Hi everyone, as you might be able to tell between the gap in uploads and sheer length of this, this video took a lot of time. While I am proud of the final product, I want to address some points I miss in the video along with some shortcomings that I think this video has. I will also edit this comment if I see common things mentioned in other comments. The first thing I want to talk about is the audio, it’s not great. If you didn’t notice, awesome! But throughout working on this it was something I struggled with a lot. I am not an audio engineer so I think it's pretty clear when I edit in lines I’ve had to redo. You can also tell I'm not talking into the mic correctly during certain sections, and I think my mixing in general could use some work. I’m hoping to improve in the future, since working on this has taught me a lot and I think I know what mistakes I need to avoid going forward. So fingers crossed the next video sounds better. 1)The scope of this thing got out of hand very quickly, if you couldn’t tell from the massive gap in uploads. I have been working on this video since April and when I started working on it I completely underestimated the amount of time this would take, especially since I ended up redoing the last section due to more and more announcements. While I think I could work on this for another month or so to fine tune it a bit more, after a certain point you just have to say that you’re done with working on it. Otherwise I’ll drive myself crazy for another three months. 2)Second, I didn’t include everything in regards to the story. I think for the general flow of the video I didn’t think it was worth going through literally everything. Hence why sections recapping earlier sets only focused on stuff that I thought was relevant to War of the Spark specifically (EX: I skipped over all the reforming of the Weatherlight crew during Dominaria). There were also a few things that I skipped over in War of the Spark because I couldn’t get it to flow well in the video and didn’t think it was important to go over (Ex: I left out the fact that Kaya joins the gate watch at the very end of War of the Spark). If you want to know every little detail regarding the lore I would recommend reading everything yourself or check out one of the many Magic the Gathering lore channels on RUclips. 3) One point I don’t think I mention in the video that I would like to express is that I think it is okay if you like Universes Beyond. Clearly it is popular, but I understand there is some toxicity in the community regarding it. And I apologize if the way I phrased things made it sound in any way like I was attacking individuals rather than the corporate strategy. I can understand enjoying it, but quite frankly the entire concept of universes beyond is antithetical to everything I love about Magic and I felt that I needed to vent my frustrations with it. 4)While finishing the final details on this video Magic officially renamed Kalasdesh, so that’s incorrect now. 5)Am I done with Magic? Probably, at least for a little while. I think it's hard to argue that Magic hasn’t changed significantly in the last couple of years. The direction the game is going isn’t what I want as a player. The world and character feel shallower than ever, universes beyond isn’t fun for me, and while normally the gameplay would help salvage it, I think that recently the game has felt much worse to play. Power creep has gotten out of control, to the point where every card feels like it can win the game if not instantly answered. It all feels very tiring and makes the game even more luck dependent. Maybe it’s just general cynicism getting the better of me, but regardless I think I just need a break from the game. Time will tell if this break ends up being permanent or temporary. ---Edit 1--- Saw a few things in the comment section I want to address: 6) I saw a few comments saying that the last section of the video felt very disconnected and just an excuse to complain about current era Magic. Partially this is true. While researching for this video I noticed all the changes that came around that time, and since I was going over the lead up to War of the Spark, I also thought it was important to go over the aftermath of the set as well. Personally I thought it was valuable to contrast current Magic with what Magic was like over 5 years ago with War of the Spark. Since I think it's important to look at where War of the Spark stands in Magic overall. Additionally, on a personal level I wanted to voice how War of the Spark made me feel compared to how current Magic makes me feel. However, I do think I could have done more to make the section feel more connected. 7) Saw some comments saying that I was being unfairly critical of current Magic’s story, while putting the also flawed gatewatch era of Magic on a pedestal. I want to make it very clear, the Gatewatch story has problems. The main reason I went over the gatewatch was mainly to establish the context for the War of the Spark specifically. While I think I covered a decent amount of the problems with War of the Spark, I do think I could have mentioned some more problems with the lead up. 8) I do want to highlight that despite my gripes there have at least been a few recent sets that had decent lore. Bloomburrow, while not fantastic by any means, was a fun original world with some unique ideas. Though I do wish that I had another set to flesh it out a bit more. Additionally Duskmourn was surprisingly good, and I think it's one of those worlds that fits very well into the one set structure of newer releases. Plus, while I have not looked into personally (cause I’m generally trying to take a break from Magic)
Yo yes. There is this weird culture in magic. Since many people approach it as lifestyle, not just a game, it's supposed to be painful leaving it. Absolutely do whatever makes you happy. And Incredible video, I hope the algorithm takes it for a spin on many feeds!
