The following is a list of novels based in the setting of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering . When Wizards of the Coast was asked how the novels and cards influence each other, Brady Dommermuth, Magic's Creative Director, responded by saying "generally the cards provide the world in which the novels are set, and the novels sometimes provide characters represented on cards. But cards also introduce their own characters that might not appear in the novels. In short, the Magic creative team and the novelists work largely in parallel and inform each other as much as possible." [1] All of the novels take place in the multiverse (the center nexus of which is Dominaria), which consists of an infinite number of infinitely different planes. [2] [3]
The novels from The Brothers' War through Scourge, along with The Thran and the ...of Magic anthologies, are set on the plane of Dominaria and are a roughly chronological timeline of that plane's history. [4] Magic began to venture out of Dominaria and into several new planes in the later novels such as Mirrodin (formerly Argentum) in the Mirrodin Cycle, [5] Kamigawa in the Kamigawa Cycle, [6] and Ravnica in the Ravnica Cycle. [7] The Magic storyline returned to Dominaria with the Time Spiral cycle, [8] and visited Lorwyn with the storyline cycle of the same name. [9] After this, the policy of publishing a trilogy of novels for each year's setting was discontinued; the Alara, Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin block settings had only a single novel each.
Theros was the last block to receive a companion novel, and only in e-book form, with Wizards of the Coast citing various reasons including a decline in sales and an outdated model as two major contributing factors for the decision. Beginning with the Khans block in 2013, the company decided to tell the storyline through the cards and free online articles and found that more players were familiar with the block story line than were previously when only novels told the story. [10] [11] [12]
This approach continued through 2017. Then, Wizards of the Coast hired novelist and scriptwriter Nic Kelman as their Head of Story and Entertainment. Kelman's task was to assemble all of the lore established from previous card sets and the published novels, comics, and other materials as to create the game's "cosmology" or the story bible that established all the known planes and elements of those planes, the individual Planeswalkers and their connections to others, and other details that then could be passed not only to the teams developing new cards but also to those expanding the franchise with new novels and other content. [13] [14] In 2018, Brandon Sanderson published an e-book, Children of the Nameless, marking the return of novels. [15] [16] War of the Spark: Ravnica (2019) by Greg Weisman was the first print book after an eight-year break. It corresponded with the final set of a three part Ravnica storyline [17] [13] and received a sequel. However, the sequel was widely panned [18] [19] and Wizards of the Coast "canceled plans for the book that was intended for the game's next set, Theros: Beyond Death ". [20] Then in 2020, with the Zendikar Rising (2020) set, the Magic storyline returned via story articles on the official website. [21]
The original ten books were deliberately not numbered as a marketing concern. The publishers thought people might shy away from a multi-book series. Some stories are connected, some not. The heroes of Arena, Garth and Rakel, appear in Shattered Chains. The books Whispering Woods, Shattered Chains, and Final Sacrifice are known as the "Whispering Woods Trilogy" or "The Greensleeves Trilogy". [22]
All of the non-cycle books were published by Harper Fantasy. [23]
| Year | Title | Author | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arena | William R. Forstchen | 297 | ISBN 0-06-105424-0 |
| 1995 | Whispering Woods | Clayton Emery | 294 | ISBN 0-06-105418-6 |
| 1995 | Shattered Chains | Clayton Emery | 288 | ISBN 0-06-105419-4 |
| 1995 | Final Sacrifice | Clayton Emery | 312 | ISBN 0-7522-0217-0 |
| 1995 | The Cursed Land | Teri McLaren | 290 | ISBN 0-06-105016-4 |
| 1995 | The Prodigal Sorcerer | Mark C. Sumner | 309 | ISBN 0-06-105476-3 |
| 1996 | Ashes of the Sun | Hanovi Braddock | 304 | ISBN 0-06-105649-9 |
| 1996 | Song of Time | Teri McLaren | 304 | ISBN 0-06-105622-7 |
| 1996 | And Peace Shall Sleep | Sonia Orin Lyris | 304 | ISBN 0-06-105619-7 |
| 1996 | Dark Legacy | Robert E. Vardeman | 368 | ISBN 0-06-105697-9 |
All of the below cycled or series books have been published by Wizards of the Coast. [23]
| Cycle | Year | Title | Author | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artifacts | 1998 | The Brothers' War | Jeff Grubb | 409 | ISBN 0-7869-1170-0 |
