Simic Combine

Ravnica's Medical Experts and Biologists

The Simic Combine is Ravnica's steward of biology and the ecosystem; its mission is to preserve the natural mechanics of the world, even as Ravnica's cities continue to grow, and even help nature adapt to the overpopulated urban conditions. The guild uses magic to coax new morphologies from existing creatures, as well as to combine traits from multiple organisms in one. Some of these are unique creatures that can't reproduce. A few multiply and become part of the guild's fabric.

The emotionally distant relationship that the Simic biomancers have with the rest of Ravnica's society makes the common man wary of the guild, thinking of them as crazy mutant makers. Even so, the Simic make up most of the physicians of Ravnica and, unless they have money to go to one of the few privately owned doctors, most citizens take their injuries and illness to the reputable and low cost Simic hospitals.

The true nature of the Original Parun of the Simic Combine has been lost to the ages, the only knowledge of them remaining is that they were a Vedalken and their first name was Simic. Their reputation with the populace isn't the best due to the actions of past members, but since the reemergence of Ravnica's Merfolk from the large sinkholes known as Zonots, the combine has been heading in a much more positive direction.

Clades

Where other cultures are divided by species, caste or role, within the Simic Combine, members are divided by Clade. A Clade is a group that's focused on a specific aspect of nature. Some of the clades include:

Hull Clade, focusing on protection, defense and durability.
Fin Clade, focussing on movement of creatures (especially flying creatures) as well as, movement of resources through systems.
Crypsis Clade, focussing on camouflage and magic designed to hide knowledge or operations.
Gyre Clade, focussing on redirecting or nullifying magic and advancing nature.

The Speakers

Each of the Zonots contains a sprawling research facility that reaches from the surface all the way to deep beneath the underground oceans. These facilities include enclaves from each Clade and the daily activities of each of them are monitored by the leader of that Zonot, known as the Speaker. The Speakers' Chamber is a secretive body of all nine Zonot speakers. The Prime Speaker, one elected by each of the other Speakers, is considered to be the guildmaster of the Simic.

Factions

Independently from the Clades operate two factions about the interpretation of Simic philosophy.

The Utopians, who focus on a harmonic union between civilization and nature, where evolution is a slow, guided process

The Adaptationists, who believe that the guilds exist in a fragile ecosystem in which the slightest imbalance can have cascading effects, and thus seek to make steps that will ensure their survival.

Though they have long been officially dissolved, the followers of Momir Vig, a past leader of the Simic, constituted their own faction, the Vigeans, who saw nature as something to be molded and subdued in order to enhance civilization.

Guardians

In recent years the Simic Combine has extended its research to humanoid subjects, magically transferring the traits of various animals into Humans, Elves and Vedalken. The goal of the Guardian Project is to build an army perfectly adapted to a variety of combat situations in the case of full blown war between the guilds. These hyper-evolved specimens are called Simic Hybrids, though they sometimes refer to themselves as Guardians.

History

Before the Guildpact was shattered, the sinkholes that became known as Zonots had not opened up yet and the Simic Combine was lead by the lead Biomage, a Vedalken known as Momir Vig. Vig dedicated his life's work to Cytoplasts, a bio-magical mass of living tissue, appearing as blue-green globules. These globules convey genetic information to and from any life-form they come into physical contact with, enhancing various aspects of their biology.

Momir Vig then disgraced himself and the guild in the populaces eyes when he teamed up with Svogthir, then leader of the Golgari Swarm, to cleanse Ravnica of impurity and start anew. He did this through Project Kraj, an experimental life form that was made of and could communicate with Cytoplasts. As he unleashed his monster, all the Cytoplasts that had been voluntarily taken on by those in need of prosthetics, those with dire illnesses, and other combine members sundered their connection with their hosts and flew through the sky towards Kraj, piling onto him until he was an enormous pink globule.

Kraj's reign of terror was ended by Rakdos, the demon lord himself. During their fight, Kraj attempted to absorb the lord of riots and in doing so, perished. The ordeal put the guildmaster of the Cult of Rakdos in a deep slumber for several years. Momir Vig's life was taken by Agrus Kos, a high ranking member of the Boros Legion, specifically a leader in a special sect of the the Wojek's whose purpose is to protect the sanctity of Ravnica and the Guildpact.

A relatively short time later, the Guildpact was shattered and Ravnica began to escalate towards wide spread disarray. The Simic Combine itself was in complete disorder until suddenly, the Zonots opened, linking the overworked to the subterranean oceans far beneath.

With the reemergence of the merfolk and the rediscovery of Ravnica's long gone oceans, the Simic were remade from scratch. Embracing long-gone spiritual and holistic concepts of the merfolk, they rejected Momir Vig's corrupted philosophy and focused on advancing nature through purely magical means. Because of their new focus on the oceans, their philosophy revolves around principles applied to sea-life: the Holdfast, the anchoring, isolationist motion; and the Upwelling, the expansive, upwards-going motion. With this, they form a compromise between isolation and influence on Ravnican society, preserving nature and allowing at least one spot of access to the underground oceans.

The merfolk Zegana became the guildmaster and speaker of Zonot One, the first to open. The nine Zonots are the focus of Simic activity, with Zonot Seven being home to Zameck, the guildhall.

After the Golgari Swarm incursions began to threaten Zonot Four, Zegana was replaced as Prime Speaker by Vannifar, a member of the Adaptationist faction who stood for a more practical leadership. Under Vannifar, the Simic started the Guardian Project to mutate their more intelligent members into super soldiers. Most Simic scientists and their creations now have gills, and have their experimental units in underwater labs called holdfasts, deep within the Zonots.

Simic Spells

When Simic magic causes physical alterations in mortal beings, the result often displays the characteristics of fish, amphibians, or other water-dwelling creatures. Blue-green eddies of magical energy sometimes accompany their spell craft, forming spirals that reflect their mathematical perfection of nature.

Cantrips