Could Tibalt reappear in RNA as a BR Planeswalker? Seems to me he'd fit in with the Rakdos perfectly, and I doubt he'd have any qualms working for Bolas. By the same token, could Ashiok possibly appear in GRN? Though I'd enjoy seeing Tezzeret there more, his artifact abilities could always be tailored to suit the Dimir's sneaky style, and he already has confirmed Bolas allegiance.
Perhaps the first two sets will have four PWs each, two good guys and two bad guys, while the third set gives us Ajani and Bolas? Using that model:
GRN W Gideon U Jace UR Ral Zarek BG Vraska
RNA U Tamiyo - She could be monoblue to allow her to play with both Azorius and Simic, but if I had to choose I'd make her WU for color balance purposes. R Chandra B Liliana RG Ramaz - He's a known minion of Bolas whom Chandra encountered and battled previously. He was GUR before, but dropping blue so he can be played in Gruul doesn't seem far-fetched, and it makes more sense than having Domri or Sarkhan be the second "villain" PW of the set.
From the poster with the Tamiyo card there is also art of Jace, Liliana and Ral on Ravnica, as well as Ajani, Teferi and Karn maybe on Ravnica.
It is possible some of those are alternate art promos or Masterpieces of their previous cards. That seems particularly likely for Karn and Teferi, since they did just get cards in Dominaria.
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.
I hope they don't kill Gideon. He has still some business with Theros Gods especially Heliod (so does Ajani and Elspeth). Killing off all the white characters seem to be the trend lately. Avacyn, Elspeth were the most recent ones. Lily doesn't have much story left, too. We just need to know what/who the raven man is. Maybe just imagination ^^.
"I bet Jace will die in this set!" - Jaters every single set
I get sick and tired of haters always speculating that a character they happen to not like is going to die in the upcoming set, completely heedless of the larger narrative. I don't take hateful wishes that "character X will die this set" seriously. And it's gotten so annoying to the point a small part of me actually cheers when the death wishers are denied yet again. Sometimes fandom is damn toxic.
Anyway, since Wizards has to know the fandom will riot if anything serious happens to Ravnica, I'm assuming that this will be where the Gatewatch finally score a real victory over Bolas. I fully expect Gideon to make it back to Theros and help Ajani rescue Elspeth from the underworld. And then have the three of them travel to New Phyrexia and then Alara to tie up some loose ends, like helping Koth and Karn destroy the Phyrexians and having Elspeth confront Aran and the other Bantians she abandoned, while possibly dealing with a Tezzeret Bridge-enabled Phyrexian invasion through Esper and Grixis.
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.
I hope they don't kill Gideon. He has still some business with Theros Gods especially Heliod (so does Ajani and Elspeth). Killing off all the white characters seem to be the trend lately. Avacyn, Elspeth were the most recent ones. Lily doesn't have much story left, too. We just need to know what/who the raven man is. Maybe just imagination ^^.
"I bet Jace will die in this set!" - Jaters every single set
I get sick and tired of haters always speculating that a character they happen to not like is going to die in the upcoming set, completely heedless of the larger narrative. I don't take hateful wishes that "character X will die this set" seriously. And it's gotten so annoying to the point a small part of me actually cheers when the death wishers are denied yet again. Sometimes fandom is damn toxic.
Anyway, since Wizards has to know the fandom will riot if anything serious happens to Ravnica, I'm assuming that this will be where the Gatewatch finally score a real victory over Bolas. I fully expect Gideon to make it back to Theros and help Ajani rescue Elspeth from the underworld. And then have the three of them travel to New Phyrexia and then Alara to tie up some loose ends, like helping Koth and Karn destroy the Phyrexians and having Elspeth confront Aran and the other Bantians she abandoned, while possibly dealing with a Tezzeret Bridge-enabled Phyrexian invasion through Esper and Grixis.
Someone is likely to die among the planeswalker cast in one of the three Ravnica sets we are getting, possibly several planeswalkers. The only one we know for certain to survive is Chandra, due to the comic they are making taking place *after* the Ravnica storyline is over, but other than that, literally anyone can kick the bucket.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Someone is likely to die among the planeswalker cast in one of the three Ravnica sets we are getting, possibly several planeswalkers.
