Homelands (Magic: The Gathering)
Encyclopedia
Homelands was the thirteenth Magic: The Gathering
set and seventh expert level set, released in October 1995. It was considered to be part of the Ice Age
block until the announcement of Coldsnap
in October 2005.
s who desire knowledge, and the Ancients, wizards who are prepared to be cruel to defend 'their' mysteries. A Tolgath planeswalker named Ravi used an artifact called the Apocalypse Chime, given to her by her master, to destroy all life and mana on Ulgrotha. The plane became a prime battleground for wizards, until the planeswalker
Feroz happened upon it. He wished to protect the plane, so he, along with the planeswalker Serra
, created a ban to keep other planeswalkers out. Feroz died in the process, and Serra died soon afterwards. (Serra would appear briefly in the novelization of a later set, Urza's Saga
, but that appearance occurred prior to her coming to Ulgrotha).
The events surrounding the set begin many years after Feroz's death, when his ban begins to fade. The residents of Ulgrotha (now known to its inhabitants as the Homelands) are at war with one another.
The 140-card set introduced no new mechanics or keywords; however, it did use some of the mechanics previously unique to Ice Age. Most notably, Homelands used the "cantrip" ability: a cantrip spell in the Ice Age block allowed a player to draw a card at the beginning of the next turn in addition to a normally minor spell effect. Later cantrips allowed a player to draw a card immediately.
Homelands also included single-color legendary creatures, first found in Ice Age. In Homelands, each color had at least one legend, with some colors having as many as five (Black has Baron Sengir, Irini Sengir, Grandmother Sengir, Veldrane of Sengir and Ihsan's Shade)
Homelands was the last set to feature just two rarities, common and uncommon, and the last set to be sold in eight-card booster packs.
labeled Homelands as "Magic's all-time design low". When the first Pro Tour
was held shortly after the release of the set, Wizards even decided to have the competitors play a modified Standard. Each player had to have five cards from each legal expansion in his deck, so that at least a few cards from the newest set, Homelands, would be showcased in the top decks.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
set and seventh expert level set, released in October 1995. It was considered to be part of the Ice Age
Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)
Ice Age is the eleventh Magic: The Gathering set and the sixth expansion set, released in June 1995. Set in the years from 450 to 2934 AR, the set describes a world set in perpetual winter due to the events in Antiquities...
block until the announcement of Coldsnap
Coldsnap
For other uses of this term, see Cold snap.Coldsnap is the third set in the Ice Age block for the Magic:The Gathering collectible card game. It was released on July 21, 2006 by Wizards of the Coast. The set came out over ten years after Ice Age was released in June 1995, the longest period of time...
in October 2005.
Storyline
The set takes place in a plane known as Ulgrotha. Homelands begins 600 years ago, during a war between the Tolgath, planeswalkerPlaneswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...
s who desire knowledge, and the Ancients, wizards who are prepared to be cruel to defend 'their' mysteries. A Tolgath planeswalker named Ravi used an artifact called the Apocalypse Chime, given to her by her master, to destroy all life and mana on Ulgrotha. The plane became a prime battleground for wizards, until the planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...
Feroz happened upon it. He wished to protect the plane, so he, along with the planeswalker Serra
Serra (Magic: The Gathering)
represented on her Vanguard promo card In the collectible card-game Magic: The Gathering, Serra was the creator and overlord planeswalker of the artificial plane Serra's Realm. Both played an important role in the post-ascension life of Urza.-On Serra's Realm:After Urza left Serra, the plane was...
, created a ban to keep other planeswalkers out. Feroz died in the process, and Serra died soon afterwards. (Serra would appear briefly in the novelization of a later set, Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga
Urza's Saga is the 15th expert level set, a 350-card Magic: The Gathering expansion set that debuted in October 1998. Some employees of Wizards consider it one of the most powerful sets ever released, with many cards now banned in tournament formats...
, but that appearance occurred prior to her coming to Ulgrotha).
The events surrounding the set begin many years after Feroz's death, when his ban begins to fade. The residents of Ulgrotha (now known to its inhabitants as the Homelands) are at war with one another.
Design
According to Aaron Forsythe, Magic Director of R&D, "it seems Homelands started design as a story first". While most Magic sets have a background story, it is rather unusual for a Magic set to have the story dictate most of the design of the cards in the set.The 140-card set introduced no new mechanics or keywords; however, it did use some of the mechanics previously unique to Ice Age. Most notably, Homelands used the "cantrip" ability: a cantrip spell in the Ice Age block allowed a player to draw a card at the beginning of the next turn in addition to a normally minor spell effect. Later cantrips allowed a player to draw a card immediately.
Homelands also included single-color legendary creatures, first found in Ice Age. In Homelands, each color had at least one legend, with some colors having as many as five (Black has Baron Sengir, Irini Sengir, Grandmother Sengir, Veldrane of Sengir and Ihsan's Shade)
Homelands was the last set to feature just two rarities, common and uncommon, and the last set to be sold in eight-card booster packs.
Reception
The expansion, on average, had an unexpectedly low power level compared to previously released expansions. Initially, very few cards were used for competitive play when the expansion was legal in the Standard tournament format. Magic Head Designer Mark RosewaterMark Rosewater
Mark Rosewater is a Magic: The Gathering card designer. He is currently Magics head designer.-Biography:Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio, where he attended the Orange High School. Rosewater has a Jewish background. Rosewater has described himself in his youth as a "social outcast", who did...
labeled Homelands as "Magic's all-time design low". When the first Pro Tour
Pro Tour (Magic: The Gathering)
The Pro Tour is the highest form of competitive play for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. It consists of a series of payout tournaments held throughout the world, each requiring an invitation to participate. Every PT awards a total of $230,000 in cash prizes, with $40,000 going to...
was held shortly after the release of the set, Wizards even decided to have the competitors play a modified Standard. Each player had to have five cards from each legal expansion in his deck, so that at least a few cards from the newest set, Homelands, would be showcased in the top decks.
Notable cards
- Autumn Willow — A green Legend, her selectable untargetability made her a staple in many early green decks. She was the first creature printed to be untargetable as a static ability.
- Merchant Scroll — A blue sorcery that allows a player to search his or her library for a blue instant card and put it directly into his or her hand. This card has been restricted to one per deck in the Vintage format because it can search one of the many other extremely powerful blue cards in that format.