As I write these words, it’s just one more day until Duskmourn previews begin in earnest. Players are eager to tear into the new horror-themed goodies the set promises to deliver. The story articles for the set, which have been released regularly in the run-up, have done a great job of building the anticipation.
When it comes to anticipating spoilers, Mark Rosewater’s traditional teaser is the first port of call. One of these teases promises a character from Alpha flavor text will be making their legendary creature debut in Duskmourn. This has understandably captured the imagination of players. Many are trying to deduce which character it is, leading to some very interesting discussions.
What Is The Mysterious Duskmourn Alpha Legendary?
“A character returns as a legendary creature that first appeared in flavor text in Alpha.”
Mark Rosewater
Immediately, this teaser is open to interpretation. Most agree that it means a character mentioned in flavor text in Alpha will be getting a legendary creature card in the set. After that, opinion branches, however. Some think the teaser refers to a brand-new, never-before seen legendary creature. Others are leaning more towards it being a character we’ve seen in card form before, but one that nevertheless was first mentioned in Alpha.
Over on the r/MagicTCG subreddit, Select-Switch1707 started a thread to speculate on who the Duskmourn Alpha legendary might be. Currently, it has over 180 comments so clearly, a lot of players are invested in the mystery. Their own submission was the ogre philosopher Gnerdel, who was mentioned in the original flavor text for Gray Ogre.
As mentioned above, it’s not 100% clear in the teaser whether the creature in question is one that has received a legendary creature card before. As TheW1ldcard puts it in the thread, “He said it’s a card that returns as a legendary, implying that it wasn’t before.” If we follow this logic, then it eliminates some of the more obvious suspects, leaving us with the likes of Najib from Dwarven Demolition Team or Justina from Wall of Swords. Given that all of these characters are pretty much complete unknowns, that seems unlikely, however.
The Likely Suspects
What’s much more likely is that the card being teased is a legend we have seen before. In Select-Switch1707’s thread, and in discussions on Twitter, some clear frontrunners for the Duskmourn Alpha legendary quickly emerged.
One that many have predicted is Norin the Wary. This character was mentioned in the flavor text for Alpha’s Jade Statue. He’s also a notorious coward in the lore, with his previous incarnation blinking out of play as soon as pretty much anything happens on the board. This would, in a humorous way, match Duskmourn perfectly. As Sithlordandsavior put it in the thread: “The most cowardly human in the game in a horror-themed set? I dig it.”
Others suspect Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, author of The Underworld Cookbook. Asmor made her debut in Modern Horizons 2, but she was originally referenced on Granite Gargoyle from Alpha. Setting-wise, it makes perfect sense for her to return in Duskmourn. A house needs a kitchen, after all, and she’s no stranger to demonic locales.
“Honestly i am hoping it’s Asmora just situating herself in a random boilerbilge basement preparing recipes for razorkin casserole and wickerfolk salad.”
Fist-Cartographer
In a bit of a deep cut, Jay Annelli suggested on Twitter that it could also be Caliphear, represented in Alpha as the original Nightmare before getting an official name later. We already know Duskmourn will have support for the Nightmare creature type, so this makes perfect sense. It’s also obscure enough to warrant the teaser, which Norin and Asmor fall slightly short of.
Whichever way it turns out, this teaser has proven an excellent focal point for community discussion. Though personally, I hope it is Norin. If only for the sheer comedy value that would provide.
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