Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about ZENDIKAR!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Unlike the previous two blocks, there is no multicolored theme . every colored card in the set is monocolored . the eponymous setting is a vast, untamed wilderness . the themes Zendikar and Worldwake revolve around lands and a theme of an adventure or quest . Rise of the Eldrazi is unique mechanically and is designed to be drafted on its own . drafts in original vintage cards were inserted into a limited number of booster packs to promote Zendikar . cards were for collector and incentive purposes only, and were largely not legal for block play . in later sets, intimidate replaced “Fear,” a similar ability that was restricted largely to black cards . Quests are enchantments that each have two abilities . Trap is a new type of instant “Maps, Traps, and Chaps” were designed to reinforce the “Adventure World” setting of Zendikar . the land itself comes to life and ravages its surroundings, consuming forests and multikicker can be paid as many times as the player is able . a quest cycle began in Zendikar and was finished in Worldwake . the most prominent of these “battlecruisers” are the set features new cards called levelers which gain new abilities when you level them up by paying mana . many ages ago they were trapped in Zendikar, but the events of the Worldwake set accidentally released them . the concept of the Eldrazi is inspired by both the Cthulhu mythos and the Marvel Comics character Galactus . Gideon Jura found the plane besieged by the awakened El leveling a creature up can only be played as a sorcery . after the rebound has triggered, the spell enters the graveyard as normal . Totem Armor is found on white, green and blue notable cards in Worldwake include Abyssal Persecutor, Jace, the Mind Sculptor . Stoneforge Mystic and the allied manland cycle, most notably celes stoneforge mystic was banned in standard, as part of the banned and restricted list update . the awkward timing of the release of the event deck meant for tournament play, necessitated a deck-specific exception