Who Is The Greatest Villain In Magic: The Gathering?

The villains of Magic The Gathering are myriad and complex, but who is the greatest villain in all the multiverse. Magic’s storied history spans a creative world building of over a quarter of a century, from the earliest threads of flavor text on alpha magic cards to full scaled novels and , supposedly, an upcoming television series.
In this video, I will examine the greatest antagonists and most vile of villains that magic the gathering has to offer. But who is the greatest of them all? I present to you, these ten faces of evil. If you are interested in the greatest hero, then go here: • Who Is The Greatest He...
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[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

If you are interested in the greatest hero, then go here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5WxnHSYfMZ1i7M

[@omarabdullah24]

Marit Lage is not an Eldrazi because she's not an Eldrazi. She doesn't feed on planes the way eldrazi do, she is a black alligned while eldrazi are colorless, and what we see is her actual body, where as the eldrazi are just projecting an avatar into the plane. She’s definitely their take on a lovecraftian horror, and made the Eldrazi larger ~more powerful~ interpetations, corrupting the plane itself along with the inhabitants. Marit Lage was added to the game/story before eldrazi were thought of.

[@ryanedwards7487]

I feel like #2 probably should be #1...there is a TON of the most vile things in the history of Magic that he directly set in motion.

[@raymondshiner1046]

Petition for Prof to do a lore series where he basically just reads us MTG history cuz we love listening to him tell stories :)

[@kalosprismatic]

Seconded!

[@crewie94]

Thirded! He may be the most enjoyable human to listen to speaking about Magic. Closely followed by Lord Kenobi...but he's British like myself and we have the curse of proper speaking. Some shit just sounds better in Mericanadian.

[@Desslosh]

Thirded!

[@necrosylum.l3013]

Yeah I would love to listen to that!

[@lucio356]

Vouch

[@notmyrealnamesorry3118]

The greatest villain is wizards themselves

[@PlatinumScales]

Came here just for this

[@mtgzone4298]

Disagree

[@mtgzone4298]

@@justinclement5417 they care about their customers, they also have to care about making as good of a profit as they can, the only time I can remember them outright lying is with the double masters vip, which they made up for by giving free packs

[@mtgzone4298]

@@justinclement5417 it's funny to see how mad you are getting about this, if you don't like wizards don't buy from them it's not like you need magic cards, obviously double masters 2022 is going to be $300 plus and I like it that way, I want my cards to have value, instead of a couple dollar noble hierarch due to a cheap box

[@mtgzone4298]

@@justinclement5417 you can get a $200 Sorin and a $100 plus Olivia in crimson vow draft and set packs, I do get that the company isn't perfect and more transparency is always better, but it doesn't mean they are consistently trying to screw us over because if their focus was to piss us off then they would start losing a lot more money, they might be making decisions that favor them though which makes sense to me, even though I wouldn't want it in a perfect world, honestly I think collector packs need to be more exclusive if they stick around otherwise there should be set boxes and then draft boxes

[@spagandhi]

Urza being the greatest villain is reflected cleverly with his effect on the table, where he becomes the archenemy immediately

[@holdingspace]

Which urza card is this?

[@mr.c8101]

@holdingspace urza lord high artificer of course

[@ryanschultz9037]

Pshh, Walking Ballista is the perfect machine.

[@GrimTEAM]

I love the concept of Nicol Bolas but I cant take him seriously because "Bolas" means "Balls" in spanish and just saying his name makes me giggle

[@rKhael53]

Don't worry, Nicole is a feminine first name in french. Mostly archetype of fifty or sixty years old women. In most case, the Nicole are unpleasant and annoying. In other less current case, they are slightly nymphomaniac.

[@GrimTEAM]

@@rKhael53 it's also a teenager name in Argentina. So it's like this dragon's name is Teenager girl name balls

[@mayayamato7351]

nicol balls

[@TomLouvat]

@@rKhael53 Nicole could be the french version of Karen, now that I think of it

[@twinotter1000]

Las bolas de Nico jajajajjaa that is funny

[@TierZoo]

this was a really cool video

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Thanks friend!

[@aaroncorsini6165]

No way you like mtg dude.... I love your Videos so much!

[@VerrouSuo]

my love of tierzoo grows

[@danw.1250]

Tierzoo, can you do a video on the MTG meta's most fearsome beast: The Monkeh Ragavan?

[@alexanderficken9354]

@@danw.1250 Only if you can afford the 400 dollar playset

[@nicksnrub7265]

The greatest villain is my friend, Josh, who keeps loading his commander decks with targeted removal and infect then asking me to play one on one.

[@mattybbg6850]

Break him with a counter and mill deck. #Nomercy.

[@VydeoGramesJunk]

Yeah, Josh deserves Tergrid.

[@balangaz]

Josh deserves to get Geist of Saint Traft-ed and have his lands boomeranged to oblivion

[@aceundead4750]

Id be his friend, i love infect

[@Trockenmatt]

.... Wait a minute. Have I played against Josh?

[@dyeremin]

I've always thought that Urza hated Phyrexia so much not because they "corrupted" his brother, but because they made Mishra into one of their biomechanical soldiers and ultimately stole his victory over his brother from him. He didn't beat his brother, he beat a tool of Phyrexia, and he was nearly incapable of forgiving that sleight...until he saw the glory of Phyrexia and Yawgmoth's vision firsthand.

[@Kardur_Wrath_of_the_Abyss]

Agreed

[@justsomeguy28]

I was shocked to see Yawgmoth at #2 until i saw who was at #1. Well played Prof!

