Wild Speculation Wishlist: Amonkhet Gods, Colors, and Creature Types
OK, so my Wild Speculation Wishlist for Amonkhet basically boils down to three main categories, which I’ll list off in just a second, and then I’ll get into some specifics.
Keep in mind that I’m not trying to convince anyone that my speculations here are correct (I’ll leave others to making realistic and reserved predictions) but these are things that I think would be cool, and that I could see as possibilities not outside the realm of plausible.
OK, so everything below hinges on these three wishlist items:
Five factions built around the three-color shards
My main reasoning for believing this is plausible is the fact that we know Nicol Bolas is going to show up at some point, and I would be VERY surprised if he isn’t in his signature blue/black/red color identity. If Bolas is already going to push players to build around three colors, why not include the other four shards in the design as well? (Plus, it’s been almost a decade since we left Alara.)
Two-color themes built around the ally-color pairs
If there’s one design lesson I learned from the Tarkir block, it’s that designing wedge factions means that experienced players will want to draft enemy-color pairs, because that gives them the most flexibility to go with one wedge or the other, depending how the draft goes. Maro has also stated in the past that there’s not as much design space in the three-color shards as Alara gave the impression of. Putting some of that pressure back on ally-color pairs could take some of it off the shards.
Tribal themes with anthropomorphic animal creature types
In all fairness, my love for tribal-themed decks means that I could add “tribal themes” to just about any Wild Speculation Wishlist, and for those of you that have been around my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been dreaming about an anthropomorphic tribal set for a long time. But that’s not to say this idea doesn’t have ANY merit beyond just wishful thinking. We’ve already seen some art that suggests there are at probably Aven and some jackal-variant of Ainok on Amonkhet. And it looks like each of the gods have animal faces, so this could be the time!!
OK, so with those three main categories acknowledged, I’m gonna break down my speculation into some more specifics. I’ll break these into groups using the primary color of the factions tying them together, and I’ll say the god, theme, common creature type, and rare creature I’d love to see for that faction.
White-Centered Faction
Cat God Colors: White (primary) Green (secondary) Blue (tertiary) God of Sight, with white representing light and truth, green representing knowledge of the past, and blue representing knowledge of the future
Common Creature Type: Cats (leonin) Primary in white, secondary in green
Rare Creature: An all-seeing Archon in White/Green
Blue-Centered Faction
Bird God Colors: Blue (primary) White (secondary) Black (tertiary) God of Judgement, with blue representing exactness, white representing order, and black representing retribution
Common Creature Type: Birds (aven) Primary in blue, secondary in white
Rare Creature: Classic Sphinx in Blue/White
Black-Centered Faction
Crocodile God Colors: Black (primary) Blue (secondary) Red (tertiary) God of Hunger, with black representing avarice, blue representing thirst for knowledge, and red representing passion and hunger
Common Creature Type: Crocodiles (new race) Primary in black, secondary in blue
Rare Creature: Nightmarish Demon in Black/Blue (maybe Razaketh?)
Red-Centered Faction
Hound God Colors: Red (primary) Black (secondary) Green (tertiary) God of Journeys, with red representing individuality and courage, black representing determination, and green representing destiny
Common Creature Type: Hound (jackal-variant ainok) Primary in red, secondary in black
Rare Creature: Crocodile-like Dragon in Red/Black
Green-Centered Faction
Snake God Colors: Green (primary) Red (secondary) White (tertiary) God of Fertility, with green representing vitality and growth, red representing love, and white representing life
Common Creature Type: Snakes (more like the naga than the orochi though) Primary in green, secondary in red
Rare Creature: Cobra-headed Hydra in Green/Red
WHEW!! OK, that was a lot to unpack. If you’re still here with me, let me know what you think! Obviously I don’t expect to be 100% right with these guesses, but honestly I’d be happy with 10% right!
How about you?! Any of these predictions you’d like to see show up in Amonkhet?