I think monored will be the most played deck, so Khenras, Hazoret, Chandra, etc will probably go up.
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Magic: the Gathering |OT12| Hour of Devastation - Hour of Jace getting dunked on
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
- Start date
- Status
I think monored will be the most played deck, so Khenras, Hazoret, Chandra, etc will probably go up.
FreedomFrisbee
Member
Dominaria was a post-apacolyptic wasteland during the mending. Its only had a few hundred years to recover I think? And how it recovered has never been elaborated on. It would be odd to have it recover to the level of being able to oppose interplanar threats. Unless Bolas is actually afraid of Jodah, Jhoira, and Teferi, who probably represent more substantial threats to him than the plane itself or even the gatewatch.
And if the story never gets around to giving Gideon Worldslayer I'll be mad.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
at the same time RDW and monument look like the decks to beat so it depends on whether pro teams were able to innovate somewhere.
parts were a wasteland but societies like Lilis and the areas that got rejoined were pretty well developed. Like Shiv is pretty far advanced IIRC and the druidic enclaves persisted.
FreedomFrisbee
Member
If Dominaria remained as it was in the past, Bolas could literally just walk in and occupy a continent or something unopposed. Now, I could totally see the army being justified by a drastic downsizing of the plane, like if Otaria broke off and became its own plane. What condition the plane is in is very much up for debate, and any answers likely get retconned by the upcoming set.
The red deck does not have a ton of choice when it comes to two drops. So unless you're splashing black for Scroungers, it's probably your only good option aside from Earthshaker. Makes sense. There's the 2 mana 4/3 though, I wonder if it has some potential together with Fire Temper inside the new red shell.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
well if it's like the past there ought to be a treasure buried somehwere that trashes all over the eternals. Or someone with phasing shows up and laughs at them.
Infinite Stars
Member
Cough that Saffron Olive point about Hour being Dragons 2.0 seems to be true with every passing day
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Is LSV going to be on commentary for this PT, or is he still in weird imposed exile with Gaby Spartz?
SigmasonicX
Member
Magic Story - Hour of Devastation
* Bolas is enjoying being able to destroy things and have heroes fight him. It's good to just be a dragon sometimes.
* He marvels as they go for the straightforward tactic "kill the dragon" and wonders how they survived this long.
* Cut to Jace. Due to anger at all the destruction around them, they hadn't actually made a plan. Gideon believed that there had to be some justice to be found on Amonkhet, and Jace let himself get swept up in it too.
* Jace tries to attack Bolas's mind, but he has a hard time getting in anywhere. He finds himself remembering pieces of his fight with the sphinx on Vryn, but can't make sense of it.
* Bolas constantly smacks Gideon into a wall by wagging his tail, hardly paying attention to him. He ignores Chandra's fire and destroys Liliana's undead and Nissa's vines.
* Bolas attacks Jace's mind. Jace sees an opening and goes into his mind, but it was a trap. Jace planeswalks away as his memory is erased.
* Cut to Liliana. She knew this was a bad idea, but she had hoped Jace would come up with something.
* Bolas offers to wait until they get another mind mage, and promises not to pay attention to any plans they shout aloud.
* The Chain Veil tells Liliana to use it. Raven Man tells her to run away. She just wants her head to only have her own thoughts.
* Bolas tells her he knows how to use the Chain Veil without side effects. Raven Man tells her to listen to him while the Veil says otherwise.
* He says that if she stays, she will die. The safest place for her is under his service. She tells everyone to give up and run away. They refuse.
* She asks Bolas where he wants her to go. He says it doesn't matter, he'll find her when he needs her. She leaves.
* Chandra is angry at Liliana leaving.
* Bolas offers to join the Gatewatch as their necromancer, and asks about their application process.
* Chandra manages to knock him back with fire. This annoys him enough that he takes to the air.
* Bolas says she was easy to manipulate, and he really wanted to make this work, but her using fire against a dragon is below even his standards.
* Nissa had taken the time to summon large elementals which start wrestling Bolas. He destroys them and sends a chunk of one toward Chandra.
* Bolas picks up the injured Chandra, but Nissa attacks him with another big elemental and he drops her.
* Bolas corrupts the leylines Nissa is using. Nissa yells for Chandra to run away, and she does.
* Nissa thought her time in the Trial of Knowledge would lead her to greater things, but this battle has closed everything off. She thinks there had to have been a better way for the Gatewatch to handle things.
* She realizes the plane itself had submitted to Bolas long ago. She never stood a chance.
