The 2020 bombshell. Discuss.

Comments

• MemoryHead

  September 2019 edited September 2019

  Core 2021 was described on the livestream as "Do you like Teferi?" and so I think I'll hold judgement on that particular subject with a side order of distaste. Hey, at least if they make three Teferi cards like they made three Chandra cards in Core 2020 then they'll have three chances to make a balanced Teferi 'walker.
  
  I started playing shortly after the original Theros and my opinion on it was positive. While my opinion on Elspeth is relatively neutral, I really don't want to see her rise from the grave just so that she can become a replacement Gideon and kind of want her to either go off and do her own thing or die once and for all. Since this new Theros will apparently be focused on and based in the Underworld of Theros then I suspect it'll differ from the original in a number of ways, so we'll see. I'm happy with the idea for now.
  
  Ikoria sounds neat. It was pitched as a world of monsters which you'll be getting to play with and make using that mysterious mechanic. If they manage to execute the idea of a world of monsters well then I think it'll be fantastic from a flavor perspective at the very least, but we'll have to wait and see.
  
  Zendikar Rising will apparently be Zendikar without the Eldrazi. Thank all of the necessary gods. Not Ula, Cosi and Emeria, though, because they're gone. I don't know what they'll do for it (though I'm pretty sure it'll include the recurring landfall mechanic and some incredible full-art lands) but if it lives up to the original Zendikar block then I'll be very happy indeed.
  
  Finally, here's the set timeline that was released:
  
• ThePhantomJoker

  September 2019 edited September 2019

  Ok, so let me start. I am pretty excited about Theros as well, I liked that block and am... well, not maybe so much as you, but also excited for Elspeth's story. The Underworld is a cool setting and room for some nice design. They could even go so far to introduce the Mygic's equivalent of greek Tartarus, which would be truly epic. I mean, we got some really dark stuff in Magic's history, but Tartarus is just next level. With Theros I also hope for return of Bestow, because that mechanic is so inventive and I love it - they made it balanced and interesting with the combination of creatures and enchantments and a subtype of enchantments are auras, so what could we do to make that work together? Boom, Bestow. One of my favorites in the game really. It's peaceful, creative, balanced, fun to play and so much more. (With this I'm also still waiting for equipment creatures, but I just mention it here to give you an example of possibilities, don't steal that idea from me, anyone.)
  
  And I think new Theros could also cleanse the unfortunate fate of few things:
  1) Inspired. I know a lot of people will roll their eyes so hard when they see this... but I think it's not that bad mechanic, it was just used very weakly. This new set could come back to it and do something interesting with it.
  2) Cyclopi. Again, most people will not be excited by this at all. But the cyclopi are an interesting part of the greek mythology, which Theros is based on, and I think this game has some room for these powerful one-eyed giants. In the legends they were very old and powerful beings, most being the descendants of Poseidon himself. They were crafty, often serving as smiths of the gods and they were responsible for creating several super strong artifacts of the gods. We didn't get a very good representation of them, really. And the fact, that the best cyclops in the game (Borborygmos) Isn't even from a greek-based world, doesn't help.
  3) Satyrs. Well, I know, these don't need that much cleansing as much as they need some time to shine. There are just 19 Satyrs in the game (three of them not from Theros and without Xenagos). These guys are fun, so why not give them a bit more space.
  
  And speaking about the story line of Magic again, I'm partly expecting a swift cameo from Gideon. Yes, we have had a lot of him lately, but one last not-so-important-but-cute cameo would not hurt.
  
  Ok. Now onto Ikoria. I don't have much to say about this one, because we don't really know that much about it. Lair of Behemoths, ok, that means probably some big creatures, ok, probably some mechanics about big creatures... Oh, here's an idea. I had this one saved for Murganda, but whatever. Behemoths are behemoths. This idea is mostly inspired by the card Muraganda Petroglyphs, that bonuses creatures without abilities. I think that would be an interesting theme of the set - the "dumb" big monsters on one side, and the wise mages that use them to do their will on the other. There could even be some mechanic that work something like "Keyword N (cost): This creature loses all abilities and gets +N/+N until end of turn." That is just an idea. And I really will not even try to guess that "crazy new mechanic".
  
  Core Set 2021. I don't care about core sets.
  
