Aside from the obvious meta-reasons and the presence of Project Lightning Bug and/or the Beacon, it's possible there is another reason why Bolas chose Ravnica for his final play: Merging the Immortal Sun with the Guildpact might be an integral part of the plan. Recall Nissa's vision from "The Hand That Moves":
"A large golden disc, shaped and stylized like a sun, descending from the sky. The sun disc approached a large circular stone tablet covered with strange sigils, and the two discs merged, becoming a single golden disc. Cracks appeared in the golden disc, small at first, then widening, growing. The disc crumbled away into nothingness."
As we discussed back when Ixalan came out, that certainly sounds like the Immortal Sun merging with the Guildpact. It might just be using Azor's spark within the Immortal Sun to destroy the Guildpact, but it could also involve merging their properties to allow the Elder Spell to occur.
Also... the rest of the vision (after the symbols of the defeated Gatewatch)is interesting as well:
"She closed her eyes against the onslaught, but still the images came tumbling through her head, crumpling her in mid-air. A falling dragon. Giants, covered in metallic blue, stomping through streets. A massive flash of light, consuming a world. An angel descending from the sky. Nissa opened her eyes, and the angel continued to descend. It was the angel from her nightmare. The angel that reminded her of Emrakul."
I'm guessing that those visions refer to Niv's "death", the Eternals, and the Elder Spell...
But does the vision of the Emrakul-esque angel foreshadow anything in War of the Spark, or was that just a projection of whatever force or being was speaking to Nissa back in Amonkhet?
But does the vision of the Emrakul-esque angel foreshadow anything in War of the Spark, or was that just a projection of whatever force or being was speaking to Nissa back in Amonkhet?
A popular theory on reddit is that "The Wanderer" might be linked to Emrakul (or Emeria), based on the story you quoted and on her resemblance to the Emeria statue on Shrine of the Forsaken Gods.
I wonder if the Wanderer's curse is negated by the Immortal Sun or instead she just gets slammed into the seal over and over unless she focuses.
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I’m am so mad bolas tricked Angrath to help him also that he actually wanted the gods murder just to turn them into externals curious how hazoret wasn’t hunted down by bolas since the scorpion god failed to kill her
Still wondering how bolas will lose though
By the way it accured to me Nissa quit right I think they may have done that identically so they have a loop hole to reprint oath of Nissa since this set you know and also I predicted this since the dominaria set she will come to her senses and rejoin the watch
Unless we got something saying otherwise, I am for the theory that Angrath just Act of Treason's the Eternals (like he was shown to be able to in his Ixalan incarnation) and, when stuck on the plane, just rages and wreaks havoc.
Anyway, SPOILER ALERT. The image below is from the normal Plains art from the set.
Either they managed to build a properly colored Bolas statue in the plaza....or...
If only there was someone who would be able to turn Nicol Bolas into stone.... ;-)
Yeah, it is a bit too big, but still... the mood is optimistic
Many planeswalkers are not here because they are needed elsewhere for story reasons, says Wiz. Then there is something lorewise that CAN dispel the magic of Lightning Bug. Or there exist some conditions under which the beacon cannot summon planeswalkers.
Many planeswalkers are not here because they are needed elsewhere for story reasons, says Wiz. Then there is something lorewise that CAN dispel the magic of Lightning Bug. Or there exist some conditions under which the beacon cannot summon planeswalkers.
I am curious what they mean by the word "many", because from the known walkers, the only nonpresent (besides the supplemental product "fill-the-gap" walkers and the dead or "dead" ones) are Garruk and Daretti...
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Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
"She closed her eyes against the onslaught, but still the images came tumbling through her head, crumpling her in mid-air. A falling dragon. Giants, covered in metallic blue, stomping through streets. A massive flash of light, consuming a world. An angel descending from the sky. Nissa opened her eyes, and the angel continued to descend. It was the angel from her nightmare. The angel that reminded her of Emrakul."
I'm guessing that those visions refer to Niv's "death", the Eternals, and the Elder Spell...
But does the vision of the Emrakul-esque angel foreshadow anything in War of the Spark, or was that just a projection of whatever force or being was speaking to Nissa back in Amonkhet?
Oh man, I forgot about this. When did she have this vision again?
