Will the Same Trick Work Twice on the Eldrazi?

Lore forum

Posted on Aug. 31, 2015, 9:48 p.m. by DemonDragonJ

The Eldrazi were previously imprisoned on Zendikar, and now it seems that Ugin wishes to imprison them, again, but I doubt that the same trick shall work twice on them, and that would simply be anti-climactic storytelling by WotC.

I predict that, this time around, the heroes shall not be able to imprison the Eldrazi, again, and instead need to destroy them utterly. In fact, I predict that Ulamog, and all of its brood, shall be defeated, but at a great cost to Zendikar, which shall be so badly damaged that it shall take centuries for the plane to recover, leaving only two of the three Eldrazi titans remaining.

What does everyone else say about this? Will the Eldrazi not be fooled by the same trick twice, and need to be destroyed? What fate shall befall both Ulamog and Zendikar?

TheNinjaJesus says... #2

Since Emrakul seems to behave as the Lovecraftian equivalent to Azazoth, and Azazoth is not a sentient being per se, but a force, the Zendikari might figure out a way to "aim" Emrakul at the other Titans, kill them, and then seal it away (perhaps being possible to keep ONE locked up forever instead of ALL OF THEM), destroy it, or "aim" it into the great beyond again. It would be expensive, it would be devastating, people would die... but they'd be gone.

Other possibility- one of the Walkers gets absorbed into the Eldrazi collective, becomes "The Voice of Emrakul", and then, as Emrakul's avatar, figures out how to "control" it after a fashion. Cool theory there- you'd have an Eldrazi Planeswalker. You have Emrakul becoming, in a way, the Walker's "pet".

September 1, 2015 12:15 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #3

I think that it would be interesting if a particularly evil planeswalker who loved to cause havoc across the multiverse captured a lesser Eldrazi and took it to New Phyrexia, where the Phyrexians could study it, and incorporate it into their collective; that would be very bad for the rest of the multiverse.

September 1, 2015 7:20 a.m.

themindxyz says... #4

coughBolascough

September 1, 2015 7:30 a.m.

JakeHarlow says... #5

I do hope the Drazi hordes get smashed at the end of this story. I want Gideon & Co. to achieve success.

September 1, 2015 11:48 a.m.

shinobigarth says... #6

i think they'll figure a way to trap them (maybe just Ulamog if he ends up being the only one) in the BE for good without being able to escape, or at least only 1 way. "Oath of the Gatewatch" seems to imply they form a pact they call the Gatewatch, implying they promise to continually guard something, i.e. whatever or wherever they manage to trap them this time. they are doing it right this time by babysitting it instead of locking them up and just hoping they stay locked up. i think Nissa feels guilty for being dumb and releasing them so i can see her volunteering to do most of the babysitting, and tell the other walkers if and when the Drazi try something cute.

September 1, 2015 11:03 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #7

I still say that it would be poor writing if the Eldrazi were merely sealed away, again; they are too great a threat to the multiverse for the planeswalkers to use such a tactic and have the risk of them escaping and rampaging for a third time.

September 2, 2015 9:52 p.m.

shinobigarth says... #8

well what else are they supposed to do? the eldrazi are essentially concepts, their physical forms are not their actual forms, only physical manifestations of them. if they were able to destroy them, that wouldn't actually get rid of them. they are incorporeal beings from the Blind Eternities, its not like they can just kill them. they are sort of like Galactus from Marvel, nigh impossible to destroy and if someone manages to do that somehow, they will still return.

so if they don't lock them up, i mean what else are they supposed to do? because i don't agree with your idea that they will destroy them.

September 2, 2015 11:09 p.m. Edited.

Fizzz says... #9

I actually want the Eldrazi to win :p

September 3, 2015 4:54 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #10

shinobigarth, if the Eldrazi are sealed away, again, then it is only a matter of time before they escape, again, and the entire process repeats itself. I am certain that the characters (and, by extension, the authors) shall find a way to eliminate them that is both dramatically-satisfying and also does not strain credibility. The Eldrazi are awesome villains, but, like any villain, if they remain in the story for too long, the audience may eventually grow bored of them and wish for a new villain, simply to break any monotony.

