I don't think we're getting past arcs, so much as they're leaving things open ended so when they return to whatever plane the stories are on they'll have something to use. It's okay to do that, but Creative isn't doing it well. Writers tend to leave small, innocuous pieces that later come back as huge deals, but Creative is leaving huge centerpieces to stories unaccounted for (Chandra's mother, Ana, The Raven Man), and all that does is weaken the story they're telling. It would be like if instead of Karn leaving with a bit of the glistening oil on him and going to Mirrodin with it, he instead left with Yawgmoth's corpse. I mean, the then-creative planned to have Phyrexia take over Mirrodin as far back as 2003, when the plane was made, but EVERYONE missed the subtle clues they left behind until after the fact; that is brilliant. Modern Creative is just leaving huge chunks of the story a mystery and telegraphing that they'll use it later on maybe possibly whoknows.
We got some 8 weeks or UR to fill before BTZ rolls out. Who says we will not get additional content with exactly what you are talking here?
Also, I do not know where your "EVERYONE missed the subtle clues they left behind" comes from Everyone who did not read Mirrodin block novels, you mean? Hardly brilliant.
1. That's not what i was talking about. Simply not addressing these important aspects of the story WITHIN the story because you're waiting to use it later is bad storytelling. The way the stories are written it seems like they're hoping you forget these things exist rather than actually dealing with them. Maybe put in a line about how Ana ran away, or how there was no trace of Chandra's mother. As is they just abruptly not mention the character again.
2. You knew about New Phyrexia and the praetors years before they were conceptualized? Gee wilikers, you must be some sort of magic man.
I don't think we're getting past arcs, so much as they're leaving things open ended so when they return to whatever plane the stories are on they'll have something to use. It's okay to do that, but Creative isn't doing it well. Writers tend to leave small, innocuous pieces that later come back as huge deals, but Creative is leaving huge centerpieces to stories unaccounted for (Chandra's mother, Ana, The Raven Man), and all that does is weaken the story they're telling. It would be like if instead of Karn leaving with a bit of the glistening oil on him and going to Mirrodin with it, he instead left with Yawgmoth's corpse. I mean, the then-creative planned to have Phyrexia take over Mirrodin as far back as 2003, when the plane was made, but EVERYONE missed the subtle clues they left behind until after the fact; that is brilliant. Modern Creative is just leaving huge chunks of the story a mystery and telegraphing that they'll use it later on maybe possibly whoknows.
We got some 8 weeks or UR to fill before BTZ rolls out. Who says we will not get additional content with exactly what you are talking here?
Also, I do not know where your "EVERYONE missed the subtle clues they left behind" comes from Everyone who did not read Mirrodin block novels, you mean? Hardly brilliant.
1. That's not what i was talking about. Simply not addressing these important aspects of the story WITHIN the story because you're waiting to use it later is bad storytelling. The way the stories are written it seems like they're hoping you forget these things exist rather than actually dealing with them. Maybe put in a line about how Ana ran away, or how there was no trace of Chandra's mother. As is they just abruptly not mention the character again.
2. You knew about New Phyrexia and the praetors years before they were conceptualized? Gee wilikers, you must be some sort of magic man.
Save you sarcasm for those who give a damn. I am saying that the very fething PROLOGUE of the Moons of Mirrodin book says what the oil was, clearly states whence it come and hints what was its plan and purpose. In this light, the Phyrexian takeover of Mirrodin is hardly a surprise. Your post said nothing about the praetors. Be more clear next time, thanks.
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Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I think you're severely overestimating the importance of Lady Ana in the story. In all likelyhood she was killed in Josu's rampage and turned into a zombie by Lilli.
They didn't just not mention Chandra's mom. As the village was burning and Chandra was trying to run away she slipped on the burnt remnants of her moms scarf in front of the house they were staying in. This means one of two things. Mom is dead, or she escaped losing her scarf as she got away. If the first then they wrapped her up in a nice little incendiary bow. If the second then that leaves a nice jumping off point for our visit to Kaladesh in proper where Chandra is unexpectedly reunited with her mother.
