artwork of Tezzeret by Lack is definitely a "I want it for "REASONS"" kind of card
50/50 on Tamiyo getting the Phyrexian coat of paint... after the initial shock, I am intrigued to what WotC is gonna do now... still some other Planeswalker do need MORE love cuz they've been left out and only have one card into their name. While some have more than two, they're now being forgotten in the annals of history.
Jukai Naturalist and Enthusiastic Mechanaut are great cards for Enchantment/Artifact-centric deck.
Spirited Companion is definitely the GOODEST BOY
Secluded Courtyard is a better Unclaimed Territory
Can't wait for more cards to be revealed... more Samurais and Ninjas please
IS THAT AN EQUIPMENT JELLYFISH WITH EXTRAORDINARY EFFECTS?!
Into all my decks you go darling
<3
I LOVE AND ADORE ALL OF THE SAGAS ESPECIALLY THE WHITE AND GREEN ONES
Tamiyo being compleated is the first and thus far only flaw of the set for me... Come on. She has so many fans including myself... we've been yearning to see more Tamiyo cards and then are handed this mess? Ah well... Should make for an interesting story at least.
Ugh I want literally everything except the Phyrexian stuff. I want all the alternate arts as well - the dragons and sagas are STUNNING
I don't think Emperor is always a gendered term depending on the culture. Don't have enough background on Japan to know for sure, but it doesn't seem especially weird to me.
Can we talk about that fact that while busy doing sneaky phyrexian things on Kamigawa Jin-Gitaxias still takes the time to practice scenes from Hamlet?
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Never forget whose grace and favor led to your success and always give your thanks, otherwise you might be doomed to loose it.
I don't think Emperor is always a gendered term depending on the culture. Don't have enough background on Japan to know for sure, but it doesn't seem especially weird to me.
It's probably following the trends in Japanese works like Maoyu, Sennyu, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and So I'm a Spider, So What? where female demon leaders get called "Demon King" and "Demon Lord".
Michiko's prerogative, probably. She took the title directly from her father, and her successors, who seem to be almost entirely women, just rolled with it.
Often when referring female rulers (I believe for east asian empires mostly) you use Emperor when referring to the position to to show that the person is the ruler and not the consort. For example Wu Zetian is called the first female Emperor of China to note she was the actual person on the throne (though calling her Empress Zetian isn't incorrect).
So while Empress would be right, having her go by Emperor notes she is the ruler and not the consort of one.
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"
I'm wondering if Jin-Gitaxias will use the Reality Chip to give to Bolas. It seems to be able to bypass the planeswalking limitations. Is that the new storyline? Or is it a way to revive Yawgmoth?
i thought it was emakrul was the one contacting her?
it looks like its the the phyrexian instead.
Seeing Tamiyo, not dead but fallen, hits harder than the loss of Domri Rade, not only since she was more beloved, but also because there was no reason to expect her compleation, no hint this set would feature New Phyrexia in a greater capacity than another lone Praetor skulking in the background, no War of the Spark that promises casualties and loss.
Tamiyo was taken from us on the eve of glory, the unexpected return to her homeplane awaited, called for, by many. Victory turned into a loss.
And with this loss there comes a keyword ability, a looming threat towards any and all planeswalkers you hold dear: This one was but the first.
A true War for the Spark has already begun, and no organized defense stands in the way of an enemy claiming victories without the Multiverse even knowing it.
All this in a single card. Without reading a single piece of lore outside the cards, you have been handed the essence of the unfolding story. I'm here for this good piece of story-telling. Bittersweet as the flavor is today.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
They aren't canon, they are in their own timeline.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
There are definitely too many frames out there, but to be fair: Compleated planeswalkers are the kind of thing that I consider worthy of a special treatment. Maybe a bit unfortunate to occur in the set that doubles down on special frames with a separate one for each of its two major themes in the tradition vs. futurism.
I will say I liked Becca Scott's immediate reaction to the Imperial Court being "Do we trust them?".
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Oh, so that first Kami War saga story picture was actually alt art for The Kami War after all? Pretty cool!
Teachings of the Kirin looks like quite a lot of creatures for 2 mana (and some time delays). Self-mill decks will love it anyway.
I don't like the alt art version of Surgehacker Mech - I was under the impression that the card is black and not colourless given its colouration.
The Wandering Emperor looks like our first threat-walker with Flash - and a removal-walker to boot! She'll be fun to end-step in Modern - I might even try her in the latest UW Control build. She kinda looks like a bootleg Solitude and pitches to that elemental at the very least.
I thought Phyrexian mana would never come back in a Standard-legal set, and then they give us Tamiyo, Compleated Sage. The funky part is now paying life comes with additional drawbacks, so maybe Phyrexian mana will be more balanced this round? Compleat Tamiyo seems kinda tough to evaluate but a touch expensive, but I likely shouldn't be underestimating the ability to reanimate any cheap enough nonland permanent I want, including ticking off my opponents by bringing back Teferi, Time Raveler.
