Liliana Vess

Liliana Vess is a human planeswalker and master of necromancy, using black mana to reanimate the dead, corrupt the living, and unlock power from death. She's charismatic, witty, and attractive, but profoundly egocentric. Though she appears to be in her 20s, she is actually over a century old. After the mending she made a deal with four demons, one of which has been identified as Kothophed, to secure her youth and power. The demons have kept their side of the bargain, now it's her turn to obey, but she isn't going to play by their rules.

Liliana's Origin

Liliana grew up on a plane under the thumb of her father, a general and ruler of the lands he fought for. Even at this stage in her life, she was a temptress and more often than not, didn't care a thing for the kind of reputation that sort of activity would spawn. This infuriated those her father had entrusted to watch her, but her antics did not change one bit. Her priveleged life would come to an abrupt end, though, when her brother Josu suffered a horrible corruption at the hands of her father's enemies. As a test, perhaps as much to rein in the reckless girl, Lady Ana gave her the task of gathering the required roots to cure her brother. Unfortunately, she arrived to late, as her father's dark enemies had razed the groves where the Esis Tree had grown. She only learned of this fact when she encountered a strange man who claimed to be a supporter of her father. He offered his assistance, though he warned that her family would not want her to use his cure. She returned to the castle and despite the warnings of Lady Ana, she used the cure. Truly, it cured Josu of his affliction, but only at the cost of driving him insane and poisoning him anew. Since his condition had been wrought by Liliana's hands, she was cast from her home to wander.

Agents of Artifice

In the novel Agents of Artifice, she is featured as a resident of Ravnica and oft times freelance hire of The Infinite Consortium. She becomes acquainted with Jace Beleren whom she tracks down after his defection. She has a torrid affair and ultimately betrays Jace, maneuvering him to fight Tezzeret. Later on, it is revealed that her actions were supported by Nicol Bolas, with whom she had made a bargain to free her of the demonic pact in exchange for control over Tezzeret's usurped consortium. The deal amounted to naught in the end.

The Hunter and the Veil

Alternate art by Terese Nielsen

Kothoped instructed Liliana to search for a powerful artifact relic known as the Chain Veil from the ancient troll civilization of the Onnake in a yet-undisclosed plane. On her way to the Onakke catacomb she slew a beast, unknowingly earning the ire of Garruk Wildspeaker.

Garruk assaulted her after she had located the veil, and tracked her through the temple until he was dispatched by the veil-enhanced Liliana.

The Veil's Curse

Revelling in the power granted by the Veil, Liliana assaults a fortress on an unnamed plane and conquers it in short order. Sitting upon the throne, she realizes that Kothophed had sent her after the artifact and should have expected her to use it for herself. She then planeswalks to Kothophed's sanctuary and confronts him. A fight ensues after she refuses to relinquish the veil to the demon, and she blows him apart while his words echo in her mind. She collapses to her knees afterwards as the tatoos that Kothophed himself had given her begin to bleed.

Origins

Although her origins are still uncertain, Brady Dommermuth has revealed the following information about her:

“

Liliana was indeed born long before The Mending, and her planeswalker spark ignited before the Mending, also. Her deal with demons was made afterward, in an attempt to secure more power and longevity for herself.

”

In-Game References

Represented in cards:

• Liliana Vess

Associated cards:

• Demonic Tutor (Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic)
• Liliana's Caress
• Snuff Out (Duel Decks: Garruk vs. Liliana)

Quoted or referred to:

• Disentomb
• Duress
• Liliana's Spectre
• Rise from the Grave
• Mutilate (Duel Decks: Garruk vs. Liliana)

External links

• Liliana and The Mending Brady Dommermuth's post on the official forums
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• Liliana Vess on the Planeswalker Minisite
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• Wizards of the Coast Product Page.
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