STX- Strixhaven: School of Mages- Worldbuilding and Story Discussion

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5colorsrainbow
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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 3 years ago

So randomly weekly mtg just showed up our first look at Strixhaven and we got enough to talk on. I missed the first chunk so this what was told so far;
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/a ... 2021-02-18 (first look)

Other links;

World building;

-Strixhaven is the name of a school on its on a new plane called Arcavios.

-There are 5 colleges which are enemy colored founded by elder dragons.

Tribes that seem to be here and not sure if part of a school:
Frog (from Maro hint might be frogfolk or just a person turned into a frog)

WB Silverquil WB
Silverquills wield the magic of words, from inspiring battle poetry to biting arcane insults. Stylish, intimidating, and tirelessly competitive, these mages are born leaders with a razor-sharp wit and natural charisma that can be used for good or for ill. Their motto is "Sharp style. Sharper wit."
Tribes;

Humans
Kors (from the artist art station he lists Kor and one figure in the command looks like a Kor with the flesh beard thing)
Vampires? (from the artist art station he lists vampires and a few other tribes on a draft, just hard to tell. From Maro hint we know there are vampires)
Orcs? (see vampires)
Avens? (See vampires)
Inklings? (see vampires)

Notable Members;


UR Prismari UR
Prismari are the theatre kids of Strixhaven, and magic is how they express themselves. Their spells can be spectacles of raw creativity or meticulous artistic expressions. All the world's a stage, and whether their art is informed by mind or emotion, Prismari always leave a lasting impression. Their motto is "Express yourself with the elements."
Tribes;

Humans
Azras/Orcs? (hard to tell with the main figure for the school, I could see either and we do know from Maro there are orcs)
Elementals
Aven

Notable Members;
Zaffai a magical maestro who runs the "Orchestra of Arcane"


BG Witherbloom BG
Witherblooms are goth bio majors. They draw power from the essence of living beings, whether that means enhancing nature or exploiting it. Witherbloom mages are most at home riding zombie crocs, picking herbs for potions, and hanging out in their swamp making grim jokes. Their motto is "Get your hands dirty."
Tribes;

Humans
Dryads
Bearfolk
Elves? (green hair pointed ear guy in the command)
Trolls? (Maro confimed trolls and there looks to be one in the command)

Notable Members;
Willowdusk a drayd who joined the school after saying a few students lost in detention bog.

RW Lorehold RW
Loreholds are diligent researchers and daring adventurers. Passionate scholars obsessed with history, they explore the past by pouring over archaeological artifacts and summoning long-dead spirits. For some students, the past is a rich tapestry worthy of disciplined study. While others wear that tapestry like a cape as they jump down into a forgotten tomb. Their motto is "Leave no stone unturned."
Tribes;

Human
Aven
Loxodon
Dwarf
Sprits
Constructs

Notable Members;
Osgir a former student, now teacher who can remake artifacts from the tiniest scraps.



GU Quazdrix GU
Quandrix mages are ingenious math magicians. They study patterns, fractals, and symmetries to command power over the fundamental forces of nature. They'll solve a Rubik's Cube while contemplating the metaphysical properties of the universe and can recite every number of Pi backwards. Their motto is "Math is magic."
Tribes;

Human
Aven
Elf? (person in the back of the command on the right)
Merfolk? (maybe other person in the back on the command on the left. Reguardless we see a finned person on the set boosters.

Notable Members;



Lore:
-From the packaging Will and Rowan Kenrith are in the set.

-Story will be through web fiction.

-Kasmina (now UG) and Liliana are on plane.

-Liliana seems to be a teacher and under alies Professor Onyx.



Will update as we know more.
Last edited by 5colorsrainbow 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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5colorsrainbow
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Post by 5colorsrainbow » 3 years ago

Person thoughts:

-Right off everything looks really pretty? Like the art and such for all of it is so cool and flashy.

-Quazdrix is so fun since, while I hated math, I do remember learning how nature will have math in how it grows and forms in it.

-WILL AND ROWAN YES YES YES (fingers crossed for more Kate Elliot thought I'm open to see how a new author might write them.

-Scroll machine gun is something I never knew I needed.

-I don't think we will see Garruk, I think the Kenrith twins being here is them wanting to do a MDFC planeswalker on each side and the twin are perfect for that as well as being "enemy colored" which fit right in the set. So more a game play reason than a story one.
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Krishnath
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Post by Krishnath » 3 years ago

Is it wrong that I read "Goth Bio Majors" and immediately fell in love with the Witherbloom college. Also, am I the only one getting Indiana Jones vibes from Lorehold.

