What is a plane exactly? How big are they? To get at the heart of what I'm asking, let's use Innistrad as an example.
First, the residents of Innistrad know it by that name, but what do they perceive it to be? Is Innistrad just another name for the known world, or just their piece of it? If we had a ship, could we travel to other planets from our launchpad in, say, Gavony, and still technically be on the 'plane' of Innistrad? If each plane contains an entire universe of explorable space, what keeps planeswalkers from planeswalking into some lifeless meteorite instead of Innistrad proper? Maybe these planes only contain a small piece of terrain and nothing else, almost like a level from Super Mario Galaxy.
Is it even clear what I'm trying to ask here, or am I coming off like a rambling idiot? Has this been discussed to death before? If so, I'm sorry. It just seemed like a though-provoking rabbit hole in which to descend.
This has been discussed a lot but I don't believe recently. There are a few confirmed items from old lore and then lots of speculation.
First each planes 'space' is different. Some planes are only the world we see, like Theros which has no 'space' because Nyx is their night sky. While most planes have at least small solar systems containing at least their moon and sun, I don't believe there are any planes with a well established 'space' for obvious reasons.
Second Innistrad is called Innistrad for the same reason Earth is called Earth, the inhabiting people decided to call it that at some point and it stuck.
These are the definitive in-lore answer to your questions. to go further we speculate, why don't walkers end up on Innistrad's or Mirrodin's moons? Main theory, which is supported somewhat, is that they are able to 'aim' their walk so they always land on habitable areas. This can be done consciously or subconsciously. This is the same reason they don't walk into planes where the atmosphere is comprised of methane. Alternatively, and I personally fell less likely, the spark has many built in defense mechanisms to prevent such things which explains peoples first walks being to a place that just makes sense for them.
My personal theory, is that for the planes that are actually planets, each "plane" is actually an alternate reality of the same planet. i.e. each planet is in the same place in the universe, it just evolved differently.
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Some planes can have whole universes attached to them (theoretically), while others are just a single floating flat landmass in an otherwise empty sky. For instance, Theros is a single flat landmass whose night sky is Nyx, not a whole universe. Dominaria, by contrast, is a globe with some sort of universe attached much like Earth.
There isn't a unifying cosmology between all of them. You can't reach another plane through a rocket ship, for instance. Planes exist more as magical dimensions. Their individual physics and cosmology vary pretty widely.
Planes are NOT alternate dimensions as Glamdring describes. That's actually a separate thing we've seen pop up twice: once on Tarkir, and once on Dominaria - which both exist with alternate histories.
Planes are NOT alternate dimensions as Glamdring describes. That's actually a separate thing we've seen pop up twice: once on Tarkir, and once on Dominaria - which both exist with alternate histories.
Not alternate timelines. More of parallel universes. The universes in which they exist have different laws of physics and magic. The planets (if the planes is one of such) just exist in the same location in the same galaxy. They're not alternate timelines. Timelines are different because they evolved differently. The planets are different because they exist in different universes.
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Not alternate timelines. More of parallel universes. The universes in which they exist have different laws of physics and magic. The planets (if the planes is one of such) just exist in the same location in the same galaxy. They're not alternate timelines. Timelines are different because they evolved differently. The planets are different because they exist in different universes.
Alternate timelines and parallel universes are essentially the same thing. Planes may have the same origin, but they're not the same planets or anything, or parallel universes in the quantum physics sense. Not every plane even has a galaxy, and their physics are wildly different.
I mean, it's fine if you want to keep it as headcanon, but they're much more other dimensions in a metaphysical and mystical sense, not a physics sense. Much more like Doctor Strange than Sliders, so to speak.
Edit: To clarify, each plane technically has their own alternate dimensions. The Time Spiral and Tarkir blocks show that, although only one of those is accessible by traveling through the blind eternities. If clockworking is canon, it's possible to ALSO travel to alternate dimensions, it's just a different power/skill set.
Planes themselves are simply spaces kind of hollowed out in the blind eternities. It's not quite cosmological like a universe, if that can be understood. Natural planes may originate the same way, but they're not split off from one another or anything (Alara is what happens when a plane is split).
Planar scale and topology are hugely variable. Ravnica is simply a sphere in empty space. Theros is a flat disk but Nyx which is part of Theros is isolated from the Blind Eternities in both direction (can't planeswalk in or out) and partially isolated from Theros is one direction. The Shards of Alara were disconnected pieces of a single plane but still within some bounded volume so that they were relatively much nearer than a random set of planes.
