MTG Path of the Planeswalker

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Here at MTG Realm we do love us our Magic: the Gathering lore and would admit that our favourite day of the week (other than Friday Night Magic at our local shop OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario) is most decidedly Wednesday.  This day typically provides a new story installment on Wizards of the Coast Magic: the Gathering website.  Last week, one of our blog's readers asked after where to find the full web series for the Path of the Planeswalker comics.  Although we fired off links, we want to follow-up with all the story links in today's post.

Path of the Planeswalker is a compilation of the planeswalker web comics, that appeared on magicthegathering.com, along with a previously unseen bonus comic. It was published in January 5, 2010.   Here is the round-up of the web comics series -

 

Fuel for the Fire, By Doug Beyer
Chandra steals a scroll from the Sanctum of Stars on Kephalai. Jace chases after her on an errand for the Infinite Consortium.

The Seeker's Fall, By Doug Beyer
Tezzeret tries to uncover the secrets of the Seekers of Carmot.

The Hunter and the Veil, By Jenna Helland
Liliana is ordered by Kothophed to find the Chain Veil and comes across Garruk.

Flight of the White Cat, By Brady Dommermuth
When Ajani's brother is killed in an attack on his tribe, his spark flares. On Jund he encounters Sarkhan Vol. ~

The Veil's Curse, By Doug Beyer
After she cursed him, Garruk embarks on a hunt for Liliana, bringing him to Jace on Ravnica. Meanwhile Liliana uses the Veil to her advantage.

Honor Bound, By Jenna Helland
Elspeth witnesses the Conflux.

Journey to the Eye, By Jenna Helland
Chandra searches for the Eye of Ugin.

Awakenings, By Doug Beyer
Jace chases after Chandra in a race to the Eye of Ugin.
 
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Bird is the Word

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Here in Central Ontario, Canada, the weather is absolutely lovely and as we head into the weekend, more unseasonably warm weather is on tap.  This Saturday at OMG! Games in Barrie is a Modern tournament for cash and credit and the doors will likely be wide open to take advantage of the nice weather.  Also of interest is that a lot of the migratory birds are postponing their trek south for the time being until winter closes in.

Speaking of birds, we want to yatter about birds, or quite specifically Aven for today's article on MTG Realm.  Why?  In our recent article covering the key art for the upcoming Amonkhet set, among the ancient Egyptian themed therianthropic characters there appeared to be an Angel, or an Aven or perhaps an altogether different creature.  Our betting money is on an Aven.

In Magic: the Gathering, Aven are sentient, anthropomorphic bird creatures found on a number of different Planes of existence.  There was quite a strong showing of Aven on the Dominarian southern continent of Otaria.  Otarian Aven resemble humanoid eagles, possessing  arms, legs, and powerful flight wings and in most cases to be part of a military order.  Some of the Otaria Aven appeared more Owl-like in nature, similar to some habitating the (Bant) Shard of Alara and other Planes.  

Other Aven don't appear as majestic, and in some cases, just kinda scary.  The vulture-like Aven scavengers of Kathari fit quite nicely in the Shard of Grixis, and share some characteristics of the crookclaw Aven on Otaria.

On Tarkir, each Aven being takes on characteristics associated with the Clan they belong to.  The wizard-like Jeskai Aven, the brave and noble houses of the Abzan or the darker most sinister Aven with the Sultai Brood.  

It seems for the most part, the Terran idiom 'birds of a feather flock together' do not hold true with the greater Multiverse.

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Kaladesh Story Spoilers

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

In our spare time over the last few days we've been exploring the brave new world of Magic: the Gathering standard constructed.  As Kaladesh officially releases this very weekend and Magic Origins / Dragons of Tarkir rotate out, we fully expect to see many weird 'n' wonderful inventions at Friday Night Magic at our local gaming store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario.  Leading in popularity it seems is Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Smuggler's Copter.

In fact, we think we'll be seeing many Copters -

To that end, may we suggest for your Side Board some copies of Fragmentize and/ or Natural State ?

