#streets of new capenna predictions

[iandoubt]

more mtg au stuff!!!!! I was thinking about what everyone would look like if I put them on a different plane than I originally intended (for non-magic-players: plane refers to, like, a plane of existence. Every plane in the magic the gathering multiverse is like it’s own little world with stories and characters and completely different setting. It’s pretty rad) and I’ve been listened to the soundtrack for the streets of New Capenna non-stop recently so I decided everyone needed to join the various demon mafia. Because I’m just. Like that. I suppose.

This is Joel’s design, and it’s the one finished piece I have, because of course. His design is inspired by anhelo, and that’s halo on his face, which is technically-the-blood-of-angels but we don’t talk about that.

This one’s Etho and it isn’t finished but I just got bored working on it honestly.

this is scar and gem. It says join us because that the song from the soundtrack that fits them. Also they want to recruit you to their demon mafia gang family thing.

in this version of the au (which I’m not sure if it counts as it’s own separate au or not lol) I currently have figured out Joel, Tango, Grian Pearl, Martyn, Scott, Etho, Cleo, Scar, and Gem

summary of the lore of Capenna below the cut unless it cuts me off earlier because I’m too rambly lol

the phyrexians, a race of machine monsters bent on conquering the multiverse that would take several hours to properly summarize the lore of so let’s just say they are bad, are attacking the plane of Capenna, so the arch-angels and arch-demons, fearing destruction, team up to create the city of New Capenna (wow guys such a creative name) with the help of the dragon Ziatora. The population of old Capenna (as in, everyone living on Capenna) journeys to the new city, those who make it onto the elevators surviving and the rest locked out as the city is sealed against phyrexians, left to die. Thus, the entire population of the plane now is in New Capenna. However, the demons and angels who build the city are worried because all it would take is for one phyrexian to make it into the city for it too infect everyone else. The demons took note of how the mere presence of the angels drove of the mechanical army, so they decided to betray the angels and capture them to turn them into a barrier surrounding the city. Because they were evenly matched in power, the demons had to sacrifice themselves to capture the angels, so they signed a contract with five powerful beings as their successors, making the individuals more powerful but also amplifying their vices, to lead the city in their stead. They then launched the attack, imprisoning the angels before vanishing, never to be seen again. The angels are trapped at various points along the edge of the city to form a barrier against the phyrexians. A side affects of this imprisonment sees the angels physical bodies being slowly converted into halo, the fuel of the new age. It makes magical spells more powerful, aids in teleportation, is used as currency, and…I’m not gonna lie guys, it’s drugs. It’s magical angel blood drugs. That is the function it serves. Moving on! The five beings who signed the contracts with the arch-demons were the dragon Ziatora (same one who helped build the city), the sphinx Raffine, the cat demon Jetmir, the vampire Anhelo, and the bird demon Falco Spara. The five found what are essentially demon mafia families. Ziatora runs the Riveteers, the hardworking destructive family, where every member needs to constantly prove their worth. The Riveteers have the largest stockpile of Halo because they helped build the city. Raffine runs the Obscura, mystical fortune tellers and prophets. They can predict the future and stuff. Jetmir runs the Cabaretti, the party-ers of New Capenna. They run the festivals and restaurants and do all the fun stuff. Also chef Rocco appreciation enby icon cabaretti chef and fabulous all around. anhelo runs the Maestros, the elite assassins of New Capenna. A bunch of them are also vampires so they’ve got this whole immortality thing going for them. They are also art collectors. Because you gotta have hobbies, ig. Falco Spara runs the Brokers, a mafia family of demonic lawyers. Yayyyy!/sarc. Anyway because this is getting long I’ll skip ahead so when the last free angel in the city dies that releases the arch-angels, but the families and the angels are forced to temporarily cooperate to fend off the phrexian invasion as they finally manage to infiltrate the city with the release of the angels. Yada yada yada, a bunch of stuff gets destroyed, a bunch of people die, and then they win and the angels go and kill the remaining demons as revenge. Hurrah, we made it! That was your super quick crash course on the history of New Capenna!

