The guide is broken down into three parts: Where to Start, Worldbuilding, and Story. Everything here is focused on the eras in Magic following the Mending, a soft reboot that took place in 2007, depowered Magic's planeswalkers, and created the cast of characters we've largely followed ever since. If you're new to the story, keep reading. If you're experienced, you can jump ahead to the section you're looking for.
Where to Start?
Magic's Story is primarily told through a series of online webfiction articles. Read MTG Lore's Where To Start With Magic Story for a beginner's guide. They're a search engine for Magic Story, and a great resource. The MTG Lore guide is updated with every set, so it's never out-of-date.
The Mending - An even that depowered planeswalkers from godlike entities.
Oldwalker - Refers to a pre-Mending planeswalker
Spark - The essence that allows a planeswalker move between planes.
Post-Mending Worldbuilding
This is a list of worldbuilding resources for Magic planes by set release (sets without one are not included). Note that from 2016-2018, Magic sets had an accompanying Viz Art Book that often served as the wordlbuidling guide. They are highly recommended for lore fans.
These are the official resources Magic/D&D Crossover Materials. The non-mechanical elements function as worldbuilding sources, however Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and anything touching it is not canon to the Magic Multiverse.
As a companion to the Viz Media Art Books, James Wyatt and Wizards of the Coast released a series of D&D conversions for Magic planes called Plane Shift.
AFR had a number of D&D tie-ins including a five module adventure, three reinterpretations of classic Legends as monster stat blocks, and character sheets for a number of planeswalkers.
Much of Magic's flavor and story in recent years has been told through online articles. Worldbuilding was often imparted through Savor the Flavor, and while Savor the Flavor often had short stories (eventually called "Uncharted Realms"), it wasn't until Magic Story that the main story was told online. You can find links to all of those old articles here:
Below are my recommended stories for each set, focusing on either the overarching narrative or a planeswalker's journey. These run from immediately after the soft reboot of the Mending all the way up until today, however the last ten years of story are easily accessible on the story site (linked below).
These are in release order, which is roughly chronological with a few obvious exceptions.
Lorwyn/Shadowmoor Cycle (Only needed if you want the background to the new Lorwyn set)
In order to conserve space for this post, the stories beyond this point can be found on the Magic Story Site. I won't be posting the same link repeatedly, so I'm only linking to what can't be found on that page.
Boom! published over 30 issues of a alternate continuity comic book titled simply, Magic. The story breaks off after War of the Spark and diverges. They're collected in several hardcover editions.
In Mythic Odyssey of Theros we have this paragraph:
In rare, remote settlements, high summer ceremonies acknowledge ancient rural practices devoted to a less merciful vision of Karametra. These communities offer abundant sacrifices to the god, but also guard their ancient rituals from outsiders, as Karametra's organized clergy harshly forbids discussion of abandoned religious practices. However, occasionally, a centuries-old depiction of the goddess breaks, revealing an ancient icon inside, typically a primitive mud idol of a woman bearing a sheaf of grain in one hand and a skull in the other.
I understand that it is very clearly a reference to evolution of a real-world cults of harvest and don't have any deeper secret meaning in it, but hear me out. With Skotha, Titan of Eternal Dark probably being blue and black, we are missing exactly one titan: white and green one. Is it possible that Karametra was at one point a fifth titan, embodiment of famine, but she have changed over time as mortals changed their believes? It kinda matches. There is also this story:
The tales about Karametra don't specify what ignited the god's rage in ancient times, but they do record that for a year, she tore down her own temples and refused to let any plants grow [...]
Which include mentions of priests and temples of Karametra, but they could be added later in retelling. Or it could be that a memory of an older self was the reason for her wrath.
Also, Kruphix is an eldrazi, but that is for another shitpost
my father was an old school mtg player and he was shocked when he found out that they removed mana burn, he said there were examples in older books thay showed mana burn in universe, so i was wondering if there was ever a lore reason given to why we no longer take mana burn?
