The Lore of Commander 2019

by Joe Dyer // Aug 12, 2019

Howdy folks! It's Joe Dyer here, residential Vorthos and lover of all things Magic story related. Commander 2019 spoilers are upon us, and as always Wizards has surprised us by giving us some new fun Legendary creatures based on characters that have been around the Magic lore for some time. However, just because they're existing characters in the lore, doesn't mean we don't need a refresher from time to time! So here we go, a refresher on the Legends of Commander 2019!

K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth

We're starting with K'rrik because frankly, he's probably one of the more confusing ones to the casual reader of lore or the outside eye. People saw the "Son of Yawgmoth" and assumed a lot of things about this character, including thinking that he was a new character, but K'rrik is in fact an existing character within the lore. The character was originally introduced in the novel Time Streams by J. Robert King. In the events of this novel, K'rrik was originally known as Kerrick, first seen as a castaway who washed up on the shore of the island of Tolaria near the original Tolarian Academy. He was saved by a student named Jhoira, who wanted more excitement and adventure out of her life as well as a strong man like the Ghitu she had grown up with. She quickly fell in love with Kerrick, keeping him safe in a habitat on the beach where she would visit him at night.

Jhoira would eventually be discovered by Karn, who promised not to tell anyone of her secret lover. However, Kerrick's intentions were less than honorable. The man was actually a sleeper agent for the world of Phyrexia, sent to infiltrate the Academy to determine what Yawgmoth's ancient enemy, Urza, was doing within its walls. Kerrick used his connection to Jhoira and the knowledge of gaining access to the Academy to steal blueprints for it, but he was followed by Karn who had been sent back in time. Karn eavesdropped on Kerrick meeting with the forces of Phyrexia indicating that they planned to attack the Academy.

Upon his return to the present, Karn attempted to warn the school and Urza, but he was too late. The attack had already commenced, and Kerrick was responsible for the death of Jhoira. Karn went back in time once more to catch Kerrick, breaking the sleeper agent's leg in the process before the stress overload of the time machine forced Karn back to the present and exploded, causing a rift of temporal anomalies to spring up across the island.

Kerrick however, did not die. In fact, he survived along with a few other Phyrexians in a gorge inside a fast time rift. Kerrick renamed himself to K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, styling himself as a new God to the Phyrexians he helped create. Because of the time differences between the Gorge and the rest of island, years and years passed in the span of seconds giving K'rrik the time he needed to develop all the Phyrexians he needed.

Unfortunately for K'rrik, things did not pan out as well as he'd hoped it would, as Urza was able to defeat him, and in a teleportation maneuver, he was ripped apart by Urza's essence, ending his life.

Volrath, Evincar of Rath

One of my personal favorite characters within the lore of Magic, Volrath is initially introduced as the Evincar of the plane of Rath, an artificial world designed to overlay across Dominaria in the Phyrexian Invasion. Volrath's beginnings however, are more closely tied to the plane of Dominaria. Originally known as Vuel Kondo, son of Sidar Kondo. Sidar was one of the heads of one of the great Jamuraan warclans of the region and a highly influential person. At a young age, Sidar Kondo would take in a young boy named Gerrard Capashen and the silver golem Karn. Gerrard was adopted as Sidar's son, becoming an adoptive brother to Vuel. Although Vuel initially regarded Gerrard with great contempt due to his father's praise of the other boy, the two became close friends.

All of this would change however, during Vuel's rite of passage into manhood. Starke il-Vec, a servant of the Phyrexian Overlords who controlled the plane of Rath, introduced poisonous material into the ritual paint that covered Vuel's body. During the rite, in which Vuel was forced to climb a large plateau, the poison activated and Vuel became weakened. Gerrard leaped into action and saved his adoptive brother from certain death. Vuel became angered over this as he was ostracized from the war clan and even his own father. He grew to resent Gerrard and his adoptive brother's "Legacy." He slowly gathered power among the barbaric war clans, egged on by none other than Starke, before attacking and killing his father and most of his family. Gerrard was not with the clan during these events, but was instead training under Multani. Vuel used this opportunity to seize the Legacy artifacts and in turn deactivated Karn. He sold most of the Legacy artifacts to help fund his armies to defeat his father.

