fbpx
Categories
Featured Trading Card Games

Let’s Talk about Ikoria #MtGIKO

Reading Time: 7 minutes

It is unclear to me how much the local population understands about such things, as they are usually preoccupied by much larger concerns.

Vivien Reid, Planeswalker’s Guide to Ikoria.
Commander 2020 was marketed as Commander: Ikoria, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths’ Commander decks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhj7mx1wfGM
There’s Always a Bigger Monster.

The Ecology of Ikoria

Ikoria has five major geographical regions called triomes. Each triome has its own unique terrain, due to the unique flow of magic through the land of this plane, a dominant clade of monsters, and a fearsome apex monster. Each region is the result of three distinct types of mana mixing together. 

Clever wordplay on biomes, from bio- (life) + -ome, but transforms bi-omes into tri-omes, hinting at the aforementioned triple-mana nature of the regions.
Dominant Monster Clade
Cats
Human Sanctuary
Drannith,
the Invincible City
Grassy plains atop mountainous cliff faces and swampy subterranean tunnels.
Dominant Monster Clade
Elementals
Human Sanctuary
n/a
Rivers and waterfalls that wind through crystalline forests and cascade down mountain sides.
Dominant Monster Clade
Nightmares
Human Sanctuary
Skysail,
the Floating City
Swampy pools within lowland plains, dotted with uniquely shaped trees.
Dominant Monster Clade
Dinosaurs
Human Sanctuary
Lavabrink,
the Sanctuary City
Volcanic mountains surrounding white-sand beaches along the coastline.
Dominant Monster Clade
Beasts
Human Sanctuary
n/a
Teeming rainforests with vast lily pools and swampy wetlands.

Humans on Ikoria found sanctuary in triomes with white mana.

It’s Snapdax. You’d have a better chance of breaching a wall with a slice of bread.

Will of the All-Hunter

There is no law of nature that I have not seen Illuna break. Makes you wonder what is truly possible, does it not?

Boon of the Wish-Giver

And then the shadow took living form, and the shadow devoured the man whole—body, mind, and soul.

Tales of the Ozolith

Jealous of storms, Vadrok took lightning from the sky and buried it deep under the earth. It still rumbles there, longing to escape.

Tales of the Ozolith

The most unexpected weapon that a monster can wield is kindness.

Tales of the Ozolith
The colour of the spell for the triomes' Apex Predator Myth is a clue for why the Triomes aren't arranged alphabetically... Each Apex Predator is aligned with the respective Mythos by the middle-coloured symbol of its mana cost.

As it twists, so does all life around it.

The Ozolith’s appearance spawned a new era of wild mutation on Ikoria. Some creatures hunted different prey, lived in new habitats, and thrived on mutation itself.

#

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths storyline

Lukka is a proud captain of the Coppercoats, the elite military force that defends Drannith from the savage monsters lurking outside its city walls. For the Coppercoats, the only good monster is a dead monster. Lukka’s world is forever altered when he unexpectedly forms a mystical connection with a ferocious, winged cat. But such bonds are high crimes in Drannith, punishable by death. Running for his life, Lukka flees the very home he was sworn to protect. Now an outcast monster bonder, Lukka must survive the wilds of Ikoria while being ruthlessly hunted by his former brothers-in-arms, including the sadistic General Kudro. With help from planeswalker Vivien Reid, can Lukka learn to tame his newfound powers before he wields vengeance–and an army of nightmarish monsters–against his beloved Drannith?


THERE’S ALWAYS A BIGGER MONSTER.

Comments are closed.