Don't quote me on this but from what I understood from the articles is that the next core-set was originally supposed to be Dominaria, and while technically it's not set on one single world, there'll be plenty of holdovers from Dominaria. I expect it to be a bit of half a Dominaria 2 with the bulk of the cards actually set in Dominaria. But again, that was just the impression I got from their words.
I believe what they said is that yes DOM2 was scrapped to make room for the Core Set, but that the most interesting/important cards were taken from DOM2 and put into DOM1. That's why DOM1 has so many pushed uncommons.
So based on the other cards, I'm thinking Chandra's story revolves around Yavimaya and Multani. The fight that begins in Ancient Animus continues in Fiery Intervention. In the former card, Multani's form is still being constructed until the final version we see in the latter card. We also know there are former Phyrexian machines in Yavimaya, reabsorbed by the forest, although this particular golem doesn't look like Gaea's Protector. So one possible plot point could be the Phyrexians "reawakening" somehow, which would also tie in nicely to a subsequent New Phyrexia plot. Multani rises to protect the forest and Chandra stumbles upon the battle unaware of what either side represents.
In the end, I believe the new Weatherlight's destiny is to hold off another Phyrexian invasion, though possibly with less success.
I want to be afraid of Belzenlok, but this story isn't doing a very good job of hyping him as a villain.
One problem is that unlike, say, Sauron, Darth Vader, Voldemort, the Fire Lord, Yawgmoth, or Bolas, no one seems to be all that afraid of Belzenok. He doesn't cast a shadow over the story; he doesn't loom. Liliana hates him, sure, but nobody seems to actually dread the coming confrontation. Even the heroes native to Dominaria talk about killing him in a fairly businesslike manner, like he's an unpleasant mark to check off the list, and it's only a matter of finally getting around to the deed. And while the story gives us a sense that the Cabal has spread and we've seen some of the damage they've done, I rarely find myself feeling their danger in the present. We never see them being competent or scary or winning battles. We haven't yet really seen consequences of their attack on Dominarian history, and we have little idea if anyone outside the Cabal is even buying it.
This is all the more perplexing because, as far as Dominaria goes, Belzenlok is one of an elite few villains to threaten the entire plane. There's been Yawgmoth, Karona, and... who else? Most Dominarian villains (Kaervek, Lim-Dul, Mairsil, Johan, the old Cabal, and hell, even Bolas) were regional baddies. Planar conquest is a viable Evil Plan on, say, Ravnica, Mirrodin, Amonkhet, or Kamigawa, but Dominaria is just so damn big. Jamuraa alone is worth perhaps two Tarkirs. Belzenlok is really shooting for the moon here--and if the story is to be believed, he's winning. So why isn't he more frightening? Why doesn't he make our heroes shake in their boots and wrestle with their own doubts and fears? We've been focusing almost entirely on the facts of entering the Stronghold and getting to Belzenlok, not the magnitude or the fear of that undertaking.
I'd like Mrs. Wells to make both the characters and me afraid of Belzenlok, and let us see the side of the Cabal that's supposedly bringing this entire world to its knees.
Very well put. I was thinking why Belzenlok seemed like such a lackluster villain and your reasoning is spot on.
Another thought that occured is that perhaps Bolas didn't have any kind of a secret clause in the contract. It could also be that by killing the 4 demons, the contract seizes to be (as it was the power of the demons keeping it going) and without the contract Liliana would immediately age and die. Bolas then steps in, uses his power to prevent this from happening and basically gives Liliana the choice of working for him or aging and death.
Raff is my type of guy. Too bad he's probably not going to be seen again after DOM.
Also, I get that Teferi is powerful, but once you establish that your team can literally stop time for a meaningful period, that should pretty much be the solution to every single problem in their quests except facing the final boss of each story chapter.
You mean Eldritch Moon. Also I don't think that's intentional.
That's a heck of a coincidence then.
The article specifically tells us that the purple veil smoke represents Bezlenok.Horns and wings and such...........not to get on you but it happens quite often that people speculate or misinterpret a card because they dont bother to actually read the articles associated with the spoiler
Check out the purple magic erupting from Liliana. While it superficially mimics her tattoos, it's specifically forming horns and wings around her. Here she's enacting Belzenlok's will. The implied Belzenlok here speaks to his shadowy work altering Dominaria's history in order to accumulate even more power. This seems like an omen that won't bode will for Liliana's future in this set
So, in other words, Liliana won't just get off scot-free for attempting to kill Belzenlok.
The question then is, will the "consequence" be something of Bolas's doing (ie something he put in when he "brokered" the deal), which we all expect, or will it be some secret clause that Belzenlok put in - similar to that other no-direct-attacks clause we've seen.
Even if Gideon takes up Blackblade, I don't see him turning W/B, at least not yet. I'm thinking that when we return to Theros (which looks to be soon), Gideon will get some character development that will push him into (at least) W/B.
Also, Settle the Score was expected, but nice to see confirmed. The most intriguing one has always been In Bolas's Clutches and we still have no idea who that is actually referring to. Although with the way the story is going and what focus each character is getting, my bet is on Lili.
Indeed. Leaving Jaya alive allows for a more steady progression for Chandra, instead of the Rocky-montage one paragraph training and subsequent death. As a long time fan of Jaya's, if she has to die, I would prefer her to do so while taking out something badass with her. And there seems to be a lack of badass foes on Dominaria for this purpose (even if Belzenlok would fit the bill, which he unmistakenly doesn't, he's there for Lileon to dispatch).
