Am I out of the loop here? Does the Internet just hate Linkin Park? I think the theme of the song ties pretty well with Lili's story overall and the moment depicted in the trailer.
Or maybe I'm just out of touch because Hybrid Theory was my ******* middle school jam.
I don't know how any one can make out who's on those stained glass windows other than the Gatewatch. "Oh yeah, this blob here? That's Arlinn. This red blob? That's Jaya, cuz fire."
Because almost all of the windows are using previous card art, making them easier to recognize even when blurry.
It’s either he retreats and thinks of something in several years or he wins and gets his spark back and starts plotting the next attack
I don't know. Novel wise Phyrexia and Urza were introduced in 1998 with The Brothers War. Yawgmoth came in '99 in the Thran as the true big bad behind Phyrexia. Apocalypse (2001) permanently killed Yawgmoth and Urza off as characters (Urza is officially a 9 on the Venser Scale) and creative has said multiple, multiple times that Yawgmoth is never coming back. Thats 3 years before they killed off what many people consider to be their most popular character. Nichol Bolas was introduced in card form in 1994 in the Legends set, story wise he has been scheming since Time Spiral (2006-2007). That's 13 years of this ominous dragon scheming around the edges of nearly every single story since. One could really argue that Magic has become the saga of Nichol and Ugin, since the spirit dragon was also revived for the eldrazi storylines.
It's time for a major change, and the stage is set for an all or nothing battle. Everyone who is set against Bolas knows that if he survives he will never, ever stop plotting to gain as much power as possible. He either has to be successful, at that point the rest of magic would be "What Bolas allows to happen", or utterly destroyed. Anything in between will feel like nothing of note really ever matters and the stories they use to hype these sets will stop working. The big bad always gets away. The fan favorite 'walkers have indestructible plot armor (looking at you Jace). They will bring back old walkers for a nostalgia boost for a while. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I think it's too convenient that they "reintroduced" the Weatherlight after all these years, especially with the climax about to occur with the existing story arc. It makes perfect sense that something drastic is going ti happen to the present Gatewatch crew to the point where someone important is about to die off (or disappear) while a secondary story line kind of takes over.
Personally I think it's time they went back to a more "human" approach of heroe(ine)s who are not as powerful as our perennial planeswalkers to take the reins of the next chapter(s) and still allow some dabbling in PW interactions but not be the focal point.
The Weatherlight I arc lasted for a good three/four years before people grew tired of it. We seem to be getting that way with the Gatewatch.
'buster
P.S: I just want more Jhoira in all honesty.
This is where I feel like they are heading for at least a bit. Resurrecting the Weatherlight lets non-PW legendaries tag along to new planes. I am crossing my fingers for a Phyrexian invasion with all 5 colors present. I really would like to see Theros since thats where we left Elspeth, and the deity system there would allow a different avenue of conversion for Phyrexians. We've seen them take a plane where artifice was the dominant magic, how will they twist the enchantment magic and the pantheon. Ideally we would see the devotion to a new deity begin to rise and war with the other gods.
Jace is (hopefully) dead. Liliana, free of Bolas, begins to actively seek out the Raven Man. Ajani returns to Theros to find Elspeth. When he hears whispers of a new god entering the Pantheon, a dark god, a Father of Machines.
I'm in!
It's likely that Wizards will want to tie up the Bolas plotline and prepare for moving onward to other business, like the Chain Veil/Raven Man, Elsepth on Theros, etc. Killing off Jace would be an extreme move, but it also presents the best argument for a clean slate moving forward. Nissa has walked, Liliana has unfinished business, Gideon can pick up on plotlines elsewhere (but could also be a nominee for death), and Chandra needs to be around for the comic.
Some arguments against would be it would be better marketing to do Jace's Signature Spellbook the year of his death to put a finishing touch to his character. And he's easily the most popular planeswalker amount fans and you don't kill your golden goose.
