How much different is Zendikar from the Forgotten Realms? Like what is Zendikar's Genre niche/subgenre compared to FR?
D&D 5E D&D Beyond: Lurker in the Deep
How much different is Zendikar from the Forgotten Realms? Like what is Zendikar's Genre niche/subgenre compared to FR?
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Pretty different. The big schtick of Zendikar is exploration (in the past, M:tG makes dramatic shifts to settings, so hard to say what the status will be in Fall next year). There is a thing called "The Roil" that is like Earthquakes on steroids that make long-term building impossible, and with actively hostile magical wildlife civilization is limited. Points of Light, basically, with brave adventurers going out from little bubbles of people to explore ancient ruins for magical loot (it was designed in-house at WotC as a "D&D-like" card set originally, a lot of the cards have obvious adventurer and dungeoneering material). Somewhat the exact opposite of Ravnica, a world dominated by eXtreme wilderness, whereas Forgotten Realms is more "normal" High Fantasy. There was a thing about the whole planet being a prison for ancient eldritch horrors, but they got beaten down last time around and are not set to be central in the M:tG block coming next November: which is being billed as back-to-basics for the "Adventurer's World."
Parmandur
Book-Friend
"A tumultuous plane of wild mana, unstable weather, and floating terrain, Zendikar is a world of incomparable natural beauty and danger. The plane is wracked by volatile seismic movements known as “the Roil.” Violent shifts in the landscape make life precarious, unpredictable, and full of adventure. Rivers cascaded down from above the skyline. Craggy peaks lurch to crush those who would scale their heights. Lush forests and murky swamps grow over upturned ruins hiding ancient secrets. Massive stone formations known as hedrons, the ancient handiwork of the Planeswalkers Ugin, Sorin, and Nahiri the Lithomancer, remain as a reminder of calmer days on the plane. Days before the Eldrazi escaped.
"The Eldrazi were three inscrutable entities of the Blind Eternities, able to travel between planes to devour worlds. Unable to defeat the titans, the ancient Planeswalkers used the hedrons to lure, contain, and immobilize them. They remained trapped in stasis and hidden for millennia until younger Planeswalkers inadvertently released them.
"Freed from their imprisonment, the Eldrazi titans summoned their spawn and spread throughout the plane, consuming two of Zendikar's seven continents and leaving chalk deserts and warped Escher-scapes in their wake. The Zendikari who endured the destruction adapted and built alliances; kor and merfolk, elves and humans, even the proud and deadly vampire families of Guul Draz. With the help of the four founding Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch – Gideon Jura, Nissa Revane, Jace Beleren, and Chandra Nalaar – the titans Ulamog and Kozilek were destroyed near the city of Sea Gate. Zendikar struggles to recover, with vast areas depopulated and devastated."
"A tumultuous plane of wild mana, unstable weather, and floating terrain, Zendikar is a world of incomparable natural beauty and danger. The plane is wracked by volatile seismic movements known as “the Roil.” Violent shifts in the landscape make life precarious, unpredictable, and full of adventure. Rivers cascaded down from above the skyline. Craggy peaks lurch to crush those who would scale their heights. Lush forests and murky swamps grow over upturned ruins hiding ancient secrets. Massive stone formations known as hedrons, the ancient handiwork of the Planeswalkers Ugin, Sorin, and Nahiri the Lithomancer, remain as a reminder of calmer days on the plane. Days before the Eldrazi escaped.
"The Eldrazi were three inscrutable entities of the Blind Eternities, able to travel between planes to devour worlds. Unable to defeat the titans, the ancient Planeswalkers used the hedrons to lure, contain, and immobilize them. They remained trapped in stasis and hidden for millennia until younger Planeswalkers inadvertently released them.
"Freed from their imprisonment, the Eldrazi titans summoned their spawn and spread throughout the plane, consuming two of Zendikar's seven continents and leaving chalk deserts and warped Escher-scapes in their wake. The Zendikari who endured the destruction adapted and built alliances; kor and merfolk, elves and humans, even the proud and deadly vampire families of Guul Draz. With the help of the four founding Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch – Gideon Jura, Nissa Revane, Jace Beleren, and Chandra Nalaar – the titans Ulamog and Kozilek were destroyed near the city of Sea Gate. Zendikar struggles to recover, with vast areas depopulated and devastated."
How much of that is just a historical foot note? The Eldrzi are gone now, which begs the question, what is Zendikar like without their presence?
What plot twist will they introduce, perhaps more of a D&D twist to the set?
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Yeah,one of the main mechanical bits in Magic for Zendikar is Land cards that do stuff: active fantastic environments.
Definitely a potentially rich location for bold Adventure.
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Yeah, that's the flavor from the 2016 on the WotC site. I think literally all we know for the 2019 set is the name, and the Eldrazi are gone, and more of a return to basics for the setting.
Seems like a good fit for D&D...
Parmandur
Book-Friend
Mark Rosewater had an article about how he viewed the potential for returning to Magic worlds in future products a while back, and said this about Zendikar:
Popularity: Very Popular (without Eldrazi), Popular (with Eldrazi)
Zendikar is one of the more popular planes. Market research shows though that players like it more without Eldrazi than with them, so I expect any future visit would be closer to original Zendikar than Battle for Zendikar.
Mechanical Identity: Strong
Zendikar is tied to two things mechanically: lands and "adventure world" tropes. Any revisit would definitely tie into those two things.
Creative Identity: Strong
Zendikar is one of our most visually compelling worlds and has a lot of great civilizations and peoples built into it.
Room for Expansion: Significant Room for Expansion
Zendikar plays around in spaces that have a lot of mechanical and creative rooms for exploration. Some worlds I worry about having enough to fill out the set. That's never an issue with Zendikar.
Story Continuation: Major Plot Line
Zendikar is very interwoven into the major storyline. It's also the home of Nissa, Nahiri, and Kiora, as well as a place visited by the majority of our main characters. There are many stories we could tell on a revisit.
Rabiah Scale Rating: 2
The one issue on a return is steering closer to original Zendikar than Battle for Zendikar, but as the Gatewatch defeated the Eldrazi on their last visit, that's an easy goal to meet.
Zendikar is one of the more popular planes. Market research shows though that players like it more without Eldrazi than with them, so I expect any future visit would be closer to original Zendikar than Battle for Zendikar.
Mechanical Identity: Strong
Zendikar is tied to two things mechanically: lands and "adventure world" tropes. Any revisit would definitely tie into those two things.
Creative Identity: Strong
Zendikar is one of our most visually compelling worlds and has a lot of great civilizations and peoples built into it.
Room for Expansion: Significant Room for Expansion
Zendikar plays around in spaces that have a lot of mechanical and creative rooms for exploration. Some worlds I worry about having enough to fill out the set. That's never an issue with Zendikar.
Story Continuation: Major Plot Line
Zendikar is very interwoven into the major storyline. It's also the home of Nissa, Nahiri, and Kiora, as well as a place visited by the majority of our main characters. There are many stories we could tell on a revisit.
Rabiah Scale Rating: 2
The one issue on a return is steering closer to original Zendikar than Battle for Zendikar, but as the Gatewatch defeated the Eldrazi on their last visit, that's an easy goal to meet.
The Rabiah Scale, Part 2 | MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Mark wraps up his look at how likely he thinks we are to return to each plane Magic has already visited.
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