Guilds of Ravnica

Ravnica is a worldwide cityscape; an ecumenopolis consisting of a patchwork of grand halls, decrepit slums, and ancient ruins, with layer upon layer of stonework. It is one of the most densely populated planes in the Multiverse. Law magic and the metaphysics of hierarchy are deeply woven into the very fabric of the plane, enabling cooperating leaders to achieve feats of greatness.

One looms large above all others of the world's countless civic centers: the City of Ravnica, a metropolis so vast that its name has long since become synonymous with the entire plane. Centuries of Ravnican business—powered in many cases by Izzet boilerworks and other guilds’ foundries—have saturated Ravnica's atmosphere with all manner of industrial pollution. From the Signing of the Guildpact, the city and plane of Ravnica, ruled by the Ravnican guilds, was governed by the Guildpact. This lasted for more than ten millennia, until the events of Dissension.

While much of its surface is urbanized, subterranean oceans exist.

For millennia, cities covered the plane's surface, until eventually, they ran together into one vast megalopolis.

The Erstwhile A delicate and sophisticated race of elves known as the Erstwhile once was an important faction in Ravnica. They were laid to rest in coffins in Umerilek, Mausoleum of the Erstwhile.[20] They returned as Zombie Attendants of Vraska. Their leader is Storrev.

Government and law: Guildpact

Izzet Steam Maze

Undercity Reaches Almost ten thousand years before the events of Ravnica, the plane of Ravnica boasted untold violence and brutality, with various factions constantly waging centuries-long wars against each other. Realizing that this never-ending war would ultimately destroy everything, a council between ten factions was held, where the leader Azor I suggested establishing a living, breathing enchantment that would end the violence and ensure the survival of the factions. While some of the order-phobic factions had initial disagreements, the other nine leaders eventually concurred that such a pact was the best chance of survival. Each of the ten factions signed the Guildpact, and over time, these factions became the ten guilds of Ravnica.

The power of the Guildpact was subtle; it prevented any guild from dabbling into the business of any other guild or disturbing the stable power balance among the ten by twisting circumstance and coincidence to nullify the disruptive guild's actions. While the Guildpact was credited with bringing relative peace and prosperity to the plane, sporadic clashes between guilds still occurred. Despite any conflicts between the guilds at a particular time, though, the anniversary of the Guildpact's signing was celebrated every year with a day-long festival, where all the people laid down their weapons and made merry. This celebration was called The Festival of the Guildpact.

Not all of Ravnica's citizens are members of a guild; about half of the population is guildless. However, the guilds are a required part of daily life, and their presence is felt everywhere on Ravnica.

The Decamillennial Main article: Decamillennial In 9965 ZC, the creation of the Schism over Utvara was responsible for snagging the spirit realm of Agyrem to the remote Ravnica valley of Utvara, draining the spirits of the area into the spatial rift and trapping them inside. During the Decamillennial celebration of 10,000 ZC, the Guildpact was unwittingly broken when Agrus Kos arrested Szadek, head of the Dimir, a guild that, according to the Guildpact's statutes, should never be exposed by members of other guilds. The ancient balance was shattered, and Ravnica was thrown into chaos. After ten millennia of relative peace, the members of the various guilds were now free to attack each other with impunity, although this fact was unknown to the general public for 12 years, until the Dissension of 10,012 ZC.

The Interregnum In the novel Agents of Artifice, it came to pass that the guilds were officially disbanded. Many of the guilds were forcefully torn down due to the long-simmering unrest the guildless held towards their masters. There were, however, remnants of the guilds present.

Return of the guilds The former guilds, however, did not have long to rest, and they reestablished, many under new leadership. Some adopted a new purpose, as the original Guildpact had bound them to a specific task for over ten thousand years, and the Guildless had grown weary of some of their morally questionable activities. Most guilds, however, follow the same basic structure they always had, as habit and traditions are forces at least as strong as the Guildpact.

The Guildpact reinstated Main article: Supreme Verdict In 10,075 ZC, the Izzet guildmaster discovered that Azor I had created a contingency plan that would take effect if the magic of the Guildpact was ever broken. An intricate network of leylines sprawled across the districts Ravnica called the Implicit Maze, offering a test to the guilds. If they would cooperate to solve the maze, they would secure the power of a new Guildpact. That power was eventually bestowed upon Jace Beleren, who became the Living Guildpact. Any law that he verbally confirms becomes legally binding.

