#return to amonkhet set when????

[pxper-cranes]

Aetherdrift episode 6:

[markrosewater]

When we return to Kaldheim I want to request that snow abilities get centered in red this time. My disappointment was great when Modern Horizons had the snow theme yet had zero snow support in red colors despite the only competitive deck using snow in Modern at the time was Skred Red. It would have been a great opportunity to enhance that specific deck archetype instead of other colors.

Themes in a set need to match the needs of that set. We do think about larger, historical connections, but that is secondary to the set working within its own biosphere.

This is partly because there would be too much drift if historical definition was the primary determiner, and partly because part of making new sets is helping push mechanical themes in new directions, (which, interestingly, helps to create more opportunity for historical connections in the future).

Ideally, there’s a desire to split the difference. Zombies were in white and black in Amonkhet, for example, to create new Zombie decks, but still be rooted in the core color - black.

In the case of snow, it was one of the more minor themes and done later in the process, so it ended being put where it fit.

[ashpeth]

The Aetherdrift story ended today and honestly, I really enjoyed it. The race was mostly besides the point - it was really just a vehicle (pun absolutely intended) for the character driven moments in the story, as well as tying the knots of this thoroughly thus far unconnected arc together. The Dragonstorm arc has kind of been very disparate - Bloomburrow was basically just a palate refresh after the omenpath arc and had only dragonhawk and a brief mention of Jace as connective tissue. Duskmourn brought in another appearance of Jace and an illusion of dragons that Kaito witnessed as the connective tissue, but also introduced Winter and ended with Valgavoth capturing Loot to lead into Aetherdrift.

Spoilers for Aetherdrift under the cut

Aetherdrift is a story about connection and family and teamwork. Fitting for the first? premier set based around a sports competition. The story begins with all of the major characters split up - Chandra is racing alone on a different team to maximize her chances of winning rather than race with her mom, Nissa is fully on the sidelines, Pia has Spitfyre/Sita as her headlining racer but wishes it was Chandra wearing the unique suit, Spitfyre feels fully isolated from her family, stuck in her family’s empty home with her very conservative (fascist) father, who has very specific ideas about what his daughter should be doing with her life, Daretti is on the goblin team, and Loot is stuck in a cage.

As the story progresses, our characters are brought together by circumstance - Daretti is captured by raiders on Muraganda after being abandoned by his team, Chandra tries to rescue Loot from Winter, who has been tormented him, and herself gets lost, and Pia goes to save Chandra. They escape on the goblins’ ride through an omenpath that Loot directs them to. They crashland on Amonkhet and find their way back to Avishkar, where Spitfyre/Sita’s father has captured her in his Jace-backed attempt to overthrow the new government and reinstall his beloved fascist regime.

Jace forcibly takes Loot back, which Chandra fights against. Pia is almost killed, but Spitfyre, letting go of her rivalry with Chandra, saves Pia using her last speed boost, to prevent any other daughter losing her mother like Sita had. Together, Team Avishkar beats back the fascists, though Jace & Vraska escape with Loot. The familial connection of Team Avishkar, both the blood of Chandra and Pia, the found family of Spitfyre to Pia and later Chandra, as well as Loot with Chandra (and of course the love of Gruulfriends), is the theme and power of this story, especially when contrasted with the lonely, stifling and rigid family of Sita and her father, and the not-so-happy family of Jace, Vraska and Loot. Connection is what this story and arguably this arc, is all about.

The planes are connected like never before, for better and definitely for worse. Jace is definitely the villain here, but he’s not wrong. There’s plenty of terrible things that could happen with the increased connection between planes, namely the increased power and influence of Valgavoth, as well as any potential interplanar wars that could break out. People from everywhere can meet and enrich each other’s lives but tyrants now have new worlds to conquer. Jace has clearly fallen down the slippery slope in pursuit of his “greater good”.

Elspeth does arrive as a Deus Ex Machina to save the day and to inform us that the third act dragon that attacks Ghirapur is but a symptom of The Dragonstorm that has been roaming the multiverse and bringing dragons everywhere, even places where there hadn’t been any before.

The threads are leading into the return to Tarkir, where Jace and Vraska are planning something to try to reset everything.

The arc has been about bringing people together, and now we’re going to see that payoff.

[lazodiac]

Spent all day writing out a full campaign story recap for my MTG themed DND game. I've posted it below because... maybe people would be curious to give it a read? Hope you enjoy!

SET 1: RIDDLES IN RAVNICA

Four planeswalkers; Signora Luna de la Cruz, a Soratami cleric and adventurer initially claiming to be a vampire. Kaneis, a Nyxborn wanderer seeking a place in life. Rodna, a vampire warlock secretly working for the Dimir. Wistralaxa, a Naga sorceress with an uncanny ability to not die. Each found themselves in possession of a letter requesting they head to a Ravnican café at a specified date. Upon doing so, they met with an Azorius arrestor with a mission that required finesse, strength, and secrecy.

The mission was, initially, to find the Goblin mob boss known as Krenko and bring him to justice. However, a mixture of “actually fuck the cops” attitudes, secret dealings, and sensing of foul-play being afoot lead our heroes to instead side with Krenko (after roughing up some of his men) and help him in taking down the Azorius instead. In doing so, a conspiracy of sorts was discovered, as well as Rodna retrieving a package from her Dimir handler, Etrata- a mysterious tome.

After the mission, the party has lunch and decides to keep in touch- they seem to work well together, after all. And so, each return to their lives; Rodna receives her next mission. Kaneis finds a letter placed on their bed labeled “A Friend”. Signora Luna’s inn-room is bombed. Wist encounters the mysterious Mr. Taz, who gives her an invitation to Eldraine- seemingly the mastermind behind all the goings on.

Our heroes reconvene to discuss what happened and what their next task will be. After some discussion, it is decided to tackle the bombing Luna narrowly avoided- seemingly caused by the Shattergang Brothers, goblin rivals of Krenko, their “new friend”. After some investigation, they head to the Undercity’s Golgari Markets to stock up, complete a task for an ally, and then rest for the night.

Our heroes then storm the Rakdos Cult nightclub the Shattergang Brothers are held out in, fighting through the twisty-turning pathways. Guards and goblins, but also at least one creature from Amonkhet, Wist’s home plane, something that should be impossible. This all comes to a head with our party successfully capturing the Shattergang Brothers… only for them to be found dead, slain when no one was looking. The truth of the matter is then revealed; Rodna is a Dimir assassin, unknown even to herself. Her true task, to hunt down Dimir agents who have gone rogue, and the link to all of these events is one said rogue agent; Ivreyla, and the “Friends of the Multiverse”, led by Mr. Taz Dranos.

A dark truth revealed, our heroes support Rodna as she breaks her pact with Rozumu, leaves the Dimir, and after recovering head off to Ivelya’s hideout, lead by a former guildmate of hers. Unfortunately it is a trap, and our heroes must fight their way through the hideout to save Rodna’s friend- captured by Ivreyla- and bring an end to her Dimir cell once and for all.

Strava, Rodna’s friend, is saved- though turned into a vampire to do so. The Dimir cell is destroyed, all members killed. Ivreyla herself seems to escape as her spark ignites and she planeswalks away, but a cursory inspection of the plane she ended up reveals she is likely to have been ripped to pieces by a werewolf. A satisfactory ending, that in the end leads our party- through Kaneis- to make actual contact with the so-called “Friends of the Multiverse”, an organization of Planeswalkers who seek to assist each other in various… endeavors.

