Gate is a nonbasic land type that was introduced in the Return to Ravnica block.
Description
Gates are common dual lands that can tap for either of two different colors of mana (one for each guild). That it is a Gate doesn't mean anything on its own, but it's a marker that other cards look for. The subtype only appears on cards named "Guildgate", there are ten Guildgates, one for every Guild of Ravnica. Five of them were printed in each of the first two sets of the block. In the third set they were all reprinted.[1]
Examples
Role
According to Mark Rosewater the Gates weren't supposed to pull focus early, so there were just enough cards mentioning Gates to keep players from asking why the Gate subtype even existed.[2] In the third set of the block their full potential was used.
List of Gate cards
The Gates of the five guilds featured in Return to Ravnica were first printed in that set. The other five Gates were first printed in Gatecrash. All Gates got a new artwork in Dragon's Maze.[3]
Five of the Gates are reprinted in Guilds of Ravnica and the other five in Ravnica Allegiance.[4][5] Each is featured in two common slots, each with different art, much like Wastes in Oath of the Gatewatch.[6]
Allied colored
- Azorius Guildgate (
, , ) - Dimir Guildgate (
, , ) - Rakdos Guildgate (
, , ) - Gruul Guildgate (
, , ) - Selesnya Guildgate (, , )
Enemy colored
- Orzhov Guildgate (, , )
- Izzet Guildgate (, , )
- Golgari Guildgate (, , )
- Boros Guildgate (, , )
- Simic Guildgate (, , )
5 colored
- Gateway Plaza (Template:WUBRG, )
Associated cards
The "Gate" subtype allow R&D to make these cards mechanically relevant. The following cards care about Gates:[7]
Return to Ravnica
Gatecrash
Dragon's Maze
- Maze's End
- Opal Lake Gatekeepers
- Saruli Gatekeepers
- Smelt-Ward Gatekeepers
- Sunspire Gatekeepers
- Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
Guilds of Ravnica
- Circuitous Route
- District Guide
- Gatekeeper Gargoyle
- Garrison Sergeant
- Glaive of the Guildpact
- Guild Summit (designed as a Gate build-around card for Draft.[7])
Gate message
Each gate of the Return to Ravnica block has several letters in the flavor text that are slightly elevated higher than the rest.[8]
Return to Ravnica
| T | I | F | I | Azorius |
| H | L | R | C | Izzet |
| E | D | A | A | Rakdos |
| G | S | V | Golgari | |
| U | O | N | Selesnya |
"The guilds of Ravnica"
Gatecrash
| W | E | Y | O | Orzhov |
| I | S | E | T | Dimir |
| L | T | A | H | Gruul |
| L | R | C | E | Boros |
| D | O | H | R | Simic |
"Will destroy each other"
Dragon's Maze
Order of the Guilds as depicted in Tablet of the Guilds
| U | A | D | L | R | Azorius |
| N | Z | A | D | N | Orzhov |
| L | E | N | P | Dimir | |
| E | I | D | A | Izzet | |
| S | S | T | C | Rakdos | |
| S | S | H | T | Golgari | |
| T | O | E | R | Gruul | |
| H | L | G | E | Boros | |
| E | V | U | B | Selesnya | |
| M | E | I | O | Simic |
"Unless the maze is solved and the guildpact reborn"
References
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