"Realizing neither of them can block fliers" fucking LMAO

The absolute and genuine horror that crests over Jace when he connects what Tamiyo was telling him to what he saw when speaking with "Emrakul," in his vision. It turned a triumph into a foreboding dread that Magic's story hasn't touched for me since.

I like the moment Liliana engaged Emrakul and the Onakke Spirits from the chain veil were trying to convince her to flee from "the world ender" and " the world creator". What so they know I wonder?

One thing I loved about Tamiyo here is that her scrolls aren't just your usual wizard's magic scrolls - they are magical retellings of historical events in other planes, events that Tamiyo can channel into a spell by creating a link to the past. The best part is, of course, years after we learned how Tamiyo's magic works, we actually got it in gameplay form in Sagas!

At the time, I actually REALLY enjoyed the complex, interweaving tales of this set. Magic was able to capitalize upon its older lore and what happened on Innistrad, while it was quite a lot, was believable in the context of the story. This was around the time when I read ever single Magic Story online and my friends and I were invested enough to discuss them. I miss those days.

Cosmic Horror was definitely the right way to go with Innistrad and having it be due to Emrakul's influence was also awesome. Kind of disappointing that we didn't get a third set in the block. Also nice to know that there are creatures worse than Bolas. Magic needs more iconic world ending villains outside of the Phyrexians and Bolas.

I really wish Shadows had gotten a third set. The theme is one of my favorites of all time and there was so much potential for cool Eldrazi corrupted cards but we only ever got one set worth :(

I think if we take your analogy to tamia's promise being about the reserve list to its logical conclusion wizards is saying they won't reprint cards on the reserve list unless outside and stronger Force ( Hasbro) forces them to break the promise.

Favorite moment is a toss-up. Either when Sorin returns to Markov Manor after Nahiri has been there or when Liliana shows up in Thraben as the Gatewatch are getting their backsides kicked.

It was actually this set, and the stories that went with them, that made me really want to build a human tribal EDH deck. It was only amplified when mauch later Ikoria came out and I just had to build it. Innistrad is absolutly my favorite set, and the stories that go with it are pretty fantastic.

There are some many hilarious words or descriptions Ryan uses to explain the story to us. My favorite so far is the expression "meat shield".

This is my favorite story block, thanks for the sick video!

KZfaq notified me this time! Such a great way to start my day! Thanks Ryan and Nicole!

great video! my favourite part of the story is that reveal at the end. ace move by wizards, leaves emrakul open and stays true to tamiyo's character all the while not letting the gatewatch get another cheesy win

The moment when Tamiyo refused to deus ex machina everything when Jace was begging her too was amazing thinking about it. Listening to the story again it's as if there were a lot of pacts being broken, between the angels and humans and such even if it wasn't of their free will. Though I think it's most relevant when Sorin takes the normal "this has nothing to do with me" attitude for problems outside his own plane and causes Nahiri to go berserk and cause the problem here. To Nahiri, Ugin and Sorin broke their pact to help take down the eldarazi again simply due to convenience. Just a thought from someone who values promises a lot.

“Not only did Nahiri play Jenga with Sorin’s house” is the funniest and best way I’ve ever heard anyone describe anything. 100/10 good sir!

"You get nothing! Good day sir!" This got me 🤣

Last time I was this early the moon was still free real estate

I like jaces dream where he sees all of the gatewatch die and faces Emrakul in chess and the implication that it’s just in jaces head and Emrakul wasn’t involved in any of his visions but it was Jace trying to process and work out what was happening

my favourite moment was the short story of the gitrog monster. It was so well written with the creepy cult vibe due to the mind control. And the ending was perfect

My favourite moment is probably just the card "Gisa and Geralf" and what it depicts, showing the siblings working together to survive while also making comments to each other. Really captures the feel of siblings well :)

9:04 'Realizing neither of them can block fliers' - Arcanum you bald genius!

This was the set that I started playing magic in, and I mostly had the story figured out, minus the background of who any of these people actually were, so I love this set

I don't even know what my favorite part of this was. Holy crap you had some fun with this one. I guess that's what we get when a full length video is a mustache minute!

Man ! I love your videos so much (btw I'm a new member to this channel), it's easy to understand, well explained and very easy to follow

"The constant pain and pressure prevents him from planeswalking out" - So, what about in hour of devastation? Is Wizards being very inconsistent with their planeswalking rules?

