MTG LORE - An Analysis of Liliana vs. Garruk Storyline. Who should win? Magic: The Gathering

[@jtmeade]

I'm sorry, but I think you missed something important about Garruk. Prior to being cursed he would not kill the beasts he hunted but instead overpower them and bond them to himself to share their power. Just a clarification.

[@Eredean]

Great video professor. While I do agree that Liliana is a sympathetic character, especially pre-walker Lili, however, I do feel like we didn't really look at pre-walker Garruk and what caused him to be the way he is as well. He was betrayed by what he considered civilization and raised by the apex predators of nature, until he was strong. He then gave civilization another chance and tried to find his father, only to be betrayed again. He has his problems... As for the "killing only for glory," while that is partially true, it is also true that Garruk takes the power from the great beasts he hunts and connects it to himself, gaining the strength from the beast. I suppose you could consider this as a need to hunt or just a lust for power. Not to different from Liliana in that case... But in the end I do find them both to be sympathetic characters with their share of problems and neither really being the "good" guy. They both could just really use some help solving their problems. And a hug. Just wanted t add that, with that being said, I don't think either of them should "win" in the sense of defeating the other, but I do hope that they both accomplish their goals. I feel it'd be a bit more interesting than one just finally murdering the other.

[@DinobotTM2]

Adventures of Eredean I think that there is a key element here that, Christian morality apart, is what makes Lili more sympathetic: By selling her soul to demons in exchange for power, Liliana is sacrificing her own life or the lives of evil beings. By killing beasts to absorb their strength, Garruk is sacrificing innocent others.

[@Eredean]

I don't really care about the whole selling her soul to demons thing, only to betray them, I personally think it's rather clever to say the least and somewhat commendable. And it's far from Liliana to step on innocents to get her way, for instance when she was about to obliterate Thalia's army if she would not open the Helvault or the angel in Shandalar who was merely trying to warn her of the Onakke Spirits. In the end, they both make questionable choices, do some rather bad things, but are joined by one common item; the chain veil, of which is driving BOTH walkers mad. I personally would love to see them being forced to work together and better understand each other.

[@ghostofspartacaus]

Garruk also is only killing planes walkers because he thinks they're Lilliana's kin but after innistrad he went to a plane to hunt. But once the curse set in he only remembered that a planes walker did this to him and is hunting all because is mad mind can't tell who cursed him so is after all plane walkers

[@vgftw3809]

Adventures of Eredean i agree completely and thats my only critisism twoards this video that the professor didnt go into detail about garruks perspective.

[@aussiemtg7411]

Adventures of Eredean My hope is that, in the end, Garruk gets the curse lifted and Liliana free from the demons. They are both troubled people who have had hard pasts and made bad decisions, and they at least should be left to be.

[@DirkVomEck]

A very interesting take on things. Regarding revenge and nature the flavor text from 5th/6th ediition Llanowar elves come to mind: " One bone broken for every twig snapped underfoot."

[@zackchurch4850]

I think there is a fair bit of skewed perspective here. A very large part of the deal Liliana made with the demons was to secure her youth. Post-mending, she was no longer immortal, and so would age. Being highly egocentric, Liliana could not bear the thought of losing her beauty, and so sold her soul to keep it. Her hubris and desire for power is constantly backfiring on her in an almost ironic way--she acts recklessly in using an unknown potion she has been warned of to cure her brother; it turns him into a monster. She makes a deal to secure her youth and beauty, and is covered in tattoos that bleed. She uses the Chain Veil to dominate others, and now it seems the Chain Veil is dominating her. At the end of the day, Liliana's entire storyline is about her going back on her word, killing those she has promised so she does not have to uphold her end of the bargain, without care of the innocents she harms along the way. Meanwhile, a big part of Garruk's motivation and tie to nature that you're missing is the Alpha quantity. Being the apex predator often means challenging any who would oppose you in might and ferocity, and often fighting to the death to show you are indeed the better. Many different species of wild animal often fight and kill each other, not for food, but out of territorial challenges, or for the purpose of dominance. He does not do it for glory, but to be like these predators. Also, in thinking like an alpha of a pack, if something kills one of your packmates, what do you do to protect the others? The fact that the beast attacked Liliana first is irrelevant--Garruk sees her as a challenging predator, and goes to, again, assert dominance as the apex predator. He would have beaten Liliana, too, were it not for the powerful artifact she used. From a non-Vorthosian perspective, I would say the reason Liliana has won every interaction they've had up to this point is that, were Garruk to win, he would kill Liliana, without some Deus Ex Machina action saving her. Liliana doesn't care enough about Garruk to kill him, so her victory when the two of them clash is the easiest way for the writers to have both 'walkers live. Finally, you finish with the dark tale of Garruk as the planeswalker head hunter, showing no mercy and ironically killing the Elite Inquisitor-turned-'walker Vronos, who was trying to help save him. But you make no mention of the fact that the ENTIRE reason Garruk is this way is because of the curse that Liliana has wracked him with. Had she not cursed him, or had she removed the curse, we have no reason to believe Garruk would be acting the way he is now. His actions are tied to, even rooted in Liliana's selfishness and disregard for others over herself. Blaming him for his actions as a result of the curse that has driven him to the brink of insanity would be like blaming the hunk of reanimated flesh that is a zombie for killing your loved ones, and not the necromancer who raised it.