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Anywhoos, onto today's spoilers - specifically Kaladesh Story spoilers.  SPOILER ALERT - Do not read on if you do not wish to discover the storyline of events unfolding on Kaladesh (and Aether Revolt).
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Still with us?  Alright then - to catch up on all the great stories to date, pop on over to the WotC page here.  At the time of this post, we have been treated to six episodes.

Posted to Reddit, Tumblr and elsewhere are storyline clips from the new Magic Duels game, updated with Kaladesh.  The new release adds 167 NEW unique earnable cards, NEW Story Quests, and NEW Skill Quests.  Here are the clips posted - 

We are definitely looking forward to the upcoming Kaladesh story episodes.  We've got questions that only the details of the stories will provide.  Kudos to the Wizards of the Coast team for yet again developing a great story background.

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Kaladesh Previews 9-14

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We suggest you make tracks on over to the Wizards of the Coast Articles homepage some time today to read the next Magic: the Gathering story installment, from Doug Beyer.  Titled 'Renegade Prime', we are finally introduced to the character Oviya Pashiri, which is to see print in the Kaladesh set as a legendary green creature.  You can read the biographical summary over here for Oviya.

Anywhoos, lets get to today's Kaladesh previews !

Some late-day previews over at io9 (~2PM) -
Ambitious Aetherborn
Aviary Mechanic
Highspire Artisan
Nimble Innovator
Reckless Fireweaver
Restoration Gearsmith
Weaponcraft Enthusiast

Weldfast Wingsmith

Brazen Scourge - Gawd those Gremlins are rather cute.  This one is a hasty 3/3 for 3 CMC.

Creative Spark - One red mana sorcery, exiling top card of library to shoot target creature for that cards CMC - not too shabby.

Demolish - because we need something in this block to blow up artifacts or lands.

Disappearing Trick - (or 'act'?) conditional hard counter bouncing a permanent back to your hand.

Experimental Aviator - 0/3 human artificer for 3UU with an etb effect of 2x thopters - nice.

Metalwork Colossus - A 10/10 construct critter for 11 CMC with a cost reduction of the total cmc of non-creature artifacts you control  Also with a sac clause for recursion.

Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter - Green one-drop 1/2 legendary.  Creates a servo token for 3 or ana X/X construct based on the number of creatures you control.  Nice mana sink.

Perpetual Timepiece - Decent artifact utility to move cards from your library to graveyard or save yourself from a mill deck.

Prophetic Prism - Mana stone colour fixer, with the added benefit of etb card draw.

Refurbish - 4 Mana white sorcery to fetch an artifact back onto the battlefield.

Torch Gauntlet - Who doesn't want a torch gauntlet? Simple pump of +2/+0.

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Kaladesh Places

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Given the large volume of information posted to the Wizards of the Coast website on the Magic: the Gathering storyline of Kaladesh, we think we should press on with processing it all.  With another Kaladesh story installment expected tomorrow (Wednesday) and a truckload of additional previews at PAX West this weekend, we have time for additional exploration of Kaladesh (Plane, Places, People and Planeswalkers).  Today, we have for you summaries of some important places on the Plane of Kaladesh -

KALADESH
Kaladesh is a plane where Aether is more manifest than on other planes, being present in the atmosphere.  Kaladesh is an ethnically diverse plane where natural mages are rare. Work that would be done with magic on other planes is instead accomplished through devices. The automatons, thopters and other artifact creatures of the plane are fueled by æther, which is heavily trafficked. Artifacts are built as much for beauty as for function. Fire magic is strictly banned, and pyromancy punishable with a death sentence, since pyromantic magic interacts dangerously with the aether in the air.