* Gideon distracts Bolas, giving Nissa time to planeswalk away.
* Gideon feels angry and helpless.
* Bolas tells him that for a tactician, he's the worst he's ever seen. Gideon realizes he stopped thinking rationally a long time ago.
* Bolas easily breaks through Gideon's invulnerability to stab his shoulder. He offers him the chance to run away and live.
* Part of Gideon wouldn't mind dying, but he does end up planeswalking away.
* Tezzeret arrives a few minutes later. Bolas chides him for being late. Tezzeret points out he took exactly as long to defeat them as he predicted. He offers to chase after them, but Bolas says there's no need.
* Tezzeret has an update, but Bolas says it can wait.
* It's matter of factly revealed that Ral Zarek works for Bolas.
* Bolas tells Tezzeret to fetch him, since his progress is too slow. He enjoys using Tezzeret for errands, since he's useless when satisfied.
* Bolas is done hiding in the shadows. He looks over the destroyed city, and for now, is content.
* Bolas is enjoying being able to destroy things and have heroes fight him. It's good to just be a dragon sometimes.
* He marvels as they go for the straightforward tactic "kill the dragon" and wonders how they survived this long.
* Cut to Jace. Due to anger at all the destruction around them, they hadn't actually made a plan. Gideon believed that there had to be some justice to be found on Amonkhet, and Jace let himself get swept up in it too.
* Jace tries to attack Bolas's mind, but he has a hard time getting in anywhere. He finds himself remembering pieces of his fight with the sphinx on Vryn, but can't make sense of it.
* Bolas constantly smacks Gideon into a wall by wagging his tail, hardly paying attention to him. He ignores Chandra's fire and destroys Liliana's undead and Nissa's vines.
* Bolas attacks Jace's mind. Jace sees an opening and goes into his mind, but it was a trap. Jace planeswalks away as his memory is erased.
* Cut to Liliana. She knew this was a bad idea, but she had hoped Jace would come up with something.
* Bolas offers to wait until they get another mind mage, and promises not to pay attention to any plans they shout aloud.
* The Chain Veil tells Liliana to use it. Raven Man tells her to run away. She just wants her head to only have her own thoughts.
* Bolas tells her he knows how to use the Chain Veil without side effects. Raven Man tells her to listen to him while the Veil says otherwise.
* He says that if she stays, she will die. The safest place for her is under his service. She tells everyone to give up and run away. They refuse.
* She asks Bolas where he wants her to go. He says it doesn't matter, he'll find her when he needs her. She leaves.
* Chandra is angry at Liliana leaving.
* Bolas offers to join the Gatewatch as their necromancer, and asks about their application process.
* Chandra manages to knock him back with fire. This annoys him enough that he takes to the air.
* Bolas says she was easy to manipulate, and he really wanted to make this work, but her using fire against a dragon is below even his standards.
* Nissa had taken the time to summon large elementals which start wrestling Bolas. He destroys them and sends a chunk of one toward Chandra.
* Bolas picks up the injured Chandra, but Nissa attacks him with another big elemental and he drops her.
* Bolas corrupts the leylines Nissa is using. Nissa yells for Chandra to run away, and she does.
* Nissa thought her time in the Trial of Knowledge would lead her to greater things, but this battle has closed everything off. She thinks there had to have been a better way for the Gatewatch to handle things.
* She realizes the plane itself had submitted to Bolas long ago. She never stood a chance.
* Gideon distracts Bolas, giving Nissa time to planeswalk away.
* Gideon feels angry and helpless.
* Bolas tells him that for a tactician, he's the worst he's ever seen. Gideon realizes he stopped thinking rationally a long time ago.
* Bolas easily breaks through Gideon's invulnerability to stab his shoulder. He offers him the chance to run away and live.
* Part of Gideon wouldn't mind dying, but he does end up planeswalking away.
* Tezzeret arrives a few minutes later. Bolas chides him for being late. Tezzeret points out he took exactly as long to defeat them as he predicted. He offers to chase after them, but Bolas says there's no need.
* Tezzeret has an update, but Bolas says it can wait.
* It's matter of factly revealed that Ral Zarek works for Bolas.
* Bolas tells Tezzeret to fetch him, since his progress is too slow. He enjoys using Tezzeret for errands, since he's useless when satisfied.
* Bolas is done hiding in the shadows. He looks over the destroyed city, and for now, is content.