[@rintezuka8429]

Keep on making these lore vids Professor!

[@randerson15]

Are we sure Liliana 'spared' Garruk by letting him live, or is it likely that she would rather he suffer a curse that he could very well consider worse than death itself?

[@kenboben39]

Yeah that's how I've always seen it as well.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

randerson15 That's hard to answer, but from my perspective, she had owned the chain veil for all of 2 minutes. I don't think she even understood the nature of her attack upon Garruk. She blasted him and ran off, what happened to him next was largely unknown to her.

[@Collinxd]

Lilliana is a selfish character, what she said after cursing Garruk was that "she had demon to see", so she doesnt care about what happens to garruk.

[@brandonfullmer1932]

It really sounds like a one sided story, as said below. He’s defined by revenge because of his experience with corruption in society. I see garruk and Liliana as a misunderstanding, and can see the curse being removed relatively easily

[@persephonekatherine1920]

I like how you went into great detail in Lilliana`s back story and motivations and then just did a quick mention of garruk in such a way as to support your argument. It's clear from this video which planes walker you prefer.

[@MagicTrainingGround]

Thank you for this literary review. I can only presume that we are granted this awesome content through your background as a literary professor and I must say how grateful I am that you would share your talent in this manner. This is an excellent retelling of this story and I look forward to future videos of this ilk. Well done!

[@broshmosh]

That was absolutely excellent. Great editing, a well-told recounting and a very good way to introduce a lot of people to the lore surrounding these characters. I, for one, would be very happy to see much more of these.

[@OBZeta]

Lore!!!!! Please do an ongoing lore series. Your faithful fan.

[@MaNU7908]

Great video professor. I really like that you show your point of view and also that you tried to reflect the feelings of the characters deeply. Is a different take on a lore video I personaly appreciate a lot. Also the selection of images you did from the mtg art gallery to support your story was quite precise. I hope this lore videos become a series and we could get one every 2 or 3 weeks because it was very nice

[@schilbjoel]

Professor, I am so thankful for you. Your videos make my day better. Hard work, I'm sure, but me and many other viewers are truly thankful. You are very much appreciated.

[@UndeadForsaken]

We need moar of this Lore videos. keep the awesome work professor :D!

[@KahBorgi]

we need to see a Nahiri vs. Sorin analysis. i think their friendship turning to a bitter rivalry might be a good subject to delve into

[@holyordersol2668]

+KahBorg Rydjord I agree. Especially the horrible lack of communication, uncharacteristically shortsightedness of Sorin, and the flaring teenage'esque tempers of millenia-old planeswalkers.

[@ConnorRunda]

Yes! YES! YEEEEEESSSSS!!! I have been LONGING for a lore analysis by you. Professor, you have truly made my day.

[@nicholaslanze6963]

Excellent video Professor! I have little knowledge with the lore of the multiverse and this was an enjoyable look into the actions behind the cards. I shall now hunt for more knowledge!

[@killingkye]

This was a brilliant idea from the donors at Patreon and it was well presented as well! I personally enjoy lore in general and thus really enjoyed this video! Keep it up!

[@j.chanslor8221]

Thank you for making this. I look forward to this being a frequent series :) No one else is doing it better than you.

