Throughout Magic: the Gathering’s 30 years of existence, the game has gone to a lot of different planes. While some of those locations are not always beloved, many are firm fan favorites thanks to their mechanics and style. With just how loved they are, many MTG players can often be found requesting return visits to their favorite locales. Luckily for these players, these fervent requests have just been answered in March of the Machine. Albeit more in a monkey’s paw kind of way.
Within March of the Machine, the Phyrexians, led by Elesh Norn, invaded every single plane in Magic’s multiverse. Bringing back beloved creature types and iconic characters, this set truly showcased the scale of the multiversal war. Since all this was happening in just one set, however, these adored creatures and planes didn’t get much time in the spotlight. In fact, Wizards wasn’t even able to showcase every plane being invaded, as only 36 received a flavorful Battle card.
One plane that missed out on this honor was arguably the most mysterious and legendary plane of all: Zhalfir. Previously, this plane has been unreachable for the majority of Magic: the Gathering’s existence. Thanks to the twists and turns of March of the Machine’s story, however, Zhalfir is back and reachable once more. As you might expect, once this happened, MTG players were quick to plead to visit this long inaccessible plane. As much as some MTG players were petitioning for this to happen, however, others already believe it’s all but inevitable.
The History of Zhalfir
In the beginning, Zhalfir was simply another location on the massive plane of Dominaria. One that featured a diverse Savanna ecosystem not often seen throughout MTG’s myriad planes. Despite being located on the somewhat troubled plane of Dominaira, Zhalfir managed to miraculously escape most harm. All but unaffected by the devastating Sylex Blast, Ice Age, and Flood Ages, Zhalfir was a rare safe haven on Dominaria.
Thanks to escaping these cataclysmic plane-changing events, Zhalfir quickly became a haven of posterity, entering a golden age. Led by great mages such as Teferi and Jolrael, this renaissance wasn’t all perfect thanks to infighting and political squabbles. While these events would cause plenty of strife and problems over the years, Zhalfir would nevertheless become Dominaria’s strongest nation. Subsequently, when the first Phyrexian invasion happened, they were meant to be leading the defense.
That was Urza’s plan, at least, as Teferi had other ideas. Phasing out Zhalfir to protect it from the horrors of war, Teferi thought he had saved the day. In the end, however, Teferi’s spell wasn’t quite perfect, as Zhalfir couldn’t be phased back into reality. Instead, in order to stop the nation from being completely destroyed, it was sealed off and cast into oblivion. From here, it was expected that the plane would never return, however, March of the Machine would soon change that.
After being found by Teferi in one of Phyrexia: All Will Be One’s side stories, Zhalfir would soon be brought back to reality thanks to Wrenn and Realmbreaker. Returning at the climax of the Phyrexian Invasion, the mighty army of Zhalfir would quickly put an end to things. Beheading Praetors left and right, Zhalfir reclaimed New Phyrexia in style, ensuring that it was here to stay.
A Long Overdue Trip
With Zhalfir literally put back on the map, it didn’t take long for MTG players to want a proper visit. After all, the stories only showed so much of the nation, and Invasion of New Phyrexia is another fleeting glimpse. In order to try and get what they wanted, many players brought their requests directly to MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater. Reaching out via their blog, Blogatog, users such as Lebreadbox-blog made their desire clear.
“Now that Zhalfir is its own plane with the Mirrodan suns orbiting it. What are the chances to see it as a setting for an expansion? I can expect a lot of rebuilding by the Mirran refuges and it seems like it could be a setting with a lot of interesting tension now.”
Lebreadbox-blog
For better or worse, in responding to this curious question, Mark Rosewater didn’t provide a definitive answer. Instead, Rosewater simply turned the question back on the MTG community to gather some all-important feedback. “Would people like to see Zhalfir as a setting for a premier set?” As is typical, this turned-around question from Rosewater was quickly met with a plethora of responses.
Unsurprisingly, many of the responses Rosewater received were incredibly enthusiastic, as players have long waited for this thrilling opportunity. For instance, Tumble user Panckvariable-blog stated they “would KILL to go to Zhalfir for a premier set and see what Teferi’s people are up to.” Similarly, some users such as Gyrorobofan even joined Tumblr in order to share their desire for this hypothetical set. “Looked at these posts for years, and finally made an account so I can say YES… please feature Zhalfir! I would love to see the people who reside in Zhalfir represented front and center.”
For the sake of balance, it’s important to note that not everyone was totally enthusiastic about visiting Zhalfir. Some players on Tumblr such as Justme-elia, for instance, instead stated it should make a minor appearance. “I think the plane is a bit small and monotonous for a premier set Anyway new or older and not revisited planes would be better.”
I Am Inevitable
Across Tumblr, MTG players were more than happy to share their desire for this hypothetical upcoming set. On Reddit, however, many players suggested that players needn’t plead to Rosewater for this set to become a reality. Instead, a set based around Zhalfir is most certainly planned, if not inevitable. Suggesting this idea were players such as u/Yaroslav_Mudry, who laid down the gauntlet in their comment. “I’ll set down my marker here: not only is this definitely in the works but we’ll get the set within the next 18 months. This is a quintessential ‘building hype’ Maro question as opposed to a ‘seeking feedback’ question.”
While many players such as u/Sea_Bee_Blue shared this idea, stating “If MaRo is asking, it’s already too late,” other players were fascinated by a different detail. Namely, thanks to the return of Zhalfir, Magic now has a flat earth. Pointing out this comical detail was Reddit user u/Karnitis who mused that Zhalfir is basically now just a Europe-sized continent in space. While this obviously sounds like a fun place to visit, other users noted this isn’t even the first non-spherical plane. After all, Theros and Kaldheim both already exist in all their flat glory.
At the end of the day, it certainly seems like a trip to Zhalfir is inevitable. While it may not happen in the near future, it nevertheless seems like a good place to visit at some point. After all, it has been steeped in legend for over a decade since it was phased out of existence. How long we have to wait for this trip, however, remains to be seen, so sadly we just have to wait patiently till then.
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