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Everybody loves Legends, I mean, what’s not to love about them? You can’t have more than one in play at any time (though there are some exceptions…) and they usually depict a person of importance in the given block. We’ve seen legends ranging from humans to elementals, lizards to cats, and even illusions to demons, but none top the list off more than those included in Time Spiral and its first expansion, Planar Chaos - which drag legends from all across Magic's storyline, and add some to boot! I’m a big fan of legends - but in small, decent doses. Since Kamigawa I was overwhelmed by legends, but they were too morbid and plain for me. I recognized none of these legends and most of them weren’t even mentioned in the novels. When the block shifted to Ravnica, I was much more pleased because the legends in this block represented something, and most of them have some sort of back-story and such. The only problem with Ravnican legends was the multicolored pairing; I wanted mono-colored legends, and the Time Spiral block has offered that. Time Spiral introduced many new things, such as new mechanics, and the timeshifted cards, of course. Plus, mono-colored legends make a comeback, and many were faces from the past; faces which I recognized. The fact that Wizards of the Coast tied in some of these old-school legends with new-school looks is beyond belief, frankly because I never believed that they would do something like this. Combining new mechanics, abilities, and rulings with older creatures not fit for this generation was a tough thing to pull off, but I believe that WotC did an excellent job of doing it. In this part of a three-parter, you’ll get thrown into each White-to-Blue-to-Black legend, what they represent, and how they can be useful. If it sounds boring, you can either skip this history lesson and move on, preferably not commenting at all, or check out a deck-related article of these legends, linked at the end of this one. However, old school fanatics may find this information a bit useful, learning new things and such. FYI, most info is taken from the character list in Wikipedia, with my own text twist added for fun. So come, let’s dive.
Throughout the block so far, White has gotten three legends excluding the Timeshifted Akroma (because it is a reprint.) The two from Time Spiral are old legends, whereas the Planar Chaos one represents an alternate timeline legend.
Mangara of Corondor Mangara’s ability reflects his ability to transport himself to different places, and in this case, transport himself and another permanent out of the game completely. It’s a useful strategy when you need to get rid of that Krosan Cloudscraper your opponent is bashing you with, or to prevent that Mindslaver from controlling your thoughts. Tivadar of Thorn Tivadar as a card represents exactly what he does: Destroy goblins! His pro-red ability reflects the fact that most goblins are red, so he passes right by them without so much as a wince. The first strike is there for kicks. Crovax, Ascendant Hero This form is directly opposite the Ascendant Evincar one, helping white creatures instead of black. The “return” effect is mirrored off of Selenia herself, because she has the same ability. The "true" black Evincar has flying because he is a vampire, and this return effect shows just how twisted a timeline can really get.
The only two legends that Blue gets are both iconic; iconic in the essence that one was a Cabal minion and the other a planeswalker – both known and loved by many. Because of the time rifts, many people are now allowed to be represented in card form, just like Teferi is. However, the only difference is that this shows him post-TS, I think...
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir The brilliant oaf Teferi Planeswalker finally got his own card, though this version doesn’t depict him in full-planeswalker form. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me because it’s Teferi man! The coolest mage in all of Tolaria! He originates at the Tolarian Academy itself, hired by Urza to work. Thanks to one of his inventions, he became trapped in a slow-moving time continuum for 40 years, allowing his spark to develop. He was freed by Jhoira, and later the two of them married each other. After a period of time, Teferi phased himself, his isle, and its inhabitants out of existence, drawing the attention of Jolrael, Kaervek, and Mangara to his disappearance. After returning, he quickly adhered to the situation and fixed his mistakes. Later, he was asked by Urza to take part in his plan to fight against Yawgmoth, but instead phased out Jamuraa and part of Shiv, wanting to have no part in this battle. You’ll have to read the Time Spiral books to see what happens next. Teferi’s abilities are…just sweet. He can pretty much manipulate time to allow you to play anything whenever you like, and have your opponents only play things on their turns. This stops a lot of cards, such as counters and instantaneous burn and/or kill spells. Teferi is by far one of the best cards in the set. Braids, Conjurer Adept Nothing is known of this alternate Braids, other than somehow she was shifted away from the life of Cabal we all know and love. This version shows her as a mage for some meaningful group, but that’s all that we know. The way that she returns cards is reflective of her old card, which sacrifices a permanent of the same types. It is definitely blue, because of the return effect, but that’s where the similarities end, unfortunately.
