NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — The Plane of Ravnica is known for its worldwide cityscape as well as the ten guilds that inhabit it. In the first part of the Ravnica Block, players were introduced to four of these guilds, each of whom brought their own unique color combination, Keyword, and role in the city to the mix. The sequel set, Guildpact, adds three more to the list — all of whom follow suit in another flurry of new ideas. The Gruul Clans: While the Gruul were originally tasked with protecting the wilds of their world, Ravnica's transformation into a massive cityscape and the interference of other nature-focused guilds like the Selesyna Conclave ripped this responsibility away from them. This caused the group to be seen as an outlier to the Guildpact, and written off as beneath the laws by other factions. Most of its members were then exploited and ignored, giving them an understandable hatred of civilization as a whole. Nowadays, the Gruul act more as a series of unaffiliated clans than any unified faction, and pillage city blocks in their at times justified rampages. In the rare occasions where these sects work as one cohesive unit, it is mostly because the orders of their unofficial guild master (the leader of the strongest clan) happen to coincide with their preexisting goals of fighting, eating, or some combination of the two. Gruul's focus on all-out aggression is displayed in-game by the Bloodrush mechanic. When attacking with any Creature, a player can discard one with Bloodrush and pay a Mana fee to increase the attacker's Power and Toughness by a set amount, and in some occasions, grant extra effects (discarding Skarrg Goliath, for example, gives an attacking Creature +9/+9 and Trample). This, while designed as a way to empower your attackers, has an unusual purpose in multiplayer formats as well: as it can target any monster on the field, thus allowing a player to amplify attacks headed towards one of their more problematic foes. Despite the promising idea, a general lack of cards featuring the mechanic and reliable recursion in Green/Red means that it sees very little play, although its somewhat high place on the Storm Scale suggests that it is far more likely to return in the future than other disastrous mechanics like Dredge and Radiance. The Orzhov Syndicate: As the guild in charge of business on Ravnica, almost every store and restaurant on the Plane ties back to the Orzhov Syndicate in some regard. While the city has no major faith to speak of, the group combines the ideas of order and organized religion with monetary gain to create what is known as the "Church of Deals" — where priests gather tithes in the form of loans with high interest rates. Their blessings, while great, are born from exploitation: everyone who deals with the Orzhov is expected to pay their dues in one way or another, and their supernatural contracts mean even spirits and corpses can be made to work off their unpaid debts. Despite their strong sense of community and the superficial good deeds they bankroll from time to time, the guild is well-known to be corrupt down to its very nature, perhaps more than any other — but its promises of fame, fortune, and eternal life are more than enough to entice a steady stream of desperate debtors. In many cases, both clients and high-ranking members of the Orzhov remain with the guild as spirits after their death, which is displayed in-game by the Haunt mechanic. When a Creature with the Keyword passes on, it is exiled "Haunting" a target Creature, granting a further advantage once the target dies (Belfry Spirit, for example, gets to activate its bat-spawning effect twice: once upon being cast, and again when its victim is destroyed). Ideally, this allows players to get more value out of their cards, especially when paired with the many kill spells present in both Black and White. The designers of Haunt were originally excited about it, but the mechanic turned out to be far less popular among players: One had to keep track of both who their cards were haunting and the different Haunt effects in play, which made it rather confusing and overwhelming compared to the other, much simpler mechanics in Guildpact — and while their second mechanic Extort was better received, this first Keyword is a very poor first showing for the Orzhov. If nothing else, the fact that more recent Creatures that include "Haunt" in their names (such as Overlord of the Hauntwoods and The Haunt of Hightower) are used much more than any actual Haunt card should say enough about its modern reception. The Izzet League: Much like the Gruul Clans, the Izzet League started with a simple purpose: to maintain the civic works of Ravnica, such as its sewers, heating systems, and water supplies. However, the nature of its leader (Niv-Mizzet, Ravnica's last true Dragon, whose power and intelligence are only matched by his ego) drew the Plane's most creative minds to the guild — who promptly added bizarre and often spectacular magical experiments to their mutual agenda. As masters of both magic and technology, Izzet mages are curious by nature and constantly in search of new ideas, making the entire League act as a research lab full of mad scientists. While most Izzet researchers