What Happens in Innistrad: Crimson Vow?

[@nathanl8622]

So Kaya's role in the story is tracking down and freeing the spirits trapped throughout the manor? That's... not a bad way to justify her card being a "Geist Hunter" that wants to create a bunch of spirit tokens.

[@rennac3152]

It makes sense why she’s here on this plane, not really a Viking plane tho

[@kumbertjoehl-lee8898]

I just wish she'd actually create tokens on her own..

[@UndeadForsaken]

That final bit about Sorin's awful sword was perfect.

[@WaallyOne]

The sorin impersonation 10/10. It's exactly what I imagine him sounding like

[@marethyuplays544]

The line about the ceremonial sword is so good! Love the delivery you gave it

[@ZonkRulz666]

Would you say it … slayed you?

[@obadijahparks]

It's okay Sorin, Edgar lost his red mana. You can beat him.

[@nik700]

I liked this re-visit to Innistrad. I feel like the story was well divided into two, and we're getting close to almost no disconnection between writing and spotlight cards

[@arnelarroyo2032]

I've read the weekly chapters and the sidestories, and yet its somehow more enjoyable when you're retelling it

[@bryanlim9817]

this

[@heyitspravus]

Something you didn't really touch on that I personally loved was the self reflection in the blood pit for Sorin. It's the confirmation of Sorin's own self doubt after everything that we've been waiting to see and hear about. Granted it wasn't the longest paragraph or the most high quality of writing but I still liked it nonetheless.

[@muteussouza]

I'm glad to see WOTC finally begin to care about the lore after so much time of bad writing, after Ixalan things derailed hard, and this return to the two parts set is very welcome too. Thanks for your continuous great work and care for the plot and lore, this kind of content not only helps get people interest in this aspect of the game but also os useful to show the company the fanbase DO care about it.

[@sevranararis7704]

I'm disappointed in how they treated Edgar in this set. He feels more like a hired goon than a brilliant, millennia-spanning, vampire lord.

[@goncaloferreira6429]

agree

[@BlazingSerenade]

The man is under a trance after being dead lol why would he be powerful at all

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Naw it was perfect! Olivia is the (relatively) young, gold-digging new wife of Edgar, and Sorin is mad that daddy loves her more than him, and hates that she's going to squander his inheritance. Edgar even LOOKS like that sickly old man in his card to match this version.

[@shanedixon6627]

I'm ready for an animated version of this game. This story seems like it would be a great episode.

[@thatepicwizardguy]

Honestly it’d just be a horrible clusterfuck unless they stuck to one world but because planeswalkers are generally the big main characters it’d just be a horrible incoherent mess to MOST people watching, even many mtg players. All that and wotc are terribly inconsistent about storytelling and the stuff they put out (magic legends is only one example of how poorly they handle their own IP sometimes.) they can barely make a card game let alone a show lol

[@bryanlim9817]

this

[@donb7519]

there was at least a netflix show in the work but i havent heard any word since the pandemic begun

[@placeholdername3818]

@@thatepicwizardguy They'd have to retcon a lot to make it a consistent story. As long as they keep the general main points of the story the same. I wouldn't mind some minor retconing

[@TheAweDude1]

I think it would be cool to do more "flashback" sets that deal with events that happened in the past. There's already going to be a Brother's War set, so the Great Mending, the life and times of Taysir, the rise and fall of the Thran empire, and so on could all make interesting sets.

[@Morte_n]

The Mending kinda had it's own set or even block. Time Spiral was all about it. One could argue that Antiquities was The Brothers War but the story wasn't that much a focus back then. Also I think that the Modern Horizons sets are kinda “flashbacks“? They go to different planes we visited and different times in those.

[@JCetto.2612]

Oh... My... God! This video is something else... Innistrad is my favorite plane and vampires are my favorite tribe... But the best of the best... that impression of Sorin is PRICELESS! Thank you, Ryan! You just cheered my whole weekend! P.S.: your autograph has just reached 25 dollars in my book.