Outside influence As Jace is a planeswalker, his attention never remains focused on Ravnica for long. During his absences, the guilds return to their old habits of fighting with each other over the smallest scraps of influence or territory. Meanwhile, an outside influence has taken control over several guilds, for reasons yet unknown. After Niv-Mizzet reveals his knowledge of the existence of other planes, planeswalkers, and the threat of Nicol Bolas, he has Ral Zarek turn Project Lightning Bug into a beacon to call other planeswalkers to help fight Bolas.

Guild summit Ral's efforts to convince the Ravnican guilds to cooperate with Niv-Mizzet's plan were met with resistance from every quarter. Even bringing them together for a single meeting seemed next to impossible. Every guild had some members who supported cooperation and others who opposed it. At last, a guild summit was convened at New Prahv to discuss the growing tensions between the guilds. Isperia proposed a radical idea: cooperation. After a contentious discussion, Niv-Mizzet arrived to reveal the real threat they were facing. The Firemind then proposed to implement the "fail-safe" and grant him the power of the Living Guildpact. Although Niv offered to leave the Izzet League and become a guardian of Ravnica, many distrusted his motives. With that, the summit was adjourned until the following morning.

That night, Vraska met Isperia alone in the conference chamber. Simultaneously fulfilling Bolas's demands and achieving personal revenge, Vraska petrified the sphinx. In the morning, the guildleaders reconvened, only to find Isperia turned to stone. All hopes for cooperation now seemed shattered.

Not long after, Ral Zarek activated the Interplanar Beacon and at the same time Nicol Bolas arrived on the plane.

War of the Spark As the precarious accord among the guilds teetered on the brink of collapse, Domri Rade led the Gruul in a concerted effort to tip the world into chaos. He amassed an enormous mob to rampage through the city streets, making sure that every guild suffered painful losses to keep them at each other's throats. Some members of the Gruul, especially among the Zhur-Taa clan, thought this to be the End-Raze.

The fight between Nicol Bolas and the Gatewatch turns into an all-out planeswalker war. Dozens of powerful planeswalkers, from many disparate realities, unite against the elder dragon, who has claimed dominion over Ravnica and is perilously close to completing the spell that will grant him godhood. As they fight alongside the Gatewatch—led by Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren, and Gideon Jura—against Bolas and his relentless army of Eternals, nothing less than the fate of the multiverse is at stake. Little do the Gatewatch suspect that Bolas has not only accounted for their interference, but he is practically relying on it. Bolas arrives and attacks the cityplane, leading to the death of Niv-Mizzet, as well as creating a citadel and a statue of himself. As a reaction, Ral Zarek activates the Interplanar Beacon to call other planeswalkers to Ravnica. Dovin Baan later activates the Immortal Sun to trap the planeswalkers as Bolas unleashes his army of Eternals to conquer the plane and harvest the planeswalkers' sparks. Heavy damage is done to the city, including the destruction of the Vitu-Ghazi and the Chamber of the Guildpact, with much loss of life, both from citizens and planeswalkers. In the end, Bolas was defeated, and a resurrected Niv-Mizzet became the new Living Guildpact.

Guilds : The Azorius Senate : They function as the official ravnican government, and the primary judiciary force. Their legislation is the only thing keeping Ravnica from falling into chaos. They are characterized as being extremely bureaucratic, formalistic and fastidious. Their parun is the elder sphinx Azor I, who founded the first Guildpact, an ancient and powerful spell that keeps the whole plane from falling apart. If you wanted to be a lawyer, that's probably where you should head to.

House Dimir : They are a guild of secrecy and manipulation. A shadowy organisation whose designs are to twist the whole city to its ends. Each information running through this guild is filtered by many need-to-know levels, and only a handful of elites spread across all the city know of the most important ones. The guild's parun was the vampire Szadek, who passed away. From now on, Lazav the Shapeshifter is the one pulling the strings. Smugglers, assassins, thieves and spies are all welcomed here.

Cult of Rakdos : The biggest name in the entertainment industry. The main cult's purpose is to attend to menial labor, including assassinations. The secondary purpose is... to organize the most thrilling and entertaining spectacles through fire, pain and blood. That's right, the majority (and that's an understatement) of Rakdos followers are straight up masochistic maniacs who won't hesitate to spill blood and laugh it off in extremely violent events. The whole cult is centered around Rakdos, an elder demon who seeks entertainment whenever he wakes up from his years-long naps. Without it, the demon would rampage over the city in no time.

The Gruul Clans : Nothing's really official about this "rogue guild". It's made up of smaller clans and tribes who originally seeked to keep civilization in check through ritual riots and raids, leaving everything but ruins in their wake. However, the Azorius Senate was not happy with it, and decided to write them off of the jurisdiction. No more protection, no more recognition. Just unhinged rebels and rioters, anarchists and looters, who follow many ancestral rites of rage and fire. Their "leader" is Borborygmos, the giant cyclops, who screams the loudest and punches the hardest.