are not necessarily evil, their short attention spans and absent-minded carelessness tend to cause disaster. All of this work contributes to a project Niv-Mizzet calls "The Interlocus," which seems so grand in scale that not even his most loyal followers are sure of what (if anything) it entails. The Izzet's rapid-fire projects and "try-until-it-works" mindset is represented by a process known as Replicate. When casting a spell with the Keyword, a player can pay extra Mana to copy it any number of times, which allows it to serve as a slightly more balanced version of Storm that only scales up to one's available Mana. This allows players to get more out of their cards as the game goes on, and cards like Shattering Spree or Train of Thought only grow stronger with each copy. Although the mechanic is still not as popular as Storm, in recent years, it has seen minor support in the form of cards like Hatchery Sliver and Ian Chesterton — which give Replicate new life by applying the idea to other card types like Slivers and Sagas. Gaming: Secret Lair Showcase: MTG X Marvel While these three guilds may be somewhat disconnected on their own, their stories interlock as the tale of Ravnica continues. Long before the Block at hand, there was an area known as the Utvara Reclamation Zone, a former city overrun with an unknown plague. To help its Orzhov owners begin redevelopment, an Izzet wizard by the name of Hauc creates a bomb designed to destroy all life while leaving the buildings standing. When detonated, however, the bomb implodes instead of exploding — which creates a strange fold in reality known as the Schism that begins to absorb the ghosts of those who died in the area. Twelve years later, Utvara has been mostly quarantined, but the experiment's effects can still be seen: while the Selesnya have managed to keep the plague from infecting a small prospecting village in the area, anyone leaving it must wear heavy protective gear, and the nearby Gruul population grow antigen fungus on their bodies in a futile attempt to stay alive. This is not the only problem that the Gruul are facing: one of their clan leaders, Aun Yom, has been possessed by a mysterious force after receiving a shipment of weapons from the Izzet. Meanwhile, in a more civilized part of Ravnica, Tesya (a member of the Orzhov Syndicate) is summoned by a patriarch named Uncle to aid with the redevelopment process, under the promise that she will take over the reclamation zone once he passes on. Much to their dismay, the trip there is by no means peaceful, as members of Aun Yom's army attack the group's caravan. Once the scuffle ends, one of the passengers (Crix, an Izzet messenger Goblin) has time to spot Tesya standing over Uncle's corpse before being captured by a different Gruul clan. Tesya and Uncle's servant Melisk bring his dead body to Utvara, where they rendezvous with their local Syndicate member, who happens to be employing an aged Argus Kos as a guard. As she reports the bad news, Kos encounters a Gruul centaur, who says the man was still breathing and talking before he entered the building. Suspecting foul play, he asks the horse-man to warn the rest of the Gruul while the Orzhov send Uncle's spirit to join the Obzedat: a group of phantoms who rule their guild from beyond the grave. With this, Tesya becomes the baroness of the area, and quickly tasks a local doctor named Nebun with working to stop the plague. In a brief cut to Hauc's point of view, he explains that the Izzet's leader Niv-Mizzet made a deal with the Obzedat some time ago because he has an interest in Utvara — but the sorcerer has his own plans that run contrary to his master's. This is why he sent Crix to the reclamation zone, as arriving himself would have aroused suspicion. He then contacts Melisk and asks for the Orzhov's help in retrieving his minion... but unbeknownst to them, the centaur from earlier has already asked the nearby Gruul to bring her to the Cauldron (an Izzet headquarters in the tainted zone run by Hauc) to stay in the League's good graces. The story then shifts focus to Kos, who is starting to feel the effects of a life in law enforcement: his experience with shapeshifters has given him paranoia and heart problems, and while he frequently scans the Plane for his angelic friend Feather and her flying fortress, they are nowhere to be seen. However, on one such search, he finds the Gruul with Crix. When he relays this information to Tesya, Kos and a small group of allies are sent on a rescue mission, which ends in them arriving at the Cauldron and promptly being captured by Hauc. Meanwhile, in an attempt to avoid being in debt to the Selesnya, Tesya visits Nebun in search of a final solution to the poison sweeping her land, as well as an answer as to why she has trouble remembering the night of Uncle's death. While he has indeed managed to develop an antidote, it would only work if the entire region was inoculated within only a few days. Upon questioning him further, Nebun forces her to swear obedience to the Obzedat before revealing the deal between them and Niv-Mizzet — as well as the fact that Melisk mind-controlled her to kill Uncle solely so he could become part of the council (as suicide is illegal in the Orzhov Syndicate). Understandably