To be fair, crunchy stories with fifty different elements in play like this are better when all those elements ARE pre-explained than when half the story of the plane is just giving you the cliff's notes on what the heck all this stuff is (lookin' at you, Eldraine). Although retconning Nahiri into the Helvault doesn't *quite* fall under that umbrella...

After watching a few of these videos, I'm actually a little more interested in the story building/lore of the game than playing the game. I really can't wait to hear how Crimson Vow and Midnight Hunt ties in with the previous visitations of Innistrad

i definitely thought the interaction of jace in emrakul's mind was the best. it shows these titans are not mindless, there is something behind them, and that they are not afraid of the planeswalkers. i hope that the next encounter reveals more in depth with where they come from and who or what they are/were.

My favorite creature type is Angel, so it was devastating for me, breaking down in tears and desperation, like it happened to Sigarda, as I could do nothing but watch in pain when Bruna and Gisela have died and melted into this horrible and unnatural abomination.

Eldritch moon was one of my first sets and the first sorts prerelease, I have so much love for Innistrad, especially madness. I hope we see some cool vampires in Crimson Vow

The fight between Sorin and Nahiri was amazing to me. I love those two Planeswalker. I want to do a deck based on them at some point cause why not lol.

This is the ritual I perform every time Magic arcanum releases a new lore video: brew a hot cup of tea, prepare snacks, get blanket if it’s chilly, sit in bed, put on headphones, and lastly… enjoy magic lore and the mustache minute. Edit: also, like the video before the video even starts

Great video! Innistrad has always been my favorite setting, and so I've loved this little series you've done. I also definitely agree that George Clooney would make a great Odric, it's a shoe-in!

OMG! I couldn't stop laughing for like 10 minutes with the reserved list rant... 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks Ryan and Nicole for sharing this video! I love this channel...

My friends got me into magic during the Shadows block so it has a special place in my heart. My first prerelease was Eldritch Moon and I remember my promo was Ulrich and I even pulled an Emrakul in one of my packs. I built a werewolf deck and went 4-1 and did the best out of my friend group. Was a memorable time. The storyline was amazing to me, and I think it was Jace’s interaction with Emrakul and the precedence it set for Eldrazi as a whole was my favorite part of the whole story. Emrakul is beyond anyone’s comprehension of power and even holds a candle over Nicol Bolas to me - and the level of self-awareness and patience she exhibits is frightening. Truly an eldritch horror.

I really want a story that delves into the grief of the last Archangel towards seeing her sisters become this... mass of horror.

That quote about promises reminds me of this scene from Law & Order: SVU (of all things) that I’ll likely never forget. It was a “Very Special Episode” in that a doctor was put on trial for the murder of a man who died from complications he had suffered under her “enhanced interrogations” (yes this was the late 00’s in case you couldn’t tell). The scene in question is when the medical examiner confronts the doctor and chews her out for breaking the hippocratic oath and the Geneva Conventions. She says “we made those rules not for when they would be easy to uphold but specifically for when they would be difficult to. It speaks more to our moral character when we stick to them in times like these than when they’re easy to.” It was honestly the best argument against the controversial tactic that I ever heard (and I certainly never got it from the news or any politician). It pretty much sealed which side I was on from then on out, easy. Of course, now all the war stuff hits different but that’s something else entirely. Anyways, thanks for reading my barely coherent rant on a cop show spinoff that is not only somehow still on the air but has more episodes than the original, random person! Have a nice day!

And also we lost the Wolfir and our big fluffy bois turned back into Werewolves. Sadge.

If I may recommend, you would probably be best served to wait for the story of Crimson Vow to be released before making a "What happened on..." video. Great work Ryan and Nicole; absolutely love the channel!

my fav moment is the anguished unmaking.

Really fun to have a payoff video for all of the content that you have put out. I loved the "watch this in their own video" moments, because I have watched everything on your channel, and my reaction was yes you did!

Thank you for this video! I love all the Innistrad stuff in MTG because I'm a huge fan of old gothic horror films, primarily Hammer Horror, but even though I might be in the minority, the Shadows Over Innistrad block has been my favorite block because I'm also a huge fan of Lovecraft and the Eldrazi.

Now a want a comic strip of Jace and Emrakul playing chess while everyone else is fighting in the background.

In all fairness, that one missed call was about the Eldrazi (greatest threat in the multiverse) escaping their jail and asking for backup. And the call was missed because Sorin put his phone on silent, to avoid this call.

