I don't think the Reef Worm was originally going into Theros. If you look at the art, all the creatures look prehistoric, with a placoderm as the fish and the whale looking either like a basilosaurus or a kronosaurus. If I'd have to take a guess, Reef Worm is supposed to be from Muraganda, if there was any intention from creative side to put it into a world.
Also note that the kraken token is summoned by Kiora, and since she's a planeswalker her summonings are likely from other planes.
Krumar Bond-Kin is a grateful orc making a life oath to their House (very unblack).
Black's association with deals and contracts sets precedent for this. It is simply a more heartwarming version.
But that's not what the flavour text is about at all. It directly calls out "selflessness", something that is so inherently unblack, it's hilarious. Black can be "good", black can be "kind", black can even be a "people person", but black in its very core is not selfless.
The way I see it the Krumar (and other minions of black-aligned systems) are black in the same vein as falcons are white or drakes are blue. They do not share the philosophical system of the mana they are summoned with, but they are still deeply connected to their "master".
Plus, I believe most of those servants actually hope to gain power from dealing with the demons or whoever they are serving. That's hardly what I'd call selfless.
It does not matter what he did. By the very nature of timetravel nobody should remember the problem once he goes back to the present. And if people remember the problem, then he didn't do his job, because that means the problem still exists in the "altered" timeline.
Unless it is a matter of records. Just because an event was resolved in the past doesn't mean that all trace of it was then erased. If people knew Karn was there to fix something, then THEY STILL KNOW HE WAS THERE TO FIX SOMETHING.
As I pointed out already, the rift existed prior to the moment Karn went back to. He didn't go back to before the moment it was created, he went back to before it was unfixable.
But in the altered timeline it has never been unfixable, which would mean to Jhoira and Venser the rift would be a minor unimportant one and not a reason for Karn to go back. The conversation should have went like this:
Karn: "I have returned and fixed the rift!"
"What? It hasn't changed at all."
"Well, it used to be much more severe..."
"Nope, it has always been like this. I suspect you are a charlatan!"
"Damnit, nobody understands me!"
But the author didn't know what it means to alter a timeline, so whatever.
Also, I am not being smug, but the very fact that we have this conversation shows rather blatantly how poorly understood time travel shenanigans are to most people. Bah!
Given that time travel isn't a real thing, I'm fairly certain there's no concrete way that it works.
It's up to the storyteller to decide.
There are some details that we do not know, yes, but the general way of how timetravel affects the world requires only some common sense.
We also do not have cannons that shoot elephants, but it still doesn't mean we don't know what would happen if an elephant hits a brick wall at the speed of 100 miles per hour.
I don't count Karn's stunt as "legit" time traveling. He went back in time to fix something and when he returned everyone present still remembered the thing he wanted to fix. (Plus, the fact that everything was still the same way after he fixed it goes against everything we know about the deterministic nature of the universe.)
Which brings us back to my previous point: People have a horrible horrible horrible grasp of how timetravel works.
Well, he did go back to seal the rift before the Obliterate made it worse, but it isn't what actually caused the rift. It just made it WORSE.
So with that, I think it might be a case of "we need you to go back to close the rift before it is horrible because you went back in time and fixed it then."
I mean, we have a situation where time really did change when Karn stopped the Phyrexian assault on Tolaria prior to the time machine exploding.
It does not matter what he did. By the very nature of timetravel nobody should remember the problem once he goes back to the present. And if people remember the problem, then he didn't do his job, because that means the problem still exists in the "altered" timeline.
I find it hilarious though how eager you guys prove me right with my earlier statement though.
I don't count Karn's stunt as "legit" time traveling. He went back in time to fix something and when he returned everyone present still remembered the thing he wanted to fix. (Plus, the fact that everything was still the same way after he fixed it goes against everything we know about the deterministic nature of the universe.)
Which brings us back to my previous point: People have a horrible horrible horrible grasp of how timetravel works.