[@babysinclairfan]

An equally strong argument can be made for Garruk. You did not factor in enough of Garruk's backstory and therefore misunderstood why he hunts. Garruk experienced the corruption of society as a young boy and wound up living off the land in isolation. Garruk hunts for sustenance and sort. However, his desire to hunt for sport does not show that he is out of touch with nature (as you suggested), but in tune with it. Garruk knows that his abilities make him extremely powerful, so he only hunts beasts that can afford him a challenge. By risking his life, he is proving that he has fairly earned the right to live. Garruk treats his quarry with respect and honor. Each beast he kills is converted into mana and merges with his soul, effectively allowing the beast to live forever. Now, the reason Garruk attacks Liliana is not just for revenge, but for her practice of necromancy. Necromancy messes with the natural life cycle and is an act of desecration in Garruk's eyes. Also, he considers her killing spell a cowardly and unfair way of fighting. Even after the curse begins to take hold, Garruk tries his best to control himself. He is genuinely remorseful for his aggressiveness toward Jace and he promises to help the people of Innistrad fight against the dark forces that threaten them. (Unfortunately, he never gets the chance.) Even after his corruption, Garruk is still able to show his old friend Jace mercy.The reason Garruk hunts planeswaklkers is because he has gone so insane. He forgot Lilliana's face and only remembers that a planeswalker attacked him. In a sense, he doesn't know any better. Unfortunately, the curse grows so strong that it isn't just controlling Garruk. It corrupts him. Now he wants to be evil. Garruk is a different person now. An honorable hunter has fallen into evil and why? Because Lilliana was working for demons. And why did she sell her soul? To satisfy her vanity and desire for power. However, Lilliana isn't the real villain here. The real demon is the chain veil. The chain veil represents ill gotten power. While the innocent see it as a recipe for trouble, the greedy can't help but be swayed by it. Power corrupts. People act selfishly when they can't resist greed, That's why Ob Nixilis turned into a hideous demon. That's why Lilliana was injured each time she used it. And that's why Garruk was corrupted. No matter who you are, greed and aggression leads to your destruction. Garruk is the innocent victim. in this situation. Not everyone who is corrupted becomes that way from their own fault. Mistreatment and abuse (or in this case, a curse) can make a person bitter and hateful. Garruk has lost his way and truly believes that he is alone. He sees his best friend Jace as an enemy, and that's pretty sad when you think about it. And what about the chain veil? It's still around, waiting to ruin more lives. You can't win when you play with greed. The only way to overcome the chain veil is to not pursue it. And even then, it may still get you if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[@babysinclairfan]

Tolarian Community College Sorry for the enormous comment. If you do read it, I think you'll appreciate my counter argument and hopefully you might even have something to refute it :)

[@Duskstone89]

babysinclairfan I didn't see this comment before I wrote mine, which was basically the same xD Tolarian Community College do read. Don't change hearts, but see through your other eye.

[@twarnold14]

babysinclairfan Another essay for the English teacher. But do you know what I like most about this argument (besides agreeing with it)? It doesn't call out Liliana has the villain. She has been an antagonist before, and she is a black planeswalker, but she is not evil. Rather than belittling her or anyone who likes the character, you teach about Garruk (who does not get as much attention as the necromancer). Also, you hint on the true message of this story: power corrupts. So good job there.

[@alexmiceli4439]

babysinclairfan That my good man/woman was indeed another great view on the defense for Garruk. A+ for this wonderful and indeed very thoughtful point of the story.

[@about50pyros55]

babysinclairfan Do not forget Garruks dislike of people for the fact that his father was killed for sneaking garruk into the wilderness to escape. Tolarian Community College the killing of the beast by liliana to garruk is like watching a member of your family get killed. Garruk bonds with the beasts that he travels with. Please stop acting as though liliana is innocent everything she does is now about sating her vanity and power lust.

[@brianstephens7572]

Love the Lore concept! As a fairly new beginner, it's been fun watching how the cards unfold a story.

[@XinZ1138]

Your lore interruption is fantastic. I would love more of this style of video!

[@Rocket90]

Congrats on 70,000 subs Professor!!!

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Rocket90 Thank you.

[@andyhill5712]

+Tolarian Community College Congrats on 130,000 subs, Professor!!!

