A Review Of The Wildered Quest (Magic: The Gathering) by Kate Elliot 

Oko was clearly just screwing around, because that's the kind of archetype he follows: the trickster who sows discord because discord amuses him. The plan didn't actually cost him anything; he didn't have to make any personal sacrifices, attempt anything very difficult for him, or even put himself at much risk of harm. The situation between the Wilds and the Realm was tense, so he threw a match into the fireworks room to see if he could start something. Maybe it was necessary, maybe war would've happened anyway, but he placed his finger on the scale to make sure. And even if we agree that the Wilds would've attacked, that didn't guarantee that the war would've been long-lived. The Realm would defend itself and probably continue fighting long enough to give the Wilds pause should they want to attack again someday, but the war could've petered out beyond that. Engineering the assassination of the beloved king would've locked both sides into a long, bloody, hate-filled war which wouldn't have stopped until the Realm had completely subjugated the Wilds. It would've caused generational strife with echos down the centuries. So even if there would've been war either way, the outcome of that war would've drastically changed had Oka's plot not been foiled. This criticism is particularly dense because Oko's plot *also would have killed the protagonists' father*! So putting aside that it may not have been strictly necessary to start a war, our protagonists would've been subjected to incredible grief. Not every plot has to be about the end of the world. The death of a beloved parent has more than enough drama to power a narrative.

On the scar thing, from other reviews I have seen on the topic, wasn't the king having "a keen eye for detail" a defining characteristic, and said scar-bearer wasn't just a soldier but his best friend?

Prof, while I did take a slight dig at you in my initial comment and I apologize for that because it probably hurt my overall message, my point still remains that as a critical review it’s a little irresponsible to leave out the writing blunders of the novel despite the overall message of your video being positive. While I again agree that many magic the gathering players can have drastically different opinions about a product, one of the things I enjoy about your channel is that you’re not afraid to cover the good as well as the bad when they’re appropriate. In this situation I do indeed feel that it’s important as such blunders are often tied to key parts of the story. The King for example was established to have a fine attention to detail within the story, he likes to make sure that everything goes according to plan. However like in your comment, the book seems to gloss over this fact in order to get the plot moving. This isn’t just “some soldier” that the King is meeting with, this is his personal friend and a loyal knight of the realm. The story even establishes that very few people can even become knights that they’re essentially Chads among the common folk. Knowing this much, wouldn’t you agree that the King, who is established to have a keen eye for detail would just suddenly miss such an important feature of their close friend? The scar was noticeable enough for Will and Rowen to see that it wasn’t there so why not the King? Normally yes, details like these shouldn’t harm the overall quality of the story, but literally the entire plot of the novel is based off this one event that runs contrary to what we have learned about the characters involved and the book is full of events like these that are based on contrivances and conveniences. Stuff like these ruins stories for me, and I know I’m not alone in this. Again, nobody is saying you’re not allowed to portray the book in a positive light, I’m just saying that considering we have to pay money now for our Magic lore, should we not also expect at least the stories we’re paying for to follow the rules that they themselves establish? Again, I just think it’s irresponsible to not at least mention this in a “critical review”

I don't think Oko was "just screwing around" for his amusement. We have a separate pure trickster creature in Eldraine for that. I think Thief of Crowns is plural on purpose based on the hinted-at backstory and he goes from plane to plane overthrowing rulers. The scar thing is weak if the king had a chance to notice, since the author did point out his attention to detail, but wasn't the fake Cedo just trailing a long group of followers? Not walking side by side with the king.

@@AsterDXZ I simply assumed that Oko mind-whammied the king, and the book didn't go into it because that just wasn't necessary to show us. His disguise didn't need to fool the king at all, therefore. It just had to fool everyone else.

yes it's great

YES! It's an absolute pleasure to hear him talk about the book, his choice of words and his energy and passion gave me goosebumps 😍And for maybe the first time I'm not watching the whole video, but I just ask my girlfriend to get me the book from our LGS tomorrow =) So a big sorry and thanks you professor

it was so f..ing cute/heartwarming

Sure 1:02 my cartographer's dream to map out my experiences and triangulate with others nice mythic too.

Yea, i think that was an amazing touch. Thanks for sharing Professor.

A great queen with 4 knighthoods, just one short of the king, and she gets to be a triple white card...

Actually it's 7/7

@James Brincefield honestly I prefer the *poor people art*

@@JoeNokers I prefer the poor people art too. The fancy pants version is really awkward looking. the composition is weird. He looks small because of the tree in the foreground and lack of tells that show he's big apart from the awkwardly colored blue face that just makes it look like he's translucent. and that pose.... that pose...... ready to shake those hips!

@James Brincefield Personally I like the regular art better, it's more dynamic and detailed, with more vivid colours. The alt-art style makes it look flat and static. It works well for some cards, but not really for this one imo.

the same man who can not pronounce "adephage"

@@ichiel1898 You mean appendage?

@James Brincefield recent episode of Game Knights, one of The Professor's opponents had a Giant Adephage out and was populating the tokens. Prof couldn't pronounce the name.

@snakeman830 I might be misremembering, but I think others at the table started calling it Appendage first, and Prof may not have actually know what was on the card and so defaulted to just using the name everyone else was using.

Pacing helps. Preview seemed decent. Maybe I'll wishlist. Just have to be a bit patient just like this vid

This AND the novel being good shows that WotC is finally learning to do business!

@GamerBear THE ULTIMATE IRONY!

44k views so fast he has more than MTG so he should always get a mythic. Takes time for big business to admit

That was just the final chapter of a long series.

@@leonardoromero3789 not for teyo

Yeah, that BTS cover boy doesn't look like a serious villain, does he?

@@ferdithetank7535 Some of the best villains in fiction aren't immediately imposing.

K-pop enslaves all

I am on the same boat. Loved the first half and will be back for the rest after a good read.

It is a great argument to do these in two parts for sure.

Yes the book out yet I can't find it to buy it

@@missameliafrancis I had trouble finding a physical copy. I purchased the Kindle version on Amazon.

@@djivoodoo1751 yeah I found all the ebooks now I was looking for paper and hard cover books physical paper not electronic

better than pot meets kettle

All edh decks are giant

Kalemne can make short work of opponents. That's for sure.

I mean all relevant giant cards just spiked on card market with the revealing of that one-sided boardwipe :D

ALSO, you mentioned a sequel, and from my understanding... . SPOILER ALERT! . A Rowan, Will, and Garruk sequel team up would be fantastic. You said it well, Garruk started off very one note, but turned into something else. I'm rooting for him now. Plus, he has new allies. He also may eventually get his vengeance with Liliana. With Nicol Bolas and the demons out of play, the last one who should kill Liliana is Garruk.

Good luck for your report, I know how tough it sounds when you have to go through the whole bibliography of an author, especially philosophers ^^ anyways, good luck again!!

They really called back to Garruk's origin too. That "Anyone who can speak can lie" line was basically the last thing Garruk's father told him before their lives went to hell, so that helped bring up those emotions in him. And then following it right up with the war connection as well.