[@maxhoffenberg9354]

Personally, I was a little disappointed by the survival of Olivia Voldaren. Considering that Edgar is awake now, and likely far more powerful, as well as the existence of Anje, Olivia isn't really needed anymore. To me it feels like she's escaped a lot of the consequences of her own actions, and I would have liked to see her getting smited or something

[@recurvestickerdragon]

makes you wonder how long edgar's gonna be awake for, on what little juice she gave him. and relatedly, if her influence over him will break down and lead to a betrayal

[@aceundead4750]

Maybe during another visit Emrakul will release itself from the moon and decide that in order to allow Innistrad to become ready for the Eldrazi Olivia must die and we get a weird twisted version of Eldritch Moon except with the Eldrazi being on the side of the Gatewatch. I want my spaghetti monsters back.

[@bryanlim9817]

this

[@joe.5103]

@@aceundead4750 God I hope not. I’ve been eldrazi’d out since Eldritch moon. Maybe if it’s like another 5 years from now. I would much rather go back to Khans block then another eldrazi/innistrad set again.

[@aceundead4750]

@@joe.5103 i dont care when it happens just as long as i get the Eldrazi back. Honestly a standard legal Tarkir would be awesome because it was way out of standard when i started playing

[@huntercluver9267]

The addition of mentioning the phyrexians as well as in kaldheim we saw Vorinclex is a good amount of foreshadowing for possible invasions

[@davenirline]

I bet they're gearing them up to be the next biggest baddies. Nicol Bolas is alone. Phyrexians are a whole race.

[@thegarunixking1101]

That Sorin impression was on point

[@obadijahparks]

Time?

[@trumpets101]

I'd like to see your recap of the side stories. You already covered The Devouring House due to the sponsorship of Wizards (NICE!), but I really enjoyed the side stories about Torens and Jacob Hauken. Jacob Hauken's story also involves Eloise, the UB secondary commander from the Midnight Hunt preconstructed deck. Secondly, I like when you've done the "Who is X planeswalker" videos and your live action role casting. Who would you cast as Arlinn and Sorin?

[@drosc1]

That last send off of "maybe we'll see a Phyrexian invasion across the multiverse" aged really well--time of writing March '23! Didn't expect to get a teaser to the current expansion when I'm on my 20th lore video, but hey when it ages well, it ages well! Love the series Ryan & Nicole, quality work!

[@MagicArcanum]

😎

[@helgemeff5555]

Yes, the Lore-Mages are back delivering spicey historic Gossip.

[@zvinomnomnom157]

Thank you for wrapping up Crimson Dawn storyline so detailed base on the cards released. What excited me is the debuting of one of the lesser bloodline from Edgar Markov's sons which is "The Domnathi"! I hope in the future that Runo Stromkirk and Anje Falkenrath rise up to the occasion along with the introductions of the lesser vampiric clan now that Olivia and Edgar temporarily left the spotlight after surrendering the moonsilver key.

[@mega2009man]

Team Tovolar all the way, I won't forget the dishonorable attack from Arlinn, but seeing her go into wolf form did put a smile on my face. You can't deny its advantages 🐺😁 strange though he showed up at all Just goes to show werewolves are always the better ally than vampires

[@DragonxFlutter]

Ryan hints at an upcoming war with the Phyrexians. I personally wouldn’t count on seeing that too soon, considering we still recently had both Nicol Bolas’ War of the Spark _and_ the return of the Eldrazi. If Kaldheim and Crimson Vow are any indication, we’re going to have cameos and references for the foreseeable future. However, I do believe that’s the next major Multi Planar event.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

That plus we know the planes and sets for the upcoming year, and with nothing happening on New Phyrexia, we're not going to be dealing with them in-story for at least the next year. Though not unlike the mcguffin retrieval leading up to War of the Spark, it's likely we'll see more phyrexians pop up to get specific items from the planes they travel to. We know they now have the Cosmos Elixir, which has the power to turn the humans of Kaldheim into gods, and we know that at some point they found a way to travel the blind eternities. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't at least one more thing they want from one of the worlds before Karn and Teferi take the fight back to them.

[@wldnrkls]

how do you feel now

[@qwcew]

I think the Harvesttide Ritual wards off the Eternal Night for 1k years and Emrakul being sealed into the moon weakened the Ritual so that it needed to be done during Midnight Hunt/Crimson Vow.