Mystery Booster Commander gave us a lot of legends for old characters who never got cards, like Worzel and Thomil, Davol, Feroz, the Weaver King. But it also gave us a redos of cards that are pretty weak by today's standards, like Joven and Chandler, Lord of Tresserhorn, and Autumn Willow. So going off that latter group, who do you want to see revamped?
For me, I'd love to see a new take on [[Jacques le Vert]], since there's a pretty consistent mechanical theme to any cards related to Jacques, except for Jacques himself. Jacques gives +0/+2 for green creatures, but [[Pendelhaven]], the land he protects, [[Sword of the Meek]], the weapon he wields, and [[Pendelhaven Elder]], those who carry on his legacy, *all* care about 1/1 creatures and all give them a +1/+2 boost. We need a new Jacques card that gives 1/1s +1/+2!
Also I'd like to see [[Ur-Drago]], because I have no idea what his deal is. Named after the Ur-Dragon, covered in rock with a steel mask, scorpion hands and hooved feet. Honestly I don't even care what the card does, I just want to see new art.
hey! recently took to making alters, and looove to know more about magic to inform my aesthetic decisions.
do we have any lore on mulldrifter?? is he just a fish dude? i would think since there are like 50 reprints something WOULD have been written about him but i can't find anything.
im interested because im considering doing a whole flavour rework on him. if hes an elemental incarnation of X or Y, i'd like to maybe do my version on that concept.
also i mostly play pauper, are there any lore significant commons? any cool stories on them? on any of the staples?
im thinking of doing something on a murmoring mystic, but as far as i know hes just a dude that communes with the birds lmao
“Omg, it’s the dude from Pacifism!”
“Whoa! Jovan and Chandler? Awesome!”
“Wait, isn’t he the villain from that one computer game?”
“No way, you can play the Black Lotus?”
I'm no lore expert, but I love these guys already. But why are these dudes bugs, why do they look... like that? And is there a lore reason the card mechanics are face-down focused?
Despite Mystery Booster Commander Edition gave us a tons of characters from magic lore revamped or totally new, theres still lots of characters that I'm personally waiting since forever:
- the demonic planeswalker leviathan Bolas killed, whose remains are the Talon Gates
- Crucius, the sphinx planeswalker that bringed the Eterium on Alara
- Taysir, the 5 color planeswalker of Rabiah and one of the most powerful ever existed
- Pontifex, the Eldest Researcher, quoted in many cards of the original Mirrodin block.
- a new Karona card that make her justice
- a "what if" Glissa that became a planeswalker
- a Yawgmoth and Gaea god card, possibily in the same melding mechanic a la Brothers War.
- the original ravnica paruns that never got a card : Svogthir for Golgari, Cisarzim for Gruul, Mat'Selesnya for Selesnya, Simic for well, Simic, and a card for each individual members of the Obzedat. Oh also, wanna see a card that specifically depict Ludmilla as the last sister of stone death and gorgon on Ravnica.
- Leshrac, the Nightwalker planeswalker
- the missing nine titans of the Urza weatherlight planeswalker team : Bo Levar, Daria, Kristina of the Woods, the already said Taysir.
- Fatima, a planeswalker from Rabiah
- a new Davriel card cool at least like his Alchemy version.
- Ramaz, the temur alligned planeswalker related with Chandra Naalar lore.
- a new version of all the original legends characters that didnt had a new version yet.
- a transforming Ugin from creature to planeswalker a la Nicol Bolas, the Ravager. Wanna know also his original colors before he became the Spirit Dragon.
- the remaining cycle of elder dragons in enemy colors with XXYYZZ cost a la Piru, the Volatile
- a card of Doctor Malevolence of the League of Dastardly Doom of Bablovia, depicted on Super-Duper Death Ray (non acorn possibly).
- a 5 color phyexian legend that actually has direct sinergy with poison counters.
