The much-anticipated War of the Spark set has been rolled out with what I think was one of the most successful preview seasons in recent history. Knowing full well the Community was going to be extremely invested in this story, Wizards of the Coast decided to reveal the cards from the set as part of three main narrative acts, each depicting the build-up, the culmination and the final moments of the much-anticipated showdown between Nicol Bolas, the Gatewatch and their respective allies.
This was quite possibly one of the best ideas for a preview season Wizards of the Coast has had in years. By adhering to a strict three-week preview season, most of the cards were revealed in a very organic way, which made it easy for players to follow-up with what was happening. This is even more impressive if you consider that no Magic Story article was published alongside the cards’ reveals.
Dreadhorde Invasion, art by Stanton Feng
Long gone were the days of Shadows Over Innistrad, when Anguished Unmaking was revealed way before the Story had time to catch up with Avacyn’s tragic demise. With War of the Spark, the cards themselves were telling the Story.
Put it simply, War of the Spark preview season worked extremely well. Keeping up with the narrative flow was easy, even for players who do not habitually read Magic Story contents. At the same time, the set was filled to the brim with pivotal moments, so even the simplest of commons could bear the weight of an instantly iconic moment.
Divine Arrow, art by Kieran Yanner
The
problem, to me, came not in the way the story was presented, but in some of its
contents. More specifically, in how its resolution took away the gravitas this
set was supposed to be imbued with. In this article I am not going in the
details of Greg Weisman’s novel, as many other content creators have already
expressed their opinions on the book. Instead, I want to briefly touch on some
of the story aspects that, personally, I was not happy with.
Please bear
in mind that what follows is just a summary of my personal opinions and, in
this sense, the following paragraphs are but a personal critique of War of the
Spark’s narrative arc.
The weight of death
It is not
secret that many long-lasting franchises try to use death as least as possible.
Killing off an important character can result in many fans feeling alienated or
losing interest in the media, so many writers prefer to avoid permanent deaths.
Major comic publishers, such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics are famous for having killed major characters multiple times across the decades, only to bring them back in a few months. While not all characters have had the luxury of a trip to a Lazarus Pit, most of the fans quickly become aware that major superheroes rarely stay dead for more than a couple of years. Resurrections, doppelgangers, twins and clones are narrative devices that can have their convincing role in decade-long franchises, but the result is that, in the end, nothing really feels permanent.
Evil Twin, art by Greg Staples
On the other hand, some franchises have proven that death can be used to keep the fans interested, especially when the story is meant to be finite and not a continuous, decades-long franchise. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin and its HBO adaptation Game of Thrones are excellent examples. The trick, here, is that the story is meant to end at some point, so there is no interest in continuously killing and resurrecting the same characters over and over, just to sell a periodic comic book. Seven books, eight seasons and that’s it.
Hopefully, Magic is currently not meant to have an ending. As a result, there is often no real push towards killing major characters. And when that happens, we are often given clues that those deaths are not necessarily permanent.
This however poses a different challenge: in a game that is mostly based on conflicts and battles, having all major characters systematically survive every fight leads to the feeling that nothing is ever really at stake. Before War of the Spark, the last permanent death of a Planeswalker happened in Scars of Mirrodin, more than eight years ago. Sure, a lot of villains died and notable non-Planeswalker characters were also killed, but the core characters mostly left every battle unscathed.
Survive the Night, art by Svetlin Velinov
While never stated officially by Wizards of the Coast, many players, myself included, started speculating on who was going to bite the bullet in War of the Spark. With an unprecedented number of Planeswalkers involved and a much-anticipated climatic battle on the horizon, it felt natural to expect some major characters’ deaths.
Unfortunately,
we overestimated the amount of deaths we were supposed to expect. By a lot.
Three named Planeswalkers died as part of the War of the Spark story. Domri was killed when his Spark was harvested, as depicted in the namesake card. Dack Fayden was then taken down by an unspecified Eternal, as revealed in the trailer, which takes place almost at the end of the battle itself. Finally, as the name suggests, Gideon’s Sacrifice showcases the demise of Gideon, which saved Liliana’s life, only moments after the trailer ends.
Three
deaths and one exile. That’s mostly what we got.
Planewide Celebration, art by Wisnu Tan
On one hand, Magic’s nature as an ongoing franchise does not necessarily require major characters’ deaths to keep the player’s attention. On the other, the unique nature of War of the Spark was setting it up to be a pivotal moment in the overall narrative. Many players were speculating on multiple major casualties, others were predicting a new Mending, with multiple Planeswalkers losing their Sparks and the survivors strongly re-defining their role in the Multiverse.
While we surely lost some major characters, it is my belief that the impact of the set’s story on the overall narrative was not nearly enough.
An inconsequential victory?
Most of the main characters in War of the Spark left the battlefield unchanged, with little to no character progression or evolution. Sure, we had one major death among the ranks of the Gatewatch and two secondary characters falling victim to the conflict.
Liliana is now free of her contract, while Jace and Vraska reconnected after the Ixalan arc. Kaya is now at the helm of the Orzhov Syndicate. So, yes, something did happen.
On the other hand, a lot of fan-favourite characters had little to impact on the story. At the same time, the story had little to no impact on them. Chandra was involved in a very personal fight with Dovin, but has she progressed as a character?
Chandra’s Triumph, art by Kieran Yanner
I fully understand how juggling more than 30 Planeswalkers can be a narrative nightmare, but what did Karn really do, aside for bashing skulls? What evenrole did Sarkhan really play? Was Kiora even involved in the fight? She was apparently leading one or more leviathans into battle, but what is up with her, now?
