Magic: The Gathering is no stranger to cashing in on nostalgia. In recent years this has largely come in the form of Universes Beyond projects, like Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Ghostbusters, etc. That said, Magic is old enough now that there’s plenty of nostalgia for its own older sets too. In a recent Blogatog post, Head Designer Mark Rosewater asked the MTG community for their thoughts on a return to Alara, and players had plenty to say.
While not as well-known as the likes of Ravnica and Innistrad, Alara has a solid core of fans who would love to see a revisit to the plane. It’s been a while, too: our last trip to Alara was way back in 2009. Since then, players have pined for its unique three-color shards and the excellent lore and mechanics they supported. A Blogatog post is no guarantee, of course, but a strong player response makes a real return to Alara all the more likely.
A Possible Return To Alara For MTG?
“apmadwa: Is there any chance that we return to Alara soon? I really liked the aesthetic of the plane and would love to see it again
Mark Rosewater: Would you all like to return to Alara? If yes, what would you expect the set to have?”
Via: Blogatog
At Rosewater’s prompting, replies to this post came thick and fast. The replies are packed with comments from players, many of which are detailed responses to the question. Clearly, the appetite for Alara is alive and well in the Magic: The Gathering community.
Sadly, it’s worth pointing out that this isn’t definite proof a return to Alara is in the works. We’ve heard nothing about one so far other than this, after all. On top of this, next year’s schedule also includes the long-awaited return to Lorwyn. While not impossible, this makes another return set in the same year less likely.
That said, the fact that Rosewater is asking for input like this is a positive sign. Time and again we’ve seen that player input and feedback guide Wizards’ decision-making in a big way. Ban decisions and reprint choices are obvious examples, but we also know that Wizards looks at data of all kinds when it comes to making major product decisions too. If the data points to a return to Alara being a success for Wizards, they’ll more than likely pursue it. For the most part, the replies on the return to Alara post support this idea.
Delicateturtleangel, for example, added, “Now that we have returned to Kamigawa and are returning to Lorwyn, Alara is next on my priority list.” Jdrawer01 echoed this sentiment: “Yes, please! Alaran people, places, and things.” Some didn’t even really have an answer to the question but were just excited at the possibility of a return. Cannonspectacle, for instance, said, “I don’t know what I’d expect, necessarily, but I’d definitely like to see Alara again.”
Mechanical Miscellany
The replies weren’t just general enthusiasm for what might be. Many MTG players had specific requests from a return to Alara, in terms of both gameplay and story. For the latter, many were keen to see a return to Alara’s multicolored mechanics from the past.
Bravelion83 noted that, “At the very least, I’d expect three-colored arc factioned gameplay.” This makes a ton of sense. Before Tarkir and New Capenna, Alara was the original three-color faction plane. It established classics like Jund, Esper, and Bant: names which still echo through the Magic: The Gathering lexicon to this day. A return to Alara without a three-color theme would feel wrong, in other words. Delicateturtleangel took this idea a step further.
“I would expect 3-color arc theme with their own mechanical identity (some old, some new, or all-new). But I would love to see a few outliers that have been influenced by the merging (we had a few in Alara Reborn). For instance WB exalted cards, or UG artifact creatures.”
delicateturtleangel
This kind of mechanical overlap often leads to interesting designs. In a similar vein to sets like Planar Shift, it gives colors options outside of their norms, and pushes the boundaries of Magic design in general. Lore-wise, it would make perfect sense for Alara, too.
Beyond the three-color goodness, there were other gameplay suggestions for Alara 2.0. Gweemar added, “I’d also like to see Domain/Barry Mechanic matters! Sorry of like Invasion block or Spectral Chaos but more refined.” The idea of bringing back Domain in a three-color set makes a lot of sense. With so many colors in the costs of cards, caring about land types is an easy benefit to work in. Unfortunately, New Capenna already claimed the Triome lands for the Alara shards, but perhaps a new take on land-typed tri-lands could make an appearance here.
A-Lore-a Reborn
A return to Alara is also an opportunity to revisit some of the most compelling lore MTG has ever seen. The original concept for Alara, as one world fractured into five three-color ‘shards’ where two colors of mana are absent, is brimming with possibilities. Cle-guy put it perfectly in his comment: “Alara was a broken world with 5 unique sub planes which is what made it interesting. What would a world look like if two colors literally didn’t exist? I find that dynamic interesting.”
Of course, the end of the original Alara storyline saw Nicol Bolas reunite the shards back into a single plane. The final set, Alara Reborn, explored how each of the shards interacted with each other in the wake of such a drastic change. Alara Reborn was a small set, so we didn’t get to spend a lot of time on the reformed Alara. A return set would be the perfect opportunity to see how things have developed since then, especially after the Phyrexian Invasion.
Interestingly, several comments on Rosewater’s post were in favor of reverting Alara to its previous, fractured state. Bravelion83 had several ideas in this regard.
“In flavor, this could be executed by either dividing the single plane of Alara in zones corresponding to the five shards after the Conflux, by splitting Alara apart again, or (probably my favorite option) a flashback set showing the original Sundering.”
Bravelion83
Doubling back on the climax of the original block would be an odd move, but clearly, a lot of players agree with cle-guy’s thoughts above. Three-color faction sets appear fairly regularly in Magic, but what Alara did originally was something unique. It makes sense for players to want to experience that again.
However and whenever it’s executed, a Return to Alara would be fantastic for players old and new. Let’s hope it stays on Wizards’ radar after this thread fades away.
