Golgari

Golgari, commonly referred to as the Golgari Swarm, is a faction in the fantasy trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It represents the black-green color pair on the plane of Ravnica and is one of the ten two-color guilds that govern the city-plane. The Golgari are defined by a philosophy of life, death, and renewal, viewing decay as a necessary part of a continuing cycle.

Geography and society: The guild operates predominantly in the undercity of Ravnica, encompassing graveyards, sewers, and fungal regions. Its members cultivate rot and fungus as resources, recycling organic matter to support new growth. Leadership tends to be plural and practical, with necromantic and fungal practitioners, healers, and harvesters forming the guild’s core.

Theme and mechanics: In gameplay, Golgari decks typically emphasize graveyard interactions, including bringing back creatures and leveraging the graveyard as a resource. The guild’s philosophy translates into mechanics that reward survival through death, regeneration, and the reuse of fallen assets.

Notable figures: Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, has long been associated with the guild as a central character in its lore. Slimefoot, the Stowaway, is another prominent figure from the Golgari and appears as a notable legendary creature in recent sets.

In culture and influence: Golgari is a defining element of Ravnican lore, illustrating a worldview where decay sustains life and where ecosystems thrive through cycles of death and renewal. The guild’s aesthetic—rot, fungi, and somber ritual—remains a recognizable aspect of the setting in Magic: The Gathering.