So a select few say every set. Battle for Zendikar? "I bet someone will die fighting the Eldrazi!" Amonkhet? "Someone's likely to die fighting Bolas." Ixalan? "Jace will finally die!" Honestly, the obsession with "popular with many, hated by a few" characters dying is becoming the "edgy twelve-year-old" meme of MTGS. I get it, a handful of people on this website don't like the Gatewatch, they don't like Jace, they don't like somebody, and concludes the best way to deal with their irrational hatred is to wish for that character's death every ******* set.
So who, then, is it supposed to be this time around? Jace, after he's finally decided to face his responsibilities as Living Guildpact? (As if they'd kill off the most popular planeswalker.) Gideon, who has unfinished business on Theros? Liliana, who still has the whole Raven Man mystery? Oh, hey, I know, how about Bolas finally getting the asskicking he's had coming to him?
Elspeth's death in Theros was properly foreshadowed and built-up. It had an emotional sting, an undeserved betrayal at the end of a life full of suffering. It served the plot, it served the theme of Greek tragedy, and didn't happen just to appease a vocal, hateful minority. When I read comments speculating about "character X dying", I'm not seeing anything talking about how it will further the narrative and add emotional weight to the story, I'm just seeing a bunch of whiny hate fantasies that come right out of a bad fanfiction.net story.
Here's a challenge for the death speculators: How about speculating on whether or not a character you actually like is going to die the next set? Assuming there even is one and you haven't just chosen to blindly hate everything that came after the Weatherlight saga.
Me, I'm just interested in seeing who shows up in each set, and examining factors like the current Standard distribution of PWs across color as well as character representation.
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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.
Someone is likely to die among the planeswalker cast in one of the three Ravnica sets we are getting, possibly several planeswalkers.
So a select few say every set. Battle for Zendikar? "I bet someone will die fighting the Eldrazi!" Amonkhet? "Someone's likely to die fighting Bolas." Ixalan? "Jace will finally die!" Honestly, the obsession with "popular with many, hated by a few" characters dying is becoming the "edgy twelve-year-old" meme of MTGS. I get it, a handful of people on this website don't like the Gatewatch, they don't like Jace, they don't like somebody, and concludes the best way to deal with their irrational hatred is to wish for that character's death every ******* set.
So who, then, is it supposed to be this time around? Jace, after he's finally decided to face his responsibilities as Living Guildpact? (As if they'd kill off the most popular planeswalker.) Gideon, who has unfinished business on Theros? Liliana, who still has the whole Raven Man mystery? Oh, hey, I know, how about Bolas finally getting the asskicking he's had coming to him?
Elspeth's death in Theros was properly foreshadowed and built-up. It had an emotional sting, an undeserved betrayal at the end of a life full of suffering. It served the plot, it served the theme of Greek tragedy, and didn't happen just to appease a vocal, hateful minority. When I read comments speculating about "character X dying", I'm not seeing anything talking about how it will further the narrative and add emotional weight to the story, I'm just seeing a bunch of whiny hate fantasies that come right out of a bad fanfiction.net story.
Here's a challenge for the death speculators: How about speculating on whether or not a character you actually like is going to die the next set? Assuming there even is one and you haven't just chosen to blindly hate everything that came after the Weatherlight saga.
Me, I'm just interested in seeing who shows up in each set, and examining factors like the current Standard distribution of PWs across color as well as character representation.
Note I never say that I bet. Just that it is likely. WotC knows people feel that there is no real stake in the Gatewatch's tribulations as they all continue to survive. And from the description of the upcoming Chandra centered comic, we know that some sort of Tragedy will happen during one of the Ravnica sets. It is far from jumping to conclusion to put two and two together and assume that it is likely that another Gatewatch member is going to bite it. For it to have affected Chandra so harshly, it needs to be someone she cares about, so it is either Beefslab Gideon, Nissa, or Lily. And considering that Nissa is no longer with the Gatewatch, and Lily is now working for Bolas, that leaves Gideon. I don't necessary like it, but it is what it is. Of the remaining Gatewatch members, he is the one that she has the closest attachment to.
From a narrative perspective someone has to go for the story to have any meaning. If the Gatewatch always survives, then the story loses all meaning as there is no real risk involved in the story and it becomes utterly pointless. I may not have liked the end of the Weatherlight Saga, but at least it didn't pull its punches and killed off likable characters left and right (Poor Hanna and Mirri). The story for Scars was similar because there were real stakes in the story and one of the characters sacrificed themselves to save another.
