Magic: The Gathering (Unreleased Sets)

It's either that or he ends up joining the Gatewatch.

...or maybe both. Wouldn't be the first Gatewatch member who is also the de facto Head Honcho of an entire Plane.

Also yes, I agree that he was absolutely amazing in today's story. He is very rapidly becoming one of my favorite Planeswalkers in all of Magic.

edited 4th Jan '17 6:38:02 PM by LeChuck4

• Exclusive Cards in the Aether Revolt Planeswalker Decks
  • Ajani's Aid
  • Ajani's Comrade
  • Inspiring Roar
  • Tezzeret's Betrayal
  • Tezzeret's Simulacrum
  • Pendulum of Patterns
• Beyond the Basics: Building your Engine, featuring Paradox Engine
• Dark Intimations, featuring;
  • Dark Intimations
  • Battle at the Bridge

The Aether Revolt Card Image Gallery is complete!

New story.

At first I was like, "Aww, now is an awful time for Legend-establishing filler."

Then I saw Jace and I was like, "Okay, at least this was going somewhere."

And then I got hooked by the plan to challenge Skysovereign.

And then they took down Skysovereign and I was like, "WHOOOO!!!"

Kaladesh block feels like a Breather Episode, but props for integrating the non-Gatewatch characters with the main plot much better than BFZ and SOI did. It doesn't feel like the story has to be put on hold so that this week's chapter can be dedicated to some card they threw into the set and forgot to do anything with.

edited 11th Jan '17 9:04:40 PM by TobiasDrake

I hope that we see more of Arlinn Kord in future sets.

I hope we see her in sets that don't have werewolves. Ajani being the only leonin on Kaladesh has been fun. I like seeing non-PW folks reacting to things that don't exist in their world.

The problem is that she's not so werewolfy in a set without DFCs.

edited 13th Jan '17 7:32:20 AM by Elfive

And IIRC she can't transform outside of Innistrad anywy, meaning she either has to Plainswalk back and forth multiple times during the block, or be stuck in a form that is either not very wolfy or can't talk.

Huh. I took it as her just unlocking the at-will transformation once she went back but I guess that would make sense too, no silver moon and all.

They're kinda ambiguous on that.

She retained her human mind in her wolf form when she landed after her first planeswalk, but couldn't transform. Then she went home to Innistrad and gained the ability to transform at will, something no other werewolf can do.

It's what I've taken to calling her Spark Power, basically. Just like Gideon's invulnerability and Chandra's pyromancy and Jace's telepathy. A special form of magic that doesn't have to be studied but instead comes completely naturally to the planeswalker, which is unique for each. Arlinn Kord transforms at will and retains her human mind in wolf form.

Since she hasn't left the plane since, it has yet to be tested whether she can only do it on Innistrad or if she simply needed the help of the silver moon to unlock the ability. Ultimately, either interpretation works fine; if she shows up on another plane, she will be one of the following:

1. Still a transform-at-will werewolf.
2. Permanently wolfy, but fully aware and intelligent.

Both of which have plentiful storytelling potential.

edited 13th Jan '17 9:26:19 AM by TobiasDrake

Here's my Aether Revolt prerelease deck and pool. My Rares were:

• Aethergeode Miner (Promo)
• Whir of Invention
• Pia Nalaar
• Release the Gremlins
• Dubious Challenge
• Tezzeret the Schemer
• Heart of Kiran

I also got a foil Maulfist Squad and Renegade Map.

My tournament went for 7 rounds of Swiss, followed by a cut to the top 8 for Single Elimination. The Esper deck I built ended up with 3 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw. And the draw could've been a win if not for a misplay I'm still kicking myself for. I still had fun, though.

I am jealous of your rares. Only rare I got that I really liked was Kari Zev, Skyship Raider. I opened both her and Ragaven, her legendary monkey token, so of course I wound up building the deck around her.

Ours was a pretty basic four round matchup. I ended up going 3-1 with my BR deck, so that was neat.

edited 15th Jan '17 3:32:03 PM by TobiasDrake

New story.

I have never been more afraid that a Gatewatch member was going to die than I am right now. Like, this whole setup reeks of "Chandra's swan song".

That said, I don't think she will. I feel like if they were going to kill her off, we'd be getting a replacement goldfish in the form of Saheeli Rai. We're already getting Ajani joining the Gatewatch this arc, but he doesn't quite fill the void that Chandra would leave. We'd be getting Saheeli.

edited 18th Jan '17 11:47:48 AM by TobiasDrake

New story.

Well, that was anticlimactic. I mean, it was always going to be. This entire arc has been a Breather Episode featuring the entire goddamn multiverse dogpiling on Tezzeret's face. He never had a snowball's chance in Hell of actually winning this. But it's still a bit surprising how easy that wound up being.

That said, NICOL BOLAS NICOL BOLAS NICOL BOLAS. I have all the hype. ALL of it. You can't have any hype because I'm hording it all.

edited 26th Jan '17 10:54:57 AM by TobiasDrake

New story!

This is going to end badly. Ajani is right; they are biting off far more than they can chew here.

edited 2nd Feb '17 11:32:10 AM by TobiasDrake

At the same time, I think Jace is right. It will only get worse the longer they let it sit.

His plan hinges on the idea that they'll be able to reach Nicol Bolas and do...something...with only a vague impression that he's probably somewhere on Amonkhet right now before Tezzeret planeswalks back to his master and informs him that they're a thing.

All while taking it as an assumption that Bolas is not already aware that they're a thing due to their actions during the crisis on Zendikar, which they know he set in motion.

Jace is making a lot of assumptions and taking some pretty sharp leaps in logic to arrive at the conclusion that they can totally catch Bolas with his pants down.

edited 2nd Feb '17 3:30:51 PM by TobiasDrake

They're sort of trapped between a rock and a hard place. Going to fight Bolas without prep is crazy, but giving him prep time by standing around making your own preparations when he knows you're coming is even crazier.

It's not a choice between prep and no prep, it's a choice between no prep and negative prep.

Modern Masters 2017 Edition and Amonkhet Packaging

Highlights include:

• Griselbrand and Domri Rade on MM booster packs
• Amonkhet Planeswalker Decks featuring Gideon (with new armor) and Liliana
• One in four Amonkhet packs will contain a full art basic land.

That artwork looks amazing. I love that Bolas's giant horn monument is visible in the background of all the lands. I wonder if there's more than one of those.

It's hard to tell. Most of them appear to be from various points along the river, and I think you can even see one of the Forest structures from the Island. The horns have slightly different appearances depending on region (the points on the Forest are longer and thinner, while the ones on the Swamp have a gentler curve on the inside corner), but that could be Depending on the Artist rather than an intentional difference.