scrook

I am nearly done an English Literature and History degree. I love studying narratives and how they are shaped and communicated through new media. I also write about them.

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games

Magic The Gathering

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Magic the Gathering: The Gatewatch and its place in the Super-Group Trend

The Gatewatch is a more recent development in the story of the Magic the Gathering Trading Card Game. It is an agreement held between five Planeswalkers, Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Nissa Revane, and Liliana Vess to "Keep Watch" over the menaces of the Multiverse. The grouping up of Magic's "Heroes" seems to be following the trend of many comic book narratives (and adaptations). By its nature, a full story told through occasional shorts and a combination of card art and flavour text is an atypical narrrative, but it might bring something new or refreshing to the game. What is the Magic universe doing – if anything – to set the Gatewatch apart from other Super-Groups and does it have to?

MTG has always been unique in the ways you've described. You can get attached to specific cards aesthetically, because they fall into an enticing story line published on the Magic website or because they simply saved a game for you in real life. Furthermore the Magic: Duels games creates a story mode to play through as various Planeswalkers to get attached to them. It would truly be interesting to read an article on how people have responded to Magic and it's various points of interaction in comparison to the typical kind of Super-Group, there are just so many more areas of introduction. Even in drafts it's more interactive now. I remember when everyone got a clan and participated in earning points during the event so one would win. Is this drawing in more youth to the game in a time when other Super-Groups are dominating the media? – Slaidey 8 years ago
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I don’t believe that the plot of Magic: the Gathering favors convoluted storytelling but at this point in the games legacy, the issue seems to implode onto itself. Setting the Gatewatch apart from other characters or main aspects of the story seems to be more of a marketing tool than an artistic storytelling device used to further advance the universe. It seems evident that this approach can bring something new to the playing field, and make it easier for newer players to delve into an otherwise extremely convoluted story. The main focus on this aspect of storytelling comes at a time in which a motion picture about the card game’s story is beginning to kickoff and perhaps the Gatewatch are developing into more complicated characters in the hopes that this will begin their transition from flavor-text into a full-length script. – xenoplanet 8 years ago
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In the past we've seen stories across the multiverse develop and soon dissolve into dust. Not until the first threats of the Eldrazi had any successful group of Planeswalkers stood together to face such a disastrous threat to the multiverse. Something that might be explored with this topic could be the evolution of what it means to be a Planeswalker, and what they have had to do since they were significantly de-powered a thousand or so years ago. As it is, the Gatewatch represents a guild, or police force for the multiple planes, so this will inevitably draw in more Planeswalkers; it seems this is Wizards of the Coast's way of expanding their ranks, and adding reasoning to the exploration of new planes. The possibilities with the coming of Gatewatch are endless, and Wizards has set themselves up for an easy time when it comes to storytelling from now on. – SEGonzales 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

Sep 27, 2016 scrook Sorry if this comment is a little late, I loved your analysis of Marshall and Lily. I agree that married couples just kind of fade away in other sitcoms and it pains me to think that this is because marriage is the end to a romantic plot line. My favourite episode for them is actually “Natural History” where college-Marshall is just an exhibit that Lily comes across. I always found that, when it wants to, HIMYM can present realistic relationship hurdles in an engaging and tactful way. To me, it is this adherence to realism and emotional honesty that sets this show apart.	How I Met Your Modern Sitcom: Rethinking Love & Relationships
Sep 26, 2016 scrook The perspective of this article was cool. “Kids” anime when I was younger seemed to only reach western audiences if there was an associated product to sell. Not just Pokemon which had the Game Boy games and the figures to push, but Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblades, B-Daman, and Bakugan which seemed to only exist to make mundane toys and activities action-packed and cool. It’s curious to see that contrasted with real world product placement and branding in the anime that we don’t see as much of.	An Overview of Anime in the Mecha Body of Japan's Economy
Sep 26, 2016 scrook I am new to the Artifice and this was first article I clicked on, so I wanted to thank you for the interesting read. I am taking a Game of Thrones course right now and the first lecture was more or less all about the Tolkien “mythos”. Really anything that could fall into the Fantasy genre owes a pretty great debt to Tolkien not only for a fantasy foundation, but for engaging a varied audience in a fantasy world. I still feel that while LotR has succeeded as a multimedia franchise, some fantasy settings can’t break away from that “nerdy” stigma and so don’t reach quite as widely in the public. I’d be interested to see what sets Tolkien’s world and Nintendo’s apart from some more niche domains in that respect. Anyway, I really appreciate having a platform for these kinds of articles and yours is a great introduction. Thanks.	The Influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on Modern Video Gaming