Ravnica is truly one of the crown jewels in Magic: The Gathering’s glittering worldbuilding collection. The City of Guilds has appeared in no less than 10 dedicated sets; 11 if you count Ravnica Remastered. It has also been referenced countless times in other sets. Ravnica is, put simply, one of the most iconic settings in MTG, due in large part to the 10 Guilds that occupy it.
Though Magic is in a period of rapid expansion, with most new Standard sets featuring wholly new planes, many players still expect to see Ravnica again soon. According to Mark Rosewater, the wishes of those players may well be granted, albeit with a splash of classic genie trickery thrown in. For it seems Ravnica itself isn’t set to return, but rather the 10 Guilds that made it famous.
Return To Ravnica?
“We will see the guilds again in a premier set. […] I do think it’s important for newer places to get to experience the Ravnica guilds.”
Mark Rosewater
This statement came in response to a question from a player concerned that Ravnica would lose its “brand equity” if sets focused on the plane weren’t regularly printed. This is likely a rare concern. We did, after all, get two Ravnica sets this year. That said, Murders at Karlov Manor did admittedly lack a Guild focus, but there were still plenty of multicolored cards. Rosewater’s response was particularly interesting, however.
Rather than confirm a new Ravnica set on the horizon, Rosewater instead notes that we’ll see the Guilds again. He also notes that it’s important for “newer places” to experience them, explicitly confirming a Guild-focused set that takes place on a non-Ravnica plane. The fact that he says “will” here also implies complete certainty, which means this new set could be in the works, or even done, already.
This is a fascinating development. Ravnica and its Guilds are so intrinsically linked that you wouldn’t imagine an MTG set with just one or the other. By the sounds of it, that’s exactly what we’re going to get. With the addition of Omenpaths to the multiverse, this concept certainly has a solid practical foundation. We already saw a gathering of multiversal villains in Thunder Junction, so some kind of mass exodus of the Guilds makes similar sense.
Guilds On Tour
A scenario like this is a bit harder to contrive than a villainous heist, however. The Guilds of Ravnica aren’t exactly famous for getting along. While we may not see this transplanted Guilds set for a while, based on Magic’s usual release schedule, there is a chance it could be with us next year.
Death Race (Tennis), for example, could be an ideal opportunity to feature the Guilds. The set is already confirmed to take place across multiple planes. Consequently, throwing in a Ravnica segment would be no great stretch. The urban setting would also provide fertile grounds for some street racing. In terms of the race itself, each Guild could have a nominated racer/champion. Think the legendary runners from Dragon’s Maze, but with more Vehicle synergies.
Alternatively, the Guilds could make an appearance in Return to Tarkir (Ultimate). This is admittedly a shakier flavor fit since the Clans are such strong hooks for that plane. A Guilds/Clans conflict would likely be an absolute nightmare to cover in one set, too. On the other hand, the Guilds would be an ideal fit mechanically. Tarkir is already a deeply multicolor plane, so the kinds of support cards and fixing it offers would also support a small Guild presence well.
Looking a little further ahead, 2026’s return to Arcavios (Yachting) may be the most likely candidate for a Guild holiday destination. This plane is better known as the home of Strixhaven, a magical school with its own set of two-color factions. Those five could be matched up against the five Ravnica Guilds that complete the color pie, resulting in a set with 10 two-color factions total. That’s a lot for one set, but Bloomburrow proved that it’s possible. Especially since all 10 have already been established.
Power To The People
This is all speculation for now. While Rosewater has confirmed the existence of a Guilds set on another non-Ravnica MTG plane, we have no more details to work with at present. However it ends up panning out, however, this is a pretty big deal for Magic. The community, naturally, has some thoughts on it.
“The guilds lost a lot of their appeal for me when I thought about how extremist they all are. I’d much rather have the Strixhaven schools (for enemy colors, at least).”
themartiangeek
When looking through the comments on this Blogatog post, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see much in the way of negativity. Benny_bubbles requested “More time without Ravnica please.” Boycott_everything, on a more poetic note, added that “The guilds are squalid cages.” Presumably a criticism of how one-note they can sometimes be perceived as being.
“I remember when I first joined in 2015 I thought the guilds were overrated and thought Ravnica was overhyped. Then Guilds of Ravnica came out and being there for that period turned me around on it.”
clarknes
While there were some Guild defenders in the comments, the overwhelming response to this post was actually negative. Given how widely loved Ravnica used to be, this is surprising, to say the least.
There are a few possible explanations for why this is. Firstly, because the last trip to Ravnica we made was poorly received. Murders at Karlov Manor was a divisive set for many reasons. The detective theme wasn’t to everyone’s taste, and the set was fairly weak mechanically. Karlov Manor was everyone’s last exposure to Ravnica, so the bad taste remains in the mouths of many.
The other issue could be oversaturation. We’ve visited Ravnica more than any other plane in Magic, with only Innistrad really coming close. Dominaria too, of course, but given that’s basically Magic’s default setting it doesn’t really count. Familiarity often breeds contempt, and that seems to be the case here.
Even if players aren’t excited about it, the prospect of a Guild set on a plane other than Ravnica is intriguing. Hopefully, the execution is a bit better than our last trip to those once-beloved streets.
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