Does anyone know the whole story of magic or sum it up

*waits for reply as well*

From 4th Edition Starter Pack Mini-Rule Book.

"In Magic, the players represent powerful wizards battling for control of a plane of Dominia. The object of the game is to drive your opponent from the plane, leaving you in sole control."

Not a great explanation but it's a start.

From Ice Age Starter Mini-Rule Book

"Centuries have passed since the war between Urza and Mishra, and the landscape is now a frozen wilderness. Dominaria's inhabitants struggle for survival even as the cold slowly lessens. Here you will encounter hardy souls, chilling creatures, and twisted sorcery."

Little better than what was in 4th Edition rule book but not much.

Any old timers have any old rule books they can dig out so we can piece together the story?

Here it is for those who wanted it.

The complete Magic: the Gathering story:

Printed in Pocket Player's Guide 1994 (released with Alpha. Story not reprinted in Beta)

Roreca's Tale (also known as Worzel's Story) by Richard Garfield

The Ergamon plane did not impress her with it's colossal peaks and exotic fauna. Of course "colossal" and "exotic" are nearly meaningless words to Worzel, because they presume everything else in Dominia is "average" or "normal," which is not an assumption Worzel makes now. So I suppose it is no surprise that she wasn't impressed. I was, though.

Ergamon is a small, hidden plane. At least that is what Worzel told me, though it looked as vast as any other world I had visited. I have no idea what she means by hidden. For me a hidden place is a hole-in-the-wall tavern where I can escape attention, or a woodland grotto obscured by the surrounding forest. For someone who has ways of seeing and traveling between worlds like Worzel, maybe planes can be "hidden" in the same way. But what would obscure a wizard's sight when she can see from plane to plane? Some sort of plane-forest? Thinking about what Worzel means usually makes my head ache, so I've learned to stop worrying about it.

We were standing at the bottom of a ravine between two of the Ergamon mountains. The breeze was dry and subtly scented. The base of the mountain met the ravine in a craggy black cliff slick with trickling streams. About a hundred feet away on the ravine floor we could see what appeared to be a dry river bed.

Worzel was examining the ruins of a structure built of shiny black rock. Each stone was as large as a horse. Occasionally she would mutter some incantation, or pull some weird instrument out of thin air which she would pass over the rock. When she was satisfied, the instrument would disappear. Planeswalkers can travel light.

We came to Ergamon to seek lines. Wizards use lines to connect to the lands of planes, from which they draw most of their power. Once we find a line Worzel establishes a bond to it, and then she can draw on that bond for mana. Finding the lines is my job. I am good at it; I think that’s because I am built so close to the ground.

Occasionally we come across something else she’s interested in, like a device or place or maybe a creature of some type. Or a pile of black stones. I can never what will interest her and what she will pass by. Sometimes she will spend days examining something and then leave without a comment. At other times she will give a shout and show me a kaleidescope of colors emitting from her hand, or a pool of some sparkling liquid, or sometimes something I can’t even see. She says that these things have lines, and that she bonds with them too. I don’t usually ask what these lines do for her anymore. Sometimes I understand her response, but more often I nod and wag my tail as she tries to express something I can’t comprehend. Sometimes she’ll flush a little while explaining; I suspect that even she isn’t sure what all the lines can do.

I was resting, half napping, beside the stone heap. Worzel was sitting beside me reading a parchment she had pulled from nowhere, when my fur began to stand on end. I started with surprise—her warning field had just activated. That usually meant another wizard was near by, which also meant there was going to be trouble.

I have a theory about why wizards fight so much. When whelps are together they fight. We call it fighting, but it can get pretty serious. The thing is, they can’t hurt each other too badly. Their second set of teeth haven’t come in yet; the male’s acid sacs still contain water and the females haven’t hit their growth spurt. I think wizards fight a lot because they can’t really hurt each other too badly either. With an infinite number of places to flee to and their personal magic to protect them, wizards can’t suffer much direct harm.

Worzel though, would probably say she fights to protect her domain. Her precious lines are threatened with other planeswalkers around. She would also say she has to fight because they attack her. That’s true, and she attacks them in anticipation of this. Planeswalkers do make friends with each other, but the paths to friendship are like the paths between planes: unstable and often violent. Worzel’s best friends are old duel opponents.

I had only been in a few duels by then, and Worzel had told me that if I didn’t stay close by she might not be able to keep me shielded or bring me with her if she was forced to flee. She also told me that if I were constantly underfoot she would toss me out herself, even though I weigh about three times as much as she does. So I wasn’t sure just how far away from her I should get at a time like this.

She gestured and pulled a handful of lichen-covered dirt out of nowhere. The dirt clod was dripping water, and then the lichen looked like miniature trees, over which hung a tiny rainbow. I glanced up and saw a real rainbow in the distance. I swung my head to see more clearly: a handsized map showed rivers flowing between her fingers, and tiny mountain lakes reflecting cloudlets. She sighed. “Thomil.” Her sigh made me shiver. I knew Thomil was another planewalker, and a powerful one, from what Worzel had said.

I peered closer at her clump of dirt, trying to see Thomil. Worzel glared at me and blew across the top of the map, raising a cloud of dust which made me back off, sneezing. Letting go of the clod, she reached in front of her with both hands, as if she were preparing to play an unseen harp. I had seen this before: she was gathering her lines for battle. You could tell by the way her fingers and hands would disappear and reappear quickly, with a flicker. Soon I saw some of the land lines in her hands. She took some of the lines and began to braid them. I can see why wizards don’t keep their lines braided all the time so they can always draw on their power. The energies that crackle through the lines are immense, even to those standing close by, let alone to the wizard holding the lines in hand. It would be like leaving a teapot always boiling so you could make tea any time. Except that the wizard is the teapot.