The Reality Chip looks fun to use, although it's one of the worst examples of a jellyfish I've ever seen. It'll be funny to witness "I have Stoneforge Mystic tutor for The Reality Chip...you heard that right...nerfed Future Sight." It's also probably the only Future Sight effect to play nice with Lurrus of the Dream-Den.
Boseiju, Who Endures looks like one heck of a role player. While enabling dangerous levels of colour fixing for your opponent if they tutor for a Triome, this is an artifact/enchantment/nonbasic land destruction
spellability that costs 2 mana, works at instant speed, isn't dead if they have no good targets, and more. Cascade decks will be quite fond of this, and Green Tron will have one hell of an ace up its sleeve with this to Expedition Map for.Gaze upon an empty, white throne
A legacy of lies,
A familiar disguise
Sing with me a song of conquest and fate
The black pillar cracks beneath its weight
Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone
Lost in thoughts all alone
I'm digging the Go-Shintai, nice evolution of the Shrine archetype.
Kirin-touched Orochi seems a bit weak for having to play it turn two and then wait another two turns to get a 1/1 and then wait a turn to attack with it. Seems like it should have been a 3/3, but I guess at least two or three bodies isn't terrible.
Boseiju is a funny thing with "endures" since you toss it in the trash (graveyard).
Shouldn't a lot of the flip sagas be spirits or at least not human? With "memory" and "likeness" of a thing they're not actually human. Shouldn't the Nameless Conqueror be construct or golem what with it being a statue? The Portrait of Michiko can't be human, because it's a portrait. I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does.
I'm not a huge fan of the shrines being creatures, but I guess it works within this new Kamigawa. Still that white one putting out 3+ tokens a turn does sound nice.
I think the Emperor is the best PW of the bunch, instant speed removal that can spit out a token is great.
Teachings of the Kirin is better compared to Satyr Wayfinder. The first stage of Teachings of the Kirin already almost looks like Satyr Wayfinder. The later pump counter and backside creature are gravy--if substantial gravy.
Tested The Wandering Emperor in Modern UW Control and she was pretty good there. Her bottom rate is either removal or a 2/2 and getting Bolted immediately afterwards, which already smells like hardcast Solitude. Opponents are already pretty determined to not let her take over the game, but even varying intermediate results (e.g. make 2 tokens, block with one of them, pump 1 token, die to removal) help UW Control stabilize and/or turn the corner pretty well. Bonus points for pitching to Solitude in a pinch.
In the meantime, The Reality Chip was significantly worse than I thought in Modern. It only got equipped once in testing, and Team Chip still lost that game because it couldn't dig fast enough. The Chip strongly tended to get booted before it got equipped, which makes it fail at performing a Sword of Fire and Ice impression. Ah well, at least I won a game by putting Colossus Hammer on the Chip and it somehow not dying!
Seriously, my enthusiasm for the set has completely tanked.
The Wandering Emperor is definitely a target for me in my UW Control or even gonna maybe focus on a White Aggro deck in my Modern deck or what-not.
That alternate Artwork of Tezzeret by Lack is definitely a "I want it for "REASONS"" kind of card
50/50 on Tamiyo getting the Phyrexian coat of paint... after the initial shock, I am intrigued to what WotC is gonna do now... still some other Planeswalker do need MORE love cuz they've been left out and only have one card into their name. While some have more than two, they're now being forgotten in the annals of history.
Jukai Naturalist and Enthusiastic Mechanaut are great cards for Enchantment/Artifact-centric deck.
Spirited Companion is definitely the GOODEST BOY
Secluded Courtyard is a better Unclaimed Territory
Can't wait for more cards to be revealed... more Samurais and Ninjas please
IS THAT AN EQUIPMENT JELLYFISH WITH EXTRAORDINARY EFFECTS?!
Into all my decks you go darling
<3
I LOVE AND ADORE ALL OF THE SAGAS ESPECIALLY THE WHITE AND GREEN ONES
Tamiyo being compleated is the first and thus far only flaw of the set for me... Come on. She has so many fans including myself... we've been yearning to see more Tamiyo cards and then are handed this mess? Ah well... Should make for an interesting story at least.
Ugh I want literally everything except the Phyrexian stuff. I want all the alternate arts as well - the dragons and sagas are STUNNING
Japanese artists really delivered on these pieces
ALSO SHRINES!
|| 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 ||
I don't think Emperor is always a gendered term depending on the culture. Don't have enough background on Japan to know for sure, but it doesn't seem especially weird to me.
It's probably following the trends in Japanese works like Maoyu, Sennyu, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and So I'm a Spider, So What? where female demon leaders get called "Demon King" and "Demon Lord".
Still weird but I can see now.
So while Empress would be right, having her go by Emperor notes she is the ruler and not the consort of one.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
At this point Bolas will get compleated.
And then we get Eternal Phyrexians.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Counter question: Why Wandering Empress? Their job title is Emperor.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO