Alara

Alara
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Obelisk of Esper.jpg}}|250px]]
Information
First seen	Shards of Alara
Last seen	Magic Origins
Planeswalkers	Ajani Goldmane, Sifa Grent, Tezzeret
Rabiah Scale	4
Status	Reunited

Alara is a plane in the Multiverse. It was once a serene plane with few internal conflicts, but the Sundering broke the world into the five Shards: Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya. The event known as the Conflux reunited the shards, causing much chaos and mayhem to their respective residents.

The Sundering

Alara was once a vast plane whose realms, including an ancient kingdom known as Vithia, flourished in an era of peace and wisdom. But many centuries ago, an unknown Planeswalker plundered Alara for its mana. The drain on the plane's mana shattered something deep in its metaphysical structure, causing it to undergo a radical planar refraction. The plane broke into shards along mana lines, diffusing into its component parts like light refracted in a prism - and shattering Alara's civilizations and ecologies along with it. Whatever agent caused this destruction abandoned what remained of the plane, its spell presumably finished.

Conflux

The shards reunited, a jagged fusion of now poorly-fitting pieces. As the Conflux progressed, it became not the same Alara that had once been, but a new world, a patchwork plane composed of five distinct microverses—Alara, but reborn. As the barriers between worlds dissolved and lands overlapped in chaotic incursion zones, the denizens of the five shards ventured forth, meeting their long-lost fellow Alarans for the first time. Prejudice gripped these races that were once allies, made strangers by history and fate. The rejoined plane flows with all five colors of mana once more. Waves of raw power crash across the former planar boundaries, bringing long-forgotten magics to all the shards and mingling them in unprecedented ways. As the boundaries between the shards dissolve, cultures clash and wars ensue.

The forces of Esper invade the other shards looking for carmot, an element necessary to create more of their dwindling etherium. Hordes of Grixis undead mount an assault to maim, enslave, and drain the life energy from other shards. The warriors of Jund extend their "life hunts" to the newfound game throughout Alara's vast hunting grounds. Naya's forces follow the elves' decrees and march out of the jungle, searching for answers to the Anima's prophetic visions. And the armies of Bant clash with the horrors swarming over their borders, defending their homeland in the name of their guardian angels.

The Maelstrom

At the point where the five Shards met, a chaotic storm of mana came into existence: the Maelstrom. Nicol Bolas, the ancient dragon Planeswalker, planned this all along. He came to Alara to feed on its rich mana and, in one massive ritual, restore his lost power. He was ultimately stopped from destroying all of Alara by Ajani Goldmane.

The combined Obelisk

Trivia

• Alara is a planar subtype for plane cards in Planechase.
• An Alara Premium Foil Booster pack contained fifteen foil, black-bordered cards from Shards of Alara, Conflux, and Alara Reborn. It was released on January 8, 2010 (MSRP: $11.99).
• A return to Alara is probable but complicated by the facts that three-color focused sets are difficult to design and that the shards were more popular than the reintegrated plane.

Planeswalker visitors

• Ajani Goldmane
• Dack Fayden (Grixis)
• Domri Rade
• Elspeth Tirel
• Gideon Jura (Bant)
• Liliana Vess (Grixis)
• Nicol Bolas
• Ral Zarek
• Sarkhan Vol
• Sifa Grent (Grixis)
• Tezzeret
• Tibalt (Esper)
• The Wanderer
• Vronos (Esper)

In-game references

Associated cards:

• Child of Alara
• Knight of New Alara
• Might of Alara
• Obelisk of Alara
• Sovereigns of Lost Alara

Referred to:

• Ancient Ziggurat (Conflux)
• Blitz Hellion
• Gorger Wurm
• Lavalanche
• Obelisk of Grixis
• Shard Convergence
• Voices from the Void

Sources

• Alara, magicthegathering.com
• Wizards of the Coast (July 25, 2008). "Planes of Existence: Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara
• Alara Unbroken
• Doug Beyer (September 08, 2008). "Alara, a World Broken". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Rei Nakazawa (October 20, 2008). "A Shards Day's Night". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (September, 2008). "Five Worlds". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (September 09, 2008). "Life Imitates Mana". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (September 15, 2008). "Fiends and Behemoths". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (January, 2009). "The Shards Collide". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (January, 2009). "Sowing Fear, Reaping War". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (January, 2009). "Claws of an Ancient Evil". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (September, 2000). "Planeswalkers of Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (April, 2009). "Alara in Chaos". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (April, 2009). "The Shards At War". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (April, 2009). "The Threat to New Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (February 04, 2009). "The First Days of the Conflux". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (February 11, 2009). "Incursion Zones". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (March 25, 2009). "Circumnavigation". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (April 13, 2009). "A New Age for Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (May 13, 2009). "Reality Check". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (May 20, 2009). "Gold Records". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Michael Yichao (November 4, 2015). "All the Cairns of Jund". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.