My assumption is that without his spark Bolas cannot access mana bonds off of whatever plane he is currently on. The Meditation Realm is a wacky plane that follows its own rules, and essentially belongs to Ugin now anyway, so he can't form mana bonds there. So basically, he could theoretically still cast all his old spells if he had the mana. He just can't access it.
As for sparks providing a boost in power, I believe somewhere in the book Bolas mentions that he absorbs the power of the planeswalkers he harvests. Following this same theme, maybe he gains access to their mana bonds and spells as well? Besides, it can be assumed that having a spark increases your power by at least a little; otherwise, how would planeswalkers always be the most powerful characters in the story?
Or it could all just be plot convenience. That is a definite possibility.
Aether, as a magical substance, might share some properties with mana, or even have a component of mana in it, but it is NOT mana. The Aether on Kaladesh is explicitly not mana. Baan made comparisons to other planes mana systems, but he never said anything even resembling "aether is mana".
I dislike the...lack of cost of the revolt. Why does the revolt suddenly end after Tezz is removed? The vast majority of people had issues with the government as a whole not a single enemy and yet it stays very intact with only a few additions from the renegade side? Maybe it's petty of me but I feel if you're going to write a story with politics in it you can't handwave the politics away.
Most Renegades didn't want to establish a new government, they wanted reforms. With (presumably) several ex-Renegades among the Consulate leadership now, these reforms are likely going to happen. A lot of people joined the Renegades because of the recent authoritarian bent of the Consulate, like stealing the inventions at the Fair, the curfews and the like. Once Tezz was removed, the Consulate likely stopped these extreme measures.
Anara, you confused mana and Aether a few times there. Aetherborn are not made of mana, and mana does not flow through the air on Kaladesh (at least, not anymore than it does on other planes). In both these cases, it is Aether, the substance that makes up the Blind Eternities.
It's been discussed before that, while not exactly a pleasant place to live, Innistrad is far from the worst plane to live on. Grixis or Jund before the Conflux would be my bet, but if it was a present one New Phyrexia definitely takes the cake.
Still, why would Tezz does something so reckless as having a gladiatorial deathmatch against Pia?
Going by what the Kaladesh government have done in the past, I'm guessing Pia is facing publicly executed and flips it on Tezzeret.
But back then Chandra wasn't put into a gladiatorial deathmatch, she was kept in chains to be chopped while helpless. If Tezz (or Kaladesh government) would want to do the same, why a death match?
Not a death match execution, Pia escapes her bonds and instead of escaping she decides to fight Tezzeret.
But the card says that you can watch the fight. Tezzeret clearly planned it.
The second set is named HOur of Devastation. It leads you towards thinking that the plane is going to be devastated, especially now when we know that Bolas is involved.
If we count Emrakul, which we should, Gatewatch currently has 3 victories with 4th coming up in Aether Revolt. So far they haven't lost, not even once, despite impossible odds because ''it is not fun when heroes lose''. They ''lost'' to Emrakul's forces on Innistrad but then the titan had sealed itself because we can't have Gatewatch be defeated. You can count this as the Creative's way of saying ''see? see? They WERE defeated but then everything turned out semi ok. It is not like they can't be defeated lol''.
If Bolas gets what he wants then he wins. Did he also won on Alara?
Bolas should have a 100% victory. After the way the titans were treated Bolas needs a 100% victory to not make himself look bad.
Actually I do, but I can see why you're confused. I take mtg villains very seriously, but those are the villains from a very different time in mtg history, the old pre Mirrodin villains. I take Yawgmoth and Volrath very very seriously. They've earned to be taken very seriously. I doubt that anyone here who has read the books about them doesn't take them seriously. It is these new villains, from BFZ onward, which I can't take seriously. Eldrazi titans, eldritch monsters with untold power, beings that no one understands, being defeated by the five teenagers with attitude without destroying a SINGLE plane and causing any real damage is stupid. Humanizing Emrakul is silly because that goes directly against the ''beings far above our understanding'' description that we have had earlier. Praetors, leaders of the Phyrexia, who had improved almost all life forms on New Phyrexia decide not to kill Koth, the leader of the rebelion against them, which absolutely goes against the way that they've treated everybody else, because mirran forces must prevail in the next block. Ob Nixilis, a demon planeswaker with a huge grudge against the Gatewatch and Zenidkar, decides to go the Bond villain route and not murder the Gatewatch when he has the chance but ''torture'' them instead. Sorin, who is insanely pissed off against Nahiri, decides to play with her and kill her slowly to give her a chance to beat him instead of simply impaling her with his sword. None of those guys have earned to be taken seriously because of their recent actions.
Gatewatch will fight Bolas. They won't appear on his plane, see him and be like ''oh, hey, it is Bolas, lets talk to him/run.''. They are going to fight him and, as Vorthospike mentioned, Jace, the most brilliant mind in the multiverse who always knows better than anyone else, will find a certain something to help them defeat Bolas, because Bolas is obviously mentally retarded for the sake of the story and he had forgotten to remove a certain something that can stop him from the plane.
