*"Oh the Simic. They love to use the same knife for their Peanut butter AND their jelly"* This might be the best description I've ever heard for the Simic
I think you're way off about Nicol Bolas' goals on Ravnica. Bolas has stated his intentions multiple times already: He wants to reattain his near-godhood and old powers back from before the mending and the weakening of planeswalkers. He has now lured a lot of Planeswalkers to Ravnica and the Immortal Sun lets him TRAP planeswalkers on a plane, with his Planar Bridge being able to bring his armies to Ravnica. I believe his intent is to beat all the planeswalkers on Ravnica and then somehow use their Sparks to create himself a new, almost almighty spark to regain his old powers, or become even more powerful than before.
Maybe he'll get those Sparks by using his nega-Gatewatch (Vraska, Dovin, Kaya, Domri, Ral, Tezzerret and maybe Liliana, though he'd be an idiot to trust her) to fight the Gatewatch proper. Whoever wins, doesn't matter. Either way, Bolas can probably absorb a lot of power from the battle, and he can eliminate some of the few people who can challenge him. Or, maybe we're overthinking his plan. Maybe it's as simple as a) Start a war on Ravnica between the Gruul and the Azorius (handily puppeting both sides), b) leak that info to the Gatewatch (do the Gatewatch know Liliana is enslaved to Bolas?), c) activate the Immortal Sun when the Gatewatch come to try and save Ravnica, trapping them, d) use the Planar Bridge to bring an army of Eternals from Amhonket and finally e) use his army of Eternals and his nega-Gatewatch to crush the Gatewatch like a bug, with no chance of retreat.
@@Dracinard Problem with this idea of crushing the gatewatch is that Bolas already did that, alone, on amonkhet, not only this, but he told Gideon "you can fight me here and die or escape, i don't care what you gonna do, both will end with the same result for me, this is how much i think you and your PW friends are a threat to me".
If Bolas is already on the plane, it wouldn't surprise me if he's been holed up in the original Duskmantle all this time, the location of which was lost to House Dimir when Szadek was arrested and killed during the events of the Decamillennial. It would be the perfect place to hide and pull the puppet strings from while on Ravnica; it's likely the one blind spot in the entire plane from Lazav and his guild, which has eyes literally *everywhere else*.
Aren't the dimir still in duskmantel? It was only the reality in which the spirit from duskmantel where trapped in that seperated itself from the plane. No?
@@masterjerelk820 Lazav rebuilt Duskmantle in a different section of the Undercity when the location of the original was lost. It still exists in Ravnica proper; they just can't find it. The original (as well as the new Duskmantle) are shielded with powerful memory wards, so the Dimir have been unable to rediscover and use the original meeting hall without Szadek's guidance and knowledge on where it is and how to access it.
Dovin's Acuity really is one of the best flavour texts of the whole set, it shows us a lot of what Dovin knows. I really think that Bolas is hiding Tezzeret and Liliana from him because Bolas ALWAYS has something planned and a trick up his sleeve to get away with it. However... There is the flavour text off of Mechanized Production from AER: "Give me eight walkers, and I'll give you the city." Love the series, Ryan! Keep it up! Can't wait for more details :)
@Jay Morales Dovin knows who they are yeah, but would he know that they serve Bolas and are ready to... do whatever Bolas is gonna have them do to Ravnica?
@@Axelrator123 I was hopeful at first from Priest of Forgotten Gods, but I saw the same that too and am slightly disappointed, but 4 colors is pretty clunky.
@@metalsabatico mtg.gamepedia.com/Nephilim Look under "Trivia". "Rosewater especially warned early on that Nephilim wouldn't be featured in the "Guilds of Ravnica block.[9]"
Old Gods is a reference to the Nephalim, MaRo has confirmed they won't be coming back. Nicol Bolas is already more than powerful enough to tangle with Erebos, his goal is bigger than that. Bolas has only ever been concerned with one thing since the mending, reclaiming his former godlike status - whatever the specifics of the Ravnican plan are - I am willing to bet good money that his desired end-goal will be to recapture that formerly held status. Possible forms that will take: - Consumption of a vast number of sparks (Tempt as many walkers as possible to the plane, lock 'em in and then capture/murder them with megazombies). - Mass sacrifice (Ravnica is heavily populated, seems hella sketchy this one though, if it was possible he surely would've done this on Amonkhet) - Assuming control of/suberting the purpose of the guildpact (I dunno, I'm still most sold on the first idea). #my2cents
His plan is to reclaim his powers from the Guild Pact and turn Ravnica into a Planeswalker prison using his giant zombie army to takeover Ravnica and using the Immortal Sun to lock the planeswalker he baited into going there.
My Wild theory is that Tezzeret is going to become the new Father of Machines and betray Bolas. Whether that's killing or bailing last minute I think it's going to happen. The Phyrexians always heavily emphasized the need for a planar Portal as they could not planeswalk on their own. Now Tezzeret has a bridge. He also has a way to lock Walkers out of walking. He also has hid from bolas that the bridge is part of him now. If you look at the flavor text of cards like One with the machine his comments are not unlike Yawgmoth's from the Thran when he first saw what would be Phyrexia. Structurally speaking as well it'd make sense as Karn is heading back to NPH to blow it up so it'd be a good idea to have Tezzeret be the new big bad. The much WILDER Theory I have is that Tezzeret WAS infected and his body is being used by Yawgmoth himself. Tezzeret is actually Yawgmoth one of the few antagonists wily and ballsy enough to out think and 'trick' Bolas as Tezzeret in the past has been shown to not get one past the Elder dragon. (Remember before Yawgmoth even ascended he managed to trick a Planeswalker named Dyfed for several years and managed to stab a knife into her head and scramble her brains, repeatedly, so she couldn't do anything to stop him) While theses may seem wild a lot of the pieces seem to click together to make me think that Tezzeret is going to come into his own as the next big bad. Hell we may even have an interplanar war where it bbecomes the Phyrexians vs. The Eternals vs. Emrakul's hordes of corrupted beings.
They are all interesting ideas. I think the first is a bit more likely because while the Phyrexians are definitely still a part of the story we moved away from Yawgmoth a while ago. Both seem way more possible than Bolas going after Erebos.
If you look closely at the art for Priest of the Forgotten Gods, the priest's face paint is faintly reminiscent of the phyrexian facial markings. And we already know that Karn is on a quest to destroy all traces of Phyrexia...
I like your theory, but idea that Bolas wants to regain his pre-mending powerlevel through siphoning the powers away from other planeswalkers using a variation on Project Lightning Bug seems...a bit more likely, I guess ? Also - yeah, Bolas is on Ravnica. Ral detected him.
