Wizards did release PDFs for both Zendikar and Innistrad with D&D5e compatible stats.
The play works really well for DnD. The Kor and other races work fine, but using it will feel a lot more like DnD with a sprinkling of MtG flavor. Pretty fun, but you can't feel like you're a planeswalker til upper levels.
Yea, I'm hoping if we have tribes to look forward to, we need some lords. Now that there aren't core sets, we need tribes in blocks, and I was sad that Innistrad didn't have a reprint of the "Captain" cycle.
They could also do Aztec gods or something, but if it's the block right after Amonkhet they might not because gods are more important/expected by the players for Egypt than for Mesoamerica and they don't want consecutive worlds to feel too similar.
Aztec gods is a must, I think. If the five gods of Amonkhet are monocolored, the Aztec gods could be multicolored to avoid making Atlazan more of the same.
As for the tribes, that merfolk from the booster pack looks greenish, kinda like a Gaea's Skyfolk or the Simic merfolk, and the human warrior might as well be Mesoamerican Boros. So maybe they're all enemy-colored?
UG Merfolk WB Skeletons UR Pirates RW Warriors BG Jaguars
If gods are done, maybe they can do shards/wedge splits for the gods from Amonkhet and Atlazan - but it would be weird to have them back to back. Wedges would support enemy color tribes better than shard gods.
The Jaguars kinda sound like the Sultai's Rakshas (i think those are the demon cat dudes from DnD and Indian myths)
People forget Kamigawa failed on almost every metric, sure limited was kind of fun but it was underpowered, the gameplay didnt capture the flavor, the mechanics were poorly designed for the format, it had nezt to zero standard impact. Its literal only saving grace was its flavor which ironically still became a minus becasue its flavor was super obscure.
Like if they did return to kamigawa they would have to change almost everything becasue almost everything in it rightfully sucked. And if the only thing Kamigawa 2 would keep is top down japan, then why not make a new japan set instead of Kamigawa on name only?
What could you even put into kamigawa 2? Splice onto arcane was parasitic bull, Bushido had no samurai flavor (they like fighting? so do most of our creatures, they FIGHT) the shinto tribal races were all too obscure,a legends matters theme is impossoble to execute properly, the war between the factions wasn't reflected in gameplay, there was a pointless hand size matters theme it gave us two cancerous artifacts....
Basically Ninjas and Epic Spells are the only mechanics that are even in the running for a return and the top down flavor the very CORE of the concept would have to be gutted to just "japan".
What is the point of a return when only 10% would actually get returned to and the rest would be new.
Just make a new japan plane like how Innistrad replaced Ulgotha as the gothic horror plane
I think they can salvage the best of the set - interesting legendaries, legends at uncommon, fun lands, ninjutsu - and put it on a new plane. The rest you're spot on with, and it can go in a Garbage Fire
Atlazan's color theme resembles too much to that of Battle for Zendikar. makes you wonder
I noticed that, too. Moreover, that would mean three new worlds (Kaladesh, Amonkhet and this one) in a row, which is not impossible, but still unlikely. I'm not calling it necessarily a fake, though: it could be some kind of mockup of the packaging produced while working on a product still ahead on the schedule, and somehow come to the handa of a customer around the world... it's a long shot but still not impossible.
Agreed. I feel that after Kaladesh and Amonkhet blocks, a return is in order, probably Theros, maybe Ravnica 3.0 (cuz we're never gonna not return to the uber popular planes)
Loving the art, across the board. Very happy to see that Ajani is sticking around. Though if this is true, do you know what the best part is? The fact that it would mean that Ravnica 3 isn't coming after Amonkhet!
One can only hope. Remember Amonkhet came after Kaladesh, so Ravnica 3 could unfortunately come after Atlazan. Vraska could be the lead right into Ravnica 3. And that, of course, would be terrible.
In addition to this, we also know that Modern Masters 2017 is focusing heavily on the Return to Ravnica. It's time to face the hard fact: we're never not gonna return to Ravnica.
This looks like the villain's plan from a badly-written movie.
You know, it kinda does sound like the first Avengers movie. Loki gets a group of heroes together to...I think dishearten them? Too low level stupid for Bolas, mastermind of like at least 3 story blocks so far.
Well bugger me. Nicol did mastermind the Eldrazi's release. Perhaps he had the foresight to see the Gatewatch as a result. We've seen a ex-walker like Ob get recharged when theirs some vague energy sources (in story, the hedrons), perhaps Nicol is gathering opponents to devour for their sparks to become a god-walker again.
