What Happens in Kaldheim? 

From one mustached storyteller to another, this is hands down the best breakdown of the Kaldheim story.

Ryan: "There was also no mention of the shapeshifters..." The shapeshifters: "But how do you know that for sure.....?"

Everyone - There is a phyrexian infected planeswalker around! Oh no! Magic - It is Tibalt! Everyone - Oh, it's fine then, no real threat there.

Yeah, Kaldheim went from Mandalorian to Avengers: Endgame REAL fast.

"Felt epic, but hollow" the magic story in a nutshell this past year

Last time I was this early, Tibalt was the worst planeswalker in the game.

"Tibalt was there to create a story to remember" Tibalt: Hey guys, remember that time I countered a spell with red mana and it turned into a cosmic plane-razing eldrazi? Good times...

You really drove home something here that I just realized: magic's storywriting team is still thinking much more in terms of 2 or 3 set blocks, while the play design team has more successfully switched to single-set mechanic choices.

A lot of good points made with the Mustache Minute. My main criticism of magic storytelling over the years is the dependency on planeswalkers. I feel like they should play a more supportive role than a main role. Reading some of the comments and listening to the commentary a lot of common themes come up that tons of cards or themes from the set are not featured in the story. And I feel that's because they're using planeswalkers to take that place. So characters we've seen over and over are the main feature and we don't get to see anything about shape shifters, Giants or other gods in this case. I feel like the characters on the plane should take precedence and be the feature and planeswalkers could be there either to help because they happen to be there but them taking over the story is really frustrating. When I read the book from the Odyssey set it was all about the characters who live there casting spells and fighting each other not planeswalkers from other places coming in and fixing the planes problem. It's kind of like reading an X-Men story but Goku comes in to save the day for some weird reason.

i think one reason why the story seemed off is that the direction is split, on one hand they want to just tell good self contained stories for each set, on the other they want to set up for war of the spark 2: Phyrexia in 10 or so years

I am a simple person that just wants Phyrexians, I see a Praetor and I am happy.

Urza: destoys Phyrexia 1.0. Vorinclex: well we cant have that happenin on Phyrexia 2.0. INDESTRUCTIBLE FOR EVERYONE!

Kaldheim was epic, but hollow: sounds like the first two Thor movies.

Ok wait wait, even if we (safely) assume that the trolls and elves don't know Tibalt isn't who he says he is, they still think they're talking to the god of lies! These armies are confronted by someone whose main character trait is being dishonest, and then believe him about going to fight in a huge war? WHAT?! Excellent video though, well done Ryan!

The Mustache Minute is, like the Mustache in general, on point!

You know, the worldbuilding of Kaldheim is amazing. The seting, the Gods, the different races and their struggles are all awesome. BUT the story is a mess. This is a world that would benefit greatly as a two-set story. It just feels so rushed and trying to include eveything in the same scene makes it more difficult to appreciate the characters.

Soooo... God phyrexians... Cool cool cool. **sweats profusely**

My suspicion is that this story is the story team slowly trying to erase and forget War of the Spark: Forsaken where both the Kaya and Tezeret stories left off.

The story: Alright lets hunt a phyrexian in Valhalla The phyrexian: Runs away The story: Ragnarok happens Me: Wait, what? Where did Vorinclex go The epilogue: Oh. Shit. OH SHIT.

You know, whatever you think about the story we can all appreciate how amazing Arni's story was. That dude is actually the coolest thing

Esika was dying. I hope she doesn't die. She's wholesome.

I was literally searching it when the notification appeared, nice

I was so confused why I pulled verrexian out of the prerelease I think it’s cool to have that mysterious why he is there

Considering how bad the lore got lately, I think Kaldheim turned out alright, there's still a lot of room for improvement (a lot) but they're heading in the right direction, I hope the stories can go back to being good one day.

Wow, I would like to take a guess and say Tezzeret is the one behind the schemes. He is helping the Phyrexians, and he hired Kaya to kill Vorinclex. As well as he sent Tibalt there to cause some chaos. Also it would be cool if Tyvar, Niko, and Kaya went on a journey together. Those three seem like the new Jace, Gideon, and Chandra.

