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Guilds of Ravnica
GRN Logo
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description A cityscape or crown with five elements.
Design Mark Rosewater (lead)
Jules Robins
Jackie Lee
Ari Levitch
Sam Stoddard
Bryan Hawley
Development Erik Lauer (lead)
Ken Nagle
Andrew Veen
Andrew Brown
Art direction Cynthia Sheppard
Release date October 5, 2018
Plane Ravnica
Keywords/​ability words Convoke, Mentor, Surveil, Jump-start, Undergrowth
Set size 259 cards
(111 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares)
+5 Basic lands
+8 Planeswalker deck exclusives
+1 Buy-a-Box promo
Expansion code GRN[1]
Development codename Spaghetti
Core Set 2020 Standard
Guilds of Ravnica Ravnica Allegiance War of the Spark
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Guilds of Ravnica
Mythic Edition
Guilds of Ravnica Spellslinger Starter Kit
For a description of the separate guilds of Ravnica, see Ravnican guild.

Guilds of Ravnica is the 79th Magic expansion. It was released on October 5, 2018.[2] Officially, it is not part of a block. However, it is part of a series of three that is set on the same world, unofficially called the Guilds of Ravnica block.[3]

Set details[ | ]

Guilds of Ravnica contains 259 cards (111 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, and 15 mythic rares), but there are only 254 functionally different cards since all gates have 2 common slots. Boosters may include randomly inserted premium versions of any card. The name of the set is rather similar to the Ravnica: City of Guilds, but Wizards of the Coast doesn't perceive this as a problem.[4][5] The set features five of the bi-colored Ravnican guilds: Selesnya ({G}{W}), Boros ({R}{W}), Golgari ({B}{G}), Izzet ({U}{R}), and Dimir ({U}{B}). Watermarks are used to better identify the guilds.[6] To get a guild watermark, the card has to be two-color, optimized with two colors or use the guild keyword.[7][8]

The 5 basic lands of this set are not included within the 259 cards, meaning that they won't appear in booster packs but only in the planeswalker decks and the Bundle.[9] They're all autumnal versions of the Richard Wright basics from Ravnica: City of Guilds and are numbered from #260/259 to #264/259. Neither contained in boosters are the 8 additional planeswalker deck exclusive cards - numbered #265/259 to #272/259 - and the Buy-a-Box promo, which has the number #273/259. Each Guildgate is featured in two common slots, each with different art, much like Wastes in Oath of the Gatewatch.[10][11]

Storyline[ | ]

Guilds of Ravnica style book

Autumn on Ravnica

“  Stand With Your Guild  ”

It is autumn on Ravnica. The story occurs mostly in darkness with shadows and moodiness, similar to a film noir. The story gears up for the final showdown with Nicol Bolas. He is trying to slowly influence Ravnica and warp it to his needs. The guilds fight internally between the forces pulling them toward or away from Bolas's influence.[12]

The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Guilds of Ravnica are: Thousand-Year Storm ({U/R}), Guild Summit ({U}), Assassin's Trophy ({B/G}), and Firemind's Research ({U/R}). The story spotlight cards no longer tell you the order they occur in.[13]

Magic Story[ | ]

Main article: Magic Story
Title Author Release Date Setting Featuring
Under the Cover of Fog Nicky Drayden 2018-10-10 Ravnica House Dimir
Testing the Dark Waters Nicky Drayden 2018-10-17 Ravnica Izzet League
Clans & Legions Nicky Drayden 2018-10-24 Ravnica Boros Legion
Death's Precious Moments Nicky Drayden 2018-11-07 Ravnica Golgari Swarm
Bound and Bonded Nicky Drayden 2018-11-14 Ravnica Selesnya Conclave

Marketing[ | ]

GRN Theme boosters

Guilds of Ravnica Theme Boosters

Unlock booster codes

Guilds of Ravnica MTG Arena promotion

Guilds of Ravnica is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), two planeswalker decks and the Guilds of Ravnica bundle.[14] Building on how Theme Boosters for Dominaria performed, these 35-card booster packs with one rare or mythic rare card make another appearance. Of course, they are themed around the appropriate guilds and thus bi-colored.[15] The set is also accompanied by five special guild kits, preconstructed theme decks that combine cards from every Ravnica set released so far.

