Pattern Recognition #15 - The Two Great Cycles
Features Opinion Pattern Recognition
berryjon
2 February 2017
3181 views
2 February 2017
3181 views
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Pattern Recognition! For those of you tuning in for the first time, welcome! I'm berryjon, resident Old Fogey, lover of Time Spiral, and all round opinionated guy. Today's issue is once again not going to be about a card or cards, but rather about something a little more abstract. Two weeks ago, I mentioned that there were two Great Cycles in Magic, and I got a couple people trying to guess, but no one actually got it.
These are the Narrative and Mechanical Cycles.
And now I can hear the crickets chirping.
Alright, let's start with the Narrative Cycle. In the beginning....
No, wait. I did that joke last week. And you'll see what that's funny later. You see, when Magic started, there was no 'plot', no 'story' to it. In fact, the name for the home plane of the game - Dominaria - started out as Dominia! Just look at the flavor text on Grizzly Bears as an example.
It's hard to say when stories first became a major part of Magic's design. I want to say it was in Homelands, though I'm sure some would argue that there was a cohesive story in earlier sets. But each set was intended to be a stand-alone story, even though they may share a setting. Even the first 'block', Ice Age, was less about the story and more having a story to tie the cards in the sets and block together.
The idea of having a story to unify the game, to give a sense of continuity to the players, is both a marketing tool, and a design one. For the latter, it allows you to make long term plans for the direction that the game would go, and for the former, it helps retain old players who would otherwise drift away from the game.
Mirage and Visions were the two sets released after Ice Age, and they told an internally cohesive story centred around the actions of the Planeswalker Teferi, and his allies and enemies. The third set in the block was a different thing entirely. Weatherlight was released in the summer of 1997, and was narrative disconnected from the other two sets. What it did, however, was start up the multi-year story that bears the name of the set.
The Weatherlight Saga.
This story was something that was quite audacious. It was an attempt not only to have the story and the cards 'happen' at the same time, but to also have the story take place on the cards. With some effort, you could even trace the story by putting the cards in order! I would recommend:
http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Weatherlight_Saga/_in_cards
as a place to start with that.
This method of story-telling went on for the next several years. The Tempest Block told the story of the raid on Rath by the crew of the Skyship Weatherlight to retrieve Captain Sisay, led by Gerrard Capashen. Next was the Urza Block, which acted as a prequel story to the rest of the Weatherlight Saga, describing the events of the Brothers War between Urza and Mishra, Artificer Prodigy, as well as the actions in the aftermath of that conflict as Urza came to grips with the scope of the machinations of Yawgmoth and Phyrexia.
The Masques block returned focus to the Skyship Weatherlight, which was a direct followup from the Tempest Block as the crew raced to return to Dominaria in time to fight the impending Phyrexian invasion.
And the Weatherlight Saga concluded in the Invasion Block, where the Phyrexians invaded Dominaria, and a whole lot of people died around Fall 2001.
Afterwards, Wizards did a review of how the Weatherlight Saga was received, and they came to the conclusion that there was a certain degree of exhaustion from the player base. The research indicated that while the story was what one would expect - with varying degrees of reception based on the individual sets and books, the whole thing was just too much. Too much story, too fast.
So in response, Wizards toned it back. The next two blocks - Odyssey and Onslaught - were transitory in nature. It was too late for Wizards to cancel the story lines in them, but they could rework them to be distinct and able to stand on their own. Yes, they both starred Kamahl, Pit Fighter and his later version Kamahl, Fist of Krosa and shared the same location - the continent of Otaria. But the two stories could be told distinctly.
As these sets came out, Wizards became convinced that the 'epic' style of storytelling was not the way to move forward. Instead, they focused on story-telling in a block-by-block format, with each new story happening without needing to know what had happened in the past, and could be self-contained.
Mirroden - the tale of the metal plane of Argentum as the natives rally against the machinations of the mad Memnarch.
Kamigawa - A murderer and thief gets corralled into doing something to help end the decades long war between the material and immaterial realms.
Ravnica - A cop investigates crimes that eventually lead him to the single biggest secret on the plane.
