The History of Strixhaven/Arcavios | Plane Explained | MTG Lore

[@raemendonca]

Thank you for your dedication in making these, Eric. You make playing the game much more enjoyable. I constantly find myself going back to the story behind the cards played because of your work.

[@TheLorebrarians]

That's awesome to hear and the biggest reason why I started making videos. Hope to keep providing content you enjoy!

[@kristophermichaud4467]

This makes me think of a poll i participated in, the one in focus being a poll asking the players how much lore helped their immersion of the game. Most people, including myself, voted that there was little interplay between lore and immersion. Now, after playing mtg since shadows over innistrad, i really miss the full lore of the sets. It may not have mechanical benefit knowing that the plane strixhaven rest upon used to be two separate entities, but it does help the players see the art and actual craft behind a myriad of cards. Like, I had no clue Geyadrone Dihada is very old and full of lore, i thought she was a brand new planeswalker at first.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Yeah, I do really wish they would return to block sets. It allows more of an opportunity to grow and develop a fleshed out world. It helps the lore and storytelling immensely

[@kristophermichaud4467]

@@TheLorebrarians You and me both, there was always so much effort poured into the lore when there was more than one set to lay it all out. Keep up the good work!

[@WTF-Cubing]

Since building my Shadrix Silverquill deck, I’ve watched this whole video probably 10 times to gleam as much insight into him and his college as possible. I’m disappointed in WotC on having 15 seconds of description on new Elder Dragons, as if “Nobody will notice.” I noticed.

[@TheLorebrarians]

It's unfortunate, I wish they had spent more time on the stories of all the elder dragons of Strixhaven. But I hope the video gives some insight!

[@davfree9732]

It's a common problem. I had to run a Ravnica campaign and the lore is... well it's dense, so I understand not being able to put everything in, but when you need details on guilds and the characters, it's lacking.

[@jeffbrownstain]

@@davfree9732 jUsT rEaD tHe lOrE BoOkS 🤡 ^Someone at Wotc, probably

[@jasperdegroot8976]

For me playing the game is so much more fun if i know what is going around, huge thanks for making this!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Creating a deeper level of enjoyment for others is why I started the channel, happy to hear it!

[@icefiredragon94]

I haven't heard the history behind the plane till now and the warring part reminded me of the one between Urza and his brother back in Dominaria. Gives me more perspective on why the dragons limited magic to more safer ones.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Definitely some parallels to the Brothers' War, just without the devastating planar repercussions

[@Nicknack285]

These are some of the best MTG lore videos I've found on KZbin! Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Glad you found the channel and enjoy the vids!

[@rad6007]

I've heard lore of other planes, but Strixhaven strikes me as absolutely RIFE with potential, both figuratively and literally. The whole concept of an interdimensional congregation of students and teachers dedicated to the pursuit and preservation of magical arts just has loads of promise, like something out of a dream. Thanks for the lore, keep it up!

[@miguelalmendras3126]

Those lores keep me coming back for more. Hopefully there will be more coming soon! ♥️

[@kylesavage4525]

Awesome video man. It felt as if it was just a 10' video lol. Great job

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks! glad it didn't feel like it was dragging

[@gothic22d]

A fantastic job, as usual. You are my favorite source of MTG lore.

[@Claytonomore]

Your channel is so polished and well presented. Your work makes me want to play cards I never thought of playing. Keep up the good work, you have made a new subscriber out of me.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Wow, thank you. Deepening the connection between people and their hobbies is why I started the channel and I'm glad that you get enjoyment from the content. I appreciate the support!

[@CollinKappauf]

One of your best videos yet, keep up the good work!

[@laurenm3585]

This is the type of epic story and adventure I was expecting from the Strixhaven D&D guide... alas that book just gave me a crappy scavenger hunt, a list of 10 NPCs and a disgruntled frog for a bad guy :(

[@Screamintothevoid123]

I screenshotted this for my dnd group amazing

[@alextye7779]

Great work! This is my favorite one yet!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Love to hear it! I tried to recite the strixhaven story more as a tale than just facts

[@victoracosta9020]

I love your videos, also I started playing around ikoria and I had no idea lukka was in this plane! I never actually pulled him or saw anything about him in the set !

[@TheLorebrarians]

Awesome! Yeah, he was definitely more of a side character around strixhaven

[@stevendefeo8424]

I wish WOTC wrote more story for Strixhaven. I just found your channel not to long ago and really like how you tell the story/stories

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks, and I agree. Arcavios is a super cool plane with rich history. I wish they expanded upon it more

[@jonnyreinhardt1961]

Thank you for these videos. I’m making a Stixhaven character for D&D and these were really helpful

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it! Glad you enjoyed and found it informational

[@Etheralysium]

As a DM running strixhaven, I appreciate your dedication

[@jonnyreinhardt1961]

@@Etheralysium good luck. I was the only one with a researched character. The game lost track quickly from the story and we teleport to somewhere else with more action and less role playing :(

[@jtheist32]

I've never played a hand of MTG but I could listen to these all day.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Love to hear it. I have plans of expanding more beyond MTG soon. What sorts of books/games/fantasy worlds do you enjoy?

