Avishkar: Magic changes the name of Kaladesh

During the WeeklyMTG program this Tuesday (10), Wizards announced the first details of the next Magic: The Gathering expansion, Aetherdrift.

Before announcing more info, one of the game's lead designers, Miguel Lopez, explained that the plane of Kaladesh is now called Avishkar.

Lopez went into depth to explain the reasons for the change, but emphasized how it fits into the lore of Aetherdrift: after the events of Aether Revolt and the Phyrexian Invasion, the people of Ghirapur decided that this was a new era with the understanding of the existence of Planes and a Multiverse, and saw at this moment the opportunity for new possibilities of exchanges, trade routes, sports, culture and other extraplanar activities - and a new name for the plane was established to mark this new era.

On its official website, Wizards released a statement explaining the reasons and practical implications of the name change: Kaladesh can be read with different interpretations in the Hindi dialect. The intention in naming the plane this way was to combine the word "kalā" (kah-LAH), which means "art" or "tomorrow" with desh - "home". However, the word "kālā" (KAH-lah) also means "black" and can be used and/or interpreted with derogatory and racial connotations.

In deciding to change the name of the plane, the design team and its consulting firm opted for the name Avishkar, as it derives from aavishkar, which is interpreted as "invention" in hindi.

In the lore, the plane of Avishkar is not interested in conquering other planes through war, but in expanding its influence in the Multiverse to the point of making it the "capital" among the planes, and to expand this influence, they created the Grand Prix of Ghirapur, a race between several teams from different places in three Planes: Avishkar, Amonkhet and Muraganda - this marks the first time that Magic lore has gone through Muraganda, despite its initial reference having occurred in the expansion Future Sight, 2006.

This won't be the first Grand Prix: the first edition of the event featured many teams and spanned 24 planes, none of which were mentioned. This year's racing teams are divided into ten factions, each derived from a different plane. Respectively:

The Endriders, the group of nomads from Gastal, a plane on the brink of destruction.

The prize for this edition of the Grand Prix is ​​the Aetherspark, a powerful artifact that contains the spark of a Planeswalker trapped in an Aether cage, granting any individual the power to travel between planes.

Official previews for Aetherdrift begin on January 21 and run through January 31. Prereleases will occur on February 7, with the expansion launching on February 14.

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Source: DailyMTG, WeeklyMTG