Vuel followed Starke through a portal to the world of Rath, an ever-flowing changing world of flowstone. Upon hearing the words of Yawgmoth, Vuel ceased being and was reborn as the Phyrexian Evincar Volrath, a ruthless shapeshifter and master of manipulating the flowstone. However, Volrath still never forgot what Gerrard had taken from him, and sought revenge against his former brother. Using Starke, he orchestrated the kidnapped Sisay of the Weatherlight, to lure Gerrard and the rest of the crew to the plane of Rath. Volrath used his wit and wiles to trick Gerrard into killing him, when he was really only killing a shapeshifter that looked like him. Secretly, Volrath had taken the form of Takara, the daughter of Starke who had been held imprisoned by Volrath to force Starke to do his bidding. "Takara" fled along with the Weatherlight crew to Mercadia.

On Mercadia, "Takara" used her mental influence to pit members of the crew against each other, and secretly plotted to kill Gerrard. As Takara, Volrath also murdered Starke of Rath who was blind from his ordeal on the plane. Volrath's disguise was found out and Gerrard and he fought to a bitter end, leaving Volrath beaten. The shapeshifter was forced to retreat to Rath.

Upon his arrival on Rath, Volrath learned that Phyrexia considered the position of Evincar to be abdicated and was being contested by Crovax, now a Phyrexianized vampire, and the wizard Ertai. Volrath challenged Crovax in combat, and was gaining the upper hand in the battle before Ertai, having decided he would rather serve Crovax, magically imbalanced him enabling the vampiric Phyrexian to win the battle. Volrath was taken away as a prisoner.

Volrath's Phyrexian parts were later removed, reducing him to Vuel once more. As Crovax was being crowned Evincar, Vuel was injected with a vial of liquid flowstone, which was mentally commanded by Ertai to disassemble Vuel from the inside out. As he lay dying, his last sight was the sky of his homeworld Dominaria as the Planar Overlay had begun.

Volrath was a very shrewd Evincar during his time on Rath. He performed many experiments during his time, including experimenting with inserting artificial life forms into the Sliver Hive in an attempt to control the creatures and understand them better. Volrath was a master of eugenics and had managed unparalleled command of the flowstone the plane was made of.

Greven il-Vec, Captain of the Predator

Originally a member of the Vec tribe of humans, Greven saw power and potential in serving under the Stronghold and its master, Volrath. He turned his back on his tribe, becoming il-Vec, an outcast, and joined Volrath's forces. In time he rose through the ranks where he finally became the Captain of the flagship of Volrath's forces, the skyship Predator. Greven was gifted numerous physical Phyrexian enhancements to increase his strength and speed, but was also fitted with a mimetic spine that Volrath used to control and punish him. Because of this, Greven was unpopular as a commander among his men as he was constantly bitter and harsh in his command.

Greven was given the task of intercepting the Weatherlight when it came to Rath, intending to capture the Legacy artifacts and its wielder Gerrard. The Predator did indeed intercept the other ship, and Greven boarded to take his quarry. However, he was interrupted by a cannon blast from his own ship, as his first mate Vhati il-Dal had attempted to assassinate him. The attempt failed, except the blast had knocked Gerrard from the ship to the forest below. Greven angrily threw Vhati overboard, ending the threat of his first mate.

Greven's return to Volrath was less than thrilling as Volrath took out his frustration on the Vec soldier. Greven in turn took out his own frustrations on Tahngarth, who had been captured by the Predator. He subjected the minotaur to mutation torture to turn him into a replacement for Vhati. However, he was interrupted by alarms within the Stronghold. Again the Predator chased after the Weatherlight, but was unable to catch the elusive ship before it sailed into an open portal. The portal closed before the Predator arrived, sustaining heavy damage to the ship as it smashed into a rock wall.

