We gotta talk about the Planeswalkers in this set

[@MagicArcanum]

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[@danalbert7166]

The only thing easier than putting Sire of the Seven Deaths in your deck is to like and subscribe to Magic Arcanum.

[@Onattamato]

So smooth

[@Frankenstein3r]

not surprised in the slightest to see this is the top comment. Well played sir.

[@RandomMagnum]

Insulting red's intelligence like they aren't furiously counting to 20 every game

[@MagicArcanum]

I thought they just count to three, seven times? (The ideal red deck just hits you with a full hand of Lightning Bolts, no?)

[@derrickallen8138]

@@MagicArcanum Red go boom

[@joshualoiacono5488]

*trying to

[@Maldin22]

As a red player, I did not unsubscribe, but I am having trouble counting to seven.

[@rennac3152]

As a black player, it’ll tell you it gets boring past counting to anything more than 13

[@c9bepis939]

i thought the whole point of red is counting to 20, am i doing it wrong?

[@rennac3152]

@ tell that to the disgusting life gain decks

[@lycanthropic6474]

Hello from the tip of the comments, a silent fan of many only discovering you recently, thank you from all your work. Only recently discovered the hobby

[@MagicArcanum]

Welcome aboard!

[@Atlasbr001]

Poor garruk, he was my favorite, now forgotten

[@CenJohan]

Damn there’s more love for Garruk in these comments than from WOTC in the past 5 years. Bring him back WOTC!

[@TheSushiandme]

I miss the lore 😢😢

[@MattTorres]

We still have lore! It's just spiderman lore

[@rennac3152]

@@MattTorres wish it was the same quality. Oh how we have lost our golden era in lore

[@mega2009man]

Handily this also confirms that Liliana (and Vivien) kept her spark. Personally, I believe there's no point in the spark anymore now that everyone and their grandmother can walk to others planes. It's at least interesting to learn who kept theirs Also I'll never forget Garruk since WE NEVER LEARNED ANYTHING ABOUT HIM. I'd sooner forget the archer who only existed for Bolas

[@bennimarru]

The Omenpaths are making planeswalkers a bit redundant since now, technically everyone and their dog is a planeswalker lmao. I doubt The Dragonstorm is going to do anything about the omenpaths or even Jace, Vraska, and Loot.

[@TastySnackies]

The Vivien push confirms how bad WOTC is at creating characters that actually resonate with players, rather than checking off arbitrary numbers that please the Human Resources and Legal departments.

[@thunderryu0494]

That's like saying everyone has a private jet because commercial airliners exist... Yes, omenpaths allow anyone to travel from plane to plane but they exist like highways. You have to start and end wherever the omenpath dictates. This is FAR from the same thing as literally warping around at will. Desparked planeswalkers are also clearly weaker than their former selves so it's not like the spark itself is completely worthless outside of shifting between planes. I've seen this extraordinarily reductionist take a few times now and it's just silly to think Omenpaths are even comparable to actually having a spark.

[@mega2009man]

@thunderryu0494 Not even remotely when you see everyone getting "exectly" where they want to go. The Omenpaths were supposed to be dangerous, random, and unpredictable. And now they've created a literal effing racetrack through three different planes!? Oko setting up a meeting point on a specified plane!? Sorry, no. Just because planeswalkers can walk whenever they want doesn't make them relevant, nor does it balance the multiverse while having more travelers. Which was the point to desparking Believe what you want, but your argument isn't convincing. Its not even compelling

[@k9commander]

@@mega2009man Please give me two examples of a non-planeswalker going exactly where they want to go. Unless 'where they want to go' is the other side of the Omenpath. I admit there is a problem with the writing. The problem is not with the Omenpath. The writing tells us what is happening on the plane we're visiting. It doesn't tell us how the people got there. We know Kellan went from Eldraine to Thunder Junction. We know he went to other planes along the way. We don't know if he traveled to other planes in between. Is there a path connecting Ixalan with Ravnica? Or did he travel somewhere else before getting to Ravnica? The story doesn't tell us. It just picks up with him on Ravnica. What would help us both is for WotC to release an Omenpath map. Then we would be able to see how easy or hard it is to travel through the Omenpaths.

[@dorsidhion81]

Played a draft on Arena and my opponent dropped two Sire of Seven Deaths one turn after the other. That was a rough one.

[@pailofawesome]

If Sire of Seven Deaths becomes "the most popular commander card", I'll be shocked. Wandering Archaic was touted as that when it released and it never took off.

