MTG Salvation

I rarely feel obligated to comment on the stories (even though I follow them without fail), but I am compelled to echo some of the sentiments on this thread. Chris L'Etoile knocked this one out of the park. While not perfect (the long bouts of dialogue during the battle being a bit out of place), the story is the absolute best depiction of Chandra ever. It is obvious that this author really dug in deep to channel Chandra's voice and to bring her to life in a three-dimensional way. Someone, in one short story, we were able to see all of Chandra's faults, weaknesses, and insecurities while also getting to see her as relatable, vulnerable, likable, entertaining, and completely believable. The possible love triangle doesn't feel forced, and Chandra's emotional outbursts (along with her word vomit and thought diarrhea) are more believable than the mechanical nature of so many other characters. In my opinion, no one else should be allowed to write Chandra. L'Etoile's characterization and execution here show a finesse and deep understanding that no one else on the writing team has thus far been able to match when it comes to this character.

On to other aspects of the story, I was hooked from beginning to end, and that's saying something given that this piece was a lengthy story compared to many UR entries. The pacing and rhythm were great, and the action was infused with energy. Only a few descriptions or parts caused confusion, which is surprising given how action-packed the story is and how many POV changes occur. Even the "minor" characters in this story feel fleshed out, and I like the nod to The Purifying Fire. Moreover, I enjoyed the insights into Tezz and Baan too. The fact that Baan arrested Baral is so in character and funny.

And yeah, Pollaski--I had to reread that part to make sure I was seeing it correctly. Baan taking Chandra's insult literally was hilarious.

Overall grade for this story: 97 A

While today's story certainly wasn't perfect, it was of a much higher caliber than the BFZ and Oath stories. I actually enjoyed it and have fewer gripes about it than some of the low-quality, rushed stories that made up BFZ and Oath. While these weekly serials are a medium that doesn't lend itself well to storytelling the way a novel does, I didn't notice as much. The pacing and energy-infused writing were refreshing after enduring the Nissa boo-hooing and mindless sural-whipping of Gideon (seriously, I was bothered that Gideon learned heiromancy from Hixus and the writers never bothered to employ that characteristic of Gideon once in the entirety of the BFZ block's stories). The action was more varied than simple sural whipping and jets of fire. Furthermore, Nahiri's motivations were clearer in this story, leaving little doubt about her thought-out schemes and cold, calculating revenge plan.

I'm really curious as to whether Nahiri will become a vampire now after receiving Sorin's bite. She could even become a Mardu walker in future sets...

Will reprint:
Enlightened Tutor
Ichorid
Mindbreak Trap
Careful Study
Imperial Recruiter

Won't reprint:
True-Name Nemesis
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Thoughtseize
Pithing Needle
Blood Moon

Quote from RedGauntlet »

Maybe Nahiri is twisting the moon to cause havok in Innistrad.Makes sense for her to be crazy and insane afterall shes an oldwalker that was "forced" to stay on Zendikar to protect it and since she had a long time spam she would get insane due to be "stuck" in a prison making her mind unstable.Doesn't help that shes in a plane where insanity is incredibly comon

Wasn't said that the Moon in Innistrad had a powefull effect in the plane that it was made of Silver or some type of stone?Is feasible that Nahiri has the power to manipulate the moon to cause some crazy side effects in the plane

While this is certainly a possibility, I was thinking (and I'm not sure anyone else mentioned this since I only read a few pages of the thread) that perhaps the inverse is true--whatever is going on with the moon is messing with Nahiri and perhaps the other creatures of Innistrad (such as the Angels that were the people's hope). Maybe whatever is going on with the Moon (Tibalt's scheming?) is messing with the color alignment of Innistrad's creatures. For instance, Nahiri could have traveled to Innistrad, and while looking for Sorin, she fell under the effects of the moon.

Another possibility is that she was captured by the vampires or some cult while looking for Sorin (maybe even a group angry with Sorin), and they unleashed her anger at Sorin.

I just hope that Emrakul is not in this story. Like a lot of other people said, I think it would be bad storytelling not to let this just play out as a cool Innistrad story that will feed into the larger story arc later down the line.