[@arrowstrike1174]

"The Tolarian Academy kidnapped the brightest children from the realm." says the Tolarian Community College.

[@thephyrexian9664]

What's the prof up to... 🧐🤣

[@jamesrowell901]

So did the Jedi........ >.>

[@274pacific]

The community college doesn’t get up to the same shenanigans as the high-fallutin’ Academy

[@jacob4920]

@@274pacific Yes, only the wealthiest, and most corrupt, have what it takes to attend the ACADEMY! The Community College, on the other hand, is relegated to the mediocre students, just as it is on our own Plane of Earth.

[@maxdixonman]

The tolarian community college kidnapped the kind of bright but doesn't want to go into debt children from across the realm

[@Ohjeezhesbad]

Prof: "I want to make a really fun lore video" WOTC: "We can make secret lairs on this"

[@Nick-sx4nn]

I would not mind Secret Lair: Nicol Bolas

[@wadewilson5712]

Secret Lair : mtg youtubers , wonder if they would be just legendary or planes walkers ?

[@thebuthcer123]

Wotc could care less about lore lol

[@Thavleifrim]

@@wadewilson5712 I think if they wanted to do down that path commander precons would be better than cards

[@zacharyhiggins4947]

Yo I'd LOVE a villains secret lair series

[@TheOuroboros84]

I always liked Yawgmoth the best honestly, the aesthetics of Phyrexia is what drew me to the game at 13. The sheer body horror and the fact he is still a menace from beyond the grave is litterally what makes him the worst threat to the planes. And to think a mere physician turned into THE black mana god of the multiverse.

[@Tyrese-Townsend]

And the fact his presence is still felt through the current sets makes me him that more menacing as the god of black mana

[@reidyo5404]

I’m definitely looking forward to brothers war, maybe we will work our way back to phyrexia

[@SquawkBox13]

Also, long before the new Praetors compleated a planeswalker.... Yawgmoth, while still a human, essentially just screw driver lobotomized an old school power level planeswalker to use her as his personal transport between Dominaria and the plane he would turn into Phyrexia.

[@jojotheswede8444]

ah yes, the planeswalker-inator

[@cernunnos8344]

Who was that planeswalker ?

[@SquawkBox13]

@@cernunnos8344 i was apparently misremembering that he used her as transport after. He did experiment on her trying to figure out how to planeswalk, but that plan never succeeded.

[@dylansylvester4719]

​@@cernunnos8344 it was Dyfed iirc

[@poenpotzu2865]

​@cernunnos8344 I believe it was Dyfed, they never got a card.

[@Pintyhet]

I always imagine think of that line from 99 in regards to Urza: “Cool motive, still murder.”

[@DavidFernandez-vt3qn]

Only you could tell the story of Baron Sengir well enough to convey just how much of a corrupting infection he is. This got my thumbs up.

[@kirbyjoe7484]

Sengir really was a nasty piece of work and although incredibly vile and evil I'm not sure he deserves a spot as one of the greatest villains. This is a bold list he's come up with but I think it really needs to be broken into two separate lists. Greatest Villian and Most Vile and Evil Villain are not the same things. Urza, for instance, doesn't deserve a spot on the vilest and most evil list outside of an honorable mention, but he does deserve a spot as one of the greatest and the inverse is true for Sengir. Yawgmoth on the other hand deserves to be very highly ranked on both. Bolas should be near the top for greatest, and mid-rank for most vile and evil. I'm a bit surprised Volrath didn't make the list.

[@The-Shadow-Realm]

“The Tolarian Academy was a training ground for Child Soldiers” I’ll never look at “Tolarian Academy” the same way again! 😂

[@joebaumgart1146]

In all honesty though. What I love about MTG is that the cards themselves tell a story. No other TCG that I'm aware of has the cards follow the lore and media it puts out so well. You can literally see every stage of all the legendary beings in card form. Nicol Bolas as a Dragon God can use everyone's abilities as in this form he's stolen nearly everyone's Spark. Bruna and Gisela have their Protector form, and their horrible fates as cards. I really love that about this game and if I like a character, I'll try to collect all of their cards.

[@calebanderson6193]

Answer: Wizards of the coast

[@poptalgia9653]

This

[@poptalgia9653]

But it’s really hasbro

[@Peachpistol]

Coming soon, Thanos.

[@antonskor8127]

@@poptalgia9653 It’s both cause wotc wasn’t the best even before they got bought by hasbro

[@willemboele2079]

you stole my joke

[@dendostar5436]

New Magic Player: “So Urza was a good guy?” Me: “Well…”

[@GirlPainting]

its complicted....

[@Eric_The_Cleric]

Well yes but actually no!

[@dendostar5436]

@@Eric_The_Cleric AND THE PHYREXIANS ARE STILL HERE.

[@Eric_The_Cleric]

@@dendostar5436 shhhhh we don't talk about them because obviously if we ignore the threat it doesn't exist and will go away!!!

[@dendostar5436]

@@Eric_The_Cleric Lol we have 7000 texts from Koth asking what’s taking so long…

[@RoastedPheasant]

At the start I was like "Urza's gotta be on this list", but as the number got higher and higher I found myself so enthralled by your storytelling that I wound up forgetting.

[@RossCampoli]

This video is an incredible primer for just how deep the lore of Magic is. This is a better on-boarding for the lore than anything Wizards has done in recent memory. Tremendous work, Prof! I know this video was likely a huge undertaking, but I could watch a whole series of lore videos like these! I learned so much by having each applicable card onscreen with the contextual story beat. Excellent!

