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Episode 250: Goblins, like snowflakes, are only dangerous in numbers
135 Plays1 month ago
Hello, Podwalkers, and welcome back to another episode of the Goblin Lore Podcast! Today all three hosts are back which is VERY important because we were entrusted (by the folks at Wizards of the Coast) with 2 free preview cards to discuss!! That's like one for each of us we think! (listen math is hard])
We chaotically discuss our favorite things about this plane that inspired so much of this show
We also finally have a Linktree with all of our discounts/resources
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As promised, we keep Mental Health Links available every episode. But For general Mental Health the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has great resources for people struggling with mental health concerns as well as their families. We also want to draw attention to this article on stigma from NAMI's site.
If you’re thinking about suicide or just need someone to talk to right now, you can get support from any of the resources below.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
- Veteran's can Press 1 at anytime to be taken to the Veteran's Line
- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741-741
- International suicide hotlines: A comprehensive resource list for people outside the US.
- IMAlive: Click Chat Now to access a live online network of volunteers through instant messaging.
- TrevorLifeline, TrevorChat, and TrevorText (LGBTQ+ crisis support): 1-866-488-7386, or text “Trevor” to 1-202-304-1200
- Trans Lifeline (US): (877) 565-8860
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Opening and closing music by Wintergatan (@wintergatan). Logo art by Steven Raffael (@SteveRaffle)
Recommended
Transcript
Special Episode Introduction
00:00:00
Hobbes
Hello, Podwalkers, and welcome to a very special episode of the Goblin Lore Podcast. We just want to say right away, this is going to be a preview episode. That's right.
00:00:12
Hobbes
We have two cards that were given to us freely by Wizards of the Coast to share with you all from the upcoming set, Tarkir Dragon Storm.
Jeskai Clan Preferences
00:00:22
Hobbes
ah My name is Hobbs Q. My pronouns are he, him.
00:00:26
Taya
you
00:00:26
Hobbes
And we are going to start off our show before we get into a little bit of the history of goblins on Tarkir and then our preview cards. Talking about which clan are we going to support or which clan are you really ah fan of?
00:00:39
Hobbes
um Probably to nobody's surprise, i am actually a Jeskai kind of person. They have that cunning and that you know their their previous mechanic of prowess.
00:00:52
Hobbes
I really love the the learned nature of them. It kind of combines that is it piece with some of the the white that's not as much my style, but this seems to be a much better fit for me than say the Mardu would be kind of the next ones in with the red black.
00:01:07
Taya
Yeah, I was going to say, I didn't know.
00:01:07
Hobbes
Definitely not the Tamir.
00:01:09
Taya
i was expecting you to
00:01:10
Hobbes
Yeah.
Narset's Character Development
00:01:11
Taya
shoehorn Grixis in here somehow, even though it's not a clan.
00:01:13
Alex N
Thank you.
00:01:15
Hobbes
You know, well, Bolas is back, so it basically is a clan, right?
00:01:18
Taya
Yeah.
00:01:20
Hobbes
Oh, we haven't even got... Well, we we I was wondering how long until I was going to mention Bolas being back, and I guess that's...
00:01:26
Taya
Yeah.
00:01:27
Hobbes
It just came out, actually. I didn't even have to force it. So I'll pass it over to you, Taya.
00:01:32
Taya
ah know Hi, I'm Taya. Taya transcends on blue sky pronouns are she, her, they, them. And I'm also a Jess guy. That is my personal um color alignment as well. ah You know, uh,
00:01:50
Taya
heavy on the red blue and a little bit into the white.
00:01:50
Hobbes
Yep.
00:01:53
Taya
Uh, so they've always been kind of that the, the clan that I identify with, uh, since they've been introduced. And then, you know, of course we have Narset, who's one of my favorite characters, uh, back as the, ah the way master, not the con.
00:02:09
Taya
um
00:02:10
Hobbes
yep
00:02:11
Taya
Because Jeskai have to do things differently than everybody else. They have to sound ah more enlightened. ah I think the the other clans definitely view the Jeskai as putting themselves on a pedestal, which they literally do since their city hovers over everybody else.
00:02:28
Alex N
Thank you.
00:02:29
Hobbes
I'll say, Darcy's back end and more autistic than ever.
