I've been frustrated with the writing quality of Magic fiction of late. The Strixhaven story in particular was a clumsy, painful read, riddled with such drab prose and awful dialogue that it turned me off from the entire setting, and I began wondering what was the point of caring about Magic's story anymore if Wotc was just going to let high-school level writers turn in slipshod work. Craft matters. Delivery matters. Emotion matters. Good writing can elevate even a mediocre story concept (Guidpact, Dissension); poor writing can ruin even a great one (War of the Spark).
But this, at least, is a step in the right direction. It's not Elliot (whom I still consider Magic's best writer over the past four years) or even Wexler, but this first chapter was evocative enough and I enjoyed it. My eyes widened in an "Oh s***" reaction when the tables turned on Klaus. Arlinn and Agatha's interaction was genuinely poignant and prickled me with notes of real dread. I can feel the cold growing, the darkness encroaching, and the weight of the stakes for Innistrad.
While on one hand I'm thrilled to see Kamigawa back... what really frustrates and angers me is the way they botched the writing system.
In the Kamigawa novels and official Wizards fictions, the writing system on Kamigawa used, as far as we can discern, actual kanji. This was even a significant plot point in one of the tales, where the written character for nin (as in "ninja") depicts the brushstrokes for "heart" below the brushstrokes for "blade" -- just as it does in the real world. This also makes collecting the Kamigawa cards in Japanese especially rewarding, as you can see how the names are written in kanji and, if you know Japanese, what those names actually signify. One beautiful wordbuilding touch is that on the Japanese cards and in the novel, the Soratami have all their names written in katakana, signifying their apartness from the rest of the world.
Kamigawa was full of these cool linguistic touches like that. The idea that Kamigawa mortals read and wrote in a script mirroring actual Japanese gave the world a whole extra dimension, a second lens through which it could be understood, experienced, and appreciated.
But these new neon signs don't say anything. This is just another generic made-up fantasy script like Magic has on all its other worlds. To be sure, some of the old Kamigawa cards also featured art with purely-fictional script, but those always appeared to be arcane runes associated with the spirit world. These are city signs, trying to evoke the general shapes of kanji and kana, but failing to be anything but ugly and meaningless.
Bolas already went to Kamigawa around 65 years ago, just after his resurrection. He went on a rampage through the Myojin of Night's Reach's holdings, destroying all her shrines and turning her followers against her, as she was the one who originally brought the Umezawa bloodline to Dominaria. She fled Kamigawa, and Bolas chased her across the Multiverse before finally cornering and defeating her somewhere offscreen.
Night's Reach still lives, and she's out there somewhere in the Multiverse, but she's just a shadow of her former self (as it were).
The Brother's War novel will have a re-release to go along with the set, perhaps? Hardcover edition?
Think about it: What better way to pump new juice into a flagging storyline than a revisit to a tried and true classic, released again for a new generation of players? Especially as Phyrexia starts looming again over the story.
The best thing about The Brother's War Expansion is that Urza and Mishra will cease to be just names from "way back in the old lore." Players who weren't even alive during the Artifacts Cycle/Weatherlight Saga will get to experience and connect with their epic story firsthand.
Not only is this the first Yawgmoth quote we have on a card -- this is, if I'm not mistaken, the first depiction of Yawgmoth that we have in his world-scouring death cloud form (Vindicate and Last Stand don't count). This looks to be Yawgmoth as he emerges at the climax of Apocalypse, his shadow casting death over Dominaria.
It doesn't even need to be the original Kaldra - the card is literally just all of Kaldra's artifacts on a germ. Instead of the old Kaldra having been compleated, it could just be a new, compleat Kaldra.
Or maybe Kaldra, even if destroyed, is simply reborn every time his artifacts are united, and this time they've compleated him.
Let's be real - even if it's a retcon, it would far the worst or most ridiculous Mirrodin retcon ever. The entire original Mirrodin canon is already in tatters.
That's some beautifully eerie Phyrexian architecture on the main artwork--eerie "foreshadowing," as it were. It's those small yet flavorful significant touches that I appreciate.
When they printed Yawgmoth in Modern Horizons I was confident we were going to get Gix in Commander 2019. Instead, we got K'rrik.
When Commander Legends was announced, I was 100% certain we would get Gix. I counted down the months, unable to believe that of the dozens of legends we were getting, Gix wouldn't be one of them. But no. We got Sengir and Szat - but no Gix. (At least we also got Glacian and Rebbec, which wasn't nothing.)
When I first learned about Modern Horizons 2, I was full-on hyped. Surely, THIS would be the set where we finally see Gix.
...