GHIRAPUR, CITY OF WONDERS
Ghirapur is the largest city on Kaladesh. It is a massive cogwork machine that comes alive with the power of aether. The city extends from the port district of Bomat, located at the confluence of Kaladesh's three major rivers, through a multitude of varied and distinct neighborhoods, including the bustling Eleven Bridges market district, the aviaries of Freejam, the metalworking zone of Weldfast, the cosmopolitan greenbelt of Kujar, and the artist colony known as Giants' Walk. Ghirapur was founded on the spirit of invention, and today it is home to the Consulate government, which strives to uphold the founders' principles of optimism, creative freedom, and hope.

LATHNU, CITY AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD
Lathnu is a remote settlement in the far north perched high on the Devra Cliffs, in the plane of Kaladesh. It can only be reached via vertical rail track, or a very long and strenuous climb. Lathnu's economy is based around mining and smelting the metals found in the mountains, which inventors throughout Kaladesh depend on to build their wondrous devices.

PEEMA, TOUCHED BY AETHER
The wild forest of Peema spans tens of thousands of acres in the plane of Kaladesh. Peema is home to a population of elves who are deeply connected to the flow of aether. Daily, aether streams dip from the aethersphere to wind through the flora and imbue the fauna. The plants and trees are more vibrant in Peema, and the creatures are stronger, faster, and livelier than their counterparts elsewhere on Kaladesh.

VAHD, THE GOLDEN STEPS

Vahd is an expansive region in the plane of Kaladesh that was once solely devoted to farming. Vahd took on a new identity during the Great Aether Boom, becoming a hub of the aerowright industry. The wheat fields surrounding the villages of Panka, Cambi, and Maranjapur were cleared away to make room for runways, hangars, and workshops, and many farmers trained to become aerowrights and test pilots.
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Kaladesh Previews 8-29

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Yesterday, WotC story guru Doug Beyer posted to his Tumblr account 'A Voice for Vorthos' about the next Magic: the Gathering set, 'Kaladesh'.  Specifically, the note was that the Kaladesh storyline was to start "soon".  Unsuspecting fans around the world, like us, were rather surprised to find a lot of content posted to the mothersite today.  We mean a "LOT" of content.  We've already posted several times to our Tumblr Blog (over here).

The sort of content which includes previews for the Plane, Places, People and Planeswalkers which are typically reserved for reveal at the annual PAX West Convention in Seattle at the 'World-Building' panel includes this sort of preview.  Instead, this morning we were greeted on the mothersite with a story, and content loaded to the Kaladesh home page, including a full biography of a new Planeswalker.  We should catalogue all these links for your convenience -

• Kaladesh Story - Episode 01: Homesick  

• Kaladesh Story / Planes Page
   * Legendary Creatures
   * Cities 
      - Ghirapur
      - Lathnu
      - Peema
      - Vahd
    * Races
      - Humans
      - Elves
    * Planeswalker Visitors
      - Dovin Baan (illustration by Tyler Jacobson below)
      - Chandra Nalaar

• Explore Kaladesh splash page
   * Kaladesh Inventor's Fair
      - Inventors
      - Benefactors
      - Judges
      - The Public
      - Architecture
      - Aether Science
      - Weapons
      - Animal Constructs   
   * The City of Wonders
      - Eleven Bridges
      - Freejam
      - Greenwheel
      - Weldfast

'Notable Citizens' and 'Inventions' are future installments to the Kaladesh splash page.  Expecting much more to be filled in over the next few weeks as well - example - we know for certain that Vedalken is another race on Kaladesh.

For now, here are some of the basic land arts we can expect for Kaladesh.

Plain, illustrated by Clint Clearly

Island, illustrated by Yeong-Hao Han

Swamp, illustrated by James Paick

Mountain, illustrated by Eytan Zana

Forest, illustrated by Chase Stone

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MTG Story Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

As it seems to have become our habit each Wednesday, we here at MTG Realm turn our attention from the regular round-up of Magic: the Gathering news and other frivolities to the new Magic Story posted on the mothersite.  Last week's story was 'The Archmage of Goldnight' and a intriguing background on Arlinn Kord, the newest double-sided Planeswalker.  We will sheepishly admit that we are still uncertain as to how this human actually became a lycan.