00:02:32
Taya
Oh yeah, definitely. ah i think that they've cleaned up, they've cleaned up her, ah her autistic presentation a lot this story time.
00:02:35
Hobbes
It's no, this is not like hidden.
00:02:41
Taya
And I really appreciate that. It's not just the, yeah, it's not just the ah um autistic superpower stereotype she had in the first story.
00:02:44
Hobbes
We're going to be talking about that.
00:02:53
Taya
We actually see her dealing with panic attacks and things like that. So yeah.
Temur Yeti Goblins Discussion
00:02:57
Hobbes
Yes, I was gonna say, yeah you know, that was the the first time you were on the show was to talk about her as the representation for autism, what we wanted to see.
00:02:59
Taya
you Yeah.
00:03:00
Alex N
anyone yeah
00:03:05
Hobbes
And yeah, Cassandra nailed it, I think.
00:03:07
Alex N
Yeah.
00:03:09
Hobbes
So i mean we're gonna talk about that in the coming weeks.
00:03:09
Taya
Yeah.
00:03:11
Hobbes
So Alex.
00:03:12
Alex N
Yeah. And to be clear, we we will definitely talk about that, but not this week because we have our topic this week.
00:03:16
Hobbes
Not this week, this week we were talking goblins.
00:03:16
Taya
No.
00:03:19
Taya
Yes.
00:03:19
Alex N
Yes. And so I'm Alex, found on the Goblin Lord Discord and nowhere else currently.
00:03:28
Alex N
My pronouns are he, him. And for this this question, the opening goblins, my color identity...
00:03:34
Hobbes
yeah the way The opening goblins?
00:03:36
Alex N
ah Well, yeah, might my color identity...
00:03:36
Hobbes
I love this.
00:03:38
Taya
They tend to open themselves.
00:03:40
Alex N
Yes, but it's ah it it tends to be red-white, not Boros so much more lore-hold. So, you know, that could be kind of Jeskai, but that's boring.
Cultural Inspirations of Tarkir
00:03:51
Alex N
But I also, just going into this, when we pitched the question, I had a different answer in mind. And that's because on this plane, there are these my single favorite representation of goblins in the entire multiverse, and that are the Temur Yeti goblins.
00:04:04
Hobbes
yep
00:04:04
Taya
Yeah.
00:04:05
Alex N
And so I'm going team teamer because I got to rep with my Yetis.
00:04:11
Hobbes
See, i I thought about going team teamer, but then I realized I'd have to admit to being okay with green, and I'm not i'm not in that kind of a mood today.
00:04:20
Alex N
but
00:04:20
Taya
yeah
00:04:21
Alex N
Yeah, you've you have enough going on right now. You don't need to stress about some green.
00:04:26
Hobbes
i don't need to confront that element of my life right now.
00:04:28
Taya
yeah
00:04:29
Hobbes
um So let's talk about... Tarkir. So Tarkir is a plane that was influenced by the history and the cultures of kind of Asia. I think there's a little bit more Tibetan really elements of it, even though they're kind of all over the map.
00:04:43
Hobbes
And I think we had this discussion in our Discord about some of the art being a little confusing about where they were pulling inspiration from.
00:04:44
Alex N
who
00:04:50
Alex N
Yeah, well, like I think that the like the different clans sort of have a generally might have some different inspirations there, too.
00:04:59
Hobbes
Yeah, it seems like it's mostly East Asian. i
00:05:01
Alex N
Yes. Yeah.
00:05:02
Taya
Yeah.
00:05:02
Hobbes
Looking back...
00:05:02
Alex N
Yeah. Within that region, but like different cultures within that e within that region. Because, you know, with knowing very the very little that I have, like I would always got the from the from the Mardu, I always got some sort of, you know, Mongol sort of the Genghis Khan sort of thing.
00:05:16
Hobbes
Yep.
00:05:17
Taya
Mm-hmm.
00:05:19
Alex N
like and so And then other sort of... touch points in some of the other cultures, but being a person who isn't super familiar with all of those, like I can't identify if these are are more surface level sort of stereotypical things or if there's actual deeper ties there.
00:05:27
Hobbes
Yes.