Well Jace became popular not through his story really, but the fact that he was an incredibly powerful card for a very long time. His story is inextricably tied to Ravnica and Bolas now. Sure he's part of the Gatewatch, but I don't think hes invested in anything outside of the Bolas conflict. Teferi seems to be the one they are ramping up to take Jace's spot as lead PW for a while, but honestly I would rather they don't have a flagship PW for a while. What I think we need to see is each PW going their own way with maybe one or two cameos per set. Elpesth, Ajani, and Karn dealing with Phyrexian invasion on another plane, Teferi and Jhoira working on undoing the Zhalfir phasing and returning the Weatherlight to it's planeshifting glory, Gideon and Liliana delving into the Raven Man and growing their powers with the Chain Veil and Blackblade Reforged.
We have had enough Avengers Assemble moments for the last few sets. Wizards needs to grow their Walkers on their own for a bit and allow time for the next big bads (Emrakul and New Phyrexia) to gestate. Also, it's time for a Vikings set and some real non-human walkers to come around.
I don't think Bolas wants to undo the Great Mending. He wants the mending in place and his power to return, making him the most powerful being in the multiverse by default. Sending Tezzeret to New Phyrexia and Metal Island, stealing the Immortal Sun, raising an army of eternals, stealing the planar bridge, all of this was in service to gaining multiple sparks
Tezzeret is pressed into service by Bolas to figure out how to make etherium. Though the timelines are fuzzy, it seems that Crucius didn't create etherium until after the Mending. The mothership only mentions "decades before the conflux" as to when Crucius makes etherium and disappears, potentially turning into the metal island. Bolas wants to learn how Crucius manages to create a pocket plane post-mending, as walkers can't do that anymore.
Bolas sends Tezz to New Phyrexia, According to the comic "Dark Discoveries" Tezzeret was sent to keep the Phyrexians from uniting when speaking to the imps, however Bolas doesn't say that in their meeting, only that Tezz needs to make it to the throne room. This is important because that is where the Panopticon and Memnarch's spark harvesting rig was built. I've posted this theory before but I believe Bolas was spying on Memnarch before the Mending and knew about a creature attempting to ascend. This had happened once before, either by accident of design when Karn ascended in the Legacy blast.
Bolas maniuplates Lilianna's contract to bind her into service, likely to control his massive army of Eternals grown on Amonkhet
Tezzeret steals the planar bridge, the first bit of planar travel tech since the mending. Through Tezzeret Bolas can now move things (like undead armies) between planes.
Bolas compromises Ral and gains control of Project Lightning Bug, making him capable of tracking planeswalkers. This could also possibly be used as a beacon to draw walkers in.
Bolas sends Vraska to obtain the Immortal Sun, making it possible to lock 'walkers on a plane.
So why Ravnica? With Jace being the living Guildpact he is bound to the magic of the plane. Killing Jace would not only release a spark, but would unbind the Guildpact from him and potentially allow someone (Nichol) to attain it.
Bolas isn't awakening anyone, I think he means to detonate and absorb the power of an entire plane.
The Eternal Army invades Ravnica. Jace through the guildpact charges all the guilds to go to war.
The battle draws in the Gatewatch and as many allied planeswalkers as can be found.
Bolas binds them to the plane with the Immortal Sun.
Bolas unveils a rebuilt version of Memnarch's spark harvester.
Jace is killed, undoing the Guildpact and releasing a massive amount of energy.
Here's what happens next though:
Tezzeret built in a failsafe to the machine and Bolas does not absorb the energy, instead he is shuttled away to a plane where he is locked in with the Sun and maybe to spite him, Ugin. Ravnica stands but the magical pact is completely undone and the plane is in chaos. Tezzeret, now in possesion of the planar bridge and potentially more spark walks away, to be seen later.
Jace is (hopefully) dead. Liliana, free of Bolas, begins to actively seek out the Raven Man. Ajani returns to Theros to find Elspeth. When he hears whispers of a new god entering the Pantheon, a dark god, a Father of Machines.
So Ive just realized that Tezzeret was never on Mirrorin for anything to do with the Phyrexians.
