I think I'm still gonna consume mtg art and stories until I no longer enjoy em. hard not to. I still care about the lore even as I grow more and more ambivalent about the game.
Beautiful eyes. I hope they explore Lukka's morally grey nature. I could see him being an anti-hero in the right setting though admittedly he's largely an antagonist so far.
He still believes himself to be the good guy.
I kinda like the military edge he has and, as more of Realist-Constructivist in the study of International Relations, I feel I can sorta understand some of the decisions he's made in the past both good and bad.
His world broke and he himself is broken.
I also noticed that in the story that he's finally begun to name his animal companions.
From a creative stand point what a cool way to show a character is undercover.
I do dislike them going on how discard and life drain are suppose to be Dav and Sorins things and like lookingupanddown said where are the zombies? Maybe since she is hiding?
Wonder if we will see another planeswalker since its likely the Kenriths are MDFC.
EDIT- Magecraft is also nifty I like how it includes copies for multiple reasons.
I thought I was gonna take a break for a while but I simply had to log back in and upvote this.
The artwork is superb and I'm glad that she's present but I admittedly wish they'd save more mechanical space for Dav.
Edit:
That dress tho! She clearly has an equivalent PhD in style!
Overcosted for her gameplay effect? Maybe? Hard to tell but aside from my Dav complaint I'm largely impressed with her.
I've thought it through and I'm taking a break from the game and from the lore for a while.
We'll see how long it lasts as my investment in the game is pretty ingrained by now, but I can't help thinking that I possibly care about and prioritize Magic's setting and storyline at a deeper level than the staff (or at least the upper management) at WotC.
And that's not healthy.
There are loads of other franchises, series, and fandoms that do just as good, if not better jobs at developing engaging and consistent narratives.
I'm pretty happy with my WB Silverquill faction, and I'd even go so far as to argue that 2021-early 2022 is shaping up to be the best WByear in quite some time.
Kaldheim: WB Kaya
Strixhaven: WB Silverquill
Innistrad: WB Sorin (one of the two sets)
Kinda wish that my work-life situation was a little less hectic these days for me to enjoy it.
Edit: Not that he'd be a perfect fit, but I could definitely see Davriel being a lazy, last-minute/temporary faculty hire much like Slughorn was in the HP novels. Not that it would be wise for WotC to associate itself with HP these days.
Davriel has a sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, as well as a great deal of experience in writing demonic contracts. He's a perfect candidate to manage Silverquill for a bit, even if he leans UB rather than WB.
I too am excited to see the Kenriths and Kasmina again.
I think there's a lot more 'fly by the seat of your pants' story-line related policies that are made and implemented behind the scenes that we largely aren't privy to. I suppose though that goes without saying.
We also have to consider how much of the planning for a main set's basic story is decided in broadstrokes well before the story team figures out the details involved.
Story spotlights have always been general, but they also always seemed to at least reflect the basic idea of what's happening in a story through basic plot points.
In Kaldheim though we seem to be missing entire chapters such as the protagonists' adventures in Skemfar, or Kaya's confrontation with Vorinclex at Esika's inner sanctum. This is peculiar.
Another strange occurrences within the story include the lack of a Theros: Beyond Death body of fiction.
In short. The story seems to be relatively unstable currently, and I'm curious as to what it may signify.
What about the Storyline's overall meta, how it's been organized and communicated across platforms, how has company policies towards the storyline developed or changed over the years?
We saw a lot of experimentation by the company in telling and explaining the game's story and setting across a plethora of platforms and mediums. Physical Books, Artbooks, E-books, Email-newsletters, Video trailers, podcasts, free serialized webfiction & articles, MTG arena voice-acting, and of course the cards and mechanics themselves.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they've probably been trying to measure the success of these platforms and mediums using some kind of metric system that examines the issue based on varying criteria, such as audience receptivity, player awareness, cost & profitability, depth, consistency, etc.
This becomes difficult as they would need to take into account the fact that the kinds of stories also being told also influences how successful a narrative is on any of these fronts.
I think there also have been disruptions since war of the spark, both good and bad, that have also impacted how the story is and has been told.
The controversies surrounding the War of the Spark books, the Global Pandemic, increased awareness for the need of greater diversity in the game post-Black Lives Matter, disruptions require more immediate responses by the company that may impact the story's planning, and analysis of a story's overall success.
So what's the 'State of the Story' so far post-War of the Spark (set and novels)?
Budding planeswalker = newly sparked, new planeswalker = new to us
We have New Phyrexia returning as a main antagonist. Kaya is now on the hunt for Vorinclex.
Tibalt may or may not be poisoned with glistening oil. Ashiok might be paying New Phyrexia a visit.