Edit: There's also this: "Chandra scanned the crowd for any sign of her mother—if she were alive, she would doubtless be here, trying to stop this, trying to save her daughter. But nothing stopped the announcer’s speech, which made it clear to Chandra. Her mother must be dead as well." from just before her spark ignited.
They didn't just leave the Raven Man out either. He did what he wanted to in getting Lilliana to use her powers and then left. Later they mentioned that she had met up with him, they fought, she won but he escaped. Again a nice little plot point for later is left. This isn't bad storytelling it's called foreshadowing.
Also: Caranthir wasn't saying he knew about New Phyrexia or the praetors. He said that the hints left in the Mirrodin novel aren't as subtle as you suggest. As I didn't read the novels I can neither support or deny such a claim but seeing as he's been doing this for a while apparently I'll trust him.
I know why it bothers me. Demons are power-hungry. Shouldn't Kothoped go all Memnarch and try to gain the power to jump to other planes? It seems off that he's (seemingly) comfortable knowing that there are worlds out there which he can't conquer. It's possible that Kothoped is searching for ways to planeswalk behind the scenes, but that has yet to be said.
I know why it bothers me. Demons are power-hungry. Shouldn't Kothoped go all Memnarch and try to gain the power to jump to other planes? It seems off that he's (seemingly) comfortable knowing that there are worlds out there which he can't conquer. It's possible that Kothoped is searching for ways to planeswalk behind the scenes, but that has yet to be said.
You can be power-hungry without wanting to be president of the United States. He's comfortable having pet planeswalkers at his beck and call.
Brady once intimated that Liliana is so short sighted she's headed for a huge fall and doesn't know it's coming. I've often thought that Kothophed isn't actually dead. The fight about the veil was too fast and too anti-climactic. But if Lil just thinks she killed him there could be an interesting discovery when she finds out she's still beholden.
Out of curiosity, do we know what Alhammaret looks like or at least whether or not he's human? I ask because of the flavor text on the card Sphinx's Tutelage. If I recall right, Jace's story arc involves his telepathy being a unique power of his and that he was sent to Alhammaret, who was another telepath, to hone his skills. I'm wondering if Alhammaret is actually a sphinx, but I don't know if we actually know what Alhammaret is yet.
They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
Out of curiosity, do we know what Alhammaret looks like or at least whether or not he's human? I ask because of the flavor text on the card Sphinx's Tutelage. If I recall right, Jace's story arc involves his telepathy being a unique power of his and that he was sent to Alhammaret, who was another telepath, to hone his skills. I'm wondering if Alhammaret is actually a sphinx, but I don't know if we actually know what Alhammaret is yet.
It doesn't seem we do. The wiki doesn't even have a page for him. It simply says he's a local mage to whom Jace is taken to curb his precocious nature. It would be neat if he was a sphinx. We only have 4 legendary Sphinx' two of them are Isperia.
Out of curiosity, do we know what Alhammaret looks like or at least whether or not he's human? I ask because of the flavor text on the card Sphinx's Tutelage. If I recall right, Jace's story arc involves his telepathy being a unique power of his and that he was sent to Alhammaret, who was another telepath, to hone his skills. I'm wondering if Alhammaret is actually a sphinx, but I don't know if we actually know what Alhammaret is yet.
It doesn't seem we do. The wiki doesn't even have a page for him. It simply says he's a local mage to whom Jace is taken to curb his precocious nature. It would be neat if he was a sphinx. We only have 4 legendary Sphinx' two of them are Isperia.
Interestingly, the ones we do have to my knowledge are all WU, and we know that Jace currently also has somewhat of a WU leaning. I don't think that really matters but it's neat. It will be cool if Alhammaret is actually a sphinx. I guess we will find out next week. Maybe sooner if the cycle of legendaries keep getting spoiled.
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They didn't care that he was the savior of Fort Keff, the great hunter of Ondu, the champion of Kabira. To them, he was just another piece of flesh, a thing with life to be drained away.
Bolas is still seeking immortality and power, so if he has the connections to set Liliana up with these demons, then why hasn't he made pacts with them? I can accept that maybe he's too smart to think that deals with demons ever go the way you want, but I think Liliana would catch on eventually. Speaking of which, have we been given a reason as to why Bolas is helping Lili in the first place?