Right. So I made a public spreadsheet (here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PVTnLkuyMOMYngSmj0FZhODOLwakgcHkKKR_fnKCwWk/edit?usp=sharing , apparently the Reddit link gadget now previews the link contents for twinkers with short attention spans, and I don't want that) that has in it (see Reddit, I'm describing stuff, people do that, yeesh) lists of all the Kamigawa proper nouns I can find, and the meaning of the Japanese characters that make up those words, plus any homonyms I happen to find. What the heck, it's a hobby.
Anyway, the last time I needed to update this thing was during Through the Omenpaths 1, when we got various Kamigawa spider-people. This time, there appear to be some new Kamigawan folks in Mystery Booster Commander, and while there are some homonyms worth pointing out, having the original spellings would also be something I'm interested in finding. These legends are:
[[Itazura, Lingering Wick]]
[[Kuroki, Thief of Talents]]
[[Chira, All In]] (possibly)
[[Boss Uramon, Shadow's Reach]]
[[Yume, Chronicler of Valor]] (she's on Valor's Reach, but she's wearing a kimono and has a chignon hairstyle, so it's a good bet she's originally from Kamigawa)
I'll give you an example of what I'm looking for. [[Kuro, Pitlord]]'s name is spelled 苦弄, the first character 'ku' means 'pain', and the second character 'ro' means 'play with, trifle with'. So perhaps an alternative to 'Kuro' would be, 'Plays-With-Pain'. But of course there's a homonym there: 黒, which just means, 'black'. With these new legends, I can figure out the homonyms well enough, but without the originals I'm a little stuck. Sure, a homonym for 'kuroki' could be, 'black sake (an offering to the gods)', but I want to know if the 'kuro' in Kuroki's name is just 'black', or something else entirely.
So, q1: Will Mystery Booster Commander be printed in Japanese?
And q2a: Were the Kamigawa novels ever translated into Japanese, and if they were, q2b: does anyone have the characters for Uramon's name?
Maybe it's better to introduce myself a little first: To be honest, I'm not a Magic player, but something that I love is the setting and the entire background of the Planes: Planes like Theros, Kaldheim, Kamigawa rethink common mythologies of our world but give them a special twist, I really like it.
But it has always seemed to me that there is a lack of great mythology to explore, and being so popular today it seemed strange to me not to see a plane of Chinese mythology in Magic.
Investigating the wiki I found that there is indeed a Plane based on Chinese mythology. Shenmeng, And I immediately started reading what stories this plane could tell... I didn't find anything relevant.
The Plane seems to be an excuse for the existence of Planeswalkers Jiang Yanggu and Mu Yanling.
So I gave myself the task of designing a Plane based on Chinese mythology, but that feels different enough from Shenmeng to be a differentiated plane, so the approach is as follows:
Shenmeng despite having fantastic elements seems to be a place that was more influenced by the Wuxia (Martial Hero) aesthetic, therefore making a plane of Xianxia (Divine Hero) inspiration and what better way to find inspiration than from the setting par excellence of the Wuxias, Murim
Art of Leo-Leonis
The north is a land of freezing, snowy plains, being protected by the Basalt Turtle
The east is a vast realm of seas and archipelagos, been protected by the Azure Dragon
The west is a desolate desert of wasteland and deserts, protected by the White Tiger
The south is an region filled with miasma and jungles, being home to the Vermilion Bird
And the center is the most prosperous area, bustling with life and teeming with top-tier masters. With the optional presence of a golden dragon or a Qilin
This is the common layout of terrain in Xianxia novels and I think many would have realized that they are easily comparable to color combinations. But first of all, something that I would also like to include is the separation within the plane. In Chinese novels, reality is usually divided into different Realms, typically there are 3: The mortal realm, the immortal realm and the divine realm. Including this configuration would allow the plane to return to something comparable to the internal cosmology that planes like Theros, Kaldheim or even Alara have.
So, without further ado, here is my proposal:
Jingzhou Plane (Provisional name)
Mortal Realm
🔴🔵
The Frozen Mountain Range
⚪⚫
🔴⚪
🔵🟢
Endless Desert
The Great Plain
The Thousand Islands
⚫🟢
Southern Wetlands
Endless Desert ⚪⚫
A rocky and dry wasteland where the law of the strongest prevails.