[@MagicArcanum]

Wandering Archaic did get hyped, I remember, but it's more of a utility card than a true threat. Sire has a brutal combination of keywords. First Strike and Vigilance means it can attack into almost anything, and then with reach, it can block dragons and live, too. The 7 points of life gain is massive, even in a format where you start with 40, and it can't even be chump blocked thanks to menace and trample. Outside of very focused kindred decks, I think Sire is a threat every player is happy to play, even if you just use it to protect yourself from opposing Sires!

[@Theorak]

Lilliana's printing could be explained as chase rare, this is the most expensive and commander relevant version of her.

[@thunderryu0494]

but then why did we get this version of Ajani? xD oh well, maybe next time, cat dad.

[@clasherking4528]

I'm sad garruk is still nowhere to be seen...... If you're going to kill him off at least give him a fitting death, he's been through too much for them to just write him off

[@breadgehog]

We do know Ugin gets an appearance in the Tarkir set based off of the MagicCon previews, so I'm curious to see what's going on there; whether Bolas slipped out through an omenpath, or Bolas lost his spark and Ugin just doesn't need to watch him (the infinitely funnier option to me). In either case though, Vivien has a potential plot point insofar as everyone but Jace thought both dragons died, so having that be upended is a source of story for her.

[@tlblitz42]

Chandra looks to me like a deliberate attempt to catch the newer/more obscure sides of red: copying things, card advantage, and how it plays control. She’s really analogous to her Awakened Inferno version as a high-cost walker that ticks down for removal or up for inevitability. She’s also a viable capstone for red decks that accelerate their mana through stockpiling treasure and dropping in artifacts. She’ll help find your finisher if you don’t have it, or make extra copies if you do The Sire really doesn’t strike me as standard-relevant right now. In a world with Atraxa and Valgavoth and Progenitus I think a creature that doesn’t do anything on entry and only has soft protection in the form of a life ward is lower on the list. It feels like an obligatory acknowledgment that the Eldrazi exist before moving on. Keywords-matter cards like Kathril love it, but it’s just not as impactful as the current bar for creatures at the mana value. Perhaps it’ll be better-positioned after rotation (or if we do indeed get a big-mana Chandra deck)

[@pvtpain66k]

A new Ajani that gives more +1 counters and lifelink would have been better, I think. Especially with the 2-color synergies they're going with this set. edit: I would love it if the main story had "ANTAGONIST" trying to get the power of Ulamog by capturing Avacyn's moon, it breaks open in the process & Ulamog goes bat-shit trying to get to the other 2 big Eldrazi, trashing planes as it uses the Omenpaths to reach them. Slowly reintroduce them as the new big bad, and have a new Eldrazi fight in 5 years.

[@Kokonutzlz]

Emrakul*

[@Awsomeman328]

10:55 Time to play Big Red with 1-2 copies of this 7 mana Chandra card in Standard for the next 3-5 years just out of playful spite! (Personally, I would have preferred the 6 mana version that was uncounterable & had a +1 to gave each opponent an emblem that damages them each turn.) I'm also including that Eldrazi card as another 7 mana card to drop onto the table, also a little bit out of playful spite, but also b/c Eldrazi are my favorite creature type.

[@Kokonutzlz]

I like how everyone agreed to call the archetype Big Red. I hadn't ever heard it before and I built a deck with 8-mana Ugin and Drakuseth. Using Irencrag Feat to power them out earlier. I called the deck "Big Red"

[@Awsomeman328]

@@Kokonutzlz I mean, all "Big Red" is is just Mono-Red Control (though varying flavors could be more Mid-Range, Combo, or Turbo-Ramp) with the goal of playing the long game and usually "Going Big" with some sort of mana expensive game ending threat, rather than the super fast & aggressive playstyle of using only 1-4 cost cards most people are familiar with. This is honestly my favorite way of playing Mono-Red b/c it flies in the face of expectations & the first few turns tend to trip people up w/ them expecting the game, win or lose, to be over by turn 5 or 6.

[@Sondreign]

I think the Eldrazi will be in the Space Opera set, with a focus on outer space and the blind eternities we’re likely to see some out there.

[@dargossss]

The Garruk erasure is real. Also, I thought that Vivien was one of the many that lost her spark?

[@MagicArcanum]

Foundations exists outside the ongoing story, so I wouldn't take her presence here to confirm or deny the status of her spark.

