Dragons of Tarkir is unfolding before our eyes through the Uncharted Realms articles and we are starting to see where the characters we meet in Khans of Tarkir have gone and how they have changed. This week we meet the alternate timeline version of Narset.

The first thing that struck me was that as much as things have changed because Dragons are now the rulers, it would appear as if they have done little to alter the fundamental structure of the societies they rule. For instance, Ojutai is depicted in this article as being a leader much like the Shu Yun. His teachings help to inform the monks and students of his community. Men and women go to the market, raise children, learn, study and go about their business much as before. I’m not going to say that the possibility of such an a reality is not possible, it just strikes me that when the fundamental leadership of your society changes and falls in to the hands of giant dragon that things would be somewhat different. Even if Ojutai was committed to the teaching of the Jeskai, there is no reason to not believe that there would be some significant changes. Based on what we see in this article that does not appear to be the case and life carries on much as it always had. That is noteworthy and interesting, but not ground breaking. They could have pushed the story in a totally different way, but I suppose they wanted to retain some of the original feel to the block and not go too far astray.

In this new society we meet Narset as a girl who thirsts for knowledge and to study. She catches the attention of Ojutai and studies him from afar before being invited into the Temple where she excels. This should come as no real surprise. She progresses very rapidly to the pinnacle of her order, only to become restless because there is no obvious route to pursue from that point. However, she discovers hidden scrolls from the time when the Khans fell and a world that was NOT dominated by Dragons. That sets things in motion for her to learn more, and ultimately, to leave her order.

Now, for the card. That insatiable thirst for knowledge that is described in the article comes across very clearly in the new Planeswalker version of Narset. The card is flavourful, packed with cool attributes and seems to mesh nicely with the Narset we meet in this article. I think that R & D did a terrific job of meshing the storyline with the card and makes it feel like something that is organic to the set and not something that just got dumped in. Also, with that 6 Loyalty for 4 mana she’s a house. There are going to be all sorts of decks that can’t wait to sleeve her up and just go to work.

I also have to take a moment and look at the art on the new Narset. I’m not usually a guy who likes the art on cards other than to tell them apart, but the art on Narset is amazing. I feel like you can really see the power radiating from her as she uncovers her new abilities and knowledge. The flowing robes, the pose, and those eyes! The combination of card strength AND terrific art on this card is tremendous. I’m a huge fan and would love to open one of these up.

Haven of the Spirit Dragon seems like a solid upgrade on Crucible of the Spirit Dragon in Fate Reforged, but the more interesting part is the actual art on the card. Sure, it is a big deal that it is the same location in both cards, but the Haven is super neat. Check out the art. Did you notice the guy down in the bottom right portion of the frame? That looks like Sorin! Check it out! Dude has got his sword…and white hair! That’s certainly Sorin. Could we be getting yet another printing?! That would be amazing. If nothing else, things are getting all geared up for the reunion tour. Next stop, Zendikar.

Battle for Zendikar

I can’t express how excited I am to see that we will be going back to Zendikar…and the Multiverse is going to see the combined might of the Planeswalkers. Honestly, Gideon is profiled already as being set to show up, Sarkhan just saved Ugin, and Sorin is still lurking around. Already, that makes 4 potential Planeswalkers to appear. The Gang is being reunited? However, consider for a moment that Narset is their newest Walker and WoTC might be interested in having her appear again in another Block to help build her character. Don’t forget that Kiora is from Zendikar and could make an appearance. That’s 6 Walkers and would be pretty much the whole team lined up to take on the Eldrazi. While that seems a little far fetched it would be pretty amazing to see Gideon recruit the help of so many other Planeswalkers to confront the Eldrazi.

This is purely baseless speculation, but it would be awesome!

Planeswalkers

To my mind there are two “classes” of Planeswalkers that exists in the Multiverse. The first is the Planeswalkers that make up the Regulars. These are the Walkers that have had multiple versions printed. Jace, Lilianna, Garruk, Nissa, Gideon, Elspeth, Chandra, Ajani, and Sarkhan come to mind as Planeswalkers that come to mind. These guys are the Staples and the main engines that drive the plot of the Multiverse’s story. We love these guys and every player has their favorite.

However, the OTHER group are Planeswalkers that haven’t seen a second version and this includes Kiora, Tamiyo, Tibalt, Ral Zarek, Vraska, Ashiok and a number of other ones that I have forgotten. Basically, my wish is that some of these other walkers get another version of themselves in order to round out the pool of Planeswalkers and introduce us to some new and different elements of their personality. I really feel like there is a ton of room to expand on these guys and deepen the experience for the players who love the story aspect of the game. Many players would object to this sort of approach on the grounds that there would be too many Planeswalkers and dilute the rest of the product but I’m not sure I fully agree. I don’t feel like they would necessarily overpower each set and make them all “planeswalker centric” because R & D has proven to be very capable to strike a relevant balance between the Planeswalkers. There is no reason this could not continue. I also do not think it would lessen the overall value of the Planeswalker cards, but it would allow players of differing play styles a number of powerful options to use as they built their decks.

On the whole, I’m really enjoying the direction the story is headed on Tarkir and can’t wait for my weekly dose of Story each week. I find the Characters very compelling and extremely interesting. Hopeful the next installment is just as interesting.

Thanks for taking the time to stop in at Casual Encounters and have yourself a great MTG day!

Bruce Gray

@bgray8791