The Planes of Planechase:
March of the Machine Commander
After nearly a decade away, Planechase has returned with brand new plane cards in March of the Machine Commander! We’ve visited quite a few worlds in the Multiverse since the last installment of Planechase product. Thankfully, there’s enough cards to spotlight everything from the Phyrexian present to recent visits to the truly obscure past.
Just as with predecessor sets, the plane cards featured do not necessarily reflect their current state. In fact, there are some other horizontally formatted cards in the main set that do just that for many of the planes seen here.
Let’s get planeswalking to some new locations!
The Caldaia, Capenna
Home to the industrial laborers of New Capenna, the Caldaia is the working heart of the city. It has the forges, warehouses, and factories, as well as the family that built the city into the miles-high magnificence that it is. You don’t get to have hundreds of buildings of steel and glass or transportation infrastructure weaving through boroughs without the strength and speed of the Riveteers workforce coming into play.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Streets of New Capenna.
Enigma Ridges, Echoir
Echoir is a plane originally visited by Dack Fayden in his pursuit of the Planeswalker Sifa Grent during The Spell Thief—the second comic series of four in IDW’s original Magic run. Unfortunately for the greatest thief in the Multiverse, the Titan who lived on Echoir was very eager to add a Planeswalker to his collection of curiosities. (Spoilers: Dack did find a way to escape.)
Although we didn’t get to peek beyond the Titan’s castle home during the comic story, Enigma Ridges gives us a glimpse at a pair of bridge-like mountain ranges to tease a much stranger nature on the plane.
Esper, Alara
As the only shard of Alara that went uncarded across Planechase sets, Esper is an overdue but welcome addition for planar deck completionists.
When Alara was sundered millennia ago by an unknown Planeswalker, five shards of the world were separated and each developed their own unique cultures, cut off from two colors of mana. The shard-plane of Esper grew to become a magocracy focused on using etherium to complete “the Noble Work” of enhancing all life with the metal. As the higher classes of Esper continued to covet etherium and experiment with more elaborate modifications, its scarcity became a point struggle for Esperites. After the Conflux brought the five shards back together into one plane, the means of creating new etherium were discovered in regions of Jund.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Alara.
The Fertile Lands of Saulvinia, Antausia
Antausia is a plane that went unrecorded up until early 2019. On February 19, I happened upon an old article in The Duelist #3 featuring the world of Antausia and spread the magazine pages across my flatbed scanner before tweeting out my discovery. A Magic designer and fellow advocate for obscure lore by the name of Ethan Fleischer quote tweeted me, confirming that he checked his own copy of the magazine and that my claims were true. The plane of Antausia had been recovered from the brink of obscurity after 25 years!
The kicker? This card doesn’t have kicker, but Shawn Carnes’ article was for a game variant that can only be described as the earliest iteration of Planechase. The original description of Saulvinia is provided below.
The Fertile Lands of Saulvinia
“It is said that the magic that gives Antausia its very existence is a cognizant magic. If so, Saulvinia is perfect proof of that. Saulvinia escaped the majority of the horrid conflicts in the Great Magus War. Over time, Saulvinia flourished and prospered when many other realms withered and died. Magic is strong here, stronger than in any other realm in Antausia; it is as if the magic itself sensed that it could flourish here. Unfortunately for Saulvinia, dueling mages have seen this as well, and more and more battles threaten to make Saulvinia a wasteland.”
This realm acts as a permanent Mana Flare; all land tapped for mana produces one more mana of the appropriate color mana per land.
House Rules by Shawn Carnes, The Duelist #3
Ghirapur, Kaladesh
As the largest city on Kaladesh, Ghirapur is the center of invention and life for the plane. The city runs like a machine itself, harvesting aether from the plane’s unique aethersphere before refining it into more usable forms and distributing the resource to its many neighborhoods. Aether can fuel anything and everything in Ghirapur, from weapons to transportation to the very heart of a crimelord.
For more, check out The Art of Magic: Kaladesh.