[awkwardgtace]

For the ask game, 🔪, ❄️ and 🦴 :3

ask game

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

ohh ok this is hard. A dream theme would probably be a good mystery I can't start piecing together or a horror novel that scares me. For mystery I oddly enough think Brandon Sanderson would be good. I've been unable to predict things moving forward in the Stormlight Archives. But honestly I think it would be written best by someone who hasn't even tried before. There's a way of placing clues in a mystery I feel a lot of people follow. Most of the time those clues placed by someone new wouldn't have the same easy to tell hints and tips.

For horror I kind of am expecting Lydia Prime to do it. She's a newer author on the horror scene (actually have a book she just managed to publish I plan to pick up). I also some comedians would be good at it. Comedy is kind of the other side, takes a lot to do it. I don't know who would be best for this outside of like a pro author. I'm pretty hard to scare, make a habit of marathoning horror games and horror movies just because. That does mean I get psyched to read any horror sent my way that might be good!

For a dream plot it's kinda hard to say. I know how my brain works, but honestly even if i'm not super into it I just like seeing people posting/sharing the stuff they put their time into. It's so scary to take that first step so it's really amazing when someone does and they keep going.

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Ok so this one is kind of a lot. For some of my stories it's probably some myth, post, or my own daydream mixed from anime/games/books throughout the years.

Specific media would be MTG Streets of New Capenna set (Mafia AU), Fenyx Rising (Delphia rising), FF14 (some fanfics and an au i am working on), Oddly enough a story I have on and off struggled with was inspired by a yugioh series, Godzilla vs Kong (the fight for Rhys and Felix in mafia au). My gods might have been inspired by the old hercules disney movie.

Oh Delphia is a bit inspired by an Kagome in Inuyasha (got me looking into reincarnation). oh and a book series I read forever and ever ago. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller. (I went to my bookshelf to find this title.)

I also do love mythology and folklore so I'm sure that's a big inspiration even if it's not obvious. (obsessed with fairies since I was like born. My sister can't even remember a time i wasn't).

Basically it's everything? I have a few characters I've realized over time fit a meme a little or i put together match someone i loved from a game.

Oh last one I can think of. Alice in Wonderland. I loved that from the disney movie, to the books, to the manga based in it, to the new tim burton movies. Pretty much the only time I haven't liked it was in RWBY 😅

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project? I feel weird leaving this one out in the open, but like also it's not exactly nsfw. just a little insight into my weird thought process at times

ok so originally it was gonna be the general size of a dick/vagina of the average person to then do the ratio for how big it should be for a giant/how small for a tiny. In searching for this math (cause ofc i only shared it on discord) I realized i had an entire discussion that involved at least a little research where i determined it's incredibly viable that if giants and tinies are under the same homo species it would possible to successfully get pregnant in a multisize couple with the question being the survival rate of the child/birth parent dependent on a number of factors....

I used the dick knowledge in one (1) specific story i wrote on ao3. The pregnancy knowledge was lost until now.

Most likely to get me arrested was how much a person could move after a stab wound

for those curious this was the percentages i came up with are under the cut

balls: 2.7% of total height per ball dick: 6.9% of total height pussy opening: 4.8% of total height pussy depth: 6.3% of total height

[little-red-rabbit]

So what are your oc’s up to right before the big March of the Machine hits? 👀

Thanks again @thetabbybadger @leafdrake-haven for all this asks I'm had so much fun finally getting to them.

okay lets see...

Marcel had been on Dominaria researching the Segiri bloodline, when he first encountered Phyrexia sleeper agents. Marcel innate abilities to feel the lifeforce of those around him made him shockingly good at rooting out Sheoldred agents. He left for a bit to warn those he cares about such as his friend Mathias @conquering-king and his beloved Theren @thetalesofthereneverwood of the impending threat.

Afterwards he returned to Dominaria where he was assisting the tolarian academy in their research into the prosses of completion in hopes of finding a cure.