I liked the aspect of the different realms. Most planes feel very small and compact and this reminded me of the days when everything happened on Dominaria and we really got to explore a huge world

We really need multi-block sets back. These stories are shallow and cards overpowered, The best in several planes are a bad mix.

This is the real story. There was snow... The end

So...wait a minute, lemme get this right: the phyrexians/praetors (the monsters of the midway) now have a sample of an elixir of immortality?!!? Am I the only one kinda shittin myself at the thought of a phyrexian gaining immortality or....?

"Would be a neat twist if it turns out one of the characters was a shapeshifter" Actually, all of them are, unbeknownst to each other.

"Who's helping the phyrexians move between planes" its tezzeret.

My prediction for not seeing the god of death is that he was there but had no reason to reveal himself since all he's there to do is guide the dead

100% agree with the Tyvar-Tibalt interaction being one of my favorite parts of the story. Even if these 5-part miniseries aren't perfect, they're so much better than the stuff we've been getting the past years, so I'll take the progress! And who knows, maybe there IS an overarching plan that will make Ikoria/Kaldheim/Phyrexians tie together, the red star-shaped portal could be a clue for future stories.

I really liked the side stories in this set. Especially the story about Arni was pretty awesome.

Honestly I have never enjoyed a magic set as much as this since Dominaria and, with the inclusion of Phyrexians it is amazing! Thanks for helping me understand what is going on in the Magic Story!!!!!

I love hearing these stories, they are always interesting to hear about. And yeah I enjoyed some of the events on the plane. The ending makes me think that Phyrexians are coming back.

Honestly, while the story of Kaldheim seems relatively disparate, I really like what they've done in terms of development. It seems like they've done really good setup work for a later return to Kaldheim (and even a return to Phyrexia should they go that way). They've made Kaya a bigger part of the story and given us an in to an otherwise unexplored new plane, and they've finally done something with Tibalt! I also really like that the flavor clicks without seeming overwhelming. Honestly, while there are story beats that could have been hit cleaner, and I sincerely am sad they didn't include Garruk in some fashion, I like Kaldheim flavor- and story-wise.

Regarding characters missing from the story, I think I prefer that over the Dominaria quick pace and absurd name-dropping, trying to somehow mention all places and legendary creatures in just a few chapters.

I'd love to see Oko and Tibalt have their own set where they're constantly trying to troll each other. In fact have that be an Un-Set thats Standard Legal.

Ryan: "There was also no mention of the shapeshifters..." The shapeshifters: "well excuse us for actually being competent at our one job!" :D

I had only one Problem with the Story: Where was Angrath? Even a little chapter with him baking cookies together with his daughters would've been ok with me. Edit: Yeah, I mixed some things up. Angrath is (probably) not from Kaldheim. Thanks again @Francisco Wagner for pointing out my error. :)

It almost feels like Hour of Devastation leading into the War of the Spark.

The fact about Tibalt is that he was hiding in kaldheim I read his "i was there to cause chaos anyway" like a excuse to not seem bad, the story is written from his point of view

Thanks for the wrap up! Seems like Kaldheim has a lot going for one video. Also now that you pointed out the card art detail, I can't unsee it.

Ahhh dang! Story time! And I was gonna be productive this morning! Guess the work can wait until I'm done listening to my favorite loremage :)

"The protagonist of our story is Kaya," *Distant crowd booing*

I really appreciate your enthusiasm during these videos! I also like that you can be critical of certain story elements (missing gods) while keeping a positive demeanor.

It warms my heart as I see the sub and view count numbers get bigger. You both deserve it. What a lovely show.

Harald rides off with the elves on a reindeer. Man Santa is going to be pissed

Wait so Kaya was defeated by some trolls after nearly killing Vorinclex, a goshdarn Phyrexian praetor.... wotc wth

I am so glad i found this channel! Honestly the stories have so many loose ends at this point that makes them hard to follow. But magic arcanum makes it so much easier to follow! Will enjoy this channel forever and ever.

