Innistrad (plane)

Innistrad
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Inn_village.jpg}}|250px]]
Information
First seen	Innistrad
Last seen	Eldritch Moon
Planeswalkers	Sorin Markov, Tibalt, Vronos, Arlinn Kord, Tacenda Verlasen
Rabiah Scale	1
Status	Corrupted by Emrakul

Innistrad is a plane. It takes its inspiration from Gothic 18th and 19th century America and Western Europe.

Description

The plane is primarily populated by Humans but these live in fear of a number of classical creatures of horror and regularly fall prey to Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires or Ghosts. Further, Demons are becoming an ever growing threat. It is the plane where the Innistrad block takes place.

Life on Innistrad is dominated by the single moon in its sky. Though the inhabitants of the plane know little about it, the moon drives the seasons and also hunting patterns of the monsters, harvests of the humans, etc.

Human society is dominated by religion with the Church of Avacyn promising protection from the evils that lurk in the night. The church is named for an Archangel who helped to drive back the monsters that preyed on humans. When she went missing, the power vacuum created was rapidly being filled by the demons. A secret cult of Demon worshippers named Skirsdag also emerged from this. When Avacyn was released from her prison, the Helvault, she rallied her troops to contain the demonic threat and, ultimately, to cleanse Innistrad of all these infernal creatures.

It is also the birthplane of the famous vampire planeswalker Sorin Markov. Innistrad was also home to other native planeswalkers, like the half-devil Tibalt, the deceased Vronos and the werewolf Arlinn Kord.

Corruption

The planeswalker Nahiri called the Eldrazi titan Emrakul forth to Innistrad to take revenge on Sorin Markov for imprisoning her in the Helvault. Emrakul's corruption led to the death of Avacyn and the creation of many mutated horrors. In her place, the archangel Sigarda has taken control over the uncorrupted angels that stand watch over humanity, while Emrakul has been banished into Innistrad's silver moon.

With the madness of the angels, a variety of new cults sprang up across Innistrad. Some were direct continuations of the demon cults that had proliferated during Avacyn’s absence, but others were entirely new—centered on madness and revering monsters that had arisen in response to the angels’ madness.

Locations on Innistrad

The mainland of Innistrad is split into four provinces called Gavony, Kessig, Stensia, and Nephalia, with much of unexplored wilderness lying beyond these provinces. Beyond the great seas, other continents are rumored to exist that harbor exotic species of lycanthropes.

An Innistrad forest

• Gavony
  • High City of Thraben
    • Tree of Redemption
    • The Helvault
  • Moorland
    • Trostad
  • Nearheath
    • Videns
    • Wittal
    • Effalen
    • Estwald
    • Hanweir
• Kessig
  • Ulvenwald
  • Lambholt
  • Hollowhenge
  • Devils' Breach
• Stensia
  • Somberwald
  • Ashmouth
  • Needle's Eye
• Nephalia
  • Drunau
  • Havengul
  • Selhoff

Tribes

In Innistrad there are five tribes, major creature types that also play a role mechanically. Each tribe is linked to an allied colour combination.

• Humans: humans occur in all colours but dominantly in white and green. Humans represent the victims of the other tribes and monster hunters. Humans on white are isolated from the other tribes and colours in terms of mechanics and cycles. This is the first set in which humans are treated as a tribe.
• Spirits: spirits occur in white and blue, and sporadically in the other colours. White spirits represent guardian spirits and blue spirits are ghosts.
• Zombies: zombies occur in black and blue. Blue zombies (or skaab) are tied to mad scientists, while black zombies are more oriented to graveyard recursion.
• Vampires: vampires occur in black and red. Some black creatures are double-faced cards, but many others have the "Slith" ability: they get a +1/+1 counter when they deal combat damage to a player. In the Shadows over Innistrad block, they are the tribe most associated with the Madness mechanic.
• Werewolves: werewolves occur in red and green. Every werewolf is a double-faced card with the transform mechanic. Until Eldritch Moon, one side of each of the werewolf cards was a human werewolf, however, Eldritch Moon saw several Werewolf creatures that started as Werewolves and transformed into Eldrazi.

Planeswalker visitors

• Chandra Nalaar
• Dack Fayden
• Davriel Cane
• Gideon Jura
• Jace Beleren
• Liliana Vess
• Nahiri
• Nissa Revane
• Sifa Grent
• Sorin Markov
• Tamiyo
• Tibalt
• Vronos

In-game references

Associated cards:

• Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
• Soul of Innistrad

Referred to:

• Angel of Jubilation
• Back from the Brink
• Barter in Blood (Avacyn Restored)
• Biting Rain
• Cathars' Crusade
• Cathedral Sanctifier
• Coax from the Blind Eternities
• Cruel Revival (Magic Origins)
• Geistflame
• Gnarlwood Dryad
• Gravecrawler
• Gravetiller Wurm
• Highland Lake
• Hinterland Harbor
• Night Revelers
• Night Terrors
• Spectral Procession (Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt)
• Structural Distortion
• Subjugator Angel
• Turn Aside (Eldritch Moon)
• Ulvenwald Tracker
• Village Cannibals
• Voice of the Provinces
• Withengar Unbound

External links

• Magic Creative Team (August 24, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Introduction". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (September 07, 2011). "Champion of the Parish". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (September 21, 2011). "Postcards from Innistrad: The Nonbasics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• The Magic Creative Team (September 27, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Gavony and Humans". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Creative Team (October 05, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Kessig and Werewolves". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (October 12, 2011). "Costuming". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Creative Team (October 19, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Nephalia and the Undead". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Ryan Miller and Team (October 24, 2011). "The Cursed Blade". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Creative Team (November 02, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Stensia and Vampires". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (January 02, 2012). "In These Desperate Times: A Backstory Update for Dark Ascension". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (January, 2012). "The Worlds of Dark Ascension". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (January 11, 2012). "Sorin's Homecoming". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Jenna Helland (January 16, 2012). "Preview Article: Mikaeus, the Unhallowed". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (January 18, 2012). "The Prison of Silver". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (January 25, 2012). "The State of the Faith". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (March 21, 2012). "The Guardian, the Witch, and the Angel". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (April 09, 2012). "Angel's Rise and Demon's Release". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Creative Team (April 11, 2012). "Planeswalker's Guide to Avacyn Restored: Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Creative Team (April 18, 2012). "Planeswalker's Guide to Avacyn Restored: Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.