furious at this revelation, Tesya immediately swears to kill Melisk for his treachery. With the party trapped, Hauc takes the opportunity to reveal his master plan: He has come into possession of three Dragon eggs, which he will hatch using the power of the souls trapped in the Schism according to the deal between the Izzet and Orzhov leaders. However, he then seeks to break their arrangement by using the spell Crix brought to take control of the hatchlings, and promptly lay waste to Ravnica with their monstrous power. It is here he also admits that the disease gripping Utvara is designed specifically to make the air breathable for these monsters, and was designed with help from Nebun (which explains why he already had a cure). In what can only be described as a miniature version of the Guildpact agreement, Tesya rallies members of the other guilds to spread the antidote across Utvara. When Melisk arrives with the remainder of Aun Yom's clan, he reveals that he possessed them using Orzhov spirits. Enraged by her recent discoveries, Tesya uses the power of her bloodline to take control of them and tear the mad scientist limb from limb before launching an all-out attack on the Cauldron. Upon seeing Hauc's secret weapons, she breaks her vow to the Obzedat and sets out to destroy them for the good of the entire Plane. This unified assault manages to stop Hauc from putting his plan into action, and one of the three eggs is crushed by falling debris. The remaining two are quickly controlled by Hauc and Tesya (who took Draconic in school), and they battle in the sky while Kos and Crix give chase. In the end, Hauc and the Dragons are killed, but the alliance's victory comes at the cost of Kos — who has just enough time to see his old friend Feather emerge from the clouds before passing on. At the end of the novel, Hauc's ghost finds himself in what he believes to be the Schism. Much to his surprise, though, it is larger than he expects in both size and population. The ghost realm is filled with millions and millions of souls, far more than could have possibly been in the original reclamation zone... Gaming: The five most expensive cards from Ravnica: City of Guilds City of Guilds marked a tremendous leap from early Magic to the variant we see today, and inscribed both the beloved color combination names and powerful cards like Doubling Season into the game's history. Sadly, much like in Kamigawa, the smaller entries in the Ravnica Block are somewhat disappointing in comparison. Despite this, there are a fair number of cards from Guildpact that are worth noting: Sword of the Paruns is a fantastic combination piece, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind provides both draw power and chip damage, and the Nephilim Cycle have the honor of being MTG's first four-color Creatures (with some players still referring to four-color decks by their Nephilim names to this day). In this week's gaming price guide, we delve deep into Guildpact with a closer look at some of its other famous entries. #5: Ghostway The explosive multiplayer nature of Commander Format has only served to make Board Wipe spells like Damnation and Farewell more popular than ever — which also stresses the importance of protecting one's Creatures from their effects. As such, many Players will often take advantage of cards like Teferi's Protection and Heroic Intervention to minimize losses while quickly taking advantage of their opponent's now-undefended board. Before these cards were printed, there was Ghostway: A cheap protection spell with an added twist that still sees plenty of use in modern Commander decks. Ghostway acts as a response to board-clearing spells first and foremost, but a closer look at what it entails suggests the card has far more uses than that. As the Creatures removed by this effect re-enter the battlefield at the end of the turn, any effects that apply when they do so have the opportunity to trigger again, which helps a player gain more value after the initial cast (especially when combined with cards like Virtue of Knowledge and Panharmonicon). This allows it to serve as both an avoidance spell and a combo enabler in decks like Arcades, the Strategist, Reaper King, and Preston, the Vanisher, which utilize entrance effects to provide card advantage or slow down opponents with frequent destruction. This use, combined with a relative lack of reprints, lead Ghostway to serve as one of Guildpact's most expensive cards, and indeed a strong start to this week's list. #4: Leyline of Singularity Ravnica's highlights may be the ten two-color combination Guilds, but this doesn't mean that the five-color Cycles MTG is known for are not alive and well. A perfect example of this is the Leyline Cycle: A collection of Enchantments that boast the unique ability to appear as soon as the game begins in addition to their board-shaping effects. The Blue entry into this group, Leyline of Singularity, offers an unusual take on global benefits by transforming almost everything into the only one of its kind. Making everything Legendary may seem like a moot point in Commander format (where players are limited to one copy of most cards anyway), but there are still a surprising number of uses for the effect: Heroes' Podium