@Lord Seth -- you're right, but since you are a Tron player, you have a lot more powerful stuff to do during Turn 3. I guess I was thinking more as a Scapeshift player since Tron board wipes with Ugin and O-Stone anyway.

However, based on my testing, the extra point of damage really does matter at times. Firespout cleans up Merfolk if they only have one Lord, and it becomes relevant with a few other creatures such as Vengevine, a smallish Goyf, a Scooze that is just beginning to feed on the GY. I agree Pyroclasm is typically better, but the times that I've had Fish or Zoo outclass the Pyroclasm and make it a blank card in my hand due to that one point of damage has made me switch, and one of my friends that plays Tron has begun considering it too for the same reason.

As mentioned in another thread, control is making a showing in some other places, and I can't help but think Burn was able to take advantage of a field that may not have been running enough Kitchen Finks, Ojutai's Commands, and Timely Reinforcements. Also, I can't understand why R/G-based decks aren't all running Firespout.

Still, at least the diversity of the archetypes in the Modern event is better than the numbers in the SCG Legacy Classics:
Delver 5
Shardless 4
Miracles 3
Elves 2
Infect

Now compare that to the Modern classic:
Burn 4
Tron 3
Infect
Scapeshift
Jund
Affinity
Zoo
Kiki Chord
Jeskai Control
Merfolk

I wasn't for the Twin banning, but I say give it time to see if the meta can correct itself. Maybe UWx control will find a way to worm its way back in to police the format (even if its a Wall of Omens, Sun Titan, Finks, Verdict version instead of Snapcaster versions). More unbannings should happen too. If Golgari Grave Troll and Bitterblossom taught us anything, it's that unbannings often are quite safe and good for the format.

Can anyone who has played both BtL Scapeshift and the GiftShift/Scapegift/Shifts Ungiven version tell me which they prefer and why? I've got most of the cards to play either version, but I'm wondering about the pros and cons of each deck. For instance, when would you rather have Bring to Light over Gifts? Does anyone have problems getting all 4 colors on line consistently for BtL? Does anyone think the Gifts value packages water down the deck too much?

Last year, I tested GiftShift a lot, but I haven't had the opportunity to really test out the BtL version. I would just love to know whether to make the switch or just keep grinding away with the Gifts Version. Also, are BtL players having more success with the White splash or the Black splash? I can see arguments for both.

I prefer the GiftShift/Scapegift/Shifts Ungiven version over Bring to Light. Stretching to four colors has lost me games. Being able to find silver bullets is important for this deck, and Gifts Ungiven gives us that while not moving to 4C. However, I only have about 20 games with the BtL list, so I will do more testing before completely writing it off.

Not interested in this set at all. I'll pass on Limited and Standard this time around.

As far as EDH goes, it's sad that the card I'm most excited for is Baloth Null.

With concerns towards Modern, I was excited to see a new deck shake up the format, but BfZ and Oath are eerily "Devoid" of good reprints, even though we were told the two-block paradigm would bring us more exciting reprints since great cards would stay in Standard for shorter periods. I was even working towards building a new Modern deck, but seeing that Wizards has no intention of supporting the format except through super-expensive supplemental product, I think I'll settle for my barely Tier 2 deck and call it a day.

My hopes for SOI are reeeeeeeally low.

Caspian, not really. I ran a more traditional UW Titan list with some extra Finks, STEves, and Prime Time. Swagtusk was helpful in some matches, and I even tried out Tarmogoyf for a bit, but for the most part, the rest of the list included the usual suspects: Wall of Omens, Pilgrim's Eye, Flickerwisps, Paths, Supreme Verdicts, Gideon, etc.

However, I do like your idea of including some KoR and Voices. I will try them out.

I wonder about hybridizing the Knightfall List with Bant Titan. It probably would water down both strategies too much, but I might test it out just for fun. Sun Titan can return all the pieces of the Knightfall combo and all the pieces of the combo contribute a bit to the Emeria/Titan battle plan.

