"Long ago,
the world was nothing more than an endless sea
cloaked in a boundless sky,
reaching as far as could possibly be imagined.
Then two great titans came into existence.
The Bionis and the Mechonis.
The titans were locked in a timeless battle.
Until at last...
Only their lifeless corpses remained."
In honour of the release of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, I've decided to make a theme deck around my favourite game of all time. I've dug through Scryfall and Gatherer to try and find equivalents for all of the main characters, events and locations and while some turned out better than others, I'm pretty pleased with what I've come up with. But by all means, any suggestions for replacements would be incredibly welcome as are equivalents for characters/events/items that I haven't included. Also...
MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING
This deck features equivalents for major events and characters who appear later or undergo great changes throughout the course of the game and thus there are spoilers for everything up to the end of the game. Well, aside from Future Connected because I haven't played that as of making this deck. Indeed, the Commander himself is kind of a spoiler (admittedly for the sequel but it still connects). I will however put all the spoilers together at the end and any not in that section, for example the final party member, will be censored.
That said here we go:
The Main Party
Shulk is played by Will Kenrith since he's a blonde-haired, studious hero with a glowing blue sword and an appetite for knowledge
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa is Reyn, being a kind-hearted bruiser who wants to protect those dear to him and the world around him
Vivien Reid is Sharla, being a darker-skinned female sniper who uses abnormal ammunition and is fighting for something that was lost (Gadolt/Skalla)
Surrak Dragonclaw is Dunban, as he looks pretty similar and he grants haste (Dunban's agility being his defining gameplay boon)
Linessa, Zephyr Mage is Melia, as an elemental mage who looks like she has wings in her artwork (yes, I know it's wind magic not wings but it turns out winged humanoid wizards are hard to find outside of white)
Grumgully, the Generous is Riki, because Nopon don't exist and Grumgully is a fuzzy goblin who has big Riki energy (Honestly, don't really know with this one, it just kinda works)
Finally, Seven is portrayed by Solemn Simulacrum. I won't elaborate for spoiler purposes, but it's kinda obvious for those in the know anyway.
Non-Spoiler Bionis Characters
Juju is Loyal Apprentice, being a young and industrious engineer
Otharon & Gadolt are Veteran Brawlers as key Colony 6 Defence Force members who fought at the Battle of Sword Valley
Kallian is Cloudkin Seer (this one's mainly for the name. The High Entia could be described as Cloudkin and he's seen visions of the future)
Masked Admirers (specifically the Lorwyn printing) take the role of Tyrea & the Bionite Order. Racists in masks who have no problem ruthlessly murdering those who they deem impure, it's kinda perfect
Intet, the Dreamer is Avalanche Abaasy. Big ol' blue-ish dragon on top of a mountain. Simple.
The Titans
Hamletback Goliath is the Bionis, being a large living creature that people live on (Bearer of the Heavens also works)
Metalwork Colossus is the Mechonis cos, you know, big metal bloke
Monado Arts
Monado Buster is Hull Breach
Monado Shield is Blossoming Defense
Monado Speed is Maximize Velocity
Items/Mechanics
Sky Diamond, Fire Diamond and Moss Diamond are all Ether Gems of different types (Ether Def Up, Strength Up and Agility Up)
Of course, in-game, you obtain these gems by putting a Mana Geode into a Witch's Oven (Ether Crystal and Ether Furnace, respectively)
You pick up Collectopaedia items by picking up a Sol Ring (Item Orb)
The best way to deal massive damage to or Topple-lock an enemy is by using a Chain Reaction (Chain Attack)
Story (pre-Sword Valley):
The world of the Bionis and Mechonis is made entirely from something known as the Leyline of Anticipation (Ether)
One year before you start the main story, you join Dunban, Mumkhar and Dickson in a World at War, at the Battle of Sword Valley
Sometime later, Shulk first wields the Monado during the Outpost Siege (Attack on Colony 9), where he gets an Unexplained Vision that allows him to Glimpse the Future and he gets the gift of Future Sight (Ancestral Vision and Serum Visions also reference Shulk's visions)
Whilst the power of the Monado pushes the Mechon away, Colony 6 isn't so lucky and it's destroyed during the Monastery Siege (Attack on Colony 6, funnily enough). After the place is liberated from the Mechon, Juju sets up to Rebuild his home and let it Grow from the Ashes
Much later, after following Shulk's visions up the Bionis, all the way to the top of Prison Island, the party meets a mysterious giant named Zanza, bound by Vedalken Shackles, similar shackles to those he releases from the Monado.
