After well over a decade of playing Magic The Gathering (MTG), it was only in the later years of my involvement with the game that I truly became interested in the lore behind the artwork of Magic The Gathering cards.
As a whole, Magic The Gathering has lore. The story around Magic The Gathering’s lore spans across more than 20 years and is told through multiple novels and short stories. Magic’s lore includes a large cast of characters from varying locations and is continuingly adding new stories every year.
20 years of Magic The Gathering lore can sound overwhelming to those new to the game and may even scare off some people from trying to understand Magic’s lore.
It’s not as complex as you might first think though.
I can’t possibly fit over 20 years of Magic The Gathering lore into a single article – well, I could, but no one would read it…
Instead, below is a short and beginner-friendly overview for anyone just wanting to know the essential information they need to get started with Magic’s huge story and lore behind it.
Magic The Gathering’s Art
The lore of Magic The Gathering is told through several different media under the same franchise, but arguably the most iconic way that Magic The Gathering shows off its lore is through its art.
You will find many important pieces of lore and events that take place in the world of Magic showcased or referenced through the artwork displayed on each individual playing card.
However, the most significant elements of Magic The Gathering’s lore or story can often be found on cards that are labeled as “Legendary”.
- Instants
- Sorceries
- Enchantments
- Artifacts
- Lands
- Creatures
- Planeswalkers
If any of these cards are classified as “Legendary”, they will normally possess artwork that depicts events or characters that are significant within the lore of Magic The Gathering.
Where Does The Magic The Gathering Lore Take Place?
Magic The Gathering Takes place in a multiverse where different planes of existence, known as “Planes“, act as the main settings for all of Magic’s stories and lore.
Between these Planes, exists a void that is referred to as the “Blind Eternities“.
It can sometimes be easier for people to think of these “Planes” as alternate dimensions or just different worlds, but in theory, if you were to give a character a spaceship, they still wouldn’t be able to travel to a different “Plane”.
Like our own universe, the multiverse of Magic The Gathering is infinitely large and Magic’s lore takes place throughout its Planes of existence.
Magic The Gathering Lore: Planes
Each of Magic The Gatherings Planes is unique in terms of its inhabitants, technology, social structure, and history.
Magic’s lore is built on top of the lore that exists for every single Plane within its multiverse.
Some Planes may contain human beings while others may only contain dragons, faeries, vampires, and a whole host of other races.
Due to there being no limit to the number of Planes that can inhabit the multiverse of Magic the Gathering, new Planes and lore are introduced to players every time Wizards of the Coast releases a new expansion set for the card game.
Many Planes of Magic take inspiration from real-life historical events or civilizations of the past and present them in new and interesting ways.
The amount of lore and worldbuilding in Magic the Gathering continuously expands and often makes newcomers to the game that are interested in its story uncertain of where to start.
There is so much lore within Magic The Gathering that full-length novels exist just set around a single Planes within the Magic the Gathering multiverse. These novels and short stories are a great place to start for newcomers.
Magic The Gathering Lore: Planeswalkers
Generally speaking, with the lore of Magic The Gathering, Planes are completely separate from one another.
Typically individuals or items located in one Plane can not interact with another Plane. However, the normal exception to this rule is Planeswalkers.
Planeswalkers are characters within the lore of MTG that have can cross between Planes and have an ability to travel to different worlds known as “Planeswalking“.
Often in the stories of Magic, these normal individuals gain this ability through some sort of tragic life event or emotional distress. Magic lore refers to the process of gaining the ability to “Planeswalk” as having their “Spark ignited.”
Each Planeswalker is said to possess a “Spark” that grants the ability to Planeswalk among other things.
Planeswalkers are often seen as the main characters of Magic The Gathering stories as they explore new worlds for the first time along with the player.
However, throughout Magic’s lore, some non-Planeswalker entities and individuals can travel between Planes and act as exceptions to the rule – often creating conflict and chaos in the story of Magic.
Magic The Gathering Lore: The Mending
The Great “Mending” within Magic’s Lore refers to an important point in Magic’s story history where the ability and powers of Planeswalkers changed in 2007.
It’s important for some looking to dig deeper into the lore of Magic to be aware of the “Mending” as it can often lead to some confusion as to what Planeswalkers are capable of in the story of Magic.
Before the event of the Mending in Magic’s Lore (pre-Mending), Planeswalkers had godlike powers and were, for the most part, immortal.
