It is very untrue that Amonkhet doesn't have any more story potential. There's a lot of things hinted to be in the desert, including whatever caused the Curse of Wandering in the first place, as well as a whole dead pre-Bolas civilization to be explored. Killing off everybody would be an obscene waste.
Also, only sapient creatures that are biological and born are eligible for planeswalker's sparks. Mana constructs, like angels, demons, and gods, cannot have sparks naturally. (Karn is an outlier in that he received his spark from another planeswalker, a phenomenon that should not be counted on.)
Jackknight1W
Artifact Creature - Cyborg Knight (R)
Whenever another artifact enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Jackknight. If that artifact is a Contraption, Jackknight gains lifelink until end of turn.
Watermark: Order of the Widget "My sword is at your service, as are my scissors, corkscrew, and bottle opener."
So I dont know a lot about the olden days of the story. Wasitora mentions Madara, is she a minion of Bolas? Also its unfortunate that her cat tokens are so adorable because otherwise those cards look pretty legit.
Not an ally of Bolas, more of a friend of Tetsuo Umezawa.
So I wanted to discuss the very end of the episode, so if you haven't read it go do that first.
Ok so are we supposed to take Hazoret's prophecy as an omen of Gideon's death?
Perhaps its just a general reminder of his mortality. He does seem pretty freaked out by the sight of his own blood. (You'd think he'd be tougher than that) Honestly I've always felt like Gideon was a bit of a punk and boring too. Ajani had such a better backstory.
I digress, what do we expect from this "prophecy."
Will Gideon become doubtful, hesitant, perhaps afraid of death? Will he avoid conflict or embrace it expecting to give his life.
Does this signal a return to Theros??
What do y'all think?
As I said in the main Amonkhet thread when Gideons death was mentioned as being at the hands of Bolas; they wouldn't have made Gideon, an already existing character, be from Theros, an already existing plane, and set up his backstory the way they did had they no intention of doing something with it. I mean it was already pretty much a sure thing that we will be going back to Theros thanks to Elspeth but with this prediction from Hazoret I am pretty much certain that Gids will be involved. Maybe trading his life for hers.
I'm also not a big fan of Gideon. I dislike Captain America style characters who are so immovable in their morality that they can't change or even make certain decisions. But while I definitely won't miss him if he dies I am not one of those bloodthirsty forumgoers who thinks someone in the Gatewatch needs to die.
I can see him brokering a deal with erebos to trade for elspeth. Unfortunately there is no reason to get elspeth back outside of Ajani or daxos I think? She has no special knowledge of the phyrexians or special abilities I'm aware of to make the gateway herself seem her out if she is alive.
Gideon dying ruins a decent chunk of Chandra's tie to the gatewatch and love interest. That is a pretty big story hook to let go.
If we've learned anything from Daxos, it's that trading souls with Erebos will only lead to pain and suffering and failure. If Elspeth is to be freed from the underworld, it will have to be in a way outside of the gods' preset rules.
I think it would be hilarious if the story of Hour of Devastation involves the Gatewatch helping Bolas protect his plane from some cataclysm.
(I mean "hilarious" in a neutral manner. I don't think it would be the best story choice for the Gatewatch's first encounter with Bolas, but neither would I complain.)
Don't forget, Liliana only killed Kothophed and Griselbrand as quickly as she did by using the Chain Veil. These days, she's trying to avoid using the Chain Veil, which is where the Gatewatch comes in.
I think Jay is overstating the grey-ness of the renegades, but I also think that everyone else is overstating the evil of the Consulate. I interpret the conflict as an example of white and grey morality. The renegades have largely been shown to be sympathetic, and even the worse elements in them like smuggling and association with crime lords have not actively been shown to be evil. The Consulate is largely concerned with the welfare of its people - Dovin Baan exemplifies this - and they ran Ghirapur well enough before the events of the block. Most of the Consulate soldiers, like the one Ajani stopped himself from killing, are just regular people. The only problem with the Consulate is that it is prone to corruption and abuse of authority, since it doesn't seem it has many checks on its power. The only really evil people in this conflict are those corrupt elements, people like Tezzeret, Kambal, and Baral.
Why shouldn't they? Any fire mage should be able to surpass any given dragon if they put in the work. (This is where my U is showing.)
Also, only sapient creatures that are biological and born are eligible for planeswalker's sparks. Mana constructs, like angels, demons, and gods, cannot have sparks naturally. (Karn is an outlier in that he received his spark from another planeswalker, a phenomenon that should not be counted on.)
Jackknight 1W
Artifact Creature - Cyborg Knight (R)
Whenever another artifact enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Jackknight. If that artifact is a Contraption, Jackknight gains lifelink until end of turn.
Watermark: Order of the Widget
"My sword is at your service, as are my scissors, corkscrew, and bottle opener."
There is a gun. Definitely pure coincidence.
Not an ally of Bolas, more of a friend of Tetsuo Umezawa.
If we've learned anything from Daxos, it's that trading souls with Erebos will only lead to pain and suffering and failure. If Elspeth is to be freed from the underworld, it will have to be in a way outside of the gods' preset rules.
(I mean "hilarious" in a neutral manner. I don't think it would be the best story choice for the Gatewatch's first encounter with Bolas, but neither would I complain.)