Maybe I'm just looking at old Eldraine with rose-colored glasses, but looking at all the cards that are being spoiled and their art, Eldraine seems a bit more un-set-esque this time around. The courts not being in the focus as much, and "lore space" on cards instead mostly being given to the same handful of very recognizable faerie tales, makes the world feel even more like one big reference/in-joke than its own thing. For some of the faerie tales, it's weird when you think about how there already were references to them in the original set (Curious Pair, Trail of Crumbs, Queen of Ice, etc) and now there are new references, just much more "pushed" and over the top. It almost seems like the two Eldraines aren't connected, or that the new Eldraine is a "soft reboot."
Also, the faerie tales they chose don't really seem to serve any purpose other than being a recognizable thing that people can latch onto (and a base for the ten draft archetypes). Lore-wise, they seem to all just exist parallel to each other instead of painting a picture of the Wilds of Eldraine or Eldraine after the Phyrexian invasion.
Ultimately I think this kind of worldbuilding is kind of unsustainable. Sure, there are a lot of faerie tales, but only a few of them are popular enough that you can build a set on them. I'm honestly not sure if we're ever going to see another return to Eldraine, simply because the material they're drawing from seems to be running thin already.
I agree. It seems a lil overtop. Too much Icing, not enough cake.
Should we return to Eldraine a third time around I expect the courts and King Arthur/Medieval England themes to be more of a focus. They’re gonna exhaust their creative resources for the world otherwise.
Is it just me or have the nonhuman sentient species been less present this return trip? Dwarves in particular.
Not directly maybe, but she was partially responsible for getting some of the sleepwalkers and Will's people killed. As she said, Eriette was not a strategist, and might have been quickly overwhelmed (possibly with minimal losses on both sides), if it wasn't for Rowan sowing chaos first.
you’re not wrong. Do we know how many were killed? I think this is where mtg’s lore gets kinda shallow, because even if you’re right- I could still see them try to pretend like nothing’s happened in the future
Fairy tales were often morality Aesops- with the role of women protagonists as necessary models for the kinds of behaviour society wished to inculcate within them. Gendered instructions are likewise given for young men in other fairy tales, particularly in stories where the protagonist is a man rather than a woman.
Among the most blatantly Christian of those I’ve recently reviewed is “The Snow Queen”. Here the young woman is portrayed much more as an agent than in other fairy tales, yet the final act at the palace involves pretty much a series of Christian women skill checks such as reciting the Lord’s Prayer; kissing, crying over, and serving (forgoing one’s own comforts) on behalf of your hard-hearted man- all just so that he might again return to his affections, forgo reason and, by remembering ‘eternity’- cast out the devil’s shards that made him overly critical of society in the first place.
I’m glad the mtg story didn’t follow the same suite, as the original story is very much a tale to encourage women that- by serving, loving, going above and beyond for their (take your pick) abusive, critical, unbelieving, and/or ‘overly rational’ male counterparts- they can eventually bring them back again into the greater-than-rational fold of God and therefore love.
The original snow queen story reflects the tensions of the 1840’s, where men were beginning to become more and more socialized by secular values and philosophies such as rationalism and empiricism. Women however were still largely domestic, and socialized to think in terms of the spiritual, emotional, social and normative. Women in this sense was used by institutions like the church to keep in line the ‘dangers’ of rationalism and empiricism among this new generation of men- within conservative and comfortable boundaries set by those whose power was most threatened by these movements.
In short- The gendered values within these fairytales was meant to keep both women and men in check so as to not upset the delicate social mores that held the fabric of European societies (especially those supporting the rich and powerful) both ‘universal’ and unchallenged.
The fact that Rowan is able to ‘behave’ badly in this arc, and learn through mistakes and risk-taking is a credit to the story team in upending the virtuous feminine protagonist archetype that teaches faith, strict obedience, and personal perfection as the solutions for all life’s problems.
WotC can claim- til they’re blue in the face -that they still intend to support their own IP and lore.
I won’t believe them until the length, complexity, and quality of the writing improves. Five stories ain’t enough for me to become invested in the lore enough to buy the cards and explore the world via its game mechanics.
Maybe it’s just the genre, but the characters feel flat. I agree that Rowan is the most susceptible to become a temporary heel but she kinda just ‘jumped’ off the morality cliff (ok super steep ‘decline’- she didn’t kill anyone) rather than demonstrate a gradual descent into compromising her former values.