Kaldheim/Kaldheimrs may or may not be likewise poisoned. (I'm very unsure of this point)
A few planeswalkers such as Tibalt, Oko, and possibly a third unknown planeswalker are causing trouble across the multiverse.
Elspeth has returned from the underworld and we now have a budding Planeswar Calix following the Inspector Javert trope in hunting her down.
Garruk is cleansed from his curse and may be mentoring the budding Kenrith twins.
Budding planeswalkers such as Lukka, the Kenriths, Niko, Calix, and Tyvar are all learning the extent of their abilities and what it means to be a planeswalker.
Lukka may be stepping into his own Start of Darkness campaign that may lead him to villainy.
Narset has begun to connect with the same fonts of mana she identified with in the original-Tarkir timeline.
Zendikar is healed from the Eldrazi's destruction but Nissa and Jace's relationship may have become damaged in the process.
Nahiri could be now counted among the Gatewatch's growing list of antagonists.
Of all the known, non-native planeswalkers to expect on Innistrad, I admittedly didn't expect Teferi and Wrenn.
I can't immediately think of a time-related plot element associated with Innistrad right now, so here's my guess:
Teferi's mastery of time-magic will simply aid him in working to solve an Innistrad problem in a similar way that Kaya's ghostly magic was useful but central to Kaldheim's plot
And/or Teferi is there looking for solutions or managing problems well beyond Innistrad. Exiling ancient evil as opposed to destroying said evil is a common theme on the plane and maybe Teferi is researching phase and exile magic in an attempt to bring back Zhalfir and he gets caught up in local affairs?
Wrenn could be on Innistrad in an attempt to heal the plane post-Emrakul perhaps? We know that there are dryads on Innistrad.
I am glad that Arlinn is getting more emphasis in the story and maybe she or Wrenn will be recruited into the watch?
Possible. One of Old Phyrexia's greatest weaknesses was its over-reliance upon its master Yawgmoth and the means and ends associated with B mana. Yet there are costs to being leaderless as well and you may be correct in the inference.
New Phyrexia is more diverse in its mana base and colour philosophy, but it is currently lacking a multi-coloured leader that can unite all of its individual parts (including Red). Maybe this is a feature, and not a bug but there's pros and cons to either strategy.
Maybe Strixhaven will provide further clues as to what (and who) we're dealing with here?
it’s blue when opened how can it be the planar bridge when the one vorinclex enter to go back was red
it (might) mean(s) either jin-Gitaxas cracked it he may have repaired menarch planar bridge or someone else is father/mother of machines who made it happen
I really wish we could use the colour and shape of the portal to discern who arranged all of this, but I mean, WotC can't even seem to get their Story Spotlights to accurately reflect the story canon as written by the Story Team, so I'm suspicious of the idea that they'd pay any closer attention to finer details such as a portal's pattern and colour.
Listen, we've had this conversation already about other products Wizards has released. Everyone on this website is an extreme liberal. Two generations are brainwashed extreme liberals. If you argue against extreme liberalism you will be shouted down. You will be hunted to the point of losing your job or worse. There are all kinds of news stories like that and it's disgusting.
You have to understand the rational arguments are over. Just enjoy the societal collapse. Arguing against the ideology behind this product is a massive waste of time.
In the context of a product available for purchase that you disagree with there is only one solution of not buying the product. Solution: Don't buy the product.
You’re projecting.
Yup. There is also insufficient understanding in the post as to what the word Liberalism actually means.
He still believes himself to be the good guy.
I kinda like the military edge he has and, as more of Realist-Constructivist in the study of International Relations, I feel I can sorta understand some of the decisions he's made in the past both good and bad.
His world broke and he himself is broken.
I also noticed that in the story that he's finally begun to name his animal companions.
I thought I was gonna take a break for a while but I simply had to log back in and upvote this.
The artwork is superb and I'm glad that she's present but I admittedly wish they'd save more mechanical space for Dav.
Edit:
That dress tho! She clearly has an equivalent PhD in style!
Overcosted for her gameplay effect? Maybe? Hard to tell but aside from my Dav complaint I'm largely impressed with her.
I've thought it through and I'm taking a break from the game and from the lore for a while.
We'll see how long it lasts as my investment in the game is pretty ingrained by now, but I can't help thinking that I possibly care about and prioritize Magic's setting and storyline at a deeper level than the staff (or at least the upper management) at WotC.
And that's not healthy.
There are loads of other franchises, series, and fandoms that do just as good, if not better jobs at developing engaging and consistent narratives.
Simply put: This game is not for me.
Kaldheim: WB Kaya
Strixhaven: WB Silverquill
Innistrad: WB Sorin (one of the two sets)
Kinda wish that my work-life situation was a little less hectic these days for me to enjoy it.