Worzel pulled at the air with one hand as if yanking an invisible rope. There was a crack and out of the air fell half a dozen little winged people. “Scryb,” I thought and backed away. They hit the ground and dusted themselves off, buzzing angrily amongst themselves. The cloying odor of slightly aged marigolds hung in the air. One of the Scryb pointed at me and said, “Kawa buje nor Ro-ree-ka Kamf,” rolling the ‘r’s like Scryb do, and then they all laughed. I’m not sure what it means, but that’s what they call me: “Roreca Kamf,” which means Roreca Blanket. I don’t like Scryb; once some of them stole a square foot of my back fur for a coverlet. Worzel fixed it, but it felt like a thousand iornburs, and since her healing magic is not as good as it could be, I have a tattoo there rather than fur. Worzel snapped her fingers and a glowfly appeared. The Scryb were still laughing noisily but she looked at them sharply and they were quiet. Worzel waved a hand and the glowfly went speeding off with the Scryb following it. The glowfly would lead the Scryb where Worzel wanted them to go. I hoped they wouldn’t come back—the Scryb usually don’t.

Worzel yanked again and pulled an enormous bear form nowhere, bring with it the cool, musty smell of deep forest. It reared up briefly on two legs and then went back down on four and flared its nostrils at us. Shortly after that, another bear appeared. The bears followed their own glowflies. There weren’t any bears or Scryb native to Ergamon, but since Worzel didn’t have any lines to local creatures she used creatures form other planes.

I noticed Worzel had a blue land line in her hand which she hadn’t woven. I hoped she wouldn’t braid it in. The last duel we were besieged by sea snakes, which Worzel says gained access to the plane we occupied through the land line itself. All I know is that she wove the line in and the world was titanic teeth and scales and cold black eyes as large across as I am. I looked at the land lines she had woven: several green ones and a red one. The green lines are where the Scryb and bears would have come from. The red line could explain the flashes off in the distance and rolling thunder. I watched the line fade to a dark red and slowly grow brighter to the sound of the thunder, like and artery filling with blood.

I was wondering what Thomil was doing, when Worzel in haled sharply. “Black magic,” I heard her mutter with surprise and what seemed like disappointment. Then a sound burst from far beyond the nearest crag, a wail that made me cower and shiver: the cry of a bear being terrified to death. I found myself howling before I could restrain myself. Worzel looked grim but said nothing, focusing on her lines.

I could smell it before it came into sight down the ravine, something rotten. Even Worzel seemed to choke on the stench for a moment. Creatures began to shamble up the slope toward the clearing in which we stood. I couldn’t tell if they had once gone on four legs or two, or perhaps three; I could tell only that these beasts no longer lived, they just moved. I saw their progress falter and stop. The walking dead gnashed their teeth and swiped their claws at the invisible barriers that kept them at bay. Worzel betrayed signs of pain as they struggled to close the gap; it was costly for her to repel the decaying things herself.

“Where are you, Cabralin Shire?” I heard her complain, as she did some more weaving. Cabralin was where we were the shortly before Ergamon, a peaceful plane with lots of rolling hills and fields. The shire was the area where I found the white line. I noticed she had braided in the blue line and I looked around nervously for signs of snakes. She gestured toward the sky and dark clouds began to gather, and the wind picked up.

The storm began to abate, and I relaxed a little. The wind had cleared the stench of the grave, and the sun came out again. I wondered if both bears had been killed, or just the one whose death cry I heard. Worzel was still muttering about her missing white line, and about the protection she’d have if she found it, when she suddenly quieted and froze. She looked off into the distance and began to turn pale. She glanced anxiously at the floating clod, and went back to her weaving with redoubled effort. I was terrified. I looked at the map and saw a dark shadow hanging off to one side. The air began to stink again—not as strong as the walking dead, but more corrupt. And I suspect the source of the smell was still far away.

A wild gibbering echoed from down the ravine, and up the hill came bounding a lanky, hunched man thing. Worzel didn’t look like she was even paying attention. At first I was relieved that the threat was so small. But the man thing’s scent was not the same as the corrupt smell that came over the mountains. In fact, the scent was now so strong that I could barely make out the scent of the creature crawling its way through Worzel’s barriers. Worzel snapped and invisible rope and out of nowhere fell more sprites. I concealed my disappointment. She created a glowfly for them to follow, and sent them off over the mountain, confirming my fear that the real threat hadn’t arrived yet.

The sun was blotted out as a solid, spreading darkness came over the mountain. The stench was overpowering. The cries of the man thing were drowned in the beating of enormous wings. When the darkness landed, the ground shook so hard that rocks broke from the cliff and fell about us. The creature stood in the riverbed down the hill, but its head was level with us. It was some type of demon, the skin blackened and bathed in patches of flame. From it’s huge fist, with nails the size of plows, fell the charred remains of the sprites.

Heat struck me as the demon strode up the hill; small trees and bushes on the hillside burst into flames as it past. The man thing still yammered and clawed before us, cowed by this new terror. Crushing the beast in its left hand, the demon tore at the limp body with its teeth. “Well, that’s one problem solved,” cried Worzel. “The Pitlord! I can’t believe you can be this stupid!” The demon raised both fists above its head, the remains of the man thing dangling form its mouth. It brought them down on us with such force that Worzel was thrown to the ground even under the protective fields. I heard her scream in pain. I howled. Gasping, she scrambled to her knees and began to gesture frantically. I closed my eyes and pressed myself flat against the ground. Perhaps the Pitlord wouldn’t notice me. Not that it mattered; if Worzel died, I was as good as gone anyhow. I wondered which of us the Pitlord would eat first.

I could hear Worzel beside me, mumbling something, in a last desperate attempt to fight off the demon. The footfalls of the Pitlord made the ground tremble, and the stench was paralyzing. Worzel shouted; I wanted to run, but fear held me frozen. It took me a moment to realize she was laughing. “Thomil, you fool, you wonderful fool!” I opened my eyes and say her smiling at her hands. Some of her land lines were changing color, fading from pink to white. “Rubbing it in by denying me my mountain forces, Thomil? I guess you don’t know I’ve been brushing up on my white magic.” She spun in a circle as the Pitlord brought its fists down again. This time they met a shield of white flame which formed over out heads. The Pitlord howled in surprise and pain. The heat stopped, the sound lessened, and even the smell faded as a glowing membrane of light surrounded us. Outside I could hear the Pitlord raging, but I couldn’t feel even a tremor as it clawed at the edges of our sphere of light. Wherever it touched the sphere sparks flew and white flame sizzled.

