So how should they execute this set's story, then?
MTG is a pop culture commodity, so we should all heavily manage our expectations accordingly. But I will say this: the inversion, subversion and playing-straight of tropes are all mere formal differences. The underlying content, the trope itself, remains essentially its tropey self. The slew of dark adaptations that have come to saturate our media as mikeyG alludes to demonstrate that while initially we find this cute and novel, it gets old. The use of tropes in narratives is well executed when they contribute to the quality of that narrative by having their content developed within it. So if a handful of tropes are just dumped on top of a narrative (or, God forbid, a heap of tropes with no overarching coherence is the entirety of the narrative), it's poor execution. They can't just be there as props, they have to help tell the story, to say something. But, it's a card game. We are unlikely to receive a deep contemplation on the meaning of life or even mildly interesting political commentary. It doesn't have to do all that to feel fresh, it just has to tell a story we haven't heard before to a significant extent. And that's a pretty low bar, I think.
I'm not interested in "meaning of life" contemplations and especially not political commentary, anyway. I just want to play a fun card game. And the story doesn't have to be anything new for that to happen because quite honestly it can't be anything new. We've explored a lot of the story possibilities out there. And when your whole set revolves around tropes people recognize, story tropes in particular, it's inevitable that the canon story is going to be predictable. It's supposed to be, otherwise it doesn't feel faithful to the source material. Cinderella and the other Princesses are going to have happy endings (though I do worry for the Mermaid, since her story didn't originally have a happy ending). The Frog will be turned back into a prince, the Gingerbread Man is probably going to get eaten by a Fox, 2/3 of the Three Little Pigs' houses are going to get blown down by a Big Bad Wolf who will presumably also try to eat a girl in a red hood. The destination is predictable, it's the journey that's interesting.
What I care about is personality. MtG has always been good about exploring tropes through the lens of its personality, which is centered around the color pie. Innistrad and Theros exemplified this when they showed how various creature types fit into different colors, and when they gave us mechanics that summed up their overall feel. Amonkhet also succeeded in this, for the most part (though I resented Bolas' presence overtaking the Egyptian atmosphere). I expect Eldraine will be the same; a host of recognizable tropes in card form, complimented with a handful of mechanics that convey the set's general feel. We have the storybook mechanic, which I honestly expect will be some kind of "Ever after" effect that changes the game state from then on, like an enchantment. Sort of a reward for playing through the card's story.
I can also see some manner of trickster mechanic, as tricksters are common in fairy tales, sometimes serving karmic justice, other times preying on innocence or naivete. Could be something like spell swapping or even a shapeshifting mechanic, swapping one creature out for another (kinda like Ninjutsu, but not focused on combat). For the Arthurian side, besides royalty matters I could see something to do with Knights as they play a big role in Arthurian myth. Could be something like Battle Cry or Exalted, something combat-focused. Many of the tales focus on one particular Knight, so Exalted would make sense there. Or it could be some kind of glory mechanic, where if the creature attacked that turn you can get some kind of reward. Renowned is another possibility, as I'd say the Knights of the Round Table were all renowned to some extent.
And finally I'd love to see pairing return. Friendship and romance are common themes of fairy tales, and pairing represents them well. Take note I'm not talking about Soulbond necessarily as pairing is a creature interaction independent of soulbond. Pairing itself could literally be the mechanic, like spells that say "Pair two target unpaired creatures you control. Then paired creatures you control get [effect]."
The gameplay is where Magic's real story plays out. Tropes are tools, after all, and Magic thrives on letting us play with tropes. The most fun stories aren't the ones the team writes but the ones we experience through playing the game. That's why I look forward to the gameplay each set offers moreso than the story.
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
So how should they execute this set's story, then?
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
You got it backwards. They decided on an Arthurian world and decided to blend Fairy Tales into it. And why is that not an obvious combination to you? You've got Princesses and Knights and medieval settings with transformative journeys and magic items and Disney animation to reference. The blending is so seamless that I wouldn't even consider the long-haired damsel necessarily a Rapunzel reference as much as a typical trope of tales of chivalry.
Basically tales of chivalry concern the upper class and courts, while fairy tales get to be about the lower class (or upper class and lower class meeting e. g. princess Snow White moving in with some miners), so the two actually can complement each other as well.
Fairy tales like Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, sure. As I said, the Princesses help bridge the gap between the two themes. But Goldilocks? Red Riding Hood? The Gingerbread Man?
