Plane (Magic: The Gathering)
Encyclopedia
In Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...

, planes are parallel universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...

s in the Multiverse
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

 (which used to be referred to as Dominia.) Planes are often confused with planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

s by Magic players, because most planes are named after their primary planets. The two main categories of planes are natural planes and artificial planes.

The Multiverse

Dominia was the general name of the set of infinite planes that make up the Multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...

 where the stories of the Magic: The Gathering occur. According to an "Ask Wizards" article recently, the term 'Dominia' is no longer being used to define the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse.

Each plane is a universe. However, many gameplayers confuse the term 'plane' to a planet when, in fact, it is the entire universe where that certain planet is located. This is because the name of the universe/plane is similar to the name of the main/primary planet.

However, some planes aren't physically universes (per se) but, merely, single planets floating in the void. These planes aren't natural but artificial (i.e. Phyrexia, Serra's Realm, Rath, and Mirrodin). More often than not, artificial planes are planes that comprise of the main/primary planet itself, a few satellites and little else (unlike natural planes which have galaxies and other planets). Artificial planes have limited lifespans. It may take thousands of years, but each will eventually break down.

Planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

s have a near-monopoly on travelling plane-to-plane. However, planeswalkers aren't invulnerable to events of cosmic-scale, such as the cosmic anomaly known as the The Shard of Twelve Worlds. Planeswalkers who were, at that time, venturing within the realms of the Twelve Worlds of the Shard (also known as Nexus of Dominaria) were trapped within the Shard for thousands of years.

Half-gods, or demi-gods are also capable of traversing the planes, though only a few are known, among them Marit Lage. Planar portals can also be opened by powerful spirits such as the Myojin of Night's Reach, or by certain artifacts. On most planes, creatures not capable of planar travel are unaware that any world but their own exists.

The Æther

The Void between planes; also known as the Blind Eternities, it is the substance which fills the space between planes.

Natural Planes

Natural planes are not created and may be as old as the Multiverse itself. Natural planes are the only planes that can last forever; all other planes eventually collapse.

Natural planes are usually as large as our real life universe, but most are devoid of life except for one planet that has the highest concentration of mana in the plane. In some cases creatures from other planes may be summoned for planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

 battles on this planet over sources of mana and left there, but there have also been cases of planeswalkers repopulating a dead plane. This planet is known as the plane's primary planet, and usually has the same name as the plane.

Known natural planes:

Alara

Alara, introduced in the Shards of Alara
Shards of Alara
Shards of Alara is an expansion set from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It is the 47th limited-edition expansion set for Magic and was released on October 3, 2008. On Magic Online Shards was released on October 20, 2008....

 set, was once a single massive plane but was broken into five smaller planes called "Shards" separated by a powerful nexus of energy called the Maelstrom. Each Shard had only three of the five types of mana available and as a result each plane developed a very different culture and ecosystem from the others. Citizens of Bant, a serene plane of white, green, and blue mana, lived in a feudal system presided over by angels. All lifeforms on Esper, a metallic plane of blue, white, and black mana, have become artifact creatures through infusion with silvery etherium. Grixis, a grim hellscape of black, blue, and red mana, was dominated by demons and necromancers. Jund, a plane of red, black, and green mana, was ruled by the laws of predation, with dragons at the top of the food chain. The peoples of Naya, a jungle plane of green, red, and white mana, worshiped the gargantuans who flourish there. During the block's release, the storyline depicted the five shards converging in a colossal event known as the Conflux. Ultimately, the plane is reunited and the five Shards ceased to be, forcing the five disperate cultures into cataclysmic conflict.

The Shards of Alara were the home planes of planeswalkers Ajani Goldmane of Naya and Tezzeret of Esper.

Azoria

Homeworld of the planeswalker Ravidel, and one of the planes caught in the Shard of Twelve Worlds. It and Dominaria are the only two planes identified as being in the Shard. Despite the name, it has no known connection to the Azorius Senate of Ravnica.

Bolas' Meditation Realm

An astral world accessible from Dominaria by powerful mages. The Elder Dragon Nicol Bolas used this plane to contemplate and to hold private meetings with his advisors while he was emperor of the land of Madara on Dominaria.

Dominaria

Dominaria is the central plane of the multiverse and was the central stage for the majority of Magic: The Gathering's early sets, from the beginning through Scourge
Scourge (Magic: The Gathering)
Scourge is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It is the third set of the Onslaught block. There are 143 cards overall. The expansion symbol is a dragon's skull.-Mechanics:...

