My headcanon for why the Simic label themselves simic is guildpact-y legal loophole reasons. I could easily imagine the secret merfolk(tm) trying to establish a new faction for a couple of years while getting bogged down in the Legal Azorius Engine of Obstruction, before finally realizing that they can get access to all sorts of protections, special rights and research grants by becoming the Simic. The bad PR is a drawback, but an acceptable one if it lets them legally combine sharks with crabs.
It will also expedite the process, and bypass a lot of arguing and finagling from the other guilds trying to essentially prevent a guildless from rising up to their level. Sure, they are a large group and organized, but you would not want to set the precedent for other chaff to rise up.
My head cannon for this is that the merfolk under the surface were always the Simic and that their dealings on the surface were more or less litigated to others as a kind of "Lordship." The merfolk of the Simic are far more interested in researching and persevering their ocean depths to be bothered with the surface, but they are still curious about land based fauna. Long ago they found some surface dwellers with a passion for biology and equipped them to study on Simic's behalf, creating an arrangement that served their interests and preferences. Their hands-off approach to governing their land-based colleagues for many generations led to the atrocities committed in the first Ravnica block. Thus, they are now taking a more hands-on approach to prevent such folly from happening again.
@@YuletideGlory Then you remember that their first introduction to the city was having a giant sinkhole take a huge chunk of it into the depths. It makes sense they knew about the surface dwellers beforehand, otherwise they just sunk and entire part of the populated city into the depths. XD
@@ODDnanref Yes, in canon they actually went out of their way to make sure the sinkholes did the least amount of damage, even working with the other guilds to establish where the sinkholes should be placed. That's definitely not something they could do if they had no knowledge of the surface at all.
The worst part of discovering a new longform video series that I really like is waiting for the third part when you've just marathoned through Part 1 and 2
"Hello good sir/madam! Do you have time to talk about the *EVILS OF MODERN CIVILIZATION AND THE MORAL RESPONSIBILTY OF ALL SAPIENT LIFE TO TEAR IT DOWN*???... No? Well, would you like a pamphlet at least? Please take one, I'm begging you- if I don't meet my quota again, Ruric-Thar is going to use me as a toothpick..."
39:10 Doctors: You can rewrite DNA on the fly? You could use that to cure cancer! Simic: I dont want to cure cancer! I want to turn people into dinosaurs!
Firstly, these videos have been amazing. Your grasp and delivery on this topic is phenomenal. It paints a clear image of the chaos from between all the different source material. I DM a Ravnica game and oh my god, these videos have helped me make sense of it all so so much. So a million billion times thank you. Secondly, your arms are lookin huge bro! Keep it going :), the videos and everything else.
The only sad part of getting to the end of 2+ hours of fascinating content is learning that Part 3 doesn't exist some 7 months later. Regardless, a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and as I'm running the D&D version which doesn't include the furture with all the Niv-Pact stuff, I guess I got all the main stuff I need. Thanks :)
7 months after your comment. Still no part 3. I am a bit sad considering there are other videos on MTG topics. Also, it is 7 months after 7 months of no part 3. I liked the mirror.
THANK YOU, dude! One, this video is great and I'm glad you're putting out more. Two, thank you for talking about the Gateless Rebels. I'm a card designer for Custom Magic as well as being a DM for a D&D game set in Ravnica and it seems like I'm the only one who finds the Rebels really facinating in the grand scheme of the plane. Keep up the good work!!
7:15 Heck, I'm good with it. I empathize with the desire to have seen the "Lorwyn Five" actually matter to the lore of the setting at the time, but them showing up at all? I'm cool with it. Frankly, I'd rather it happened more often, getting to see 'walkers that don't just blend in with a setting's aesthetics/themes and how they'll mesh with the plane. Usually these days, it doesn't go far beyond something like the elf Nissa turning up in the elf-less Amonkhet. And she's already plenty human-like as is, so...yeah.
Yeah I can see that, it gets a bit tiresome that every time we see a new plane the bulk of the new walkers are just from there or at least comfortably blend in like you say. With Lorwyn cus it was the first time we were seeing either the plane or the new card type, I always felt they overshadowed it a little and muddled the human-less theme. And I would have loved some dumb story about what they were all doing on Lorwyn. Definitely rather have them be there than not get them at all though.
Thanks for coming back, I'll get part 3 out as fast as I can! I've gotta make this whilst I'm not at work and I'm learning it all as I go but I'm getting quicker I swear!