The Pitlord bellowed, but it seemed distant. Worzel watched it intently, fingering her land lines. Frustrated by the impenetrable light which surrounded us, the Pitlord soon gave up the attack. Spreading its wings, the demon launched itself upward and flew over the mountain. Worzel looked pleased with herself. She returned to the still-floating clod and watched as the patch of darkness moved from the center back to the edge. “Poor Thomil. You should be careful what you play with.”

I guessed then that the duel was over and that Worzel had won. The glow faded, and Worzel scrambled out of the ravine. I followed her reluctantly; without the sphere to protect us, I wasn’t sure the Pitlord wouldn’t come back. Worzel noticed me lagging behind and smiled. “Don’t worry, Roreca, “she smiled, “It won’t be long before Thomil is forced to abandon the plane, and I’m sure he will spend ages healing. Meanwhile, it’s time to claim the spoils of victory.” I knew what that meant. Often when a wizard is banished form a plane in the heat of battle they leave behind lines untended. We headed over the mountains to Thomil’s last location. We could have gotten there much faster is Worzel had used magic, but she seemed to enjoy the climb. She was thinking about something, something that excited her.

The Pitlord ragged about for a while, but eventually took its anger out on the Ergamon wildlife and scenery: when I looked at Worzel’s map later a few hours later, the dark spot had vanished. A thick oiling smoke hung in the air for the remainder of the day. When we arrived at the place Thomil had last stood, we saw only a steaming hissing crater. I couldn’t find any land lines. Still, more must have happened in the duel with Thomil than his defeat, because Worzel didn’t even seem disappointed. “I think its time for another trip to Cabralin, Roreca,” she said.

Arabian Nights

With this set, players can relive the tales of Sindbad and Aladdin, battle powerful djinns and efreets, and journey to strange lands like the Island of Wak-Wak and the Diamond Valley.

Antiquities

It is a time of great peril. Artifacts from an ancient people known as the Thran are being uncovered in tremendous quantities. The civilization of the past was far more advanced, warlike, and brutal, and the war machines dug up from a previous cataclysm are pressed into service. The scientists of today learn much from these relics. In the midst of this renaissance, two brothers, Urza and Mishra, discover an ancient cave. In it they find a stone that has locked away incredible evil for eons upon eons. When they touch it, it sunders, and once again Dominaria is in great danger. The two equal parts of the stone contain within them great power, and the brothers battle each other for control of them both. Their conflict spans years and eventually encompasses the entire continent of Terisiare. There struggle has come to be known as the Brothers' War, and the Thran artifacts uncovered by archeological digs are once again used for battle and destruction. Ornithopters fill the skies. Dragon engines pillage the ground, and a tremendously powerful artifact-called the Sylex-brings down destruction like the world hasn't seen for five thousand years.

There's a book which covers these events
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brothers%27_War

Legends

The story line of the Legends set was not formulated until the 3 Legends Cycle books were released many years after the set.

In the book Hazeon the 3rd in the cycle. The story follows the adventures of Hazezon Tamar who teams up with many other legends from the set such as Jedit Ojanen. The book takes place in the southern regions, including Scarwood on Jamuraa.

The story itself takes place chronologically well after the Ice Age, and sometime before Weatherlight as the first Airships are built by Johan who tried to conquer the entire continent. Many other legends of the set end up fighting Johans' army at the battle for Efrava.

The Dark

In the aftermath of the Brother's War, a series of conflicts ends up causing most of the inhabitants of the continent of Terisiare to revert to a more primitive state. During this time, several leaders and notable heroes rise up, such as Vervamon the Elder (who was later burned at the stake), Maeveen O'Donahough, Barl the Artificer, Mairsil the Pretender, and Lord Ith (who was held captive by Mairsil).

After the destruction of large amounts of the continent Terisiare during the Brother's War, most nations turn heavily to religion and magic to help them cope with the coming ice age caused by the "nuclear" winter. Mairsil the Pretender, the advisor to an unnamed king, imprisons Lord Ith in the device called "Barl's Cage" (a mage-prison built by his chief artificer, Barl) and wages war in the "Dark Lands", areas of Terisiare overcome with black mana influence. Lord Ith summons a rag man to find someone to free him. Mairsil is obsessed with finding a gateway to Phyrexia, and when a young mage named Jodah arrives, he tries to manipulate the boy to take him there.

During these times, he employs Maveen O'Donahough and her troop of mercenaries, who go out and do scout, search and destroy, and other various missions. They are accompanied by Vervamon the Elder, an elderly sage who records parts of their travel and takes down bits of important lore. However, when he returns, he is branded a heretic and burned at the stake as a martyr.

Eventually, Jodah frees Lord Ith as Mairsil begins to lose his power (caused by the weakening of the land by the coming ice age). After this, there is no continuation of the storyline until Ice Age.

Fallen Empires

Fallen Empires takes place on the continent of Sarpadia after the Brothers' War in Antiquities. Each of the major cultures on Sarpadia is confronted with internal threats caused by the cooling weather: the dwarves wage war with orcs and goblins; the Vodalian merfolk face the homarid menace; the elves of the forest struggle to contain the fungus-like thallids; the proud soldiers of Icatia confront opposition from religious zealots; and the dark Order of the Ebon Hand fights a thrull revolt. The storyline of Fallen Empires is continued in the Ice Age set.