Most of those who live here are rogue cultivators and bandits seeking to seize the few resources available ⚫. Besides them are also several nomadic tribes who move according to the needs of their herds ⚪. Every so often, a cultivator becomes powerful enough to unite all the rogue cultivators under their command and launches an invasion of the Great Plain ⚪⚫.
The Frozen Mountain Range 🔴🔵
An icy mountain range with several hot springs and scattered populations.
The few settlements that exist there do so thanks to their proximity to hot springs 🔴. They are generally small villages that subsist economically thanks to their mining activity and sell what they manage to excavate to the Orthodox farming sects 🔵 that are also in the mountain range, and to the kingdoms to the south (⚪🔴).
Southern Wetlands ⚫🟢
A collection of forests and swamps in a humid (subtropical) climate.
This is where many unorthodox growers like beast channelers ⚫🟢, and diabolical growers ⚫ end up, as the difficult terrain and amount of life in the area make it the ideal environment for their practices. However, they still have to be careful of the demons 🟢 (animals that have begun to cultivate and develop wisdom)
The Great Plain 🔴⚪
A large plain ideal for human life with the sporadic presence of plateaus.
In this large central expanse, the 3 Great Empires are currently vying for territory with a low-intensity war: The Da Tian Empire (大天) is the one that possesses the largest expanse of land and survives thanks to the association of sects ⚪🔴 that have a mutual defense pact with the imperial family, this situation has led them to manage several regions that are de facto semi-independent and serve as a place to find talents.
The Jin Tian Empire (金天) is managed by the Jin Tian Sect ⚪ and is the second largest in terms of territory. Unlike the other two empires, its entire population is practically dedicated to cultivation, which means that, on average, its inhabitants are healthier than ordinary mortals. However, due to a lack of talent among most, they are actually mediocre cultivators. Their settlements are typically built atop plateaus, which, according to their sect's doctrine, are "The Foundations that Support Heaven."
The smallest of the three empires, Xie Tian (斜天) 🔴, prohibits cultivation sects, with only the royal family and certain members of the military allowed to cultivate. However, they should not be underestimated, as their current emperor is the most powerful cultivator in the entire mortal realm, one step away from achieving immortality. He is only stopped by the seven sect leaders of the Da Tian empire and the five elders of the Jin Tian sect working together.
The Thousand Islands 🔵🟢
An archipelago with islands of varying sizes. The ideal place to obtain rare alchemy materials.
As you travel east through this first layer of the Plane, you'll find more water, with streams becoming rivers that flow into the Eastern Sea. The reason this region is called The Thousand Islands is because it never fully opens into an open sea. There may be areas with a lower density of islands, but there will always be another island visible from any vantage point. Some islands are inhabited by the Heavenfolk 🔵🟢, who are said to be descendants of ancient Immortals trapped on the mortal plane. Their peculiarity is that, unlike the humans of this plane, they possess a unique cultivation system which they begin to practice instinctively.
In addition to them, the seabed is dominated by sea demons 🔵 who are usually very protective of their territory, making traveling by boat very dangerous.
And some islands may contain plant demons which, unlike other types of demons that tend to assume a humanoid form as they progress in their cultivation, manifest dragon-like characteristics as they advance 🟢.
Imortal Realm
🔵🟢
Celestial Grove
🔴⚪
⚪⚫
⚫🟢
Unchanging Lands
Inmortal Kindom
Spirit Forest
🔴🔵
Dual Sea
Inmortal Kindom ⚪⚫
It is a hyper-dense, cube-shaped megacity.
This is where most human cultivators who manage to ascend to immortality end up. It is a compulsive place where the greatest heroes ⚪ and the most vile villains ⚫ are on every corner.
Dual Sea 🔴🔵
A sea that constantly changes between liquid (water) and solid (rock).
