Why Magic: The Gathering is Returning to Zendikar Next Year

Magic: The Gathering is returning to Zendikar next year with the release of the upcoming Magic expansion, Zendikar Rising, and some fans are wondering why the game is returning again to the land-themed world so soon. Last week, Wizards of the Coast announced the four MTG sets coming next year, and that includes Zendikar Rising on Q4. Recently, Rosewater explained on his Blogatog why MTG is returning to Zendikar.

"Battle for Zendikar is the best selling set in the 26-year history of Magic," Rosewater said. "While I'm the first to admit there was room for improvement in the set, the data shows Zendikar is a very popular plane. In many ways, we're revisiting original Zendikar which we haven't seen in a much longer time."

Battle for Zendikar was released in 2015 so it's easy to see why fans don't miss the land-themed plane yet. Another reason why the return to Zendikar next year is surprising is the fact that Rosewater said that the Battle for Zendikar block is the MTG block he would erase from the game's history.

Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Back in 2016, Rosewater wrote a column explaining why they returned to Zendikar with the release of the Battle for Zendikar set in 2015, saying, "We chose to return to Zendikar because the original set was so popular, but instead of embracing what made it popular, I embraced the very aspect that we knew was the least popular part about it."

It looks like Wizards of the Coast Based on what Rosewater said so far about Zendikar, it sounds like we're returning to the original Zendikar next year minus the Eldrazi. Rosewater confirmed this in last week's announcement: "We're going back to Zendikar," Rosewater said in the stream. "The Eldrazi are gone. If you enjoy original Zendikar, the adventure world Zendikar, we're going back!"

They will probably bring back a lot of the elements from the first Zendikar set, including Landfall mechanic, Trap Instants, and Quest enchantments, as well as strange hedrons.

Before we return to Zendikar though, fans will have to go through this fall's Throne of Eldraine, and the rest of the 2020 sets: Theros: Beyond Death, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and Core Set 2021.

Throne of Eldraine, the 82nd Magic expansion, is set to release on October 4. Prerelease events will take place on September 27 to 29.

Related: MTG Throne of Eldraine Previews Reveal The Royal Scions & Cinderella-Themed Cards