House Dimir is a really nice guild. I told them that I had a problem with this coworker of mine and they said they can help me out. The next day I heard he quit the job and is working somewhere else. Thanks House Dimir!
They're actually so nice, they helped cure my sister who was deathly ill and now she's very happy and lively again. She also developed this strange thirst for juice but I'm sure it's nothing serious...
Ok, I’m kind of miffed by this, but the book did it too so let me say this: the golgari are far from evil. They believe in taking in all the unwanted things of Ravnica, including the people. Orphans, elderly, sick people, all find a home in the golgari. And no, they don’t just get killed and zombified, the golgari are patient. Everything eventually dies. Even if they help make sure it lives. The golgari are loving survivors who share with those in need, and sure they have assassins and necromancy, but their necromancy is tied more to nature. They understand the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. plus in the lore the lich leader was recently usurped by Vraska, a planeswalking gorgon assassin with a surprisingly high amount of mercy for an assassin, who usurped him because her people were being treated as weapons. this has been my golgari rant, just remember, consensual necromancy is a beautiful thing.
They also feel oppressed and wish to take the city even though they practically rule the under city sewers.. None of the guilds are truly evil, they all have their nasty sides. For example the Azorius follows the exact letter and not the spirit of the Law and are too inflexible. The Izzet tend to destroy just as much as they create. The Simic's idea of species improvement is creating abominations like a sharktocrab. etc.
Jonas Sabareza true, but the guilds also have their upsides and the fact that the golgari were labeled evil irked me, since they do a lot of good, though many of them may do bad things instead.
To be honest, their non-existent headquarters have the definitly not coolest flavour-text ever written. cough duskmantle house of shadow cough Who is Dimir?
@@zraven2931 I honestly think most of these conspiracy nuts who think they do have an HQ are just idiots. I mean seriously, the place most people think it might be is just a bunch of rocks and dirt and shit. There isn't any room for an underground HQ
That's sweet. Also, he explains everything in the video, I don't see how you'd get lost. I'm fairly new aswell, but it all made sense to me. But if you haven't actually played DnD before, maybe that might make it confusing.
@@Srksius2802 Meh, not so complicated Translated : I have wasted so much of my time reading all these books, reading websites and discussing the lore that the concept of becoming a god by realising that you are just living in a dream without creating a paradox that would completely negate the fact that you ever existed seems perfectly reasonable to me
Basically, a bunch of armies agreed to stop fighting, and work together to make a metropolitan zone so huge, no one really knows where the city ends. Each Guild shoulders a different civic responsibility (utilities, sanitation, municipal and police action, military defense, parks and rec, medicine, information, etc), to keep everything running smoothly. They've been doing this for 10 thousand years, and basically all hate each other. But the contract they signed is magic, so they literally cannot fight each other. Except now the contract is a dude that refuses to stay put.
DND player: *Confused Screaming* MTG player: *Confused Screaming* People who play both: *also confused screaming* people who play neither: wait how is this weird?
@@bolognaB0iii I also fall under the "both" category and am concerned on how the Orhzov council is a measly 8 CR when it's said that if they were brought to a single goal they could level the plane?
@@pedroscoponi4905 yeah. individual leader is just a ghost but when they are the church, the bank and have solid foothold in law, you have too much power and wealth. The Orzhov are too backstabby and selfish to act as one though.
By the Firemind, you actually made some sense of the Izzet League's insane scientific practices! "We find out what we invent after we invent it" is the most succinct possible way of summarizing the League's otherwise bizarre creed. Remember, there's no such thing as a failed experiment! Just a successful experiment that proves a hypothesis you didn't know you had!
Geoffrey Precht I love izzet as a guild and kinda wanna roll up a guild Mage now . Many a game has ended thanks to a single turn of multiplying lighting bolt
Izzet Guildmage: AHA! Your evil powers are nothing compared to SCIENCE! Simic Biomancer: But it IS science!! Izzet Guildmage: *WELL I'M SCIENCIER!!!!!!!*
Well they are the ones that learned of the big bad elder dragon god was coming with his eternal zombie army with the best necromancer in the multiverse and to be far ral set up the lightning storm to show when a person plans walks to ravnica and or leaves and niv-mizzet comes back after been killed as a dragon avatar and a rep for all 10 guilds and the leader of the dimir have been a member of all 10 guilds
Simic: "What was noise?" "The sound of progress, my friend!" Izzet: "The only difference between random BS and science, is writing it down." Gruul: "Reject modern culture, return to rage. Or die, we don't care." Selesnya: "We're all friends! If you mess with one of us, we will kill you." Rakdos: "YAY! PARTY! LETS KILL THINGS AND GET LAID!" Azorius: "Appointments for booking appointments, for consultation about the intricate nature of you enquiring to book a lawyer - who may or may not be available - who you plan to use to fight a fine for building an unauthorized LEGO set in the living room of your friend's house, will cost $250. All appointments must be attended punctually, and missing a meeting - regardless of when it takes place - will result in a $500 fine for wasting time, and must be rescheduled. Appointments for rescheduling a missed meeting are..." Boros: "Peace on earth," (all load their rifles in perfect unison) "Goodwill toward men." Golgari: "We used to farm vegetables, but farming organs is far more entertaining." Orzhov: "For just 2 (times 50) easy payments of $150 (000, 000) gold (each year for 15 years), you can buy your ghost back from us. You should have thought about that before you died." Dimir: "If you need any help, don't call us, we'll call you." Glory to the Legion!
Quick note on the Ghost council, even though the individual ghosts are CR 8, any of the individual members can call the other four, and they get much stronger when the others are around. Do not throw these guys in front of a level 6 party and expect anything less than a TPK. I do not want to have to deal with 5 ghosts who each take their own turn, have five different special abilities, an AC of 18, and three legendary actions.
What makes it word is that it's never just them; they can summon indentured spirits at will when they're a group of 5. So you're always looking at maybe 20 spirits following them around? (4 per ghost as backup muscle). These spirits are CR 1, and with bounded accuracy they can still swarm you for decent damage. And if your party doesn't have magical weapons, they're doubly screwed. It's really up to the DM to decide when they'll get magic items so the DM will know how equipped they are for these. Finally, all of them have incorporeal movement to just camp inside the ground when it's not their turn, making it a pain to ready actions to hurt them.
in MtG lore theyre basically the most indolent guild leaders, preferring to bask in their power and riches and let their underlings handle their problems. But when all of them act as one they can basically kill everyone in a whole city block in an instant.
Selesnya Conclave: We're all about hugs and unity. Also Selesnya Conclave: Developing trees that absorb enormous amounts of nutrients from the soil to starve the Gruul and get involved in "accidents" with wurms.
Also also also Selesnya Conclave: We respect Nature and the Circle of Life. Also also also also Selesnya Conclave: Slap so much healing magic on their plants, animals and people so that literally none of them die, so they have to constantly leech unhealthy amounts of resources and magic from the surrounding area and even divine sources to promote unnaturally long lifespans for their followers and their pets. As such, their leadership and methods of thinking tend to stagnate, and they become extremely wasteful and self-righteous. This post was made by #GolgariGang
Some clarification from an MTG player: Lazav, the guildmaster of the Dimir, is a shapeshifter, not a vampire. Actually, he's technically a dragon. At one point, Niv-Mizzet (somehow) pulled a plane-wide genocide of all other sapient dragons, forcing Lazav, a sapient dragon at the time, to go underground and basically Polymorph himself all the time. Nobody knows that, though. Lazav probably doesn't know himself. There's a lot of mind manipulation in the Dimir. Isperia did not found the Azorius. Azor, another giant blue-white sphinx, founded the Azorius and introduced lawmagic to the plane. After a while he was like "alright looks like you guys got the hang of this" and left, leaving Isperia in-charge. Speaking of Jace, he was not created from the Guildpact. He was a perfectly magical dude before becoming the Guildpact. The Rakdos aren't just a shit-ton of juggalos. They've also got some pretty fucking metal shit going on in some areas. It can look like a satanic butcher's shop in those shows. The map shown was not the entirety of Ravnica. There are ten districts of Ravnica; The Tenth District is just the important one. Finally, not everyone belongs to a guild. Some people just sorta live it up in the city. Storeowners, traders, gangsters, beggars, musicians - there are all sorts of people living outside of the guilds. Granted, if you aren't part of a guild, you don't have as many legal rights or as much protection, but that's okay with some folks.