[@brunopereira6789]

I cannot stress enough how much I love Urza's story. It's truly a masterpiece of nuanced writing. He was a savior and a destroyer, hero and villain, good and bad.

[@willgary8792]

It really is an amazing story and character arc, and not just for magic, but storytelling in general....

[@josephrosenthal9290]

Entirely agree, but most vile? I disagree with that title. Ego and selfishness to that level is evil indeed, however, I believe even Nicol Bolas is far more vile with the focused destruction for self gain as a result if that's how we describe vile. Maybe Prof is saying "In all the damage done to the Multiverse..." then maybe I can see that? But even in some of his stories I view Urza as the necessary evil.

[@CubeApril]

I've (somewhat embarrassingly) watched more of your videos than I would care to admit, but I think this may be your best video yet. Excellent work, Prof. :)

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

My own greatest nemesis comes into my domain and offers such high praise? Kind words? What scheme is she plotting?

[@TrevorJust]

Agree, this video should be adapted by WotC as their official (History of MTG Vid)

[@KR-nd4dm]

@@TolarianCommunityCollege Oh, that's easy. She's gonna blow up all your lands.

[@burnsboy101]

What’s embarrassing about watching his videos?

[@daredewley9231]

I took a solid guess as to why April would like this video. I made it to the #1 slot and i was right 😁

[@Mrquib]

As a player that hasn't gotten to the lore. This video has really sparked my interest in knowing more. Keep these coming.

[@Gdohhhrzzzz]

I started playing when Volrath was the main man. I loved that guy. "The fatal flaw in every plan is the assumption that you know more than your enemy". What a boss!

[@JoeCamarillo]

+1 Volrath

[@oberondargos5465]

I remember reading the novels as a kid and going through Urza phases: "Hell yeah, Urza!" "Urza..." "URZAH, NO!" "Hell yes, Urza!!" "URZA, YES!" He was never a hero, he just so happened to do some greater good (mostly questionable) while following his own selfish path. Such a great character. Still love the guy to this day.

[@higherpowergaming5479]

If i want to read his story where should i start?

[@oberondargos5465]

@@higherpowergaming5479 Start with "The Brothers War" then if you can go all the way to "Apocalypse" you can get a full Urza and The Weatherlight crew experience. I really wish WotC would do novels for every set again and include them in the bundles. That used to be the a great highlight when I was a kid.

[@johnj4471]

@@higherpowergaming5479 The actual books? The Artifact Cycle books starting with The Brothers' War. You could also read "The Thran" to get an idea of Glacian and Yawgmoth which are essential parts to Urza's story.

[@_somerandomguyontheinternet_]

@@higherpowergaming5479 the Brothers’ War. I found it at a Half-Price Books and am currently reading the series through.

[@Bladezeromus]

Urza's saga is almost comical in how much damage he causes. Like when him being on Serra's plane caused oil and phyrexians to overtake it and he came back later with the Weatherlight and saw what had become of the place since he was last there. Dude's initial response was almost literally "Aight... we gonna head out. My B, gurl." Urza had to be convinced to evacuate some of the survivors. And when you think about it, Urza is the reason that Nicol Bolas is such a big problem. If Urza hadn't been fucking with time travel, reality wouldn't have been fucking broken, the mending would have been unnecessary, and Bolas and every other Walker would still be nigh- omnipotent beings of energy and thought. Bolas could be off somewhere on his own plane subjugating his own people if Urza hadn't fucked it all up.

[@danielhuertasg9021]

Actually I would argue that the greatest villain in MTG is none other than Hasbro, Greed Incarnate

[@jonvega9385]

I was waiting for that plot twist at the end

[@bear_6875]

Honestly surprised that wasn't the top of the list. Excellent vid tho.

[@kenfrmcape2355]

No, its the woke SJWs that force companies to pander to them and can't accept not everything is about them.

[@egregius9314]

@@kenfrmcape2355 You don't see how they're destroying the game we love by pushing release after release, powercreeping with chase cards?

[@BCWasbrough]

@@egregius9314 I kinda doubt Ken sees anything clearly.

[@darkmoose84]

I actually recently used Emrakul in my Curse of Strahd campaign. One of the Yester Hill druids opened a portal to Innistrad but opened it on the moon instead. The druids then went mad hearing her and mutated into Eldrazi horrors, while Eldrazi spawn poured out of the portal. It wasn’t an easy fight for my players. (I was gonna have Sigarda show up in case they couldn’t handle it, but they turned out okay, if a bit maimed and mentally shaken).

[@1krani]

How does one play a campaign with MtG cards?

[@pokejeenios]

@@1krani DnD has mtg books you can use along with lore knowledge to do campaigns

[@bfeldz1023]

I really would love to see a set that involves Marit Lage as a main threat. Hell, it could even be the focus of the set that Marit Lage is at war with Emrakul (post moon release) and it could be a great way to show a distinct difference between them.

[@joshuaboniface]

I'm really getting the vibe that Marit *is* an Eldrazi, but in the sense that Nicol is an Elder Dragon: the exiled one, only unlike Bolas, she lost to Emrakul and was "trapped" on Dominaria. Would love to see that conflict!

[@ProfessorAragorn]

When you ranked Yawgmoth 2nd, I knew you were gonna go for the twist with Urza. I think Yawgmoth's worse. Urza is an asshole, but Yawgmoth is a despicable, vile being who committed incalculable horrors on individuals just to make them suffer. Urza manipulated people to get what he wanted and then got bored and developed a new obsession he manipulated and screwed people over for. Urza is a sociopath. Yawgmoth is a psychopath. Also, I really appreciate this discourse in mtg lore. It's probably one of the best lore videos out there because it goes into detail on some of the oldest sets.