00:05:38
Hobbes
i mean i believe I believe there is. It's just ah it's realizing that I think that it is meant to be more it is more of an amalgamation than a specific area compared to some of the other sets we've been on recently.
00:05:41
Alex N
Yeah.
00:05:45
Alex N
Yes. Yeah. And I,
00:05:47
Taya
Thank
00:05:49
Alex N
Where it's a, yeah, and so the whole culture is supposed to be different. The whole plane is different subsets of of a particular culture or or region. And I think this time, it's like you say, it's more of an amalgamation of inspirations taken from different cultures in a relatively similar geographic
Timeline Changes and Dragon Extinction
00:06:07
Alex N
region. But that's a large geographic region.
00:06:09
Hobbes
Yeah. The other thing to know about Tarkir is there's weird different timelines. This was our first time to actually have kind of a ah time travel that made a difference.
00:06:18
Alex N
Yeah.
00:06:20
Taya
Yeah.
00:06:22
Alex N
Yeah, this was this was our Back to the Future set where Sarkin is Marty McFly and manages to change the time timeline during the course of the three-set block structure, I think, sorry.
00:06:36
Taya
through um Yeah, we went into two set blocks after that, i because I think
00:06:40
Alex N
which Was it the last three-set block?
00:06:48
Alex N
Yeah, because...
00:06:50
Taya
Then the car was next after.
00:06:52
Alex N
Yeah, and and I know, like, Mark Rosewater was was talking about how hard it was to do that the two- through three-set structure, where the middle, you know, generally by the end, like, that third set runs out of steam, but sometimes in the middle, like, this one, I think it was more of the middle set.
00:06:54
Taya
see
00:07:09
Alex N
i don't there was a whole thing, and if you're interested in that, that's, I think it's interesting.
00:07:12
Taya
yeah Fate Reforged was not a very good set.
00:07:15
Alex N
Yeah, and it was, I want to say his his sort of examining this
00:07:18
Taya
But we did get a Lesha from that set, so, you know...
00:07:21
Alex N
and
00:07:21
Taya
Yeah.
00:07:21
Alex N
but but There were some really cool individual designs in that set.
00:07:25
Taya
Yeah.
00:07:25
Alex N
Like the whole cycle with Alessia I thought was great as commanders in particular. But I think his thing was like, we were trying to solve the third set structure so hard we kind of let the second set out to try.
00:07:29
Taya
Yeah.
00:07:38
Alex N
Yeah. It was...
00:07:38
Hobbes
Yeah, and that's this is one of the reasons we one of reasons we don't have blocks in the same way.
00:07:44
Alex N
yeah
00:07:44
Taya
No, but I really wish we could get back to two sets because when we discuss story, ah you know, we'll definitely talk about how it feels like they crammed too much into this one story.
00:07:45
Alex N
and was
00:07:53
Taya
Like, you know, we totally miss how the Dragon Lords actually get deposed.
00:07:54
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:07:54
Alex N
Yeah. Yeah.
00:07:58
Taya
We get a couple of sentences about it, but, you know, they basically upended a thousand year order on Tarkir. ah And we don't know,
Goblins' Roles and Dragon Lords
00:08:08
Taya
you know, much about how that happened or how they...
00:08:08
Alex N
yeah
00:08:12
Taya
you know Considering their history had been destroyed, how they got back to the rigid clan structure so quickly after evicting the Dragon Lords...................
00:08:20
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:08:21
Alex N
Yeah.
00:08:21
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:08:21
Alex N
and and Unfortunately, it
00:08:21
Hobbes
cause So if people don't know, that the basic way that they fought against the the the was they ended up in these new timelines with kind of two-color um
00:08:34
Alex N
yeah
00:08:34
Hobbes
dragons because there were no dragons in the original old timeline. They hit were fully extinct. Yeah.
00:08:39
Alex N
Which was kind of part of how Sarkin did the thing. because He was like, there had to be dragons somewhere, and then he accidentally the timeline.
00:08:46
Hobbes
Yeah, sometimes accidents happen, okay?
00:08:49
Taya
Well, I don't know if it was an accident because Ugin was in his head giving him directions the whole time.
00:08:49
Hobbes
You know?
00:08:51
Alex N
That's true.
00:08:54
Hobbes
Yeah, well...