But Garth One-Eye? From the HarperPrism novels?
Really?
Year after year, I'm just Charlie Brown having another go at the football.
Whatever.
------------------
Edit: I realize the above post must come across as extremely petulant and petty. It is, I grant you. But it feels good to vent, as I've had this constantly-foiled expectation bottled up for the past two years, and not without reason: Gix has long been on Maro's list of most requested legends for Wizards to print, and Phyrexia has been peaking again around the corners of the lore, and it's been nearly 23 years without one of Magic's most classic villains ever getting a card. At this rate, we'll get Croag before we get Gix.
This could be our first illustration from the Elder Dragon War. Since this is Bolas before he sparked, and most of his pre-Planeswalker life was spent waging war against his siblings, one of those armies below is probably his, clashing with the forces of Chromium Rhuell or Arcades Sabboth.
The original Nicol Bolas, the Ravager art was much better - it felt younger, wilder, more primeval than this one.
However -
This Nicol Bolas, the Arisen art is just magnificent. This is precisely how Bolas would choose to depict himself on a Magic card. Easily his most glorious portrayal.
Honestly, with Phyrexia scouting out new territories to conquer,
I wouldn’t worry about Kaldheim—
worry about Kaladesh
I'm 95% certain we will see a Phyrexian incursion into Kaladesh at some point. That plain would be such an irresistible prize; it's almost tailor-made for Phyrexian interests and ripe for Phyrexian conquest. We will see raiding at least.
Phyrexians are just written to be too OP. Unless I'm greatly misunderstanding them, literally all they need to do is put one drop of oil on a plane, and it will eventually turn into another Phyrexia. And their only weakness is supposed to be that they can't planeswalk, but now that's out the window too. They basically can neither be reasoned with nor destroyed.
(Incidentally, one thing I've never been sure about...is the first syllable pronounced with a schwa, or does it rhyme with "high"?)
Phyrexia doesn't necessarily dominate every world it infects. Mirrodin had a perfect storm of qualities that made it particularly susceptible to complete Phyrexian takeover. To start, it was an all-metal world contaminated by Karn right from its creation; the oil mixed with the metal to create the mycosynth, which affected all life on the plane, causing metal and flesh to blend in Mirrodin's organisms. After centuries, the mycosynth infection reached the plane's manacore and the Phyrexians finally burst forth to take over. Mirrodin succumbed to a cancer that was baked into its very DNA.
Other worlds, by their very nature, are more resistant to Phyrexian corruption. They have immune systems to fight it. In fact, this was a source of frustration to Yawgmoth in the early stages of the Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria, when Yavamaya and Lanowar Forests shrugged off Phyrexia's initial assaults. The world itself raised up armies, champions, and new magics to fight back, so much so that Yawgmoth became convinced that his true opponent wasn't even Urza, but the worldsoul Gaea herself.
Phyrexia eventually regained the upper hand and nearly attained total victory, but this required both the overlay of the plane of Rath onto Dominaria, and Yawgmoth himself crossing over to annihilate the world. Until those things happened, the Phyrexian Invasion was a bloody meat-grinder that cost millions of lives on both sides, but failed to break Dominaria's defenses.
Now this is more like it.
I've been frustrated with the writing quality of Magic fiction of late. The Strixhaven story in particular was a clumsy, painful read, riddled with such drab prose and awful dialogue that it turned me off from the entire setting, and I began wondering what was the point of caring about Magic's story anymore if Wotc was just going to let high-school level writers turn in slipshod work. Craft matters. Delivery matters. Emotion matters. Good writing can elevate even a mediocre story concept (Guidpact, Dissension); poor writing can ruin even a great one (War of the Spark).
But this, at least, is a step in the right direction. It's not Elliot (whom I still consider Magic's best writer over the past four years) or even Wexler, but this first chapter was evocative enough and I enjoyed it. My eyes widened in an "Oh s***" reaction when the tables turned on Klaus. Arlinn and Agatha's interaction was genuinely poignant and prickled me with notes of real dread. I can feel the cold growing, the darkness encroaching, and the weight of the stakes for Innistrad.
I'm happy to say I'm looking forward to more.
In the Kamigawa novels and official Wizards fictions, the writing system on Kamigawa used, as far as we can discern, actual kanji. This was even a significant plot point in one of the tales, where the written character for nin (as in "ninja") depicts the brushstrokes for "heart" below the brushstrokes for "blade" -- just as it does in the real world. This also makes collecting the Kamigawa cards in Japanese especially rewarding, as you can see how the names are written in kanji and, if you know Japanese, what those names actually signify. One beautiful wordbuilding touch is that on the Japanese cards and in the novel, the Soratami have all their names written in katakana, signifying their apartness from the rest of the world.