Come back! I need your videos to help me with my Ravnica campaign! 🤣 I am making that careless story dammit! Still gonna be pawns but their voices will be heard.
Awesome video again, as i said before these are fantastic for me as i have fond memory's form ages passed when i played MTG and from bits of DnD so these are really really cool to get more in depth look at this setting. keep up the good work! looking forward to the 3rd part.
God this has become one of my favorite channels. Fun long form content with great humor and incredibly digestible story content. This also helps with my notes for my D&D campaign.
This is just beautiful. I'm running a DnD game set in Ravnica soon and this was just a goldmine of lore for the worldbuilding. Please make more (Ravnica allegiance. war of the spark? maybe theros afterwards?)
THIS ACTUALLY HELPED ME A LOT! Now I don't have to read the books and I'm more certain of how the politics of the setting work for the guildless :D Thank you, beautiful bearded man! (Awesome beard, btw, so symmetric omg)
you are quickly becoming one of my favorite MTG youtubers, i hope we see a part 3 for the 2019 sets. and maybe a few others about other long forms. def watching all your vids in the coming days. keep it up! this is a great way to interact with the lore!
Hey you didn't have to wait long! I've only had time to get through the first part so far. I'm gonna pick 2 bits and follow his instructions at least the first time, it sounds fun!
It's really fun rediscovering Ravnica through these videos. I played in Kamigawa, came back for the first Ravnica and completely fell in love with the game during that time. Ravnica stayed my favorite setting even as I played later sets, so much so that all of the decks I built during my time playing the game just HAD to be dualcolor - I never felt right just doing a single one. I never played the second and third Ravnica blocks, so the third block might prove me wrong, but with all this talk about the guildless, I'm kind of surprised Wizards never tried making them a new faction in the setting with their own decks and cards and such. I realize it probably is because it goes against the point of the setting being multicolor play, but it seems like such a missed opportunity. Give them a keyword that benefits from the number of single color permanents or something similar, boom, done.
Hey, I only just discovered your videos or I would have started following you awhile ago. Glad to see you've been uploading again, but seriously dude where's part 3 of the Ravnica series? You actually rock. Can't wait for another video of your particular brand. Binged what you had uploaded last night.
Listen, honestly these videos are fantastic, there are a few very small details that I wished you talked about but that's fine. I'm so glad these exist. Also I honestly just hope you validate my opinion in the next video that story, flavour and meta wise, Niv-mizzet being the living guildpact is literally just the worst idea ever 😅😅 haha.
Ooh spoilers about Niv! You may well be happy with the next one... And thank you very much! Although I'm definitely intrigued as to what you wished I'd included?
Thank you for these two videos. I will create their story and back story in this new Ravnica campaign I am working on. I will be referencing your videos a lot brotha.
My headcannon for the Simic label is that in the days of yore a group of Simic turned themselves into merfolk and focused on doing Simic things to aquatic life. Following them further and further down till they are forgotten
Really love the videos. Unrelated to the topic at hand, but I think the new Simic taking the name of the defunct Simic guild was actually an incredibly shrewd political decision by the merfolk that makes more sense than it may first seem. First, it positions them within an historical context as people with a rightful claim to power. It's all about controlling the narrative in real life just as in the game. By positioning themselves as heirs to the destroyed Simic guild, it's harder rhetorically and legally to challenge their claim to power. Essentially, in exchange for some bad PR associated with the name, they just get to scoop up roughly one tenth of all political power on the plane. Second, it sends a relative message of peace to the people of Ravnica. These inhuman dwellers of the deep just showed up out of nowhere and have demonstrated some terrifying power over the plane's architecture. Most Ravnicans have no idea if the place they live is built on aboveground foundations or if it's above those oceans nobody knew about, so they will be terrified to learn that their homes and, for guilds, seats of power, could probably be swallowed by the ocean if the merfolk feel like it. But by taking the Simic name, the merfolk demonstrate some understanding of Ravnican history and a willingness to work within the present structures of power. It tells Ravnicans that they haven't showed up as conquerors or avengers of the neglected ocean, but as restorers and healers, like the Simic were once intended to be.
My DM's biggest frustration is that every other time he tries to come up with a dystopian example of the guild's policies, it manages to be something that's going on right now in America. It literally took the Orzhov buying Selesnyan farmland to make golf courses... made of astroturf, to make us go "now that's cartoonishly evil."