[@loganace3719]

Congrats on 154,838 subs, Professor!!!

[@Ranokal]

This was an awesome video, and very unique. I love Wedge's lore videos, but he just tells the story. You've analyzed it, which isn't seen very often. Great stuff.

[@BardicLasher]

Rereading the story, I find some problems with your interperations, and I see this almost entirely as Liliana's fault. Liliana was on Shandalar to retrieve the chain veil, because she wanted to fight against time itself. She chose to sell her soul, in what was only a good move if she was planning to betray those deals from the beginning. Either way, her reason for being on Shandalar was pure selfishness. As part of this act, she killed a creature, and Garruk responded, upset and confused, but not with immediate aggression. When he arrives to see his dead beasts, he says "Halt, Shadowmage! Is this your mess?" She replies "You're cute and all, but I don't have time," and runs. He chases, because she's fleeing what's effectively a crime scene, and asks "What are you?" Her response is "Bored," which could imply that she didn't care but could also imply that she killed his beasts out of pure boredom. She then makes the first attack on him- while he's still talking to her and has not yet attacked. They fight, she curses him, and she leaves him alive but cursed... This is not a question of Liliana giving Mercy. This is a question of Liliana not stopping to think about the ramifications of the action. There's no "I don't want to kill you," just quickly telling him he's wasting her time. The curse then turns Garruk into a monster. While I fully agree that he crosses the line and is overaggressive after this, Liliana at no point informed Garruk that his beasts had attacked her. She just attacked him, cursed him, and left. If we're discussing culpability, then Liliana has created a monster by being too arrogant to think about her actions, and it's Liliana's duty to stop him. The correct end to this story, as I interpert it, is for Liliana to be forced to face that she is partially responsible for Garruk's murder spree, and for her to help restore him to normal. Probably with Jace's help, because Jace is the main character and the smart one. That said, post restoration, Garruk will still have a whole lot of atoning to do.

[@coolnobodycares]

Jace is the main character everywhere it seems simply because he's a mind mage with a knack at being places he doesn't bolong. lol

[@TheArcSet]

Is that the story from the steam game or a comic.

[@jozzyalthefool9273]

BardicLasher what if Garruk ends up on Ixalan and tries to hunt down Ghalta

[@gaia9020]

now bolas is here and i hope garruk will try to hunt him and the gatewatch, so that liliana can free him from the curse and i can get a new card of garruk. garruk smiled at me in 2015 and then i started magic. now i play commander (jund-color) and hunt by my self

[@loremasterdasmodeus8285]

Well Garruk hunts beasts which he believes are inferior to his powers... Liliana was superior, and defeated him. It is just that she have the victory, his stupid beasts attacked Liliana and she defended herself, selfish business or not. Not caring about his pet is... normal? Why would I care about a beast that attacked me? Garruk is to blame for this. He believes he is an apex predator, which he is far from being. I just wish that the hedron fails and he becomes a blob.

[@louiscostanzo5595]

OK hold up, for one garruks philosophy is a concept of the strong survive and nature rewards those who do, giving himself pride of being the best, second Lillian's left undead to murder garruk, third is that garruk has full right not to trust people due to what happened to his father, and last of all garruk was only hunting Lilliana's but the curse got so bad that it corrupted his mind making him always say hunt A plansewalker. Garruks curse manifested and made the thoughts unclear and did NOT kill other plansewalkers because he thought they where allined with Lilliana's, his mission was corrupted his brain only says hunt plansewalkers because of what lilliana did to him.

[@MrYukon35]

Hi Professor, I just wanted to say I am so pumped for your lore video. I love lore so much and I hope you continue with these videos.

[@irishbug4744]

This is a great video and I'd be very much interested in seeing others of the sort :)

[@ManWithTheMask13]

I personally felt like this was a one side story,as a big fan of Garruk I think it's unfair to only look at lillanaa side in this story.yes this is only helpful criticism,you may take this at a grain of salt

[@chippatterson8322]

Clay, I'm going to need you to walk me through this again... jeese!

