The Angel Problem | Magic: The Gathering Lore

[@aerynmusick4548]

The theme of this set seems like “solid ideas executed poorly”

[@AetherHub]

I would say this is spot on. They thought the theme could carry it. But they were wrong.

[@lcronovt]

like the most recent stories.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

Sounds like the typical sonic game to me good ideas but poor execution

[@jhonathanmondragon7162]

Still love it

[@bradcallahan3546]

That’s a description of WOTC

[@FulmenosQuiesce]

I love your commentary about Capenna. I very much regret how rushed it has been. I believe it could have been a sort of dark Ravnica mirror and I believe this could have been handled if we had two or more sets for Capenna. The problem I believe Wizards will keep having as the lore gets more and more complex is that they seem to want to build up the Phyrexians to be the next big bad for a sort of war of the spark reprise against the Phyrexians in some later set, but they seem to forget (or outright ignore) that the reason we were so invested in war of the spark is because, by and large, we cared about the cast (both heroes and villains) and so we were very much on board for the resolution. I even liked the war of the spark book, for all that it was a middling fantasy novel! (let's not speak about the forsaken book that came after, that thing is a disgrace IMO). If Wizards doesn't give their new characters room to grow (and time and things for us to care about them) their big Phyrexian throwdowm will fall flat, and it'd be a shame to waste cool stuff like compleated Tamiyo out of laziness. Great analysis in this video!

[@AetherHub]

Thank you! I’m terrified that this Phyrexian plot will be like War of the Spark. A build up that falls over before the finish line. In New Capenna the introduction of Urabrask was so… lame. I hope, no they NEED to do something else with him before we get into the main plot line.

[@Wyattbw09]

@@AetherHub It already seems clear they are starting to rush the Phyrexia storylines. Urabrask was completely shoehorned into this story. Do we really need a Prator in every set? There is so much story that could be told in a proxy war between the Gatewatch and newly completed Planeswalkers. But it starting to feel like Dominaria United has to take the center stage in the start to a war and it’s just way too soon.

[@SamJones1337]

This content is exceptional. I'm so happy I found your KZbin channel. I have just gotten back into Magic the Gathering after a bunch of years and this is making me appreciate the new sets so much more.

[@AetherHub]

I’m really glad you stumbled on my content and found a new way to love MTG :)

[@pelusoft]

While watching the video I immediately remembered the issue with ikoria and realized I haven't checked in detal the recent lore of the newest sets, would be nice if we can have a series addressing the inconsistencies you have noticed. Personally, I like how constructive and fair is your criticism, so I'm on board to hear more about your thoughts and ideas. Great content, thanks for your work.

[@Nas0630]

I'm glad you made this video, I was so confused on why there were Angels in the set other than just 1. Amnoket was one of my favorite "new" story (I consider anything post Khans "new") and "the hand that moves" is by far my favorite MTG short story in general. I wish they went back to those types of stories than the ones that seem like a "idk how it end we want the story by the deadline". I've been getting this feeling so often since the war of the spark story. Your videos are the only way I get lore information for MTG now for what's it's worth. Thank you for having to deal with this half measure of a plot that we have been given and making it actually digestible. I've really lost a lot of my interest in the last few years with mtg as a whole, but I still try and watch your videos when they comes out. Keep up the good work and thanks again.

[@jhonathanmondragon7162]

At first I didn't like new cappena, but the more and more I submerged to it, the more original I find it, from the lore, to the art to the landscape architecture. Thank you this is amazing

[@AetherHub]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@matthewwasser5621]

It might be Wizards purposely leaving lose threads of the story to use when/if we return to the plain but still it would of been nice to get more story articles to get more answers of what happened at the end. Mark did say in his mailbag article, when answering players questions about New Capenna, that he knows they could of done more in the story to show the angels return.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