. It is the homeworld to a vast number of the game's greatest heros and villains, such as the planeswalkers Urza and Venser, the maniacal Yawgmoth, and the Weatherlight Crew. It has survived enumerable catastrophes and even an Apocalypse
Apocalypse (Magic: The Gathering)
Apocalypse is the name of a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released in June 2001. It is the third set of the Invasion Block.-Storyline:...

, and it exists now as a bleak, harsh post-apocalyptic landscape.

Equilor

"The farthest plane" Equilor is an extremely old plane on the "edge of time." Everything on the plane feels like it's finished growing. The mountains are all worn down.
Its inhabitants have hoarded knowledge for a hundred millennia, and know practically everything. Urza and Xantcha came here seeking knowledge about the looming enemy of Phyrexia. Urza believed the human elders knew things which could aid him in the coming conflict, but gave him only their perspective on Phyrexia - that it has small ambitions and is not a major threat. This leaves Urza very unsatisfied and he leaves the plane.
For reference on distance, it takes Urza 100 Dominarian years to get back to Dominaria (arriving in the year 3210 A.R.)

Gastal

An abandoned plane. While traveling the multiverse, Urza and Xantcha stop here and meet six planeswalkers. They are attacked by a predatory planeswalker and Manatarqua, a newly sparked planeswalker who presented herself as a pavilion but dies by Urza's hand. The others are believed to have escaped.

Innistrad

Setting for the Innistrad
Innistrad
Innistrad is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set released September 30, 2011. It is the first set of the Innistrad block. Innistrad is a "top-down" designed set based around Gothic horror. The sets mechanics and effects are mainly based around graveyard themes, with a minor focus on tribal...

 card set. A world of gothic horror, where humans are under continual threat by vampires, ghosts, zombies and werewolves. The world experiences three dark seasons based on moon cycles. Home plane of the planeswalker Sorin Markov.

Kamigawa

The setting for Kamigawa block of expansions, this world is set in a world incorporating the lore and aesthetics of feudal Japan and samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 culture. On Kamigawa, the powerful daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 Konda conspired to steal the offspring of a powerful spirit, which sparked a war between mortals and the kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

 they once worshipped. Through the efforts of Konda's own child, Michiko and the crafty Toshiro Umezawa, the war is finally ended and the kami child is returned to the spirit world.

Notable for being a plane with a distinct, humanoid race for each color: the quiet, courtly fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

-like kitsune
Kitsune
is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...

; the wise, isolated rabbit-eared moonfolk; the cunning, craven rat-like nezumi
Nezumi
-Real life:* The Japanese word 鼠 literally meaning "rat" or "mouse"* Nezumi Kozō was the nickname of a thief in the 19th century* Previous name of Yuuki Matsuda-Software:* Mobile Application for monitoring applications...

; the crab-like goblins called akki; and the deadly, druidic snake-people, the orochi
Orochi
or Orochi, translated as the Eight-Forked Serpent in English, is a legendary 8-headed and 8-tailed Japanese dragon that was slain by the Shinto storm-god Susanoo.-Mythology:...

.

See Kamigawa

Lorwyn/Shadowmoor

Lorwyn is the setting of the Lorwyn
Lorwyn
Lorwyn is the 66th Magic: The Gathering set, 43rd expert level set, and the first set in the Lorwyn Block, released in October 2007. It is codenamed "Peanut"...

 and Morningtide
Morningtide
Morningtide is an expansion set, codenamed "Butter", for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It is the 44th expert level set, and it was released on February 1, 2008. The pre-release events for this set were held on January 19 and January 20, 2008.-Set details:Morningtide is the second and...

 card sets, its theme drawn from Celtic myths. It is a lush plane in a state of perpetual day and summer. Unlike most planes, Lorwyn does not have any native human inhabitants. The dominant races are elves, merrow (merfolk
Merfolk
Merfolk may refer to mythical/fictional creatures:*Merperson *Merfolk *Merfolk *Merfolk...

), boggarts (goblins), elementals (including the humanoid flamekin), kithkin
Halfling
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit which can be a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. In many settings, they are similar to humans except about half the size. Dungeons & Dragons began using the name halfling as an alternative to hobbit for legal reasons...

, faeries, treefolk and giants. Lorwyn is also home to many changelings; inane jelly-like shapeshifters ignored by most as merely an annoyance.

Every several eons, a natural event called the Great Aurora changes Lorwyn into a plane of perpetual night and autumn called Shadowmoor
Shadowmoor
Shadowmoor is an expansion set, codenamed "Jelly", from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It was released on May 2, 2008. The pre-release events for this set were held on April 19-20, 2008.-Set Details:...