[@jtheist32]

@@TheLorebrarians I tend to enjoy most lore that involves magic/mysticism. The idea of the multiverse and planes walkers always reminds me of the Chronicles of Amber series. I'm always interested in the quality and depth of lore. Probably my favorite (which is no where near as fleshed out as MTG) is the Guild Wars universe and Tyria game-wise.

[@darnellabbott335]

Yooo, Will got such a raw deal! Poor guy wanted to be a proper student and learn stuff together with his sis, but ~nooooo~, she's gotta do stuff her way! Which lead to them not getting along and their powers not working in tandem as well as they used to Which lead to them struggling against the summoned demon And on top of that, Rowan's recklessness nearly ended her, and were it not for Will's quick thinking, would have most certainly got them both murked. But what does Will get for dealing with all this? A missing leg. Absolutely bonkers. And even then!! She's still being all "Man bump this school I wanna go on my own" when Will is just trying to be the best dude he can be and show her she can still improve at the school. Poor, poor dude. I feel for em. Sorry for the rant! But I really do love your videos, man

[@TheLorebrarians]

Haha that was a great breakdown of Will's misadventures while attempting to be a good student! Appreciate you

[@Screamintothevoid123]

Definitely think it should have been Rowan bc it felt like she got no co consequences for her actions

[@SakiIsSaki]

this stuff is seriously underated

[@TheLorebrarians]

I appreciate the love, slowly getting more support!

[@andy8983]

I recently got the new Strixhaven DND setting book which adds SO MUCH LORE. I'm a new DM planning on running a campaign where my friends are students attending strixhaven!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Nice that sounds super fun, enjoy the campaigns!

[@mcbiscuits8015]

The merfolk look ixalanian and I'm pretty sure that this is the only other plane with kor. My headcannon is that time spiral ripples displace races from different planes and make the snarls.

[@Screamintothevoid123]

Everytime Lukka shows up. "Goddammit Lukka."

[@evantreffinger2009]

I know I’m relatively new to the lore of MTG but I think it’s kinda funny that our big bad sorcerer dude used a teleportation spell on Lilliana. I mean I get that he didn’t know Prof. Onyx was Lilliana or that she is a planeswalker but, that’s gotta be the most useless magic to use against a planeswalker lol “AHA! I shall defeat you by sending you hundreds of miles away! You won’t be able to stop me from there!” *proceeds to return almost instantly*

[@noblesseoblige319]

This isn't super relevant, but someone put on dmsguild a community College in arcavios for strixhaven dropouts, based on obscure lore about the planes. I thought it was hilarious

[@Screamintothevoid123]

Omg what, link???

[@zachnewman5566]

Running the strixhaven dnd campaign and once the written adventure is over I am 100% adapting this extus/blood avatar storyline for higher level play

[@andrewfornes5320]

I know I am replying to a post created 2 years ago but I just want to say - I am extremely jealous of the Strixhaven Campaign; I have wanted to play in one since Strixhaven was released... I almost instantly came up with the idea of a Swarmkeeper Ranger in Witherbloom who can control a group of Pests. Maybe I will have the goal of finding & befriending Blex within the swamplands.

[@houstonhall1144]

Let’s be honest “Mage Slayer” sounds cooler

[@Scar-jg4bn]

The guilds are like classes in school: Art, History, English, Science and Math.

[@nickjohnson8812]

A true lord legend ❤️ amazing work, keep it up!

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@trentcarlson8229]

As always Eric your content is incredible and truly fun to watch. I loved how you added towards the end of the video "Kasmina is gathering planeswalkers to fight a multiverse threat". We all know its the phrexians at this point, however the question becomes how do we reintroduce all the classic planeswalkers again like Karn, Teferie, Elspeth, and others to bring back to fight the phrexians. I guess we will revisit Dominaria at some point. Also when will we see more Praetors in new magic sets, I guess WOTC is planning to spread this plot out over the next few years. What do you all think let me know your opinion below.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy the videos. Yeah, I think the phyrexians will build up over the next couple years although I was a little surprised that one of the praetors wasn't introduced in strixhaven. Maybe they will do one every other set? I think we'll get some good answers in the innistrad sets this year

[@trentcarlson8229]

@@TheLorebrarians hey thanks for your thoughts, I would agree that yes we may get another Praetor for Innistrad my guess is Sherold, but according to lore she is not present in New Phrexia, the only other one is Jin Gixtaxis. Maybe WOTC is planning on only introducing one Praetor per set every year to spread out the timeline and allow the formation of the scattered Gatewatch.

[@rickrhone8420]

The set name "Dominaria United" was just recently trademarked, so there is your probable answer

[@bigg_gaming]

Seriously amazing video, so helpful!

[@andrewfornes5320]

I have a Beledros Witherbloom deck & really want them to go back to Strixhaven as soon as possible. I really want the deck to be Pest typal but there isn't enough Pest on their own at the moment.

[@TheAidenSanders]

Well done guys!