Greven returned to the Stronghold once more, fearing Volrath's punishment. He found that the evincar was missing. Greven took charge, contacting the Phyrexian superiors and being informed that Volrath had abdicated his throne for a personal vendetta and that an emissary of the masters would soon arrive. This emissary was Belbe, created out of the body of the elf Eladamri's daughter. Greven met with Crovax for the first time, attempting to slay the other before being interrupted by Belbe.

Greven was considered briefly as a candidate for evincar, having been offered it by Belbe. However, he opted to abstain from candidacy, having seen what that power had done to others. He preferred in his words to be the sword itself, not the hand that wielded it. Instead, Greven opted to oversee the repairs of his ship. He became embroiled in the politics between Ertai and Crovax, each vying for the position of evincar. Greven secretly came to admire Ertai's cunning and tactics, and feared Crovax's brute strength. After Crovax led a failed expeditionary force to the Skyshroud, Greven discovered that Eladamri of the Elves had been captured. He was personally responsible for attempting to torture the Elven leader, but Eladamri would not offer up any information.

Greven later met with Furrah, a disgraced Kor who had apparently betrayed Eladamri in his capture. However, Furrah surprised Greven by revealing that he was actually Volrath, his former master. Greven assisted Volrath in making it to Crovax's coronation ceremony, where Volrath revealed his return to fight with Crovax. Volrath failed, leaving Greven in the position of being stuck serving under Crovax's brutal control.

Eventually, Greven would take part in the Phyrexian Invasion in command of the Predator during the Rathi Overlay. Predator was sent to match the Weatherlight once more, but the Phyrexian ship was no match for the new and improved skyship. Weatherlight cleaved through Predator's hull, but Greven and his crew were able to board the other ship. During this battle, he came across Tahngarth, who now bested the Phyrexian commander in battle easily. Greven found that his mind had become dominated by Crovax, who needlessly sacrificed Greven to the minotaur's blade. His tattered corpse was thrown back onto his ship, going down as Captain for good as the Predator collided with the Stronghold, coming to a rest.

Gerrard, Heir to the Legacy

Gerrard's destiny, his entire life, in fact, was engineered from even before the time he was born. Centuries before Gerrard's birth, the planeswalker Urza determined that in order for the Legacy Artifacts to succeed in defeating Phyrexia, it would need a human component to go with it. Thus began the Bloodlines Project, where Urza worked in secret to manipulate generations of white-mana rich areas, ensuring pairings for the strongest possible progeny. This project culminated in the birth of Gerrard Capashen, heir to Clan Capashen and the heir to the Legacy. Gerrard was the ultimate human, a charismatic leader who could lead Dominaria against the Phyrexian Invasion.

As a young boy, a raid by Phyrexian Forces killed his entire family. Secreted away by the silver golem Karn, Gerrard grew up in the care of Sidar Kondo, the leader of a warclan in northern Jamuraa. However, Gerrard could not escape the Phyrexian influence working against him. The masters of the plane of Rath sent a man named Starke il-Vec, who infiltrated Kondo's tribe and became attached to his adoptive brother Vuel. After saving Vuel's life during the rite of passage, Vuel left with Starke, ostracized by the clan. Vuel stole the Legacy from Gerrard while the young man himself was off training in the art of maro-sorcery with the nature spirit Multani. It was during this time that Gerrard befriended the elf Rofellos and the cat warrior Mirri.

After discovering what Vuel had done, Gerrard had nothing. He chose along with Mirri and Rofellos to join the crew of the Weatherlight serving under Captain Sisay. Gerrard helped Sisay recover the Legacy artifacts that Vuel had sold to fund his war, not truly knowing why they were important. He also met and fell in love with Hanna, the ship's engineer and daughter of Barrin and Rayne, another Bloodlines Project subject. During an attack on Crovax's ancestral home, Rofellos was killed. Gerrard became despondent, and not wishing more to die because of him, left the Weatherlight and Hanna, returning to Clan Capashen.

Tahngarth, Sisay's second in command, would later track down Gerrard, informing him of Sisay's disappearance. Gerrard became surprised when it was found out that it was none other than Starke who had betrayed Sisay to Rath, and resolved to find his friend. After saving Starke from Maraxus, the Weatherlight crew picked up several new crew members, and Gerrard discovered that Sisay had found one missing piece of the Legacy that hadn't been found before: the silver golem, Karn, who lay dormant since Vuel had deactivated him. Gerrard used the Touchstone to restore Karn, finally being reunited with his old friend.

During the initial jump to Rath, the Weatherlight was attacked by the Predator, Volrath's skyship. Gerrard fell during the battle to the Skyshroud Forest below, where we survived and made his way to meet with the Oracle en-Vec, who proclaimed Gerrard to be the "Korvecdal" or Uniter in their language. After being reunited with the rest of the crew, Gerrard and company infiltrated the Stronghold to find Sisay and the others who had been captured, including Karn. Pressing onward into Volrath's Dream Halls, flashbacks revealed to Gerrard that Volrath was actually Vuel, his former adoptive brother. After being forced to fight a mind controlled Takara and Sisay, Gerrard killed Volrath, only to discover that the shapeshifter had used a decoy.

Gerrard escaped with the others to Mercadia, where he was responsible for negotiating various services with the Mercadian Magistrate. During the events of this story, Gerrard discovered that Takara was actually Volrath, and fought him, defeating him. Gerrard left the plane with the crew of the Weatherlight back to Dominaria, arriving just in time for the beginning of the Phyrexian Invasion.

Having no time to rest, Gerrard and the crew fought off the Invasion in Benalia, but Hanna became afflicted with the Phyrexian Plague. After being advised to head towards Llanowar, the group was reunited with Eladamri, who attempted to help Gerrard heal Hanna by use of the Dream Caves. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Hanna died on the grounds of Koilos, causing Gerrard much pain and sorrow. He would later fight the Phyrexian Commander Tsabo Tavoc, who attempted to manipulate his mind over his grief over Hanna. Tavoc was defeated, and the Rathi Overlay began, bringing the plane of Rath onto Dominaria. Gerrard and the goblin Squee were captured by the Predator and delivered to the Stronghold, where it was discovered that Crovax was the new Evincar.

Crovax offered Gerrard a chance to see Hanna once more, gifted by the great Yawgmoth himself. Gerrard stepped through the portal to Phyrexia where he found himself in a massive arena. He was forced to fight his own creator, the planeswalker Urza, who had been tempted there himself by the secrets of Phyrexia. Urza could not hold his own against his creation without his Planeswalker powers, and Gerrard emerged from the battle victorious having decapitated Urza. However, Gerrard had realized that Yawgmoth could never fully replicate Hanna. He struck the replica with a dagger, and Yawgmoth flung him and Urza's head out of Phyrexia back into the world.

Gerrard killed Crovax shortly after, utilizing the boons that Yawgmoth had given him prior to his expulsion from Phyrexia. Making his way back to the Weatherlight, he and the crew devised a plan to utilize the white mana from the Null Moon to defeat Yawgmoth, who had stepped into Dominaria as a cloud of killing dust. This plan failed however, and Urza, who had survived decapitation advised of a plan to utilize the powerstones in his head, along with Karn and the Legacy to complete the Legacy Weapon.

This act worked, and Gerrard, Karn, and Urza were caught in the light, disappearing as it covered Dominaria, obliterating Yawgmoth from existence as the Weatherlight herself fell to sink below the sea of Urborg. Gerrard did not survive to see that he had succeeded, but reportedly lived on in Karn, who had transcended to become a Planeswalker.

