In an attempt not to overwhelm MTG players with too much information, we don’t actually know too much about 2025. While six of the seven sets on the MTG 2025 release calendar have been named and announced, information is rather sparse. Not only is Innistrad Remastered still yet to be spoiled, but important details are missing about Aetherdrift.
As Magic’s first Travelogue set, Aetherdirft takes place over three different planes thanks to Omenpaths. So far, Wizards hasn’t officially confirmed any of these planes, but two of them are startlingly obvious. Judging by the art we’ve seen so far, it’s nearly guaranteed that we’re going back to Amonkhet and Kaladesh in February.
The third and final plane, however, has been a mystery since Aetherdrift was first teased to MTG players back in 2023. Supposedly, Magic will be headed to a plane we’ve seen before that hasn’t been the focus of a premier set. There are a few very exciting options that fall into this category, and it seems we finally have an answer.
Muraganda or Bust
Technically, the third and final plane that we’ll be heading to in Aetherdrift is still yet to be officially confirmed. Following a recent teasing statement from MTG’s Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, however, it has been made incredibly obvious. Should the subheading not have given it away enough, it seems MTG players are finally going to Muraganda as part of Aetherdrift.
“It would be pretty cool to visit Muraganda, even if it wasn’t for all of a set. : )”
Mark Rosewater
Realistically, this tease from Rosewater could be exactly that, a tease. This would be all we could say about it, should MaRo have only said the first half of their statement. That note about not visiting it for an entire set, however, is a clear nod to Aetherdirft. After all, this set marks the first time in forever that Magic is traveling to more than one plane in a set.
In hindsight, looking back at the artwork that was revealed for Aetherdrift at MagicCon: Las Vegas, Muraganda is startlingly obvious. This panoramic shot, for instance, clearly has a nature-ruled jungle-y aesthetic. Some might even say it looks a bit prehistoric if you ignore the giant loop-de-loop racetrack piece.
Even more tellingly is the art above, that depicts Aatchik, Emerald Radian. While Aatchik is the focus of this piece, we can nonetheless see plenty of twisting vines in the background. We certainly won’t be seeing this type of environment in Amonkhet or Kaladesh, and Muraganda makes perfect sense.
That said, now that Mark Rosewater has said it, we’re obviously looking for Muraganda-esque elements in the art. With that in mind, it’s possible that we’re leading ourselves astray, however, MTG players have been predicting this for some time. This may well be the reason that Tumblr user Devilkingace asked Rosewater about Muraganda in the first place.
Welcome to the Jungle, We Got Fun and Games
So, even if it’s not been fully officially confirmed, we basically know we’re going to Muraganda next year. The question is, however, what is Muraganda? As a plane that we’ve not properly been to before, this is a little bit tricky to answer. Thankfully, we do know a few details to prime our expectations for this upcoming adventure.
Known as Magic’s prehistoric plane, we’ve only seen Muraganda on a handful of cards to date. Even saying a handful is generous, in fact, as only four cards have officially been set on Muraganda. These cards are Feeding Grounds, Invasion of Muraganda, The Mimeoplasm, and Muraganda Petroglyphs. Technically, Muraganda Eldrazi can also be counted, but this is a Mystery Booster 2 playtest card.
Despite not having much information to go off, Muraganda is clearly going to be packed full of Dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts. As Primordial Plasm shows, these creatures don’t necessarily need to be grounded in history, or rather pre-history. According to the MTG Wiki, it’s not all monstrous beasts, as there are plenty of Druids, Elves, Mages, and Warriors too.
While Muraganda may seem like a fully-fledged plane with plenty to design a set around, it does have a rather unusual quirk. As Mark Rosewater noted in a 2023, the plane is mechanically “less evolved.” This means it has a focus on basic lands and vanilla creatures without any rules text.
For many MTG players, this is no bad thing, as vanilla creatures have been seemingly disappearing over the years. Having an entire plane dedicated to them sounds wonderfully nostalgic on paper, but it’d be incredibly dull mechanically. While Wizards will surely keep things interesting, this makes Muraganda a very good candidate for a Travelogue set.
More Muraganda Coming Soon
At the end of the day, we don’t really know how big of an influence Muraganda will have on Aetherdrift. Hopefully, we’ll see a fair few vanilla creatures, and even a new vanilla-matters Commander like Jasmine Boreal of the Seven. Beyond that, plenty of prehistoric beasties should also be a shoo-in, even if Muraganda is only a third of MTG Aetherdrift.
Ultimately, we’re going to have to wait and see what Wizards has in store for Artherdrift and Muraganda. So far, we’ve only seen three spoilers from the set, and it’s unclear if Earthrumbler hails from Muraganda. Hopefully, it won’t be long before more is revealed as there should be a proper First Look before 2024 ends. Exactly when that will be, however, is currently up in the air.