| 1998 | Planeswalker | Lynn Abbey | 359 | ISBN 0-7869-1182-4 | |
| 1999 | Time Streams | J. Robert King | 343 | ISBN 0-7869-1344-4 | |
| 1999 | Bloodlines: The Story of Urza's Destiny | Loren L. Coleman | 343 | ISBN 0-7869-1380-0 | |
| 1999 | The Thran | J. Robert King | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1600-1 | |
| Ice Age | 1999 | The Gathering Dark | Jeff Grubb | 342 | ISBN 0-7869-1357-6 |
| 2000 | The Eternal Ice | Jeff Grubb | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-1562-5 | |
| 2000 | The Shattered Alliance | Jeff Grubb | 309 | ISBN 0-7869-1403-3 | |
| Masquerade | 1999 | Mercadian Masques | Francis Lebaron | 341 | ISBN 0-7869-1188-3 |
| 2000 | Nemesis | Paul B. Thompson | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-1559-5 | |
| 2000 | Prophecy | Vance Moore | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1570-6 | |
| Invasion | 2000 | Invasion | J. Robert King | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1438-6 |
| 2001 | Planeshift | J. Robert King | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1802-0 | |
| 2001 | Apocalypse | J. Robert King | 308 | ISBN 0-7869-1880-2 | |
| Odyssey | 2000 | Odyssey | Vance Moore | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-1900-0 |
| 2001 | Chainer's Torment | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2696-1 | |
| 2001 | Judgment | Will McDermott | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2743-7 | |
| Legends | 2001 | Johan | Clayton Emery | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1803-9 |
| 2001 | Jedit | Clayton Emery | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-1907-8 | |
| 2002 | Hazezon | Clayton Emery | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2792-5 | |
| Legends II | 2002 | Assassin's Blade | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2830-1 |
| 2003 | Emperor's Fist | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2935-9 | |
| 2003 | Champion's Trial | Scott McGough | 306 | ISBN 0-7869-3015-2 | |
| Onslaught | 2002 | Onslaught | J. Robert King | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2801-8 |
| 2003 | Legions | J. Robert King | 312 | ISBN 0-7869-2914-6 | |
| 2003 | Scourge | J. Robert King | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2956-1 | |
| Mirrodin | 2003 | The Moons of Mirrodin | Will McDermott | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2995-2 |
| 2004 | The Darksteel Eye | Jess Lebow | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3140-X | |
| 2004 | The Fifth Dawn | Cory Herndon | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3205-8 | |
| Kamigawa | 2004 | Outlaw: Champions of Kamigawa | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3357-7 |
| 2005 | Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3575-8 | |
| 2005 | Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3786-6 | |
| Ravnica | 2005 | Ravnica: City of Guilds | Cory J. Herndon | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3792-0 |
| 2006 | Guildpact | Cory J. Herndon | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3989-3 | |
| 2006 | Dissension | Cory J. Herndon | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4001-8 | |
| Time Spiral | 2006 | Time Spiral | Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-3988-5 |
| 2007 | Planar Chaos | Scott McGough, Timothy Sanders | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4249-5 | |
| 2007 | Future Sight | Scott McGough, John Delaney | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4269-X | |
| Lorwyn | 2007 | Lorwyn | Cory J. Herndon, Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4292-4 |
| 2008 | Morningtide | Cory J. Herndon, Scott McGough | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4790-X | |
| Lorwyn II: Shadowmoor | 2008 | Shadowmoor | Philip Athans, Susan J. Morris | 352 | ISBN 0-7869-4840-X |
| 2008 | Eventide | Scott McGough, Cory J. Herndon | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-4868-X |
Block novels are novels which replaced the trilogy (or tetralogy) of novels previously released corresponding to each Magic set. They were introduced in 2009 with Alara Unbroken released for the Shards of Alara block. As the name suggests the block novel follows the story of the card block of the same name. [24]
| Year | Title | Author | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Alara Unbroken | Doug Beyer | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-5201-6 |
| 2010 | Zendikar: In the Teeth of Akoum | Robert B. Wintermute | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-5476-0 |
| 2011 | Scars of Mirrodin: The Quest for Karn | Robert B. Wintermute | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-5774-3 |
These novels were connected to specific expansion sets without blocks.
