Nyx | Illustrated by Piotr Dura | Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast has explored many, many planes of existence through Magic: The Gathering's 32-year span. But while the Magic Multiverse is allegedly infinitely spanning, we've also revisited many familiar planes time and time again.

Many planes are extremely popular with players and fans of the card game and are ripe for multiple returns. Last week we discussed five of the Top 10 planes we could revisit after the current arc ends, and this week we'll finish the list with the Top 5.

Botanical Plaza. Illustrated by Olga Tereshchenko. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

#5. Capenna

Capenna is a plane that was ravaged for years by an early (pre-Mirrodin) Phyrexian invasion. This location rapidly progressed in its wake thanks to the demons of the plane using its angels as industrial fuel. It was Elspeth TirelElspeth Tirel's childhood home and a focal point of the counter-insurgency during the March of the Machine arc.

We only got one dedicated look at the cityscape of New Capenna, the only surviving metropolis on Capenna, through the 2022 expansion, Streets of New Capenna. With so much left to explore on Capenna, this location seems like a great one to revisit in due time.

What Is Capenna Like?

Capenna is largely in a state of devastation, save for New Capenna, a single metropolitan bastion on the plane of existence. Therefore, as our overall knowledge expands about as far as the city boundaries, we'll use what we know to answer this question.

In New Capenna, the world is a brutalist, art-deco metropolis. The aesthetics follow that suit in a Gilded Age, "Swingin' 1920s" cityscape-type manner. This is true from the party culture to its business practices, all the way down to its organized crime.

In a real-life sense, the setting of New Capenna draws its inspiration from 1920s New York City and Chicago, among a few others (the showcase art for Botanical PlazaBotanical Plaza, for example, is based on a skyscraper in Rochester, NY!).

As for the races of New Capenna, we know that there are plenty of animalfolk races in the city proper. There are also Humans, Vampires, Demons, Dragons, Sphinxes, and Angels, with a few megafauna in the mix.

What Did We See in New Capenna During Our Last Visit?

Technically speaking, our last visit to New Capenna was during March of the Machine: Aftermath, wherein the city was rebuilding, following Elesh Norn's failed crusade to overtake the Multiverse. But insofar as the Streets of New Capenna set proper, it was an establishment of setting and the various species and races of the plane.

The culture of a Roaring '20s-esque movement pervaded the set, as did the mobster-style organized crime of the city. Many poltiical plays were made to decide the fate of the city and plane, and leaders were killed and maimed. Xander was killed while Jetmir was mortally wounded.

Nowadays, the city of New Capenna is vastly different from its namesake expansion set, from a leadership perspective. Anhelo claimed Xander's criminal empire, but all five of the crime bosses were soon thereafter killed, or compleated and then killed. The plane is largely now looking not only for someone to fill its leadership vacuum, but also for meaning amid the wake of the war.

Why Is Capenna Important to Revisit?

Capenna (or even just New Capenna) is important for Magic: The Gathering to return to for a variety of reasons.

For one, many players can relate to a metropolitan setting like New Capenna while still yearning for exploration outside of the city. Amid the need for the setting to find itself again (especially as more than a mere plot device), we have an entire rest of the plane to explore.

What is it like a mile outside of the city? What about other kingdoms? Other continents? What is it like on the opposite end of Capenna? Is there even an opposite side anymore? These questions are paramount for Wizards of the Coast to answer if we ever return.

Skybreen. Illustrated by Wayne England. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

#4. Kaldheim

Kaldheim is a vital spot for Magic to return to. We've seen many plot points from the Nordic setting summarily defiled by the March of the Machine arc, including the bastardization of The World TreeThe World Tree into Realmbreaker. Elesh Norn used this biomechanical device to inject itself into every plane of existence all at once and begin her invasion.

However, this also started the Omenpath arc once Realmbreaker was decommissioned following Norn's defeat.

But we may be getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's start back with Kaldheim, a set released in February of 2021. This set gave us our first look at the ten realms connected through The World Tree. While it had the first return of a Phyrexian Praetor in Vorinclex, Monstrous RaiderVorinclex, Monstrous Raider, it also gave us a rich culture and history through its use of Sagas and legendary creatures.