00:08:55
Alex N
I think the key unintentional on his part is a better word for it.
00:08:55
Hobbes
Yes.
00:08:59
Alex N
It was definitely accident.
00:08:59
Taya
Yeah.
00:09:00
Alex N
It wasn't what he was intending to do when he set out to do this.
00:09:03
Hobbes
Yes.
00:09:04
Taya
Ugin is awful is a whole other discussion for another time.
00:09:08
Hobbes
And we're going to be... It's interesting because then the new timelines, that's where we had the two-color pairings. So we had, like, ah Dragon Lords.
00:09:14
Alex N
and
00:09:16
Hobbes
um And that's, like, Kolaghan and our art Atarka.
00:09:19
Alex N
Yep.
00:09:19
Hobbes
I'm bringing them up because that's where the goblins were first.
00:09:20
Alex N
And the ah first El...
00:09:23
Taya
Dramoka, and Silimgar, or the other ones.
00:09:24
Hobbes
Silangar. Yeah.
00:09:25
Alex N
Yeah.
00:09:26
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:09:26
Alex N
The first Elf of the Dragons since Legend.
00:09:27
Hobbes
Those are the other ones. But I'm bringing them up in the sense that Kolaghan and Atarka is who the goblins were kind of aligned with. ah Now, they're known... more broadly for the Teamer and the Mardu, even though there's even some changes within that in that there is now kind of the Sultai.
00:09:41
Alex N
Yeah.
00:09:45
Hobbes
I'm sorry, the Jeskai. We've seen at least one Jeskai. Is that right?
00:09:48
Taya
Yeah, at least one Jeskai. And there was there was one Silimgar goblin in ah Dragons of Tarkir.
00:09:56
Hobbes
Yes. Okay. So we know...
00:09:57
Taya
i mean was a goblin zombie, but it was still a goblin.
00:10:00
Alex N
Yes.
00:10:01
Taya
and
00:10:01
Hobbes
Well, you know... These things happen. and um But before they were kind of pack creatures that were aligned, um the Mardu ones are kind of known. a Ponyback Rider is my favorite.
00:10:14
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:10:14
Taya
I do want to read the flavor text on the Sulemgar Goblin real quick, because this is actually pretty good.
00:10:14
Alex N
yes
00:10:22
Taya
The Kulagons send them at us. We kill and raise them. They fight the next wave the Kulagons send at us. It's a neat little cycle. ah
00:10:31
Alex N
So fair.
00:10:31
Taya
Omala, Sulemgar, and Saushir.
00:10:33
Alex N
Yeah.
00:10:33
Hobbes
Well, because so like the these goblins are a little bit different.
00:10:33
Alex N
Yeah.
00:10:36
Hobbes
They're shaggy, furry, as Alex, I think you said yeti-like goblins.
00:10:40
Alex N
Yes.
00:10:41
Taya
Yeah, the Temur ones are definitely mountain ready. they're The Temur live in a very mountainous, cold climate.
00:10:48
Hobbes
And I love them, so people don't know, one of the things we're very excited about us having these previews for this set is um Goblin Slide, which was a card from Khans of Tarkir, is where the tagline and kind of ah the philosophy for a lot of this with the show come from, which is, goblins like snowflakes are only dangerous in numbers.
00:10:59
Alex N
Yes.
00:11:05
Alex N
Mm-hm.
00:11:11
Hobbes
And it was this idea that, you know, they would keep just throwing hordes and hordes after
00:11:11
Alex N
Yeah.
00:11:16
Hobbes
the where wherever they were fighting. And i I think that we're excited to be doing these cards
Card Analysis: Underfoot Underdogs
00:11:23
Hobbes
because of that reason.
00:11:23
Taya
Mm-hmm.
00:11:24
Hobbes
um we We took a lot of inspiration from, i think, goblins working together in packs and actually having pack mentality, even within kind of being part of these um clans and then obviously their affiliations with some of the Dragon Lords.
00:11:24
Alex N
Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
00:11:42
Taya
Yeah, although, I mean, the affiliations with the Dragon Lords really didn't go too well for the goblins. You see, the only other goblin we got in Dragons of Tarkir was Dragon Lord Servant.
00:11:47
Alex N
No.