1.3k subs, less than a thousand views, and providing one of the best story videos about modern magic story I’ve seen. Keep at this, you have something special here.
Funnily enough Elden Ring is the only IP I'd genuinely like to see represented in a complete draftable MtG set, the same way Lord of the Rings was. Elden Ring feels so much like Magic that it's as if it was its own plane. From the general vibe through the colour coding and the naming conventions, to the item descriptions. Everything works so well when you think of it as applied to Magic cards.
@@makesquash Yeah I know and that makes it even more exciting when I think about the possibility of an Elden Ring set because out of all From Soft games I think it's the one that feels the most like Magic.
OR MORTAL KOMBAT i’ve always thought there was so much potential for an universes beyond Mortal Kombat set with all the different realms acting like different planes
What a fantastic video for someone with only 1.4K subs. As someone who also enjoys making videos this was truly a good watch. This was one of my favorite sets due to just all the gimmicks and fun interactions. You're awesome and I'm gladly gonna sub!!
genuinely a fantastic video i am beyond impressed. there is so much to say on this topic but i think you cover the main points very well and probably wanted to keep the video a watchable length. i hope to see more content like this from you!
super sweet video. amazing to see such a small creator putting out such a banger video. the story explanation was really engaging and i liked seeing the analysis of commander and wizards/hasbros recent decisions.
I love how much enthusiasm you have for this era of Magic. I ended up taking a step away from the game as Amonkhet came out, I was already very tired with the gate watch and how Marvel-esque it was. It wasn't bad, just not for me and I was content to just weather it out for a while. However, as you have also said things are very different now. Even if WotC has realized their mistake and course corrects I feel like it's too late and there are some major aspects of the game that can't be reversed. The UB sets are already designed, they are contract bound to release them and they cant just ban them from every format. I may not HAVE to play with them but I can't not see them, this is a scar the game is going to have from now on.
Great video. Honestly, this is probably my favorite era of magic, not just of the story or standard, but even other sets. Modern was so diverse and interesting and really felt like a brewer's space, WoTC was still only putting out EDH focused products like once a year so it wasn't a non-stop influx of cards, Pauper had several cards I personally like still legal, and I was and am too broke to play Legacy so who knows w/ that one. Post- WotS it was a much messier affair. I look forward to more videos from you!
Amazing video. What a trip back to a time that is now "the good old days." One of my most memorable MTG experiences came when my sister brought me back a War of the Spark box from Japan. Some good pulls in that thing. The only thing that keeps me returning to magic is $30 Budget Vintage. I started playing in 2014, so going into the past to find new experiences has been a rewarding experience. Young pyromancers into cabal therapy is just straight butter
5:46 wasn't nahiri sealed with the eldrazi or smth? edit: this video is actually insane!!!! well done!!!! the production value and length is impressive
Great video, I recently got back into paper magic and started building a cube, it runs from when I played standard in paper. Return to ravnica to thrones of eldraine... timely....
I do have a gripe that you were not negative about the return of krenko. Any self respecting krenkhead knows that WAR Krenko is very clearly a different character who stole Krenko's identity, and he has since been replaced by Karlov Manor Krenko who is a third different guy. I refer to these characters as Real Krenko, Racist Caricature Krenko, and Neckbeard Krenko. Oh there's also jumpstart krenko who is giant, wields a club instead of knives, also has a neckbeard, and is just clearly an orc or hobgoblin. Krenko is a thin and wiry little shitheel with a pointy face, therefore every other printing of Krenko has been several different imposters or deliberate body doubles. Where is the real Krenko wizards?
