Ever since the great desparkening at the end of 2023’s March of the Machine, a lot of Planeswalkers have gone missing. Not only are many of these beloved characters trapped on planes having lost the ability to planeswalk, but Wizards reduced the frequency they appeared. For a few years, we were only getting one Planeswalker per set, but that number has since been bumped up to two.
Even before many Planeswalkers were desparked, some classic characters have been surprisingly absent in MTG. Garruk, in particular, has been on a remarkably long sabbatical, considering he was one of the original Lorwyn five. Now, there’s finally hope that he might return in 2026. That being said, we have been burned before by overeager art speculation.
Garruk’s Back?!
Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast updated the website for this year’s MagicCon: Amsterdam. While details about this convention are still scarce, Wizards did give us some new art to admire. To put it bluntly, this artwork prominently features Garruk front and center, making him seem like an important key character.
Naturally, this makes the return of Garruk seem like an inevitability; however, nothing is technically guaranteed. This new art could simply be promotional art for the event, or even a reprint or promo card. Even if this is a new, mechanically unique MTG card featuring Garruk, it might not even be a legendary creature or Planeswalker.
Unfortunately, to make matters even more confusing, it’s hard to know when this hypothetical Garruk card might show up. With MagicCon: Amsterdam running from July 17th to 19th, there aren’t any Magic Multiverse sets being released near this date. Considering Secrets of Strixhaven will have been released long before, however, Reality Fracture seems like the only possible home.
Given Reality Fracture doesn’t release for 75 days after MagicCon: Amsterdam, the best we’d get is an early first look. In theory, this could still give us a proper glimpse at Garruk, but even that’s not guaranteed. As strange as it may seem, this art that clearly shows Garruk doesn’t mean that Garruk is going to return.
It’s All Ooze
Back in late 2024, Wizards released the Planeswalkers’ Guide to Aetherdrift, which clearly showed Garruk. In the very Ooze-heavy art of March of the World Ooze a Garruk-esque silhouette was clearly visible. Considering Garruk is believed to be from Muraganda, or is at least associated with the plane, his appearance seemed inevitable.
Once the spoiler season for MTG Aetherdrift rolled around, however, Garruk was conspicuously missing. In theory, the same thing could happen again in 2026, although that scenario does feel less likely this time. While Garruk was seemingly just in the background of March of the World Ooze, in this art, he is front and center.
Sadly, while Garruk’s positioning might make his return seem guaranteed, Wizards doesn’t always use card art when promoting MagicCons. While the 2025 MagicCon: Las Vegas page used art of Ugin, Eye of the Storms, the Atlanta and Chicago MagicCon’s just used key art. The only glimmer of hope here is that the art used did depict characters and locals from the set.
Ultimately, thanks to Garruk’s bizarre history, there’s no telling if he’ll actually get a card or not. Given the whole multiverse is meant to be at stake in Reality Freacture, it’d be about time he showed up. Whether or not he’ll actually bother, however, remains to be seen for now.
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