| Expansion Name: | Ravnica: City of Guilds |
| Symbol Description: | tower |
| Release Date: | October 7, 2005 |
| Keywords: | Convoke, Transmute, Dredge, Radiance |
| Mechanics: | Guild system, hybrid mana |
| Size: | 306 (88 rares, 88 uncommons, 110 commons, 20 lands)[1] |
| Designers: | Mark Rosewater (lead), Tyler Bielman, Mike Elliott, Aaron Forsythe, and Richard Garfield |
| Developers: | Brian Schneider (lead), Aaron Forsythe, Mark L. Gottlieb, Matt Place, Paul Sottosanti, and Henry Stern |
| Development Code: | Control |
| Expansion Code: | RAV |
| Last Set: | Ninth Edition |
| This Set: | Ravnica |
| Next Set: | Guildpact |
| Block Name: | Ravnica |
| Set Position: | First |
| First Set: | Ravnica |
| Second Set: | Guildpact |
| Third Set: | Dissension |
| Last Block: | Kamigawa Block |
| Next Block: | Time Spiral Block |
| Expansion Name: | Guildpact |
| Symbol Description: | seal of the Guildpact |
| Release Date: | February 3, 2006 |
| Keywords: | Haunt, Bloodthirst, Replicate |
| Mechanics: | Color alliances |
| Size: | 165 (55 rares, 55 uncommons, 55 commons)[2] |
| Designers: | Mike Elliott (lead), Aaron Forsythe, Devin Low, Brian Schneider |
| Developers: | Henry Stern (lead), Aaron Forsythe, Cormac Russell, Brian Schneider, and Mike Turian |
| Development Code: | Alt |
| Expansion Code: | GPT |
| Block Name: | Ravnica |
| First Set: | Ravnica |
| Second Set: | Guildpact |
| Third Set: | Dissension |
| Last Set: | Ravnica |
| This Set: | Guildpact |
| Next Set: | Dissension |
| Set Position: | Second |
| Last Block: | Kamigawa Block |
| Next Block: | Time Spiral Block |
| Expansion Name: | Dissension |
| Symbol Description: | broken seal of the Guildpact |
| Release Date: | May 5, 2006 |
| Mechanics: | Multicolored cards, Hybrid cards, Split cards |
| Keywords: | Graft, Hellbent, Forecast |
| Designers: | Aaron Forsythe (lead), Brandon Bozzi, Mark L. Gottlieb, and Mark Rosewater |
| Developers: | Matt Place (lead), Mark Rosewater, Brian Schneider, and Steve Warner |
| Size: | 180 (60 rares, 60 uncommons, 60 commons)[3] |
| Development Code: | Delete |
| Expansion Code: | DIS |
| Last Set: | Guildpact |
| Next Set: | Coldsnap |
| Set Position: | Third |
| Block Name: | Ravnica |
| First Set: | Ravnica |
| Second Set: | Guildpact |
| Third Set: | Dissension |
| Last Block: | Kamigawa Block |
| Next Block: | Time Spiral Block |
Ravnica is a block that consists of three expert-level expansion sets: Ravnica: City of Guilds (October 7, 2005), Guildpact (February 3, 2006), and Dissension (May 5, 2006). Following in the tradition of other Magic blocks, Ravnica takes place in a plane of the multiverse that was previously unexplored in the game's backstory. The world of Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a vast city that covers the entire surface of its planet, and is home to a diverse assortment of sentient races.[4] Much power in Ravnica is held by the ten "guilds", political factions that each represent a combination of two of Magics five colors.[5] The mythology of Ravnica is loosely derived from Slavic folklore, and the character names reflect this.[6] This plane was revisited in the Return to Ravnica block, and the Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark, and Murders at Karlov Manor sets.
