Thran
Encyclopedia
In Magic: The Gathering
, the Thran were a utopian culture of humans whose technology level was much more advanced than any other Dominarians. Their artifact devices ran on powerstones which had stable artificial planes
in them. They were introduced in the Urza's Saga set, with such cards as Thran Quarry and Thran Dynamo amongst others.
The Thran Empire, centered in their capital city of Halcyon, encompassed much of the main planet of the plane of Dominaria. Their culture was idyllic and pacifistic, and the Thran people lived very lush and comfortable lives. This all changed when a group of rebellious Untouchables, people who had been exiled from Halcyon to live and die in the Caves of the Damned, for one reason or another, attacked the city's mana rig, or power source, effectively, situated in a volcanic crevice above the Caves of the Damned and below the City of Halcyon. The Genius of Halcyon, a man named Glacian, was hurt in the raid on the mana rig, and contracted a disease which none of the city's healers were able to cure; their arcane healing magic only worsened the disease.
The Thran began to suffer from this disease known as Phthisis, which an ex-Thran healer named Yawgmoth
determined was caused by the powerstones which the city ran on. The disease changed the way the Thran Empire worked; it spread like the Plague and Yawgmoth had the only known cure—a serum consisting of metal components in solution which blocked the flow of mana
(natural energy) through the body, a process called phyrexis. Yawgmoth became the hero of Halcyon for discovering a way to fight the new disease and gained political power from it. Yawgmoth, driven primarily by a desire for power, used his campaign against the Phthisis to manipulate things in his favor and eventually gain control of the Thran capital city of Halcyon. During his quest for power, he took control of a plane he named Phyrexia for his term phyrexis which meant regeneration.
The Thran-Phyrexian War began when Yawgmoth returned to conquer the Thran and the plane of Dominaria. Yawgmoth, in control of the city of Halcyon and its elite guard, along with his new army of Phyrexians, waged war against the Thran coalitions that opposed him. During this battle, Yawgmoth took control of the Null Moon, a giant, movable structure which could control all the artifacts in the Thran Empire, and used it to cripple the Thran Coalition's effort. Yawgmoth used the Null Moon to drop powerstone chargers, great dooms-day weapons which sucked energy off the land and everything on it or around it to charge a single powerstone. Yawgmoth was finally defeated when he and his followers were sealed in Phyrexia by a portal-device powered by a powerstone. For the Thran, the victory was pyrrhic
. Their civilization had been damaged too greatly to recover, and soon collapsed.
Thousands of years later, all that was left of the Thran was their advanced artifacts, which were scavenged by later civilizations for study. Two such salvagers, the brothers Urza
and Mishra, researched these remnants and during a visit to the Cave of Koilos, the powerstone powering the device sealing Phyrexia was broken. Each brother received one half of the powerstone (named the Mightstone and Weakstone), and their greed for both halves of the stone and their animosity for each other eventually led to The Brothers' War
. Much later, the opening of the gate to Phyrexia would lead another Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria.
The Thran, written in 1999 by J. Robert King, further discusses this race.
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 Thran were a utopian culture of humans whose technology level was much more advanced than any other Dominarians. Their artifact devices ran on powerstones which had stable artificial planes
Plane (Magic: The Gathering)
In Magic: The Gathering, planes are parallel universes in the Multiverse Planes are often confused with planets by Magic players, because most planes are named after their primary planets...
in them. They were introduced in the Urza's Saga set, with such cards as Thran Quarry and Thran Dynamo amongst others.
The Thran Empire, centered in their capital city of Halcyon, encompassed much of the main planet of the plane of Dominaria. Their culture was idyllic and pacifistic, and the Thran people lived very lush and comfortable lives. This all changed when a group of rebellious Untouchables, people who had been exiled from Halcyon to live and die in the Caves of the Damned, for one reason or another, attacked the city's mana rig, or power source, effectively, situated in a volcanic crevice above the Caves of the Damned and below the City of Halcyon. The Genius of Halcyon, a man named Glacian, was hurt in the raid on the mana rig, and contracted a disease which none of the city's healers were able to cure; their arcane healing magic only worsened the disease.
The Thran began to suffer from this disease known as Phthisis, which an ex-Thran healer named Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth
Yawgmoth, known as the "Father of Machines" and called the Ineffable by his underlings, is a fictional being from Magic, The Gathering, and is the unabated god of the plane of Phyrexia, a universe of untold corruption and mechanical monstrosity. He wields nearly unlimited magical might and...
determined was caused by the powerstones which the city ran on. The disease changed the way the Thran Empire worked; it spread like the Plague and Yawgmoth had the only known cure—a serum consisting of metal components in solution which blocked the flow of mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
(natural energy) through the body, a process called phyrexis. Yawgmoth became the hero of Halcyon for discovering a way to fight the new disease and gained political power from it. Yawgmoth, driven primarily by a desire for power, used his campaign against the Phthisis to manipulate things in his favor and eventually gain control of the Thran capital city of Halcyon. During his quest for power, he took control of a plane he named Phyrexia for his term phyrexis which meant regeneration.
The Thran-Phyrexian War began when Yawgmoth returned to conquer the Thran and the plane of Dominaria. Yawgmoth, in control of the city of Halcyon and its elite guard, along with his new army of Phyrexians, waged war against the Thran coalitions that opposed him. During this battle, Yawgmoth took control of the Null Moon, a giant, movable structure which could control all the artifacts in the Thran Empire, and used it to cripple the Thran Coalition's effort. Yawgmoth used the Null Moon to drop powerstone chargers, great dooms-day weapons which sucked energy off the land and everything on it or around it to charge a single powerstone. Yawgmoth was finally defeated when he and his followers were sealed in Phyrexia by a portal-device powered by a powerstone. For the Thran, the victory was pyrrhic
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
. Their civilization had been damaged too greatly to recover, and soon collapsed.
Thousands of years later, all that was left of the Thran was their advanced artifacts, which were scavenged by later civilizations for study. Two such salvagers, the brothers Urza
Urza
Urza Planeswalker is a fictional character from the universe of Magic: The Gathering, best known for his millennia-long struggle with Yawgmoth and the plane of Phyrexia...
and Mishra, researched these remnants and during a visit to the Cave of Koilos, the powerstone powering the device sealing Phyrexia was broken. Each brother received one half of the powerstone (named the Mightstone and Weakstone), and their greed for both halves of the stone and their animosity for each other eventually led to The Brothers' War
The Brothers' War
The Brothers' War is a Magic: The Gathering novel written by Jeff Grubb, and published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. It takes place on the fictional world of Dominaria, within the 'multiverse'. It tells the story of the origins of Urza, who plays a significant role in other Magic: The Gathering...
. Much later, the opening of the gate to Phyrexia would lead another Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria.
The Thran, written in 1999 by J. Robert King, further discusses this race.