April 2016: Shadows over Innistrad
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Oct. 31, 2015, 6:42 p.m. by JWiley129
Announced during GP Indy, the Spring 2016 set is Shadows over Innistrad!
Edits for FAQ:
- Here is Mark Rosewater on why we're getting two returns in a row.
silverwolf5o says... #2
FAMOUSWATERMELON when you google shadow over innistrad your pic is the 3rd one there.
November 1, 2015 2:20 a.m.
So, storywise, I'm pretty confident we will be learning about The Raven Man's true intentions in manipulating Liliana. Garruk will also likely be involved since, as far as I'm aware, he still has a vendetta against Lili. I imagine Ob Nixilis could be involved as well as his story is entwined with that of the Chain Veil, and I'm sure he's eager to leave Zendikar after getting his spark back and making enemies out of a half-dozen planeswalkers in one fell swoop.
November 1, 2015 3:35 a.m. Edited.
It is likely that the eldrazi will be on innistrad, and wizards have given us clues to suggest this.
We are currently following the eldrazi in the story so it makes sense that the next block will also have something to do with the eldrazi as the narrative unfolds.
Secondly the eldrazi are beings of great horror and innistrad is the plane on which wizards explored the gothic horror genre. Therefore it makes sense that they'd collide because they go hand in hand.
Finally, the biggest clue. Wizards have repeatedly said that Emrakul is a being based on Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraftian horror is the genre where the source of fear is a being from another dimension that is so powerful it can't even be understood by mortals. It's a unique genre within the horror category because it presents the unique situation where the opponent is seemingly unstoppable and completely impossible to understand in terms of function amd motive. This is the feel that wizards went for when they designed the eldrazi. One of HP Lovecrafts most famous books is Shadows Over Innsmouth. Its about the being Cthulhu - the monster that Emrakul is based on. This block is called Shadows Over Innistrad. The fact that wizards named this set in a way that is similar to a horror novel about a creature that Emrakul is based on is, uhhh, a pretty big clue.
November 1, 2015 6:08 a.m. Edited.
Thx for the info ChiefBell I bet HP Lovecrafts books will have a sudden increase in sales :p
November 1, 2015 7:33 a.m.
HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 1, 2015 9:17 a.m.
It's a novella, and the title is 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth.' Also, that story is about gross frog/fish-people called Deep Ones who create human hybrids in a small New England town, and only mentions Cthulhu's name in passing. Suspiciously similar names though.
I would say Eldrazi are more similar to the alien polyp creatures mentioned in 'The Shadow Out of Time' than Cthulhu or Deep Ones, both of which have a strong connection to the depths of the ocean rather than space.
November 1, 2015 9:26 a.m.
I take that back... The Eldrazi Titans themselves are clearly based on various Old Ones, but the drones and spawn remind me of the polyp creatures.
November 1, 2015 9:48 a.m.
I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Eldrazi pop up in the story, but at the same time I'm not so sure. If the Eldrazi made it to Innistrad, could we see the end of Innistrad? It seems the only means of actually stopping the Eldrazi would be the hedrons on Zendikar, right?
November 1, 2015 10:03 a.m.
It's probably not a coincidence that we are dealing with lovecraftian horrors and the next set has a title from a lovecraftian novel though? like I feel wizards did that in purpose not accidentally?
November 1, 2015 10:09 a.m.
I saw someone's comment on Reddit insinuating that Innistrad's peculiar silver moon could have a similar function or even origin to hedrons... Nahiri has been to Innistrad at least once AFAIK, so who knows? Plus Tamiyo has been researching the moon for a while now. Maybe Innistrad does have a shot against Eldrazi.
Regardless, I doubt Wizards would destroy Innistrad seeing how popular it is.
November 1, 2015 10:10 a.m.
I mean, Shadow/s Over, INNistrad, INNsmouth. Definitely not a coincidence, I would agree.
November 1, 2015 10:13 a.m.
definitely not a coincidence. the eldrazi are definitely the old ones and shadows over innistrad is definitely shadows of innsmouth. Lovecraft confirmed!
November 1, 2015 11:04 a.m.
thedoctor5445 says... #16
We are all having theories about Avacyn combining with Grislebrand or the Helvault making her evil or something. But there was an uncharted realms about how Avacyn can't destroy the monsters, as Sorin created her to protect the humans but save the vampires. I think the corruption in the video is actually the corruption of the Church of Avacyn as they don't actually have the best interests of the humans in mind. Also, GR werewolf legendary or else the commander players will rebel.
November 1, 2015 12:49 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #17
ChiefBell But if the Eldrazi are so powerful that the inhabitants of the planes can't understand them, doesn't that sort of kill the plot? I mean, if nothing can stop the Eldrazi, the Eldrazi will just obliterate everything and we'll find ourselves playing Yu-Gi-Oh again.
