Today’s Weekly MTG stream and the first part of the Planeswalker’s Guide To Aetherdrift have given Magic: The Gathering players their first deep dive into the lore and setting of the next Standard set release.
Miguel Lopez, a set lead for Magic, not only guested on Weekly MTG, but wrote The Planeswalker’s Guide to Aetherdrift, Part 1. He went into great detail on the changing of the name of Kaladesh to Avishkar, the revolution seen on the plane of invention that started the Ghirapur Grand Prix, and history of the now multi-planetary race.
To clear up any confusion, Magic has officially changed the name of Kaladesh to Avishkar, as the original name had racial connotations. A group of consultants helped Wizards of the Coast (WotC) come up with a new acceptable name for the plane, ending up on Avishkar, a spin on the Hindi word “aavishkar” meaning “invention.” The name change will not alter the original cards and sets, so Kaladesh and Aether Revolt will not change names, and cards that mention Kaladesh will continue to do so. The in-world explanation for the change comes from a revolution where the Avishkar Assembly disposed of the the Consulate, the prior group that held power on the plane.
The Ghirapur Grand Prix is the premier interplanar racing event of the multiverse that had humble beginnings as illegal night races with roots in the Ghirapur counter culture movement. The year after the Phyrexian invasion led to the opening of the Omenpaths, the race expanded from being a local event to a multi-planar spectacle. The first iteration of the interplanar race took place on more than 24 planes and featured many more teams than the 10 that take place in the race at the center of the Aetherdrift story.
This year’s GGP takes place on Avishkar, Amonkhet, and Muraganda. This will be the first substantial look at the plane of Muraganda in Magic history, though it is has been referenced on multiple cards dating back to Future Sight. Muraganda is a primordial plane and its powerful yet dangerous magic is raw and young. We will get a glimpse of the people on Muraganda, as well as the more commonly known dinosaurs and oozes Magic players will be familiar with already.
Part of the spectacle and broadcasting of the GGP is to for the Avishkar Assembly to show the multiverse that their planet can be the key hub to it all. This year’s top prize for the GGP is the Aetherspark, a planeswalker’s spark secured in an aether solution contained in a trophy that will grant the user planeswalking abilities — though with the opening of the Omenpaths those abilities aren’t as special as they once were. Still, the Aetherspark is a treasure worthy of coveting.
The 10 teams taking part in this year’s GGP come from a range of planes, some familiar with most Magic players, others mentioned in passing, and some completely unknown. The 10 teams are:
- The Aether Rangers — the team of aether-riding pilots and engineers from Avishkar
- The Champions of Amonkhet — the team of living and undead members of Amonkhet
- Cloudspire Racing Team — the team from Kylem led by Chandra
- The Guidelight Voyagers — squad of automatons trying to get back to their home world
- The Speed Demons — possessed racers from an unknown world captained by Winter
- The Goblin Rocketeers — Goblins who wound up on Avishkar from an unknown plane
- The Alacrian Quickbeasts — team of mighty avatars from Alacria
- The Speedbrood — team of odd creatures from a plane with an untranslatable name
- The Keelhaulers — team of of humanoid sharks that enlisted Kari Zev and Ragavan
- The Endriders — gang of nomads from the dying plane of Gastal
Lastly, we have an image of the product lineup for Aetherdrift as well as some key dates for the upcoming set.
The product lineup includes Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, Commander Decks, Bundle, Finish Line Bundle, and Prerelease Packs. Notably, each display box will come with a boxtopper.
Aetherdrift important dates:
- January 14: Story begins
- January 21: Debut stream
- January 21-31: Preview season
- February 2: MG Arena streamer event
- February 7: Prerelease
- February 14: Global release
Aetherdrift is scheduled to release on February 14, 2025. Read the Planeswalker’s Guide to Aetherdrift, Part 1 and the explanation on the name change of Kaladesh to Avishkar from WotC.