The 10 districts is the area where the city was when the guild pact was written, the 10th disctict is the center of it. Back in the days the city didn't span the whole plane. Nowadays there are countless other districts, the 10 original ones are “downtown“. Roughly every second person is not aligned with any guild. Also, not all guilds have the same number of members, Selesnya have the most, Dimir the least.
So, I kind of wanted to run through each of the guilds and go over the things you missed, or that may have just been excluded from the book altogether: Simic: Honestly, pretty spot on. The only thing not really covered is that there are two 'sub-factions' in the guild, one that cares about preserving and understanding the natural world, and one that just shouts 'fuck it, I'VE GOT SQUID ARMS NOW!' Izzet: Again, basically all correct. With the exception that the Izzet guild-master is a bit of an asshole.... ok, he's a big one, and that the guild also really enjoys lightning... like more than explosions a lot of the time. Gruul: The Gruul is the first one I think you kind of misrepresented. While feral and chaotic, the Gruul want more than to just 'level the city.' They want to reclaim the natural from the city, I mean, they literally started out as forest-rangers that just got really fed up with people building on the sites they were trying to protect. Selesnya: For the most part, you are correct. But, the big things are that the Selesnya are arguably worse at nature than the Gruul, because they don't let nature be natural, they create intricate designs using the natural, but at the cost of the natural growth and spread. Next up, the Selesnya are sometimes tied with more 'illegal' stuff...mostly drugs.... I mean, half of their farms are probably cannabis, so it isn't much of a stretch to see how they got there. Finally, the guild is really anti-individuality, like to the point that someone lower down making their own decision is not a good thing. Rakdos: About half and half on this one. You nailed the face of the Rakdos, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. For instance, the Rakdos make up the majority of workers, in other words, the murder cultists all have day jobs. Also, the guild is in charge of the catering and entertainment industries. With that in mind, the Rakdos philosophy extends from 'enjoy today' to 'live a life you enjoy living,' with a great example of this being from a story in Ravnica Allegiance where a Demon writes and reads poetry, no, I'm not joking; that demon's whole stick is poetry and a ton of people in the guild love it, to the point that Rakdos himself got annoyed that a good chunk of people were paying more attention to the poetry show than to his... he then promptly killed half the audience. Another big thing is that leader Rakdos gets really jealous really easily and spends like half the year asleep. Azorius: Yep... just... yep. Apart from the fact that the guild wasn't founded by Isperia, it was founded by another Sphinx named Azor. Boros: Yeah... the Boros are hard to pin down. The best analogy I've heard is that they're the army and private security groups smushed together. Golgari: The Golgari are kind of given a bad rap in a lot of things, but for the most part they are actually a guild more focused on nature than the Selesnya. The best way to look at it is that the Selesnya took the beautiful and live portions of nature, but the Golgari took it all, life and death, growth and decay, beauty and horror. The Golgari are also in charge of farming for a good chunk of crops, so keep that in mind when your character eats at a restaurant. Also, the Golgari are not intrinsically bad or evil, they just prefer to stick to themselves and dabble into truths other guilds see as unnatural and evil. Also, they aren't trying to bring Ravnica down, they just know that everything ends, and one day, Ravnica will meet its final sunset, and they're waiting for them to join them. In other words, they know death is inevitable but also understands that every end is just another beginning. Orzhov: A+. Completely correct as far as I know. Dimir: I hate to say this, but you're completely wr- what was that? What, who? WHO ARE YO-............ You are correct. The Dimir are just the mailmen of Ravnica. Sincerely, A nerd with way too much time on their hands who loves the worldbuilding of Ravnica. (Of course, I'm not an expert at all, but someone can correct me if I got anything wrong.)
Boros are great. They're basically just a big gang of paladins who, when they encounter someone who's rules lawyering to evade the letter of the law, just shrug and stab the guy anyway.
very militant, and don't think things through tho. every guild is evil, every guild has good points, thats what makes ravnica so great as a setting. yes, even Gruul.
Technically, the Azorius Enforcers are the ones who act 100% by the law. Most of Boros is allied with them and also enforce the law, however a good number of Boros Soldiers have the goal to spread justice, even if it contridicts the law. This is the split in the Boros Legion. What is justice? The law? Ones own perception of it? Is vigilantism valid?
@@dg_yorick6814 I have, but do we know the aftermath from that yet? I mean the most recent leader we know of was Domri, no? I usually don't really count the new set's story as happening until its release anyway honestly...
@@cuttingscizor The Guildmaster's Guild is set before any of the Bolas plot. Niv-Mizzet is still in control of Izzet, not Ral. BorBor is in charge of Gruul, not Domri, And Krenko isnt in prison yet, among other things.
Ravnica is a bit complex at a glance but once you get into it, it's a really, really fun setting that basically ensures that your character will be a part of the story and not just an avatar for you to control while playing through it. Speaking from experience. Hope this video convinces more people to check it out!
I'm on the fence i know I wanna do an artificer but I can't decide between bioshock guild and batshet crazy mechanics guild Which one has the smarter leader ?😙
@@tonydanatop4912 Creating magical artifacts is more Izzet's job. They're the artificers and inventors of this plane. Simic is more focused around creating organisms and are the biologists of this world, they are not focused on artifacts and other contraptions but rather the creation of organisms of mass destruction.
I mean, presumably you can lure some away, or with just CR 8 you could throw down some aoe and knock them out real quick if they stay together. A bunch of weak enemies is much easier than a big strong one.
@@timjones5953 as far as I can decipher the stat block, if you're lucky enough to encounter 1 alone, wipe him out fast, because he can summon the other 4 as a bonus action. Don't have the book on me at the time of writing this
Tim Jones each one can use an action to summon the rest of them at the start of their next turn. So they almost consistently stay together. They don't need to be so close as to be susceptible to an AoE, but close enough to be in the same encounter. They can also summon minions as legendary actions when they're all together, so you're actually looking at 1d6 CR 1 spirits being summoned every turn to help. Honestly since it's an at will thing they have, it seems like all of them would always have these spirits following them around just in case, so 4 with just one and maybe 16 when travelling as a group. Finally, they can move through solid objects like ghosts, so really they're just going to camp everyone by hiding in the ground at the end of their turn. This means everyone has to keep readying actions to even hit them, which will nerf those with Extra Attack and casters that concentrate (since readying a spell requires concentration). If things are going bad for them, they can just gtfo through the walls and ceilings. With an 18 INT, 20 WIS, and being the leaders of a guild, you'll want to play these very tactically and paranoid to up the difficulty of playing against them.
Little Tivor no. Bonus actions can only be done your turn. Another reason that PCs will get nerfed when fighting incorporeal enemies; no use of bonus actions that target the enemy. So spiritual weapon can't be used nor Shield Master shove or anything similar. However the Stunning Strike might still come in really handy to stop them, so that everyone can actually get a proper turn in.
Damn, I actually paused at 8:42 because I thought the video was over. Then I read your comment and had to figure out if I had passed that timestamp. You lead me astray.
1:02 I love how you got the least lovey-dovey, least-likely-to-be-friendly-with-other guilds in one photo and acted like they would be friendly with each other. Edit: House Dimir's symbol: Dangerous to recognize, deadly not to.
Do you ever remember House Dimir entangled in any conflict? I don't think so. Not a single ravnican could even tell you where our hq is, that's how unimportant we are.
The Cult of Rakdos have an actual purpose, though. They exist to keep Rakdos himself distracted so that he won't party in town all the time. I mean, he still does organize parties on the streets, but it's not as frequent as it could be.
Unless you can kill a cr 8 ghost in one turn then you have to fight them all and they each can summon a bunch of ghosts. Cr 8 is really misleading when they can easily zerg your ass to oblivion. Zegana is the weakest.
*ehem* Um ACTUALLY Azorius wasn't founded by the Sphinx Espara. Espara is currently running the guild of Azorius. Azorius was founded by Azor, a great Sphinx of law that made the first guild pact. He's currently alive on a different plane of existance dealing with Pirates, dinosaurs, Merfolk Aztecs, and Vampire Conquestadors.
