Global Series Trailer

~
Happy Friday MTG peeps,

We do have some Magic: the Gathering news to report to you on the new Wizards of the Coast product ‘Global Series: Jiang Yanggu vs. Mu Yanling’.  Specifically, we do now have a proper Video Trailer posted over at the Chinese website bilibili.com as well as a product page update over on the mothersite.

First - do pop on over to the trailer posted here.  From the video, redditor waynedu posted an unofficial translation on the two planes walkers -

Jiang Yanggu
He doesn't know his name and family. He named himself Yanggu (literally "vale of sunrise") after the east most vale. To save the Jiuli Clan which is haunted by plague, Yanggu ventured in to the Mountain of Ten Witches for a solution, but find himself acquainted with a mystery lady through battle. With her help, Yanggu tackled the threat of plague. In order to find out who he really is, he went onto the journey of expedition with the lady.

Mu Yanling
In the thundering roar of Kui cattle, violent wave devoured Mu Yanling's homeland. Luckily, she was saved by Lishan the wanderer. But when the two went on the journey to Yunmeng the Great Lake, Lishan suddenly met a bizarre death. Holding Lishan's body, poor desperate Yanling cried and lost consciousness, but when she wake up, Lishan's body is nowhere to be found. Despite the sorrow and shock, it gave Yanling a glimmer of hope - could Lishan be alive?

We will bring more story about the two planeswalkers, please stay tuned.~


From the mothersite :

Jiang Yanggu
If they woke up with no memories, most people would give in to despair and panic. Instead, Yanggu gave himself a new name, grabbed his sentient hound friend, and set off on an epic quest for answers.

Mu Yanling
Unbowed by the losses that have haunted her life, Yanling journeys across worlds, digging for the arcane secrets that might right the wrongs of her past.

This product is really great in its goal to untap a potentially massive yet unexplored and undeveloped market.  We certainly applaud the effort but we think that (from our Canadian viewpoint), the Americans, no matter how deeply they engage their Chinese consultants, this product is not going to be a success.  We think that Wizards will realise that the disappointing response to this product is mostly due to not engaging and tapping into the existing Magic: the Gathering fan base, who do not want anything like this at all, but actually something not at all far removed from the existing products already available. 
~

Lamma Wut

~
Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Today, we are writing up a bit of a creature spot-light focused on the mysterious Lammasu.  There have only been two cards ever printed with this creature subtype, and while we have Venerable Lammasu from Khans of Tarkir, we need to order Hunted Lammasu printed in Ravnica: City of Guilds from MTG Mint Card just so we can complete our Lammasu nature preserve.

Anywhoos, in 'the real world', the lamassu is a celestial being from Mesopotamian mythology. Human above the waist and a bull below the waist, it also has the horns and the ears of a bull. It appears frequently in Mesopotamian art, sometimes with wings. The lamassu and shedu were household protective spirits of the common Babylonian people, becoming associated later as royal protectors, were placed as sentinels at the entrances.

As for the world of RPG, the lammasu was introduced into Dungeons & Dragons in 1975 and appears in the first edition Monster Manual.  A type of celestial, half-dragon lammasu known as a golden protector is also described in the Monster Manual. They are the offspring of a celestial lammasu and a gold dragon and live in the material plane where they combat evil. Their draconic heritage lets them breathe fire.

In Magic: the Gathering, the lammasu is an odd hybrid-looking creature type with the bodies of cows, a bird's wings and a human face with horns, based on the mesopotamian creatures of the same name similar in appearence. To date, only two lammasu have been printed and both have been associated with white mana.

In Ravnica, lammasu are said to have once ruled the open grasslands of the plane before the arrival of the urban sprawl that is Ravnica. Only a few remain alive today, flying in its skies while being hunted by an unknown rival race. Since these are only represented by the Ravnica: City of Guilds card Hunted Lammasu, and do not feature in Return to Ravnica, it is most likely that they are completely extinct.

In Tarkir, the lammasu are enigmatic nomads, soaring high above the land across all seasons. None know of their true purpose, but they arrive frequently in turning points of history.

Suggested reading - pop on over to Doug Beyer's 'A Voice for Vorthos' over here.
~