@@C00kiesAplenty That's Dovin who noticed it. Ral's storm detected planeswalkers entering Ravnica. Doesn't really mean Bolas, but it probably means Bolas.
Gideon will visit theros to gain another Godly weapon (since his whip broke), and that visitation will unlock elspeth and she'll be the 7th planeswalker of the gatewatch 💕💕💕 Would really love to see a card "Nicol Bolas, the Guildpact" tho
Hey Ryan, you should attempt a refresher for the original Ravnica story. I think there may be a few details involved there that are important for the current story line!
I think Nico Bolas is looking to break the Guildpact, and use the energy released to empower himself, like he tried to do when Alara went through it's mending. They're both multi-color planes, that were divided into strong factions in their prehistory, and last time he tried he nearly succeeded. I think this time he's decided to speed up his timeline, and just conquer the plane instead of trying to manipulate it into his command. Amenkhet is kinda dead or dying, so even though he controls it, he can't use it to get back to his own pre Mending power. His meditation realm is basically a pocket dimension, so that won't do it either. But Ravnica is an old and rich world, and might suite his needs, if he's got a plan. Sure, there's the Gatewatch to stop him, but he's kinda got his own Gatewatch, so who knows.
The guldmaster's guide also mentions that the druids of the old ways worship another god called Kashath the Stalker. It does not explain or qualify that in any way. But that's another god to slap onto the list.
It's 50/50 with kaya. She is guildleader yes, but Teysa pulls all the strings for the guild. All kaya has is the title with no actual involvement. I believe thats what it says on one of the cards. Teysas i think?
The plan is that nicol bolas sent Varaska to ixalan to find the immortal sun and is planning to bring it to ranvica so the walkers cant leave. Also, the zombies and gods of amonkhey during hour of devastation are coated with a material called lazotep that allows them to go through a thing called the planar bridge, that was in kaladeshs, aether revolt block. So nicol is going to unleash his army on all of ravnica and trap the walkers there as well.
Oh yes and we know that Bolas can Phase himself so that he is partially in reality and partially not there by how he entered and arrived on Amonkhet so he could also be using that technique to search Ravnica from his meditation realm as well as get information from his agents and guilds working under him. I think you have a pretty good idea about what's going on. I have always thought Bolas was extremely upset that Planewalkers were being created without proving their worth and if they were not Godlike as he considers himself or as close to it as possible they might night be worthy of a Spark in his mind and eyes.
I really like your theory on bolas's plans, but I have another theory. I think he is trying to undo the Mending. We got the saga card of the Mending in Dominaria, and in M19 we saw Bolas's whole history, and his cycle of grixis cards (apex of power, fraying omnipotence, and patient rebuilding) show his anger at loosing his near-godliness, and patient rebuilding shows the assembly of pyramids. I think that by assembling a ton of planeswalkers in one place, locking them with the immortal sun, and corralling them with his lazotep army, he intends to use their collective sparks to undo the Mending and restore himself to his former power. That's why the set is called "War of the Spark". It's not "war of the sparks", so it's not referencing the fact that it's a planeswalker war. It's the war over Bolas's spark, and stopping it from being restored to its prior power
You and your team should write the story for Magic. You always have great ideas and theory's! I like that ya'll point out the stories on the cards of things that I have missed. Great work!
Your pet theory actually makes sense within the actual game. Both sets have creatures with 4 color mana which could matter if devotion the mechanic from theros comes back
It's interesting how you touched upon the internal struggles in the Gatewatch guilds whereas what I noticed was mostly the turmoil in Bolas's squad. As you mentioned, Orzhov looks like it's building up to some sort of civil war between the dead and the living (also from cards like Vizkopa Vampire's flavour text), Azorius has plenty of members wily to Dovin's intentions and none to pleased with it, then there's Ral who most likely has Niv-Mizzet still plotting against him, and Vraska who still has some key memories locked away by Jace. As for the Gruul, I don't think it's a simple mess-up or flavour statement that Ruric Thar's flavour text is on the second guildgate, especially since he also received the alt-art reprint on the Gruul guild kit. I expect he'll have a role to play in the third set, perhaps he's still loyal to Borborygmos and seeks to challenge Domri. Either way it's going to be really awesome, but I do feel Bolas's guilds are perhaps a bit more shaky than the Gatewatch ones (especially since some of them had to have their leaders forcibly removed to make place for Bolas's superfriends).
I’m loving this new gods theory, not just for cards but also story. Raze boar definitely sounds god-like and maybe there is other unknown gods lurking in the shadows. Also I loved this episode. Keep the vids coming!
I think you were close with the Erebos thing. So look at it this way, where have we visited recently. We've been to Zendikar home of Nissa, Kaladesh home of Chandra, Dominaria home of Lilliana, and now were in Ravnica the psuedohome of Jace. I think it only makes sense that we will go to Theros, the home of Gideon, and mess stuff up there, maybe create three colored and four colored gods. Once he jacks stuff up there i think there will be one final plane in the Bolas arch where it will all wrap up.
1. Aren't "The Old Gods" the Nephilhim? And I'm pretty sure they've been confirmed as not returning. 2. Pretty sure I also read somewhere that the Theros gods only hold dominion over that specific plane. So really, killing Erebos would be pointless for Bolas, unless he just decides to shack up on that plane forever.
There was some text in the Amonkhet story line that made me think that gods are part of the plane that created them. It seems unlikely that they would be powerful beyond that plane.
@@paraax Yeah, and it seems the same for the Theros gods because their power is linked to certain places and peoples. Such Nyx, The Underworld, and the devotion the gods receive.
This video is a delight! I wish to watch more vídeos about lore, explaining old stories from legendary blocks, like Invasion, Oddissey, Mirrodin and Kamigawa (which is the one plane that I wish they'ld bring back asap). Thanks for these amazing videos! :D
it's so good when they create intricate setups for the history, this decision on do how many collections they want on the same plane truly is paying off. someone pointed out that the old gods card has a face makeup similar to the phyrexian symbol, what makes things even more interesting.
I feel like there was some information from the Ravnica Art Book that you should use to combine the two videos and explain a bit more about the events of current Ravnica Block. Edit: Actually yeah, there’s definitely some info in the book that isn’t listed/contradicts info in the video.
This was the cliff notes of the story beats in the book I wrote www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/adpwe4/ravnica_story_cliff_notes_version_via_the_art_of/?st=JRDKS34S&sh=e6d49af0
It does make you people wonder about the story....what's beneath the city of Ravinca. Is that why Lazav is currently collaborating with Tezert in order to discover the secrets buried in the depths of Ravinca. A terrifying possibility is the Phyrexians buried in the depths of Ravinca to be accidentally released to "rebuild" Ravinca in their own twisted way.
