I Like Dominaria's Diversity
General forum
Posted on Jan. 18, 2019, 5:12 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Prior to the game returning to Dominaria in the set of the same name, Mark Rosewater had stated that returning to that plane would be difficult because the plane lacked a cohesive identity due to it being home to so many different sets, each with various themes. He contrasted it to planes such as Ravnica or Innistrad, both of which (according to him) are very popular and have strong cohesive identities.
However, I like the fact that Dominaria has such great diversity, as the sheer variety of themes that it has explored over its numerous sets is part of its appeal, ensuring that there shall be no shortage of ideas to explore whenever it is revisited. In contrast, some of the other planes feel like one-trick ponies; too limited and too reliant on their gimmicks.
What does everyone else say about this? Do you like the fact that Dominaria has such great diversity?
I love Dominaria, partly for nostalgia, partly because of its rich history, and partly because it has so much potential for different stories.
So, that's why I am going to talk about Innistrad.
I love Gothic Horror as a literary genera. I am also a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft's weird horror, and have read every one of his works. While I acknowledge he is very much a scion of Gothic Horror, I would argue there are some key differences in tone that set him apart from his predecessors.
Innistrad 1.0 was firmly set in the Gothic Horror genera. It built on motifs of creation and destruction; of vampires and warewolves--two supernatural beings grounded in mortal origins. It did a very good job at capturing this essence and defining Innistrad as "the Gothic Horror plane." It is no surprise this was a very popular plane.
Innistrad 2.0 decided to switch to a different genera--Lovecraft's weird horror. However, it was still stymied in its origins as "this is the Gothic Horror plane!" I felt Innistrad 2.0 felt like a plane torn on what it wanted to be, and thus failed from a lore perspective.
That's Dominaria's strength. As "the generic fantasy world" plane, it can successfully fill any and every fantasy trope that exists. Is it interesting intrinsically? Maybe not--but that's the point of a blank canvas--someone can make something beautiful out of it.
January 18, 2019 5:37 p.m.
The problem with dom wasn't that it was diverse, but rather that it meant many different things to different players, so going back risked not pleasing people because tons of people had very different but equally valid reasons for liking the plane.
The newest iteration of Dom obviously cut shit, but it's worth noting that even that expansion was tied together via themes like magic returns home, spring, renewal, and history.
Dom definitely had themes. You just missed them or didn't care enough because they were different.
All in all, Dom was outstanding.
Gleeock says... #2
Totally agree, as long as it is united by "high-fantasy" overall (which it still is). I like how it seems like a central hub plane & an origin of great and diverse mega-powers.
January 18, 2019 5:34 p.m.