That article is severely depressing. Not only does Mark admit that Historic is only in because he literally couldn't think of anything else that would fit, it also reveals how he basically went behind his superior's back and convinced everyone to dogpile on him, because he couldn't fulfil the task assigned to him. It really is eye-opening, just not in the way they probably wanted.
He could see it as "Being able to intervene (in inter-planar affairs) carries with it the responsibility to do so." He can't just get his spark back and then do nothing with it without feeling that that amounts to tacit approval of all the awful stuff happening out there.
With respect to that line of thinking, having his spark back becomes a curse in that he simply can't carry on his life the way that he'd been doing.
That's probably true. And with that line of thinking, the "curse" would probably be just the fact that Jhoira got the spark and offered it to him. Because you could argue that not resparking would also be not intervening while being able to. Opt could be interpreted that way, if we assume that at that point Teferi is still just a mage and thinking about whether to "use" the crystalized spark (however that would work).
Interestingly enough Primevals' Glorious Rebirth has now been spoiled with art and it shows all 5 dragons. On the other hand, it's not a story spotlight card, so it's probably not relevant to the plot of the set (that and we have heard absolutely nothing related in the released chapters) - though it's hard to imagine how such a huge event like that would not have impact on anything.
I was under the impression it was meant to be a historic event, like the other legendary sorceries. Namely the resurrection of the dragons after freeing Crosis.
Indeed. My confusion came from the fact we get Darigaaz Reincarnated so I assumed the Legendary Sorcery would be tied to that, but it probably isn't.
Based on discussions I've had in other threads over the years, the neowalker spark is supposedly only a means to travel between planes. It doesn't prolong life, it doesn't (or shouldn't) boost power and ability. So a neowalker who would lose their spark would not (or should not) experience any change in power or ability except for the loss of interplanar travel.
Neowalkers are on average more powerful then normal mages since the spark lets them channel mana from other planes (Ob mentions reconnecting to his old mana bounds when he gets re-sparks).
Right, my point was that assuming that the spark doesn't carry any power enhancing features, resparking would not make you any more of a target. If I'm an archvillain, sooner or later I will come for Dominaria. I will have to deal with Teferi at that point, at the latest, whatever my plans for him are (ignore/manipulate/threaten/kill/etc.). That plan might have to be accelerated if Teferi suddenly starts planeswalking around, but it's unlikely to change.
I believe what they said is that yes DOM2 was scrapped to make room for the Core Set, but that the most interesting/important cards were taken from DOM2 and put into DOM1. That's why DOM1 has so many pushed uncommons.
So based on the other cards, I'm thinking Chandra's story revolves around Yavimaya and Multani. The fight that begins in Ancient Animus continues in Fiery Intervention. In the former card, Multani's form is still being constructed until the final version we see in the latter card. We also know there are former Phyrexian machines in Yavimaya, reabsorbed by the forest, although this particular golem doesn't look like Gaea's Protector. So one possible plot point could be the Phyrexians "reawakening" somehow, which would also tie in nicely to a subsequent New Phyrexia plot. Multani rises to protect the forest and Chandra stumbles upon the battle unaware of what either side represents.
In the end, I believe the new Weatherlight's destiny is to hold off another Phyrexian invasion, though possibly with less success.
Very well put. I was thinking why Belzenlok seemed like such a lackluster villain and your reasoning is spot on.
Another thought that occured is that perhaps Bolas didn't have any kind of a secret clause in the contract. It could also be that by killing the 4 demons, the contract seizes to be (as it was the power of the demons keeping it going) and without the contract Liliana would immediately age and die. Bolas then steps in, uses his power to prevent this from happening and basically gives Liliana the choice of working for him or aging and death.
Also, I get that Teferi is powerful, but once you establish that your team can literally stop time for a meaningful period, that should pretty much be the solution to every single problem in their quests except facing the final boss of each story chapter.
The question then is, will the "consequence" be something of Bolas's doing (ie something he put in when he "brokered" the deal), which we all expect, or will it be some secret clause that Belzenlok put in - similar to that other no-direct-attacks clause we've seen.
Also, Settle the Score was expected, but nice to see confirmed. The most intriguing one has always been In Bolas's Clutches and we still have no idea who that is actually referring to. Although with the way the story is going and what focus each character is getting, my bet is on Lili.
That reminds me. Grandeur would have been a nice fit for Dominaria. I wonder why it didn't make it.
That's probably true. And with that line of thinking, the "curse" would probably be just the fact that Jhoira got the spark and offered it to him. Because you could argue that not resparking would also be not intervening while being able to. Opt could be interpreted that way, if we assume that at that point Teferi is still just a mage and thinking about whether to "use" the crystalized spark (however that would work).
Indeed. My confusion came from the fact we get Darigaaz Reincarnated so I assumed the Legendary Sorcery would be tied to that, but it probably isn't.
Right, my point was that assuming that the spark doesn't carry any power enhancing features, resparking would not make you any more of a target. If I'm an archvillain, sooner or later I will come for Dominaria. I will have to deal with Teferi at that point, at the latest, whatever my plans for him are (ignore/manipulate/threaten/kill/etc.). That plan might have to be accelerated if Teferi suddenly starts planeswalking around, but it's unlikely to change.