| Year | Title | Author | Publisher | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | War of the Spark: Ravnica | Greg Weisman | Del Ray Books | 384 | ISBN 978-1984817457 |
| 2019 | War of the Spark: Forsaken | Greg Weisman | Del Ray Books | 416 | ISBN 978-1984817945 |
The Planeswalker novels are a type of Magic novel that was introduced in 2009. Each follows the story of one of Magic's planeswalkers. The first yearly planeswalker novel was released in the winter and the second in the summer of 2009. [24]
| Year | Title | Author | Pages | Planeswalker | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Agents of Artifice | Ari Marmell | 390 | Jace Beleren | ISBN 0-7869-5134-6 |
| 2009 | The Purifying Fire | Laura Resnick | 400 | Chandra Nalaar | ISBN 0-7869-5298-9 |
| 2010 | Test of Metal | Matthew Stover | 352 | Tezzeret | ISBN 0-7869-5532-5 |
| 2020 | Chandra | Vita Ayala | 96 | Chandra Nalaar | ISBN 1-6840-5427-3 |
For the Return to Ravnica block, a 3-part novella by Doug Beyer was released. [25] Similarly a 2 part novella by Jenna Helland was released for the Theros block.
| Block | Year | Title | Author | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Ravnica | 2012 | Return to Ravnica: The Secretist, Part One | Doug Beyer | 67 |
| 2013 | Gatecrash: The Secretist, Part Two | Doug Beyer | 97 | |
| 2013 | Dragon's Maze: The Secretist, Part Three | Doug Beyer | 90 | |
| Theros | April 1, 2014 | Theros: Godsend, Part I | Jenna Helland | 124 |
| May 13, 2014 | Journey Into Nyx: Godsend, Part II | Jenna Helland | 139 | |
| Blockless e-books | December 12, 2018 | Children of the Nameless | Brandon Sanderson | 127 |
| September 4, 2019 | Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest | Kate Elliott | 208 | |
| April 7, 2020 | Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths - Sundered Bond | Django Wexler | 174 |
The first two Anthologies, Tapestries and Distant Planes were published by Harper Fantasy while all of the others since then have been published by Wizards of the Coast. [23]
| Year | Title | Author | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Tapestries | Kathy Ice | 290 | ISBN 0-06-105308-2 |
| 1995 | Distant Planes | Kathy Ice | 384 | ISBN 0-06-105765-7 |
| 1998 | Rath and Storm | Peter Archer | 311 | ISBN 0-7869-1175-1 |
| 1999 | The Colors of Magic | Jess Lebow | 342 | ISBN 0-7869-1323-1 |
| 2000 | Myths of Magic | Jess Lebow | 304 | ISBN 0-7869-1529-3 |
| 2001 | Dragons of Magic | J. Robert King | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-1872-1 |
| 2002 | The Secrets of Magic | J. Robert King | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2710-0 |
| 2003 | Monsters of Magic | J. Robert King | 320 | ISBN 0-7869-2983-9 |
| Category | Year | Title | Author | Publisher | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphic novels | 1999 | Gerrard's Quest | Mike Grell, Pop Mhan, Norman Le | Dark Horse Comics | 112 | ISBN 1-56971-403-7 |
| Novel compilations | 2009 | Artifacts Cycle I | J. Robert King, Jeff Grubb | Wizards of the Coast | 720 | ISBN 0-7869-5305-5 |
| 2009 | Artifacts Cycle II | Lynn Abbey, J. Robert King, Loren L. Coleman | Wizards of the Coast | 768 | ISBN 0-7869-5306-3 | |
| Web comic compilations | 2010 | Path of the Planeswalker | Doug Beyer, Brady Dommermuth, Jenna Helland | Wizards of the Coast | 192 | ISBN 0-7869-5367-5 |
| 2011 | Path of the Planeswalker II | Doug Beyer, Brady Dommermuth, Jenna Helland | Wizards of the Coast | 160 | ISBN 0-7869-5852-9 | |
| 2012 | Magic the Gathering: Vol. 1 | Matt Forbeck, Martin Coccolo | IDW Publishing | 104 | N/A (eBook) | |
| 2012 | Magic the Gathering: Vol. 2 - The Spell Thief | Matt Forbeck, Martin Coccolo, Christian Duce, Dan Scott | IDW Publishing | 104 | N/A (eBook) |