That's not quite the idea I had, but it's not bad at all. I'm considering what's been going on since 2006. The mending. Bolas lost a lot of power and it lead to the rise of the new walkers. Bolas collected some power during conflux, but not quite enough as he told Liliana that he had lost more power than she could imagine. It's quite possible that the center of the multiverse shifted from Dominaria to Ravnica. It would make sense from a business and Narrative perspective. And if this is the case, Bolas would be aware of it and be able to take advantage of it to undo the mending to restore his power, and possibly revert the nature of a spark, or even cause a new mutation of the spark. But I'm probably wrong.
You're probably right actually, Bolas has only ever had one goal, getting his power back should lead him to Dominaria but much like how the story's focus has largely switched from urza centric to jace centric, it would make sense that Ravnica becomes a focal point in the multiverse. Personally, I think Ravnica being an overall safer more structured place it the reason why so many planeswalkers end up there.
i'd really hope to see Samut coming back, since Nicol Bolas destroyed her Plane she'd probably come back for revenge. Maybe she would come to ravnica during the events of War of The Spark and team up The Gatewatch and the Gruul by leading the End-Raze towards Nicol Bolas instead of the city.
@@nfiniteme2996 she can track the aethertrail of the Gatewatch or just many trails because so many planeswalkers are on Ravnica(it would be like a beacon.) Also my idea is more like a subplot, That they move on from problem to problem and that the 'good guys' start dealing with the End-Raze first and then with their help eliminate the eternals eventually leading up to Bolas.
I don t think samut will comeback. Right now she said she want to help the survivor to rebuild in the desert and the one time she planeswalked she didn t liked it. If she come back i would think it be like huatly (she first saw kaladesh then when she decided to travel she got there first). Samut saw theros so she would likely go there first and it wouldn t be a bad idea since she would then see other god than the one from her plane.
While i no longer play mtg it is interesting for me to keep tabs on its lore. It makes me giggle how the Gate Watch are MTG's version of the Avengers, and how NB is Thanos. As always the artwork for the cards are simply fantastic!
I like the idea of digging for old gods. Especially with the what looks to me like the Altar of Phyrexian Scriptures in the Priest of the Forgotten Gods Artwork. If Nicol doesn’t burn his fingers waking thoseXD Love the Video. Keep them coming Ryan
I always love these videos. Thanks again for an awesome wrap up. I do kinda hope your theory is wrong though. I love gods, but I do not want to see Bolas killing more gods.
What do you mean "we know nothing about."? We are perfectly aware of the 'old gods' of Ravnica, the Nephilim. Maybe we'll finally get some Legendary Nephilim for EDH.
I feel like this series would benefit greatly from some light background music just to fill some of the dead air. Other than that, as a fellow lore nut, love what you're doing here! Keep it up!
I think Roalesk, Apex Hybrid was the end goal of the Simic’s Guardian Project, cause the word hybrid is in his name, and because his body shaper seems similar to the test subject in the art of Guardian Project. Plus all the weird limbs attached to his body kinda fit in with the flavor text too.
There is also a blue card from GRN that has flavour text relating to forgotten gods under Ravnica, and the art has tentacles coming through sewer pipes. Maybe there's more Nephilim or Eldrazi like gods under Ravnica?
Nicol Bolas will round up all known walkers on ravnica, use the immortal sun to trap them there, and use the planar bridge to teleport the army of eternals from amonkhet, hopefully to restore the sparks too the blind Eternities, so he can regain his power as he once was before the mending
Hell yeah, I am a personnal fan of Rakdos too since the first appearance of the guild, and I love how the worst guilds in terms of organization are the one staying freed from Bolas influence, if anyone get out alive of this, the power distribution on Ravnica will be shaken that is for sure. Finally, thank you so much for that type of videos it is very well done and I always learn some spicy things even when I tried to find informations. I would add that my LGS had been informed by WotC that the War of the Spark coming in April will be loved by the people already loving Game of Thrones, which implies that not anyone will survive this sh*t, I am betting on rather Liliana or Jace, but I would likely see an act of redemption from Liliana at the very end, for all the things she has done, such as the Garruk's fall, leading to her death (aka sacrifice).
Lasterman, They're not gonna kill of Liliana or Jace. They're the main Black/Blue Planeswalkers. Plus..... Lillian has story left. (Garruk, Chain Veil, Raven Man). Jace has story left too. Jaya will probably die.
@@Vamoss39 That is why I think one of them will actually die, it will be unexpected and really good to revive the interest around the story which is declining. I mean, Bolas has prepared a whole plan during 3 years IRL, and if it ends just with random characters and himself being killed, it would be so anticlimatic, at the very least then, maybe Gideon will be killed, but Jayce would make a lot of sense, as it is all about the Ravnica's fall, and he embody the guildpact himself.
There's supposed to be 'dozens' of planeswalkers on the side of the gatewatch alone if what we know of the book coming out is true. I'd expect a few more familiar faces than just tezz and Lily to show up. Perhaps Geyadrone Dihada, since they just made the blackblade as a card, and the red cloth depicted on the card's art might be a reference to her.
Loved the video and just subscribed to the page. I would like to throw out my pet therory as well because of how close it is to yours. I think that Bolas has been going between several planes for a very long time while misdirecting others to make him think he was elsewhere. We also know that only he can access his meditation realm and destroyed the only way for others to get to it also it hasn't been disclosed where he moved it to or possibly when he moved it to. He also has already told several Planeswalkers in the lore that he has figured out a way to survive death even if the multiverse itself were to be destroyed. I believe that he wants God like Planeswalkers such as himself and possibly like the first Leviathan Planeswalker he fought and won on Dominaria when he first ignited his spark. I think that his plan with Ravnica is nothing more than another distraction while he gathers something from the plane itself that he needs. Personally I could see him trying to create another Conflux situation because of the flow of Mana on Ravnica like he did with Alara. Again great video and I loved the details that you could provide at the time.
(Ryan) I don't see how "Possibility" = Flashback though. I think it's a window into an alternate reality, where Jace and Liliana had many such walks through Ravnica.
@@tcgplayercom It could be the "Possibility" isn't meant literally. While fate bending magics definitely exist in mtg lore, the fact that we're talking about Jace means it's more likely in his head. He could be thinking about his old love for her and imagining the possibility of having ended up with Liliana.
I recently watched a video where they talked about the Nephalim, fallen beings who only have 4 of the 5 colors of magic represented on their cards (yore for non green). If we are focusing on the gods as nicol bolas’s targets, maybe they are next. I am not caught up entirely on the lore and I do not know if they are still alive or even worth it. Of course control over the guidpact would give him control over ravnica so that is my first pick.