Time Spiral - The Planeswalker Teferi returns to Dominaria centuries after the Apocalypse, intent on fixing his mistakes, and in the process changes what it means to be a Planeswalker.
Lorwyn / Shadowmoor - Fairytales in the light and in the dark.
Shards of Alara - Ajani Goldmane seeks revenge for the death of his brother as the world around him falls apart.
Zendikar - A world that's a glorified Dungeons and Dragons setting becomes a battleground against something that predates the concept of 'colour' in mana.
After this small tour of the multiverse, Wizards came to the conclusion that while trying to create multi-set long stories didn't really work, what they could do was start to reuse settings from the past. Part of this decision came from the reception to Time Spiral - the only set that came back to Dominaria in that rotation. It was well received from the creative standpoint, though it also alienated a lot of newer players because of its shotgun approach to mechanics. So they tested the waters with Scars of Mirroden.
This set came back to a block from seven years prior, and moved to re-explore it. It was old and familiar, yet at the same time it was new and exciting. That combination was enough to convince Wizards that it was alright, as long as they didn't simply repeat a set or block.
The next block was Innistrad, the Victorian Horror block. I suspect that at the time, Scars was seen as an experiment, so Innistrad, which was still under development at the time, used the old 'new place each block' paradigm. But the set after that? That started development after Scars proved to be acceptable? Return to Ravnica. Or, as I like to call it, The Amazing Race, Magic Edition!
Then we got Theros, which was Greek Mythology with the serial numbers filed off; Tarkir, which I sold people on the set while working in my former LGS as "Dragons versus Mongols" - and it worked!
Finally, we came back to revisiting planes. Battle for Zendikar takes us back there to finish where the plot of the previous set left off. Shadows over Innistrad finished off the plots of both Battle for Zendikar and Innistrad.
And now we are returning to new planes. Kaladesh and soon - Amonkhet.
Where am I going with this? Well, two things actually. First is that Wizards is comfortable, from a narrative perspective, of going back to places they have been before, to help solidify a certain sense of continuity in the larger framework. Second is that Wizards is falling into the same problem that they worked so hard to get out of in the first place.
That problem? Let me give you a moment. It's not obvious based on what I've described so far, and I don't blame you for not getting it.
The problem is the Planeswalkers. Specifically, the Jacetus League Gatewatch.
You see, the last few sets have involved a larger meta-plot about the group of Planeswalkers led by Jace Belleren, as they deal with extra-planar threats. First, the Eldrazi. And now Nicol Bolas. And hopefully the Phyrexians as well. What is being done here is a return to the longer planned story arcs of the Weatherlight Saga, and not the independent stories that came before and after. Here, let me list it for you:
Independent Stories: Alpha through Visions
Weatherlight Saga: Weatherlight through Apocalypse
Independent Stories: Odyssey through Innistrad Block
The Gatewatch Saga: Return to Ravnica to now.
So here is the first Great Cycle - the Narrative one. Wizards has been bouncing back and forth between major, multi-block stories and independent tales.
For the second great cycle, you would have to look at the cards more often. Who here can tell me what Urza's Block, Mirroden Block, Scars of Mirroden Block, and Kaladesh Block all have in common?
If you said Artifacts, you would be correct-ish. Urza's Block was also Enchantment heavy.
Next question - What do Legends, Invasion, Ravnica, Alara and Tarkir have in common?
You should all know this, I spurged about it three weeks ago when I talked about the Volver creature type. They're all sets dedicated to Multi-coloured cards.
Odyssey, Onslaught, Kamigawa, Innistrad, Zendikar? Tribals.
And instead of leaving you all in suspense, I'll say it straight out. The second great Cycle is mechanical. As time goes by, you start to see certain themes get repeated. The Artifact block. The Tribals. The invasion by extra-planar entities to end the world.
OK, that last one only happened in Invasion and Invasion 2.0: Now on a tighter Budget. I mean Zendikar. Totally not a complete rehash of a far better block with a budget so tight the bag guys forgot to buy a colour. I suspect that one of the sets on Wizard's horizon is going to be the real Invasion 2.0 - New Phyrexia Edition.
The repetition of mechanics and themes is not a failure on Wizard's part. Rather, as I will explain shortly, it's a good thing.
This leads me to my final remarks. How many of you know about the Seven Year Rule? No? Yes? Well, it was first explained to me by my mother when I was younger and complained that an episode of her soap opera that I was watching was something I had seen before.
The Seven Year Rule is a maxim in media - both print and otherwise - that your audience will have had sufficient turnover over the course of approximately seven years that if you reuse something, to the vast majority, it will be new!
And once again this isn't a bad thing. Wizards is always looking to draw in new players, and being able to go back to something they've done before can give their Design and Development teams a groundwork to build up from. Something familiar that they can take in new directions. Amonkhet will have things familiar to me, I assure you. And those familiar things will be new to some of you.
That's just fine by me.
.
..
...
Fine.
Gideon Jura as Gerrard Capashen
Chandra Nalaar as Hanna, Ship's Navigator
Nissa Revane as Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer
Jace Beleren as Ertai, Wizard Adept
Liliana Vess as Starke of Rath
Ajani Goldmane as Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
I didn't say it was a perfect one-to-one match, but the themes are there.
@Zaueski: He may not have provided evidence, but the "Gatewatch saga" has been poorly received by the majority of players. You contradict yourself- Just because you may prefer one side, it doesn't mean that other people do.
February 2, 2017 2:15 p.m.
@Maringam I did not contradict myself. I acknowledged that some people don't like it. However, the 'Gatewatch Saga', is not poorly received even on this website. Look through our forums on the stories for quite a while back, generally for every comment complaining about the story there's 2 more praising it. Furthermore, in person, I haven't met anyone who dislikes the story in person. Most are unaware of what's actually going on and when the story is explained they thoroughly enjoy it and go off and read more and there own. The major doomsayers of the current story biggest complaint is not the fact that its an epic as the OP, but rather that the writers haven't given the heroes any major losses yet.
Learn the difference between advocating one side and disregarding the other please.
February 2, 2017 2:36 p.m.
Zaueski: I'm sorry you don't like this one, but allow me a chance to elaborate.
The nature of the Planeswalkers from a story standpoint is that they allow for a consistent viewpoint from set to set. This is, as you point out, a good thing. My concern is not that this is being done - we're still too early in the Gatewatch Saga to say for certain how this will all pan out.
No, my concern is how they are handling it. The original Weatherlight crew was inspired by Star Wars of all things, with Gerrard in the role of Luke Skywalker, Sisay as Han Solo, Tangarth as Chewie, Crovax as Vader....
The Gatewatch? They're a comic book super-hero team without the backdrop. I call them the Jacestus League for a reason, and MaRo's opinion of the term be damned. Add to this the inconsistent writing coming out of the Uncharted Realms stories and I, as a writer myself*, am watching this and wondering how this is supposed to work. Because from my perspective, it's a trainwreck in progress.
The Weatherlight Saga worked because it was a focused story with a certain degree of over-arching plot keeping things focused.
The Gatewatch is suffering from being an ensemble work where each of the characters is being shoved into each story and tried to be made relevant without the understanding that each story would be stronger if you didn't have everyone present all the time. One of my story criticisms for Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon was that Jace's entire participation could be summarized as "Tamiyo did something, and Jace was there too". He was completely extraneous to the story, but he was shoehorned in regardless.
But again, we're not done with the Gatewatch. I think that both of us will have our opinions changed by developments in the future, and we should both give Wizards the chance to prove themselves better in our eyes.
*I am a published author of Star Trek fiction. Not a lot, mind you, just two stories in magazines. But it's a start.
February 2, 2017 2:36 p.m.
@berryjon That I agree with completely, the writing does need to become better and less shoehorned. Return to Innistrad was mostly a trainwreck of a story. That doesn't mean that they can't make it better however. Take the Kaladesh Block storyline, aside from the last two stories of AER, that whole saga was amazing. My favorite story in all of Magic history is the Burn story from a few weeks back. Bar none. There isn't even a close second and that more than anything gives me hope that they can evolve from the comic book Jactetice league into the epic that they're trying to do.