The Planeswalker's Guide Series was a planned series of novels which were to start with A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara in September 2008. Each novel was going to contain information, concept art, card art, etc... about the plane it is dedicated to. [24] The series was later changed to web article series after the first book did not sell as well as the publisher hoped. [26]
| Year | Title | Author | Pages | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara | Doug Beyer, Jenna Helland | 160 | ISBN 0-7869-5124-9 |
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Magic: The Gathering is a tabletop and digital collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, Magic was the first trading card game and had approximately thirty-five million players as of December 2018, and over twenty billion Magic cards were produced in the period from 2008 to 2016, during which time it grew in popularity.
The Multiverse is the shared fictional universe depicted on Magic: The Gathering cards, novels, comics, and other supplemental products. Though Magic is a strategy game, an intricate storyline underlies the cards released in each expansion. On the cards, elements of this multiverse are shown in the card art and through quotations and descriptions on the bottom of most cards. Novels and anthologies published by HarperPrism and Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), and the comic books published by Armada Comics expand upon the settings and characters hinted at on the cards. WOTC also publishes a weekly story in the Magic Fiction column, previously known as Official Magic Fiction and Uncharted Realms.
Mark Rosewater is the head designer for Magic: The Gathering, a position he has held since 2003.
Mirrodin is the name of the Magic: The Gathering expert-level block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets. The Mirrodin expansion set, as well as the rest of the block, is centered on artifacts and was only the second set to do so since Antiquities. The percentage of artifact cards is much higher than in any preceding set. Each of the expansion symbols in the Mirrodin block depicts a legendary artifact: Sword of Kaldra (Mirrodin), Shield of Kaldra (Darksteel) and Helm of Kaldra.
Dominaria is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It is not part of a block. In celebration of Magic: The Gathering's 25th anniversary, the story returned to the plane of Dominaria. The expansion was released on April 27, 2018. Martha Wells was the head writer for the expansion.
James Wyatt is a game designer and a former United Methodist minister. He works for Wizards of the Coast, where he has designed supplements and adventures for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game. He is the author of sci-fi and fantasy novels, including Forgotten Realms books, and the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide.
Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expert-level block consisting of the expansion sets Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight. It is set on the plane of Dominaria, the first time that that plane had been visited since 8th Edition.
The collectible card game Magic: The Gathering has released compilation sets, reprint sets, and box sets over its history. These are distinct from core sets and expansion sets, the most heavily marketed sources of new cards. With the exception of Chronicles, reprint sets generally do not affect tournament legality in supported formats; for example, cards reprinted in the Modern Masters reprint set, while legal for tournament play, did not necessarily cause the card to be included in the "Standard" environment.