Urabrask: I saw them, angels streaking across the sky like shooting stars what happened?! Vivian: Well in the effort to bring Giada… Urabrask: The girl who can manifest halo? Vivian: In the effort to try and bring her here we were persuaded by a walker named ob nixilis who seemed to want her so that he could be the sole supplier of halo but when we discovered a run down church, the angels, they burst forth from the statues and… Urabrask: They took her? Elspeth: As well as the halo which was infact the very essence of the angels and the look they gave the family’s before leaving was like that of disappointed parent cold and intense. Urabrask sighs deeply Tezzeret: DAMN IT! Elesh norn has the draught of divinity, with the reality chip they figured out how to phyrexize planeswalkers… Elspeth: which you helped build… Tezzeret: AND NOW the only known way we can even attempt to combat them is gone!!! Urabrask: ugh, it was a long shot to begin with, the halo might of been effective on old phyrexians but the strain has since evolved and I doubt even with it they could match the diversity my people now wield. Vivian: So what now? Urabrask: Now we prepare, tezzeret and myself will return to new phyrexia this halo fiasco should be a good cover for my absence for my sister, but till a solution for my sister is found or a way to reverse the phyrexiztion, report back to your gate watch tell them of my support and then… we prepare.

[@Grayrav]

After reading the story, I continued it in my head where the angels attempt to take over the crime families or form their own families to counter the crime families. It was fun try to explain how a grixis or jund aligned family could form with angels. Essentially the grixis angels might still wish to work with the demons. The angels could have done something so terrible that no other family would accept them, or are essentially punishing themselves by taking part in the grixis aligned faction.

[@Metalcursine]

Or still find a way to supply halo without being incased in stone. And therefore be the source and at the top of the family.

[@xXlightosXx]

It would have worked so much better if the set was released in a “New Capena” block similar to innistrad. Allowing a smooth time progression that gave us a fulfilling story.

[@jacobjackson5535]

It seems that sets like Ikoria, Strixhaven, Theros Beyond Death, New Capenna etc. all feel like the first set in a multi set block, but we are missing the next set to finish the story. I'm just hoping in the next couple of years it circles around again, slowly adding to each storyline as it progresses.

[@natanoj16]

Seems to be the case now

[@SSolemn]

Totally agree, the lore and history was promising..... I don't know how they always get to make the worst decisions for the lore 😫

[@AetherHub]

Totally agreed. There were SO many problems with this story and the lore of the set. This was just ONE which is sad

[@oakmountain2788]

Thanks for the new video Aether Hub :)

[@MarioJPC]

I think than the quote from Elspeth it talks about angels in general on the Multiverse. But the pacing problem on story is there for sure.

[@BalldoTM]

oh, despite the title I thought this was going to be about the MECHANICAL/GAMEPLAY issues with angels hahaha But for real... we NEED to bring back TWO BLOCK SETS! its the perfect # of sets to both establish lore AND gameplay for each new world! A follow up set from new capenna where the returned angels try to claim the city back, similar to what you said, wouldve been aweseome!

[@MagusFlorren]

Thanks for putting this video together.

[@kyrudo]

Honestly Ive pretty much given up on both the cards and actual story working side by side. I liked the story and setting on new cappena and the cards are just the side to the story. Cause if wotc just cant be bothered anymore. Which sucks cause I absolutely love the tone and setting of new Capenna

[@AetherHub]

They still have it in them. Kamigawa was great. Here is hoping for more of that

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

Very much agree with your comments! MtG really needs to step back and take a few breaths and get the story straight before diving back in. Also, I love that light behind you.

[@benzur3503]

It could’ve been really cool if they made the angel cards as angel/statue with some transforming mechanic to change from defender to flyer, or to sweetens the low tempo with flying/lifelink or vigilance or something

[@AetherHub]

Now that’s thinking outside the box. Cool idea

[@CreateWorlds]

There’s definitely been an issue with story passing and also not matching with the cards but from this video it sounds like you want a whole new set. I don’t think everything you wanted addressed could be contained and explored in one. Hopefully we go back after the phyrexian plot is wrapped up. Having Elspeth return to try and sort out her home plane could be really cool and could dive into the questions you have

[@reclusivebestfriend5044]

I get the distinct impression that when New Capenna began development - the plan was for a 2-block narrative. Midnight Hunt / Crimson Vow would have begun production at the same time (Innistrad lore already exists, so story building would have been faster). I like what we got, which was essentially a story about Elspeth finding out who she is and in that sense I think it's done rather well. All the moving parts around it though seem to hint that this was meant to lead into something bigger. I expect a speedy return to New Capenna in the future.

[@AetherHub]

I don’t see that myself. When Elspeth left, she basically admitted the city was doomed. With no Halo left everything would collapse. If we return. It won’t be the same plane as we know it as now.

