#ezrim

[incorrect-mtg]

Murders at Karlov Manor + Tumblr textposts Part 1

[hyralc]

my localization of mtgjp's comic

[changeling-rin]

Heyo! Wild here! (Or Ezrim as I go by now) wanted to see how ya are? I hope your doing well? Its been sooo loong! (Things have just kept me busy these years-), anyway, wanted to ask, if it hasn't been asked yet. What would the Links think of DnD? And what would each of their classes be?

I'm doing well, although I've definitely let my hobbies get away from me. How long has it been since I last updated the Tumblr?

But, I have excellent news for you! This question has already been answered in a previous Ask!

Got all the classes in here and everything!

As for what they think, most of them enjoy it. Some of them (Vio, Sketch) think it's not quite the way they'd choose to spend their time? But they'll keep playing to spend time with the others.

And then there's Shadow, who is only participating because Midna threatened him

[almostlookedhuman]

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than purring

I have 77/80 commons from foundations so I decided to craft the last 3 only to find that there's not 80 commons, there's actually 174. So I guess I'll just wait to get the last 3 by packs. Also I went 7-2 in a sealed run with morbid because I got 4 generic-good-stuff rares and drew one almost every game lol

[relto]

earlier today i went through some older drawings while trying to find something, and im.. fine with it? yes the anatomy is wonky most of the times but things genuinely look cute too

[overgrown-estate]

So regarding the Murders at Karlov Manor, there seems to be a lot more Rakdos suspects than any other guild. From the card "Demand Answers", we know there was an attempt on Aurelia's life and she and Boros Legion believe it was the Rakdos cult who were responsible.

I don't think it could be anyone from the Rakdos Cult, though. Of course, we know there's going to be multiple murders. Probably some connected to each other, while others are not. This is going to be fun.

I'm interested in this Agency of Magicological Investigations and as long as Alquist Proft doesn't turn out to be Lazav, I'll be super excited. Although this Archon, Ezrim, that apparently leads the Agency is a bit odd.

Can't wait until January 16th when MKM previews begin.

[markrosewater]

As someone who has asked you for more Archons repeatedly, I appreciate the new legendary Ezrim! High fives to the author, if you can, for unearthing new archon lore!

High fives shall be applied.

[heracrosshero]

An awkward apology

Aurelia acts like she is above everyone else, but she is not so conceited that she won’t apologize for her mistakes. But this? Did she really have to apologize to this woman?

After the events at Vitu-Ghazi, Aurelia tracked down Massacre Girl. It wasn’t exactly difficult for her, she just followed the blood and screams. She pushed her angelic instincts to protect deep down, perhaps in the same way humanoids tried to fight back a sick stomach. Most of these people were in Rakdos territory because they liked pain and suffering for whatever reason. For those that didn’t, well, Aurelia’s current target was an assassin by trade, and that profession was technically legal under Azorius law. Aurelia huffed in annoyance and flapped her white wings to soar higher over the stench of Rakdos’ streets.

Finally Aurelia spotted her, with the same ugly red grin painted on her face and those same bloodstained clothes adorned in spikes and barbed wire; Massacre Girl. Aurelia grimaced and pulled her wings against her back to rapidly drop to ground level. The air shook and burst from her descent as she landed right behind Massacre Girl, who let out a yelp of surprise. Seeing Massacre Girl caught off guard gave Aurelia satisfaction. Sure, she may not be able to arrest Massacre Girl, but a killer for hire shouldn’t be allowed to feel too safe in the angel’s opinion.

Aurelia looked down at the daggers pointed nervously at her armored chest. Massacre Girl eyed her with an expression somewhere between caution and excitement. Aurelia gave neither the weapons or the woman herself any mind, but instead looked away out at the street.

Massacre Girl jabbed lazily out at Aurelia. “A warning would have been nice, you know. Sneaking up on people is supposed to be my job.” 

Aurelia didn’t turn her head. She may be a big enough of a person (angel?) to say this, but not to look that wicked woman in the face while she did so. Aurelia spoke with all the professional, dispassionate tone she could muster. “I have come to formally apologize to you, Massacre Girl, on behalf of the Boros Legion for falsely accusing you and the Cult of Rakdos for the murders of Ms. Zegana, Teysa Karlov and your attempted murder on myself. I hope that this incident can be left in the past as our guilds continue to cooperate for the betterment of Ravnica.” 

Massacre Girl listened to her speech politely before bursting into a fit of shrill giggles. “The great Aurelia, the law above, apologizing to me!?! Oh wow, I’m gonna need that in writing so I can hang it on my bedroom wall.” 