Fizzz: why do you wish for that?

September 3, 2015 10:29 p.m.

Fizzz says... #11

DemonDragonJ same like I was rooting for team Phyrexia during the SOM block. I hate cliche endings, I love the Eldrazi (their mechanics, flavor and concept are awesome), and would hate to see them just getting the axe from MTG's universe.

As much as I like the Zendikar plane, I cannot understand how these unbeatable titans could lose the fight vs a bunch of "young" planeswalkers and wannabe mages.

It would be awesome if after they win and 1 of the planeswalkers manages to escape, that he/she realizes that the Eldrazi have a home plane. That could lead us to vist the Eldrazi plane in a future set.

Now THAT would be awesome.

September 4, 2015 10:48 a.m.

shinobigarth says... #12

When your audience grows bored of something you put it away for a while and think about coming back to it later. Seriously, they cannot beat the eldrazi on Zendikar, it's not gonna happen. It would be like if someone cloned themself and you thought that by killing the clone you could kill the real person. You can't kill the eldrazi by destroying their physical manifestation. They would have to visit the Blind Eternities itself and figure out how to destroy them from in there. And that doesn't sound like what the 2nd set is about.

Just look at how long Bolas has been around and nobody is tired of him. Killing off some of your villains just because is usually not that smart when you can just put them away for a while.

September 4, 2015 12:16 p.m.

shinobigarth says... #13

AT MOST I could see them figuring out how to permanently get rid of one of them, probably Ulamog, but it would involve doing more than just beating up his physical form. There's no way they are taking out all 3 titans in this block, especially since the other 2 are out partying somewhere else.

September 4, 2015 12:23 p.m.

themindxyz says... #14

I could see them finding a way to keeping the Eldrazi from manifesting on a plane. This would a sort of banishment instead of an imprisonment. By doing this, the Eldrazi would still be free to wander the Blind Eternities but without having a way to manifest themselves they couldn't consume the mana of any planes. It could also fuel the story line of a new set where the Eldrazi are consuming planeswalkers as they are planes walking.

September 4, 2015 12:46 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #15

I certainly do not expect that the heroes shall defeat all of the Eldrazi in this block; I simply am hoping that they shall defeat Ulamog and Ulamog's brood, leaving Kozilek and Emrakul for future sets and proving that the Eldrazi are not invincible.

September 5, 2015 1:21 a.m.

shinobigarth says... #16

yeah, but it would involve figuring out how to lock Ula in the BE or somewhere for good so that he can't escape again or munch on Zendikar, not actually destroy him.

September 5, 2015 2:52 a.m.

it would appear that, until we know otherwise, this plan looks to be sealing Ulamog (and possibly Kozilek) back in Zendikar.

Ugin seems valid in worrying that killing the Eldrazi for real might have disastrous consequences for the multiverse, and fighting their true forms in the blind eternities seems to be a fight not even Ugin has a chance at, the Elder Dragon who is Nicol Bolas' equal in power.

Also while yes the Eldrazi will Eventually escape at some point the Gatewatch seems to imply a new seal that is much stronger than the original, which was only opened in the first place because an outside party (Nicol Bolas) learned of the Eye of Ugin from Ugin himself. The New Oath would only be known to the members (and possibly Ugin) and requiring four planeswalkers (and possibly each of their specific kinds of magic, rather than someone just knowing Ghostfire, a feat that doesn't seem to be difficult given Chandra was able to learn it from a simple scroll)

September 5, 2015 8:31 p.m.

shinobigarth says... #18

FIRE! WATER! EARTH! WIND!

YOUR POWERS COMBINED, I AM CAPTAIN PLANE....swalker?

September 5, 2015 9:01 p.m. Edited.

DruneGrey says... #19

Just started looking at this...why does seal need a lock? Why wouldn't they just make it unlockable instead of really hard to unlock?

I also think there might be something to locking them into the BE, on the other side of a GATE so to speak, that someone would have to pledge an OATH to keep WATCH over...

September 15, 2015 1:38 p.m.

This discussion has been closed