Great story today. Im glad Hazoret and the others survived. As for Samut I think it's cool that we have a walker sparking from joy rather than trauma.
I would be beyond stoked if we get an official nod somewhere to Kruphix gaining Samut's knowledge. From previous stories we know it's something he can do but it would be cool to see his reaction.
Besides, I and the other 6 Kruphix's need to stay in the loop somehow.
I feel saying "the eternals aren't that impressive, they can get killed by a god-weapon" is like saying "that jiu jitsu master isn't that impressive, he can get killed by a nuke." Gods, and by extension their weaponry, are OP by definition, anything too powerful to be taken down by a god weapon (Bolas, the scorpion god) should be viewed as a whole different level of badass all on its own. Now if we see Gideon mowing through eternals the same way he plowed through Ulamog spawn then they will gain cannon-fodder status but until then I think that, in a city full of peak combatants, the fact that the only eternal we see brought down needed a godweapon to be killed is a very telling sign of their power and threat level.
As far as assesing threat level goes:
These are combatants with a lifetime of dedication to training for combat prowess. Other combatants can reach the same level (but obviously they will be few and far between).
The advantage their eternalhood gives them is that they don't grow tired so they can fight at peak level indefinitly. This means that a non-eternal combatant of the same level of training needs to have some magic aid, as they will eventually be defeated when worn down.
We don't know what benefits the Lazotep armor has combatwise, though it's probably effectively full plate armor without the encumbrance that normally goes with it.
Since it's the Lazotep that makes them retain their skills post mortem, it stands to reason to think that if the Lazotep is damaged enough, the eternal will be destroyed as well.
In conclusion, I don't think you need to be of a divine power level to defeat them, but a human(oid) or anything weaker will need the assistance of magic to be able to overcome one. A Giant is probably able to defeat one, though I can easily see a group of a few eternals overcoming a Giant whem working together.
This would make a lot of sense to me, they should be powerful enough to be a credible threat to the GW and whoever else they face but not so powerful that if a skilled opponent kills a few in succession everyone says "ah NERFED, wotc built these guys up but they're just red shirts!" The parameters you've described really fit that bill.
I figure if we ever get an "evil gatewatch" (which I feel is inevitable) Tibalt is a lock, I'm fairly positive he'll show up again, just not sure where.
I feel saying "the eternals aren't that impressive, they can get killed by a god-weapon" is like saying "that jiu jitsu master isn't that impressive, he can get killed by a nuke." Gods, and by extension their weaponry, are OP by definition, anything too powerful to be taken down by a god weapon (Bolas, the scorpion god) should be viewed as a whole different level of badass all on its own. Now if we see Gideon mowing through eternals the same way he plowed through Ulamog spawn then they will gain cannon-fodder status but until then I think that, in a city full of peak combatants, the fact that the only eternal we see brought down needed a godweapon to be killed is a very telling sign of their power and threat level.
I really liked today's story, it was quite sad at parts but i think it was important to have a story from the pov of average Amonkhetu. Not everyone can be a pw or a god and the hours are happening to them too.
Interesting things we learned:
-love and parent/child relations were forbidden.
-eternals can speak (the naga's whispered mind control commands) we knew they retained their previous skill and power but speech and maybe even personality is interesting.
-eternals can be destroyed..but the only one we saw killed was done in by a god weapon. If you aren't a divinity you may have a rough time w/ these guys.
What do people think of vile manifestation? I don't think there is an existing deck that is a home for it but it could get very big very fast in a cycling deck. That said i think the only cyling deck in modern is living end, and manifestation is bad in LE for several different reasons..
Awesome story today, sad to see Oketra and Kefnet go but we knew it was coming and it's nice to see they carried on Rhonas's tradition of going down like hammahs. As others have said, it was cool we got this from Hapatra's point of view. It gave the story a sense of danger and stakes that it doesn't have when from the pov of a GW member.
On the Eternal army, it's worth noting that not all of the members are "basic" eternals. There are mages, cats, and even ammit it would seem. A single living ammit was powerful enough that an eternal one is probably horrifying. What I'm getting at is, from the story it seems likely we could expect the eternal army to measure around 20,000, but even if they number much less than that I think expecting them to be anything less than devastating would be a mistake, they're not just the cream of the crop, they're the top layer of the film of cream...and they brought zombie crocodile demons.
I've said this before but I'll keep on repeating that Bolas is a giant dick. Regardless of his master plans and grand schemes it's important to remember that a lot of the douchy things Bolas does are for the sake of being douchy. When your one of the most powerful beings in existence and have most of the things you want the only thing you really want is to be entertained. Cruelty, mayhem, and manipulation are Bolas's hobbies, getting an immortal army out of the deal may just be Bolas pragmatically mixing business with pleasure.
Idk if I hate him because he's an awesome character but I'm surprised no one has brought up Baral. He wasn't the primary antagonist in Kaladesh block but he's a detestable (and understandable) villain. I don't like Bolas or the Phyrexians for what they did to Amonkhet and Mirrodin respectively but I like them as characters. And Heliod is awesomely douchy.
I know calling them villains is a point of contention but I think the "villains" I most want to see get their comeuppance are the Tarkiri dragonlords. I can't wait for a resurgence of the clans to boot them from power.
Sooooo anybody else feel really bad for the Scorpion god? Twisted beyond recognition and sanity, forced to kill your own brothers and sisters and then impaled on a giant spike. At least Scarab and Locust have a chance to be freed from Bolas's control. I'm glad Hazoret makes it out, I'd assumed all of the gods would bite it.