[@TinQulion]

I must say that this has been one of the most interesting videos you've done, sure i've watched your other videos but this one was very nice and got me hooked. I hope you will do more lore videos really cool :D

[@ronman279]

About Garruk, when he was searching for Liliana, the curse was growing. He goes to Ravnica to visit Jace. Jace refuses to tell Garruk anything and Garruk gets angry Jace uses a spell on Garruk which he then breaks out of and goes to swing at Jace, he then stops and apologises, saying he's not well. This to me doesn't sound like the monster he is painted as. about the predator thing, look at honey badgers those animals will attack lions and hyenas for no real reason other than to say I am the big 'I am'. Many animals have contests of strength between them and Garruk, who when he was 10 and first used a bit of magic was chased into a forest where he then was attacked by baloths, for 7 years lived in the wilds watching animals probably fighting and then he returned to the town to try and save his father. he was then almost killed and survived attaining his helmet, but he found his father dead with a sword through him after being mocked . I also say that this problem could have been solved if Liliana had removed the curse, meaning the curse wouldn't cloud his mind he would then have had a clear head and only be tracking one planeswalker instead of all of them. by neglecting to remove the curse or kill him she has made things worse. I also think that Garruk believes his beasts to be family, and most families are unhappy when someone kills a member of them. This is my view. there are two halves to this story and both have reasons for what they are doing.

[@balfanghellfire]

KainScion I don't blame the professor though. Liliana is sexy as hell.

[@TheChema-fk3lq]

Nice profile and comment angry luffy

[@ZeroSkerbo]

I love this lore video! Please do more of these! As a new player all of the lore is very foreign to me and this is by far the most interesting way to learn about it :D

[@Frankenstein3r]

Professor, This was spoken and broken down like a true English teacher lol. also I'm rooting for Liliana... of the veil to get a standard set reprint to bring her price down so I can finish my 8-rack deck >.>

[@jonathanmullins8854]

I believe Garruk is in the right because- at least as far as I know- he couldn't have known his beast attacked Lilliana, he just knew she had killed it, so he tried to get revenge- not that I root for this, but he does seem very attached to those creatures- and attacked the "murderer" and got cursed, so later, out of desperation he threatens Lilli- probably thinking she won't listen to him otherwise- gets whooped, then goes crazy P.S. the hunting thing could just be a way to test his strength and push himself to the edge of abilities

[@corymatthews1061]

"Viewers like you. Thank you." Professor going PBS on us :D

[@et8313]

I absolutely loved this video! Please do more lore related content. It was fantastic. I love storytelling.

[@bradurban1753]

Sometimes I forget the professor is an actual professor, and then he does something awesome like this. Kudos good sir!

[@maximilianhadwiger5850]

That was another very enjoyable video and please please more of that.

[@deimos_the_fearful7081]

Would you mind making more lore videos? I truly enjoy your reviews of mtg products, but I do enjoy me some lore.

[@AltShynn]

Great video. I'd love to see MTG Lore become a regular segment for the college.

[@JebBoone]

I absolutely adored this video. So many of the more competitive players like myself are totally oblivious to the stories that make up the Magic multiverse. Getting introduced to them by a literature professor is almost too good to be true. If you plan on making video likes this in the future (YES! YES!), could you let us know beforehand on which story line you'll be focusing? I'd love to be able to familiarize myself with the relevant Uncharted Realms pieces before getting into the analysis - just like one of your actual classes. Thanks again for everything!

[@Larry.R]