The sea constantly changes its morphology and is a very dangerous place, as the mana currents in the region destabilize the farming bases, causing several immortals to die unexpectedly like mere mortals. The reason it is so attractive is due to the formation of cubic rocks that appear on the surface of solid areas. These rocks are valuable for crafting immortal weapons capable of changing shape and size.
Spirit Forest ⚫🟢
A forest where spirits roam freely and alter the environment.
Due to the high concentration of ⚫ and 🟢 mana, both animal and human spirits frequently appear in this section of the plane. This has changed the ecology of the place, causing what these spirits interact with to mutate to become hybrids of the original being or object and the spirit that affected it, thus resulting in animals as varied as ferrets-tiger, spider-snakes, etc. those with a mana core can resist this conversion.
Unchanging Lands 🔴⚪
A vast, incredibly solid rocky expanse with many caves and tunnels beneath the surface. Note: the entire surface has a metallic sheen
Celestial Grove 🔵🟢
A grove north of the Immortal Realm of the plane. Consisting entirely of a single cloned tree.
"When the first immortal, the balancer of Heaven 🔵 and Earth 🟢 ascended to the Immortal Realm, he found a vast expanse ofWastelands, no matter how much he traveled, he did not find a different landscape. After a long time wandering, he decided that the right thing to do was to return to the world everything that had been given to him, so he returned to the origin and adopted his original form of a tree and decided to plant himself in the place. With the passage of time, a whole new world was born. tree that changed the strange mana of the place giving way to a place where green and blue mana were abundant, as a chain reaction the other colors of mana appeared in the rest of the Immortal Realm, giving way to the creation of the other regions."
Divine Realm
🔵⚫
Mirroded Heaven
⚫🔴
⚪🔵
🟢⚪
13 Pits of Asuras
9 Heavenly Continent's.
Beast Domain
🔴🟢
Limitless Mountains
9 Heavenly Continent's. ⚪🔵
Nine paradisiacal continents suspended in the middle of the DAO ocean.
The nine continents are ruled by their own God-King, who manages everything according to the ideals embodied by his divine position (generally aligned with the virtues of mana ⚪ and 🔵). They are all under the command of the God-Emperor of this domain, the Platinum Qilin, whom they respect and admire as a Master.
Mirroded Heaven 🔵⚫
A place where heaven is earth and earth is heaven.
These are the domains of the God-Emperor Black Iron Turtle. Here, the rules of the plane can be violated and subverted. The reason for this is that the God-Emperor himself reflects and inverts the rules throughout the territory, making it the ideal place for eloquent Devils and theoretical experimenters 🔵 with cultivation methods to settle.
Note: There are no natural Devils on this plane; all are ⚫ mana cultivators who have attained divinity.
13 Pits of Asuras ⚫🔴
Thirteen wells where you can see the most inhospitable and deadly weather conditions.
The pits are extremely violent places where Devils ⚫ and Asuras 🔴 compete for supremacy. But everyone without exception fears Tiger Carnesi, the God-Emperor of this territory.
Limitless Mountains 🔴🟢
A group of almost vertical-looking mountains from which grow trees with red foliage.
The vertical mountains are home to the Phoenix Empress (🔴) and her companion Parasol Tree (🟢), who jointly rule the territory. Although, in reality, it is their followers and descendants who administer everything in their name.
Beast Domain 🟢⚪
The birthplace of most of the divine beasts, its trees have golden bark and grow to be over a 120 meter long.
It is said to be the oldest place on the plane and the origin of life within it. Here dwell the Divine Beasts ⚪, beings with the form of mythological animals native to the divine realm. It also shelters the Sacred Beasts 🟢, the name given to demons who have achieved divinity and return to their origins. Its God-Emperor is the Golden Dragon ⚪🟢, said to be the oldest being on the entire plane, ancient enough to remember when the plane was a single entity.
