The set features a land that taps for infinite mana only if your opponent has taken no damage and only if it is the first and only time this game you have tapped the land for mana.
hahahahahahano.
what, is there anything powerful you can do with infinite mana turn 1?
I miss Lorwyn less because OriginsNissa showed up there.
And I despise her as much as I've ever hated anything in Magic.
I actually feel kind of accomplished. I've seen so many of you seethe against things in Magic and I just kind of went with the flow, but everything about how she was handled transitioning from the old world order to the new fills with me with white hot rage.
SUBJECT CHANGE
I have no expectations of anything this dramatic ever making it out of the discussion stage at Wizards. I like weird designs as much as anyone else (the summer multiplayer set and Commander are typically my favorite releases these days) but this is too weird and too niche.
I miss Lorwyn less because OriginsNissa showed up there.
And I despise her as much as I've ever hated anything in Magic.
I actually feel kind of accomplished. I've seen so many of you seethe against things in Magic and I just kind of went with the flow, but everything about how she was handled transitioning from the old world order to the new fills with me with white hot rage.
You're one of us now! One of us!One of us!
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"Enchant me with your tale-telling. Tell about Tree, Grass, River, and Wind. Tell why Truth must fight with Falsehood, and why Truth will always win." —Love Song of Night and Day
Joined: Jul 28, 2015 Posts: 65
Identity: God of Being mildly
Preferred Pronoun Set: His godliness
I'm currently working on a plane that had it's colours distorted by an oldwalker sometime before the brothers war. The planeswalker destroyed all sources of black mana, thinking it as 'evil' and replaced it with plains, as well as dividing the others into the own separate regions, and made it impossible for non-white aligned beings to cross into other regions. He also made a new mono-white empire to rule the entire plane. this also effects the creatures e.g, blue/red vampires, blue elves and green/red sphinxes.
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It's not that I'm at my best when I play , it's just that if I don't play I'm just not interested.-Cam, Loading Ready Run
This is the same average player that tried to convince me that killing half the planeswalkers would be "more realistic."
I'm not very big on violence, but I think I might enjoy punching the "dark and gritty" part of nerd-dom in the gut.
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"I'm all for screwing with the natural order. The natural order objectively is awful. The natural order includes death, disease, pain, and starvation." --Sam Keeper
This is the same average player that tried to convince me that killing half the planeswalkers would be "more realistic."
I'm not very big on violence, but I think I might enjoy punching the "dark and gritty" part of nerd-dom in the gut.
This.
I hate the toxic masculinity part of fandoms. Not every show needs WK40,000 levels of dark, emo, crappy edginess, yet they insist that everything from MLP to Care Bears should be like that, not even for ironic purposes, just sincere stupidity.
Curiously, this appears to be dying down in favour of either soap-opera drama or the exact opposite direction, saccharose cuteness.
I like edginess if it's done a certain way. Like Batman or Tarrantino. Or crazy foreign films. This guy I work with has been lending me horrible horrible great movies that are far above hostel levels of bad. Don't watch Michael Haneke movies. (or do, they're good.)
This is the same average player that tried to convince me that killing half the planeswalkers would be "more realistic."
I'm not very big on violence, but I think I might enjoy punching the "dark and gritty" part of nerd-dom in the gut.
This.
I hate the toxic masculinity part of fandoms. Not every show needs WK40,000 levels of dark, emo, crappy edginess, yet they insist that everything from MLP to Care Bears should be like that, not even for ironic purposes, just sincere stupidity.
Curiously, this appears to be dying down in favour of either soap-opera drama or the exact opposite direction, saccharose cuteness.
40K is a silly setting that rips its aesthetic from the Hawkmoon novels...and the Chaos symbol from the Elric novels...but what most of what gets labeled as "dark and gritty" isn't at all "dark and gritty" if you see where it comes from in your characters. Or setting, or both - and it all flows through naturally.
Injecting it into a kid's cartoon is the penultimate act of silliness, though. Not knocking anyone who enjoys that kind of thing, but why do you need to experience it through the lens of a cartoon for kids?