Here's my take on the Liliana vs. Garruk Storyline: While I do agree with you on Liliana, I feel that this video was way more biased in the way that it only covers her perspective more than Garruk. If there's one thing these two planeswalkers have in common, it's this; loss. Both planeswalkers have suffered the great loss of a significant other. Liliana, her brother. Garruk, his father. Garruk started off helping his father seedsprouting trees. Simple enough, but I'll continue. When Garruk turned ten, one of Lord Faldus' vassals came for him to draft him in his army. Garruk escapes, his father; not so much as he fights off Faldus' minions to buy his son time. After running for some time, Garruk ends up in the nest of what I can only assume is a baloth [Enormous Baloth] but manages to escape yet again. At this point, Garruk's pretty much a wanted fugitive. He's trying to survive as best as he can. Days turn to months, and all Garruk can do is hope that his father will find him. But that hope fades quickly as Garruk receives his father's last words from that artifact he's been carrying around. "I love you, son." I admit, that's really painful with Father's Day coming up in a couple of weeks. We're still not done though as there's more to the story. Now seventeen, Garruk feels that he's ready to accept defeat. Except Garruk doesn't "accept defeat". With years of training as a beastmage under his belt, he now has everything to face the one responsible for the "apparent" death of his father. He lets all hell break loose, and ends up in his father's cell. Of course, being in tune with nature he manages to break free with ease. And since hunters like taking trophies, trinkets of triumph, he wears the sheriff's helmet as like a badge of honour. Garruk's lost everything. His home. People he's loved. Nature is the only thing he has left. Liliana on the other hand has things Garruk could only dream of (if he had the taste). She has luxury, minions to obey her every command, and The Chain Veil. Here's how I describe The Chain Veil's Curse for Garruk; a sort of (wait for it) mystical STD. It's inside Garruk, and he doesn't know how to treat it. That's why he's chasing Liliana all across The Multiverse. It's out of desperation that he's seeking her out. But even Liliana (who ironically is supposed to be a healer herself) may not know how to remove it. That's why she's so scared for her life [Triumph of Ferocity] and why she's trying to avoid him. If she does have a cure, he HAS to be ruthless enough to get it from her. But I do not believe she has one. Garruk even goes as far as planeswalking to Ravnica to find Jace (and how he knows anything about Jace and Liliana igniting their "romantic spark" is mind baffling to me) and seeing what he knows about Liliana. The best Jace can do is recommend Emmara, a healer on Ravnica. But Garruk refuses. I don't understand why though. He turns down the very thing he's looking for; help. In the end, Garruk feels that the only way to rid himself of the curse is by killing Liliana in an endless game of cat and mouse. That doesn't justify him killing other planeswalkers, but it gives him "training". Valuable for taking down Liliana once and for all. But by then, it will not matter much as the curse will have completely consumed him by then.

[@Larry.R]

***** In short, Garruk's trying to do anything and everything to survive.

[@iJimjerk]

+Larry R are you on lilianas or garruks side?

[@puppyblender]

I hope to see more lore videos like these, I enjoyed your take on the story quite a bit.

[@thebomb231]

This was awesome! Please do more on the lore :D

[@radiaspro4582]

@Tolarian Community College Thank you for the nice Video, it helped me understand the "beef" between Garruk and Liliana very much! But now I'm interested in further content, so please - make a Video for Nahiri and Sorin - tell me where these lore comic pictures come from Thank you very much and stay how you are, you're awesome! :D

[@jacobyspurnger8488]

still waiting for garruk to make a return as we return to the plane of inistrad...

[@Шутняра-ц3з]

Oh, let me count all Garruks in my life :) I even didn't expect to see such series on your channel, professor, but I'm really glad to!

[@aappaapp6627]

Still a better love story than twilight....

[@maloo2brvo26]

Just started playing MTG... Didn't know much about it until I was introduced recently. It is nice knowing that there is a story in addition to the game to give players more of a feel for the things they do.

[@rayswift5711]

Wonderful analysis! If you consider anytime of making new videos - these ones are the one I especially would like to see more of!

[@Javaisd3ad]

Enjoyed this one, perhaps not on an epic scale but nonetheless everything was consistently insightful and explanatory. 9/10, will watch again.

[@sosalty6806]

Please, give us more of those Storyline Videos ! That was awesome !

[@evanawesomer5815]

- Lilliana kills a friend of garruk's so he avenges it - Lilliana is a necromancer which is pure evil - Lilliana made a deal with four demons one of the most evil things she could do - Lilliana is careless and stupid in her actions

[@carolinepicard1871]

I love this new type of video! I'm starting to play and find very interesting the storyline the way you explain it!! :-)

[@ashir555]

You know professor, videos like this made me subscribe to your channel. Normally I don't give a squat about the lore, but, damn!, this IS a great video about the lore behind the game!

[@Azura-16]

great vid prof... as i see it from garruks perspective she killed a huntng buddy of his and i dont believe he knew it was self defence.. we as the reader knows but we have no reason to believe garruk knows this.. i think that is important to keep what you as a reader know, and the knowlage the character has available in mind and seperate.. but garruk dosent know, so getting revenge for a friend someone killed and you dont know the reason as to why, does make sense...