It's really interesting, because right before Emrakul locks herself in the moon, she says something like 'this isn't right.. everyone is supposed to be happy to see me.'. That really makes me think she shows up and has a hand in beating Bolas. I was thinking they were setting her up as a way to beat the Phyrexians, but it makes more sense they were trying to fit her into this arc back then. Like, he is on the verge of finishing the Elder spell, or she senses the raw power being unleashed on the plane and shows up to devour it/him. Maybe Bolas can actually take her on or maybe he can't, but even if he could, it'd be enough to swing the balance. Then, maybe she just leaves, or she starts wrecking havoc on Ravnica, at which point it's a good thing the last two superfriend groups to take on Eldrazi Titans are both present on the plane. Sorin, Ugin and Nahiri kiss and make up upon seeing Emrakul loose, and lend the Gatewatch a hand in re-imprisoning her. Nahiri's abilities being a key component in locking them up last time, according to Ugin.
I figured project lightning bug was probably just a nudge/ pull to these walkers who were probably more curious than anything to find out what it was. Or if someone walked it just forcably pulled them to ravnica instead of their desired location. I don't think it forced them when they have no intentions or are unable to walk currently.
I figured Garrick isnt here because he isnt actively walking right now and wants to be left alone. Elspeth is in the underworld On theros. Koth is probably anchored by the phyrexians in the arena. If gin knows he can walk that would explain why he is whole and alive, he's probably trying to figure out a way to harvest or replicate the spark. I have no idea about Deretti.
I am very curious how sorin managed to escape the stone trap though. I thought that if a walker was in too much pain and couldn't concentrate they couldn't walk?
Where is the prequel canon- have we not got it yet and will we ever? Like, how did Vraska take over Golgari and Kaya take over Orzhov? How/when did Vraska or her assassin kill Isperia? And Domri taking over Gruul? We’ve seen this on cards but never, to my knowledge, in an actual story piece. It’s been driving me nuts.
Where is the prequel canon- have we not got it yet and will we ever? Like, how did Vraska take over Golgari and Kaya take over Orzhov? How/when did Vraska or her assassin kill Isperia? And Domri taking over Gruul? We’ve seen this on cards but never, to my knowledge, in an actual story piece. It’s been driving me nuts.
The prequel isn't out yet and unknown when it will be out.
I believe the Ravnica novel coming out will be all three sets stories and not just the War.
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I still don't understand the walkers chosen. They're gonna print 4 new walkers where we won't get any specific story on them, so for all effects and purposes they're fodder. Some other walkers are still alive and not there, which just makes the inclusion of others even more random. For example, Jiang Yanggu was introduced along with Mu Yangling but the latter has no card in the set. Garruk is still alive and out there as well as Koth, both characters who have been doing other things in the multiverse. Most of the planeswalkers included don't even have anything to do with Ravnica nor were on Ravnica to begin with. Hell, even Dack Fayden was in the video and he doesn't get a card in the set. Daretti and the Kenrith twins aren't in the set either and the fact they're only in supplemental sets shouldn't be enough of a reason since Jiang Yanggu is in WAR and he wasn't even in a supplemental set - but a planeswalker deck exclusive to China. They did include some characters that have been shown only in the books so what about other book walkers that aren't dead yet, like Sandruu? I honestly feel like they chose the Gatewatch, Bolas & Ugin, Bolas's henchmen, the walkers already in Ravnica, then a bunch of walkers from recent sets, then 4 new walkers that haven't had cards yet, and then the rest of the slots were filled with random walkers.
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Koth not showing up makes sense, he won't care about Ravnica no one is helping with Phyrexia. But yeah the Walker choice is weird Garruk and Dack should get cards meanwhile Sorin and Nahiri should be warming the bench. Their dispute again should not be a secondary story in Ravnica it was bad enough on Innistrad but here they don't care about this plane. Sorin especially doesn't care about other planes. I am sure other Walkers are sketch.
Nahiri on Ravnica makes no sense unless she wants to fight Sarkhan, Jace, and Chandra for releasing the Eldrazi titans in the first place. Sorin finally getting free of his prison and going after Nahiri makes sense but why emphasize the uncertainty to which he would be free of his prison when Nahiri seals him? Only to have him free a couple of sets further down? I don't get it... Oh, and Tibalt coming to Ravnica maybe to continue his beef with Sorin. But why didn't he go kill Sorin when he was stuck in the stone?