The Selesnya Conclave : The Conclave could be described as a "selfless, nurturing, spiritual group" or a "brainwashing nature cult". Depends on who you're asking. Alongside the Boros Legion, they were appointed by the Azorius Senate to establish and maintain peace and unity in Ravnica. Despite their "good-natured" surface, they used to send agents to silence the most "problematic" citizens. They are mainly clerics and druids who only seek to spread the roots of Vitu-Ghazi, the selesnyan world-tree. Their leaders are Trostani, which are three triplets dryads merged together by their roots. The three of them represent the selesnyan core values : Order, Life and Harmony.

The Orzhov Syndicate : This is the guild of businesses, and economy, where every soul is in debt to them, one way or another. Founded on the belief that money serves power, the guild is an amalgam of religion, banking and organized crime, and it contains some of Ravnica's wealthiest and most oppressed citizens. Their leadership includes an extravagant hierarchy of priests, enforcers and ghostly councilors who rule over the indebted spirits of the guild. The guild's leader and matriarch is the opulent Teysa Karlov.

The Izzet League : They are the ones who attend Ravnica's engineering works. Water and energy supply systems, heating systems, roadway, you name it. The Izzet members are mainly known to be obsessive and creative intellectuals, who are known to perform magical experiments to abandon, often leading to spectacular but severe results. Full of scientists and spellcrafters, their first for knowledge knows no bound. The Izzet's parun is the arrogant elder dragon Niv-Mizzet, who is also the living incarnation of the Guildpact.

The Golgari Swarm : The Swarm is the embodiement of life and death as a cycle ; growth is power that comes slowly, but is also ruthless and inevitable. They are not afraid of death, they plan it, and claim it as their own. Most of the members regrow as plant-zombies, or even fungi, but they are themselves very respectful and aware of their condition. They mostly work as the food suppliers for the whole city, serving cheap and nutrient-packed gruel to those who can't afford meat or magically-created produces. The guild leader is Vraska, the cunning gorgon.

The Boros Legion : They are the fist of the Senate, the sword of justice in Ravnica. The Legion is made of zealous and righteous flamesword-wielding soldiers who firmly believe in true harmony within Ravnica, even if blood must be shed for it. They are known for mainly using fire and healing spells, on top of their talentuous swordsmanship. They strike quickly and efficiently. The guild leader is Aurelia, the truthful and righteous angel.

The Simic Combine : This guild's main duty is to preserve the natural world even as the city continues to grow. They use magic to coax new morphologies in existing creatures, and many of their members are renowned bio-engineers and doctors, due to their advanced knowledge of anatomy and biology. Emotionally distant with the other guilds, the average citizen would think of them as "crazy mutant-makers," which isn't false, but this remains one of the most important guilds of the city. Their guildleader is the wizard merfolk Zegana, the Primespeaker.

Notable citizens : Azorius : Azor I (Sphinx), Grand Arbiter Augustin IV (Human), Isperia (Sphinx), Dovin Baan (Vedalken), Lavinia (Human), Bruvac (Human) Dimir : Lazav (Shapeshifter), Mirko (Vampire), Etrata (Vampire) Rakdos : Rakdos (Demon), Juri (Human), Judith (Human), Massacre Girl (Human) Gruul : Borborygmos (Giant Cyclops), Domri Rade (Human), Ruric Thar (Two-Headed Ogre), Nikya (Centaur) Selesnya : Trostani (three Dryads), Emmara (Elf), Tolsimir (Elf) and Voja (Wolf) Orzhov : Obzedat (a Ghost council), Kaya (Human), Teysa Karlov (Human/Spirit), Tomik (Human) Izzet : Niv-Mizzet (Dragon), Ral Zarek (Human), Melek (Elemental), Mizzix (Goblin) Golgari : Sisters of Stone Death (Gorgons), Vraska (Gorgon), Savra (Elf), Jarad (Lich), Mazirek (Insect), Izoni (Elf) Boros : Razia (Angel), Aurelia (Angel), Feather (Angel), Tajic (Human), Agrus Kos (Spirit) Simic : Momir Vig (Elf), Zegana (Merfolk), Vannifar (Elf Ooze), Roalesk (Human Mutant), Lonis (Elf Mutant) Guildless : Krenko and his gang (Goblins), the Shattergang Brothers (two Goblins), Fblthp (Homonculus), Ghired (Human), The Haunt of Hightower (Vampire)