@Danny BRITZMAN Well in the time that Guildmaster's Guide takes place Isperia is currently the Grand Arbiter, if you're talking about current story, Dovin isn't even the leader anymore
My party all got mtg Guild packs that come with cards, a cool ass pin of the guild, and a flavorful welcome letter to the guild. Grull's: 'RUN SMASH KILL FIGHT!' in giant font that takes up the entire page.
As the name implies, they're just an old house, or family, that used to be very influential way back when the guildpact was created. They've since lost prominence and aren't really a guild anymore. Neat history, but not really worth looking into anymore.
They are totally not the spy guild, and they totally won't burn down your house for talking about them. Incidentally, can I sell you on this fire insurance premium... for no reason?
I hate the fact that I read "krasis" and "krasis" differently. Btw lorewise the term Krasis comes from Experiment Kraj, a huge legendary ooze (think phat gelatinous cube with the abilities of all members of the Simic combine) that almost took down Rakdos (a 50ft tall badass Guildmaster Demonlord Balrog-guy) singlehandedly. After the Kraj "incident" the Simic started referring to all non-humanoids that were a fusion of two creatures or more as Krasis. Eg- Sharktocrab.
Funny thing. Out of the original members of Greenpeace, only 1 was a science student, the others were law students. The scientist left because nothing they did was backed by actual science.
There's kind of a giant freaking planetwide invasion of zombies and shit going on in the story of Magic right now, but guilds are still trying to murder each other, mostly.
Okay... I think I got all that. Lightning storms=bad, Rakdos is a showstopper, everything’s mad and... oh yeah: casual zombie invasion... Nah this isn’t worrying, not worrying at all (knowing my DM I’ll die in a lightning storm whilst being attacked by zombies)
I think the Selesnya are the ones that scare me the most. "Do not be afraid, we can make all of your problems go away. You will be happy as one of us. One of us. One of us."
Let a Magic player try to better explain the guilds to dnd players Azorious: y'know that guy who adds so many house rules to the point where his lvl 1 fighter is somehow dealing more magical dmg than all casters but at the same time is healing better than the cleric and is still dealing way more damage than the monk and barbarian? Yep, that's azorious Dimir: y'know that one dude who knows all the dnd rules and every single monster, and has watched every single piece of dnd media and figured out what the DM is planning just by saying "you meet up in a cavern" and already figured out that the major of texas was the one who killed jesus. That's dimir Rakdos: y'know that one dude who plays a very confusing character who insist on not telling you the plan, but only that his monk with no defense should be up front and take the damage for the next 5 rounds just to pull off that single awesome combo that came out of no where? That's rakdos Gruul: y'know that barbarian who only ever went into the most basic of things but somehow maxed his strength at lvl 4 amd doesn't know what else to do, so does nothing else? That's gruul Selesnya: y'know that one druid who has so many npcs and summons that it takes a20 minutes for an entire round? That's selesnya Orzhov: y'know that dude who has a single combo that goes off every single action, even though you question how legal it is but you have no eay to prove it is illegal? That's orzhov Izzet: y'know that one newb who talks about being a wizard all the way up to session 0, then to figure out he got to choose his spells, picked the first few that he thought would go well together, then actually realized they didn't but as the game progressed he somehow were able to pull of some bs and defeat the BBEG? That's izzet Golgari: y'know that one dude who's playing a cleric but never heals you, and only waits for you to die to use your corpse? That's golgari Boros: y'know that person who roleplays paladin a little too well to the point that you heard them start telling off some kids litering in shakespearian? That's boros Simic: y'know that person who tried to tame and somehow use (or even fuse) every encounter? That's simic
The author of the MtG Ravnica setting likes Slavic languages and history. Especially Czech (I'm Czech). There are far more Czech-based words and realia in the Ravnica, sprinkled throughout: The Azorius Senate seat is called Prahv, pretty close to Praha (literally Prague, Czech capital). The basic level of Boros Legion member is a wojek (voják = soldier). In the stories, this one wojek naked Kos (=blackbird, poetically "Canny Guy") uses a blasting wand called Pendrek (literally "baton") and the command word for using all its energy at once to make a biiiig blast is "Vrazi" (literally "Murderers"). I leave the meaning of Devkarin elves to the reader. And in the MtG card images, you can even see several Prague sights (yes, real buildings).
D&D doesn't have a unified lore. The lore can be whatever you want. It completely depends on what world you're in. The most popular world is the Forgotten Realms. Other popular worlds include Eberron, Greyhawk, and more. This particular world is actually from another game that Wizards of the Coast make: Magic the Gathering. A popular option is to make your own, homebrew world. The DM is the god of the world(s) you play in.
I was so hyped for this book whn i came out due to my love of the Ravnica world in MTG. It sucks that like 99% of the Ravnica lore it intorduces is out of date due to the most recent MTG set. Like most of the people you talked about in this video are wildly different or just straight up dead now, lol. Oh well, great vid btw!!
I actually like that this book is set pre the most recent set(s). I think it leaves it more open for custom campaigns, and i wouldn't be surprised if thye release more magic books in the future maybe even another rav book...although i want inistrad.
Also, the entire orzhov syndicate can be aptly described in their newest card's name; Charity extractor And you forgot the fact they enslave debtors ghosts.
I could really relate to this video. Especially those Garbagari guys, or whatever. Seriously.. DnD and Ravnica was all I needed in life. Or so I thought. This video was fantastic. Needed it
Yeah, the Golgari are a pretty interesting group. They also provide a lot of food for lower class and destitute citizens so even though they are necromancers and cultivate gardens of horrors... They aren't necessarily bad guys.
@@freakyzoid3565 i mean the clone wars Only had a small handful of factions and neutral worlds, clone wars but imagine if everyone was as diverse and different as the umbarans and geonisiabs
I mean... I am long time mtg player, but I keep returning to this video every few months as it is only stuff I know, but explained in pretty entertaining way and I love it!
If you look into MTG lore (there is some), you'd find Jace actually wasn't materialized out of friendship or whatever (cool idea though, would be interesting to see pw-materialized-out-of- cycle), but came from another plain, Vrynn, if I remember correctly(at least that's what was in origins, and I didn't check Jace's lore as the Living Guildpact, so there may be some uncertainties)
I don't even play MTG anymore, and almost never cared about the lore, but this seems really cool! Thanks Logan for making it simple and easy to understand!
I may have started playing Magic when Ravnica first came out and knew it already, but I really needed to hear how you worded it. I was not disappointed.
BY THE DECREE OF THE AZORIUS SENATE, THE FOLLOWING CORRECTION HAS BEEN ISSUED: THE AZORIUS SENATE WAS FOUNDED BY THE GREAT AZOR WHO ALSO WROTE THE GUILDPACT.
Consider this. There is only one guild that if it collapsed would lead to mass death and the decay of the city as a whole. without this guild, Ravnica would be doomed without any external threat. That guild is Golgari. Now here me out. In terms of governing, or innovation, the Golgari aren't that influential. However, they keep diseases, famine and filth from overtaking the world. Without them disposal would be impossible. Decay would be in the streets and cultivation of food would fall squarely to Selesnia which is ill equipped to handle the demands of not just the 10 guilds but the guildless. Selesnia's, Gruul and even Simic land would become unusable as some become dust bowls while the pollution ruins the simic combine. Don't know how you can use it. But could be interesting for a campaign if the Azorious over regulates the Golgari cause them to ineffectively do their jobs. Golgari is legitimately the largest guild too.
Tarkir would be an amazing setting for another book. Ixalan and amonkhet are also nice settings but they already did a plane shift for those worlds (they’re still great and they’re free)
Love the video. It was incredibly funny. I loved Ravnica. Boros is basically the military of Ravnica. Orzhov is my favorite guild. Dimir the guild that would never stab you in the back given a chance. I want this book.
How are the Boros hard to figure out? (Other than the description apparently being poorly written) They're basically a crusading army led by angels that goes around smiting anybody that does things they don't like (which is most people, barring the Azorius and Selesnya) Their overall military prowess and power are unmatched by any of the other guilds (not that they can't lose individual battles or campaigns) but they're basically all-in on full-on outright battle. Charged with being the 'kinetic' end of lawkeeping in Ravnica they ate motivated more by the principle of justice, rather than the letter of the law. So they tend to ignore laws they don't like and enforce their own unofficial rules. Remember 80s buddy-cop movies? The Boros is the "loose cannon who plays by their own rules." ----and the description of Dimir was gold.
