The Plane of Ixalan Explained | Plane Explained | MTG Lore

hey lore lovers my name's Eric with the lore brands YouTube channel and today's video is the first a new series that will take an in-depth look at the many different planes of the multiverse after some positive feedback on Maia Cory explained video a few weeks back which I'll link in the description I decided it would be great to explain other locales in Magic the Gathering each plane in the series will have two videos the first we'll discuss the setting of the world its geography inhabitants and locations the second we'll discuss its history as well as major stories or characters that tie into it we start the series on the lush Mesoamerican inspired plane of exelon and this video will be concerned mainly with the setting and the various peoples that call exelon home alright let's dive in exelon is a world of hidden treasures and untold beauty of ancient ruins dangerous seas primordial magic and ferocious dinosaurs but above all it is a world of races peoples and culture and it is by these people that the history and topography of exelon have been shaped there are four dominant cultures that rule the charted realms of vixen and they're the humans of the Sun Empire the merfolk of the river heralds the vampires of the Legion of desc and the Pirates of the brazen coalition each cultured jockeys with its neighbours to carve out more land and power in hopes of finding the legendary golden city of Ur Aska the ancient capital of the Sun Empire that was lost to time rasca is famed for its treasures and technology as well as being the resting place of the mythical immortal son an artifact with the power to create destroy and preserve life everlasting as each culture seeks out the city the relationships between them are tenuous at best and brutally violent at worst as such they each have their own staunchly defended borders which divides the island of exelon and the plain at large it would make sense then that our tour of Exxon should focus on these races their culture in their holdings and we'll begin with the militaristic Sun Empire the storm Rexy quickly recedes to coastal plains and jungles where herds of dinosaurs can be seen migrating along rolling hills and cities carved out of the mountainside dot the horizon brilliant rays of sunlight cover the land and promote wild unbridled growth and it is within this cradle of life that the Sun Empire is nestled the Sun Empire of today is not what it once was in the golden age of the past and has lost much of its previous territory but it's experiencing a renaissance and hopes to regain what was lost currently the empire sits on the northeastern side of the continent between the Suncoast and the large mountain range of exelon coastal villages quickly transitioned to verdant steppes and jungle cities then rugged and our nate urban centers carved into the cliffs above the humans of the Sun Empire pride themselves in their strength and value their unity and martial prowess above all else warriors and champions defend as well as expand the borders of their society in the name of the Emperor there are also completely devoted to worshiping a deity known as the threefold son and the priests draw and powerful magic to promote the Empire's needs as such the most important positions of the Sun empires highly stratified society are taken by priests shamans and the elite warriors of the army the deity of the Empire is worshipped in three aspects can jolly the wakening son represents creativity and unity and is aligned with white mana ik solver verdiant son fosters growth in nature and is aligned with green mana chillin ollie the burning Sun ignites passion and ferocity and is aligned with red mana each aspect of the threefold Sun is manifested in the dinosaurs of exelon and they're an integral part of the Sun empires culture they're best known for their use of dinosaurs in both civil and military stick capacities seeing the parallels of the dinosaurs strength and ferocity to their own unyielding will although the dinosaurs of exelon are often seen beside the priests and warriors of the Sun Empire they're not domesticated and if we take a look at the flavor text of drover of the mighty and bonded Horn crest we can see that the Sun Empire does not command the dinosaurs rather they listen to and speak each other's language forming a communal bond that is mutualistic to both parties the flavor text of looming Altis or captures the essence of the Sun empires view towards dinosaurs which reads nature can't be tamed the Sun Empire believes that humans are made stronger when they test themselves against the wild strength of the dinosaurs this belief has indeed made the proud Empire stronger as they ride massive dinosaurs into battle the territory of the Sun Empire can be broken down into three main cities with smaller villages dotting the country first is a city of patchy tupa the capital of the Empire and the seat of Emperor a pot SIGINT Lee the third where all roads of the Empire lead and it is the most northern city the city is elaborately decorated and excessively extravagant the court of the Emperor is within the palace of two katli and only the fiercest most loyal warriors can become honor guards to the Emperor Pacha tupa is the most inland city and least likely to be attacked by marauding pirates invading vampires are hostile merfolk and is where the emperor manipulates the noble houses against one another to ensure his position at the top the city of Otacon also known as the verdant plain is the most coastal city and has been attacked by invaders most often as such it is a stern disciplined and determined City it's also the largest food supplier of the Empire three noble families fight for control of the city and among them is the family of outlaw Palani Nest tender the priests of otso khan employed dinosaurs more often than in other cities because there is a natural abundance of them along the verdant plain due to their frequent conflicts the people of ox akan value strength above all else the final city of the Sun Empire is Ooty Peck the mountain temple it is a remnant of the ancient Sun Empire and was built high into the mountains to the southwest it is currently a staging ground for the Empire's explorers and scouts who searched the interior of the continent for their lost city of Ur Aska most political power in OPEC is wielded by the priesthood and they are utterly devout to their threefold son it seems as though Teela nolley is the most prominent aspect of the Sun in Alta Bek the Sun Empire is a proudful and aggressive nation whose main goal under the Emperor's leadership is to find the lost city of a rosca and reclaim the immortal Sun both are historically significant to the Empire