[@HelloTuno]

I agree and by that logic I would probably put Urza third, behind Bolas that is also pure evilness in search of power.

[@sethusk]

In my opinion, yours is the correct opinion.

[@TheArcSet]

An interesting take. One thing to consider might be, in terms of those who's actions broke the multiverse, ending countless worlds before the mending could stall it's death, Urza is a quite likely number 2, at least of those still recorded by history. If you weigh in consequences as well as intent, Urza likely beats out Bolas, with only his heir exceeding him; though I guess you can say that, like Teferi, he couldn't have dreamt of how far his actions would reverberate, though all 3 knew that there would be consequences, mostly paid for by others.

[@lloydlineske2642]

I agree that it should be Urza, Bolas, and Yaggybaby as 3,2,1 respectfully. Urza was trying to do the right thing. Bolas and Yagmoth both had power and destruction on their minds. Bolas did far less damage than the Mothman. I feel like picking number 1 Urza was more for shock value. Which by my records makes lists discreditable. Please don't do this in the future.

[@DaDunge]

But he's our sociopath and if they did some time shenanigans and brought him back for a set we'd all cheer.

[@PawelCizi]

This video actually makes for a great primer on how to extract the story from the cards. If you pause and read the flavor text, the name of the card, the abilities... it all comes together. Of course, this takes time to do. By attending Tolarian Community College, you can save time as your prof does this for you! Thanks!

[@grimtrix]

Or you could read the books... ;)

[@Masteroftheweb]

Or you could read the Wiki... ;)

[@enokimaru]

Or you could read... ;)

[@EvanSilvia]

This was the most amazing magic the gathering video of all time. Wizards PAY ATTENTION. THIS is what we want, the huge lore to flourish and be made easily available, not fortnite secret lairs.

[@SheffieldsPark]

Amazing video. I've long had thoughts about Urza like this, that a lot of the worst things to ever happen to the Multiverse were ultimately all his fault, but I didn't actually expect anyone to agree and then break it down so convincingly and succinctly. I hope your holidays are going well, Prof. Keep well and take care.

[@clayxros576]

To me (and my very limited understanding of Magic lore) Urza and Yawgmoth are the same. Yawgmoth threw out his humanity way earlier, certainly, but Urza acted in such selfish and downright petty ways that elevates him towards Yawgmoth's level. When you're no longer organic, and you hated being and seeing organics because they are "weaker", it doesn't take a logical leap to do as Yawgmoth did. Especially with his power. Urza's Plane nuke, Brother's war, and straight up cannibalizing other allied Planeswalkers.....I fail to see why Urza was painted as a hero at all. You seem well versed in lore. Is it true that Urza turned towards the Phyrexians in the end?

[@jettblade]

Been playing for years and never thought of Urza as a villain but yeah he's done terrible things. I think one of the greatest achievements Nico Bolas has was getting Bontu, the traitor gator, on his side.(honestly just wanted to say "traitor gator")

[@joshuayee8374]

Uh, seems pretty easy to sway the god of ambition lol

[@Zanzibawrr]

Because he’s not a villain, despite his horrible actions. To him it was all a means to an end, which was defeating phyrexia. He fought fire with fire and ultimately proved the victor.

[@jettblade]

@@Zanzibawrr But before Phyrexia he fought a war that caused tons of collateral damage over a trinket. That level of selfishness does lean him toward villainous. He never did the right thing because it was right. It was to an end that benefited him. He isn't evil just selfish.

[@Zanzibawrr]

@@jettblade and yawgmoth crippled entire nations with his plagues, infiltrated and ultimately took control of the thran political sphere all in order to gain power, murdered or imprisoned his opposition, and in the end he caused the fall of the thran empire. All before phyrexia became a thing.

[@DrewskiTheLegend]

That’s what makes Urza one of the most complex characters in magic lore. This new wave of planeswalker storytelling feels like Marvel movies in terms of depth, which I’m sure is part of the reason the story is at an all time low popularity-wise. Urza is an interesting character, and Yawgmoth is a pretty solid villain.

[@aintijustthecutest3863]

I was totally confused as to who could have topped Nicol Bolas and Yawgmoth, but your analysis of Urza was convincingly spot on! For what is a better villain, but someone who opposes and contradicts everything he stood for. He lived too long... long enough to see himself become the villain. I would love to see a part 2 of this, but for heroes this time. 👍

[@noneofyourbusiness4133]

Obviously, the greatest villian is “The Planeswalker” that each MtG player represents, for it is them that ultimately is the one for whom all of these atrocities are done, just so we can feel the hero when we triumph.

[@jameshill2450]

I feel like this was the overarching plot of the Gull & Greensleeves trilogy

[@bfeldz1023]

Then wouldn't WotC be the real main villains for facilitating this circumstance in the first place?

[@ildathet]

@@bfeldz1023 tbh they are basically gods that enforced tragedies to make interesting characters for us to enjoy, so yes ?

[@RolfeSenpai]

@@ildathet Couldn’t we just say that about any author though?

[@ich3730]

woah so edgy, so new, so smart!

[@retrogameweekly6571]

(Dis) Honorable Mention : VOLRATH I've always been interested in this character and hoped he would somehow make a comeback. Wouldn't mind seeing him as a Planeswalker.

[@Eric_The_Cleric]

It'd certainly be nice to get a reprint of Volrath's Stronghold along with another card depicting him.