Every guild in Ravnica is split into two conflicting ideas. The split in the Boros Legion is the concept of justice. One part says, justice is what the Azorius write down as law. They work very closely with Azorius Enforcers, because when everyone obeys the law, there is no problem. What would be the point in having laws if they didn't matter? On the other hand we have the Boros who say that just because it is the law, it isn't necessarily fair. Justice can't be written down and discussed in theoretical cases. The Boros should be allowed to execute actions that contradict the law if it causes justice among the citizens.
"The thing the guilds fear most is infiltration of their own ranks. I should know, I'm a part if all of them!" ~Lazzave, shapeshifting guildmaster of Dimir
My DM is doing this now and so far it is fantastic because I'm the only one that knows the lore besides him and the only one he told what we were heading into.
Just found this channel and this video was hilarious. Great content and more Ravnica please, the setting is great for politics and intrigue that is sometimes missed in other D&D settings. Subscribing!
House Dimir is a really nice guild. I told them that I had a problem with this coworker of mine and they said they can help me out. The next day I heard he quit the job and is working somewhere else. Thanks House Dimir!
Such humble and great guys, nothing but good Bois.
Oh was it bill from accounting? I heard he went upstate to live on a farm. And it's to far to visit.....
Lol. I mean their symbol is a spider. Totally cool people
They're actually so nice, they helped cure my sister who was deathly ill and now she's very happy and lively again. She also developed this strange thirst for juice but I'm sure it's nothing serious...
@@KingDoopliss20 things tend to be far away when the entire planet is a city (seriously wtf why is this a thing?)
Ok, I’m kind of miffed by this, but the book did it too so let me say this: the golgari are far from evil. They believe in taking in all the unwanted things of Ravnica, including the people. Orphans, elderly, sick people, all find a home in the golgari. And no, they don’t just get killed and zombified, the golgari are patient. Everything eventually dies. Even if they help make sure it lives. The golgari are loving survivors who share with those in need, and sure they have assassins and necromancy, but their necromancy is tied more to nature. They understand the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
plus in the lore the lich leader was recently usurped by Vraska, a planeswalking gorgon assassin with a surprisingly high amount of mercy for an assassin, who usurped him because her people were being treated as weapons.
this has been my golgari rant, just remember, consensual necromancy is a beautiful thing.
They also feel oppressed and wish to take the city even though they practically rule the under city sewers.. None of the guilds are truly evil, they all have their nasty sides. For example the Azorius follows the exact letter and not the spirit of the Law and are too inflexible. The Izzet tend to destroy just as much as they create. The Simic's idea of species improvement is creating abominations like a sharktocrab. etc.
Jonas Sabareza true, but the guilds also have their upsides and the fact that the golgari were labeled evil irked me, since they do a lot of good, though many of them may do bad things instead.
Jonas Sabareza Dimir doesn’t have a nasty side
@@Mythtic they have to have a good side first to have a bad side
Huzzah! I see you are moulded from a very fine culture as well!
I liked the Dimir one, they seem peacefull and not totally assassins and spies
I mean they don't even have a guild headquarters, they aren't even really at guild at all
To be honest, their non-existent headquarters have the definitly not coolest flavour-text ever written. cough duskmantle house of shadow cough Who is Dimir?
@@zraven2931 I honestly think most of these conspiracy nuts who think they do have an HQ are just idiots. I mean seriously, the place most people think it might be is just a bunch of rocks and dirt and shit. There isn't any room for an underground HQ
Henry K they have a guild headquarters it’s under a library
I think that there is bound to be a Boogeyman for Ravinca though, even one that is definitely non-existent
I'm new to this whole lore thing, So I have no idea whats going on or what he's talking about, I just like hearing him talk.
That's oddly nice/sweet
That's sweet. Also, he explains everything in the video, I don't see how you'd get lost. I'm fairly new aswell, but it all made sense to me. But if you haven't actually played DnD before, maybe that might make it confusing.
Friendly advice: Don't go too deep into Elder Scrolls lore. That shit's just downright insane.
@@Srksius2802 Meh, not so complicated
Translated : I have wasted so much of my time reading all these books, reading websites and discussing the lore that the concept of becoming a god by realising that you are just living in a dream without creating a paradox that would completely negate the fact that you ever existed seems perfectly reasonable to me
Basically, a bunch of armies agreed to stop fighting, and work together to make a metropolitan zone so huge, no one really knows where the city ends. Each Guild shoulders a different civic responsibility (utilities, sanitation, municipal and police action, military defense, parks and rec, medicine, information, etc), to keep everything running smoothly.
They've been doing this for 10 thousand years, and basically all hate each other. But the contract they signed is magic, so they literally cannot fight each other. Except now the contract is a dude that refuses to stay put.
DND player: *Confused Screaming*
MTG player: *Confused Screaming*
People who play both: *also confused screaming*
people who play neither: wait how is this weird?
I fall under the "both" category
@@bolognaB0iii I also fall under the "both" category and am concerned on how the Orhzov council is a measly 8 CR when it's said that if they were brought to a single goal they could level the plane?
@@BunnyTheOverlord I assume the CR rating is specifically for each ghostdude, not counting their allies or their political influence
@@pedroscoponi4905 yeah. individual leader is just a ghost but when they are the church, the bank and have solid foothold in law, you have too much power and wealth. The Orzhov are too backstabby and selfish to act as one though.
@@BunnyTheOverlord I mean if you follow the current MTG lore, they do die.
By the Firemind, you actually made some sense of the Izzet League's insane scientific practices! "We find out what we invent after we invent it" is the most succinct possible way of summarizing the League's otherwise bizarre creed.
Remember, there's no such thing as a failed experiment! Just a successful experiment that proves a hypothesis you didn't know you had!
Geoffrey Precht I love izzet as a guild and kinda wanna roll up a guild Mage now . Many a game has ended thanks to a single turn of multiplying lighting bolt
Izzet Guildmage: AHA! Your evil powers are nothing compared to SCIENCE!
Simic Biomancer: But it IS science!!
Izzet Guildmage: *WELL I'M SCIENCIER!!!!!!!*
Geoffrey Precht he spelt Izzet like izzit
They sound like the Asura from guildwars2. >_>
If Failure is the mother of invention, then catastrophe is the mother of Incredible Invention.
"The least suspicious guild", yeah I knew that. Right everyone. Everyone believes that and this is my own free thought.
Coming from a Dimir Ag- Member, I can agree whole heartedly.
Same!, no-one should should investigate the Dimir at all. As they are all great librarians
Also don’t watch to the emd
I thought the dimir didn't exist.
Well they are the ones that learned of the big bad elder dragon god was coming with his eternal zombie army with the best necromancer in the multiverse and to be far ral set up the lightning storm to show when a person plans walks to ravnica and or leaves and niv-mizzet comes back after been killed as a dragon avatar and a rep for all 10 guilds and the leader of the dimir have been a member of all 10 guilds
Simic: "What was noise?" "The sound of progress, my friend!"
Izzet: "The only difference between random BS and science, is writing it down."
Gruul: "Reject modern culture, return to rage. Or die, we don't care."
Selesnya: "We're all friends! If you mess with one of us, we will kill you."
Rakdos: "YAY! PARTY! LETS KILL THINGS AND GET LAID!"
Azorius: "Appointments for booking appointments, for consultation about the intricate nature of you enquiring to book a lawyer - who may or may not be available - who you plan to use to fight a fine for building an unauthorized LEGO set in the living room of your friend's house, will cost $250. All appointments must be attended punctually, and missing a meeting - regardless of when it takes place - will result in a $500 fine for wasting time, and must be rescheduled. Appointments for rescheduling a missed meeting are..."
Boros: "Peace on earth," (all load their rifles in perfect unison) "Goodwill toward men."
Golgari: "We used to farm vegetables, but farming organs is far more entertaining."
Orzhov: "For just 2 (times 50) easy payments of $150 (000, 000) gold (each year for 15 years), you can buy your ghost back from us. You should have thought about that before you died."
Dimir: "If you need any help, don't call us, we'll call you."
Glory to the Legion!
under liked!