and viewed as part of their identity the city represents the peak of their power and the immortal Sun represents their means of regaining such power west of the Sun Empire and beyond the mountains of Ixil on the continent is wild and the jungle grows dense underneath the canopy nine rivers flow carving much of the landscape as they converge to form the Great River which dominates the interior of the continent and it is this land in the inner see that the River heralds call home the River heralds are the merfolk of exelon there were the dominant race before the arrival of humans and their history goes far beyond even the ancient Sun Empire the heralds are deeply rooted in nature and have rejected the way of civilization and domination they have seen the Sun Empire follow they leave in complete harmony with the land in their shamans known as shapers command the full power of the vast oceans endless skies and countless trees their power is so great in fact that just a small band of heralds can fight off a much larger foe as seen on the card slice in Twain the main purpose of the river heralds is to keep the tentative balance of nature in order and their greatest task has been keeping the law sativa rasca hidden from all who would seek the immortal Sun charged with its protection many years ago The Herald saw the destructive capabilities of the artifact and believed only harm would come if someone wielded it even themselves they willingly forgot its location over the centuries but have a steadfast obligation to prevent any other force from reaching the Golden City this is made apparent in the flavor text of cards like gilded sentinel headwater centuries and sworn Guardian what outsiders see as a collective front of merfolk defenders is actually a fractal culture of several small migrating bands of merfolk each band of River heralds is made up of a dozen or so merfolk who are led by a shaper each shaper has one apprentice that they groom for their own position so they may assume the title of shaper when the time is right each shaper is a powerful shaman that commands both the elements and the respect of other bands as a band migrates the shaper bends nature to their momentary needs then returns it to the way it was a shaper and the band they lead are named after the territory they control and headwater of the great river they protect the most powerful bands controlled the most essential tributaries for the Great River and nine of these are named as follows to Shauna koomina passion aah vous Hana motika no Tana Fulani to Vasa and Coppola tishanna is the great source the largest headwater that feeds the Great River and is therefore the most powerful band all other bands respect the opinions and jes cheon's of the voice of thunder although she doesn't rule them come enna was once to Shani's old apprentice and seized the defense of a rosca as a lost cause he instead wants to seize the power of the immortal Sun for the River heralds and use it to defeat their foes the number of merfolk are too few to adequately defend a rosca from the Sun Empire Legion of dusk and brazen coalition and so they resort to imbuing Jade totems with elemental magic when a trance pass or nears the seal of the totem opens unleashing the stored might of a powerful elemental to defend the land from invaders building totems is a time-consuming and costly effort and there aren't nearly enough to protect all of the Great River shapers can create and command short-lived elementals in the heat of battle or beckon the wind and water to their will as seen in rivers rebuke and wind Strider since defending the Great River and the Golden City is an active job the bands of river heralds never stay in one place very long there are nomadic people that go where the waters take them but there is one location sacred to all merfolk and that is the deep root tree the deep root is a massive mangrove tree and remnant of a time when heralds built cities it has been shaped into a permanent shelter and each merfolk band visits its waters once a year to strengthen their bonds with nature the River heralds of exelon are an ancient and minimalistic people who have taken on the burden of keeping the Lost City an immortal Sun out of avaricious hands and are prepared to give their lives to that end far to the east across the dangerous waters of the storm Rexy lies the continent of Torres owned ruled by a vampire monarch in the vampires of the Church of dusk the feudalistic Society of the vampires is deeply seeded in religion and the nature of vampirism itself is seen as pious individuals partake in the right of redemption and cast aside all pretenses of humanity to fully embrace religion and vampirism which can be read in the flavor text of mark of the vampire in Hierophant chalice once the transformation is completed they are wholly devoted to both our queen and their religion they see vampirism as a holy burden that will be absolved once they return the immortal son back to Torres own not satisfied with owning a continent the vampires of tortas on have come to exelon as conquerors and in search of the immortal son which is deeply tied to their history st. Olinda the dusk Rose was the progenitor of vampirism and spent centuries looking for the immortal son believed by the vampires to bring eternal life without the consequence of undeath and need to feed on blood the conquistadors of the Legion have taken up a Linda's banner and made landfall on exelon to continue her search members of the Legion of dusk are split between their faith to the church and their loyalty to the Queen although matters of church and state almost always overlap regardless some vampires are completely devoted to their religion while others look to conquest for their queen despite this all vampires on protozoan tout their superiority and are viewed as holy by their human populations many partake in a religious ceremony known as the blood fest in which they refrain from drinking for weeks to months on end in order to strengthen their religious bonds when a vampire finally gives in to hunger they become bestial and uncontrollable feasting on everything in sight the state is known as rapture and is dangerous to all those around the abilities of the vampires include superior strength and agility immortality and truly devoted members of the Legion have been gifted the ability to fly known as exultation the Legion of dusk has conquered the southeastern coast of exelon and their harbors forts and coastal towns are collectively known as Queens Bay Adrian Edano and the sanctum seekers led by Agua were the first to cross the sea and built the first fort since then the vampires have been on a relentless northern advance and have had frequent conflicts with a Sun Empire