Why did Bolas choose Ravnica?

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The Fluff
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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

Hi, this has been a lingering question in my mind on the past set.

Why did Bolas choose Ravnica during War of the Spark? I mean if he chose a remote area to setup the thing that attract planeswalkers.. it could be just him + eternals vs. planeswalkers. Much easier than him + eternals vs. planeswalkers + armies of Ravnica.
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Post by Mookie » 3 years ago

Convenience, presumably. Ral Zarek had already been working on Project Lightning Bug as a way to track planeswalkers, which was set up on Ravnica at the request of Niv Mizzet. This was what served as the starting point for the Interplanar Beacon that called planeswalkers. While it may have been possible to move it to a different plane using the Planar Bridge, that would presumably also take a lot of effort and resources. And that is ignoring any local phenomena (leylines, the Implicit Maze, etc) that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere.

As an added bonus, Ravnica is a pretty highly-trafficked plane, so many planeswalkers have either traveled there or at least heard of it. While the specific mechanics of planeswalking haven't been very well documented, it seems reasonable to assume that some planes are easier to get to than others, so choosing an easy-to-get-to one would be preferable if Bolas wanted to trap as many planeswalkers as possible. Simultaneously, as a major plane, more planeswalkers would be likely to show up to defend it if it were under attack.

Also, let's be honest: Bolas is a dragon, and the red portion of his personality corresponds to him indulging more in that aspect of himself than is strictly necessary. Luring people to some random location and ambushing them seems pretty cowardly - if he's aiming for omnipotence, it shouldn't matter what forces are arranged against him anyway.

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Post by user_938036 » 3 years ago

There isn't any need to speculate here. Bolas specifically says he choose Ravnica so that the Planeswalkers would have a reason to fight. He could have chosen a barren wasteland to set up the sun and the beacon and had his army waiting for unsuspecting walkers to stumble in but any that weren't immediately killed would flee and it is a lot harder to hunt people down as opposed to killing them in a massive war. Basically, He saw this method as the most efficient due to his rapidly dwindling timeframe.

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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 3 years ago

Meta-reason: Creative wanted a popular world that the audience would care about with the War, it came down to Ravnica and Dominaria. Dominaria ended up being used for the 25th anniversary as well as creative NOT wanting another world ending event taking place and showing a Dominaria at rest and healing.

In Lore: Ravnica is both high trafficked and known to other walkers. I also think it was one of the few planes that could have a beacon built on it.
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Post by lyonhaert » 3 years ago

Also, having lots of residents to protect tends to be a distraction for good-guys.
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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

@lyonhaert

agreed. And I think it's one reason Dack died, he choose to stay to protect people.

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thanks for all the explanations everyone. It makes more sense now. :)
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Post by ilovesaprolings » 3 years ago

Honestly i think it was a bad choice. Ravnica is one of the most populated planes in the multiverse, it's literally an all-city. There are plenty of organized militias and supernatural creatures like Aurelia and Rakdos that could defeat planeswalkers easily.

So for me the reason was mainly marketing.

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Post by The Fluff » 3 years ago

In my opinion, it is difficult to write about Bolas, a character who is supposed to be smarter than most humans - including those who write this story. After reading the earlier comments here, I think his plan is actually almost perfect.

This art with Tolsimir and Voja fighting the eternals, there are so many..
It looks like the armies of Ravnica do not outnumber them at all.
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the only problem with Bolas plan is the unexpected sacrifice of Jura, transfer the contract penalty to himself. Which give Lily the chance to use the eternalized gods on the dragon god.
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