The Plane of Ikoria Explained | MTG Lore

[@BurntToastGhost]

Honestly, never was too into magic but a friend of mine gave me all their cards they collected from Ikoria booster boxes when they decided to stop playing. It was my first real introduction to the game and I really loved the mutation mechanic. I hope we visit it again in the future. Great video, loved learning the lore!

[@TheLorebrarians]

You bet, glad you enjoyed and I too wish we come back to Ikoria!

[@derrabbit7289]

Perhaps my favorite plane thus far. Giant, mutating monsters in the colors of Tarkir, another favorite of mine.

[@TheLorebrarians]

I really enjoy the 3-colored planes as well. Tarkir and Alara are great and I hope we return to Ikoria in the future

[@mtgfieldguide9283]

Great video - thank you! I love how different the Ikoria triomes feel from their Tarkir wedge counterparts.

[@TheLorebrarians]

Agreed, they did a really nice job of keeping the triomes unique from the clans despite sharing color combinations

[@CLAREROMVoid]

Love the video! I would love to see the allied mana combinations in Ikoria, I love Ixalan for introducing Dinos for real in MTG, but in Ikoria they have achieved dominance in an area. Kaiju/monsters/dinos/evolution... Ikoria is by far one of my favorite planes.

[@MayBeSomething]

Welcome to Ikoria! What happens when you give the Simic access to all 5 colours, access to Ixilan's non-class creature types, let them run experiments for 100 years, then suddenly remove them from existence? This.

[@one_bad_mofo8658]

Favorite Apex Predator? Vadrok by far (I'm a Jeskai player, so its PERFECT!). Nothing like performing mutation combos then bouncing this massive mutation to hand and doing it all over again!

[@staciefreshener4032]

The 3 elemental reminded me of Riku , That legendary card of deck elementary mastery or sth like that. It has Haste cards like Helix , and some other stuff -> Control and return target to owners -> haste and self sacrifice end of turn or shuffle into library end of turn -> Riku himself , the 2 reflections ; legendary creature etc

[@RazorOfArtorias]

As a URG player Ketria triome resonates with me. I love how wild and natural feels the combination of land (red), water (blue) and vegetation (green).

[@TheLorebrarians]

I agree, and the art for each of the triomes really hits home the vibe

[@handsonthewater5913]

The eludha... the first thing I think of when I think of that is in Subnautica when you make contact with the Sea Emperor.

[@elipetrou9308]

I just discovered your channel, I’m enjoying your vids

[@under100edh4]

I’m working on a video about bonding. And this is a sweet resource! I’ll make sure to reference your channel! It’s awesome

[@TheLorebrarians]

Appreciate it, glad you enjoyed!

[@maxmichalik4938]

Do you have an explanation for how the various Apex monsters relate to their colors flavor wise? Specifically, what makes Snapdax primarily White, Nethroi part White, Vadrok White/Blue, and Brokkos part black?

[@TheLorebrarians]

So from a game standpoint each subtype corresponds to a color: White=Cat Blue=Elemental Black=Nightmare Red=Dinosaur Green=Beast From a story standpoint I think that they are the colors of their triome because they embody the sources of mana as Apex Monsters. Hope this helps!

[@maxmichalik4938]

@@TheLorebrarians I actually made up some headcanon for each of the Apex recently. I often do that, making up my own lore to make things make more sense, while trying to make sure I don't actively contradict any of the established canon. Here's what I have: Cats are White because of their communal hunting and mammal behavior. Snapdax is primary White because he (being ultimately just a big cat with camouflage and extra spikes) didn't actually destroy all those settlements on his own, but convinced many other cats to essentially wage an organized war of terror against the humans threatening the monster "community". He hates humans with a White/Red // White/Black passion. Vadrok is Blue because his magic breath effect isn't actually random or instinctive in its varied effect, but a result of study and curiosity. And he/she is White because, as a beautiful example of the local mutant fauna, he/she has had many offspring over the centuries and actually is a doting matriarch/patriarch that teaches hunting and maintains some form of hierarchy in his/her skies. Brokkos is the most perfidious one. The nightmare and elemental parts are almost completely unnoticeable, because they are purposefully hidden. Millions of years ago he was a Green beast with a Black/Blue heart, using mutations into unnatural powers to got to the top of the food chain, become immortal, and bend the very seasons and even nature itself to his will. But none of it is noticeable at this day and age because Brokkos has essentially won. He *is* on top, he *is* immortal, and the seasons *do* follow his path. And since Green is still his primary color, that is enough for him and he has let nature naturally settle around him, with him at the top, not needing to use any of his old tricks to defeat mere mortal challengers. In other words the reason Raugrin looks so natural and mundane compared to other triomes because Brokkos is so natural, but because nature itself is so like Brokkos. One piece of evidence for the evil Brokkos theory is his myth. A human hunter confronts Brokkos. Brokkos recognizes that humanity is a new problem, never before encountered. Instead of just rolling over this single weak specimen, he gives her a "vision" that tells her how to lead her people. And how does that leadership look? Raugrin has no unified civilization and no sanctuary cities. Instead the humans there seem to be lone hunters, using their intellect as just another tool in the game of predator and prey. And thus, with a single Black/Blue gambit of the mind, Brokkos has neutralized the thread and pulled his local humans into the system that he calls nature. I didn't manage to make up any explanations for Nethroi's color palette. Yet. What do you think? Is there any value to my made up fan-canon?