My own take on the dark and gritty thang: I just like it when events unfold naturally. For example - young lad, a bit on the hotheaded side, decides to spite his father by releasing some very dangerous thugs from his father's dungeons. Thugs pretend to be friendly, then kidnap the lad and use him as leverage to escape. Once free, the young lad decides on a course of self-preservation that sees him impressing the thugs with his viciousness. Viciousness which does include sacking and burning peasant towns, among other raiding-related activities...but he does still save the world, so there's your act of heroism. Its a very interesting road to that final act of heroism, which I enjoy reading about.
or,
A former prisoner of war whose braggadocio got him captured by the enemy and subjected to the enemies' GITMO-like interrogation techniques. Which left said prisoner a crippled, toothless, incontinent shell of his former self...who finds his joy in working as an inquisitor for the government. Getting confessions through torture, doing what needs doing to keep the system running smoothly. Again, there's a basis for what you might call "dark and gritty," though his work is done to help keep an insanely barbaric religious empire at bay, though the top of the chain of command for the torturer's empire had no qualms about using a magical nuke to beat back the religious barbarians....more stuff that might get called dark/gritty, but with the proper foundation laid and motivations explored.
The thing with Magic's story is - I don't know if it has time to establish that properly given the structure of the storyline. Except in the case of Tezz; I can see why he is the way that he is...it was a fun ride for me, not so much for Tezzeret, I'd imagine.
-Ob Nixilus kills Gideon by drowning him in a puddle. Gideon Jura is dead; he died unceremoniously. Curiously, Jace was nowhere to be seen and neglected to aid his dying friend.
-Ob was severely injured in the fight with Gideon. He realizes he cannot contend with the Eldrazi swarming around Kozilek and the broken Sea Gate, so he retreats to heal. -With Kozilek's rise and Gideon's death, the allies are in complete disarray. They are being routed. The notable ally leaders (Munda, Noyan Dar) attempt to organize a retreat. Noyan finds and saves Kiora; Munda finds and saves Nissa.
-Some generic filler about rallying the allies. General Tazri's appearance on the battlefield and her assuming ultimate command following Gideon's death. Show how battling against Kozi's brood differs from battling against Ula's. Perhaps a note on how the two broods work cooperatively to be more effective than either is alone. A glimpse of hope. Jace, Nissa, and Chandra take their oaths.
-A UR on Jace. It talks about how Kozilek's rise affected his powers, and he was helpless as Ob murdered Gideon. He should show symptoms of affliction from Kozilek's presence, including a theme of panic and despair that runs through the UR. After watching Gideon die, Jace goes to find Ugin. Ugin informs him, among other things, that all is most likely lost, and that Kozilek's distorting effects on Zendikar affect Jace more than others since he is a telepath (the authors can pick their own devices for the reason). Ugin says that the two need to find Sorin. Jace strengthens his resolve now that he is farther from Ulamog, says that he believes they can still defeat the titans through cunning and cooperation. Ugin says that defeating the titans was never a possibility, but he concedes that they may yet still contain them. He reiterates that they need to consult Sorin. Jace and Ugin make plans to find him, but Jace first wants to inform the other walkers (Nissa and Chandra) of his pending absence. The UR ends with him taking his oath.
-Jace and Ugin planeswalk to Innistrad and meet with Sorin. Creative can use this meeting to foreshadow some events in SOI. Sorin says that without Nahiri, he doubts they can neutralize the Eldrazi within Zendikar again. Ugin proposes that they quarantine the entire plane of Zendikar (authors can determine whatever the reason); its inhabitants will be trapped with the Eldrazi, but, Ugin hopes, the titans won't be able to escape once they finish devouring Zendikar. Of course, planeswalkers would no longer be able to travel to or from Zendikar once the quarantine is in place.
-Back on Zendikar, things are going poorly (as they should). With two titans and their brood's ravaging the landscape, Zendikar and her inhabitants hardly stand a chance. Nissa and Chandra are doing all they can, but the war is slowly being lost. Jace reappears and shows the same weakness that he showed in the aftermath of Gideon's death. He sees how badly Zendikar is losing, and his resolve is shaken. With no hope left, he confronts Nissa and Chandra with the old-walkers' plan to quarantine Zendikar. The women are outraged, and fight harder than before to prove their predecessors wrong.
-Some UR on Kiora: how she copes with getting Lorthos killed, how she proposes to fight the Eldrazi, and some more insidious effects of Kozilek's presence on the merfolk.