[@reclusivebestfriend5044]

@@AetherHub Very much agreed! It wouldn't be the same place. Something'd need to fill the void that Halo siphoning leaves behind; good or bad, this'd be interesting to explore, now that we know the city's culture. I don't think they'd ever delve too deep into it, but the idea of the demon families needing to answer for their history whilst keeping stability would be neat to see.

[@ECWscorpion209]

Where did he get the special art for the leaders of the families in background at the beginning?

[@AetherHub]

I just got it from wizards of the coasts Twitter! They posted it

[@ECWscorpion209]

@@AetherHub thank you

[@MrResident25]

Hey Seiben, I'm loving the lore video now that I'm getting back into MTG with the release of Battle for Baldur's Gate. Will you be doing another collab with Jorphdan to tackle the lore of characters such as Elmister, Tasha or some of the Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 game related characters like Abdel Adrian and Sarevock?

[@anthonydelfino6171]

This feels like the result of us moving at breakneck pace from plane to plane to plane. Aside from the War of the Spark sets, we haven't spent more than 1 set on a plane since 2018. I felt like there was a very similar problem on Strixhaven where they had to go from setting up the college, to presenting the Oric as a threat, to resolving the threat in the cards all in one set. Also this feels a little like when you talk about incongruent cards in the set is a problem with card design in general. Like how many sets have angels that had no business with them? Think of that too with all the "iconic" creature types. Why did Innistrad and Amonkhet have dragons? They seem really intent on cookie cuttering the card design to check off certain boxes regardless of if it fits the world or not.

[@sailordaigurren8225]

Dragons on Innistrad has a really weird feel to it, for sure

[@anthonydelfino6171]

@@sailordaigurren8225 right? Especially when they had a really unique and underdeveloped tribe sitting right there they could have used. Would it have been so bad to get a flying mythic rare devil instead?

[@sailordaigurren8225]

@@anthonydelfino6171 really good point i hadn't thought of

[@PresidentBeavis]

"Aside from the War of the Spark sets, we haven't spent more than 1 set on a plane since 2018" We had 2 sets on Innistrad just last year (Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow).

[@anthonydelfino6171]

@@PresidentBeavis Oh right you are. How could I forget something so recent.... even that still felt rushed. Probably because of how we've been jumping all over for years.

[@LadyTsunade777]

Small side note: "prologue" is the "before the story" part, "epilogue" is the "after the story" part.

[@AetherHub]

You’re right my bad on that. You think I’ve read enough of each I wouldn’t mix them up lmfao

[@TheMagicHistorian]

With that sweet cherub face of yours did we even need giada in the thumbnail to know this was about angels? The way they handled angels in this set drove me nuts, almost as bad as Ikoria

[@AetherHub]

Always with the flattery 🥹 but seriously it was really badly executed. They need to just try harder.

[@ivan39navi]

You have a point. I just have so much hope for New Capena like it could be the next Ravnica

[@jesok3761]

When you do your next streets of new capenna video will it be like when you talked about how theros beyond death was a disaster, or how war of the spark could have been much more.

[@fatman09halo]

I've been feeling this exact way about sets for awhile. Slow down and let us enjoy the planes we're seeing!

[@charlesfarley28]

Thank you for properly utilizing the word "problematic" despite the popular trend of using it as a substitute for the words "objectionable," "reprehensible," or the phrase "morally dubious."

[@henryterhune8328]

Angel problem you say? I'm excited to listen

[@AetherHub]

Hope you enjoy :)

[@druidofthewolf5996]

elspeth did not think it was of one of ruin that was vivien. elspeth states that this is her home and she will protect it. vivien state that it will fall to ruin which make sense given what we know of her.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

Wow I just realized on innastrad the dominate species drink people, amd on new compena everyone drinks angels

[@AetherHub]

… he’s insane but correct.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

@@AetherHub speaking of those who thirst in the night do you think sorin has been to new Capenna?

[@andresmarrero8666]

It does feel that now they have effectively a team of superheroes a new multiversal threat must be introduced every other week instead of focusing on the planes themselves who do not need a planes walker to tell their story.

