Ravnica: City of Guilds
- This article is about the Magic: The Gathering set, Ravnica: City of Guilds. For the related plane, see Ravnica.
Ravnica: City of Guilds is the thirty-seventh Magic expansion and was released in October 2005 as the first set in the Ravnica Block.
Mechanics and Themes
Ravnica: City of Guilds introduced four of the ten Ravnica Block two-color Guilds, each with its own Keyword (or Ability Word). The introduced guilds are as follows:
Boros Legion
(red-white) - The Boros Legion is the one guild that did not receive a "proper" keyword. Instead, the guild is associated with the ability word Radiance.
Selesnya Conclave
(green-white) - Was given the keyword Convoke which is the way in which the guild symbolises unity in the game.
House Dimir
(blue-black) - Received the keyword Transmute which shows how the Dimir will use a spell to learn another spell just as often as they would actually use the spell.
The Golgari
(green-black) - The associated keyword for the Golgari is Dredge, which symbolizes the way the Golgari revive their dead followers and recover their ancient forgotten knowledge by feeding their magic into the dead.
Other Mechanics
Ravnica also introduced a heavy "Auras Matter" theme, being the first block to place any sort of mechanical focus on the enchantment subtype. Although there are no mechanics directly related to auras, cards like Gatherer of Graces, Bramble Elemental, and the Magemark cycle definitely encouraged the use of the local enchantments.
Following in the tradition of recent Magic blocks, Ravnica takes place in a plane of the Dominaria multiverse that was previously unexplored in the game's backstory. The world of Ravnica is an ecumenopolis, a vast city that covers the entire surface of its planet, and is home to a diverse assortment of sentient races. For ten thousand years, there has been a power struggle between the ten guilds, political factions that each represent a combination of two of Magic's five colors. Ten millennia ago, the Guildpact was signed by the paruns, ending active warfare between them and ushering in an era of peace. But now, on the eve of the celebrations of the accord's ten thousandth anniversary, a sinister force threatens the survival of that peace.
Famous cards include Temple Garden, Dark Confidant, and Lightning Helix.
Theme Decks
The preconstructed theme decks are:
| Theme Deck Name | |||||
| White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | |
| Charge of the Boros | |||||
| Dimir Intrigues | |||||
| Golgari Deathcreep | |||||
| Selesnya United | |||||