YES. I was looking for this video! Thank you guys, your summaries help so much!

Yea unsurprisingly, I came to the same conclusion, that was a lot of cool shining stuff but extremely shallow overall. As everyone else, I'm excited to see the phyrexian threat coming back and plotting, but the rest is less than average imo. Lots of "cool 4th wall breaking" comments from Kaya that just found distracting and out of place, lots of deus ex machina moments, also Tyvar Kell is basically the perfect Mary Sue / shonen hero that is so carefree and talended that he succeeds at everything everyone else finds impossible and ... *yawn* sorry I'm bored. I can go on and on about how everything seemed to be on the nose and shallow but my last big comment is about kaldheim itself. As cool as it is overall, and many people may disagree with this point but I find it to be one of the most UNINSPIRED planes I've seen ever. It is litterally "norse mythology, the plane" with barely any twist on it, and I find it insulting, even "western tales, the realm" a.k.a Eldraine had more of originality in it (still not that much though). I really wish they stopped this trend of slapping "new cool shiny stuff" on our faces and instead focused on bringing more depth to their craft; even just with 2 set arcs as they used to do. Not only for the story, but also for the mechanics they add to the game. I feel like a lof of mechanics are created and abandonned on the spot while I feel like a lot of them have some potential for more support and that there remains a huge creative space. On the top of my head, I wish we could have had more companions; even if it is arguably one of the most broken mechanic of these recent years, I kinda liked the idea and I feel like there was some space for more ideas (for instance with companions that you could use not with deck list restriction but board state), and the same with foretell, party (I hate it but more support might have helped) and so on. And now, knowing that the next story will one more throw all this stuff out the window and possibly give us "Harry Potter, the plane", you might guess that I already hate it x)

Loved this video, the story of the set... not that much. I was expecting at least one battle between the gods, I like the idea of a new Phyrexian invasion, though. Loved the mustache minute, Ryan!

Hey, I just found your channel like a week ago and have been binging it while climbing the mythic ladder. I really enjoy your content. I like the stories, the lore, the flavor wins lol. Light hearted, fun, funny, informative and we all love MTG. Keep doing what you're doing. Great job!

That mustache minute is gold really

Am I crazy or was Niko Ares nowhere to be found despite being on so damn many cards

What if Ashiok is helping the phyrexian planeswalk?

The New Intro blows my mind. Love the omage to the old one with those 4 notes and still makes it so different and magical that gives an immage of starting a fantasy adventure and knowing that it still is Magic Arcanum just grander. Best Choice!

Nice new intro! Always a pleasure to join you for story time!

One more source of information about the set is the trailer. In the extended version, it looks like it's Inga who is giving Kaya the axes. 🪓🪓 A lot of the trailer doesn't match the story :/

The cool things that I expect from Strixhaven is answers, cause that is what a school/university does, right?

Tyvar confidence was my favorite part of that story, I smiled like stupid remembering my Tyvar days.

Always a pleasure to see arcanum in my sub box. Love you guys

Waste of good characters designs, i also expected do see Garruk there, i believe he was be a better fit than Kaya.

Interesting dire story for the realm of humans. BUT, like you mentioned at the end, Tibalt's motivations are kind of lame. Guess there's a reason he's red and not blue. Vorinclex showing up already takes away from Kaldheim for me. It's the first time we're here and they immediately throw in main villains from a different plane. Yeah, Planeswalkers kind of do this anyway but I feel like they get a pass where regular creatures shouldn't. Maybe I need this to happen a couple more times for the normalization to kick in.

It is nice to watch this back now that phyrexia sets are released, how it was unclear what is going to happen, how is it going to happen, the predictions in mustache minutes were actually spot on.

First video of yours I see, and I must say I loved it!

How kaya defeated a predator but everything in this frikin weak plane keeps almost killing her... I hate plot armor...