and the Pirates of the coalition their military has been trained by centuries of experience in war and this combined with the abilities of vampirism has created an army that is nearly impossible to stop they employ brutally effective tactics use their superior knowledge of combat and call unholy magic to destroy any obstacle in their path to the immortal Sun to Knightly orders of vampires have come to exelon the blood-stained and the sanctum seekers the blood-stained are most closely linked to the Church of dusk rather than the crown and can be seen as zealots even by their compatriots they believe in removing all ties to their previous humanity and as such killed their own loved ones drinking their blood as a symbol of carrying the weight of all torres own on their shoulders since the blood stand are utterly devoted to their faith they engage in blood fast more frequently the sanctum seekers led by argue Oh were the first to make the voyage across the sea and are the most fierce their name is in reference to the sanctum of the Sun were the immortal Sun rests and the sanctum seekers hope to find it to cure their undead state but this order is happy to pick up any glory land and treasure along the way to a rosca the vampire Knights of the Legion of dusk are devoted to both church and state and have come to exelon to recover the immortal son and conquer in name of their queen there are a fierce and arrogant culture that will let nothing get in the way of their mission sleek Corsairs skimming the waves on favourable winds massive galleons blasting salvos of broadside deadly boardings salty sea air and untold treasures beyond the horizon all and more is in store for the life of a pirate on exelon driven from their homes by the vampires of tortas own an unwelcome on the coast of exelon by the sun empire many peoples were forced to wander the high seas and resort to a life of piracy thus the brazen coalition was formed a motley crew of brigands exiles and thieves the brazen coalition is a loosely affiliated league of captains in their crews that spend their days seeking glory and adventure across all of exelon humans goblins orcs and sirens are common members of the cutthroat society pirates are present wherever there's treasure to be had but their main supply depots and harbors to dock are located to the east of the Suncoast and includes Spitfire Bastion various small islands in the notorious floating city of high and dry a conglomeration of broken-down ships and flotsam lashed together by ropes where pirates can trade tales recruit new hands and engage in risky bets there is no law or code tying pirates together save for loose agreements and a shared love for treasure or adventure and a shared hatred for vampires most pirate captains see their ship as their country and their crew as their family and enjoy the freedoms their life has to offer still some pirate captains have come together to form entire fleets and there are four major fleets that rule the waves the fathom fleet is the largest and most respected of pirate fleets due in large part to its leader Admiral Beckett brass the titular pirate of the brazen coalition Beckett brass is a fearless Admiral and well-versed in chant meant magic and the brass figurehead on the bow of her ship is said to grant luck to those to sail under her the fathom fleet is most distinguishable by its Rope motifs woven into their clothing and sails captain Brandis thorn is the most ruthless and feared captain on the Seas and he controls the dire fleet dire fleet pirates are violent and materialistic constantly seeking treasure to plunder ships to add to their fleet and rival captains to kill captain Thorne's cutthroat personality is best illustrated in the card walked the plank in the flavor text of dire fleet captain he constantly sails his ships towards conflict and believes riches are reserved for those who are strong enough and rash enough to succeed Brandis thorn in the Dyer fleet are most interested in the treasures of the golden city of Arras qey and tales of the immortal Sun although pirates don't have any historical claim or stake in the control of the artifact what pirate can say no to a treasure for which all are searching the dead eyes are under the command of Captain Wallace parish and they are recognizable by the elaborate and militaristic attire they frequently wear believing themselves to be the descendants of the naval forces of the Free Cities before Torres own was conquered the dead eyes are known for their superb combat and navigation skills captain perishes fleet is small and rarely due to Dead Eye vessels travel together they enjoy their freedoms and are only loyal to the captain because of her knowledge she is a mind mage that deals in information and secures her position by making sure no one knows everything the dead eyes plunder secrets more than anything else the final fleet is the store fleet under the command of Captain Landry storm she captures every essence of the term swashbuckler and thoroughly enjoys the life of sailing exploration and freedom that piracy has to offer she's more concerned with seeing the world than adding to her personal wealth and discourages her fleet from senseless violence laner e storm is known as the luckiest pirate in the world having escaped death or capture countless times and she shares that luck with her crew from the flavor text of opt and unknown shores we see that she is always looking for danger Adventure and a good tale to tell despite their differences all pirates share a fierce sense of freedom and a love for adventure as well as a fascination with treasure they plunder Sun Empire coastline River Herald Bruins and dusk Legion forts their deep-seated hatred towards vampires has led two more daring attacks on Queens Bay than other locations recently the other cultures search for a rosca has driven some pirates to seek out the Golden City and the untold treasures that lie within the continent of exelon has quickly become a tinderbox with each culture mobilized for war and in a race to uncover the power of the immortal Sun conflicts are becoming more regular and unrest is stirring it's only a matter of time before the four races of exelon converge in a blood battle for the ruins of the golden city of orosco thanks for watching the plain of exelon explained in the next video we'll discuss the history of the plan as well as the story that unfolds in the search for the immortal Sun but now I want to hear from you let me know in the comments your thoughts on the plane of exelon as well as your favorite race leave a thumbs up if you liked the video and subscribe for weekly content I've linked the references used in the description below until next time go forth and explore the lore