. Shadowmoor is effectively a dark, sinister alternative reality
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

 to Lorwyn, where almost all of Lorwyn's creatures resume their lives as though nothing had happened and with no memory of their once-sunny homewold. The previously proud and friendly flamekin become smoldering husks bent on torturing everyone, whilst the elitist and cruel elves become one of Shadowmoor's only sources of compassion and hope. The faeries are the only ones to barely change at all, actually retaining their memories from Lorwyn along with their queen, Oona
Oona
Oona is a feminine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Irish-language name Úna. A variant spelling of Oona is Oonagh.-People with the name :*Oona Castilla Chaplin*Oona Garthwaite*Oona Hart*Oona King*Oona Louhivaara*Oona O'Neill...

.

The main story revolves around Oona, who desired to increase her influence and power by triggering the Aurora prematurely and keeping the world as Shadowmoor. A treefolk named Colfenor knew what she was up to and was able to manipulate events leading up to the Aurora, causing the change to have mixed results; a small few managed to retain their memories and eventually thwart her.

Shadowmoor also features a much wider variety of races, some of which remain entirely hidden during the Lorwyn phase like the duergars (dwarves), hags, gwyllions and noggles. There also appear to be more variations on each race; Lorwyn only features the curious and impulsive boggarts, but in Shadowmoor there appear civilized but murderous hobgoblins in addition to the now hungry and feral boggarts. Selkies appear in addition to the evil, piratical merrows.

Mercadia

Mercadia is the setting for the Mercadian Masques expansion. A small plane near Dominaria most notable for its unique mountain shaped as an inverted giant cone, growing wider as it gets higher, on the top resting a large city. The plane served as a refuge for the fleeing routed Thran
Thran
In Magic: The Gathering, the Thran were a utopian culture of humans whose technology level was much more advanced than any other Dominarians. Their artifact devices ran on powerstones which had stable artificial planes in them...

 at the time of Yawgmoth's rise to power. Since that time, it has come to be a relatively peaceful world ruled by commerce, mostly populated with humans, intelligent and crafty goblins, and humanoid merfolk
Merfolk
Merfolk may refer to mythical/fictional creatures:*Merperson *Merfolk *Merfolk *Merfolk...

.

During the Weatherlight Saga, the crew of the Weatherlight took a portal from the artificial plane of Rath and crash landed on Mercadia. After numerous scrapes with local authorities, joining up with a rebellion against the capitalistic government, uncovering a traitor in their midst, and managing to destroy a hidden Phyrexian armada, the crew finally planeshifts back to Dominaria in time to join the fight against the mounting Phyrexian Invasion
Invasion (Magic: The Gathering)
Invasion is the 21st expert level set, and the first set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering. The rest of the block is Planeshift and Apocalypse. It contains 350 cards.-Set History:...


Locations on Mercadia

  • Mercadia City: is a large city built around and on top of the inverted mountain. This mountain is approximately 5 miles wide at the top, but space magically folds upon itself making the city even larger than that. The city's population relies on trading and bartering as a primary method of survival and scams are common. Garbage is dropped over the edges of the mountain and forms a giant wall around it. Most of the city is covered in markets, where anything can be bought or sold. (See )
  • Rushwood: (SW) The Cho-Arrim resistance movement live in this forest. The Fountain of Cho, also known as the Navel of the World
    Navel of the World
    The Navel of the World is a concept of a mythological center of the world or universe.Navel of the World may also refer to a number of real-world locations:* Baboquivari Peak Wilderness in Arizona, USA, according to the O’odham nation...

    , is also here. It is inscribed with the history of the Cho-Arrim and Ramos.
  • Rishada: (E) Port-city and marketplace. (See )
  • Saprazzo: (E) A city built out at sea, dominated by merfolk
    Merfolk
    Merfolk may refer to mythical/fictional creatures:*Merperson *Merfolk *Merfolk *Merfolk...

    . It is in a half submerged volcanic caldera. The top of the city is dry, and the lower levels are below water. Here, the Shrine of the Matrix holds the Power Matrix. (Seen in the background of )
  • Deepwood: (NW) Guarded by ghouls.
  • Ouramos: Where Ramos fell, in Deepwood. Guarded by dryads. The Bones of Ramos are here, as is Ramos himself. (see )

Creatures and Tribes on Mercadia

  • Cho-Arrim, rebels under leadership of Cho-Manno. They use water magic, and are blue and white in the colors of Magic.
  • Caterans, mercenaries, which were black aligned monsters. Some were zombies.
  • Kyren, a more intelligent subspecies of goblins, the opposite of Dominarian goblins, which are stupid, dimwitted, and reckless. They are rulers in Mercadia City and always speak in questions. They are direct descendents of the Goblins that used to work at the Halcyon Powerstone Manufacturing Facility under Glacian's direction.
  • Saprazzans, merfolk who can breathe water and air and can use legs or transform them into a tail. They have light blue skin and thick blue hair.
  • Dryads and ghouls guard Ouramos, a sacred altar made by Ramos, in Deepwood.
  • Jhovalls are six-legged tiger creatures used for transportation.