-Zendikar is almost certainly lost. By chance, Jace and Kiora meet on the battlefield. Kiora is still scarred from he first encounter with Kozi and has had little hope. Jace is afflicted with induced despair; he can tell she is hopeless and frightened as well. He informs her that Ugin and Sorin intend to quarantine the plane if the war does not turn soon. Add some weird romantic element if you want, I don't really care.
-The preparations are complete, and Ugin, in a great burst of strength that will leave him nearly powerless for many years, is ready to quarantine Zendikar. Jace, Chandra, and Nissa must decide to stay or to leave. Jace tells the other two that he cannot stay; he doesn't think Zendikar has a chance. Nissa refuses to leave her home to ruination. Chandra must tell Nissa that she cannot live trapped with death- she cannot stay on an isolated, dying plane. She asks Nissa to come, but Nissa is adamant to stay. Nissa berates the other two, the shames them in an effort to get them to stay. It doesn't work. Finally, she implores them; Chandra looks at her tearfully, but cannot stay. Jace cannot even look at her. The two planeswalk away, and Zendikar is quarantined, without reinforcement against the two titans.
-Nissa and the allies fight bravely against the eldrazi, but they're overmatched. Nissa scours the plane for any way to defeat the eldrazi. During her search, she comes across a weakened Ob Nixilus fighting against some powerful eldrazi (maybe a pair of desolation twins? Maybe the Bane of Bala Ged? Whatever, as long as it's some eldrazi behemoth). Although he thrived on the pain and suffering of others, as Zendikar died, there was not enough people remaining to replenish him as he fought off the ever more, ever larger, ever stronger eldrazi. His wing is still battered from the original confrontation with Gideon. Nissa slays the eldrazi harassing him, then turns to confront him. He knows he is too weak to fight her (even though Nissa herself is getting weaker as the plane itself dies), so he tries to planeswalk away. It fails- the quarantine has been placed successfully! Nissa informs him of the plane's fate. Ob, realizing he is trapped, attempts to barter. If she will spare him, he will help he fight the Eldrazi. He thrives on death, but doesn't want to die here himself. He realizes that Kozilek cannot be controlled. Nissa, not to be fooled twice, refuses the demon's offer and kills him in the final, moral victory of the set. There is little hope for more victory.
In summary Gideon: Dead Nissa: Assumed Dead Chandra: Escaped Ugin: Escaped Jace: Escaped, but altered. I would have him be a black-blue walker in his next rendition. Ob Nixilus: Dead Kiora: Fate unknown
This storyline is more "realistic," in my opinion (at least, as far as fantasy could be), in that the eldrazi titans are not defeated, but at least contained (with the exception of Emrakul). It allows creative to develop some actual character for their characters; Jace is knocked down a peg and shown as cowardly and weak. Nissa gets to die a hero's death. Kiora gets to be not only a bitch, but a fickle bitch who leaves her people (or she can also die a hero, whichever creative wants). Furthermore, it allows a bit of hype to build up around SOI while weaving the two stories together ever so loosely.
I wouldn't say half, but death should have weight in a story.
I don't think that's a problem for us, because they just killed Venser and Elspeth.
I'm not saying that characters shouldn't die. I've been saying Jace should die for ages now. My problem is people who think that "lots of people dying" is more realistic than talented people overcoming challenges. Both can be realistic and which one happens should depend on the needs of the story.
I hate the toxic masculinity part of fandoms. Not every show needs WK40,000 levels of dark, emo, crappy edginess, yet they insist that everything from MLP to Care Bears should be like that, not even for ironic purposes, just sincere stupidity.
Curiously, this appears to be dying down in favour of either soap-opera drama or the exact opposite direction, saccharose cuteness.
I think dark and gritty stuff has its place. I like reading things about WH40K, even if the game or its stories don't really appeal to me. I like their dedication to setting, theme and tone and some things like the Machine Priests are things I genuinely enjoy. Those and Cathedral Ships. I also like things like the SCP-Foundation or Worm, which are really, really bleak. What I don't like is, indeed, people coming up with lazy fan theories about the implied horrors of some kids' show. My real problem with that is that "people" can't seem to enjoy things that are genuinely nice and friendly. My Little Pony is a prime example. It's a show that is genuinely about friendship, niceness and (often) peaceful conflict resolution. Those are important messages, even for adults, but "adults" somehow felt the need to make it dark and evil in order to enjoy that property. There shouldn't be shame in liking pastel-colored worlds of genuine niceness.
