Magic has been building up its latest story arc for awhile now. As the target of a Phyrexian incursion, Dominaria and its heroes have become the focal point for Magic’s current plot. If you’re interested in MTG lore, then our summary will tell you everything you need to know about the story of Dominaria United!
RELATED: Dominaria United – Everything We Know So Far
Echoes in the Dark
Our story begins with Karn, who is excavating deep within the Caves of Koilos. He believes that the Phyrexians are already on Dominaria and is searching for information about the Sylex. The Sylex is an artifact capable of plane-altering destruction, which Karn currently possesses.
It’s clear that Karn harbors a deep guilt about Mirrodin. He can’t confront Venser’s death, and he’s become obsessed the Phyrexians. Jhoira has tried to reach out to him, but Karn is convinced he needs to go on his quest alone.
After repairing one of his excavators, Karn discovers a hidden cavern filled with artifacts. Inside, he finds a clay tablet relating to the Sylex. He takes the tablet back to his camp, where he concludes he’s missing a piece. He goes to retrieve it before stumbling onto a more pressing discovery.
Karn finds organic cables filled with Phyrexian Oil. The cables are new, which means that Phyrexians are hiding inside the caves. Eventually, he finds where the Society of Mishra, led by a Tolarian named Rona, are repairing damage done to Sheoldred, one of the Phyrexian praetors.
Karn knows he needs to warn Jhoira and his other allies, but he also wants to destroy Sheoldred and stop the invasion immediately. The Society of Mishra discovers him, and he fights his way to get close to Sheoldred. Once Karn touches her, he gains access to her memories. He learns that Dominaria has been infested with sleeper agents, prepared to do the Phyrexians bidding with the right command.
Karn can’t warn anyone about this threat, however, because Rona is able to paralyze him with her magic. Before he can break free, the Phyrexians escape and destroy the chamber. The cave-in traps Karn, unable to planeswalk away.
Read the official Dominaria United story here!
Sand in the Hourglass
After spending months trapped, Ajani finds and rescues Karn. They return to his camp, where Karn finds the Sylex and the tablet still remain. Although Karn wants to trust Ajani, he fears that anyone could be a Phyrexian sleeper agent, so he doesn’t fully explain his mission.
The two planeswalk to the negotiations between New Banalia, Keld, and New Argive. The three nations are discussing peace, along with the help of Jaya and Jodah. Everyone besides Stenn, the Argivian representative, is skeptical that the Phyrexians have truly returned. They decide to continue with their current negotiations and deal with New Phyrexia later, much to Karn’s frustration.
As peace talks continue, Teferi arrives and brings news of Phyrexians on Kamigawa. This revelation derails the negotiations, which are put on hold until the next day. During the night, Karn decides to hide the Sylex in Jhoira’s workshop while she’s asleep, along with alarms to notify him if someone disturbs it.
When he returns, Stenn gives Karn his full support. He explains that New Argive is aware of Phyrexian sleeper agents, and that his mission has been to root them out.
The next morning, the planeswalkers discuss what to do about New Phyrexia. During their conversation, Karn notices a bird displaying unusual behavior, and discovers that it’s a Phyrexian spy. They bring the bird to the representatives from each nation, which triggers sleeper agents from New Benalia to attack.
Ajani chases after a Phyrexian who has kidnapped Aron Capashen, the head of New Benalia’s highest house, while Karn, Teferi, Jodah, Jaya, and Stenn teleport to Stenn’s watchtower. They discover that a Phyrexian has followed them, and lock the tower down until they can find it.
Read the official Dominaria United story here!
The Locked Tower
Since Karn is the only one who the Phyrexians can’t corrupt, Stenn leaves him in charge of ending the lockdown. Not only does he need to find and destroy the Phyrexian that followed them, but he also needs to determine whether any of his allies are sleeper agents. Jaya and Jodah aren’t pleased that Karn doesn’t trust them, but they agree to follow his plan.
The Phyrexian starts dividing itself over and over, and they’re unable to determine just how many enemies they’re dealing with. As they split up again and again to search the tower, Karn separately tells Teferi, Jodah, and Jaya a false location where he hid the Sylex. He uses a scrying device whenever he can to see if the Phyrexians are searching any of the fake hiding spots, but he cannot find any.
During the search, Jaya becomes injured. She insists that she’s fine, but everyone else is concerned that Phyrexian oil could get into her wound and corrupt her. In a separate fight, a Phyrexian pins and maims Teferi, seriously injuring him.
The Phyrexians have now integrated themselves completely into the tower, and the heroes decide to root them out using the tower’s control panel. Before they do, Karn tells Stenn another false hiding spot, and he reveals that he’s been a sleeper agent the entire time. He contacts Sheoldred using the tower and attacks the group.
Karn is able to destroy the compleated Stenn, but more Phyrexians are on the way. Jodah doesn’t have the energy left to heal Teferi, who can’t move on his own. Karn calls the Weatherlight to get them, and they prepare to fend off the Phyrexians for as long as they need to.
Read the official Dominaria United story here!
A Brutal Blow
The Weatherlight has rescured our heroes from Argivia, and the planeswalkers discuss the situation with the ship’s crew. They decide to unite Dominaria against the Phyrexians before they spread any further, since the sleeper agents are more effective when they can slowly and secretly infect the population. The New Coalition splits up to recruit Dominaria’s nations to take a stand at Shiv, where the Mana Rig is.