Moag

A plane where Urza and Xantcha led a simple agrarian lifestyle for decades until the Phyrexians invaded. Urza destroyed the Phyrexian agents and then left with Xantcha. Moag is said to have a broad range of environments and cultures.

Ravnica

Ravnica is the setting for the sets Ravnica: City of Guilds
Ravnica: City of Guilds
This article is about the Magic: The Gathering set known as Ravnica: City of Guilds. For an article about the plane and the guilds mentioned below, see Ravnica ....

, Guildpact
Guildpact
Guildpact is a Magic: The Gathering set, second in the Ravnica Block. Guildpact was released on February 3, 2006.-Design:Ravnica was conceived following the success of Invasion. Invasion, released in 2000, emphasized interactions between the colors, and it was one of Magics most popular releases...

, and Dissension
Dissension (Magic: The Gathering)
Dissension is the 60th Magic: The Gathering set, 38th expert level set, and the third and final set in the Ravnica Block, released on May 5, 2006.-Design:...

 (collectively known as the Ravnica block). It is a large plane covered by a continuous, sprawling cityscape
Ecumenopolis
Ecumenopolis is a word invented in 1967 by the Greek city planner Constantinos Doxiadis to represent the idea that in the future urban areas and megalopolises would eventually fuse and there would be a single continuous worldwide city as a...

. Its flavor is based largely on East European cultures, myths, and folk tales. Before "The Mending" in which several planeswalkers gave up their power or lives to repair the space-time continuum of the Multiverse, this plane was separated from others, making it impossible for Planeswalkers and ghosts to enter or leave. Ravnica is also the name of the plane's largest city. The Ravnica storyline is centered around a power struggle between ten distinct guilds.

Rabiah

Actually a pocket of nearly identical planes, each covered in a vast desert dotted with oases, Rabiah is the setting of the Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights (Magic: The Gathering)
Arabian Nights was the fourth Magic: The Gathering set and the first expansion set. The set is composed entirely of new cards. The setting of Arabian Nights is inspired by the themes and characters of the Thousand and One Arabian Nights with some of the characters and places coming directly from...

 expansion. The world is essentially Persia from the time of the 1,001 Arabian Nights tales, and is home to several characters from it, such as Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....

 and Sinbad
Sinbad
Sinbad or Sindbad may refer to:* Sinbad the Sailor, from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights* Sinbad the Sailor, an alias of Edmond Dantes in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo...

. In the Magic Multiverse, each of these 1,001 Tales happened on a different iteration of Rabiah.

Segovia

Segovia is a miniature plane, about a hundredth the scale of a regular plane of the Multiverse, and so its immense leviathans are merely the size of a Dominarian elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

. Here we have the Hippodrome, an arena for chariot races, where the tiny Segovians zoom around its tiny oval, occasionally losing their tiny lives in the surprisingly brutal spectator sport.. The humanoids of this plane appear to have an Hellenistic Greek or Ancient Roman culture including contests in arenas
Arenas
Arenas may refer to:-Persons:*Abbygale Arenas , Filipina beauty queen*Braulio Arenas, Chilean poet and writer*Eddie Arenas , Filipino actor...

 as seen on the Planechase card 'The Hippodrome'.. The origins of this plane's design came from the early whose stats were quite puny, but is pictured alongside several whales for size comparison, so the game's creators decided to make all of Segovia undersized.

Shandalar

The plane of Shandalar has no fixed location in the Multiverse, instead wandering an irregular course through the Blind Eternities. There was a time when the evil Arzakon attempted to use the five powerful guild masters of the plane to cast a spell of Dominion to break through the Shard of Twelve Worlds and allow his entrance into the shard. This plan was however thwarted. Shandalar was the setting of Magic the Gathering MicroProse game
Magic: The Gathering (MicroProse)
Magic: The Gathering is a computer game published by MicroProse in April 1997 based on the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering....

 and its expansions.