[@thekillers1stfan]

I love the lore of New Capenna and while I agree there should have been more built around the Angels, i also believe there will be more in the future

[@ukaszkiljan6316]

Couldn't agree more. Wonderful video

[@petinonclement7872]

Without the anwer to the question that you ask except for the "Angel of Suffering" I have the impression that we have Angel just to have a GOOD and I'm not fan of that in this story + the absence of epilogue after their release : I have the impression that the message is angels is return so the good is return even if we almost don't know them (That may work in metaphoric story, or pure fairy tails but not in that case).

[@Vearru]

I think odds are WOTC want to focus on their primary overarching story rather than the stories of individual planes that is why we had such a good story for Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, the end of the story was an extremely important plot point, that is also why we didn’t see as much in Ikoria, or Streets of New Capena, they are less relevant to the overall story. I think that Streets of New Capena has more problems too as WOTC likely wanted extra time to be dedicated to the stories of the next two sets, Dominaria United and The Brothers War. They likely saw that Urabrask and Tezzeret were established and asked the story team to wrap up the rest as quickly as possible to start work on what they view as the more important stories. So if we get amazing stories for the next few sets I’ll be satisfied and understanding, if there are more problems however, I’ll be extremely disappointed that we missed the potential to see more in New Capena.

[@Mechsrule1]

Most of the lore issues can be explained by 1 change. We used to have blocks. Now we don't have blocks. Stories need multiple sets to breathe and have space for things to happen. But since we don't have those anymore....

[@LadyTsunade777]

The primary problem with Magic story is that they no longer do the objectively superior 3 set block structure. Worldbuilding and rising action in the first set (or two), climax in the second set (or third, to set up for a return), conclusion and epilogue in the third set (or later in a return block). The old structure gave far more time to expand on the worlds, characters, and events. It gave time for things to sink in, for us to grow to love the plane and its newly introduced characters. And, by having longer three set blocks, it prevented character and story fatigue by only having those around for three sets, and then nobody knew when their favored characters or planes would appear again. How many of the most popular planes are from three set blocks? Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Ravnica, Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, Alara, Zendikar, Innistrad, Theros, Tarkir. All of these are strongly and fondly remembered by many players. Now we have the breakneck one and done model. The world built, characters introduced, story started and ended, all in a single set and all in only 5 lore articles on the website. There is no time to expand on the planes, no time to get to know the local characters, no time to properly grasp the "threat" of the story. Not to mention they also try to (very poorly) link the stories together with planeswalkers literally nobody cares about any more because most of them have been written to death because they all appear _every single set_ . The Jacetice League was one of the biggest mistakes Wizards ever made for the story. (as well as permanently killing off the Eldrazi, permanently imprisoning Bolas, and soon permanently ending the Phyrexians) They're burning their biggest, longest, most alluring story threads at a crazy pace that _cannot_ be sustained. Sure, Wizards claims "we can stay on one plane for more than one set if the story needs", but they *_have never actually done so_* outside WAR block, and I bet they fully have no intention to ever do so again. They wrongly claim that three set block model caused world fatigue and made players want to leave, but I feel like that's just a complete lie. Also, with the new breakneck one and done model, how many somewhat interesting planes have already been or will soon be completely forgotten and uncared for? Kaladesh, Amonkhet, Ixalan, Eldraine, Ikoria, Kaldheim, Strixhaven. In a few years most people will forget these planes even existed. They might remember the power level issues (looking at you Kaladesh and Eldraine), but they won't remember the worldbuilding, the native characters, or the story of those sets. It's especially devastating to me to see Elspeth's story, my second favorite planeswalker of all time after Serra, being so thoroughly wasted on these one and done sets. Theros Beyond Death had literally no story thanks to the WAR book debacle, even though Elspeth's survival and return was supposed to be a _huge_ thing; New Capenna now being "Elspeth's original home plane all along" sucks, and the story of New Capenna completely skipped the _MOST IMPORTANT PART_ of Elspeth meeting Urabrask face to face. Elspeth, someone who is completely afraid of Phyrexians yet wants to annihilate them, and at the same time is their bane and the Phyrexians' primary fear. I am at least still fully invested in Elspeth and her story, I can't wait to see her confrontation with Norn, and where "the feeling of Halo in Giada felt the same as a power already within Elspeth" is going. Will she ascend to be our first Angel planeswalker? (like how Ob was our first Demon walker) Will she be satisfied with ending the Phyrexian threat, or will it be a more hollow victory? Will the extreme plot contrivance that is Calix ever catch up to her? (Calix should've never gotten a Spark, that was a complete ass-pull and one of the worst ass-pulls in all of Magic story ever) (never mind the fact I _hate_ them shoving more modern real world stuff into the game; Magic is High Fantasy, stop trying to force real world things into it. No cars, no guns, no modern day cities. Kaladesh was already pushing the line, but New Capenna and Neon Dynasty are so far over the line I can't stand the fact they exist. Yes, the Thran and older Dominaria sets had skyships and power armor and planar portals and other high artifice, but that was all at least properly High Fantasy artifice skinned. This new stuff is literal real world cars and trains and guns.)