Anywhoos, today's story by kelly Digges' article 'Stone and Blood', details the falling out of Nahiri, the Zendikar Kor Planeswalker with Sorin Markov, the Vampire Planeswalker of Innistrad.  

The story was pretty damn awesome.  Very tense reunion of the two (former) friends, resulting confrontation and the consequences.  Long story short, Sorin is a moody elitist, Zendikar suffered in Nahiri's absence and now the stage is set for the devastation of Markov Manor and it's vampire residents which was shown to us when the Shadows Over Innistrad teasers started.

Kelly Digges delivered big in his description of Nahiri's imprisonment within the Helvault.  We were sort of expecting a tea room crammed with demons and other devilry all moaning how much it sucks that there were stuck, made even more awkward when Griselbrand and Avacyn join the party.  Instead, Kelly perfectly describes a void of infinite blackness where one's somatic presence appears to be absent.  A horrifying confinement of a mind or essence until the Helvault is destroyed by Thalia, tricked into this by the Planeswalker Liana Vess who had business with one of the imprisoned demons.

Scooch on over to the Wizards of the Coast Magic Story installment and catch the latest game flavour.

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Werewolf Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Over on the mothersite, Kim Kreines has another installment in Magic Story, titled 'The Archmage of Goldnight' continuing with the Shadows Over Innistrad story line after a short break where we were treated to two stories themed to time with Eternal Masters ('The Prodigal Sorcerers' and 'All That Came Before').  

Today's narrative transitions several times from past to present and back again, allowing further insight as to how the Planeswalker Arlinn Kord came to be both a lycanthrope and an Archmage.  The story closes with a faint hope of Innistrad's besieged human population cooperating with Cursemuted Wolfir (maybe) - or at the very least, Arlinn and her former mentor Archmage Rembert.  This is the second story involving the Human / Werewolf Planeswalker - the previous story, 'Under the Silver Moon' which introduced this character may be found at this linky.

One item of interest in today's Magic: the Gathering fiction is the use of a previously unknown illustration, attributed to artist Filip Burburan.

The art shows six devils, one of which appears to be brandishing a lighted torch.  The background is unclear but was used in today's story to illustrate a devil horde attacking the city of Havengul, province of Nephalia.  This may be an unused art - or - perhaps one we may yet see on a card in the next set, Eldritch Moon, releasing on 22 July, 2016.

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Cho-Arrim

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Happy Wednesday MTG,

Today's Magic Story installment was titled 'All That Came Before' and was penned by Leah Potyondy.  The fiction today was fabulous and was timed rather well with the upcoming Eternal Masters set.  The one card which was fairly central to the story was Ancestral Mask - we posted this very kewl art to the MTG Realm Tumblr blog earlier today.

We did not start playing Magic: the Gathering until Lorwyn block and really did not know very much of the storyline in the Masques block (Mecadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy) from back in 1999-2000.  Today's story was focuses on the Cho-Arrim, a group of humans residing with the massive Rushwood forest.  These people share some traits with the common notion of Elves in that they are a mystical and spiritual folk with a deep sense of appreciation for nature and specifically the (magical) Rushwood forest which which in turn protects them.

There is a threat to the Cho-Arrim from Mercadia City which wants to assert its authority over the forest and its peoples.  A sickness or plague overcomes many within the Cho-Arrim village and Mercadia is suspect in this.  This very well written story wraps ups with the main character, Cho-Akhan gaining an old power which may provide a defense against the Mercadians. 

 

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Avacyn Rekt

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Happy day indeed as we have the next Shadows Over Innistrad story installment from Doug Beyer.  When we last left off with 'Stories and Endings', things were looking pretty bleak for Jace and Tamiyo at Thraben Cathedral where the mad angel Avacyn was opening up a big can or whoop-arse on the pair.  Just as things looked worst, the story picks up with this . . .

Sorin's gonna do a superhero landing . . .
Wait for it . . .