I like edginess if it's done a certain way. Like Batman or Tarrantino. Or crazy foreign films. This guy I work with has been lending me horrible horrible great movies that are far above hostel levels of bad. Don't watch Michael Haneke movies. (or do, they're good.)
Tarantino knows how to tell stories and shoot movies. The "edginess" makes his movies work. You can't get away with the ending of Inglourious Basterds, for example, if you don't tell the rest of the story as an ultra-violent revenge flick. Batman, when Batman is done right, is the same, although I don't think Batman is the best example here because there's an inherent silliness about a rich man beating up (mostly poor) criminals while dressed as a bat.
My own take on the dark and gritty thang: I just like it when events unfold naturally.
The problem with that approach, for me at least, is that there often is one way events unfold naturally. Events, characters, environments, settings, etc. are all based on choices the creator(s) make(s). Sometimes you really want or need to tell a story with all amoral characters, vicious violence, anti-heroes, etc. and that's alright. I already mentioned Inglourious Basterds and Worm earlier and I think those are good examples, but you need to keep in mind that they both involve choices made by the creator. (In the latter work less so, because the writer of Worm decided some things with a D20, but even that's a choice.)
Lately I've been feeling that people don't treat stories in that way. I've had several discussions about Oath of the Gatewatch, for example, where people were arguing that Wizards really couldn't tell any other story given the events of Battle for Zendikar without acknowledging the choices Wizards made leading up to Oath and Battle.
Or to give a different example: Black Widow's and Hulk's relationship in Age of Ultron was stupid. Apparently the earlier Age of Ultron script included an end-credit scene in which Black Widow was outed as an imposter (setting up her own movie). They scrapped that end-credit bit, but they've kept the stupid romance in. That romance wasn't an inevitable outcome of the story's events. It was based on many choices made by many people. Choices that could have been made differently.
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"I'm all for screwing with the natural order. The natural order objectively is awful. The natural order includes death, disease, pain, and starvation." --Sam Keeper
I like the outline. I don't like the author's interpretation. I don't read Kiora as being a fickle bitch. I see someone who made her choice and stuck with it.
I forgot to add: humor to fit the flavor works very well. Take the inquisitor I mentioned. There's a scene where he's ferreting out a traitor from among his retinue of practicals. So he spends a good while mutilating the traitor to get a confession. In the end the traitor's left dead...and the inquisitor realizes that the other practical that was in the room with him the whole time was the traitor. I forget what tipped him off, but I thought it was a hilarious turn of events. So humor's essential to the overall feel as well.
Or, in a book dealing with revenge - a hit went wrong. Instead of poisoning a specific banker, the protagonist and her crew ended up poisoning most everyone in the bank. It was kind of funny in a "well, ****, we done **** up" kind of way.
On the whole, the overall tone should be done in service to a theme of interest to the creator. If the creator is tackling themes that he feels very strongly about, then an ugly setting may reflect those themes better than a more pristine one.
I would like to see a planeswalking Umezawa in UBR. Resembles Tetsuo Umezawa, turns out to be an identity that Bolas created for use as a disguise. I want the old dragon to get some development and take an active hand in the storyline again.
You have to admit though, at least half of the current walkers suck and should die.
Well, of the new walkers I think only Sarkhan, Bolas, Sorin and Nissa serve no purpose as characters other than being a pinacle of douchebagness in a self-righteous light, a Mary Sue and the two icons of Creative indifference respectively, and should burn.
Neither Narset, current Garruk or Domri are particularly appealing as they are, but I can see potential.
Jace, Ob Nixilis, Gidein and Chandra showcase varying degrees of writting quality, so if nothing else they're tolerable.
The rest are okay to amazing.
Venser, the brattiest of them all, is now in hell, so we do not have to contend with him.
I would like to see a planeswalking Umezawa in UBR. Resembles Tetsuo Umezawa, turns out to be an identity that Bolas created for use as a disguise. I want the old dragon to get some development and take an active hand in the storyline again.
Oh, yes.
I actually came up with a Umezawa planeswalker who's been traumatised by Bolas' retribution and decided to become a dragon hunter.
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