Though I hope Ugin finally gets off his "I'm checking on stuff" ass and helps the characters in the main plot. My money is the Gatewatch ends up on Amonkhet lured by Tezz, and the "trials of the gods" mystically preps them for dinner. In the Hour of Devastation, Uging comes to save the collective asses of the Gatewatch and the all duke it out, Gatewatch + Ugin vs Nicol and co.
I'm gonna assume Chandra is powering it, story-wise. Like blasting fire into a aether power core or something - that's what the alternate cost feels like.
Unless I'm missing something, he seems bad in EDH, bad in Modern. I don't know enough about Standard, but doesn't seem good considering the high cost.
This will be a sub 5 dollar planeswalker a few months after release.
Edit: This feels like one of those planeswalkers in the starter decks that is supposed to not be competitive.
Agreed on all points. He seems par for powerful planeswalkers, but really slow, which cuts him out of modern and standard. On the plus side, I think he'll be fine for EDH - 'walkers are more of a swiss army knife than a bomb, and he offers a lot of options, most importantly draw and built in Swords to Plowshares. As long as the 'walker looks like it won't ult, most players in my experience ignore them (with the exception of Mindsculptor and Liliana of the Veil). So, I'm glad it will be cheap for casual.
It's pretty reasonable for detain to be reprinted. White and Blue are still doing a ton of tapping (like Topplegeist and Nebelgast Herald). Detain may not always fit in thematically (it is tied to Azorius), but can still be reprinted.
We've seen convoke (Selesny'a Ravnica 1.0 ability) return in M15, and expand to red and black, so detain has a lot of space - perhaps expanding to Esper and black, as fitting the law and order theme.
Elspeth has been pretty much set up to be brought back soon and iirc her death was finalized before the gatewatch idea was.
After Amonkhet, it's been a long enough time for the story to return to Theros, and could be for a number of reasons - Ajani wants the Gatewatch to help get Elspeth from the Underworld, some relation btwn Amonkhet gods and Theros gods makes it necessary, Gideon is feeling homesick, Ashiok is up to something, Nicol Bolas is up to something, etc.
In any case, I hope that return Theros will recover Elspeth, which can then branch into a "Reclaim Mirrodin" block
The play works really well for DnD. The Kor and other races work fine, but using it will feel a lot more like DnD with a sprinkling of MtG flavor. Pretty fun, but you can't feel like you're a planeswalker til upper levels.
If gods are done, maybe they can do shards/wedge splits for the gods from Amonkhet and Atlazan - but it would be weird to have them back to back. Wedges would support enemy color tribes better than shard gods.
The Jaguars kinda sound like the Sultai's Rakshas (i think those are the demon cat dudes from DnD and Indian myths)
I think they can salvage the best of the set - interesting legendaries, legends at uncommon, fun lands, ninjutsu - and put it on a new plane. The rest you're spot on with, and it can go in a Garbage Fire
Agreed. I feel that after Kaladesh and Amonkhet blocks, a return is in order, probably Theros, maybe Ravnica 3.0 (cuz we're never gonna not return to the uber popular planes)
In addition to this, we also know that Modern Masters 2017 is focusing heavily on the Return to Ravnica. It's time to face the hard fact: we're never not gonna return to Ravnica.
You know, it kinda does sound like the first Avengers movie. Loki gets a group of heroes together to...I think dishearten them? Too low level stupid for Bolas, mastermind of like at least 3 story blocks so far.
Though I hope Ugin finally gets off his "I'm checking on stuff" ass and helps the characters in the main plot. My money is the Gatewatch ends up on Amonkhet lured by Tezz, and the "trials of the gods" mystically preps them for dinner. In the Hour of Devastation, Uging comes to save the collective asses of the Gatewatch and the all duke it out, Gatewatch + Ugin vs Nicol and co.
Agreed on all points. He seems par for powerful planeswalkers, but really slow, which cuts him out of modern and standard. On the plus side, I think he'll be fine for EDH - 'walkers are more of a swiss army knife than a bomb, and he offers a lot of options, most importantly draw and built in Swords to Plowshares. As long as the 'walker looks like it won't ult, most players in my experience ignore them (with the exception of Mindsculptor and Liliana of the Veil). So, I'm glad it will be cheap for casual.
We've seen convoke (Selesny'a Ravnica 1.0 ability) return in M15, and expand to red and black, so detain has a lot of space - perhaps expanding to Esper and black, as fitting the law and order theme.
After Amonkhet, it's been a long enough time for the story to return to Theros, and could be for a number of reasons - Ajani wants the Gatewatch to help get Elspeth from the Underworld, some relation btwn Amonkhet gods and Theros gods makes it necessary, Gideon is feeling homesick, Ashiok is up to something, Nicol Bolas is up to something, etc.
In any case, I hope that return Theros will recover Elspeth, which can then branch into a "Reclaim Mirrodin" block