#Zendikar Rising

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Thieving Skydiver

Artist: Kieran Yanner TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[geekynerfherder]

'Nissa of Shadowed Boughs' by Dave Rapoza.

Card art from the 'Zendikar Rising' expansion set, published in September 2020 by Magic: The Gathering.

[incorrect-mtg]

Flavor Text Highlights - Zendikar Rising + Commander Precons

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Cool - Allied Assault

A common foe is the death of old hatreds.

Cool - Cleric of Life's Bond

“No gods. Only each other.”

Funny - Inordinate Rage

“In my years wandering this land I’ve seen a veritable menagerie of fantastic creatures, but one that has eluded me thus far is the fabled ‘easygoing minotaur.’” —Ko, expedition wizard

Worldbuilding - Sea Gate Restoration | Sea Gate, Reborn

“We have much to remember … and much we can never forget.” —Tazri

“We carry on the legacy of those who defended our world by continuing to unearth its secrets.” —Tazri

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[mtg-art-daily]

Phylath, World Sculptor

Artist: Pascal Blanché

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Zendikar Rising Key Art by Bjorn Hurri

[overgrown-estate]

[rhineglade]

[beatsandskies]

deePRECONnaissance: the decks of the “Zendikar World Tour”

I’m coming to realise that the amount of preconstructed decklists that Arena churns through is actually absolutely intense. Not to mention that they’re often only available for 48 hours then they’re gone. Forgotten about. So hence this series where I’m going to be doing some deep reconnaissance, digging into the libraries for the basic info, and putting it into a post. So if you wanted to have a…

[refreshdaemon]

It's the same as the usual, but this one doesn't have any full art lands at all, which is the hallmark of Zendikar, making this bundle disappointing, especially since 2021's included showcase lands.

[niuttuc]

Alright, let's go back in reverse chronological order and list (at least) one story per set I liked. Mostly side stories, because those are easier to read without context.

March of the Machine:

Ravnica: One and the Same if you've been following magic story for a while, since it delves into the established character of Vraska, written by the same person who wrote most of Rivals of Ixalan. For something more standalone, the Cecani twins' correspondence is as always excellent in Innistrad: Family Game Night, and the Ixalan story has some sweetness and giant dino fights.

Phyrexia: All Will Be One:

A Hollow Body gives some good POV story for the phyrexians, both within Norn's religious brainwashing and beyond it.

The Brothers' War:

All the stories set in the past take the original Brothers' War novel and elevate it, both with an epilogue and with a more grounded point of view of it. Of those, Episode 1: The End and Episode 2: The Beginning are the only ones really linked, and they do a good job showing the consequences of the war.

Dominaria United:

Faith in Birds is sweet and hopeful and doesn't have as much dread and war. Shards of Nightmares is carried on Braids' back for the most part, but the Weatherlight crew is good to see again.

Steets of New Capenna:

The Contract Breaker gives a good look into one side of the city, has a sweet rhino man and enforcers aiming loaded violins at people.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty:

The Epoch Engine and The Blade Reflected and Reborn give a nice contrast between tech kamigawa and traditional kamigawa, and both their trappings. Neither of them are particularly memorable to me though.

Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow:

The side stories from these two sets share a common thread of humanity learning to work with "monsters" to survive the night. Of these, Survivors and The Dusk Reborn are probably my favorites, with Survivors giving a good look at someone on the ground and The Dusk Reborn featuring an awesome archangel who ended up in a pact with an immortal demon she wears the skin of as a leather armor.

With that said, the BEST story from this pseudo-block is without a doubt Tangles, it wasn't nominated for an award for nothing.

Strixhaven: School of Mages:

Each of the face students from Strixhaven got a side story, but the most memorable to me is Rootha's, A Cry of Magic. It doesn't deal in incredible feats or impossible talent, quite the opposite, and the learning and struggle is quite interesting.

Kaldheim:

Direction. Purpose. Honor. Glory. The story of Ranar is pretty long, but it's really good at building the part of the world(s) of Kaldheim it sets out to, and is well-written.

Zendikar Rising:

Do you like a found family story? Join Anowon to gain a party's trust (he probably doesn't deserve, to be honest) in Hunger.

Aaaaand we're already back almost to the start of the most recent arc. That's a few years' worth of side stories cherry-picked, should be good enough for now. I'll add Note for a Stranger though as a Pride special that wasn't released with any set featuring Huatli and Saheeli through their clueless lesbian note exchange and first date.

Finally. I don’t even care if he’s good or not, I’ve been waiting for my boy Vronos to get a card for YEARS.

[cannibalgirlballs]

it is fucking tragic that i will never get to experience watching this show for the first time again

one of the best shows ive ever seen, loved the shit out of it. need to find a place where i can watch it again

this is one of the few pieces of media i am comfortable rating at an 8 or 9/10, up there with prince of egypt

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Zareth San, the Trickster

Artist: Zack Stella TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[markrosewater]

Howdy Mark! I gotta say, the fact that the Dragon Lord's of Old Tarkir are gone and were killed off screen has kinda sucked all the wind out of the sails for me for this set. I feel like this is another "return to rise of the Eldrazi" and not a "return to Zendikar" moment. We aren't going back to the thing we last saw, we are coming back to something else that's some shade of it. :( What's in new Tarkir for old fans to be excited about?

All the clans. Lots of legendary creatures. Many throwback designs. The set is pretty chockful of Tarkir-ness.

[sylvan-librarian]

Keep Nissa Away From Zendikar

This flavor text on Nissa’s new card floored me, but it also got me thinking. Yes, obviously, the affirmation of the ever growing love between Nissa and Chandra is heartwarming, but it also reminds me of a fact I’ve been mulling over in my head for some time:

Nissa is at her best when she isn’t on Zendikar.

Of course, I’m invested in Nissa’s happiness as her #1 fan (fight me), but despite how much Nissa thinks about and pines for her beloved home, I’m not entirely convinced that she is happiest on Zendikar. Zendikar represents her past and who she was before the Gatewatch, before Chandra. She loves Zendikar and its Worldsoul, but the main theme of Nissa’s entire Gatewatch arc was her learning to blossom beyond her previous constraints and grow into something new. This is hammered home in some of her more recent story appearances as well: the “infinite possibilities” motif in “She Who Breaks the World,” for instance, shows Nissa coming to terms with the darkness of her past and learning to embrace the wider world.

Furthermore, Nissa is usually written and characterized better when she is not on Zendikar. Her Magic Origins story, the Battle for Zendikar arc, Zendikar Rising, and In the Teeth of Akoum all suffer narratively for one reason or another. Obviously, this trend can be bucked, but historically Nissa is characterized and written far better when she is off-plane: stories that take place in locations like Avishkar, Phyrexia, Amonkhet, Zhalfir, etc. all portray Nissa in a much more interesting light than her Zendikar stories do.

All that said, I’m sure it’s inevitable for Nissa to eventually get back to Zendikar and scrap with Nahiri and all that, which I’m sure will be very fun, but for now, I’m perfectly happy seeing Nissa and Chandra have their lesbian travelogue across the multiverse. It’s the most fun and most emotionally stirring these two characters have ever been to me.

[mtg-art-daily]

Flooded Strand

Artist: Adam Paquette

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Soul Shatter by Wylie Beckert