I buy Bolas releasing the eldrazi as an experiment. If you want to gather pw in one area a massive extraplanar threat is probably the best way to do. It also shows what kind of response there would be to such a threat (Bolas himself being one). There's no danger to Bolas since he can just pw away from any plane the titans come to (we know he wont care about a plane dying). Also, last and most importantly, Bolas is a dick. Even if he thought he'd already killed Ugin he probably got a kick out of undoing all the spirit dragon's work. I wouldn't mind there being more reasons for him to release the titans but if this is it I can buy it.
Hollow one seems like a pretty cool early play, we cycle 1-2 cards per turn pretty easy and he can get cheap fast. Idk what would come out for him though. Ideally you probably want him out pre-LE so he's mostly just a meatshield and Shriekmaw is probably better for early interaction. On the other hand, he also seems like he could be maindeckable early pressure against tron. I'm leaning towards him not being quite good enough but it's a cool design.
Awesome story today, definitely felt bad for Rhonas but he went out like a beast. Im hoping by the end of the set at least one of the corrupted bug gods is freed from Bolas's thrall.
The scarab god looks like it could be another piece for a modern zombie deck. 5 mana is a lot but it's powerful finisher effect on a big recurring body that has gravehate on a stick going on for it. I thinkthe power is there, idk if the cmc disqualifies it though, 4 dogs in a horse-suit?
I feel the strength of the Kaladesh story-line was in it's character interaction while the strength (or lack thereof) of BFZ was in the setting. In BFZ the stories were, for the most part, just ok (with a few awesome exceptions) however the world with the titans and Ob Nixilus coming in kept me interested. Kaladesh as a world/setting felt pretty bland to me, but interesting characters like Yahenni and Dovin Baan alongside plot-hooks like the "you know it's coming" Chandra/Baral fight made the story interesting. Ideally, I'd like magic stories to have a sweet spot of engaging setting and interesting story-lines taking place within those settings. I think they've kind of been hitting that with Amonkhet and I really feel like they're story department has been doing an overall amazing job since the initial fumbles of BFZ
All of the "X's last x" cards are sorceries so we wont be getting a counter for blue. Best guess we get a card draw effect. Maybe 3 mana draw 3, dont untap next turn? Also very possible it's just a bounce effect though..
Where did you find this information? Based off of Wizard's history, a cycle of cards are not always a single card type. For an easy example take a looks the command cycles. Do you have a reference for the spells all being sorceries? If not, I'm still hopeful
Yup, see Dynamite_Private's post just above. I was really hoping some of them would be instants too but unless Maro is straight-up misleading us it looks like they're all sorceries.
My best guesses would probably be something like:
Rhonas's last effort 1GG
Creatures you control get +3/+3 and trample until end of turn
Lands don't untap
Kefnet's last revelation 1UU
Draw 4 cards
Lands dont untap
Hazoret's last judgement 1RR
Deal 5 damage to target creature or player
Lands don't untap
These are all probably kind of optimistic but I'd guess the effects to be somewhat similar.
I would be beyond stoked if we get an official nod somewhere to Kruphix gaining Samut's knowledge. From previous stories we know it's something he can do but it would be cool to see his reaction.
Besides, I and the other 6 Kruphix's need to stay in the loop somehow.
This would make a lot of sense to me, they should be powerful enough to be a credible threat to the GW and whoever else they face but not so powerful that if a skilled opponent kills a few in succession everyone says "ah NERFED, wotc built these guys up but they're just red shirts!" The parameters you've described really fit that bill.
Interesting things we learned:
-love and parent/child relations were forbidden.
-eternals can speak (the naga's whispered mind control commands) we knew they retained their previous skill and power but speech and maybe even personality is interesting.
-eternals can be destroyed..but the only one we saw killed was done in by a god weapon. If you aren't a divinity you may have a rough time w/ these guys.
On the Eternal army, it's worth noting that not all of the members are "basic" eternals. There are mages, cats, and even ammit it would seem. A single living ammit was powerful enough that an eternal one is probably horrifying. What I'm getting at is, from the story it seems likely we could expect the eternal army to measure around 20,000, but even if they number much less than that I think expecting them to be anything less than devastating would be a mistake, they're not just the cream of the crop, they're the top layer of the film of cream...and they brought zombie crocodile demons.
I know calling them villains is a point of contention but I think the "villains" I most want to see get their comeuppance are the Tarkiri dragonlords. I can't wait for a resurgence of the clans to boot them from power.
I buy Bolas releasing the eldrazi as an experiment. If you want to gather pw in one area a massive extraplanar threat is probably the best way to do. It also shows what kind of response there would be to such a threat (Bolas himself being one). There's no danger to Bolas since he can just pw away from any plane the titans come to (we know he wont care about a plane dying). Also, last and most importantly, Bolas is a dick. Even if he thought he'd already killed Ugin he probably got a kick out of undoing all the spirit dragon's work. I wouldn't mind there being more reasons for him to release the titans but if this is it I can buy it.
Yup, see Dynamite_Private's post just above. I was really hoping some of them would be instants too but unless Maro is straight-up misleading us it looks like they're all sorceries.
My best guesses would probably be something like:
Rhonas's last effort 1GG
Creatures you control get +3/+3 and trample until end of turn
Lands don't untap
Kefnet's last revelation 1UU
Draw 4 cards
Lands dont untap
Hazoret's last judgement 1RR
Deal 5 damage to target creature or player
Lands don't untap
These are all probably kind of optimistic but I'd guess the effects to be somewhat similar.