February 2, 2017 2:42 p.m.
Camel-Senpai says... #6
I'm a pretty big fan of how Nissa turned from Elvish Hitler to typical hippy because the Gatewatch needed another member.
February 2, 2017 5:38 p.m.
Camel-Senpai: And I am not going to reject out of hand the idea that Jace, the Mind Sculptor did something to her because he needed her power. Totally in line with and it helps add depth and conflict to the characters.
February 2, 2017 5:58 p.m.
GoldenDiggle says... #8
I completely agree with you, the Jacetice League is boring as a narrative because of the sheer power they have. There is not really any opportunity for interesting story telling besides the occasional character development.
I miss the narratives like the ones from O.G. Mirrodin. And Ravnica: City of Guilds may have been a mess of a block, but it had a great story that really panned on all the guilds.
As far as the Gatewatch go, as soon as Amonkhet was revealed, I knew they were going to run in half-cocked with no plan whatsoever.
Here's to a few of them dying off, or at least Ajani coming in to save their butts again. (or the obligatory time spiral drink)
February 2, 2017 11:14 p.m.
GoldenDiggle: pft, like Wizards would ever bring back Teferi, despite him being best friends with a woman who brews up immortality drinks for a hobby. And he's the only (potentially) living 'walker who has met old'walker Bolas and thus has a grasp of just how powerful he wants to be.
As an addenda to my comments about the narrative cycles - we're about to have a plucky band of do-gooders charge half-cocked into an artificial realm to disrupt the plans of some mysterious bad guy.
Last time that happened, things didn't go too well for a couple members of the team. Including Ertai/Jace.
February 3, 2017 12:38 a.m.
JonathanSamurai says... #10
I have a hard time following the stories of Magic. I read them online, but some are poorly written or blatant filler material. I wish that there was a more convenient way to read each blocks story rather than digging it up online. I remember being told they used to release books but don't do so anymore. I started playing during the first Innistrad block btw.
February 3, 2017 12:58 a.m.
I agree that the story has felt really poor as of late. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of parts that I like as a self contained story, but as a whole it is lacking. If they manage to come out of the next story unscathed I'm going to be very disappointed seeing how they've already won two fights they probably shouldn't have (namely against Emrakul, the fight with the other titans is plausible I guess). I am a little biased towards them loosing since I love Nicol Bolas as a character being the resident James Bond villain and all. I want to see Jace die and at least one other, haven't decided who though lol.
February 3, 2017 9:43 a.m.
Podma101: Jace won't die. He's their poster boy for Planeswalkers, and they named their proprietary font for their cards after him. They can't get rid of him, because as any Old Fogey can tell you - Blue Wins.
February 3, 2017 11:53 a.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #13
"Totally not a complete rehash of a far better block with a budget so tight the bad guys forgot to buy a colour."
I love you so much for this line, berryjon. No homo.
For once I'd love to see Blue lose though. Killing Jace would tear apart the Jacetice League, and be a loss for Blue. Might make the narrative interesting again. It won't happen but.... I can dream.
I haven't even enjoyed the Magic narrative for years now, and everything from Origins forward has been positively nauseating imo. But to each their own, I suppose.
February 3, 2017 2:29 p.m.
I know they won't kill him, but I want them to SO badly. As Tyrant-Thanatos said, it would create an actual plot point that could result in a good story and good character development, not an episode of Planeswalkers and Geeks (though to be fair, that show was great).
And it's not like WotC doesn't know how to write good plots anymore. There have been plenty of neat one-of stories recently that were pretty good (because who doesn't love the Hypnotoad). The problem I see is that where ever the JL goes, it's everyone else suffering and losing something. Those minor characters develop and change, meanwhile the planeswalkers durdle around. It's always: They show up for unrelated reason XYZ, find bad guys, assemble, struggle and fight bad guys, win because of XYZ, rinse, repeat. All the development they get is from their own internal issues and their influence on each other (mediocre and mediocre does not equal decent).
In short, they need a loss, a BIG loss if WotC actually wants to write something good.
P.S - I've been loving these articles so far, I always look forward to the next one! Keep it up!
February 3, 2017 3:02 p.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos: Killing Jace would mean that Tamiyo dumps her extra colours to take his place in the Gatewatch, and the infinitely more interesting Ral Zarek has to pick up the pieces of the Guildpact. Because, you know, a guy who is actually thinking about how to do the job is better for the job than the guy who makes every effort to get out of it.
February 3, 2017 3:03 p.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #16
berryjon: I would be completely okay with that.
Honestly I don't think they really need to tear apart the Gatewatch though, just focus on them less. Surely they can maintain the long running story with the Gatewatch, while still at the same time putting out separate stories, right? I mean, if the block after Amonkhet didn't feature the Gatewatch at all (maybe even a return to a previous plane Oh god, Kamigawa please), but then the block after that did, and so on, would that not work? Just a thought.
February 3, 2017 3:20 p.m.
When I called the Gatewatch an 'ensemble', I thought that also came with the connotation that such a design would allow for a rotating cast. You could have Ajani/Jace/Liliana in one block, with Gideon/Chandra/Tamiyo in the next and Nissa gets in on one of the special sets over the course of the year. And as the cast grows, you can keep cycling through the available membership so that no one hogs the spotlight all the time. Jace.
February 3, 2017 3:50 p.m.
Camel-Senpai says... #18
Again, there's no chance Jace is gonna die any time soon.
What I'm interested in more than anything in terms of the lore is the fact that the Onakke, the most powerful race on Shandalar, were just wiped out overnight. It seems like anything powerful enough to wipe them out when their residual power is strong enough to hold off an Eldrazi titan should be high priority for an explanation.
February 3, 2017 4:06 p.m.
ShiningEyes says... #19
Well if anyone can hand Jace and co. a loss, it's Nicol Bolas. We've yet to see him be properly bested. Momentarily disadvantaged, but not properly lose. Not since Time Spiral, anyway. And he's been planning this stuff for years.Here's to the gatewatch getting their collective butts handed to them on Amonkhet.
February 4, 2017 2:28 p.m.
I hope Bolas kills the Gatewatch, because they are just too deus ex machina for my taste.
Time to bring back an unfinished story, the sliver wars. The overlord vs the legion.
February 4, 2017 4:22 p.m.
I haven't been playing that long.
Ever since Dragons of Tarkir I have built my decks based on what the story was for that block.
For DTK I had a deck featuring Dragonlord Kolaghan.
ORI saw me playing Burn with Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh Flip front and centre.
For BFZ I ran an Allies deck, and my biggest delight came when I smashed any Eldrazi decks.
For SOI I had a Control deck containing Archangel Avacyn Flip, Sorin, Grim Nemesis, and Anguished Unmaking.
At the moment my deck is Consulate approved (I'd rather be on the side of the Revolt, but you can't really claim that when you are running Skysovereign, Consul Flagship).
I don't tend to read the stories, I find them too long and poorly written. I hunt out summaries so I get the gist of what is going on, which I also learn from the stories on the cards.
Personally I have enjoyed the story arc that Origins set up, visiting the Planes of the Expendables Originals.
Can't wait to see where the next set takes us.
February 4, 2017 10:56 p.m.
ShiningEyes: I would like to introduce you to Tetsuo Umezawa, the guy who killed Bolas the first time. Remember, it was only due to the time crash on Dominaria that Bolas was able to get around that.
And yes, he is a distant descendent from Toshiro Umezawa, AKA: My favourite Black character.
February 4, 2017 11:03 p.m.
ShiningEyes says... #23
goes to dig into some of the older loreThis stuff is cool. Hopefully I'll get to read more of this in time.
February 5, 2017 12:06 a.m.
TheRedGoat says... #24
SOooo, I know I'm getting hate mail for this, but wouldn't Chandra be closer to Squee? Cause yeah, she's dangerous, but she's really more of a mascot for the group than an in the background guide. That's Tamiyo's job.
February 5, 2017 11:49 a.m.
Nooooo. Chandra is the female mascot for Magic.
She's in every set.
Coz she's awesome.
February 5, 2017 11:52 a.m.