Channel: The Lorebrarians

Views: 40,738

Keywords: MTG, Magic: The Gathering, Lore, Ixalan

Id: ITIpDo7OOeU

Length: 18min 29sec (1109 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 11 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

I can honestly say this was my absolute favorite MTG set. Pirates, vampires, Aztec humans, merfolk, dinosaurs and a whole lotta mystery.

Guilds of Ravnica still holds a place in my heart but Ixalan is my all time favorite.

[u/datrobutt]

I know I’m biased because this is the set I started playing with, but I really enjoyed the concepts of Ixalan- Even though I know it was considered disappointingly low-powered etc by the existing player base, it was a very cool take on the tropes it played with

[u/NotYourSnowBunny]

One of my favorite sets.

I have almost every thematic deck from it too, just missing Red/Black and Blue/Black. But I sold my Angrath and traded my deadeye plunderers. Alas.

Still got a 3 color Humans/Dinos sun empire tribal, merfolk tribal, vampire tribal, and a Vraska deck entirely built from the set with maybe 10 cards out of 4 decks being from other sets. I scored damn near every mythic from packs in that set. Zacama and Gishath back to back. Now I just want to stomp out something with the Dino tribal deck haha.

[u/BoBoMothBall]

One of the most realized and flavorful sets since Innistrad

[u/DragoGuerreroJr]

My gf and I started with M20 but recently got Ixalan because we always wanted to try it. It's also really cool as a Mesoamerican plane and both of us really like it for the most part as Latinos ourselves. Huatli is even her favorite planeswalker.

[u/DiKei2]

Missed opportunity calling the series Explaned ETA: To be clear I'm joking I love the premise of this series

[u/Modstin]

This was super enthusing and interesting, but if I can provide a bit of critique, I think you need to make your read a bit more emotional and interesting. I'm not saying throw in jokes (rhystic studies doesn't need to do that, and neither does Arcanum) but adding more inflection for your reads and adding notes and comments, maybe breaking the video into stronger sections and the like.

I learned a lot from this video, it's absolutely amazingly well researched and definitely thorough, I just feel like you need to work on overall watchability for cool long videos like this (this video is perfect length btw)

Subscribed, I think if you keep improving your craft, you'll explode dude.