Quick note on the Ghost council, even though the individual ghosts are CR 8, any of the individual members can call the other four, and they get much stronger when the others are around. Do not throw these guys in front of a level 6 party and expect anything less than a TPK. I do not want to have to deal with 5 ghosts who each take their own turn, have five different special abilities, an AC of 18, and three legendary actions.
Aren't there five including Uncle Karlov? And yeah they buff each other
@@auroralee there are 5, and sorry if that wasn't clear, but I was saying that any one member can summon the other four, making five.
What makes it word is that it's never just them; they can summon indentured spirits at will when they're a group of 5. So you're always looking at maybe 20 spirits following them around? (4 per ghost as backup muscle). These spirits are CR 1, and with bounded accuracy they can still swarm you for decent damage.
And if your party doesn't have magical weapons, they're doubly screwed. It's really up to the DM to decide when they'll get magic items so the DM will know how equipped they are for these.
Finally, all of them have incorporeal movement to just camp inside the ground when it's not their turn, making it a pain to ready actions to hurt them.
in MtG lore theyre basically the most indolent guild leaders, preferring to bask in their power and riches and let their underlings handle their problems. But when all of them act as one they can basically kill everyone in a whole city block in an instant.
@@kyoken8691 cough cough merciless eviction
Selesnya Conclave: We're all about hugs and unity.
Also Selesnya Conclave: Developing trees that absorb enormous amounts of nutrients from the soil to starve the Gruul and get involved in "accidents" with wurms.
The same Grull that 'apparently' plan to ruin all non battle-focused groups?
@@indulgencerofindulgence5970 destroy the city which takes up too much space.
More demolishionists than warmongers.
Also also Selesnya Conclave: have Impervious Greatwurms. In full plate armor.
Also also also Selesnya Conclave: We respect Nature and the Circle of Life.
Also also also also Selesnya Conclave: Slap so much healing magic on their plants, animals and people so that literally none of them die, so they have to constantly leech unhealthy amounts of resources and magic from the surrounding area and even divine sources to promote unnaturally long lifespans for their followers and their pets. As such, their leadership and methods of thinking tend to stagnate, and they become extremely wasteful and self-righteous.
This post was made by #GolgariGang
Some clarification from an MTG player:
Lazav, the guildmaster of the Dimir, is a shapeshifter, not a vampire. Actually, he's technically a dragon. At one point, Niv-Mizzet (somehow) pulled a plane-wide genocide of all other sapient dragons, forcing Lazav, a sapient dragon at the time, to go underground and basically Polymorph himself all the time. Nobody knows that, though. Lazav probably doesn't know himself. There's a lot of mind manipulation in the Dimir.
Isperia did not found the Azorius. Azor, another giant blue-white sphinx, founded the Azorius and introduced lawmagic to the plane. After a while he was like "alright looks like you guys got the hang of this" and left, leaving Isperia in-charge.
Speaking of Jace, he was not created from the Guildpact. He was a perfectly magical dude before becoming the Guildpact.
The Rakdos aren't just a shit-ton of juggalos. They've also got some pretty fucking metal shit going on in some areas. It can look like a satanic butcher's shop in those shows.
The map shown was not the entirety of Ravnica. There are ten districts of Ravnica; The Tenth District is just the important one.
Finally, not everyone belongs to a guild. Some people just sorta live it up in the city. Storeowners, traders, gangsters, beggars, musicians - there are all sorts of people living outside of the guilds. Granted, if you aren't part of a guild, you don't have as many legal rights or as much protection, but that's okay with some folks.
The 10 districts is the area where the city was when the guild pact was written, the 10th disctict is the center of it. Back in the days the city didn't span the whole plane. Nowadays there are countless other districts, the 10 original ones are “downtown“.
Roughly every second person is not aligned with any guild. Also, not all guilds have the same number of members, Selesnya have the most, Dimir the least.
I think he was talking about Szadek, the guildmaster before Lazav. That guy was a vampire.
@@migukmoonpark4312 i think it was mirko vosk tbh
@@izzydd5075 Mirko vosk was never the guild master. Szadek was. They both were vampires.
@@memevarg2530 no i mean i think he was talking about mirko vosk.
So, I kind of wanted to run through each of the guilds and go over the things you missed, or that may have just been excluded from the book altogether:
Simic: Honestly, pretty spot on. The only thing not really covered is that there are two 'sub-factions' in the guild, one that cares about preserving and understanding the natural world, and one that just shouts 'fuck it, I'VE GOT SQUID ARMS NOW!'
Izzet: Again, basically all correct. With the exception that the Izzet guild-master is a bit of an asshole.... ok, he's a big one, and that the guild also really enjoys lightning... like more than explosions a lot of the time.
Gruul: The Gruul is the first one I think you kind of misrepresented. While feral and chaotic, the Gruul want more than to just 'level the city.' They want to reclaim the natural from the city, I mean, they literally started out as forest-rangers that just got really fed up with people building on the sites they were trying to protect.
Selesnya: For the most part, you are correct. But, the big things are that the Selesnya are arguably worse at nature than the Gruul, because they don't let nature be natural, they create intricate designs using the natural, but at the cost of the natural growth and spread. Next up, the Selesnya are sometimes tied with more 'illegal' stuff...mostly drugs.... I mean, half of their farms are probably cannabis, so it isn't much of a stretch to see how they got there. Finally, the guild is really anti-individuality, like to the point that someone lower down making their own decision is not a good thing.
Rakdos: About half and half on this one. You nailed the face of the Rakdos, but there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. For instance, the Rakdos make up the majority of workers, in other words, the murder cultists all have day jobs. Also, the guild is in charge of the catering and entertainment industries. With that in mind, the Rakdos philosophy extends from 'enjoy today' to 'live a life you enjoy living,' with a great example of this being from a story in Ravnica Allegiance where a Demon writes and reads poetry, no, I'm not joking; that demon's whole stick is poetry and a ton of people in the guild love it, to the point that Rakdos himself got annoyed that a good chunk of people were paying more attention to the poetry show than to his... he then promptly killed half the audience. Another big thing is that leader Rakdos gets really jealous really easily and spends like half the year asleep.
Azorius: Yep... just... yep. Apart from the fact that the guild wasn't founded by Isperia, it was founded by another Sphinx named Azor.
Boros: Yeah... the Boros are hard to pin down. The best analogy I've heard is that they're the army and private security groups smushed together.
Golgari: The Golgari are kind of given a bad rap in a lot of things, but for the most part they are actually a guild more focused on nature than the Selesnya. The best way to look at it is that the Selesnya took the beautiful and live portions of nature, but the Golgari took it all, life and death, growth and decay, beauty and horror. The Golgari are also in charge of farming for a good chunk of crops, so keep that in mind when your character eats at a restaurant. Also, the Golgari are not intrinsically bad or evil, they just prefer to stick to themselves and dabble into truths other guilds see as unnatural and evil. Also, they aren't trying to bring Ravnica down, they just know that everything ends, and one day, Ravnica will meet its final sunset, and they're waiting for them to join them. In other words, they know death is inevitable but also understands that every end is just another beginning.
Orzhov: A+. Completely correct as far as I know.
Dimir: I hate to say this, but you're completely wr- what was that? What, who? WHO ARE YO-............ You are correct. The Dimir are just the mailmen of Ravnica.
Sincerely, A nerd with way too much time on their hands who loves the worldbuilding of Ravnica. (Of course, I'm not an expert at all, but someone can correct me if I got anything wrong.)
House Dimir would like to remind you that all conversations, thoughts and subconscious notions are on record.
They're just _really_ good librarians.
What do you mean we want to remind them, we're meant to make them forget that
Mythtic B we will. After they’re made aware
redemption101caleb ahh ok
With the Dimir, nothing's on the record.
Boros are great. They're basically just a big gang of paladins who, when they encounter someone who's rules lawyering to evade the letter of the law, just shrug and stab the guy anyway.
very militant, and don't think things through tho.
every guild is evil, every guild has good points, thats what makes ravnica so great as a setting. yes, even Gruul.
Technically, the Azorius Enforcers are the ones who act 100% by the law. Most of Boros is allied with them and also enforce the law, however a good number of Boros Soldiers have the goal to spread justice, even if it contridicts the law.