Her undignified chortling grated Aurelia’s ears. Why had Niv-Mizzet and Ezrim insisted she apologize personally to the Cult of Rakdos. This was beyond humiliating. “Do you accept my apology?” Was all she could force herself to say, hoping a simple yes would follow and she could then fly out of here back to the familiar fortresses of the Boros.

“Oh yes, believe me I accept it. But don’t worry about it too much darling. I did try to kill you, even if I don’t remember doing so.” Fully secure in the knowledge that she wasn’t being re-arrested, Massacre Girl sheathed her daggers and sat down on top of a dumpster. “It’s only natural that you would be a bit miffed about that. Bygones can be bygones.”

Aurelia did her best diplomatic smile, relieved to hear that at least the Rakdos woman was so stuck in her base instincts that debts and politics meant nothing to her. Aurelia gave the slightest nod of respect she could towards Massacre Girl before walking out of the alley to fly away, before she felt a wet hand grab her wing. 

“Wait up a sec.” Massacre Girl said as she looked up at the angel. “Is there an official Boros report on my assassination attempt on you?”

Aurelia, curious why Massacre Girl would even ask such a question, answered it without thinking, “Yes, but you are technically a victim in these events, not a criminal, much as it aggravates me. You don’t have to worry about the Boros coming after you yet.”

Massacre Girl shook her head. “Oh no no no. I don’t care about your silly little tin soldiers coming to arrest me. Do you think there is any way that record can be made public?”

Aurelia’s mouth fell open. “You…want this incident to be publicized?”

Massacre Girl nodded excitedly. “Obviously! It may not have been a successful kill, but attacking the Boros Guildmaster is a feat that will earn the admiration of every Rakdos performer in Ravnica. Unfortunately I have no memory of the event, so I can’t give an accurate retelling of it. If you have a play-by-play, I want everyone to hear about it!”

Aurelia did not know whether to groan, laugh, or just fly away this very instant without another word. She settled for returning to her professional composure. “Er, well if that is an official request, I suppose I can ask to have this file publicized, or at least your portion of it relating to the attempt on my life.” Aurelia couldn’t believe anyone would be happy to hear this, but Massacre Girl sure looked thrilled.

“Oh wonderful! Thanks a ton Relly, you’ve really helped a girl out. I hope you know that.” Massacre Girl winked at Aurelia. 

Aurelia scoffed. “I have no intention of helping you out at all. If you wish to have your murderous lifestyle further broadcast to the city, be my guest. And you will refer to me as Guildmaster Aurelia if you please.”

Massacre Girl struck a lazy salute that would have made any Boros soldier ashamed to witness. “I do not, Relly.” 

Aurelia sighed. There was no point with this crazy woman. “I will be leaving now. Stay out of trouble.” Aurelia said, and began to spread her wings. 

Massacre Girl continued to do her salute. “Awww, thanks for worrying about me. Have a safe flight.” Then she turned and vanished into the shadows of the alley. 

Aurelia watched her disappear, shaking her head in complete bewilderment. “I hope I never have to talk to that woman again unless it’s to interrogate her, I swear.” She said quietly to herself. Then in a gust of wind, Aurelia took off from the pavement and into the bright sky above.

[dailymtgflavortext]

"Lies fester and flourish in shadow. Our job is to bathe them in light." —Ezrim, Agency chief

-No More Lies

[theothin]

final round of speculations about murders at karlov manor: compelling theories that the culprit is azor disguised as ezrim, less-compelling theories that the culprit is oko disguised as kellam, and no one knows who lazav is disguised as

[incorrect-mtg]

Kaya: So, how did you get a job with the Agency? You don't strike me as a career investigator.

Kellan: Oh, I just walked in and asked if I could help!

Kaya:

Kaya: *turns to Ezrim*

Ezrim: Ravnica's supply of earnest people who legitimately just want to help is very scarce.

[harpagornis]

MTG Analysis: Archons part 2

a while back I wrote an extensive article on the archons of Magic: The Gathering. Since I don't feel like making a fool reboot (and I can't add more images to that article) I've decided to make a sequel article dealing with the archons we haven't reviewed yet.

Archon of Coronation

Released in Commander Legends this archon hails from the plane of Fiora. Given what a political clusterfuck that plane is, I don't know what the archons political stance is, but I suppose they support whoever's in charge (currently Marquesa).

This is the first archon with an actual bird steed (unless we count Ornitharch's flock of birds?) which makes it stand out quite a lot. I also like the pure black face, so eerie for a White card. I guess it could be mask like a robber's mask, which makes it funnier in my opinion.