It would have landed so much better if they didn't spend the first part of the story framing him as the big kid on the playground. But I agree, it was pretty great.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I have instantly forgiven about two years of storytelling for giving me this mental image
TheBlackMarvel
Member
They destroyed the bridge IIRC but Tezzeret got the plans.
Both of them are in Japan right now as is Marshall.
Infinite Stars
Member
Didn't the artbook say something about him having absorbed the bridge into himself?
Regardless, we know that Team Bolas has the Means to make a bridge and has given the plans to the one person in the Multiverse who is both insane enough to try and smart enough to make it work.
I still don't get what Ral Zarek gets out of this though. Niv Mizzet's death?
TheBlackMarvel
Member
Most likely his continued existence.
And Vraska for that matter. What does the Golden City on Ixalan have that Bolas needs?
if wotc hired chris metzen
BURza would clearly be Grixis.
TheBlackMarvel
Member
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
He didn't but for plot contrivance reasons Bolas now has a Planar Portal even though Planar Portals are dumb.
FreedomFrisbee
Member
He totally actually took the core or something. Just had to build the rest around it.
Planar Portals are dumb tho, Planeshifting skyships are all the rage.
Infinite Stars
Member
Thinking upon the story, I'm hit with two notes/things that pop out to me.
1) Bolas mentions he needs the Gatewatch. What exactly does he need them for?
2) Justice League is the totally wrong analogy for this now I think. This whole set up just screams "Fellowship of the Ring" to me. The story just screams "Breaking of the fellowship" to me
1) Bolas mentions he needs the Gatewatch. What exactly does he need them for?
2) Justice League is the totally wrong analogy for this now I think. This whole set up just screams "Fellowship of the Ring" to me. The story just screams "Breaking of the fellowship" to me
I thought Vraska wasn't working with Bolas?
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
that allegory doesn't even make sense tools are uselless broken.
Poodlestrike
Banned
"Broken in" isn't the same as "broken." Haven't you ever used a thing to the point where it starts to wear into the shape of your hand?
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
sure for shoes but lowering the structural integrtiy of a tool doesn't make it better.
GregLombardi
Member
Thats awesome haha
FreedomFrisbee
Member
He at least tangibly needs Jace. If Jace were to die and Ravnica became uncontrolled it could be possible for Niv Mizzet to seize power. Or, if Niv Mizzet were to find out his plans, then he can use Jace to silver bullet him because Guildpact.
But it's really probably because he needs to absorb walker sparks or something.
Also, Urza and Venser made it safe for living non-planeswalkers to planeswalk with only some spare parts in a cave, but Bolas needs thousands of years of planning to get the undead from plane to plane. Some all powerful dragon he is.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Why would niv mizzet be a concern for Bolas? He ain't even an elder.
Just because you don't know the term doesn't make it a fake one haha
Breaking something in is a real thing. Whether it's tools, sporting goods, or clothes.
Didn't they change the nature of the 'walk?
FreedomFrisbee
Member
They changed the nature of the spark, making the walkers themselves weaker, the blind eternities didn't get stronger or anything. Venser made his ship after the mending and Koth got mad at him for it. So its still totally possible until they retcon it.
If you could easily control the most powerful known magical society wouldn't you? And further, wouldn't you not want anyone else to bring said society under their heel?
Basically you need a device to emit a separation field that projects basically the same energy that a spark does to "bridge the gap". And when you pass through it's not unlike passing through a door, you just are suddenly "there".
Granted this would have a lot of real-world issues such as stepping into different gravity, different climate, etc. A regular person would have "plane lag" not unlike jet lag.
Eternals do not have this drawback. They are magic skellies.
Granted this would have a lot of real-world issues such as stepping into different gravity, different climate, etc. A regular person would have "plane lag" not unlike jet lag.
Eternals do not have this drawback. They are magic skellies.
So Star Trek transporter tech?
blindrocket
Member
That's cool. I noticed that they were over $100 on eBay even though I still see them at my local Walmart. In fact I saw a Japanese Atraxa deck tonight at Walmart. Is that one worth picking up?
Commander decks always go up in price. If anyone has any intrest im them its a good purchase. Even Stalwart Unity will go up in price from next year.
Wulfric
Member
I'm really tempted to grab one of the SDCC prints before they disappear. Apparently it's an uncut sheet with a MTG card back?
Sauce: http://nerdist.com/magic-the-gathering-sdcc-exclusives/
Sauce: http://nerdist.com/magic-the-gathering-sdcc-exclusives/
GoutPatrol
Forgotten in his cell
I'm in Portugal right now, and went to two different shops to see if I could get some Portuguese boosters. Eventually at the second shop I was told they haven't done Portuguese boosters in the country since born of the gods, only for Brazil. I was shocked.