[@MrTroxel]

I'm glad to hear Sorrin is doing literally any self reflection

[@darnellabbott335]

I just recently got back into Magic around Midnight Hunt's release, and I've been devouring any and all cool content I can find. With that said, your storytelling and enthusiasm has won me ten times over! I enjoyed both your vids covering the Innistrad two-fer, and am now subscribing to keep up with you and your work!! Many thanks for your vids, and keep being awesome! P.S. I'm echoing the sentiments in the comments that your Sorin impression was 100% perfect 😄

[@paulanderson3418]

I'm so excited to see the Phyrexians again!

[@seasnek7024]

I like it how story wise Edgar can hold off multiple powerful planeswalkers at once yet his new card can barely do anything useful haha

[@MakeVarahHappen]

I presume that the celestus existing means that like the Innistrad does have very wonky astronomical patterns, but that doesn't inherently only mean a reoccurring eternal night. Emrakul was like an earthquake causing a flood in a sea level city. It would probably happen eventually but the massive change in weather didn't help.

[@DaDunge]

5:15 Sorry what? This is Sorin Markov we're talking about right. He's an old era planeswalker. He created a demigod Angel that alone managed to gold back the vampires of the plane.

[@bamit11]

I really wish we could gotten a new Jeleva in this set. As a vampire from Innistrad, it would have been the perfect place to show up.

[@MagicArcanum]

Yeah unfortunately they were really set on only supporting two-color cards this time around and Jeleva is a three color character (traditionally, anyway.)

[@Ganjamuffins]

@@MagicArcanum Edgar was also a three color character, didn't see that stopping them.

[@MagicArcanum]

The commander card depicting Edgar (three colors) and the card depicting him in Crimson Vow (two colors) are set hundreds if not thousands of years apart. He's allowed to drop a color in that amount of time, especially since he was asleep for most of it.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Even without a card, she could have at least shown up as a character in the story. Though I also wonder if enough people even remember who she was or that she's from Innistrad? I still got confused looks when I tell people since they assume that having blue in her identity made her not of Innistrad, though less lately.

[@arnelarroyo2032]

another thing im curious about is sigarda and liesa's eventual reunion

[@marcomora4545]

The writing was beautiful, it was like reading The Lord of the Rings, the ending was a bit graceless, they left a lot unanswered like Edgar's true feelings, how Sigarda is captured, and other things. I loved that they mentioned the Phyrexians at the end, that and the recent appearance of Vorinclex in Kaldheim suggests that there might be a war against the Phyrexians coming, which has implications for the game as his cards are often very powerful.

[@aaronbravo325]

I was hoping they would finally say how sorin escaped from the wall, but I guess that's just gonna continue to be a mystery

[@anthonydelfino6171]

At this point I think it's just fair to say "A Wizards did it"

[@sirluke184]

Bro, your manorisms r fantastic. U show the perfect amount of energy in the stories u love talking about. Magic fans can truly appreciate that. 👍

[@mswartzentruber2007]

I really like Sorin. I do hope that he takes more of an active role in shaping the multiverse. That being said I like him being kinda ambiguous. He's such a Cool character.

[@JaimeAGB-pt4xl]

1- I wanted Olivia to die, and Edgar to survive while regain his awareness 2- I wonder that the status quo would be between the vampire families now without Olivia 3- Nice to see Soring continue to grow 4- We'll see what happens to the angels and werewolves

[@ottoia9126]

FUCKING IMAGINE WAKING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A WEDDING YOU'RE THE GROOM YOUR GRANDSON IS HERE

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

I don't know if this is the best recent story or just your best video.

[@felipeborban3337]

Not using Liesa to help Sigarda at the party or before when she was talking (using fists) with Sorin and do the great "ohhhhh '' reaction was such a miss...honestly the history was not bad but was kind of scooby doo-ish... Olivia: ''I would conquered everything if wasnt for the PWs and this Stupid dog-woman PW''

[@zenalias3131]

I kinda want to see a side story involving the reunion of the angel sisters, Sigarda and Liesa. Whether it is cathartic or full of verbal barbs, who knows but I'm in for it

[@placeholdername3818]

Right? I thought they were setting something up. I guess we'll never know until a few years from now.

[@Morte_n]

Isn't Liesa dead, killed by Avacyn?

