Kaldheim's Walkers
Lore forum
Posted on Nov. 12, 2020, 5:46 p.m. by Idoneity
So, we've seen a consistent theme within the past Standard releases since War of the Spark, being the Planeswalkers. What always happens is that there are three 'Walkers—two returning characters and one new. Throne of Eldraine had these two, this one, and Elk; Theros, Beyond Death had her, that one, and him; Ikoria had High-Kick, this guy, and that person; and, lastly, Zendikar Rising had this compeer, this complice, and this confrere. (Ran out of things to call them).
With each of these people clearly stated above, and with the coming of Kaldheim, I am much curious as to what players may speculate. We know that it is a frore, hiemal terrain, being a Nordic-esc setting, but I know not anyone who would suit this setting. Sarkhan that beseems the wintry world, but the other returning character is more difficult to isolate.
More so as a follow-up in the same thread, any ideas for the new Planeswalker's design?
EleshNornsFs says... #3
I know that the Kaya miniature presales thing points towards her, but I couldn't actually make out that the box showed Kaya. The box was shredded and difficult to see.
November 12, 2020 6:40 p.m.
TheRealSpecialK says... #4
Sandor Istvansson
Starting loyalty - 5
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to ~ by creatures.
At the end of your turn, if you used a loyalty ability from ~, remove a loyalty counter from ~.
0 Until end of turn, Sandor Istvansson becomes an 8/8 Human Beserk creature with haste that's still a planeswalker. It gets -X/-X until the end of turn, where X is the number of loyalty counter on it.
-X ~ Deals X damage to any target.
November 12, 2020 6:45 p.m.
TheRealSpecialK says... #5
The art I was referring to is https://imgur.com/a/G6nM4MU
November 12, 2020 7 p.m. Edited.
EleshNornsFs says... #6
That does appear to be Garruk in the background of that image.
November 12, 2020 9:32 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #7
Angrath, Koth, and Sarkhan are my top picks. To see the horns, arm, or scales, respectively, steaming lightly, glowing red against the snow-white backdrop. That would be spicy.
November 12, 2020 11:39 p.m.
TheRealSpecialK says... #8
EleshNornsFs I don't think that is Garruk as much as it is a random Viking dude.
November 13, 2020 1:14 a.m.
Destroyerbirb says... #9
EleshNornsFs Whereas I agree with the TheRealSpecialK that the person next to Kaya is 100% NOT Garruk, I am almost hundred percent sure he will be in the set. I have a theory (that I share with a few people) that Kaldheim is Garruk's home. It is likely that it is his home as a viking set fits very well with his background story. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kaya, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised not to see Kaya. It would be nice to see Sarkhan, or even Ugin if he decided he didn't want to babysit his already imprisoned brother for five seconds. (That was a really lazy way to get rid of both Bolas and Ugin for a few years, as there is a good chance we will see them again.) Ajani could be there. What I would LOVE though would be to have Estrid or Aminatou from the C18 decks to say hi outside of commander.
If there is a new planeswalker, I would love it if they do something new, whether or not it ends up breaking a format or five. (after looking at Oko I'm less confident about new planeswalker designs, but would still like something new.) If Sarkhan, Kaya or Garruk end up being in the set, Red, Black and maybe Green would be taken, so I have a feeling it might be either White, Blue or Red.
November 13, 2020 3:55 a.m.
Destroyerbirb - Interesting theory on Kaldheim being the home plane of Garruk, as his homeplane remains unnamed. He certainly has the figure to fit the clichés of Vikings. The one bet against his appearance is that he has shown up rather recently. With the story culminating at War of the Spark, WOTC has stepped away from cross-block storytelling for the time being, and he Flip was just in Eldraine.
Due to Zendikar Rising's odd layout of its lands, being a cycle of Dimir, Boros, Selesnya, Izzet, Gruul, and Orzhov. Wizards has always had cycles of lands completed over two Standard blocks, so the rest should be in Kaldheim. Rakdos, Golgari, Simic, and Azorius should be present, and these combinations may lead to what archetypes will be prominently present, and which planeswalkers align with such archetypes. The Rakdos planeswalker above makes sense with this.
TLDR: I think Kaya is getting another colour combination and that Garruk shan't appear.
Sidenote: Raid is definitely returning as a mechanic. Calling it here.
November 13, 2020 5:36 a.m. Edited.
Garruk lost black due to the curse being removed on Eldraine, so Golgari no longer aligns. Kaya is an odd standout due to Orzhov being in Zendikar.
November 13, 2020 5:43 a.m.
I'm going to throw out a long shot and say Ob Nixilis. I don't have any deep reasoning for this, but he's on the redder side of black, he wants to break stuff and start wars, and as far as I know, nobody knows where he is right now. He could probably find a story spot in Magical Scandinavia.
November 13, 2020 10:18 a.m.
TheRealSpecialK says... #13
Azeworai I agree with a lot of your points. I designed the walker above with that in mind, and with the thought that we don't really have a walker anymore who fits that design space since Gideon died. I thought that having a combat oriented walker, but based more off barbarian imagery rather than that of a soldier would be really cool. Plus as a fun easter egg I based him off Uncle Istvan.
I think it would be an absolute travesty if Raid does not make a return.
On to your other points about color combinations - what about Oko? I know he was recently printed in a standard set, but his color identity matches the one of the remaining color pairs, and even more compelling, he 1000% fits a 'Loki' trope that could factor prominently into the plot.
November 13, 2020 12:10 p.m.
TheRealSpecialK - I had thought that to be a leak. The very fact that I thought it was a real, yet interesting, Planeswalker design means that you had done a fantastic job. It seemed to fit all too well.
As a rebuttal to my own point about colour combinations, they typically revolve around world mechanics and set themes as opposed to Planeswalkers. Nissa did not have a Golgari land, yet Nahiri had Boros. I had neglected to recall this as I wrote.
On your last point, of Oko, I despise how convincing that is. The big thing against him is that he has shown up recently, and planeswalkers tend not to return for some time nowadays. I am hoping that Kiora fills this role, being a relatively bellicose character in her history, as well as being Simic. People still seem to be annoyed with Eldraine, so Oko coming back might make the players disturbed by his planeswalker card.
November 13, 2020 3:42 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #15
I don't get the hate against Oko's character. Like, it was a busted card, but Oko the character is not inherently worse because of it.
November 13, 2020 9:54 p.m.
plakjekaas says... #16
Nobody's going to mention that Zendikar Rising already broke the rule of 2 old, 1 new? Jace, Nahiri and Nissa were all recurring characters already.
TheRealSpecialK says... #2
I've seen box art leaked depicting Kaya holding two Viking-like axes that are glowing purple like her daggers usually are, so I am pretty sure she will be there.
November 12, 2020 6:28 p.m.