UR/MS: Homesick
Lore forum
Posted on Aug. 29, 2016, 12:59 p.m. by DarkLaw
We see the Gatewatch talking to each other; a new planeswalker, Dovin Baan, who has the innate ability to find flaws in any system and predict when they will malfunction; most of the Gatewatch heads to Kaladesh; and, most importantly, we learn that Liliana has been to Alara.
Mortem If you could give me a source or something for that, I would appreciate it. Also, read Dovin's planeswalker profile if you haven't already.
August 29, 2016 2:34 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #4
Baan's planeswalker profile talks about his extraordinarily high ability to detect flaws.
Throughout any of these stories showing a lot of interaction between different members of the Gatewatch I quite enjoy observing how so many of their interactions align with how well their colours get along with each other.
Liliana does not get along with Gideon or Nissa. Gideon doesn't trust Liliana at all and he is prejudiced against her being a necromancer. Nissa is all about life while Liliana is all about death. However, Liliana is trying to be like a sister to Chandra and can get along with Jace when she wants to.
Jace and Gideon step on each others toes sometimes, but they generally understand each other and can develop structure to work together effectively. Jace and Nissa don't dislike each other by any means, but their lifestyles are complete opposites and don't mix well. That is similar for Jace and Chandra; they can get along for the most part but their personalities do a good job reflecting the differences between blue and red.
Gideon gets along with Nissa quite well (even if some of his mannerisms can make her uncomfortable) and they do training together. Chandra is too chaotic and undisciplined for his tastes.
Nissa wants to get along with Chandra and is someone Chandra felt might be approachable.
I think it is fitting with Chandra in such a distressed state, that it be Nissa and Liliana, her allied-coloured companions, who go will follow her to Kaladesh. They will be the ones more likely to support her in working through her problems rather than trying to find a solution for them.
I suspect that Chandra may wind up playing a part in the revolt, which would completely contradict Jace and Gideon's vision of only working to thwart troublesome planeswalkers/interplanar threats.
Also, any guesses for Dovin Baan's colours? Let's look at his interactions with each colour:
He tolerated Gideon.
He seemed able to appreciate Jace's library and hospitality, but felt their quality was beneath him.
He was able to get along fine with Liliana.
He very much disliked Chandra, although only after finding out who she is.
He did not share any of Nissa's views on nature and how magic should work.
Based on this, I would guess he is blue/black: conflicting opinions of white and red, enemy of green, gets along with black, and potentially gets along with blue.
August 29, 2016 2:51 p.m.
Anybody have any ideas about where Liliana planeswalked to in the story?
August 29, 2016 3:03 p.m.
jandrobard says... #6
Evidently the Guildpact is less Justice League and more Teen Titans.
August 29, 2016 3:22 p.m.
iBleedPunk says... #7
Pieguy396 most likely she planeswalked with Chandra to Kaladesh. Wouldn't be surprised in the least bit tbh
And RicketyEng I hope he will simply be Mono-
but I feel like he will probably be /
. I have a sinking feeling he will be a main villain as well and hopefully he goes on to become another main antagonist for future blocks. We need more villains damnit!
August 29, 2016 3:33 p.m.
Dovin sounds a lot like Karnak from the Inhumans comics. I could see him being mono-Blue or Dimir colors but I think it would be interesting to see him as Esper colors too.
August 29, 2016 3:47 p.m.
I didn't see any black in him. The blue is evident, but he didn't appear to reject the others when it would be more convenient for him to go his own way. He may even be white. Btw guys it's easy to have a villain that isn't a hentai monster or black, they just tend to feel that they are in the right.
August 29, 2016 3:50 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #10
When I was considering his colours I originally thought he might be an enemy colour pair (W/B or U/R) because he didn't seem to be completely at odds with anyone. However, when I recalled his interactions with Nissa, I wondered if he could even be a colour so much as allied with green. I could be convinced he isn't black though.
August 29, 2016 3:59 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #11
Liliandra!!!