Homelands

The set takes place in a plane known as Ulgrotha. The plane was once a prime battleground for wizards, until the planeswalker Feroz happened upon it. He wished to protect the plane, so he, along with the planeswalker Serra, created a ban to keep other planeswalkers out. Feroz died in the process, and Serra is presumed by the planes' inhabitants to have died soon afterwards, though she reappeared again briefly in the novelization of a later set.

The events surrounding the set begin many years after Feroz's death, when his ban begins to fade. The residents of Ulgrotha (now known to its inhabitants as the Homelands) are at war with one another.

Homeland begins 600 years ago, during a war between the Tolgath, planeswalkers who desire knowledge, and the Ancients, wizards who are prepared to be cruel to defend 'their' mysteries. A Tolgath planeswalker named Ravi, used an artifact called the Apocalypse Chime, given to her by her master, to destroy all life and mana on Ulgrotha.

Ice Age

The Brothers' War, referenced in the set Antiquities and the Urza block, has thrown Dominaria into a drastic climate change. The temperature has dropped sharply and a new Ice Age has begun. Most of society has been lost; all that remains are the soldier nation of Kjeldor, the barbarians of Balduvia, and the elvish society of Fyndhorn. The necromancer Lim-Dûl has begun to conduct twisted experiments and the wizard Zur the Enchanter trains new wizards to survive in the harsh environment.

Alliances

The story follows the events of Ice Age, after the so-called goddess (actually a planeswalker) Freyalise had used her magic to end the Ice Age. As the lands grew warmer, conflicts began to erupt. The Balduvian Barbarians were under constant attacks from a vigilante group headed by a former Kjeldoran knight, General Varchild, and needed to turn to their former foes for help. The Soldevi alliance was breaking down amid fears that their unearthing of artifacts of the Brothers' War (as described in Antiquities) could restart that destructive conflict. And all the while, a wicked necromancer known as Lim-Dûl gathered forces to conquer the entire world.

Coldsnap

I can't find anything

Mirage

The story concerns three of the most powerful nations of Jamuraa (a tropical continent modeled after Africa) — Zhalfir, Femeref, and Suq'Ata. Zhalfir was the warrior nation, based mainly on red. Femeref was mainly white, and featured clerics and healers, while the seafaring traders of Suq'Ata were mostly blue. Mirage concerned these three nations and their struggle against the evil wizard Kaervek. Kaervek has imprisoned the powerful wizard and diplomat Mangara in an amber prison and the bulk of the story details the Jamuraans attempting to free Mangara. In addition to these events the planeswalker Teferi has caused his island to disappear from existence for almost 200 years. It is the phasing of the entire island that led Kaervek and Mangara to Jamuraa in the first place.

Visions

The story continues the struggle between the nations of Jamuraa against the evil Kaervek, only now Femeref has been destroyed and Suq'Ata and Zhalfir begin to have internal problems as well. There is hope, however, when Kaervek's ally Jolrael betrays him at the urging of the planeswalker Teferi. Jamuraa's leaders, led by Jolrael's visions, free Mangara from the amber prison and begin to fight against Kaervek.

13. Weatherlight

Weatherlight began the longest story arc in Magic's history, which would last continuously until the release of Apocalypse four years later (the aftermath of the story was explored for two years afterward). The story introduces the crew of the flying ship Weatherlight, which traverses the planes of the multiverse in search of the scattered group of ancient artifacts known collectively as the Legacy. The captain of the ship, Sisay, is abducted to the shadowy world of Rath, and her old friend and crewmate, a former Benalish soldier named Gerrard, is pressed into taking command of the ship to rescue her.

14. Tempest

The set takes place on the stormy plane of Rath, where Gerrard and the heroes of the Weatherlight set out to find Volrath's stronghold.

15. Stronghold

The crew of Weatherlight approaches Volrath's Stronghold in search for Sisay and the missing pieces of the Legacy. Deep in the Dream Halls, Gerrard learns that Volrath was his former blood brother Vuel and the one who stole the Legacy. What appears to be a final conflict between Gerrard and Volrath ends instead with the death of an imposter shapeshifter.

16. Exodus

The crew of Weatherlight has rescued the pieces of the Legacy and Captain Sisay, and now must retreat through Volrath's Stronghold and escape to the portal that would lead them off of Rath. Volrath and his main lieutenant Greven il-Vec will stop at nothing to destroy them and reclaim the ancient artifacts that will allow Volrath to oppose his hidden master. However, they must also stave off the combined assault of Volrath's Stronghold by the elves of the Skyshroud forest and the human tribes of the Kor, Vec, and Dal, recently reunited by Gerrard of Weatherlight.

Also, a disturbing change has happened to Crovax, the noble who accompanied Weatherlight to Rath. His newly-formed bloodlust and thirst for power threatens to destroy the entire ship.

17. Urza's Saga

The story of Urza's Saga and the later sets in the block are essentially prequels to the former Tempest/Stronghold/Exodus sets, explaining the aftermath of the Brothers' War as seen in the Antiquities expansion.

Whereas other sets have all five colors of cards referencing the same story, Urza's Saga has each of the five colors showing a different part of the storyline.

Green cards detail the conflict on Argoth, which would lead to the events of the Ice Age expansion. Black cards reveal Urza's failed attack on Phyrexia itself. White cards document Urza's period of recuperation in Serra's Realm. Blue cards explain Urza's founding of an academy on Tolaria and his temporal experiments. Red cards show Urza's alliance with Shiv.

Shiv, Phyrexia, Tolaria, and Serra's Realm are some of the most iconic settings in Magic. Most of the story of this set is written in the book Planeswalker, though the battle of Argoth is from the end of The Brothers' War and the founding of Tolaria and alliance with Shiv are found in Time Streams.

18. Urza's Legacy

Urza's Legacy continues the flashback begun with Urza's Saga. Urza's Legacy continues Urza's quest to fight Phyrexia's godlike master, Yawgmoth's plans to conquer his home world, Dominaria. After an attempt to manipulate time goes catastrophically wrong, Urza searches for more allies as he builds a skyship to lead the war against Phyrexia. While he is away, the people of his Tolarian Academy have to battle a Phyrexian infestation on the island itself. The story of this set is recounted in the book Time Streams.

