List of Magic: The Gathering novels

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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]

Contents

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novel, and only in e-book form, with Wizards of the Coast citing various reasons including a decline in sales and an outdated model as two major contributing factors for the decision.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]

In 2025, Wizards announced a standalone print YA novel entitled Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos, written by Seanan McGuire and published by Penguin Random House, which is intended to release along with the upcoming Secrets of Strixhaven (2026) set. [22]

Non-cycle novels

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". [23]

All of the non-cycle books were published by Harper Fantasy. [24]

YearTitleAuthorPagesISBN
1994Arena William R. Forstchen 297 ISBN   0-06-105424-0
1995Whispering Woods Clayton Emery 294 ISBN   0-06-105418-6
1995 Shattered Chains Clayton Emery288 ISBN   0-06-105419-4
1995 Final Sacrifice Clayton Emery312 ISBN   0-7522-0217-0
1995 The Cursed Land Teri McLaren290 ISBN   0-06-105016-4
1995The Prodigal SorcererMark C. Sumner309 ISBN   0-06-105476-3
1996Ashes of the Sun Hanovi Braddock 304 ISBN   0-06-105649-9
1996Song of TimeTeri McLaren304 ISBN   0-06-105622-7
1996And Peace Shall Sleep Sonia Orin Lyris 304 ISBN   0-06-105619-7
1996Dark Legacy Robert E. Vardeman 368 ISBN   0-06-105697-9

Cycles and block novels

Cycle novels

All of the below cycled or series books have been published by Wizards of the Coast. [24]

CycleYearTitleAuthorPagesISBN
Artifacts1998The Brothers' War Jeff Grubb 409 ISBN   0-7869-1170-0
1998Planeswalker Lynn Abbey 359 ISBN   0-7869-1182-4
1999Time StreamsJ. Robert King343 ISBN   0-7869-1344-4
1999Bloodlines: The Story of Urza's DestinyLoren L. Coleman343 ISBN   0-7869-1380-0
1999The ThranJ. Robert King311 ISBN   0-7869-1600-1
Ice Age1999The Gathering DarkJeff Grubb342 ISBN   0-7869-1357-6
2000The Eternal IceJeff Grubb320 ISBN   0-7869-1562-5
2000The Shattered AllianceJeff Grubb309 ISBN   0-7869-1403-3
Masquerade1999Mercadian MasquesFrancis Lebaron341 ISBN   0-7869-1188-3
2000Nemesis Paul B. Thompson 320 ISBN   0-7869-1559-5
2000ProphecyVance Moore311 ISBN   0-7869-1570-6
Invasion2000InvasionJ. Robert King311 ISBN   0-7869-1438-6
2001PlaneshiftJ. Robert King311 ISBN   0-7869-1802-0
2001ApocalypseJ. Robert King308 ISBN   0-7869-1880-2
Odyssey 2000OdysseyVance Moore320 ISBN   0-7869-1900-0
2001Chainer's TormentScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-2696-1
2001JudgmentWill McDermott320 ISBN   0-7869-2743-7
Legends2001JohanClayton Emery311 ISBN   0-7869-1803-9
2001JeditClayton Emery320 ISBN   0-7869-1907-8
2002HazezonClayton Emery320 ISBN   0-7869-2792-5
Legends II2002Assassin's BladeScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-2830-1
2003Emperor's FistScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-2935-9
2003Champion's TrialScott McGough306 ISBN   0-7869-3015-2
Onslaught2002OnslaughtJ. Robert King320 ISBN   0-7869-2801-8
2003LegionsJ. Robert King312 ISBN   0-7869-2914-6
2003ScourgeJ. Robert King320 ISBN   0-7869-2956-1
Mirrodin2003The Moons of MirrodinWill McDermott320 ISBN   0-7869-2995-2
2004The Darksteel EyeJess Lebow320 ISBN   0-7869-3140-X
2004The Fifth DawnCory Herndon320 ISBN   0-7869-3205-8
Kamigawa2004Outlaw: Champions of KamigawaScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-3357-7
2005Heretic: Betrayers of KamigawaScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-3575-8
2005Guardian: Saviors of KamigawaScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-3786-6
Ravnica2005Ravnica: City of GuildsCory J. Herndon320 ISBN   0-7869-3792-0
2006GuildpactCory J. Herndon320 ISBN   0-7869-3989-3
2006DissensionCory J. Herndon320 ISBN   0-7869-4001-8
Time Spiral2006Time SpiralScott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-3988-5
2007Planar ChaosScott McGough, Timothy Sanders320 ISBN   0-7869-4249-5
2007Future SightScott McGough, John Delaney320 ISBN   0-7869-4269-X
Lorwyn2007LorwynCory J. Herndon, Scott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-4292-4
2008MorningtideCory J. Herndon, Scott McGough320 ISBN   0-7869-4790-X
Lorwyn II: Shadowmoor2008Shadowmoor Philip Athans, Susan J. Morris352 ISBN   0-7869-4840-X
2008EventideScott McGough, Cory J. Herndon320 ISBN   0-7869-4868-X