Mechon
The smaller models are represented by an Ornithopter (a Mechon M32) and a Darksteel Myr (a Mechon M64)
Xord and the Mass-Produced Faces are shown through Precursor Golem, all chunky, brown and metallic those bois do be
Metal Face is represented by Meteor Golem, both being hulking, destructive forces of metal with a habit of crash landing
Face Nemesis is the Platinum Angel, being the least malevolent and most feminine of the Faces (Also, she's made of silver metal and has wings)
Jade Face is a Verdurous Gearhulk, being a large, green construct
Yaldabaoth is the Golden Guardian
, a large gold robot controlled by the creator of Mechon
BIG SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT
The Gods
Riku of Two Reflections is a representation of the relation between Klaus and Zanza. This is mainly a hold-over from when the deck was gonna be a reference to 1 and 2 but it still works here
Zanza is represented by Xenagos, God of Revels as an insane god who was once mortal and became power-hungry and destructive when he became divine
Meanwhile, Kruphix, God of Horizons better represents Meyneth, being a far more benevolent god who is aware of the dangers the other god presents and who remembers the earliest point of the gods coming into being
Spoiler-y Bionis Characters
Dickson is the Warchief Giant, a violent giant who is quick to fight
Lorithia is Roalesk, Apex Hybrid as a scientist who readily experiments on people and ends up fusing themselves with a non-human entity
Archetype of Imagination portrays the final member of the Trinity, Alvis, being born with the gods, presenting itself as a human/Homs yet being so much more than meets the eye
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin is Kingpin Bana, both being heads of crime syndicates within their respective population
Ezuri, Claw of Progress represents Mumkhar post-Sword Valley as a previous protagonist who was taken by the enemy and turned into a metallic monstrosity (Being turned into a Core Unit and compleation work so well as equivalents)
Spoiler-y Mechonis Stuff
Egil is represented by Urza, Lord High Artificer, as an extremely morally grey artificer who have created armies of machines
Meanwhile, Vanea is the Master Transmuter, a brilliant female artificer made of metal
Junks is played by the Weatherlight, a flying ship of great importance that takes the heroes to several key locations
Cathartic Reunion represents the moment when Shulk and Fiora finally reunite after so long apart
Mechonis Core and after
At the Mechonis Core, after defeating Egil inside Yaldabaoth, Shulk tries to bury the hatchet between the titans. However, this is short-lived as Dickson's Act of Treason frees Zanza and begins a dire series of events
These events start with him plunging Prison Island into Eryth Sea, causing a massive burst of ether which sparked the Rapid Hybridization of the pure High Entia, causing them to Chaos Warp into the Beast Within, the Telethia.
This series of events ends with a disaster, the Fall of the Titans, or rather the Momentous Fall of the Mechonis, forever destroying the titan and Meyneth along with it
After the events at the Mechonis Core, the heroes fight their way up the Bionis, through Prison Island, to reach Zanza in a facsimile of the Solar System. It is here that Shulk and co. finally change the world, committing the Blasphemous Act of killing Zanza, with Shulk's own Monado, a Sword of Truth and Justice, the Monado III.
Lands and Locations
(This is only under spoilers really because of the Mechonis locations)
Colony 9: Castle Garenbrig
Tephra Cave: Forgotten Cave
Bionis' Leg: Naya Panorama/Jonas De Ro's M19 Mountain
Colony 6: Mobilized District
Ether Mine: Dwarven Mine
Satorl Marsh: Ketria Triome
Nopon Refuge (Zazadan's Hideout): Alchemist's Refuge
Bionis' Interior: Zoetic Cavern
Makna Forest: Waterlogged Grove/Steven Belledin's M19 Forest
Great Makna Falls: Swiftwater Cliffs
Decayed Forest (Telethia Fight Arena): Blighted Woodland
Frontier Village: Fabled Passage
Eryth Sea: Lumbering Falls/John Avon's Zendikar Island
Alcamoth: Opal Palace
High Entia Tomb: Temple of Epiphany
Prison Island: Command Tower
Valak Mountain: Snow-Covered Mountain
Harict Chapel: Temple of the False God
Sword Valley: Field of Ruin
Galahad Fortress: Darksteel Citadel
Fallen Arm: Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
Mechonis Field: Karn's Bastion
Central Factory: Great Furnace
Agniratha: Ghost Quarter
And that's it. I have missed quite a few things, like Fiora, Mumkhar and Dickson's Homs forms but eh those are a problem for a later date