00:11:52
Taya
And that's got the flavor text.
00:11:53
Alex N
Yes.
00:11:55
Taya
The Tarkas serving goblins coat themselves with grease imbued with noxious herbs, hoping to discourage their ravenous masters from adding them to the meal.
00:12:02
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:12:02
Taya
So they were basically appetizers in the Dragons of Tarkir timeline. Yeah.
00:12:06
Hobbes
Yes.
00:12:06
Alex N
yes
00:12:07
Hobbes
so They are happy to be back in clan structure probably.
00:12:11
Taya
yeah
00:12:13
Hobbes
um And then the same thing, the that the they they the goblins from ah the Mardu in the past, at least in the old timeline, they lived amongst the humans and the orcs of the clan, but they don't, they're like outsiders.
00:12:27
Hobbes
The Temur goblins run in packs, but sadly they're seen as barely sentient in the past and kind of scavengers. um And I think that that's where the goblins like snowflakes are only dangerous in numbers kind of comes from is this idea that they worked together to drag down large prey, even when when they had huge losses.
00:12:46
Taya
Yeah.
00:12:46
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:12:47
Alex N
Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:47
Taya
yeah It's a good thing goblins breed quickly. And on on Tark here, it seems to be extra quickly with how expendable they are.
00:12:50
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:12:51
Alex N
yeah
00:12:55
Taya
Yeah.
00:12:56
Hobbes
Yes. um And I will say, too, that yeah you know we want to talk about a couple of key goblins from the past.
00:12:57
Alex N
yeah
00:13:02
Hobbes
Now, we will say ah they were not featured in the main story here, so we don't have kind of the legendaries in the same way that we have had in the past, especially when we're going to talk about Vile Smasher. um But we do still know that they are associated especially with the Mardu.
00:13:18
Hobbes
um And I think that from the side stories and stuff, we get some information on that.
00:13:19
Taya
Mm-hmm.
00:13:22
Hobbes
Before we go on to show our preview or talk about our preview cards, Taya, We want to talk about Vile Smasher.
00:13:28
Alex N
Thank you.
00:13:28
Taya
Of course we do.
00:13:29
Hobbes
Like every opportunity.
00:13:29
Taya
I did a whole episode on Vile Smasher. So if you want to go back and listen to that, you can. um But essentially in the original timeline, she was known as Ankle Shaker. She was a non-legendary goblin.
00:13:44
Taya
And then when we came back in Dragons, ah we got Vile Smasher, who didn't actually get a card in Dragons. She got a card in Commander later on. ah But she was in the story for Dragons of Tarkir and had gotten, you know, as far as goblins can get promoted into Mardu, she had a pretty, um you know, important position. And that was basically blowing stuff up with Dragonfire.
00:14:12
Taya
ah But being chaotic and like her card shows, you know, you don't know where that damage is going to go. She's still a goblin.
00:14:20
Alex N
Thank you.
00:14:21
Hobbes
Yes.
00:14:21
Taya
you know i'm I'm disappointed she's not the con in this timeline. Somehow Zergo went from bell ringer to con again, and we have no idea how or why.
00:14:30
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:14:31
Taya
he was
00:14:33
Hobbes
yep
00:14:34
Taya
He was like not important at all in the dragon's timeline, and somehow he's con again.
00:14:34
Hobbes
Yep.
00:14:38
Taya
so
00:14:39
Hobbes
So they there is an interesting thing, right? We have gone, as we're saying, we've gone from like clans to... the, like, the like the the the the goblin lore, I mean, the dragon lords, and now we are back to clans again, um bringing us almost in line with the old timeline under the clans.
00:14:50
Taya
Yeah.
00:14:57
Alex N
Yeah.
00:14:58
Hobbes
And Vilesmasher was actually clanmates and friends, i think, at some level with Sarkin, which is kind of cool.
00:15:06
Alex N
yeah
00:15:06
Taya
yeah
00:15:08
Hobbes
ah We did see Vilesmasher more recently, because she was ah on Thunder Junction.
00:15:16
Taya
Oh yeah, we did get it.
00:15:17
Alex N
Oh, yeah.
00:15:17
Taya
We did get a recent file smasher. Yeah. I totally forgot about that.