Tahngarth, First Mate to Greatness

Tahngarth was born into the Three Beads clan of the Talruum minotaurs. He lost his mother at a young age during a revolution which solidified his need to see justice done in all things. Because of his looks, Tahngarth was considered beautiful by the Talruum and was destined to become a great warrior. Later on in his adolescence Tahngarth met Sisay, Captain of the Weatherlight, due to her infamy in the Mirage Wars. The minotaur joined her crew and quickly proved trustworthy, rising to become Sisay's first mate. Tahngarth initially loathed Gerrard, viewing the man as a traitor to the crew after Gerrard left when Rofellos was killed. However, he was responsible for approaching Gerrard to come with the Weatherlight to save Sisay on Rath, although he hated the fact that he had to do so. During their time together on the ship, both Gerrard and Tahngarth reached an understanding of mutual respect for one another.

During the planeshift to Rath, the Weatherlight was attacked by the Skyship Predator. As the Legacy artifacts including Karn were taken aboard, Tahngarth leaped to the deck of the Predator, engaging the ship's captain Greven il-Vec in single combat. However, Greven easily overpowered the minotaur, owing to the strength of his Phyrexian implants.

Tahngarth became captured and taken to the Stronghold, where Volrath tortured and twisted the minotaur, intending to turn him into a replacement for Greven's dead first mate, Vhati il-Dal. However, before the transformation could be completed, he was saved by Gerrard and company. The experience however, left Tahngarth haunted by his ghastly appearance. In his eyes, he had lost the beauty of his race. He was an abomination.

Tahngarth joined the crew of the Weatherlight in escaping to Mercadia, where he assisted in attempting to recapture the ship from Cho-Arrim forces alongside Gerrard. He admitted to Hanna that he considered himself a monster, that his twisted form was his god's punishment for his vanity as a warrior. Still, he moved forward and helped the crew to locate the Bones of Ramos to power up the ship. The Weatherlight escaped Mercadia back to Dominaria, just as the Phyrexian Invasion began. Tahngarth fought in many battles throughout the Invasion, but his greatest and most personal challenge came in the form of visiting his home of Talruum. The Weatherlight traveled to Talruum in search of warriors that were capable of facing the Phyrexian forces. However, in finding that Talruum had been phased out of existence by the Planeswalker Teferi, the crew went to Hurloon, finding that the Phyrexians planned to put the minotaurs there through the same process that twisted his own body. Tahngarth was fierce in defeating the Phyrexians there, seeking to prevent any from undergoing the same pain he had endured.

To Tahngarth's surprise, the Hurloon did not fear him. Instead they bowed before him as one of the greatest warriors of their kind. Tahngarth had become redeemed in the eyes of his people, stronger than ever before. He returned to the crew of the Weatherlight, aiding in the ship's final battles against the Predator. The minotaur was given his chance to defeat his nemesis Greven il-Vec, killing the Phyrexian commander by cleaving his head into two. He even assisted in helping Gerrard escape from the Stronghold. Never refusing to give in, Tahngarth bravely faced down Yawgmoth's essence, giving Gerrard, Urza, and Karn enough time to complete the Legacy Weapon. Tahngarth survived the conflict, left with Sisay and Squee without a ship. However, the three were gifted a new ship called Victory, where Tahngarth and the others went on many new adventures thereafter.