Hahahahaha, now every time I read these stories, Chandra will be Squee! Thank you good sir! Saved the entire plot for me!
February 5, 2017 11:57 a.m.
While I think they try to make the Jacetice League like a group of Marvel Superheroes... at the moment they feel more like the Power Rangers... they beat the first minion, but turns out he's not really defeated yet and then they assemble the whole Gatewatch to deafeat the enemy.
It's not even hard to imagine the last image of the movie be Jace in the middle, camera zooms out and we see the other walkers in a cool/sexy pose standing around him shiver
February 6, 2017 4:24 p.m.
Zaueski I'm quite late, but the Gatewatch is very poorly received on this site from my experience. Very poorly.
February 8, 2017 11:31 a.m.
Hi berryjon, I think you have a point here. I think some other thing is eternal as well: the way WotC regards the different colours.
In the section below, I picked some randon examples, others could be listed. I started thinking, and that soon shifted to melancholia, about the different colours. I was wondering: why is Red always the underdog? I love Red: love the feel, the aggresiveness, the passion. I love that people don't expect you to win. And they have a point: Red certainly has direct damage, but no card draw (and, arguably the Wheel effects aside, not without some draw back) and even green has Aid from the Cowl. No Wipes (trust me, tapping a lot a mana and dealing damage to get rid of creatures is not the same as Wrath of God or its dark side version Damnation). Or, alternatively, no bounce effects (yep, those enchantments are here to stay). And now, look at the new Kaladesh / Aether Revolt sets: Padeem, Consul of Innovation vs Kari Zev, Skyship Raider or card draw and hexproof vs a 2/1 monkey? It is clear who will win a match up I think. Sram, Senior Edificer vs Pia Nalaar, or massive card draw vs a thopter (and some boosting) Sram should be able to win any day...and that's Pia of the revolution we're talking about. Red has Incendiary Sabotage sure, but white has Fumigate, Black has Yahenni's Expertise, a way around indestructability, and point removal. Green has the opposite of destruction: boosting the own creatures to be bigger and better via +1/+1 counters and Durable Handicraft. The Implements cycle? I'm not even going there, forcing an opponent to discard, drawing cards, handing out +1/+1 counters is virtually better than doing one damage (yep, unless he is resting there at one). I know, I know, there are exceptions. But those are precisely that: exceptions.
But hey, that's where some crafty deckbuilding comes into play, right? ;)
February 8, 2017 2:55 p.m.
The thing about , which a lot of Players don't understand because they haven't been on the receiving end of it, is how amazingly frustrating it can be for someone to deal damage directly to you.
If you aren't playing then you are sool.
does have board wipes. Things like Anger of the Gods and Radiant Flames. It also has access to pump spells, like .
Yes, it can be a frustrating colour to build a mono-coloured deck out of but, if you do manage to make a sweet Burn deck that works, you will never forget the feeling of piloting it to victory.
RDW
February 8, 2017 3:51 p.m.
GobboE: I would recommend reading through my earlier article about Red's problems as highlighted by their iconic Planeswalker. I touched on a few of those problems there.
February 8, 2017 3:52 p.m.
Hi Argeaux and berryjon: oh, I've been on the receiving end of plenty of burn spells...even a few classic channel-fireballs (I've been playing almost as long as berryjon I think ;) ) . I've read the other article as well (Jaya rules), but - as I argued above - I think the problem is bigger than that.
Allow me to explain: (I apologize for taking over your comment stream berryjon)
When I constructed a mono red EDH deck solely built around kaladesh / aether revolt (I was challenged to do so, hence), and played against other mono coloured decks, I was trampled. True, it was a multiplayer game: and that is where the main weakness comes out. The deck did not only loose steam, it was unable to deal with the other multiple players, and it was unable to cope with the creatures that came out (such as Aethersquall Ancient): I couldn't get rid of anything over toughness 4. Summarized, I do think that Red is strong, even in multiplayer (I've wown plenty of games), but only when you combine multiple sets. Whereas the other colours are able to manage themselves, even within the restrictions as set above. Again, I'm not complaining as I've always taken for granted (and it is a great feeling to win as the underdog :) ), but your article made me wonder: why WotC create this inequality? They could at least make the legends more competitive towards each other, couldn't they?