The boosters feature artwork of Emmara Tandris, Ral Zarek, Vraska, Aurelia, and a Dimir spy.[16][17] Every one in eight booster packs includes a code good for three packs in MTG Arena.[18]

Events[ | ]

  • Update Magic Arena: 27 September 2018 (free OpenBeta)
  • Prerelease took place on 29–30 September 2018. Prerelease packs contained 5 regular Guilds of Ravnica booster packs and one seeded booster composed entirely of cards relevant to that player's choice of guild.[19] It also contains 1 randomized, date stamped foil promo card, drawn from any rare or mythic from the featured guild. All prerelease packs included an entry code to an MTG Arena Sealed event.[18]
  • Local stores hosted Ravnica Weekend on November 9–11. Players could come in and play four-pack Drafts, casual Guild Kit battles, and a special preview adventure from the D&D Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica.[17]

Promotional cards[ | ]

GRN Boros basic lands

Boros basic lands

Tokens and emblems[ | ]

The sixteenth card in the boosters is a token card or an emblem, with advertisements on the back side. There are eight tokens and emblems in the set:[21]

  1. {W} 4/4 Angel creature with flying and vigilance, for Divine Visitation.
  2. {W} 1/1 Soldier creature with lifelink, for Dawn of Hope, Emmara, Soul of the Accord, Haazda Marshal, Hunted Witness, March of the Multitudes, Ledev Champion, Sworn Companions and Trostani Discordant.
  3. {U} 1/1 Bird Illusion creature with flying, for Murmuring Mystic.
  4. {R} 1/1 Goblin creature, for Legion Warboss.
  5. {B/G} 1/1 Insect creature, for Izoni, Thousand-Eyed.
  6. {G/W} 2/2 Elf Knight creature with vigilance, for Assemble, Conclave Guildmage, Conclave Cavalier, and Sprouting Renewal.
  7. Emblem for Ral, Izzet Viceroy
  8. Emblem for Vraska, Golgari Queen

Mythic Edition[ | ]

Guilds of Ravnica Mythic Edition is a special draft-sized booster box, exclusively sold in the U.S and Canada. It contains eight masterpieces.

Themes and mechanics[ | ]

Each guild features a unique mechanic.[12][22]

Crest Guild Colors Keyword or ability word
{Dimir Logo} House Dimir {U/B} Surveil
Look at the top N cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.
{Selesnya Logo} Selesnya Conclave {G/W} Convoke
Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.
Returning mechanic, first used as the Selesnya mechanic in Ravnica. A new twist is that some cards care about the number of creatures that convoked it.
{Izzet Logo} Izzet League {U/R} Jump-start
You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a card in addition to paying its other costs. Then exile this card.
{Golgari Logo} Golgari Swarm {B/G} Undergrowth
Perform a certain action with value X ..., where X is the number of creatures in your graveyard.
{Boros Logo} Boros Legion {R/W} Mentor
Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with less power.

The expansion also features split cards. Each one focuses on a single guild, with a smallish hybrid mana effect as one half and a bigger, multicolor mana effect as the other.[23][24] The art of the rares focuses on the two major characters (legendary creatures or planeswalkers) in that guild, one personality per side. The card halves have alliterative names, starting with the same three letters.

Cycles[ | ]

Guilds of Ravnica has fourteen cycles, two of which are reprints and one of which is printed twice within the set.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Color Identifier Light of the Legion Drowned Secrets Mausoleum Secrets Runaway Steam-Kin Hatchery Spider
Five monocolored rare cards which care about other cards of the same color.
Mythic rares Divine Visitation Dream Eater Doom Whisperer Arclight Phoenix Nullhide Ferox
Five mythic rare permanent cards.
Cycle name Dimir
{U/B}{Dimir Logo}
Selesnya
{G/W}{Selesnya Logo}
Izzet
{U/R}{Izzet Logo}
Golgari
{B/G}{Golgari Logo}
Boros
{R/W}{Boros Logo}
Guild leaders Lazav, the Multifarious Trostani Discordant Ral, Izzet Viceroy Vraska, Golgari Queen Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice
Five mythic rare legendary multicolored creatures or planeswalkers, each of whom are aligned with a guild and is their leader. Guilds aligned with Nicol Bolas have planeswalkers as their leaders; guilds aligned against, creatures.
Guild champions Etrata, the Silencer Emmara, Soul of the Accord Niv-Mizzet, Parun Izoni, Thousand-Eyed Tajic, Legion's Edge
Five rare legendary multicolored creatures, each of whom are aligned with a guild and act as that guild's second-in-command.
Mythic rare guild spells Mnemonic Betrayal March of the Multitudes Thousand-Year Storm Underrealm Lich Chance for Glory
Five mythic rare guild spells.
Mechanic spells Notion Rain Rosemane Centaur Sonic Assault Rhizome Lurcher Hammer Dropper
Five multicolor common spells that showcase the guild mechanic.
Guildmages House Guildmage Conclave Guildmage League Guildmage Swarm Guildmage Legion Guildmage
Five uncommon multicolored creatures, each of whom are aligned with a guild, are 2/2 for MN, and have two activated abilities, each ability costing at least one mana of that guild's colors and tapping to activate. They are named after the full title of their respective guilds.
MMNN creatures Nightveil Predator Conclave Cavalier Crackling Drake Golgari Findbroker Truefire Captain
Five powerful uncommon multicolored creatures, each of which cost four mana, two of each of their respective guild's colors.
Hybrid creatures Whisper Agent Vernadi Shieldmate Piston-Fist Cyclops Pitiless Gorgon Fresh-Faced Recruit
Five common creatures which have only hybrid mana and generic mana in their casting cost.
Uncommon split cards Discovery // Dispersal Flower // Flourish Invert // Invent Status // Statue Integrity // Intervention
Five uncommon split cards, one side of which uses hybrid mana in guild colors and the other side is multicolor.
Rare split cards Connive // Concoct Assure // Assemble Expansion // Explosion Find // Finality Response // Resurgence
Five rare split cards, following the same formula as above. The hybrid side depicts the guild champion, and the multicolored side depicts its leader.
Lockets Dimir Locket Selesnya Locket Izzet Locket Golgari Locket Boros Locket
Five common mana stones for {3}. Each of which tap for either color mana of its corresponding guild, and can be sacrificed by tapping and paying four hybrid mana to draw two cards.
Guildgates Dimir Guildgate Selesnya Guildgate Izzet Guildgate Golgari Guildgate Boros Guildgate
Five common dual lands in guild colors, originally printed in the Return to Ravnica block. Each has the Gate subtype and enters the battlefield tapped. Uniquely, each is printed twice in the set, with two different sets of art and flavor text. The first shows the guild's "main gate" and has flavor referring to its leader, whereas the second shows a "back door" and has flavor referencing to its lieutenant.
  • Guildgates replace basic lands in booster packs.[25]
Shock lands Watery Grave Temple Garden Steam Vents Overgrown Tomb Sacred Foundry
Five rare dual lands in guild colors, originally printed in the Ravnica: City of Guilds block. Each has the respective basic land types, and enters the battlefield tapped unless its controller chooses to lose 2 life.