Thing is, Bolas doesnt even fear the Theros Gods. Kruphix himself says if Bolas ever arrived on Theros, the gods wouldnt stand a chance. So I doubt Bolas even cares about Theros at all.
Bolas' ultimate goal is to regain his pre-mending power and immortality. The most direct way, is to undo the Mending. Thus: an old world that has been through multiple apocalypse-level events, where the boundaries between the material world and the afterlife is thin at best, crisscrossed and overlaid with so many enchantments it makes Vegas look dim by comparison. A plane just asking for a space-time rift. And, oh, would you look at that! All the heroic planeswalkers, ready to sacrifice their sparks to "save the multiverse"! I'm tellin' ya, it's the best move for Bolas; he gets his spark to full power, and takes out a significant number of hero types (and any incidental competition) before they gain Oldwalker powers. A victory all the way around.
Looking back at these cards, I really do feel that War of the Spark was going, at one point, to be really different to what we got story-wise for War of the Spark.
Awesome video, thank you for explaining this so simply. Does any know where I can find all of this information? I read most of the stories of Guilds of Ravnica and allegiance and I can't find anywhere about the inner conflicts of each guild...
Do you think that it’s possible to move gods to other planes? They aren’t like other creatures so maybe it’s possible. I also would love it if they errata the nephalim to be legendary and made some new nephalim cards in the next set.
In short yes. (For some gods.) Gods' powers in mtg seem to be linked to their home planes for the most part, but with Amonket giving a new take on the gods as having powers in the same sense that mtg angels do (as a sort of congealed ball of energy or concepts.) and the nephilim being a little different from gods, there's no real reason he couldn't eternalize them and stick them in his portal.
You gotta respect Rakdos's hustle: He's just a big red demon sleeping and occasionally murdering a bunch of people. Rakdos was kind of the hero in the first Ravnica story (stopping Project Kraj AND one of the Nephilim). He didn't do fuckall in RTR, because that story was really bad, but maybe he will save the day again by accidentally foiling Bolas plan. Imagine when the Gruul manage to summon their Boar-god and suddenly Rakdos just shows up and smacks it into the dirt. I mean, he does have a good track record on fighting old gods and it would be a nice subversion when the Red-Black Demon Lord of the murder guild saves the plane, because he needs it's to live.
Personal Head Cannon: the sphinx on Sphinx's Insight is Isperia. Isperia finds out that Dovan Baan is working for Bolas. Bolas and Baan order Vraska to kill Isperia in Assassin's Trophy in order to keep hidden the fact that Bolas is on Ravinca.
Been waiting for this since the cards dropped on Arena Ryan. Loving the series!
All the other Ravnica guilds and characters: *Plotting and scheming* *
Rakdos cult: *Pizza time!*
"We didn't have any tomato sauce, so we used blood, I hope that's okay."
@@SunniestAutumn I'll have two!
Customer: excuse me I found this finger on my pizza
Rakdos pizza hut guy: that's where they put it! Can I have it back?
Customer: No I'm still hungry
shoulda ordered boneless pizza
Rather than pizza, I think Rakdos is more likely to have skewers.
*"Oh the Simic. They love to use the same knife for their Peanut butter AND their jelly"*
This might be the best description I've ever heard for the Simic
"Nicol Bolas and the Eternals" kind of sounds like a band name.
I think you're way off about Nicol Bolas' goals on Ravnica. Bolas has stated his intentions multiple times already: He wants to reattain his near-godhood and old powers back from before the mending and the weakening of planeswalkers. He has now lured a lot of Planeswalkers to Ravnica and the Immortal Sun lets him TRAP planeswalkers on a plane, with his Planar Bridge being able to bring his armies to Ravnica. I believe his intent is to beat all the planeswalkers on Ravnica and then somehow use their Sparks to create himself a new, almost almighty spark to regain his old powers, or become even more powerful than before.
Maybe he'll get those Sparks by using his nega-Gatewatch (Vraska, Dovin, Kaya, Domri, Ral, Tezzerret and maybe Liliana, though he'd be an idiot to trust her) to fight the Gatewatch proper. Whoever wins, doesn't matter. Either way, Bolas can probably absorb a lot of power from the battle, and he can eliminate some of the few people who can challenge him.
Or, maybe we're overthinking his plan. Maybe it's as simple as a) Start a war on Ravnica between the Gruul and the Azorius (handily puppeting both sides), b) leak that info to the Gatewatch (do the Gatewatch know Liliana is enslaved to Bolas?), c) activate the Immortal Sun when the Gatewatch come to try and save Ravnica, trapping them, d) use the Planar Bridge to bring an army of Eternals from Amhonket and finally e) use his army of Eternals and his nega-Gatewatch to crush the Gatewatch like a bug, with no chance of retreat.
@@Dracinard Problem with this idea of crushing the gatewatch is that Bolas already did that, alone, on amonkhet, not only this, but he told Gideon "you can fight me here and die or escape, i don't care what you gonna do, both will end with the same result for me, this is how much i think you and your PW friends are a threat to me".
Prof 1 he's stated his goal is to undo everything Azor has done.
@@Xarca When?
Prof 1 m19 story maybe? It was when the whole ugin tarkir ixalan trap thing was properly explained.
I, for one, welcome our God-Pig overlord.
The almighty Peppa Pig accept our sacrifice of civilization.
@@lewismacleod6899 so that's why she is 7,1 feet tall
@@lewismacleod6899 LMFAO
If Bolas is already on the plane, it wouldn't surprise me if he's been holed up in the original Duskmantle all this time, the location of which was lost to House Dimir when Szadek was arrested and killed during the events of the Decamillennial. It would be the perfect place to hide and pull the puppet strings from while on Ravnica; it's likely the one blind spot in the entire plane from Lazav and his guild, which has eyes literally *everywhere else*.
This actually makes a lot of sense.
Aren't the dimir still in duskmantel? It was only the reality in which the spirit from duskmantel where trapped in that seperated itself from the plane. No?
@@masterjerelk820 Lazav rebuilt Duskmantle in a different section of the Undercity when the location of the original was lost. It still exists in Ravnica proper; they just can't find it.
The original (as well as the new Duskmantle) are shielded with powerful memory wards, so the Dimir have been unable to rediscover and use the original meeting hall without Szadek's guidance and knowledge on where it is and how to access it.
Dovin's Acuity really is one of the best flavour texts of the whole set, it shows us a lot of what Dovin knows. I really think that Bolas is hiding Tezzeret and Liliana from him because Bolas ALWAYS has something planned and a trick up his sleeve to get away with it.