Because Dominaria was for a very long time the main setting of Magic as a whole. That is why they included as many fantasy tropes as possible in Dominaria. While other worlds were sometimes visited, the main focus was still Dominaria. This only changed with the first Mirrodin set and WotC's goal to visit a new plane every year. (The plan was later changed into "a new plane every year and sometimes a return to a beloved setting every once in a while")
The only reason she is studying is to find a solution to the war problem on Tarkir. There is no inherent value for her to studying such as aquiring knowledge for acquiring knowledge sake.
But she specifically calls out that she enjoys studying and finds it comforting.
Studying was a way to escape my anxiety and I eagerly embraced history and philosophy, memorizing all I could about Jeskai teachings.
How is that not blue?
I specifically said that I believe Narset is a tri-coloured character, did I not? I just think that white and red are more important to her character than blue.
Krumar Bond-Kin is a grateful orc making a life oath to their House (very unblack).
Black's association with deals and contracts sets precedent for this. It is simply a more heartwarming version.
But that's not what the flavour text is about at all. It directly calls out "selflessness", something that is so inherently unblack, it's hilarious. Black can be "good", black can be "kind", black can even be a "people person", but black in its very core is not selfless.
Black is more than selfishness, just as White is more than morality or Blue more than knowledge or perfection. In this case, it simply represents Black's own sense of "owning it up to oneself" and seeing the family as an extension of oneself. Remember, Black characters can have loved ones.
Yes, no colour is only "something", but there are a few things that go fundamentally against a colour's philosophy. As much as a pure white character will never embrace chaos, a pure black character will never embrace selflessness on the same level as the Krumar flavour texts tell us.
You completely left out pop-culture as the influences.
For instance, I believe Anvilwrought Raptor was more a reference of that clockwork owl from Clash of the Titans rather than a reference to the Stymphalian Birds.
Krumar Bond-Kin is a grateful orc making a life oath to their House (very unblack).
Black's association with deals and contracts sets precedent for this. It is simply a more heartwarming version.
But that's not what the flavour text is about at all. It directly calls out "selflessness", something that is so inherently unblack, it's hilarious. Black can be "good", black can be "kind", black can even be a "people person", but black in its very core is not selfless.
The way I see it the Krumar (and other minions of black-aligned systems) are black in the same vein as falcons are white or drakes are blue. They do not share the philosophical system of the mana they are summoned with, but they are still deeply connected to their "master".
Shrug, not an ideal solution, I know. I just prefer to ignore the Krumar flavour texts altogether and re-imagine them as bitter "outcasts" within the Abzan struggling to become more than just second-class citizen.
While I like the idea in theory of a character who was only previously represented as a creature card becoming a Planeswalker later on (hello, Venser), how they are going to do things on Tarkir really bugs me. If Sarkhan goes back in time, saves Ugin, and brings back the dragons, are we actually supposed to believe that the same individuals will exist 1,000 years later with such a monumental change to the timeline? I'm sorry, I can suspend my disbelief only so far. With the dragons around, the sentient races of Tarkir were literally fighting for their survival. It's highly unlikely that Narset's lineage would have remained completely undisturbed for 1,000 years (maybe an ancestor would have had children later or earlier than in the unmodified timeline, thus changing the genetic composition of Narset's ancestors and, by extension, of Narset herself). In other words, she shouldn't exist in the modified timeline. Maybe there would be someone that would be closely related to her genetically, but there should be no Narset with the same genes as there is currently.
I mean, this isn't like going back 10 years and changing something, and then coming back and seeing how things have changed for people that were already around 10 years ago. This is a change happening over 1,000 years ago. It's completely beyond belief that Narset -- or anyone else, for that matter -- would still exist as a person with a world-altering change to the timeline 1,000 years in the past.
While I agree with you there are two things we should remember:
1) What if Narset goes with Sarkhan or ascends during whatever Sarkhan hopes to accomplish. We don't know how Sarkhan will use the Nexus of Ugin. It could be that events related to Sarkhan traveling back in time allow for Narset to ascend, even if she is not present/involved.
