The Cipher Net

Bradley RoseMagic Story

Editor’s Note: In today’s blog post, Bradley Rose speculates about what social media would be like in the Multiverse. The following story takes place on the plane of Ravnica and is told through a series of posts on the social media platform Scribbler.  @PetConclaveDoggos Me right now: Morning coffee at a new café with a SCRIBE in hand @IsmerianLibrarian replying …

Scenes from the Multiverse: Black Cat

Orcish LibrarianMagic Story

Editor’s Note: “Scenes from the Multiverse” is a new project that we’re launching in collaboration with Magic lore expert Orcish Librarian. Drawing inspiration from Magic’s multiverse, he has crafted a series of stories based on card art and flavor text; this month, in honor of Halloween, we’ll be publishing three stories set on Innistrad. These stories are original works of …

Queer Representation in Magic: A Community Perspective

Michelle RappCommunity, Magic Story

Throughout Magic’s history, Wizards of the Coast has done an admirable job responding to and incorporating representation of its player base within the story and art of the game. In a Multiverse that features baloths, elves, orcs and dragons, it’s great to see diverse human characters that also span color, gender identity and sexual orientation. While Magic’s efforts to showcase …

Gideon’s Guilt: Trauma in Magic

Michelle RappMagic Story

Content Warning: This article contains references to child abuse, death, and suicide. One of Magic’s most powerful qualities is its ability to encompass the entirety of human experience and philosophy within the color pie. While that includes the sweet taste of victory and passionate anger, it also contains the heartbreaking pain of trauma and loss. As a survivor of abuse, …

The Women of Magic Lore

Michelle RappMagic Story

One of the best aspects of Magic is its worldbuilding, creating universes and characters that feel both wonderous and relatable. Part of what makes so many of Magic’s most memorable characters familiar isn’t just their power level or abilities, but also who they are as characters. Nowhere is this more clear than with Magic’s portrayal of women over the past …

The Far Side of the Self: Huatli Explores Ixalan

Michelle RappMagic Story

In our previous Magic Story recap, we took a look at how Ixalan’s themes of discovery and exploration helped develop Vraska from a young, unjustly imprisoned convict to a confident pirate captain. This week, we’ll examine at how these same themes propel Ixalan’s native Planeswalker, Huatli, into a place of introspection and character growth. Huatli’s search for the Immortal Sun …

The Far Side of the Self: Vraska’s Journey

Michelle RappMagic Story

While Ixalan seems a lot like someone’s ultimate fantasy showdown (“Pirates vs Vampires vs Dinosaurs…also Merfolk!”), the story’s characters and plot have been thoughtfully grounded in reality. While the larger story is centered around the tribes’ search to find and claim Orazca, the Golden City, the main characters of Ixalan have each gone through a process of personal discovery, change …