[@saitamagotchi44]

I don't mean to make it political or w/e else but Vivien is one of the indestructible girl-bosses of modern magic. She's been lined up as the Nissa replacement since she debuted and has been put in a few sets even though she doesn't really do much in them. IMO it's pretty clear that WOTC have plans for her or at least want her to be a thing and seen as the face of green, unlike Garruk for whatever reason. I'd be very surprised if they desparked her.

[@gammarayrjs]

I'm a fan of the Lili pick, it's what she is remembered for, and most criticized for now

[@lanibentz9976]

To be fair to sire, it is just a tuned up Fleshgorger. I’ve actually had the discussion with my friends whether or not sure is that much explosively better than fleshgorger, because fleshgorger seems to be seeing less play by the day anyway. So I’m optimistic that it’ll just be good, and not format warping

[@MagicArcanum]

I think the vigilance and first strike make Sire leaps better. It can attack (and not be chumped, thanks to menace) and gain you 7 life, then still be able to block (and with reach it can swat down anything) and with first strike you will definitely lose your attacking creature, so you can't really go over it, you can't go through it, and you can't go around it (whatever damage your unblocked other attackers would do is almost certainly erased from the lifelink) So yeah I get that on paper they look the same, but this combination of mechanics make Sire a much bigger problem, in and out of combat.

[@lanibentz9976]

@ fair enough

[@Rococorico]

About Liliana, my guess is it was just the best reprint opportunity for a popular card that is SO context specific no other set could do outside supplemental products, and with Veil already in Standard, almost every other option would've been either lackluster (options given in the video and more) or a misleading mistake in representing what a Black Planeswalker can/should do (Onyx, Dark Realms or Last Hope).

[@peterdafox]

Its nice to have a place where i can grieve the lore in peace.

[@legodragon1999]

Always a pleasure to get Magic Arcanum videos, especially during the slow lore season. I'm sure the recent announcements have been disconcerting like for other lore channels, so the optimism here is appreciated (with a respectful seasoning of snark). Not sure what the best video to ask this on should be, but if you could write or consult on a Magic story, what direction would you take it in? What planes would you like to explore and which characters do you think would be a good fit for more love?

[@MagicArcanum]

That's a very hard question to answer since the story is often driven by the sets they are designing and the worlds they want to create or revisit, but in general, I like Magic stories best when they focus on a small group of complex characters dealing with a simple premise. Jace and Vraska are trapped on Ixalan until they recover an artifact. That's two people who previously tried to kill each other, now forced to work together. I'd try to find more things like that; Liliana takes a group of Strixhaven students on a field trip and things go wrong, or Vivien and Kaya hunt for whoever is responsible for cracking the sky of Kaya's home plane (a thread they've teased but not really talked about for YEARS!)

[@darkmindaustin]

I think Wizards has no idea what it is doing anymore with their planeswalkers. But thank you for this video!

[@MagicArcanum]

I am starting to agree, and you're welcome!

[@goncaloferreira6429]

Interesting video. Ajani: i lke this card, it is a solid one and quite fiting for a core set. While the +1 one has been powercrept the other 2 abilities are still relevant. The minus 3 is is a powerplay that can end games out of nowhere ad the ultimate is fun to pull of with doubling season. I was shocked to lear that Ajani is still alive (and with a spark). He is a big example of a character that was around for so many years and got so many cards but but never resulted in anything. Kaito: very good card, representing n investement in a new generation of players and one that presents blue as more that just a boring control colour. Bur where does that leaves Jace, the "face"of magic for so many years? Liliana: a chase card for the set and the reprint of an expensive card? Also, Magic seem to be lacking black planeswalkers. What other character could they have used besides Lily? Chandra: another chandra card and another with a boring name. Kids will like it and oops all chandras deck too. Tha premisse for aether drift just tells me even more to keep away from that set. Vivien: a boring card for boring character? Garruk, another character that never got a climax.

