Fiora Conspiracy

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Something rather interesting happened yesterday which has a number of Magic: the Gathering fans talking.  Artist David Gaillet, based in Toulouse, France, known for a number of wonderfully illustrated cards had posted an image quite recently labeled with the name 'Thorn of the Black Rose'.  Of interest is that the image has since been removed from David's DeaviantArt account (perhaps at the behest of Wizards of the Coast), subsequently providing much fodder for speculation.

The discourse of speculation has produced some tantalising theories based on the name given with the illustration, almost assuredly a reference to 'Marchesa, the Black Rose' from the special Conspiracy set.  For those not in the know, Magic: The Gathering – Conspiracy is the first-ever multiplayer-focused Magic booster set. It was released on June 6, 2014. Conspiracy was designed to be drafted.  Some hypothesis so far -

• WotC is to return the Plane of Fiora as a regular block / set,
• WotC is to publish another Conspiracy set, or
• the art was simply un-used from the previous Conspiracy set.

Whatever may be true, we think that most gamers would be more than pleased to see more of Paliano, the High City on the Plane of Fiora.  For today's post, MTG Realm will take you on a brief flavour tour of Marchesa.  We suggest you may be interested in reading the Uncharted Realms article titled 'The Black Rose' by Matt Knicl on the mothersite.

Marchesa a.k.a. The Black Rose is a scheming woman of high lineage at the High City of Paliano on the plane of Fiora. She is one of the main players vying for control of Paliano.  Marchesa's mansion towers over the palatial homes of her neighbors, each extra story a mark of her success.
Trained in the king’s court at Paliano from an early age, Marchesa found herself edged aside for the throne of Fiora by her less competent brothers. She resentfully left the court to gain influence over revolutionaries and assassins who appreciated her genius. Her network of spies and rogues now controls much of the High City.

The following cards assist to explicate the above - 
• Marchesa, the Black Rose, illustrated by Matt Stewart
• Marchesa's Emissary, illustrated by Tyler Jacobson
• Marchesa's Infiltrator, illustrated by Lucas Graciano
• Marchesa's Smuggler, illustrated by Dan Scott

Marchesa's handiwork may also bee seen within the card arts of Bite of the Black Rose and Power Play as well as several other cards with flavour text quotes from her.

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