Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Un-set Chaos, Planar Void, and a Classic Black Enchantment
If you’ve ever sat at a kitchen-table with a mismatched group of friends and chased the impossible dream of chaos, you know what makes MTG’s unsanctioned moments so appealing: unpredictability wrapped in clever text and memorable flavor. Planar Void sits at a strange crossroads of that chaos. It isn’t a joke card from a silver-bordered set, yet its effect teases out the same thrill: a spell that bends the way we think about the graveyard, the battlefield, and what happens to the cards we thought we’d lose. 🧙♂️🔥
Drafted into Urza’s Saga as an uncommon enchantment, Planar Void costs a single black mana, wears the color’s signature patience, and asks you to lean into a different kind of control. Its ability — “Whenever another card is put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile that card.” — is deceptively simple, but it ripples through every interaction. In a world where graveyards are power sources, fuel for reanimation, or just a place to stash late-game threats, Planar Void quietly becomes a force multiplier for disruption. 💎⚔️
Card snapshot
- Name: Planar Void
- Set: Urza's Saga (USG) — 1998
- Mana cost: {B}
- Type: Enchantment
- Color identity: Black
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Oracle text: Whenever another card is put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile that card.
- Artist: Andrew Goldhawk
- Flavor text: "Planeswalking isn't about walking. It's about falling and screaming." — Xantcha, Phyrexian outcast
“Planeswalking isn't about walking. It's about falling and screaming.”
That flavor text doesn’t just illuminate a moment of raw chaos; it hints at the paradox of Planar Void: you’re forcing people to face the consequences of every card that tries to vanish into a graveyard. The art by Andrew Goldhawk, with its moody tones and suggestive shapes, captures that sense of peril and inevitability—like stepping into a black mirror where every loss becomes a new exile. 🎨💎
Why this card resonates with Un-set chaos fans
Un-set chaos and the spirit of witty mischief have drawn players into temporary, table-top revolutions where rules bend and the unexpected becomes the norm. Planar Void embodies that core thrill in a straightforward way: it punishes the typical graveyard play, but it does so with elegance and a dash of old-school gravitas. For players who love puzzling out oddball combos or doing double-takes when a “normal” card is suddenly a cornerstone of a weird, glorious plan, Planar Void provides the kind of anchor you didn’t know you needed. 🧙♂️🔥
In formats where graveyard strategies often reign supreme, Planar Void acts as a portable anti-graveyard treaty. Every time a card would end up in a graveyard, it’s not just discarded or recycled; it’s exiled. That makes it a natural fit for vintage and legacy circles, where players chase the old-school mix of disruption, resource denial, and dramatic finishes. It’s a one-mana tempo play you can cast early, then watch as the game shifts beneath your opponent’s feet—like a prank that sticks around longer than a single turn. ⚔️🎲
Gameplay ideas and deckbuilding notes
Planar Void shines when you lean into the idea of “control through subtraction.” Here are a few principles that help you think with Planar Void in mind:
- Graveyard hate that travels with you: Its trigger takes effect regardless of where the card goes to the graveyard from, so it protects you against your own or your opponent’s graveyard-heavy plays. This makes it a quiet ally for control shells that want to deny reanimator and graveyard-centric draw engines. 🔥
- Complement with other hate: Planar Void plays nicely with piles of classic graveyard hate—things like Nihil Spellbomb for artifact-based removal or Ashiok-inspired ploys in casual formats. The more it’s supported, the more you tilt the game away from the graveyard’s gravity. 🧙♂️
- Card advantage considerations: Because the card exiles important pieces of an opponent’s deck (and your own), you’ll want to weigh the tempo of your plays. Planar Void is best when you have a plan to pressure through with threats while keeping a lid on problematic recursion. 💎
- Format flavor: In Vintage and Legacy, Planar Void can disrupt reanimator builds and tutor-led decks that rely on graveyard synergies. It’s less about locking the game and more about making the opponent’s usual lines of play unreliable. ⚔️
As you build around this enchantment, don’t forget the human element: the card’s era, its design choices, and the way it marries simplicity with a stubborn, stubbornly honest mechanic. The 1998 frame and that era’s textual density evoke a nostalgia that’s as much about community as it is about mechanics. That’s part of what makes vintage playrooms and Saturday morning games feel so alive—old ideas, new memories, and a little chaos to keep everyone on their toes. 🧙♂️🎲
Art, lore, and design significance
Planar Void is a compact study in how a single line of text can alter a game's arc. The artwork by Andrew Goldhawk captures the sense of a plane bending under pressure, with a color palette that leans into shadow and suggestion rather than explicit depiction. The flavor text from Xantcha hints at a world where crossing planes isn’t a stroll but a descent into the unknown—an apt metaphor for how Planar Void shifts the moment of a graveyard’s birth from inevitability to exile. This isn’t just a rule interaction; it’s a storytelling device that adds mood to every match. 🎨🔥
Collector value, rarity, and modern reception
As an uncommon from Urza’s Saga, Planar Void sits in a sweet spot for collectors who chase iconic black staples from the late 1990s. Its price point in current markets, around $5.86 USD, reflects its status as a playable throwback rather than a high-demand mythic, while its legacy legibility ensures it remains a familiar face at tournaments and casual tables alike. In euro terms, it clocks in around €2.73, a reminder of how timeless a well-made common-sense card can feel across different economies. The card’s presence in both Legacy and Vintage keeps it relevant for players who like to mix nostalgia with practical value. 🧙♂️💎
For fans who love unearthing “hidden engines” from the past, Planar Void remains a standout example of how a restrained effect can powerfully influence modern conversations about exile, graveyards, and tempo. It’s not a flashy combo piece, but it’s a reliable reminder that sometimes the simplest tools—one mana, one line of text—carry the loudest echo in a game that’s as much about psychology as it is about math. If you’re building a casual chaos-inspired cube or testing a vintage control shell, Planar Void is the kind of thoughtful inclusion that invites a chuckle, a groan, and a little bit of awe. 🧙♂️🎲
While you’re exploring the nostalgia-hit, why not pick up something practical that doubles as a stylish everyday accessory? The Neon Card Holder Phone Case with MagSafe — Impact Resistant is a perfect companion for traveling between LGSs or local game nights, keeping your favorite decks safe and within arm’s reach. It’s a nice nod to the same spirit of durability and character you find in Planar Void’s enduring design. Small joys, big plays.