The Golden City of Orazca, Ixalan
Orazca had been considered lost to nearly all denizens of Ixalan until a desperate race to claim the city began in earnest. The fabled golden city would give the first faction to control it an upper hand in the perpetual conflicts on the plane, although in truth much of the legendary power of the city came from the Immortal Sun—an ancient artifact powered by the Planeswalker spark of Azor.
Azor had attempted to entrust the Sun to the vampires and later to the Sun Empire, however both groups proved unable to handle the immense power it granted. Unfortunately for Azor, the exact villain that the Immortal Sun was intended to thwart had now turned his attention towards acquiring the artifact. After Vraska and Tezzeret removed the Immortal Sun from Ixalan, the Sun Empire laid claim to the golden city and the ancient dinosaurs that dwell within.
For more, check out The Art of Magic: Ixalan.
The Great Aerie, Tarkir
The plane of Tarkir has been ruled by mighty dragonlords ever since the Khanfall over a thousand years ago. For the Abzan khan Daghatar, protecting the lives of his clan and their descendants was a task so important that he gave in to dragonlord’s demands to cease their spirit magic. The ancestors of the Abzan were forsaken, but their people would live on for generations to come as part of the Dromoka.
The city of Arashin is home to many clan members as well as the Great Aerie—a massive nest-like structure where Dragonlord Dromoka resides. Protection is still paramount to the Dromoka clan, with the fortification of their cities shielding attacks from the ground and air alike.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Dragons of Tarkir, Part 2.
Inys Haen, Cridhe
What would you do if you were stranded on a backwater world as punishment for stealing from the Planeswalker you were in service to? If your answer was plot to destroy the massive Clan Tree in a failed attempt to escape the plane, you wouldn’t be the first.
Haen was the Keeper of the Tree. Nohr was his jealous friend who was easily manipulated into attacking the tree, invoking a curse on himself and his descendants. Those related to Keeper Haen remained in Inys Haen, resisting attacks from their enemies Inys Nohr and waiting patiently for the prophesied Mending that would restore life to the world. That time finally came centuries later when the acorn Nohr had stolen in the wake of his destruction was planted in a ritual to restore the Clan Tree in Inys Haen.
He Saw the Tree in a hundred more years, huge and towering; he Saw it in a thousand, standing strong. He Saw the clan united, and Inys Nohr had become a shining city, Inys Haen a great spread of grain fields and pastures, huge orchards and gardens.
He Saw the life stories of a new people, stretching forth into Cridhe’s future in a long, uninterrupted line. His hands warmed to the power within the Tree. Arn knew he would never leave Inys Haen again.
The Cursed Land by Teri McLaren
Ketria, Ikoria
Nowhere on Ikoria are monsters more integral to the landscape than Ketria, where the river itself will stand up and roar.
Ketria Triome
With elementals aplenty, the Ketria triome displays the mutual influence between Ikoria’s crystalline landscape and its wildlife. The crystals themselves remain a mysterious phenomenon to the plane’s denizens, but their power to enhance and mutate creatures with new features and form means that the threats are far more dynamic than any other plane in the Multiverse.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Ikoria.
Littjara, Kaldheim
Among the ten realms of Kaldheim, Littjara is by far the most mysterious and unknown. If not being able to trust who you are seeing isn’t trouble enough in the land of shapshifters, the environment itself seems capable of bending perception and confusing all sense of direction for visitors. While there are myths surrounding the origins and nature of Littjara’s shapeshifters, the full truth of their form will never be known for certain.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Kaldheim, Part 2.
Megaflora Jungle, Gargantikar
Gargantikar is a plane that debuted not in a novel or comic or installment of web fiction, but in the flavor text of a single card from the original Modern Horizons set:
When Worzel summoned Segovian angels to fight Thomil’s Gargantikari gnats, the ensuing battle numbered among the Multiverse’s least destructive.
Segovian Angel
On the plane of Segovia, everything is smaller than it would be if summoned on other planes. Now we have it’s opposite in the Gargantikar plane card, creating perfectly above-average 3/3 butterflies. The Multiverse is richer for having these oddball worlds in it, even if they are rarely explored beyond the punchline premise.