First, the residents of Innistrad know it by that name, but what to they perceive it to be? Is Innistrad just another name for the known world, or just their piece of it?
The people of Innistrad apparently believe their world to be lager than the landmass that we've seen so far. There are stories about lands beyond the sea. But given that the entire plane is also known as Innistrad they may be wrong about that.
Planar scale and topology are hugely variable. Ravnica is simply a sphere in empty space. Theros is a flat disk but Nyx which is part of Theros is isolated from the Blind Eternities in both direction (can't planeswalk in or out) and partially isolated from Theros is one direction. The Shards of Alara were disconnected pieces of a single plane but still within some bounded volume so that they were relatively much nearer than a random set of planes.
Without a doubt, the Blind Eternities are composed of several more spatial dimensions than the usual three. Think Interstellar ending. Your Theros example nicely illustrates this. From inside the perspective of the plane, Nyx surrounds the landmass of Theros. However, from an outside perspective, Theros actually surrounds Nyx, preventing planeswalkers from directly exiting or entering.
The people of Innistrad apparently believe their world to be lager than the landmass that we've seen so far. There are stories about lands beyond the sea. But given that the entire plane is also known as Innistrad they may be wrong about that.
From what I understand, Innistrad might be one of the planes that is an actual, spherical planet. The two blocks so far have occurred on a single continent, but Wizards obviously is eventually planning to the other lands. The fact that the other continents are mostly unexplored is justified by the fact that the oceans of Innistrad are very difficult and dangerous to navigate. Whether Innistrad is the name of the plane, or just the name of the continent, has been left pretty ambiguous for now.
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
The people of Innistrad apparently believe their world to be lager than the landmass that we've seen so far. There are stories about lands beyond the sea. But given that the entire plane is also known as Innistrad they may be wrong about that.
From what I understand, Innistrad might be one of the planes that is an actual, spherical planet. The two blocks so far have occurred on a single continent, but Wizards obviously is eventually planning to the other lands. The fact that the other continents are mostly unexplored is justified by the fact that the oceans of Innistrad are very difficult and dangerous to navigate. Whether Innistrad is the name of the plane, or just the name of the continent, has been left pretty ambiguous for now.
Yeah this makes sense. It is also possible that the world has an even greater proportion of water than earth, or it may be smaller. I would expect several continents, with their own horrors and such. I know that Wizards doesn't like having big worlds like Dominaria; but I think if you define Innistrad as "horror world", you could create different continents with their own flavour of horror. I think it would be interesting to have a set exploring these other continents. For example, a horror plane using Native American mythology; with the same cosmology. There are still demons who reform, although they would appear different; you could have werewolves/skin-changers similar to Innistrad's but also distinct; and a version of vampires formed by a different ritual.
Yeah this makes sense. It is also possible that the world has an even greater proportion of water than earth, or it may be smaller. I would expect several continents, with their own horrors and such. I know that Wizards doesn't like having big worlds like Dominaria; but I think if you define Innistrad as "horror world", you could create different continents with their own flavour of horror. I think it would be interesting to have a set exploring these other continents. For example, a horror plane using Native American mythology; with the same cosmology. There are still demons who reform, although they would appear different; you could have werewolves/skin-changers similar to Innistrad's but also distinct; and a version of vampires formed by a different ritual.
More continents = more horror. I would love to see other types of were-creature, and other types of vampires. It would be really cool to see some horror stuff based on non-European cultures. I hope, the next time we visit Innistrad, Wizards decides to do this.
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
I think Nyx is a universe though. It's both the night sky and a place at once. My understanding is that the Theros universe is also the domain of the gods - but there are literally stars and castellations there. Perhaps not in the same sense we view stars, in that there are planets orbiting them and all that, but from Elspeth's perspective in Nyx it seemed very much like a realm within a universe. Even Kruphix said there are worlds (when discussing other planes with Kydele) that cannot be seen when one looks up at Nyx. That implies to me that celestial bodies, from the Theros universe, could fool its inhabitants into thinking there are other worlds out there, when in fact the idea of planes goes beyond even that. Makes sense considering ancient Greeks observed planets closely - and it's why Nyx is such a significant part of Theros.
I always figured each plane had its own universe. Even its own metaphysics. That's why Theros can be completely flat, based on ancient Greek beliefs, while other worlds can be similar to Earth. Heck, on Theros the sun is physically a star, and its also literally a god, who even uses it offensively. So I suppose they're not always something orbiting a planet as we like to think. There can even be multiples of them. It's not like SiFi where the world is literally another unique planet. These are stand-alone entities and planeswalking to me represents entering that world's entire dimension where only its laws apply.