The party categorically refuse, for understandable reasons, and instead head to Kamigawa- an old friend of Wist’s may be able to help with their current problems…

SET 2: THE IRON SCROLL

The Story Circle- a loosely connected band of Planeswalkers that share information and stories, a friendly group that is connected by faint threads more than the bond of battle and bloodshed. Wist is a friend of the ‘leader’ of that group, Tamiyo, and heads to her home on the plane of Kamigawa in the hopes of fulfilling their goals. Rodna needs to learn what is going on with her body- breaking the pact has seemingly unlocked some sort of mutation that is happening to her. Luna wants further adventures, and exploring her home plane is something of an interest for her. Kaneis has a want for connection, to more firmly define themselves through others. While some of this is accomplished something all-together more important pops up. One of Tamiyo’s Iron Scrolls have been stolen.

The Iron Scrolls, she explains, are three very powerful stories she has collected through her time traveling the multiverse- stories that MUST be recorded, but in the recording have been granted overwhelming power that befits their very import. Plane shattering stuff. So our heroes head off in pursuit of the thief, reaching a nearby Nezumi village. Assisting the locals and entreating the local kami-god Nezu-kyo- and telling each other the stories of how their sparks ignited as payment- our heroes are pointed in the right direction, heading to a city on the edge of civilization.

Our heroes reach the Painted City, a beautiful place of neon paints and colour. A Soratami planeswalker- known as Eshi- lives here, and Nezu-Kyo has pointed them towards him to find that which they seek. Going to see Eshi however involves them finding a strange diorama of a tall tower… that our heroes then find themselves within! Strange puzzles and antics are has… as well as one of Wist’s cooking knives being drawn in as a massively powerful yokai that our heroes must run from.

Eventually, our heroes locate Eshi’s painting room within this strange diorama. An enigmatic sort, with paintings of various lands in Kamigawan style- most relevantly, a scene from Theros, and a painting marked with the symbol of an Innistradi cult that Rodna found in that cursed tome of hers. This turns out to be relevant, as whatever mutations Rodna is undergoing, something similar is happening to him, and he provides some information about it- as well as pointing them towards how they can contact the Friends of the Multiverse and locate that scroll.

Eshi lets our heroes leave after he finishes Signora Luna’s painting- a strange thing, that seems to shift as one looks at it, and perhaps more questions than answers, especially with regards to the Tide Star Seer, something that Luna finds familiar… but that’s brushed off as they further explore the city looking for Sen the Silent. Our heroes engage in Sen’s fight club, learn of some leads, and after some shenanigans involving a shadow kami end up getting the information they need- though not before said kami puts on a little show for Luna, taunting her about something she doesn’t quite understanding.

With information in hand, our heroes journey through the old wilderness of Kamigawa… and find themselves changing. Rodna grows stronger, fiercer, in defense of her friends. Wist grows impatient and reckless as the worry of what this Iron Scroll could do weighs on her. Luna starts to welcome in the power of her home, dragon-cries echoing in her dreams. Kaneis starts to define themself, a whirling dervish of blades and tendrils and jellyfish dresses. The old magic of the plane, the conflicts they encounter, turn our heroes into Heroes, befitting the quest they’re on. Little do they know what this could mean…

 Partway through, they encounter the Tiger Claw bandits, and end up storming their fort through stealth and guile and absurdly intense power. The honestly quite pathetic leader of this crew and his minions are dispatched quite easily by our heroes, but in the doing they discover some oddities- the leader’s Dominarian armor, a Zendikari elemental trapped within a room of the hide out as a digging tool. More things that suggest the Friends of the Multiverse have been here, twisting lives for their own gain.

The confrontation draws near. The planeswalkers reach the mountain where the Friends’ hideout is, and explore it in search of their enemies. With some assistance from an old kami known as Night’s Reach, our heroes find it- in exchange for taking a mask representative of her power with them, to bury on another plane at a later date. Our heroes reach the hideout of the Friends of the Multiverse… and reality crashed down upon them, as words echo across them- echoes of Dominarian history.

They are reading the scroll. There is not much time left. Our heroes rampage through the undead samurai and Innistradi spirits and other would-be monsters defending their lair, and all the while echoes of magic ring out across the pagodas. The world reverberates and rattles.

In tackling the pagoda fortress, our heroes split up. Kaneis on their lonesome, the rest together facing the undead hordes- and faltering. Luna is unconscious, Wist is being hounded by spirits, and Rodna is doing her best. It is here, at a tea room positioned between pagodas, that Kaneis runs into another kami- though this one is not a servant of their enemies. She asks if they need assistance, and Kaneis says yes… in exchange for a favor. Kaneis has a beast to hunt, and will know when the time is right to repay this debt. With a golden hand, the spirit plucks the remaining heroes from their rooms and places them in the tea room, where our heroes take a moment to breath before confronting their foes.

Within the final chamber are the twins of the Friends of the Multiverse; Seele, a Geistspeaker, and Corpus, a Ghoulcaller, both from Innistrad. The twins and their servants (plus the animated remains of the ninja Higure) ready themselves to fight, and our heroes charge to meet them. Corpus continues his reading, the magic crackling through the very fabric of the plane itself, reality starting to shift.

The battle is chaos incarnate. Luna fights Seele, having previously fought her in Sen’s fight club. Wist provides support. Rodna engages Corpus directly with her strange powers and her katana. Kaneis whirls and carves and kicks and fires off spines in defense of their allies. It is break-neck, frenetic, and our heroes are pushed to the limit. Finally, it happens! Rodna slays the ghoulcaller and he dies with portentious words; “It’s the wrong scroll”. Followed by a hideous, hissing roar as a behemoth of a black dragon, scales metallic and shiny, tendril lord cords lashing out from its hide steps through a smokey rip in reality. It screams “THERE WILL BE SILENCE.”

Seele turns her remaining soldiers about the creature, but it simply isn’t enough. A stream of caustic acid bellows forth from the dragon’s maw, and the Geistspeaker is washed away in a sea of glowing liquid. Luna barely survives this, but falls unconscious. Rodna does her best to carve into it. Wist is worn and weary, attrition taking its hold. Kaneis’s spines clatter against its metallic hide- but then, a solid blow! A hammer-shaped spine shatters one of the dragon’s eyes, and the second, sharper spine enters the gap in the creatures skull. It unleashes a horrid screech, worse than anything they’d heard before.

And then, Silence. The dragon’s flailing roars, their own haggard breathing, all of it blanked out. They can barely even hear themselves think. The dragon’s head twists upside down and unfurls into a cylindrical device… and starts glowing, light flooding from the hairline fractures that open up into it.

It is, quite clearly, a bomb. Our heroes run, Luna managing to wake up in time- though not before seeing a vision of nine stars slicing through the sky in formation before scattering to the winds. She and Wist each other as support as they run, Rodna chasing after, and Kaneis quickly passing them all as they rush ahead- the healthiest of them all, trying to clear the way. But all the spirits and undead that remain seem frozen. They run, footsteps silent, hearts pounding, the impending doom behind them glowing fiercer. Rodna falls, out of breath. Wist and Luna try to pull her to her feet. Kaneis doubles back to help. They feel as though they’re running in sand, and then- vision gone white, a massive explosion piercing the silence.

