Antiquities War
 | This article or section discusses story elements that are no longer canonical. |
| Antiquities War | ||||
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:Antiquities War, Volume 1.jpg}}|250px]] | ||||
| Publication information | ||||
| Publisher | ARMADA | |||
| Publication period | November, 1995 - February, 1996 | |||
| Number of issues | 4 | |||
| Character(s) | Urza and Mishra | |||
| Creative team | ||||
| Writer(s) | Jerry Prosser | |||
| Editor(s) |
Jeof Vita Jeff Gómez Bob Layton | |||
| Penciller(s) |
Paul Smith Phil Hester | |||
| Inker(s) | Tom Ryder | |||
| Letterer(s) | Adam Niedzwiecki | |||
| Colorist(s) | Michael Tuccinard | |||
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The Antiquities War comic was released in four volumes from November, 1995 till February, 1996 by ARMADA, a division of Acclaim Comics. Written by Jerry Prosser, this comic tells the story of the Brothers' War.[1][2] It is presented as a modern retelling of The Antiquities War, originally wrtittrn by Kayla bin-Kroog in the High Argivian pictoglyph language, composed by the planeswalker Taysir of Rabiah. The Antiquities War comic is no longer canon. The later novel The Brothers' War provides a contradictory account of the same story.[3]
Volume 1
Thousands of years after the fall of the mysterious Thran Empire. Some say that the Thran had discovered a source of great power, but were unable to control it. The landscape is covered by their relics. Fallaji nomads routinely search the Western Desert for treasures. Afterwards they travel east to trade with various city-states and schools.
One caravan also brings new students to the school of Mistress Tocasia, two orphans from Argive. Blonde Urza is the older brother, quiet and clever, while dark-haired Mishra is rash and hot-headed. They live for many years at the school, learning the secrets of the Thran. Mishra notices that the Ornithopter they are reconstructing, is missing a necessary component. The brothers discover that can be charged by a powerstone.
After studying many years, the brothers power up the Onnithopter and take Tocasia on a flight deep into the Western Desert. After being attacked by a giant Roc, they crash near a rocky formation. Here they discover the Caves of Koilos ("Koilos" being the High Argivian word for "Secret"), which are stacked with Thran relics. They experience visions of the past and find two powerstones with incredible powers, two halves of a perfect whole. Urza takes the Mightstone, and Mishra the Weakstone. Exiting the caves, they power up a Thran War Machine to defeat the Roc. Realizing that the combined stones would give them the ultimate power, each brother craves to own them both and they begin to mistrust each other.
Extras
Following the comic are two additional features. Hurkyl's Recollection is introduced as a letters page for the miniseries, and in this first issue also describes the colors of the color wheel and the role of artifact. Seer Analysis by Scott Hungerford from the Wizards' Continuity department, positions the comic within the greater tale of Magic.
Volume 2
Having become estranged, the brothers separately discover that the stones they have found are not ordinary powerstones. Mishra is the first to find out that he can direct the energies from his stone with his thoughts, and that it draws its power from other objects. Each determined to possess both stones, the brothers decide on a contest. Their confrontation ends in a explosion, that kills Tocasia and many others. After this, the brothers split ways. Urza visits the city of Kroog, where the king holds a contest of strength to find a husband for his daughter Kayla. While hired by a clockmaker, Urza's constructs an artficial warrior that he uses to win the contest
Mishra has traveled to the Western Desert to search for further Thran secrets, but is is taken prisoner and enslaved by the Suwwardi tribe of the Fallaji. The Weakstone fails to save him. At night, Mishra has a vision of a realm of Phyrexian artifact creatures, controlled by a Yawgmoth Demon. This possibly signifies the ignition of Mishra's Planeswalker's spark, because one of the Dragon Engines follows him into the real world.[4]. With help of the Weakstone, Mishra is able to control the beast. For this show of strength he is accepted into the Suwwardi tribe. Later he is able to confederate the several Fallaji tribes under his central control.
Extras
Following the comic is an interview with Skaff Elias, Acting Brand Manager for Wizards of the Coast. This details how he created the storyline of the Antiquities War, together with Dave Pettey, Jim Lin, Joel Mick and Chris Page. Seer Analysis by Shawn Carnes, identifies the several cards of the Antiquities set that are featured in the story.
Online
The series was made available on magicthegathering.com in 2006, prior to the Time Spiral release.
Gallery
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Volume 1 cover, by George Pratt
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Volume 2 cover, by George Pratt
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Volume 3 cover, by George Pratt
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Volume 4 cover, by George Pratt
Notes and references
- ↑ Error on call to {{WebRef}}: Parameters url and title must be specifiedSquirl (May 9, 2015). "". Tumblr.
- ↑ Patric Scalisi (July 30, 2017), "MTG Comics Reread: Antiquities War". GoodReads.com
- ↑ Error on call to {{WebRef}}: Parameters url and title must be specifiedSquirl (January 28, 2015). "". Tumblr.
- ↑ Note that Mishra is not a planeswalker in revisionist continuity