MTG Lore Questions
Lore forum
Posted on June 14, 2016, 12:21 p.m. by Eiti3
Alrighty. I know this either goes in this Lore Forum or the Speculation one. Either way, I'm hoping the community can help me out. I've done minimal reading and minimal research, however I do have these random, off the head, questions that my brain needs answers to.
[1] The rubble of the Mana Rig of Halcyon, the Capitol of the ruined Thran Empire, does it just lay in Terisiare as ruins? Did the Mana Rig fall apart and fall atop the Caves of the Damned (Caves of Koilos) and leave the entire island completely devastated, especially after the Stonechargers (Death Cloud)?
[2] Can Changelings merge with one another? I ask due to Chameleon Colossus and not just its art, but the activated ability as well. Side note: anyone know how they reproduce? Mitosis maybe? The waters of Velis Vel?
[3] Shandalar and Lim-Dul. Does the story end with Arzakon advising the Guildlords into killing the Guardian and having one of them cast the spell "Spell of Dominion", in which he described to grant the caster either immortality or complete rule over Shandalar, but instead revealed the location of the artifact containing Lim-Dul's spirit? Does it end there? Or does it continue? If it does, where (and if someone may link where) could I find the story to continue it?
[4] Post-Mending Powerstones. What can they do? Before hand they could power a city, be split in half and cause a portal to another plane that would stay open just fine until the stone was put back together. I'm wondering what they do right now? What is the fathomable range one could experiment with a Powerstone? Create a P-Bomb? Like a nuke but Powerstone wise? Power much less/much more?
[5] Humans. What planes are they not on? Mainly I want to know if they are on Lorwyn and Shandalar, but it would be nice to know the rest of the planes. Plus if anyone may have known where the Humans might've come from on Serra's Realm when that plane existed? It was pre-mending so could Serra technically bring people to her plane or did she somehow create them, portal, what?
[6] Why the heck is everyone so afraid of Yawgmoth? Now I don't want to hear from anyone that he is dead/alive. I don't care, and that subject has already been talked to death. But what I can't understand is why everyone fears him so. Or have I misconstrued the information I have gathered to be that everyone just hates him? Because I've had friends, although not the brightest of the bunch, tell me that Nicol Bolas even fears the day for when Yawgmoth will come back. Once again, not talking about whether he is dead or alive, or coming back for that matter, but why everyone seems to fear him.
[7] Elder Dragons. What are they? Why are they different from normal dragons? Are they extinct/close to it? Or are they just normal dragons that "leveled" up their power levels and just lived for an insanely long period of time? I'll repeat my second question in this onslaught of questions: Why are they different from normal dragons? Can they do cooler, more awesome stuff? Are normal dragons no longer feared if there are beings like Elder Dragons? This is a subject nobody has explained to me correctly.
[8] Is Memory Magic a thing? I'm asking due to cards like Memory Jar. I understand there are magics like Psychics, Telepathy, and Dreamstuff (what the Fae from Lorwyn and Ashiok use), but that isn't really Memories. I mean, they can affect them, but actual Memory Magic.
[9] Can a planeswalker carry a soul into the Blind Eternities, let's say in a jar or even their own body, and then into another plane? Maybe I said that wrong: can a planeswalker planeswalk with another soul bottled up within them or on their person? I know that Post-Mending Planeswalkers can't carry another living creature into the Blind Eternities without them being torn apart.
[10] The Planeswalker Spark. Is the Spark part of the person's soul? If so, and if not, how can the Spark be forcibly removed from the Planeswalker? In what ways can a Planeswalker give up their Spark? What exorbitant amount of magic can they perform while giving up their Spark? If the Spark is not attached to the soul, and if someone were to take the soul and leave the body + Spark, what would happen then? And any other theories/actual lore that I may not have thought up? (I've read minimally about Sparks, and I realize that they have to deal with souls, although to what capacity, I still don't know).
[11] Storm Crow. I simply do not understand the fanatics and semi-cults around this meme. Could someone explain because my googling abilities have failed me.
As a last side-note. I would love to see someone attempt to answer each question with just a yes-no-dunno. I believe it would be hilarious, however I do want some details so if everyone who knows their lore help me out, that would be wonderful! Thank you.
At the momnent I'm just going to answer the Yawgmoth question.
Yawgmoth is feared because of his ruthlessness and intelligence. He was originally a geneticist, or more specifically, a eugenicist essentially, who was outcast from the Thran empire. Eventually he was invited back to help cure the emperor, who he discovered to be suffering from a strange disease, which started his research in phyresis, eventually creating Phyrexians. With the help of a random planeswalker, he found a long-abandoned artificial plane, whose core he literally merged himself with to become it's god, and named it Phyrexia. Thus, he became the single most dangerous unnatural force in the history of the multiverse, the shockwaves of which can still be felt today, with the rise of New Phyrexia on the plane formerly called Mirrodin.