Just a tip: You should visit here more often before claiming how often I get stuff right
That is certainly one way to interpret the set name, yes. As is a dozen other ways. Hell , the name could even mean that Amonkhet will be devastated (even if it makes no sense, seeing as how Bolas controls the plane and all), but not destroyed. They aren't synonyms. But I guess that wouldn't be a "100% victory".
The Gatewatch will have (at the end of Aether Revolt) between 2.5 and 4 victories, depending on how one defines "victory". It is also important to remember that the story of Kaladesh isn't (so far) an "officially sanctioned" Gatewatch mission; Chandra and Liliana left on their own, with Nissa following only because of them. Not saying that it won't be a victory for them, but it's something to consider.
Yes, Bolas did win on Alara. His goal was to absorb the maelstrom, only a tiny portion remained outside of his grasp. The only thing he failed to do was destroy Alara, which was nothing but an attempt to metaphorically flex his muscles.
I will allow you to retain your right to wish for an 100% victory (though I personally wouldn't like it; there has to be a tiny bit of hope for Bolas to crush, after all.)
I mean, I would personally classify the vast majority of Zendikari and Innistradi, along with Innistrad's most prominent protector and most of her agents being destroyed as real damage, but I understand what you're saying.
The Phyrexians didn't spare Koth. They couldn't catch him, because he's y'know, a planeswalker.
You have a point on Nixilis.
If you are talking about the Oldwalker fight, Sorin didn't play with her; he didn't want to kill her, didn't even want to fight her. If you are talking about their most recent fight, I don't recall Sorin doing anything of the sort, but I will have to reread the article.
Let's be honest, no matter how well Creative makes Amonkhet, you still wouldn't like Bolas or the current story.
Ah, the old Jace-hate circlejerk. Let's all make major assumptions about a story we have minimal information about together!
Just a tip: I read almost everything posted here. Expecting me, or anyone else, to remember everything you predict, especially when from what you've been posting recently boils down to "Creative sucks and the old lore was better in every way because reasons", is foolish.
Just a tip: you still need to provide actual examples of times you were right, not just say that you were right.
Just a tip: even if you are right int this instance or were right in any other instance, doesn't mean you don't look like an ass.
There was nothing said about Amonkhet being destroyed. Your arguments for why it wouldn't happen are valid, but saying that the storyline is doomed because a plane that was never marketed as being up for destruction isn't going to be destroyed is ridiculous. Hour of Devastation could easily mean Bolas has a plan that will bring devastation to someone or something, even if that thing isn't Amonkhet (why would he destroy a plane he already rules over anyway?).
The Gatewatch has had exactly 2 victories (possibly 3, depending on if you count each individual Titan as an individual victory; 2.5 if you count Emrakul as only a partial victory; and likely 3.5-4 when Kaladesh is over, but that is yet to be seen.) Saying "they never lose... EVER", especially when one of those "victories" is VERY arguable, is silly.
No, if Bolas gets what he wants, then Bolas wins. Just because less people die (which STILL doesn't make sense), that doesn't mean that Bolas loses; it just means that the Gatewatch loses slightly less.
So what you're saying is that a partial victory of the Gatewatch (Emrakul) counts as a full one because their goal (stopping Emrakul) was fulfilled (even though Em is just trapped and in fact wanted to be trapped), yet Bolas needs to have a 100%, absolute victory (which includes an entire plane being destroyed (for no reason), an event which has little precedence.)?
You clearly don't take M;tG villains seriously anyway. I highly doubt that Bolas getting a partial victory will really affect your perception of them very much.
If the Gatewatch fight Bolas, yes, they should lose horribly. But we don't know if they are going to fight Bolas; hell, we don't even know if they are going to meet Bolas! (They will, but it isn't explicitly known.)
Just a tip: no matter how valid or reasonable your points are, saying "I'm very rarely wrong about this stuff" will not convince anybody to side with you, ESPECIALLY without any examples or evidence.
It seems unlikely you could throw a bucket of glistening oil out a window on Kaladesh and not hit an artifact.
True. I was thinking more long-term. "If Phyrexia gets this, then how can they use it" kind of thing. Which is why I questioned your standard Phyrexian's Organic level.
Ah, yes, I was thinking that if (as Saheeli seems to suspect) these portals can be made to work across planes then Phyrexia could use it to spread by just randomly sending oil to lots of other worlds. Though I'm not clear what makes this telportation much different from something like teleportal.
Probably the use of aether, instead of mana other teleport spells and artifacts use.
I was thinking the same. The fact that aether is involved could mean that it's easier to adapt the technology to inter-planar travel.
My theory is that it works the same as planeswalking; the ring transports the target to the Blind Eternities, but then sends it back to the same plane. That's why organic matte can't be teleported; only beings with the Spark can survive the Eternities.