Jaya and New Benalia
Jaya searches for Danitha Capashen, who is preparing to attack a Phyrexian camp with Ajani. They believe that Aron Capashen is being held there, and Danitha refuses to leave for Shiv until they rescue her father.
At the camp, they discover that Ertai, a former member of the Weatherlight crew, is leading the Phyrexians. He has compleated Aron, who is still conscious and against New Phyrexia. Still, Ertai can control him, and he forces him to fight Danitha. Aron reminds his daughter of her duty, and she kills him.
Immediately, Ertai unleashes a massive Phyrexian dreadnought. He demands Danitha surrenders, or else he’ll use the dreadnought’s acidic weapons to wipe out her forces. Just as she accepts defeat, Radha and the Keldon forces arrive on the Golden Argosy, landing on the Dreadnought and attacking it from above. The Keldons and Benalians work together to defeat the Dreadnought, and Ertai flees.
Jodah and Yavimaya
Jodah heads to the ruins of Kroog, a city within Yavimaya, to seek help from the elves. Meria, the leader of the Yavimayans, initially refuses his request. She knows her people will likely have to fight New Phyrexia, but she would rather do it at home, where they have the advantage.
Before Jodah leaves, however, Rona attacks Kroog with a compleated dragon engine. The huge machine begins destroying the forest and its wildlife, and the elves’ weapons are no match for it. Jodah uses his magic to protect the Yavimayan soldiers, but there isn’t much more he can do.
As the dragon engine tears the land apart, though, Meria spots an artifact that can save them. She and Jodah rush just beneath the engine to recover a Thran device, and Jodah teleports them to safety as Meria activates it. The device creates a spherical vacuum, destroying the engine’s biological components. As the engine falls out of the vacuum, Rona runs away, pursued by the elves.
Meria sees the destruction of her home and realizes that nowhere is safe from the Phyrexians. She agrees to lend her forces to the New Coalition.
Karn and Teferi at Shiv
Teferi reaches out to the nations of Shiv, and the goblins are the first and only group to join the New Coalition. During an attack on the Weatherlight by a large, flying Phyrexian, however, Darigaaz aides the ship and vaporizes the creature. He pledges his allegiance to the New Coalition, which he predicts will cause the other dragons and nations of Shiv to follow suit.
Finally, Karn and Jhoira reunite. There’s some tension between the two at first, but it doesn’t last long. They understand that they each had different reactions to Venser’s death, and that they each needed to grieve in their own way.
As Jhoira prepares to modify the Mana Rig so that it can self-destruct, Karn receives a call from Jodah. He tells Karn that the Yavimayans have joined the cause, and that he believes there’s a spy among them
Read the official Dominaria United story here!
A Whisper in the Wind
The New Coalition has readied its forces at the Mana Rig. Jhoira is installing the self-destruct device, and Teferi has a heart-to-heart with Karn. He properly apologizes for how he treated Karn in the past, which Karn accepts.
Just as he does, though, the Phyrexians attack. The fight is going well for the Coalition, but Ertai arrives on the Weatherlight, which he’s compleated. He uses magic that Karn’s wards can’t protect him from, and his joints rust over. Ertai begins to pull Karn’s limbs from his body, so the planeswalker uses all of his focus to encase the Sylex in titanium from a distance before he dies.
Before Ertai can finish Karn off, however, the Golden Argosy brings Ajani, the New Benalians, and the Keldons. Ajani kills Ertai, freeing Karn. His body is heavily damaged, but he’s alive.
Sheoldred approaches the battlefield, and the Coalition springs to action. Karn instructs Jaya to planeswalk the Sylex away while the others continue to defend the Mana Rig. When she returns, she needs Karn to remove the Sylex’s titanium casing. She can barely lift it, and it’s far too heavy to planeswalk with.
Once he does, Ajani is revealed to be the Phyrexian spy, and he rushes after Jaya. Karn stands between the two planeswalkers, but Ajani’s axe pierces Karn’s torso, and he falls helpless. Ajani steals the Sylex and throws Jaya off the Mana Rig. He destroys the Sylex and captures Karn.
The Phyrexians take the upper hand in the battle, so Jhoira activates the self-destruct mechanism on the Mana Rig. Jodah uses his portals to transport the New Coalition, but he has to leave Karn with Ajani. Sheoldred activates the Planar Bridge to return to New Phyrexia with Ajani and Karn.
Aftermath
Jodah, Teferi, and Jhoira construct a monument in Shiv to honor Jaya’s life, instilling it with their most precious memories of her. In the aftermath of the battle, they’ve also enlisted Saheeli Rai’s help to uncover the mysteries of the Sylex. She’s unable to determine how to use the Sylex, but she was able to replicate the artifact. In order to stop New Phyrexia, Teferi decides to go back in time to the Brother’s War to learn how to use it.
Meanwhile, Sheoldred has delivered Karn to Elesh Norn. He’s back in New Phyrexia, too weak to planeswalk away. Elesh Norn shows Karn a sapling which appears to be Phyrexian: it’s clearly organic, but it drips oil. The praetor tells him that it’s the “beginning of everything.”
Read the official Dominaria United story here!
End Step
With that, you’re now up to speed on the main story of Dominaria United! Dominaria United is the first of four acts, so return to the site with each new set to read our summary of the New Phyrexian story arc!