Naktamun, Amonkhet
The great city of Naktamun is an oasis in the desert and the last known holdout of civilization on the plane of Amonkhet. Over six decades ago, Naktamun and its gods were corrupted by Nicol Bolas in a swift effort intended to eventually restore him to godlike power. When that time came to pass with Hour of Devastation and War of the Spark, the city was heavily damaged by Bolas’s army of Eternal soldiers.
As the survivors slowly recover from the destruction, removal of the god-pharaohs visage from the city’s buildings and horizon appears to be among the first steps in moving beyond that tainted past.
New Argive, Dominaria
A familiar location on the game’s most popular plane, the island of New Argive has its geographical roots in Urza’s detonation of the sylex and its cultural roots in the union of Balduvia and Kjeldor at the end of the Ice Age. It should come as no surprise then that there is a reverence of history in New Argive, be it for the Thran empire, the destructive Brothers’ War, or the Phyrexian Invasion.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Dominaria.
Norn’s Seedcore, New Phyrexia
The innermost sphere of New Phyrexia hid the secret to Elesh Norn’s invasion of the Multiverse: The Seedcore. From the stolen sap of Kaldheim’s worldtree, Phyrexia’s own version of the worldtree was grown. Unable to be destroyed in time by the Planeswalker task force, Realmbreaker connected the Multiverse together and opened interplanar pathways for the Machine Legion to advance through.
Considering that the planes-spanning nature of March of the Machine‘s story was a big reason for the return of Planechase in these decks, Norn’s Seedcore has become the perfect feature. New Phyrexia may now be banished from time itself, but the planes are each left to deal with the chaos that ensued.
Nyx, Theros
Nowhere in the Multiverse quite compares to the realm of Nyx on Theros. Belief gives the plane’s pantheon their strength and staying power in the skies of Nyx, but they are not the only ones who share in its magic; Nyxborn are enchantment creatures who have also been infused with its heavenly starlit essence.
And while the true origins of most gods are obscured, the scheming of two Planeswalkers did explore the nature of Nyx further. The reveler Xenagos proved that the devotion system was a viable path for mere mortals to ascend as gods. Separately, the nightmare weaver Ashiok was able to create a god named Cacophony with the manipulation of dreams across the plane—though the deity was short-lived.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Theros, Part 1.
Paliano, Fiora
The home of political intrigue and conspiracies, Paliano is the bustling capital of Fiora. In recent years there has been a great deal of turmoil stemming from the sudden second death of Brago, the spirit king. Fortunately for the citizens of Paliano, humble Marchesa understood Brago’s final wishes and quickly seized control of the throne to restore order throughout the city. Rabble-rousers have tried to muddy the waters of true succession in an effort to steal the throne for themselves. Nevertheless, Queen Marchesa’s reign continues. Long live the queen!
The Pit, The Abyss
Very little is known about the plane known as The Abyss beyond The Pit itself and a historical war that took place there between angels and demons.
Shining like a star, Kotara was soaring among the constellations when she felt the summons. The call came as suddenly and forcefully as a hook lodged in the mouth of a fish. Yet it didn’t hurt, because she didn’t resist. Long ago, in the morning of the world, a benevolent order of wizards had aided she and her sisters in the first great war against the legions of the Pit. In gratitude the angels had sworn to serve the mages and their heirs whenever they called, and a daughter of the Divine Will didn’t chafe at her obligations.
Angel of Vengeance by Richard Lee Byers, The Colors of Magic
While Planeswalkers have accessed the plane before, most notably Liana during her final duel with Ravidel in a bid to protect the moxen, stories depicted or set in The Abyss remain elusive.
Riptide Island, Dominaria
The disaster of Riptide Island is mainly told through the flavor text of the escaped Slivers present in Onslaught block. The Otarian site was focused on studying the strange creatures, but containment proved impossible with their cunning, ever-evolving shared nature. What the Riptide Project did ultimately succeed in was unleashing a scourge so difficult to squash that the plane may never truly be free of them again.