Garruk being absent seems kind of random given that almost 90% of all planeswalkers are currently on Ravnica. If Garruk is on a planeswalker killing spree it makes even less sense for him to not be on Ravnica since it should be like a kid on Halloween for him. Especially since he's out hunting planeswalkers and they're all gravitating towards Ravnica.
Koth is alone on New Phyrexia but one of Karn's missions is to find a way to rid the multiverse of Phyrexia once and for all. So Koth being on Ravnica because he was looking for Karn would make more sense.
Even so, I could more or less make a stretch to justify why all these planeswalkers are here (like I gave the benefit of the doubt to Nahiri and Sorin being there). Ob Nixilis? Maybe he's there to continue his beef with Nissa and the Gatewatch after what happened in Zendikar. Kiora's there to potentially make up for her loss in Zendikar. Saheeli's maybe there to help out Ajani and the rest of the Gatewatch as a favor for what happened on Kaladesh. Angrath is apparently working for Bolas? As was Domri, Ral Zarek, Vraska, and Dovin. Tezzeret was obviously gonna be there. Kaya was already there. The Gatewatch are obviously supposed to be there. Samut, Karn, Teferi, Jaya, Vivien, and Tamiyo have been helping the Gatewatch so they're probably there too because of helping. Teyo's spark just randomly decided to ignite and send him headfirst to Ravnica right when the feces was hitting the fan. The Wanderer just happens to also randomly blink planeswalk instantaneously and at random through planes and just so happens to share Teyo's bad luck.
Davrel and Arlinn are 2 more walkers from Innistrad but their place in Ravnica is random at best. Why are they there? What brought them there? What about Narset? Did she get a revelation from Ugin like Sarkhan did? What about Jiang, Huatli, and Ashiok? Their appearance there seems just as random, too. If you wanted to add all these walkers without any apparent explanation why not also add Mu Yangling, Daretti, and the Kenrith twins?
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I wonder if Kiora fights on Bolas' side. Like, her bident really reminds me of Bolas imagery and while I understand that the bident always looked like that, it has this golden sheen about it, you know... you know! Furthermore, in a set about Bolas, you'd expect them to try to keep accidental Bolas-like symbols down as best as they can, but Kiora's bident features very prominently. (She could have held it down, or pointing the Bident into the distance, obscuring its shape a little, but she does nothing like that.) Additionally her leviathan's flavour text mentions hunting down prey, so... I dunno. Then AGAIN, nothing about her other than the bident really evokes the idea that she's working for Bolas, so who knows.
I personally don't find the inclusion of Ob and Tibalt and such weird. They were probably drawn to the beacon out of morbid curiosity. A multiverse-wide emergency signal? That's unprecedented. That HAS to be soemthing big. Imagine all the pain and suffering you can inflict. Nahiri and Angrath both are a more weird inclusion. Garruk's absence however is FELT. Like, he would be one of the first unaffiliated planeswalkers to follow such a beacon, if only because it means prey.
I hope the book provides a reason for each planeswalker, even if it's just a sentence during dialog or something.
What I find odd is that Dack does not have a card despite being shown to die in the trailer. What's up with that. He could have easily taken Saheeli's slot, who doesn't really feel like a natural inclusion to me. (Then again, she does have ties to the gatewatch, so I guess it's fair.)
What I find odd is that Dack does not have a card despite being shown to die in the trailer. What's up with that. He could have easily taken Saheeli's slot, who doesn't really feel like a natural inclusion to me. (Then again, she does have ties to the gatewatch, so I guess it's fair.)
According to Maro, Dack wasn't part of the story when they made the set, hence him not having a card. He's also said elsewhere that some planeswalkers were included / excluded based on how they chose to color-balance the 36 different planeswalkers. (For example, that could be why Daretti and Mu Yanling are absent.)
In-universe, it's possible Bolas has some control over which planeswalkers are and aren't summoned - for example, Garruk running around and killing other planeswalkers would be antithetical to Bolas's plans to steal their sparks, so he was uninvited.
God-Eternals.
The Wanderer as "main role"
Kasmina as the name of the unknown gingerhead lightmage.
I mean Teferi did join the Gatewatch and the Trailer suggested he does change the game. Teferi is all on the pack. I am surprised Wanderer gets top billing but she seems to be a top tier fighter so maybe Gideon Falls and she picks up the blade. Lili and Gideon are obvious. Vraska probably gets her memory back and flips side. Dovin no idea.
