Ugin & the Eldrazi
Lore forum
Posted on Sept. 15, 2015, 11:47 a.m. by capriom85
If Ugin is this Uber-power of colorless mana, and the Eldrazi are pretty much the same thing, how can he be the savior or Zendikar?Flavor wise, look at the cards we have before us? Ugin, the Spirit Dragon removes everything BUT Eldrazi basically. ugin's sanctum let's you tutor up Eldrazi. Not exactly what you'd expect from a PW who is supposed to be sought out to help save Zendikar from them. Any chance Ugin will side with the Eldrazi from a lore standpoint where colorless beings unite?
CanadianShinobi says... #3
Um... no. No. Just because they share the aspect of being colourless does not mean these two forces are not diametrically opposed. If Ugin were to side with the Eldrazi it would fly in the face of everything before. Notably, Ugin helped imprison the Eldrazi.
September 15, 2015 12:06 p.m. Edited.
Epochalyptik says... #4
Guns are used to kill innocent people, but they are also used to protect innocent people.
The tool doesn't define your intentions.
September 15, 2015 12:50 p.m.
RussischerZar says... #5
I think the flavor behind Ugin's Sanctum is that if a big Eldrazi comes around and finds the sanctum, it will destroy (=sacrifice) the sanctum and then there are more Eldrazi coming. Or something.
Maybe there's even a colorless creature that's not an Eldrazi in the set, something like Scion of Ugin that will get awoken when the sanctum is disturbed.
September 15, 2015 12:50 p.m. Edited.
Epochalyptik says... #6
Plus, literarily speaking, the greatest foes are the ones most like yourself.
Think about the creepiest monsters you've heard of. People are spooked by skinwalker, slenderman, and deformed figures because they're unnervingly humanoid, yet still otherworldly. What would unsettle you more, a vicious snake or wolf in your yard or a human head with red eyes peering through your window?
Ugin's fight against the Eldrazi is made more difficult and epic by the fact that his greatest strength and defining characteristic is shared by his enemies, and it means that he can't just throw his strength around and save the day.
September 15, 2015 12:59 p.m.
julianjmoss says... #7
Not to mention, in all the mtg lore and literature ugin is the one to seek help and succeeds in imprisoning them.
September 15, 2015 2:38 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #8
Ugin uses colorless mana because he has studied for ages and no longer needs colored mana to do things. The eldrazi use colorlessness because they spawn from the blind eternities and are from before colored mana exists. It's different ways to flavor having colorlessness.
September 15, 2015 3:25 p.m.
I think it was all a trick...
Ugin actually made the Eldrazi.
His reason for working with Nahiri and Sorin to trap them in the first place...
He knew Bolas was trying to kill them, and he had to 'preserve' them.
This is why Bolas killed Ugin. So he could keep working on trying to rid the Multiverse of the Eldrazi. - After that, he set up the events that released the Eldrazi on Zendikar...
In his plan, The Planeswalkers would work together to kill the Eldrazi once released...
Unfortunately, Sarkhan saved Ugin right before the end of the Eldrazi. - Now Ugin is going to convince Jace to keep the Eldrazi alive once more.
As far as Ugin's interactions with Bolas, they can both be 'bad-guys'.
Bolas would be wanting to stop the Eldrazi, not because "he's good", but because they pose a threat to Bolas. - If the Eldrazi are successful in their 'cleansing', Bolas is dead.
September 18, 2015 2:53 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #10
I strongly doubt Ugin created the eldrazi, his whole character is about balance, and he wants the eldrazi alive because they are probably important to the balance of the multi verse and he doesn't want to disrupt that until he understands it
September 18, 2015 4:22 p.m.
...Interesting that you say that...
The Drana story showed that the Eldrazi view the multiverse as 'broken', and that Planes are mearly blemishes on the Blind Eternities which need to be cleansed...
Looks like Eldrazi have their view of 'balance in the multiverse' as well. Something imbued upon them by their creator, perhaps? - Besides... that sounds like the perfect 'copout' reasoning behind not killing the Eldrazi.
JWiley129 says... #2
That would be quite a role-reversal. But I feel that Ugin is ultimately good because Nicol Bolas is his enemy and is ultimately evil. Another thing is that Ugin is afraid of the Eldrazi because he is like them. Colorless mana is dangerous and Ugin knows this.
We also haven't seen any indications that Ugin has nothing but the best intentions at heart.
September 15, 2015 12:04 p.m.