Archon of Cruelty

Introduced in Modern Horizons 2 this one is the first non-White, mono-Black archon, which I quite dislike since it plays into the whole "Black if evil" shenigans. As we previously discussed, Archons represent the cruel side of White mana, so this makes even less sense flavourfully.

The design at least it's interesting, with a hooved carnivore like a mesonichian with bat wings as steeds. The exact plane where it lives is not clear, but judging by the Bolas horns it might either be from the Meditation Realm (which would make it the only living thing besides the imprisoned dragon twins there) or Amonkhet, which has no precedent for archons but enough for angel-fuckery. Maybe Bolas meddled with it and that's why it's mono-Black?

Guardian Archon

(Apologies for image quality, it was the only large pic I could find without the card)

Debuting in Strixhaven: Commander, this owl ridding archon has a quill-end like shield, which I find it quite adorable for a sinister force of violent order. The pen might be mightier than the sword... which is why its a shield instead of a weapon. Clever girl/boy/non-binary!

Archon of the Wild Rose

We return to Eldraine with this imposing white-stag riding archon. Like previous Eldraine archons it looks quite luminous and ghostly and we actually have a reason why! Accroding to the D&D tie-in monster manual, Eldraine archons are actually deceased knights. They live at the boundaries of the wilds, marking the border between the human and fae realms. Human knights often pick up a fight with an archon in order to expand the humans' domain, which is fruitless as the archons don't get to decide where the boundaries are. Silly humans.

The return to Eldraine also introduces the card Archon's Glory, showing an archon flaring before what I assume is one of Ashiok's nightmare thingies. Not much to say except it looks pretty cool.

Ezrim

We conclude this sequel with the second legendary archon, Ezrim. From Ravnica, Ezrim started as an Azorius archon, before quitting because the other archons were apparently too much for him. He then went on to found a truth cult (ironic considering mythological archons are all about keeping the illusion of the material world) until it grew into a detective agency. He is a major character in the Murders at Karlov Manor storyline; not a lot of quirks but has quite a presence. We also see through him that an archon and steed can momentarily seperate... which he uses to file paperwork. Neat.

I like the use of browns in his depiction, like a very subdued gold. Besides the trenchcoat - working wonders to hide his face btw - he wilds a blue staff, which I assume he uses to unvield the truth. His steed is some sort of sharp toothed bull with two tails and four wings; it isn't described in detail in the story, I'm assuming because either the final design wasn't ready when it was written or because it's simply not easy to described

And that's it for now

Creative has made Archons quite a rare creature type, and have played quite a bit since we last sank our teeth, subverting both the MTG rule as White's bad side and the mythological role as masters of illusion.

Let's see what the future holds.

[theworldgate]

I was going to say it was weird that the extra resolution was to a mystery no one was asking about but, honestly, I can see why Wizards thought people would think Niv-Mizzet letting all that happen was weird. It was weird. How did we not notice that?!

Also, some of the unresolved loose ends I'm seeing complaints about are blatantly, like, plot hooks or not even mysteries.

("What's up with Jace raiding Proft's mind?" Well, 1. Not Jace and 2. The mysterious figure talking mysteriously about mysterious future rewards is blatantly meant to be a mysterious hint at some sort of mysterious future mystery.

"Wait, did Judith win the Rakdos power struggle?" I'd say "no" but Rakdos is on the poster for the next set (so not Ravnica). But also: Rakdos is literally on the poster for the next set. Like. Guys. Complain when it's left unresolved after that.

"Why didn't Proft confront Ezrim rather than going straight to Niv-Mizzet?" Proft's unsubtle inquiries got him a summons to meet the Guildpact. This lack of subtlety, rather than a grand conspiracy, is probably also why Kylox wanted to talk to Ezrim instead.)

[stupidstupidratcreatures]

the way people talk about ezrim you'd think he was the first limited bomb ever printed. guys its dream trawler without the dream trawler can we all chill a little

[wind-to-your-sails]

it's a shame the only Azorius-colored folks introduced in Karlov Manor are Alquist Proft and Ezrim. And that Isperia and Dovin are dead. And that Ravnica probably wouldn't stand for a guildmaster from another plane... On the other hand, Niambi would be a great guildmaster.

the real issue with karlov manor is that lavinia shouldn't be azorius guildmaster, make up some new fuck to be that role. Lavinia should be acting as niv-mizzet's legal aid and reluctantly reminiscing about the days when she only had to deal with beleren and not a egomaniacal dragon