To me, the
problem boils down to the fact that it feels like most of the Planeswalkers
were introduced in the set more for marketing purposes, rather than for story reasons.
Sure, having 36 new Planeswalker cards was an unprecedented event, but I
personally felt like the story was not able to keep up with this ambitious
design idea.
Now that Bolas has been defeated and the majority of the Gatewatch has left the battlefield victorious, what does this victory lead to?
A future too bright?
If I could
summarize my problem with War of the Spark’s storyline I would put it as follows:
most of the survivors are now free to leave with little to no repercussion. For
most of the 36 Planeswalkers in the set, nothing has changed during the war.
Sure, they may have taken part in a huge fight, but what has really changed for
them?
I guess Karn still wants to go and defeat the Phyrexians on what was once Mirrodin. Ajani is probably looking forward to returning to Theros to rescue Elspeth. Teferi will probably return to Dominaria to see if he can ever reconnect to the long-lost home he himself phased out of existence.
Zhalfirin Void, art by Chase Stone
Sure, we will mourn the death of Gideon for some time. And maybe Liliana will have some kind of tonal shift in her character towards a more selfless behaviour, now that she is free of her contract.
That said, with the main villain having survived the conflict, the door is always open for a potential return. Meaning that even the few things that have been accomplished in this story could be later rectified, to a certain extent. Sure, one could argue that, to Bolas, losing the Spark is even worse than death. But we have already seen characters lose and regain a Spark.
Knowing Bolas, there is a solid chance his new plan will now revolve around acquiring a new Spark and regaining his former powers. After all, he has shown to be capable of influencing countless Planeswalkers across the Multiverse. How soon before any of them provides him with a chance at revenge?
All things considered
While War of the Spark showcased one of the best preview seasons in the history of Magic, it pains to say that this amazing build-up, to me, did not end up living to the intended hype. I firmly believe the way the story was presented was astounding, but its content was not as convincing.
I really hope the upcoming preview seasons keep this story-based approach alive, as it really provides an amazing way to convey the story. At the same time, I really wish for the story to take more risks and, maybe, shake things up a bit more.
I know it’s not easy, but it surely feels a bit disheartening to approach the final showdown of a multi-year conflict with a death bingo card and end up with just this.
The
complete preview for War of the Spark was released last Friday, April 19th,
and we finally have the full picture of what this much-anticipated set has in
store for us.
There is a lot to unpack in the set, between an unprecedented number of Planeswalkers, coloured Vehicles, fan favourite characters finally getting a card, new takes on existing characters, powerful mechanics making a splashing return and much, much more. The story itself is the culmination of years of conflicts. Almost everyone is here for the grand finale and an unprecedented number of heroes and villains have come to join the fight.
With so much content available in the set, I am sure everyone can find something they like, here. So, while professional players and content creators provide their respective take on the set, I wanted to list my own ten favourite War of the Spark cards.
That said, this article will not focus on the story of War of the Spark per se. While many of the cards give away important plot details, the story itself deserves its own space and I think I would not do it justice by cramming everything together in a single article.
So, brace yourselves, because these are my ten favourite War of the Spark cards and I will be cheating a lot with this list.
Let’s start softly, shall we? Ob Nixilis’s Cruelty is a very simple and splashable common removal that I am sure will be quite potent in War of the Spark Limited. Exiling most of the Creatures for three Mana is no joke by today’s standards, but what I truly like about this card is its potential application in Pauper Cube.
The “format” has some pretty well defined benchmarks for Black Instant speed spot removals: two Mana will get you a conditional removal, while three will give you a splashable quasi-unconditional removal. Ob Nixilis’s Cruelty compares quite well with cards like Rend Flesh and I am really interested to see if the card can sneak in the already stacked section of Black removals.
Ob Nixilis’s Cruelty, art by Igor Kieryluk
The set also features another interesting spot removal in Jaya’s Greeting. The card is another take on Searing Spear, trading off the chance to hit players for a certainly not unwelcome Scry 1 effect. Is it better than Incinerate? Probably not, but it still looks like a very solid card for anyone looking to expand on their Red removal section.
And let’s not forget War of the Spark features more than just aggressively costed common removal. Spark Reaper is a very solid draw engine at common. Aven Eternal is very reminiscent of Eldrazi Skyspawner, a very solid card from Battle for Zendikar. Invading Manticore is a bit slow for my tastes, but I am sure Pauper Cube players looking for a big Red Creature can be happy with this new card.
While I am slightly on the fence about some of these for my Cube, I am certain many Pauper Cube players will be looking at War of the Spark and find new, interesting toys.
I like Tibalt. I really do. On paper, he is an insanely interesting and cool character. A master of pain that turned himself into a half-Demon and now wanders the Multiverse as the herald of torture? The character himself is terrifying, but, unfortunately, his name has become synonym with disappointment.
To me, Tibalt has always been the Magic equivalent of Star Wars’ Darth Maul. On paper, an amazingly menacing villain with a terrifying aesthetic and a lot of potential. In practice, a short-lived low-level boss that had minimal impact on the overall saga.
Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Fortunately for Darth Maul, his character was largely expanded in the now noncanonical comic books. Tibalt, on the other hand, was not so lucky. His debut in card form was very underwhelming, to the point of becoming a joke among players. Unfortunately, we also had no chance to touch base with him after the Innistrad block, so not much was known about the character and his journey across the Multiverse.