[@JessBritvec]

I think since WOTC is responsible for the main beats of the story they need to hire more people on their creative teams. Namely one or two developmental editors to help them keep things consistent within the lore without repeating themselves and give creative directors a kick in the pants about what is good and what is not. I don’t know how much time individual authors have to use their own editors or what the situation is there, but WOTC needs someone who fits their vision and can bring all these different authors and styles together. That would help keep the story open ended with a bigger picture in mind so another set could be released on the same plane in the future. People could have mysteries to think about in between, and slowly put together clues before a big reveal, which would help with advertising. MTG is probably the most complicated game out there, I think the players can handle lore that’s a little more complex than what we have right now.

[@AetherHub]

100% agreed. Right now the individual authors have no ties to the franchise and it’s history. They do their best, but they are just writing one offs essentially

[@robbyjones9813]

Is it possible the original plans for the set were changed due to the next war of the spark event they have planned. As for the story I honestly could see elspeth pulling a Saran in that she stays having found purpose and returned home. Still I agree about the magic story quality. While I like the idea of sets not being tied to blocks I had hoped they would use that to their advantage when crafting stories and not rushing from plane to plane. Not building interest or excitement to return or return too many time.

[@AetherHub]

Yup that’s the sentiment I feel. They don’t care about the worlds they craft. Or at least it feels that way.

[@robbyjones9813]

@@AetherHub One thing that came to mind after watching the video is that the decision may have also been based on how they view the sets and how people feel about each one. Around the time of Ixalon magic wrote some articles talking about how they had a problem with the three block system in that it was too long and people were tired of the set and ready to move on by the third set. I think the move to one block sets stems from that as well as a higher priority on setting up the next major event. If true then it is a long determent and a waste to what they could be doing. One other concern for the poor writing is that magic has so many products coming out that also may play a part. regardless I feel magic needs to address this for the long term health of the game.

[@indrafides2648]

I'm on the firm belief now that wizard's stance is damn the story we need to sell packs and pander

[@chrismaxwell3001]

I agree, most of the main stories feel rushed and not fleshed out. Tibalt had 10 sagas squeezed into one chapter. Kaldheim had 10 realms. Does anyone know anything about them?

[@clairevalentine7881]

I agree with this perspective, but I honestly think that the angel cards, and a few others, are a set up to come back to New Capenna later one. I do feel the story was rushed, and that they did too much with the sideline stories and not enough with the major storyline. There is so much that they could have done, with this plane because of its broad concept. I really think a lot of it is a set up for more to come, much later on. Especially with Elspeth's involvement.

[@armoredbear9668]

I believe that the Angels are just seeds for a future return to Capenna. An Epilogue that leads to a new story

[@MackAttack-vh1vz]

Great video!

[@ty_sylicus]

Seems like one set blocks have tarnished the Magic Story.

[@christopherb501]

At this point, my only question is: how could this possibly be followed up? After this phenomenal debacle of a story, is New Capenna even worth considering as a setting worth revisiting?

[@AetherHub]

Sadly I think the answer is no. Even Elseph believed the city was doomed and just left

[@theCityBear]

Agree with the points you made.

[@cainrahl]

I'll just say it. From 3 to 1, of course there is less time for development unless extremely well charted & these obviously aren't. *edit* I loved that Angel Families idea. New Elspeth: The Diplomat card as she saved Giada & has ties to the Caberetti, smoothing the dispute in the face of the Phyrexian invasion.

[@aaronsoboleski8430]

Very nice insight.