Can people get on the same page about how old Teferi suppose to look his amount of gray is not consistent.
"A large golden disc, shaped and stylized like a sun, descending from the sky. The sun disc approached a large circular stone tablet covered with strange sigils, and the two discs merged, becoming a single golden disc. Cracks appeared in the golden disc, small at first, then widening, growing. The disc crumbled away into nothingness."
As we discussed back when Ixalan came out, that certainly sounds like the Immortal Sun merging with the Guildpact. It might just be using Azor's spark within the Immortal Sun to destroy the Guildpact, but it could also involve merging their properties to allow the Elder Spell to occur.
Also... the rest of the vision (after the symbols of the defeated Gatewatch)is interesting as well:
"She closed her eyes against the onslaught, but still the images came tumbling through her head, crumpling her in mid-air. A falling dragon. Giants, covered in metallic blue, stomping through streets. A massive flash of light, consuming a world. An angel descending from the sky. Nissa opened her eyes, and the angel continued to descend. It was the angel from her nightmare. The angel that reminded her of Emrakul."
I'm guessing that those visions refer to Niv's "death", the Eternals, and the Elder Spell...
But does the vision of the Emrakul-esque angel foreshadow anything in War of the Spark, or was that just a projection of whatever force or being was speaking to Nissa back in Amonkhet?
A popular theory on reddit is that "The Wanderer" might be linked to Emrakul (or Emeria), based on the story you quoted and on her resemblance to the Emeria statue on Shrine of the Forsaken Gods.
WBC Eldrazi & Taxes CBW
UR Keep on Cantripin' (UR Phoenix) RU
WU Surprise! It's not UW Control! (UW Midrange) UW
BG The Rock, Straight BG
U Mono-Blue Fish U
RBW Mardu Pyromancer BWR
RG Rabble! Rabble! (GR Blood Moon Aggro) GR
Legacy
W Death & Taxes W
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Still wondering how bolas will lose though
By the way it accured to me Nissa quit right I think they may have done that identically so they have a loop hole to reprint oath of Nissa since this set you know and also I predicted this since the dominaria set she will come to her senses and rejoin the watch
I hope this means we get some more details about the other 5 gods
But I don't expect it
Unless we got something saying otherwise, I am for the theory that Angrath just Act of Treason's the Eternals (like he was shown to be able to in his Ixalan incarnation) and, when stuck on the plane, just rages and wreaks havoc.
Anyway, SPOILER ALERT. The image below is from the normal Plains art from the set.
Either they managed to build a properly colored Bolas statue in the plaza....or...
If only there was someone who would be able to turn Nicol Bolas into stone.... ;-)
Yeah, it is a bit too big, but still... the mood is optimistic
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
If this is really the case, then just OMG...
SPOILER
I am curious what they mean by the word "many", because from the known walkers, the only nonpresent (besides the supplemental product "fill-the-gap" walkers and the dead or "dead" ones) are Garruk and Daretti...
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Oh man, I forgot about this. When did she have this vision again?
It's really interesting, because right before Emrakul locks herself in the moon, she says something like 'this isn't right.. everyone is supposed to be happy to see me.'. That really makes me think she shows up and has a hand in beating Bolas. I was thinking they were setting her up as a way to beat the Phyrexians, but it makes more sense they were trying to fit her into this arc back then. Like, he is on the verge of finishing the Elder spell, or she senses the raw power being unleashed on the plane and shows up to devour it/him. Maybe Bolas can actually take her on or maybe he can't, but even if he could, it'd be enough to swing the balance. Then, maybe she just leaves, or she starts wrecking havoc on Ravnica, at which point it's a good thing the last two superfriend groups to take on Eldrazi Titans are both present on the plane. Sorin, Ugin and Nahiri kiss and make up upon seeing Emrakul loose, and lend the Gatewatch a hand in re-imprisoning her. Nahiri's abilities being a key component in locking them up last time, according to Ugin.
Right. I had a sneaking suspicion I am forgetting someone
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I figured Garrick isnt here because he isnt actively walking right now and wants to be left alone. Elspeth is in the underworld On theros. Koth is probably anchored by the phyrexians in the arena. If gin knows he can walk that would explain why he is whole and alive, he's probably trying to figure out a way to harvest or replicate the spark. I have no idea about Deretti.