Our heroes awaken on the front yard of Tamiyo’s home, each in a pile of pristine white sand, soft and gentle. Luna has a golden ring marked with a face in her hands, she does not know from where, with a message held between the teeth. She looks at it, a mystery. Wist collapses in the sand, crying from exhaustion. Kaneis sits there, shaken. Rodna just lays face down. They have barely survived.

Then, a faint glow. A woman in gold robes, the kami Kaneis met, appears. A silver dragon perched across her shoulders. She introduces herself as Michiko and Kyodai, the Sisters of Flesh and Spirit, the patron gods of this plane- higher than any other, but bound by the metaphysical rules of their domain, as they explain in the wake of Wist’s anger at what has transpired. They apologize for what has happened, for as much as that matters, and after some discussion reveal that Luna is the Tide Star Seer- one of five blessed by the dragons of Kamigawa, and the strange visions and dreams are her future sight manifesting.

With that, the Sisters grant our heroes each a boon. Wist uses hers to task the Sisters with restructuring society upon the plane, so no one is powerless to shape their own fate. Rodna asks them to rid her of the corruption stemming from her palm, and is given a wolf shaped amulet that will absorb the power of that which changed her, ridding her of that corruptive force. Kaneis simply asks “Why am I?”, and they answer that they hold within them an intensely beautiful soul- to return to Theros with their companions will answer the questions they seek, and Kaneis receives a compass to guide the way. Luna, meanwhile, does not know what boon she will ask- but when she does, the Sisters will act.

In the aftermath of all this, our heroes return to Tamiyo’s home- not difficult given they’re on her front porch- to regroup, recover, and inform the poor Soratami of what all happened. Luna inspects the ring she found in her hand, the note telling “Those who fought the Black Dragon, seek out the One Made Five”, but decides they’ll handle that later. As well, much to Tamiyo’s horror and the concern of our heroes, the Iron Scroll casings are now each marked with a symbol that they swear was not there before- an upside down pyramid with a ruby in the center.

But those mysterious will have to wait. Instead, our heroes have made a decision… Rodna is too important to them to leave in a lurch like this. Next stop, Innistrad.

SET 3: LIGHT OVER INNISTRAD

Innistrad is an awful place at the best of times- always cold, often dark, the wilderness full of all manner of creature with a desire to kill you. And that was before the Trevails, when the ancient eldritch creature known as Emrakul came to the plane, corruption in her wake… though a different set of heroes solved that problem well before our heroes ever met. But it is in that aftermath of a world that Rodna, Luna, Wist, and Kaneis find themselves, on the hunt for information about Rodna’s mark, and how to cure it.

They march down the road to Ulm, the town nearest their arrival. A simple town, with more than a few problems, and our heroes feel the need to do as heroes do and help out. There’s a murderer on the prowl, the town is down to the last dregs of humanity who wish to survive here, and it is only through helping solve this case that Ulm will be saved.

The investigation begins, the party splitting up to cover more ground. Kaneis bonds with a small child. Wist examines the four victims. Rodna infiltrates secret areas of the local parish. Luna makes friends. Far too much happens in far too much detail to properly set up in a recap in any reasonable length of time which is wild because look at how big this document is already dear lord.

Fact is, our heroes discover some of the many secrets of Ulm, and end up finding the murderer- a cultist and his son, who they swiftly dispatch after exploring his strange, haunted hideout. Within, they discover something far more important; a portrait of Rodna, from before she was turned into a vampire. Turns out, the cult has ties to her origin… and someone in town has seen a woman who has the same fiery red hair as she does.

Journeying through the woods to find said person, the planeswalkers encounter a tribe of strange were-panthers- previously encountered during the investigations. They are led to meet the leader of their tribe, to negotiate a peace with Ulm. Said leader is a tall panther-man with a  deep, strong voice and a penchant for speaking in metaphor- Kaneis matches wits with their own poetry, Wist strikes to the heart of the issues, Luna is less than thrilled, and Rodna is wary. The man, calling himself the Sage, leaves them with cryptic comments and a singular warning; the shadow of a Planeswalker leaves a long shadow. He does offer to make peace with Ulm as Wist requests, and our heroes leave to continue their search.

It does not take very long; in a clearing of the woods, far enough from civilization to be reasonably called idyllic, they find a simple log cabin. A woman with fiery red hair, working her day. It is Rodna’s mother, and the reunion is terrifically sad. Not least of which because… reunions often mean departures. Rodna is oh so very tired, and this is the first sign of something stable and comforting in a long time. She opts to stay, for now, to learn of her history and why she became what she is- the attempt at revitalizing a dying house of vampire nobility, mutating for reasons still unclear save for being marked as some grand Matriarch of import.

Rodna would rather not have to deal with that, so she rests, and our heroes leave with heavy hearts. They know they may see her again, but for now it is goodbye. Their next task; learn the truth of that mysterious symbol. And so they leave for Dominaria, to investigate the mighty libraries of Tolaria…

SET 4: THE PAGES OF TOLARIA

Wist, Luna, and Kaneis find themselves on the plane of Dominaria. Not the first time for any of them, though Tolaria’s coastal locale is a new one. School is currently out for the upcoming autumn season, and the library should be mostly empty. But other mysterious faces roam those storied halls…

Splitting up to cover more ground, Luna heads off and encounters two such faces- Myfanwy, a Faerie wizard from Eldraine with many a secret of her own, and Linessa, a local Human wizard. Seeking the adventure most likely to be found within this school, she joins the two of them in their quest to access the so-called Forbidden Texts. Myfanwy thinks all knowledge should be free, Linessa has a thesis to write, and Luna sees this for the adventure it truly is.

Wist and Kaneis meanwhile scour the shelves for books pertaining to the strange mark, and find a mysterious face of their own; Linessa, a human wizard local to the plane. The mystery of these same-named folks obscured for the time being, they assist her in hunting down tomes, eventually finding a handful of promising leads; a book on demons and a diary of an extremely ordinary, dull man.

The diary is so boring that Kaneis nearly falls asleep reading it… only to pierce the veil of this illusion and receive a strange poem of a riddle. Before they can bring it up, disaster strikes as Wist pries open the demon book with a blast of magical ice, unsealing one of the demons from within; a demon from her own home plane. They fight it tooth and claw and tail, but only thanks to the appearance of Myfanwy (who has completed the exam and gone exploring) that they manage to survive the beast.

Myfanwy then leaves again as our heroes recover, reuniting with Luna and the Linessa she met to reach the Forbidden Texts room, guarded by a delightful talking door. Gaining access, they pore over the books inside to find something, anything, that may give them the answers they seek. Myfanwy finds a book on the stars of multiple planes, Luna finds an old scroll on the history of Kamigawa, specifically regarding the Dragon Stars, and Linessa… finds what she is looking for, before vanishing in a gust of wind.

The Linessa with Wist and Kaneis vanishes as well, having satisfied her curiosity with the two planeswalkers, just in time for Luna and newcomer Myfanwy to return. They reconvene, and if you’re reading this right now that means you’ve caught up! If you’ve got any questions please ask me! I'd love to ramble about this (but no spoilers some of my players follow me)

[justicefortyvarkell]

Chapter 2 of the Duskmourn story. I will continue liveblogging Tyvar and Friends below the cut.