With the plot for GRN laid out with Bolas wanting to group a bunch of planeswalkers on the same plane and locking them there with the Immortal Sun what remains is how does he intend to use this to regain his former powers. That is where the Tezzeret’s time on Mirrodin/New Phyrexia comes into play
Bolas already had spies on Mirrodin, and wouldn’t really have an issue with the Mirrodins losing the war so long as Phyrexia remained planelocked after the war. The new walkers are not inherently immune to compleation without the aid of someone like Melira, so why send Tezzeret specifically?
Bolas sent his pet artificer to the plane to see how the soul traps functioned and how Memnarch was able to harvest a spark from it. Tezzeret only got involved with the Praetors to gain access to the core of Mirrodin where the Panopticon was built. This is the end game for the showdown on Ravnica. Bolas draws the Gatewatch to the plane with his Eternal army, where he already has something like the panopticon built, locks everyone there with the Immortal Sun and sets off a cataclysm to harvest the spark of every new walker present to absorb.
5
Am I out of the loop here? Does the Internet just hate Linkin Park? I think the theme of the song ties pretty well with Lili's story overall and the moment depicted in the trailer.
Or maybe I'm just out of touch because Hybrid Theory was my ******* middle school jam.
1
Because almost all of the windows are using previous card art, making them easier to recognize even when blurry.
4
1
I don't know. Novel wise Phyrexia and Urza were introduced in 1998 with The Brothers War. Yawgmoth came in '99 in the Thran as the true big bad behind Phyrexia. Apocalypse (2001) permanently killed Yawgmoth and Urza off as characters (Urza is officially a 9 on the Venser Scale) and creative has said multiple, multiple times that Yawgmoth is never coming back. Thats 3 years before they killed off what many people consider to be their most popular character. Nichol Bolas was introduced in card form in 1994 in the Legends set, story wise he has been scheming since Time Spiral (2006-2007). That's 13 years of this ominous dragon scheming around the edges of nearly every single story since. One could really argue that Magic has become the saga of Nichol and Ugin, since the spirit dragon was also revived for the eldrazi storylines.
It's time for a major change, and the stage is set for an all or nothing battle. Everyone who is set against Bolas knows that if he survives he will never, ever stop plotting to gain as much power as possible. He either has to be successful, at that point the rest of magic would be "What Bolas allows to happen", or utterly destroyed. Anything in between will feel like nothing of note really ever matters and the stories they use to hype these sets will stop working. The big bad always gets away. The fan favorite 'walkers have indestructible plot armor (looking at you Jace). They will bring back old walkers for a nostalgia boost for a while. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I hope they kill him.
1
This is where I feel like they are heading for at least a bit. Resurrecting the Weatherlight lets non-PW legendaries tag along to new planes. I am crossing my fingers for a Phyrexian invasion with all 5 colors present. I really would like to see Theros since thats where we left Elspeth, and the deity system there would allow a different avenue of conversion for Phyrexians. We've seen them take a plane where artifice was the dominant magic, how will they twist the enchantment magic and the pantheon. Ideally we would see the devotion to a new deity begin to rise and war with the other gods.
1
Well Jace became popular not through his story really, but the fact that he was an incredibly powerful card for a very long time. His story is inextricably tied to Ravnica and Bolas now. Sure he's part of the Gatewatch, but I don't think hes invested in anything outside of the Bolas conflict. Teferi seems to be the one they are ramping up to take Jace's spot as lead PW for a while, but honestly I would rather they don't have a flagship PW for a while. What I think we need to see is each PW going their own way with maybe one or two cameos per set. Elpesth, Ajani, and Karn dealing with Phyrexian invasion on another plane, Teferi and Jhoira working on undoing the Zhalfir phasing and returning the Weatherlight to it's planeshifting glory, Gideon and Liliana delving into the Raven Man and growing their powers with the Chain Veil and Blackblade Reforged.