I am very curious how sorin managed to escape the stone trap though. I thought that if a walker was in too much pain and couldn't concentrate they couldn't walk?
Where is the prequel canon- have we not got it yet and will we ever? Like, how did Vraska take over Golgari and Kaya take over Orzhov? How/when did Vraska or her assassin kill Isperia? And Domri taking over Gruul? We’ve seen this on cards but never, to my knowledge, in an actual story piece. It’s been driving me nuts.
The prequel isn't out yet and unknown when it will be out.
I believe the Ravnica novel coming out will be all three sets stories and not just the War.
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God-Eternals.
The Wanderer as "main role"
Kasmina as the name of the unknown gingerhead lightmage.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Garruk being absent seems kind of random given that almost 90% of all planeswalkers are currently on Ravnica. If Garruk is on a planeswalker killing spree it makes even less sense for him to not be on Ravnica since it should be like a kid on Halloween for him. Especially since he's out hunting planeswalkers and they're all gravitating towards Ravnica.
Koth is alone on New Phyrexia but one of Karn's missions is to find a way to rid the multiverse of Phyrexia once and for all. So Koth being on Ravnica because he was looking for Karn would make more sense.
Even so, I could more or less make a stretch to justify why all these planeswalkers are here (like I gave the benefit of the doubt to Nahiri and Sorin being there). Ob Nixilis? Maybe he's there to continue his beef with Nissa and the Gatewatch after what happened in Zendikar. Kiora's there to potentially make up for her loss in Zendikar. Saheeli's maybe there to help out Ajani and the rest of the Gatewatch as a favor for what happened on Kaladesh. Angrath is apparently working for Bolas? As was Domri, Ral Zarek, Vraska, and Dovin. Tezzeret was obviously gonna be there. Kaya was already there. The Gatewatch are obviously supposed to be there. Samut, Karn, Teferi, Jaya, Vivien, and Tamiyo have been helping the Gatewatch so they're probably there too because of helping. Teyo's spark just randomly decided to ignite and send him headfirst to Ravnica right when the feces was hitting the fan. The Wanderer just happens to also randomly blink planeswalk instantaneously and at random through planes and just so happens to share Teyo's bad luck.
Davrel and Arlinn are 2 more walkers from Innistrad but their place in Ravnica is random at best. Why are they there? What brought them there? What about Narset? Did she get a revelation from Ugin like Sarkhan did? What about Jiang, Huatli, and Ashiok? Their appearance there seems just as random, too. If you wanted to add all these walkers without any apparent explanation why not also add Mu Yangling, Daretti, and the Kenrith twins?
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The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I personally don't find the inclusion of Ob and Tibalt and such weird. They were probably drawn to the beacon out of morbid curiosity. A multiverse-wide emergency signal? That's unprecedented. That HAS to be soemthing big. Imagine all the pain and suffering you can inflict. Nahiri and Angrath both are a more weird inclusion. Garruk's absence however is FELT. Like, he would be one of the first unaffiliated planeswalkers to follow such a beacon, if only because it means prey.
I hope the book provides a reason for each planeswalker, even if it's just a sentence during dialog or something.
What I find odd is that Dack does not have a card despite being shown to die in the trailer. What's up with that. He could have easily taken Saheeli's slot, who doesn't really feel like a natural inclusion to me. (Then again, she does have ties to the gatewatch, so I guess it's fair.)
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/183853892223/will-we-see-dack-in-some-cards-even-if-we-dont
According to Maro, Dack wasn't part of the story when they made the set, hence him not having a card. He's also said elsewhere that some planeswalkers were included / excluded based on how they chose to color-balance the 36 different planeswalkers. (For example, that could be why Daretti and Mu Yanling are absent.)
In-universe, it's possible Bolas has some control over which planeswalkers are and aren't summoned - for example, Garruk running around and killing other planeswalkers would be antithetical to Bolas's plans to steal their sparks, so he was uninvited.
I mean Teferi did join the Gatewatch and the Trailer suggested he does change the game. Teferi is all on the pack. I am surprised Wanderer gets top billing but she seems to be a top tier fighter so maybe Gideon Falls and she picks up the blade. Lili and Gideon are obvious. Vraska probably gets her memory back and flips side. Dovin no idea.
Can people get on the same page about how old Teferi suppose to look his amount of gray is not consistent.
I wonder if the Gods Eternal will be three Color.