00:15:20
Hobbes
because
00:15:21
Taya
It shows how much thunder junction has stuck in my head, which is like almost not at all.
00:15:24
Hobbes
Yeah. Almost not at all, but we do know that...
00:15:26
Taya
You know, we've been, we've been jumping from plane to plane so quickly. It's just.
00:15:31
Hobbes
But this might be why we're ah not seeing her as the the con.
00:15:32
Alex N
and
00:15:35
Taya
Yeah.
00:15:35
Hobbes
Because she had work.
00:15:36
Alex N
and
00:15:36
Taya
Yeah.
00:15:36
Alex N
Some nice...
00:15:37
Hobbes
She's been working. Yeah.
00:15:38
Alex N
And that that Thunder Junction is the first printing of Vial Smasher that gave her flavor text, which was fun. It wasn't quite home, but the fire still burned bright and the but and the bomb still went boom.
00:15:49
Hobbes
yeah
00:15:49
Taya
Yeah.
00:15:51
Hobbes
So we always have to mention that, but let's get into our preview cards. Who would like to start us with the first one?
00:16:01
Alex N
I'll read the...
00:16:01
Taya
Why don't you go ahead, Alex? Yeah, you only got to do one last time.
00:16:03
Alex N
Okay.
00:16:06
Alex N
Yeah, I'll read the the first one that I'm seeing in order here, ah which is sort of the reverse alphabetical. so Underfoot Underdogs, two and a red for a Goblin Warrior.
00:16:17
Alex N
It's a one-two. um But has whatever... When this creature enters, create one-one red Goblin creature token, which already, to be honest, I'm like, okay, listening. Zada, I like multiple Goblins for one card.
00:16:30
Hobbes
Yep.
00:16:30
Alex N
but then has further text, one in tap, target creature you control, with power two or less can't be blocked this turn. And I'm thinking, okay, cool, Zada, this is this is fun, because most of my goblins start at power two or less, and they aren't two or less when they're swinging.
00:16:43
Taya
yeah yeah
00:16:49
Alex N
And this doesn't care what they're going to be later, it just cares about where they're at now.
00:16:54
Hobbes
I really wish that Zada did allow for abilities that target only Zada, but that would be a little too much.
00:16:58
Alex N
my god.
00:16:59
Taya
yeah that would be a little too broken
00:17:01
Alex N
<unk> be a little more
00:17:05
Hobbes
So we have flavor text.
00:17:05
Taya
um
00:17:06
Alex N
Oh, yes, yes.
00:17:07
Hobbes
they're not They're not as renowned for their banter as they are for their tactical teamwork.
00:17:10
Taya
ah They're just as renowned for their Banthir.
00:17:13
Hobbes
Oh!
00:17:13
Alex N
um
00:17:13
Taya
is
00:17:14
Alex N
Yeah.
00:17:14
Taya
i see yeah And
00:17:15
Alex N
Yes.
00:17:16
Hobbes
Reading is a skill that I do not have today.
00:17:19
Alex N
Yeah.
00:17:20
Taya
from the art, these are definitely Mardu goblins, but this one does not have a watermark on it. um
00:17:25
Hobbes
No.
00:17:25
Alex N
True.
00:17:26
Hobbes
and we're going to talk about that.
00:17:27
Taya
ah
00:17:27
Hobbes
Yeah.
00:17:28
Alex N
Which I just noticed now.
00:17:30
Taya
Yeah, so um As much visually as these are obviously Mardu goblins... um you know For some reason, they're not a Mardu card.
00:17:38
Alex N
Yeah.
00:17:42
Alex N
And there's ah like the the physical setting within this art too was a little mysterious
Card Analysis: Shock Brigade
00:17:48
Alex N
to us. we were talking about this a little bit before recording and then realized, hey, we're we're missing content here.
00:17:53
Alex N
But it's like, there it looks like an arena, which at first I didn't question, but i think it was you, Tay, who said something like, well, Mardu don't build much usually. They're nomadic. They move from place to place. So it seems weird that they would have like an arena. And so...
00:18:08
Hobbes
And they're in an arena fighting an orc.
00:18:10
Alex N
Yes.
00:18:10
Taya
Yeah.