Ulgrotha

Featured in the Homelands
Homelands (Magic: The Gathering)
Homelands was the thirteenth Magic: The Gathering set and seventh expert level set, released in October 1995. It was considered to be part of the Ice Age block until the announcement of Coldsnap in October 2005.- Storyline :...

 expansion, Ulgrotha was home to several planeswalkers for a time. A planeswalker named Ravi, used an artifact called the Apocalypse Chime, given to her by her master, to destroy all life and mana on Ulgrotha. The plane became a prime battleground for wizards, until the planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

 Feroz happened upon it. He wished to protect the plane, so he, along with his wife, the planeswalker Serra
Serra (Magic: The Gathering)
represented on her Vanguard promo card In the collectible card-game Magic: The Gathering, Serra was the creator and overlord planeswalker of the artificial plane Serra's Realm. Both played an important role in the post-ascension life of Urza.-On Serra's Realm:After Urza left Serra, the plane was...

, created a ban to keep other planeswalkers out. Feroz died in the process, and Serra died soon afterwards. (Serra would appear briefly in the novelization of a later set, Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga is the 15th expert level set, a 350-card Magic: The Gathering expansion set that debuted in October 1998. Some employees of Wizards consider it one of the most powerful sets ever released, with many cards now banned in tournament formats...

, but that appearance occurred prior to her coming to Ulgrotha).
The events surrounding the set begin many years after Feroz's death, when his ban begins to fade. The residents of Ulgrotha are at war with one another.

Wildfire

Wildfire is a realm of djinns and efreets neighboring Rabiah. The Mages of the Emberwilde, also known as Embermages, are dedicated to this realm. Several portals to the plane of Wildfire exist in the Dominarian country of Bogardan. Naar Isle is located on this plane.

Zendikar

Zendikar is the setting of the Zendikar
Zendikar
Zendikar is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, that was released on October 2, 2009. It consists of 249 cards.-Set details:Zendikar is the first set in the Zendikar block...

block. It is famed among planeswalkers for the many hidden treasures left by its ancient civilizations and for its potent and unusual mana bonds. The plane is very dangerous, due in part to a natural phenomenon called the Roil that continually reshapes the landscape. Zendikar is inhabited by vampires, Kor
Kor
Kor refers to:*Kor River, an important river in the Fars province of Iran that may have been named after Cyrus the Great .*Kor , a Klingon character in the fictional Star Trek universe...

, merfolk, goblins, elves, humans and minotaurs. The land was also the prison of the Eldrazi, mythical planeswalking beings of immense power. There are seven continents: Guul Draz, Tazeem, Akoum, Murasa, Ondu, Bala Ged and Sejiri.

Artificial Planes

Artificial planes are created by planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

s or other similarly-powerful forces. Any artificial plane will eventually collapse, and all matter in the plane will be converted to energy.

An artificial plane usually contains only one planet or solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

, but some planes, such as Serra's Realm, don't contain planets at all. Artificial planes are usually inhabited by creatures created by the planeswalker who created the plane or by creatures 'borrowed' from other planes.

Mirrodin/New Phyrexia

The setting for the Mirrodin
Mirrodin
Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

 and Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin is a Magic: The Gathering expansion that was released on October 1, 2010. It is the first set of the Scars of Mirrodin block. This block will mark the return to the plane of Mirrodin. This plane was last visited in the Mirrodin block that concluded in 2004...

 expansion blocks, Mirrodin is a hollow planet was created by Karn the silver golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....

 planeswalker as an attempt at building a perfect world, and is the only artificial plane known to still exist in the Multiverse. Mirrodin was crafted by Karn from the Mirari (a powerful artifact from the Dominarian planes) and was dubbed Argentum by its creator. After populating the plane, Karn left it in the care of a golem warden named Memnarch. After thousands of years alone, Memnarch went insane and began stealing creatures like humans, elves, goblins, and leonin from other worlds to populate it. Over time, the mana-rich core of Mirrodin expelled four massive orbs of energy that then orbited the plane and were called moons or suns by the inhabitants. After the eruption of the fifth and final green sun during the events of Fifth Dawn
Fifth Dawn
Fifth Dawn is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set which was released in May 2004. It is the third and final set of the Mirrodin block. There are 165 cards overall, and like the rest of Mirrodin, an unusually large number of them are artifacts...

, Memnarch was thwarted by Glissa Sunseeker, Slobad, and Bosh and repurposed by a returned Karn into the Mirari.