WHOA !  SUPERHERO LANDING !! *clap**clap**clap*

Sorin appears to save bacon here for Jace and Tamiyo, then says this to Avacyn - "Listen to me. If you have some grievance with these two, you may kill them before we begin."

What.
A.
Dick.

But hey - Sorin is neither fully evil or fully good - he is after all a vampire who evolved a conscious.  Anywhoos, Sorin does save Jace and Tamiyo from the mad wrath of Avacyn.  

The Angel and the Vampire have the most epic of donnybrook resulting in the gainful employment of stonemasons and other artisans at the Cathedral for months to come.

Avacyn is deleted by Sorin in the Vault of the Archangel, where she was created.  Moments after this unmaking as Innistrad had lost its protector, an "extended, guttural bass rumble rolled across the sky, profound and booming".  This is followed by some ground tremors.  What exactly was this response from ?  We will have to wait until June 8 to find out.
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End of Jace

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

As it is Wednesday, we dropped over to the mothersite to read the weekly offering of official Magic: the Gathering story.  This week was Episode 11, titled 'Stories and Endings', submitted by WotC staffer Nic Davidson - and DANG - was that a humdinger of a story.  We suggest that you pop on over to today's story linked here, to get yourself up-to-date.  You should probably do that now before we go on . .

Back ?

Wow - Just like that movie Inception which featured Leonardo DiCaprio - Nik had a story within a story within a story.  Well, sort of - Nik delved into Tamiyo's story scrolls and we were offered some shorts, namley - 'He Who Frightens the Sun', 'Original', and 'Winter's Howl' we very entertaining.  The big cliff-hanger at the end concerns Jace and we won't bother saying anything about that just right now.

For now though, here is a handy summary of the Shadows Over Innistrad stories to date -

Episode 01: Under the Silver Moon
Halana and Alena are protectors of the Ulvenwald, Innistrad’s ancient forest. They hunt the horrors of the woods so the townsfolk can live without fear. But when there’s a death in Gatstaf, the pair worries that one of the Ulvenwald’s werewolves has found a way past their defenses

Episode 02: A Gaze Blank and Pitiless
Humans are on the brink of a new golden age for Innistrad, ushered in with the loving guidance of the powerful angel Avacyn, who has for centuries been the protector of humans everywhere.

Episode 03: Unwelcome
Jace Beleren has come to Innistrad searching for the vampire lord Sorin Markov, who he hopes can help him unravel a puzzle. But Innistrad is unfamiliar territory, and the only person Jace knows who might be able to guide him is likely to be less than helpful…

Episode 04: Sacrifice
Miles from Stensia, in the Nephalian highlands, something crawls to the surface of dark Lake Zhava.

Episode 05: The Mystery of Markov Manor
Despite Liliana’s dire warnings, Jace searches Innistrad for the powerful vampire Planeswalker Sorin Markov. Looking for answers, he finds nothing but more mysteries in the twisted halls of Markov Manor.

Episode 06: The Drownyard Temple
Jace Beleren’s investigation brought him to the twisted remains of Markov Manor, where he discovered a journal amid the rubble. He pursued the journal’s description of the cryptoliths—twisted stones he had seen in Markov Manor—to other locations where they had appeared on the plane.

Episode 07: Promises Old and New
Sorin’s past has returned to haunt him. Though shunned by his own kind, he hopes to gather the aid of the vampires to confront the threat that has come to Innistrad. His search has brought him to the remote estate of the powerful Olivia Voldaren.

Episode 08: Liliana’s Indignation
When we last saw her, Liliana Vess was receiving an unwelcome guest: Jace Beleren. Jace tried to convince Liliana to come with him to Markov Manor. When she refused, he set out alone. Liliana, meanwhile, has problems of her own…

Episode 09: Games
The fierce rivalry between Innistrad’s two most infamous necromancers - Geralf the stitcher and his sister, Gisa the ghoulcaller will, like their monstrous creations, never die.

Episode 10: The Lunarch Inquisition
Thalia and Odric, the most devout members of the Church of Avacyn, find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict that threatens to tear apart the fabric of Innistrad’s society.

