It was the war to end all wars. Nicol Bolas launched his final assault on Ravnica, trapping planeswalkers from across the Multiverse in a besieged city. The Eternal Army poured in. The corrupted gods of Amonkhet sowed destruction. And the dragon set his ultimate plan in motion: the Immortal Sun's harvest of sparks.
This episode tells the story of the War of the Spark — the greatest battle in the history of the Multiverse.
The Trap of Ravnica
Nicol Bolas had orchestrated everything. The Planar Bridge stolen from Kaladesh allowed him to transport his army across the planes. The Interplanar Beacon drew dozens of planeswalkers to Ravnica. And the Immortal Sun, an ancient artifact, prevented anyone from leaving the plane.
The planeswalkers were trapped. The army was in place. And Bolas held the final weapon: the Elderspell Altar, capable of extracting the spark from any planeswalker.
The Eternal Army
The Eternals poured into Ravnica through the Planar Bridge. Thousands of mummified warriors, the finest fighters Amonkhet had produced over millennia, now clad in indestructible lazotep.
With them came the Corrupted Gods of Amonkhet: the Scorpion, the Locust, the Scarab. These divine titans spread death and terror wherever they went.
The Unlikely Alliance
Faced with this existential threat, the ten guilds of Ravnica set aside their rivalries. For the first time in the history of the city-world, they united against a common enemy.
The Gatewatch reformed their ranks, joined by dozens of other planeswalkers. Heroes from every corner of the Multiverse fought side by side:
- Gideon Jura — The indestructible shield, leader of the forces of light
- Jace Beleren — Having recovered his lost memories on Ixalan, he returned to the fight
- Chandra Nalaar — Her flames burned brighter than ever
- Kaya — The ghost-assassin, new master of the Orzhov
- Teferi — The time mage, whose powers would prove crucial
The Battles
The war raged across the ten districts of Ravnica. Each guild defended its territory. Every street became a battlefield.
The God-Eternals — corrupted versions of Amonkhet's deities — seemed invincible. But the guilds found ways to stop them. Niv-Mizzet, the genius dragon of Izzet, devised a desperate plan: to reincarnate by absorbing the power of the ten guilds, becoming the Living Guildpact and gaining the power needed to face the gods.
The Sacrifices
Victory demanded terrible sacrifices.
Dack Fayden, the greatest thief in the Multiverse, was among the first victims of the Elderspell Altar. Domri Rade, the young Gruul leader who had betrayed Ravnica for Bolas, realized his mistake too late and died for nothing.
And many others fell. Planeswalkers whose names might never be known. Anonymous heroes who gave their lives so that others could keep fighting.
Liliana's Betrayal
Liliana Vess was Bolas's ally — at least on the surface. She commanded the Eternal Army, using her necromantic powers to direct the undead. Bolas held her demonic contract: she obeyed him or she would die.
But seeing the carnage she was causing, something in her broke. When Bolas ordered her to kill Gideon, she refused. She turned the Eternal Army against her master.
The curse of her contract struck her instantly. She should have died. But Gideon Jura interposed his invulnerability — not to protect himself, but to save her.
Gideon's Sacrifice
Gideon died. The indestructible warrior, the man who had survived so many battles, willingly gave his life for someone who probably didn't deserve it.
But his sacrifice was not in vain. Liliana, freed from her curse, channeled all her power against Bolas. The Eternals turned against their creator.
The Fall of Bolas
The final battle was a chaos of magic and violence. Bolas, weakened by Liliana's betrayal, had to face a coalition of enraged planeswalkers.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn, carrying the combined power of the ten guilds, faced the ancient dragon. Bontu, the former god of Amonkhet (resurrected by Liliana), devoured the sparks that Bolas had collected. And the dragon himself...
...was defeated.
Not killed — that would have been impossible. But stripped. His spark was torn from him. His name was forgotten — literally erased from the memory of all but a few. He was imprisoned in the Meditation Realm of Ugin, his twin brother, for all eternity.
The Aftermath
The War of the Spark was over. But the price had been terrible.
Gideon was dead. Dozens of other planeswalkers had perished. Ravnica was in ruins. And the Multiverse had been irrevocably changed.
But the heroes had triumphed. Bolas, one of the greatest evils in the Multiverse, had been defeated. And the planeswalkers had proven that, even divided by their origins and goals, they could unite in the face of an existential threat.
The Legacy
The Gatewatch carried on, though changed. New members joined their ranks. New threats loomed on the horizon — most notably the Phyrexians, who had never truly been defeated.
As for Liliana, she vanished, carrying the weight of all those she had killed and the guilt of the one who had died for her. Her redemption was not complete. Perhaps it never would be.
But for now, the Multiverse could breathe. The war was over. Dawn was rising over Ravnica.
In the next episode...
Episode 14: The Shadows of Karn
With Bolas defeated, a new threat emerges from the ashes of the past. Karn, the planeswalker golem, discovers that New Phyrexia has not been idle. The praetors have developed a new weapon: the compleation of planeswalkers. The Phyrexian Era begins.
Sources
- MTG Wiki: War of the Spark — The war that changed everything
- MTG Wiki: Gideon Jura — The hero who gave everything
- War of the Spark (Magic expansion, 2019)
- War of the Spark: Ravnica (novel by Greg Weisman, 2019)