[@MagicArcanum]

Other possible black planeswalkers include Angrath (he's black/red historically, but we've seen other two-color characters get reduced to one for the needs of a set) or Ashiok (who we just got in mono black for Wilds of Eldraine) or Davriel (who we haven't seen in forever!) or Sorin (usually w/b but we've seen him be just black before. Actually using him here would have done wonders for supporting the other vampire cards in the set!) or even Vraska (though she's not a planeswalker at the moment and I see how that would be a confusing message)

[@goncaloferreira6429]

@@MagicArcanum My lore is a bit rusted so correct any mistakes ahed. Angrath: as far as i know he is a retired character, one thta got what he wanted isnt used since war of the spark where if he had any relevant role i dont remember it. I dont feel he is quite a black character either. Ashiok: An ok possible choice and an active character. Davriel: wasnt he created by Brandon Sanderson for the novel he wrote for MTG?a partnership hasbro messed up? Can they use it? Sorin: The best alternative choice but one more character that as far as i am concerned was not used to full potential. There are vampires in Foundation and his original card would be a cool. Going back to Liliana: aa an old player no other planeswalker has as much weight as Lily so if the idea is to make old player to buy foundations she is by far the best choice. And i guess from the new player perspective that is also true as that War of the spark trailer still is the best add mtg ever made and new players may have the "i know that character" experiece when opening a pack.

[@Frankenstein3r]

Sire definitely isn't a card I'm happy about printing in general, but as someone who's tried to make Soulflayer work in pioneer, the card makes me considering looking to see if I can make that deck work again (even if it's probably worse than greasefang in terms of creature semi-combo decks). Just hoping my friend Lotleth Troll is playabale again.

[@Merc1987]

Tbh my only problem with the set is WHERE IS GARRUK WOTC? But I get it, Large Man with Large Axe would be like Guts in Berserk, would solve too many problems too fast. I just want my large boi back

[@BahamutZerodragon]

honestly Ajani is still my favorite cards.

[@rennac3152]

Even the sleeper agent? 😏

[@BahamutZerodragon]

@@rennac3152 well i'm still salty about the Ajani being a Sleeper Agent but yes even the sleeper agent ajani

[@rennac3152]

@ we in the phyrexian fans are still kind of salty he was freed from being a cyborg cultist, so fair point

[@BahamutZerodragon]

@@rennac3152 I am happy that he was freed from the Phyrexian grasp.

[@Billchu13]

Ajani got better! Don't worry! Looks like historical versions of the planeswalkers, and not their current forms.

[@johanandersson8252]

No Garruk love

[@Shinsoku99]

On Arena playing Standard I have yet to encouter Sire. As a Domain player I still prefer Atraxa and if an opponent drops this, I just use Sunfall.

[@MagicArcanum]

Well that's great, but Foundations has only been live for about a week so people might not own Sires yet, and once they do get copies they'll be able to play with them long, long after Atraxa (and the domain archetype) rotate out of the format. So I guess what I'm saying is: give it time. I'm predicting a lot of Sire over the next five years, not necessarily the next five months.

[@АйдоралСмертестойкий]

Ok, hear me out. That may be an unpopular take but for a core set (which foundations kinda is) it might be a good idea to pick all 5 walkers in a relatively same manacost, say 3-5 mana.

[@SeanteBrown]

I got kaito in my Yuriko deck the second he came out

[@anthonyotlang1872]

I wish they reprinted Ajani Adversary of Tyrants tbh. Would have been better.

[@anxiety_elemental]

As the only mayael player left on the face of the earth, I hate how big creatures have gotten. interesting tech cards like scourge of Kher ridges just aren't remotely worth playing when bigger creatures do so much more for much cheaper.

[@SeanteBrown]

Lilliana is the OG in the hood wit glasses and sweater tellin kids how they use to be outchea but now they know better and that they need to change their lives around 😂 facts ✊🏾💪🏾

[@nik700]

Yes, Ajani is a dated design... buuuut double strike+flying just wins games. Plus, 3mv is the sweet spot of white permanents. Sadly, Kaito costs the same and he gives evasion plus looting, so I do think that Kaito is gonna outshine Ajani in every way outside of color restriction.

[@acciaio]

Uhhh a new magic arcanum video! Hello

[@Narakiomal]

I honestly can't stand this Garruk erasure by WOTC, it's super frustrating and annoying. Specially so since Vivian sucks and is less interesting than a salted cracker lol. Also Siren is fine, its just a big Timmy card, those are fun and cool and hype (plus its super on theme for the Eldrazi to be like that).

[@jollaffle]

I agree that Garruk deserved better, but I'm sitting here thinking about Basri Ket. What's *that* guy up to?

[@ajh22895]

Garruk is introducing him to weed.

[@TitoRohwedder-my1nh]

Hare apparent is going to be "that" common which shares the same frequency as a mythic, and will be overpriced. I want to get excited about the rares or mythics, especially darksteel colossus, but play boosters ruin any chance at all.