Segara has recently had to flee the plane of New Capenna where he had recently settled. The shadow tiger that stalking his every step have finally sniffed him out once more, threating the lives of everyone even remotely near him. He had found his way to Kylem, something about the gladiatorial combat stirred something in the shattered pieces o his past. He was enjoying a match in Valor's Reach when the invasion started.

Molycap had been causing quite the ruckus on tin Street having stolen and entire cart of bread and was being chased by Krenko himself, as there was more then just baked goods in that cart.

Serrabeth was on Segovia where she was taking bets on the races in the hippodrome.

Dillan had been lead to Amonkhet by mother moon as the scares of what Nicol Bolas had done there still ran deep, and even a plane of eternal day deserved a night of peaceful sleep.

Nivel having heard threw the grapevine of the Phyrexian plans he returned to his homeplane of Hyverta to rally it defenses.

Angelique the seers of the Luminous Church had long predicted the day New Phyrexia would invade so she had returned to it defense. She returned to the abbey that she had been sent to as a child by her uncle, preparing the defenses of the secluded temple so she could better protect the pacifist nuns inside.

Valentino was on Eldraine having heard of the miraculous properties of the Cauldron of Eternity he had been hunting for it in the wilds.

Ozmander was home on Ravnica, it was his great granddaughters very first birthday so the family had gathered in his home.

Anise was at her monthly bookclub at the time of the invasion.

[definitelynotarabbit]

I have noticed a pattern and that means theory time!

In the article The Legends You'll find in Streets of New Capenna it says

Prophetic dreams—visions in the flame and the oil—led him to this towering city. There's someone here he's meant to meet. Someone important. Someone who needs to know what the future holds . . .

And I thought "hmm, that's odd. maybe they just mean he's seeing the past and metaphorically seeing history repeat itself". You'd think that if one of the praetors could actually see the future, they'd mention that outside of a single promo article, right?

But then the plot thickened. In the Phyrexia: All Will Be One short story A Man of Parts it says this

Tezzeret had seen enough in Urabrask's domain to know that the metal was not mined or shaped in any way remotely traditional. Forging darksteel lay in forging the reality around where the metal would be, presaging it so that it could be willed into shape.

Which made me pause. "Presaging" is an oddly specific choice of word. Now I admit that it's possible this was just a way of making something like planning sound fancy, but they've used such tiny details as foreshadowing in the past.

Presage literally means warning or indication of the future. So that makes two separate times that Urabrask has been referenced in conjunction with predicting the future.

This would also explain why darksteel is so rare among the phyrexians. The stuff is really hard to make! It needs someone both capable of looking forward in time and skilled with a forge.

While this still has a pretty good chance of being a crack theory it fits pretty well with Urabrask's design. He doesn't have any visible eyes which makes me wonder if maybe his way of seeing is just looking just slightly into the future. Food for thought...

[pyrot3ch-nick]

With the Streets of New Capenna mtg expansion coming up and all the “alleged leaks” that happened over the past few days, I am making my predictions today:

A few card names that are pun/wordplay titles of noir/mob films. Sleep with the fishes, cement shoes, whack.

“Drive-by shooting” instant that deals damage to all creatures on field

A caper card that makes treasure tokens.

A “family dinner” card that makes food tokens.

A bootlegger card that makes drink artifact tokens that when sacrificed give poisoned counters or -1/-1 counters to opponent or opponents’ target creature

More rogue tribal support cards

A double face artifact card based on the Maltsese Falcon

A “Crime Alley” legendary land/enchantment card that obliterates tokens

A “caped crusader” reference

Sagas will make a return but as newspaper headlines

A Newsies reference. “Seize the day” “king of new capenna”.

An “intrepid reporter” (white/blue mana) creature with scry or investigate. Likewise a “private eye” (black/blue) creature with the same mechanic.

As stakeout card with the surveil keyword

Krenko returns to be the kingpin mobster he was meant to be. A Planeswalker Krenko due to the events of War of the Sparks.

A flaming cocktail instant or sorcery that deals damage OR that prevents land from being untapped for a number of turns OR outright destroys land.

