MS: The Arbiter of Law Left Chaos In His Wake
Lore forum
Posted on Jan. 24, 2018, 11:37 a.m. by AgentGreen
This wins the award of the longest title for a Magic Story
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/arbiter-law-left-chaos-his-wake-2018-01-24
Today's episode: Huatli and Tishana reach the Immortal Sun while Jace and Vraska interrogate the source of both of their past hardships.
AgentGreen says... #3
Agreed.
What bothers me more is that Bolas KNEW about the trap.
The issue here is that Ugin and Jace left on bad terms. If Jace mentions his encounter with Bolas; it may change is tune (or harden it when he scold him for fighting Bolas unprepared).
I have a feeling Ugin is going to play a BIG role with the Gatewatch
January 24, 2018 12:15 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #4
And to add; I think next week we all learn what Bolas' endgame is going to be. Azor knows the endgame as does Ugin, and Jace knows it all
January 24, 2018 12:16 p.m.
And I figured out Bolas's plan, I think.
- He has an army of Eternals. A huge one.
- He will have the Immortal Sun, which stops planeswalkers from escaping.
- Bolas needs something to force all the walkers in one spot.
My guess? I think he's going to gather all the walkers in one spot where the Sun will be, then use the Eternals to wipe them out.
January 24, 2018 12:38 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #6
And the planar portal he has will allow him to bypass the magic of the Sun.
But that can't be his entire endgame; all that does is wipe out his opposition. There's got to be more to it
January 24, 2018 1:05 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #7
I predicted a while ago that I think Bolas will use his army to attack a plane and use that as the distraction to attract all of his would-be adversaries. The number of flies he catches in his trap will be increased because of the Gatewatch's previous defeat. In Hour of Devastation he mentioned that he would be happy to kill someone but leaving them all alive would be even better. Now there are up to five foes who will do all in their power to rally as many allies as possible to oppose Bolas.
If he attacks an important plane such as Ravnica it will draw all of that opposition to one place. I think it is at that point he will do one or both of two things. He might leave them all trapped on that plane and proceed to carry out his endgame elsewhere without opposition. He might instead or also try to steal the sparks of the trapped planeswalkers.
Ugin's contingency of sending Jace to Ixalan may be the single event that unravels Bolas's entire plan.
January 24, 2018 1:50 p.m.
RazortoothMtg says... #8
Since Ugin is the one that made sure Jace planeswalked to Ixalan, I think that proves that Azor's partner is Ugin, and that Ugin's defeat by Bolas is why he never sent the signal
January 24, 2018 3:41 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #9
Having Ugin throw a wrench into Bolas' plan is good; but who in the multiverse can defeat Bolas. The Gatewatch showed they can't, at least not at their current power. Jace's power has increased 10 fold since he remembered everything, maybe the others will be able to increase their power
January 24, 2018 3:55 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #10
RicketyEng On that note; which plane is more important? Ravinca, or Dominaria?
January 24, 2018 4:01 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #11
Ravnica or Dominaria? That is indeed the question presently.
We're getting so many indicators that returning to Ravnica is on the horizon but it hasn't been officially announced. I suspect that Dominaria will give us some further setup and show us how Liliana fits in. All of these pieces still need to get assembled before the next move gets made.
I think the next few sets will give us some more insights into Bolas's ongoing schemes while at the same time showing us how the Gatewatch recovers, grows, and comes up with their new plan. Then once Bolas has given them time to gather their allies it will be time for the invasion.
Come to think of it (just now, really), I wonder if we can fit the eldrazi in here by supposing the implications of setting them upon a plane on which a bunch of planeswalkers are trapped.
January 24, 2018 4:26 p.m.
chosenone124 says... #12
It seems like Bolas' plan is to trap all the planeswalkers on Dominaria. Dominaria is linked to every planeswalker in the multiverse. Even after the mending, the connection is still there. There is probably a spell that can force the walkers to the plane. Then he will massacre them all.
But there's another possibility. The Planar Bridge is very similar to the rifts in Dominaria back in the day, since it is a hole in the fabric of space. It's possible that Bolas intends to plant the core of the planar bridge at a nexus of Dominaria's leylines in order to rip a hole in Dominaria's fabric, undoing the Mending, in order to retrieve his original power.