What Is Kaldheim?

As mentioned above, Kaldheim is a pseudo proto-Nordic setting. As you may expect, Kaldheim has all the trappings of a top-down Norse mythological trope-filled setting. From warriors telling tall tales of felling monsters to gods and other deities that, amazingly, could be slain, Kaldheim has so much going for it.

The various sapient races of the plane include Humans, Gods, Zombies, Demons, Angels, Giants, Elves, Dwarves, Minotaurs, and various others.

What Did Kaldheim Reveal to Us?

Kaldheim gave us a lot of plot points that were used later on. However, the biggest plot point that we got in the set proper was the compleation of Tibalt, the Fiend-BloodedTibalt, the Fiend-Blooded and his subsequent disguise as Valki, God of LiesValki, God of Lies.

Furthermore, the Planeswalker Kaya tracked, found, and promptly almost died by the claws of, the Phyrexian Praetor known as Vorinclex. This first look at Kaldheim also introduced us to the native Planeswalker Tyvar KellTyvar Kell, a braggart Elvish prince, the visiting Planeswalker Niko ArisNiko Aris, a mage who uses illusory shards of glass to trap reality within, and all manner of other deities from the plane proper.

Why Should We Revisit Kaldheim?

Kaldheim is the source of the World Tree, and therefore both Realmbreaker and the Omenpaths. As such, it may even be a spot we revisit at the conclusion of the current arc. We don't know the answer to the identity of the setting for that last expansion. Nevertheless, Kaldheim needs to be restored, perhaps more than any other plane of existence in the Multiverse, following Elesh Norn's interplanar invasions.

Ketria. Illustrated by Piotr Dura. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

#3. Ikoria

Ikoria, the namesake of 2020's Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, is another important plane to revisit soon. It's a plane inspired by the pop-cultural touchstone of the daikaiju stories that exist in visual media, properties such as Godzilla, Gamera, and King Kong. There are also some tones of monster-taming phenomena like Pokémon or Monster Hunter within the lore of Ikoria.

Mainly, however, it has tones of humans-versus-monsters as the central driving forces behind it.

What Is Ikoria?

The plane of existence called Ikoria is a subtropical plane that teems with thriving creatures, drawn to and mutated by crystals that augment many of their forms. For the most part, these varied monstrous species are almost as diverse as some parts of Earth's species.

However, the only sapient race on Ikoria appear to be Humans. Ikoria is also the birthplace of the compleated Planeswalker Lukka.

What Happened on Ikoria During Our First Visit?

Frankly, the story of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths was not extremely impactful as more than an origin story for Lukka and an establishment of the setting. We got a bunch of kaiju fights and sieges, but beyond that, there wasn't much plot to go by here. Vivien ReidVivien Reid also stopped by, but that was more of a cameo than anything.

During the March of the Machine story, Phyrexians found that they had extreme difficulty compleating the monsters of the plane, although humans were easy enough to biomechanically convert to their cause. Lukka had been compleated during Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and Jirina KudroJirina Kudro's father, the leader of the Coppercoats paramilitary force and general of the human settlement of Drannith, was compleated and subsequently killed later on.

Why Revisit Ikoria?

Ikoria needs more established lore. This is especially true now that the Omenpaths are open, but it's even more true if the Omenpaths remain open at the end of the current arc. We have the main human leader dead and replaced by his daughter, and no known Planeswalker native to the realm is alive anymore.

It would be nice to return to Ikoria, at the very least to provide the plane a reasonable level of closure.

#2. Theros

At #2 on our list we have Theros. Like Kaldheim or Amonkhet, Theros is inspired by the mythologies of a real-world culture. In this case, ancient Greek and Roman mythology inspired this plane. We've visited Theros in a dedicated way twice now; once during the Theros block in 2013 and once in 2019 for Theros: Beyond Death.

What Is Theros?

The plane of Theros is kind of close to three demiplanes smushed together. There is a Mortal Realm, Nyx (the Olympus analogue), and the Underworld. We've explored all three of these in some depth, but Nyx is still relatively enshrouded in a bit of mystique.