But now Tibalt, Rakish Instigator is back and he is… Not bad? The card is nowhere near the game-breaking bombs we occasionally get, but he is finally very respectable. His static ability can be occasionally powerful and his activated ability can play as a repeatable Token generator for at least a couple of turns.
Is he the new Bitterblossom? Almost definitely not. But he is finally featured on a card that can be played unironically and this, to me, is a step in the right direction.
War of the Spark features the return of Proliferate, a non-evergreen mechanic first introduced in Scars of Mirrodin. Last time we saw it, the mechanic was fairly well received, thanks to the number of applications and effects it could have on Creatures, permanents and players. It is no secret that Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice is among the most powerful and popular Legendary Creatures in Commander, thanks to her repeatable and automatic Proliferate activation, as well as the deck building options she provides.
Roalesk, Apex Hybrid is no Atraxa, but it is still a card I am extremely interested in. He falls into the sweet five Mana spot that makes me dream of including him in my Kruphix Creatures deck, simply to have a play sequence of Prime Speaker Vannifar, followed by Roalesk on the next turn, only to immediately sacrifice him with Vannifar to go get Prime Speaker Zegana from the deck and put her into play. All the flavours of Simic.
Roalesk, Apex Hybrid, art by Svetlin Velinov
Speaking of my Kruphix deck, I am a huge fan of cheap Creatures providing good Mana sinks and Merfolk Skydiver is a great example of what uncommon cards can do with Proliferate. With Kruphix, God of Horizons storing all of my unused Mana, this Mana sink is certainly a welcome tool in the deck. Especially in light of the fact that the deck features a strong +1/+1 counter theme and is entirely Creature-focused.
If you like repeatable Proliferate activations, how about featuring the ability on a card that cannot be countered? Karn’s Bastion is here to power all your Planeswalkers up and, ironically, to spread poison counters across you opponents.
Karn’s Bastion, art by Adam Paquette
I must confess I find the card’s flavour a bit odd. I understand Karn wanting to protect his fellow Planeswalkers and how this translates into the proliferation of loyalty counters. But the fact that the card could be used to spread -1/-1 counters among opposing Creatures feels quite strange. Not to mention the implications inside an Infect strategy, towards which Karn probably has some very strong opinions.
That said, I also understand that redesigning the card to only affect loyalty counters would only complicate its wording, so let’s just silently agree that we like it as it is. And then promptly use it to kill our opponents by spreading poison counters.
Speaking of interesting effects on Lands, Blast Zone echoes Ratchet Bomb and it is certainly an impressive tool for all decks that can afford one colourless Land slot and may be able to hastily increase its charge counters. It is also worth noting that Blast Zone itself comes into play with a charge counter already up and running. And I don’t think I need to remind anyone that Proliferate is in the set. Set it off and have fun!
Ashiok is back! I have been a fan of the character since the first appearance on Theros, thanks to the mysterious and nightmare-inducing aura Ashiok is imbued with. Many Vorthos players were speculating that the character could make an appearance in the Amonkhet block, as Ashiok’s clothes seemed to be vaguely Ancient Egypt-inspired.
Unfortunately, that turned out to not be the case and many fans have been clamouring for a return of the Nightmare Weaver for years. But now Ashiok is back and many Modern players are wondering how much of an impact the card is going to have.
Ashiok, Dream Render, art by Cynthia Sheppard
Personally, I have happily featured a single copy of Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver in the sideboard of my Modern Mill deck. The card is excellent in slower matchups, grinding away cards from the opponent’s library and occasionally spawning a key value Creature.
Ashiok, Dream Render, however, is a whole different beast. I am almost sure the card’s combination of a very good static ability and a consistent Mill engine makes it worthy of main deck usage in Modern Mill strategies. However, its strengths conflict heavily with two other powerful cards typically employed within that same strategy.
Archive Trap becomes almost unusable with Ashiok, Dream Render on the board. Unless prompted by a Path to Exile effect, the opponents cannot search their library on their own, meaning that a couple of Archive Traps may end up stranded in your hand. Sure, this could mean you are also blocking all their precious Fetchlands, but, unfortunately, this is not the only wrench Ashiok is throwing in your milling workings.
Visions of Beyond is another extremely powerful tool for Modern Mill decks, often playing as an Ancestral Recall in a format where even Ponder is banned. Visions of Beyond shines exclusively as part of Mill strategies, but its design conflicts heavily with Ashiok, Dream Render’s ability. While removing your opponent’s Graveyard is rarely a downside, the trade-off between the two cards is quite awkward.
I fully expect Ashiok, Dream Render to end up in my Modern Mill deck, but the hardest part will be to decide if the card is worthy of main deck play or just of sideboard slots.
War of the Spark promised us Planeswalkers, great story moments and dire conflicts. One thing that I was certainly not expecting was a Land tutor that could either work as a smaller Seek the Horizon or, potentially, a way better Sylvan Scrying.
Enter Nissa’s Triumph, an unexpected, but certainly welcome new tool for any Land-based Commander deck. If you are playing at least one Nissa, there is a chance this card is going to be extremely powerful in your deck, possibly fetching three key Lands, such as Dark Depths, Thespian’s Stage, Inkmoth Nexus, Kessig Wolf Run or Glacial Chasm.
Nissa’s Triumph, art by Kieran Yanner
If you are not playing any Nissa Planeswalkers, you are still in for an unconditional Green Tithe, finding two Forests for just two Mana. Still not a bad deal, all in all.