Years later, the corruption which drove Memnarch mad revealed itself to be a reborn Phyrexia, which had grown powerful by absorbing mana from the core of Mirrodin. During the events of Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin is a Magic: The Gathering expansion that was released on October 1, 2010. It is the first set of the Scars of Mirrodin block. This block will mark the return to the plane of Mirrodin. This plane was last visited in the Mirrodin block that concluded in 2004...

 block, Phyrexia wages a relentless war against the stranded Mirran forces, eventually overwhelming the plane and dubbing it New Phyrexia. During this time, a previously captured and tortured Karn is released by Koth of the Hammer, Elspeth Tiriel, and Venser the Sojouner (who died in the rescue) and they fled the now-tainted world.

Phyrexia

Phyrexia was an artificial plane of entirely mechanical "life" created by an ancient planeswalker. Little is known of this planeswalker, aside from the fact that he preferred to assume the form of a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

 and is dead. This world was not so different from Mirrodin
Mirrodin
Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

 until Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth, known as the "Father of Machines" and called the Ineffable by his underlings, is a fictional being from Magic, The Gathering, and is the unabated god of the plane of Phyrexia, a universe of untold corruption and mechanical monstrosity. He wields nearly unlimited magical might and...

 arrived, brought there by the planeswalker Dyfed
Dyfed
Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales. It was created on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of Deheubarth, although excluding the Gower Peninsula and the area west of the River Tawe...

. Yawgmoth later brought the remnants and descendants of the phthisis-inflicted Thran
Thran
In Magic: The Gathering, the Thran were a utopian culture of humans whose technology level was much more advanced than any other Dominarians. Their artifact devices ran on powerstones which had stable artificial planes in them...

 when they were forced out of the Thran Empire of ancient Dominaria as traitors. Yawgmoth "saved" these refugees through the process he called "Phyresis" - the replacement of weak mortal flesh with machinery, creating a legion of mindless mechanical horrors. The ensuing war destroyed the nation of the Thran, but not before Yawgmoth and his ghastly army were sealed off in Phyrexia.

This plane became a base from which a millennia-long secret war was waged against Dominaria and its eventual champion, Urza
Urza
Urza Planeswalker is a fictional character from the universe of Magic: The Gathering, best known for his millennia-long struggle with Yawgmoth and the plane of Phyrexia...

. Constructed as a series of nine nested spheres, Phyrexia consists of specialized levels for the creation and training of a vast, hellish army, with Yawgmoth taking up residence in the center sphere. This model is meant to reflect the tiered Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

 as presented in Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem Divine Comedy.Dante's Inferno may also refer to:* Dante's Inferno , a silent film about a slum landlord sent to hell...

, and is counter-pointed by the heavenly Serra's Realm.

At the culmination of the events of the Weatherlight saga, Phyrexia launched a full-scale Invasion
Invasion (Magic: The Gathering)
Invasion is the 21st expert level set, and the first set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering. The rest of the block is Planeshift and Apocalypse. It contains 350 cards.-Set History:...

of Dominaria, during which, the Phyrexian-built artificial plane of Rath partially overlayed Dominaria. Ultimately Urza, his band of planeswalkers, and the Weatherlight crew were able to obliterate Phyrexia and trigger an Apocalypse
Apocalypse (Magic: The Gathering)
Apocalypse is the name of a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released in June 2001. It is the third set of the Invasion Block.-Storyline:...

on Dominaria itself. For hundreds of years in the world of Magic: The Gathering (and nine years in reality) the threat of Phyrexia seemed gone forever until it reemerged on Mirrodin
Mirrodin
Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

 in the Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin
Scars of Mirrodin is a Magic: The Gathering expansion that was released on October 1, 2010. It is the first set of the Scars of Mirrodin block. This block will mark the return to the plane of Mirrodin. This plane was last visited in the Mirrodin block that concluded in 2004...

expansion. The events of that storyline resulted in a reborn New Phyrexia
New Phyrexia
New Phyrexia is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set that was released May 13, 2011. It is the third set of the Scars of Mirrodin block, which returns to the plane of Mirrodin, previously visited in the Mirrodin block that concluded in 2004...

 lorded over a pantheon of praetors spanning all five of Magic's colors.