EPISODE 11: STORIES AND ENDINGS

Jace Beleren’s time on Innistrad has been spent chasing a mystery, with a bound collection of research notes as his guide. As it happens, the journal’s author, the moonfolk Planeswalker called Tamiyo, is several steps ahead of him….
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Shadows Over Innistrad Previews 3•23

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Episode 4 of the Shadows over Innistrad story is up on the mothersite now.  WotC staffer Michael Yichao has delivered an outstanding story and we suggest you make tracks over to this page to read.  Beyond the cautionary advisement of not to linger too near the dangerous waters, we want to now take you to today's round-up of new Shadows Over Innistrad cards -

The Gitrog Monster, 3BG
Legendary Creature - Frog Horror, Mythic Rare
Deathtouch
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice The Gitrog Monster unless you sacrifice a land.
You may play an additional land on each of your turns.
Whenever one or more land cards are put into your graveyard from anywhere, draw a card.
6/6

Mothersite preview.  We can easily see some Commander players giving this a try in a Golgari landfall strategy.  Very interesting and fun build-around challenge.
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Altered Ego, X2GU
Creature - Shapeshifter, Rare
Altered Ego can't be countered.
You may have Altered Ego enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield except it enters with X additional +1+1 counters
0/0

Sheldon Menery / Magic Judge preview.  Very cool slow-roll puzzle piece preview here by-the-way. This seems like a decent enough Simic clone but some would argue it may be a little on the expensive side with 4 cmc.  We think that the extra and optional hard counters and the 'can't be countered' ability justifies this cost.
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Forgotten Creation, 4U
Zombie - Horror, Rare
Skulk
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may discard your hand. If you do, draw that many cards.
3/3

Ligamagic (Brazil) preview - Portuguese rough translation.  Another decent zombie and we certainly appreciate the 'may' discard to help filter the right cards into your hand.

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Prized Amalgam, 1UB
Creature - Zombie, Rare
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, if it entered from your graveyard or you cast it from your graveyard, return Prized Amalgam from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped at the beginning of the next end step. 
3/3

Tolarian Community Colledge preview.  Amalgam (not the metallurgical definition) is a combination or blend of diverse thingys.  Damn interesting card here which may be a part of a standard constructed repetitive reanimation list with support from the likes of Diregraf Colossus, Geralf's Masterpiece and Relentless Dead.  There may also be a shot for Modern as well with Gravecrawler and Stir the Grave.  In other news, the Zombie art from Karl Kopinski could be dead Tony Stark.
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Inexorable Mass, 2G
Creature - Ooze, Rare
Delirium - Whenever Inexorable Mass attacks and there are at least four card types among cards in your graveyard, put a 3/3 green Ooze creature token onto the battlefield tapped and attacking.
3/3

JeuxVideo preview.  When you see French text 'engagé et attaquant', get hyped.  We love that these decent sized tokens don't evap at end of turn but sticks around.  Seems strong with the only downside to ensure you get the delirium tech going to churn tokens.
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Scourge Wolf, RR
Creature - Wolf Horror, Rare
Delirium - Scourge Wolf has double strike as long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard. 
2/2


MTG Goldfish preview.  Is Umbrella Corporation up to its evil shenanigans again?  This is that mutant mutt Ryan Reynolds (character Hannibal King) meets in the 2004 film Blade: Trinity.  That or someone forgot to evac Rover during take your pet to work day at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.  Suggested serving is in a red deck wins list or perhaps even wolf tribal.

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Other non-rare cards out today include :
• Howlpack Resurgence
• Vessel cycle - see below -

All inexpensive Enchantments (cmc 2 or less in the case of the green one) which has an activated cost to sacrifice for an effect.
• White - Vessel of Ephemera
• Blue - Vessel of Paramnesia
• Black - Vessel of Malignity
• Red - Vessel of Volatility

• Green - Vessel of Nascency

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