[@oofpostinginc.4321]

I believe that while in the initial confrontation garruk was wrong (likely due to misconception) I believe that garruk is a overall more righteous character as lili is only fighting for her own gain. Garruk is also fighting for his own good but he is not feeding power to a demon as lili was.

[@FilipdGB]

Great video! Hope to see more lore videos, the story of MtG is extremly intresting!

[@nicholasj1426]

Great video Professor. I would love to see a lore video featuring the brothers Gerrard and Starke.

[@wilfturner1291]

Please do more mtg lore videos this is my favourite video yet. I love the lore behind each planeswalker

[@galidroo]

really enjoyed hearing your interpretations. thanks for the video! :)

[@TheFantom_X]

Those lore videos are amazing professor, make more!

[@macanerodeldesierto]

I like magic lore and I would love to see more of it . Good job and keep it up!

[@alexanderstorm6062]

I really like to see more of those videos and I want to thank everyone that supported you via Patreon. I'd do so too if I had a job ... but unfortunately I lost it a while ago. So: Thank you, people from Patreon, to make these videos possible...

[@catnip420]

Brilliant episode. Please, please, please do more lore videos. Not necessarily "versus", but really anything lore related.

[@IvanSchoemanDolvich]

Loving the lore videos already, keep em coming!

[@alexvanderkooy785]

Hey Prof, can you please do more of these. This is great. I think its better than office hours.

[@take1the1waffle]

More More More! Love these lore stories simplified into something i can listen to :D

[@mattcasselberry1542]

Yea the her selling her soul thing. She wasnt forced she did it willingly she did it smart but defiantly dont have any type of moral high ground

[@rogueirl]

If Liliana would have taken the curse off he would not have killed Vronos, and he would have went back to being a hunter for sport, trying to prove himself an ultimate force of "nature" instead of being consumed by it. Thoughts?

[@HeroesandLegendsMTG1]

Professor, great presentation with this lore video. I really enjoyed it. I am excited for Magic Origins. I see Liliana is originally from Dominaria so I am hoping for a few nostalgic cards in Magic Origins.

[@garyleavitt9203]

You really have a thing for Liliana. :) I enjoyed your analysis. I hope Origins follows through on its promise to give us more depth to all these characters and we see more lore fleshed out in the future. Most of these planeswalker conflicts feel superficial and convenient. There are too many characters being introduced too fast for me to really care about any of them. If planeswalkers are everywhere, it doesn't feel special anymore.

[@eat_shots]

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS VIDEO! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE LIKE IT!

[@michaelwright248]

Great analysis, and I've had the same thoughts about Garruk and Liliana growing more and more with each chapter in their story. :-)

[@xanadar]

I really enjoy your videos. I think this is one of the best you have ever produced. Thank you.

[@loadedgun28]

I loved this video. I think you should do more "Lore" videos in the future.

[@VeggehGaming]

I must admit I was a little antsy when I saw a lore video was going to be made as we have a number of those at other (mana) sources and did we really need another? But I really enjoyed your take on it and would love to see more. Well done! :D Can't say I've ever looked too deeply into this section of the lore though. Very interesting viewpoint and I find it difficult to argue. It does make me wonder whether Garruk's writing is actually any good given the contradictions in his philosophy. Maybe green/black really is the best colour for him rather than mono green. Once again, great video!

[@lucinda831]

One of the best lore videos I've seen!!

[@hickknight]

Heh, I subscribed to this channel becuase of the content I found here. Very helpful stuff, even for returning players, such as myself. I just wish there was a bigger scene where I played... Ah well, at least I'll have fun with my nephew over building decks and playing magic.

[@HiddenArsenal77]

Really top notch breakdown, I commend you professor : )

[@Octa-v1u]

Awesome video mate keep up the good work look forward to the next

[@damiend.7392]

WE are definitely of like mind. Well phrased and supported!

[@GeorgeWrightau]

I love the idea of applying classical criticism techniques to MTG/Pop Culture. Please keep evolving the channel and pushing that envelope!

[@Thefrenchmen24]

This kind of video is awesome, I love this! More of this hahaha! Great work.

[@zigzack54]

There are some predators that kill for pleasure or just because. Elephants have been known to murder rhinoceroses, apparently for no better reason that "to test their strength" A group of Japanese Flying Hornet will kill bees to eat, but then kill the rest just because they can. Dolphins have also been known to kill for pleasure. Just thought I'd add. Great video though! Very informative!

