Planar Chaos
Encyclopedia
Planar Chaos is an expansion set, codenamed "Crackle," from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering
. The set was released on February 2, 2007. The pre-release events took place on January 20 and 21, 2007. It is the second set in the Time Spiral
block. The symbol for Planar Chaos is a Möbius strip
.
(versions of Dominaria where history played out differently) to merge into the already colliding past-present-future of current events.
and Paul Sottosanti, and developed by Devin Low (lead developer), Zvi Mowshowitz, Brian Schneider, Henry Stern and Mike Turian, Planar Chaos was tasked with representing the present in a set focused on the cycle of time.
The design team considered a number of ways to represent an alternate present, including the introduction of purple as a new color.
Eventually, the team chose to represent alternate realities where elements of the color pie were shifted, placing spell types and abilities into unusual colors. These alternate realities were epitomized by the set's 45 "Timeshifted" cards. Unlike their predecessors in Time Spiral, these cards were direct reprints of previous cards, save for shifts in color, land or color references in card text, card name and creature type. Timeshifted cards in Planar Chaos appear in an altered version of the modern card frame with standard set symbols.
Timeshifted cards in Planar Chaos are also distributed differently. In each pack, three common cards are of the Timeshifted variety and an uncommon is replaced with either a timeshifted rare or uncommon. Foil cards, instead of replacing a card of the same rarity, replace a common card. As such, it is possible to receive a booster with up to three rare cards: one normal, one foil and one timeshifted.
The uncommon timeshifted cards show up in a 3:1 ratio to the rare timeshifted cards, so the average out of 4 boosters is 3 uncommon and 1 rare timeshifted card.
The Time Spiral keywords of Suspend, Flash and Split Second all returned in Planar Chaos, alongside the "timeshifted" mechanics of Echo, Flanking, Kicker, Madness, Morph and Shadow. Planar Chaos marked the first appearance of spells with Echo costs that did not match their casting costs, as well as the first appearance of single color split cards.
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...
. The set was released on February 2, 2007. The pre-release events took place on January 20 and 21, 2007. It is the second set in the Time Spiral
Time Spiral
Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released October 6, 2006. The set is laden with references to previous Magic: the Gathering sets and is the first to take place in Dominaria since the May 2003 set Scourge...
block. The symbol for Planar Chaos is a Möbius strip
Möbius strip
The Möbius strip or Möbius band is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. The Möbius strip has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It can be realized as a ruled surface...
.
Storyline
The temporal stresses being applied to Dominaria have expanded, causing multiple parallel universesParallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
(versions of Dominaria where history played out differently) to merge into the already colliding past-present-future of current events.
Set details
Designed by Bill Rose (lead designer), Matt Place, 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...
and Paul Sottosanti, and developed by Devin Low (lead developer), Zvi Mowshowitz, Brian Schneider, Henry Stern and Mike Turian, Planar Chaos was tasked with representing the present in a set focused on the cycle of time.
The design team considered a number of ways to represent an alternate present, including the introduction of purple as a new color.
Eventually, the team chose to represent alternate realities where elements of the color pie were shifted, placing spell types and abilities into unusual colors. These alternate realities were epitomized by the set's 45 "Timeshifted" cards. Unlike their predecessors in Time Spiral, these cards were direct reprints of previous cards, save for shifts in color, land or color references in card text, card name and creature type. Timeshifted cards in Planar Chaos appear in an altered version of the modern card frame with standard set symbols.
Timeshifted cards in Planar Chaos are also distributed differently. In each pack, three common cards are of the Timeshifted variety and an uncommon is replaced with either a timeshifted rare or uncommon. Foil cards, instead of replacing a card of the same rarity, replace a common card. As such, it is possible to receive a booster with up to three rare cards: one normal, one foil and one timeshifted.
The uncommon timeshifted cards show up in a 3:1 ratio to the rare timeshifted cards, so the average out of 4 boosters is 3 uncommon and 1 rare timeshifted card.
Keyword and Mechanics
The only Planar Chaos specific keyword mechanic is Vanishing, an updated version of an older mechanic, Fading. Vanishing uses time counters to interact with Time Spiral cards and induces sacrifice at the removal of the final counter to make the mechanic more intuitive than its predecessor.The Time Spiral keywords of Suspend, Flash and Split Second all returned in Planar Chaos, alongside the "timeshifted" mechanics of Echo, Flanking, Kicker, Madness, Morph and Shadow. Planar Chaos marked the first appearance of spells with Echo costs that did not match their casting costs, as well as the first appearance of single color split cards.