Ravnica was conceived following the success of Invasion. Invasion, released in 2000, emphasized interactions between the colors, and it was one of Magic's most popular releases. Magic's lead designer, Mark Rosewater, wanted to expand on the multicolor theme in a new way. Therefore, the design of Ravnica is based around ten two-color pairs, including cards in which those pairs of colors work in concert.[7]
The Ravnica cycle is functionally different from the Invasion cycle due to how the multicolored or multicolor-themed cards are distributed among the three sets that make up each cycle.[8] In the Invasion cycle, for example, the first two sets (Invasion and Planeshift) centered around friendly color pairs; in each of the five featured combinations of three colors (Nightscape/Crosis, Stormscape/Dromar, Sunscape/Treva, Thornscape/Rith, and Thunderscape/Darigaaz), two of them would be enemies of each other but both would be allies of a third central color (example: in a card like Ancient Spring that focuses on the white/blue/black combination, white and black are enemies of each other but both are allies of blue). The last set, Apocalypse, emphasized enemy color pairs; in each of the five featured combinations of three colors ("Ana", "Ceta", "Dega", "Necra", and "Raka"), two of them would be allies of each other but both would be enemies of the third (example: for Urborg Elf, blue and black are allies of each other but enemies of green). However, the color combinations that are featured in each set of the Ravnica cycle are determined by which guilds are important in that stage of the story. All the multicolor cards in the Ravnica cycle (and many other cards) are associated with one of the ten guilds. Ravnica emphasized Boros, Dimir, Golgari, and Selesnya; Guildpact emphasized Gruul, Izzet, and Orzhov; and Dissension emphasized Azorius, Rakdos, and Simic.
Ravnica introduces hybrid mana.[5] [9] [10] Each symbol is a circle halved diagonally, in which the top left half is one color and the bottom right half another. A smaller version of the color's icon (sun for white, skull for black, etc.) appears in the corresponding half.[9] These mana symbols mean that mana of either color may be used to pay it; for example, a spell whose mana cost is two green/white hybrid mana may be played using two green mana, two white mana, or one green and one white.[10] The cards with these mana symbols have a colored border that fades from left to right, out of one color and into the other; and are counted as both colors.[10]
Each of the ten guilds has a new keyword or ability word associated with it.[5] [10]
Ravnica block includes many mono-color cards which encourage people to play with multiple colors. Ravnica: City of Guilds featured cards which have activated abilities that use mana of different color from the cards' color. Guildpact introduced cards which are enhanced if another mana color is used to play the card. In Dissension, in addition to the first 'group' of abilities, another group of mono-color cards have abilities associated with two colors, but must be played with mana of a different color or else the card must be sacrificed. An example is . It is a white creature with a life gain effect (white's specialty), as well as unblockability (blue's specialty). However, if Azorius Herald is played without blue mana, it must be sacrificed just after it comes into play.[12]
Dissension features the return of the popular split card mechanic originally from Invasion and Apocalypse. There are 10 gold split cards representing some combinations of the other guilds of Ravnica. The allied color guilds are represented in uncommon split cards, whereas the enemy color guilds are represented in rare split cards.[12]
Each of the guilds had been at war with each other for centuries, and the only thing that made the leaders agree to a truce was the fact that the dead had begun haunting the plane. They decided that each guild would specialize in two colors of magic and have specific jobs in the city to stretch the limited resources and maintain order, including by banning war completely.[8]
The game and novels begin 9999 years after the Guildpact was formed, on the eve of the decamillennial celebrations. All three books were written by Cory J. Herndon and published by Wizards of the Coast.[13] [14] [15]
As the preparations for the celebrations are getting finished, tensions between the guilds have reached the breaking point. Things aren't helped any by the fact that, while many don't believe it exists anymore, the still very much alive House Dimir never agreed to the Guildpact. They, along with the Golgari Swarm, almost destroy the core of Selesnyan civilization.
Agrus Kos (A Wojek officer in the Boros Legion), Jarad (Brother of the Devkarin leader Savra), Fonn Zurich (Daughter of a Wojek officer who joined the Selesnya Conclave after her dad's death), Feather (A Firemane angel who worked with Kos), Pivlic (An Orzhov businessman), and Savra (The leader of the Golgari Devkarin elves) are the main characters in the novel who each play their own role. They all come together eventually, and quite a bit of chaos ensues. Savra then tries to take over her guild and resurrect the necromancer Svogthir, and all the characters are thrown into a huge war.
The dark undercity's the domain of the Devkarin elves, and that's where Jarad and the rest run the city with necromancy and hunting skill; while the skies above are policed by Boros angels. They both stay to their own sections, so the Selesnya keep passageways clear with the Ledev, a group of paramilitary soldiers who defend the right of free travel. Fonn, an elite Ledev, guards her priest friend while he travels to the decimillenial celebrations, but an explosion tears through the city and kills him, flings Fonn into Jarad's arms, and causes a lot of trouble for Kos.
