About The MULTIVERSE Project
Not so long ago, the Magic Multiverse Project began as one nerd’s impulsive need to create a 100% lore-authentic Theros cube. Hunting down cards that were based on Theros but not from the Theros block proved difficult but rather fun, and from there it expanded to cover the cataloging of all new cards printed on a known plane but not in a set from that plane. The project became way to find out how to make the perfect lore-authentic cube, or deck, or collection. It’s a showcase of the appreciation for the hard work the lore and creative teams do over at Wizards of the Coast.
Art direction is a funny thing. Magic only has used a cohesive world guide for part of its life, and often times cards are printed that belong to no plane in particular. With Commander products, Core Sets, and things like the Duel Decks, Magic has had a great chance to expand the library of cards available to lore seekers.
HOW IS A CARD EVALuaTED?
When deciding if a card ‘belongs’ on a plane, three main things are considered:
1) Card art & visual cues - Many planes have iconic, one-of-a-kind elements to them that clearly showcase an illustration takes place there. The starry-night “Nyx effect” of Theros, the hedrons of Zendikar, the hexplate fields of Mirrodin, and the filigree constructs of Kaladesh all act as obvious visual benchmarks.
2) Card names & flavour text - Often times, cards may have somewhat open-ended art, but have a name or text that refers to a specific person, place, or thing on a known plane. This ties the card to that plane more often than not, though can lead to some discontinuity (see Cloud Elemental on Kamigawa).
3) If the card is a reprint - The core of the project is to showcase new “entities” on planes, like entries in a wildlife guide or an encyclopedia. Often times, cards are reprinted and creative teams take the chance to update the art and flavour of a card. Sometimes, such as with Masters 25, cards are kept on their home plane for the new art direction, and not included (even if Spikeshot goblin is adorable).
Even with this evaluation system, there are lots of ‘planeless’ cards out there. In general, “generic fantasy” cards from Core Sets are attributed to Shandalar by WotC’s own admission, but an effort is made to give cards a “planar home” whenever possible. Often times this means small stretches- but it helps add to the cohesive feel of what has become a documentation of the expanded flavour of the Magic multiverse. In addition, a collection of the concept art from the world guides themselves has been collected from Wizards of the Coast’s main site and historical articles to add even more context to the multiverse at large. Happy planeswalking!
Want to say “Hi”?
MtG-Multiverse is an ongoing fan site and labor of love for all things Magic, but I’m only one person! If you have any insight into things I may have missed, or have any concept art to contribute to the concept pages, or simply have an idea on content you’d like to see, please feel free to send me a message at mtgmultiverse.feedback@gmail.com.