However... There is the flavour text off of Mechanized Production from AER: "Give me eight walkers, and I'll give you the city."
Love the series, Ryan! Keep it up! Can't wait for more details :)
There is a lot of really good flavor text in this set.
back then: eight hangarback walkers/walking ballista
now:*planeswalkers*
HOLY SH*T
@Jay Morales Dovin knows who they are yeah, but would he know that they serve Bolas and are ready to... do whatever Bolas is gonna have them do to Ravnica?
I am almost certain Nicol Bolas is searching for Nephilim! I am pumped to see the Cult of Yore!
Rose water confirmed that the Nephilim will not be featured in the "guilds of ravinca" sets :/
@@Axelrator123 I was hopeful at first from Priest of Forgotten Gods, but I saw the same that too and am slightly disappointed, but 4 colors is pretty clunky.
@@Axelrator123 To be fair, 3 of them are assumed to be dead by the first Ravnica storyline.
@@Axelrator123 Can you give us a source, please?
@@metalsabatico mtg.gamepedia.com/Nephilim Look under "Trivia".
"Rosewater especially warned early on that Nephilim wouldn't be featured in the "Guilds of Ravnica block.[9]"
Old Gods is a reference to the Nephalim, MaRo has confirmed they won't be coming back.
Nicol Bolas is already more than powerful enough to tangle with Erebos, his goal is bigger than that.
Bolas has only ever been concerned with one thing since the mending, reclaiming his former godlike status - whatever the specifics of the Ravnican plan are - I am willing to bet good money that his desired end-goal will be to recapture that formerly held status.
Possible forms that will take:
- Consumption of a vast number of sparks (Tempt as many walkers as possible to the plane, lock 'em in and then capture/murder them with megazombies).
- Mass sacrifice (Ravnica is heavily populated, seems hella sketchy this one though, if it was possible he surely would've done this on Amonkhet)
- Assuming control of/suberting the purpose of the guildpact (I dunno, I'm still most sold on the first idea).
#my2cents
His plan is to reclaim his powers from the Guild Pact and turn Ravnica into a Planeswalker prison using his giant zombie army to takeover Ravnica and using the Immortal Sun to lock the planeswalker he baited into going there.
My Wild theory is that Tezzeret is going to become the new Father of Machines and betray Bolas. Whether that's killing or bailing last minute I think it's going to happen.
The Phyrexians always heavily emphasized the need for a planar Portal as they could not planeswalk on their own. Now Tezzeret has a bridge. He also has a way to lock Walkers out of walking. He also has hid from bolas that the bridge is part of him now.
If you look at the flavor text of cards like One with the machine his comments are not unlike Yawgmoth's from the Thran when he first saw what would be Phyrexia. Structurally speaking as well it'd make sense as Karn is heading back to NPH to blow it up so it'd be a good idea to have Tezzeret be the new big bad.
The much WILDER Theory I have is that Tezzeret WAS infected and his body is being used by Yawgmoth himself. Tezzeret is actually Yawgmoth one of the few antagonists wily and ballsy enough to out think and 'trick' Bolas as Tezzeret in the past has been shown to not get one past the Elder dragon. (Remember before Yawgmoth even ascended he managed to trick a Planeswalker named Dyfed for several years and managed to stab a knife into her head and scramble her brains, repeatedly, so she couldn't do anything to stop him)
While theses may seem wild a lot of the pieces seem to click together to make me think that Tezzeret is going to come into his own as the next big bad. Hell we may even have an interplanar war where it bbecomes the Phyrexians vs. The Eternals vs. Emrakul's hordes of corrupted beings.
They are all interesting ideas. I think the first is a bit more likely because while the Phyrexians are definitely still a part of the story we moved away from Yawgmoth a while ago. Both seem way more possible than Bolas going after Erebos.
Or DOUBLE TWIST...Tezzeret was always the father of machines and exists in every realm in a different form
We don't know Yawgmoth's Youth
My boy Krenko, Mob Boss got flavor text on Spear Spewer goblin. He is also on ravnica. Hes coming back people.
I’m just imagining bolas with an Indiana Jones hat exploring underneath ravnica.
Best comment: 2019
The theme instantly started playing in my head goddamnit
Aren't the forgotten God's the Nephelim from OG Ravnica block?
Yeah, but Rosewater already confirmed they wouldn't be coming back. So either it'll be something else or Rosewater is playing us.
@@anevilmurk4186 this is so sad
Considering nephilim are defined as the children of angels and humans, I wouldn't be surprised if the old gods are those thingies' parental figures
Shinsua Ravnica’s nephilim aren’t literal nephilim. Have you seen those things?
If you look closely at the art for Priest of the Forgotten Gods, the priest's face paint is faintly reminiscent of the phyrexian facial markings. And we already know that Karn is on a quest to destroy all traces of Phyrexia...
I like your theory, but idea that Bolas wants to regain his pre-mending powerlevel through siphoning the powers away from other planeswalkers using a variation on Project Lightning Bug seems...a bit more likely, I guess ?
Also - yeah, Bolas is on Ravnica. Ral detected him.
In which card? I missed that
Felipe Lana It’s on Thpusand-year Storm, I think
@@kokonotsuu7
Flavour text on Dovins acuity
@@C00kiesAplenty That's Dovin who noticed it. Ral's storm detected planeswalkers entering Ravnica. Doesn't really mean Bolas, but it probably means Bolas.
@@Peronioz
Ral already works for Bolas though
It would be awesome if you guys can make story time videos based on each guild’s history through all three Ravnica blocks!!! 🙏
And then WHAM! Out of nowhere Tibalt shows up......I miss Tibalt....😔
Tibalt is back my boi
Tibalt is one of kind devil boi
Gideon will visit theros to gain another Godly weapon (since his whip broke), and that visitation will unlock elspeth and she'll be the 7th planeswalker of the gatewatch 💕💕💕
Would really love to see a card "Nicol Bolas, the Guildpact" tho
He already has the Blackblade from Dominaria to replace his sural.
Isn't Elspeth dead?
@@guycaats I'm not sure, but she did get some new artwork in the mythic edition of RNA.
@@guycaats Oh yeah she super dead, wouldn't be surprised for her to be shoved into the next set though by bringing her back?
Liam Blood I thought she was emprisoned in the hell of Theros but not dead
Hey Ryan, you should attempt a refresher for the original Ravnica story. I think there may be a few details involved there that are important for the current story line!
Please refer Borborygmos as BoBo in the next video.
bobo means stupid in filipino
@@ChristianAHartz not to be mean to the gruul.......but I think that makes it fit even better
This is the perfect magic content that is extremely underrepresented and rare in such a concise form here on UA-cam. Keep it up y'all.
