History MagicTheGathering / Planes

* AfterTheEnd: In the ancient history of the plane, it was caught in an unending war between two factions of planeswalkers. To end the war, one planeswalker rang an ArtifactOfDoom called the Apocalypse Chime that cut off every flow of mana in the entire plane, with the single exception being the flow from a rift created in the war. As a result, the vast majority of Ulgrotha is uninhabitable, with only a single LastFertileRegion.

* [[PosthumousCharacter Posthumous World]]: First mentioned in ''Core Set 2019'', it had already been destroyed, leaving Vivien and the animal spirits in her [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Arkbow]] the only signs that the plane ever existed.

An artificial plane created by an unknown planeswalker, Phyrexia was conquered by the vengeful Yawgmoth and transformed into his own hellish clockwork paradise. Read more about it [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringFactions here]].

A plane created by Yawgmoth as a staging ground for his invasion of Dominaria. Read more about it [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringFactions here]].

A mechanical plane created by Karn after ascending to planeswalkerhood. It was originally supposed to be inhabited only by constructs, but the plane's caretaker Memnarch had other plans. Read more about it [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPhyrexiaRathAndMirrodin here]] under the "New Phyrexia" heading.

Read more about the individual guilds [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringFactions here]].

Read more about the individual clans and broods [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringFactions here]].

!![[center:[- '''[[Characters/MagicTheGathering Main Character Index]]'''-]]][[center:[-'''Planeswalkers:''' [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPlaneswalkersPreMending Planeswalkers who ignited Pre-Mending]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPlaneswalkersPostMending Planeswalkers who ignited Post-Mending]]: '''[[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPlaneswalkersPostMendingAM A-M]]''', '''[[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPlaneswalkersPostMendingNZ N- Z]]'''-]]][[center:[-'''Planes and their peoples:''' [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringFactions Factions]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringOtherCharacters Other Characters]] ([[Characters/MagicTheGatheringDominaria Dominaria]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringPhyrexiaRathAndMirrodin Phyrexia, Rath and Mirrodin]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringInnistrad Innistrad]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringTheros Theros]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringTarkir Tarkir]], [[Characters/MagicTheGatheringZendikar Zendikar]]), '''Planes'''-]]]

The ''Magic'' multiverse was originally called Dominia, but references to the name were phased out to avoid confusion with its central plane, Dominaria ("the Song of Dominia"), and it is now usually just called "the multiverse".

* WorldTree: Kamigawa has one in the form of Boseiju, a titanic cedar tree (its name literally means "Sacred Mother Tree"). It has been around even as far back as Kamigawa's Bushido era (and indeed, she was 2,000 years old by the time of the first entry into the first Kamigawa block). It was eventually placed on top of a skyscraper in the Neon Dynasty era, and she's kept on growing since then...anytime a new, much taller skyscraper was completed in Kamigawa, she would grow even taller in response as if to remind the architects and the people who was there first. Sadly, it would be compleated by Tamiyo during the Invasion of Kamigawa.

* JidaiGeki: Inspired by Sengoku Era Japan, complete with set pieces such as shrines, bizarre spirits, and samurai.

* {{Ninja}}: Prevalent in the setting. Their "Ninjutsu" skill allows them to launch surprise attacks -- if one of your units isn't blocked during combat, a ninja in your hand can switch places with it and attack in its stead.

* RatMen: Called "Nezumi" (literally "mouse" or "rat" in Japanese), they show up in Black, and are often Ninjas.
* {{Samurai}}: Like Ninjas, common in the setting. Their "Bushido" skill is the counterpart of Ninjutsu, rewarding units who HoldTheLine by providing extra power and toughness when blocking or being blocked during combat.

* UselessUsefulSpell: A lot of cards in the original Kamigawa block have the "Splice" mechanic, which allows you to add the rules text of a card to the spell you're splicing it on. This sounds useful... except that all spice cards specified that they be spliced onto "Arcane" spells, a card type that only showed up in Kamigawa and hasn't appeared since.

A film noire-esque plane better known as New Capenna, focused on the eponymous city of New Capenna. Five gangster clans, each aligned with three ally colors, rule the streets with impunity, backed by demonic patrons.

%%* HauntedHouse: ... which is unsurprisingly also common on this plane.

* CoolVsAwesome: The main theme of Ixalan. Dinosaurs and dinosaur riders versus pirates[[note]]which feature alongside the human pirates orc pirates, siren pirates, and goblin pirates[[/note]] versus vampire conquistadors versus merfolk elementalists, oh my!

** The '''Dusk Legion''' is an obvious {{Expy}} to Spanish conquistador, finished with appropriate clothing and fighting style, a church that [[CrystalDragonJesus looks suspiciously Catholic]], and an [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen iron-fisted queen]].