Honestly, I prefer it when the stories of sets are mostly independent. After years of the incredibly boring Gatewatch it's nice to see some new storytelling ideas. War of the spark very nearly made me quit magic.

I always like watching these because I can never get through reading the stories myself; the writers feel as if they are not really putting their best foot forwards. Anyway, it definitely seems like whoever storyboarded this plane wanted to tell too many stories at once but didn’t consider the fact that they only had one set to tell it. You’ve got tibalt and Vorinclex showing up to the plane for completely unrelated reasons coincidentally at the same time so Kaya can end up going from hunting one to the other. You also have Niko Aris who has his completely unrelated side story and whose character barely extends beyond “I wanna be a hero!” and an unimpressive card design. The two real stories that the writers wanted to tell were an awkward mix of self-contained plot that only deals with the specific plane and an attempt to set up a much larger confrontation with Magic’s last true big bad. I like the idea of setting up a larger story but the lack of multi-set planes leaves us with shallow stories that never give the writers enough time to do anything interesting. In the end, it’s just disappointing because Magic has had great stories with massive interconnected plots in the past, but now everything feels too isolated and the writing feels like it is trying too hard to be trendy.

I think this was an excellent introduction to a new plane. There's still plenty to explore in future sets, which I am looking forward to.

Thank you for the LOST reference. I gave up on that show about half way through the 5th season. Awesome, video as always!

You don't know how long I've waited for this video. Thank you!

Only recently got into Magic. These videos have been really helpful catching up with lore related stuff.

"Fortunately, Kaya did not asked these questions." Made me laugh harder than it probably should have 🤣.

I must say that your videos are really inpiring and i love them. I like the way you explain the lore.

Just want to say I always look forward to your videos!

Thanks Arcanum I was very curious about this storyline.

I love this break down . Keep up the good work

Loved it. Thank you!

Ryan and Nicol, I’ve been waiting every day for this episode! Haven’t even watched yet but just wanted to let you guys know I’m so happy when you guys post 🙂 Truly the best channel. Thank you so much

I appreciate this channel so much!

Kaya asks Harold about Tyvar, who sees him playing jump rope with Varragoth's sword, and says, "He looks like he's having the time of his life." and that is why Tyvar is my favorite Kaldheim Character

I'm glad he mentioned Lost, because this story direction sounds like some Abrams Mystery Box noise.

All these realms makes me think this set is just a snowy version of Alara...

Liked and subscribed. Good video man. 👍

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG

Always love the story recaps.

This was such a great video, thank you!! Do you have/would you ever do a video on who/what the Phyrexians are?

This summary was way more interesting than the actual story on Magic's main web site. And it was much easier to understand.

I love the videos on lore you do please keep it up helps me with new players who are interested in story but not wanting to read the story. could you go back and tell the older story's again and when did this plane appear in magic said it was from a long ago set but I don't remember any mention of anything like this

Thank you. As someone who’s just getting back into Magic the Gathering, I missed out on some of the lore. Your video helped me get back up to speed. Thanks again.

Kaldheim had a very interesting story in my mind. Kaya exploring what it means to be a Planeswalker, the cocky new Tyvar joining the swathes of realm-jumpers, and some awesome new characters I hope to see again in some way like Arni, Maja, Inga, Sigrid, the Cosmos beasts, and yes the gods too.

Excellent story full of cards that throughly tell the inside story of Kaldheim. Wonderful job, thank you

Man I love the lore for all the sets. It gives so much more meaning to the cards I pull

I love the new intro. Keep up the good work, Ryan and Nicole!

Tibalt wants an epic tale. From SOI, we've seen EXACTLY how powerful a good story can be.

I super appreciate these lore bombs. I stopped playing MTG awhile back and stopped reading the lore after War of the Spark so these are really the only way I get to keep up with the lore and you are super good at it. TY for them.

I totally agree that to have every story end with a kind of cliffhanger at this point just makes it feel like the story is directionless. Set ups and questions are meaningless without pay offs and answers, it's fun for awhile to wonder what might be in store but you have to deliver on those promises of things to come for people to stay interested.