For me, it's a matter of the sliding scale of high fantasy and low fantasy. Arthurian myth has a more "epic" feel to it than one-shot fairy tale aesops. There's a sense of continuity, a set of recurring characters with stories that develop, a war. The story isn't just about Arthur and a handful of characters with whom he interacts, there's an entire developed setting with numerous character relationships.
The difference is like that between a Disney movie and a Disney cartoon. Disney movies feel epic and sweeping in their scope, while Disney cartoons starring Mickey Mouse and friends are low-key wacky comedy stunts.
You could mix fairy tale princess tropes with Arthurian myth just fine. The common themes of royalty and medieval fantasy makes that work. But when you mix in more surreal fairy tales like the Three Little Pigs and Jack and the Beanstalk, it starts to clash with the epic medieval fantasy feel. It's like throwing Smurfs into Lord of the Rings.
I would rather the Arthurian aspect have been fleshed out with a setting using dedicated medieval fantasy tropes. Most of the Grimms Fairy Tales don't feel medieval, their distinct elements aren't tied to medieval tropes in specific.
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I'm actually wondering why they bothered including Arthurian elements at all, since it feels like an odd fit with most of the fairy tale tropes. When I look at what I presume is supposed to be Camelot, I don't think fairy tale world with Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Hansel and Gretal, and Jack and the Beanstalk. I see something Bant-esque. Yeah, there are the fairy tale princesses to help bridge the gap, but still.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Hot damn, this is the Disney Princess set! Two of the arts are clearly Grimhilde and Lady Tremaine!
I like the art of what I assume is a princess. Based on the long hair, she could be Rapunzel. I'm kinda surprised, I didn't think delicate-looking feminine maidens were allowed in Magic anymore. I thought Magic women all had to be tough-looking warriors, mages, or assassins with either a stern scowl or a cocky grin now? It's a nice change of pace to see some women in a more relaxed and pleasant mood for once.
Also liking the mermaid girl, who's obviously our Ariel. Her merfolk form is surprisingly showy by modern Magic standards.
I can picture the Beauty and the Beast being a UR and RG legendary couple. I wonder if transforming will come back? It would work so well with the fairy tale theme! Like, have the Beast transform back into a man. Or the Frog Prince transform back into a regular prince!
Hey, maybe they're bringing Lord back as a creature type? Or Royal? Or they could have King, Queen, Prince, and Princess as separate types grouped into a royal batch mechanic. Like a Knight creature that gets +1/+1 as long as you control a royal creature.
Now if only we could get the Magic version of Aladdin...And no, I'm not counting that one. I want a whole new world for that theme!
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Alternatively, if this has "knightly houses" in it, I wonder if it will introduce specific names for the five four-color combinations?
I had envisioned Knightly Houses being factions a lot like the Guilds, but since we were just in Ravnica, I imagine they'd work a lot more like Theros' poleis. And considering knights traditionally each bore their own coat of arms, I imagine it could be more like 5-20 legendary Knights associated with color pairs and trios.
I got a feeling this set will revolve around a succession crisis' the ruling king has died and no heir can be found, so the various lords and ladies of the realm compete over the right of inheritance. Rather than wage open war, the knights compete in a series of games to determine who is most fitting to take the throne. Meanwhile, a wizard prepares a young page for a journey across the land in search of a legendary sword...
Ooh, even better: What if the story revolves around the knights all searching for the legendary sword as a test of who is rightful heir to the throne? "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all Eldraine."
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
"Royal Courts of Eldraine"? Oh, is this going to be a medieval world, with knightly houses like I've proposed?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
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I'm not interested in "meaning of life" contemplations and especially not political commentary, anyway. I just want to play a fun card game. And the story doesn't have to be anything new for that to happen because quite honestly it can't be anything new. We've explored a lot of the story possibilities out there. And when your whole set revolves around tropes people recognize, story tropes in particular, it's inevitable that the canon story is going to be predictable. It's supposed to be, otherwise it doesn't feel faithful to the source material. Cinderella and the other Princesses are going to have happy endings (though I do worry for the Mermaid, since her story didn't originally have a happy ending). The Frog will be turned back into a prince, the Gingerbread Man is probably going to get eaten by a Fox, 2/3 of the Three Little Pigs' houses are going to get blown down by a Big Bad Wolf who will presumably also try to eat a girl in a red hood. The destination is predictable, it's the journey that's interesting.
What I care about is personality. MtG has always been good about exploring tropes through the lens of its personality, which is centered around the color pie. Innistrad and Theros exemplified this when they showed how various creature types fit into different colors, and when they gave us mechanics that summed up their overall feel. Amonkhet also succeeded in this, for the most part (though I resented Bolas' presence overtaking the Egyptian atmosphere). I expect Eldraine will be the same; a host of recognizable tropes in card form, complimented with a handful of mechanics that convey the set's general feel. We have the storybook mechanic, which I honestly expect will be some kind of "Ever after" effect that changes the game state from then on, like an enchantment. Sort of a reward for playing through the card's story.