A speakeasy tap land that when tapped afterward lets you phase out or prevent opponent player keywords/triggers from activating or triggering while phased.

“An offer you can’t refuse” enchantment that turns target creatures against their controller

A mugging card that lets you steal artifacts/equipment from your opponents

[coffeetime88]

2022 Magic the Gathering Predictions

Before we get into spoilers for Neon Dynasty, I wanted to list out my (most likely incorrect) predictions for the year. These are gonna be more lore focused, since I feel that the greater narrative is gonna pick back up again.

Neon Dynasty Kamigawa:

The first set of the year, and it's gonna be a strong showing. The only Planeswalkers will be Kaito and The Wanderer, but the story will still be "F.I.R.E.". We get continued hints that the Phyrexians can now Planeswalk and that Tezzeret is a weeb.

Mechanically the set will be the base for which the rest of the year builds off of.

Streets of New Capenna:

Elspeth's homeworld is a land of the OG Phyrexians, which is why the angels there made the city currently run by demons (super excited to see a Bant demon). Ob Nixilis is the new joke Planeswalker because the real bad guy is PHYREXIAN-IZED VENSER. You heard me right; we're bringing the dead back to life! Who's the guy who messed with Luka on Ikoria? Venser. Who allows the Praetors to jump through planes? Venser! #bringbackVenser2022.

Mechanically Capenna will be Artifact focused.

Dominaria United:

We finally get CANON GRUULFRIENDS. Oath of Nissa gets a reprint. The set has a large amount of Planeswalkers because we get the return of Joint/Fused walkers (like The Royal Scions from Eldraine. Martha Wells redeems herself by writing another Slimefoot story. The Weatherlight crew can now Planeswalk too.

Historic. That's it. The Sagas from Kamigawa, Artifacts from Capenna, and Legendaries from all 3 make Historic.

The Brothers' War:

Everyone chooses Mishra during the Prerelease. Baby Vorthoses can finally learn just how terrible Urza was.

This will be another Artifact set that breaks Standard/Modern/Legacy.

And finally

UNFINITY:

Will be the best selling Magic set of all time 😃

[ojutai]

I didn't realize that merc with a sniper in their briefcase was a trope we were getting but honestly I'm incredibly down with that

[mtg-brokentoken]

Streets of New Alara

Between the allied three-color shards, the creature types including Rhox, Aven, Nacatl, and Humans (and probably more), the presence of Elspeth… there are many reflections of Alara on New Capenna.

———

White/Blue/Green - In Alara, the shard was called Bant, on New Capenna the crime family is the Brokers. We do have one spoiler card for this group, and it seems they broker deals and contracts, likely using influence to get others indebted to them and perhaps swindling those that are included in them. In Alara, Elspeth was aligned with it (the other two white-aligned planes were Naya and Esper, represented by Ajani and Tezzeret), and while this may be which she most pairs with again, her recent art in Theros (and being undead) may align her more with the Blue/Black/White than this.

Previous sets: Kaldheim had littjara for green/blue, mostly changelings that supported other creature types; Bretagard was green/white, mostly humans and angels, which had further support in Innistrad; Istfell is white/blue basically the opposite of our concept of Valhalla, home to spirits and the gods… blue/white spirits complementing Innistrad. Strixhaven had Quandrix which was mostly Landfall support and Pump spells. White/green in Neon Dynasty was mostly Sagas and enchantment, white/blue had some vehicle love, and green/blue had a bit of ninjitsu going on.

Predictions: I think we’ll likely see more enchantment support with the flavor being the contacts, possibly even uses Curses as a mechanic. We will see some evasion and Vehicles that align with this group, but the creatures will largely align with White Weenie concepts. If all families end up getting a planeswalker, I would have said Dovin would have a good eye for contracts, but Teferi is possible and is on the hunt for Phyrexians so it would be a good time to mention him as that storyline comes to the fore.

———

Blue/White/Black - Alara called this Esper and on New Capenna they are the Obscura. Tezzeret was from the very Etherium-centric plane and artifacts were a main theme.