[@Dre2Dee2]

Yeah I dont know how he got skipped over. He is absolutely wretched. He experiments on people, tortures them, turns them into monsters and will throw em away like nothing when he's bored. Everyone and the world they inhabit are expendable ingredients to his laboratory. He's basically Magic's Mister Sinister

[@Eric_The_Cleric]

@@Dre2Dee2 likely because he falls under the "yeah phyrexians are bad but their main man Yawgmoth is the real problem" umbrella.

[@TheComicBookJoker]

@@Dre2Dee2 Because he was ultimately a servant of Yawgmoth, so like the Praetors after him, Volrath’s crimes fall upon Yawgmoth’s shoulders.

[@camerons6028]

fun fact: Volrath isn't a he, Volrath is a she.

[@eidtelnvil]

#2 - Yawgmoth "What?! Should've been number one, this list is inaccurate." #1 - Urza "... Okay, yeah, you're right." Fantastic video, hope to see more Vorthos ones from this channel.

[@cablefeed3738]

Urza is not worse than Yawgmoth, worse than Nicol Bolas definitely. Yowgmoth was a Statistic Narcissistic Sociopath. Urza on the other hand was only a Narcissistic Sociopath.

[@Zanzibawrr]

No he’s not right. No matter how horrible urza is, it pales in comparison with yawgmoth and phyrexia.

[@rdgcury]

@@Zanzibawrr and phyrexia was defeated by Bolas and his servants, so I really can't see the reasoning behind Bolas being third other than bias. He also is eternal, which none of the top 2 are. It's obvious Wizards meant Bolas to be the bad guy above all. But, I guess the professor did not want it to be so obvious.

[@EmperorPylades]

@@rdgcury Because while Bolas has chalked up a list of atrocities that is best measured in kilonazis, his end goal was ultimately supreme power, and feeding his multiverse-sized ego. Yawgmoth already had supreme power, effectively being a deity: his end goal was simply unspeakable suffering and atrocity for its own sake. Old Phyrexia was nine spheres of cyborg-zombie filled, industrial torture factory hell: biological weapons testing labs are located on levels 666 - 790, the genocide mills are below there. And the whole thing is self perpetuating and sustaining via the oil. As the Professor pointed out, New Phyrexia, with its distinct blend of religous, body and medical horror, is a direct product of his efforts. And the Machine Orthodoxy still worships him, even if they don't actually realise it.

[@chanic4621]

@@cablefeed3738 nothings worse than statistics

[@ggmikebee]

This was incredible. I love the magic lore but lost track of it long ago. +1 vote for more videos like this.

[@niXonc0x]

This is so well done. So many cards being used throughout, makes it all feel so closely tied to the game. Great writing here, great editing and delivery.

[@edfreeman4202]

I'm glad to see you highlighting Urza's past on this list, though hero is a title he carries, his flaws and faults are what really gave him character depth.

[@Cyberium]

Agreed. Most modern writings dare not to have someone as complicated (and amoral) as Urza to be the protagonist. He's definitely not a hero though, he just happened to commit something beneficial for Dominaria (for a time) while doing his own thing.

[@EmperorPylades]

He did heroic things, and was absolutely the protagonist. He was NOT the good guy though; someone who did even a quarter of the things he did in his mad campaign of vengeance could be the villain of any number of stories. Really, his only justification was that the target of his rage was something unimaginably worse.

[@trdl23]

Absolutely. A tragic hero in the classical sense. I've loosely based my D&D villain off him, and it's gone wonderfully.

[@edfreeman4202]

@@trdl23 That's an awesome and super creative idea for a villain!

[@xRedz11029]

I’m convinced the eldrazi aren’t evil by nature, but are essential for the creation of new life on all the planes. Granted their creation occurring on planes that have life make em seem that way

[@Sakura_Matou]

They are not evil as you said, they are like Lovecraft's gods which they are based on.

[@bodaciouschad]

@@Sakura_Matou Yeah yeah I'm not evil for strionic resonancing my ahnihilator triggers

[@Bladius_]

There is no cycle of creation with Eldrazi, they eat mana, end of. Nothing new can sprout from the void they leave behind, even the other Eldrazi are made from the consumed mana not the remaining landscapes. The lower ones are simple strip miners and processors to consume faster. They consume and want to make everything into Eldrazi, we know at the very least Emrakul wants everyone to "follow her". We have seen no hint of anything else. They likely don't have a concept of "Evil" though, or a very different one to our's; so you're right there.

[@plaxy100]

In dnd terms they do not fall under evil. They are Chaos Incarnant. And beyond mortal understanding. In real terms there no more evil than an erupting Volcano or category 5 hurricane.

[@EmperorPylades]

I figured they have all the morality of a natural disaster. Their mere existence unbinds mana around them after all.

[@ColorwaveCraftsCo]

Please do more lore videos like this!! I started playing Magic fairly recently (2019), and the older lore really interests me 😀

[@phillippaulbauer5830]

Definitely more of this please. I love the lore and really enjoy when someone does the legwork to connect dots for us so we might appreciate the breadth of it.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

More to come!

[@raphsere]

Remember students: "Villain" is *not* synonymus with "Antagonist", just like "Hero" is not synonymus with "Protagonist". Edit: To get a little more in-depth, the difference is that antagonist and protagonist are descriptions of narrative roles, the function a character serves within a story's structure, with the protagonist being its focus, the character whose actions drive the story forward, and the antagonist being any character that opposes the protagonist in their endavours. "Hero" and "Villain" meanwhile are moral descriptions, values judgments made on the actions or ethos of characters within a story. Interestingly, that judgment can either intradiegetic (the character is presented as such by the narrative itself) or extradiegetic (the audience makes a moral judgment that isn't present in the narrative, or directly opposes one that is present, like interpreting a villain as heroic, or a hero as a villain). The reason those terms are often considered synonymous is that the protagonist tends to also be the hero of the story (there are many reasons why that is), and villains tend to also be antagonists in their stories (though the fact that a story can contain as many villains as it wants means that there's much more leeway in that case).