Rath

An artificial plane created by the Phyrexians to help in their invasion
Invasion (Magic: The Gathering)
Invasion is the 21st expert level set, and the first set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering. The rest of the block is Planeshift and Apocalypse. It contains 350 cards.-Set History:...

 of Dominaria and was the setting of the Tempest
Tempest (Magic: The Gathering)
Tempest was the 20th Magic: The Gathering set and twelfth expert level set, and the first set in the Rath Block, released in October 1997. The release of Tempest represented a large jump in the power level of the card set, compared to the previous Mirage block. Many cards from Tempest instantly...

block expansion and Nemesis
Nemesis (Magic: The Gathering)
Nemesis is the second set in the Mercadian Masques block of sets in the Magic: The Gathering game, along with the expansions Mercadian Masques and Prophecy. Its expansion symbol is an axe. The set consists of 143 cards and was released on February 14, 2000...

and Planeshift
Planeshift
Planeshift may refer to:*Planeshift , an expansion set for Magic: The Gathering*PlaneShift , a free to play massively multiplayer online role playing game...

expansions. This plane's creation seems the most mechanical of any artificial plane, having been "built" slowly by syphoning mana from a core of energy through a Stronghold
Stronghold (Magic: The Gathering)
Stronghold was the 21st Magic: The Gathering set and thirteenth expert level set, and the second set in the Rath Block, released in March 1998. The block includes Tempest and Exodus. Stronghold contains 143 cards...

 that acts as a factory and turning the energy into flowstone (tiny nanobots) which spreads like lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 outward from the stronghold, slowly forming a planet.

Rath is ruled over by a Phyrexian lord called a evincar, the most famous being Davool, Volrath, and finally Crovax. During the events of Tempest, the Weatherlight crew venture to Rath to rescue their captain, Sisay, who had been captured by the sitting evincar, Volrath. After many trials, the crew managed to rescue her and another prisoner Takara before planeshifting away, leaving a few crew members behind, including the now-cursed vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...

, Crovax. After a tournament
Nemesis (Magic: The Gathering)
Nemesis is the second set in the Mercadian Masques block of sets in the Magic: The Gathering game, along with the expansions Mercadian Masques and Prophecy. Its expansion symbol is an axe. The set consists of 143 cards and was released on February 14, 2000...

 held by Belbe, a Phyrexian ambassador, Crovax is selected as the new evincar, slaying Volrath and leading the invasion of Rathi forces upon Dominaria.

During the planar overlay during the Planeshift
Planeshift
Planeshift may refer to:*Planeshift , an expansion set for Magic: The Gathering*PlaneShift , a free to play massively multiplayer online role playing game...

expansion, Rath ceased to be, becoming one with Dominaria.

Serra's Realm

Created by the planeswalker Serra
Serra (Magic: The Gathering)
represented on her Vanguard promo card In the collectible card-game Magic: The Gathering, Serra was the creator and overlord planeswalker of the artificial plane Serra's Realm. Both played an important role in the post-ascension life of Urza.-On Serra's Realm:After Urza left Serra, the plane was...

, her Realm consists of drifting meadows, floating castles, and clouds. It is an expanse of white mana and populated by angels, spirits, and a loyal human contingent, all of whom worship Serra as a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

.

Urza
Urza
Urza Planeswalker is a fictional character from the universe of Magic: The Gathering, best known for his millennia-long struggle with Yawgmoth and the plane of Phyrexia...

 blindly planeswalks to this world after facing near-death in his first direct assault on the hellish world of Phyrexia, and Serra agrees to allow him to convalesce there. Seeing what power she wields, Urza begs her to join with him in opposing Phyrexia, yet she refuses. After his departure, Phyrexians follow Urza to Serra's Realm and begin to slowly destroy it. Serra abandons the world and the archangel Radiant assumes command. Urza returns too late to save the world, and so after rescuing the few inhabitants he could, he collapses the entire plane into a powerstone which would power his greatest weapon, the Weatherlight.

Planechase

As well as featuring several known planes, 2009 casual multiplayer set Planechase
Planechase
Planechase is a variant of Magic: The Gathering with an emphasis on multiplayer games. The set utilizes new oversized Plane cards, cards that are based on various locations within the Magic multiverse, to modify the rules of gameplay. Four game packs were released on September 4, 2009: Elemental...

 introduced several new planes, many of which were hinted at in the preview set Future Sight
Future Sight
Future Sight is an expansion set, codenamed "Pop", for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The set was released worldwide on May 4, 2007. The pre-release events for this set were held on April 21 and April 22, 2007.-Storyline:...