Think about it: Bolas also had interest in the Eldrazi, because they had the power to manipulate the fabric of planes (Kozilek in particular, since reality warping is just warping the fabric of the plane). The plan would be as simple as sticking Kozilek in a good spot in Dominaria. However, as most are aware, the power of the Eldrazi is completely uncontrollable and probably unstable, so Bolas tabled that wackjob plan shortly after because it would most likely destroy the entire Multiverse.
The Immortal Sun is an artifact powered by Hieromancy: Law magic. If Bolas harnesses the power of Law, he can control the effect of ripping open a hole in Dominaria to avoid collapsing the entire world.
January 24, 2018 7:40 p.m.
chosenone124 says... #13
The zombies would be a valuable tool to keep prying eyes away while he manipulates the fabric of Dominaria
January 24, 2018 7:43 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #14
Dominaria sits in the center of the multiverse; it is THE access point to every other plane in existence. An overt invasion of Dominaria would definitely cause other planeswalkers to rush over to defend it
January 24, 2018 7:53 p.m.
Suns_Champion says... #15
I'm excited for the future magic lore! I hope Bolas' plan is more complicated than killing-every-plainswalker. Can't wait to see Ugin again.
April can't come soon enough!
Side note: mad they killed off Neheb, the Eternal back in Amonkhet so we won't see him in Bolas' army :(
January 24, 2018 9:51 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #16
I think that Jace severely overreacted when he punished Azor, for several reasons. First, what Azor did to Ixalan is none of his (Jace's) business; he is the guildpact of Ravncia, but not the arbiter of the entire multiverse. Seocnd, Azor is the one who established the system that gave Jace his power, so, if it had not been for Azor, Jace would not be the guildpact. Third, Azor could have been a useful ally against Bolas, but he will not be, now.
How is it that Jace could invoke the authority of the guildpact when he is not on Ravnica? Does that not make it too powerful? And why did Azor not have a failsafe to ensure that it could not be used against him?
I am very disappointed that WotC did this; they were clearly setting up Azor as a major character in the future, but then cast him aside as if he were no one of importance, which reminds me of a certain character in a recent Star Wars movie. I really hope that this is not the end of Azor's role in the story.
January 24, 2018 10:53 p.m.
OneItsStarted says... #17
Complete Compendium of Unresolved Bolas Plot Elements, So far
Actions:
Tezzeret communicates with Phyrexians
Eldrazi freed (later killed by Gatewatch)
Items:
Army of Eternals, undead and coated with heavy gemstone
Planar portal, semi-destroyed
Immortal Sun, powers of hieroglyph mastery and anti-planeswalking, has one Planeswalker spark
Allies:
Tezzeret, master of artifice
Liliana, master of necromancy
Ral Zerek, master of invention (designing and powering artifice in addition to other magics)
January 25, 2018 12:26 a.m.
DemonDragonJ pretty sure what went down with Azor has nothing to do with Jace being guildpact and everything to do with Jace being a crazy powerful telepath who can force his will on others.
As for Azor being an ally... he lost his spark to build the sun. Not to say hes useless, but without the power of a walker hes little more than a speed bump to Bolas.
January 25, 2018 8:32 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #19
I think the Guildpact magic worked on Azor even though they weren't on Ravnica because Azor is bound by the laws of the Guildpact. He is probably bound by all of his own heiromancy and it finally wove a web too tightly around him. I dont expect Jace would be able to invoke Guildpact law on just anyone on any plane.
January 25, 2018 11:13 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #20
RicketyEng, that makes sense, but I still believe that Jace overreacted, since, although Azor created the Immortal Sun, it was not his fault that the cultures of Ixalan fought over it. That is the equivalent of seeking to punish Robert Oppenheimer or other members of the Manhattan Project for violent uses of nuclear weaponry with which they had no involvement.
January 27, 2018 2:33 p.m.
chosenone124 says... #21
DemonDragonJ He baited each of the cultures of Ixalan with power, then hid it in a lost city. Of course they will go get it.
He has set up countless governments that are only stable if he is on the plane, then he leaves the plane. Ravnica was an example. You can't have a balance of power between the guilds if one of the paruns decides to quit.
RicketyEng says... #2
Link
I bet Azor was working with Ugin to trap Bolas. Bolas beat Ugin and so Ugin wasn't able to signal Azor. Everything would have been different if Bolas hadn't had the foresight to ensure his victory over Ugin by recruiting Yasova Dragonclaw. I think Jace is planning to have another chat with Ugin.
January 24, 2018 12:03 p.m.