Wait this only has 200 views i thought this wouldve had atleast 100k This video is so well made You are gonna become a big creator man 100% love the videos Please youtube let more ppl see this mans videos
Also when i heard that they changed the source of the lore from "free online content" so...no one knew that we use to have real paper printed novels? And those arent easy to get.
26:26 I feel like it should be noted that Kaya didn’t take over the Orzhov Syndicate willingly. She was contracted to kill the Obzedat by Bolas who promised to fix an issue afflicting her home plane of Tolvada, and he conveniently left out the fact that killing them would default leadership of the guild to her, forcing her to take over and play along with Bolas in the hopes that he would make good on his word.
This era was so cool! I started playing during Guilds of Ravnica, so had to do a lot of catch-up, but still, this whole storyline is awesome and cohesive and planes are evocative and fun. It isn't as nerdy as OG magic storyline, and more serious than current omenpath saga, that is all over the place.
This video is good, but I feel the last part was completely disconnected from the message of the video and rather, an excuse to complain about mtg’s poor decisions in recent years
The last set released that appealed to me we Theros Beyond Death. (I got 2 boxes of it in 2022) Other than that, haven't bought sealed product since Kaladesh/Aether Revolt. War of the spark was interesting but man that's a lot of walkers. If you haven't yet, I recommend checking out Evan Erwin's old "The Magic Show" playlists! He stopped making them around Ixalan release if you want to see some old MTG history!
Another certified Nightmare enjoyer, that will get a sub from me. But serious though this is incredibly well put together and especially sounds way better than I thought it would. Recommended it in a magic server I am apart of to have others give it a watch.
The weird thing is that a bunch of recent sets randomly have actually really good worldbuilding & story. Like, from the basic premise you'd think Aetherdrift would be just as shallow as Thunder Junction was, but if you actually read the Planeswalker's Guides to the set the worldbuilding has absolutely no right to be as good as it is
i noticed how you spent almost one third of the video talking about the end of the era and what has changed since WAR. im definitely with you on the idea that we didnt need the fortnight-ification of Magic to happen this rapidly, and that its story has come to take sort of a back seat, but i also disagree that this means that quality of the lore has taken a hit. like the planeswalker guide to Duskmourn and Aetherdrift have both shown that the same amount of love and detail has been invested into newer sets, and the way that they expanded Ixalan has also given me a lot of confidence. but as much as im a vorthos like you and love magic for its stories, we have to admit that WotC has never actually been that good with them. WAR was an epic conclusion, but with the controversy of the novel among other things, they didnt manage to stick the landing to the Bolas arc, and the same is true with how MOM ended the new Phyrexian arc. Because story is never the highest consideration when designing sets, things that matter to story like suspense or timing get lost in the process. even with online story episodes, the number of them or the way they release it online (or somehow spoil the entire story with the preview stream) shows they haven't gotten the formula for storytelling down yet. there's a lot left to be desired, but they do seem to be learning with each new set. great video btw. i'd love to hear your thoughts about the execution of the Phyrexian arc as well. as well as where you think Metronome is headed. the Magic Multiverse story is quite obviously slowing down, given that only 3 standard sets will happen next year.. and while standard will be shifting every 2 months, this also means the story will stay put for a bit longer each time it moves. i think this might be a good thing as they build up towards another finale.