"The Promised End", which describes the last few moments before Emrakul's imprisonment, is one of my favorite pieces of media, period. I highly recommend anyone read it if they have not already.

I know what happened in SOI but i'm stoked to watch any damn way

Thanks! we loved the video and it was my first time knowing anything about Innistrad. I started playing at about Throne of Eldraine.

just in time with my breakfast !!! i was missing this !!!

That meltdown about the reserved list was beautiful 👌🏻 GOOD DAY SIR!

I'm just more surprised that Shadows over Innistrad came out in 2016, cause I remember that in high school it was a huge deal that we were returning to Innistrad.

Oh and you need to know about Kamigawa to understand Tamiyo's motivations to never interfere, just to add to the confusion. The Soratami of Kamigawa live in the clouds and take their literal position above the other races more figuratively and regularly meddle in there affairs for fun (including assisting in starting the Kami War.) Tamiyo vowed never to interfere in the affairs of other races for these reasons. With Neon Dynasty coming I thought it prudent to bring this out as we will most likely see everyone's favorite anthropomorphic bunny happily unlocking iron bound scrolls of her own free will while dealing with issues her own people started.

A truly convoluted block and story indeed, but still one of the best out there. Great story-telling and explanation as always, Ryan. Keep up the great work!

In the midst of all the big earthshaking events, one of my favorite parts was Jace trying to get help from his wicked ex-girlfriend. (It didn't go so smoothly.)

It's really hard to pick one moment to be my favorite, first because I read that story a long time ago (when it released actually), and also because I think it is awesome overall. Nahiri is among my favorites characters from the MTG multiverse, and the broken promises, the desperation felt by the people of Innistrad, then the Gatewatch, then Liliana when she was tapping into the power of the veil too much, and then Jace and Tamiyo when realizing what Emrakul did, I think all of this was really well done.

10:28 Not gonna lie that was a killer Wonka impression. I was transported.

I collect the story spotlight cards from each set, and I use your videos to put them in chronological order in my binder. I hope you can cover innistrad, midnight hunt soon!

Thank you for this video, it was really well explained!

Ryan, that was a nice pull from the story to relate it to the reserved list. That they won't break a promise, even if it was easy for them to or not. But, as soon as I heard it, I thought about how Tamiyo was manipulated into breaking her promise by a powerful outside force. I can't help but think Hasbro over Wizards. We'll see what happens I guess.

Just a reminder that your video intro music fills me with JOY.

I feel this video being a "nightmare" is perfect for the Innstrad video

God I love these video! Amazing take on the RL cards,from Tamiyo words! I agree 100%! You can make 10 hours video on the lore i'd watch every minute like there is no tomorrow,i love it soooo much! Thanks for your work,for real!

My favorite moment has to be when emrakul uses tamiyo to displace herself from everyone. It’s like emmy just wants to live her life without all the drama lmao

Great video. I love your work!

Between you and Aetherhub, I get my story line fixes. I've enjoyed your takes on the characters a LOT.

I would love to see a separate video on the Falkenraths!! Knowing more about them and how it was they were so willing to succumb to Emrakuls corruption as a bid for power would be amazing!(or at least that's what I assume happened)

I like the fact that Sigarda is resistant if not immune to Emrakul's influence because she's Hexproof.

Can't wait for the mustache minute on how Sorin scaped the rock.

Thank you for the "You get nothing! Good day, sir." 😂

It's funny because It may be one of the more convoluted stories but it is one of the only MTG stories I still remember beat for beat.

I think that its appropriate for a story like that to have a lot going on. When cthulu attacks it's never a simple thing. But maybe that's emrakul talking who knows

Totally love the effects of Emrakul over the plane! A great plane, great stories

That GOOD DAY SIR got me. Great story telling as always!

I joined the mtg comunity during this block. I absolutely fell I love with the gothic horror feel. When the eldrazi came to be well that as a whole other story. Glad to be back for midnight hunt.

4:41 "so just like me during this global pandemic induced quarantine she went kind of crazy" You got a good chuckled out of me XD

I feel it might be a reference to the reserve list but it probably is supposed to reflect how tamiyo and jace were how nahiri and sorin turned out. They were working together but tamiyo refused to break a promise she made while jace just saw what was best for them at that moment. Mimicing how sorin did what was best for his plane at the moment but ignoring nahiri and causing the promise he made to break and all of shadows over innistrad block to happen

my third favorite werewolf is Sage of Ancient Lore. just saying. Also we need more Emerge cards, I wanna play Emrakul's Influence in commander

God I love your videos! You have the best voice for narration!