00:18:11
Alex N
And that's the, and there's, yeah.
00:18:11
Hobbes
um
00:18:12
Hobbes
Now I will say, I just noticed there are banners in the background that do look like they have the symbols of all of the different...
00:18:18
Alex N
Yeah.
00:18:22
Alex N
Oh, see my, my,
00:18:23
Hobbes
all the clans...
00:18:25
Alex N
My theory is that somebody, with now that the open paths are open, somebody in the clans decided ended up on Kylum for some reason and was like, you know what?
00:18:34
Taya
yeah
00:18:35
Alex N
This is a good way to do all the fighting we like without having to you know find new goblins after they all get killed.
00:18:41
Taya
yeah
00:18:41
Hobbes
ah ah yeah That is a good point, Alex. I do love this. but But like said, I do think that we i the more I can zoom in on this, those do look like clans art.
00:18:52
Alex N
Yeah. Oh, and for people in our world,
00:18:54
Hobbes
So there's some sort of a stadium. I mean, maybe this is part of the clans cooperation.
00:19:00
Alex N
it could be.
00:19:01
Hobbes
The Olympic Games.
00:19:01
Alex N
But Kylum is the world that Battlebond takes place on, which was, a a set built for Two-Headed Giant, which was a ton of fun.
00:19:06
Hobbes
Battle Bond. Yeah.
00:19:11
Alex N
I had so much fun doing that project. sealed sealed with a friend of mine, and but also like the whole like story of the world is just that people just, there's a giant, there's arenas, and people just do arena games. There isn't, I'm sure there's some other forms of conflict occasionally, but like the big center thing is all of these arena games. So there's lots of cards, like it's a much more sport-oriented set, which from a Malthos standpoint, I think is really mechanically interesting and interesting from a story standpoint, too, where it's like it's not all the conflict is at war, it's
00:19:44
Alex N
arena games.
00:19:45
Taya
yeah so yeah so this an interesting
00:19:46
Hobbes
So with this last thing we have is that ah the art is by Brent Hollowell.
00:19:51
Alex N
Yes.
00:19:53
Hobbes
So that is our first card.
00:19:54
Taya
yeah um hops why don't you take the other one
00:19:54
Hobbes
That is Underfoot Underdogs.
00:19:57
Alex N
Yeah.
00:20:01
Hobbes
So the second one does have a watermark of the Mardu. And in the past, this is when cards were watermarked when they really wanted them to be associated with their clans or with their dragon lord.
00:20:13
Hobbes
um And like I said, Taya, you brought up the the goblins are clearly in the same regalia. So they do not seem to be teamer, right?
00:20:19
Taya
yeah
00:20:20
Hobbes
They're also the purplish skinned goblins. They are still furry. All goblins are at least furry.
00:20:26
Alex N
Mm-hmm.
00:20:26
Hobbes
But this card, Shock Brigade, is a 1-3 for a red. is Goblin Soldier. three for one in a red it is a goblin soldier with Menace. So Menace, this creature, can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
00:20:40
Hobbes
And then it has a second keyword, which is one of the new keywords for the set. So it looks like, at least for the Mardu, there is a new keyword of Mobilize 1. When this creature attacks, create a Tap and Attacking 1-1 Red Warrior creature token. Now, of note, it is not a goblin.
00:20:58
Alex N
Yep.
00:20:58
Hobbes
And sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step. The best part about this card outside of the art is the flavor text, which I'll give to you, Taya.
00:21:03
Taya
So, yeah.
00:21:08
Taya
Yeah, the flavor text is from Alesha to Zergo. All Mardu Khan started right here at the front lines. So, you know, the the Mardu, and you can read the Mardu story.
00:21:15
Alex N
ye
00:21:19
Taya
um They, you know, they have to earn their names through combat or through ah ritual. um And ah so, you know, there's no getting out of fighting in the Mardu if if you want to actually be somebody in the clan.
00:21:38
Taya
Yeah.
00:21:39
Hobbes
Yeah, I mean, that's the story behind Alesha. That's how she chose her name.
00:21:42
Taya
And. Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:44
Alex N
Yep.
00:21:44
Taya
Yeah.
00:21:45
Alex N
Also, it wasn't until I read this flavor text that I realized Alesha to Zergo is A to Z, the first and the last con.