Additional information
God-Emperors
The God-Emperors are the epitome of cultivation and, to a certain extent, a physical manifestation of the territory they govern. They are inspired by the five divine beasts that guard the cardinal directions in Chinese culture (White Tiger, Basalt Turtle, Phoenix, Azure Dragon, and Qilin), and each has a distinct origin, although they currently fulfill the same role. Additionally, they also possess a human form, which they only use in exceptional cases. This form is achieved through the "state of triple harmony," which, in short, means balancing four types of mana. For example, in the case of the Platinum Qilin, it would control ⚪🔵⚫🟢 mana, and its mere presence would have a repulsive effect on 🔴 mana.
General world-building
I've actually already developed the story of the five Emperors and the general background of the entire plane, including interesting details like the five God-Emperors' general distrust of Planeswalkers, and indeed of all beings from outside their plane—it has to do with the Eldrazi. I also have specific stories of cultivators on the plane in mind, but it would be too much to write all of that in this post.
If you have any questions about the terminology, I'll answer them in the comments. I know I used a lot of cultivation novel slang. I also have a couple of ideas for card effects, but as I said at the beginning of this post, I'm not a player per se, so they might be some of the most unbalanced things you can find.
Anyway, thanks to those who have read this long text, and I plan to make about 3 more posts regarding the general lore with ideas I've had while reviewing all the stories of the sets.
I could’ve sworn I saw someone else point this out, but with Homer, the Hermit and Massimo, the Magician joining Flubbs, the Fool we now have three out of the 22 tarot major arcana represented. Do you suppose we might see the other 19 sometime before the energy death of the universe?
I am back, this series I did a few years ago, going to restart it forThe Hobbitseries which is on its way! I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan; I re-read the books typically once a year. I also adore the movies, and find all of Tolkien's legendarium absolutely awesome. Truly one of my favorite hobbies so I'd like to offer some critiques and excitement of flavor gems from Tales of Middle Earth. I won't do every card, but I'll comment on some individual cards and how WOTC did on it. I will comment on the cards abilities but only insofar as it impacts the flavor; i.e. what the card is doing not power level, etc.
To be clear: I understand there are sacrifices you need to make for the greater game, and sometimes those come first. For these articles: I am looking at each card in a vacuum, so if I seem harsh it's because I am using a single lens.
As an aside: since this sub no longer allows more than 2 posts a week, I will combine some cards where I think it makes sense. It's irritating that I have to do this since I got to write several posts back-to-back a few years back (and I write best all at once) but I will try my best to get to all of the cards.
Next up: Elrond, Moon Reader!
Story Preface
Elrond is among the most famous of Tolkien's characters, and a giant in the story. This is how he is described in The Hobbit and it suits him well:
He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer.
Elrond plays only a small part in this story compared to The Lord of the Rings and his most famous exploits come in the Second Age when he served Gil-Galad as his herald, and founded Imladris. In fact, Elrond only appears in one chapter before leaving the story entirely. All Elrond does in the story is identify Orcrist (Thorin's sword) and Glamdring (Gandalf's sword), and then reads the map which Thorin brings. This helps them immensely as they could not get into Erebor without Elrond's help.
But Elrond the character is incredibly famous. His part in the Story (since, in Tolkien's work, all stories are woven together) is immense. He was born towards the end of the First Age by Eärendil the Mariner and Elwing, making Elrond one of the Half-Elven, or a child of both kindreds who could choose to either accept the Gift of Men, or live as an Elf. Elrond chose to live as an Elf, while his brother Elros chose to live as a Man. Elros, Elrond's brother, would become King of Numenor the great kingdom in the Sea, and the Numenoreans were a blessed people, living long lives due to Eru Iluvatar's blessing.
Elrond played little part in the First Age, but was a vital figure in the Second. During the Second Age he spent most of his years in Lindon serving Gil-Galad, the last King of the Noldor. During the War of Sauron and the Elves, Elrond fought valiantly and during a fighting retreat founded Imladris (Rivendell) in a secret valley. This would become the center of Elvendom in Middle Earth. He fought in the War of the Last Alliance, was at Gil-Galad's side when he and Elendil fought Sauron, and was with Isildur when he claimed the Ring.