I just found your channel and watched both vids entirely non-stop Fucking loved it, 2 hours of lore and politics of ravnica, mostly now I'm DM on a ravnica D&D table P.S.: can someone please say the cards name of each arts without the card actually being shown?
at 1:14:51 it says Gideon had to add his name AND guild to the list, which makes me wonder if guildless people can even add themselves to the wait list
Dude I just found you, your content is great, you have a great way of narrating and your scripts are very enjoyable, I hope you keep at it and I can see more of your content 😄.
How do families work on Ravnica? Can guild members be romantically involved with members of other guilds or of no guild? Is it assumed children will join their parent's guilds? What about friends? Is the conflict between guilds such that members of one guild are viewed with suspicion if they are friendly with a member of another guild?
So I may have binged all of your content in two days, but please please don't cave to making more videos at the cost of your unique in depth analysis of the lore. It should be alright that you have time to go through months worth of material to make an extensive video even every year. I really appreciate what you are doing and I think the small shorts in between larger essays will help with retention. I think there are enough of us that are alright waiting for a solid video even if it takes awhile.
Honestly a fantastic breakdown of Ravnica, as a newer player (Started playing around Ixalan) I always struggled to understand why the more outwardly aggressive guilds like the Rakdos and Gruul were tolerated by both the other guilds and the guildless, the breakdown of the utility of these guilds, the underhanded brutality of the "civilised", bureaucratic guilds and the disenfranchisement of the guildless really paints a more balanced picture that the 2018 Ravnica set didn't convey all that well.
The best out of a bunch of bad options is a somewhat realistic situation for the average person in our own world as well, which is why I think Ravnica resonates with so many people as a setting. We can all agree to some small bits of the guilds ideologies yet be dismayed at their extreme elements. I think that's what makes it an interesting place and why it's also one the most self-insertable settings in MTG's history. It's fantasy enough to be different without being so foreign that we can't fathom living there.
innistrad is when i came in but ravnica was on its way and i loved it when it came out the small town i lived in went from no nerds(aside from us hidden ones) to the school banning magic cards in class because everyone played from jocks to nerds was a good time ravnica is nostalgic to me more then any other set
The Gateless could have had quite a compelling story. Trying to be vigilantes and battling against guildmembers who overstep their boundaries. The struggles on an almost world-war-esque level between the guilds and the guildless. But... this is what RPGs like D&D are for, to tell your own stories, lol.
Liliana returning to Ravnica just to get jumped is hilarious to me. The population’s distrust of guilds faded with time, but I guess nobody forgot her actions in the war of the spark.
If I had a nickel for every time I got really hooked on an MTG Lore video essay youtuber from the UK who peppers in anti-capitalist rhetoric related to said lore and had a particular affinity for a specific creature from Mirrodin block, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice.
my dnd character is the son of two gateless vedalken doctors who had been low-ranking members of vig's simic and were radicalized by the movement in the guild's absence as they had to deal with unknowing complicity in the massacre of patients by experiment kraj now, in the modern day, they have remained guildless after the return of the simic and operate a clinic funded by gateless donations that prioritizes care for the guildless and is generally much better trusted for pediatric and palliative care without risk of mutation than the simic they are an important fixture in their community and may be the characters in this campaign with the best moral standing
Although the lack of specificity of "the Gateless" may be frustrating for a lore nerd, it actually sets up an ideal in-world framework for a tabletop adventure, where the players can flesh out their own tiny antiestablishment faction as the Gateless with their own identities.
My headcanon for why the Simic label themselves simic is guildpact-y legal loophole reasons. I could easily imagine the secret merfolk(tm) trying to establish a new faction for a couple of years while getting bogged down in the Legal Azorius Engine of Obstruction, before finally realizing that they can get access to all sorts of protections, special rights and research grants by becoming the Simic. The bad PR is a drawback, but an acceptable one if it lets them legally combine sharks with crabs.
It will also expedite the process, and bypass a lot of arguing and finagling from the other guilds trying to essentially prevent a guildless from rising up to their level. Sure, they are a large group and organized, but you would not want to set the precedent for other chaff to rise up.
It also gives them the right to bear arms.
