I'm starting to wonder about the Emrakul settling into the ocean theory. The crpyoliths are arranged in a circle in a harbor, with a broken ship in the background. They evidently bend mana, and there's talk of dragonic runes like those from the hedrons. It may very well be the case that Nahiri is luring Emrakul to Innistrad, the perfect revenge. But does she know Emrakul has escaped from Zendikar? That's the real question.
I do hope that it is just a purification and not an Unmake myself. Avacyn is one of my favorite Angels from recent years. Killing her just 'cause they can is so... anti-climatic. I don't care if she and Sorin battled for a thousand days and nights before he brought her to heel, killing her just feels lazy and uninspired.
I disagree. It's definitely the step in the right direction. Inistrad stands for horror, which Avacyn stands against. Removing her is a really good decision storywise.
Necessary now that her reputation is tainted, perhaps. But removing her is not a good decision. Innistrad is a Gothic Horror plane that persists despite Avacyn and the Church. It's the idea of mad scientists and corpse traders, etc. conducting their work in secret. The holy church against the dark world. Now Innistrad will be run over with evil, with nothing to protect humanity, nothing to offer contrast, nothing to act as a foil to the darkness, ampifying it against the backdrop of Thraben.
Wizards is really stepping up their storytelling. First Ulamog and the hedron network, then the death of the Eldrazi.
All told in card art, rather than silly books nowhere to be bought.
Oh you mean the books that at one point came packaged in the old fat packs, that were literally in every barnes and noble in the country and readily available online? Nowhere to be bought, indeed.
I, for one, miss the books that went along with the sets.
What the hell is a barnes and noble? Not everybody is living in the USA.
Even though I've played Magic since the 1990's, I've never seen a Magic book in my life.
The point of my post was that the story is now told through cards, and not through a very optional book.
MaRo himself is talking on his Tumblr about how good an idea that is.
But here we are on Innistrad. Another loved plane. And here we are again, seeing it trashed. Can we never visit a world and just enjoy the world for what it is? Does Avacyn, a very much loved character, have to change? Does the world have to be in upheaval each time? Why couldn't this block have involved Nahiri's vendetta against Markov Manor, which gets destroyed, and ends up being an investigation block on the Gothic Horror world we all last saw and loved? Why couldn't the madness simply be Innistrad's natual horrors, of which it is already abundant with?
I admired Innistrad's original polarity between angels that try to cleanse the plane but can never quite accomplish that, contrasted with the gothic horrors that will always exist in such a dim world. What I'm saying is, it would be lovely to see a plane and its inhabitants in their natural state for once, and not completely changed, trashed, and worlds apart from when we last saw the damn place. But nope, instead we get War: The Gathering which rebukes all sense of fantasy and subtly to feed into testosterone delusions.
I'll give this story a chance. But I'm already disgusted with what is being done to Avacyn. She was always cast as a compassionate and loving angel and White Legend, but I guess the game can't have anything consistent. Another loved world, trashed. Another loved Legend, trashed in the favor of telling a Planeswalker's story and making them the heroes. Eldrazi die for Gatewatch. Avacyn dies for Jace and Sorin. Thassa gets pilfered for Kiora.
Every story has a conflict. Nobody wants to see a movie or read a book where everything is fine.
You like Avacyn? Well, let's corrupt her then! Now we have your attention.
No one said anything about a lack of conflict. It's the nature of storytelling and the conflict itself that is the problem. And no, corrupting Avacyn feels like a cheap, uninspired method of garnering attention that compromises the character. It's always just so overt and absurd, rarely employing clever methods of storytelling that preserve the nature of the world while managing to tell the story within it. The world adapts to the story, never the story to the world.
Perhaps I should just accept that all stories will be:
1. Loved plane, completely trashed and compromised identity.
2. War.
3. Godly Oldwalker-tier powered planeswalkers.
4. Worlds as Planeswalker playgrounds.
5. Legends as Planeswalker chess pieces.
Here's the thing: they had to screw up Innistrad. Everything was mostly "good" by the end of the block. The closest they could have come is make one or more of the demons lead some sort of cult... but then the Angels still would have been around to kick their butt.
There's a chance that instead of Avacyn getting killed, she gets stripped of her "angelic" nature, becoming simply mortal.