[@aceundead4750]

Video games have taught me that. A lot of war video games have you play as the actual villain all while making you think you're the hero until the end

[@kaiser776_]

Looking at you Funny Valentine

[@raphsere]

@@kaiser776_ Why does everyone forget Funny tried to rape a 14 years old girl?

[@jaketorbeck]

Course evaluations are in: Fantastic rundown. Prof makes learning fun.

[@MetPhD]

That was amazing! I’m so glad we still get content like this.

[@MTGJosh]

This is really well put together, bit like a mini documentary. Informative and a great way to fill my lore-gaps! Best video yet!

[@jaypatton217]

Just wanna say thank you and that I appreciate you making this video. I’m still new to MtG and one of the things that I enjoy about it is the lore. I will definitely be watching this later. Kudos 👍🏽👍🏽

[@ryanousley6939]

This video highlights why Magic's story is so important. I built my Marsil deck because I love swiss army creatures, but actually hearing his story made me immediately look to see if I could work in some vorthos cards. This was a very interesting video, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves based on the work and passion that clearly went into making it.

[@VexylObby]

It's actually kind of cool how some of the wands and rings actually fit into that deck too.

[@stephenr465]

Story really seems to be thrown aside because we've just thrown lord of the rings, walking dead, stranger things. Not that I don't enjoy other franchises, I just don't need them in MTG? Because MTG is good on its own.

[@clayxros576]

I'd argue story and lore is exceptionally important in any self respecting game, card and video. MTG has had a track record of following that rather loosely over the years, with choice cards acting as the lore sinks. Recently.....the cards have directly countered canon (though by Recently I mean War of the Spark) or held details which were empty without context provided by outside sources. The old lore I will admit is quite well made though, so it is definitely a more modern trend that Wizards have dropped their effort towards lore.

[@vert2048]

Wow, this video was SO amazing. Prof is an incredible storyteller. I was hooked the whole time.

[@brandondejong8080]

That was one of the most awesome episodes ive seen about any magic lore, make more like that, I gotta admit ive been playing the game since the early days but I never really looked too deep into the story, I love the use of actual cards to tell the story as well, very well done

[@yoav.kats6328]

One of the things I like about magic's story is that no one is simply just good or bad instead everyone have their own philosophy

[@Kool212]

I feel more recently Wotc has made an effort to draw clear lines of who's good and bad. Complex characters don't work as well when most of your audience don't really care beyond flavor text.

[@willgary8792]

@@Kool212 in general, I agree, but characters like Heliod and in a sense, Kaya, kinda fly in the face of that. Sorin is also an interesting n complex character, but in general I do agree with your sentiment, which is why Urza lore is best lore, cuz its never just good or bad

[@IAmebAdger]

I wouldn’t say no one

[@Pheebsgrease]

I think Tezzeret is slept on when it comes to one of the greatest threats in the current age of the multiverse. Frankly, all that was holding him back was his ties to his dark master, who is now discarded to a plane of exile. I get the feeling we will be seeing him next time we return to the plane of new phyrexia

[@Bladius_]

There's a good chance we're about to see him in Neon Dynasty. There's mention of a "man with a metal arm" as the person Kaito is chasing; but Kaito makes it very clear it's nothing like the metal arms he's seen on Kamigawa.

[@jakestyles002]

Well done. Excellently written and adding in the relevant cards was a top knotch touch. Thank you Prof and team for all your work.

[@ZozerChannel]

Story telling with the cards is such a great idea. Thank you for such an awesome vid prof. :)

[@DeadBodyMan]

Fantastic presentation with well presented arguments for each entry. Got to admit I was both surprised and also pleased to see the ruthless Urza in the top spot. Good science fiction has neither heroes nor villains really but just protagonists and antagonists. Life’s choices are always complex. It’s nice when that’s addressed. Reality, unfortunately is full of villains.

[@777CrimsonChaos]

It really is incredible just how much devastation both Yawgmoth and Urza inflicted, to the point that their meddling would set in motion the events that would cause the very rifts that would necessitate the need for the Mending in the first place. They literally almost succeeded in breaking down the very fabric of the multiverse itself, and now with the Mending it will never be the same again.

[@blindey]

I'm reading the books and that's a lot of musing about Timestreams. How Urza would rather go back in time and remake everything (and basically kill everyone in the world, in a sense) in order to try to right the rise of the phyrexians and all thus his own failures and actions.

[@Philospectrum]

Thank you for the tour. It was masterfully written and entertaining :)

[@moderndayknight2663]

This was amazing!! I would love to see an in depth look at Kamahl and Jeska! One of my favorite story lines.

[@cyrusalva9914]

i frickin love this channel! just really getting into magic and this man oozes charisma and his passion for magic and and the lore is unmatched! I don't know what any of this video really meant but i stuck through the entire 25 minutes cuz he makes it sound interesting. Subbed.

[@shadowseeker24]

I love these more lore focused videos- it shows a new angle to the game we love! Hope you have time to do more of these if you have the time!

[@canadianchamp1980]

thank you so much for taking your time to do the video, i really enjoyed it.

[@JRJigsawyer]

This was so cool! I'm not much of an mtg lore guy but this was so well done and the Prof really shines doing these. Bravo.