00:21:52
Taya
yeah
00:21:53
Hobbes
Oh, nice.
00:21:53
Taya
ah yeah
00:21:53
Alex N
Yeah.
00:21:55
Hobbes
A-plus flavor text writer out there, whoever did this.
00:21:59
Taya
yeah
00:21:59
Alex N
Yeah.
00:21:59
Hobbes
ah The art is three goblins. Now, it's what's interesting, because we had the the fact is before they seem to kind of like grip on to writers or they were writing like three at a time on Ponyback Brigade.
00:22:07
Alex N
ah Yes. Yeah, you look at Ponyback Rider.
00:22:13
Hobbes
ah
00:22:13
Alex N
Oh, one of my favorite goblin arts of all time.
00:22:16
Taya
Yeah.
00:22:16
Hobbes
Ponyback Brigade.
00:22:17
Alex N
Yes. Yeah.
00:22:17
Hobbes
I love it. But that these are goblins that all have their own mounts and
00:22:22
Taya
So either these are really small horses or these are really big goblins.
00:22:27
Hobbes
That's what I was just going to say. Yeah, that is exactly what I was thinking.
00:22:29
Alex N
e yeah
00:22:30
Taya
Yeah.
00:22:31
Hobbes
So either the Mardu decided to to start breeding shire horses or like little small horses. but and My brain is blanking on what those are called.
00:22:45
Hobbes
um Anyway, ah the the there's they're short like pony horses. Either they decided to start breeding them specifically for goblins or these goblins have grown significantly.
00:22:59
Taya
Yeah, you know, I didn't think about that the first time looking at this art when we opened it, but, you know, now that I am, I'm just thinking, yeah, you know, I don't know if the goblins are meant to be riding horses.
00:23:13
Alex N
Yeah. yeah
00:23:15
Hobbes
Shetland ponies. Those are what I was thinking.
00:23:17
Taya
Shetland funnies, yeah.
00:23:17
Hobbes
and That was it. These are Shetland ponies with apparently East Asian influences. i don't know. But yeah, they are now goblins on horseback. They they each have their own.
00:23:29
Hobbes
ah The art is by Fajirika Sedewan. um Sedewan? And now I'm wondering if they are related to Lee Sedioan at all?
00:23:40
Hobbes
oh Oh, sorry. Brain's going all million miles. But yeah, this is Mardu-themed. ah It has the watermark. I'm hoping that we're going find out more about what has watermark versus not in this set.
00:23:53
Alex N
Yeah.
00:23:53
Hobbes
um Historically, it that has just really been used to denote cards specifically associated with their their groups, either clans or um guilds.
00:24:02
Alex N
yeah yeah and And of note, um in standard magic, I can't say black border anymore because silver border isn't a thing. It's acorns or whatever.
00:24:12
Taya
yeah
00:24:13
Alex N
like Watermarks are not a functional part of the card because you can reprint a card without that watermark.
00:24:17
Taya
Yes. Mm-hmm.
00:24:20
Alex N
And in normal magic rules, every single printing of the card has to be identical.
00:24:26
Alex N
um So there is some unset stuff that plays with watermarks, which is kind of a fun little thing.
00:24:26
Hobbes
Yes.
00:24:26
Taya
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:24:32
Taya
Yeah. Yeah, the watermarks are just flavor text.
00:24:32
Hobbes
so
00:24:35
Alex N
Yeah.
00:24:35
Taya
They are flavor pitchers in this case.
00:24:38
Hobbes
Outside of the unworld.
00:24:39
Alex N
But they are are fun for building you know flavor stuff or just for keeping in your mind, like they like like Hobbs is saying.
00:24:39
Taya
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:46
Alex N
like They want you to think of this. They want you to associate this with this particular clan, this particular group, guild, whatever.
00:24:52
Hobbes
group Yeah.
00:24:55
Taya
Yeah.
00:24:56
Hobbes
So once again, thank you, Wizards of the Coast, for our free preview cards. We are excited for you all to be able to see these. um you know Obviously, the the images are up over at our BlueSky account.
00:25:07
Hobbes
You will be able to see them to check out all the art in its glory. And we hope that you enjoy Tarkir Dragonstorm.