Nahiri could have been the main villain, and the story could have been about investigating who it was on the perilous horror world, and confronting her without trashing Innistrad and jeopardizing Avacyn as a character. Watch there be more focus on trashed Innistrad than Gothic Horror Innistrad.
The thing that I abhorred most about BFZ was that we revisited the very much loved Adventure World plane of Zendikar, which was trashed and unrecognizable. The storyline warranted this, because ROE left off with Zendikar this way. It was not what I personally wanted from a revisit, which was to see the plane I fell in love with originally as we had in Zendikar and Worldwake, but I can set aside my personal disappointment and understand that's how it had to be.
But here we are on Innistrad. Another loved plane. And here we are again, seeing it trashed. Can we never visit a world and just enjoy the world for what it is? Does Avacyn, a very much loved character, have to change? Does the world have to be in upheaval each time? Why couldn't this block have involved Nahiri's vendetta against Markov Manor, which gets destroyed, and ends up being an investigation block on the Gothic Horror world we all last saw and loved? Why couldn't the madness simply be Innistrad's natual horrors, of which it is already abundant with?
I admired Innistrad's original polarity between angels that try to cleanse the plane but can never quite accomplish that, contrasted with the gothic horrors that will always exist in such a dim world. What I'm saying is, it would be lovely to see a plane and its inhabitants in their natural state for once, and not completely changed, trashed, and worlds apart from when we last saw the damn place. But nope, instead we get War: The Gathering which rebukes all sense of fantasy and subtly to feed into testosterone delusions.
I'll give this story a chance. But I'm already disgusted with what is being done to Avacyn. She was always cast as a compassionate and loving angel and White Legend, but I guess the game can't have anything consistent. Another loved world, trashed. Another loved Legend, trashed in the favor of telling a Planeswalker's story and making them the heroes. Eldrazi die for Gatewatch. Avacyn dies for Jace and Sorin. Thassa gets pilfered for Kiora.
Well, I hope Elspeth's damn death and Dack's journey into the Underworld of Theros will be reason enough to tell a compelling, mysterious and RESTRAINED story with depth, sacrifice and loyalty in Return to Theros. Something with Greek Tragedy in mind the way our first visit there was in Godsend and the Uncharted Realms (The Oracle of Ephara, etc.) was. There is good material there to make a strong story while preserving the nature of a beautiful and loved plane ruled by powerful gods.
But I will wait for Return to Theros to turn out being the Gatewatch arrives there, Theros gets royally trashed, the gods all die because somehow lolplot and Gatewatch crew is Oldwalker power level now, and Elspeth lies dead and forgotten because who cares about elegant storytelling when we can have War: the Gathering?
To be honest a part of me thinks that Tamiyo and Jace are there to stop Sorin from killing her. Tamiyo even says in one of her entries that there is something more to Avacyn's madness and she has studied Avacyn's affect on the plane enough to know her function within the ecosystem and may want to restore her in order to save the plane. I have to say I am biased though and really hope they set Avacyn back on the right path by the end of the block. Maybe the angels' influence will be diminished on the plane and by the end of the block they are rogue demon hunters who are trying to set things right without the backing of the church. That way the balance would be more balanced rather than lopsided and both the fans of the angels and the gothic horror of the plane would be happy(which I am both).
YES sexy Jace and classy Tamiyo to the rescue as the heroes! From my perspective, I see them arriving to inform Sorin of Nahiri's machinations, sparing Avacyn. Then Sorin turns to confront Nahiri, pointing at Avacyn with his sword and saying to her "you will pay for what you have done to my angel."
Also, it's sad to think that neither Sorin nor Innistrad deserved this. Sorin went to find Ugin on Tarkir, and was then tasked to find Nahiri herself... They had Zendikar's fate at heart. But Nahiri wasn't playing any games that day.
Actually, this article is the entire problem. Neo-Nazis? Really? Way to buy into propaganda. And the Trump reference about "locker room talk" - way to push your political agendas on a card game forum and assume your opinions are the status quo, and the only right way to think. That's why everyone is sick of liberals and SJWs. Arrogance and ignorance. No one gives a damn bro, we're here for card games. Get over yourselves and off your righteous soapbox.