Black travels way back in time for its legends, representing figures first created way back in MTG time. The first is a thrull breeder who made his appearance in Fallen Empires; the second is a long-awaited necromancer who started his career back in Ice Age; and the last is a throwback to a certain cat warrior which was given its own card in Exodus. This is much different, however...
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder Endrek Sahr is a breeder of Thrulls, and a member of the Order of the Ebon Hand. He made these Thrulls for sacrificial rites and was the original architect of life and order. He wrote the novel Thrulls and later initiated the Thrull Rebellion. He was killed by his own creations during this outrage. The way that Endrek Sahr works is that he can create and create Thrulls, but eventually it will lead to his death; exactly like how the Fallen Empires set explains. It just goes to show you that too much of a good thing can be your demise. Lim-Dul, the Necromancer Boy, was I one of the many people who was glad to see this long-awaited necromancer finally see print! First, we didn’t see him in Coldsnap, so we assumed he would never get printed ever, but it turns out he was being saved for Time Spiral! Woo!! Anyways, Lim-Dul was originally a Kjeldoran Field Commander who was left to die, and eventually possessed by Mairsil’s spirit. He was guided by Leshrac and Tevesh Szat and tried to prolong the Ice Age. At a later time, Lim-Dul weakened a planeswalker named Kenan Sahrmal, who fought off Leshrac and Tevesh Szat. Both Lim-Dul and Sahrmal were presumed dead, until Lim-Dul appeared 12 years later with his army of undead. This Lim-Dul War lasted for years and threatened the entire plane of Dominaria. The apprentice of Sahrmal, Azar, continuously fought back and forth with Lim-Dul, trying to weaken him. Eventually, Azar tried a spell on Lim-Dul, targeting his spirit for imprisonment instead of his body. This caused Lim-Dul to transfer his spirit into the body of Azar (like he had done with Sahrmal to avoid his beheading), but this caused both rivals to fight for what would seem like eternity inside of Azar’s body. Distraught, Sahrmal buried Azar’s body. Eventually, Lim-Dul won out over Azar, and emerged from the graveyard once again vying for control. To his dismay, Lim-Dul found that the world he once knew was much different, and he was eventually defeated in the Wizards’ War. Over time, Sarhmal’s successor, the Guardian, imprisoned Lim-Dul’s spirit in a magical artifact, where he lay dormant. The abilities of Lim-Dul are…interesting. He’s an expensive dude to put out, but once out he’s great to have. Any creature you kill that an opponent controls is a potential ally for you, and the ability to regenerate zombies proves very beneficial in the long run. Hopefully, you’ll be able to control everything your opponent owns…with enough mana. Mirri the Cursed As with the white Crovax, this colorshifted Mirri represents a flaw in the original timeline. The old Mirri saved Crovax from the killing blow from Selenia, and instead took the hit. This caused her vampirism, instead of Crovax’s. She was abandoned when Crovax left her in a forest below the Weatherlight. For more information, see the Planar Chaos minisite on Magic the Gathering.com. Mirri the Cursed retains one of her righteously colored counterpart, the first strike ability. Everything else though, is completely different. Black received haste in Planar Chaos, and she has the all-around Vampire ability (the +1/+1 counters and such.) Nothing too different here, though she looks sweet. So there you have it, the first three colors and their legends in a nutshell. However, I am far from finished. There are still two more colors, along with multicolor, artifact, and lands. Time Spiral holds many representative figures in its cardboard bindings that I plan to acknowledge in the near future. Until then, feel free to read over and over about your favorite legends here; and stay tuned next time when Red and Green get a turn at their iconic legends. Let's also not forget about all of the Legends in Future Sight!!! Until next time, Ghurhgs ...Oh, I'm sorry. Is just information not enough for you? How about FLIPPING it to turn your favorite legends into decks?
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