Coalition Victory was in Invasion. Just sayin'.

Okay, thanks for the info. Though I have a feeling that our glorious central cast of retcon victims (and in Gideon's case, plastic surgery victims) is going to steal Ugin's spotlight, and I don't like that feeling at all. This should be about the original trio of Oldwalkers reuniting, not about some kids who don't even know what they're doing.

May be there's a scenario here where Ugin sets out to stop Jace from killing the Eldrazi, then, making Ugin the bad guy of this story. Or Jace if he doesn't realize the consequences of killing the Titans.

And then, everyone will be like "Goddamit Jace!"

I did read somewhere Maro said the block won't have the happy ending everyone is expecting. Maybe the twist will be pretty good.

Wait, who was expecting this to have a happy ending? Isn't Zendikar being destroyed exactly what people are waiting for? Well, that and everyone from Magic Origins dying...

Well for most people I'd say a happy ending is Ulamog being locked away again and Zendikar being safe. Although for others that's clearly the worst case scenario. And it was Doug that said it (Yxoque brought it up in the uncharted realms thread).

The thread's already moved on, but just as a heads-up, I've deleted a short side joke and its followup from this thread, since it wasn't in the best of taste to begin with, and definitely wasn't in line with the kind of open, welcoming community we'd like NGA to be.


The unhappy part of may simply be Ob Nixilis escaping Zendikar and the other two titans' whereabouts being unknown. We know from Ob Nixilis's origin story that he's capable of destroying planes in his own right, and him resparking means he's once again capable of doing so without significant consequence to himself. And having no idea where the other two are is definitely worrisome.

It will be an unhappy ending because Nissa will be free to annoy the Multiverse.

Ouch my post count.

I just assumed that Coalition Victory was a hypothetical scenario. THe card was what they were aiming for, not what happened.

It matters for how things are portrayed in the cards, though. While we who followed the storyline knew (by the fact the block wasn't over) knew that the Coalition's struggle wasn't done yet, they did make pretty decisive gains in Invasion, repelling the first phase of the Phyrexian assault, and Coalition Victory could have easily given the impression that their triumph was more solid and resounding than it really was.

My guess, or perhaps hope, for BFZ is that the Eldrazi Titans can be permakilled, but do so requires establishing a hedron infrastructure, luring/partial sealing the titan in question, and then annihilating the Eldrazi with the plane it's manifest on. So killing Ulamog requires collapsing Zendikar (deemed by Ugin a lost cause or its doom begun by Ob's machinations) and putting down Emrakul and Kozilek would take an equally massive and fundamentally terrible sacrifice.

Thus, despite the lamentable fate of Zendikar, plans are established to seal the remaining titans instead.

Hey in fairness retaking the Caves of Koilos WAS resounding and solid... right up until the point where Rath overlaid the entire plane bringing the bulk of the Phyrexian army over. >_>

@Zammm:

Maybe but it's quite possible that Ob's powers are still significantly curtailed... if I understand things correctly Ob was trapped quite a while before the Mending so that'd make a difference.

...Of course I haven't been following things that closely because nothing on heaven or earth can make me care about Ob as a character

If Ob had been on Zendikar for a while then wouldn't he have been an old walker before when he was causing all of that destruction? So he should be significantly weakened anyway. Plus the chain veil keeps coming up and we know that he probably wouldn't been stronger due to that too.

I'd like to see Ob become a big bad of the multiverse and have tibalt be his sniveling follower. Bad trope but I think they'd be a pretty cool evil duo. Ob like destruction and Tibalt likes pain.

I honestly doubt Ob can still end worlds just like that. What he did in his origin story was a ritual specific to his plane, and it had nothing to do with his own powers. All he did was breaking the final seal that kept some demons in check, and he actually did it before he even ascended. Sure, it says the next plane "fell much more easily than the first", but we don't know what he meant by "fell", and he might be counting the decades of war he needed to conquer his homeplane in the "more easily".

Edit: I wish they had established one of the Planechase planes as his homeworld. Mongseng or Azgol would seem like good choices.

Isn't the most recent incarnation of his artwork a nod to his former self (of the Black Oath)? He's wearing a helmet that looks similar to his Black Oath Helmet, and the single epaulet on his shoulder, arm/leg guards and sash all are fairly similar as well.

I love how in the black oath art he's in such a classic position. Its not mid action or anything...he's just posing. I like to imagine that in the midst of destroying an entire plane he just hired a painter to do his portrait.

Stop, you're making me like him more than Tibalt.

I, with my complete and total lack of authority, declare this canon.

Also, the new Ob art is the only one in the new WotC survey that I gave the lowest possible rating. I really -really- dislike that art.

It is nowhere as bad as Gideon, monkey of Zendikar.
The worst part of Gideon isn't even the face, and that is itself absolutely horrendous, but how incredibly static and lifeless the bizarre pose is.

Absolutely the worst art in the set.