Marisi, Breaker of the Coil

Marisi was a Nacatl from the shard of Naya on the plane of Alara. He lived for a very long time, due to working with the ancient draconic Planeswalker Nicol Bolas to help sow discord amongst the Nacatl. He is called the "Breaker of the Coil" because he convinced a subset of the Nacatl that the leaders of their tribe had been lying to them, that the laws imposed upon them meant they were not living wild and free as they should be. The Coil, otherwise known as the laws the Nacatl upheld, was shattered during Marisi's uprising, leading to the expulsion of the tribe to the lowlands of Naya, where they lived as they intended. Marisi himself faded into history as a legend. However, Marisi would reappear during the events of the Alara block, using his influence to provide the tools needed to kill Jazal, the brother of Ajani Goldmane and the current leader of the Wild Nacatl. This act set Ajani on his path as a Planeswalker, stoking his vengeance as the young Nacatl set out to discover who had murdered his brother. Marisi revealed himself to the Nacatl once more, using his influence as a legend to urge the Wild Nacatl into attacking their brethren the Cloud Nacatl. All of this was done in the name of Bolas to feed the Maelstrom at the center of the plane. Ultimately Marisi was killed at the hands of the Nacatl Zaliki, who he himself had tricked into casting the spell that created the creatures that had murdered Jazal, ending Marisi's hold on the Nacatl tribes and allowing them to unite and heal as one.

Geth, Lord of the Vault

Alright so this guy's a reprint, but it's still worth going over his history. Geth was once a living Moriok (a race of black-aligned humans), ruler of the Vault of Whispers on the plane of Mirrodin. Ruthless and cunning, Geth held power over the entire region of the Mephidross by virtue of controlling the only Vampire in the region. He became involved with the elf Glissa Sunseeker, who sought information and had offered to help a man named Yert whose zombie servant she had destroyed. Geth responded by calling on his Vampire to attack Glissa, but the elf was able to wound the beast. Geth angrily gave Glissa the information she desired and sent her on her way. To save the Vampire, he fed it the traitor Yert, but Yert arose as a Vampire himself and decapitated Geth. Geth managed to preserve his head as a lich, where he managed to find his way to Glissa. Geth promised to help Glissa locate the Shield of Kaldra if she would help him overthrow Yert and the Vampires in addition to helping him acquire a new body.

Geth was present when Karn returned to Mirrodin, leaving the Mirari in the care of Glissa, Geth, and company. Geth was given a Memnite body to control. However, after Karn left the plane, Glissa was secreted away by the Myr and Geth returned to the Vault of Whispers. As the Phyrexian influence began to take hold of the plane, Geth saw an opportunity and pledged his allegiance to the Phyrexians and in return received a new Phyrexianized body, one much stronger and faster than before. He quickly established his hold on the Vault and overpowered all of his competition, before rising to become one of the Seven Steel Thanes under the control of the Phyrexian Praetor Sheoldred.

Chainer, Master of the Mirari

Chainer was a dementia caster and member of the famed Cabal during the events of the Odyssey block. Chainer was born just outside of Cabal City, where growing up he developed a phobia of snakes (a trait that would later go on to define his dementia casting) and an affinity for the chain weapon, earning him his name (his real "secret" name was Mazeura). He trained under a dementia caster named Minat, who originally suggested the chain for its uniqueness in the pits. Minat also taught Chainer several magical spells including the Death Bloom spell and also how to magically enhance his chains.

Eventually Chainer moved to Cabal City proper where he was placed under the care of Skellum (who wore a funny hat), a senior dementia master. Skellum bonded well with Chainer, with hopes that he would become a true dementia master and not just another pit fighter. Skellum was unaware how close to that Chainer would eventually become.

During one of his explorations in the older parts of Cabal City, only fate would play chance in determining the fate of Chainer, as he came across a metallic probe that would come to be known as the Mirari. Chainer resisted the call of the probe, deeming it fit only for the First, the Cabal's Patriarch. After narrowly escaping the Order with the help of Skellum, Chainer presented the artifact to the First himself before returning to his training.

Chainer worked under Skellum to understand the concepts of dementia casting before being assigned to assist the barbarian Kamahl during the pit fight games in which the Mirari would be presented as a prize. He became close friends with Kamahl during this time, but his assignment became interrupted as a Krosan Dragon attacked the city in retaliation for Ambassador Laquatus' champion Turg killing a Krosan Dragonette. Chainer went to ensure the safety of the Mirari, defending it against Order troops. In doing so he unleashed the ambient magic of the Mirari, amplifying his Death Bloom spell.

After the dragon attack, the Mirari was gifted to Lieutenant Kirtar of the Order, and Chainer returned to learning to harness the dementia space inside his mind for more potent casting under the tutelage of Skellum. After returning to the pits, Chainer would fight Jeska (Kamahl's sister) and Balthor (Kamahl's Dwarven Mentor) who were searching for the barbarian since he had left the Pardic Mountains. Chainer fought hard but lost his arm to Jeska's magic. His arm was replaced by a very expensive golem arm which had been paid for by Skellum.

Eventually the Mirari and Kamahl returned to Cabal City, where Chainer and Kamahl both formed a formidable pit fighting team that proved very successful. However, a match in which the team was expected to throw turned relations sour between Kamahl and Chainer, and the two broke off their team but decided to remain friends.

Skellum decided that Chainer was ready to become a full fledged dementist, sending the young man on a shikar, which was a rite of passage in which the dementia caster travels through dangerous country (in this case the Krosan Forest) discovering new creatures to defeat and add to his dementia space. Chainer chose Kamahl to come with him on his shikar, after Skellum perished in a pit fight that was ordered by the Cabal First. Skellum was able to channel his experience of the fight so that Chainer was able to witness the betrayal of the First. Regardless, the shikar was successful and Chainer also witnessed a vision of the Cabal's dark god Kuberr before he and Kamahl returned to Cabal City.

Upon returning to the city, the two found it to be under siege by the Order. Chainer was instrumental in defending Cabal City from the Order, using his newfound dementia beasts to drive them away. However, during the battle Kamahl was injured. The First, thankful for Chainer's intervention in the battle, granted the young caster the ability to use the Mirari: once to heal Kamahl and the second to create a champion for the merfolk Laquatus. In addition, he slaughtered the Order squad responsible for killing Skellum in the pits. Kamahl was unhappy with Chainer's healing gift, as the man had grafted snakeskin over his wounds. Kamahl chose to burn the graft off, permanently ending his friendship with Chainer.

Chainer would eventually continue to work with the Mirari, using it to finally turn on the Cabal First as part of a plot to get revenge for Skellum's death. By using the First's secret name in conjunction with an amplified Death Bloom spell, he defeated the First and his attendants, but due to the First's nature was unable to kill him. Instead, Chainer exiled the First to the Cabal stronghold of Aphetto, taking his place as the ruler of Cabal City. Chainer increasingly fell prey to the power of the Mirari, falling deep into it.

Chainer's reign as head of the Cabal was brief. He proposed the Mirari Games, in which the prize was the Mirari itself and he as its Champion. An attack by the Order prompted Chainer to tap into the dementia space of every caster in the city, using the power of the Mirari to fuel a massive amount of nightmarish dementia beasts. Kamahl, who had returned to the city, confronted his old friend to try to convince him to stop using the artifact's power. The two fought, with Kamahl melting away Chainer's artificial arm. As he attempted to heal himself, Chainer decided to call back the creations he had summoned, feeling bored of the situation. The effect this had on Chainer was immense, the power of the Mirari overwhelming him until he became a mass of writhing dementia creatures. He painfully gurgled out for Kamahl to end his life, and the barbarian did so somberly. Afterwards, the monsters of the Mirari disappeared, leaving Chainer and heading back to their original dementia spaces. Kamahl took up the Mirari in honor of his fallen friend and left Cabal City.

Wrapping Up

So there we have it! A nice big lore refresher on some of the older characters appearing in Commander 2019! I love Commander sets from a Vorthos perspective, because it is always cool to me to see characters from the older era being given new cards or cards for the very first time, so it's always exciting for me to follow these spoiler seasons.

Which one of the characters above is your favorite? Hit the comments below and let me know!

As always you can reach me on Twitter, Twitch, and Patreon! Hope you guys enjoyed the content, and until next time, keep on Vorthos'ing!