[@skoogadoo]

@@Morte_n she came back in midnight hunt

[@nicklittle8399]

9:15 This sounds like a Donkey Kong fight where you WANT to get hit by the barrels haha xD

[@arrokh8928]

The whole "eternal night" thing reminds me of the story in the Lorwyn triologies and the "great Aurora". Would be nice to see the this set again..

[@cottoncandysamurai2791]

This channel is literally how I keep up with the story now 😆

[@mikkarondjamboy7877]

I was randomly watching an analyse for the "red wedding" scene from GOT when KZbin suggest me to take an eye on the amazing "crimson vow" animation, where I deeply fall inlove with olivia's eyes and nails -^^- . I'm realy thanksfull to "Magic Arcanum" to give those rich details on what is going on that big 3d animation scene. thank you a lot !

[@TheWobbinator1]

Love that you delivered that Sorin line like Solid Snake.

[@aceundead4750]

I feel like one of the few people who found the lack of Eldrazi disturbing, even though there appeared to be some cards that were still hentai'd like Drownyard Amalgam and Screaming Swarm.

[@haveiszalfaroqie1628]

Now that you mentioned it, I feel like the art on the bird horror is kind of... too specifically old-gods style horror.

[@MaxGideonActor]

@@haveiszalfaroqie1628 doesn't that card's flavor text explicitly reference the Eldrazi? If not that one, I know I read "Eldrazi" in flavor text of at least one card in this set.

[@ganchyy]

Yesssss! Been waiting for this, thanks so much for all these fantastic story videos you do!

[@davidrodriguez5721]

Just your retelling made the story sound badass. Good closure to Innistrad.

[@isaacpulido9586]

This story was awesome. This would be a cool movie. Anywho, I think that the Phyrexians will invade Innistrad and at that time Emrakul will awaken. Then it will infect them making even bigger phyrexian monstrosities. I'm not sure though if they will have influence from Emrakul being her pawns or if the Preators will still have control over the smaller phyrexians. They might just combine with Emrakul, or use her for experiments. But I think Urabrask will betray the other Praetors.

[@filthiman]

Thanks Ryan! great video as always. You've honestly made me more interested in Innistrad as a setting, stuff I'm going to use for D&D, Thanks again!

[@mcbuckets2399]

Best idea for the story: Emrakul is observing the multiverse right now and will escape the moon vault and become a phyrexian eldrazi. I will take no further questions

[@Case2_0]

Oh god, a compleated Emrakul is terrifying

[@ILikePi31415926535]

I don't know what's creepier Compleated Eldrazi or Eldritch Phyrexians...

[@Case2_0]

@@ILikePi31415926535 yes

[@htdbass]

I feel killing off Olivia would have been better now that Edgar is back. Maybe have it so Edgar drains all of Olvia's blood after she is killed, which causes him to fully awaken and gives him his spark. You can then team Nahiri and Edgar up pretty well as future gatewatch villains.

[@caseywellington4761]

I'm not the biggest fan of people just "sparking" out of nowhere, but tbh that would be such a good story. For one thing, Edgar would finally understand Spring's planeswalker perspective. For another, we'd get a new multiversal villain who lasts for more than one story, yet isn't Nicol Bolas. I really wish they'd chosen to go that way.

[@ty_sylicus]

Great video. Love the return of The Mustache Minute and laughed at the "black eyeliner" bit.

[@eliazzparra4679]

Innistrad is by far my favorite plane! And u do an amazing job of telling the storyline’s. This ending tho “will Sigarda start wearing black eyeliner” took me out 🤣🤣💀

[@artificieraustin4855]

Please cover the side stories, they're some of my favorites of your videos

[@MayBeSomething]

"Alright, being reasonable isn't going to work. Maybe violence?" - Every D&D session.

[@Partyyartyyy]

Nice to be caught up for a change and not click all the other videos I need to watch 😅😂, love the content keep it up!

[@VincentWolfeye]

Really great! Well told story. It really made me feel extra great about this return to Innistrad. Thank you for the excellent retelling ❤️

[@Jaebird88]

I can't help but hear the "Bloody Tears/Monster Dance" remixed Castlevania tracks from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during portion going over the wedding crash moment.

