The Writing in MtG Stories SUCKS
Lore forum
Posted on Oct. 10, 2017, 12:14 p.m. by vbfabled
Okay so this is mostly just going to be me ranting about things, but discussion is welcome...
So I recently came across a copy of The Brothers' War at a used book store for pretty cheap and thought "I play Magic, and I like the lore!" So I picked it up. I later found out that The Brothers' War is considered by many to be the best Magic story and actually sells for a good chunk of change online (~$50 last I checked).
Now some important background on me, I don't read books. In fact, I think the last thing I read was the Hunger Games back in like 2010. Books never hold my attention but this book... This book found a way. The scenes are beautifully set, the characters fleshed out and distinct, it's amazing.
But here's where my problem comes in. I went from reading this amazing, beautifully written fantasy novel to reading the Hour of Devastation story, and good LORD. It was so bad! It was like reading some tumblr fan fiction! All the main characters are whinier than a Nickelback fan, and they even made Bolas... FREAKING NICOL BOLAS seem like a lame Power Rangers villain! It's like they just googled "generic villain line" and copied all of the results!
So at this point I thought "Hey, maybe it's just HOU that sucks, so I went back to Kaladesh and NOPE! It sucks just as much! Another totally unbelievable, totally generic villain, this time Baral. I mean seriously, this guy has no motivation! He's just a dick for the sake of being a dick! It's the same with the heroes! They're good guys because they're good guys. Fascinating.
In The Brothers' War you don't get a generic good vs evil showdown of the marketing ploys, you get a cast of relatable characters with real motivations in a story where character flaws and personal feuds throw an entire world into war. That's freakin awesome! Why can't we get more of that? Instead we get a whole freaking chapter of Gideon drinking coffee and crying about his feelings... WHY?! Who asked for that?! Seriously, tell me who asked for that, because if someone did I need to inform them that they suck. Having your character say how deep they are doesn't make them deep! Characters are developed through action, not by just narrating how developed they are.
Anyway I dug even further back into the Khans of Tarkir story. It was alright. The characters were a bit better, but it was very clear they didn't have a good editor on staff. The authors would use the same obscure adjective 3 times in the same page, like a kid that just learned a new word...
tl:dr The Magic story reads like a bad fanfic, it didn't use to, Wizards, please fix.
Well, that's about all I had to say... if you have anything to add feel free.
flaminghome says... #3
I agree. Honestly everytime they write about Chandra/from Chandra's perspective I cringe. It's like bad fanfiction.
October 10, 2017 1:30 p.m.
Well I guess I should check out brothers at war.... I dabble in reading some of the new stories online just to see what the current Lore/plot is going on for newer sets.... Most recent for me was Shadows over innisrtrad which had highs and lows... And granted I Despise time travel in stories (Terminator being the exception) Tarkir was pretty cool imo... NYX wasn't bad either... But I've heard that there is really good "back in the day" stories that I would love to check out... I guess I will make my own thread at some point to ask for recommendations.
October 10, 2017 2:03 p.m.
Quicksilver says... #5
I hate Jace and find any time he survives in the lore feels like desperation to keep him eternally relevant. Why Tamiyo didn't let him die is beyond me.
October 10, 2017 2:33 p.m.
Tyrant-Thanatos says... #6
Agreed. I used to love the writing for the older stories. It's been at least 3-4 years since I've read a good MTG story. It's really a shame, I used to love reading the lore.
October 10, 2017 2:40 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #7
This kinda makes me want to write an MtG story now lol
October 10, 2017 3:52 p.m.
Don't get me wrong, the fact that a certain level of development needs to happen in such a short span of time definitely is a challenge for the writers, and I've been complaining about the stories since Zendikar, but I'll go to bat for the new Ixalan story team. They are doing a fantastic job. Yes, Amonkhet was garbage, so was kaladesh, so was innistrad (although it had its moments), so was zendikar. And yes, as we get closer to present day, the stories kept getting worse (HOU was almost unbearable).
Ixalan seems to be marking a change for the better though. My only advice is keep reading. If the stories start going bad again... maybe it's time we vorthos' found a new hobby. But if story writing continues at the quality level that Ixalan has been on so far, I'll be one happy reader.
October 10, 2017 10:28 p.m.
"Tumblr fanfic" is perhaps the best way I've heard the recent stories described. They are definitely sub-par.
pskinn01 says... #2
Back when they made/sold books the stories were real good. Then the stories were made to go in each set's fat pack, and were hit n miss. Now they are made in weekly snips, and the story line is aimed at younger audiences to get new younger people interested. I still read the new ones, but just to keep up with the storyline.
October 10, 2017 1:08 p.m.