We haven't exactly explored Nyx too much; however, its beasts and beings have made appearances in the other two realms of Theros at large.

On Theros, there is a widespread and diverse gamut of sapient creatures. Look to any Greek myth, and you might find a race or species that's also from Theros therein.

What Happened on Theros?

Theros has fifteen gods, and as far as we're aware, one was temporarily deposed by a satyr named Xenagos, the RevelerXenagos, the Reveler, before Xenagos was killed by Elspeth Tirel. The god he'd deposed, Klothys, God of DestinyKlothys, God of Destiny, eventually returned. In the meantime, Heliod, God of the SunHeliod, God of the Sun and the leader of the Theroan gods, banished Elspeth to the Theroan Underworld out of fear he'd be killed as well.

During Theros: Beyond Death, Elspeth escaped the Underworld, and Heliod also became stuck there. Karmic, but I digress. However, during March of the Machine, Heliod got compleated and turned on the rest of the Gods of his pantheon, and on Theros itself. With Elesh Norn's defeat, Heliod was also vanquished.

Why Return to Theros Again?

With a second god killed on Theros, it's entirely plausible that the residents of the plane who were, at the time, Heliod's worshipers are now struggling with a major crisis of faith. Ajani GoldmaneAjani Goldmane, a Planeswalker and key player in denouncing the Theroan Gods in an organic manner, was also compleated prior to March of the Machine, but he was restored.

Who knows? A return to Theros could also see another look at an Ajani planeswalker card. But the major point I'm trying to make here is that that crisis of faith comes with a vacuum in leadership for Nyx. Like on Ikoria and Kaldheim, Theros desperately needs some degree of closure, its threads of fate restrung, so to speak.

With that, we arrive at my #1 pick for a return to an established Magic plane of existence after the current story arc concludes.

#1 Plane to Return to

The Maelstrom. Illustrated by James Paick. Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

We first visited Alara, a plane established and reconstituted from five different "shards," in October of 2008. We got a full three-set block and a few cameos in other sets, but beyond that, not much in the way of plot progression after the block.

The main concept of Alara rests within the idea of its composition. Alara was originally a whole, unbroken plane, but the draconic Planeswalker Nicol BolasNicol Bolas sundered it into five "shards," each lacking two entire colors of mana. Thus, Shards of Alara was born.

What Is Alara?

Alara's five shards were Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, and Naya. Each revolved around one central color of mana but lacked the mana of that color's philosophical "enemies." However, nowadays Alara is repaired, its shards re-merged with each other.

Unfortunately, this means the inhabitants of the five shards are ideologically opposed to each other. As a result, chaos has ensued on Alara. We don't know much more about the plane anymore, though, as Wizards of the Coast hasn't done much to elaborate on the fate of the denizens of each Shard.

For information on the diverse races on Alara, which are a bit too varied to succinctly note in full or even in part, you can check out the MTG Wiki page on the subject. The same goes for the settings of each Shard.

What Happened on Alara?

The entire plane was broken into five "Shard" planes, each slowly revolving around and inching closer towards a planar anomaly called The Maelstrom. Nicol Bolas was at fault for this sundering and subsequent reformation of Alara. It took a very long time for this to occur, and when the plane finally reformed, many civilizations were greatly at odds with each other, both in a physical sense and an ideological one.

Bolas tried to consume the excess of mana that radiated from the Maelstrom to restore himself to pre-Mending glory as a Planeswalker, but Ajani Goldmane (a native of Naya), Elsepth Tirel, and Sarkhan VolSarkhan Vol of Tarkir stopped him in his tracks.

Why Return to Alara?

As with all other planes of existence in the Top 5 of this list, Alara is a setting in dire need of closure. It was popular with the player base when it was fresh in their minds. Frankly, it's still the one plane that needs a return most. Players both need and deserve to know how this story has progressed since the last time we had any dedicated look at Alara, and multicolor sets are also a lot of fun for many players.

As design space opens up for Wizards of the Coast, they ought to give Alara so much more consideration than they seem to be giving it.

With that, we draw this article to a close. What do you think will happen after the current arc concludes? What settings will Magic: The Gathering return to? And what stakes are there for those planes? Let us know your thoughts below!