[@hannesneven3644]

Thank you for showing me this magical world I love learning and knowing more. Still new at Lore, I’ve watched 23 of your videos but that’s all. Liliana was a busy lady huh ? I never realized how powerful she is. I mean Avacyn and Grisselbrand couldn’t defeat each other after 3 days of combat and Lilly killed him ? She brought the one cleric back from death to find out where Grisselbrand is I think. Man she wil kill you, bring you back to life just so she can kill you again 😂😮 Do you have video dedicated just on her ?

[@TheLorebrarians]

Well, im so glad you enjoy the content! As a matter of fact, I do, and it's over an hour long. The redemption of Liliana Vess. Cheers!

[@Akephalos204]

That was incredibly good thanks

[@chuckles486gaming8]

Dude love your lore videos you have to do one on kamala he has been my dude since he was first printed I think he is in everyone of my green decks

[@jimcharles1479]

great video man

[@vigna5417]

Yo, and what about our dear Oracle that was sitting on the mountain? Didn't Jadzi do anything while the conflict was going on? I mean, she should be strong since she's the chosen by the elder dragons... Don't you think that?

[@Ikefiction0]

I've created a female Drow who is a shadow magic sorcerer she draws out her magic in images of color. Using her black magic as a canvas, or maybe, centerstage

[@TheSushiandme]

Great video. thank you

[@TheLorebrarians]

Glad you liked the vid!

[@KyjoKai]

Love your videos!

[@TheLorebrarians]

So glad to hear it!

[@Darth_Zuko]

Great video, ^-^ happy to subscribe for more

[@TheLorebrarians]

And happy for your support!

[@faeriedragon348]

By the way, what college have you chosen/do you play?

[@TheLorebrarians]

I have a silverquill and a lorehold deck, but I think silverquill just barely edges out as my favorite. I love the black/white combo. And you?

[@faeriedragon348]

@@TheLorebrarians I’ll give you a hint, my decks name is “quantum physics”.

[@dragondeeznutts]

@@faeriedragon348bro just say it , he def dont care enough to guess

[@Screamintothevoid123]

Lorehold baybeeeee

[@DarthSironos]

Man, sounds like we might get a rakdos Luka Planeswalker some day, what a murderous asshole. Liliana becoming a University Professor seems a bit out of character. Hope she moves on when she has revived Gideon. Sounds like we might see an Orzhov Liliana in the future. I love how the lore of the dragons limiting the power of magic fits with everyone's complaint that most of the Strixhaven cards are too weak compared to the other standard sets. I wonder if it was intentional.

[@hughjainus9686]

I love mage slayers

[@jaretbennett4926]

The archaics look like eldrazi.

[@orgixvi3]

Hopefully, whenever we go back to Strixhaven, WotC can develop it into something more than just Legally Distinct Hogwarts.

[@DisownedVT]

Andy Velomachus Lorehold

[@josephecousineau5767]

can I just say, Kasmina is by far the worst mentor character of all time. She does nothing except bring the twins to Strixhaven, have a lackluster fight with edgelord wannabe Luka, and peep on people with her owls, and what's worse, the moment danger appears, she runs and leaves the people she is supposed to be mentoring to fend for themselves.

[@calebseay8461]

Hmmm how about... THE ENTIRE MTG TIMELINE

[@Methus3lah]

I have a theory that the elder dragons were influenced by Urza to create Strixhaven. IIRC, the original Tolarian Academy was destroyed a few centuries before Strixhaven was created. Urza may have even influenced Kasmina to find planeswalkers among them, in order to have even more powerful mages in the fight against Phyrexia.

[@dragondeeznutts]

no 0/10 👎

[@KostasTheDark]

Extus: I will summon the Blood Avatar from the Blood Age and destroy Strixhaven! The Kenrith Twins: Summon, you say... Didn't STUDENTS use a spell to steal control of summoned creatures while playing Mage Tower? Extus: Nuuuuuuuuuu!!! Excellent plan, you Voldemort expy. I see the writing hasn't advanced any since Bolas made the most flawed plan in the history of the multiverse...

[@Etheralysium]

Can I just say this is so much better than the DND module? I'm about to run this as my campaign instead of that, at least my last two years

[@nojusticenetwork9309]

This Luka character sounds like a real idiot. "I hate people in power" but the people in power is a damn school formed to teach people how to largely use magic for good and sealing away knowledge of more destructive knowledge. But hey, let's send a swarm mage killing monsters to kill a bunch of kids and young adults who just want to learn. It's not like fear of the oriq isn't justified or anything 🙄

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:)

[@andyaknoby5007]

Lukka in the book of his plane is a jerk...and looks like he still a jerk

[@Demolitiondude]

You did way too much work on a Kmart Harry Potter dating sim.

[@jeffbrownstain]

Why's everything always gotta be fascism? Why can't we just get a nice, quirky and enlightening school without some random nonsense about evil teachers spreading propaganda? Loved this plane right up until that overtly stupid plot point.

[@cedricroney1475]

Wizards of the coast really don't like men