Ask Jay

I was looking at the wiki and saw that we learned about some home planes of Planeswalkers in Omens of Chaos. Should I read it?

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:15:37 -0400

I would read it because it's a good book and supports future storytelling efforts.

Do you think one day we’ll finally find out Garruk’s homeplane? Not necessarily visit it, but at least learn its name?

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:37:23 -0400

It’s possible but only if it becomes relevant

Hi Jay! In the “Reality Fracture | The Story So Far with The Magic the Gathering Podcast,” beginning around 2:03 it says that “The elder dragon, Ugin, watches over his brother, Nicol Bolas, who is imprisoned by Jace himself.” I thought Ugin had imprisoned Bolas, so is this a mistake, something else, or were they just trying to say that Jace fooled others into thinking that Bolas was dead?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:53:41 -0400

The latter

Hello Jay! 👋 Has it been 100% confirmed that Nauctis is the name of a new, original plane? Or could this be another Strixhaven scenario, where Nauctis is an area within a ocean plane with a different name (like, oh, I dunno, Luvion)?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:58:23 -0400

Nauctis is the name of the plane.

following up on the Echoverse questions: why would Jace think it was better for Ajani to become this flaming vengeful thing than the white-aligned Ajani he knows? same question for having Garruk stay Veil-cursed?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:03:02 -0400

The Echoverse isn't "everything is exactly how Jace wills it". He's still human, not omnipotent or omniscient. He removed the Eldrazi, the Phyrexians, and Nicol Bolas, but there were unexpected results.

All the Echowalkers kinda make sense to me – except for Ajani. If the Echoverse is «the Multiverse without Bolas», why is Ajani still so vengeant? Who killed his brother?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:56:58 -0400

I mean, anything could have happened, but Jazal died around the Conflux and that could have happened any number of other ways. Bolas didn't cause the Conflux, he only used it to his advantage.

abzanhouseguest:

To piggy back off the question how'd garruk get cursed with and embrace the chain veil if Liliana didn't have it

That was answered in the panel: Garruk was still on Shandalar near the Onakke Catacombs. It called to him.

All the Echowalkers kinda make sense to me – except for Ajani. If the Echoverse is «the Multiverse without Bolas», why is Ajani still so vengeant? Who killed his brother?

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:17:44 -0400

I mean, anything could have happened, but Jazal died around the Conflux and that could have happened any number of other ways. Bolas didn't cause the Conflux, he only used it to his advantage.

When Teferi visits Zhalfir in MOM story, he finds only a decade has passed. Yesterday’s reveal seemed to say hundreds of years had, though, like they effectively developed in real time while phased out. I want to be careful with this because I’m still incredibly excited for Zhalfir and don’t want to dampen anyone else’s excitement, but… am I missing something?

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 17:31:51 -0400

I wouldn't put much importance on broad story overviews delivered live at conventions.

I am hyped for the giant mechas of Kamigawa: Titanbreach, and I want more. Are there other Magic planes which are likely to build their own giant robots?

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:18:14 -0400

Almost any plane is capable of building mechs, but only a few come to mind as sufficiently technologically advanced to build a mech suit rather than, say, a large magically animated artifact. The difference between the two should be obvious, I think.

The sufficiently technologically advanced (major) planes are:

Alara (Esper has the tech)
Arcavios (Has the tech to do it, but doesn't build war weapons anymore)
Avishkar (Peacewalker Colossus)
Capenna (Hasn't built one yet, but has the tech level)
Dominaria (Power Armor)
Duskmourn (Had the tech level pre-collapse)
Kamigawa
Kylem (Based on their Aetherdrift tech)
Phyrexia/New Phyrexia
Ravnica (Izzet Tech)
The Edge
Vryn (The tech is probably lost, like the mage rings)
Zhalfir (Same history as Dominaria)

So the Keelhaulers from Aetherdrift are clearly from Nauctis, right?

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:55:35 -0400

Nauctis does appear to also have chordatans.

Which of the three 2027 sets announced today are you most excited for?