This is super conventional for localization nowadays. People don't even do Portuguese Portuguese, just Brazilian Portuguese.
I wanted to write a bit more in-depth post reflecting on the Battle of the Planes sealed event now that I've sorted through the cards I opened and spent more time thinking about how it went.
As I mentioned, it was really tough sorting through 10 packs of cards from different sets. That is part of the appeal, but don't underestimate the challenge and time needed if you plan on attempting a similar event.
My primary motivation in setting in hosting the event was to selfishly have a chance to splurge on some expensive packs and hopefully crack some fun cards (which is why I picked Mirrodin/New Phyrexia, blocks that I'd never get packs of otherwise). This means that I was not very worried about making a good or competitive deck. With that in mind I was actually pretty pleased with the pack opening. I did not pull any chase rare or big value cards, but value still tallied up decently. Sure, opening and Aether Vial, or even a Blightsteel would have been really sweet, but I ended up cards like a Paradise Mantle, Leonin Abunas, Go for the Throat, Proteus Staff, Eternal Witness, Gitaxian Probe, Phyrexian Unlife and, the most expensive pull for me, a foil Serum Visions (...that I'll never use...).
All that to say: Keep you expectations in check and know what you are getting into. It's a weird mix between sealed and constructed with the amount of packs being used to build a deck. If you are trying to make super synergistic and competitive decks (like a constructed deck), you will be disappointed, if you are planning for slower style sealed decks...you"ll also be a little disappointed. I got what I was looking for out of in, and I believe that the other participants did too. The other players are all almost exclusively commander players and also viewed the event as an opportunity to bolster their collections and maybe get something sweet for a deck they may be working on.
I also wanted to chime in on the recent news about the Un-Set. I have been very critical of the old un-sets and vocal about how un-funny I anticipate the next one to be. That said, I get the sense that this un-set will really feel more like a mix of the old un-sets and conspiracy...which seems way better than it could have been. Don't get me wrong: I still would argue that silver border sets are not something Wizards should be doing and that the ideas being teased out in them would be better served in some other supplemental black bordered set, but this is still not as bad as I expected it to be.
I guess, consider this as me backing off of my hard line on un-sets.
TL;DR: Battle of the Planes can be sweet with proper expectations, and un-sets may not be the downfall of MTG.
As I mentioned, it was really tough sorting through 10 packs of cards from different sets. That is part of the appeal, but don't underestimate the challenge and time needed if you plan on attempting a similar event.
My primary motivation in setting in hosting the event was to selfishly have a chance to splurge on some expensive packs and hopefully crack some fun cards (which is why I picked Mirrodin/New Phyrexia, blocks that I'd never get packs of otherwise). This means that I was not very worried about making a good or competitive deck. With that in mind I was actually pretty pleased with the pack opening. I did not pull any chase rare or big value cards, but value still tallied up decently. Sure, opening and Aether Vial, or even a Blightsteel would have been really sweet, but I ended up cards like a Paradise Mantle, Leonin Abunas, Go for the Throat, Proteus Staff, Eternal Witness, Gitaxian Probe, Phyrexian Unlife and, the most expensive pull for me, a foil Serum Visions (...that I'll never use...).
All that to say: Keep you expectations in check and know what you are getting into. It's a weird mix between sealed and constructed with the amount of packs being used to build a deck. If you are trying to make super synergistic and competitive decks (like a constructed deck), you will be disappointed, if you are planning for slower style sealed decks...you"ll also be a little disappointed. I got what I was looking for out of in, and I believe that the other participants did too. The other players are all almost exclusively commander players and also viewed the event as an opportunity to bolster their collections and maybe get something sweet for a deck they may be working on.
I also wanted to chime in on the recent news about the Un-Set. I have been very critical of the old un-sets and vocal about how un-funny I anticipate the next one to be. That said, I get the sense that this un-set will really feel more like a mix of the old un-sets and conspiracy...which seems way better than it could have been. Don't get me wrong: I still would argue that silver border sets are not something Wizards should be doing and that the ideas being teased out in them would be better served in some other supplemental black bordered set, but this is still not as bad as I expected it to be.
I guess, consider this as me backing off of my hard line on un-sets.
TL;DR: Battle of the Planes can be sweet with proper expectations, and un-sets may not be the downfall of MTG.
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