Both Theros and Innistrad have hinted at more realms.
It would be cool if Theros had other lands with other gods, and Innistrad has flat out said that there are rumors of exotic were-creatures over the sea.
I'm trying to find the source of the multiverse stuff I posted, but it's hard to do now :/ This specific question has been answered before now. The main site used to have a whole thing on planes, which is unfortunately gone now.
James, the best I can tell you is that in a Multiverse suffused with magic, there's no one answer that applies to everything. Some planes are spherical, Earthlike worlds, sometimes sporting satellites like moons or even suns. Some planes are horizonless flat expanses whose solar day operates more like an infinite progression of identical suns than the rising and setting of Sol. Some planes are entire realities unto themselves, supporting an uncountable number of individual worlds within them, with laws and histories that vary wildly from the next plane over. Some planes are roiling, churning nightmares of unending elemental fire, with neither air to breathe nor land to fall upon, and woe to the planeswalker who stumbles into their embrace.
When you visit the Blind Eternities, James, they may not correspond to our normal spatial assumptions. The Blind Eternities is not an empty space full of planets, but a mind-bending, chaotic "betweenness" that lies in the existential corridors between realities. Travel through the Blind Eternities occurs not in terms of logic and distance but in terms of effort and desire—the planeswalker's very existence there is an anomaly, and his movement through it is only possible through a constant application of raw will. Think of the normal axes of motion in three dimensions: north/south, east/west, up/down. Now imagine stepping in a direction that isn't any of those three options, and you'll be ready to planeswalk.
Let's not forget planes like Segovia, where a leviathan (normally 6/6 creature type or so) is a 3/3, and much larger than whales. And Alara was frequently described as orange slices, each 3D to themselves, but a whole when together. I think of planes as similar to snow globes. Self-contained, able to be different shapes or sizes. They could even have pink or blue snow, w/e.
Zendikar has 7 continents, very similar in much of description and geography to our own.
Mirrodin has multiple layers and the Panopticon at the core.
I have a nagging feeling Theros in inside-out, hence why Nyx doesn't reach the Blind Eternities, and why the sky is Nyx.
Innistrad could be a lot of things, but for flavor reasons I wouldn't be surprised if it's flat, like Pirates of the Caribbean. ...there was an edge of the world, right?
Just goes to show, they all have their own basis for shape, etc.
Planeswalkers need mana to planeswalk, it would follow that if possible they would always land in a place with mana. Hence a planeswalker always lands in areas with land/mana and the life that follows, rather than the empty void of space (on planes with space).
I would even go so far as to posit that a planeswalker's spark intuitively seeks or "snaps to" mana aligned to that planeswalker. Walkers often ignite themselves into the place they need to be with the mana they need to use, not because of their own volition but because their spark directed them so.
Not to say a walker couldn't in theory walk to a plane without mana. But a planeswalker will always walk to a plane with mana because they only go to such places, they'll rarely be in a position to remember a place without it. Moreover if they walked to a place without mana, how would they leave to return?
Wow! Thanks for all of the information, folks! I didn't know that there was so much out there on this topic, official or otherwise. I still think the whole concept hasn't been fleshed out by Wizards, but I think that's by design so they can keep things malleable and flexible for the future.
One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
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One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
Huge parts of Ravnica are hollow: building materials for the city were dug from the undercity. I'm pretty sure Gruul rampages are an essential part of reclamation.
Golgari rot farms turn waste and corpses directly into food: it's this that feeds most of the plane.
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One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
Maybe there's a planeswalker who makes a ton of money selling raw materials to Ravnica?
One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
Maybe there's a planeswalker who makes a ton of money selling raw materials to Ravnica?
You mean the Infinite Consortium?
Seriously though, my understanding is that they reuse materials left over from dilapidated portions of the city (and what's left is the rubblebelt).
Planar scale and topology are hugely variable. Ravnica is simply a sphere in empty space. Theros is a flat disk but Nyx which is part of Theros is isolated from the Blind Eternities in both direction (can't planeswalk in or out) and partially isolated from Theros is one direction. The Shards of Alara were disconnected pieces of a single plane but still within some bounded volume so that they were relatively much nearer than a random set of planes.
First, the residents of Innistrad know it by that name, but what to they perceive it to be? Is Innistrad just another name for the known world, or just their piece of it?