Now, I like Gideon, and I down right love Vraska, but I still think they are the two most likely planeswalkers to die in the battle for Ravnica.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I jut think its strange that the one Gatewatch character whose loose ends are all basically tied up, CHANDRA, is the one we know will survive. We've done the family reuniting, we've done the Homeworld revisit, we've done the Mentor meeting. She's been the Hero (fireballing the Eldrazi) and been shown to be weak (almost dying to Baral). We've seen her possible love life scenarios fizzle. She is also the most emotional and reckless acting which could lead to her doing something ill advised towards Bolas.
What really else is there to explore with Chandra.
If anybody she should have been the casuality. Yes I like her but what else is left for her...apparently a comic book And not necessarily a Red walker to take her place.
My least favorite is probably Nissa. Another character whose storyline has been told to most of its fullest. A couple options to take over the Green Walker spot and she's not even there (as far as we know) (If she came back in a self sacrifing to get rid of Bolas that WOULD affect Chandra pretty hard so maybe its her,
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
Okay then, I'll call it that Jaya Ballard is the one who dies. Why? Several reasons:
She's someone Chandra respects greatly, and being revealed to be the secret identity of none other than Mother Luti herself, someone Chandra has unknowingly been close to for some time.
She's an oldwalker who's been around since almost the beginning. Her death would be impactful to the fans, yet also meaningful to the story.
She's old, she's had her fun, I doubt she wants to go out with a fizzle. What better way to end her legacy than by striking a blow against Bolas in a blaze of glory? She might even take the entire Eternal army out with her! Why? Because she's Jaya freaking Ballard!
So boom, there you go. Jaya's the "necessary death" in the story, and rather than forecast it as part of some petty hate wish, I forecast it with respect to the character and the story.
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.
If I recall correctly, the Planeswalker colours we need represented the most is WB We currently have all other colours in Standard and while I know many are rotating out the last WB was Sorin in SOI.
Given that each set is designed to be stand-alone, I expect they will throw a bone to each of the colour combinations not represented in each set. So I think we`ll see a WB planeswalker in Guilds even though WB is mostly going to be in Alliance. They could do a nativewalker in Alliance though.
Okay then, I'll call it that Jaya Ballard is the one who dies. Why? Several reasons:
She's someone Chandra respects greatly, and being revealed to be the secret identity of none other than Mother Luti herself, someone Chandra has unknowingly been close to for some time.
She's an oldwalker who's been around since almost the beginning. Her death would be impactful to the fans, yet also meaningful to the story.
She's old, she's had her fun, I doubt she wants to go out with a fizzle. What better way to end her legacy than by striking a blow against Bolas in a blaze of glory? She might even take the entire Eternal army out with her! Why? Because she's Jaya freaking Ballard!
So boom, there you go. Jaya's the "necessary death" in the story, and rather than forecast it as part of some petty hate wish, I forecast it with respect to the character and the story.
Unfortunately I kind of already thought that was a given.
She hasnt aged well since the mending, already acknowledged she isn't going to live much longer and has probably groomed Chandra to take over the Monastery and the mantle of pre-eminnent Red Fire Mage.
I wouldnt count that as a shocking or meaningful loss but more a predictable throw away unfortunately. She isnt a member of the Gatewtch proper anyway.
I wish we could see her in her pre-mending Planeswalker form or some type of new legendary in a supplemental set.
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
I think this will be like Btz and we won't see any new walkers. Slots will be tight and this year alone we got 8 new walker characters and 2 walker who aren't new characters but finally got a planeswalker card.
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"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
If I recall correctly, the Planeswalker colours we need represented the most is WB We currently have all other colours in Standard and while I know many are rotating out the last WB was Sorin in SOI.
Given that each set is designed to be stand-alone, I expect they will throw a bone to each of the colour combinations not represented in each set. So I think we`ll see a WB planeswalker in Guilds even though WB is mostly going to be in Alliance. They could do a nativewalker in Alliance though.
I don't think they're going to include any multicolor cards of a pair not featured in the first two sets. That's a slot that could go to a monocolor card or to a multicolor card of a featured color pair.
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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.
This is your regularly scheduled reminder that death is not the only way, nor even the best way, to have stakes in a story.
And what are the stakes in the Magic Story currently?