It has to be a thing they are perfect together raising hell. I love them both and how fun their relationship is. Saheeli will most likely be Red/Blue so I would agree that Baan could be esper. It would give us an esper planeswalker too. I wonder who the other planeswalkers will be. Obviously Chandra, but I'm interested to see if Liliana, Nissa, or Gideon will have a card.
Predictions:Chandra and Liliana will join the revolution and they will kill one of Liliana's demons if one is on Kaladesh.
This story was a true gem.
August 29, 2016 4:03 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #12
Story is great. Loved seeing how everyone is adapting to life post-EMN.
Dovin Baan seems pretty WU to me. Interesting to note that this if both he and Saheeli turn out to be partially blue, then there's really no room for Tezzeret to show up.
August 29, 2016 4:05 p.m. Edited.
iBleedPunk says... #13
With Saheeli being in Kaladesh I don't think he will be /
. A 
/ antagonist could be very interesting to see
August 29, 2016 4:06 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #14
I shall first say what I did not like about this story:
There was no proper conclusion to the story on Fiora: did Adriana succeed in overthrowing Marchesa, or did Marchesa'a agents kill Adriana? It seems that we shall need to wait until the third Conspiracy set to learn that.
What happened to Sorin? There is no way that WotC shall not bring him back, again.
There was no evidence that Jace's absence from Ravnica caused turmoil and unbalance, without the magic of the guildpact to maintain stability between the guilds. That is a huge missed opportunity, in my mind.
I also was hoping that the members of the Gatewatch would go their separate ways and not start acting like college roommates; in particular, the interactions between Chandra and Liliana seemed like those of teenage girls in our world, especially with some of the language and terminology that they used.
I was really hoping that Chandra would be the only member of the Gatewatch to be involved in events of this block, but it now seems as if the entire Gatewatch, apart from Jace, shall be involved (although Gideon is still uncertain; he may or may not go to Kaladesh with the others). I understand that WotC wishes to have a central story with main characters, but I actually liked the previous approach of each block having its own self-contained storyline. Also, the more that the characters are seen, the less exciting and more boring they become, and they shall also have the risk of becoming "creator's pets," to use a TV Tropes term.
However, I did really like the focus on Chandra, and it seems that she shall be having some excellent characters development in this block.
I was wondering how the story would transition to Kaladesh, and Dovin Baan's presence was an excellent way to do that. Having mentioned Dovin Baan, I already find him to be very arrogant and am not fond of him, and I expect that he may be a major antagonist in this block. His presence confirms that there are non-human races (at least vedalken) on Kaladesh, and he is also the game's first vedalken planeswalker.
I definitely am very excited about this block, and I am expecting it to be very different from the previous two blocks.
August 29, 2016 4:27 p.m.
i got way to gitty with the montion of Vraska the Unseen
August 29, 2016 5:39 p.m.
iBleedPunk says... #16
swkelly89 I had totally forgot about that too! Foreshadowing for the next Ravnica block
August 29, 2016 5:52 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #17
Did anyone else get a strong sense that the government of Kaladesh seems quite Marxist?
I also got to thinking some more about my previous evaluation of Baan's interactions. I think those of you suggesting W/U for his colours might be closer than I was. It makes more sense for his hatred of chaos than disregard for natural magic.
August 29, 2016 6:35 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #18
So it looks like the PW cards for Kaladesh will likely be at least Nissa and Chandra; which in my opinion may mean for Revolt Gideon will make an appearance.
August 29, 2016 7:47 p.m.
Look on Tezzeret's planeswalker profile; it mentions Jace working with Tezzeret, and I think the story itself mantions Liliana being a part of it as well: http://magic.wizards.com/en/story/planeswalkers/tezzeret
August 29, 2016 8:04 p.m.
Dovin Baan definitely seems like he was very blue oriented, although I could easily see both, Azorious, Dimir, and Esper.
So the blocks going forward have a default of 5 Planeswalkers... That means currently we're looking at 3 that are all but confirmed.
Saheeli Rai (?)