One of the problems with this video is that in the last portion I miss talking about some of the good parts of Magic's story recently. While I haven't personally looked into any of the new stuff for Aetherdrift, Duskmourn was suprisingly good (The massive amount of pop culture references had me worried)! The only reason I didn't include anything about Duskmourn was mainly time. I've been working on this since before Duskmourn's release, so it was kind of hard to retroactically include a spot for it, plus I thought the video was already way too long. So, ultimatelly I decided it wasn't worth including. That being said, I still think that current release structure creates an enviorment for rushed ideas like Thunder Junction or Murders at Karlov Manor. But I hope I'm wrong about this and we end up getting more worlds like Duskmourn in the future. I also agree that in general WOTC has never been great at lore. Magic's story is incredible messy and jumps all over the place in quality. My hope would have been, they fixed this to keep the quality consistent, rather than making the jumps in quality even more extreme. For the Phyrexian Arc, I think it falls into many of the same traps that War of the Spark did. The built up was really fun, putting the Praetors in prior sets and suprise revealling that Tamiyo was turned into a Phyrexian was great. But there were certain parts that field underdeveloped, for a few exmaples, Urbrask and Tezzeret felt like the were criminally under utilized, I wish we got a little bit more on how the attack plan on Phyrexia was formed, and they never really addressed why Phyrexian Jace and Vraska never did anything (maybe we'll see in the future?). March of the Machinces also has the same problem as War of The Spark where they absolutelly fumble the ending.
Balanced post. As stated in the video mtg stories fail at providing good conclusions. It has been a problem time and time again. In my opinion they messed up their partership With Bradon Sanderson and that meant a big oportunity lost for mtg.
Thank you for the video. I just want you to know that despite the people who will gaslight your opinions and scream that lore doesn't matter, that the overwatchification of theme is fine, or simply loudly telling don't buy it if you don't want it... there's people like me. Players who echo your sentiments; being told over and over that I'm not the market, that my money is no good therefore I have no opinion; who plays casually but a vorthos nonetheless, who came and stayed because weatherlight flew and it flew again after decades; who doesn't engage the community as strongly but here because people telling these stories reignite our own spark. Ngl, I fell into the D&D products because I like the theme and it took little mental gymnastics because it's also a Hasbro product. But then 40k, LotR, it's fine I guess? Wait, they're legal? Fallout, I'd buy that, maybe, I love fallout..but it's becoming convoluted, oversaturated, murky... then I start...giving up. I'm sorry. They're right. I'm not the market. Long live Hasbro, I guess.
This was peak. I am mainly a yugioh player. I started at guild of ravinca and this set was peak. There were plainwalkers a I loved Jayce, lillanna and those I hated. I left Mtg ever since the walking dead set. I don't regret playing the peak of this set.
It's really how much you like making your custom cards but also joins the discourse against UB. I dislike it because sounds really wack and cheapens the identity of the game. But I also think making custom cards for the favorite waifu completely pointless! Really weird how you inhabit both worlds haha.
This video is a professional glazing. I dont know a single irl person who liked the gatewatch nor the following storylines involving them. Most people who had been playing were sick of the marvel fatigue. I remember everyone at my LGS was excited about this storyline because they were hoping it would kill 80% of the walkers. I still remember the absolute backlash of the books and storyline of this set. This shit SUCKED and modern magic storytelling is dead. MTG lore died with the gatewatch being born. Every story so far has been so poorly executed and handled, war of the spark, phyrexia, thunder junction, murder at karlov etc. Literally the epitome of modern magic story telling imo.
Hi everyone, as you might be able to tell between the gap in uploads and sheer length of this, this video took a lot of time. While I am proud of the final product, I want to address some points I miss in the video along with some shortcomings that I think this video has. I will also edit this comment if I see common things mentioned in other comments.
The first thing I want to talk about is the audio, it’s not great. If you didn’t notice, awesome! But throughout working on this it was something I struggled with a lot. I am not an audio engineer so I think it's pretty clear when I edit in lines I’ve had to redo. You can also tell I'm not talking into the mic correctly during certain sections, and I think my mixing in general could use some work. I’m hoping to improve in the future, since working on this has taught me a lot and I think I know what mistakes I need to avoid going forward. So fingers crossed the next video sounds better.
1)The scope of this thing got out of hand very quickly, if you couldn’t tell from the massive gap in uploads. I have been working on this video since April and when I started working on it I completely underestimated the amount of time this would take, especially since I ended up redoing the last section due to more and more announcements. While I think I could work on this for another month or so to fine tune it a bit more, after a certain point you just have to say that you’re done with working on it. Otherwise I’ll drive myself crazy for another three months.