The people of Innistrad apparently believe their world to be lager than the landmass that we've seen so far. There are stories about lands beyond the sea. But given that the entire plane is also known as Innistrad they may be wrong about that.
It would be fun if one day they introduce a new plane, and the reveal at the end of the block is that it's actually just the other side of the world from a plane we know.
One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
Maybe there's a planeswalker who makes a ton of money selling raw materials to Ravnica?
You mean the Infinite Consortium?
Seriously though, my understanding is that they reuse materials left over from dilapidated portions of the city (and what's left is the rubblebelt).
It would be fun if one day they introduce a new plane, and the reveal at the end of the block is that it's actually just the other side of the world from a plane we know.
It would be fun if one day they introduce a new plane, and the reveal at the end of the block is that it's actually just the other side of the world from a plane we know.
If I recall correctly, this was the original plan for Mirrodin. It would have been two blocks, one on a prison world and one on a metal world, and at the end of the second set reveal they were the same plane.
Planeswalkers ought to be able to enter and leave even planes without mana since they are able to draw any mana they need from other planes.
I believe that requires more time. It's faster to use mana on that plane for more immediate spells. Also, I'm guessing that's how mana bonds are formed too.
Both Theros and Innistrad have hinted at more realms.
It would be cool if Theros had other lands with other gods, and Innistrad has flat out said that there are rumors of exotic were-creatures over the sea.
Theros did? Where? I know they left that open, in that there may be lands beyond the Nistos Forest, and not much was known about Oreskos or Arixmethes, or the Merfolk kingdoms beneath the sea. It would make sense that there would be more of the Mediterranean encompassed by Theros. Beyond Oreskos should exist the Theros Troy (Launch the Fleet) which I was surprised we didn't see yet. So far we've seen the equivalent of mainland Greece, the Cyclades Isles and Atlantis on Theros, most in only glimpses really or the isles in the comics. I think it would be better to have the gods be consistent, or be the same gods yet appear different to different continents there if they add more area to Theros. Say, add more of Eastern Italy and Asia Minor to the mix, and more taking place beneath the sea, on Arixmethes as an isle (say, a key to reviving Elspeth is a lost artifact in that city), and on the Dakra isles in general too. It would be amazing to have Return to Theros be like the Odyssey. The Minotaur war and Xenagos war could be Iliad equivalent, and Return to Theros could be about exploring the world for a way to revive Elspeth, traveling to different places there for artifacts and unique magical help from tribes, bribing gods, and eventually voyaging down to the underworld which was also an aspect of the Odyssey.
Playing off an earlier idea, would be funny if Roman World ended up being just the other side of Theros, with different names for the same gods.
I'm guessing Planeswalker wills keep them from walking onto inhospitable planes? Kiora willed herself onto ocean worlds and appeared in an ocean each time, especially Theros which was rich with aquatic life. Seems odd, but cool, to have inhospitable planes but I do wonder what keeps a walker for instantly dying when landing there, and how to avoid that.
Seems odd, but cool, to have inhospitable planes but I do wonder what keeps a walker for instantly dying when landing there, and how to avoid that.
One of the MTG Tumblrs discussed something like this: the official position is that a certain number of planeswalkers die early in their career (like, first planeswalk or shortly after) because they walk directly into a volcano or into a world of water and drown or whatever, but the story won't follow them because Wizards want to have a recurring cast.
That kind of implies that planeswalkers learn to identify the worlds they're landing in eventually, doesn't it?
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First, the residents of Innistrad know it by that name, but what do they perceive it to be? Is Innistrad just another name for the known world, or just their piece of it? If we had a ship, could we travel to other planets from our launchpad in, say, Gavony, and still technically be on the 'plane' of Innistrad? If each plane contains an entire universe of explorable space, what keeps planeswalkers from planeswalking into some lifeless meteorite instead of Innistrad proper? Maybe these planes only contain a small piece of terrain and nothing else, almost like a level from Super Mario Galaxy.
Is it even clear what I'm trying to ask here, or am I coming off like a rambling idiot? Has this been discussed to death before? If so, I'm sorry. It just seemed like a though-provoking rabbit hole in which to descend.
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First each planes 'space' is different. Some planes are only the world we see, like Theros which has no 'space' because Nyx is their night sky. While most planes have at least small solar systems containing at least their moon and sun, I don't believe there are any planes with a well established 'space' for obvious reasons.
Second Innistrad is called Innistrad for the same reason Earth is called Earth, the inhabiting people decided to call it that at some point and it stuck.