  Well, ok, I will say something about this one as well. I was greatly disapointed in M20 and especially the planeswalker decks. I know they are PLANESWALKER DECKS and are not supposed to be good. But they are just getting worse and worse with every set - and mostly the title planeswalkers. Just look at it - Angrath, Minotaur Pirate was playable and Angrath's Fury is also a good and interesting card. Vraska and Jace weren't THAT bad either. (I got back to the game when Ixalan came out, so that's why I use these as an example. I couldn't find which was the first PW deck ever.) And the new walkers from M20 are just stereotypical, boring, uninteresting, and jus... eh, I hate them. At least they got Mu Yanling back.
  
  Do you guys remember the good old precon decks from M12? Those were good! They were playable right out of the box and included some nice cards. And they didn't include planeswalkers. We have so many of these lately, that I am already fed up with them, especially when they are just junk unplayable cards. Planeswalkers used to be those really good cards, that deserved to be mythic, you know? So my wish for M21 is to make preconstracted decks, that feature a rare/mythic creature not-nesessarilly a legend as the lead. It might be unrealistic, but I wish really hard! At least do the PW decks cool or something, they just don't even try with them anymore.
  
  Ok, now to the last - Zendicar Rising! The Eldrazi are done and the world finally starts to rebuild and recover from the terrors of the war. We get a after-war (slightly gamaged) setting that goes back to the roots of this land-based plane. At least that's what I expect. It would be cool to see some new interactions with lands and especially some keywords for these mana-producing fellas. Like Hidaway, return Hidaway, please! There's so much room for exploration there. Or some new "Awaken" type abilities. Or things like LAND CREATURES, gods, I have waited for these so long. Or even crazy stuff like idk enchantment lands or land planeswalkers. Not sure how it would eork, but it sure sounds cool. I don't have really much more to say about this one, Zendikar is just kinda "meh, ok" for me, I am not really that hyped about it, but it sounds kinda interesting.
  
  And at the end, some things they should do at some point as well (in my oppinion):
  - Return to New Phyrexia
  - Pre-Bolas Amonkhet
  - Second Try on Kamigawa
  - A set about Nicol Bolas set in the past featuring Leshrac, Ugin-Alive, That-awesome-leviathan-planeswalker, young Teferi, Tetsuo Umezawa and the Meditation Realm.
  - Set featuring the Nine Titans set in the past (basically Urza's Gatewatch, including some people we've seen already - Frealise and Windgrace)
  
  Farewell, my friends.
• HeroKP

  September 2019

  @MemoryHead
  
  I actually have this weird fantasy where in some distant future the Gatewatch becomes a multi-thousand member anti-villain league (Like an interplanar FBI), and Teferi plays a key role in that.
• KorandAngels

  September 2019

  @ThePhantomJoker
  FINALLY ANOTHER PERSON WHO WANTS MORE AMONKHET!!!!!
• Lujikul

  September 2019

  I personally have no passion for Theros. The last time, it felt too generically greek, and the enchantment flood was exhausting, especially when constellation came out. It feels a lot like "fine have your elspeth." I bet Gideon/Kytheon makes an appearance.
  
  Ikoria has me hyped. Monsters? Make monsters? YES. I'LL TAKE FIVE.
  
  On core 2021, please, no more Teferi. He's been around two years, and that was 18 months too many.
  
  For zendikar, I'm kinda excited, not gonna lie.
• stormbreath

  September 2019

  I am deeply interested in what happens with Elspeth. She's one of the more interesting characters, since she's fine with being the hero, but really just wants to find some peace and quiet, which is different from all the other planes walkers, who all seek power or excitement, to a degree. Kinda ironic that Elspeth died because Heliod though she was a threat to his power when, in all honesty, she is perhaps the least threatening of all the various planes walkers. Even Ajani, who is, by and large, a gentle giant, would be more likely to attempt to kill Heliod, even if Heliod hadn't pulled a dick move and killed Elspeth.
• RohanDragoon

  September 2019

  I'm kinda with @MemoryHead with Theros. Like I'm pumped that we're going back, but if they don't actually do something interesting with elspeth and she's just "oh, I'm good white planeswalker protecting people", wizards will have lost my trust for story writing. Yeah, the gatewatch arc thing was super long (and might even still be going), but at least there were some redeeming story qualities pertaining to character growth in it. Substantial character growth at that. Elspeth got straight up merc'ed by a petty god who was afraid of her. If she isn't changed in some way by that, well then, that's kinda bad story writing. Like you don't die and not change.
  
  (I still am holding out to the Wanderer being Elspeth due to similarities between Ajani's armor and the Wanderer's armor, but in total I would like to see more of the Wanderer regardless).