Previous sets: as mentioned above, Istfell had Spirits, as did Innistrad, so plenty of flying as well as some vehicles in Neon Dynasty. White/Black was mostly Angels in Kaldheim, Lifegain in Innistrad, and a good mix of artifacts and enchantments with a good assortment of equipment. Blue/Black had zombies with decay, plenty of ninjas, and of course control.

Predictions: Especially with the Obscura crest appearing to reference both Evasion and Equipment, I expect we’ll see plenty of evasion and ways to complement Ninjas and make use of spare tokens, as well as having good equipment and some vehicles. I think that Elspeth will most align with this family, a different take on her mechanics. We have heard the plane is important to her, but not how, and we know she has a history with Phyrexians. I expect her to take the limelight for much of this set and be one of the planeswalkers leading the charge against the Phyrexians.

———

Black/Red/Blue - Grixis was a plane of death, undeath, and Zombies. Maestros have a crest that looks like assassination is their main export. A martini glass and two blades, I wouldn’t be surprised if this crime family is like Dimir plus red.

Previous sets: Plenty of Zombies and Ninjas, some devils and a lot of artifact synergies.

Predictions: Ob Nix is basically confirmed as having an impact on this family, and the art shows him with pretty pronounced pauldrons. If we see artifacts for this guild, expect it to be mostly for getting damage through or making sacrifices. There might also be some smuggling flavor to this guild.

———

Red/Green/Black was Jund and is Riveterers, which definitely sounds like it will have an artifact archetype. Expect a lot of artifacts and ways to sacrifice them for profit, in Jund it was Devour, sacrificing creatures to pump up other creatures. Expect that but for Artifacts. Planeswalker prediction? Angrath would be a great fit for this, and was a blacksmith, which means the plane he’s from has a level of technology that many don’t.

———

Green/White/Red was Naya, a plane of 4+ power and love for it, now the Cabaretti, which sounds like Cabal and has a very cat-like crest. This family will be the most creature-centric, with creatures likely to have more trample, support, and rely less on equipment, enchantments, etc. While I hope it is Ajani so he can reunite with Elspeth, Calix is more likely to have followed her, otherwise history has shown this is the most likely color combination to get a new planeswalker.

———

———

Longer term, I do expect we’ll be seeing Muraganda or something like it (a prehistoric plane), and that the recent emphasis on Vehicles is to allow for a vanilla creature theme on that set. We’ve also seen more support and usage of ability counters, which could make vanilla creatures more formidable or be used on Vehicles. We also haven’t seen Colorless mana in a while, and that could be flavored as being “young” mana in some way, so it isn’t as defined or powerful. If Sheoldred is in New Capenna, Urabrask would possibly be from this plane.

We’ve been building up to a war with Phyrexia, and the upcoming sets are likely to put emphasis on the stakes of it. But to not lose some of that hype, I expect we’ll see it climax in 2023-2024, likely with a visit to New Phyrexia. It does seem like artifacts have gotten a bit more attention and emphasis as of late, which both Phyrexia and Mirrodin are likely to make use of, and possibly give enough reason for a mastery series of artifacts again.

We might see Elesh Norn on Dominaria United this year, explaining the reason Dominaria unites before giving the audience a history lesson about the Brothers’ War. None of the Praetors have been captured or stopped this far, so they’ll likely all be faced together in one set to either save Dominaria or reclaim Mirrodin. It won’t be the end of the Phyrexian threat, though, since Elspeth was from a plane with Phyrexians that wasn’t Mirrodin.

Between Samurai, Reconfigure, and a few others I expect more direct payoffs and support for Voltron decks, those that put all their eggs in one basket, or a single creature powerful enough to take out opponents.