[@THMCTerracraft2]

I see Sire of the seven deaths as a cool card for now, but it makes so many decent 7 cost cards look like garbage.

[@Davide6898]

As a red player... there aren't numbers beyond 4

[@Jynx316]

Sooooo... Foundations is the newest version of the Editions. Got it.

[@Zarkonem]

Sire of 7 deaths huh? I think i have an idea for a new deck...

[@sandwichboy1268]

There's a couple cards that I'm not looking forward to people trying to play for 5 whole years

[@k.schuffs4657]

Sire seems far worse than other reanimation targets in standard, so I doubt it will see any play.

[@MagicArcanum]

There might be better targets (for now at least) but my issue with Sire is that every deck can still run it, even if they're not trying to reanimate it. Mono green can ramp to it (with Llanowar Elves, no less), black and white can reanimate it but can also just hold it in hand in case the game goes long. Blue can play "draw, go" and use it as a finisher (even flashing it in with help from High Fae Trickster) While reanimation "targets" like Atraxa or Valgavoth don't fit into those shells. So I think we will see Sire a LOT, by virtue of it being colorless. Even a "big red" deck that tries to play the new seven mana Chandra might as well run one or two copies of Sire, if they've got ways to generate extra mana and want a threat that the opponent won't be able to answer (because their life will probably be lower than 7 already and they can't pay ward)

[@k.schuffs4657]

@@MagicArcanum I think you're overrating it as a ramp payoff/endgame finisher. 7 mana for something that even has the potential to go 1-for-1 with a removal spell isnt really what you want to be playing in standard. Decks that even consider something like sire probably wont be attacking their opponents life totals enough for the ward to be significant. Cityscape leveler is another big colorless creature that can go in every deck that has a lot fewer weaknesses than sire does, and its seen almost zero play in standard.

[@ReadyAimFire_]

Chandra 7 mana wtf. Red aggro decks dont even have 7 mountains in entire deck.

[@saitamagotchi44]

It's not even like you can reanimate planeswalkers easily (squirming emergence does it but not anything else in standard anyway) otherwise she could be useable that way. Honestly that card is a "right, i can forget this exists" type of card.

[@sailordaigurren8225]

I'm honestly really annoyed that the planeswalkers in the set aren't all new designs.

[@WhatMyr]

Is there an actually justified reason Garruk is being ignored?

[@MagicArcanum]

The last time Garruk appeared in a story he pledged to hunt down Oko and get justice for Eldraine, while also serving as protector of Will and Rowan Kenrith as they explored the multiverse when their spark ignited. Since then, we have seen Will, Rowan, and Oko all again, but we have no idea where Garruk is, or what he's doing to hunt Oko or protect the twins. He really did just kind of vanish from the storyline.

[@k9commander]

I disagree with your assessment of Liliana. Dreadhorde General is the foundation of the person she is today. She turned the army against Bolas. She was willing to sacrifice herself to stop Bolas. This is her going from selfish necromancer to hero.

[@rennac3152]

True she made her classic underdog zombie maneuver. Yet she also was ok with letting her self end up back in the very situation she worked to get out of. Back under a contractor, back working under bolas, having a master again. Letting thousands die at her hands before finally ending all that chaos

[@k9commander]

@rennac3152 I don't understand what you are trying to say. Her falling under Bolas was BEFORE War of the Spark. WotS was her turning point. It's the foundation of who she is now.

[@rennac3152]

@@k9commander what I’m saying is, her entire character before was earning her freedom. Then ended up a pawn again. She was still pretty selfish after war of the spark

[@atilacirano5905]

nope we, REAL RED PLAYERS, laughed hard we don't need to count to 7 xD we already won before that. or lost. nothing in between xD

[@The808andrew808]

Can you do marvel secret lair lore next??? It sold out in 5 min and is no 2000$ for the entire set!

[@brunosoares1500]

Quit the game for real at Bloomburrow and unsubscribed from every Magic channel except this one, that even without oficial lore cooks more than WTC.

[@_awkwardmf4564]

Sire was the first card I drafted from foundations. It felt real good.

[@brianwalters8641]

I skipped Foundations. Not sure why it exists?

[@MagicArcanum]

It's this generation's version of a Core Set. It will be legal in standard for the next five years, and it gave WotC a safe place to print staple cards like Negate and Giant Growth without having to work them into the more flavorful expansions (or reprint them multiple times to keep them legal, anyway)