Maybe he foresaw Lili getting the chain veil and hopes to use that to his advantage? Or maybe he wanted to get her out of the way, for now, and didn't kill her because he thought she might be useful later? Maybe they're friends?
Bolas is still seeking immortality and power, so if he has the connections to set Liliana up with these demons, then why hasn't he made pacts with them? I can accept that maybe he's too smart to think that deals with demons ever go the way you want, but I think Liliana would catch on eventually. Speaking of which, have we been given a reason as to why Bolas is helping Lili in the first place?
At a guess, I'd say he's not making deals with demons because he's got a much longer timeframe before his mortality runs out. Liliana has maybe twenty years if she really works for it when she makes the deal, Bolas probably has something in the thousands. A secondary condition might be that the Demons might not make the deal with him. Kothophed may only be willing to give the immortality to someone who he is confident he can defeat if they come after him, a category I don't think Bolas would fall into. As far as why he's helping Liliana, it's possible he's just setting up a debt that he can collect on later. Or possibly she'd done some service for him already, and this was the agreed on payment.
Jace said in regards to Alhammarret: "I don't let myself remember his face, Kallist, even to this day. I've used my own magic to keep me from seeing it. Because I know if I do, I won't see the face of the man who taught me most of what I know. I'll see the face of the man I walked away from: bulging eyes, gaping lips, skin slowly turning purple. The face of a mind so broken he'd forgotten who he was, what he was—even how to breathe."
So yeah, that's a human guy (unless Jace was being super literal about face, which given the context of the scene doesn't make much sense). But Creative won't let that stop them from being hip and cool, dawg. Word.
Jace said in regards to Alhammarret: "I don't let myself remember his face, Kallist, even to this day. I've used my own magic to keep me from seeing it. Because I know if I do, I won't see the face of the man who taught me most of what I know. I'll see the face of the man I walked away from: bulging eyes, gaping lips, skin slowly turning purple. The face of a mind so broken he'd forgotten who he was, what he was—even how to breathe."
So yeah, that's a human guy (unless Jace was being super literal about face, which given the context of the scene doesn't make much sense). But Creative won't let that stop them from being hip and cool, dawg. Word.
Eh, it's a smaller retcon than Chandra's backstory. Technically, it isn't even a retcon, because sphinxes do have faces, though it's a bit weird in this case as it's worded, if it was a non-humanoid.
Bottom line is this won't stop creative. And to be honest, I think the multiverse needs more non-humanoid characters. ... That aren't dragons.
It's not a retcon. Look at his face. It's certainly the most human face we've seen on a sphinx thus far. I mean it's a little jarring to look at but there's no discrepancies from the description given by TerrorKing. It makes sense for the chosen representative for mono-blue to have been trained by the iconic creature type of blue.
I suppose it would depend on whether you consider the phrase "the man" to potentially refer to a non-humanoid creature. Personally, when I think of a six-limbed giant beast, "man" is not the word I would use. "Male," perhaps, but not "man."
That said, I like the retcon. It makes sense with Jace's screwed-up memory and it was only recently that there were more than a handful of Sphinxes at all.
I suppose it would depend on whether you consider the phrase "the man" to potentially refer to a non-humanoid creature. Personally, when I think of a six-limbed giant beast, "man" is not the word I would use. "Male," perhaps, but not "man."
That said, I like the retcon. It makes sense with Jace's screwed-up memory and it was only recently that there were more than a handful of Sphinxes at all.
It is presumable that one might assign personhood to non-humanoid creatures to which he or she is close. If Alhammarret basically became a second father figure to Jace it would be feasible for him to refer to the sphinx as "man." Besides that is technically the face of a man, ignoring the rest of the body that is.
It's not a retcon. Look at his face. It's certainly the most human face we've seen on a sphinx thus far. I mean it's a little jarring to look at but there's no discrepancies from the description given by TerrorKing. It makes sense for the chosen representative for mono-blue to have been trained by the iconic creature type of blue.
I was just about to post the same thing It does not point to Alhammarret being anything other than human, but it does not rule it out either.
Moreover, Jace himself said he does not let himself remember him, and the rest could be quite figurative talking...