My head cannon for this is that the merfolk under the surface were always the Simic and that their dealings on the surface were more or less litigated to others as a kind of "Lordship." The merfolk of the Simic are far more interested in researching and persevering their ocean depths to be bothered with the surface, but they are still curious about land based fauna. Long ago they found some surface dwellers with a passion for biology and equipped them to study on Simic's behalf, creating an arrangement that served their interests and preferences. Their hands-off approach to governing their land-based colleagues for many generations led to the atrocities committed in the first Ravnica block. Thus, they are now taking a more hands-on approach to prevent such folly from happening again.
@@YuletideGlory
Then you remember that their first introduction to the city was having a giant sinkhole take a huge chunk of it into the depths. It makes sense they knew about the surface dwellers beforehand, otherwise they just sunk and entire part of the populated city into the depths. XD
@@ODDnanref
Yes, in canon they actually went out of their way to make sure the sinkholes did the least amount of damage, even working with the other guilds to establish where the sinkholes should be placed. That's definitely not something they could do if they had no knowledge of the surface at all.
The worst part of discovering a new longform video series that I really like is waiting for the third part when you've just marathoned through Part 1 and 2
Yuuuppp
Not to mention, this is such an underrated channel👏👏 solid content in every vid
This is where I am now. It bites.
This.
"Imagine only watching two parts of something" - Silver Myr 2021
28:34 another small detail there that I love is that dimir doesn't have a kiosk. Also the fact that the gruul have a kiosk is hilarious.
"Hello good sir/madam! Do you have time to talk about the *EVILS OF MODERN CIVILIZATION AND THE MORAL RESPONSIBILTY OF ALL SAPIENT LIFE TO TEAR IT DOWN*???... No? Well, would you like a pamphlet at least? Please take one, I'm begging you- if I don't meet my quota again, Ruric-Thar is going to use me as a toothpick..."
39:10
Doctors: You can rewrite DNA on the fly? You could use that to cure cancer!
Simic: I dont want to cure cancer! I want to turn people into dinosaurs!
Or oozes!!
I mean the prime speaker is part ooze.
@@ODDnanref OR BETTER dinosaurs oozes
Well, the Dinosaurs are probably cancer free if the Simic did a good job.
I hope there is still a part 3 planned. The two videos already released are two of the best videos on Ravnica that exist, great work.
Firstly, these videos have been amazing. Your grasp and delivery on this topic is phenomenal. It paints a clear image of the chaos from between all the different source material. I DM a Ravnica game and oh my god, these videos have helped me make sense of it all so so much. So a million billion times thank you.
Secondly, your arms are lookin huge bro! Keep it going :), the videos and everything else.
What a bunch of lovely things you've said, thank you very much!
The only sad part of getting to the end of 2+ hours of fascinating content is learning that Part 3 doesn't exist some 7 months later.
Regardless, a thoroughly enjoyable watch, and as I'm running the D&D version which doesn't include the furture with all the Niv-Pact stuff, I guess I got all the main stuff I need.
Thanks :)
Oh shoot, 2 months later -- and we're not there yet! DANG. I do think I have some good stuff for my D&D Campaign though, lol.
7 months after your comment. Still no part 3. I am a bit sad considering there are other videos on MTG topics.
Also, it is 7 months after 7 months of no part 3. I liked the mirror.
@@ODDnanref He’s working on it but wanted to release a video on New Phyrexia while it was was in the public conscious
THANK YOU, dude! One, this video is great and I'm glad you're putting out more. Two, thank you for talking about the Gateless Rebels. I'm a card designer for Custom Magic as well as being a DM for a D&D game set in Ravnica and it seems like I'm the only one who finds the Rebels really facinating in the grand scheme of the plane. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you for your lovely comment! I love the idea of the gateless, I really wish they got more focus
The whole saga between Jace and Vraska is a real roller coaster after RTR block. Some really great moments and some soul-crushing sad points.
Mate I'd love to see a part 3 happen! This series has helped so much in my ravnica dnd campaign
"while we're struggling to figure out who we're following in this book" made me laugh even before you said that the joke was for me, specifically.
7:15 Heck, I'm good with it. I empathize with the desire to have seen the "Lorwyn Five" actually matter to the lore of the setting at the time, but them showing up at all? I'm cool with it. Frankly, I'd rather it happened more often, getting to see 'walkers that don't just blend in with a setting's aesthetics/themes and how they'll mesh with the plane. Usually these days, it doesn't go far beyond something like the elf Nissa turning up in the elf-less Amonkhet. And she's already plenty human-like as is, so...yeah.