I think Nico Bolas is looking to break the Guildpact, and use the energy released to empower himself, like he tried to do when Alara went through it's mending. They're both multi-color planes, that were divided into strong factions in their prehistory, and last time he tried he nearly succeeded. I think this time he's decided to speed up his timeline, and just conquer the plane instead of trying to manipulate it into his command.
Amenkhet is kinda dead or dying, so even though he controls it, he can't use it to get back to his own pre Mending power. His meditation realm is basically a pocket dimension, so that won't do it either. But Ravnica is an old and rich world, and might suite his needs, if he's got a plan. Sure, there's the Gatewatch to stop him, but he's kinda got his own Gatewatch, so who knows.
You might be on to something!
I think this makes the most sense.
I literally just now got into the lore today even though I’ve been playing for about a year... started watching your videos and NOW I CANT STOP
I thought the closest things to gods on Ravnica were the Nephelim, which were defeated (one handily by Rakdos) in the first Ravnica block.
I´m so sad that Rakdos got such a bad card in this block.
@@GaboObando yeah, but Rakdos 2nd card is already too good
And Niv-Mizzet rekt 3 of them IIRC
But Priest of the Forgotten Gods shows that the Cult of Yore is still active, meaning those weren't the only nephilim.
At least his new card has absolutely kickass art and flavor text.
Garruk to show up and hunt down the majority of planeswalkers on Ravnica as they are all gathering to face each other.
YES YES YES
I would love that so much
As part of the garruk fan club. YES
The guldmaster's guide also mentions that the druids of the old ways worship another god called Kashath the Stalker. It does not explain or qualify that in any way. But that's another god to slap onto the list.
Ryan, I absolutely love your storytelling. This series is my only choice for getting the lore!
I’ve never heard the lore of Magic, this is awesome!
It's 50/50 with kaya. She is guildleader yes, but Teysa pulls all the strings for the guild. All kaya has is the title with no actual involvement. I believe thats what it says on one of the cards. Teysas i think?
It would be awesome if in the final set nicol bolas arrived with the gods from amonkhet as eternals
The plan is that nicol bolas sent Varaska to ixalan to find the immortal sun and is planning to bring it to ranvica so the walkers cant leave. Also, the zombies and gods of amonkhey during hour of devastation are coated with a material called lazotep that allows them to go through a thing called the planar bridge, that was in kaladeshs, aether revolt block. So nicol is going to unleash his army on all of ravnica and trap the walkers there as well.
They did die so maybe, and that would be pretty awesome.
I've been rewatching some old videos and comments and CONGRATS sir, you predicted the future 👏👏👏
Oh yes and we know that Bolas can Phase himself so that he is partially in reality and partially not there by how he entered and arrived on Amonkhet so he could also be using that technique to search Ravnica from his meditation realm as well as get information from his agents and guilds working under him. I think you have a pretty good idea about what's going on. I have always thought Bolas was extremely upset that Planewalkers were being created without proving their worth and if they were not Godlike as he considers himself or as close to it as possible they might night be worthy of a Spark in his mind and eyes.
I really like your theory on bolas's plans, but I have another theory. I think he is trying to undo the Mending. We got the saga card of the Mending in Dominaria, and in M19 we saw Bolas's whole history, and his cycle of grixis cards (apex of power, fraying omnipotence, and patient rebuilding) show his anger at loosing his near-godliness, and patient rebuilding shows the assembly of pyramids. I think that by assembling a ton of planeswalkers in one place, locking them with the immortal sun, and corralling them with his lazotep army, he intends to use their collective sparks to undo the Mending and restore himself to his former power. That's why the set is called "War of the Spark". It's not "war of the sparks", so it's not referencing the fact that it's a planeswalker war. It's the war over Bolas's spark, and stopping it from being restored to its prior power
You and your team should write the story for Magic. You always have great ideas and theory's! I like that ya'll point out the stories on the cards of things that I have missed. Great work!
Your pet theory actually makes sense within the actual game. Both sets have creatures with 4 color mana which could matter if devotion the mechanic from theros comes back
(Ryan) RIght?!
Please tell us the storyline of mirrodin, and new phyrexia. Mirrodin was my first experience with MTG.
It's interesting how you touched upon the internal struggles in the Gatewatch guilds whereas what I noticed was mostly the turmoil in Bolas's squad. As you mentioned, Orzhov looks like it's building up to some sort of civil war between the dead and the living (also from cards like Vizkopa Vampire's flavour text), Azorius has plenty of members wily to Dovin's intentions and none to pleased with it, then there's Ral who most likely has Niv-Mizzet still plotting against him, and Vraska who still has some key memories locked away by Jace. As for the Gruul, I don't think it's a simple mess-up or flavour statement that Ruric Thar's flavour text is on the second guildgate, especially since he also received the alt-art reprint on the Gruul guild kit. I expect he'll have a role to play in the third set, perhaps he's still loyal to Borborygmos and seeks to challenge Domri.
Either way it's going to be really awesome, but I do feel Bolas's guilds are perhaps a bit more shaky than the Gatewatch ones (especially since some of them had to have their leaders forcibly removed to make place for Bolas's superfriends).
6:35 , ok the knife is a perfect way to describe sismic
I think anyone that didn't laugh at that needs a psych evaluation.
I’ve been waiting for this! Thank you so much for these accessible recaps - makes playing with the new cards more fun
Got the notification for this video last night at FNM. By far one of my favourite series on UA-cam. Keep it up brother!
I’m loving this new gods theory, not just for cards but also story. Raze boar definitely sounds god-like and maybe there is other unknown gods lurking in the shadows. Also I loved this episode. Keep the vids coming!
I think you were close with the Erebos thing. So look at it this way, where have we visited recently. We've been to Zendikar home of Nissa, Kaladesh home of Chandra, Dominaria home of Lilliana, and now were in Ravnica the psuedohome of Jace. I think it only makes sense that we will go to Theros, the home of Gideon, and mess stuff up there, maybe create three colored and four colored gods. Once he jacks stuff up there i think there will be one final plane in the Bolas arch where it will all wrap up.
1. Aren't "The Old Gods" the Nephilhim? And I'm pretty sure they've been confirmed as not returning.
2. Pretty sure I also read somewhere that the Theros gods only hold dominion over that specific plane. So really, killing Erebos would be pointless for Bolas, unless he just decides to shack up on that plane forever.
I think you're right on the money.
There was some text in the Amonkhet story line that made me think that gods are part of the plane that created them. It seems unlikely that they would be powerful beyond that plane.
@@paraax Yeah, and it seems the same for the Theros gods because their power is linked to certain places and peoples. Such Nyx, The Underworld, and the devotion the gods receive.