February 8, 2017 4:46 p.m.
They didn't create it. It's been a long time coming and building up. Red is becoming more specialized over time. But Lightning Bolt is too good, so there is a hard cap to how far Red goes with what they are good with.
Also, Legends aren't supposed to be competitive with each other. They're supposed to be thematic.
February 8, 2017 5:19 p.m.
It's interesting to read the comments here. First I keep seeing Tamiyo being brought up, she isn't in the Gatewatch. She decided that she had better things to do.
I feel the problem with the story is that the characters have been nerfed. Not power wise, but story wise. Nissa USED to have depth, she was powerful, you could understand her motivations, but like any real person, she was flawed as she was a dirty old racist. Now she is just Mono- Planeswalker. She went from depth, (which makes a good character), to this copy paste Elf from any/all fantasy ever. I will be as bold as to say, if Nissa gets killed, few people will care.
I believe people want to see the Gatewatch lose because most people aren't particularly fond of them. I don't know a single person that likes Gideon. Most refer to him as a "Special Ed" kind of character, but he is really just a big strong brute. He is Mono- Garruk. He is comparable to Captain America where you know you are supposed to be rooting for him, but what you actually want is to see Iron Man knock his teeth out.
Liliana is a favorite because she has depth. She has legitimate character development and a story that people like. Why can't they all be like her?
Of course there is Jace, who likes this guy? I hear most people say, "Jace comes, Jace wins, end story." People are bored of Jace. He needs to lose, and while he was defeated by Bolas in the past, what lingering effects did that defeat have?
The story has gotten stale, because it is consistently the same thing over and over. That is why people want the Gatewatch to lose. It needs to happen. Bolas is the last threat left. New Phyrexia is a joke by comparison. Last I heard, they were still fighting each other and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite actually wiped out two of the other armies. Elesh eliminated 2/5 of New Phyrexias forces. They have their own stuff to work out before they become a threat again, and they need to rebuild AFTER they figure out the politics.
What is interesting though is that we will see Bolas soon. I have already made multiple posts in the Lore section regarding Bolas, the Gatewatch, and Karn. The topic is of Karn vs Bolas, but I felt bringing the Gatewatch up was relevant.
Long story short, Bolas defeated Jace in the past while Jace had the assistance of Tezzeret. Being a powerful Mind Mage was nothing as Bolas EASILY defeated Jace, MENTALLY. Bolas also planned on Jace being there to release the Eldrazi. Bolas planned on Chandra being there. Bolas was most likely aware of Nissa as his plan involved Zendikar and the Eldrazi. Bolas and Liliana have worked together in the past, and Bolas has much knowledge that Liliana desires. Ajani has admitted to himself that he is far weaker than Bolas and created a Bolas clone to fight the Elder Dragon. That is unlikely to happen again.
It seems to me that soon we will have the Gatewatch losing like most of the fan base wants as the Gatewatch can't compete with Bolas. I guess it has all worked out according to plan though, keep the fan base engaged to the point where they just WANT the Gatewatch to lose, and then give it to them.
WE NEED MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!! We need to be able to care, either way, about these characters.
Zaueski says... #1
You claim that huge overarching stories are a bad idea because people weren't used to it and Weatherlight Saga was poorly received. Then you claim that the Gatewatch is the biggest problem in Magic stories but offer no proof. In fact, you actually go on to show how audiences and the wants of the customers change every seven years. So, in actuality, your argument points in favor of the Gatewatch because its a "new" thing. I got into Magic to hang out with friends, but its been the struggles of the recurring characters and their stories that has kept me here. Adventuring through the planes with Chandra Nalaar and watching the trauma Gideon Jura went through at the behest of Erebos, God of the Dead has been some of my favorite moments in Magic. My least favorite stories were some of the older ones where the story was self-contained and barely connected to even the next week's story. My point is, just because you may prefer one side, doesn't mean there isn't a demand for the other part.
I usually enjoy your articles despite never posting on them, but this one was more than a little bit disappointing.
February 2, 2017 12:46 p.m.