This is the split in the Boros Legion. What is justice? The law? Ones own perception of it? Is vigilantism valid?
Fun to play in game. They're about buffing little dudes super out of proportion
I mean if they’re good aligned boros then it’s just a gang of well meaning himbos who’ll curb simp your bullies
*Dimir are run by a shapeshifter now. Not a vampire.
Maybe Lazov was mimicking a vamp when he recorded this.
And doesn't Domri lead Gruul now?
@@cuttingscizor well... I guess you haven't seen the spoilers for the next set yet lol
@@dg_yorick6814 I have, but do we know the aftermath from that yet? I mean the most recent leader we know of was Domri, no? I usually don't really count the new set's story as happening until its release anyway honestly...
@@cuttingscizor The Guildmaster's Guild is set before any of the Bolas plot. Niv-Mizzet is still in control of Izzet, not Ral. BorBor is in charge of Gruul, not Domri, And Krenko isnt in prison yet, among other things.
Ravnica is a bit complex at a glance but once you get into it, it's a really, really fun setting that basically ensures that your character will be a part of the story and not just an avatar for you to control while playing through it. Speaking from experience. Hope this video convinces more people to check it out!
I'm on the fence i know I wanna do an artificer but I can't decide between bioshock guild and batshet crazy mechanics guild
Which one has the smarter leader ?😙
@@tonydanatop4912 niv mizzet is borderline omniscent, zegana it's not dumb either, it's just not a fair comparison, so go for the izzets
@@garn3590
In which case...think imma a warcraft style goblin (leaning more toward explosions than greed) thx man ☺
P.s FOR SCIENCE!!!!!
@@tonydanatop4912 Creating magical artifacts is more Izzet's job. They're the artificers and inventors of this plane. Simic is more focused around creating organisms and are the biologists of this world, they are not focused on artifacts and other contraptions but rather the creation of organisms of mass destruction.
The ghost council is CR:8 x5, after encounter multipliers, that comes out as ~CR:23, standard final boss material.
I mean, presumably you can lure some away, or with just CR 8 you could throw down some aoe and knock them out real quick if they stay together. A bunch of weak enemies is much easier than a big strong one.
@@timjones5953 as far as I can decipher the stat block, if you're lucky enough to encounter 1 alone, wipe him out fast, because he can summon the other 4 as a bonus action. Don't have the book on me at the time of writing this
Tim Jones each one can use an action to summon the rest of them at the start of their next turn. So they almost consistently stay together. They don't need to be so close as to be susceptible to an AoE, but close enough to be in the same encounter.
They can also summon minions as legendary actions when they're all together, so you're actually looking at 1d6 CR 1 spirits being summoned every turn to help. Honestly since it's an at will thing they have, it seems like all of them would always have these spirits following them around just in case, so 4 with just one and maybe 16 when travelling as a group.
Finally, they can move through solid objects like ghosts, so really they're just going to camp everyone by hiding in the ground at the end of their turn. This means everyone has to keep readying actions to even hit them, which will nerf those with Extra Attack and casters that concentrate (since readying a spell requires concentration). If things are going bad for them, they can just gtfo through the walls and ceilings.
With an 18 INT, 20 WIS, and being the leaders of a guild, you'll want to play these very tactically and paranoid to up the difficulty of playing against them.
@@aetherblackbolt1301 Seems like monks could be a good match against them. Is it possible to spend ki points on flurry of blows during the reaction?
Little Tivor no. Bonus actions can only be done your turn. Another reason that PCs will get nerfed when fighting incorporeal enemies; no use of bonus actions that target the enemy. So spiritual weapon can't be used nor Shield Master shove or anything similar.
However the Stunning Strike might still come in really handy to stop them, so that everyone can actually get a proper turn in.
The House Dimir is a wonderful place. The ending of this video is not worth watching. Leave the video no later than 8:42
Damn, I actually paused at 8:42 because I thought the video was over. Then I read your comment and had to figure out if I had passed that timestamp. You lead me astray.
@@Kitten_Cacophony No, he didn't. The Dimir are fine, you can end at 8:42
You've got a nice deck there. I'd be a shame if something were to happen to it. ;)
The contract didn’t become a guy, a guy became the contract.
Cause mindmelding.
And then it became a dragon.
Thank you. I noticed that too but wanted to make sure nobody already said it. Good job fellow MTG nerd.
Its a joke.
You know.... haha funny.
No then a dragon became the contract after the first one got destroyed due to an interplanar bridge caused explosion
"What Izzit?" -most common phrase in the League
*"I mean, technically all characters are rideable-"*
Smooth, *real smooth*
I love you're description Of Niv-Mizzet. A well-read Tarrasque...I laughed really hard at that because it's accurate.
It's terrifying right
He's the dude that can hold two concentration spells at once?
*hears bioshock*
"Is not a man entitled to the sweat of his brow.."
* melancholic background music *
1:02 I love how you got the least lovey-dovey, least-likely-to-be-friendly-with-other guilds in one photo and acted like they would be friendly with each other.
Edit: House Dimir's symbol: Dangerous to recognize, deadly not to.
House Dimir is the only guild, which gets along with all the others! Without the others knowing it.
There is no house dimir in Ravnica.
Do you ever remember House Dimir entangled in any conflict? I don't think so.
Not a single ravnican could even tell you where our hq is, that's how unimportant we are.
Sheikzer0 yeah
Some people were thinking otherwise, but I fixed that
Lol, try to find your Duskmantle yourself.
Note to self: Always return library books promptly and in good condition. OR ELSE. It'd be a shame to lose my library card.
The Cult of Rakdos have an actual purpose, though. They exist to keep Rakdos himself distracted so that he won't party in town all the time. I mean, he still does organize parties on the streets, but it's not as frequent as it could be.
The Cult of Rakdos also serves as a good outlet for people. Throw a little spice in their lives.
I mean... each INDIVIDUAL ghost of the council is CR 8, and they'll most likely be in a group... OF FIVE.
Unless you can kill a cr 8 ghost in one turn then you have to fight them all and they each can summon a bunch of ghosts. Cr 8 is really misleading when they can easily zerg your ass to oblivion. Zegana is the weakest.
Even if you find one alone you best hope to shit you kill him in one hit because they can summon the entire council in one action
and more importantly, they can just pay people to defend them.
Arthur Mello Didn’t they get killed by the Ghost Assassin from Fiora? (Or whatever the plane is called)
@@xekon14 Yup. Kaya
The fact that Dimir was mentioned at all...
*ehem* Um ACTUALLY Azorius wasn't founded by the Sphinx Espara. Espara is currently running the guild of Azorius. Azorius was founded by Azor, a great Sphinx of law that made the first guild pact. He's currently alive on a different plane of existance dealing with Pirates, dinosaurs, Merfolk Aztecs, and Vampire Conquestadors.
@Danny BRITZMAN Well in the time that Guildmaster's Guide takes place Isperia is currently the Grand Arbiter, if you're talking about current story, Dovin isn't even the leader anymore
@@stasisarbiter8710 SHHH SPOILERS!
@@aduffyguy the I suppose I should not mention Chandra's Triumph or anything like that then...
UHmmmNNN Actually, arzorius has two paruns, the other being grand arbiter agustin
Well, he WAS alive in Ixilan. Now he's golden.
nice description on the Dimir, keep like that and they'll let you live
Too late
@@kfcu no more larry videos :(
What House Dimir?
@@crypticmrchimes house what? never heard of
@@GWalmott Oh, that spider thing on all the old guildpact-era stuff?
Yeah, what's the deal with that?
The correct way to explain Gruul ; NOT GRUUL? THEN DIE. And yes they have to talk in caps and never stop yelling.
My party all got mtg Guild packs that come with cards, a cool ass pin of the guild, and a flavorful welcome letter to the guild.
Grull's: 'RUN SMASH KILL FIGHT!' in giant font that takes up the entire page.
Yet somehow they are neutral
Emil Edlund yeah, because “NOT GRUUL” can be good, and it can also be bad
No, not really, they are still a guild, and though they may not LIKE it, they still have emissaries and diplomats.
RAGE AND ANGER!!! SMAAAAAAASH!!!!! lol
We don't talk about the Dimir Guild.
The last time someone did the guild started murdering each other again.
That's not something I'm allowed to let you remember, sorry
@@Mythtic What remember?