- The himbo life didn't choose Tyvar, Tyvar chose it.

- Niko definitely seems like they've got a chip on their shoulder so far. Losing their spark must've affected them quite a bit. Being all about freedom and choosing their own path and suddenly having a bunch of paths closed to you. Still does seem silly to doubt that someone can read the air when you just proposed that the house changes shape and you've got magic mirror shard powers. No doubt the heroic attitudes of Theros have also shaped how they handle things too. Must also be why Tyvar is so fond of them, similar glory-hero cultures.

- Housing complex? It's quite simple to me. But no, kitchen connected to bedroom isn't nonsense. That's the dream.

- nice Homer reference

- creepy carnival inside a haunted house? Truly this is the modern horror set.

- Niko's an anti-monarchist. Makes sense, I guess, if Meletis is the stand in for Athens in Theros.

- Niko aligning Tyvar with Birgi just makes me want a Jund Tyvar card so bad. Jund fight matters perhaps?

- So our teams are Tyvar and Zimone, Wanderer and Niko, and Kaito and Himoto. I bet Zimone loses her glasses at some point.

- It is very unfortunate that the Wanderer's true name is forbidden.

- Tyvar was not born to hear a lecture about quantum physics.

- Taking on the physical characteristics of the Malevolent Haunted House doesn't seem super smart. I hope this isn't like a "Lukka bonding with a Phyrexian" moment.

- Having characters overtly recoil at memories of the Phyrexians is good. I like when magic story feels continuous even when it jumps around between planes every set. The haunted house set is perfect, narratively, as well. The House serves as a physical reminder of some past that cannot be returned to, regret and mourning shaping the genre.

- Duskmourn reminds me of Amonkhet in some ways. The world as it once existed is dead and has been supplanted by something new. It would be interesting to see characters react like Nissa had on Amonkhet when she tried to reach out to its worldsoul. Serve as another inescapable reminder of the perversion of this place.

- I had never considered the universal translator of moving between the planes wouldn't affect text. Seems like a pain.

[magicwithclass]

Aboroth is one of the few reserved list cards to have a playable stat line. Creatures were much weaker back in the day and most creatures had a very poor power and toughness to mana cost ratio. A 9/9 for only six mana would be considered gigantic back in the day! The eldrazi have really spoiled us. A big creature, especially in green, does not illicit a strong reaction today but people seeing these back in the day must have been in awe. I just really wish this card had trample as this card is getting chump blocked all day. This card actually encourages your opponent to delay the game as aboroth will get weaker and weaker on every turn. The first time you get to attack with him he will only be an 8/8 then on the next turn a 5/5. He actually loses stats very quickly and in just two turns you are overpaying for this card. The trick is to turn the disadvantageous effect to your advantage. Aboroth puts -1 -1 counters on itself and there are many ways to manipulate or remove counters especially -1 -1 counters. There are cards in amonkhet that want you to remove counters or get stronger when you remove -1 -1 counters. This card offers a continuous way to out counters on your own permanent so that you can remove them. Be careful though. Eventually aboroth will die to its own upkeep cost. There is not much -1 -1 counter support and I think that is a shame. I wish they would mix counters in set as I feel the complexity of the current game has made it acceptable to have multiple counters on permanents. I understand that negative counters are a hard theme for a set. How can blue, green, and red use these counters in enough creature ways to fill out an entire set or multiple sets. Amonkhet showed the issues of trying to use these counters in all colors. I think as a limited theme for a rakdos strategy, we can make make this strategy effective. It also much easier to remove your own counters for a positive effect than it is to remove counters from your opponent so you really only play aboroth in a deck where the counter placement is an upside. If we ever see a strong -1 -1 counter theme again then this card could be used in such a strategy especially with the limited choices available. Hapatra vizier of poison decks sometimes play this card as does Melira outcast since counters cannot be placed on creatures. Any card that prevents counters from being placed can also synergies with this card but are those cards worth playing for a 9/9? If Falco Spara is your commander than maybe it is worth it because your are trading those counters for cards. Eventually, we will get another set with a -1 -1 counter theme. It might be a subtheme or the theme of an entire set but they will have to return to this design space eventually. On that day, this card may experience its first reserved list spike. In March 2021, this card was ten dollars but that was a period when reserved list buyouts had become the norm and all reserved list cards were spiking because of market manipulation. This card did not hold its price but if they really lean into a -1 -1 counters theme then there are worse cards you can play. You ca also just play this card in a deck that wants to play many different types of counters regardless of the type. There were some decks in New capenna that had this theme. The original new phyrexia block is another resource if you want to look at some cards that synergies with this one. Just wait until -1 -1 counters make a return. There could be hope for aboroth yet.

[danco110]

“Prepare the corpses of your former comrades. They will march with me to Ravnica.”

The scarab-headed monster gave Nicol Bolas a silent nod, and gestured to its army of Eternals with its staff. Instantly the metallic skeletons set to work, approaching the lifeless bodies of the gods of Amonkhet. As the Scarab God returned its attention to Bolas, the dragon uttered a sinister laugh at the sight.

“It appears I helped you to outlast your fellows. You are welcome. I am off now to make preparations of my own. I expect the four gods to be finished when I return.”

Again the Scarab God nodded. Seemingly satisfied, Bolas vanished in a swirl of sand and shadows, leaving the undead god and its minions alone with only the other gods’ bodies for company.

The Scarab God waved its staff, and the four corpses were instantly covered in a thick layer of lazotep. With its only mission complete, the undead threw a wary glance to the spot where Bolas had disappeared. When the dragon did not return after nearly a minute of staring, the Scarab God visibly relaxed, and sat down upon a nearby obelisk before kicking its feet up upon the stone structure.

The Eternals seemed to follow their god’s lead, and dispersed into the ruins of Nakhtamun. Several sat down at a nearby surviving table, and soon a game of cards began. Others resumed training with each other or with the few intact training dummies. Yet still others could only watch the nearest sundial, anxiously awaiting Bolas’s return. All the while the Scarab God was unconcerned with its subjects, and continued resting upon its makeshift seat.

—

[That scene from Brazil, where the second the boss steps into his office, everyone else instantly stops working.]

[theothin]

MTG was also where my mind went, since it does a variety of settings with different inspirations. and we can see how differently some of them have gone! most of them focus on various european influences, and those have also tended to be the most positively received - including theros (greek) and kaldheim (norse). on the other hand, kamigawa (japan) and ixalan (central america) were not as positively received on their first visits - kamigawa ended up finally returning after a decade and a half in neon dynasty which shifted to a more modern japan focus, while ixalan's underground focus in lost caverns seemed to draw more on central american influences than the original. both of those seemed to be more successful - maro has talked about how while the japanese mythology in original kamigawa had its dedicated fans, there just weren't enough people who could follow it. there's also kaladesh (modern india) and amonkhet (ancient egypt) which haven't gotten proper revisits yet but do have a lot of people interested

all of these have had some amount of positive responses and some amount of negative ones - which seems inevitable with any of this. so it's definitely true both that it's worth exploring other backgrounds and that there are plenty of challenges and complications

speaking personally, when I was writing fenrir, I had a lot of characters reference myths for their superhero names, but the greek and norse references were the ones I found easiest, to have familiarity going in and to have a good idea of how they would come across

ultimately I think a lot of changing this is going to have to start with smaller-scale projects from people who do have plenty of familiarity with the myths in question. that can in turn sow the seeds for larger-scale ones

"Let's make games and media about other mythologies and pantheons other than Norse or Greco-Roman" is a take I really, really get, but the unfortunate reality is that most Western media conglomerates are pretty culturally white, and can you imagine the appropriation shitshow that would result from them portraying indigenous mythologies instead of the two pantheons that people can at least somewhat ascribe to Western European tradition? Ancient Egyptian seems the next most "safe" due to cultural penetration and time remove, and even that sparks discourse when it's done. Honestly I'm surprised that Disney even mostly got away with Moana, and that hardly went without critique. I think the execs that don't want bad press are well aware of this and are afraid to wade in.