19. Urza's Destiny

With the skyship Weatherlight completed, Urza now works on a eugenics program to create a perfect crew for it, as well as engineering a race of soldiers to fight the Phyrexian invasion. One of his geneticists, Gatha, defects, and uses his knowledge to improve the Keldon race. Meanwhile, the Phyrexians create the plane of Rath as a staging ground for the invasion.

20. Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques begins where Exodus ends, with the skyship Weatherlight making a hasty escape from Rath. The portal takes them to the plane of Mercadia, which is dominated by a bizarre city on an upside-down mountain. Weatherlight is captured by the Cho-Arrim, a spiritual people of the plains, and Gerrard and the crew must negotiate with the city's corrupt politicians to get the ship back and find a new power source.

21. Nemesis

The Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria is nearing; the Dark Lord's plans are almost complete. Only the Planeswalker Urza stands in his way. At the same time, Yawgmoth's Inner Circle decides on the election of the evincar to replace Volrath. The Phyrexian emissary Belbe has to choose between Greven Il-Vec, Ertai, Crovax, and the newly-returned Volrath.

22. Prophecy

Keld has declared war on Jamuraa in order to reclaim 'hero's blood', known also as tufa, which is a type of fossil fuel to run great machines. The city-states of Jamuraa form the Kipamu League and then repulse the invaders.

It should be noted the war bears a striking similarity to the Peloponnesian War between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League.

23. Invasion

The time has come. Urza the Planeswalker must now help Gerrard Capashen and the crew of Weatherlight to repel the invading Phyrexians from Dominaria. However, it will not be easy, as Yawgmoth will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

24. Planeshift


In the midst of an all-out war, the ground shifts and moves. Milliions upon millions of invaders appear out of nowhere as the artificial plane of Rath overlays Dominaria, covering the natural landscape with the unnatural horros of Phyrexia.

There is no rest for the wicked.

25. Apocalypse

Following Gerrard and the Weatherlight's victory at Koilos and the death of Hanna, Yawgmoth unleashes the Apocalypse on Dominaria by coming to the world himself, and raising the dead from the earth. As this was after a war that lasted a few years, there were many, many dead.

26. Odyssey

The storyline of Odyssey leaps forward 100 years after the events in the set Apocalypse on the remote continent Otaria. Odyssey 's protagonist is Kamahl, a formidable fighter-mage skilled in both throwing fireballs and melee combat. Kamahl has a close friend Chainer, a cabalist, and a cool-headed sister Jeska. The antagonist is Laquatus, a sly merfolk who uses trickery and mind control to bend others to his will. Other characters include the cephalid emperor Aboshan, Kamahl's centaur friend Seton, Kamahl and Jeska's dwarven trainer Balthor, the militaristic Kirtar, the mellow but dangerous Cabal Patriarch (The First), and the unpredictable and popular among fans summoner Braids.

Almost everyone in the story is after the Mirari, a legendary artifact of immense power with the ability to make its wielder's innermost wishes come true. The Mirari is relatively small, resembling a metallic ball mounted on a wirey helix. The Mirari notoriously drives its wielder insane, often causing death and massive destruction, wherein it awaits a new master.

27. Torment

Torment tells the story of Chainer, a Dementia Summoner of the Cabal, who first discovers the Mirari and rises through the ranks of the Cabal, eventually becoming rival to the Cabal Patriarch himself.

28. Judgement

With Jeska mortally wounded by his own sword, Kamahl leaves his sister to the care of his centaur friend Seton, setting out on a quest to find a way to heal her. Her wound festers from the might of the Mirari, currently fixed to the pommel of Kamahl's sword.

Meanwhile, Laquatus schemes as much as ever to persuade Empress Llawan to aid him in finding the Mirari. Along with his bodyguard Burke (Laquatus' Champion), the ever-demented Braids, and Commander Eesha of the Aven, each plays a part in the war over the Mirari.

Kamahl trains with the Nantuko Thriss in Krosa in Druidic magic and ultimately confronts Laquatus in a showdown. Upon victory, Kamahl slams his sword into the ground, granting his wish and bringing life and growth to the surrounding environment (Mirari's Wake), though he unfortunately cannot cure his dying sister's wound.

I'll finish it up later.

29. Onslaught

The story of Onslaught mainly concerns characters introduced in the Odyssey block. Kamahl the Barbarian has relocated to the Krosan Forest with the Mirari and becomes a druid of Krosa. The power of the Mirari begins to work on the forest, mutating its residents and growing some of them to gigantic proportions.

Meanwhile, Kamahl's sister Jeska is transformed by foul Cabal healing magic, into Phage, a pit fighter whose touch brings death. Phage then allies herself with the Cabal.

Ixidor, an illusionist, fights in the pits with his partner, a beautiful sorceress named Nivea, who ends up being killed off by Phage. Ixidor then wanders the desert in grief, and discovers his new powers of reality sculpting. Ixidor uses his new power to create a palace in the desert, where he creates an angel based on Nivea named Akroma, who is sworn to his service. He resolves to avenge Nivea's slaying by attacking the Cabal and Phage with Akroma. The escalating struggle between Phage and Akroma leads Kamahl into an uneasy alliance with the Cabal against the destructive power of Ixidor and Akroma.

30. Legions

Kamahl and the Cabal, in their uneasy alliance, set out to defeat the threat of Akroma. Ixidor was killed, but Akroma continues her mission to destroy Phage. Meanwhile, the slivers (last spotted in Tempest and its era) have been reintroduced as clones of the originals. In a final battle, Phage and Akroma merge into one being, Karona, the false god.