Actually, azorius was founded by a different Sphinx, that being Azor, the Lawbringer. Isperia just runs it now because Azor ran off to another plane.
Although as of Guilds of Ravnica, Isperia is dead.
Before watching: Woot MTG player getting into DnD with this book, loving it.
LMAO "dimir are just mailmen, nothing special"
I'm a frequent MTG Player and I swear I've never heard of this Dimir guild. Is this a late April Fools joke or something?
As the name implies, they're just an old house, or family, that used to be very influential way back when the guildpact was created. They've since lost prominence and aren't really a guild anymore. Neat history, but not really worth looking into anymore.
@@KingBobXVI I'd direct you to a wonderful subreddit known as r/woosh, but I'd rather assume that you're joking.
They are totally not the spy guild, and they totally won't burn down your house for talking about them. Incidentally, can I sell you on this fire insurance premium... for no reason?
The Doctor and of course they will definitely not wipe your memories if you hear things you shouldn’t
Aren't they from the last Un- set?
Its krasis not krasis
I hate the fact that I read "krasis" and "krasis" differently.
Btw lorewise the term Krasis comes from Experiment Kraj, a huge legendary ooze (think phat gelatinous cube with the abilities of all members of the Simic combine) that almost took down Rakdos (a 50ft tall badass Guildmaster Demonlord Balrog-guy) singlehandedly. After the Kraj "incident" the Simic started referring to all non-humanoids that were a fusion of two creatures or more as Krasis. Eg- Sharktocrab.
@@Ceracio wait, the Kraj duked it out with Rakdos?
BerserkerCiaran yeah. Kraj tried to eat Rakdos but somehow that fucking killed him.
Help I don't get the joke
My favorite description of the Selesnya Conclave is "a murderous cult poorly disguised as Greenpeace".
Rather obtrusively expanding than murderous
So it's greenpeace, jehovah's witness and NRA all conbined.
So it's just normal Greenpeace then
You could've just said Greenpeace and saved yourself some time
Funny thing. Out of the original members of Greenpeace, only 1 was a science student, the others were law students. The scientist left because nothing they did was backed by actual science.
Love magic. Also love those dimir that are so nice and never plot anything
I will laugh at you with not my $12,000 deck but with my $980 deck that I built for $21 before its value went up.
Sorry had to. XD
What deck? UR Delver?
Yeah boi, actually about to play my first game in Ravnica! Thanks for this, made this kind-of-confusing world
Welcome to Ravnica! i hope you like going down wonderous rabbit holes of intrigue and madness!
There's kind of a giant freaking planetwide invasion of zombies and shit going on in the story of Magic right now, but guilds are still trying to murder each other, mostly.
Just...keep clear of any lightning storms. Those are only kind of on purpose.
Just remember if you run into rakdos it's going to be a showstopper.
Okay... I think I got all that. Lightning storms=bad, Rakdos is a showstopper, everything’s mad and... oh yeah: casual zombie invasion... Nah this isn’t worrying, not worrying at all (knowing my DM I’ll die in a lightning storm whilst being attacked by zombies)
I think the Selesnya are the ones that scare me the most. "Do not be afraid, we can make all of your problems go away. You will be happy as one of us. One of us. One of us."
“A lich named Jared” is one of the best canon things i this set tbh
I had no idea that ravnica was part of MTG until about to weeks ago. Thank you.
I guess you haven't played MTG recently?
@@The_Evening_Sun Or ever
So it's a MTG and D&D crossover?
@@Glace1221 Isn't the first time they've done this with their owned products. That's sort of the idea of the entire Planeshift series.
@@matthewmullinax6026 To be fair, Planeshifts are PDFs of, like, a handful of pages. GGR is like if Planeshift got buff and took steroids.
Has anyone else noticed that the Armoured Squirrel is in every single video he posts?
Like, all of them.
That is one legendary Squirrel Paladin
Technically ONE orzhova ghost has challenge 8. They summon 4 other ghosts like immediately.
That said, one of the other 4 ghosts might take an... opportunistic... approach to the situation.
Let a Magic player try to better explain the guilds to dnd players
Azorious: y'know that guy who adds so many house rules to the point where his lvl 1 fighter is somehow dealing more magical dmg than all casters but at the same time is healing better than the cleric and is still dealing way more damage than the monk and barbarian? Yep, that's azorious
Dimir: y'know that one dude who knows all the dnd rules and every single monster, and has watched every single piece of dnd media and figured out what the DM is planning just by saying "you meet up in a cavern" and already figured out that the major of texas was the one who killed jesus. That's dimir
Rakdos: y'know that one dude who plays a very confusing character who insist on not telling you the plan, but only that his monk with no defense should be up front and take the damage for the next 5 rounds just to pull off that single awesome combo that came out of no where? That's rakdos
Gruul: y'know that barbarian who only ever went into the most basic of things but somehow maxed his strength at lvl 4 amd doesn't know what else to do, so does nothing else? That's gruul
Selesnya: y'know that one druid who has so many npcs and summons that it takes a20 minutes for an entire round? That's selesnya
Orzhov: y'know that dude who has a single combo that goes off every single action, even though you question how legal it is but you have no eay to prove it is illegal? That's orzhov
Izzet: y'know that one newb who talks about being a wizard all the way up to session 0, then to figure out he got to choose his spells, picked the first few that he thought would go well together, then actually realized they didn't but as the game progressed he somehow were able to pull of some bs and defeat the BBEG? That's izzet
Golgari: y'know that one dude who's playing a cleric but never heals you, and only waits for you to die to use your corpse? That's golgari
Boros: y'know that person who roleplays paladin a little too well to the point that you heard them start telling off some kids litering in shakespearian? That's boros
Simic: y'know that person who tried to tame and somehow use (or even fuse) every encounter? That's simic
Idk if it's worth mentioning, but 4:10
names Sova, Jelenn, and Lyev are of slavic origin, meaning Owl, Deer and Lion.
Ravnica means plane as opposed to hilly ground
The author of the MtG Ravnica setting likes Slavic languages and history. Especially Czech (I'm Czech).
There are far more Czech-based words and realia in the Ravnica, sprinkled throughout:
The Azorius Senate seat is called Prahv, pretty close to Praha (literally Prague, Czech capital).
The basic level of Boros Legion member is a wojek (voják = soldier).
In the stories, this one wojek naked Kos (=blackbird, poetically "Canny Guy") uses a blasting wand called Pendrek (literally "baton") and the command word for using all its energy at once to make a biiiig blast is "Vrazi" (literally "Murderers").
I leave the meaning of Devkarin elves to the reader.
And in the MtG card images, you can even see several Prague sights (yes, real buildings).
This became my favourite d&d content, since it shows how easy it is to seize the means of production. Thank you, comrade!
Dimir isn’t run by a vampire anymore. Now we have a totaly norma,l not-shapeshifter human guildleader.
You mean elf right?
I love these videos. As a newbie to DnD they help a lot. The lore is like a big brick wall.
D&D doesn't have a unified lore. The lore can be whatever you want. It completely depends on what world you're in. The most popular world is the Forgotten Realms. Other popular worlds include Eberron, Greyhawk, and more. This particular world is actually from another game that Wizards of the Coast make: Magic the Gathering. A popular option is to make your own, homebrew world.
The DM is the god of the world(s) you play in.
As a magic player listening to you explain it in terms for none magic players was fun. Good job
I was so hyped for this book whn i came out due to my love of the Ravnica world in MTG. It sucks that like 99% of the Ravnica lore it intorduces is out of date due to the most recent MTG set. Like most of the people you talked about in this video are wildly different or just straight up dead now, lol. Oh well, great vid btw!!
I actually like that this book is set pre the most recent set(s). I think it leaves it more open for custom campaigns, and i wouldn't be surprised if thye release more magic books in the future maybe even another rav book...although i want inistrad.
Man, I know this really isn’t part of the video, but I love how he included the office in here
Also, the entire orzhov syndicate can be aptly described in their newest card's name;
Charity extractor
And you forgot the fact they enslave debtors ghosts.
My fav dnd setting.
I love the way you put this together and represented it.
"He got killed, but he's a lytch so he got... better"
Wait, I thought the Golgari guildmaster was that Gorgon Planeswalker, Vraska...