** The '''Malamet''' are a civilization of [[CatFolk jaguar folk]] who inhabit grand cities in the caves between the surface and the core, and keep constant vigil against the [[FesteringFungus Mycoid]] scourge. They're pretty clearly based on the image of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_warrior Aztec jaguar knights]].
* FeatheredFiend: As according to scientific theories, most carnivorous dinosaurs have feathers, but are still very dangerous.

* HollowWorld: The plane of Ixalan is actually hollow, with its interior hosting [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods]], [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]], and a [[WeirdSun magical sun]] made of an AppliedPhlebotinum known as ''Cosmium''.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Rabiah was the setting for the ''Arabian Nights'' expansion, the first ever ''Magic'' expansion set. As the name suggests, the setting is based off of ''The Literature/ArabianNights'', and features characters from various stories, such as Aladdin and Shahrazad - though not as legendary creatures, which didn't exist yet, so you can have more than one Aladdin or Sindhbad. In-universe this can be explained by the existence of 1,001 Rabiahs. It also has cards directly reference locations from the real world, such as the Library of Alexandria, Cairo and Baghdad, which has not happened in a ''Magic'' set since.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Rabiah was the setting for the ''Arabian Nights'' expansion, the first ever ''Magic'' expansion set. As the name suggests, the setting is based off of ''The Literature/ArabianNights'', and features characters from various stories, such as Aladdin and Shahrazad - though not as legendary creatures, which didn't exist yet, so you can have more than one Aladdin or Sindhbad. In-universe this can be explained by the existence of 10,001 Rabiahs. It also has cards directly reference locations from the real world, such as the Library of Alexandria, Cairo and Baghdad, which has not happened in a ''Magic'' set since.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Rabiah was the setting for the ''Arabian Nights'' expansion, the first ever ''Magic'' expansion set. As the name suggests, the setting is based off of ''The Literature/ArabianNights'', and features characters from various stories, such as Aladdin and Shahrazad (though not as legendary creatures, which didn't exist yet, so you can have more than one Aladdin or Sindhbad). It also has cards directly reference locations from the real world, such as the Library of Alexandria, Cairo and Baghdad, which has not happened in a ''Magic'' set since.

->'''Planeswalkers:''' Bo Levar, Dyfed, Freyalise, Jaya Ballard, Jeska, Jared Carthalion, Karn, Kristina of the Woods, Liliana Vess, Lord Windgrace, Nicol Bolas, Teferi Akosa, Tevesh Szat, Ugin, Urza, Venser

* SchrodingersCanon: [[FireAndBrimstoneHell Hell]] has been alluded to within ''Magic'' lore for years, including as recently as 2018 in ''Children of the Nameless'' by the succubus Miss Highwater, but its status within canon (and whether or not Hell and the Abyss are the same place) has been tenuous for much of that time. ''March of the Machine'''s Planechase brought the Abyss back into canon proper with [[https://scryfall.com/card/moc/63/the-pit The Pit]].

->'''Planeswalkers:''' Bo Levar, Dyfed, Freyalise, Jaya Ballard, Jeska, Jared Calthalion, Karn, Liliana Vess, Lord Windgrace, Nicol Bolas, Teferi Akosa, Tevesh Szat, Ugin, Urza, Venser

The Myth/NorseMythology plane. Kaldheim consists of a number of distinct demi-planes -- ten are known and named, although more exist -- arranged around a central cosmic structure known as the World Tree. Each realm is home to a single sapient race, which is mostly limited to its home realm outside of rare pathways called omenpaths and occasional intersections between realms called doomscars, although legendary creatures known as Cosmos monsters can move freely through the Cosmos, the strange void that surrounds and separates the realms.

* AlienSky: The realms' skies have no sun or moon -- they're lit by the light of Starnheim, which is visible as a sundog-like effect -- and the twisting branches of the World Tree are always visible beyond the clouds, rising from the horizon and out of sight. Only Istfell, the land of the dead, is too far down to receive the light of Starnheim, and its skies are instead a dark expanse lit by colorful auroras and threaded with World Tree's hanging roots.

* {{Valkyries}}: The Valkyries of Starnheim are the plane's native angels. They escort the worthy dead to their feasting hall at the top of the World Tree, and travel in pairs of one White-aligned Shepherd, to raise up the souls of heroes, and one Black-aligned Reaper, to deliver lethal judgement to cowards and send them to Istfell ahead of time. They stand aloof from the rise and fall of pantheons of squabbling gods, whom they long predate, and rarely involve themselves in divine or mortal conflicts unless they threaten the whole plane; they hate demons, however, and always hunt them down when they escape Immersturm.

The Myth/NorseMythology plane. Kaldheim consists of a number of distinct demi-planes -- ten are known and named, although more exist -- arranged around a central cosmic structure known as the World Tree. Each realm is home to a single sapient race, which is mostly limited to its home realm outside of rare pathways and occasional intersections between realms, although legendary creatures known as Cosmos monsters can move freely through the Cosmos, the strange void that surrounds and separates the realms.

* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: The dwarves of Axgard live in a beautiful city carved beneath their realm's mountains, and enjoy very long lives -- they only become adult at a hundred years of age. They're a passionate and driven people whole live for only two things: crafting beautiful things (all dwarves spend their youth creating a weapon they'll carry their whole lives, and which they become named after) and legends of epic deeds (dwarves rely on skalds for lore-keeping, as they don't use written language, and most dwarves dream of passing into myth themselves). Unlike most other groups in Kaldheim, their color split (into Red and White) merely reflects what a dwarf's attitude is to crafting rather a cultural or physical division.

* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: The dwarves of Axgard live in a beautiful city carved beneath their realm's mountains, and enjoy very long lives -- they only become adult at a hundred years of age. They're a passionate and driven people whole live for only two things: crafting beautiful things (all dwarves spend their youth creating a weapon they'll carry their whole lives, and which they become named after) and legends of epic deeds (dwarves rely on skalds for lore-keeping, as they don't use written language, and most dwarves dream of passing into myth themselves). Unlike most other groups in Kaldheim, their color split (into Red and White) merely reflects what a dwarf's attitude is to crafting rather a cultural division.

* NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: King Harald, who united the elves, is named after the real-life first king of Norway Harald Fairhair. [[https://scryfall.com/card/khm/212/harald-king-of-skemfar His hair]] is not ''nearly'' as fabulous as the real thing.

* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: The dwarves of Axgard live in a beautiful city carved beneath their realm's mountains, and enjoy very long lives -- they only become adult at a hundred years of age. They're a passionate and driven people whole live for only two things: crafting beautiful things (all dwarves spend their youth creating a weapon they'll carry their whole lives, and which they become named after) and legends of epic deeds (dwarves rely on skalds for lore-keeping, as they don't use written language, and most dwarves dream of passing into myth themselves).
* OurElvesAreDifferent: The elves of Kaldheim are the descendants of the Einir, the gods who ruled Kaldheim before the current Skoti, who were stripped of their ancient power after being dethroned; consequently, they detest the gods and dream of reclaiming their ancient power. They live in Skemfar, a realm of dark primordial forests, and are divided into two distinct groups -- the wood elves, aligned with Green mana, who live in the treetops of their forests, and the shadow elves, aligned with Black mana, who live underground among the roots. The two groups don't get along, and their current high king is only just able to rein their animosity short of open conflict. Unlike the game's usual portrayal of elves, Kaldheim elves are depicted as muscular, Viking-like and often bearded.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: People who don't die glorious deaths in battle, including every animal and monster, becomes a spirit in the foggy underworld of Istfell. These ghosts lack the passion and drive they had in life, and spend their afterlives drifting aimlessly like fog, repeating without purpose the motions of the things they did in life.

* AfterTheEnd: The city New Capenna is functionally all that's left of the plane of Capenna; everywhere else is a barren wasteland as a result of [[spoiler:the past Phyrexian incursion.]]

* FantasticDrug: Halo, a luminous oil [[spoiler:made from angels, dead or alive]]. While WordOfGod insists that it isn't meant to be a straight-up drug, Halo is a consumable substance, it is known to reduce inhibitions, and is fought over by the city's crime families.[[invoked]]

* InHarmonyWithNature: The green-aligned artificers.

* {{Technophobia}}: Somewhat surprisingly, ''averted'' for the plane's green-aligned characters. In most of Magic's history, any artifact-themed plane tends to have green-aligned characters act as [[ScienceIsBad Luddites]]. Here in Kaladesh, they spend their time making technology work [[InHarmonyWithNature in harmony with nature]], instead of opposing technology altogether.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The dragons of Kamigawa are high ranking spirits rather than wholly biological entities.

* {{Kaiju}}: It really wouldn't be D&D-verse if [[https://scryfall.com/card/afr/207/the-tarrasque the Tarrasque]] didn't exist in this plane to ruin one's day. Fittingly enough, it is also a 9-mana, 10/10 Green Dinosaur-type Creature with Ward 10 (if summoned normally), Haste, and the ability to automatically attack another creature whenever it attacks.

->'''Setting of:''' ''Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised'' (1993), ''Antiquities'' (1994), ''Legends'' (1994), ''The Dark'' (1994), ''Fallen Empires'' (1994), ''Ice Age'' (1995), ''Alliances'' (1996), ''Mirage'' (1996), ''Visions'' (1997), ''Weatherlight'' (1997), ''Urza's Saga'' (1998), ''Urza's Legacy'' (1999), ''Urza's Destiny'' (1999), ''Prophecy'' (2000), ''Invasion'' (2000), ''Planeshift'' (2001), ''Apocalypse'' (2001), ''Odyssey'' (2001), ''Torment'' (2002), ''Judgement'' (2002), ''Onslaught'' (2002), ''Legions'' (2003), ''Scourge'' (2003), ''Coldsnap'' (2006), ''Time Spiral'' (2006), ''Planar Chaos'' (2006), ''Future Sight'' (2007), ''Dominaria'' (2018), ''Dominaria United'' (2022), ''The Brothers' War'' (2022)