Malakir
| Malakir | |
|---|---|
| The Dark City | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Plane | Zendikar |
| Colors |
 |
| Part of | Hagra, Pelakka, Guul Draz |
| Formerly part of | Makindi Empire |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Malakir, also known as the Dark City, is a swamp city on the continent of Guul Draz on Zendikar, and the capital of the plane's vampires.[1]
Description
Malakir now stands as a grim fortress and the last true refuge of the free vampires of Guul Draz.[2]
The city’s five historic districts remain, though only three are still inhabited:
- Kalastria District sits on the highest ground and does not depend on levees or dikes to stay dry. It is the oldest and wealthiest part of Malakir and now serves as Drana’s stronghold — the most defensible position in the city.[2]
- Nirkana District sprawls across the water and can only be navigated through rancid canals winding between decaying buildings. The Nirkana, infamous assassins and spies, continue to stalk their shadowy waterways.[2]
- Urnaav District is a transitional zone of stone-paved roads and narrow canals that lies between the swampy lowlands of Emevera and the dry heights of Kalastria. Some vampires still cling to their streets.[2]
Two districts have fallen into ruin:
- Emevera District lies in a low basin once shielded by massive stone dikes. When the city fell during the Battle for Zendikar, the dikes collapsed and the swamp reclaimed the district. Now teeming with crocodiles and pythons, its flooded ruins form a natural barrier against Eldrazi incursions.[2]
- Ghet District was already impoverished after political sabotage by House Emevera, which diverted water to flood it. Today, it stands abandoned and submerged, fully claimed by the Eldrazi. House Ghet itself pledged allegiance to the Titans under Kalitas’s command.[2]
History
Malakir once belonged to the ancient Makindi Empire before its fall.[3]
Before the rise of the Eldrazi, Malakir was the largest city on Zendikar and a seat of decadent vampire power. It was notorious for its debauchery, with each district controlled by one of five powerful vampire families. When Ulamog awoke, half the city’s vampire population fell under the titan’s sway and turned on the rest, sparking a brutal civil war that left the city in ruins.[2]
Drana, bloodchief of House Kalastria, escaped the slaughter and later returned with other survivors free from Eldrazi control. Together they reclaimed Malakir, transforming it from a den of excess into a fortress — the last bastion for Zendikar’s free vampires.[2]
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
References
- ↑ Magic Creative Team (October 21, 2009). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Zendikar: Guul Draz". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-26.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h James Wyatt (January 5, 2016) - The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Zendikar, WotC.
- ↑ Ari Zirulnik and James Wyatt (September 1, 2020). "Zendikar: Things Have Changed". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.