[@Marjoss1]

They really need to return to spending two sets on a plane to develop the lore and stories more effectively. There have been so many really cool ideas and settings in the last couple years but they all feel so underbaked because there’s simply not enough time to flesh out everything properly.

[@alicemoore2036]

Thank you for the video.

[@nickd6303]

The missing angel plot if there wasn't a returning phyrexian.

[@Lithlius]

Seems like a stretch. The story ends very quick. It doesn’t take 2 fingers of forehead to fall into the coclusion that the Ángels after “ disappearing” from the statues probably came back 1 day or 1 week later to see the city and help. I don’t think they are issues. I think it could just mean we will see more from here that’s it.

[@jacobdominguez916]

Ah the consequences of including current events and ending and ending after effects in a single set 👌🏻

[@AetherHub]

It’s a bad mix lol

[@jacobdominguez916]

@@AetherHub Tis indeed, I feel like story sets always need to be two sets minimum 100% of the time lol

[@aceundead4750]

So it's too late for this, but i know how WotC could've included the angel cards without it seeming like something was wrong; by being either Artifact creatures or having the creature type of Wall or Golem to indicate they were statues during the story.

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

Elspeth hears phyrexia is back so heads home to see her old plane and find out how they survived, Vivian goes to the plane to fine elspeth but is guided by tezzeret a phyrexian double agent to urabrask the red praetor who wants the halo cause it’s what gave the Capennans the edge to defeat old phyrexia so while urabrask and tzzerwt idk order pizza Vivian meets elspeth finds out ob nixolous is there wanting to play god father they save a girl who makes halo then after bringing her home they rejoin urabrask update each other and leave… cause I guess just let the city fall to pieces I guess

[@mantidream8179]

I think this set should have been broken into 2 sets, one with no angels, or maybe only artifact angel statues that could (flavorfully) escape their prisons, and the next set could have more angels utilizing the cool art-deco esque styling, set after the majority of New Capenna's angels broke free and once again took to the skies. Metropolis angel is an awesome looking card from a design and art standpoint, it just feels placed incorrectly in time.

[@TheArcSet]

Thanks for this.

[@informedconsumer5293]

Also, this is all about the retro Roaring 2020s vibe they’re trying to bring back into the public sphere

[@tyrthesemiwise304]

I think a lot of this is them focusing too much on the Phyrexian plot line, which in my opinion could have been lengthened a bit to accommodate more storytelling for the new planes. New Capenna only gets one chance at a new impression and I feel like we didn't get a chance to see everything it had

[@henryterhune8328]

They're getting too loose on everything. They need to take their time, release fewer sets (hopefully in blocks again, tbh), and keep consistency. I noticed an angel problem in Kaldheim too - they had mono-black angels. Angels, which have been defined in the lore as beings of compressed white mana given form and sentience.

[@juliahenriques210]

Yes! I concur. I don't believe the story team is to blame here. There's always the sense of loads of lore that never gets explored. You know how it is. Give a lore team enough space and they'll make tons and tons of stories out of anything. The thing is Wizards isn't giving them that space. Why? That seems to be the pressing question from a Vorthos' standpoint. As another showdown with Phyrexia draws ever closer, we can only hope they let the lore team loose to avoid another huge anticlimax.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

I agree, I don't think the story team is at fault. We haven't spent more then 1 set on a plane, excluding the three Ravnica sets leading up to War of the Spark, since Dominaria in 2018. Wizards is moving at too fast a pace from world to world that it's impossible for the story team to really develop it, and it also makes it harder on the card design team to fit what should be two or three sets worth of story onto fewer cards. And those together make it even harder for players to know what happened on a world. Like I still haven't bothered to go back and learn about what happened in the story on Ikoria, Strixhaven, or Kaldheim (apart from some very broad plot points on the latter two) just because it's more work than it's worth to get invested in a story that's done with so quickly.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

I was wondering about that too lol

[@AetherHub]

Yeah it was jank in the bad way lol

[@DrunkenPilotVideos]

Was I the only one who noticed that they made Elspeth look like Gal Gadot?