2)Second, I didn’t include everything in regards to the story. I think for the general flow of the video I didn’t think it was worth going through literally everything. Hence why sections recapping earlier sets only focused on stuff that I thought was relevant to War of the Spark specifically (EX: I skipped over all the reforming of the Weatherlight crew during Dominaria). There were also a few things that I skipped over in War of the Spark because I couldn’t get it to flow well in the video and didn’t think it was important to go over (Ex: I left out the fact that Kaya joins the gate watch at the very end of War of the Spark). If you want to know every little detail regarding the lore I would recommend reading everything yourself or check out one of the many Magic the Gathering lore channels on RUclips.
3) One point I don’t think I mention in the video that I would like to express is that I think it is okay if you like Universes Beyond. Clearly it is popular, but I understand there is some toxicity in the community regarding it. And I apologize if the way I phrased things made it sound in any way like I was attacking individuals rather than the corporate strategy. I can understand enjoying it, but quite frankly the entire concept of universes beyond is antithetical to everything I love about Magic and I felt that I needed to vent my frustrations with it.
4)While finishing the final details on this video Magic officially renamed Kalasdesh, so that’s incorrect now.
5)Am I done with Magic? Probably, at least for a little while. I think it's hard to argue that Magic hasn’t changed significantly in the last couple of years. The direction the game is going isn’t what I want as a player. The world and character feel shallower than ever, universes beyond isn’t fun for me, and while normally the gameplay would help salvage it, I think that recently the game has felt much worse to play. Power creep has gotten out of control, to the point where every card feels like it can win the game if not instantly answered. It all feels very tiring and makes the game even more luck dependent. Maybe it’s just general cynicism getting the better of me, but regardless I think I just need a break from the game. Time will tell if this break ends up being permanent or temporary.
---Edit 1---
Saw a few things in the comment section I want to address:
6) I saw a few comments saying that the last section of the video felt very disconnected and just an excuse to complain about current era Magic. Partially this is true. While researching for this video I noticed all the changes that came around that time, and since I was going over the lead up to War of the Spark, I also thought it was important to go over the aftermath of the set as well. Personally I thought it was valuable to contrast current Magic with what Magic was like over 5 years ago with War of the Spark. Since I think it's important to look at where War of the Spark stands in Magic overall. Additionally, on a personal level I wanted to voice how War of the Spark made me feel compared to how current Magic makes me feel. However, I do think I could have done more to make the section feel more connected.
7) Saw some comments saying that I was being unfairly critical of current Magic’s story, while putting the also flawed gatewatch era of Magic on a pedestal. I want to make it very clear, the Gatewatch story has problems. The main reason I went over the gatewatch was mainly to establish the context for the War of the Spark specifically. While I think I covered a decent amount of the problems with War of the Spark, I do think I could have mentioned some more problems with the lead up.
8) I do want to highlight that despite my gripes there have at least been a few recent sets that had decent lore. Bloomburrow, while not fantastic by any means, was a fun original world with some unique ideas. Though I do wish that I had another set to flesh it out a bit more. Additionally Duskmourn was surprisingly good, and I think it's one of those worlds that fits very well into the one set structure of newer releases. Plus, while I have not looked into personally (cause I’m generally trying to take a break from Magic)
Yo yes. There is this weird culture in magic. Since many people approach it as lifestyle, not just a game, it's supposed to be painful leaving it. Absolutely do whatever makes you happy. And Incredible video, I hope the algorithm takes it for a spin on many feeds!
TLDR: Jodah has based opinions but will be taking an indefinite break from magic. Wish him well.
1.3k subs, less than a thousand views, and providing one of the best story videos about modern magic story I’ve seen. Keep at this, you have something special here.