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:55:13 -0400

Kamigawa Titanbreach is the only MIP set I worked on coming out next year, it's definitely the one I'm most excited for as a fan of the kaiju and mech genres.

But that's like, the best of a lot of good. It's easily the most stacked slate we've had in years.

A bit out of your ballpark, but any reason as to why light-related characters in Marvel sets and Final Fantasy tend to skew towards red over white?

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:49:48 -0400

Universes Beyond color pie is definitely not my thing, no.

I just noticed that there’s a kithkin in Strixhaven’s Alchemy set! Do we know if Head of the Class is from Arcavios, or is she a transplant from somewhere else?

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:02:58 -0400

Given the imagery of the magic my assumption was Lorwyn Kithkin.

Hello Jay, I’ve always wondered why phyrexians aren’t typed as artifact creatures, despite being made of metal. The precedent of creatures from Esper being artifact creatures would imply these mechanical creatures would be artifacts more so than those with an etherium limb or two. Thanks!

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:44:07 -0400

Esper’s colored artifacts was actually meant to be the New Phyrexia mechanic. The reality is that design limitations keep that from being so. In-universe it’s best explained by them being zombie cyborgs, with the as much flesh as machine except of the ones that skew artifact.

Hello, Jay! So, that’s actually counts as a Siren in the Multiverse? So far we’ve seen bird-people, water maidens and even the ripoff of Ursula from “The Little Mermaid”. What they have in common? Why are they all classified as such?

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:00:05 -0400

A siren is about bring a sea spirit with an alluring call, not a specific form. The most common we’ve seen are the Theros and Ixalan ones, which are based on a certain kind of siren myth (the winged one).

loreleywrites:

OK so they are all based on the actual history of siren mythology in Europe.
Sirens are first seen in the Odyssey, where Homer never describes them physically but instead focuses on their song. This song is seductive not for any reason of sex appeal, but because the sirens know everything that has ever happened. The allure of the sirens is secret information, which is why Odysseus gets lashed to the mast to he can hear their song.
Later Greek depictions show them as bird people (potential Egyptian influence), so Magic's many depictions of sirens as beople (bird people) is rooted in these original Greek works:
Obviously, they are beople on Theros because that is their culture of origin, but they're also beople on Ixalan because merfolk already have the feople (fish people) thing covered.
Some feople sirens do exist in ancient Greek art, as they are beings always associated with the ocean. But the popularized image of sirens as seductive mermaids is from medieval bestiaries and a result of Christian Nonsense (TM) about women. This image gets reinforced again and again as European sailing quests go global, and now the modern conception of the siren is heavily entangled with mermaid folklore.
There are also medieval depictions that have fish tails AND wings, which is neat! Ultimately, they're two different depictions of a creature that was undescribed in its original stories. Over time, without a wiki to reference, lots of stories got remixed, and different cultures highlighted different aspects of the siren in ways that were resonant with the people redepicting them in their respective times.
Art and culture are messy and complicated when stretched accross millennia! It's fun!

Hello, Jay! So, that’s actually counts as a Siren in the Multiverse? So far we’ve seen bird-people, water maidens and even the ripoff of Ursula from “The Little Mermaid”. What they have in common? Why are they all classified as such?

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:15:13 -0400

Hi Jay, I was wondering if you could share anything you know about Plagon, Lord of the Beach? I love the little guy and have been trying to find a bit more about his lore, plane, etc and the only thing I can find is that Jesper Ejsing came up with him and did the original concept art for him.

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:39:57 -0400

There is, unfortunately, no lore to most Jumpstart Legends.

How canonical the Untold Stories cycle actually is? The Jace’s seriers has some strange stuff going on…

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:40:56 -0400

They’re all canon

Hi Jay! How you’re doing? Are the gods theros as good as shapeshifting as the greek gods who inspired them?

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 12:35:29 -0400

They can shapeshift, in both size and form, yes.

Is Mica named after the mineral, or it’s just a coincidence? :)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 07:01:27 -0400

Likely intentional