Kamigawa was full of these cool linguistic touches like that. The idea that Kamigawa mortals read and wrote in a script mirroring actual Japanese gave the world a whole extra dimension, a second lens through which it could be understood, experienced, and appreciated.
But these new neon signs don't say anything. This is just another generic made-up fantasy script like Magic has on all its other worlds. To be sure, some of the old Kamigawa cards also featured art with purely-fictional script, but those always appeared to be arcane runes associated with the spirit world. These are city signs, trying to evoke the general shapes of kanji and kana, but failing to be anything but ugly and meaningless.
At least the Neon Dynasty logo did it right.
Night's Reach still lives, and she's out there somewhere in the Multiverse, but she's just a shadow of her former self (as it were).
Perhaps we'll see her again.
Think about it: What better way to pump new juice into a flagging storyline than a revisit to a tried and true classic, released again for a new generation of players? Especially as Phyrexia starts looming again over the story.
The best thing about The Brother's War Expansion is that Urza and Mishra will cease to be just names from "way back in the old lore." Players who weren't even alive during the Artifacts Cycle/Weatherlight Saga will get to experience and connect with their epic story firsthand.
Or maybe Kaldra, even if destroyed, is simply reborn every time his artifacts are united, and this time they've compleated him.
Let's be real - even if it's a retcon, it would far the worst or most ridiculous Mirrodin retcon ever. The entire original Mirrodin canon is already in tatters.
When they printed Yawgmoth in Modern Horizons I was confident we were going to get Gix in Commander 2019. Instead, we got K'rrik.
When Commander Legends was announced, I was 100% certain we would get Gix. I counted down the months, unable to believe that of the dozens of legends we were getting, Gix wouldn't be one of them. But no. We got Sengir and Szat - but no Gix. (At least we also got Glacian and Rebbec, which wasn't nothing.)
When I first learned about Modern Horizons 2, I was full-on hyped. Surely, THIS would be the set where we finally see Gix.
...
But Garth One-Eye? From the HarperPrism novels?
Really?
Year after year, I'm just Charlie Brown having another go at the football.
Whatever.
------------------
Edit: I realize the above post must come across as extremely petulant and petty. It is, I grant you. But it feels good to vent, as I've had this constantly-foiled expectation bottled up for the past two years, and not without reason: Gix has long been on Maro's list of most requested legends for Wizards to print, and Phyrexia has been peaking again around the corners of the lore, and it's been nearly 23 years without one of Magic's most classic villains ever getting a card. At this rate, we'll get Croag before we get Gix.
Oh, hi Tourach.
This could be our first illustration from the Elder Dragon War. Since this is Bolas before he sparked, and most of his pre-Planeswalker life was spent waging war against his siblings, one of those armies below is probably his, clashing with the forces of Chromium Rhuell or Arcades Sabboth.
And yeah, this one is just magnificent.
However -
This Nicol Bolas, the Arisen art is just magnificent. This is precisely how Bolas would choose to depict himself on a Magic card. Easily his most glorious portrayal.
I'm 95% certain we will see a Phyrexian incursion into Kaladesh at some point. That plain would be such an irresistible prize; it's almost tailor-made for Phyrexian interests and ripe for Phyrexian conquest. We will see raiding at least.
Phyrexia doesn't necessarily dominate every world it infects. Mirrodin had a perfect storm of qualities that made it particularly susceptible to complete Phyrexian takeover. To start, it was an all-metal world contaminated by Karn right from its creation; the oil mixed with the metal to create the mycosynth, which affected all life on the plane, causing metal and flesh to blend in Mirrodin's organisms. After centuries, the mycosynth infection reached the plane's manacore and the Phyrexians finally burst forth to take over. Mirrodin succumbed to a cancer that was baked into its very DNA.
Other worlds, by their very nature, are more resistant to Phyrexian corruption. They have immune systems to fight it. In fact, this was a source of frustration to Yawgmoth in the early stages of the Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria, when Yavamaya and Lanowar Forests shrugged off Phyrexia's initial assaults. The world itself raised up armies, champions, and new magics to fight back, so much so that Yawgmoth became convinced that his true opponent wasn't even Urza, but the worldsoul Gaea herself.
Phyrexia eventually regained the upper hand and nearly attained total victory, but this required both the overlay of the plane of Rath onto Dominaria, and Yawgmoth himself crossing over to annihilate the world. Until those things happened, the Phyrexian Invasion was a bloody meat-grinder that cost millions of lives on both sides, but failed to break Dominaria's defenses.