Funnily enough Elden Ring is the only IP I'd genuinely like to see represented in a complete draftable MtG set, the same way Lord of the Rings was. Elden Ring feels so much like Magic that it's as if it was its own plane. From the general vibe through the colour coding and the naming conventions, to the item descriptions. Everything works so well when you think of it as applied to Magic cards.
We should email From Soft
Miyazaki loves MtG too. He adds a bunch of references in his games.
@@makesquash Yeah I know and that makes it even more exciting when I think about the possibility of an Elden Ring set because out of all From Soft games I think it's the one that feels the most like Magic.
OR MORTAL KOMBAT i’ve always thought there was so much potential for an universes beyond Mortal Kombat set with all the different realms acting like different planes
Game of Thrones, The Witcher, Stormlight Archive, and so many more could be amazing.
What a fantastic video for someone with only 1.4K subs. As someone who also enjoys making videos this was truly a good watch. This was one of my favorite sets due to just all the gimmicks and fun interactions. You're awesome and I'm gladly gonna sub!!
genuinely a fantastic video i am beyond impressed. there is so much to say on this topic but i think you cover the main points very well and probably wanted to keep the video a watchable length. i hope to see more content like this from you!
You did a great job on this, and honestly I think there is a niche in long form essays you could fill
Awesome video!! Keep it up man super excited to see your next one
super sweet video. amazing to see such a small creator putting out such a banger video. the story explanation was really engaging and i liked seeing the analysis of commander and wizards/hasbros recent decisions.
I love how much enthusiasm you have for this era of Magic. I ended up taking a step away from the game as Amonkhet came out, I was already very tired with the gate watch and how Marvel-esque it was. It wasn't bad, just not for me and I was content to just weather it out for a while.
However, as you have also said things are very different now. Even if WotC has realized their mistake and course corrects I feel like it's too late and there are some major aspects of the game that can't be reversed. The UB sets are already designed, they are contract bound to release them and they cant just ban them from every format. I may not HAVE to play with them but I can't not see them, this is a scar the game is going to have from now on.
Great video. Honestly, this is probably my favorite era of magic, not just of the story or standard, but even other sets. Modern was so diverse and interesting and really felt like a brewer's space, WoTC was still only putting out EDH focused products like once a year so it wasn't a non-stop influx of cards, Pauper had several cards I personally like still legal, and I was and am too broke to play Legacy so who knows w/ that one. Post- WotS it was a much messier affair.
I look forward to more videos from you!
Legacy was in a great place before War of the Spark (and especially MH1) was released.
Can’t believe this only has less than a thousand views, this is absolutely incredible. Subbed immediately.
Amazing video. What a trip back to a time that is now "the good old days." One of my most memorable MTG experiences came when my sister brought me back a War of the Spark box from Japan. Some good pulls in that thing.
The only thing that keeps me returning to magic is $30 Budget Vintage. I started playing in 2014, so going into the past to find new experiences has been a rewarding experience. Young pyromancers into cabal therapy is just straight butter
5:46 wasn't nahiri sealed with the eldrazi or smth?
edit: this video is actually insane!!!! well done!!!! the production value and length is impressive
She was sealed with Avacyn in the Helvault.
Great video man!
Hey just randomly stumbled into this video but wanted to say i really enjoyed, hope you do more lore
Great video, I recently got back into paper magic and started building a cube, it runs from when I played standard in paper. Return to ravnica to thrones of eldraine... timely....
I do have a gripe that you were not negative about the return of krenko. Any self respecting krenkhead knows that WAR Krenko is very clearly a different character who stole Krenko's identity, and he has since been replaced by Karlov Manor Krenko who is a third different guy. I refer to these characters as Real Krenko, Racist Caricature Krenko, and Neckbeard Krenko.
Oh there's also jumpstart krenko who is giant, wields a club instead of knives, also has a neckbeard, and is just clearly an orc or hobgoblin.
Krenko is a thin and wiry little shitheel with a pointy face, therefore every other printing of Krenko has been several different imposters or deliberate body doubles. Where is the real Krenko wizards?