I mean the obvious answer is for them to just hire people who can boast more claim to the tradition in question, but unfortunately it doesn't tend to work that way en masse, and also, even if they did do that, there would be a continent who would complain anyway. Own narratives are frequently called out as bad rep, usually by people who don't know the provenance (but sometimes even when they do!), and it'd be even worse with a big corporate name from the west attached.

Anyway buy foreign art I guess, but under current trends the big multi-billion God of War equivalent about African tradition is unlikely to come soon, I guess. Kind of an unfortunate side effect of the representation and appropriation discourse that makes certain kinds of narrative more scarce.

(A possible exception to all this might be, for instance, Japanese spiritual tradition, as there are plenty of Japanese media products that do well in the West. But this proves the point, because for instance I can think of examples of video games and films that feature oni, etc, whereas I can't for the less widespread or internationally exposed traditions that I describe).

[tags5colors]

Jace Beleren

Part 1 2

Pre Mending or Post Mending: Post

Age: mid to late 20s

Status: Alive

Primarily Color(s): Blue

Other Color(s): N/A

Color(s): Blue

Magical abilities: Telapath, illiusioist, Living Guildpact

Non-magic skills: Intelligent

Species: Human

Homeplane: Vyrn

Know Visited planes (that we’ve seen in cards): Ravnica, Kamigawa, Zendikar, Regatha, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Amonkhet, Ixalan, Dominaria

Sets/Storylines: Lorwyn, Magic 2010, Magic 2011, Agents of Artifice, The Purifying Fire, Worldwake, Magic 2012, Magic 2013, Magic 2014, Return to Ravnica, Magic 2015, Magic Origins, Battle for Zendikar, Shadows over Innistrad, Kaladesh, Amonkhet, Ixalan, Dominaria, War of the Spark, Zendikar Rising

Known Other Planeswalkers (that we’ve seen as a planeswalker card): Garruk, Tezzeret, Liliana, Bolas, Chandra, Sarkhan, Vraska, Ral, Gideon, Nissa, Ugin, Nixilis, Tamiyo, Sorin, Dovin, Ajani, Saheeli, Samut*, Huatli*, Teferi*, Karn*

Mini Bio: Brilliant, curious, and always in control, Jace is a master of mental magic: spells of illusion, deception, and mind reading. His powers allow him to manipulate enemy mages by countering their magic or using their spells against them. An adept analyst, he has an optimized plan (and a backup plan) for every situation.Growing up as a magical prodigy on his home plane, Jace Beleren sought out the training of the mysterious sphinx Alhammarret. Under the sphinx's training, Jace learned to control his abilities. However, when Jace discovered that Alhammarret had been using him for political manipulations and had even hide that Jace had unlocked his planeswalker abilities, he confronted his master in a fierce mental battle. The battle badly damaged Jace's memories and caused him excruciating pain. This distress caused him to planeswalk away, tearing him away from his home plane. Jace awoke on Ravnica, his memories shattered and his former identity forgotten. Jace's absence of memory now fuels his insatiable appetite for knowledge and truth.

[thecornwall]

Cornwall’s Random Card of the Day #354: Form of the Approach of the Second Sun

Form of the Approach of the Second Sun is probably the neatest rare in Unfinity and also has a LOT to say about it so let’s get started.

So, this card is an un-card which riffs on two cards which have gone before (kinda three). The first card it’s riffing off is Form of the Dragon, which sets your life total to 5 each turn, lets you do 5 damage to any target each turn, and stops creatures without flying from hitting you. The concept is you become a dragon. Un-sets have already riffed off this really cool card before with Form of the Squirrel.

Approach of the Second Sun is a card from Hour of Devestation which represents the approach of, you guessed it, the second sun in Amonkhet, which heralded Nicol Bolas the God-Pharoh’s return to the plane and ushering in the titular Hour of Devestation. It gained you 7 life then put itself 7th from the top of your library, unless you cast it before this game, in which case, you simply won the game.

So Unfinity gives us a great mashup of these cards by making you take the form of an abstract concept, and also turning you into a card in your deck instead of, like, a thing on the field. “When you draw yourself, you win the game” is an amazing piece of rules text. Of course, you have to balance 7 cards on your head, and opponents can remove the enchantment to futz with you, which makes this just balanced enough to not feel bad. I never played with or against this thing, but I think it looks amazing and is a great first card to show off for the latest un-expansion.

[squidpizza]

Ten Things I Learned From Cryptids of Belenon

Cryptids of Belenon is my baby; my first completed custom magic set and a topic I was and still am fascinated by: cryptozoology. It is first and foremost top-down cryptozoology, and I hit as many different tropes and creatures as I could squeeze into 278 cards. Still, it is far from a perfect set, but as a first set it’s always going to be an uphill battle to get it into a shape one might consider good. That is why, after nearly two years of development, I wanted to give some advice to people on how to avoid mistakes that I made when working on it. As always, take my writings with a grain of salt; I’m not infallible, and what worked for me may not work for you. Still, I hope this helps someone, whether or not they’re new to the hobby. Just for clarity’s sake, these are in no particular order and are definitely not least important to most.

1. Kill your darlings

This is a piece of writing advice I’ve adapted to the custom magic space. ‘Kill your darlings’ means, basically, that whatever you think you need you probably don’t. If something becomes unnecessary, whether that be a thematic element, a mechanic, or even a pet card, you should really consider cutting it. When I was first developing Cryptids, the set had a steampunk theme and multiple new and returning mechanics; I ended up abandoning every mechanic the set was pitched with, and traded in the steampunk aesthetic for a more modern thematic. The set is better for this change, even though at the time it was hard.

2. Get the picture

When developing for top-down sets, a unifying theme is very important. This should be obvious, but what isn’t obvious is that everything that contributes to that theme must be recognizable. Top-down sets such as Amonkhet didn’t reference obscure concepts like Egyptian metaphysics of the soul, and instead went for the most recognizable aspects: Mummies, animal-headed gods, jackals, snakes, and iconic imagery like the Luxa (Nile) and pyramids. That isn’t to say nothing obscure wasn’t referenced, but the focus was clearly on what people knew and understood. This is something I didn’t do in earlier versions of Cryptids; I referenced every obscure creature I could find, no matter how recognizable they are, and that hurt the set’s cohesion. Nobody knows what a Nandi bear is, but everyone recognizes Bigfoot and many people have heard of Mothman and a fair few people know what an SCP is.