Edit: Not that he'd be a perfect fit, but I could definitely see Davriel being a lazy, last-minute/temporary faculty hire much like Slughorn was in the HP novels. Not that it would be wise for WotC to associate itself with HP these days.
Davriel has a sharp wit, an even sharper tongue, as well as a great deal of experience in writing demonic contracts. He's a perfect candidate to manage Silverquill for a bit, even if he leans UB rather than WB.
I too am excited to see the Kenriths and Kasmina again.
We also have to consider how much of the planning for a main set's basic story is decided in broadstrokes well before the story team figures out the details involved.
Story spotlights have always been general, but they also always seemed to at least reflect the basic idea of what's happening in a story through basic plot points.
In Kaldheim though we seem to be missing entire chapters such as the protagonists' adventures in Skemfar, or Kaya's confrontation with Vorinclex at Esika's inner sanctum. This is peculiar.
Another strange occurrences within the story include the lack of a Theros: Beyond Death body of fiction.
In short. The story seems to be relatively unstable currently, and I'm curious as to what it may signify.
What about the Storyline's overall meta, how it's been organized and communicated across platforms, how has company policies towards the storyline developed or changed over the years?
We saw a lot of experimentation by the company in telling and explaining the game's story and setting across a plethora of platforms and mediums. Physical Books, Artbooks, E-books, Email-newsletters, Video trailers, podcasts, free serialized webfiction & articles, MTG arena voice-acting, and of course the cards and mechanics themselves.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they've probably been trying to measure the success of these platforms and mediums using some kind of metric system that examines the issue based on varying criteria, such as audience receptivity, player awareness, cost & profitability, depth, consistency, etc.
This becomes difficult as they would need to take into account the fact that the kinds of stories also being told also influences how successful a narrative is on any of these fronts.
I think there also have been disruptions since war of the spark, both good and bad, that have also impacted how the story is and has been told.
The controversies surrounding the War of the Spark books, the Global Pandemic, increased awareness for the need of greater diversity in the game post-Black Lives Matter, disruptions require more immediate responses by the company that may impact the story's planning, and analysis of a story's overall success.
Budding planeswalker = newly sparked, new planeswalker = new to us
We have New Phyrexia returning as a main antagonist. Kaya is now on the hunt for Vorinclex.
Tibalt may or may not be poisoned with glistening oil. Ashiok might be paying New Phyrexia a visit.
Kaldheim/Kaldheimrs may or may not be likewise poisoned. (I'm very unsure of this point)
A few planeswalkers such as Tibalt, Oko, and possibly a third unknown planeswalker are causing trouble across the multiverse.
Elspeth has returned from the underworld and we now have a budding Planeswar Calix following the Inspector Javert trope in hunting her down.
Garruk is cleansed from his curse and may be mentoring the budding Kenrith twins.
Budding planeswalkers such as Lukka, the Kenriths, Niko, Calix, and Tyvar are all learning the extent of their abilities and what it means to be a planeswalker.
Lukka may be stepping into his own Start of Darkness campaign that may lead him to villainy.
Narset has begun to connect with the same fonts of mana she identified with in the original-Tarkir timeline.
Zendikar is healed from the Eldrazi's destruction but Nissa and Jace's relationship may have become damaged in the process.
Nahiri could be now counted among the Gatewatch's growing list of antagonists.
Did I miss anything?
Of all the known, non-native planeswalkers to expect on Innistrad, I admittedly didn't expect Teferi and Wrenn.
I can't immediately think of a time-related plot element associated with Innistrad right now, so here's my guess:
Wrenn could be on Innistrad in an attempt to heal the plane post-Emrakul perhaps? We know that there are dryads on Innistrad.
I am glad that Arlinn is getting more emphasis in the story and maybe she or Wrenn will be recruited into the watch?
New Phyrexia is more diverse in its mana base and colour philosophy, but it is currently lacking a multi-coloured leader that can unite all of its individual parts (including Red). Maybe this is a feature, and not a bug but there's pros and cons to either strategy.
Maybe Strixhaven will provide further clues as to what (and who) we're dealing with here?
A quick jaunt through the wiki doesn't reveal anything either and you probably consulted that source anyways.
Maybe try the MtG Vorthos reddit-page and see if anyone there has any info?
I really wish we could use the colour and shape of the portal to discern who arranged all of this, but I mean, WotC can't even seem to get their Story Spotlights to accurately reflect the story canon as written by the Story Team, so I'm suspicious of the idea that they'd pay any closer attention to finer details such as a portal's pattern and colour.
I hope I'm wrong.
Yup. There is also insufficient understanding in the post as to what the word Liberalism actually means.