This leaves me unsatisfied. Describe the chaos! How was order reestablished? I am hopeful that future articles will give us more history, rather than commentary on what now exists.
That seems to be something that Boros and Azorius would pick up on to be honest.
Magic, b*tch. (In-story mana allows a much faster rate of production. Sure, it is still not enough to explain away MANY problems, but that's the only explanation we'll get).
Ravnica, as a plane, could easily be much smaller than any planet. I think it's also a flat world, 'cause Kos mentions being able to see all over the plane from one spot in Guildpact.
It's covered in cityscape, but that doesn't mean it's just buildings and streets. Think of any real world city and how much green space they do or could have, especially when you have three out of ten guilds dedicated to growing things and another to reclaiming spaces for nature. And when the Golgari have rot farms 'underground', it's not in the crust; the city is on top of Old Ravnica, like Futurama's New New York. And there are entire regions that are much less urban, like Utvara.
Also, a higher proportion of the citizens of Ravnica is dead, as spirits or zombies. Also, some of them are literally plantlife or living fire and/or water.
Ravnica, as a plane, could easily be much smaller than any planet. I think it's also a flat world, 'cause Kos mentions being able to see all over the plane from one spot in Guildpact.
It's covered in cityscape, but that doesn't mean it's just buildings and streets. Think of any real world city and how much green space they do or could have, especially when you have three out of ten guilds dedicated to growing things and another to reclaiming spaces for nature. And when the Golgari have rot farms 'underground', it's not in the crust; the city is on top of Old Ravnica, like Futurama's New New York. And there are entire regions that are much less urban, like Utvara.
Also, a higher proportion of the citizens of Ravnica is dead, as spirits or zombies. Also, some of them are literally plantlife or living fire and/or water.
Also, y'know, magic.
You'll forget you ever read this the minute you look away.
there is nothing "epic" about a turn one victory. ever.
or really any magic game, for that matter.
So this one time, I wanted to play a game of Magic with my friend, but he was in another country and neither of us had Magic Online. I hitchhiked my way to the coast, barely fending off hungry wildlife when I couldn't get a ride, nearly dying of thirst crossing deserts, and posoning myself half to death foraging for food. At one point, I was taken hostage by a group of kidnappers, only managing to escape after a week of careful planning thanks to careful application of a rusty spoon.
Once I reached the coast, I had no money to buy a ticket across the ocean, so I built a boat using my own two hands, and spent months sailing across the waves, nearly losing my deck as I swam to the shore of a desert island in a storm after being capsized by an enormous wave. Nearly delusional after so long with no human contact (the notches I cut in the single tree to tell time had long since felled the thing) I was eventually rescued by a passing ship, where I was taken aboard as a crew member.
We sailed around the world, seeing many exotic places and having great adventures, before we finally arrived at my friend's country. Once more I stumbled across a desolate landscape, riding on train or car when I could, and going on foot when I could not. Eventually, weary to the bone, seven years after I started my journey, I arrived at my friend's house, clutching my well-worn and weathered deck to my chest. We shuffled up our decks, I won the roll. Gleefully, I laid down my cards.
Black Lotus . My friend looked quizzically at me, wondering what I was about to do. After so long, he no longer knew what deck I had brought with me to this game.
Flash . A knowing smile appears on my friend's face as the knowledge slowly returns to him.
So no one else is upset with the stunt Wizards just pulled to drive sales?
Drive sales of what? Non-Jace, non-Mystic cards? I'm pretty sure people already own more than eight Magic cards. If you don't, I feel for you. Maybe you can trade those Stoneforge Mystics, which are still quite valuable, for some.
This is a rather darker portrayal of Selesnya than the first time around. Or maybe it's not, maybe it's just that their hypocrisy was more well hidden when they were presented the first time. That's probably it.
And I love how, even in a guild about the absence of self, they are able to give various beings their own individual personalities. Like the overseer of the Ivory Oaks, Troslon. He just seems like a cool guy to me.
I really hope that Loxodon picture is Troslon. That eye patch is so awesome.
As for why the guild setup is back together, people/sentient beings are creatures of habit. They go back to what they know and what's comfortable to them. Sure the magic enforcement is gone, but they can always keep the structure.
Overall, I loved this article. It's freaking awesome. Initially I was surprised they started this early then I realized they are probably going to do one guide per guild in RTR, so they need 5 guides and thus 5 weeks.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** From Mark Rosewater's Tumblr:
the0uroboros asked: How in the same set can we have a hexproof, unsacrificable(not a word) creature AND a land that makes it uncounterable. How does this lead to interactive play?
I believe I’m able to play my creature and you have to deal with it is much more interactive than you counter my creature. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Post #777
Well, the darker aspects were hinted in the first block, but since we never had such a detailed exploration of Selesnya before, we didn't know how ****ed up they are.
Magic, b*tch. (In-story mana allows a much faster rate of production. Sure, it is still not enough to explain away MANY problems, but that's the only explanation we'll get).
Hence my original quote in the post to which gruulsmash was replying, "AWizardDidIt". I'd like to claim that MtG is more consistent than that about what you can do with magic, but, well, I know better. AWizardDidIt is the only explanation we'll get.
Thats the argument about the realism of the idea, not its actual arrival, The ravnicans can build huge floating skytowers, and planes don't always conform to our idea of physics. also, thre is a huge aamount of green spaace, but it is seemlessly connected to the city. And thousands of ravnicans starve every year. the poor are horrendouslyy treated, and they probably have lower living standards than your dog. Heck, they probably have worse lives with jobs than americans on welfare.
mana allows a much faster rate of production. Sure, it is still not enough to explain away MANY problems, but that's the only explanation we'll get).