1. That's not what i was talking about. Simply not addressing these important aspects of the story WITHIN the story because you're waiting to use it later is bad storytelling. The way the stories are written it seems like they're hoping you forget these things exist rather than actually dealing with them. Maybe put in a line about how Ana ran away, or how there was no trace of Chandra's mother. As is they just abruptly not mention the character again.
2. You knew about New Phyrexia and the praetors years before they were conceptualized? Gee wilikers, you must be some sort of magic man.
Your mods are terrified of me.
Yeah, okay. Makes somewhat sense.
Save you sarcasm for those who give a damn. I am saying that the very fething PROLOGUE of the Moons of Mirrodin book says what the oil was, clearly states whence it come and hints what was its plan and purpose. In this light, the Phyrexian takeover of Mirrodin is hardly a surprise. Your post said nothing about the praetors. Be more clear next time, thanks.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
They didn't just not mention Chandra's mom. As the village was burning and Chandra was trying to run away she slipped on the burnt remnants of her moms scarf in front of the house they were staying in. This means one of two things. Mom is dead, or she escaped losing her scarf as she got away. If the first then they wrapped her up in a nice little incendiary bow. If the second then that leaves a nice jumping off point for our visit to Kaladesh in proper where Chandra is unexpectedly reunited with her mother.
Edit: There's also this: "Chandra scanned the crowd for any sign of her mother—if she were alive, she would doubtless be here, trying to stop this, trying to save her daughter. But nothing stopped the announcer’s speech, which made it clear to Chandra. Her mother must be dead as well." from just before her spark ignited.
They didn't just leave the Raven Man out either. He did what he wanted to in getting Lilliana to use her powers and then left. Later they mentioned that she had met up with him, they fought, she won but he escaped. Again a nice little plot point for later is left. This isn't bad storytelling it's called foreshadowing.
Also: Caranthir wasn't saying he knew about New Phyrexia or the praetors. He said that the hints left in the Mirrodin novel aren't as subtle as you suggest. As I didn't read the novels I can neither support or deny such a claim but seeing as he's been doing this for a while apparently I'll trust him.
Darn, I knew something serious went down. I don't know why I thought she'd killed him. Option is open again.
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You can be power-hungry without wanting to be president of the United States. He's comfortable having pet planeswalkers at his beck and call.
Your mods are terrified of me.
Since we already know he is going to kick the bucket by Liliana's hand, it probably does not matter
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
But the people behind the barrier knew.
It doesn't seem we do. The wiki doesn't even have a page for him. It simply says he's a local mage to whom Jace is taken to curb his precocious nature. It would be neat if he was a sphinx. We only have 4 legendary Sphinx' two of them are Isperia.
Interestingly, the ones we do have to my knowledge are all WU, and we know that Jace currently also has somewhat of a WU leaning. I don't think that really matters but it's neat. It will be cool if Alhammaret is actually a sphinx. I guess we will find out next week. Maybe sooner if the cycle of legendaries keep getting spoiled.
But the people behind the barrier knew.
So yeah, that's a human guy (unless Jace was being super literal about face, which given the context of the scene doesn't make much sense). But Creative won't let that stop them from being hip and cool, dawg. Word.
Your mods are terrified of me.
Eh, it's a smaller retcon than Chandra's backstory. Technically, it isn't even a retcon, because sphinxes do have faces, though it's a bit weird in this case as it's worded, if it was a non-humanoid.
Bottom line is this won't stop creative. And to be honest, I think the multiverse needs more non-humanoid characters. ... That aren't dragons.
Your mods are terrified of me.
That said, I like the retcon. It makes sense with Jace's screwed-up memory and it was only recently that there were more than a handful of Sphinxes at all.
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It is presumable that one might assign personhood to non-humanoid creatures to which he or she is close. If Alhammarret basically became a second father figure to Jace it would be feasible for him to refer to the sphinx as "man." Besides that is technically the face of a man, ignoring the rest of the body that is.
I was just about to post the same thing It does not point to Alhammarret being anything other than human, but it does not rule it out either.
Moreover, Jace himself said he does not let himself remember him, and the rest could be quite figurative talking...
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)