Yeah I can see that, it gets a bit tiresome that every time we see a new plane the bulk of the new walkers are just from there or at least comfortably blend in like you say. With Lorwyn cus it was the first time we were seeing either the plane or the new card type, I always felt they overshadowed it a little and muddled the human-less theme. And I would have loved some dumb story about what they were all doing on Lorwyn. Definitely rather have them be there than not get them at all though.
Glad to see you back. Here's hoping we don't have to wait 3 more months for part 3 :p
Thanks for coming back, I'll get part 3 out as fast as I can! I've gotta make this whilst I'm not at work and I'm learning it all as I go but I'm getting quicker I swear!
This! Running Ravnica myself and trying to make a few more guilds..so this is great
3 months later....
6 month later.
Come back! I need your videos to help me with my Ravnica campaign! 🤣 I am making that careless story dammit! Still gonna be pawns but their voices will be heard.
Awesome video again, as i said before these are fantastic for me as i have fond memory's form ages passed when i played MTG and from bits of DnD so these are really really cool to get more in depth look at this setting. keep up the good work! looking forward to the 3rd part.
God this has become one of my favorite channels. Fun long form content with great humor and incredibly digestible story content. This also helps with my notes for my D&D campaign.
This is just beautiful. I'm running a DnD game set in Ravnica soon and this was just a goldmine of lore for the worldbuilding. Please make more (Ravnica allegiance. war of the spark? maybe theros afterwards?)
Seeing this in my recommended has brightened up my day
I'm on limited time so I only got to watch a few minutes before going to bed. This is great so far! I wanted to leave a comment of compliment :)
Yay part 2!! Well done James you charismatic chap
Also yay merfolk!!
Bro these are sick. I am dming in ravnica again soon
THIS ACTUALLY HELPED ME A LOT! Now I don't have to read the books and I'm more certain of how the politics of the setting work for the guildless :D
Thank you, beautiful bearded man! (Awesome beard, btw, so symmetric omg)
These are really well put together videos, I was surprised to see that this is a new channel. Good work, can't wait to see more!
That's one hell of a wall.
43:33 I feel you, I have that problem EVERYTIME I try to describe guildless clothing to my players!!!
you are quickly becoming one of my favorite MTG youtubers, i hope we see a part 3 for the 2019 sets. and maybe a few others about other long forms. def watching all your vids in the coming days. keep it up! this is a great way to interact with the lore!
I am excited to see more mtg documentaries from you! This is great!
Man this video is pure gold
Great series!
I wish we get the third part soon.
I keep getting notifications for comments that aren't appearing so if your comment isn't showing up I'm afraid I don't know why
hey thanks for the vids, my friend's running a ravnica dnd game and these were really helpful in learning about ravnica
This shall tide me over while i wait for Action Button reviews Cyberpunk
Hey you didn't have to wait long! I've only had time to get through the first part so far. I'm gonna pick 2 bits and follow his instructions at least the first time, it sounds fun!
@@silvermyr yeah same only caught the first hour, i think im gonna watch part 5,6 then 7 how about you?
@@johnmorgan3492 Fuck still haven't gotten the chance! I might just be a basic bitch and go for "What I liked" and "what I didn't like"
I'm really excited for Part three! Unfortunate that I found this series before it is finished
He is back :D !!!!!!!!!!!!
The Legend has returned!!! :D 131 likes to 0 dislikes is no accident! Keep it up my guy!
Nice work. Always great to see lore and art breakdowns.
It's really fun rediscovering Ravnica through these videos. I played in Kamigawa, came back for the first Ravnica and completely fell in love with the game during that time. Ravnica stayed my favorite setting even as I played later sets, so much so that all of the decks I built during my time playing the game just HAD to be dualcolor - I never felt right just doing a single one.
I never played the second and third Ravnica blocks, so the third block might prove me wrong, but with all this talk about the guildless, I'm kind of surprised Wizards never tried making them a new faction in the setting with their own decks and cards and such. I realize it probably is because it goes against the point of the setting being multicolor play, but it seems like such a missed opportunity. Give them a keyword that benefits from the number of single color permanents or something similar, boom, done.
I can't help but hear parun as parent, and I love it
Amazing, I really appreciate the deep dive and insight!
