Invasion block

The Invasion block is the sixth block, consisting of the large expansion Invasion () and the two small expansions Planeshift () and Apocalypse (). The block came out in 2000-2001.

This block was centered around the idea of multiple colors working in synergy, with an inordinately large amount of gold cards. Many mono-colored cards in the block also played to the multicolor theme, either in bonuses granted by other colors or off-color activation costs. In this way, Invasion was a precursor of the later Ravnica block.

Keywords introduced in this block: Kicker.

Themes present throughout the block included multicolor strategy, tribal themes, Domain cards, Gating cards, and Kavu creatures.

Mega cycles

There are two four-card mega-cycles in the Invasion block, each started in Invasion with two allied colors cards and finished in Apocalypse with two enemy colors cards.

Cycle name	Description and notes
Gold counterspells	Each of these multicolored spells has in its casting cost and includes a Counterspell attached to a color appropriate effect.	Absorb (Healing Salve)	Undermine (Bump in the Night)	Suffocating Blast (Lightning Strike)	Mystic Snake (Grizzly Bears)
Cycle name	Description and notes
Mutations	Each of these multicolored spells has in its casting cost, destroys or disrupts resources, and creates a number of 1/1 Saproling creature tokens equal to the resource's converted mana cost.	Aura Mutation (Enchantments)	Aether Mutation (Creatures - bounce)	Death Mutation (Creatures - destroy)	Artifact Mutation (Artifacts)

There is an additionnal three-card mega-cycle in the Invasion block, where one card was printed in each set.

Cycle name	Description and notes	Invasion	Planeshift	Apocalypse
Land Kavus	Each of these Kavu is a red 2/2 creature with a mana cost of and an activated ability requiring to tap to change a land's type into another. The first two change the land into the allies of red, while the last one changes it into the color's ennemies.	Slimy Kavu (Swamp)	Kavu Recluse (Forest)	Tundra Kavu (Plains or Island)

Tokens

Magic Player Rewards provided some cardboard tokens for the block. However, because Magic Online needs to represent all the tokens in the game, art needs to be created for even the most insignificant tokens. For those, Magic Online is the only place it appears.

Development codes

On the development codenames for the Invasion block, MTG.com columnist Mark Rosewater writes:

“

Invasion block codenames were cities with Chinese names. I believe this theme was picked by Mike Elliott because it fit our recent hard-to-spell kick. The original choices were actually so complicated that we had to change them.

”

Sets