Return to Ravnica

Return to Ravnica is the first set in the Return to Ravnica block. It is the 59th Magic expansion and was released on October 5, 2012.

Set details
Return to Ravnica contains 274 cards (25 basic lands, 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares), including randomly inserted premium versions of all cards in the set. As was the case with the original Ravnica block, Return to Ravnica focuses on the guild system and multicolor cards. Five guilds the Azorius Senate, Golgari Swarm, Izzet League, Cult of Rakdos, and Selesnya Conclave  are featured in Return to Ravnica; the other five guilds appear in the following expansion, Gatecrash. Because R&D had to fit in five guilds, rather than four, the set contained more uncommon cards than usual. It is is unknown what the expansion symbol of this is set is meant to represent, though some people think it is a stylized Orzhov Mitre, a nib of a fountain pen or a gate.

As Gatecrash would not feature any basic lands, despite being a large expansion, Return to Ravnica featured 25 basic lands, 5 more than the usual 20. For the first time basic lands were printed in an expert expansion with reused artwork: one of each basic land type featured artwork previously used in the Ravnica block. Return to Ravnica also marked the return of the shock lands.

Richard Whitters was the Return to Ravnica Lead Concept Artist. He, alongside Aleksi Briclot, Pete Mohrbacher, Wayne Reynolds, Sam Burley, Jeremy Jarvis, created the Return to Ravnica motif sheets and style guide.

Flavor and storyline
Choose Your Guild As the name of the expansion implies, Return to Ravnica is set in Ravnica, a plane comprising a singular megalopolis or ecumenopolis, in which a vast and diverse variety of inhabitants co-exist. Once, the law of city and plane of Ravnica was dictated by the Guildpact and was controlled in relative harmony by the ten guilds, each of which representing a color pairing of the five colors of Magic. In Dissension, however, the Guildpact had been broken. Faced with a magical code that is built into the very foundations of the city-world itself, Jace Beleren marches into the numinous depths of Ravnica's underbelly in search of the promise of powerful magic. Once buried in past, the code resurfaces as Ravnica's power-hungry mage guilds, unbound by the Guildpact that had once maintained order, struggle for control of the plane.

Marketing
Return to Ravnica was sold in 16-card boosters, 6-card boosters, five intro packs, two event decks and a fat pack. As a first for an expert-level set, it also featured a Booster Battle Pack. The 16-card boosters featured artwork from Korozda Guildmage, New Prahv Guildmage, Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, Rix Maadi Guildmage and Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage. The small booster featured artwork from Vraska the Unseen.

An early preview picture of the set showed Niv-Mizzet, the leader of the Izzet League, adjacent to planeswalker Jace Beleren. Wizards of the Coast created a "Choose Your Guild" interactive quiz and Planeswalker Points Web page for the expansion, allowing Magic players to choose their guild. At the expansion's prerelease events on September 29–30, 2012, players chose their guild; a choice that affected gameplay, as, in addition to receiving five Return to Ravnica boosters, players received a guild-specific sticker, an acceptance letter from their guild leader, a spindown life counter, a promotional prerelease card, an achievement/challenge card, and an additional guild-specific booster. The launch party was October 5–7, 2012 and Game Day was October 27–28, 2012.

In September 2012, Mark Rosewater confirmed that Magic novels would return as e-books, with Doug Beyer writing them. On November 28, 2012, Doug Beyer introduced the novel written for Return to Ravnica as The Secretist, with the first part being available from then onwards as an e-book. The novel is centered around Jace Beleren.

In addition to interactive online activities and promotional cards, after widespread interest expressed on the part of the people on Twitter, Wizards of the Coast paired up with licensing partner Araca to produce guild t-shirts and baseball caps.

Promotional cards
For the first time, there were five promotional prerelease cards, with the card received dependent on the guild chosen. Another novel feature of the Return to Ravnica prerelease was the fact that the card could be played in decks at the prerelease itself, unlike previous promotional prerelease cards, were:
 * Azorius: Archon of the Triumvirate
 * Izzet: Hypersonic Dragon
 * Rakdos: Carnival Hellsteed</c>
 * Golgari: Corpsejack Menace</c>
 * Selesnya: Grove of the Guardian</c>

These cards were also available in the intro packs as foils, albeit without the alternate art and prerelease date.

