Stories

 

Magic: the Gathering is not just a game, but an ongoing series of interrelated stories full of intriguing characters and fantastic worlds. The cards give us glimpses in the art and flavor text, and even in the mechanics, if the card is designed well. Everyone has a favorite world, or character, or card. Some characters get only a brief mention, whereas entire storylines are based around others. I few of my favorites are those about whom we know very little. So, on occasion, I like to write little anecdotes about them: nothing official, just my own headcanon.

I’ll start with my all-time favorite: Arcanis the Omnipotent. We know very little about Arcanis. The flavor text is telling: we don’t know anything about this wizard’s background. We aren’t even sure what gender Arcanis is. So I wrote the following. See how many names of blue cards you can find:

Arcanis was a wizard without a home. Years passed since the one known as “the Omnipotent” laid eyes on Otaria, or any other part of Dominaria for that matter. Surprisingly, Arcanis even longed for the sounds and scents of the wind passing through the trees of the Krosan forest. Arcanis chose to dismiss such thoughts. The Dominaria Arcanis once called home lay in ruin: an echoing truth which continued to haunt Arcanis. Seems there is no magic that can dispel true loneliness. None of the other pit fighters would be surprised to learn that Arcanis, the most mysterious – and one of the most feared – of the gladiators, ignited the planeswalker spark within through accumulated knowledge and sheer force of will. As the wizard made final preparations for the journey between worlds, Arcanis watched the surrounding landscape dissipate by the power of a cryptic command, revealing the Blind Eternities.

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Secondly, there’s Doran, the Siege Tower. I Love Doran. I miss the days when I would run Doran in Standard along with Cloudthresher and Rhox War Monk in my customized Five Color Control deck. It was during that time when I wrote this anecdote about Doran on my old MtG blog:

The thunder of the approaching Treefolk shattered the necrotic silence of the dark woods. Murmurs… whispers… rustling leaves and bending branches… the forest discovered it still had life, buried but not out of reach. A cry rang out from the deep woods, the mysterious heart of the forest where few dare to tread. The magic that radiates from there both warms the ground with a power to bring justice and vindication, and chills the air with energy fueled by the wrath and malice that ensures justice will be swift. The Treefolk elders understand their people must embrace both powers, and combine them with their own magic: the mystic energies provided by the very forest they call home.

Then I saw him: the one who would claim the mantle of leadership. Emerging from the deep places of earth and wood and water, he commanded the attention of all around him. His very presence both inspired and rebuked, revealing the true quality and strength of each person around him. Only the strong may call themselves his warriors. Without uttering a command he stepped forward, and the entire assembly of Treefolk followed behind him: their leader, their champion, the Siege Tower.

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