Towering, gold-encrusted monuments break the unending monotony of a horizon formed of sun-blasted sand. Awe-inspiring, animal-headed gods walk among the people, offering them care and protection from the horrors of the desert. A wide, life-giving river offers its abundant bounty, providing for every physical need. Happy, hopeful people offer sacrifices in grand temples dedicated to their benevolent gods, addressing their spiritual needs. They know that this life—wonderful as it is—is just the beginning, the prelude to the perfection that awaits them in the afterlife, promised to them by their God-Pharaoh.
Amonkhet is a plane of dichotomy. Beyond the lush river valley lies endless, scorching desert. Accursed, desiccated mummies roam the desert, while carefully embalmed mummies attend to the needs of the living in the glorious city. The people have everything they need—they are protected from the desert heat and wandering mummies by a magical barrier, and they spend their lives in focused training, honing their bodies and minds to perfection. Yet they eagerly anticipate the time when they will be permitted to die in combat and leave this world behind.
The gods are custodians of the path to the afterlife, established by the God-Pharaoh to purify and perfect the people who follow it and undergo its trials. Each god oversees one of the five trials and instructs the initiates who are preparing to face the trial, helping them to cultivate one of the five aspects of mortal perfection: solidarity, knowledge, strength, ambition, and zeal.
On the surface, Amonkhet seems like a marvelous place to live, but something unsettling and nefarious lurks behind the grand facade. The wise and benevolent God-Pharaoh, said to be busy preparing the wondrous afterlife for the worthy, is actually Nicol Bolas, the malevolent dragon Planeswalker whose schemes reach far beyond this plane.