Other alternate-art promotional cards were:
 * Game Day: full-art Dryad Militant</c>
 * Game Day (Top 8): full-art Cryptborn Horror</c>
 * Release-day Friday Night Magic: Deadbridge Goliath</c>
 * Return to Ravnica League: Knight creature token with vigilance
 * Buy-a-Box: Supreme Verdict</c>

Tokens
The sixteenth card in the boosters is a token creature card. Although there are advertising cards on them, one of which featuring Gideon Jura on its front face, there are no "Tips & Tricks" cards associated with Return to Ravnica.

The Return to Ravnica tokens, in the order in which they are listed, are:
 * 1) 1/1 Bird with flying produced by Eyes in the Skies</c> and Seller of Songbirds</c>
 * 2) 2/2 Knight with vigilance produced by Knightly Valor</c>, Security Blockade</c>, and Selesnya Charm</c>
 * 3) 1/1 Soldier produced by Precinct Captain</c>
 * 4) 1/1 Assassin with "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game." produced by Vraska the Unseen</c>
 * 5) 6/6 Dragon with flying produced by Utvara Hellkite</c>
 * 6) 1/1 Goblin produced by Goblin Rally</c> and <c>Survey the Wreckage</c>
 * 7) 3/3 Centaur produced by <c>Call of the Conclave</c>, <c>Centaur's Herald</c>, <c>Coursers' Accord</c> and <c>Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage</c>
 * 8) X/X Ooze produced by <c>Slime Molding</c>
 * 9) 4/4 Rhino with trample produced by <c>Horncaller's Chant</c>
 * 10) 1/1 Saproling produced by <c>Korozda Guildmage</c>
 * 11) 5/5 Wurm with trample produced by <c>Armada Wurm</c> and <c>Worldspine Wurm</c>
 * 12) 8/8 Elemental with vigilance produced by <c>Grove of the Guardian</c>

Themes and mechanics
Return to Ravnica revisits five of the ten Ravnica block bicolored guilds, each of which with its own keyword or ability word that is similar but not identical to the original one. As a returning mechanic, the set also featured hybrid mana. Development focused efforts on building a 'slow' and 'fast' strategy into each guild.

To note: the Guilds are presented in the official order, but they were originally displayed alphabetically by Wizard: Azorius Senate, Golgari Swarm, Izzet League, Cult of Rakdos, Selesnya Conclave.

Other themes and mechanics include:
 * Defender
 * Enchantments
 * Land auras
 * Gates

Creature types
No novel creature types were introduced in this expansion.

Guild cycles
Guild cycles in Return to Ravnica each comprise of five members, one for each guild featured in the expansion. Along with many of the Gatecrash guild cycles, many of the Return to Ravnica guild cycles form Return to Ravnica block mega cycles.

Pairs
Return to Ravnica has one mirrored pair and one matched pair.

Matched pairs
Although <c>Rakdos's Return</c> and <c>Sphinx's Revelation</c> are an apparent mirrored pair, with their similar, but opposite, effects and similar, but non-identical, casting costs, Mark Rosewater has stated they are not in fact a mirrored pair, neither intentionally nor unintentionally, on multiple occasions. Furthermore, the sphinx referred to in <c>Sphinx's Revelation</c> is not, or at least not necessarily, Isperia, the guildmaster of the Azorius Senate in the Return to Ravnica block. Rosewater has, however, said that Magic players, being who they are, will invariably think that the two cards are a mirrored pair, and that they are what people see them to be; either a mirrored pair or not.