He looks old and fat. Ugh. Where is my lean, toned, sexy young Jace wizard? So upset.
The booster art of Jace looks horrid and hideous.
Sad that the ugly art will be his PW card art. Oh well. First Jace I will not need to bother with getting. It'll save me time and money.
It does indeed look Theros-y. Though I think the ships look more British/German than the ancient Greek flavor ships Theros krakens are seen attacking.
Is that Tower Geist's sleeve in Tamiyo's journal?
No one said anything about a lack of conflict. It's the nature of storytelling and the conflict itself that is the problem. And no, corrupting Avacyn feels like a cheap, uninspired method of garnering attention that compromises the character. It's always just so overt and absurd, rarely employing clever methods of storytelling that preserve the nature of the world while managing to tell the story within it. The world adapts to the story, never the story to the world.
Perhaps I should just accept that all stories will be:
1. Loved plane, completely trashed and compromised identity.
2. War.
3. Godly Oldwalker-tier powered planeswalkers.
4. Worlds as Planeswalker playgrounds.
5. Legends as Planeswalker chess pieces.
Nahiri could have been the main villain, and the story could have been about investigating who it was on the perilous horror world, and confronting her without trashing Innistrad and jeopardizing Avacyn as a character. Watch there be more focus on trashed Innistrad than Gothic Horror Innistrad.
The thing that I abhorred most about BFZ was that we revisited the very much loved Adventure World plane of Zendikar, which was trashed and unrecognizable. The storyline warranted this, because ROE left off with Zendikar this way. It was not what I personally wanted from a revisit, which was to see the plane I fell in love with originally as we had in Zendikar and Worldwake, but I can set aside my personal disappointment and understand that's how it had to be.
But here we are on Innistrad. Another loved plane. And here we are again, seeing it trashed. Can we never visit a world and just enjoy the world for what it is? Does Avacyn, a very much loved character, have to change? Does the world have to be in upheaval each time? Why couldn't this block have involved Nahiri's vendetta against Markov Manor, which gets destroyed, and ends up being an investigation block on the Gothic Horror world we all last saw and loved? Why couldn't the madness simply be Innistrad's natual horrors, of which it is already abundant with?
I admired Innistrad's original polarity between angels that try to cleanse the plane but can never quite accomplish that, contrasted with the gothic horrors that will always exist in such a dim world. What I'm saying is, it would be lovely to see a plane and its inhabitants in their natural state for once, and not completely changed, trashed, and worlds apart from when we last saw the damn place. But nope, instead we get War: The Gathering which rebukes all sense of fantasy and subtly to feed into testosterone delusions.
I'll give this story a chance. But I'm already disgusted with what is being done to Avacyn. She was always cast as a compassionate and loving angel and White Legend, but I guess the game can't have anything consistent. Another loved world, trashed. Another loved Legend, trashed in the favor of telling a Planeswalker's story and making them the heroes. Eldrazi die for Gatewatch. Avacyn dies for Jace and Sorin. Thassa gets pilfered for Kiora.
Well, I hope Elspeth's damn death and Dack's journey into the Underworld of Theros will be reason enough to tell a compelling, mysterious and RESTRAINED story with depth, sacrifice and loyalty in Return to Theros. Something with Greek Tragedy in mind the way our first visit there was in Godsend and the Uncharted Realms (The Oracle of Ephara, etc.) was. There is good material there to make a strong story while preserving the nature of a beautiful and loved plane ruled by powerful gods.
But I will wait for Return to Theros to turn out being the Gatewatch arrives there, Theros gets royally trashed, the gods all die because somehow lolplot and Gatewatch crew is Oldwalker power level now, and Elspeth lies dead and forgotten because who cares about elegant storytelling when we can have War: the Gathering?
YES sexy Jace and classy Tamiyo to the rescue as the heroes! From my perspective, I see them arriving to inform Sorin of Nahiri's machinations, sparing Avacyn. Then Sorin turns to confront Nahiri, pointing at Avacyn with his sword and saying to her "you will pay for what you have done to my angel."
Also, it's sad to think that neither Sorin nor Innistrad deserved this. Sorin went to find Ugin on Tarkir, and was then tasked to find Nahiri herself...
Ugh, Tamiyo not being dead isn't going to be exciting news if that means Avacyn will be!