Spoiler warning

If you’ve been reading the comics, you may know that Amonkhet recently had some going’s-on in the form of Jace acting as a homing beacon for a Marit Lage missile. Jace was definitely implied to have died, and Marit Lage’s history has them able to traverse the planes as a non-planeswalking Eldritch abomination that (non-canonically) predated the Eldrazi. While we might not see this touched upon in game for a while, Vraska, Ral Zarek, and Kaya are in the know, and when next we see them it’s likely to come up. Planeswalkers are likely to gather to face Phyrexia and Jace was co-leader with Gideon, who is confirmed dead (though perhaps has room for resurrection)… but if Jace died on Amonkhet would he really be dead anyway? I expect we’ll see the question raised more directly as forces gather against New Phyrexia.

[cle-guy]

Projecting Story Elements for Magic: the Gathering in 2022

OK, I love the Magic: the Gathering storyline which ranks near the top on my list of favorite hobbies on Tumblr.  This year brings numerous opportunities to speculate on the story elements for this year’s premier MTG sets!  So for this post I am going to speculate on: 

1.  Potential story elements of the set

2.  Specific events which may occur

3.  Planeswalkers who may appear in the set

I will go set by set, and try to incorporate as much known knowledge as possible!  I may update my thoughts as sets (and stories from released sets) become known as the year progresses.  Without further ado!

Innistrad: Crimson Vow

Technically not in 2022, but coming soon none-the-less!  We know lots about the story elements, considering Crimson Vow takes place directly after Midnight Hunt.  

Story Elements:

The first known thing about Crimson Vow is the “Biggest vampire wedding in Innistrad history!” which will unite the Voldaren and Markov bloodlines.  We also know from the story so far that night on Innistrad is overcoming day.  Humans who once turned to Avacyn for safety increasingly look to other sources for protection, including ancient magics forgotten when Sorin created Avacyn.  One Coven seeks to restore the balance, and needs the Moonsilver Key in the Celestus to perform the ritual.

We also know part of the Gatewatch: Teferi, Chandra and Kaya came to Innistrad to assist Arlinn Kord, who seeks to help restore the Day/Night balance on her home plane.  Now, while Arlinn & the Gatewatch succeed in finding the Moonsilver Key, and also succeed in starting the ritual: I do not believe the ritual passes.  I suspect Olivia Valdaren ends the ritual and blocks it based on the card: Olivia’s Midnight Ambush.  The flavor text on this card reads:

"And you were almost finished with that ritual, weren't you, darling? How very rude of me. To make it up to you, I'll send you an invitation to my wedding."

I suspect her raid ends the ritual, kills the Coven leader, and spirals us into Crimson Vow.  

Overall, this suggests that much of the plot of Crimson Vow will surround new attempts to restore the balance between Day and Night.  I suspect Sorin Markov, who fights Sigarda in a rage, will unite with the Gatewatch (and Arlinn Kord, & Sigarda) to save the plane.  How they do this is not revealed as of yet.  However, I suspect one plot detail has been spoiled for the set and thats....

Specific Events:

Edgar Markov marries Olivia Valdaren.  

Olivia is the known progenitor of the Voldaren line, as Edgar Markov is the known progenitor of the Markov line.  At first I felt Sorin would marry Olivia, but I find this unlikely as Olivia despises Sorin (and refuses to save him at the end of Eldritch Moon).  Sorin may care for the future of Innistrad but he remains hedonistic and petty; he spends the end of Episode 2 in this story line griping about how nobody sacrificed as much as he did for the plane and why should he be expected to give more?  He also treats Nahiri quite shallowly when she arrives on Innistrad to demand he help her fix Zendikar.  

More importantly, however, we also get card evidence that Edgar Markov is involved in this story, specifically: Fateful Absence.  The flavor text for this card reads:

“Sensing a plot, Sorin raced to his grandfather's resting-crypt. But someone else had gotten there first.“

The plot going like this, I suspect, for the story:

A) Our heroes (the Gatewatch, Sigarda, Arlinn) regroup after Olivia invokes eternal night by defeating the ritual.

B) They join up with Sorin Markov, who is now angry at Olivia for convincing his grandfather to marry her, and hatch a plan to stop the wedding

C) Olivia marries Edgar

D) The wedding turns into a bloody mess as the Gatewatch, Arlinn, & Sigarda all try to reverse the damage.  Sorin spends the story finding a way to get revenge.  