I am quite sure the card will be extensively tested in my Borborygmos deck, which, coincidentally, already features a copy of Nissa, Vital Force. While I am sure most of the times I will be referring to Nissa’s Triumph as just a Green Divination, the occasional chance to three-for-one and get some key Lands is definitely an interesting feat.
First things first: when the card was first revealed, I read it as “Ugin the Inflatable” and this is how I’m going to call it in all my future games. I just can’t shake off the idea of a giant inflatable Uginballoon parading as part of Macy’s Thanksgiving celebrations.
Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, photo by Julio Cortez (2014)
That said, no matter how you call it, the card itself is fantastic. Picture him inside any colourless or Artifact-based Commander deck: his static ability is a cost reduction for many of your cards, his +1 ability is a play on Manifest that somehow provides card advantage and his -3 ability is a form of almost unconditional removal.
Sure, his rate is not excellent, costing six Mana and entering the battlefield with only four loyalty counters, but with abilities like these, I am all in favour of risking a little bit with some relatively unconvincing numbers. Even if he dies shortly after the activation of his second ability, you’ll have traded six Mana for any coloured permanent. Not too bad, especially if you are in colour combinations that struggle with permanent removal.
Ugin, the Ineffable, art by Daarken
I can only dream of what the card is going to do inside my Kozilek deck. Ramping into Ugin, the Ineffable before the fourth turn of the game, only to unlock an even more explosive follow-up fifth turn is going to be amazing.
Speaking colourless cards, the new Mana Geode and Firemind Vessel are also worth mentioning. If you are looking for Mana fixing or you just jam every Mana rock you can in your deck, don’t let these cards fly under your radar. While I am not sure I will be sliding both in my Kozilek deck, I wanted to point out Firemind Vessel is very similar to a card I had theorized in a recent article. I understand the design space around Mana rocks is fairly limited, but what an amusing coincidence!
It’s not always that we get a card that just fits perfectly inside existing an Commander strategy. And I am not talking about generically powerful cards that just play well in any deck that can run them. Those are fine, but they don’t feel thatunique.
Sometimes a set features a card that is just meant to flawlessly slide inside one of your Commander decks, supporting or enriching a very specific strategy you were already focusing on. Enter Living Twister, the answer to a question I was probably the only one asking: can I get another Mina and Denn, Wildborn, but cheaper?
Living Twister, art by James Paick
Living Twister is so good in Land-based strategies that I am almost sure it was originally pitched as a new version of Borborygmos Enraged. While I can only hope The M-Files for War of the Spark feature a bit more background and insights on how this card was conceived and fine-tuned, I am beyond thrilled to include it in my Borborygmos deck.
Ok, I am cheating, here. This is not a card, but I really wanted to mention how good the War of the Spark trailer was. It is by far the best trailer we have had in Magic so far. Both the animation and the music were absolutely perfect. Rarely do we get a game trailer that so effectively pulls you into the story without feeling cheesy or on-the-nose.
Let’s be honest. If you had told me beforehand that the trailer was going to feature an ominous cover of Linking Park’s “In the End”, I would have expected nothing more than an early 2000s Dragon Ball Z AMV. Instead, we got a cinematic, well directed and emotionally impactful trailer that delivered the feelsbeyond my best expectations.
Somehow Wizards had the audacity of killing Dack Fayden in the trailer and it still managed to not be the highlight of the two-minute video. The moments when Liliana witnesses the death of a little girl trying to protect her brother, remembers her oath and turns against Bolas are all truly phenomenal. You could really see every single one of Liliana’s conflicted thoughts, feelings and emotions, thanks to a superb animation.
Liliana in the War of the Spark trailer (2019)
This is now the new gold standard for Magic trailers and if we can expect something at this level for every upcoming set, I am beyond hyped for what the future has in store.
My
favourite card from the set is an uncommon. Not a Mythic Planeswalker, not an
insane Vehicle, not a Multiverse-breaking Sorcery. A simple 3/2 for three Mana
with just one simple triggered ability: whenever
a land enters the battlefield under your control, proliferate.
Evolution Sage is just awesome. The raw power of this effect is simply absurd. Do you have a Fetchland? Your opponents get two poison counters, you put two additional +1/+1 counters on all your creatures that already carry them, your Planeswalkers get two additional loyalty counters.
You also increase the -1/-1 counter count on your opponents’ creatures if they already have them, you get experience counters if you care about them, your Azor’s Elocutors get additional filibuster counters, you power up your Lux Cannon, you flip your Treasure Map and you speed up your Ascensions. I love me an active Luminarch Ascension and Evolution Sage allows you to get there just by playing Lands.
Evolution Sage, art by Simon Dominic
This card is stunning and I can’t wait to play it in my Saskia Infect deck. Is the board becoming too crowded for an effective assault? Let’s just lay back, play some Lands and kill some opponents.
On a similar vein, I also wanted to mention Grateful Apparition as another very interesting new tool for Infect decks in Commander. This new card is almost exactly a colour-shifted version of Thrummingbird, with the additional bonus of triggering when it hits Planeswalkers. While not as impressive as Evolution Sage, I think it is still worthy of an inclusion in most Infect or Planeswalker-themed decks, especially those that do not already have access to Blue and to Thrummingbird specifically.