Hey, I only just discovered your videos or I would have started following you awhile ago. Glad to see you've been uploading again, but seriously dude where's part 3 of the Ravnica series? You actually rock. Can't wait for another video of your particular brand. Binged what you had uploaded last night.
Excellent video. I was very happy to see it in my feed.
Just saw this today! I'm stoked for part 3! Using this for a dnd campaign I want to run! Thank you!
I just found out your channel and now I can't wait for the third video! :)
I'm looking forward to a part 3, whenever it arrives.
Great series hope to see that promised part 3.
Listen, honestly these videos are fantastic, there are a few very small details that I wished you talked about but that's fine. I'm so glad these exist.
Also I honestly just hope you validate my opinion in the next video that story, flavour and meta wise, Niv-mizzet being the living guildpact is literally just the worst idea ever 😅😅 haha.
Ooh spoilers about Niv! You may well be happy with the next one... And thank you very much! Although I'm definitely intrigued as to what you wished I'd included?
This was a great video. I look forward to more from you!
Good job as someone who likes the lore for a dnd champain this offers a lot of insight that Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica didn't really have.
Can't wait for part 3 I love hearing the lore of ravnica
Loved this 2 Videos.
Would love to see more :)
16:04- oh so *thats* what guildscorn ward’s flavor text is about
Really cool video. I know creation and stuff like this essay is difficult and exhausting, but if you ever feel like continuing I hope you do!
You definetly deserve more recognition!! This video is really good
Thank you for making these I'm running a D&D game set in ravnica and these are very helpful although I'm also changing a lot
i love this series! thanks for making them!
Oooo can't wait for part 3!
This is very entertaining. I'd love some Urza, Ajani and Liliana lore
Im owe you so much 😅 im going to run a d&d game in ravnica and these will def help me
new video yay
I wonder how it will be for the guildless after War
The Guildless Part 3? war of the spark? :3
Great series, please continue! Thanks!
I highkey want a video where you describe clothing in different mtg worlds😂 Jokes aside I loved this series❤
You really deserve more than 551 subs.
Thank you for these two videos. I will create their story and back story in this new Ravnica campaign I am working on. I will be referencing your videos a lot brotha.
My headcannon for the Simic label is that in the days of yore a group of Simic turned themselves into merfolk and focused on doing Simic things to aquatic life. Following them further and further down till they are forgotten
Really love the videos.
Unrelated to the topic at hand, but I think the new Simic taking the name of the defunct Simic guild was actually an incredibly shrewd political decision by the merfolk that makes more sense than it may first seem.
First, it positions them within an historical context as people with a rightful claim to power. It's all about controlling the narrative in real life just as in the game. By positioning themselves as heirs to the destroyed Simic guild, it's harder rhetorically and legally to challenge their claim to power. Essentially, in exchange for some bad PR associated with the name, they just get to scoop up roughly one tenth of all political power on the plane.
Second, it sends a relative message of peace to the people of Ravnica. These inhuman dwellers of the deep just showed up out of nowhere and have demonstrated some terrifying power over the plane's architecture. Most Ravnicans have no idea if the place they live is built on aboveground foundations or if it's above those oceans nobody knew about, so they will be terrified to learn that their homes and, for guilds, seats of power, could probably be swallowed by the ocean if the merfolk feel like it. But by taking the Simic name, the merfolk demonstrate some understanding of Ravnican history and a willingness to work within the present structures of power. It tells Ravnicans that they haven't showed up as conquerors or avengers of the neglected ocean, but as restorers and healers, like the Simic were once intended to be.
Well, guess you've got my subscription. I'd really dig a deep dive like this into Tarkir, if you have the time.
I’ve been bamboozled!
My DM's biggest frustration is that every other time he tries to come up with a dystopian example of the guild's policies, it manages to be something that's going on right now in America. It literally took the Orzhov buying Selesnyan farmland to make golf courses... made of astroturf, to make us go "now that's cartoonishly evil."
it's a very nice and interesting video, hope you'll finish this serie and make new ones
I just found your channel and watched both vids entirely non-stop
Fucking loved it, 2 hours of lore and politics of ravnica, mostly now I'm DM on a ravnica D&D table
P.S.: can someone please say the cards name of each arts without the card actually being shown?
at 1:14:51 it says Gideon had to add his name AND guild to the list, which makes me wonder if guildless people can even add themselves to the wait list
Please do part 3, we need all the War of the Spark lore.