As for sparks providing a boost in power, I believe somewhere in the book Bolas mentions that he absorbs the power of the planeswalkers he harvests. Following this same theme, maybe he gains access to their mana bonds and spells as well? Besides, it can be assumed that having a spark increases your power by at least a little; otherwise, how would planeswalkers always be the most powerful characters in the story?
Or it could all just be plot convenience. That is a definite possibility.
Baan is saying that using Aether as a fuel source is less dangerous than using mana as a fuel source.
Your quote pretty much explicitly states that Aether and mana are not the same.
I'm not arguing most of your original statements. I'm arguing that aether is NOT mana, as you claimed it was.
Most Renegades didn't want to establish a new government, they wanted reforms. With (presumably) several ex-Renegades among the Consulate leadership now, these reforms are likely going to happen. A lot of people joined the Renegades because of the recent authoritarian bent of the Consulate, like stealing the inventions at the Fair, the curfews and the like. Once Tezz was removed, the Consulate likely stopped these extreme measures.
But the card says that you can watch the fight. Tezzeret clearly planned it.
That is certainly one way to interpret the set name, yes. As is a dozen other ways. Hell , the name could even mean that Amonkhet will be devastated (even if it makes no sense, seeing as how Bolas controls the plane and all), but not destroyed. They aren't synonyms. But I guess that wouldn't be a "100% victory".
The Gatewatch will have (at the end of Aether Revolt) between 2.5 and 4 victories, depending on how one defines "victory". It is also important to remember that the story of Kaladesh isn't (so far) an "officially sanctioned" Gatewatch mission; Chandra and Liliana left on their own, with Nissa following only because of them. Not saying that it won't be a victory for them, but it's something to consider.
Yes, Bolas did win on Alara. His goal was to absorb the maelstrom, only a tiny portion remained outside of his grasp. The only thing he failed to do was destroy Alara, which was nothing but an attempt to metaphorically flex his muscles.
I will allow you to retain your right to wish for an 100% victory (though I personally wouldn't like it; there has to be a tiny bit of hope for Bolas to crush, after all.)
I mean, I would personally classify the vast majority of Zendikari and Innistradi, along with Innistrad's most prominent protector and most of her agents being destroyed as real damage, but I understand what you're saying.
The Phyrexians didn't spare Koth. They couldn't catch him, because he's y'know, a planeswalker.
You have a point on Nixilis.
If you are talking about the Oldwalker fight, Sorin didn't play with her; he didn't want to kill her, didn't even want to fight her. If you are talking about their most recent fight, I don't recall Sorin doing anything of the sort, but I will have to reread the article.
Let's be honest, no matter how well Creative makes Amonkhet, you still wouldn't like Bolas or the current story.
Ah, the old Jace-hate circlejerk. Let's all make major assumptions about a story we have minimal information about together!
Just a tip: I read almost everything posted here. Expecting me, or anyone else, to remember everything you predict, especially when from what you've been posting recently boils down to "Creative sucks and the old lore was better in every way because reasons", is foolish.
Just a tip: you still need to provide actual examples of times you were right, not just say that you were right.
Just a tip: even if you are right int this instance or were right in any other instance, doesn't mean you don't look like an ass.
There was nothing said about Amonkhet being destroyed. Your arguments for why it wouldn't happen are valid, but saying that the storyline is doomed because a plane that was never marketed as being up for destruction isn't going to be destroyed is ridiculous. Hour of Devastation could easily mean Bolas has a plan that will bring devastation to someone or something, even if that thing isn't Amonkhet (why would he destroy a plane he already rules over anyway?).
The Gatewatch has had exactly 2 victories (possibly 3, depending on if you count each individual Titan as an individual victory; 2.5 if you count Emrakul as only a partial victory; and likely 3.5-4 when Kaladesh is over, but that is yet to be seen.) Saying "they never lose... EVER", especially when one of those "victories" is VERY arguable, is silly.
No, if Bolas gets what he wants, then Bolas wins. Just because less people die (which STILL doesn't make sense), that doesn't mean that Bolas loses; it just means that the Gatewatch loses slightly less.
So what you're saying is that a partial victory of the Gatewatch (Emrakul) counts as a full one because their goal (stopping Emrakul) was fulfilled (even though Em is just trapped and in fact wanted to be trapped), yet Bolas needs to have a 100%, absolute victory (which includes an entire plane being destroyed (for no reason), an event which has little precedence.)?
You clearly don't take M;tG villains seriously anyway. I highly doubt that Bolas getting a partial victory will really affect your perception of them very much.
If the Gatewatch fight Bolas, yes, they should lose horribly. But we don't know if they are going to fight Bolas; hell, we don't even know if they are going to meet Bolas! (They will, but it isn't explicitly known.)
Just a tip: no matter how valid or reasonable your points are, saying "I'm very rarely wrong about this stuff" will not convince anybody to side with you, ESPECIALLY without any examples or evidence.
My theory is that it works the same as planeswalking; the ring transports the target to the Blind Eternities, but then sends it back to the same plane. That's why organic matte can't be teleported; only beings with the Spark can survive the Eternities.