Recently discovered your channel, and I absolutely love these lore videos. Great work!
This video is a delight! I wish to watch more vídeos about lore, explaining old stories from legendary blocks, like Invasion, Oddissey, Mirrodin and Kamigawa (which is the one plane that I wish they'ld bring back asap).
Thanks for these amazing videos! :D
Man, I could listen to you telling me everything about Magic lore.
it's so good when they create intricate setups for the history, this decision on do how many collections they want on the same plane truly is paying off.
someone pointed out that the old gods card has a face makeup similar to the phyrexian symbol, what makes things even more interesting.
I feel like there was some information from the Ravnica Art Book that you should use to combine the two videos and explain a bit more about the events of current Ravnica Block.
Edit: Actually yeah, there’s definitely some info in the book that isn’t listed/contradicts info in the video.
This was the cliff notes of the story beats in the book I wrote
www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/adpwe4/ravnica_story_cliff_notes_version_via_the_art_of/?st=JRDKS34S&sh=e6d49af0
It does make you people wonder about the story....what's beneath the city of Ravinca. Is that why Lazav is currently collaborating with Tezert in order to discover the secrets buried in the depths of Ravinca. A terrifying possibility is the Phyrexians buried in the depths of Ravinca to be accidentally released to "rebuild" Ravinca in their own twisted way.
I'm loving these lore videos. Cool summary of the story!
That's not quite the idea I had, but it's not bad at all. I'm considering what's been going on since 2006. The mending. Bolas lost a lot of power and it lead to the rise of the new walkers. Bolas collected some power during conflux, but not quite enough as he told Liliana that he had lost more power than she could imagine. It's quite possible that the center of the multiverse shifted from Dominaria to Ravnica. It would make sense from a business and Narrative perspective. And if this is the case, Bolas would be aware of it and be able to take advantage of it to undo the mending to restore his power, and possibly revert the nature of a spark, or even cause a new mutation of the spark. But I'm probably wrong.
You're probably right actually, Bolas has only ever had one goal, getting his power back should lead him to Dominaria but much like how the story's focus has largely switched from urza centric to jace centric, it would make sense that Ravnica becomes a focal point in the multiverse.
Personally, I think Ravnica being an overall safer more structured place it the reason why so many planeswalkers end up there.
i'd really hope to see Samut coming back, since Nicol Bolas destroyed her Plane she'd probably come back for revenge. Maybe she would come to ravnica during the events of War of The Spark and team up The Gatewatch and the Gruul by leading the End-Raze towards Nicol Bolas instead of the city.
Tim Hodes
i hope not, even if so how is that possible
Samut is a Red/Green Planeswalker. Plus.... Ugin has died TWICE. Bolas has died ONCE. Nothing is impossible
@@nfiniteme2996 she can track the aethertrail of the Gatewatch or just many trails because so many planeswalkers are on Ravnica(it would be like a beacon.)
Also my idea is more like a subplot, That they move on from problem to problem and that the 'good guys' start dealing with the End-Raze first and then with their help eliminate the eternals eventually leading up to Bolas.
I don t think samut will comeback. Right now she said she want to help the survivor to rebuild in the desert and the one time she planeswalked she didn t liked it. If she come back i would think it be like huatly (she first saw kaladesh then when she decided to travel she got there first). Samut saw theros so she would likely go there first and it wouldn t be a bad idea since she would then see other god than the one from her plane.
While i no longer play mtg it is interesting for me to keep tabs on its lore. It makes me giggle how the Gate Watch are MTG's version of the Avengers, and how NB is Thanos. As always the artwork for the cards are simply fantastic!
Fantastic video. Keep this type of material up!
Wait Erebos only acts as 'death' on Theros right? Surely he has no effect over other planes
He, along with all other Theros gods, doesn't exist without devotees. His powers shouldn't extend passed his plane
I like the idea of digging for old gods. Especially with the what looks to me like the Altar of Phyrexian Scriptures in the Priest of the Forgotten Gods Artwork. If Nicol doesn’t burn his fingers waking thoseXD
Love the Video. Keep them coming Ryan
I absolutely freaking love these! Keep it up!
How did you talk about Emergency Powers without mentioning Darth Sidious/Binks?
Sweet, story time!~ Oh my gosh, super interesting theories! A return to Theros could be in order in the future...
I always love these videos. Thanks again for an awesome wrap up. I do kinda hope your theory is wrong though. I love gods, but I do not want to see Bolas killing more gods.
But that was the best part!
Bet -
Bolas tried to infiltrate the Rakdos, but five seconds later he went "Oh *fuck* these lads are crazy" and stopped
I had been wondering who was on the assassin's trophy artwork.
Wow, this is an incredible video Im going to go watch the others in this series now. Make more plz!
What do you mean "we know nothing about."? We are perfectly aware of the 'old gods' of Ravnica, the Nephilim. Maybe we'll finally get some Legendary Nephilim for EDH.
Fantastic as always Ryan!
Big fan of this serie, I would love to see you make more
I feel like this series would benefit greatly from some light background music just to fill some of the dead air. Other than that, as a fellow lore nut, love what you're doing here! Keep it up!
Though we're on Ravnica right now, I'd like to at some point talk about Urza. He's a pretty big deal.
I think Roalesk, Apex Hybrid was the end goal of the Simic’s Guardian Project, cause the word hybrid is in his name, and because his body shaper seems similar to the test subject in the art of Guardian Project. Plus all the weird limbs attached to his body kinda fit in with the flavor text too.
There is also a blue card from GRN that has flavour text relating to forgotten gods under Ravnica, and the art has tentacles coming through sewer pipes. Maybe there's more Nephilim or Eldrazi like gods under Ravnica?
Nicol Bolas will round up all known walkers on ravnica, use the immortal sun to trap them there, and use the planar bridge to teleport the army of eternals from amonkhet, hopefully to restore the sparks too the blind Eternities, so he can regain his power as he once was before the mending
Could you explain on how gods work in the Magic multiverse?
Hell yeah, I am a personnal fan of Rakdos too since the first appearance of the guild, and I love how the worst guilds in terms of organization are the one staying freed from Bolas influence, if anyone get out alive of this, the power distribution on Ravnica will be shaken that is for sure.
Finally, thank you so much for that type of videos it is very well done and I always learn some spicy things even when I tried to find informations. I would add that my LGS had been informed by WotC that the War of the Spark coming in April will be loved by the people already loving Game of Thrones, which implies that not anyone will survive this sh*t, I am betting on rather Liliana or Jace, but I would likely see an act of redemption from Liliana at the very end, for all the things she has done, such as the Garruk's fall, leading to her death (aka sacrifice).
lasterman
sudden Garruk would be great. Like his unorthodox character development, that is thx to Lili
Lasterman, They're not gonna kill of Liliana or Jace. They're the main Black/Blue Planeswalkers. Plus..... Lillian has story left. (Garruk, Chain Veil, Raven Man). Jace has story left too. Jaya will probably die.