With a partner dead (although continuing to appear in the plot in the form of a ghost), Kos embarks on the investigation that takes him throughout the various settings of Ravnica. This involves conflict with some of the most powerful guilds of the plane, with no end in sight to the fighting.
Like its predecessor, Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact stars Agrus Kos and his business partner/friend Pivlic, as well as several new characters. With their new friend Teysa Karlov, Orzhov baroness of the diseased frontier zone named Utvara, the two begin to unravel an Izzet secret that delves deeper than any of them thought, all the while searching for the missing messenger of Zomaj Hauc, Izzet Guild upper manager and lead engineer of the Cauldron, a powerplant supplying energy to all of the Utvara region.
Crix the goblin finds herself in the hands of the indigenous peoples of Utvara while Baroness Teysa and her minions attempt to gain control of the region that has now become hers to own. But Crix finds that the plains around Utvara are mysterious, full of bizarre creatures that trace back to the ancient days of Ravnica, as well as a race of people who wear fungus on their backs to protect themselves from a spore that got thrown up into the air after the Izzet Guild attempted to "reclaim" the Utvaran region for the previous owner, Teysa's uncle and prodigal father. But as Crix stays out in the spores, strange occurrences with the natives cause her to doubt the truths she holds dear.
Crix manages to manipulate the natives into helping her get to the Cauldron, partially to deliver the message she had been sent to deliver and partially to get to the bottom of this deadly mystery. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the courier, Agrus Kos and Pivlic have also become aware of the strange behaviors of the natives and begin an expedition to rescue the intrepid Izzet. However, as they work forward toward their goal, both the human and the imp find that it is not as easy of a task as it originally appeared, especially not when the Nephilim, the ancient creatures Crix encounters, become more rampant in this area of the frontier. Since kidnapping is a crime, Kos is propelled forward, but unfortunately for him, his path leads straight to the gates of the Cauldron. Back in Utvara, things seem to be simple and reclaiming the once lost territory is becoming a task that Teysa Karlov has turned into a lucrative business venture. But while business continues to improve, Teysa begins to uncover a mystery that's plagued her for her entire life. All the issues that go along with it are getting to be too much for someone like her who's getting up in her years. It all culminates in the first Baroness of the Orzhov meeting her enemies face to face.
Of the ten guilds that rule Ravnica, four are the focus of this first set in the block. The next expansion, Guildpact, focused only on three other guilds, and the last set in the block, Dissension, introduced the last three guilds. Each guild corresponds to a different two-color combination. The guilds featured in the Ravnica block are:[8]
Each guild has the following cards:
The appearance of a guild symbol in the background of a card's text box identifies that card's guild affiliation. For example, the symbol of the green-white Selesnya guild appears on green-white cards, cards with the convoke mechanic, lands that produce green and white mana, and so on. The guild symbols have no effect on game play.[5]
Other cycles include the Leylines (one for each color) and the Nephilim (one for each four-color combinations).
Notable cards of Ravnica: City of Guilds include Dark Confidant and Life from the Loam.
Guildpact also includes Magic's first creatures with exactly four colors, the Nephilim.
Ravnica won the 2005 Origins Award as "Best Collectible Card Game or Expansion".[18]
Cameron Kunzelman, for Kotaku, highlighted that "from the perspective of the health of Magic, it was a rough time. 2003’s Mirrodin set had been plagued with card bannings that turned many people off of the game, and the following year’s Kamigawa further alienated many players with confusing mechanics and cards. As a set, Ravnica was an escape from economic peril for Magic". He wrote that the guilds "define the landscape and structure of life within Ravnica, and each has a particular function in the city that relates to their color pairing in Magic’s card game. This is the true stroke of brilliance when it comes to Ravnica from both a worldbuilding and gameplay perspective. [...] Ravnica’s big move was to create color pairs, figure out what those pairs felt like, and then to create a world in which those different perspectives could live in contest with one another. It meant that players could identify with a guild. It gave all of the gameplay and storytelling something to hang on together. It also gave a name to all of these tendencies that had already existed in the game for more than a decade, and today when you say 'Dimir,' an enfranchised player is going to know that you mean a combination of blue and black cards.".[19]
The plane of Ravnica was revisited in the Return to Ravnica (2012) block, and then again in the Guilds of Ravnica (2018), Ravnica Allegiance (2019) and War of the Spark (2019) sets.
It was also adapted as a campaign setting for the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons with the publication of the sourcebook Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica in 2018.[20] [21]