After the Mending took place (Post-Mending), the powers of Planeswalkers got scaled back drastically and they lost the ability to transport other individuals across Planes with them.
If you are interested in reading the novels where the events surrounding the Mending took place, then you can check out the “Time Spiral Cycle” trilogy of books on my complete guide on the Magic The Gathering novels.
The Mending is an important part of lore to be aware of, as it helps to better define what characters are capable of when reading Magic The Gathering stories.
Magic The Gathering Lore: Dominaria vs Phyrexia
One of the major storylines of Magic The Gathering’s lore is the collection of stories that center around the Planes of “Dominaria” and “Phyreia“.
The stories center around some of Magic’s most iconic characters such as Urza, Jared Carthalion, and his group of friends as they fight against a Phyrexian invasion in order to protect the Plane of Dominaria from the mad god “Yawgmoth“.
Even though almost all of the characters that appeared in this story arc are no longer alive in the current plot, the huge impact they had on Magic’s lore means that the events of this storyline are still relevant to new narratives taking place in Magic’s multiverse.
If you are really interested in getting a better understanding of Magic The Gathering’s lore, then I would recommend reading the novels that focus on this storyline – “The Brothers’ War”, Magic The Gathering Novel
Magic The Gathering Lore: New Phyrexia
Despite the supposed destruction of Phyrexia, it still plays a role in acting as a constant lurking threat to the multiverse and Magic’s story.
Periodically throughout Magic The Gathering’s lore we will see remnants of Phyrexia show up again as antagonists of the story’s narrative.
It’s good to have a basic idea of what Phyrexia is and its current remaining agents – as you never know when they might pop up again in Magic’s story.
Magic The Gathering Lore: Nicol Bolas
Within the lore of Magic The Gathering “Nicol Bolas” the Planeswalking Elder Dragon is arguably one of the most iconic villains and antagonists in the MTG story.
As with the other Elder Dragons, Nicol Bolas was a child of The Ur-Dragon, the progenitor of all dragons from the Magic multiverse. Nicol Bolas quickly came to see the multiverse as a place of “hunters and the hunted” and started down the path of the hunter.
As he schemes of ways to reclaim his lost pre-Mending omnipotent powers, this villain is, directly and indirectly, responsible for the ruin of many Planes throughout the MTG multiverse.
This master manipulator’s name will come up frequently as you explore some of Magic’s most recent lore and so it’s a good idea to keep this character in mind.
Magic The Gathering Lore: Eldrazi Titans
Arguably the biggest threat to the Multiverse, the 3 Eldrazi titans are beings better described as walking natural disasters than plotting villains like that of Nicol Bolas.
- Emrakul
- Kozilek
- Ulamog
These 3 creatures are said to have been born from the space that exists between Planes, the Blind Eternities, and they travel throughout the multiverse consuming entire worlds for some unknown reason.
According to Magic lore, these beings were trapped and sealed away on a Plane called “Zendikar” by 3 Planeswalkers:
- Sorin Markov
- Nahiri
- Ugin (Nicol Bolas’s twin dragon brother)
However, the antagonist that is Nicol Bolas, later freed the 3 Eldrazi titans; allowing them to rampage across the Plane of Zendikar and the multiverse.
Magic The Gathering Lore: The Gatewatch
The “Gatewatch” is an alliance of Planeswalkers that have joined together with the purpose of protecting people throughout the multiverse. Initially formed in response to the Eldrazi threat, the Gatewatch is a recent addition to Magic’s lore, but appears to be a key part of the story moving forward.
The founding members of the Gatewatch are:
- Jace Beleren (Leader)
- Gideon Jura
- Chandra Nalaar
- Nissa Revane
As you follow Magic’s lore, the members of the Gatewatch change; Planeswalkers leave and join the alliance as Magic’s story continues to develop.
Members of the Gatewatch are key characters in Magic’s modern-day storytelling, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with them if you plan on diving deeper into the new lore of Magic.
Each set of Magic that’s released into the game is full of stories, and I’ve only covered just enough in this article to get you started with the deep lore that exists within the world of Magic The Gathering.
There is a lot in this post that has been left out in order to keep things simple, and just get you started with the basics.
However, I highly recommend if you have any interest in the lore of Magic The Gathering, dive into the series of novels that have been published around the stories that take place across Magic’s multiverse.
Not only are the stories fun and interesting to read, but they help to provide an even stronger connection to the game’s lore that is displayed on every Magic The Gathering Card.