Bonus round: best art and flavour text
Preferences in art and flavour are obviously subjective. Although we can all agree that some Magic illustrations are objectively astonishing, most of our appreciation towards pieces of art is dictated by personal tastes and preferences. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nevertheless, I really wanted to mention my favourite pieces of art and flavour text from the set. Again, I am no art critic, nor a literature expert, so I am sure a more erudite player would be able to provide a way better assessment. Still, this is what I like.
So, in my very humble opinion, the best piece of art in the entire set belongs to Noah Bradley and his illustration for Commence the Endgame.
Art for Commence the Endgame, by Noah Bradley
I can see why this may feel like an easy or fairly obvious pick, with the art itself prominently used to promote the whole set since the first days of preview season. But the composition, the level of detail and the pathos this art emanates are beautiful. While the set features a number of truly great pieces of art, I’d like to think Noah Bradley’s Commence the Endgame is what War of the Spark should be remembered for, art-wise.
Just to make sure we don’t leave two other great pieces of art unmentioned, I must also confess the illustrations for Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor and Narset, Parter of Veils equally deserve a spot near the top, to me. Magali Villeneuve has been one of the most consistent and appreciated artists in recent Magic history and these pieces are no exception. The fluidity of the robes and hair are simply spectacular.
Arts for Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor and Narset, parter of Veils, by Magali Villeneuve
Now, flavour texts are a completely different beast. I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room. The flavour text for Commence the Endgame is also spectacular. It is so perfectly villainous, so deeply Nicol Bolas. It is what the ideal tagline for a War of the Spark movie poster should be. “Even gods shall kneel“. You can hear him say it!
However, in the midst of all this hubris, with everything that is happening on Ravnica, with so much flavour text focusing on battles and things that people should and should not do, a specific piece of flavour text resonated particularly well with me. Not the tongue-in-cheek jokes, nor the many lines about how important this battle is. Not the lines about defiance and duty. But a simple paragraph on what true heroism is. My favourite flavour text in the set belongs to Ignite the Beacon.
Commence the Endgame, art by Noah Bradley and Ignite the Beacon, art by Slawomir Maniak
“If you can’t save yourself, you fight to give someone else a chance“. Rarely has Ajani been my favourite character in a story arc, but this line is just perfect. I like how simple and natural it is, how there is no rhetoric in his words. This is not a cheesy line from a random action hero. As if it were the most spontaneous thing imaginable, once all hope is lost for him, all he can think of is giving someone else a chance to fight. It’s perfect.
Number 0: whatever you like
As always, each Magic sets comes with a number of amazing new cards that each player can enjoy in their own way. War of the Spark is especially rich of interesting cards, thanks to its plethora or Planeswalkers, amazing story moments and great mechanics.
I have narrowed down my personal list to ten cards that really caught my attention, but I am sure most players would have a completely different and equally awesome list. Actually, my list features something like fifteen cards and a trailer, but you get the point. Of course, there is a lot more that intrigued me, but I had to leave out something.
For example, I am still very on the fence regarding Soul Diviner. Either it’s an insanely good draw engine for my Grimgrin deck, or I am going to not find any room for it and it will remain on the cutting room floor, simply due to the lack of available slots.
Soul Diviner, art by Randy Vargas
Similarly, Casualties of War is an insanely interesting and flexible card, but the relevant Mana cost and the fact that it is a Sorcery still make me wonder whether or not I should include it in my Saskia Infect deck. The card itself is great, but the deck is leaning towards a very aggressive strategy and, at the moment, I am not sure Casualties of War will actually make the cut.
The set will also be remembered for finally giving us Fblthp, the Lost, Massacre Girl and Feather, the Redeemed in card form, after years of appearances in arts, stories and flavour texts. Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves is also back, this time with a set of abilities that make me feel like Thragtusk is back in Standard. Not to mention Niv-Mizzet Reborn is the dream of any Commander player looking for a new interesting take on multicolour.
And let’s not forget this is the first time Magic is featuring coloured Vehicles. Parhelion II is especially awesome, with its strong Final Fantasy and Last Exile vibe.
Anatorey battle ships from Last Exile (2003)
Liliana’s Triumph is probably the best Diabolic Edict we have ever seen in Modern, which really makes me think that True-Name Nemesis may be soon featured in Modern Horizons, finally becoming Modern playable.
As always, to each their own! I am sure War of the Spark will be remembered as a very rich set in terms of density of interesting contents. And, very likely, most of you reading my review have already found something that tickles your deck building fantasies.
As always, enjoy this set the way you like it! There is plenty of interesting new tools to quench your thirst for deck building… At least until Modern Horizons comes out!
The upcoming War of the Spark set, scheduled for release on May 3rd, 2019, will be the culmination of years of Magic storylines, narrative arcs, plots and conflicts. The story is expected to take place entirely on Ravnica, with a large ensemble of Planeswalkers converging on the City of Guilds. Based on everything we know so far, the story’s climax will depict the final showdown between Nicol Bolas, accompanied by his pawns and his Amonkhet undead army, and the Gatewatch, joined by a number of interplanar allies.
The Magic community is dead set on the idea that the body count of this battle will be at least remarkable. While we can probably rule out a complete genocide of all known Planeswalkers, many tried to predict the most notable deaths we will witness in the set.
