Many of the cards in Dominaria were inspired by past Magic cards and places from past blocks set on Dominaria.
Legendary Sorceries
Each of these six spells depicts a crucial event of Dominarian history involving their namesake. These events were previously depicted in novels telling the stories of sets taking place on Dominaria.
| Legendary Sorcery | Associated Character | Event Depicted | Original Set | Novel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urza’s Ruinous Blast | Urza | Urza using the Golgothian Sylex to unleash the Sylex Blast; ending the Brothers' War and creating the Shard of the Twelve Worlds. | Antiquities and Urza's Saga | The Brothers' War |
| Karn's Temporal Sundering | Karn | Karn using Urza's time machine to go back in time to save the life of Jhoira, Teferi and Barrin; causing time to Sunder on the island of Tolaria. | Urza's Saga | Time Streams |
| Yawgmoth's Vile Offering | Yawgmoth | Yawgmoth promising Gerrard Capashen to resurrect his lost love Hanna if he can kill Urza in the Phyrexian Arena. | Apocalypse | Apocalypse (novel) |
| Jaya's Immolating Inferno | Jaya Ballard | Jaya ascending as a planeswalker thanks to Jodah and his magical mirror; burning away the evil spirits of Mairsil and Lim-Dûl that were controlling her. | Alliances | The Shattered Alliance |
| Kamahl's Druidic Vow | Kamahl | Kamahl killing Laquatus with the Mirari-sword; leaving it planted in the ground of the Krosan Forest to symbolically renounce his barbarian way and becoming a druid. | Judgment | Judgment (novel) |
| Primevals' Glorious Rebirth | Darigaaz | Darigaaz and the primevals Rith, Treva and Dromar sacrifing themselves to resurrect their final member Crosis; who in turn resurrect them all thereby completing the pantheon and unlocking their god-like powers. | Invasion and Planeshift | Planeshift (novel) |
Sagas
Each of these fourteen enchantments depicts a historical event from Dominaria. An excerpt from thirteen of these Sagas is quoted on another card from the set.
| Saga | Color / Rarity | Event Depicted | Quoted on | Quote | Original Set | Novel | Chapter Description - Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triumph of Gerrard | 
|
Gerrard Capashen activating the Legacy and killing Yawgmoth, ending the Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria. | Benalish Honor Guard | “The true measure of all heroes is not what they achieve, but who they inspire.” | Apocalypse | Apocalypse (novel) | Chapters I & II represent the many adventures of Gerrard that helped strengthen him. Chapter III represents him activating the Legacy to deal the final blow to Yawgmoth. |
| Time of Ice | 
|
The Dominarian Ice Age (event). | Homarid Explorer | “Homarids spread northward from Sarpadia as the climate cooled, raiding coastal settlements for supplies.” | Ice Age, Alliances, Coldsnap | The Eternal Ice, The Shattered Alliance | Chapters I & II represent the Ice Age taking over Terisiare. Chapter III symbolizes the Thaw that ended up submerging most of what had been frozen. |
| The Eldest Reborn | 
|
Nicol Bolas being fully reborn in the material world after having been trapped between planes for centuries.[1] | Lingering Phantom | “True power never dies, but lies awake, waiting for its name to be spoken.” | Time Spiral | Time Spiral (novel) | Chapter I arguably represent Bolas' power and cruelty. Chapter II symbolizes Bolas' debilitating touch. |
| Chainer's Torment |
|
Chainer's rise and fall inside the Otarian Cabal. | Cast Down | “Your life is finished, your name lost, and your work forgotten. It is as though Mazeura never existed.” | Torment | Chainer's Torment | Chapters I & II represent Chainer's rise through the cabal ranks. Chapter III depicts Chainer using the Mirari to enhance his dementia magic, eventually killing him. |
| The Flame of Keld | 
|
Kradak receiving the Kindling Spell from the Mountain of Keld, becoming the first warlord and founding the Keldon nation. | Keldon Warcaller | “The Mountain gave the Flame to Kradak to light the furnaces of his people’s hearts. The wanderers became Keldons, and he the first warlord.” | The Myths of Magic (Keldon Fire) | Chapter I symbolizes Kradak and his people abandoning their original land of Parma. Chapter II shows them finding their new land of Keld. | |
| Song of Freyalise | 
|
Freyalise casting the Worldspell that broke The Shard and ended the Ice Age on Dominaria, starting the Thaw. | Arbor Armament | “Llanowar’s boughs are ever ready To unleash an autumn of steel leaves.” | Alliances | The Shattered Alliance | Chapters I & II represent Feyalise gathering the druids of the Juniper Order from Fyndhorn and Yavimaya to concentrate mana. Chapter III represents the rebirth of the land after the Worldspell was cast. |
| Fall of the Thran |
|