[@TheLorebrarians]

@@maxmichalik4938 That's impressive background information and well-reasoned! I think there are merits to your explanation and it's difficult to determine canonical accuracy when we just don't have that much information on the Apex Monsters. The cats of Savai are communal but I think Snapdax is more of a one-cat-band so I'm not sure if it would have convinced other cats to help it attack sanctuaries. I like the idea of a darker Brokkos although from what we are given it appears to be more of a gentle-giant type. But I enjoyed reading your theories!

[@maxmichalik4938]

@@TheLorebrarians I mostly take the fact that the Apex Monsters on Ikoria are older that human history (defined as separate from prehistory which is before the advent of writing) on that plane. So Snapdax is just currently not leading other cats because mass cat assaults on giant walls are pointless, and so his Black loner nature is shining through a bit more. And Brokkos is a gentle giant because that's all everyone sees in this late era of his existence. Because that's what it lets them see. It's all part of his master plan to... keep everything right as it is. Because he's Green first. Maybe always has been, but definitely became it after he won the game of life.

[@TLG1255]

I love the Raugrin and Vadrok, but savai has one of my favorite color combos so that’s tough to beat.

[@ASoberBear]

Excited for the Warhammer 40,000 one now!

[@TheLorebrarians]

I'd love to get into the 40k content, but will definitely need to do a fair bit of research!

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Good vid good length better then mtg historian who looks high on crack in his thumbnails. Do long lore vids from every set if able

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thanks for the feedback! Will definitely go to previous sets after wrapping up my Ikoria videos

[@sarenastralis9969]

I have an idea that rielle the everwise was given the vision by the forever beast. Imparting immortality upon her.

[@BruceWaynesaysLandBack]

Mutating animals, mutating lands

[@bzb333]

awesome video! could you recommend where to get started on learning the mtg lore for a noob?

[@TheLorebrarians]

Thank you! Wizards has "planeswalker guide" articles that do a great job of explaining the setting. As far as character story goes the mtg wiki summarizes well, but it's easy to get sucked into the rabbit hole. I wouldn't start at the "beginning" but rather pick a character you like and build from there. Hope this helps!

[@bzb333]

@@TheLorebrarians oh very great insight! i will do that, looking forward to more of your videos friend!

[@deathcatwallow2775]

Indatha with Nethroi, Apex of Death.

[@TheLorebrarians]

The abzan/indatha color combination is one of my favorites.

[@CosmicErrata]

Favorite triome, Indatha. Favorite apex, Brokkos the Bro.

[@marcelbehncke71]

Hi :) i like your voice. Very cool. And a cool video :)) i am fan

[@TheLorebrarians]

Haha thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@marcelbehncke71]

@@TheLorebrarians yes i like it very much :) i hope you doing well ? :) king ;)

[@dakotagarcia997]

Who else wants a MH style supplement of this plane for 5E?

[@expat8460]

So the Monster Hunter plane of MTG

[@BuildingBetterDungeons]

Fun coincidence; our most recent vid is on the exact same channel! Have you tried promoting to r/mtgvorthos or r/magictcg at all? Might help get this great content some more eyeballs! Subscribed anyway.

[@TheLorebrarians]

That's awesome, Ikoria's a pretty cool plane! Thanks for the sub and suggestion. I haven't even thought about it, I'll give it a try! They are pretty active communities?

[@BuildingBetterDungeons]

@@TheLorebrarians Vorthos is small, but whenever I post there I get 40/50 upvotes and many more views. Magic is so big you can get lost in it (they actually hate too much positivity towards Ikoria over there, my post got ratio'd to oblivion because I had the phrase 'Masterclass of Worldbuilding' in the title, you should be fine as you're more neutral) but if your video takes off in MagicTCG you can get hundreds of views. Just my experience; only been doing this two weeks, so I'm no expert!

[@TheRealCatoSicarius]

Lorebrarian: “Although it isn’t quite clear how binding takes place...” Me, a bondage expert: “HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE” 😎

[@kerosoldier]

The rapid mutation and evolution of Ikoria has proven to be a boon against new phyrexia. Some of the monsters have shown that they have become immune to the glistening oil, also able to dispel it entirely. This could be a massive weapon against phyresis. Hell, Lukka was killed by the thunder apex. Still hate that guy even before he was compleated. BEYOND a massive idiot.

[@papapurpl3746]

In hindsight, really pissed wizards of the coast went with Godzilla as a crossover instead of Monster Hunter which would've been a much better fit