Reprinted cards
The following cards have been reprinted from previous sets and included in Return to Ravnica:
 * <c>Arrest</c>, first printed in Mercadian Masques was last seen in Scars of Mirrodin.
 * <c>Cancel</c>, first printed in Time Spiral was last seen in Magic 2012.
 * <c>Cremate</c>, first printed in Invasion (as an uncommon) was last seen in Guildpact (as a common).
 * <c>Dispel</c> was last seen in Worldwake.
 * <c>Giant Growth</c>, first printed in Limited Edition was last seen in Magic 2011 and for the first time in an expert-level expansion.
 * <c>Heroes' Reunion</c> was last seen in Invasion.
 * <c>Inspiration</c>, first printed in Visions was last seen in 8th Edition.
 * <c>Mind Rot</c>, first seen in Portal, was last seen in Magic 2013 and for the first time in an expert-level expansion.
 * <c>Paralyzing Grasp</c> was last seen in Zendikar.
 * <c>Pithing Needle</c>, from Saviors of Kamigawa was last seen in Magic 2010.
 * <c>Seek the Horizon</c> was last seen in Saviors of Kamigawa.
 * Shock lands were last seen in Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, Dissension.
 * <c>Syncopate</c> was last seen in Odyssey, it changed rarity from a common to an uncommon.
 * <c>Tower Drake</c> was last seen in Invasion.
 * <c>Traitorous Instinct</c> wast last seen in Rise of the Eldrazi.

Functional reprints

 * <c>Keening Apparition</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Kami of Ancient Law</c> from Champions of Kamigawa and <c>Ronom Unicorn</c> from Coldsnap, save for creature type.
 * <c>Runewing</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Kingfisher</c> from Urza's Destiny.
 * <c>Sunspire Griffin </c> is a functional reprint of <c>Chapel Geist</c>, save for creature type.
 * <c>Towering Indrik</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Giant Spider</c> from Limited Edition and <c>Giant Mantis</c> from Mirage, save for creature type.
 * <c>Transguild Promenade</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Rupture Spire</c> from Conflux.

Strictly better

 * <c>Aerial Predation</c> is strictly better than <c>Wing Snare</c>.
 * <c>Deadbridge Goliath</c> is strictly better than <c>Hollowhenge Beast</c> and <c>Silverback Ape</c>.
 * <c>Deviant Glee</c> is strictly better than <c>Unholy Strength</c>.
 * <c>Dynacharge</c> is strictly better than <c>Path of Anger's Flame</c> and <c>Trumpet Blast</c>.
 * <c>Electrickery</c> is strictly better than <c>Desert Sandstorm</c>, <c>Evaporate</c>, <c>Hurly-Burly</c> and <c>Seismic Shudder</c>.
 * <c>Ethereal Armor</c> is strictly better than <c>Lance</c>.
 * <c>Golgari Decoy</c> is strictly better than <c>Prized Unicorn</c>.
 * <c>Gore-House Chainwalker</c> is strictly better than <c>Goblin Raider</c>, <c>Hulking Goblin</c> and <c>Yellow Scarves Troops</c>.
 * <c>Grim Roustabout</c> is strictly better than <c>Craven Knight</c>, <c>Spineless Thug</c> and <c>Young Wei Recruits</c>.
 * <c>Judge's Familiar</c> is strictly better than <c>Aven Skirmisher</c>, <c>Cloud Pirates</c>, <c>Cloud Sprite</c>, <c>Cursecatcher</c>, <c>Fledgling Osprey</c>, <c>Flying Men</c>, <c>Kitesail Scout</c>, <c>Lantern Kami</c>, <c>Manta Riders</c>, <c>Royal Falcon</c>, <c>Sea Eagle</c>, <c>Suntail Hawk</c>, <c>Thought Nibbler</c>, and <c>Zephyr Sprite</c>.
 * <c>Mizzium Skin</c> is strictly better than <c>Tortoise Formation</c>.
 * <c>Splatter Thug</c> is strictly better than <c>Hulking Ogre</c>.

Strictly worse

 * <c>Awe for the Guilds</c> is strictly worse than <c>Chaos (Order/Chaos)</c>.
 * <c>Bellows Lizard</c> is strictly worse than <c>Goblin Taskmaster</c>.
 * <c>Daggerdrome Imp</c> is strictly worse than <c>Vault Skirge</c> (but strictly better than <c>Bog Imp</c>, <c>Dakmor Bat</c> and <c>Misshapen Fiend</c>).
 * <c>Trained Caracal</c> is strictly worse than <c>Serra Ascendant</c>.

Notable cards

 * <c>Deathrite Shaman</c> is a very strong mana dork banned from Modern and Legacy for its useful abilities.
 * <c>Azor's Elocutors</c> is an alternate-win card.

Intro packs
Return to Ravnica has five bicolored guild-centric intro packs.

Event decks
Return to Ravnica has two bicolored event decks.