3. Story time

Cryptids of Belenon does have a story, but it's told poorly through the cards. This isn’t the end of the world, but it makes the whole package feel less interesting and a bit confusing, potentially. Why are the banishers (an analogue for the SCP foundation, or the FBI from the X-Files) keeping everything hidden during an alien invasion? Why is there an alien invasion in the first place? Flavor text can help, but if the story is flawed in execution that can leave the audience even more baffled than without it. With the benefit of hindsight I know more resources should’ve been put into making the story flow more naturally.

Why is this a story spotlight? What even is the story?

4. Playtest, playtest, playtest!

Playtesting is extremely important, as anyone who’s been in the custom magic scene long knows. For me, playtesting was vital for grasping an intuitive knowledge of Cryptids’ mechanics; Sighting looks a little awkward but plays very smoothly, and Mysteries are full of knobs to balance them with. Mysteries in particular are the splashy, attention-grabbing mechanic of Cryptids, so making sure they all played well was the most important part of playtesting for me.

5. Archetypical.

Cryptids of Belenon does have limited archetypes, but its mechanical variance is off-kilter. Why are there one-off sighting rewards in red and white, when sighting is centered in sultai colors? This muddies the draft and can send wrong signals to drafters who aren’t familiar with the set. Sighting appears in all colors, but the archetypes rewarding it should be the main focus for that mechanic. This issue is present in other mechanics; there are flying rewards in blue despite the archetype being focused in white and black, and in general makes drafting more awkward.

6. Art thou ready?

Cryptids of Belenon has an identity problem. Much of the art suggests a modern, low-magic world very much like our own, but a few cards still remain that suggest a different time period. I’ve been slowly whittling away at replacing and reflavoring those cards, but this has hurt the set’s themes a lot in my opinion. Art is the greatest limiter in a lot of custom sets, and figuring out what you can and can’t art is a very important skill to master. Cryptids also just has a few pieces of low-quality art that could stand to be improved on.

7. Constructed applications.

Cryptids of Belenon is a somewhat lower-powered set, mysteries aside. Those are the main buildarounds, and a lot of them are pushed for use in constructed. With that much of the constructed budget eaten up, a lot of other constructed-pushed cards are riffs on existing cards, which is just not as interesting as new, competitively viable and interesting cards.

8. What’s in a name?

I am terrible at naming things. Straight up, easily the worst part of designing for me. I did very little worldbuilding for Belenon while developing the set; there are few locations named and few important characters with more than a line or two of flavor text each. In a better world, Cryptids of Belenon could’ve been a richer vorthos experience. I want to call particular attention to Anning, named after the real person she’s based off of. Why did I do that? The world may never know.

9. Cut the Chaff

Cryptids of Belenon has a lot of one-off cards and strategies that simply didn’t get the support they needed. There’s a small voltron package in blue and green, and a lifegain one in black and white. These are draft traps, and the set would be better without them. These cards don’t need to exist, and again confuse drafters by signaling archetypes that are not present.

10. Flavor Judgement

Aside from the overall issue of Cryptids’ story being hard to glean from the cards, a lot of the flavor text is just lacking. It’s quotes from a smattering of characters, most of it is quippy one-liners, and in general it just detracts from the flavor of the cards more than it adds in a lot of cases. This creates a feeling of sameness where there should be a lot of diversity; research reports, eyewitness accounts, et cetera. While I think the set does have a few standout flavor texts (such as Devolve, pictured below), a lot of them are in dire need of improvement or replacement.

[pxper-cranes]

MTG sets I want to see in the future (Post Phyrexian Invasion)

Ok so something weird that's happened is that aside from the whole destruction in their wake' thing, I don't really buy the weight the phyrexians had on the greater multiverse. In Wilds of Eldraine, their presence only enacted to destabilise the courts and allow for a new villain to take the stage, and as of yet the level of influence in Lost Caverns of Ixalan isn't discernible. but when I saw the plans for the next couple years of Magic story, I was a bit sad to see some planes left out of the roster. So, I thought to just spit out some ideas I've seen or thought of myself that I would thing would be really good in showing off and giving weight to the destruction that phyrexia supposedly did, as well as more adequately exploring the concept of planes bridging with omenpaths.

#1, Theros rebuilding set.

From what we saw in march of the machine, Theros got absolutely RAILED by the phyrexian invasion, so much so that its oceans, cities and even most of its pantheon were decimated. I think that sucks because its a plane that I really like and think has a pot of potential. So, after all the dust settles, it would be cool to see surviving Therosian people pilgrimaging across the places to try to enlist other planar factions to help in their rebuilding of their society. It would be cool to see people from Kamigawa, Ravnica or Kaladesh to come and help clean the plane up and rebuild its society. I'd even like if a new pantheon was partially formed from the people that help the most, since we know that belief in a single person is enough to send mortals to godhood. perhaps that's where the set's conflict is again, as a diabolical group tries to establish themselves as a new pantheon to lead new Theros, but people from other planes step up to help and maybe even become gods. You could have double sided cards for the mortal and god sides, and then establish new gods for new domains. perhaps there is a split between the Theros people; some welcome help to fix the plane, while others are more xenophobic to interplanar visitors. I just want to see Theros get back on its feet.

#2, Innistrad's Mass Exodus

something that is able to happen now are sets that feature multiple planes, and while we've been to Innistrad pretty recently, it technically could still work. with the emergence of omenpaths, eventually some bleed is going to happen into Innistrad, and the humans of the plane can find out that there are other worlds that are in fact free of the nightmarish and terrible, life threatening horrors that are all over Innistrad. it would be interesting to essentially see a whole buttload of Innistradian people basically becoming refugees on another plane or multiple to escape the terror of living in their own plane. to balance it out, there might be swaths of people trying to get *into* Innistrad for all matter of reasons. the cabal from Sominaria might be a bit interested in their demon cults, Strixhaven's Witherbloom classes might fancy an excursion or exchange to learn more about necomancy, or monster hunters from Ikoria may take on a more 'Van Hellsing' type of vibe, and form a guild to hunt monsters and help the humans that choose to stay on the plane.

#3, Planar Wars

Its a bold move, and would probably take a mini-arc to build up to, but it would be cool to see two plane's forces to go at each other, or at least run a type of cold war against each other. idk what planes specifically it could fit, but it could even be cool to see single factions on different planes go against each other. that would the Simic combine mesh against the Mardu horde? what about the Cabretti trying to extort the dinosaurs of Ixalan and team up with the Legion of Dusk to smuggle dinos to Capenna from the sun empire's clutches. its a less baked idea than others but still something with a bit of potential.

#4, Return to Amonkhet

Amonkhet was my first real set that I played magic with, I remembered opening my first pack and seeing Ornery Kudu, but nevertheless, with the return to Ixalan in Lost Caverns, being the second plane I participated in, I hope we go back to Amonkhet, possibly able to see the reestablishment of a new society after healing from Bolas and now phyrexia. Perhaps a kind of dungeon delving themed set, where characters are searching the plane for remnants of their society before the hour of devastation, but also trying to uncover the plane's society and culture from before bolas ever reached the plane. they start exploring ancient necropolis across the deserts and searching deep tombs and pyramids.