@10:00 the reserve list comment compared to the iron bound scrolls is hilarious now in 2022

Liliana becomes a very important part of the Gateswatch, Betrays the Gatewatch AND COMES OUT ON TOP. At least compared to the other members :D

I gotta ask… will we get a Lore prediction for 2022 video? Last year’s video was very interesting, as I love theory-crafting!

I just realized after you said it, Olivia's not helping for the sake of survival. Chapter 7 of Shadows shows the deal Sorin and Olivia struck for the sake of defeating Nahiri. "Oh, Sorin," she said as regained her composure. "I will help you. But first you will help me." We never got to see what the exchange was where Sorin helped Olivia.....I think this will be revealed in Crimson Vow

To be fair to Nahiri, it wasn't just that Sorin didn't come when she called, it was also that she thought her own world had been destroyed (since she saw the Eldrazi free again), and also she'd been tortured in the Helvault for like a thousand years.

DARK SALVATION is the best moment! Thanks for another awesome video!

"Its written in the contract clear as crystal you get nothing, good day!" Lmao

I wasn't ready for that reserved list comment though. I hear ya

There is no firexian invasion on innisttad, cuz nothing would have changed for the people. "Ahh, just another day on innistrad"

Here's hoping that Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow pull a 180 and the Eldrazi show up again... that'd make for a pretty rad set, Eldrazi crashing a vampire wedding and all of that!

Love the Charlie and the chocolate factory reference!

Sorin, looking at his ruined castle: Im going to need a lot of soap for this Meanwhile, thousands of miles away. Jace, staring at the ground: The fuck is going on here?

"I keep promises even when its hard".... [enter emrakul] ... "okay, just once"

“Realizing neither of them could block flyers….” 😂😂 lmaooooo

Person: Innistrad's story is too convoluted! It doesn't make sense! Ryan: Hold my mustache wax! A great way to condense and Cliff Note the stories.

Alright. Now I'm all caught up, and I'm ready for the video about the new Innistrad block, Midnight Hunt.

I like how the stories were connected back in the day, each set adding something. Since War of the Spark they seem disconnected except for Vorinclex in Kaldheim, which still has yet to be added to. I fear I may die of old age before they revisit some of the plot threads every five years.

GREAT freaking story! Thanks mustache guy! 👍🏿

3:30 I have never seen this as intentional, I don’t think he meant for the barriers to stop messages to him and it was accidental, but his pride and arrogance prevented him from admiring to Nahiri he made a mistake

I'd like to make an argument that Nahiri is the most evil Magic character. Yes, Nicol Bolas unleashed destruction and death on more Planes, but everything he caused was relatively under control; the Hour of Devastation on Amonkhet and the Dreadhorde invasion on Ravnica were both threats contained on both of those respective Planes, and if something did trickle out and cause problems elsewhere, it's nothing that couldn't be fixed, either by Bolas or by someone else. Also, while both of the aforementioned events caused insane amounts of death, (most) of it wasn't deliberate, since Bolas was targeting the Gods of Amonkhet/Planeswalkers, and wasn't intentionally trying to get civilians killed. Nahiri, however, knew exactly what she was doing in unleashing Emrakul. While her anger was placed on Sorin, there's no way she was so peeved she forgot what the Eldrazi are capable of, and for some reason, she decides that attracting an indestructible death/insanity machine is a perfectly reasonable idea in addition to destroying the one thing that gave the entire Plane some form of hope. She also didn't think of a failsafe for when Emrakul was finished; what if she moved somewhere like Ikoria or Lorwyn that doesn't have easily accessible zombies? Lilliana and Tamiyo being there at the same time was nothing short of luck. I don't think there's any (alive) characters besides those two who could really deal with a threat like that. Also, she doesn't even think to try and fight them off of Zendikar, and as soon as she finds out it's safe, she immediately tries to drop floating continents out of the sky. In short, Nahiri is stupid and petty at best, and malicious and evil at worst.

"Black Lotus would make a killer secret lair" lol

I agree that tamiyos promise was a nod to the reserve list- but I also think her being forced to break that promise and read the scroll was a nod by wizards that they might not get to decide to keep said promise, especially with the practices in recent years.