The Fallen and Zendikar Rising
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Sept. 13, 2019, 8:44 p.m. by ZendikariWol
Anyone else get the feeling that spoiling Rayami. First of the Fallen so close to announcing Zendikar Rising wasn't an accident or a coincidence? Oh, you forgot about him? I don't blame you, his card is super forgettable. But what's not so forgettable is what Rayami and Yarok, the Desecrated might mean for Zendikar.
What if Rayami is a vampire who is still blindly, psychotically loyal to the Eldrazi? And what if it's not just him? Remember, his epithet is "First of the Fallen", obviously implies there are other fallen. But Rayami and the others must know the Eldrazi are gone- why would they keep worshiping? What if they see Yarok, the Desecrated as a forecast of the Titans' return? After all, Yarok is a physical manifestation of the Eldrazi's corruption, it would make sense for those who didn't understand what the Eldrazi were to think that Yarok was some sort of prophet!
Beyond that, let's take a look at chronology. The 3 legendary creatures that are definitely from Zendikar printed this year were Omnath, Locus of the Roil , Yarok, the Desecrated , and Rayami. First of the Fallen . They announced Yarok and Omnath, Rayami, and the set's name back to back to back, and in addition, the name Zendikar Rising could allude to the Fallen being the antagonist. Heck, with all of the teasers and peeks into the future that Wizards of the Coast is giving us, I wonder if WotC was waiting for someone to piece this together!
Even if I'm right about the Fallen, though, this would probably not be a major plot point in Zendikar Rising. It's going to be a reintroduction set and, as such, we're unlikely to see any massive villains or grand schemes. Rayami, Yarok, and the Fallen will be alluded to as a part of the Zendikar that is now, a plane reeling from a cataclysmic event that is now beginning to get back up on its feet. They'll be mentioned in this set, if I'm right, but the real plans with them are coming later, though I'll have to watch carefully through Zendikar Rising to see what those plans may be.
TL;DR, I think that the "Fallen" that Rayami's title alludes to a group of vampires (and probably what remains of the Eternal Pilgrims) that still worship the Eldrazi, and Yarok is their idol, a reminder to them that their saviors will return, and to the rest of Zendikar, that some scars may never heal.
I just think Omnath and Yarok will duke it out and Omnath will win by consuming Yarok somehow, making Omnath gain black! This will be printed in a Brawl deck!
September 14, 2019 3:31 a.m.
I'm totally excited about going back to Zendikar, and looking forward to seeing new lore about my second-favorite plane (sorry, ZendikariWol, but Innistrad is my fav').
But frankly, even more than that, I'm hoping for some amazing reprints. The Zendikar Fetches, maybe? Or Stoneforge Mystic (since Kor are only found on Zendikar)? Even if nothing else, we're getting some gorgeous full-art Basics!
September 14, 2019 5:39 a.m.
clayperce I think it’s likely we see SFM, especially since we saw it unbanned recently.
September 14, 2019 7:05 a.m.
fadelightningmm says... #6
I don’t want to bust any bubbles, but Rayami was the first vampire created on Zendikar due to the Eldrazi being trapped there. The zendakari vampires are former elves corrupted by the Eldrazi presence
September 14, 2019 9:07 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #7
Oddly, clayperce, since I made this username several years ago, my favorite plane has changed dramatically, from Zendikar to Ravnica to Tarkir to, finally, Alara. If you're curious as to why, we should talk about it on my wall, not here.
Riffing off of your reprint quandaries, I wonder whether WotC is making an artifact subtheme in Zendikar again? Life, it's cool if they do, but I would kinda prefer that that be on the backburner, we get a couple reprints, like maybe Adventuring Gear , Stoneforge, and possibly Slab Hammer to more easily enable landfall. I would really prefer for us to get a new mechanic that feels adventurous (and no, while there's no way they're bringing it back so soon, Adventure would really not be a bad fit).
Well, fadelightningmm, I guess that's what I get for not looking on the wiki first. Still, it would be pretty bad ass if this was the plot to Zendikar rising- not using Rayami, but perhaps Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim . Narratively, the block would be a way for Zendikar to symbolically overcome its past. And by extension, of course, to truly and finally overcome the Eldrazi. Ayli's story would be that of someone who, when everything she knew was shattered before her, chose to cling to the pieces rather than moving on. It would be super cool if, rather than her death ending the story, she lives and learns to move on. Perhaps she even earns the respect of General Tazri sometime later, or the general decides to take Ayli under her wing in order to help her move on. Remember, that plays into Tazri's story arc quite a bit as well. The inability to move on is something that each of them has experience with, and learning to live with regret and make the most of it is a perinent message today.
September 14, 2019 11:10 a.m.
ScionsStillLive says... #8
I really hope they print more Eldrazi though...
September 14, 2019 1:01 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #9
This is all speculation based off of the very little information we have about the characters but I am fairly convinced that Omnath will be the next antagonist on Zendikar. Yarok will be an unlikely protagonist.
Here's my thoughts:
It's been heavily alluded to that Zendikar is sentient and that Omnath is the physical embodiment of the plane of Zendikar. We also know that Omnath was imprisoned in Ondu for a reason so important that hedrons were used to keep him imprisoned and a twice-year ritual was conducted to "protect the world from the release of Omnath". Then the Eldrazi were released and everything went to hell.
I suspect Zendikar, and by extension Omnath, is suuuuuuuper pissed at the denizens of the plane. Using Omnath as its champion, Zendikar plans to cleanse itself of all corruption. Zendikar would perceive most of its inhabitants (especially the vampires) to be corrupt because they let the Eldrazi corruption spread in the first place. This would also provide an interesting decision point in Nissa's storyline. She has always sought to protect Zendikar, but what if she was now forced to decide between protecting the plane's inhabitants or protecting the plane itself?
Yarok is interesting and, like Omnath, little is known about the elemental. However, I think the character could play an excellent foil to Omnath. The "Lament for Bala Ged" featured (in order) on Yarok, the Desecrated , Yarok's Wavecrasher , Yarok's Fenlurker , and Healer of the Glade makes me believe that Yarok is actually a benevolent, but misguided force who is trying to heal the land, but can't because it has been corrupted by the Eldrazi. To me that sounds like an excellent character for Nissa to purify and ally with against Omnath's pure chaos and rage. Maybe in the end they merge (giving Omnath a black color identity) and Omnath/Zendikar calms down a bit.
September 19, 2019 1:48 p.m.
I think it’s possible we see a R/G Nissa or a U/G Nissa depending on which elemental she allies with.
September 21, 2019 12:02 p.m.
ScionsStillLive says... #11
I think some eldrazi may still be left over so we might see a few in the cards. maybe Bane of Bala Ged ?
Ice_Water says... #2
Curious to see the aftermath of basically the apocalypse on Zendikar. The Gatewatch got out of there so quickly that we didn’t have any time to see what the results of destroying the physical manifestations of Kozilek and Ulamog were.
There’s going to be a lot of rebuilding and I think we are going to see a more savage and survivalist plane. A lot was turned to dust and warped into unfamiliar objects. I’m not sure of the extent to the damage of the plane, or how the mana and natural forces will try and fight back.
If Omnath’s new card is any indication, he will be heavily involved in the reclamation of Zendikars territory. I feel like he will try to wipe out whatever trace of Eldrazi he finds.
September 13, 2019 11:09 p.m.