. The nature of these planes is, for the time being, fully known only to the developers.
  • Arkhos - a plane where day and night intermingle according something to resembling dream logic, represented in Planeschase on and in Future Sight
    Future Sight
    Future Sight is an expansion set, codenamed "Pop", for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The set was released worldwide on May 4, 2007. The pre-release events for this set were held on April 21 and April 22, 2007.-Storyline:...

     by
  • Iquatana - represented on ; home of the from Future Sight and the Iquati, who created Narcomoebas as a replacement for their geneaological memory banks; this plane's atmosphere is full of Æther and its creatures tend to mutate into new forms
  • Ir - represented on ; home of the from Future Sight
    Future Sight
    Future Sight is an expansion set, codenamed "Pop", for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The set was released worldwide on May 4, 2007. The pre-release events for this set were held on April 21 and April 22, 2007.-Storyline:...

     and from Magic: Commander
    Magic: The Gathering Commander
    Commander is a series of five 100-card, three color Magic: the Gathering decks, meant as a supplement to the variant format initially known as "Elder Dragon Highlander ". Each deck is based around a legendary creature, called a "Commander" or "General"...

    . The mana is said to be particularly efficient in summoning creatures.
  • Kaldheim - Featured on the Planechase card .
  • Karsus - Featured on the Planechase card
  • Kenshala - Featured on the Planechase card
  • Luvion - Featured on the Planechase card
  • Muraganda - Featured on the "Planechase" card ; a prehistoric world with tropical jungles; first mentioned on the Future Sight cards and , and from Magic: The Gathering: Commander.
  • Pyrulea - Featured on the Planeschase card and the Future Sight card , Pyrulea seems covered in a massive forest whose canopy of vast leaves create a surface that other creatures live upon (both cards feature these leaves stretching off to the horizon with tiny humanoid figures standing on the massive leaves.) Note: This plane was featured in the novel: The Thran by J. Robert King. The planeswalker Dyfed brought Yawgmoth to Pyrulea as an example of other worlds and her power as a planeswalker.
  • Valla - a plane of perpetual war covered by a phenomenon called the , featured most recently on the card from Magic: 2012
    Magic 2012
    Magic 2012 is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set that was released on July 15, 2011. It is the thirteenth core set for Magic: the Gathering.-Mechanics:...

    .

The Shard of Twelve Worlds

The Shard is a bubble of universes, centered around Dominaria. Of these twelve worlds only two are known by name: Dominaria and Azoria. The Shard broke off from the main continuum after the Brothers' War. Planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

s were unable to leave or enter the Shard, trapping several planeswalkers within twelve planes of the multiverse. Shandalar was a rogue plane that was the center of a plan to shatter the Shard of Twelve Worlds when it would briefly enter the Shard. Freyalise
Freyalise
Freyalise is a character in the fictional multiverse of Magic: The Gathering. She is a planeswalker.-History:The beautiful half-elven Freyalise is considered to be a goddess by the elves of Llanowar...

 ultimately healed the rift separating the Shard from the rest of the multiverse, allowing planeswalkers to enter and exit once more.

Covenant of the Shard

Peace Treaty between the planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...

s Faralyn, Freyalise
Freyalise
Freyalise is a character in the fictional multiverse of Magic: The Gathering. She is a planeswalker.-History:The beautiful half-elven Freyalise is considered to be a goddess by the elves of Llanowar...

, Taysir, Kristina of the Woods, Tevesh Szat and Leshrac. Also present were the elder chromium dragon Rhuell, and its friend Ravidel. Its purpose was to find a way to end the Ice Age and break the restrictions of the Shard. Faralyn betrayed his companions to create a way out for himself.

Gates and Portals

On some planes there are artificial gates and portals which make artificial planeswalking possible. On Rath there used to be a portal leading to Mercadia. In the Dwarven City beneath Castle Sengir is a gate leading from Ulgrotha to Dominaria.

On Dominaria the Thran knew how to make planar gates. During the Golden Age someone named Nireya once found one. Jarsyll did find one as well, leading to Phyrexia.

On Phyrexia existed warped versions of the Thran Portals. Phyrexian Portals are opened through the sacrifice of creatures, artifacts or a great deal of magical energy. They lead all across the multiverse.

Rabiah has portals to Wildfire, and had, in ancient times, portals to equatorial continents on Dominaria.

Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth, known as the "Father of Machines" and called the Ineffable by his underlings, is a fictional being from Magic, The Gathering, and is the unabated god of the plane of Phyrexia, a universe of untold corruption and mechanical monstrosity. He wields nearly unlimited magical might and...

 used a portal linking Phyrexia and Dominaria in Koilos during the Invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...

. It was closed by the Weatherlight-crew.

Planar overlay

After years of preparation Yawgmoth used a large magical burst to cause the Phyrexian-infested plane of Rath to overlap Dominaria, infusing the plane with its own energies, and causing the Phyrexians to magically appear on Dominaria. Rath ceased to exist as an independent plane. Rathi locations and creatures all transposed themselves on Dominaria, sometimes resulting in bizarre hybrids.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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