31. Scourge

The war between Phage and Akroma is over, but with no true winner, and one loser, Otaria. The clash of such sheer power merged the two into a new creature, Karona the False God, an immensely powerful being forged from all five colors of Magic. Karona is seen as a god by all who look upon her, and these followers would march to their death just to walk in her footsteps. War begins to mount between these factions, that each want to claim Karona for themselves.

Meanwhile, the Mirari poisoning is further polluting the inhabitants of Otaria, the elves are becoming taller and stronger, more like the very trees they protect. The soldiers are merging with their weapons and armor into living juggernauts. Zombies are sprouting new, more powerful arms...and heads. Also, the same explosion that created Karona, created a new master for the slivers, the Sliver Overlord.

Kamahl eventually frees Jeska, who is revealed to be a planeswalker. She takes the Mirari with her elsewhere.

32. Mirrodin

The setting for Mirrodin is a plane by the same name. An artificial world created by the planeswalker Karn, and named after the mirari by Memnarch[1], Mirrodin's environments and inhabitants mix organic and metallic. Mirrodin is orbited by four satellites, which are called by suns and moons, that correspond to red, black, white and blue magic. Green was notably absent until Glissa Sunseeker became a conduit for its birth.

The set focuses on five main regions on Mirrodin, each corresponding to a part of the Magic color pie:

* The Oxidda Chain, a range of mountains populated by goblins and the human Vulshok tribe.
* The Tangle, a dense jungle populated by elves, the human Sylvok tribe and horrible beasts.
* The Mephidross, a dreadful swamp, and a home of Nim (zombies) and the human Moriok tribe.
* Quicksilver Sea, a sea of mercury populated by Vedalken and the human Neurok tribe.
* Razor Grass Fields, the plains of Mirrodin, overgrown with sharp metallic grass and home to the Leonin, the human Auriok tribe and Loxodon.

The main character of the story is the elf Glissa Sunseeker, who visits all these places, guided by revenge against the machines that killed her family. The story is captured in the novel The Moons of Mirrodin by Will McDermott.

33. Darksteel

The Darksteel Eye is the second novel in the Mirrodin Cycle by Jess Lebow. It continues the journey of Glissa, an elf, after the infiltration of the Synod and the recollection of all the golem Bosh's memories. They now must travel back across Mirrodin to seek the power that resides in the center of Mirrodin.

34. Fifth Dawn

The name Fifth Dawn is derived from the plane's five suns. Each sun is associated with a color of mana and the green sun, which has long been absent, returns to the sky as part of this set's storyline.

35. Champions of Kamigawa
36. Betrayers of Kamigawa
37. Saviors of Kamigawa

In Magic: The Gathering, Kamigawa (神河, kamigawa?, lit. "Spirit River") is the name and setting for the block set that includes Champions of Kamigawa, Betrayers of Kamigawa, and Saviors of Kamigawa. It is a world-plane far removed from the other planes in Magic, planes which are usually influenced by Western fantasy elements (like the medieval Homelands and the Arabian Rabiah). Instead, elements of Kamigawa show a strong Japanese influence, with armies of Samurai and emphasis on the religion of Shinto. Wizards of the Coast took care to create a cohesive and uniquely Japanese setting, in contrast with the less culturally sensitive "Asian" amalgamations sometimes created for Western fantasy settings.

Kamigawa is divided into two parts, a material world and a spiritual world. Residing in the material are Kamigawa's humans, foxfolk known as Kitsune, cultured moonfolk known formally as Soratami, ratfolk called Nezumi, demon-worshiping ogres, the goblin-like akki, and the Orochi snakefolk. Making up the spirit domain are the Kami, who, as spirits embodying concepts, are widely diverse. The corrupted Kami who embody suffering and wickedness are called Oni, the five greatest spirits who reflect Magic's five colors are known as the Myojin, and the Kami above all others is the eight-headed serpent O-Kagachi. Each manifested kami in the material world is accompanied by several lesser spirits or forms of energy. For instance, a river kami might be accompanied by swimming spirit fish.

In the Kamigawa cycle, the plane of Kamigawa experiences a devastating war called the Kami War, between the denizens of its spirit world (the kakuriyo. 隠り世 lit. "retirement world") and its material world (the utsushiyo. 現し世 lit. "This world"). The once-benign Kami who received worship from the material peoples turn against and wage war against their supplicants. The story is revealed through both the novels and references to tattered documents and history books.

38. City of Guilds

Following in the tradition of recent Magic blocks, Ravnica takes place in a plane of Dominia (often confused with Dominaria, which is the central plane of the multiverse) that was previously unexplored in the game's backstory. The world of Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a vast city that covers the entire surface of its planet, and is home to a diverse assortment of sentient races. For ten thousand years, there has been a power struggle between the ten guilds, political factions that each represent a combination of two of Magic's five colors. Ten millennia ago, the Guildpact was signed by the leaders of the ten factions, ending active warfare between them and ushering in an era of peace. But now, on the eve of the celebrations of the accord's ten thousandth anniversary, a sinister force threatens the survival of that peace.

39. Guildpact

When a man retires, the last thing he wants to become is the sheriff of some backwater town on the outskirts of the biggest city in the world. But when an old mining town suddenly becomes the site of a new wave of destruction, Kos has no choice but to shine his badge, strap on his pendrik and get to dishing out justice frontier style.

This is the second installment of the Ravnica Cycle, written by Cory J. Herndon and published by Wizards of the Coast. Like it’s predecessor, Ravnica: City of Guilds, this novel stars Agrus Kos and his business partner/friend Pivlic, as well as several new characters, in a rousing adventure full of intrigue and mayhem. With their new friend Teysa Karlov, baroness of the frontier zone named Utvara, the two begin to unravel an Izzet secret that delves deeper than many of them wanted to ever go, all the while searching for the missing messenger of the Zomaj Hauc, Izzet Guild upper manager and lead engineer of the Cauldron, a powerplant supplying energy to all of the Utvara region.