Of course, as a fan of speculations, I wanted to throw my hat in the prediction ring. So, let’s dive head first in a rundown of all Magic Planeswalkers and their presumed fate after the War of the Spark! But before we do, let’s set a couple of ground rules:
Only Planeswalkers will be eligible for the list; while I would love to see Prime Speaker Vannifar go, she is not a contender, here
I will then try and set my predictions into a bingo card, picking the twenty-four Planeswalkers I think are more likely to die
For the purposes of this list, characters fleeing, missing in actions or whose fate remains uncertain will not be counted as dead; however, characters turned into Zombies will or transcending into a different state of being will
And finally, a quick disclaimer. I know we have been recently confirmed that thirty-six Planeswalkers will get a card in War of the Spark. However, it is my belief that not all of them will actually be present on Ravnica at the time of the battle with Nicol Bolas and the Gatewatch. So, yes, many of these characters will indeed have cards in the set, but they will not necessarily be in the story, in my opinion.
Ok, with that out of the way, let’s go!
Collective Voyage, art by Charles Urbach
Not on the board
Let’s get this out of the way immediately. I personally do not think we are going to return to Theros to rescue Elspeth soon. Instead, I do believe she will appear as a surprise deus ex machina on a different Plane, having already escaped Theros’ Underworld on her own or with someone else’s aid. But with everything happening in War of the Spark, I do not think this is when we’re going to get her surprise return. She’s absolutely coming back, but not now.
Jiang Yanggu and Mu Yanling are not going to be involved in the War of the Spark. And if they are, they are definitely not going to die. We simply do not know enough about them at the moment, so their potential demise would not resonate with players. What I really hope to see, instead, is a new version of these two characters in one of the upcoming sets, so that we get to know them a little more.
If he hasn’t perished already, Koth is still punching Phyrexians on what was once Mirrodin. There is no way he is leaving that battlefield for Ravnica’s. He is a hero defending his home and, for all intent and purposes, he is going to keep defending it.
Like Jiang Yanggu and Mu Yanling, Rowan and Will Kenrith need way more build-up before their death gains any emotional relevance. They are certainly an amazing pair of characters and I look forward to seeing them again, but, at best, they will only have a cameo in War of the Spark. And it will not be their last stand.
Sorin is stuck inside a stone on Innistrad. An unlikely escape, only to have him immediately killed on Ravnica, would be the most Edgar Wright thing I can imagine from the upcoming set. So, no, it’s not happening. Sorin is very safe.
Tibalt is absolutely safe. And I’m saying this simply because, given the odd reputation of the character, his death would be taken mostly as a joke, with little impact on the whole story. He is probably going to show up at a later stage, hopefully redesigned into the evil and powerful villain he deserves to be.
For the sake of completion, I do not think Aminatou and Estrid are going to join the fight at all. So, for me, they’re out of the death ballot.
Safe and sound
If Angrath dies, I riot. He just escaped his long captivity on Ixalan and he just reunited with his two daughters. I cannot imagine him wanting to immediately set course towards a world of war and struggle, only to die fighting people he does not even know. Angrath is going to be fine.
Arlinn Kord has no direct connection to the War of the Spark. She has not pledged any form of interplanar allegiance to the Gatewatch and, as far as we know, she is not going to be involved in the conflict. While I would love to see her again, now is not the time.
Part of what makes Ashiok amazing is that we know almost nothing about them. We know they are somehow entangled in a larger scheme, possibly involving Dack Fayden. But provided any connection exists with the Multiverse’s ongoing conflict, we do not really know how Ashiok factors in. Most likely, they will appear again as a surprise villain in a future set.
Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, art by Karla Ortiz
Chandra is going to live. She is hands down among the best characters we have right now. She is strong, charming, awesome. She just reconnected with her mother on Kaladesh. And she recently discovered a deep connection to Jaya Ballard. Not only is Chandra going to be fine, but she is also going to be among the best characters in future narrative arcs.
Dack Fayden was last seen on Theros. His reputation as the greatest thief in the Multiverse does not really place him at the centre of the upcoming fight. Could he be a nice surprise character to join the fight? Probably. Will he die there? Not likely.
Now, Daretti is awesome. That said, he is either on Fiora or on Kaladesh, according to his Mythic Edition art. And while I would love to see him teaming up with or facing off against Saheeli, I don’t think he has any reason to join the battle on Ravnica. He’s awesome and he is going to live.
I also love Garruk as the Boba Fett of Magic. He shows up occasionally, he does something awesome and he leaves. As a character, Garruk is great at small doses. While it would be great to have him appear out of the blue in the middle of the conflict on Ravnica, I find it very unlikely that he’s going to die right away. But seriously, how awesome would it be to have him delivering the actual death blow to Nicol Bolas, only to scoff off and leave? I know it’s not going to happen, but how awesome would that be?
Much like Angrath, Huatli has almost no reason to be on Ravnica. Unless she is suddenly missing the trapping embrace of The Immortal Sun, she is probably going to stay away from the powerful Artifact and from whoever is carrying it. She is going to be fine.
We also know Jace is not going to die. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. He is the face of the game and his demise, were it ever to happen, would be the key aspect of a future set. He is definitely not going to die in a grand melee of twenty Planeswalkers. But I really, really want to see him go, at some point. So I’ll leave him in the safe category, for now.
Kiora has almost no connection to the War of the Spark and her signature powers do not really lend themselves to a good use on Ravnica. There is a very loose connection between her, Zendikar, the Eldrazi and Nicol Bolas, but I find it hard to believe that she will join the brawl on Ravnica.
Like Kiora, Nahiri has a relatively loose connection to Nicol Bolas. While she is a very proactive character and she has proven to be quite effective in exacting revenge, she is not really out for the Elder Dragon’s blood. I think she is not going to be on Ravnica, but, considering most of her narrative arc is finished, her death during the war could be quite fitting. Again, I don’t think it’s likely, so I’m counting her as safe, for the moment.