[@niedude]

Professor, this was vastly entertaining. It's causing me to want to do a deep dive or Urza's lore. Please do some more lore videos focusing on magic characters, events, or any other part of the story!

[@willgary8792]

There's some really good videos on Urzas lore out there, Fantasy Geographic, Mtg Untapped, lorebrarians, mtg lore seeker...I've listened to the Fantasy Geographic ones numerous times, just so good

[@william7546]

Yawgmoth, the father of machines has always been to me the greatest. He felt like a god not like the gods of theros or amonketh or kaldheim but something more. Pre mending walkers weren't a threat to him, he, a coalition lead by a man genetically bred for generations was needed to end him along with a weapon with the power to decimate worlds. The idea that the preators could make him anew on new phyrexia should have the gatewatch trembling in thier boots, but they dont know, they only face little nicol bolas who "tried" to become a god.

[@ziiraeal_media3657]

I would say, however, that Nicol Bolas is more powerful Magically and Physically than Yawgmoth. There's no doubt that Ugin, his Dragon Offspring and the entirety of the Multiverse' Planeswalkers would have laid waste to Yawgmoth, and Od Phyrexia.

[@joelestrada6795]

@@ziiraeal_media3657 Ugin is Bolas's twin brother not offspring. And yawgmoth was prettyuch equal to any Planeswalker at the Time. He had genetically enhanced his body with black magic for thousands of years. That's why Urza needed other Planeswalker just to have a chance at defeating him. One of Yawgmoth's generals almost killed Urza, Gix.

[@william7546]

@@joelestrada6795 i think he was refer to ugins babies, but you i agree with you i think a lot of mtg newcomers dpnt realize the power difference between old walkers and post mending walkers. Bolas was furious about the mending because he lost an insane amount of power, the war of the spark was in part and effort to regain that, he hoped enough sparks would make him whole again. (I could be wrong on that bit of lore i dont remember.where i read it). Anyways point is, Yawgmoth could hold back urza and other old walkers, he would absolutely have wiped the floor with the gatewatch (as much as i like them) its like debating precrisis superman vs new heroes...

[@jorgel.quiroz8862]

If they ever decide to bring back Yawgmoth to fight the Gatewatch I hope Teferi is leading the charge, otherwise they are beyond screwed.

[@joelestrada6795]

@@william7546 yeah, everything Bolas has done pre mending was to get his OG Planeswalker power back. People forget the pre mending Planeswalker spark made you a multiversal god. Planeswalker's we're making planes for fun. They were only limited to their imagination.

[@theemeraldboars484]

Your outro to this is on my museum playlist and I wigged out for minute

[@LiveLife2TheFullest1010]

Professor, I absolutely loved this video! Excellent work! This is the best lore like video I have watched. Your story telling is masterful & mixed with your background music creates an enthralling experience. I hope that you will make more of these type of videos. 🙂

[@Nachotaco101]

I think you should do more lore based videos like this more often, I really enjoyed this.

[@bluekeeper12]

This video taught me so much lore so quickly! And all of the tie-ins with past cards were an excellent addition. Thank you for the wonderful video Prof!

[@darkdrake222]

This was your best production yet keep up the great work.

[@santanaestis7237]

Wow I really enjoyed this video !! Thanks for the amazing narration and list. I should’ve expected #1.But I was still surprised

[@Locustnism]

The professor needs to do a lore series. That being said I miss the ones from Wedge

[@loganboehnlein2738]

Bruh I just miss Wedge 😭

[@BRand-oz9lu]

MTG has imperfect but really fun lore. It feels like WOTC doesn't really respect it and that makes me a little sad. Your video was great! Really fun way to present the stories.

[@centuriesamvs4565]

We need more videos like this! Also you have a great voice for commentary.

[@TheRunningChopsticks]

Professor I do not know if you will see this but I really love this content being more on the lore side in this video and opening my interest to the history of MTG storyline. Thanks for your hard work and creative spirit.

[@natezabinski5615]

Bold choice of a top 3. I never knew about Marit Lage's deal; she sounds fascinating! Definitely going to make her the BBEG on my next Ravnica campaign.

[@qwcew]

If you're planning on making a Ravnica campaign and have some money to spare, I suggest finding copies of the MtG comics by BOOM!. They take place primarily on Ravnica (post an AU War of the Spark) and may cover other aspects of interest.

[@in_the_wake]

I was betting on Yawgmoth, but you make a compelling case for Urza. Still not convinced he was worse, but yeah, not a great dude.

[@DinoBoy31]

This video is awesome, very clean break down of MTG lore. Can't help but love it!

[@bushwookie357]

I know it’s an old video, but I love the story telling! You do an awesome job prof! Sitting here listening while I fold laundry.