But these are just some of my ideas, I hope that the changes and updates that have happened to magic's sotry and lore recently allow the writers of the story to create some really great stuff, but so far I'm keeling my hopes close to my chest. I promise I'll do a couple shorter posts of my opinions and preferences of current or ex-planeswalkers and where I want their story to go in the new arcs of the future, (some I really want to talk about being Calix, Nahiri and definitely Liliana) but until then that's all. I'm trying desperately to escape my mtg brainrot but its a really good basis for inspiring a lot of my personal dnd stories as of late, so we'll see where I go with it.

[markrosewater]

Is there a reason that in the past few years almost every new plane we’ve seen has been top-down? I think you said at some point that New Capenna was bottom up, but even that still CLEARLY was going for and was inspired by a specific flavor. When I think of that set I see it as just “outside in” not bottom up or top down. In the past decade, the new planes we got full sets for were, in order: Fiora(bottom up), tarkir(I thought bottom up but I saw something recently that said you had initially started with the idea of clans that represent the different traits of a dragon so I guess topdown?), Kaladesh(seems topdown), Amonkhet (topdown), Ixalan (top down), Kylem(I think I remember Gavin saying this was topdown at some point but it seems bottom up to me), Eldraine (topdown), Ikoria (seems bottom up but honestly I’ve got no clue), Kaldheim (topdown), Arcavios (bottom up), Kamigawa (I know it’s technically not a new plane but it’s so radically different from old Kamigawa that I’m counting it. Also this was topdown), and New Capenna (previously mentioned). Seemingly more topdown sets than bottom up ones. And when you look at all the returning planes in those years, it’s the same pattern. Even if the plane’s design originally wasn’t topdown, like dominaria or ravnica, the returns felt as though they were focused on “look at this plane!” As opposed to “look at this design space!”. Even when the return isn’t focused on the plane, like the recent set murders at Karlov manor, it’s still feels more focused on flavor than function. That’s not to say that topdown sets are bad or poorly designed, just that it feels like more and more planes and sets are “how do we mechanically represent this flavor” and fewer and fewer seem to be “how do we flavorfully represent this mechanic”. I don’t really know what my question is, but I just wanted to hear what you have to say about that

Top down vs. bottom up is a design term talking about what part of the design you start with. Every set has flavor and mechanics, and by the time it goes to print, they’re interconnected, so you, the audience, shouldn’t know whether it was top down or bottom up if we’ve done our job well. Which apparently we have as many of the sets you listed as top down were bottom up. : )

[mtg-realm]

Magic: the Gathering - Core Set 2021 Characters

Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Illustrated by Lie Setiawan A fanatical priest of the Church of Dusk on Ixalan, Vito believes that salvation can only be found through the Immortal Sun. When the vampire saint Elenda returned with news of the Sun's disappearance and a message of humility, Vito overturned a massive carafe of blood onto the church's floor - a symbol of defiance against the living saint.

Basri Ket, Illustrated by Kieran Yanner Basri values integrity, discipline, cooperation and dedication to a cause. His upbringing on Amonkhet taught him that personal desires must be sacrificed for the benefit of the group. He respects those who are willing to sublimate their individuality for the greater good and mistrusts those who refuse.

[jeskaim]

M21 Spoilers Part 2

New Cards

Welcome to part two of my thoughts on the new M21 spoilers.  First of all I want to talk about this: Basri Ket.  Needless to say I’m pretty excited because he’s from one of my favorite planes, Amonkhet, even though his abilities aren’t that good.  Hopefully it means a return to Amonkhet in the not-too-distant future.

Now onto this beauty: Miscast.  It’s basically Spell Pierce except it only affects instants and sorceries but increases the cost your opponent has to pay to three which I think is pretty good.  I can definitely see it getting some sideboard play.

Even though this set is Teferi-focused I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised to see his daughter Niambi in this set.  The last time we saw her was in Teferi’s Planeswalker deck from Dominaria so it’s nice to see her as part of an actual set.  Her second ability seems like it would fit better with the rest of Dominaria since it focuses on Legendary cards but in this set it’s not that good.

Here’s another card I’m excited about.  I had a feeling there would be more cards with Prowess  and I was right.  If this card had Flash it could be interesting with its ETB ability and reduced cost if you cast an instant or sorcery but for me it’s a bit slow.  I still like it for the Prowess ability.

This card is definitely interesting.  I know that there are cards that end the turn already but to have one in Standard before Chance for Glory (from Guilds) rotates I can see Jeskai-colored decks playing the two as a combo to get extra turns without the downside of losing the game from Chance for Glory.  I can’t wait to see what other uses people can come up with.

Reprints

Now onto the spicy reprints.  I have to say Fabled Passage is one of the last cards I expected to see get a reprint since it was just printed at the start of the new Standard and will rotate when the original set it was printed in rotates.  

Now onto a reprint I’m a little happy for.  With Heroic Intervention being a common sideboard card and use in commander the price will most likely go down so I can pick up a couple more copies for my upgraded Elf Beatdown deck.

As if we needed any more graveyard hate in the current standard along comes Scavenging Ooze.  I can only imagine how this is going to affect Standard.

Dogs

I seriously love all of the new dog support.  I guess with all of the support cats have it was time for dogs.  Even cats aren’t left out of this set because they get another lord.  I love how it has protection from dogs.

That’s all for now.  I’ll probably post again next week when we have more spoilers.

[hypexion]

A Pile of Fanwalkers (Part 1)

The setting of Magic: The Gathering is one where you can create as many fun fan characters as you want and it’s feasible that they’d never interact with canon characters. So here’s a bunch of them, escaping from my imagination into this post. There is probably a better way to deliver this information, but efficacy is overrated. But there’s no better time, because it’s “Fan Character February“.

The basic format for each planeswalker will be a Name/Colour Identity/Pre-Ignition Typeline/Homeplane blob of information, a quickish description of them and some “fun“ facts, and then some hits and misses for extra flavour. Also, I’m going to split this into three posts - “Heroic“, “Okay“ and “Villians“, for I believe I have the moral authority to judge my creations.

Also some of these are going to be from fanplanes, which will go undescribed beyond whatever tidbits come out the character flavour. Others will just have a ?, representing a lack of knowledge and/or sufficent worldbuilding. With that out of the way, let’s go!

Heroic

Using a somewhat loose definition of heroic, these are the planeswalkers that when presented with an injustice, will at least attempt to help. Even if it’s against their better judgement.

Alagard - UR, Human Artificer, Orpheri - As a self styled “Mirror Magus“, Alagard has turned his skill for magical analysis into a method of acquiring knowledge that others would consider out of reach. From simple cantrips, to complex feats of sorcery, there’s no spell Alagard won’t try to copy or take apart at least once. When he’s not commiting “theft of intellectual property“, as the Azorius call it, he might actually be doing his job as an Artificer, constructing various tools used to navigate between the realms of Orpheri. Or he might have found himself in a situation that requires some kind of outside intervention and impulsively intervened. It keeps happening, and once you’ve committed, you’ve got to see the problem through, right?

Alagard has white skin and short blonde hair. When working, he wears the traditional artifacer get-up - protective robes, gloves and safety accessories. Otherwise, he prefers a slightly more elaborate outfit, including a fancy blue long coat with a few too many silver frills. He also carries a Mirrorblade, an enchanted weapon capable of shifting into a multitude of other weapons. It’s pretty handy. When Alagard planeswalks, he seems to shimmer away, flaking off small, short-lived pieces of reflective material.