Wait this only has 200 views i thought this wouldve had atleast 100k
This video is so well made
You are gonna become a big creator man 100% love the videos
Please youtube let more ppl see this mans videos
God nothing makes me feel more like a boomer than hearing someone say they got into magic around amonkhet
Also when i heard that they changed the source of the lore from "free online content" so...no one knew that we use to have real paper printed novels?
And those arent easy to get.
26:26 I feel like it should be noted that Kaya didn’t take over the Orzhov Syndicate willingly. She was contracted to kill the Obzedat by Bolas who promised to fix an issue afflicting her home plane of Tolvada, and he conveniently left out the fact that killing them would default leadership of the guild to her, forcing her to take over and play along with Bolas in the hopes that he would make good on his word.
great video !
1:16 I want moar of this! Not the actual set, just more trailer. That is all.
Thanks. Now for hasbro to make a movie
What a banger vid - great job
This era was so cool! I started playing during Guilds of Ravnica, so had to do a lot of catch-up, but still, this whole storyline is awesome and cohesive and planes are evocative and fun.
It isn't as nerdy as OG magic storyline, and more serious than current omenpath saga, that is all over the place.
wow, this is an exceptional video that you've made.!
This video is good, but I feel the last part was completely disconnected from the message of the video and rather, an excuse to complain about mtg’s poor decisions in recent years
1:21:47 i remember when they were 3 sets
The last set released that appealed to me we Theros Beyond Death. (I got 2 boxes of it in 2022) Other than that, haven't bought sealed product since Kaladesh/Aether Revolt. War of the spark was interesting but man that's a lot of walkers. If you haven't yet, I recommend checking out Evan Erwin's old "The Magic Show" playlists! He stopped making them around Ixalan release if you want to see some old MTG history!
Another certified Nightmare enjoyer, that will get a sub from me.
But serious though this is incredibly well put together and especially sounds way better than I thought it would. Recommended it in a magic server I am apart of to have others give it a watch.
I don't even play Magic, but this was very interesting. Great video!
The weird thing is that a bunch of recent sets randomly have actually really good worldbuilding & story. Like, from the basic premise you'd think Aetherdrift would be just as shallow as Thunder Junction was, but if you actually read the Planeswalker's Guides to the set the worldbuilding has absolutely no right to be as good as it is
i noticed how you spent almost one third of the video talking about the end of the era and what has changed since WAR. im definitely with you on the idea that we didnt need the fortnight-ification of Magic to happen this rapidly, and that its story has come to take sort of a back seat, but i also disagree that this means that quality of the lore has taken a hit. like the planeswalker guide to Duskmourn and Aetherdrift have both shown that the same amount of love and detail has been invested into newer sets, and the way that they expanded Ixalan has also given me a lot of confidence.
but as much as im a vorthos like you and love magic for its stories, we have to admit that WotC has never actually been that good with them. WAR was an epic conclusion, but with the controversy of the novel among other things, they didnt manage to stick the landing to the Bolas arc, and the same is true with how MOM ended the new Phyrexian arc. Because story is never the highest consideration when designing sets, things that matter to story like suspense or timing get lost in the process. even with online story episodes, the number of them or the way they release it online (or somehow spoil the entire story with the preview stream) shows they haven't gotten the formula for storytelling down yet. there's a lot left to be desired, but they do seem to be learning with each new set.
great video btw. i'd love to hear your thoughts about the execution of the Phyrexian arc as well. as well as where you think Metronome is headed. the Magic Multiverse story is quite obviously slowing down, given that only 3 standard sets will happen next year.. and while standard will be shifting every 2 months, this also means the story will stay put for a bit longer each time it moves. i think this might be a good thing as they build up towards another finale.
One of the problems with this video is that in the last portion I miss talking about some of the good parts of Magic's story recently. While I haven't personally looked into any of the new stuff for Aetherdrift, Duskmourn was suprisingly good (The massive amount of pop culture references had me worried)! The only reason I didn't include anything about Duskmourn was mainly time. I've been working on this since before Duskmourn's release, so it was kind of hard to retroactically include a spot for it, plus I thought the video was already way too long. So, ultimatelly I decided it wasn't worth including.