[@CovetedPeacock]

I couldn’t entirely tell by the end if Katilda’s spirit is embedded within the Moonsilver Key or if her spirit just inhabited it during this story, but the idea of her potentially getting tangled up with the Phyrexian plot seems like a fun idea. I’m not always a fan of the idea of non-planeswalkers hopping between planes but the restrictions on her doing so are high and the potential for her to either be an ally immune to phyresis or incredibly dangerous if compleated makes the prospect super exciting.

[@federicovergallo8066]

Finally! I was so looking forward to this one! Enjoyable as usual!

[@joshualoiacono5488]

Finally got to watch this and I'm so glad I did: thanks for making these!!

[@xcalibur3092]

Great video! Although there’s no discussion of Chandra and Adeline, which is also such an important part for Chandra’s character. Plus they’re adorable and I love how much Kaya is hardcore shipping them.

[@samhparker]

Yay!!! Been holding off reading the stories so I could watch this!

[@faerievandal]

I'm thinking that what they've been building towards is going to happen in Dominaria United next year? My guess is that the things they've been hinting towards with the Cosmos Elixir in Kaldheim and now the Moonsilver Key are going to play a role in the return of the Phyrexians to Dominaria, and we're going to have a War of the Spark-type set that's heavy on story elements and character cards, probably legendary creatures rather than planeswalkers considering last Dominaria set's focus on them. I wouldn't be surprised if we see another two objects pop up on Kamigawa and New Capenna in a similar fashion when those sets release.

[@lordsauron8546]

Honestly I can see this happening, and when I saw Dominaria United I immediately thought that it sounds like a set the Phyrexians would be in. Here's hoping!

[@Robvides]

sigarda's summons only affects creatures that were already there. she doesn't necessarily bring any angels with her (outside of the flavor text's suggestion) but it empowers your creatures that were there alongside her with Angel's Righteous Fury, which is on theme with how regular humans were then able to stand toe to toe with Vampires that should be easily able to outclass them otherwise.

[@MagicArcanum]

Yeah I guess if we ignore the art and flavor text on the card it becomes a perfect flavor fit...🧐

[@ToxicAtom]

I feel like a phyrexian invasion of innistrad can fill a bunch of horror tropes well, I'm just skeptical of how it'll be handled after the showing of Eldritch Moon.

[@cadenglass1387]

Innistrad might be the only plane that would counter imvade. Between all the bs they dealt with over the past tens years.

[@ГригорийГ-ч4н]

How many times you can rebuild from apocalypse?

[@jq4767]

If I had to guess on the Emrakul and eternal night concept: It might be that it's something that occurs naturally, but was triggered at this point by Emrakul being sealed in the moon. Honestly makes me think of it almost being a recycle of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor concepts with the plane that warps between eternal day and night.

[@TheEmeraldboy100]

"Edgar and Olivia not being partners is a huge flavor fail, especially considering the "partner with" mechanic isn't commander-exclusive.

[@ryanarmstrong3649]

Thanks Ryan 😊 you are a great story teller

[@captainameriking5382]

Great story, loved how you told it. I really enjoyed this story as well and can’t wait to return.

[@tristandeveraux5415]

So do we still not know what all those strange lights in the sky in the background of many Midnight Hunt cards were? I figured they'd be explained in Crimson Vow but I saw nothing about them anywhere.

[@MagicArcanum]

Yeah nothing was said about the lights, unfortunately!

[@markewingjr.594]

After not letting us have Chandra and Nissa as a couple, they sure did spend a lot of words on Chandra's connection with Adeline. Glad they're accepting the character Chandra has become.

[@aceundead4750]

Maybe this is for the best, it could make for some really good awkward drama between Chandra and Nissa in a future story.

[@geinerelizondo2019]

And why that matters? MTG lore is for childrens, there is no real interaction between them; is the same be straigth, gay or bi, they never going to do nothing with that beside please the politically correct people!

[@RozzCraft]

@Geiner Elizondo Because children need representation to feel accepted by reality. Otherwise, they feel like something is wrong with them because they are in the minority and people don't talk to them about adult things.

[@Gaugoo8]

@@RozzCraft This. Thank you

[@geinerelizondo2019]

"beside please the politically correct people..." I stand by that; and now I know I'm right, thanks! (a kid goes from 0 to 10, after that, are teenagers. Don't infantilize your already childish society, please)

[@andrewpayseur]

Because of what Teferi has to say at the end when it's all wrapped up, I wonder how time will work in "Dominaria United" and "The Brothers' War" when they release? Will they be throwbacks, with reinforced storylines of how the originals operated, or will the modern approximation of "The Gatewatch" have a roll in some kind of temporal mix-up? Fingers crossed for the best of whatever may happen!