Caspian, I also tested out Bant and liked it better than the Esper version, but (with help from STEve) I also used Primeval Titan to sometimes get Emeria online as early as Turn 5 or 6, depending on draws. I found Primeval Titan also helpful for fetching up Ghost Quarters against Tron, and if Prime Time continued to survive and fetch up all 3 Emerias, that was almost always GG. I thought I would have a hard time getting all three colors on line while still having enough plains to activate Emeria, but between the fetches and the ramp creatures, I rarely had a problem.

I had always been using Gifts Ungiven as a means of finding silver bullets, but I also like your idea of including Glittering Wish and may test it out. It's been a month or two since I last played with this deck, but I've got the itch and plan to take it for a spin again soon. I'll try to remember to post results.

A few other people mentioned this, but the problem is not the story. The medium is limited. Telling a story on cards and short stories undermines the type of storytelling people really enjoy. Look at most of the best-selling novels (often trilogies or long series) or the most-watched television shows that span many seasons. Heroes win, but they have to earn it. Even in Walking Dead, where the entire world seems hellbent on making it feel as if the good guys never win, the few victories earned by the protagonists feel earned. The stakes are high and they really earn the victory through blood, death, and struggle that changes the characters. We are not seeing true character development, and we're seeing the climax of the story without feeling the build up.

Telling a story on cards and short UR stories removes the "earned" factor of the victory. A 300-page novel might show the struggles and journeys of the Planeswalkers and Zendikari, making the big finale worth it, but most people here don't see how the team went from losing to winning so quickly. The story of how they did so could probably fill a novel or television season, but that's not the storytelling medium we're working with, so it all just feels rushed and barely earned.

I've come to accept that the storytelling in MtG will be flawed, but I guess that's what happens if you're in the collectible card business rather than the novel writing business.

Still, I wish for the sake of the longer story arc that the Jace-tus League got whooped this time only to regroup, find more PWs to help, and pull out a win in their next encounter with the titans. It would feel earned if players and our heroes lost one of their favorite planes, making everyone eager for a rematch with the bastard titans that took something so precious from us.

Quote from EleshNornn »

Yeah, the Cosi/Ula story is a parallel to the Gideon/Noyan Dar story with Gideon as Cosi and prideful Noyan Dar as Ula, I don't believe it has any greater relevance to actually Kozilek.

Regardless, the story was fantastic.

I 100% agree about the parallels between the protagonists and the Eldrazi myth, but because this is such a well-crafted story, I can see it also applying to the greater story arc too. Either way, this is one of my favorite UR pieces in a while.

I think everyone suspecting that Kozilek is still around and manipulating everything from behind the scenes might be right, and here's the evidence from today's UR:

"Gideon turned back. 'One question, though, before I leave. In the story you were telling me, the one about Cosi and Ula, who ended up with the pearl?'

Noyan smirked. 'Cosi did, of course. That's how most Cosi stories end up, with Cosi convincing Ula to do something that Ula hadn't initially wanted to do, and then Cosi ends up benefiting from it.' Noyan loved the Cosi stories."

I probably played Tron twenty times this past month (only a few times with the Bant version). It's a terrible matchup, even post sideboard. As a test, I even put in fifteen sideboard cards just to hose Tron, and I still didn't win every post-board game against it. I'm halfway tempted to concede that I'll never beat Tron that way I can free up sideboard slots to give the edge in closer match ups (especially since I run Gifts).

Speaking of Gifts, yes, I've always run 1 Snapcaster and 1 Noxious Revival in my UW list, but moving to Bant did make the Gifts package even better with Eternal Witness.

I love Spellbomb but hate Mortarpod. Some people swear by it, but I don't use it any more. However, I do notice that I side out Spellbomb a lot once I see that I'm not against Twin and such, so I can see the case for dropping it if your meta is not Twin and Delve-creature heavy.

Finally, I've been trying out Gideon Jura and Venser the Sojourner. I can't decide which I like more. I agree with some other members of this thread that Gideon can pull you from behind and also help you stay ahead, but Venser is also pretty good. Can anyone definitively say that Gideon is just the better card 100% or is this a preference thing too?