[@nikos731]

I am getting tired of all that "Urza was no better than Yawgmoth or Mishra and was actually evil" (the usual cliche "the hero is not different from the villain") propaganda that Wizards makes these days that this video follows. It is plainly obvious for whoever reads books like The Brothers War that Urza basically was just responding to everything Mishra did (like you know, destroying the city of Kroog, trying to take Urza's wife, killing the ruler of Kroog, siding with the Phyrexians, etc). I would also like to mention that in Argoth, Urza welcomed the messangers of Titania, trying to form an alliance with her, while Mishra just burned the same messangers alive with his Dragon Machines. And the only reason he activated the Cylex (mind you, Mishra sacrificed himself trying to give him time to do so) was to stop the Phyrexians (Gix was unstoppable up to that point). Was he cold? Sure he was. But "Not telling Barrin that his daughter was dead" was more Batmanlike cold and CERTAINLY not evil. Especially since Barrin was needed for the war vs Phyrexia. Was there bad writing in Urza? Sure there was. The whole Tevesh Szat case was cringe at best. If Urza was good, he would have never allowed him and if he was evil, he would need no justification to use him as a bomb battery. Was he manipulated by Yawgmoth? Sure he did. And it caused the dead of Teysir. But Gerrard was ALSO manipulated by Yawgmoth (Yawgmoth was a total badass and he could manipulate everyone) and he is still regarded as a hero. Urza's plans and sacrifice saved Dominaria and proved that, in the end, he was right. Teferi himself admitted it many times. I get the "We should give the entire spotlight to Jace and friends", but that doesnt mean we should not recognise the greatness of the heros of the past. And Urza was the greatest hero magic's past has to offer.

[@Dre2Dee2]

URZA DID NOTHING WRONG 👍👍👍

[@nikos731]

Please. Urza+Winter Orb is basically a combo

[@MechaTheSpider]

I really hope they keep Marit Lage separate from Eldrazi, it really plays up the fact that it's somehow beyond them, beyond everything, and retains that sorta unknowable threat that comes with the unexplained.

[@JackTheRipper4ever]

Well if the new comics are any indication, she's solidified as being from the Blind Eternities, but not eldrazi. So that's nice 😄

[@hafrikken4593]

Amazing video! I really hope you can do more theme based lore like this from now on, really enjoyed it!

[@kathybrumley8935]

I'd love to see you do more with the lore! Really enjoyed this video!

[@marcusonisor4551]

I love how the card game has art that hints to things.

[@Arrowatch]

It's one of MTG's great successes. Very early, they began implying as much as much or more than they state.

[@JustforKikX]

I feel like it's either Yawgmoth or The Raven Man. Honestly though, MtG has so many cool characters; when I got into the game a few years ago I mostly ignored the lore. Been reading up a bunch and buying the books recently. Super fun mythos.

[@thatman8848]

Raven man...now thats a story that needs a conclusion!

[@eatachodeutube]

What an amazing video! Would love more deep lore from Magic's past!

[@teunfish9189]

19:53 : "What horrors has Elesh Norn actually done so far?" That aged well.

[@funnymcfunfuns1455]

Baron Sengir was my exciting pull of all time way back in the day out of a $1 Homelands booster pack. I would love to see him return as a major villain.

[@Rj-fw6dd]

i want to be a vampire because of him and lestat back in the day lol

[@franciscomuro8427]

Urza truly is the greatest villain in all of Magic's history. When you just hear his story it is not one of heroics but really is one of selfish revenge and an unwillingness to look at his own actions and hold himself responsible. He literally drove his brother to the phyrexians and is directly responsible for starting the brother's war when he tried to take the meek stone from Misha. I wholeheartedly agree that he is the single greatest villain because we are still living the consequences of his actions today. (Karn spreading that phyrexian oil, time rifts that led to the mending, which then cascaded into a whole bunch of ripples from there). I don't think we will have a greater villain who only ever saw himself as the hero in magic.

[@ziiraeal_media3657]

It may be undeniable, but the potential is there for Nicol Bolas and Yawgmoth with the aid of his Phyrexian plain to exceed the destructive-ness of Uzra himself.

[@jenslorbeer5307]

Great point! Urza lore is just the best, because it’s so deep as you’ve just pointed out

[@berryjon]

Urza is the best Villain in Magic, as in the end, you could sympathize with him, and we got to watch his fall, a long and hard fall to the bitter end.

[@angelofsolitude7951]

You're downplaying Mishra's own motivations, Mishra didn't approach the Phyrexians by Urza's actions either, he found one of their devices, which drew Gix's attention and then he accepted the counsel of the Priests of Gix. Mishra was also responsible for starting the Brother's War, and Mishra himself threw fuel on the fire when he tried to take the Mightstone by sleeping with Urza's wife, he weaponised the Fallaj people for his own purposes, that is not the actions of someone who seeks a third way and one is actively participating of their own volition with their own ambitions.

[@IAmebAdger]

I feel like you can call him the greatest and also a villain, but idk about greatest villain

[@mattpk1609]

Hey Prof this was an amazing video. i know Tierlists and countdowns are not the most delicate content out there but the amount of lore you packed into this video truly made me love it. Hope we get to see more. Maybe as simple as the greatest heroes, maybe most influencial gods or how about biggest/most powerful tribes. Memes aside i would love to hear about different merfolk tribes in this format.

[@danaburke3468]

Loved this! I have a bunch of the books and the lore about how Jana that task mage got her spark is different in your video than it is in the books. They must've reconned that, learned a lot of new lore though!

[@BadgerAmongMen]

Urza used to be good but he really lost his head later on

[@Mayberrymojo]

What a gift! This was amazing. Now, as a follow-up, I need a detailed breakdown of each villain's story. 😉

[@Xemnas248]

I love the music you choose for each entry

[@crilleedara]

Wow, Awesome vid Prof, totally did not expect Urza to end up on the no1 spot

[@luisenriquerodriguezherrea8173]

It was incredible!! Prof! More videos like this, please! It's awesome to hear your literary side! Keep doing great!

[@christopherb501]

Do wish Konda, Hidetsugu, Joven, Oona or Volrath had merited a mention. Am happy that Mairsil was given a spot on the list, tho.

[@thefinalsins]

I’d love for more lore videos from you or audio readings from the MTG story.

[@andreashenningsson2533]

Love these kinds of videos! Please do more!