Hey all! This is a thread dedicated to the new standard expansion, if you have not guessed from the title.
First off, I must say, I am not a fan of Wizards of The Coast using D&D/ MTG crossovers to advertise their products.
But, as I do love Forgotten Realms, I can forgive them, a little.
I used to DM a Forgotten Realms (FR) campaign; it was all the rage, from Sembia to the Sword Coast.
(If you know!)Anyway
*coughs* I shall spoil them for you, and! I will even throw in the lore, how about that?
(I mean you did not ask for it, but you are going to get it!)
Okay, let us start with the deities of Faerûn,
Tiamat. You have no doubt heard the name before. The character features in a plethora of game/book esoteric lore.
There are two types of dragon kind, in FR, chromatic and metallic. Those of
Tiamat (chromatic) and Bahamat (metallic). Chromatic dragons being innately evil and metallic being good. As such,
Tiamat is considered to be the queen of the chromatic dragons (Blue, Red, White, Green, Black - each of her heads)
Tiamat is a lesser deity of the FR pantheon (I’m not going to go into too much detail about pantheons because it can become somewhat complicated.) suffice to say, deities of FR are considered beyond the capabilities of even the most powerful mortal characters in FR.
Tiamat is currently, as far as I know, residing in Avernus, the 1st of the Nine Hells of Baator and acts as the guardian of the portal between Avernus and Dis the 2nd level of Baator.
As a card I would say that she is underpowered, considerably.
A seven mana (5c) 7/7 with only flying as a key worded ability, but a powerful commander-esque ETB trigger?
Lolth next! As a planeswalker no less...
She’s considered a greater deity in FR, and is the main deity of the drow/dark elven pantheon. She rules, absolutely, from her realm, The Demonweb Pits, in the infinite layers of
the Abyss.
Denizens of
the Abyss are considered chaotic evil, for alignment purposes, as such, Lolth and her followers are considered chaotic evil by nature (polar opposite of the Nine Hells – being Lawful Evil). One of her many titles is the Spider Queen, as shown, the literal meaning of the title is that she is known to favour spiders
(you probably knew that already) and turns insolent male drow into Driders, humanoid spiders, as is her whim.
As a card I think she is underpowered.
A 5 mana planeswalker will affect the board late game, even with the ability to create two 2/1 spiders with her -3/5 to protect herself, they are far too weak with sweepers. Her static ability to gain loyalty when your creatures die, is useful, but is it enough? You want a finisher, and her emblem certainly enables that but that is a minimum of 2 turns away, assuming you have creatures die
(the only way of gaining loyalty) on your opponents and your turns.
As a planeswalker? I do not personally think that is an appropriate match. As far as I am aware she is restricted to her plane on
the Abyss.
Drizzt Do’Urden is one the main characters in the FR universe, and is the protagonist of the book series by R.A Salvatore.
Drizzt is difficult to summarise here, as his lore is considerable. What I will say, is that he is a drow, that has exiled himself from his subterranean home, and has dedicated himself to good, being renowned as a hero in Faerun (Mostly known in the north - Icewind Dale).
He is usually adventuring alone, or with his companions; Catti Brie,
Bruenor Battlehammer, Wulfgar and Regis.
He is a ranger primarily and a master of two-weapon combat. He is the chosen of a greater deity named Mielikki a patron deity of rangers, as such it makes him an immensely powerful character.
As a card I think he is underpowered, heavily. A legendary 5 mana 3/3 with a 4/1 token, ETB trigger, is not going to impact the board turn 5. Especially without haste and double strike does not protect it from instant/ sorcery removal.
Finally, for the named characters,
Bruenor Battlehammer. One of Drizzt’s companions (as mentioned) and the king of the Dwarven realm, The Mithral Hall. I will not go into his lore, as he’s inextricably connected to
Drizzt Do’Urden’s character. All I will add is that he was forced to flee The Mithral Hall as a child because a shadow dragon, Shimmergloom had lain siege to it with his duergar minions.
As a card I would say that it is quite powerful, but requires synergy with equipment. We will see what other equipment will be provided in this set! Currently we have
Vorpal Sword, which is powerful, but is a poor match for a boros card.
I hope you have enjoyed the rundown, so far. I will add more as the set is spoilt.
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