[@AetherHub]

Need to look up who that is.. lol

[@DrunkenPilotVideos]

@@AetherHub Gal Gadot is the actress who somewhat recently played Wonder Woman

[@WhatisAPaladin]

Gotta have Angels in every set for the people who cant rub 2 brain cells together to be creative

[@galactuskev]

I used to be pretty involved in the lore. I have dropped off entirely. I stopped after war of the spark. War of the spark had good set up but was just okay.

[@FioreCiliegia]

In my experience as a writer when a company doesn’t value your story much you tend to get a division between writers paid poorly giving poor results and those who love the story so they overwork themselves to provide without proper compensation…

[@DStrormer]

I feel like this is just further consequence of MtG design moving into these no-blocks style. It's theoretically good for the consistency of the game design and it's definitely good for sales (which is why it won't be going anywhere anytime soon), but it devalues the storyline all but completely. At this point I almost wish WotC would just outsource the story to freelancers and make the card sets independently. At least then the story wouldn't be so much an afterthought. I really miss the old days of set novels. Here's hoping the upcoming Brothers' War set gets something good.

[@bonidc6732]

Theres is an obscura angel.... WTF

[@ericjimenez4360]

Well made video. The set lore vs story lore is hurting me oof

[@StormDunakin]

I still want to know who Vivien was after in Ikoria. They kinda just vanished. Garruk got written out so fast after Eldraine... ughh... maybe they need a new creative story team... this team seems to of lost their Spark.. pun intended.

[@AetherHub]

I would love to join them even as just an enthusiast.

[@SlavkosTell]

Staff still thinks they have blocks for cards and story xD

[@jetdonovan2869]

What if the angels revolted against the crime families by using the wedge color combinations? The five organisations all while vying for power against the others. Some forming a police force while others fighting for the civilians, etc.

[@chewiecheshire7973]

I disagree, I think the release of the angels was a good ending for this arc of New Capenna, but over all the story was rushed. I think New Capenna would have been better if it was released in two blocks. The first would keep most of what was shown in the original New Capenna set with maybe a few more details on the city life and what Elspeth thinks of this new part of her home that she never knew. The first block would be world building but the plot would end at the Carabretti party massacre, where Elspeth escapes with Giada and finds Ob NIxilis is making a grab for power. The next set should have been the aftermath of the Carabretti party and Giada's escape. The Carabretti's basically reveal they have this girl that can make infinite halo and now she's missing, so now every gang is fighting on the streets searching for her, hoarding halo, and doing whatever they can to destroy the other gangs. Giada, Elspeth, and Vivien go into hiding and work to stop Ob Nixilis. I think the story should have made it clear that Giada's sacrifice was the thing that released the angels, this surge of pure magical energy breaking the prisons of her brothers and sisters, cutting off all the halo supplies of the city. I agree that there should have been some commentary on what will happen to Capenna now that angels are back, but it works with just having the angels freed. The city was corrupt and on the brink of destruction, but now the literal embodiments of goodness have returned, its uplifting. Any detail into what happens when the angels are in New Capenna can be saved for a new block, its like how Emrakul being trapped in Innistrad's moon didn't come into play until Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow. Also a small note, I know a lot of people complained how it is hinted that Elspeth might be an angel which goes against angels not being able to be planeswalkers, but one of the cards that is centered around Giada adresses this somewhat; it says something like "Giada felt something that was buried deep within her all along" or something like that when she turns into a complete angel. It might be that in new Capenna angels can be born from mortals in the same way that planeswalkers are made. There is also that one angel card that says "no new angels have been made" implying that angels can be created. Perhaps only the pure of heart can become an angel which would explain why new angels were made in the demon gangster crime city until Giada. Elspeth may be a person who has the potential to become a full angel, but her planeswalker spark ignited before her Angel spark did.

[@mega2009man]

This had been a very messy "roundup" Ikoria was the worst but this comes pretty close. A real rushed ending with Mcguffins and forced resolutions. Looks like they created an ending without the build up

[@Wyattbw09]

I think time has now bourn out that you can’t tell a quality story with these stand alone sets. There is not enough space in a dozen or so paragraphs to tell the story in a sensical and reflect the story being told in the cards.

[@alanyuan8565]

I like the lore

[@andresperez7476]

What does your blue shirt mean? 😔😁😘

[@mattmill987]

The set was better than the story. Everything felt rushed.