November 1, 2015 3:17 p.m.
I'm just gonna buy out HP Lovecrafts Shadows over Innsmouth, I think the price of the book will go up.
November 1, 2015 3:23 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON - Yeah I mean that is what they are based on but it doesnt translate well into a game where the good guys are supposed to win haha. Lovecraftian horror is supposed to be deliberately hopeless. That's part of the horror. Some of that bleeds through into Emrakul's design - they were only stopped originally by being sent somewhere else. But obviously not the whole thing can be the same design or we'd (we as in the inhabitants of the multiverse) would be doomed.
November 1, 2015 3:28 p.m.
i have had a new idea! i was reading up on what the IDW comics were and it says it was a story about Dack Fayden and he was on innistrad. could it be possible to have a new Dack planeswalker???
November 1, 2015 3:40 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #21
Well this will certainly be interesting. I love Lovecraft's work and I hope that we see Lovecraftian themes in the new set. I'm wary though. BFZ has thus far been a let down and I fear that Wizards may not do Innistrad justice this time around, especially considering that the original set was so powerful and saw many game changing cards.
November 1, 2015 4:04 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #22
Since Innistrad is my favorite block/plane, I am so jazzed!
November 1, 2015 4:08 p.m.
TheFoilAjani says... #23
CanadianShinobi Plot twist(?), Goyf and Time Walk reprint!
November 1, 2015 4:10 p.m.
A DFC of a villager hybrid slowly becoming a full Deep One would be pretty sweet. Mostly I just wanna see more transforming creatures that don't use the werewolf two+ spells/no spells mechanic. Something like Vanishing but with transform instead of sacrifice would be appropriate.
Also, I'm pretty sure Madness is up there on the Storm Scale, but it would be perfect for a returning mechanic. Are there Rootwallas on Innistrad? :D
November 1, 2015 5:16 p.m.
Madness requires the right environment to exist, but I wouldn't mind seeing it return.
November 1, 2015 5:19 p.m.
subrosian: dude, madness is at an 8 on the storm scale. no way it is coming back.
November 1, 2015 5:55 p.m.
Madness is only that high because it's hard to enable it. Not because it's an overpowered mechanic or hard to understand. It could exist in a Graveyard set like Innistrad would be. That said, I wouldn't expect it.
November 1, 2015 5:59 p.m.
LiveForChaos - If the card Helvault is to be believed, yes :). But I doubt it, since the Eldrazi could theoretically consume it and make it not work.
November 1, 2015 6:20 p.m.
@subrosian: If the flip-walkers from Origin are any indiction, they've definitely been tinkering with alternate ways of transforming cards.
November 1, 2015 7:03 p.m.
MagicalHacker says... #30
So thinking about it, blood is either associated with either blood magic or with the blood-sucking vampires of innistrad. Just from the video, I imagine that Avacyn (obviously symbolized by the feather) has either become a demon, a vampire, or straight up dead. My bet is on the first, since now that Griselbrand was killed by Liliana of the Veil, the plane is again out of sync and unbalanced again (think dark ascension).
That's my theory of the whole situation, but it is honestly a really vague teaser. Which means it is doing its job lol.
November 1, 2015 7:53 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #31
I am not surprised that WoTC is returning to Innistrad, but I am very surprised that it is happening so soon; the original Innistrad block was two blocks after the original Zendikar block, so would it not make more sense for this block to be set two blocks after the Battle for Zendikar block? Also, the original Ravnica block was two blocks after the original Mirrodin block, and the Return to Ravnica block was two blocks after the Scars of Mirrodin block, so it would have made more sense to keep that pattern, here, as well?
I certainly am excited for this, since Innistrad has a great focus on angels and demons, my two favorite creatures in this game, and I fully expect that this block shall have some great angels and demons, as well.
I would rather not see double-faced cards, again, since they are simply too different from most other cards in this game, but I certainly would have no problem with flashback returning. Also, Innistrad would be the perfect place for the haunt and unearth mechanics to return, as well.
I agree with many users here that the vaguely Lovecraftian title of this block suggests that the eldrazi may possibly have some involvement in this block, since it would be an interesting clash between the different types of horror that Innistrad and the eldrazi represent.
Also, I see no good reason from a storytelling perspective why Nahiri and Ugin need to be the only beings in the multiverse who are capable of imprisoning the eldrazi; perhaps someone on Innistrad shall discover an entirely different method for dealing with them? Also, have the origins of the Helvault ever been revealed? Would it not be interesting if either Nahiri designed it, or it was designed by someone who had been inspired by Nahiri's work with the hedrons?