The Lorwyn block is a Magic: The Gathering expert-level block consisting of two sets: Lorwyn and Morningtide. A third set, codenamed "Jelly", was originally planned as part of the Lorwyn block, but partway into the design of Lorwyn, it was split into a two-set block. Jelly was revealed as Shadowmoor, the first set of the new two-set block. The two blocks were linked together and rotated through the official tournament formats as a single, four-expansion unit. The primary theme of the Lorwyn block is tribalism.
The Zendikar block is a Magic: The Gathering block consisting of the sets Zendikar, Worldwake, Rise of the Eldrazi. The eponymous setting is a vast, untamed wilderness, whose few bastions of civilization exist primarily for outfitting treasure-seeking expeditions to distant locales. Colossal ancient octahedral stones called "hedrons" float in the sky. A phenomenon known as "the Roil" causes frequent geological upheaval as it sweeps across the land. Unlike the previous two blocks, there is no multicolored theme. Instead, the themes Zendikar and Worldwake revolve around lands, and a theme of an adventure or quest. Rise of the Eldrazi, while part of the Zendikar block creatively and for the sake of constructed tournament rules, is unique mechanically and is designed to be drafted on its own. Drafts in the Zendikar block are either ZEN-ZEN-WWK or ROE-ROE-ROE.
Return to Ravnica is a Magic: The Gathering block, consisting of Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, and Dragon's Maze. It is the second block set on the plane of Ravnica, after the Ravnica block, and again focuses on the multicolor cards and ten guilds of Ravnica. Return to Ravnica focuses on five guilds: the Izzet League, Cult of Rakdos, Golgari Swarm, Azorius Senate, and Selesnya Conclave. Gatecrash focuses on the other five guilds: the Boros Legion, House Dimir, The Orzhov Syndicate, The Gruul Clans, and The Simic Combine. All ten guilds appear in Dragon's Maze.
The Masquerade Cycle, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "Masques block", is a Magic: The Gathering cycle that is set on the planes of Mercadia, Rath, and plane of Dominaria. It consists of the expansion sets Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, and Prophecy. Mercadian Masques was the first set that is not subject to the Wizards of the Coast Reprint Policy, meaning that none of its cards appear on its Reserved List.
The Alara block is a Magic: The Gathering expert-level expansion block, consisting of the expansion sets Shards of Alara, Conflux and Alara Reborn. The Alara block focuses on multicolored cards, in particular cards with three or more colors.
Seven Magic: The Gathering core sets have been released since 2009: Magic 2010, Magic 2011, Magic 2012, Magic 2013, Magic 2014, Magic 2015, and Magic Origins. Unlike 10th Edition and previous core sets, roughly half of each core set was entirely new cards. Beginning with Magic 2010, Wizards decided to introduce new cards into the Core Set so that they could be relevant for both new players as well as veterans. Starting with Magic 2011, core sets have included "returning mechanics", or non-evergreen keywords with cards printed in just one core set. All of these core sets were released in the summer of the year prior to the year in the title - for example, Magic 2010 was released in 2009.
Battle for Zendikar is a Magic: The Gathering expansion block consisting of the sets Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch. It sees the return of full-art basic lands, last seen in the Zendikar block. It is also the first block in Magic to use the new Two-Block Paradigm, wherein each block has two sets instead of the three that were previously used.
Guilds of Ravnica is the 79th Magic: The Gathering expansion; while it is not part of a block, this set is functionally the first part of a Ravnica focused storyline set on the plane of Ravnica. It was released on October 5, 2018.
Zendikar Rising is the 85th Magic: The Gathering expansion and is not part of a block. It is set on the plane of Zendikar. It was released on September 25, 2020. The sets development codename is "Diving", and its expansion code is ZNR.
War of the Spark is the 81st Magic: The Gathering expansion; while it is not part of a block, this set is functionally the third part of a Ravnica focused storyline set on the plane of Ravnica. It was released on May 3, 2019. It also became available in MTG Arena on April 25, 2019.
