#maestros

xantchaslegacy:

I really appreciate that the story team included this; a nice and sincere little reminder of how much Elspeth wants to belong somewhere, and feels good about getting a sense of that belonging even among the maestros.

As far as criminal bosses go, Xander seems awesome. I’m thoroughly enjoying his characterization!

dapper-delinquent:

…Xander is a demon vampire assassin, who is also a tailor so good he can sew an outfit onto you while youre still standing. I was expecting more of a smug jerk type, but i am EXTREMELY pleased with his personality portrayal in the story. He seems like the quietly confident badass, like he would unironically say “you may test that assumption at your convenience” to someone who challenges him, cause he knows he’ll win.

I also really liked that he didn’t get upset that someone was a few minutes late. He even asked the person to stop apologizing for being late. He understands that it’s important to have trust from those who serve him, and that to get that, one must be a reasonable boss. I like him a lot.

niuttuc:

The New Capenna sneak peek stream contained a brief summary of each of the five factions, but no text version of them were in the associated article. Here’s a transcription.

The Obscura (Esper/white-blue-black)

The Gifted Magicians. Talented wizards and mystics, who use their powers to deceive and blackmail. Using distractions, illusions and hidden mechanisms, they orchestrate scenarios and manipulate outcomes to their benefit. They endeavor to maintain a facade of normalcy in their everyday lives, to allow them to run their schemes without disruption.

The Maestros (Grixis/blue-black-red)

The Elite Assassins. Old money vampires who love the finer things in life and are willing to kill to get them. They maintain a public front as an upstanding organisation of art afficionados, with the goal of preserving the art and culture of Old Capenna. Beneath this polished veneer, they are a shadowy organisation of elite assassins, focused on maintaining power, influence and wealth.

The Riveteers (Jund/black-red-green)

The Destruction Workers. Tough as nails artisans who can break buildings as easily as kneecaps. They’re a rowdy, brute-force crime faction who’s skills in industry and construction also makes them pros at demolition and intimidation. As skilled artisans, they’ve transformed the lower levels of the city into a layer worthy of their draconic leader.

The Cabaretti (Naya/red-green-white)

The Party Monsters. A fun-loving cult of druids who throw the hottest parties in town. They’re the glitterati of the city and everyone wants to be invited to their feasts and dance halls. They use ancient magic to sway the opinion of the masses and keep the Halo flowing. The party never ends if you keep paying, but the moment you stop you might fight it hard to leave.

The Brokers (Bant/green-white-blue)

The Demonic Lawyers. A demonic law firm that secretly believes a doomsday prophecy, that when the Halo dries up, New Capenna will fail. They maintain public law offices where they handle mundane legal matters like property disputes and physical grievances, but their aggressive solicitors have a dubious reputation for being everywhere, and showing up at every crisis in the city.

Honestly, I’m not sure whether I prefer the Cabaretti or the Maestros. On one hand, the “cult of druids” really appeals to me, but on the other hand, vampires.