I agree with you in general the problem is its kinda hard to put Death back in the bottle as far as stakes. Pre Gatewatch even main characters like Urza and Gerrard weren't safe from death. Does any really think Jace is danger of death? Heck Jace's memory loss didn't even stick in two stories and a few months (or weeks if we trust Chandra in DOM), he not only got over his memory loss, he got his full powers unlocked and smacked around Azor. Gideon healed his shoulder with no problems and picked up one of the most legendary weapons in Magic History to replace his old weapon. The worst thing that has happened to Gatewatchers are what Chandra lost her dad? Zendikar took some unspecificed amount of damage? This does not compare to Oldwalkers in the past or even prices paid by fellow Neowalkers like Venser, Elspeth, KOTH or Samut. Gatewatchers simply don't pay enough price even when their bad decisions cause the problems. So yeah Death is not the only way to raise stakes but Gatewatchers even those like Lili with long ledgers of crimes pay little to no permanent cost.
I mean the Chandra comic suggest some high stakes but I have doubts a popular plane like Ravnica is going to suffer much and anyone important is going to die. Maybe Jaya dies cause she is an old mentor but really... I mean sheesh Yawgmoth devestated Dominaria and killed 7 out of 9 Titans, about half the Weatherlight Crew and countless other inhabitants on Dominaria. Does anyone really think Bolas is offing about 80% of the Gatewatch, half of any named nonwalker help that shows up and does significant damage to Ravnica?
This is your regularly scheduled reminder that death is not the only way, nor even the best way, to have stakes in a story.
And what are the stakes in the Magic Story currently?
I agree with you in general the problem is its kinda hard to put Death back in the bottle as far as stakes. Pre Gatewatch even main characters like Urza and Gerrard weren't safe from death. Does any really think Jace is danger of death? Heck Jace's memory loss didn't even stick in two stories and a few months (or weeks if we trust Chandra in DOM), he not only got over his memory loss, he got his full powers unlocked and smacked around Azor. Gideon healed his shoulder with no problems and picked up one of the most legendary weapons in Magic History to replace his old weapon. The worst thing that has happened to Gatewatchers are what Chandra lost her dad? Zendikar took some unspecificed amount of damage? This does not compare to Oldwalkers in the past or even prices paid by fellow Neowalkers like Venser, Elspeth, KOTH or Samut. Gatewatchers simply don't pay enough price even when their bad decisions cause the problems. So yeah Death is not the only way to raise stakes but Gatewatchers even those like Lili with long ledgers of crimes pay little to no permanent cost.
I mean the Chandra comic suggest some high stakes but I have doubts a popular plane like Ravnica is going to suffer much and anyone important is going to die. Maybe Jaya dies cause she is an old mentor but really... I mean sheesh Yawgmoth devestated Dominaria and killed 7 out of 9 Titans, about half the Weatherlight Crew and countless other inhabitants on Dominaria. Does anyone really think Bolas is offing about 80% of the Gatewatch, half of any named nonwalker help that shows up and does significant damage to Ravnica?
I'm not really into Death as a plot device unless it makes me feel something. The problem is that death to main characters has in itself become somewhat commonplace and I think that Game of Thrones has a lot to do with it. I have never seen the show or read the novels so I can not speak of the quality of it, but I've heard that the characters are killed off unceremoniously on a regular basis. I get that death is a very realistic thing, but if I wanted that kind of realism I'd watch the news. If one of the Gatewatch dies in order to bind Bolas or seal a rift or something that would make me like them more that would be great.
I would argue that Zendikar and Innistrad are at least dead to me lol. I think instead of killing off characters that make them more accessible. The story seems to always focus on war time scenerios instead of showing how the gatewatch interacts with eachother what they can learn from the worlds they visit.
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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
This is your regularly scheduled reminder that death is not the only way, nor even the best way, to have stakes in a story.
Maybe, but it is also a very real possibility when fighting extremely powerful foes. And all the death and destruction inflicted on the common inhabitants of Zendikar and other planes, which people defending the "no kill policy" tend to point out, only makes the plot armor stand out more.
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Perhaps the first two sets will have four PWs each, two good guys and two bad guys, while the third set gives us Ajani and Bolas? Using that model:
GRN
W Gideon
U Jace
UR Ral Zarek
BG Vraska
RNA
U Tamiyo - She could be monoblue to allow her to play with both Azorius and Simic, but if I had to choose I'd make her WU for color balance purposes.