[@gmikecstein]

At last! I love your Sorin voice :D

[@CogsworthHPalmer]

It'd be cool if Sorin goes to find Nahiri and attempt to make amends, even if it doesn't work. Nahirir was pretty pissed last time we saw her

[@MagicArcanum]

A planar war with the Phyrexians might force them onto the same team once again, but it would be neat to see if they can fix their own issues first, I agree.

[@stratavosstuff7575]

the eternal night occuring every 1000 years makes me think of Lorewynn with the Aurora.

[@chriszee9960]

Been waiting so long for this. Thanks

[@silence_dais]

Something to consider: Lorwyn is also a plane that has a... Unique day and night cycle. With the Morning and Evening tides, I'm curious if the two planes are connected in some way, especially with how it's said that the Neverending Night Ritual happens every 1000 years or so. I'm not putting any theories out there thats saying they're the same plane (they're obviously not) but I'm curious if they could be connected in some way.

[@Soviniy]

16:00 - If I ever get the time and patience, draw this, it's awesome.

[@Countess1476]

Been waiting for this video alllll week! Can’t wait! Love all of the videos Ryan!

[@DaDunge]

15:50 Yeah Tefari is old but he's not as old as Sorin. Sorin was old as a planeswalker when Urza's spark ignited. And Urza taught Tefari.

[@TriangleChloros]

Sorin is about 7000ish, give or take. Teferi is coming up to 1300. Yes, that's a pretty significant gap... But it's rather smaller than the gap between Sorin and *pretty much everyone else he knows.* Like, Liliana's 'old' and she's only about 200. The rest of the list of characters that old in the story who have *any* link to Sorin are Edgar, Jaya, Karn, Bolas, Ugin, Nahiri, *Emrakul...* And I think that's it. Of those, now Ugin's no longer around... Teferi kinda *does* seem like he might be the closest thing Sorin has to a peer. Edit: forgot spaghetti girl.

[@josueantonio12]

Been long waiting for part II!

[@korbinbetso9282]

I feel if the Phyrexians go to Innistrad, Olivia would willing team up with them in an attempt to reclaim power, becoming a character who thinks they are still in control of themselves when corrupted by a greater power (like some Mass Effect antagonists) when they aren't. I could see this being done to several past antagonists who have been defeated but not killed out right if the conflict truly arises to a massive multiverse wide war. Something akin to the Mending or Brothers war.

[@voshadxgathic]

That sword description got me.

[@coreybookman5823]

I like to imagine after flying away edgar just yawns and goes thats enough exitement im going back to bed lol

[@MrJTGarner]

Wonder if the Phyrexians invading Innistrad is enough to coax Emrakul out of the moon to "play".

[@johnhallow]

Just finished the story. I loved the beginning but by the end I felt it had all deteriorated into absolute trash. Especially the entire "climax". 1. Why did Arlinn spare that Markov duelist by flinging him into a pillar instead of killing him? She acts like she did something righteous when everyone in the room is LITERALLY LOCKED IN A FIGHT TO THE DEATH. He's just going to get up and keep killing her allies. On what planet is sparing him the right thing to do in a battle? 2. Next, after Edgar kicks the crap out of Sorin, why would Edgar throw him -- knowing full well he's a vampire AND a sanguinomancer -- into a fricking pool of blood and walk away!? The story specifically mentions that Sorin was supposed to drown... in a pool of blood!? Unsurprisingly (at least to anyone with two brain cells to rub together), Sorin just guzzles all of the blood and comes out supercharged to kick some ass. 3. Next, after Sorin turns the tables, why did he spare Edgar even though he'd made up his mind to kill him? Why does everyone pat him on the back as if sparing THE FLIPPING ROOT CAUSE OF ALL VAMPIRES IN INNISTRAD is some good deed??? Their reaction makes NO sense whatsoever! 4. But fair enough, Sorin loves Edgar on some level, even if his behaviour is inconsistent with his thoughts at that moment. Sparing him isn't that much of a stretch. But why oh why would Sorin randomly make up his mind he doesn't care about dealing with Olivia? He'd realistically go straight after her when he's done clashing with Edgar since she caused it all. It's a textbook example of the trope where the main character murders score after score of mooks without blinking and then suddenly has a change of heart when it comes to the masterminds. 5. After Olivia beat Arlinn, why didn't Olivia finish her off while she was down? She had plenty of time to, and no reason not to -- except plot armour 6. Why did Arlinn stop Tovolar from killing Edgar? Again, plot armour 7. Why didn't the werewolves kill Olivia, either, when she was obviously wounded -- they just let her fly off knowing that she's spiteful to the point of insanity? Sure, let's watch the crazy bitch escape into the night. That DEFINITELY won't come back to bite you in the ass later. More plot armour So, so, SO much stupidity throughout. Whenever someone was about to die, their would-be killer suddenly got the idiot ball. The level of plot armour was insane. I just couldn't take this story seriously at all by the end.