Dovin Baan (
, , , , or )
It seems that unless they throw us for a loop here, Nissa seems to be the best candidate for the green walker slot. Although I would prefer it if Garruk Relentless Flip showed up to make some problems for Liliana Vess. Dovin Baan does seem to not allow Tezzeret to have a card, unless they make him Orzhov but he seems too Blue aligned for that too work. I do very much like it that the allied colored walkers are the ones that Chandra identifies the best with and that they are the ones heading with her.
August 29, 2016 8:48 p.m.
PhotogenicParasympathetic says... #21
Can we talk about how great a sitcom this would be?
Like, the set would never leave Jace's sanctum. It'd just be poof Gideon appears in the middle of the room, and Chandra's like "Sup Gids, how was work today? Also I burned down your room." laughtrack
August 29, 2016 10:45 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #22
Someone who knows Friends well should match up the Gatewatch with a Friends character.
August 29, 2016 11:27 p.m.
Dredge4life says... #23
Did anyone else feel like this particular story was a bit... Different from what we're used to? I found the characters to be a bit off, it was more descriptive than usual, and it was significantly longer with quite a bit of gratuitous coarse language. Not really complaining, as it was well written, but it just seemed a little odd to me.
August 29, 2016 11:50 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #24
I believe that Baan is either mono-blue or blue/white; he did not seem to be black to me,a s he was not cruel or malicious, just cold and detached.
I believe that the mention of Vraska is clear foreshadowing that she shall be important to the story at some point in the future.
I liked how Lavinia assigned titles to each member of the Gatewatch; is that a personal trait of hers? I would very much like to see her developed further as a character in the future.
I definitely liked very much how Gideon defended Chandra, showing that the bonds of camaraderie have grown quite strong between them.
August 30, 2016 12:30 a.m.
Raptor199X says... #25
Since Dovin has that keen eye ability to pick on little details, I think maybe one of his planeswalkers abilities will be either a duress-like or scry target player-like ability. That way he picks up on and prevents any "problems" that may arise.
August 30, 2016 4:25 a.m.
Mortem Jace and Liliana indeed go to Alara in the novel Test of Metal, but it's canonicity is apparently questionable for reasons I don't fully u, considering I haven't read the novel. I don't think there's been any other mention until now.
August 30, 2016 5:54 a.m.
RussischerZar says... #27
@ GoldGhost012:
They don't really fit well, but here goes:
Jace - Ross
Liliana - Rachel
Chandra - Phoebe or Female Chandler (if only for the name :P)
Gideon - Joey
Nissa - Monica
August 30, 2016 10:04 a.m.
RicketyEng says... #28
I just read in yesterday's daily mtg update that Dovin Baan is, "A very, very blue Planeswalker from Kaladesh." Saheeli Rai has also been confirmed as Izzet colours!
August 30, 2016 10:53 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #29
how does anyone ship chandra/lili out of that story it's all about how much liliana is tryign to manipulate chandra.
It's all about wildfire/channel fireball/forest fire/Chanra and nissa. Chandra seeking nissa for comfort/support, nissa being willing to go submit herself to being on Kaladesh even though it's probably worse than Ravnica is for herself for Chandra's safety.
Also if we see a cool new nissa and she ends up being G/W I would be in love (though mono-green is still cool. I really want to see the gatewatch characters showing second colors in their cards. especially jace). But I don't know that I expect a nissa card. we have 2 new planeswalkers to show, definitely chandra will make an appearance. so we'll probably nee space for liliana and/or chandra and/or anyone else who we aren't aware is part of the story yet.
Mortem says... #2
Liliana and Jace were part of an organization working with Tezzeret and to an extent Nicol Bolas. I'm pretty sure both of them were on Alara- at least Grixis- for some thime, and I don't think this is new information.
I'm also pretty sure Dovin's analysis of Jace's Sanctum was not due to unique ability, but rather a lifetime of processing, observing, and thinking analytically and to find any flaws with structures or devices. After all, I would think some of the more complicated devices of Kaladesh would need to be soundly checked for imperfections before put into use.
August 29, 2016 1:17 p.m.