Crix the goblin finds herself in the hands of the indigenous peoples of Utvara while Baroness Teysa and her minions attempt to gain control of the region that has now become hers to own. But Crix finds that the plains around Utvara are mysterious, full of bizarre creatures that trace back to the ancient days of Ravnica, as well as a race of people who wear fungus on their backs to protect themselves from a spore that got thrown up into the air after the Izzet Guild attempted to “reclaim” the Utvaran region for the previous owner, Teysa’s uncle and prodigal father. But as Crix stays out in the spores, strange occurrences with the natives lead her to believe that something against the natural order is occurring, and that the answer can only be found within her master, Zomaj Hauc himself.

Crix manages to manipulate the natives into helping her get to the cauldron, partially to deliver the message she had been sent to deliver and partially to get to the bottom of this deadly mystery. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the courier, Agrus Kos and Pivlic have also become aware of the strange behaviors of the natives and begin an expedition to rescue the intrepid Izzet. However, as they work forward toward their goal, both the human and the imp find that it is not as easy of a task as it originally appeared, especially not when the Nephilim, those ancient creatures Crix encounters, become more rampant in this area of the frontier. Since Kidnapping is a crime, Kos is propelled forward, but unfortunately for him, his path leads straight to the gates of the Cauldron, and on the eve of yet another attempt at ruining Ravnica.

Back in Utvara, things seem to be simple and reclaiming the once lost territory is becoming a task that Teysa Karlov has turned into a lucrative business venture. But as business is getting better, Teysa begins to discover a mystery and a magic that has been plaguing her for most of her life. And the lies and deceptions strike directly into the heart of the woman who is beginning to get too old be able to deal with it. Be that as it may, the Guildmaster, the first Baroness of the Orzhov guild, meets her enemies face to face and proves that royal blood does make a difference.

40. Dissension

Of the ten guilds that rule Ravnica, three are the sole focus of this third set in the block. The previous expansions, Ravnica: City of Guilds and Guildpact, focused on seven of these guilds. Dissension, brings it to a close by introducing the last three guilds. Each guild corresponds to a different two-color combination.

The three guilds featured in Dissension are:

* The Azorius Senate (white/blue): The lawmakers of Ravnica, founded by Azor, guild parun of the Azorius Senate, hence the name Azorius Senate. The Senate's obsession is based on the desire to keep the status quo, no matter the cost (which is remotely similar to Ancient Rome's Senate). Their current leader, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, believes that the best way to serve the city is to make any sort of action illegal. For his hierarchical and bureaucratic guild, history, stability, and the rule of law are paramount. The Grand Arbiter consults a sphinx known as Isperia the Inscrutable, who is the champion of the Azorius.
* The Cult of Rakdos (black/red): Named after its demon leader, Rakdos the Defiler. The Cult of Rakdos is completely self-absorbed, out only for a good time. However, their idea of a "good time" usually involves murder and mayhem – the more bloody and depraved, the better. The cult would love to rule Ravnica and turn it into one big slaughter-fest, but to them, it's the process of random death and destruction that is fulfilling, not the goal. Fortunately for the Rakdos, their interest in the dark art of death has made them into top-notch mercenaries and assassins, which the other guilds are more than happy to take advantage of. The guild's champion is Lyzolda, the Blood Witch. She is at the forefront of most of the guild's macabre sacrificial ceremonies.
* The Simic Combine (green/blue): The Simic's original role in Ravnica was to protect and preserve what was left of Ravnica's natural ecosystems. Despite their best efforts, they failed, and there is no place on Ravnica that is left to nature. Now, the Simic Combine spends their resources creating new - and often frightening - species of creatures that not only survive in the concrete jungles of Ravnica, but thrive. The guild is headed by the distant and cool elvish biomancer Momir Vig, Simic Visionary. The Simic champion is known as Experiment Kraj, the culmination of all of Vig's previous experiments. It is intended to be the ultimate life form and rapidly "adapts" to change.


41. Time Spiral

The novel Time Spiral, written by Scott McGough, tells the story of Teferi's return to Dominaria. It expands the setting and events depicted on the cards of Time Spiral into a full story. Teferi returns to Dominaria three hundred years after the Phyrexian invasion, to prepare for the return of Shiv and Zhalfir, the lands he phased out during the Phyrexian invasion. The stress of constant warfare and apocalypse (the Brothers' War, the Phyrexian invasion, Karona's War), combined with mana-draining rifts created by the overlaying of Rath and Skyshroud (among other events across the multiverse, such as the near-destruction of Ulgrotha), have set off a chain reaction that has created ripples in the temporal fabric of the planes. The unphasing of Shiv threatens to destroy the plane of Dominaria, and in turn the entire multiverse.[7]

After the defeat of Karona, the rifts in the planar fabric began to act as mana sinks, draining the lands of mana. Life on the plane became harsh and the temporal rifts caused people and objects from Dominaria's past to be "dropped" into the present, leaving people stranded in unrecognizable lands that are thousands of years from their time.

42. Planar Chaos

The temporal stresses being applied to Dominaria have expanded, causing multiple parallel universes (versions of Dominaria where history played out differently) to merge into the already colliding past-present-future of current events.

43. Future Sight

Teferi, Jhoira, and Venser continue their battle to heal the time rifts that plague Dominaria. The rift in Tolaria is so severe that it cannot be healed in the present day. In order to remedy it, Karn travels back in time. He manages to close the time rift, but in the process is lost.

The planeswalker Jeska returns to Dominaria. Finding her friend Karn gone, she becomes angry and is manipulated by the planeswalker Leshrac into using Radha as a kind of mana focuser to close the time rifts without using up her planeswalker spark. She sets out to continue her mentor's work, and seals both the Zhalfirin and Yavimayan rifts, respectively losing Zhalfir proper and Multani in the process. It is revealed later on that Leshrac was using Jeska to gain the dark power of one of her former selves, Phage. Having gained that power, Leshrac then challenges the powerful planeswalker Nicol Bolas to a duel, only to be defeated by him. Bolas then uses what remains of Leshrac to seal the Madaran rift.