November 1, 2015 8:55 p.m.
omg LiveForChaos, what if the moon is one big helvault and thats where they trap the eldrazi??
November 1, 2015 9:49 p.m.
So, after some thought (and reading The Shadows of Innsmouth's wiki page) I think the set is going to be about Garruk "cracking". I don't think the Eldrazi will be involved, or at least not in the first set, as I believe it will be concurrent with BFZ. In the last UR featuring Liliana she comes to Jace for help with, I assume, the Chain Veil, since she pulls it out and shows it to him. She mentions that it is a vessel that, once possessing a powerful enough character, will act as the harbinger of an ancient, enigmatic race. The Veil is currently cursing Garruk, who is very powerful and stalking Liliana fervently. Liliana also is currently trying to slay the last two demons that she is bound to in her contracts and Innistrad is the plane most known for demons. Putting these two thoughts together, Garruk stalks Liliana to Innistrad where he loses control and inadvertently begins resurrecting this ancient race of beings. This ties into Shadows over Innsmouth, because the monsters involved are a race of mysterious fish people, not the unfathomable monsters like Eldrazi.
Sorin and Nahiri will also likely be involved, since their story was left as a cliffhanger right before Liliana's story abruptly ending, and I would guess Ob Nixilis too since he knows more about the Chain Veil than anyone else in the story currently.
November 1, 2015 10:03 p.m. Edited.
Just saying, shadow over innsmouth isn't about cthulu but about the deep ones known as father dagon and mother hydra. Eldrazi theory makes sense, but I don't see emrakul showing up this early as it's the main eldrazi entity that we know of.
November 2, 2015 2:35 a.m.
Nice, hadn't read that before. If the eldrazi are being continued through then kozilek would make much more sense from what the video showed
November 2, 2015 2:46 a.m.
mollifier91 says... #37
i think that garruk is angry and eldrazi might come!also i believe we will see raven man?!
November 2, 2015 3:07 a.m.
This 'return' is happening way too soon.
I suppose that with Blocks being 2 sets in size, and 2 Blocks per year, we should be seeing 'returns' a little sooner, but a return immediately a return is a bit soon.
I, and many many others, would prefer to see new developments (Vryn, Ragatha, Kaladesh). Origins made mention of many Planes that have not yet been visited. A block surrounding one of these new 'enticements' would have been much preferred.
Even without the new Planes, there are other Planes that are overdue. (Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, Kamigawa, Alara... though another multicolour may be too soon.)
The timing and choice of Plane are clearly, and transparently, all about the hype.
November 2, 2015 8:41 a.m.
Rayenous - I'd like to direct you to the post I linked to in the thread header :)
November 2, 2015 9:02 a.m.
I'm curious to see how this fits into the current standard environment. Zombies, Vampires, Eldrazi, Oh my! My Werewolf-ally deck is ready for you, Shadows.
But really, I do wonder if the Eldrazi will show up here. They were more or less underwhelming in BfZ, and I would like a break from them, even if it is just for 1 expansion. And if they did, I don't think Innistrad would be able to stand together like Zendikar did to defeat the space-monsters. I can see merfolk, vampires, kor, and humans working together, but Zombies, Priests, Ghosts, Angels, Demons, and Werewolves working together is just... silly.
R.I.P. Innistrad(?).
2011-2016
Murdered by Space Monsters.
November 2, 2015 9:35 a.m.
shinobigarth says... #42
the shards of it are still left over though i think. so they can rebuild it and make Super Mega Helvault 3.0 possibly. because thats one important artifact they didn't make a card for that they now could have the opportunity to.
November 2, 2015 1:27 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #43
wait my bad, they did make a card. i forgot about it because its such an insanely awful piece of garbage. well, now they can make a better card for it.
November 2, 2015 1:29 p.m.
Has anyone seen the picture announcing shadows over innistrad? I think it makes it fairly clear it won't be about the Eldrazi, but it will follow the storyline of jace.
November 2, 2015 2:43 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #46
Jace again? He better be helping Liliana, and Lili better be the main player. Otherwise shit man, I'm getting tired of him hopping around the Multiverse when he has a huge responsibility on Ravnica.
November 2, 2015 3:18 p.m.
So who's the phantasm/ghost/geist/whatever in the background?
November 2, 2015 3:44 p.m.
dont foget, Ugin sent jace to look for sorin. after liliana killed griselbrand, she really has no business on innistrad
November 2, 2015 4:25 p.m.
Innistrad is generally just one of Liliana's favorite planes. Zombies and stuff. She could be there just because.
JakeHarlow says... #1
Here we go again!
November 1, 2015 2:13 a.m.