Taking the form of a junior researcher, the first sliver slipped out of Riptide.
Mistform Sliver
Strixhaven, Arcavios
With five colleges founded by elder dragons, Strixhaven University on Arcavios is an institution like no other. The disciplines of magic vary greatly across the colleges, from arts to mathematics to eloquence and more. The central campus building and monument depicted here feature star arches floating overhead—an intriguing feature of Arcavios with an ancient undiscovered nature.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Strixhaven.
Ten Wizards Mountain, Shenmeng
The Plane of Mountains and Seas has finally received a proper name!
Shenmeng is not especially familiar to story fans, even for those who knew it by its previous title. The plane was featured in the origin stories of Mu Yanling and Jiang Yanggu and is featured in cards from the Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling decks, however mentions beyond those are few and far between.
Ten Wizards Mountain is in fact the very location where the two Planeswalkers met before Yanling agreed to help him cleanse the Jiuli Clan’s water supply. They had both scaled the mountain in search of something—for Yanling her former mentor, and for Yanggu a healing elixir—but departed as friends and Planeswalker allies.
Towashi, Kamigawa
Towashi lies at the center of modern life on Kamigawa. The city’s footprint remains constrained as the result of an agreement with the kami of the surrounding Jukai Forest, but that only means that the existing area will continue to be developed vertically to maximize space. While life continues to grow, powerful technology continues to advance in hopes of meeting the needs of everyday people on the plane.
Until recently, Boseiju—the largest and most ancient tree on Kamigawa—easily towered over the city of Towashi. The tree sustained a great deal of damage during the New Phyrexian invasion of the plane, lead by Tamiyo. Its current status is unknown.
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
Unyaro, Zhalfir
Zhalfir has been returned to the Multiverse, but not in the place where it began. It has become its own plane and is no longer part of Dominaria.
The skyships of the original Phyrexian invasion lay ruined in the Unyaro Plains. They are relics that would be dated back to three centuries past by anyone else, but to Zhalfirins they are merely a couple of years old. Time progressed slowly after Teferi phased the region out, but with Wrenn’s sacrifice they have exchanged places with the horrific world of New Phyrexia and finally resumed normalcy in the Multiverse. Or as normal as life can be with five suns and countless Mirran refugees.
Valor’s Reach, Kylem
The spirit of competition is also the greatest form of entertainment on the world Kylem. While there are many other arenas for entrants to battle it out using the plane’s unique martial magic, the legendary Valor’s Reach is at the peek of both the competitive ladder and the world itself. Whether you appreciate the morphing battlefield, the charismatic performances, or just love the endless ringing of victory chimes, the arena is deserving as Kylem’s signature attraction.
And considering the arena’s founders and first champions were twins, it was fitting that the ignited twin Planeswalkers Will and Rowan Kenrith found their way there to compete in the duos sport before departing to enroll in Strixhaven.
For more, check out The World of Battlebond.
The Western Cloud, Gobakhan
The Western Cloud is a persistent stormlike phenomenon on the plane of Gobakhan. The Western and Eastern clouds put up quite the fight for the shieldmages of the world, but the reason for the extra protective effort becomes obvious once you know that diamonds of varying size are carried along with the sand in the scouring winds. The Western Cloud in particular is also known to have deafeningly loud heat lightning that crackles within its storm.
The Wilds, Eldraine
The Wilds are all that is not The Realm on Eldraine: A place free from humans and their incessant need for “order.” It is home to most of the traditional fairytale elements seen on the plane, including the witches, fae, dwarves, giants, and fierce magic.
On a curious note, the Questing Beast who lives “deep in the heart of the wilds” is also responsible for issuing the Great Quest to determine the monarch of the Realm. Thankfully, both King and Queen are alive as we head into Wilds of Eldraine. Oh… I’m hearing there’s a small set coming before then?
For more, check out Planeswalker’s Guide to Eldraine.