Hits: Finding new magic, solving problems, fancy coats. Misses: The Queen of Fate interfering with his life, mortal peril.

Heru - URW, Bird Warrior, Amonkhet - As you might guess from his homeplane, pre-ignition life for Heru could have been better. This falcon-aven always had a keen eye for detail, a talent for seeing through deception, and a tad more curiosity than was perhaps safe on Amonkhet. However, even with his growing doubt, he followed the path laid out for him by the gods. When the time came, he passed the Trials of Solidarity, Knowledge and Strength. Many from his crop did not. He might even have passed Zeal, if not for Bontu, the worse of the gods. The pointless brutality of the Trial of Ambition brought Heru’s crisis of faith to it’s peak, a thousand quiet doubts awoken by the senseless slaughter. For many, such a crisis had lead to a quick death. But Heru had a Spark, and it carried him far from Amonkhet. Now, inspired by some owl-aven he met after his first planeswalk, he seeks wisdom from across the multiverse, and wishes to create a better tomorrow.

Heru has light brown skin and brown feathers. Despite leaving his home in a less than pleasant way, he still wears the warrior’s clothing of those who take the trials. However, as he visits more planes and encounters new cultures, he has started to replace the gilded symbology of the God-Pharaoh with simpler patterns he finds appealing. Heru weilds a spear as his weapon of choice, and has recently discovered a talent for pyromancy, although he is hesitant to use it. Heru’s planeswalking effect is burst of golden flame, which occasionally leaves behind a few feathers.

Hits: Philosophy, a target from up to 100 meters, Nicol Bolas’ death, the absolute certainty that Bolas is dead, the lack of possibility that Bolas could return in any way, shape, or form. Misses: Bontu, the false God-Pharaoh knows as Nicol Bolas, large bodies of water, his own attempts at self-delusion regarding what he saw on Ravnica.

Locke - WU, Human Advisor, Noyir - Crime is a problem on many planes, and Noyir is no exception. In fact, it’s starting to get a little dire. Demons run the mob, the proliferation of magical weapons is out of control, and the serial killers seem to be especially nasty. Enter one Sebastian Locke, who has the tremendously useful ability of post-cognition, which allows him to view the recent past of places and objects. Armed with this, and a grab-bag of forensics magic, Locke is ready to take on any case, and won’t rest until the truth is discovered. He’s tangled with the Infinite Consortium, the Ozhov Syndicate, and many other sinisterly name organisations, along with a number of the multiverse’s most dangerous killers. He’s also convinced that Dack Fayden isn’t dead, but I suppose you can’t be always right all the time. (Or he knows something the rest of us don’t. Dack was in deep with the Ozhov, after all...)

Locke has black skin and black hair. He has the look of the classic detective, including the whole trench coat and fedora outfit. Since Locke is actually a detective, and visits a tailor, he looks pretty good in the whole get-up. While he keeps to the traditional drab colours on his homeplane, Locke has a rainbow’s worth of alternate outfits, for when he needs to fit in on another plane. Locke also carries a weapon that is certainly not a handgun, because it uses magic. (He’s from the gritty crime drama plane. It’s a gun.) When planewalking, Locke disappears into a swirl of grey fog, which quickly dissippates. Notably, this action takes him less than a second, making it an effective escape tactic.

Hits: Outwitting criminals, unravelling conspiracies, coffee, due process, elaborate crime boards. Misses: Serial killers, assassins, murderers and blackmailers, police corruption (of both the “taking bribes” and “magically becoming a demon” kinds).

Loxy - RW, Elephant Warrior, ? - Needless to say, Loxy’s name isn’t actually Loxy. It’s short for something. But when she points out that humans can be called Hugh, are you going to argue with the Loxodon who’s likely bigger than you, and carrying a war mace? Probably not. Of course, Loxy probably won’t smack your head clean off, provided you’re not some sort of evil-doer. She’s actually pretty nice, if a little over-enthusiastic some of the time, once you get to know her. Loxy is on a crusade against injustice, to right the wrongs of the multiverse and ensure worlds where the peaceful can live in peace. Many cruel and vile beings have met their end at Loxy’s hand, and I won’t mince words: all of them deserved it. Others have decided that reform is the greater part of not getting crushed by a Loxodon, and gone on to be nicer people.

Loxy has grey skin, because she’s a Loxodon, and whatever kind of hair Loxodon have. Loxy can generally be found wearing her armor, which she keeps polished and clean, in order to make a good first impression. As mentioned before, her primary weapon is a mace, but when you’re an almost eight foot tall elephant-person with foot long tusks, you never need to rely on a primary weapon. When not dressed up for battle, Loxy prefers to wear simple robes, just in case a fight breaks out. Somewhat surprisingly, Loxy’s planewalking aura is fairly subtle. She glows for a moment, before disappearing, leaving behind small balls of light.

Hits: Justice, stopping evil, can-do attitudes, the general concept of the Gatewatch. Misses: Injustice, the unrepentant, those who accept an unjust world as “natural“ and so refuse to seek improvement.

Velos - GU, Elf Shapeshifter Wizard, Ravnica - Have you ever head the story of Velos the wise? No? I thought not. It’s not a story the Conclave would tell you - he’s a Simic Legend. Velos has the power to manipulate biomancy to take on any form he wishes, even ones that are “decidedly male”. His ultimate goal was to be able to mantain a form indefinitely, which eventually, he achieved. Now Velos mentors promising biomancers in the ways of shapeshifting. He’s also taken up cataloguing some of the multiverse’s most adaptive species, which rather worryingly includes Slivers. Additionally, he has also pioneered several shapeshifting based treatments, to help those who need their bodies reworked. Velos is, at heart, a healer, and will offer help to anyone he encounters who may need it. He believes that everyone should be able to live their lives in good health, in the form that they find best fits them. On occation, this has brought him into conflict with some Simic factions, especially those who ignore the rather important factor of “informed consent.“

Velos’ prefered form is that of an elf, with pale skin and equally pale blonde hair. Many have noted that this gives him a strong resemblance to the elves of the Selesnya Conclave, although few really care. Those attempting to investigate his background do not get far, as the Combine wishes to focus on the future, and the Conclave would never admit that someone may have left them. Velos does not carry weapons, preferring to save carrying capacity for a portable laboratory, since he can’t take samples back to Ravnica from other planes. He also doesn’t really need any, since he’s long since mastered the art of transforming himself claws, spines, chitinous plating and other offensive and defensive body parts. While he hasn’t reached the fluidity of a naturally born shapeshifter yet, Velos is still capable of rearranging himself to multitude of forms, with very little delay. When planeswalking, he disappears into double-helix of blue-green light.

Hits: Discovering new species, the endless convience of your hand being a multi-tool, trans rights, a kind of tea that only grows on Kamigawa. Misses: Not being able to grow that tea on Ravnica, the concept of a “true form“, walking into things because he shapeshifted in a weird way.

Look at all these nice people. All of them would probably be into Gatewatching except maybe Velos. He’s more into providing medical care, as opposed to the Gatewatch’s more active form of heroism. Next up will be people who are still ‘nice‘, but in a generally more passive or distracted way.