New Versions of Legendary Characters

Written by Schwa77

In both canon and custom MTG alike, existing characters (creatures or planeswalkers) are often brought back for a new iteration. While this happens much more often on planeswalkers due to their inherent lack of plane restriction (March of the Machine notwithstanding), legendary creatures are also often brought back on a plane’s later visit. 

When designing new versions of existing characters, players often find it exciting when designs call back to their existing versions, while still finding new avenues within their designs. For example, Niv-Mizzet (prior to Niv-Mizzet Reborn) appears in all three Ravnica “blocks” as a UR legendary creature, and we can see some very evident design trends. All three Niv-Mizzets have high color-intensive mana costs, flying, and some ability related to both “dealing damage” and “drawing cards.” However, each Niv-Mizzet is a unique take on that theme. Dracogenius inverts the damage/draw cause/effect of its Firemind predecessor, and Parun uses the same damage/draw cause/effect as Firemind, but has a new condition for drawing cards.

Sometimes, however, you’ll want to design new versions of characters who only have one card. At first glance, it seems like there’s no chance of finding the established “through-line” with only one card. Have no fear, however, as there are still plenty of means to pull the “iconic” aspects of a card from only a single appearance. Many legendary creature cards have become very well known for a given ability. Griselbrand is infamous for “pay life to draw cards,” Vendilion Clique for “flash flyer with interaction,” and Brago for “flicker engine.” These are all aspects that can be pulled into new designs of these characters (once again, my own from Magic’s Most Wanted).

I drew from all of these iconic aspects when designing the Magic’s Most Wanted version of these characters. Griselbrand, Unshackled pays life which directly leads to card draw, the Vendilion Clique is a flash flyer but with a counterspell rather than hand attack, and Brago is a flicker engine, but with a different condition that keys off all players.

One can even use this strategy when designing new versions of canon characters only referenced on cards who don’t have cards themselves. For instance, Aclazotz, the bat god of the night on Ixalan, is only ever referenced on Arguel’s Blood Fast // Temple of Aclazotz (as of the time when I’ve written this article. WotC, please put Aclazotz in Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Do it for me. Just this once.) As a big Ixalan fan myself, I knew I wanted to include Aclazotz in Magic’s Most Wanted, which led to the design you see below. I knew I wanted to pay homage to Arguel’s Blood Fast // Temple of Aclazotz, which led to the “turn resources into card draw” reference, and the much more overt “gain life equal to the sacrificed creature’s toughness” ability.

I’ll note that this technique tends to get trickier the fewer/more distantly related card/s you have to a given character. Being mentioned in the flavor text of a draft chaff common doesn’t necessarily mean that a new iteration of a character’s card should be directly tied into said common.

Designing new versions of existing characters requires a delicate balance between staying true to existing trends and finding novel avenues for representation. Players appreciate when new iterations pay homage to their beloved predecessors, while also expanding the design space with new innovations. This approach strikes a balance between nostalgia and novelty, facilitating a design which appeals to all types of players.