R Chandra
B Liliana
RG Ramaz - He's a known minion of Bolas whom Chandra encountered and battled previously. He was GUR before, but dropping blue so he can be played in Gruul doesn't seem far-fetched, and it makes more sense than having Domri or Sarkhan be the second "villain" PW of the set.
Set 3
GW Ajani
UBR Bolas
It is possible some of those are alternate art promos or Masterpieces of their previous cards. That seems particularly likely for Karn and Teferi, since they did just get cards in Dominaria.
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.
"I bet Jace will die in this set!" - Jaters every single set
I get sick and tired of haters always speculating that a character they happen to not like is going to die in the upcoming set, completely heedless of the larger narrative. I don't take hateful wishes that "character X will die this set" seriously. And it's gotten so annoying to the point a small part of me actually cheers when the death wishers are denied yet again. Sometimes fandom is damn toxic.
Anyway, since Wizards has to know the fandom will riot if anything serious happens to Ravnica, I'm assuming that this will be where the Gatewatch finally score a real victory over Bolas. I fully expect Gideon to make it back to Theros and help Ajani rescue Elspeth from the underworld. And then have the three of them travel to New Phyrexia and then Alara to tie up some loose ends, like helping Koth and Karn destroy the Phyrexians and having Elspeth confront Aran and the other Bantians she abandoned, while possibly dealing with a Tezzeret Bridge-enabled Phyrexian invasion through Esper and Grixis.
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.
Someone is likely to die among the planeswalker cast in one of the three Ravnica sets we are getting, possibly several planeswalkers. The only one we know for certain to survive is Chandra, due to the comic they are making taking place *after* the Ravnica storyline is over, but other than that, literally anyone can kick the bucket.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
So a select few say every set. Battle for Zendikar? "I bet someone will die fighting the Eldrazi!" Amonkhet? "Someone's likely to die fighting Bolas." Ixalan? "Jace will finally die!" Honestly, the obsession with "popular with many, hated by a few" characters dying is becoming the "edgy twelve-year-old" meme of MTGS. I get it, a handful of people on this website don't like the Gatewatch, they don't like Jace, they don't like somebody, and concludes the best way to deal with their irrational hatred is to wish for that character's death every ******* set.
So who, then, is it supposed to be this time around? Jace, after he's finally decided to face his responsibilities as Living Guildpact? (As if they'd kill off the most popular planeswalker.) Gideon, who has unfinished business on Theros? Liliana, who still has the whole Raven Man mystery? Oh, hey, I know, how about Bolas finally getting the asskicking he's had coming to him?
Elspeth's death in Theros was properly foreshadowed and built-up. It had an emotional sting, an undeserved betrayal at the end of a life full of suffering. It served the plot, it served the theme of Greek tragedy, and didn't happen just to appease a vocal, hateful minority. When I read comments speculating about "character X dying", I'm not seeing anything talking about how it will further the narrative and add emotional weight to the story, I'm just seeing a bunch of whiny hate fantasies that come right out of a bad fanfiction.net story.
Here's a challenge for the death speculators: How about speculating on whether or not a character you actually like is going to die the next set? Assuming there even is one and you haven't just chosen to blindly hate everything that came after the Weatherlight saga.
Me, I'm just interested in seeing who shows up in each set, and examining factors like the current Standard distribution of PWs across color as well as character representation.
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.
Note I never say that I bet. Just that it is likely. WotC knows people feel that there is no real stake in the Gatewatch's tribulations as they all continue to survive. And from the description of the upcoming Chandra centered comic, we know that some sort of Tragedy will happen during one of the Ravnica sets. It is far from jumping to conclusion to put two and two together and assume that it is likely that another Gatewatch member is going to bite it. For it to have affected Chandra so harshly, it needs to be someone she cares about, so it is either
BeefslabGideon, Nissa, or Lily. And considering that Nissa is no longer with the Gatewatch, and Lily is now working for Bolas, that leaves Gideon. I don't necessary like it, but it is what it is. Of the remaining Gatewatch members, he is the one that she has the closest attachment to.From a narrative perspective someone has to go for the story to have any meaning. If the Gatewatch always survives, then the story loses all meaning as there is no real risk involved in the story and it becomes utterly pointless. I may not have liked the end of the Weatherlight Saga, but at least it didn't pull its punches and killed off likable characters left and right (Poor Hanna and Mirri). The story for Scars was similar because there were real stakes in the story and one of the characters sacrificed themselves to save another.