[@AetherHub]

I will say they do make a great product still. I just wish they put as much effort (or even half that effort) into the story elements

[@jonhu4127]

The lore in this set is too protracted. It feels like there were supposed to be more parts to the main story that were cancelled to focus on baldur's gate. Really a pity that the true conclusion was cut

[@informedconsumer5293]

Do you mean epilogue? Pretty sure you don’t mean prologue every time you said the word. Concerning the cards and story, I listened to you convey Crimson Vow and Neon Dynasty. However, I didn’t care to hear NCP’s story. Guess I’m right to skip

[@akselhansen304]

Generally the world building has been completely scrapped lately which makes these worlds and settings feel incredibly shallow and meh

[@MrSirbra]

Wanting a grand story but getting what we get is hardly a problem. Do you feel this way every time you watch TV series? Things aren't always flesh out 100% because it leave hooks for later. We might get a plane wide set and find out the plane is the location of capenna. Idk man, this seems petty criticism and misses the point. Halo is a weapon against phyrexia, it comes from angels, elspeth has bigger fish to fry than post angel release capenna, and the prolong isn't important to the story. Could it make it more well rounded, maybe, but why can't they visit that again later? Should they have gone into the angel, the revolution, the outcome, the *this*, and then *that*, oh and then *this*! Let just keep going and never leave the plane and tell the story for the next 1000 years here so you can get some closure or more interesting stories about the world. Also you black and white, cut and dry critique is rather annoying and I would say offensive. Halo isn't gone, the supply is cut off. The angels could have stayed to repair or scout while the other leave to regroup. Sure some want suffering, and others are observing. I don't see why they can't have angels I'm a set because they didn't have fleshed out post release stories. Just my opinion.

[@newnamesameperson397]

Mtg story overall has progressively gotten worse since khans. My breaking point was war of the spark which they tried to hype up only to make it inconsequential in the end. I know they are trying to do something in the vain of the urza saga but the way they are going about it is wrong. I can tell you for a fact the reason why the story is so disjointed is because they have a revolving door or writers or no writers in the case of theros beyond whatever. If they hired a couple as permanent staff and ensured they were knowledgeable of the lore mtg could have a great story, in fact the Nicol bolas plot had lots of potential. If they had of just stuck with jace and followed him about instead of getting sidetracked with eldrazi and all that other stuff it could of been good. It's a mess and when they try to focus in on something they rush it because there are now 50 other plots going on that they try to mash together. Look back at the urza saga, it was relatively focus yeah there was side stuff but it wasn't distracting and suddenly became the new plot. After urzas story concluded and there were the sets like timespiral and cold snap and ravinica that told contained stories. Then lorwyn happens and new characters are introduced, post mending planeswalkers. The following block, alara has one of them as a main character and he's facing off against Nicol bolas but then...man I guess the story had problems even back then. Ajani beats Nicol bolas and the dragon pulls a skeletor. Then comes zendikar...and more disjointed story, okay now the eldrazi are a thing and all that jace stuff happened in the background. Moving on, back to mirrodin and the phyrexians returned but are less monstrous and more force of nature (that's my opinion, yawgmoth isn't leading them no one is the came from the goo and are just doing what instincts tell them) honestly it ends on a cliff hanger which is just left the9for a decade....boy thinking back on this as a lore nut the story post lorwyn has been a disjointed mess which they are now mashing together to do a marvel superhero thing with and I hate it. If I wrote the story it would be focus, maybe hints are dropped about upcoming stuff but I wouldn't be jumping around so much. If I had of wrote it things would be like this, jace and Liliana vs Nicol bolas, nissa and chandra vs the eldrazi, ajani, Gideon, and elspeth vs the phyrexians. I'm rambling now but I hope you can understand my points

[@danielbretado7660]

Capenna lore has promise but is a mess. The story spotlight cards dont happen.

[@uiuiuiseraph]

It wasn't about logic. It was about girl power! /facepalm

[@Case2_0]

First Edit: Second :/

[@AetherHub]

Close my friend. So so close

[@Audiot4pe]

Flavor should never trump the fact that Magic is a trading card game first and foremost. It would be nice to have a fleshed out story, but if the staff writing the stories is taking forever that is only going to hold back the game as a whole.

[@AetherHub]

I agree. But let’s be real… they can afford a competent story team.