Once again in charge of her own actions, Jeska enters the Otarian rift to try and seal it with the help of both Venser and Radha. During their efforts, they merge to form an alternate version of Karona. At the final stage, Jeska teleports both Venser and Radha to a safe location, sacrificing herself to seal the final rift.

44. Lorwyn

Lorwyn is set in a more traditional fantasy world, inspired by Welsh folklore. The plane is a pastoral world inhabited by several major races: boggarts (goblins), faeries, elves, giants, treefolk, merfolk, elementals (including the flamekin) and kithkin.

The block novels begin with Lorwyn, named after the plane that it takes place on. The plane of Lorwyn is one that is stuck in midsummer, full of color and life. The story follows a motley crew of characters from every walk of life while they try to stop the elves and treefolk from what seems to be complete planar domination. However, not all is what it seems. Morningtide, the second book of the Lorwyn cycle, continues this search for justice and self-discovery. The heroes from the first book try to figure out what is wrong with their world. They have to because every race is starting to change. Goblins are becoming more savage and daring. Giants are becoming less self-aware and more brutish than normal. Merfolk are becoming cut-throat pirates. Eventually Rhys, Sygg, Brigid and the other heros find out about the coming “Great Aurora,” essentially a plot device that signals the shift into the second world.

45. Morningtide

Hunted by his own people and fleeing a pastoral world gone mad, Rhys must struggle not only to solve the mystery behind his master's cryptic suicide, but also to survive.

46. Shadowmoor

The plane of Shadowmoor is a dark reflection of the world that was Lorwyn, going from perpetual midsummer to perpetual winter. Although Lorwyn was a place of light, hope and life, few remember that version of the world since it has become a place of shadows, fear, death and desolation. Shadowmoor is a world that only the brothers Grimm, Stephen King and Clive Barker can love.

The first book of the Shadowmoor cycle is an anthology of short stories named after this new world showing the drastic shift in the nature of the plane’s inhabitants and its magic. Some of the authors are veterans like Scott McGough, Cory J. Herndon and Will McDermott. Others are newcomers but they match the style and urgency without a problem.

47. Eventide

Eventide, the second book of the cycle and the end of the complete storyline, follows the remaining protectors of light and beauty as they struggle against Oona, Queen of the Faeries, and an enemy generally referred to as “The Destroyer” and her army of living smoldering cinders.

48. Shards of Alara
49. Conflux
50. Alara Reborn

After the Mending at the end of the Time Spiral block all the Planeswalker's sparks were converted into Neo-Walker sparks. Now Bolas, not to fond of his de-powered state, managed to find Alara and hatched a plan to use the Conflux of the 5 planes to consume all the energy and thus regain his powers. How exactly he is going to do this remains unseen.

Meanwhile, the different cultures and peoples of Alara are starting to realize that something is amiss, due to the fact that creatures and magics they have had no contact with have started to appear. For example, on Naya, a Nacatl Leonin tribe ruled by Ajani and his brother was attacked by creatures using black mana. Naya is a world with only red, green, and white, so they have no understanding of black or blue mana.

Nicol Bolas in the meantime has taken to swaying a few select beings from each of the shards to further his plans for all out war by the time the shards come together. Among them are Gwafa Hazid in Bant, who spreads lies and xenophobia into the populace, Rakha Mar, a elementalist in Jund who is tasked with making its inhabitants all the more bloodthirsty, The Seekers of Carmot, and group on Esper that claims to know how to solve an Etherium shortage, and Malfegor, a Demon-Dragon hybrid on Grixis is tasked with raising a massive army of undead to march upon the other shards. Bolas' actions are not yet known in Naya, although it is speculated that they have something to do with the death of Ajani's brother which also caused his Ascension.

51. Zendikar

"Deadly perils, priceless treasures." (pirates? We can only hope )

Not the best and some sections are lacking but definitely a place to poke around if interested is wikipedia or check out the MtG novels which used to come out one per set but now are released one per block.

Damn didn't realize there was this much story.

Silent... you are my new hero.
Thanks so much!

WoW s1lent. thanks a bunch, Buuuuuuuuut.....

that may take a while for me to read that :-D

Clearly, since you still can't spell his name. It's S1lent.

Oh, and S1lent? You are now my hero as well. Thanks for that, one of the best posts ever!

First of all awsome post. In my opinion there is nothing like reading the book and looking at the cards from that set. You really notice how in sync the authors and card creators are. From the visual aspect of the card to the flavor text. MTG's story line is worth the reading. The books are so discriptive that I can see the stuggles of the characters just by looking at their cards.


For Onslaught: When Akroma fights Phage and Kamhal, she gets her arse kicked. Infact she gets cut in two. The Akroma you see in the card is incorrect. The legions akroma had the torso of horse (or some other quadroped) Also Ixidor is Defeated but not killed while his creations run free (two of them actually killed Karona, False God and you may know another one by the name of Aeon Chronicler )

Sorry but I really didn't like the fact that they portrayed akroma differently then the way she actually was in the time frame that the card portrayed!!

0_o...wow, thank you so much s1lent

I think this is my favorite thread ever..

Silent, you're famous!

Mananation linked to this thread here in their "week in Magic" review!

http://www.mananation.com/week-magic-6-mar-12-mar/

Cheers mate!
We need more awesome threads like this.
Think of something you would find useful magic-wise and post it!

LOL I had no clue about the mananation linkage. little late to reply but oh well.

It's been awhile. Thanks for posting this. I sort of fell off the face of the earth for awhile being busy with school. Summer classes start in a week but I'm planning on making time to browse the forums more regularly. Looks like the community has exploded since I've been on hiatus. Congrats. Glad to see the site doing well. Your guys' visual spoilers have been, and still are the best in the business. Keep up the good work.

This. Is. EPIC.

I would have just posted one link to wikipedia lol.

should sticky this or something ;]

never ask a question if you don't want the answer. :)

good thread.