By James Pearce
The Edge, Magic's latest science-fantasy setting, sits outside the known Multiverse, bordering the Blind Eternities. And that’s about the extent of what we know for certain about the “plane.” I mean, we know locations and characters, but how the Edge actually came to be is a mystery. We see creatures reminiscent of familiar creatures in Magic’s Multiverse: Kavu, Eldrazi, Slivers. Etc. But, is there anywhere in Magic’s known multiverse that could have information on the Edge already? Think about Commodore Guff’s library on Dominaria, ancient and containing all knowledge of the past and future, could it have information on it within? What about the ancient plane of Equilor, stumbled upon by Urza, at the “edge of time itself,” could they have information? We see that Tezzeret was somehow able to transport his way into the Edge, but we never learn how. Was he snooping somewhere he shouldn’t have been just as he once did on Esper?While I don’t have the answers, I do have this cork board, some red yarn, and more time than I should on my hands. So let’s talk about The Edge, what it could possibly be, where it could be from, and most importantly: how things are slipping through.
Evolution Vs Creation, a Time Honored Battle
First up, the creatures. Now, everything we know about The Edge comes to us from the 11-part main story, written by Seth Dickinson, along with the 5 side-stories and Planeswalker’s Guide. Naturally this is where I started, looking for the similarities like a “spot the differences” puzzle as a kid. The easiest way to compare them is through the creatures we see, both in the established multiverse and, in the Edge.
Let’s start with my favorite, the Kavu. We know, thanks to the sacred texts, that the Kavu are an ancient species that lay dormant beneath Dominaria. This hibernation was interrupted during the original Phyrexian invasion due to a surge of Multani’s power. The Dominarians fought alongside the Kavu as they were excellent at killing the oily foe. However, when we look at the Kavu from The Edge, we see a more evolved representation of the species.Born on their home planet of Kavaron, the Kavu in the Edge are a deeply empathetic people, bound by the love they hold for their crumbling home. They have cities, and space-travel, and even lead the Sothera system in mining capability, these are clearly established people. So here’s what I think, stick with me if you will. Humans and apes are from the same ancestors. We both evolved together until humans split from that lineage about 6-7 million years ago. Now, it stands to reason that maybe the Kavu did the same. We know there has to be a way in and, presumably, out of the Edge since we know the planeswalker Tezzeret managed to get in. Though we are never told how this happens, which I find infuriating, nevertheless it reinforces the idea that perhaps those hibernating Kavu are simply the descendants of a common ancestor to those we see on Kavaron. The question, of course, would be: How?That jumps the proverbial gun a bit, though, so before we answer that, we have more differences to discuss. These will all be relatively brief as I can only speak to the facts we see in the story and worldbuilding and seeing as we’ve only been to the Edge once, we are limited in resources. Nevertheless, we have Eldrazi and Slivers to discuss. These are super interesting to me because they break the rules in completely different ways.