I do like that she’s the twin that’s taken the ‘wrong’ approach rather than Will. I am all for strong women in literature and emphasizing the importance of listening to women. Yet it can get a little tired when this emphasis is so strong- across so many fictional narratives- that it neglects to emphasize women as HUMAN, individuals with strengths, flaws, and the potential to learn and grow.
A depiction of women as either villains, victims, or virtuous models is very much a trope in many of the old European fairytales. I appreciate the fact that the story team at least tried to upend the ole pattern because it allows for greater nuance and even some surprise.
The death race and one path arc seem a set up for the release of Bolas.
I don’t believe he’ll return as a major threat, but even if he merely escaped- that would be a momentous consequence and villain victory enough.
perhaps whatever occurs on Tarkir is meant to distract a sparkbearing Ugin away from the meditation realm?
I doubt the main source of conflict concerns Bolas however. If anything it’ll probably be conflict over the chaos caused by the omenpaths overall with one side seeking to ‘fix’ the phenomenon, whilst others try to preserve it. The end result may see the Planeswalker spark rekindled among some De-walkers.
meh. There doesn’t seem to be enough tent pole releases based upon MtG’s own IP to pull this off in my opinion. I’m kinda annoyed at all this Secret Lair + Universes Beyond /‘gimmick’ stuff they’ve been pulling lately.
The anecdotal counterpoint: My bro who hasn’t been into mtg for years bought for my birthday, the Lord of a Rings Jumpstart box, so I could teach my other adult sibs how to play using a franchise they already enjoy.
…I didn’t have the heart to tell him how much I loath the business model- and to be fair, if it causes interest in the actual game AND IP of MtG among my siblings, then yeah, consider me won over.
But I have a feeling that these new collectors are gonna be more akin to fandom collectors- their interest only goes as deep as the centering of their preferred franchise -which to be fair is how I feel about MtG’s main IP and story as well.
My fear is that eventually, MtG will be like Lego, providing the building blocks to represent other games in competitive formats- but lacking an identifiable IP with a strong narrative.
I for one really like Ikoria. Which is weird because I was pretty meh about it when it premiered.
It’s the human cultures not the monsters that I enjoy the most, as I like the idea of Ikoria’s city-states which took a break from being based upon real-world historical cultures.
Jirina & Vadrok were also better represented in this story than most of the other characters. Vivien too and I like her much better now her green is more ambivalent than psychotic re: civilization.
I agree with the premise that some of their hinted worldbuilding changes reflect laziness of writing. I would like to see planeswalkers as main characters still, but it’s frustrating to see how poorly and varied their characterizations are from author-to-author.
My fear is that if the Lord of The Rings set is successful, then they’ll just outsource standard sets to other franchises and then there goes the story team/world building. I’d probably stop playing were that to happen as it’s the new and returning worlds and characters that get me excited to play new sets.
I accept that Universes Beyond will continue to happen but I’d hate to see it cannibalize the main story and worldbuilding.
I agree. It seems a lil overtop. Too much Icing, not enough cake.
Should we return to Eldraine a third time around I expect the courts and King Arthur/Medieval England themes to be more of a focus. They’re gonna exhaust their creative resources for the world otherwise.
Is it just me or have the nonhuman sentient species been less present this return trip? Dwarves in particular.
you’re not wrong. Do we know how many were killed? I think this is where mtg’s lore gets kinda shallow, because even if you’re right- I could still see them try to pretend like nothing’s happened in the future
Among the most blatantly Christian of those I’ve recently reviewed is “The Snow Queen”. Here the young woman is portrayed much more as an agent than in other fairy tales, yet the final act at the palace involves pretty much a series of Christian women skill checks such as reciting the Lord’s Prayer; kissing, crying over, and serving (forgoing one’s own comforts) on behalf of your hard-hearted man- all just so that he might again return to his affections, forgo reason and, by remembering ‘eternity’- cast out the devil’s shards that made him overly critical of society in the first place.
I’m glad the mtg story didn’t follow the same suite, as the original story is very much a tale to encourage women that- by serving, loving, going above and beyond for their (take your pick) abusive, critical, unbelieving, and/or ‘overly rational’ male counterparts- they can eventually bring them back again into the greater-than-rational fold of God and therefore love.