The destruction of the floating city of Halcyon and the fall of the Thran Empire at the end of the Thran Civil War. The Null Sphere is shown dropping a stone charger, ending the conflict between the Thran Alliance and the first Phyrexians. | Evra, Halcyon Witness | “Light from the Null Moon took form—a mirage made real, alone in grandeur, isolated in a world that once had been its own.” | Antiquities | The Thran | Chapter I represents the complete destruction of the Thran. Chapters II & III show the land slowly recuperating. |
| The Antiquities War |
|
Urza and Mishra splitting the Mightstone and Weakstone, starting the The Brothers' War, devastating the continent of Terisiare for decades.[1] | Nature’s Spiral (Dominaria) | “As Argoth’s last defenders fell to Urza’s juggernauts, Titania said, ‘Nature cannot be destroyed, only changed.’” | Antiquities | The Brothers' War | Chapter I and II represent the study, repair and duplication of ancient artifacts. Chapters III shows the activation of the artifact creatures in the war. |
| The Mirari Conjecture |
|
The lasting effects of the Mirari Saga on the continent of Otaria. | Odyssey block Onslaught block |
Odyssey Cycle Onslaught Cycle |
All chapters represent the successive uses of the Mirari. | ||
| Rite of Belzenlok |
|
The demon Belzenlok taking over the Cabal. | Blessing of Belzenlok Cabal Paladin |
“My heart is not mine, it is Belzenlok’s. All hearts are his, and all blood.” “The Demonlord has ruled every age. Every ruin, myth, and nightmare proves his power.” |
Dominaria | All chapters are arguably a reference to Lord of the Pit. | |
| The First Eruption |
|
The creation myth of the land of Shiv, as told by its people, the Ghitu.[2] Shiv itself hatched from an egg—"a shell of stone around a yolk of flame"—and basks in the heat of primordial Dominaria, shedding its "scales" with each new eruption. | Seismic Shift | “Shiv is a restless land. It heaves ash, bleeds lava, and scabs over in black obsidian.” | All chapters symbolise the Eruption itself. | ||
| The Mending of Dominaria |
|
The Time Spiral crisis and its heroes who gave up their sparks and sometimes their lives in order to save the Multiverse: Freyalise, Windgrace, Karn and Teferi. | Llanowar Envoy | “Cherish this world in honor of the martyrs who saved it. We too must be prepared to give our lives.” | Time Spiral block | Time Spiral Cycle | Chapters I & II represent the time rifts draining mana from the plane and bringing back individual from the past to the present. Chapter III represents the Mending healing the land and allowing mana to flow freely through Dominaria once again. |
| History of Benalia |
|
The founding of Benalia | Benalish Marshal | “Some aspire to climb the mountain of Honor. The Benalish are born upon its peak, and from there ascend among the stars.” | Chapters I & II represent Torsten Von Ursus gathering knights from the ruins of the once-great Sheoltun Empire. Chapter III symbolizes the sometime brutal tactics used to conquer and establish the land of Benalia. | ||
| Phyrexian Scriptures |
|
The sacred text of Phyrexia used to indoctrinate the new phyrexian into worshipping Yawgmoth as a god. | Dark Ritual (Urza's Saga) | “From void evolved Phyrexia. Great Yawgmoth, Father of Machines, saw its perfection. Thus The Grand Evolution began.” | Chapter I represents the compleation process. Chapters II & III represent the goal of Phyrexia, eliminating all flesh. |
Basic lands
- The basic lands drawn by Mark Poole reference the lands he drew for Fallen Empires.
- One of the swamps shows the Cabal Stronghold. Another shows the wreckage of the skyship Predator. An island shows Tolaria West.
Expansion name shout-outs
The names of every expansion that took place on Dominaria can be seen among names and flavor texts throughout the set. (For example, Traxos, Scourge of Kroog.)
Individual cards
Notes and references
- ↑ a b c d Mark Rosewater (April 16, 2018). "Stories from Dominaria, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (March 27, 2018). "Dominaria Card of the Day: The First Eruption". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 06, 2018). "Is drudge sentinel an attempted fix of regeneration?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (April 23, 2018). "Stories from Dominaria, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 21, 2018). "Can we get some trivia about Naga Vitalist or Lich?". Blogatog. Tumblr. An updated and fixed version. Just like the original, it was designed by Richard Garfield.
- ↑ a b c d e Mark Rosewater (April 30, 2018). "Stories from Dominaria, Part 3". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Interestingly, this card was first printed in Fifth Dawn and has therefore no connection with Dominaria. However, it was in itself an improved version of Plague Rats from Alpha.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (April 18, 2018). "Which characters are you hoping to open at Prerelease?". The Official Magic: The Gathering Tumblr. Tumblr.