That being said, I still think that current release structure creates an enviorment for rushed ideas like Thunder Junction or Murders at Karlov Manor. But I hope I'm wrong about this and we end up getting more worlds like Duskmourn in the future.
I also agree that in general WOTC has never been great at lore. Magic's story is incredible messy and jumps all over the place in quality. My hope would have been, they fixed this to keep the quality consistent, rather than making the jumps in quality even more extreme.
For the Phyrexian Arc, I think it falls into many of the same traps that War of the Spark did. The built up was really fun, putting the Praetors in prior sets and suprise revealling that Tamiyo was turned into a Phyrexian was great. But there were certain parts that field underdeveloped, for a few exmaples, Urbrask and Tezzeret felt like the were criminally under utilized, I wish we got a little bit more on how the attack plan on Phyrexia was formed, and they never really addressed why Phyrexian Jace and Vraska never did anything (maybe we'll see in the future?). March of the Machinces also has the same problem as War of The Spark where they absolutelly fumble the ending.
Balanced post.
As stated in the video mtg stories fail at providing good conclusions. It has been a problem time and time again.
In my opinion they messed up their partership With Bradon Sanderson and that meant a big oportunity lost for mtg.
Thank you for the video. I just want you to know that despite the people who will gaslight your opinions and scream that lore doesn't matter, that the overwatchification of theme is fine, or simply loudly telling don't buy it if you don't want it... there's people like me. Players who echo your sentiments; being told over and over that I'm not the market, that my money is no good therefore I have no opinion; who plays casually but a vorthos nonetheless, who came and stayed because weatherlight flew and it flew again after decades; who doesn't engage the community as strongly but here because people telling these stories reignite our own spark. Ngl, I fell into the D&D products because I like the theme and it took little mental gymnastics because it's also a Hasbro product. But then 40k, LotR, it's fine I guess? Wait, they're legal? Fallout, I'd buy that, maybe, I love fallout..but it's becoming convoluted, oversaturated, murky... then I start...giving up. I'm sorry. They're right. I'm not the market. Long live Hasbro, I guess.
This was peak. I am mainly a yugioh player. I started at guild of ravinca and this set was peak. There were plainwalkers a I loved Jayce, lillanna and those I hated. I left Mtg ever since the walking dead set. I don't regret playing the peak of this set.
Why is the infinity gauntlet on Liliana’s hand backwards in the thumbnail? 😅
As a person who has been playing since Ice Age I wonder how many players the in the Guildpact era.
Celeste ost in the opening going hard
sad you didn't mention the death of the JAce Vraska romance.
I find it funny that WOTC can't stop trying to erasure Chandra's bisexuality, doesn't matter if we are in 2019 or 2025. (1:06:52)
where garruk?
and that's why I stopped playing MtG and move to other games, like Flesh and Blood TCG, or Earthborne Rangers, Sorcery TCG.
It's really how much you like making your custom cards but also joins the discourse against UB. I dislike it because sounds really wack and cheapens the identity of the game. But I also think making custom cards for the favorite waifu completely pointless! Really weird how you inhabit both worlds haha.
and it sucked, but less than the current era
Duskmourn and Bloomburrow are two of my favorite sets ever. OTJ and MKM are great limited formats.
Uhm whats the point of the last portion?
This video is a professional glazing. I dont know a single irl person who liked the gatewatch nor the following storylines involving them. Most people who had been playing were sick of the marvel fatigue. I remember everyone at my LGS was excited about this storyline because they were hoping it would kill 80% of the walkers. I still remember the absolute backlash of the books and storyline of this set. This shit SUCKED and modern magic storytelling is dead. MTG lore died with the gatewatch being born. Every story so far has been so poorly executed and handled, war of the spark, phyrexia, thunder junction, murder at karlov etc. Literally the epitome of modern magic story telling imo.