and Jodah, the Unifier can empower an army with ease, Annie Joins Up can duplicate any Creature's effects, and Relic of Legends can turn an entire board into living Mana rocks. Most notably, the card decimates decks that bypass the usual rules of EDH (such as Rat Colony or Persistent Petitioners) and the much more common strategies that rely on amassing tokens by reducing their armies to a single unit. If nothing else, the sheer uniqueness of this Enchantment justifies its placement in the weekly price guide — but surprisingly, it is far from the only Leyline to make an appearance. #3: Leyline of the Void Much like the Plane as a whole, the first Ravnica Block was not the only time Leylines would be featured throughout MTG's history, and more powerful versions of the Enchantments have been released (most notably Leyline of the Guildpact) that blow their early variants out of the water. Despite this stiff competition, Leyline of the Void, persists as a staple to this day while retaining a price tag slightly higher than most of its siblings. Leyline of the Void does one thing (prevent any player from sending cards to the Graveyard), but does so extremely well, even if cast for its full cost. This, on its own, is enough to foil any plans that involve keeping cards there for resurrection at a later date, effectively destroying Graveyard-focused decks by removing their assets — but the Black Leyline also sees a high amount of play in Dimir strategies centered around milling cards from the top of the deck, as its presence allows them to freely strike at opponent's resources without fear of Graveyard revival. In rare but powerful alternate circumstances, it can also turn Umbris, Fear Manifest into a massive attacker, and serve as an instant win when combined with Helm of Obedience (as it continues to eat through a player's deck if they do not send a card to the Graveyard). As impressive as the card is, though, its actual price is kept relatively low thanks to a large number of reprints, which ironically puts it below what many would consider a far less effective Enchantment. Gaming: the five most expensive cards from Saviors of Kamigawa #2: Leyline of Lifeforce While Leyline of the Void is one of the most well-known parts of Guildpact, it may come as a surprise to some that it isn't the most expensive part of the cycle. That honor would go to Leyline of Lifeforce, which represents Green in the set's five-Enchantment selection. Unfortunately, its place comes more from scarcity than anything else, as its actual power leaves something to be desired even among the other members of its group. Preventing Creatures from being countered is always a nice form of protection to have, but granting the ability to everyone can be a risky maneuver. Still, the problem with this Enchantment is not in its effect, per see, but rather the fact that there are plenty of Creatures that prevent counters without many of the same drawbacks: Specifically Prowling Serpopard, Allosaurus Shepherd, and Destiny Spinner, which can be cast earlier in most cases, only apply to the player, and have extra effects or physical bodies on top of counter immunity. Even in the very niche field of Green Leylines, it is far outclassed by future Enchantments like Leyline of Mutation (which allows five-color players to cheat high spell costs) and the Mana Dork-doubling Leyline of Abundance, which makes the card's somewhat high price the only notable thing about it from a playability standpoint. #1: The Guildpact Shock Lands In part one of the Ravnica Block, players were given three different cycles of Lands themed to each guild. While each has its uses, the most famous of these are the Shock Lands: unique Dual Lands that can enter untapped for a small Life cost. The power and convenience of these cards were enough to place every one of the first four on the month's price guide, where only the presence of the mighty Doubling Season kept them from sweeping the competition. Unfortunately for Guildpact, though, it lacks any card to challenge these valuable venues, which leads to its three new Shock Lands sharing the top spot. Outside of their references to the new color combinations introduced in Guildpact, there is very little to say about the Shock Lands here that has not already been said about their City of Guilds counterparts: their optional activation cost lets a player get the Mana they need quickly, and being classified as original Land Types allows them to be brought out with cards like Farseek. This has allowed the Guildpact Shock Lands, much like their older counterparts, to stand out as some of the most notable (and expensive) entries Ravnica has to offer. Gaming: the five most expensive cards from Betrayers of Kamigawa Despite the passing of Argus Kos, as anyone familiar with Ravnica knows, death is no excuse to leave business unfinished — and there are still plenty of problems at hand that need to be tidied up before he earns his well-deserved rest. In the next Gaming price guide, we'll conclude the first Ravnica saga by looking into Dissension — a pack that features the final three guilds of Ravnica, a bizarre new mechanic, one of Commander's most infamous Creatures, and much more. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW