Main Character Index Planeswalkers: Planeswalkers who ignited Pre-Mending, Planeswalkers who ignited Post-Mending: A-M, N - Z Planes and their peoples: Factions, Other Characters (Dominaria, Phyrexia, Rath and Mirrodin, Innistrad, Kamigawa, Ravnica, Theros, Tarkir, Zendikar), Planes
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Tarkir's Present
Zurgo Helmsmasher
Color: Red, White and Black (old timeline)
Race: Orc
Class: Warrior
“You have returned from fire, traitor. This time I will see you leave as ashes.”
SPOILER WARNING: Clickhere to see Zurgo in the new timeline
The Khan of the Mardu Horde in the original timeline, he holds a special hatred for Sarkhan Vol for the destruction of much of the Horde at the planeswalker's hands.
- Arch-Enemy: He hates Sarkhan Vol with passion because Sarkhan accidentally killed all his men during his ascension. Averted in the new timeline as Sarkhan was never born.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Zurgo Helmsmasher
will attack every turn, even the turn when he entered into the battlefield; he is also impervious to damage, thanks to indestructible. - Authority Equals Asskicking: When his clan start to questioning his judgement, he showed everyone that he is khan for a reason, by making a quick job of his challenger. Unfortunately his clan still abandoned him for no matter how strong, following a man that put his revenge over the well-being of the entire clan is not a good idea.
- The Berserker: Attacks each turn if able.
- Dragon Rider: New Phyrexia's invasion makes Zurgo desperate enough to swallow his pride and fear of dragons. Zurgo then proposes an alliance with Ojutai, thinking that if any dragonlord would accept the offer it would be him. The equally desperate Ojutai accepted and even allows Zurgo to ride him into battle.
- Fragile Speedster: Emblematic of his tribe, he is fast but has an extremely disparity in power and toughness (just two for the latter).
- Hero Killer: He kills Narset in the old timeline. She gets better eventually
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: In the new timeline, Zurgo is far from his original glories, reduced from a mighty warlord to a mere bell-striker.
- Irony: As the khan of the Mardu his throne is made out of the skull of Kolaghan, in the new timeline, he is basically the slave of the same dragon.
- Lightning Bruiser: Extremely strong hulkish-looking, having the greatest power of the Khans, he nonetheless has a toughness of two.
- Revenge Before Reason: His obsession with finding and killing Vol has clouded his judgement to the point that most of his clan is starting to doubt his ability to continue leading them.
Narset, Enlightened Master
Color: Blue (primary), Red and White
Race: Human
Class: Monk
The Khan of the Jeskai Way in the original timeline. In the new one, she vanishes after being labeled a heretic. To read more about that Narset, visit the Planeswalkers Post-Mending page.
- Martial Pacifist: As a jeskai monk she would only strike if threatened. Trained in the arts of war as she was, she managed to break Zurgo's bones with a single strike.
- Puppet King: While she isn't one, this is what the Jeskai elders want her to be.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: A benevolent Khan, in contrast to her more conservative and manipulative advisors.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Do not mistake her martial pacifism for weakness. You will regret it. Dearly.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Places herself between Sarkhan Vol and a vengeful Zurgo Helmsmasher at Ugin's Nexus, giving the dragon mage enough time to descend deeper into the canyon. She is cut down, and Sarkhan swears vengeance before vanishing into Tarkir's past.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Color: Black, Green and Blue (old timeline)
Race: Naga zombie
Class: Shaman
The Khan of the Sultai Brood.
- Deal with the Devil: She has made a deal with the Rakshasa Feyomsi in exchange for dark magic, and possibly others as well.
- Evil Chancellor: Silumgar had her executed after he (correctly) suspected her of being this. Even after being raised as an undead servant, she still plots against him.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Is the queen of the Sultai and she's haughty and cruel, even to her own people.
- Necromancer: Has the ability to raise the dead, which is reflected in her card's ability to produce zombie tokens.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The reanimation and control of the Sultai's sibsig hordes is done mostly through Naga magic. This might be why she seems to have retained enough intelligence to be Silumgar's vizier, despite being undead.
- Snake People: She's a Naga, a large serpent with a reptilian, humanoid torso.
Taigam
Color: Blue (primary), White, Black (old timeline)
Race: Human
Class: Monk, Wizard (old timeline)
A former Jeskai monk who, feeling that his clan's philosophies were holding him back from realizing his true potential, struck a deal with a Rakshasa for the power he felt he deserved and defected to the Sultai clan.
- Ambition Is Evil: His desire for power over enlightenment puts him at odds with Narset. In both timelines, no less.
- Deal with the Devil: Made a deal with the Rakshasa Ebirri for fortune and power in the original timeline.
- The Dragon: His title is "Sidisi's Hand", so he serves as this to Sidisi. In the new timeline, he instead serves Ojutai.
- Fallen Hero: Taigam was once a Jeskai monk, but defected to the Sultai to fulfil his own ambitions.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Trained under Narset back when he was with the Jeskai.
Anafenza, the Foremost
Color: White, Black and Green (old timeline)
Race: Spirit (formerly Human)
Class: Soldier
The Khan of the Abzan Houses.
- The Cavalry: She leads a horde of ancestor spirits to aid her Dromoka comrades in battle, whether they like it or not.
- Inspirational Martyr: In the new timeline, she was executed by the Dromoka for worshipping her ancestors at kin-trees, which the dragons consider to be necromancy. Afterwards, many among the Dromoka secretly maintained their beliefs in the spirit-worshipping ways of their Abzan ancestors, reinvigorated by her death and her example.
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day: After her death in the new timeline, her soul was bound to a kin-tree safely hidden away from the rest of Tarkir, allowing her to continue to fight alongside her people as a guardian spirit.
Surrak Dragonclaw
Color: Green, Blue and Red (old timeline)
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
The Khan of the Temur Frontier.
- Blood Knight: He shows shades of this. These facets of his personality are more heavily emphasized in the revised timeline, turning him into a straight up Egomaniac Hunter.
- Large and in Charge: Is described as towering in stature.
- Scars Are Forever: He still has the scars from his fight with the bear. Not in the revised timeline, however.
- Wrestler of Beasts: Savage Punch, the start of the "bear punch" joke, shows Surrak Dragonclaw punching a bear. Epic Confrontation shows him punching a dragon. Throne of Eldraine added Outmuscle, which shows a knight suplexing a bear.
Chianul, Who Whispers Twice
Race: Human
A Temur shaman who serves as the advisor to the Dragonclaw.
- The Mentor: Was this to Sarkhan when the latter was younger.
- Only Sane Man: Chianul seems to be the only person on Tarkir who realises how incredibly screwed up Tarkir has become since the Clans drove the dragons to extinction.
Tarkir's Past
Daghatar, the Adamant
Color: White (primary), Black and Green
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
The Khan of the Abzan Houses in Tarkir's past.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Selling out to Dromoka was, by his estimation, the only way his clan could survive.
- The Quisling: He pledges his allegiance to Dromoka so that his clan may be spared, uprooting the kin-trees and forbidding necromancy.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
Color: Blue (primary), Red and White
Race: Human
Class: Monk
The Khan of the Jeskai Way in Tarkir's past.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: While it's unknown if he fights with only his hands regularly, he takes down a dragon with his bare hands when Ojutai and Silumgar attack with their broods during the meeting of the Khans.
- Killed Off for Real: Ojutai kills him with a blast of his icy breath when Tasigur betrays the khans, but not before he has a Jeskai monk hide the history of Tarkir.
- Older Than They Look: Middle aged but the model used for his picture was in his 20's at the time.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: During the meeting of the five clans, Shu Yun serves as the voice of moderation, making sure that they don't go for each other's throats.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Color: Black (primary), Green and Blue
Race: Human
Class: Shaman
The Khan of the Sultai Brood in Tarkir's past.
- Asshole Victim: Silumgar captures and murders Tasigur, who was just as bad if not worse than the dragon.
- Bullying a Dragon: Throws a hissy fit when Silumgar's idea of "a place of honor" doesn't match his own.
- Creepy Souvenir: Adorns Dragonlord Silumgar's favorite necklace in the present.
- Dirty Coward: When the Dragons attack the meeting of the Khans, he is nowhere to be found, having betrayed them in favor of Silumgar.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He pretty much didn't like being tricked by the Rakshasa to kill a loyal warrior of his.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After his constant mistreatment of his people and his betrayal of the other four Khans, Shidiqi double-crossing him and Silumgar enslaving him was a well-deserved fate.
- Royal Brat: The youngest of the Khans of his time— and the cruelest.
- Too Dumb to Live: Surprisingly impulsive and entitled for the khan of a clan involving the colors Blue and Green.
- Whip of Dominance: He's a sadistic Royal Brat ruler whose weapon is a long, sharp-tipped whip with multiple tails. He enjoys asserting his authority over those who can't fight back, which often manifests in him whipping people simply to sate his sadism and boredom. He's also known to lash his own subjects if they displease him, which is easy to do.
Yasova Dragonclaw
Color: Green (primary), Blue and Red
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
The Khan of the Temur Frontier in Tarkir's past, she seeks to ensure the survival of her people by ridding the plane of dragons once and for all.
- Anti-Villain: Type III. She is motivated mostly by the need to save her people from the dragons, and this includes having a part in Ugin's death/hibernation. Sadly, neither go well for her or her clan in either timeline.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Led Nicol Bolas to Ugin, leading to the extinction of the Dragons of Tarkir. In the original timeline, a later member of the Temur Frontier highlights the mass genocide as a bad thing.
- Revenge Before Reason: Didn't care for any fallout so long as the Dragons of Tarkir were destroyed, all for the sake of her clan.
- Villain Has a Point: Chews out Sarkhan's obsession with predation and dragons by righteously showing to him that the people on the receiving end are dead meat.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Wanted to kill the dragons for the sake of her people. Unfortunately for her, it didn't quite work out well either timeline.
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
Color: Red (primary), White and Black
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
The Khan of the Mardu Horde in Tarkir's past.
- Blood Knight: There's a very good reason she is known as "Who Smiles at Death".
- Bow and Sword in Accord: Uses both weapons, most notably when fighting off dragons in Khanfall.
- Meaningful Rename: Choosing Alesha as her war name was also her way of coming out as trans.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: In "The Truth of Names", she initially chews out an orc for passing up a kill that would have earned him the right to choose a war name for himself. However, when she sees that his insistence on protecting his fellow warriors enables them to land killing blows that they otherwise wouldn't, she comes to recognize the value of his accomplishments and assures him that he shouldn't think of his deeds as less glorious than those of the more distinguished warriors.
- Red Baron: Originally didn't have one, choosing only the name Alesha when asked for a war name. When she shows her fortitude in a later battle, one formerly derisive orc gave her the moniker "Who Smiles at Death." She and the clan embraced it.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When an orc claims he did no glorious deeds during a battle and that he had not earned a war name, Alesha disagrees, having his comrades point out all the ways in which he had assisted his allies.
- Young and in Charge: Nineteen years old and the undisputed leader of the Mardu.
Dragons
Dromoka
Color: Green and White
Race: Elder Dragon
The brood leader of the Green/White dragons from Tarkir's deserts.
- Anti-Villain: The most merciful of the dragonlords by a wide margin, though she is still oppressive and hypocritical in her methods.
- Bad Boss: She will kill any surbodinates who don't meet her standards when inspecting her clan. Though compared with how the rest of the dragons treat humans she's a Benevolent Boss given that she will allow them to rise through the ranks of her clan.
- Black Magic: Dromoka firmly believes that any necromancy is black magic, and therefore abhorrent. It doesn't matter to her that Kin-trees are entirely benevolent and the spirits are fully consenting.
- Color-Coded Characters: Her spin-down die is yellow, for her searing breath of light.
- Culture Police: She is willing to commit genocide simply because of the Abzan custom of communing with their dead, then goes further and penalizes the very use of "khan" and "clan" under her rule.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Dromoka doesn't judge between humans and dragons. What she cares about is how well someone is doing their job. As a result she will actually allow humans into the same positions of authority as dragons. They had best make sure they are performing to her standards, however, or they die.
- Final Solution: She attempted this on the Abzan. Daghatar surrenders to her rule so that they may be spared.
- The High Queen: She's the beneficent of the five Dragonlords, especially by the time of Dragons of Tarkir.
- Hypocrite: For someone preaching the sanctity of life, she sure is willing to wipe out entire clans of people if they don't toe her ideological line.
- Knight Templar: Perfectly willing to commit genocide simply because the Abzan practice of ancestral spirit summoning offended her.
- Light 'em Up: Her and her brood's signature breath weapon, a beam of searing light coming from her mouth.
- Light Is Not Good: Doesn't get any less "good" than a genocidal dragon that breathes lasers. She's seemingly the most just and balanced of Tarkir's draconic rulers and the fairest to her subjects, but her seemingly fair and balanced rule is the result of centuries of literal and cultural genocide against the Abzan people as she violently rooted out and destroyed any part of their culture she disliked.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: She's not called "Dromoka the Eternal" for nothing. Dromoka's brood is known for being insanely tough to take down, and Dromoka herself seems to be physically invincible.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Seems to be a standard dragon, but covered in enormous scales better than armor.
- Politically Correct Villain: She treats the humans and dragons in her ranks as equals as long as they obey her perform to her standards.
- Principles Zealot: While she respects the Abzan and most of their principles, she isn't willing to change her opinion about necromancy.
- The Social Darwinist: Is described as "devouring the weak link" when she finds something displeasing in her inspections of her clan.
- Super-Toughness: Her and her brood's greatest strength. When Daghatar met her, he noticed that her scales were unmarred despite thousands of weapons having been used against her.
Ojutai
Color: White and Blue
Race: Elder Dragon
The brood leader of the White/Blue dragons of Tarkir's mountains.
- Color-Coded Characters: His spin-down die is a pale blue for his ice breath.
- Culture Police: The very first thing he does after taking over the Jeskai is declare their identity as a clan over, and then do away with the elements he finds most distasteful.
- Fantastic Racism: For all his airs of enlightenment and transcendence, he's as prejudiced and condescending towards humanoids as any other dragon, as he views them as inherently lesser and flawed beings — no humanoid is going to be a teacher or superior of dragons under his watch.
- Feathered Dragons: He, alongside the other dragons of his brood, has great white-and-red birdlike wings, in addition to tufts of feathers on their legs. Ojutai dragons are enlightened, monk-like and seemingly the most civilized of the dragons that rule Tarkir, but under the surface they're condescending, racist and arrogant, and just as tyrannical as the rest of Tarkir's draconic rulers.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In spite of his borderline despotic behaviour, he managed to form a close student/teacher relationship with new-timeline Narset.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: He has a heart as cold as his ice breath.
- Evil Is Petty: It's understandable to want your worst enemy dead, but killing everyone who even has the tattoo of a dragon slayer, destroying the Jeskai's entire archives, freezing over the monasteries, forcing the former Jeskai to call him Great Ojutai, calling himself the wisest being in the land (considering the Jeskai's former Khan, Shu Yun, outsmarted him)... This guy's sheer pettiness does not end; even if he did fulfill his deal with Shu Yun to the letter by sparing the clan, he utterly destroyed its soul.
- An Ice Person: He and his brood breathe frost as a weapon.
- Light Is Not Good: Despite being the most elegant of the dragons, he is still every bit as ruthless and tyrannical as Dromoka or Silumgar.
- Morality Adjustment: He seems to have mellowed out greatly over the millennia of ruling. He cares deeply for his students and encourages them to follow their own path and always seek enlightenment. In fact, he's actually proud of Narset for uncovering the truth about the fall of the clans 1,280 years ago, telling her that one must always take time to reflect on what they know, and that there is always more to learn. However, he still has many nasty traits.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Ojutai and his brood have furry serpentine bodies and feathered wings, and are known for their near-unparalleled cunning.
- Pet the Dog: He is proud of Narset for uncovering the truth he spent centuries covering up.
- White Man's Burden: He and his brood clearly consider themselves miles above their mortal charges, pretty much inflating their egos as they "educate" them. The levels of condescension are actually pretty comical.
Silumgar
Color: Blue and Black
Race: Elder Dragon
The brood leader of the Blue/Black dragons of Tarkir's jungles.
- Color-Coded Characters: His spin-down die is black, for his poisonous breath.
- Creepy Souvenir: Tasigur's mummified corpse dangles from his neck to gently remind the former Sultai who, exactly, is in charge.
- Dark Is Evil: There's very little doubt that the Black-aligned poison-breathing black-scaled dragon is up to no good.
- Dragon Hoard: Spends his free time resting on his treasures in his fortress on the Marang River.
- Evil Overlord: One thing that hasn't been changed in Sultai since his usurpation of Tasigur is the faction's hunger for power, and that its people are slaves at best to its leader.
- Exact Words: Tasigur did get an important position. He's Silumgar's prize.
- I Lied: It's very doubtful he considers what he gave to Tasigur to be a genuine honoring of his terms.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "The Drifting Death".
- Our Dragons Are Different: The swamp-dwelling Silumgar and his brood are similar to giant basilisks, having large fangs, poisonous bodily fluids and highly corrosive breath.
- The Paranoiac: He has a tendency to sink into a state of deep, obsessive paranoia when bored. His subjects have learned to keep him entertained at all times, lest he slaughter them in fits of delusion.
- Poisonous Person: He and the rest of his brood breathe venom and acid.
Kolaghan
Color: Black and Red
Race: Elder Dragon
The brood leader of the Black/Red dragons of Tarkir's steppes.
- Ax-Crazy: She's basically Tarkir's Joker, killing everything for her pleasure.
- Blood Knight: She lives for the thrill of the kill, and doesn't care about much else.
- The Caligula: While Ojutai has become much softer and caring about the humanoids under his rule, Dromoka still cares about her Clan as an extended family, Silumgar encourages the most powerful (whether they are dragons or humanoids) and Atarka has taken up social darwinism up to eleven (allowing strong humanoids to kill and eat weak dragons of her own brood), Kolaghan is just cruel and brutal, having nothing in mind but destruction and caring nothing about her Clan, even killing them for nothing but a slight.
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Chaotic Evil: She lives for destruction and the indulgence of her whims. In the words of her clan: "To Ruin is to Rule". - Color-Coded Characters: Her spin-down die is purple, representing her lightning.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She is initially the least malevolent of the dragon brood leaders, with the possible exception of Atarka (who doesn't really seem to care about anything), not being interested in enslaving or even just leading the Mardu and instead just inviting them along. She's still very prone to violently imposing herself, however, and doesn't particularly care about the lives of her clan. Averted after 1, 280 years, when she has become a straight example of Dark Is Evil.
- Dystopia Justifies the Means: Kolaghan has completely destroyed her Clan in ways that rival that of Atarka. The edicts of Ilagra have been forgotten for the sake of mindless killing, her shamans practice dark magic that draws its power from twisting the draconic language and those too weak to bring glory to the dragonlord in battle being punished.
- Feathered Dragons: Kolaghan and her brood have two sets of narrow birdlike wings. They're masters of the skies, and the fastest and most skilled fliers among Tarkir's dragons.
- For the Evulz: Kolaghan kills and hunts just for amusement. The same extends to her raids on the territory of other clans. Once everyone has been slaughtered, she loses interest and will incinerate then remains with her lightning breath just for the sake of watching them burn.
- If I Wanted You Dead...: During the Khanfall, Kolaghan has a short encounter with Alesha where she threateningly almost attacks her and her entourage but decides to pass her by. Alesha takes this as a sign that Kolaghan isn't interested in tyrannical rule like the other dragonlords, only desiring to continue her violent ways, and that the Mardu can join if they wish.
- Morality Adjustment: After 1,280 years, Kolaghan has become as much as a tyrant as the other dragonlords, killing even her own clan members without much provocation. The Mardu transformed from an honorable clan into a bunch of cannibalistic murderers who rush from battle to battle in order to stave off Kolaghan's wrath and kill just for the sake of it.
- Our Dragons Are Different: In this case, Kolaghan and her brood have four feathered wings, long spiky frills, and a very streamlined shape.
- Shock and Awe: She and her brood breathe lightning. Also overlaps with Psycho Electro.
- Super-Speed: She and her brood are fast.
- Token Good Teammate: "Good" is a bit of a stretch, but she was definitely the only one of the dragon brood leaders who wasn't initially tyrannical. However, things have changed in the last 1,280 years.
- The Unfettered: Kolaghan's drive for freedom eventually turns into a drive for freedom from civilization, from limits, from any form of honor or law.
- The Voiceless: She's noted to be the only one of the five dragonlords who never speaks, even in Draconic. She's perfectly fine with expressing herself through blowing stuff up, though.
- Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: The bolts of lightning she and her brood breathe are purple in color.
Atarka
Color: Red and Green
Race: Elder Dragon
The brood leader of the Red/Green dragons of Tarkir's slopes.
- Big Eater: She has an appetite that could probably be fairly compared to a forest fire.
- The Brute: She's big, hulking, strong and none too bright.
- Color-Coded Characters: Her spin-down die is red, for her fire breath (even if it's green in color).
- Dumb Muscle: Subverted. She seems dumber than the other dragonlords, but is actually a rather cunning tyrant herself.
- Dystopia Justifies the Means: She completely destroyed the Temur's culture, making them her submissive servants, and actively reminds them they're nothing but her potential next meal. Arguably the worst of the dragonlords in this regard, other than perhaps Silumgar.
- Evil Is Petty: Deliberately goes out of her away to remind her underlings that they're nothing but her personal feeders, and that she'll turn on them the moment they fail to be of use to her.
- Jerkass: Probably the most out of the dragons in this regard. She readily asserts the former Temur where they stand in her world (as in, food-providers or the food itself) and shows it with being as much as a Darwinist as Dromoka is. She even views weak dragons with similar disdain.
- Might Makes Right: Unlike other dragonlords, such as Ojutai, she has no real objection to mortals killing weak dragons; if it's not strong enough to kill them, it's not strong enough to survive.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "World Render".
- Our Dragons Are Different: Of the standard "giant feral fire-breathing beast" variety, though it's worth noting that she and her brood have antlers, providing a slightly elk-like appearance.
- Playing with Fire: Atarka and her dragon brood breathe fire.
- The Social Darwinist: Provides a strong selection pressure in favour of being a good hunter, mostly by eating anyone who fails to provide.
- Technicolor Fire: The fire they breathe is green in color.
- Villainous Glutton: Is only actually interested in eating. According to Yasova Dragonclaw, left unchecked she would devour all of Tarkir.