[@liperuf]

nature, right? Aren't we talking about the multiverse of Magic? What's the original plane of Garruk? On what conditions Garruk became a planeswalker? Isn't nature slightly different on every plane? btw, thanks professor. I really enjoyed.

[@warsmen7500]

This was a great video and I hope to see more like this in the future :D

[@fiddlestyxify]

Excellent vid!!! Your background definitely lends itself to the task like a Rancor enchanting a Skyshroud Ridgeback. But...Simple stories are boring? We all know there's really no such thing as a simple story. ; )

[@Dragnaab]

Keep these coming! Loved it.

[@amirashika]

To play Garruk's advocate, all of his actions make sense if you see him as the "Alpha" beast: he has to assert dominance over the strongest creature in the plane; if he or his pack are harmed, he retaliates; he doesn't believe in asking nicely, in nature the strongest is the king (which is why he doesn't ASK Lili to transform him, he demands by brute force). On the other hand, I think the Professor's analysis of Lili is kind of biased (which is understandable, everyone has favorites). She didn't have her soul/will "taken" from her, she gave it away for power. She's not a victim, she put herself in that spot in her quest for power.

[@rmbee5412]

To be honest, I have a fair amount of sympathy for Garruk. He didn't know that Lliana acted merely in self-defence against the beast, and in addition, I don't understand why Lliana hasn't removed the curse from him yet, if she is able to beat him in battle consistently and could just get him off her back by doing so. Garruk just needs enough self-control to come up with and execute a coherent plan so as to remove the veil curse and repair his broken relationship with Lliana. At the very least, I must express my disappointment that Garruk's story will not be explored in the magic: Origins set.

[@PandaJohn71]

I personally agree with you about Lilliana being in the right so to speak here...I didn't completely know even half of what you mentioned since I was new to MtG just before Khans came out. Since though I've been tapping into and reading both Unearthed Arcana and from time to time checking out and reading some of the novels from my local library and watching Lore videos by Seibenlore, The Magic Show and the Mana Source.

[@TheRealSpellstar]

I love everything about Liliana's story I love the idea of selling your soul to not one, but FOUR demons, and then turning around and killing them to regain her freedom while keeping her demonic powers I also love how long its taking Liliana to complete this mission, they could have easily had all four demons be legendary creatures from one block and wrap the story up there, but the length of her task goes to show the immensity and ambition of it I love Liliana's personality in the stories, I love how she has an affinity for the whole royalty aesthetic, and spent some time lounging in Amonkhet just because she felt like it. I especially love how her thoughts are written whenever she's interacting with other characters, she's always policing her own thoughts, like with the whole "I don't care about these people (the Gatewatch), I'm just using them" when there's clearly more to it than that; it makes for a nice, subtle character flaw. On the other hand, I love the simplicity of Garruk's story, and I think his story of "being in touch with nature" and fighting the biggest game he can find should be seen as less of an outright contradiction and more of a self-justification Garruk has always had an evil side of him and couldn't control it, so he made excuses for himself both characters are evil, Liliana is just more passive about it, her motives are entirely selfish, but she doesn't mess with people unless they get in her way

[@firestormpiccolo]

I really liked this different perspective. I never really thought of it that way. I just kinda thought, made a pact with demons, you're evil! But she made this pact to preserve her life no matter the cost, very in-flavour for black too. Really liked this video and the story between these two, hope we see more when we come back to innistrad, although not sure if Lilianna has a reason to return to this plane.

[@TheDarkOne49]

I can really see the English professor coming out in this video. Love it!

[@brennonr]

Very nice. I really enjoyed this video.

[@ellahazan-fuchs7249]

Nice video, but remember that liliana have used the chain veil on garruk instead of regular magic and when doing so, the curse blinded garruk and made him unnaturally vengeful. If liliana had not used the chain veil, garruk would not have tried to hunt her.

[@BudgetMTGDecks]

Excellent lore video, plus a sweet analysis to boot! We can probably agree that Nicol Bolas should not win...

[@rbf32]

I LUUUUURVE MTG LORE! Keep this up please!!! Tolarian Community College

[@archangeloliver]

Great analysis Professor!