Nahiri, the Harbinger, art by Aleksi Briclot
Speaking of people with loose connections to Nicol Bolas, Narset could join the fight on Ravnica only if all the Planeswalkers from Tarkir collectively decided to take part in the War of the Spark. There is a good chance Ugin is joining the fight on Ravnica, but I am not sure he would bring Narset along. And if he did, I do not think she would be the one dying in the fight.
Ob Nixilis has an ongoing feud with the Gatewatch. He may be willing to come to Ravnica, lured by the presence of many Planeswalkers, to seek revenge. Should he choose to do so, I find it hard to believe he would actually be able to kill anyone. Nor I think he would get himself killed in the process. Ob Nixilis is currently one of the only two Black-aligned Planeswalkers we have in card form and the fate of Liliana is way more at risk than his. So, let’s give Ob Nixilis a pass, for now. Wizards of the Coast may be wanting to save him for a later role in the story.
Saheeli is on Kaladesh, she is fine and she will be fine. I don’t think she is even going to join the War of the Spark. Most likely, we will see her again in a future set. Personally, I would love to see her interacting with the hostile environment of New Phyrexia, were Artifacts are very, very different than the ones she knows from Kaladesh.
Tamiyo is an amazing character, but she has also been established as not really a first line fighter. She is a researcher, a scholar and an academic. She may have a role in the upcoming war, but she is not going to be involved on the frontline. She is fine.
Risky business
I think Ajani is relatively safe. However, his mentor for all role and heroic statue kind of paint a big target on his forehead, so I cannot completely rule out the possibility of a death at the hands of Nicol Bolas, considering the Leonin has unfinished business with the Elder Dragon himself.
During his adventures on Amonkhet, Hazoret foretold Gideon‘s fate. The prophecy stated that the White aligned Planeswalker was going to die at the hands of an immortal. While we don’t know for certain if this refers to a god, an Eldrazi or an elder being, the top contenders are probably Heliod and Nicol Bolas himself. On top of that, Gideon is currently wielding the Blackblade, possibly telegraphing the very cliché good guy with cursed weapon death in the very near future. I think there is a chance Gideon is going to die on Ravnica, but, personally, I view the odds in the 60% range.
Kaya is awesome. She is an amazing character, but she is so deeply involved in Nicol Bolas’ machinations that I think there is a strong chance she may be dying on Ravnica. Or, and this is also a very strong possibility, she is going to flee the scene when things go bad, becoming a Garruk–esque character, popping up occasionally, but otherwise keeping a relatively low profile in the economy of the Multiverse. Of all the Elder Dragon’s minions, I would say she is the safer one.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper, art by Yongjae Choi
Nissa is currently in a very weird spot. On one hand, she is the first member of the Gatewatch to willingly break her vow. After her departure during the Dominaria storyline, she has completely left the picture. As far as we know, she has no intention to join the fight on Ravnica, despite her defeat at the hands of Nicol Bolas on Amonkhet. On the other hand, she doesn’t really have anything interesting to do on an interplanar level. Sure, taking care of her own world of Zendikar is a noble task, but she doesn’t really have any major conflict to be involved in, at the moment. Where she to appear on Ravnica, we could be looking at her final outing as a major player in the Multiverse, although we may need a bit more preparatory build-up, to make sure her demise resonates with players, after a year of absence from the main storyline.
Samut, on the other hand has a lot of unfinished business with Nicol Bolas. We left her on Amonkhet, but I fully expect her to be seeking revenge against the God-Pharaoh. She is definitely showing up on Ravnica and she is also likely to be contributing in a significant way to the Gatewatch’s cause. She is not going to be the one delivering the killing blow against Nicol Bolas, but her sheer involvement in the war and her very personal and heartfelt motivations put her at risk of getting killed.
Sarkhan has proven to also be very committed towards Nicol Bolas-related matters, to the point of traveling back in time to prevent the Elder Dragon from killing Ugin. Sarkhan is a man of action and I fully expect him to show up on Ravnica. His personal ties with Nicol Bolas may lead him to even have a central role in the fight and, should this be the case, I would expect the Elder Dragon to manifest all of his resentment towards the Planeswalker who brought Ugin back into the picture.
Moving on, I do not think Teferi is necessarily going to die, but I would really appreciate it if Wizards of the Coast decided to send all the older heroes of Dominaria out in a blaze of glory. Teferi is a great character with a very peculiar set of skills, so his only odds of dying lies in the story team deciding to explicitly kill off all the old guard to pass the torch to the new generation of heroes. Possible, but not probable.
Vivien is weird. So far she has existed only to seek revenge against Nicol Bolas. This puts her very close to Samut in terms of motivations and role in the entire ecosystem of Magic. Practically, I think either Vivien or Samut is going to die and my money is more on the former, than the latter.
Vivien Reid, art by Anna Steinbauer
The next one is a bit controversial. I don’t think Vraska is going to die. We all know she is going to meet Jace, she is going to have her memory restored and she is going to turn against Nicol Bolas. This is when, I think, everyone expects her to die. On the other hand, I would really love to then see a Golgari character surviving the war and possibly becoming a key public figure on Ravnica. What if she became the new Living Guildpact? What an amazing turn of events would that be?