I honestly expected Kasmina to be the face of the set, but I do love the Kenrith twins.
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JWK
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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

The story so far just makes me increasingly tired of planeswalkers. Here we have the greatest magic school in the known multiverse, staffed by dozens of cool and presumably powerful characters we've been given cards for, some of them even helming their own Commander decks...and yet, somehow, when bad stuff happens, the only ones able to figure out what's going on and do anything about it are the characters from other planes. We saw some of the Strixhaven faculty protecting students, directing them to safety, and sure, it's fine that's their first priority... but among all of these powerful mages, nobody can discern the bigger picture, figure out that actual threat and handle the threat on their own?

Heck, even the bad guys aren't completely competent on their own, they apparently need to rely on a low-ranking planeswalker (Lukka) as well to mount a real threat.

The response this creates, in me at least, is "Why care about these other places, and their inhabitants?" Apparently they aren't interesting or competent enough to be the stars of their own worlds. It's like watching a cop show, but when things hit the fan for the intrepid detectives, Spider-Man or Jason Bourne or Rambo or Harry Potter or some other actual star has to show up and save their butts. I think most viewers would find that anticlimactic, and after it happened again and again, downright ridiculous.

I would really, really like a few sets without planeswalkers at all.... where the story is about interesting planes, and their inhabitants, with planeswalkers either completely absent, or at most hanging off to the side as observers, ala Tamiyo in the original Innistrad storyline.
Last edited by JWK 2 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by PeaceRibbon » 2 years ago

JWK wrote:
2 years ago
The story so far just makes me increasingly tired of planeswalkers. Here we have the greatest magic school in the known multiverse, staffed by dozens of cool and presumably powerful characters we've been given cards for, some of them even helming their own Commander decks...and yet, somehow, when bad stuff happens, the only ones able to figure out what's going on and do anything about it are the characters from other planes. We saw some of the Strixhaven faculty protecting students, directing them to safety, and sure, it's fine that's their first priority... but among all of these powerful mages, nobody can discern the bigger picture, figure out that actual threat and handle the threat on their own?
To be fair, one of the first things established by Liliana at the story's opening is that Arcavians are short sighted. This is maybe a very lazy explanation as to why they don't do more in the story, but it is an explanation. The villains are less defensible though for sure, did they just spend years doing nothing but plan until they recruited someone strong enough to accomplish anything?

But yeah, the story's a big letdown so far. If they're going to do planeswalker focus they should have at least let it focus on Liliana's struggles with the events of WotS and hopefully have her grow in an interesting way that gives Gideon a positive legacy. But no, we get Will being unsure of himself all the time and Rowan flitting about with gal pals I couldn't care less about, all amid boring sibling drama that will amount to nothing in the long run.

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Post by JWK » 2 years ago

So, Will and Rowan save the day, as shown in the cards. Rowan goes a little bit Phoenix, channeling the power of the Snarl. This apparently changes her in some way, as will obbserves something vital seems to have been sucked out of her. We'll see what comes of this. Will she become a power addict ala Dark Willow, or head down some other dark path ala her and Will's biological mother? I guess time will tell. Will lost his lower leg and now has a steel and ice replacement that sounds more impractical than anything. I dunno how to feel about this, Will and Rowan feel to me like they should be more fun characters than tragic ones. Not everything needs to have a dark edge, but at the same time, challenges are what drives character development.

A couple of the Strixhaven profs show up after the day has been won to patch up Will and Rowan, but neither they nor the dragons played any role in taking down the main threat. Everything that actually mattered in the story, save Extus being a force of chaos and pointless carnage, was due to the walkers. And Extus woujld have accomplished crap-all if Lukka hadn't wandered his stupid self onto the plane.

Speaking of Lukka, Kasmina watches him slink away, considering him unimportant in the big scheme of things. I guess I agree with her on that, and hope he stays away, as he's just a dumpster fire of a character. His motivation for taking part in this story at all has not made much sense to me. It seems like he was just shoved in because they wanted to have a creature/walker flip-card.

Lilliana takes her name back and continues at the University as Professor Liliana Vess, Professor of Necromancy, apparently planning to give up personal ambition for academia, which doesn't sound very B to me, but perhaps this counts as growth for her. Maybe we'll get a UB version in the future That wouldn't really fit in with the dichotomous structures of the Strixhaven colleges, but Lili has always made her own rules.

Overall... well, it's definitely better than getting no story at all.
I have 68 active EDH decks, with more in progress. I don't consider this a problem. Do you?
I am also one of those barbarians who enjoys winning by turning creatures sideways.

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