These are the definitive in-lore answer to your questions. to go further we speculate, why don't walkers end up on Innistrad's or Mirrodin's moons? Main theory, which is supported somewhat, is that they are able to 'aim' their walk so they always land on habitable areas. This can be done consciously or subconsciously. This is the same reason they don't walk into planes where the atmosphere is comprised of methane. Alternatively, and I personally fell less likely, the spark has many built in defense mechanisms to prevent such things which explains peoples first walks being to a place that just makes sense for them.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Some planes can have whole universes attached to them (theoretically), while others are just a single floating flat landmass in an otherwise empty sky. For instance, Theros is a single flat landmass whose night sky is Nyx, not a whole universe. Dominaria, by contrast, is a globe with some sort of universe attached much like Earth.
There isn't a unifying cosmology between all of them. You can't reach another plane through a rocket ship, for instance. Planes exist more as magical dimensions. Their individual physics and cosmology vary pretty widely.
Planes are NOT alternate dimensions as Glamdring describes. That's actually a separate thing we've seen pop up twice: once on Tarkir, and once on Dominaria - which both exist with alternate histories.
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Not alternate timelines. More of parallel universes. The universes in which they exist have different laws of physics and magic. The planets (if the planes is one of such) just exist in the same location in the same galaxy. They're not alternate timelines. Timelines are different because they evolved differently. The planets are different because they exist in different universes.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
I mean, it's fine if you want to keep it as headcanon, but they're much more other dimensions in a metaphysical and mystical sense, not a physics sense. Much more like Doctor Strange than Sliders, so to speak.
Edit: To clarify, each plane technically has their own alternate dimensions. The Time Spiral and Tarkir blocks show that, although only one of those is accessible by traveling through the blind eternities. If clockworking is canon, it's possible to ALSO travel to alternate dimensions, it's just a different power/skill set.
Planes themselves are simply spaces kind of hollowed out in the blind eternities. It's not quite cosmological like a universe, if that can be understood. Natural planes may originate the same way, but they're not split off from one another or anything (Alara is what happens when a plane is split).
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Planar scale and topology are hugely variable. Ravnica is simply a sphere in empty space. Theros is a flat disk but Nyx which is part of Theros is isolated from the Blind Eternities in both direction (can't planeswalk in or out) and partially isolated from Theros is one direction. The Shards of Alara were disconnected pieces of a single plane but still within some bounded volume so that they were relatively much nearer than a random set of planes.
The people of Innistrad apparently believe their world to be lager than the landmass that we've seen so far. There are stories about lands beyond the sea. But given that the entire plane is also known as Innistrad they may be wrong about that.
Without a doubt, the Blind Eternities are composed of several more spatial dimensions than the usual three. Think Interstellar ending. Your Theros example nicely illustrates this. From inside the perspective of the plane, Nyx surrounds the landmass of Theros. However, from an outside perspective, Theros actually surrounds Nyx, preventing planeswalkers from directly exiting or entering.
From what I understand, Innistrad might be one of the planes that is an actual, spherical planet. The two blocks so far have occurred on a single continent, but Wizards obviously is eventually planning to the other lands. The fact that the other continents are mostly unexplored is justified by the fact that the oceans of Innistrad are very difficult and dangerous to navigate. Whether Innistrad is the name of the plane, or just the name of the continent, has been left pretty ambiguous for now.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
Yeah this makes sense. It is also possible that the world has an even greater proportion of water than earth, or it may be smaller. I would expect several continents, with their own horrors and such. I know that Wizards doesn't like having big worlds like Dominaria; but I think if you define Innistrad as "horror world", you could create different continents with their own flavour of horror. I think it would be interesting to have a set exploring these other continents. For example, a horror plane using Native American mythology; with the same cosmology. There are still demons who reform, although they would appear different; you could have werewolves/skin-changers similar to Innistrad's but also distinct; and a version of vampires formed by a different ritual.
More continents = more horror. I would love to see other types of were-creature, and other types of vampires. It would be really cool to see some horror stuff based on non-European cultures. I hope, the next time we visit Innistrad, Wizards decides to do this.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
I always figured each plane had its own universe. Even its own metaphysics. That's why Theros can be completely flat, based on ancient Greek beliefs, while other worlds can be similar to Earth. Heck, on Theros the sun is physically a star, and its also literally a god, who even uses it offensively. So I suppose they're not always something orbiting a planet as we like to think. There can even be multiples of them. It's not like SiFi where the world is literally another unique planet. These are stand-alone entities and planeswalking to me represents entering that world's entire dimension where only its laws apply.