Dead meat
Domri could be a good candidate for a surprise death midway through the story. There is a good chance Borborygmos wants him dead and Domri himself is not famous for his calm and cautious temperament. I think there is a good chance he is going to bite the bullet, but his death will not be the big emotional moment of the story.
Dovin, on the other hand, is pretty much already dead. Dovin is going to die in the most satisfying way possible. You would expect him to be killed by Chandra in an act of revenge, but I think this will actually play out as a growth moment for the fire-based Planeswalkers. I think Chandra will have a confrontation with Dovin, she will prevail, but she will also spare his life, proving she has matured as a characters. Nicol Bolas will be the one actually pulling the trigger on the Vedalken, muttering something awesome and evil like “your servitude is no longer required”.
Doomfall, art by Darek Zabrocki
Another notable death: Jaya is going to die in the most dramatic and awesome way you can think of. She is going to die in epic fashion and it will be an emotional punch in everyone’s guts. In her final moments, she is going to hand her goggles to Chandra and she is going to whisper something impactful, like “there is another Skywalker”.
I also think Karn is likely to die. Not because his arc is finished, but because his intention to use the Sylex to destroy New Phyrexia is a bit too extreme for a self-proclaimed pacifist. So instead of sitting down and having a heartfelt conversation with the rest of the Gatewatch on how to approach the Phyrexian menace, I believe he could be dying during the War of the Spark, forcing the survivors to find a less Plane-destroying approach to address the issue.
Liliana is a very tough one. I could be completely off on this one, but I think she is going to die during the War of the Spark. But, in a surprising turn of events, we are going to meet her again in the very near future, brought back to life by the Raven Man himself. Maybe she will be resurrected without her Spark, maybe she will now be old and weak. But she is going to die on Ravnica first and her death will be among the most jaw dropping moments of the story.
Ral is going to die brutally. Either the Gatewatch takes him down for luring dozens of Planeswalkers on the Plane. Or Niv-Mizzet takes him down to reclaim the title of leader of the Izzet League. Or Nicol Bolas takes him down for messing around with Project Lightning Bug. Ral is so dead, it’s not even funny.
Of all the bad guys converging on Ravnica, Tezzeret is the one I like the most. He is cool, charming and menacing, but he still retains a lot of personality, despite being just a pawn of Nicol Bolas. That said, I am fully prepared to seeing him fall victim of this war, possibly consumed by all the powerful Artifacts he is carrying. Or, and this is what I really hope for, he could turn against his master at the very last second, engaging Nicol Bolas in a deadly duel, only to succumb at the hands of his enslaver.
So, the whole conflict revolves around Nicol Bolas. He has a plan, he has schemed for years, he has plotted and deceived. He has played a major role in almost the entire history of Magic and he hasn’t lost a major battle in ages. He has come fully prepared to this war on Ravnica. But I really believe he is going to lose this fight. And, with that, he is going to die. Not because he is weak, foolish or not fully equipped for this fight. But simply because having him survive this fight would resonate very poorly with the audience. An inconsequential victory, with Nicol Bolas surviving the fight, escaping and swearing revenge would feel like a waste of everyone’s time. This is going to be the ultimate fight, with casualties on all sides. And Nicol Bolas, the one and only, the Elder Dragon, is going to succumb, purely out of players’ fatigue towards him.
How is this going to happen? Well, theories abound. Impaled on Gideon‘s Blackblade? His heart pierced by Vivien’s bow? Betrayed by Tezzeret? These are all good theories, but I really hope for something truly unexpected.
What I would really love to see is a surprise act of aggression by Niv-Mizzet. In the midst of the conflict, when violence is at its peak and heroes fall like leaves in autumn, I would love to see the Dracogenius reveal his own plan, taking Nicol Bolas‘ life and stealing his Spark. Not only would this be a surprise ending, but it would leave a sour taste in every hero’s mouth.
What now? Is Niv-Mizzet going to rise as a new interplanar threat? Is he going to use this power to rise as the new Living Guildpact or Ravnica? Is he going to instead disappear in the Multiverse, seemingly exiting the picture, only to reappear years later, even more powerful than before? Only time will tell.
Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, art by Raimond Swanland
Ugin‘s fate, to be honest, is also very hard to predict. He has all the reasons to come to Ravnica and join the fight. He also has all the reasons to die in a battle against his own twin brother. That said, Ugin‘s status as a spirit is in and on itself quite puzzling. What I think is going to happen is a sort of transcendence of the character into a different state of being, like a Jedi becoming one with the Force, I think Ugin is going to be presumed dead, only to soon be revealed to have become a fully ethereal being. So, yes, he dies, but it’s not goint o be a full death. But I’m still going to count it as a death.
The bingo card
Having gone through all these Planeswalkers, I loved the idea of setting up a bingo card to try and see if I could score a line of five deaths. Just for fun, here is what I’m picking.
War of the Spark death bingo
Of course,
I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in joining the speculation to
setup their own card. It’s just the icing on the speculation cake.
More predictions
If you want
to check out more predictions on who is going to die in War of the Spark, you
probably already know the Internet is getting filled to the brim with
speculations, theories, ideas and guesses. I cannot list them all, so I’d just
like to point you towards two YouTube videos I found really well done and
entertaining.
Ryan Gomez is surely to entertain you in this Magic Arcanum video for TCGPlayer. Most of his predictions are very, very good and he is just an amazing guy to listen to.
And do not miss Connor Macleod’s video. His channel is fairly new, but the quality of the content he is putting out is really amazing.
Magic: the Managing 