I can also see some manner of trickster mechanic, as tricksters are common in fairy tales, sometimes serving karmic justice, other times preying on innocence or naivete. Could be something like spell swapping or even a shapeshifting mechanic, swapping one creature out for another (kinda like Ninjutsu, but not focused on combat). For the Arthurian side, besides royalty matters I could see something to do with Knights as they play a big role in Arthurian myth. Could be something like Battle Cry or Exalted, something combat-focused. Many of the tales focus on one particular Knight, so Exalted would make sense there. Or it could be some kind of glory mechanic, where if the creature attacked that turn you can get some kind of reward. Renowned is another possibility, as I'd say the Knights of the Round Table were all renowned to some extent.
And finally I'd love to see pairing return. Friendship and romance are common themes of fairy tales, and pairing represents them well. Take note I'm not talking about Soulbond necessarily as pairing is a creature interaction independent of soulbond. Pairing itself could literally be the mechanic, like spells that say "Pair two target unpaired creatures you control. Then paired creatures you control get [effect]."
The gameplay is where Magic's real story plays out. Tropes are tools, after all, and Magic thrives on letting us play with tropes. The most fun stories aren't the ones the team writes but the ones we experience through playing the game. That's why I look forward to the gameplay each set offers moreso than the story.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Fairy tales like Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel, sure. As I said, the Princesses help bridge the gap between the two themes. But Goldilocks? Red Riding Hood? The Gingerbread Man?
For me, it's a matter of the sliding scale of high fantasy and low fantasy. Arthurian myth has a more "epic" feel to it than one-shot fairy tale aesops. There's a sense of continuity, a set of recurring characters with stories that develop, a war. The story isn't just about Arthur and a handful of characters with whom he interacts, there's an entire developed setting with numerous character relationships.
The difference is like that between a Disney movie and a Disney cartoon. Disney movies feel epic and sweeping in their scope, while Disney cartoons starring Mickey Mouse and friends are low-key wacky comedy stunts.
You could mix fairy tale princess tropes with Arthurian myth just fine. The common themes of royalty and medieval fantasy makes that work. But when you mix in more surreal fairy tales like the Three Little Pigs and Jack and the Beanstalk, it starts to clash with the epic medieval fantasy feel. It's like throwing Smurfs into Lord of the Rings.
I would rather the Arthurian aspect have been fleshed out with a setting using dedicated medieval fantasy tropes. Most of the Grimms Fairy Tales don't feel medieval, their distinct elements aren't tied to medieval tropes in specific.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I like the art of what I assume is a princess. Based on the long hair, she could be Rapunzel. I'm kinda surprised, I didn't think delicate-looking feminine maidens were allowed in Magic anymore. I thought Magic women all had to be tough-looking warriors, mages, or assassins with either a stern scowl or a cocky grin now? It's a nice change of pace to see some women in a more relaxed and pleasant mood for once.
Also liking the mermaid girl, who's obviously our Ariel. Her merfolk form is surprisingly showy by modern Magic standards.
I can picture the Beauty and the Beast being a UR and RG legendary couple. I wonder if transforming will come back? It would work so well with the fairy tale theme! Like, have the Beast transform back into a man. Or the Frog Prince transform back into a regular prince!
Hey, maybe they're bringing Lord back as a creature type? Or Royal? Or they could have King, Queen, Prince, and Princess as separate types grouped into a royal batch mechanic. Like a Knight creature that gets +1/+1 as long as you control a royal creature.
Now if only we could get the Magic version of Aladdin...And no, I'm not counting that one. I want a whole new world for that theme!
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I had envisioned Knightly Houses being factions a lot like the Guilds, but since we were just in Ravnica, I imagine they'd work a lot more like Theros' poleis. And considering knights traditionally each bore their own coat of arms, I imagine it could be more like 5-20 legendary Knights associated with color pairs and trios.
I got a feeling this set will revolve around a succession crisis' the ruling king has died and no heir can be found, so the various lords and ladies of the realm compete over the right of inheritance. Rather than wage open war, the knights compete in a series of games to determine who is most fitting to take the throne. Meanwhile, a wizard prepares a young page for a journey across the land in search of a legendary sword...
Ooh, even better: What if the story revolves around the knights all searching for the legendary sword as a test of who is rightful heir to the throne? "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all Eldraine."
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.