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It would be cool if Theros had other lands with other gods, and Innistrad has flat out said that there are rumors of exotic were-creatures over the sea.
Here is a nice resource on the nature of many planes: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/known-mutliverse-2008-03-19
I'm trying to find the source of the multiverse stuff I posted, but it's hard to do now :/ This specific question has been answered before now. The main site used to have a whole thing on planes, which is unfortunately gone now.
Also relevant:
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/savor-flavor/brooms-planes-and-valakuts-tales-inbox-2009-11-25
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/savor-flavor/topic-potpourri-2009-08-12
Important quote:
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Zendikar has 7 continents, very similar in much of description and geography to our own.
Mirrodin has multiple layers and the Panopticon at the core.
I have a nagging feeling Theros in inside-out, hence why Nyx doesn't reach the Blind Eternities, and why the sky is Nyx.
Innistrad could be a lot of things, but for flavor reasons I wouldn't be surprised if it's flat, like Pirates of the Caribbean. ...there was an edge of the world, right?
Just goes to show, they all have their own basis for shape, etc.
Planeswalkers need mana to planeswalk, it would follow that if possible they would always land in a place with mana. Hence a planeswalker always lands in areas with land/mana and the life that follows, rather than the empty void of space (on planes with space).
I would even go so far as to posit that a planeswalker's spark intuitively seeks or "snaps to" mana aligned to that planeswalker. Walkers often ignite themselves into the place they need to be with the mana they need to use, not because of their own volition but because their spark directed them so.
Not to say a walker couldn't in theory walk to a plane without mana. But a planeswalker will always walk to a plane with mana because they only go to such places, they'll rarely be in a position to remember a place without it. Moreover if they walked to a place without mana, how would they leave to return?
One thing I've got on my mind though, is this: if Ravnica is a never-ending city, where do they get their building/food materials. Rooftop gardens don't seem like they'd feed a populace as large as Ravnica's. I'm being nitpick, I know, but these are things I wonder about. I wonder if we'll ever see a plane that's on the brink of disaster due to exhaustion of resources. Maybe it'll be called Californica.
My 720 Peasant Cube
Golgari rot farms turn waste and corpses directly into food: it's this that feeds most of the plane.
Art is life itself.
Maybe there's a planeswalker who makes a ton of money selling raw materials to Ravnica?
Seriously though, my understanding is that they reuse materials left over from dilapidated portions of the city (and what's left is the rubblebelt).
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[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
It would be fun if one day they introduce a new plane, and the reveal at the end of the block is that it's actually just the other side of the world from a plane we know.
Club Flamingo Wins: 1!
Ravnica 3: Sustainability Crisis
More likely at the end of the first set.
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[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Theros did? Where? I know they left that open, in that there may be lands beyond the Nistos Forest, and not much was known about Oreskos or Arixmethes, or the Merfolk kingdoms beneath the sea. It would make sense that there would be more of the Mediterranean encompassed by Theros. Beyond Oreskos should exist the Theros Troy (Launch the Fleet) which I was surprised we didn't see yet. So far we've seen the equivalent of mainland Greece, the Cyclades Isles and Atlantis on Theros, most in only glimpses really or the isles in the comics. I think it would be better to have the gods be consistent, or be the same gods yet appear different to different continents there if they add more area to Theros. Say, add more of Eastern Italy and Asia Minor to the mix, and more taking place beneath the sea, on Arixmethes as an isle (say, a key to reviving Elspeth is a lost artifact in that city), and on the Dakra isles in general too. It would be amazing to have Return to Theros be like the Odyssey. The Minotaur war and Xenagos war could be Iliad equivalent, and Return to Theros could be about exploring the world for a way to revive Elspeth, traveling to different places there for artifacts and unique magical help from tribes, bribing gods, and eventually voyaging down to the underworld which was also an aspect of the Odyssey.
Playing off an earlier idea, would be funny if Roman World ended up being just the other side of Theros, with different names for the same gods.
I'm guessing Planeswalker wills keep them from walking onto inhospitable planes? Kiora willed herself onto ocean worlds and appeared in an ocean each time, especially Theros which was rich with aquatic life. Seems odd, but cool, to have inhospitable planes but I do wonder what keeps a walker for instantly dying when landing there, and how to avoid that.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
That kind of implies that planeswalkers learn to identify the worlds they're landing in eventually, doesn't it?
Art is life itself.