Dude I just found you, your content is great, you have a great way of narrating and your scripts are very enjoyable, I hope you keep at it and I can see more of your content 😄.
Awesome movie, man! Thanks!
have my support :)
I can respect Niv-Mizzet asking a question that needed to be asking, despite probably already knowing the answer….
47:00 - When I see stuff like that, I imagine about twelve of these birds being able to kill a 12/12 Eldrazi.
How do families work on Ravnica? Can guild members be romantically involved with members of other guilds or of no guild? Is it assumed children will join their parent's guilds? What about friends? Is the conflict between guilds such that members of one guild are viewed with suspicion if they are friendly with a member of another guild?
1:14:52 to 1:15:04 was the best part of this entire video had me laughing for five minutes
So I may have binged all of your content in two days, but please please don't cave to making more videos at the cost of your unique in depth analysis of the lore.
It should be alright that you have time to go through months worth of material to make an extensive video even every year.
I really appreciate what you are doing and I think the small shorts in between larger essays will help with retention. I think there are enough of us that are alright waiting for a solid video even if it takes awhile.
Thanks to you I know what to do when I get to ravnika
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Honestly a fantastic breakdown of Ravnica, as a newer player (Started playing around Ixalan) I always struggled to understand why the more outwardly aggressive guilds like the Rakdos and Gruul were tolerated by both the other guilds and the guildless, the breakdown of the utility of these guilds, the underhanded brutality of the "civilised", bureaucratic guilds and the disenfranchisement of the guildless really paints a more balanced picture that the 2018 Ravnica set didn't convey all that well.
The best out of a bunch of bad options is a somewhat realistic situation for the average person in our own world as well, which is why I think Ravnica resonates with so many people as a setting. We can all agree to some small bits of the guilds ideologies yet be dismayed at their extreme elements. I think that's what makes it an interesting place and why it's also one the most self-insertable settings in MTG's history. It's fantasy enough to be different without being so foreign that we can't fathom living there.
innistrad is when i came in but ravnica was on its way and i loved it when it came out the small town i lived in went from no nerds(aside from us hidden ones) to the school banning magic cards in class because everyone played from jocks to nerds was a good time ravnica is nostalgic to me more then any other set
The Gateless could have had quite a compelling story. Trying to be vigilantes and battling against guildmembers who overstep their boundaries. The struggles on an almost world-war-esque level between the guilds and the guildless. But... this is what RPGs like D&D are for, to tell your own stories, lol.
You’ve got to do war of the spark as well. It’s not a complete look at Ravnica without it
I love you bro amazing videos keep going ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Liliana returning to Ravnica just to get jumped is hilarious to me. The population’s distrust of guilds faded with time, but I guess nobody forgot her actions in the war of the spark.
This was pre wots
Are we going to get a part 3
"comeback and watch part 3" I would if I could
If I had a nickel for every time I got really hooked on an MTG Lore video essay youtuber from the UK who peppers in anti-capitalist rhetoric related to said lore and had a particular affinity for a specific creature from Mirrodin block, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice.
I’m curious on what the part three might be, considering ravnica has now been invaded twice, and a lot guild leaders got murdered
my dnd character is the son of two gateless vedalken doctors who had been low-ranking members of vig's simic and were radicalized by the movement in the guild's absence as they had to deal with unknowing complicity in the massacre of patients by experiment kraj
now, in the modern day, they have remained guildless after the return of the simic and operate a clinic funded by gateless donations that prioritizes care for the guildless and is generally much better trusted for pediatric and palliative care without risk of mutation than the simic
they are an important fixture in their community and may be the characters in this campaign with the best moral standing
Although the lack of specificity of "the Gateless" may be frustrating for a lore nerd, it actually sets up an ideal in-world framework for a tabletop adventure, where the players can flesh out their own tiny antiestablishment faction as the Gateless with their own identities.
Any plans for doing a similar video for the most recent sets?
Ravnica sounds a lot like a condensed version of Warhammer 40k, when you think about it.
I can't wait for him to spend 20 minutes describing what happened on Ixalon in a part 3 of a series about Ravnica
"Myriad" can be used as both a noun and an adjective. Using it as an adjective is more economical and, in my opinion, pleasing to the ear.
/pedantry
I wonder what will happen now that Jace is compleated for the guildpact
Niv mizzet is the new living guildpact since war of the spark