Block novels

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. [25]

YearTitleAuthorPagesISBN
2009Alara UnbrokenDoug Beyer320 ISBN   0-7869-5201-6
2010Zendikar: In the Teeth of AkoumRobert B. Wintermute320 ISBN   0-7869-5476-0
2011Scars of Mirrodin: The Quest for KarnRobert B. Wintermute320 ISBN   0-7869-5774-3

Other novels

These novels were connected to specific expansion sets without blocks.

YearTitleAuthorPublisherPagesISBN
2019 War of the Spark: Ravnica Greg Weisman Del Ray Books 384 ISBN   978-1984817457
2019 War of the Spark: Forsaken Greg WeismanDel Ray Books416 ISBN   978-1984817945

Planeswalker novels

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. [25]

YearTitleAuthorPagesPlaneswalker ISBN
2009Agents of Artifice Ari Marmell 390Jace Beleren ISBN   0-7869-5134-6
2009The Purifying FireLaura Resnick400Chandra Nalaar ISBN   0-7869-5298-9
2010Test of Metal Matthew Stover 352Tezzeret ISBN   0-7869-5532-5
2020ChandraVita Ayala96Chandra Nalaar ISBN   1-6840-5427-3

Block novellas / eBooks

For the Return to Ravnica block, a 3-part novella by Doug Beyer was released. [26] Similarly a 2 part novella by Jenna Helland was released for the Theros block.

BlockYearTitleAuthorPages
Return to Ravnica2012Return to Ravnica: The Secretist, Part OneDoug Beyer67
2013Gatecrash: The Secretist, Part TwoDoug Beyer97
2013Dragon's Maze: The Secretist, Part ThreeDoug Beyer90
TherosApril 1, 2014Theros: Godsend, Part IJenna Helland124
May 13, 2014Journey Into Nyx: Godsend, Part IIJenna Helland139
Blockless e-booksDecember 12, 2018Children of the NamelessBrandon Sanderson127
September 4, 2019Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered QuestKate Elliott208
April 7, 2020Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths - Sundered BondDjango Wexler174

Anthologies

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. [24]

YearTitleAuthorPages ISBN
1995 Tapestries Kathy Ice290 ISBN   0-06-105308-2
1995Distant PlanesKathy Ice384 ISBN   0-06-105765-7
1998Rath and StormPeter Archer311 ISBN   0-7869-1175-1
1999The Colors of MagicJess Lebow342 ISBN   0-7869-1323-1
2000Myths of MagicJess Lebow304 ISBN   0-7869-1529-3
2001Dragons of MagicJ. Robert King320 ISBN   0-7869-1872-1
2002The Secrets of MagicJ. Robert King320 ISBN   0-7869-2710-0
2003Monsters of MagicJ. Robert King320 ISBN   0-7869-2983-9