2) Most people have a horrible horrible horrible grasp on how messing with the timelines works. There are many people who genuinely believe that the world will "correct" itself (based on the impressively narcistic belief that the world we happen to know is the only correct one) and thus that after some time all "scars" are healed. Additionally, this is a fantasy setting with magic everywhere. Time travel works differently in such settings anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be disappointed if Narset suddenly still exists as the same person, even if her existence would be theoretically wiped out, but I don't count on creative handling it the realistic way.
Also note that the kraken token is summoned by Kiora, and since she's a planeswalker her summonings are likely from other planes.
This new what?
giddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddygiddy
Plus, I believe most of those servants actually hope to gain power from dealing with the demons or whoever they are serving. That's hardly what I'd call selfless.
But in the altered timeline it has never been unfixable, which would mean to Jhoira and Venser the rift would be a minor unimportant one and not a reason for Karn to go back. The conversation should have went like this:
Karn: "I have returned and fixed the rift!"
"What? It hasn't changed at all."
"Well, it used to be much more severe..."
"Nope, it has always been like this. I suspect you are a charlatan!"
"Damnit, nobody understands me!"
But the author didn't know what it means to alter a timeline, so whatever.
Also, I am not being smug, but the very fact that we have this conversation shows rather blatantly how poorly understood time travel shenanigans are to most people. Bah!
There are some details that we do not know, yes, but the general way of how timetravel affects the world requires only some common sense.
We also do not have cannons that shoot elephants, but it still doesn't mean we don't know what would happen if an elephant hits a brick wall at the speed of 100 miles per hour.
It does not matter what he did. By the very nature of timetravel nobody should remember the problem once he goes back to the present. And if people remember the problem, then he didn't do his job, because that means the problem still exists in the "altered" timeline.
I find it hilarious though how eager you guys prove me right with my earlier statement though.
Which brings us back to my previous point: People have a horrible horrible horrible grasp of how timetravel works.
But seriously though, what exactly is your point? Are you really trying to put "biological/ecological realism" into a fantasy setting?
I specifically said that I believe Narset is a tri-coloured character, did I not? I just think that white and red are more important to her character than blue.
Yes, no colour is only "something", but there are a few things that go fundamentally against a colour's philosophy. As much as a pure white character will never embrace chaos, a pure black character will never embrace selflessness on the same level as the Krumar flavour texts tell us.
For instance, I believe Anvilwrought Raptor was more a reference of that clockwork owl from Clash of the Titans rather than a reference to the Stymphalian Birds.
Same with the Krakens actually.
But that's not what the flavour text is about at all. It directly calls out "selflessness", something that is so inherently unblack, it's hilarious. Black can be "good", black can be "kind", black can even be a "people person", but black in its very core is not selfless.
The way I see it the Krumar (and other minions of black-aligned systems) are black in the same vein as falcons are white or drakes are blue. They do not share the philosophical system of the mana they are summoned with, but they are still deeply connected to their "master".
Shrug, not an ideal solution, I know. I just prefer to ignore the Krumar flavour texts altogether and re-imagine them as bitter "outcasts" within the Abzan struggling to become more than just second-class citizen.
While I agree with you there are two things we should remember:
1) What if Narset goes with Sarkhan or ascends during whatever Sarkhan hopes to accomplish. We don't know how Sarkhan will use the Nexus of Ugin. It could be that events related to Sarkhan traveling back in time allow for Narset to ascend, even if she is not present/involved.
2) Most people have a horrible horrible horrible grasp on how messing with the timelines works. There are many people who genuinely believe that the world will "correct" itself (based on the impressively narcistic belief that the world we happen to know is the only correct one) and thus that after some time all "scars" are healed. Additionally, this is a fantasy setting with magic everywhere. Time travel works differently in such settings anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be disappointed if Narset suddenly still exists as the same person, even if her existence would be theoretically wiped out, but I don't count on creative handling it the realistic way.