Elder

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Elder
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/kindred cards)
Introduced Legend
Last used Final Fantasy Commander
Beeble Scale 5[1]
Scryfall Statistics

Elder is a creature type, first used for the Elder Dragons and later used on huge primordial entities[2] and venerable creatures to denote their importance. Since it never stands without a species it is effectively a job.

History

Originally, the creature type was only used on the Elder Dragons of Legends, and like most old creature types, it was meant to be read as a unified creature type (much like Ali-from-Cairo or Lord of Atlantis) and described a specific species: they were not "Elder" and "Dragon", they were "Elder Dragon Legends".[3]

The creature type was then unsupported for a long time,[4][5] meaning that while it wasn't removed from the existing cards, it wasn't added to new ones. The subtype was retained because of how iconic the cycle of dragons from Legends was.

Starting with Dragons of Tarkir, the type Elder was finally brought back, this time used to describe the venerable age of a cycle of Dragon Lords whose importance creative wanted to emphasize. Interestingly, they decided to un-retire the type Elder instead of the type Lord because the connection with the original Elder Dragons was meant as a homage; but it, unfortunately, created some confusion as to whether or not these new dragons were members of the same species as the old ones.[6]

Following the un-retirement of the subtype, it started being used more regularly with Rivals of Ixalan featuring six Elder Dinosaurs, the first Elders that weren't Dragons, followed by an Elder Demon in Dominaria, as well as two Elder Giants in Theros Beyond Death.

Lore

The Founder Dragons of Arcavios

At the birth of the plane, as the mana of two planes overlapped in conflicting ways, many forms of life adapted to the new structure, and many new forms of life were spawned. Five particularly powerful vortices of overlapping mana became luminous spheres, from which were hatched five dragons. These dragons have become emblems of the magic of the plane, living symbols of the clashing forces of the five dichotomies.[7]

The Founder Dragons were the first to master the magic of the five opposing combinations. When the humanoid species arose, the dragons were at first angered that mortals would try to harness the wild forces of magic, but they came to realize that only through disciplined study would magic be in safe hands. So, centuries ago, the dragons founded an institution devoted to the study of the five mana dichotomies, and that institution is now known as Strixhaven. The five colleges were based around the magic mastered by each of those dragons.

To this day, the Founder Dragons roam the world, the five deadly sages of the skies. They no longer associate directly with Strixhaven, preferring to let the deans of the colleges, or their human mouthpiece Director Taiva, speak in their stead. The dragons' wisdom is vast, but their tempers can be short. Mages seek them out only to learn the most elusive of secrets.[8]

Five Elder Dragons founded Strixhaven, the most elite school of mages in the multiverse. Each college takes its name directly from the elder dragon that created them.

The Elder Demon of Dominaria

The mightiest of the four demons that had struck a bargain with Liliana Vess.

The Elder Dragons of Dominaria

The vast power of the ancient Elder Dragons of Dominaria[9] was said to rival that of planeswalkers. At least two of them, Nicol Bolas and Ugin, became planeswalkers themselves. They participated in the Elder Dragon War, a conflict that shook the plane of Dominaria and killed most of their kind. Early storyline sources referred to them with the title of Dominia,[10] but with the release of the story for Core 2019, it seems that the Elder Dragon War took place only on the plane of Dominaria.

The Elder Demon of Duskmourn

The powerful demon that expanded and covered the entire plane of Duskmourn.

The Elder Demon of Innistrad

The powerful demon lord who indirectly created the vampires of Innistrad.

The Elder Dinosaurs of Ixalan

The tale of the Elder Dinosaurs had taken Huatli the longest to memorize, an agonizing two years to lock in her mind in its entirety.[11] They were ancient and wild, utterly untamable, the greatest of the dinosaurs.

The Elder Fungus of Ixalan

An ancient and powerful fungus that controls a web of fungi spanning a plane.