We have had enough Avengers Assemble moments for the last few sets. Wizards needs to grow their Walkers on their own for a bit and allow time for the next big bads (Emrakul and New Phyrexia) to gestate. Also, it's time for a Vikings set and some real non-human walkers to come around.
6
Tezzeret is pressed into service by Bolas to figure out how to make etherium. Though the timelines are fuzzy, it seems that Crucius didn't create etherium until after the Mending. The mothership only mentions "decades before the conflux" as to when Crucius makes etherium and disappears, potentially turning into the metal island. Bolas wants to learn how Crucius manages to create a pocket plane post-mending, as walkers can't do that anymore.
Bolas sends Tezz to New Phyrexia, According to the comic "Dark Discoveries" Tezzeret was sent to keep the Phyrexians from uniting when speaking to the imps, however Bolas doesn't say that in their meeting, only that Tezz needs to make it to the throne room. This is important because that is where the Panopticon and Memnarch's spark harvesting rig was built. I've posted this theory before but I believe Bolas was spying on Memnarch before the Mending and knew about a creature attempting to ascend. This had happened once before, either by accident of design when Karn ascended in the Legacy blast.
Bolas maniuplates Lilianna's contract to bind her into service, likely to control his massive army of Eternals grown on Amonkhet
Tezzeret steals the planar bridge, the first bit of planar travel tech since the mending. Through Tezzeret Bolas can now move things (like undead armies) between planes.
Bolas compromises Ral and gains control of Project Lightning Bug, making him capable of tracking planeswalkers. This could also possibly be used as a beacon to draw walkers in.
Bolas sends Vraska to obtain the Immortal Sun, making it possible to lock 'walkers on a plane.
So why Ravnica? With Jace being the living Guildpact he is bound to the magic of the plane. Killing Jace would not only release a spark, but would unbind the Guildpact from him and potentially allow someone (Nichol) to attain it.
Bolas isn't awakening anyone, I think he means to detonate and absorb the power of an entire plane.
The Eternal Army invades Ravnica. Jace through the guildpact charges all the guilds to go to war.
The battle draws in the Gatewatch and as many allied planeswalkers as can be found.
Bolas binds them to the plane with the Immortal Sun.
Bolas unveils a rebuilt version of Memnarch's spark harvester.
Jace is killed, undoing the Guildpact and releasing a massive amount of energy.
Here's what happens next though:
Tezzeret built in a failsafe to the machine and Bolas does not absorb the energy, instead he is shuttled away to a plane where he is locked in with the Sun and maybe to spite him, Ugin. Ravnica stands but the magical pact is completely undone and the plane is in chaos. Tezzeret, now in possesion of the planar bridge and potentially more spark walks away, to be seen later.
Jace is (hopefully) dead. Liliana, free of Bolas, begins to actively seek out the Raven Man. Ajani returns to Theros to find Elspeth. When he hears whispers of a new god entering the Pantheon, a dark god, a Father of Machines.
2
So Ive just realized that Tezzeret was never on Mirrorin for anything to do with the Phyrexians.
With the plot for GRN laid out with Bolas wanting to group a bunch of planeswalkers on the same plane and locking them there with the Immortal Sun what remains is how does he intend to use this to regain his former powers. That is where the Tezzeret’s time on Mirrodin/New Phyrexia comes into play
Bolas already had spies on Mirrodin, and wouldn’t really have an issue with the Mirrodins losing the war so long as Phyrexia remained planelocked after the war. The new walkers are not inherently immune to compleation without the aid of someone like Melira, so why send Tezzeret specifically?
Bolas sent his pet artificer to the plane to see how the soul traps functioned and how Memnarch was able to harvest a spark from it. Tezzeret only got involved with the Praetors to gain access to the core of Mirrodin where the Panopticon was built. This is the end game for the showdown on Ravnica. Bolas draws the Gatewatch to the plane with his Eternal army, where he already has something like the panopticon built, locks everyone there with the Immortal Sun and sets off a cataclysm to harvest the spark of every new walker present to absorb.