I've found no record of Bolas ever claiming to be afraid of Yawgmoth, but Bolas does have some interest in Phyrexians, as he has sent Tezzeret to New Phyrexia to spy on the Praetors for unknown reasons. It isn't out of the question that he would be cautious of a possible return of Yawgmoth, but Bolas is known for always having contingencies and never involving himself personally in a situation he isnt confident he'll win, so fear would be an incorrect observation.
June 14, 2016 12:31 p.m.
CastleSiege says... #5
I'm fairly certain that Elder Dragons are just very old and powerful compared to other dragons, and that's it really. I've tried looking into it before and couldn't find much lore about them outside of the Elder Dragon War, and there isn't even much lore on that.
June 14, 2016 3:20 p.m.
I heard once that Storm Crow fame came from it being a simple card you could pitch to Force of Will back in the day, but I haven't been playing long enough to be sure of that answer or if that itself was just a joke.
As for the rest of this - it's way over me.
I will say though one could argue that dream magic is memory magic. Dreams are deep subconscious hallucinations that often reflect memories, experiences, personal interests, desires, etc.
Tell me you've never just dreamed about a memory. It might not be a common thing (although it is a strongly associated with PTSD), but it does happen to most people at least once.
Just connecting dots.
June 14, 2016 4:14 p.m.
Storm Crow has rhyming flavour text. What else could make it so powerful?
At least WotC finally errata'd it to a legendary in duel decks: Storm Crow vs Chimney Imp so that we have access to a commander that can win on turn 1.
June 14, 2016 4:18 p.m.
SSJ_Weegee says... #8
Jace has erased and created new memories in his and other's minds. I don't know if that's what you mean by memory magic.
June 14, 2016 5:35 p.m.
10: What is a spark? A spark is something which lets you planeswalk. I don't know if it's part of the soul or anything, just that any sentient being has a slight chance of being born with one, and they tend to manifest under stressful situations. Sparks can be transferred, but not easily. The only time I can remember it happening is Venser giving his to Karn, and Venser was already dying. My gut says the process itself would usually be fatal.
9: Can you carry a spirit in an item while planeswalking? This is an interesting question I would like to hear more solid answers on. Magical artifacts can be planeswalked, so I imagine it's theoretically possible to side-long planeswalk another person, no sealing their soul into an item necessary. These are probably extremely difficult, and I don't think either of these have been ever done in canon, but I don't think it's impossible.
June 14, 2016 7:30 p.m.
Sorry I haven't been active to respond to anyone's answer to my questions. However, very cool! 5 out of 11 answered, to a degree. Anyone know of anyone who they could tag into this thread to help answer the remaining 6 and/or go deeper into the ones that have already been answered? I would really appreciate it.
June 18, 2016 11:50 a.m.
[1] Halcyon was the capital of the Thran Empire in northeastern Terisiare. It was suspended in the air thanks to powerstone technology. The city hovered above the Caves of the Damned, on which the Mana Rig was built that produced the powerstones the city needed. Halcyon was destroyed at the end of the Thran-Phyrexian War, when the Null Sphere was sabotaged so the destructive gasses of the stonechargers (which had been used to kill the armies that were attacking the city) couldn't be stopped. All its inhabitants either died from the gas, or fled to Phyrexia.
[2] There's no evidence to suggest Changelings can merge. Chameleon Colossus's art more likely references it's variable and uncontrollable form, while it's ability is because it is big and/or can become bigger, being a changeling.
[3] What happened to Lim-Dul following what you described is unknown as of now.
[4] Production of powerstones ceased after the Phyrexian invasion, so they're just sought out to power minor artifacts. They have no difference in power due to the mending, it would seem just the Thran used them.
[5] The only natural plane where humans are known not to exist at all is Lorwyn. Humans existed in Serra's Realm, though their origins on the plane are uncertain.
[6] I answered already.
[7] Elder Dragons are just very old, wise, and powerful dragons. It's largely a title of status, but you don't just inherit or get called it for nothing; it is earned. The original five gained Elder status for surviving the Dragon War, which we no virtually nothing about. The Tarkir Dragons earned it probably as a result of totally subjugating the Khans, with the specific ones who became Elders doing so for being progenitors of their brood.
[8] "Memory Magic" would just be a discipline of mind magic. It isn't called memory magic, but what you might call memory magic does exist.
[9] With enough time and mana, or with specialized spell knowledge, or with access to enormous power, it's possible for a planeswalker to transfer clothing, artifacts and/or creatures with him as he planeswalks. The article which confirmed this is after the mending occurred, so it applies to post-mending 'walkers all the same.
[10] A planeswalker's spark is a latent power inborn into a very small number of sentient creatures across the Multiverse, specifically separate from the soul. The exact mechanics of the planeswalker's spark (including transference of it) are unknown, and many of the descriptions are prerevisionist.
FYI, any information you asked for that I didn't already have, was found VERY easily via googling to the MTGSalvation wiki, which does source.
PistonGolem says... #2
Storm Crow came out during Alliances. During the time around then, Blue was an extremely op color, and was prevalent everywhere. Storm Crow was the only card not to be broken in blue, so people started making jokes and memes about Storm Crow.
June 14, 2016 12:27 p.m.