Pairs[ | ]

Guilds of Ravnica has one mirrored pair.

Mirrored Pairs Description
Maximize Altitude
({U})
Maximize Velocity
({R})
Common jump-start sorceries for one mana, which give one creature +1/+1 and a keyword associated with that color.

Reprinted cards[ | ]

Functional reprints[ | ]

Card comparisons[ | ]

Preconstructed decks[ | ]

GRN Guild Kits 2

Guilds of Ravnica Guild Kits

Guilds of Ravnica features two planeswalker decks:

Planeswalker
deck name
Colors Included Planeswalker
{W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Ral U R Ral, Caller of Storms
Vraska B G Vraska, Regal Gorgon

Guilds of Ravnica features five Guild Kits:

Guild Kit name Colors Included
{W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Selesnya W G
Boros W R
Golgari B G
Izzet U R
Dimir U B

Notable cards[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. Information below the text box
  2. Wizards of the Coast (May 18, 2018). "2018 Spring Announcement Day". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. Mark Rosewater (May 18, 2018). "Are blocks back soon or do you just not have a word yet?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  4. Mark Rosewater (May 18, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica is a hilariously uninspired name.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  5. Mark Rosewater (May 18, 2018). "Do you think there will be any confusion?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  6. Mark Rosewater (May 19, 2018). "Will there be Guild watermarks in upcoming Ravnica sets?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  7. Mark Rosewater (August 27, 2018). "So is Colossal Dreadmaw going to get a Gruul guild logo in Ravinca?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  8. Mark Rosewater (September 17, 2018). "Guild to Order, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Wizards of the Coast (September 20, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  10. Andrew Brown (September 11, 2018). "Opening the Guildgates". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. Chris Gleeson (September 26, 2018). "Ravnica Guildgate Art Descriptions". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. a b Mark Rosewater (September 10, 2018). "Guild to Order, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. Mark Rosewater (September 03, 2018). "Is it the new norm that story spotlight cards no longer indicate their order among themselves within a set?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  14. Wizards Play Network
  15. Barry White (August 15, 2018). "Guild of Ravnica Theme Boosters, Guild Packs Detailed by WotC". GeekNifty.com
  16. Mark Rosewater (January 06, 2019). "Who is the jester on the cover of the Rakdos Banner for the LGS's?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  17. a b c d Blake Rasmussen (September 4, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Packaging, Promos, and More". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  18. a b David McCoy (September 19, 2018), "The MTG Arena Open Beta Will Start on 9/27". Hipsters of the Coast
  19. Gavin Verhey (September 24, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Prerelease Primer". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  20. Buy-A-Box Promo leaked on German WoTC Dominaria Product Page
  21. Blake Rasmussen (September 14, 2018). "The Tokens of Guilds of Ravnica". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  22. Matt Tabak (September 4, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  23. Doug Beyer on Twitter
  24. Corbin Hosler (September 10, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Split Cards". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  25. Magic on Twitch, 2018-09-13
  26. Aaron Forsythe on Twitter
  27. Mark Rosewater (September 12, 2018). "How does a mistake like Invert (from Invert//Invent) even happen in the modern age of Magic?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  28. Mark Rosewater (September 24, 2018). "Stories from the City". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

External links[ | ]

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