Others

CategoryYearTitleAuthorPublisherPages ISBN
Graphic novels1999Gerrard's QuestMike Grell, Pop Mhan, Norman Le Dark Horse Comics 112 ISBN   1-56971-403-7
Novel compilations2009Artifacts Cycle IJ. Robert King, Jeff Grubb Wizards of the Coast 720 ISBN   0-7869-5305-5
2009Artifacts Cycle II Lynn Abbey, J. Robert King, Loren L. Coleman Wizards of the Coast 768 ISBN   0-7869-5306-3
Web comic compilations2010Path of the PlaneswalkerDoug Beyer, Brady Dommermuth, Jenna Helland Wizards of the Coast 192 ISBN   0-7869-5367-5
2011Path of the Planeswalker IIDoug Beyer, Brady Dommermuth, Jenna Helland Wizards of the Coast 160 ISBN   0-7869-5852-9
2012Magic the Gathering: Vol. 1 Matt Forbeck, Martin Coccolo IDW Publishing 104N/A (eBook)
2012Magic the Gathering: Vol. 2 - The Spell ThiefMatt Forbeck, Martin Coccolo, Christian Duce, Dan Scott IDW Publishing 104N/A (eBook)

The Planeswalker's Guide Series

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. [25] The series was later changed to web article series after the first book did not sell as well as the publisher hoped. [27]

YearTitleAuthorPages ISBN
2008A Planeswalker's Guide to AlaraDoug Beyer, Jenna Helland160 ISBN   0-7869-5124-9

Notes

General
Specific
  1. ↑ Dommermuth, Brady (2005-07-01). "July 01, 2005". Ask Wizards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 22, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  2. ↑ "Magic Storyline & Environment FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 28, 2002. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  3. ↑ Dommermuth, Brady (2006-04-27). "April 27, 2006". Ask Wizards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 14, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  4. ↑ Dommermuth, Brady (2006-09-21). "September 21, 2006". Ask Wizards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  5. ↑ Dommermuth, Brady (2005-05-31). "May 31, 2005". Ask Wizards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 5, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  6. ↑ "Announcement: The Kamigawa Block". Magic Arcana. Wizards of the Coast. 2004-04-08. Archived from the original on May 7, 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  7. ↑ "Dissension". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 9, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  8. ↑ "Return to Dominaria". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 2, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  9. ↑ "Lorwyn". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  10. ↑ Beyer, Doug. "EBOOKS AND THE ACCESSIBILITY OF MAGIC'S STORY". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Keeper, Sam (October 25, 2018). "A Brief History of Wizards Being Bad at Selling Books". www.coolstuffinc.com. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  12. ↑ "Clayton Emery's Magic:The Gathering Novels". 2010-10-05. Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  13. 1 2 "The Story Universe of Magic: The Gathering Is Expanding". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  14. ↑ Moher, Aidan (2018-09-12). "Spellbound : The Familiar Faces Creating the Story for Magic: The Gathering". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  15. ↑ "Brandon Sanderson Wrote a Magic: The Gathering Novella, and You Can Read the First Chapter Right Here". Gizmodo. December 11, 2018. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  16. ↑ Sanderson, Brandon (December 12, 2018). Children of the Nameless (PDF). Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Magic: The Gathering Returns to Novels in 2019 With Greg Weisman's Ravnica". pastemagazine.com. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  18. ↑ "Queer Erasure in 'Magic: The Gathering' Book Infuriated Fans, Drew Apology". Vice.com. November 26, 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  19. ↑ "'Magic: The Gathering' Fans Calling Out The Biphobic Writing In Latest Book". The Mary Sue. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  20. ↑ "Magic: The Gathering Novel Introduces a New World of Monsters". CBR. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  21. ↑ "Magic: The Gathering - In the Heart of the Skyclave, Explained". CBR. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  22. ↑ "Everything Announced for Magic: The Gathering in 2026". MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Retrieved 2025-11-04.
  23. ↑ Emery, Clayton. "Clayton Emery's Magic: The Gathering novels". Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  24. 1 2 3 Dommermuth, Brady (2006-06-23). "June 23, 2006". Ask Wizards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 11, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
  25. 1 2 3 Beyer, Doug (2008-06-04). "Planeswalkers and the Written Page". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  26. ↑ Beyer, Doug (2012-11-28). "Return to Ravnica: The Secretist, Part One". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  27. ↑ Magic Creative Team (2009-09-09). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Zendikar". Savor the Flavor. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-24.

See also

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