MTG Salvation

Beautiful art! I think Elspeth's cloak is there for consistency purposes. As far as continuity is concerned, he did not have the cloak then, but if we want (new) players to recognize Ajani, they'll use Ajani's more recent look for consistency. While it's a little bothersome for those who know the story, the streamlined plot i helpful to those who are not overly familiar. I do wish we could have gotten "past" Story Spotlights, though. It could have helped in laying out the order of these events for new players.

I really enjoy that most adults on the plane can sign. This is a neat linguistic diversity that we haven't really seen before in Magic. Cool!

I thought maybe Slimefoot, but then it spoke, which I did not think was part of it's abilities/characterization (thus the fun waving).

Under the picture of the Blackblade, the narration reads:

The spirits flowed past them, but a familiar bulbous creature stopped in front of Gideon and pointed urgently outside. "Belzenlok!" it said.

Who is the "familiar bulbous creature"? I feel my reading comprehension skills fell off somewhere...

This was a satisfying end. The various battlefronts were handled well within a limited space, allowing each character to have some moments.

I do wish we would have had a little more explanation on Radha (or have her removed)--or have Squee show up instead. Those are just minor preferences.

As others have noted, the role of each individual character (especially Teferi and Karn) was underwhelming, but the team's together and we got some throwbacks.

As I noted a few pages ago, this makes me itch to do some fan-fiction with some revisions to the story--I'd love to flesh out some character relationships, change Teferi's spark-holding powerstone to Gerrard's lost hourglass pendant, and add a frame to the story like Rath and Storm(an old Master Ilcaster telling the story would be great), but the story was satisfactory for what it was.

Onward to the big finale. I'm sure Nissa will return so we get the Gatewatch in full. With this new pacing between sets, though, I'm really enjoying the pacing (across our actual real-world calendar years) as opposed to the slow grind since post-Mending.

Caranthir, from one old Dominian historian to another, I'm right with you! The vehicle for telling the story has changed. We aren't going to get epics or a story that is grand in its pacing and development. What we do have now is something fun. The links to Revisionist history and pre-Mending and the Weatherlight Saga is enjoyable in its way; we just can't take it too seriously.

I appreciate the parallels in the crew and revisiting Dominaria in such a way that it does feel like a homecoming.

I am getting the itch to write some fan fiction again though... I wish WotC/Wells would have taken a Rath and Storm approach with a frame story to fill in gaps and help with pacing. If I were to rewrite what we've gotten, I'd have an elderly Master Ilcaster telling the story to a novice. Also, I kinda wish that somehow Jhoira would have captured Teferi's spark in Gerrard's hourglass pendant that Gerrard left behind in Benalia before he departed for Rath. That would have been fun--a Legacy artifact and a time reference for Teferi...

I think Occam's Razor is our best bet: Urza used the Golgothian Sylex, it was left behind after it's explosion, gets tossed around, buried, and Karn uncovers it.

Yes, Ravidel retrieved it prior to the Planeswalker War and Jared and Kristina destroyed it. However, the Planeswalker War is not 100% canonical at this point (and hasn't been since the late 1990s), so I think we need to revert back to where the Sylex left off in Revisionist History (on Argoth). This pains me of course, but it is the cleanest current explanation.

I think it is safe to say Karn as the Sylex. The spelling is indifferent, and is far less severe than Lin Sivvi/Liin Sivi and Jolrael/Jolrael from Nemesis and Prophecy.

I totally missed Tiana being Hanna. Which clues are you referring to? I see her connection with Serra's Realm (not that Selenia was necessarily drawn to it, but the detail of Serra's Realm within the powerstone didn't exist when Selenia was created (and destroyed), but I don't see a Hanna connection. Right from the start when the angel responded to the Weatherlight, I assumed it was because of Serra's Realm, but maybe that blinded me to other hints?

As one very familiar with the Weatherlight Saga, I'm enjoying the parallels:

• Shanna as Sisay or Gerrard (if Jhoira is lead Captain)
• Raff as Ertai
• Tiana as a "good" Selenia
• Arvad as a "good"(?) Crovax
• Ajani as the catfolk Mirri replacement

While Teferi and Jodah seem to be best choices for Jhoira's project, it seems that Teferi has become a recluse and that Jodah may be not as interested either. Time changes relationships, and there seems to be some strained relationships here. Jhoira is aiming for nostalgia to rally the people of Dominaria in using a Sisay and Capashen (though I didn't realize Sisay was a last name, and I don't recall her anti-magic abilities).

The pacing, as many others have noted, is very fast. However, we aren't reading a novel, and we aren't quite reading short stories any more (as the stories of the other sets have been established). We don't get names for each installment, just Episode numbers. This is an abridged novel. They are free content that aims to tell an epic story. This set could have served as a great opportunity for a full published novel, but since that was not an option, I'm happy to read through these. They're fun, short, and adventurous. I don't expect a full literary work from Magic nowadays, and am happy with their current direction given the state of things.

I'm excited to see where everything's headed!

I misread and assumed she meant the plane rather than Aerona, Caligo, and Vess specifically. That'd solve it.

As for Episode 1, I also wanted to note I thought it intriguing that WotC finally chose/decided to make Dakkon a planeswalker. Originally, his abilities were mysterious; from my old notes, he was granted planeswalker powers, but he did not have a spark of his own (Dihada had granted him those powers). I have no problem with that, but it's nice to see him referenced again.

If Liliana hasn't returned to Dominaria since her spark flared, how did Belzenlok etch his part of the bargain onto her skin? I suppose it could be in some pseudo-demon-realm, but Liliana would have had to visit him, right? Episode 2 states she does not return to Dominaria.

Also, I'm all for Lim-Dul; the Chain Veil is from Shandalar: we don't even need that much more to convince us.

Is it verified that Sursi is located on Dominaria? Pre-Time Spiral, my notes never indicated which plane Sursi, the Temple, or Brother Angus (who found her body) were located on.

I just caught up on most of the Ixalan stories today, and was really pleased with them. If you do start there, you can then find the other stories that link to it for backstory as necessary (as past events and other characters are mentioned by the end).

Gelcur: Greetings, old friend! I originally posted as Tawnos at MTGNews and then as Zazdor. We did some collaboration on Karona's mana matrix and the history of the Elder Dragons. It's great to see you post again!

While there are no more novels and the story is not quite the same approach as it used to be, I find the weekly "chapters" fun reads. It's not the same continuity as in our youth (ha!), but worlds are built and there are some nice character interactions. I've come to appreciate the characters and plots for what they were, but you won't get a "saga" feel as we once did.

I hope you stay around. I haven't posted in a bit (and have only sporadically read Ixalan's story myself), but I'd enjoy chatting again!

However, I think it all depends on what Bolas's plans for/with Ral are. Ral may not know what Bolas's grand scheme is. Perhaps Project Lightning Bug is all Bolas wants of Ral, and Ral is allowed to go about his other plans.