[@MagicArcanum]

1. Arlinn was trying to complete her mission as cleanly as possible. She still feels guilty about here werewolf side and is trying to avoid becoming an animal. She wants to prove to Tovolar, to everyone watching, and to herself she doesn't have to be needlessly violent. She can be civilized. Letting the duelist live was her proving to herself she was in control. 2. Edgar was toying with Sorin. He was showing him that he was much much stronger and therefore deserved to be the one in charge (along with Olivia) and that Sorin had squandered his gifts. Leaving Sorin to drown was the ultimate taunt - "even with all this, you'll never beat me." And he was almost right. Sorin had to ask himself if it was worth getting out of that pit - for a moment it looked like he was ready to just give up, and admit defeat. Perhaps ultimately Edgar underestimated him. 3. Again, a major theme of this set is "becoming what you fear." Arlinnn didn't want to become a wild animal, and Sorin didn't want to become a ruthless killer like Edgar. Sorin wanted to be better. Letting Edgar live was his way of demonstrating his own superiority. The Gatewatch didn't congratulate him - they expressed sympathy for him in that moment. They realized how hard it was to face a family member, and how hard it was to show mercy in light of everything else going on. 4. I think facing Edgar took a lot out of Sorin. Also at this point, he didn't know where Olivia was within the deliberately confusing Estate. Rather than rush ahead, he took some time to recover and regroup. This was probably wise. Olivia will still be there for him to deal with later, anyway. 5. Maybe Olivia thought she had killed Arlinn. Perhaps she didn't realize how resilient a werewolf truly is. Perhaps Edgar found her and she decided it was smarter to retreat and plan her next move rather than stay exposed in the hallway with the rest of the Gatewatch unaccounted for (and possibly looking for her.) 6. Again, Arlinn was not looking for blood. She wanted the key, and if she could get it without killing, to her that was better than embracing the savagery of her inner wolf. Showing Tovalar her degree of restraint was intentional. Midnight Hunt was largely about her trying to convince him there was room for humans and werewolves to exist together, and the wolves don't have to be "the alpha species." 7. Olivia was cornered but still dangerous. Better to let her escape once she has dropped the key, because that's all they really needed to "win" the engagement. Chasing Olivia at that point could lead to a trap, or could delay the safe return of the key, which is everything they fought for. You don't gamble when you're on the 1 yard line like that. You take the safe play. In summary, I think if you understand the characters, their motivations, and the chaotic nature of the setting, things largely fall into place. There might be some degree of plot armor - WotC spends a lot of time and effort developing these characters, and they cannot afford to kill off many of them (baring large events like the War of the Spark.) But even so, I think most (if not everything) can still be justified in Crimson Vow.

[@johnhallow]

@@MagicArcanum Oh snap! I didn't think I'd get such a detailed/helpful reply... Thanks so much!! I understand what you mean now -- I certainly judged the story too harshly. Tbh I was mostly upset because I've wanted to see Olivia get the worst kind of karma for a while (especially after seeing that new trailer). So, so close... Thanks again for the answer! And I love your videos! haha

[@dimitriosdoulgeris4659]

A vampire-slaying angel wearing black eyeliner would be a perfect fit. Before doing the dirty work, make sure you look awesome and beautiful.