E) One of Edgar or Olivia survives

F) Emrakul is released and everybody dies (Just kidding)

Anyway, with all of this laid out that leaves us with potential planeswalkers.

Planeswalker Appearances:

Each set I will assume only three planeswalkers appear, with speculation for a fourth & fifth.

We already know Arlinn Kord, Teferi, & Sorin Markov will get cards; Arlinn & Teferi will not get cards in this set since they appeared in Midnight Hunt. Sorin Markov appears on the packaging, which nearly guarantees his appearance as a card in this set.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB

Now, Chandra Nalaar and Kaya both appear in the story.  The next quesiton would be: do they get cards in the 2nd set since they are known to appear in the story?  It’s a tough call.  Chandra would fit in nicely since Sorin will almost certainly appear as a WB planeswalker granting a third color for balance purposes.  Kaya, on the other hands, presents two problems.  First, she shares her color identity with the story’s likely main character.  Second, she already got a card recently in Kaldheim (which is still in Standard).  I would guess she lacks a card in the set.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R

Now we’re into more speculative territory.  I highly doubt we only get two planeswalkers in the set, which leaves open a spot for a new planeswalker (likely a blue  planeswalker).  That being said, I would not be surprised if Tamiyo makes an appearance in the 3rd slot; she appeared in both previous stops in Innistrad, and two of her colors would fill out the color balancing in the set so far.

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R Slot 3: Tamiyo, U

Other potential planeswalkers include the aforementioned Kaya, Tibalt (who would love to spoil a wedding), & Davirel Cane.  If I had to make a stab at a fourth walker I’d gamble and guess Davriel, with a final list of:

Slot 1: Sorin Markov, WB Slot 2: Chandra Nalaar, R Slot 3: Tamiyo, U Slot 4: Davriel Cane, B

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

Story Elements:

So little is known about the new set except that the set takes place concurrently in the present, and that the set will feature both a new planeswalker, Keito, and that the current Emperor of Kamigawa is “someone we’re familiar with” which sadly does not tell us much. Let’s start by considering some known characters from the original block:

Toshiro Umezawa.  Toshi is definitely not the emperor.  First, Toshi was sent to Dominaria by the Myojin of Night’s Reach at the end of the block (and his descendent will eventually kill Nicol Bolas).  Second, he’d almost assuredly be dead by now.

Hidetsugu.  An ogre who joined with the Oni of All Consuming Chaos, he could conceivably be alive at this point, although he would not be my guess.

The Myojin of Night’s Reach.  Unlikely.  While powerful enough, ambitious enough, to try: I just do not see her being able to take the power.  She was defeated by Bolas sometime after the events of the original block, for instance.

The Sisters of Flesh & Spirit.  Better known as “That Which was Taken” and “Michiko Konda” both characters join at the end of the 3rd book.  They’re the most likely candidate to run the whole plane, the only downside is I doubt many players actually know who they are, or how they became one.

However, their union would potentially explain the futuristic nature of the plane.  If the Emperor is both spirit and flesh, then the spirit world (Kakuriyuo) & physical world (Utsushiyo) may have joined as well, giving the plane its current futuristic (dare I say: neon) appearance.

Specific Events:

I will only predict one event in this set, and that’s the appearance from Tamiyo’s story circle.  I would be shocked if this relatively well known gathering is not referenced in the set.  It would be a surprise, to say the least.

Planeswalker Appearances:

First thing’s first: Keito is confirmed for the set.  We do not know what color identity he has yet, but they did call Keito a “cyber ninja” in the video.  Ninjas are a pretty evenly split tribe between blue and black, so I will call Keito a UB planeswalker for now:

Slot 1: Keito, UB

I cannot imagine them returning to Kamigawa without bringing back Tamiyo.  I know she literally is predicted to appear in Innistrad: Crimson Vow but I think predicting her here is also plausible.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U