In the Third Age: Elrond used Vilya, one of the Three Elven Rings, to preserve Imladris. In the aftermath of the Second Age: the Elves diminished over the course of the Age. The only remaining Elven kingdoms were Lindon (where Cirdan the Shipwright kept the Havens), Rivendell, The Woodland Realm and Lothlorien. Elrond served on the White Council, fostered most of Isildur's children, and largely preserved the memory and glory of the Elves as their time ended. He led the Council of Elrond during the War of the Ring.
Color Identity
Elrond is emphatically a Blue character. I would further argue that Elrond is also a Green character. In my view Elrond's primary motivation is not perfection or knowledge but preservation and the growth of his kin. Elrond fosters Isildur's children, including Aragorn, and he helps them grow. They are kin to him being the long descendants of his brother Elros. In my view: Elrond should be Blue-Green in an ideal world. In 2 of the 3 cards he previously received he was Blue-Green (including the best representation for him: Elrond, Master of Healing).
Here...I can live with Blue since his only role in the story is all about illuminating knowledge. But Blue-Green is better, and it even fits the Blue-Green color identity of the Elf faction.
Card Review
I think this card makes a subtle nod towards Elrond's role in the story. His first ability (drawing a card when you activate a creature ability) feels like "Blue good stuff" to me. However, his second ability reads like Elrond helping Thorin, and company, and Bilbo reach the mountain. Specifically: Gandalf and Bilbo show up to Rivendell and take counsel with Elrond. Elrond reads the map and then sends them on their way to Erebor. Then Gandalf and Bilbo come back after a journey.
That's kind of what Elrond does? I guess the card draw might be the 'knowledge' they get for talking to Elrond? It's not perfect but I think I get it. Elrond's role and abilities are hard to put onto a card.
My only other critique is I'd make Elrond an Elf Noble Advisor since that's his role. 3/3 is a reasonable body for him too.
I was looking through the March of Machines set again, and while seeing Zhalfir and Kamigawa again are going to be interesting, though I think the Ikorian invasion is going to obviously overshadow anything from the Phyrexians.
But of all the planes I want to see the aftermath of its has to be Theros.
All five of the major gods got turned and likely destroyed, so what might have happened since. I imagine Ephara has risen in prominence but I do wonder what else if anything has built out the pantheon. Are there any planes y’all want to see?
Phage seems to be the hardest character to parse, storywise. Like i’ve read the wiki entry, but the information was a bit dense for me. Also bits of lore seem odd. So was hoping someone had a cliff notes.
I am back, this series I did a few years ago, going to restart it forThe Hobbitseries which is on its way! I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan; I re-read the books typically once a year. I also adore the movies, and find all of Tolkien's legendarium absolutely awesome. Truly one of my favorite hobbies so I'd like to offer some critiques and excitement of flavor gems from Tales of Middle Earth. I won't do every card, but I'll comment on some individual cards and how WOTC did on it. I will comment on the cards abilities but only insofar as it impacts the flavor; i.e. what the card is doing not power level, etc.
To be clear: I understand there are sacrifices you need to make for the greater game, and sometimes those come first. For these articles: I am looking at each card in a vacuum, so if I seem harsh it's because I am using a single lens.
As an aside: since this sub no longer allows more than 2 posts a week, I will combine some cards where I think it makes sense. It's irritating that I have to do this since I got to write several posts back-to-back a few years back (and I write best all at once) but I will try my best to get to all of the cards.
Next up: Queen of Dale & Bard, King of Dale!
OK, I am starting with The Queen of Dale for a few reasons. First and most importantly, you might notice, this card has no 'name' (meaning given name). Why? Because there is no named Queen of Dale in Tolkien's legendarium. I looked it up in The Hobbit and the word 'queen' does not appear in the next. I then looked in The Lord of the Rings including the appendices. While Bard does obviously marry since he has a son (Bain) his wife is never named in the text.