Now, I like Gideon, and I down right love Vraska, but I still think they are the two most likely planeswalkers to die in the battle for Ravnica.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Elspeth is much more beloved anyway.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
What really else is there to explore with Chandra.
If anybody she should have been the casuality. Yes I like her but what else is left for her...apparently a comic book And not necessarily a Red walker to take her place.
My least favorite is probably Nissa. Another character whose storyline has been told to most of its fullest. A couple options to take over the Green Walker spot and she's not even there (as far as we know) (If she came back in a self sacrifing to get rid of Bolas that WOULD affect Chandra pretty hard so maybe its her,
So boom, there you go. Jaya's the "necessary death" in the story, and rather than forecast it as part of some petty hate wish, I forecast it with respect to the character and the story.
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.
Given that each set is designed to be stand-alone, I expect they will throw a bone to each of the colour combinations not represented in each set. So I think we`ll see a WB planeswalker in Guilds even though WB is mostly going to be in Alliance. They could do a nativewalker in Alliance though.
Unfortunately I kind of already thought that was a given.
She hasnt aged well since the mending, already acknowledged she isn't going to live much longer and has probably groomed Chandra to take over the Monastery and the mantle of pre-eminnent Red Fire Mage.
I wouldnt count that as a shocking or meaningful loss but more a predictable throw away unfortunately. She isnt a member of the Gatewtch proper anyway.
I wish we could see her in her pre-mending Planeswalker form or some type of new legendary in a supplemental set.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I don't think they're going to include any multicolor cards of a pair not featured in the first two sets. That's a slot that could go to a monocolor card or to a multicolor card of a featured color pair.
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.
And what are the stakes in the Magic Story currently?
I agree with you in general the problem is its kinda hard to put Death back in the bottle as far as stakes. Pre Gatewatch even main characters like Urza and Gerrard weren't safe from death. Does any really think Jace is danger of death? Heck Jace's memory loss didn't even stick in two stories and a few months (or weeks if we trust Chandra in DOM), he not only got over his memory loss, he got his full powers unlocked and smacked around Azor. Gideon healed his shoulder with no problems and picked up one of the most legendary weapons in Magic History to replace his old weapon. The worst thing that has happened to Gatewatchers are what Chandra lost her dad? Zendikar took some unspecificed amount of damage? This does not compare to Oldwalkers in the past or even prices paid by fellow Neowalkers like Venser, Elspeth, KOTH or Samut. Gatewatchers simply don't pay enough price even when their bad decisions cause the problems. So yeah Death is not the only way to raise stakes but Gatewatchers even those like Lili with long ledgers of crimes pay little to no permanent cost.
I mean the Chandra comic suggest some high stakes but I have doubts a popular plane like Ravnica is going to suffer much and anyone important is going to die. Maybe Jaya dies cause she is an old mentor but really... I mean sheesh Yawgmoth devestated Dominaria and killed 7 out of 9 Titans, about half the Weatherlight Crew and countless other inhabitants on Dominaria. Does anyone really think Bolas is offing about 80% of the Gatewatch, half of any named nonwalker help that shows up and does significant damage to Ravnica?
I'm not really into Death as a plot device unless it makes me feel something. The problem is that death to main characters has in itself become somewhat commonplace and I think that Game of Thrones has a lot to do with it. I have never seen the show or read the novels so I can not speak of the quality of it, but I've heard that the characters are killed off unceremoniously on a regular basis. I get that death is a very realistic thing, but if I wanted that kind of realism I'd watch the news. If one of the Gatewatch dies in order to bind Bolas or seal a rift or something that would make me like them more that would be great.
I would argue that Zendikar and Innistrad are at least dead to me lol. I think instead of killing off characters that make them more accessible. The story seems to always focus on war time scenerios instead of showing how the gatewatch interacts with eachother what they can learn from the worlds they visit.
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
Maybe, but it is also a very real possibility when fighting extremely powerful foes. And all the death and destruction inflicted on the common inhabitants of Zendikar and other planes, which people defending the "no kill policy" tend to point out, only makes the plot armor stand out more.