@@DuoSanguis i mean she is, jarad is still alive anyway, as a realy smart head
"Freedom vs. Safety"
My favorite thing you've done yet, and I like them all. Thank you.
Ok, I had to give you a thumbs up for the dimir description.
Thanks for making D&D understandable for new players I show your vids to new players before we play.
I could really relate to this video. Especially those Garbagari guys, or whatever.
Seriously.. DnD and Ravnica was all I needed in life. Or so I thought. This video was fantastic. Needed it
Yeah, the Golgari are a pretty interesting group. They also provide a lot of food for lower class and destitute citizens so even though they are necromancers and cultivate gardens of horrors... They aren't necessarily bad guys.
@@justinjacobs1501 That's the funny and aspring thing about philosophy and morale. The Golgari are selfish at their core, but they dont discriminate
I have that book and Runesmith nailed it. There is no word, I would change or add.
"Have you played that MOBA!"
"No which game?"
"Guess :3"
"...Izzit League?"
"... yes."
1:20 Simic Combine
2:05 Izzit League
2:38 Gruul Clans
2:58 Selesnya Conglave
3:22 Cult of Rakdos
3:47 Azorius Senate
4:25 Boros Legion
5:01 Golgaru Swarm
5:37 Orzhov Syndicate
6:20 House Dimir
nice sonic
So Ravnica is basically Coruscant?
Bingo. With the exception of factions on the brink of war with each other
So the entire Clone Wars but on Coruscant?
The Freak who freaked his last freaky Freak yes but cooler.
@@freakyzoid3565 i mean the clone wars Only had a small handful of factions and neutral worlds, clone wars but imagine if everyone was as diverse and different as the umbarans and geonisiabs
@@freakyzoid3565 More like Coruscant during the Old Republic then
I mean... I am long time mtg player, but I keep returning to this video every few months as it is only stuff I know, but explained in pretty entertaining way and I love it!
Me and the Golgari boys harvesting corpses.
I'm in a campaign of all Golgari
If you look into MTG lore (there is some), you'd find Jace actually wasn't materialized out of friendship or whatever (cool idea though, would be interesting to see pw-materialized-out-of- cycle), but came from another plain, Vrynn, if I remember correctly(at least that's what was in origins, and I didn't check Jace's lore as the Living Guildpact, so there may be some uncertainties)
So first time playing in Ravnica
my friend caught Rakdos in a pokeball
Friend of mine is getting ready to DM our group's next campaign, which is set in Ravnica. This helped out a lot. Thanks!
Creepy Spider Eye Symbol:
Aight,nothing wrong there. For sure. Definitly. *help*
as a magic player whos favorite guild is dimir, hearing his description of the dimir was my favorite part of this video
oh my god i wrote this before seeing the end and i love it
Where's my fellow Izzet bois? I liked this video. All of the guilds are great but... glory to the Firemind.
I don't even play MTG anymore, and almost never cared about the lore, but this seems really cool! Thanks Logan for making it simple and easy to understand!
Character who I MUST play at some point: disgraced loxodon drunken monk.
I may have started playing Magic when Ravnica first came out and knew it already, but I really needed to hear how you worded it. I was not disappointed.
BY THE DECREE OF THE AZORIUS SENATE, THE FOLLOWING CORRECTION HAS BEEN ISSUED:
THE AZORIUS SENATE WAS FOUNDED BY THE GREAT AZOR WHO ALSO WROTE THE GUILDPACT.
I play a blue white deck
Oh man, I came here for a Ravnica lore video to share with my players. What I found was that AND you're funny. I shall now watch all your videos 👍
"In a space where there is no room, in a structure that was never built, meets the guild that doesn't exist."
House Dimir is so fucking cool
Man I was checking out demons, devils, celestials and all those weird dudes and your vids have been a blessing.
0:15
What you lookin at
Myself.
To say this is the video that got me hooked to D&D. I know no one will see this, but thanks Runesmith to introduce me to D&D
4:46 Wait, you mean Jesus, Obi-wan kenobi, or both?
Yes
What do you mean? Those are the same thing.
Love your style. You did fail to mention the best thing about the book. The backgrounds provide spell choices!!!!!!!
I already knew all of it but still, thank you Logan, very cool!
Great video! I am absolutely done with explaining all guilds every single time.
Consider this. There is only one guild that if it collapsed would lead to mass death and the decay of the city as a whole. without this guild, Ravnica would be doomed without any external threat.
That guild is Golgari. Now here me out. In terms of governing, or innovation, the Golgari aren't that influential. However, they keep diseases, famine and filth from overtaking the world. Without them disposal would be impossible. Decay would be in the streets and cultivation of food would fall squarely to Selesnia which is ill equipped to handle the demands of not just the 10 guilds but the guildless. Selesnia's, Gruul and even Simic land would become unusable as some become dust bowls while the pollution ruins the simic combine.
Don't know how you can use it. But could be interesting for a campaign if the Azorious over regulates the Golgari cause them to ineffectively do their jobs. Golgari is legitimately the largest guild too.
Good luck "over-regulating" a guild which predominantly inhabits the undercity and doesn't give a flying fig about your laws.
Best video I have seen describing the guilds and setting
Magic: the Gathering, but every time you cast a blue spell, the game takes twice as long
Wait
Nathan Chaffee Deja-Vu?
I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're a fan too.
Don't blue spells already do that?
@@ironstorm1690 that's the joke, ya dingus
@@valfrozz Sorry.
Sarcasm doesn't translate well on the internet.
Deserves way more subs man...jeez hilarious and informative.
Okay can Tarkir get a book next? I want those cool dragon designs in my game.
Ixalan might be cool too...
...and Lorwyn.
If they do another magic book i'd guess they'd do inistrad next as it's the only plane that competes with rav for most popular plane.
Tarkir would be an amazing setting for another book. Ixalan and amonkhet are also nice settings but they already did a plane shift for those worlds (they’re still great and they’re free)
I think Otaria can be cool
Love the video. It was incredibly funny. I loved Ravnica. Boros is basically the military of Ravnica. Orzhov is my favorite guild. Dimir the guild that would never stab you in the back given a chance. I want this book.
How are the Boros hard to figure out? (Other than the description apparently being poorly written)
They're basically a crusading army led by angels that goes around smiting anybody that does things they don't like (which is most people, barring the Azorius and Selesnya)
Their overall military prowess and power are unmatched by any of the other guilds (not that they can't lose individual battles or campaigns) but they're basically all-in on full-on outright battle.
Charged with being the 'kinetic' end of lawkeeping in Ravnica they ate motivated more by the principle of justice, rather than the letter of the law. So they tend to ignore laws they don't like and enforce their own unofficial rules.
Remember 80s buddy-cop movies? The Boros is the "loose cannon who plays by their own rules."
----and the description of Dimir was gold.
Every guild in Ravnica is split into two conflicting ideas. The split in the Boros Legion is the concept of justice.
One part says, justice is what the Azorius write down as law. They work very closely with Azorius Enforcers, because when everyone obeys the law, there is no problem. What would be the point in having laws if they didn't matter?
On the other hand we have the Boros who say that just because it is the law, it isn't necessarily fair. Justice can't be written down and discussed in theoretical cases. The Boros should be allowed to execute actions that contradict the law if it causes justice among the citizens.
Torys Account
That's some deep question coming from an army of lawful stupid no brainers.
I never thought of gruul as mad max till you said it, and now i can't stop thinking about it.
"The thing the guilds fear most is infiltration of their own ranks. I should know, I'm a part if all of them!" ~Lazzave, shapeshifting guildmaster of Dimir
This is false and very not true.
The dimir do not exist and even if they did, they would be nice people who are totally not up to anything.
Iron Storm yes this is true
I just... Love the izzet. I seriously. Can't. Stop. Making. more. things.
Also, I feel like we're missing something in the last 30 seconds.
I think I might run a war of the spark dnd campaign
My DM is doing this now and so far it is fantastic because I'm the only one that knows the lore besides him and the only one he told what we were heading into.
that oof at the end just gained u a new sub
Okay, clearly the Izzit League are the best choice here...
You spelled Simic wrong.
Just found this channel and this video was hilarious. Great content and more Ravnica please, the setting is great for politics and intrigue that is sometimes missed in other D&D settings. Subscribing!