Next, they also mentioned that a “mysterious planeswalker” would make an appearance in this set as well.  Now, they did not say whether this planeswalker was a new planeswalker or a returning planeswalker.  Some planeswalkers we know of who I would classify as mysterious include: Kasmina, The Raven Man, The Wanderer, Davriel Cane, Ashiok, & Aminatou.  Ashiok is currently investigating New Phyrexia and shares my predicted colors with Keito; Davriel (I think) is a strange fit on this set, and I do not see us learning about the Raven Man absent Liliana.  That leaves the Wanderer, Aminatou, or Kasmina.  We did just see Kasmina and I do suspect she plays a role in whatever arc they are building up to, but she conflicts with Keito & Tamiyo.  That leaves the Wanderer or Aminatou.  Given Mark Rosewater’s doubts about Aminatou (and her own conflicts) I predict The Wanderer.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U Slot 3: The Wanderer, W

That does leave room for a walker with red and green.  Samut fits in, but I will guess Sarkhan who originally appeared Gruul, and may visit with Narset.

Slot 1: Keito, UB Slot 2: Tamiyo, U Slot 3: The Wanderer, W Slot 4: Sarkhan Vol, RG

Streets of New Capenna

Planeswalker Appearances:

So little is known about this new plane that I will limit myself to guessing planeswalkers.  Ob Nixilis is confirmed, and this is a wedge set, so I am predicting they finally print Nixilis as a Rakdos planeswalker.

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR

They also confirmed this plane is “special” to Elspeth.  You do not name drop that and not include her.

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR Slot 2: Elspeth, W

OK.  As far as I know: Ajani has not reunited with Elspeth yet, which suggests to me that there is room for a reunion in this set.  

Slot 1: Ob Nixilis, BR Slot 2: Elspeth, W Slot 3: Ajani Goldmane, WG

Calix would be my second choice, same colors, since he is currently chasing her.  If there is one other potential walker I would guess a new walker.  I honestly do not see what other walker would fit here, especially with Nixilis taking up the BR space in this scenario.

Dominaria United

Specific Events:

If you read the first story from Midnight Hunt you know that Teferi helped Wrenn find her seventh tree to bond with, and that Wrenn offered to help Teferi repair the damage his spell phasing out Zhalfir from Dominaria did to both his home and his plane.  Given the name I predict Teferi works with Wrenn to restore Dominaria to its full state.  

I also predict that Teferi, Karn, & Ajani all work together to plan out the destruction of New Phyrexia (with an eventual showdown sometime in 2023).  

Planeswalker Appearances:

I think Dominaria United will act like a traditional core set.  So, with that being said, I think the following walkers appear:

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G

As said above, I think a big part of the story line is Teferi bringing Zhalfir back to Dominaria.  That requires both Wrenn and Teferi, and since this is a core set both will get only a single color.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W

Ajani will return helping Teferi and Karn plan the destruction of New Phyrexia.  Since Ajani is base white its a good fit.  There are plenty of mono red planeswalkers but only two which make story sense.  The first is Koth, but since I doubt he leaves New Phyrexia I do not think he makes an appearance.  My guess is Jaya Ballard, a native Dominarian, will show up in the fourth spot instead.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W Slot 4: Jaya Ballard, R

The 5th spot is the one I am not sure of; if Wizards wanted to tell a largely Dominarian story they would bring back Liliana Vess, but I do not think she quite makes sense for this story as she is in hiding and as far as I know her appearance would not sit well with Teferi and Ajani (Gatewatch members).  I will toss out three possibilities: 1) Sorin Markov (guessing Teferi recruits him to protect Innistrad against an inter-planar threat), 2) Davriel Cane, or 3) Karn (and go colorless).  They could also just include Karn as a 6th walker like Core Set 2021.  For now, I will assume Karn as the 5th walker.

Slot 1: Teferi, U Slot 2: Wrenn, G Slot 3: Ajani, W Slot 4: Jaya Ballard, R Slot 5: Karn, C

The Brothers War

This set does not require speculation since the story has already been told.  I would highly recommend reading the book.  The only thing I will say for certain is: Urza finally gets a real planeswalker card.