[@Omegaroth666]

To keep with the theme so often revisited in Innistrad, I happened to stay this when it had been posted for 13 min. Lolz

[@luggaz]

I also really enjoyed this story arc, can't wait for the Kamigawa one with the 2000 years gap since the first block and the new but at the same time known Emperor "! I see the Phyrexians play a major role for the next 2 sets of Kamigawa and Capenna, hints are many but mostly divide: - In the leaked infos about the Kamigawa new planeswalker Kaito it is mentioned that the plane is affected by "an external threat". - New Capenna is run by Demons families and it is notably the home of Elspeth, who mentioned in the past her relation with the Phyrexians from her home plane...

[@nathanl8622]

New Capenna is a place important to Elspeth, not necessarily her home. Elspeth's home seems to have been too compleated to have a glitzy art deco city still in it.

[@thomascaldwell2567]

At 14:39 how I see it is not that Sigarda summons a bunch of angels but more like she is fighting the vampires so effectively and efficiently that it look like she summoned some angels to help even though there is only one angel

[@MagicArcanum]

The flavor text says she literally summons other angels to come help her in the fight, which does not happen in the story.

[@thomascaldwell2567]

@@MagicArcanum oh oops couldn’t read it but it could still be read like she has the strength of the angels but yeah Wizards of the Coast need to stop having the confection in story

[@bridge2853]

Also I love how Edgar fell to the Lord Zedd trap

[@DaDunge]

13:30 Temporal problems? Any chance we'll tear up the mending and get proper planeswalkers again? Ooh time travelling Urza please!

[@aerienix]

Next visit Innistrad might see Olivia and Edgar trying to break Emmy free from the moon? That aside, really liking this trend of exploring planes’ pasts with recent return sets. Heck, we’re even getting the Brothers’ War!

[@Grand_Admiral_Thrawn2630]

I’ve been waiting for this video!!! Much excite

[@cleduc5059]

Sigarda can never replace the Angel of Hope. R.I.P. Avacyn!

[@ajgameaccount309]

With Tamiyo now "compleated", the Phyrexians know about Emrakul being trapped on the moon. Jin-Gitaxias is obsessed with the planeswalker spark and seeing as how the Eldrazi can traverse the Blind Eternities, wouldn't it be the perfect reason for Phyrexians to invade Innistrad?

[@heathharris2545]

I want a multiverse wide Phyrexian invasion. Not just magic planes, but D&D as well. Ravnica, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, etc. All getting hit by a massive Phyrexian storm.

[@adrianpadalhin854]

It maybe because I don't try to read the actual source material anymore, but I kind of feel jaded with Magic lore after seeing so many characters thrown in together for scenes without any convincing motivations. Why is Tovolar suddenly compelled to help Arlinn when he was key in causing the Eternal Night in the first place? How did Sigarda end up getting bound for the exsanguination rite when all this time she's capable of going Son Goku on the entire Voldaren estate? Why did Sorin wait for Olivia to awaken Edgar before deciding that her marriage to his grandfather is a bad idea? SIGH.

[@MagicArcanum]

Tovolar's inclusion made a lot of sense to me, actually. In Midnight Hunt, he thought it was time for the werewolves to rule, and wanted Arlinn by his side because he saw her as family. She rejected him, but when she needed him most, he was still there for her - proving that he still believes she is family, even if they don't always agree. I think he was also wise enough to realize if the vampires continued their plans uninterrupted it would spell death for him and the wolves anyway. Sigarda was likely bound by Olivia, who we know is an extremely strong and powerful vampire (though maybe her cards don't all reflect this lol) At the ceremony, Olivia was weakened, having just donated some of her own blood to Edgar. Sigarda might have also been downplaying her own strength, to get inside the Estate, or to was holding back for just such an opportunity as Katilda and Sorin provided. It was risky, but you don't get to be a thousand-year-old guardian angel without making some moves. Sorin knew the wedding was a bad idea from the start, but he couldn't talk his grandfather out of it while he was still asleep, right? He had to wait for Olivia to wake him up, even if her blood flowing through his veins was going to make the conversation difficult. The written story does a fair job covering all your criticisms and I wish I could have addressed them each within the video, but since my goal is to provide a clear and concise summary of the major events I don't time the time to include everything I'd like. Thanks for watching!