@@Vamoss39 That is why I think one of them will actually die, it will be unexpected and really good to revive the interest around the story which is declining. I mean, Bolas has prepared a whole plan during 3 years IRL, and if it ends just with random characters and himself being killed, it would be so anticlimatic, at the very least then, maybe Gideon will be killed, but Jayce would make a lot of sense, as it is all about the Ravnica's fall, and he embody the guildpact himself.
Jace and Lili picture was from a while back before Zendikar 2, from a uncharted realms.
There's supposed to be 'dozens' of planeswalkers on the side of the gatewatch alone if what we know of the book coming out is true. I'd expect a few more familiar faces than just tezz and Lily to show up. Perhaps Geyadrone Dihada, since they just made the blackblade as a card, and the red cloth depicted on the card's art might be a reference to her.
Loved the video and just subscribed to the page. I would like to throw out my pet therory as well because of how close it is to yours. I think that Bolas has been going between several planes for a very long time while misdirecting others to make him think he was elsewhere. We also know that only he can access his meditation realm and destroyed the only way for others to get to it also it hasn't been disclosed where he moved it to or possibly when he moved it to. He also has already told several Planeswalkers in the lore that he has figured out a way to survive death even if the multiverse itself were to be destroyed. I believe that he wants God like Planeswalkers such as himself and possibly like the first Leviathan Planeswalker he fought and won on Dominaria when he first ignited his spark. I think that his plan with Ravnica is nothing more than another distraction while he gathers something from the plane itself that he needs. Personally I could see him trying to create another Conflux situation because of the flow of Mana on Ravnica like he did with Alara. Again great video and I loved the details that you could provide at the time.
Man, you are so good at this!
The Liliana and Jace walk is not an alternate reality but a memory. That happened at the beginning of the Battle For Zendikar story.
(Ryan) I don't see how "Possibility" = Flashback though. I think it's a window into an alternate reality, where Jace and Liliana had many such walks through Ravnica.
@@tcgplayercom It could be the "Possibility" isn't meant literally. While fate bending magics definitely exist in mtg lore, the fact that we're talking about Jace means it's more likely in his head. He could be thinking about his old love for her and imagining the possibility of having ended up with Liliana.
(Ryan) Yes, that's what I mean by window. Not an actual portal to another dimension, just a "look" at what "could have been."
@@tcgplayercom Fair enough, things get a little confusing in worlds where literally looking into other timelines is possible.
Where is the next Magic Arcanum video? I was hoping he could tell us who all the glass window planeswalkers were.
Would love to know the story of Garruk, has always been one of my favourites :D
Eldrazi would be dope as well!
I recently watched a video where they talked about the Nephalim, fallen beings who only have 4 of the 5 colors of magic represented on their cards (yore for non green). If we are focusing on the gods as nicol bolas’s targets, maybe they are next. I am not caught up entirely on the lore and I do not know if they are still alive or even worth it. Of course control over the guidpact would give him control over ravnica so that is my first pick.
I think your on the right track, I cant wait for war of the sparks!
I honestly think it would be really cool to have a Theros tie in at some point, but War of the Spark comes in April, so we'll see
In mtg stories in wotc website, Selesnya has been absorbing land's fertility from Gruul in Ravnica Allegiance.
Can’t wait for your war of the spark video
I believe the forgotten gods died. Aren't they those 4 color creatures from a previous set. Because they were (wrongly) considered gods by ravnicans.
Thing is, Bolas doesnt even fear the Theros Gods. Kruphix himself says if Bolas ever arrived on Theros, the gods wouldnt stand a chance. So I doubt Bolas even cares about Theros at all.
The third set is called War of The Spark
I think it makes sense for Bolas to try to go to Theros. Having said that, Erebos’ power is only localized to Theros.
Bolas' ultimate goal is to regain his pre-mending power and immortality. The most direct way, is to undo the Mending.
Thus: an old world that has been through multiple apocalypse-level events, where the boundaries between the material world and the afterlife is thin at best, crisscrossed and overlaid with so many enchantments it makes Vegas look dim by comparison. A plane just asking for a space-time rift.
And, oh, would you look at that! All the heroic planeswalkers, ready to sacrifice their sparks to "save the multiverse"!
I'm tellin' ya, it's the best move for Bolas; he gets his spark to full power, and takes out a significant number of hero types (and any incidental competition) before they gain Oldwalker powers. A victory all the way around.
I once heard Orzhav described as a Vampire Medici Papacy. Don't know enough to dispute it, but I like the image.
Looking back at these cards, I really do feel that War of the Spark was going, at one point, to be really different to what we got story-wise for War of the Spark.
Awesome video, thank you for explaining this so simply. Does any know where I can find all of this information? I read most of the stories of Guilds of Ravnica and allegiance and I can't find anywhere about the inner conflicts of each guild...
Great video, please keep doing them!
Do you think that it’s possible to move gods to other planes? They aren’t like other creatures so maybe it’s possible.
I also would love it if they errata the nephalim to be legendary and made some new nephalim cards in the next set.
In short yes. (For some gods.)
Gods' powers in mtg seem to be linked to their home planes for the most part, but with Amonket giving a new take on the gods as having powers in the same sense that mtg angels do (as a sort of congealed ball of energy or concepts.) and the nephilim being a little different from gods, there's no real reason he couldn't eternalize them and stick them in his portal.
Really cool predictions near the end
do more of these videos, best thing on your channel!
You gotta respect Rakdos's hustle: He's just a big red demon sleeping and occasionally murdering a bunch of people.
Rakdos was kind of the hero in the first Ravnica story (stopping Project Kraj AND one of the Nephilim). He didn't do fuckall in RTR, because that story was really bad, but maybe he will save the day again by accidentally foiling Bolas plan.
Imagine when the Gruul manage to summon their Boar-god and suddenly Rakdos just shows up and smacks it into the dirt. I mean, he does have a good track record on fighting old gods and it would be a nice subversion when the Red-Black Demon Lord of the murder guild saves the plane, because he needs it's to live.
Personal Head Cannon: the sphinx on Sphinx's Insight is Isperia. Isperia finds out that Dovan Baan is working for Bolas. Bolas and Baan order Vraska to kill Isperia in Assassin's Trophy in order to keep hidden the fact that Bolas is on Ravinca.
Just discovered your channel... amazing work dude
Thanks this series is really useful.