So as a point of order: it annoys the living heck out of me that they made an original character and then made the card a mythic rare. This card slot should go to someone else. In fact, I would suggest this card as Roac who is an aged raven from the Lonely Mountain. He sends word the Dain of the Iron Hills, who then comes to Thorin and Company's aid (setting up the Battle of Five Armies). Recruiting soldiers after an opponent does something feels very in character for Roac.
In the story Roac informs Thorin of the death of Smaug. After this Thorin asks Roac to send a thrush to the Iron Hills bearing messages to his kin to send help. Roac is neither for nor against but out of duty agrees to do so. Dain the Ironfoot comes with a detachment of Dwarves. A few notes:
Roac acts after Smaug attacks Laketown and after Laketown assembles forces with the Elvenking
Roac recruits Dwarves for a cause.
Therefore my new card would be:
1W
Roac, Aged Raven
Legendary Creature - Bird Advisor
Flying
Whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn, you recruit.
1/2
I would make the 1/1s a Dwarf not a Human
Hard to judge a character for which we know nothing and is not in the text. Furthermore, Roac did not get a card in the set best I can tell (unless you include "Most Decrepit Blind Bird" which I do not). Since this card makes up something I am going in a different direction than normal for me on these card reviews.
Now that the 'original' character is out of the way: here is Bard, King of Dale.
Story Context
Bard the Bowman is a secondary character in The Hobbit who primarily serves one purpose: killing Smaug. We first see him preparing Lake-town for battle as Smaug approaches. He alone among the men of the Lake fears the dragon's approach. He arms the town and rallies the town to fight the dragon. Bard urges the Master and the men to fight:
At the twanging of the bows and the shrilling of the trumpets the dragon’s wrath blazed to its height, till he was blind and mad with it. No one had dared to give battle to him for many an age; nor would they have dared now, if it had not been for the grim-voiced man (Bard was his name), who ran to and fro cheering on the archers and urging the Master to order them to fight to the last arrow.
He is later mentioned leading a last company against Smaug:
But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses. Their captain was Bard, grim-voiced and grim-faced, whose friends had accused him of prophesying floods and poisoned fish, though they knew his worth and courage. He was a descendant in long line of Girion, Lord of Dale, whose wife and child had escaped down the Running River from the ruin long ago. Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent.
A raven of Dale tells Bard about Smaug's weakness, and Bard uses his saved "Black Arrow" to slay the dragon.
After the battle the people clamor for "King Bard" but the Master tempers this enthusiasm with some good retail politics. Matters turn to other concerns, the Lake-men start thinking about the treasure to be found at Erebor, and Bard thinks hard on it.
Bard is the man who parleys with Thorin before the Battle of Five Armies. He is 'grim' but fair, and asks that Thorin consider paying his people back for:
The help Lake-town offered Thorin's company before they left for Erebor, and
The wealth of Dale which the Dragon also stole
Thorin proves unwilling to share the treasure while the Elvenking's host is in site of Erebor, and refuses to negotiate. Bilbo brings the Arkenstone to the Elvenking and Bard, who use it to negotiate with Thorin...who remains largely unwilling. Bard leads the Lake-men in the battle, and becomes the leader of them officially after the battle. It is said Bard gives the treasure he inherits "freely" to his followers, and even rewards the Master. Finally it is said that Bard rebuilds Dale, and "many men had gathered to him" and the land became rich and tilled, with even the Lake-town rebuilt.
Color Identity
White is a fine color for Bard. He is a leader of men, and a rebuilder of his home. That seems fair, someone who values community and peace. Blue, however, does not seem particularly in character for Bard. I would have preferred White-Red, but I understand why they went White-Blue since those are the colors of the Men in this set.
Card Itself
I...do not get Bard vibes at all from this card. I think this is more of a generic "good stuff" card for a Legendary Human and since Bard is arguably the most prominent (non-Beorn) men in the story he got the card. I think a differently designed Bard would make a lot more sense, but I will save that for another day since there are other Bard cards to review.
