The Rabiah Scale
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Dec. 1, 2016, 1:07 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
Mark Rosewater has now created a scale called the Rabiah Scale, which measures how likely WotC is to revisit a plane in a standard-legal set.
I am not surprised by most of the ratings on this scale, since some planes are much more popular than others, but I still am very displeased to see Kamigawa, Mirrodin, and Ulgrotha so high on the scale, as I am fond of those planes. On the other hand, I am pleased that Dominaria and Alara are so low on the scale, as I am fond of those planes, as well.
I notice that Rosewater did not provide an explanation for why he rated each plane as he did, so I hope that he eventually writes an article on M:tG's main website to explain it.
What does everyone else say about this? What are your thoughts on this new scale, and do you agree with Rosewater's rankings?
The 1s and 2s, Ravnica, Innistrad, and Zendikar, already have a return block, so I'm not thrilled to see them so low. I would like to see a fleshed-out Regatha or Segovia before them, but those are 6 and 8, respectively. And I still want to see some of the Planechase planes before those, Fabacin (Grove of the Dreampods), Azgol (Lair of the Ashen Idol), and Xerex (Stairs to Infinity, not in T/O database yet) in particular. "What's special about Fabacin?" "It's where dreampods grow." "What are dreampods?" "They only grow on Fabacin, making it special." "So, what's so special about Fabacin again?"
Valla (Immersturm) is shown on Warstorm Surge), and I will forever think Kephalai (Aretopolis) should have been incorporated into Theros. How many classical Greek planes are there, anyway?
December 1, 2016 1:31 a.m.
PhotogenicParasympathetic says... #4
I don't think Kephalai is Classical Greek, given the domes and spires. More reminiscent of India or Persia than Greece.
December 1, 2016 6:33 a.m.
Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully says... #5
I am just happy to see Theros as a likely return, great flavour, characters, mechanics, this is just my favourite standard legal set, period. Tarkir isn't far behind, although return to Kaladesh doesn't excite me at all.
December 1, 2016 7:40 a.m.
I think it's going to be very hard to go back to Rath or Serra's Realm.
They're both destroyed.
December 1, 2016 7:44 a.m.
Sim_Will_CMcantfindmehopefully says... #7
Flashback sets, or a resurrection thing, who the hell knows?
December 1, 2016 7:47 a.m.
I, for one, would just like new places. Loving how Kaladesh feel like a breath of fresh air after two big story blocks.
December 1, 2016 12:47 p.m.
PhotogenicParasympathetic The architecture does suggest Western or Southern Asia with the minarets and domes, but a pass through an online translator or two says that Kephalai is some variant of the Greek word for capital (as in capital letters), and Aretopolis pretty directly means City of Virtue in Greek.
December 1, 2016 12:56 p.m.
And looking at the Aretopolis art again, the building on the left appears to have Doric columns. The dome is out of place for Hellenistic architecture, all the same.
Also compare Kephalai=kefali=cephalos=head. The more I look at it, the more I think Greece/Theros over anywhere else. Except for the dome, this could be a picture of Meletis.
Apologies for belaboring this point, but it's bugged me literally ever since Theros was revealed.
December 1, 2016 8:48 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #12
If the story returns to Tarkir, I do hope that there is a chance for the original clans to return, or at least be mentioned.
It is unlikely that WotC will visit Fiora in a standard-legal set, but I do expect there to be a third Conspiracy set, since the story of the second set ended with no conclusion, at all.
legendofa, I, also, am wondering what dreampods are and why they are special.
December 2, 2016 12:01 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #13
I can understand why most of the higher-ranked planes are ranked as they are, but why is Lorwyn/Shadowmoor so high on the scale? Was it unpopular or otherwise problematic?
December 2, 2016 12:31 a.m.
I believe Lorwyn/Shadowmoor was only really unpopular because the only decks flying around were U/B faeries- I seem to remember hearing that Bitterblossom dominated the standard of the time
December 2, 2016 5:13 a.m.
joshuaizac says... #15
I am sooooo not a Vorthos driven player, but I realize a lot of people are. That being said, I do see how much the lore impacts flavor of the cards and mechanics that get printed. I kind of like seeing Ravnica, so high up though I'd prefer to see Dominaria at 1 and Ravnica and Alara at 2, not 1 and 4. Aside from that pretty much the rest of the list sickens me. Move all other Modern blocks to ZERO. Move any non-Modern block up or just give us new stuffs. Tempest, Odyssey and Onslaught are by far still my favorite blocks... Give them some love, lets see a few (unbroken) decent reprints (no slivers, burn those f**ks)...
This of course again, would be my preference whereas I believe Rosewaters list is meant to be more of a prediction
December 2, 2016 6:19 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #16
Infinimage007, the fact that Ulgrotha and Innistrad are similar does not mean that they are exactly identical (for example, Innistrad is direct Gothic horror, while Ulgrotha combines Gothic horror with traditional high fantasy), just as Mirrodin and Kaladesh are similar, but not identical, or how Kamigawa and Tarkir are similar, but not identical. WotC does not need to have only one plane for each theme, because that would be too limited and strain credibility.
December 7, 2016 10:46 a.m.
Infinimage007 says... #17
I agree with you; I was just stating earlier what Mark Rosewater had stated.
December 7, 2016 12:52 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #18
Given that certain planes (most notably Kamigawa and Ulgrotha) are unlikely to be revisited in standard-legal sets, how likely is it that they shall be revisited in supplemental sets, such as Duel Decks, Commander, Conspiracy, Planeschase, or Archenemy?
December 7, 2016 9:01 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #19
Has anyone noticed that the lower-ranked planes are mostly planes from recent products, while most of the planes from older products are ranked much higher? Why is there such a bias toward the newer planes?
December 24, 2016 1:41 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #20
I don't know, but if I had to mske a guess, its probably because Maro thinks that the set success is heavily tired to the plane, so they will make a good profit returning to the planes that did well. I think that's not the case, and Going to a plane for the third time will actually be rather boring.
Infinimage007 says... #2
I believe Ulgrotha is as high as it is because Innistrad basically replaced it. On his tumblr, Blogatog, he stated that Innistrad became the plane of gothic horror, making Ulgrotha somewhat obsolete. It is similar to how Ravnica, a city-plane, replaced Mercadia, another plane inspired by cities.
December 1, 2016 1:22 a.m.