The original snow queen story reflects the tensions of the 1840’s, where men were beginning to become more and more socialized by secular values and philosophies such as rationalism and empiricism. Women however were still largely domestic, and socialized to think in terms of the spiritual, emotional, social and normative. Women in this sense was used by institutions like the church to keep in line the ‘dangers’ of rationalism and empiricism among this new generation of men- within conservative and comfortable boundaries set by those whose power was most threatened by these movements.
In short- The gendered values within these fairytales was meant to keep both women and men in check so as to not upset the delicate social mores that held the fabric of European societies (especially those supporting the rich and powerful) both ‘universal’ and unchallenged.
The fact that Rowan is able to ‘behave’ badly in this arc, and learn through mistakes and risk-taking is a credit to the story team in upending the virtuous feminine protagonist archetype that teaches faith, strict obedience, and personal perfection as the solutions for all life’s problems.
I won’t believe them until the length, complexity, and quality of the writing improves. Five stories ain’t enough for me to become invested in the lore enough to buy the cards and explore the world via its game mechanics.
Maybe it’s just the genre, but the characters feel flat. I agree that Rowan is the most susceptible to become a temporary heel but she kinda just ‘jumped’ off the morality cliff (ok super steep ‘decline’- she didn’t kill anyone) rather than demonstrate a gradual descent into compromising her former values.
I do like that she’s the twin that’s taken the ‘wrong’ approach rather than Will. I am all for strong women in literature and emphasizing the importance of listening to women. Yet it can get a little tired when this emphasis is so strong- across so many fictional narratives- that it neglects to emphasize women as HUMAN, individuals with strengths, flaws, and the potential to learn and grow.
A depiction of women as either villains, victims, or virtuous models is very much a trope in many of the old European fairytales. I appreciate the fact that the story team at least tried to upend the ole pattern because it allows for greater nuance and even some surprise.
I don’t believe he’ll return as a major threat, but even if he merely escaped- that would be a momentous consequence and villain victory enough.
perhaps whatever occurs on Tarkir is meant to distract a sparkbearing Ugin away from the meditation realm?
I doubt the main source of conflict concerns Bolas however. If anything it’ll probably be conflict over the chaos caused by the omenpaths overall with one side seeking to ‘fix’ the phenomenon, whilst others try to preserve it. The end result may see the Planeswalker spark rekindled among some De-walkers.
meh. There doesn’t seem to be enough tent pole releases based upon MtG’s own IP to pull this off in my opinion. I’m kinda annoyed at all this Secret Lair + Universes Beyond /‘gimmick’ stuff they’ve been pulling lately.
The anecdotal counterpoint: My bro who hasn’t been into mtg for years bought for my birthday, the Lord of a Rings Jumpstart box, so I could teach my other adult sibs how to play using a franchise they already enjoy.
…I didn’t have the heart to tell him how much I loath the business model- and to be fair, if it causes interest in the actual game AND IP of MtG among my siblings, then yeah, consider me won over.
But I have a feeling that these new collectors are gonna be more akin to fandom collectors- their interest only goes as deep as the centering of their preferred franchise -which to be fair is how I feel about MtG’s main IP and story as well.
My fear is that eventually, MtG will be like Lego, providing the building blocks to represent other games in competitive formats- but lacking an identifiable IP with a strong narrative.
Hope not.
It’s the human cultures not the monsters that I enjoy the most, as I like the idea of Ikoria’s city-states which took a break from being based upon real-world historical cultures.
Jirina & Vadrok were also better represented in this story than most of the other characters. Vivien too and I like her much better now her green is more ambivalent than psychotic re: civilization.
I agree with the premise that some of their hinted worldbuilding changes reflect laziness of writing. I would like to see planeswalkers as main characters still, but it’s frustrating to see how poorly and varied their characterizations are from author-to-author.
My fear is that if the Lord of The Rings set is successful, then they’ll just outsource standard sets to other franchises and then there goes the story team/world building. I’d probably stop playing were that to happen as it’s the new and returning worlds and characters that get me excited to play new sets.
I accept that Universes Beyond will continue to happen but I’d hate to see it cannibalize the main story and worldbuilding.
Edit: the Nissa reunion art, Invasion Arts, Really anything that hasn’t been shared on here due to it not being carded.
Like- We are gonna see MERCADIA for goodness’ sake!?!! Some deep and familiar cuts.