The Elder Dragons of Tarkir

The creature type returned after 21 years in Dragons of Tarkir to emphasize the importance of these dragonlords.[12] While not members of the Elder Dragon species, the creature type was used to represent their great age and the respect they command (tying in with the theme of time travel of the block) and to pay direct homage to Legends's cycle of dragons. It was later revealed that they are the direct descendants of Ugin.[13]

The Titans of Theros

The Titans of Theros are Elder Giants.[2]

  • Kroxa (Black manaRed mana)
  • Uro (Green manaBlue mana)
  • Phlage, Titan of Burning Wind and Fire's Fury, an all-consuming whirlwind of fire.[14] (Red manaWhite mana)
  • Skotha, Titan of Eternal Dark, the utter darkness of the starless night.[14]

Universes Beyond

This section discusses story elements that are not considered canon.
External franchise
This section discusses story elements that are not considered canon. The story discussed here is based on other franchises. It has no bearing on Magic continuity.

Elder has been used a few times on non-canonical cards, including cards from Universes Beyond products. In Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, it was used on a cycle of non-legendary metallic dragons.

In Final Fantasy, it was used on several cards depicting members of the "ancients," a species of progenitor humanoids from a lost age. Uniquely, on these cards, it is the only type indicating their species. It was also used on Hraesvelgr to represent it being a primordial dragon or great wyrm:

Notes

Tokens

Test cards
Token name Color Type line P/T Text box Source Printings
Arcades Sabboth Green manaWhite manaBlue mana Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 7/7 Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Arcades Sabboth unless you pay Green manaWhite manaBlue mana.
Each untapped creature you control gets +0/+2 as long as it’s not attacking.
White mana: Arcades Sabboth gets +0/+1 until end of turn.
Chromium White manaBlue manaBlack mana Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 7/7 Flying
Rampage 2 (Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Chromium unless you pay White manaBlue manaBlack mana.
Nicol Bolas Blue manaBlack manaRed mana Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 7/7 Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Nicol Bolas unless you pay Blue manaBlack manaRed mana.
Whenever Nicol Bolas deals damage to an opponent, that player discards their hand.
Palladia-Mors Red manaGreen manaWhite mana Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 7/7 Flying, trample
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Palladia-Mors unless you pay Red manaGreen manaWhite mana.
Vaevictis Asmadi Black manaRed manaGreen mana Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 7/7 Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Vaevictis Asmadi unless you pay Black manaRed manaGreen mana.
Black mana: Vaevictis Asmadi gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Red mana: Vaevictis Asmadi gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Green mana: Vaevictis Asmadi gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

See also

References

  1. Mark Rosewater (2020-04-21). "Where are Elders on the beeble scale?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. a b Ethan Fleischer (January 7, 2020). "I got really excited about the titans from Greek mythology.". Twitter.
  3. The Duelist #11, Page 57 (The Duelist)
  4. Doug Beyer (July 7, 2013). "Elder as a creature type". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  5. Doug Beyer (July 5, 2013). "Ideas of using the Elder type more". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  6. Doug Beyer (March 2, 2015). "WHY is Silumgar an Elder Dragon?". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  7. Doug Beyer and Ari Zirulnik (April 01, 2021). "Planeswalker's Guide to Strixhaven". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. Fox Allison, Doug Beyer and Ari Zirulnik (April 13, 2021). "The Legends of Strixhaven". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
  9. Elder Dragons (comic)
  10. Squirle (March 4, 2015). "A Historian's Guide to Elder Dragons.". Multiverse in Review. Tumblr.
  11. R&D Narrative Team (January 24, 2018). "The Arbiter of Law Left Chaos in His Wake". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. Doug Beyer (March 2, 2015). "WHY is Silumgar an Elder Dragon?". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  13. Kate Elliott (August 1, 2018). "Chronicle of Bolas: A Familar Stranger". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. a b Wizards RPG Team (2020), D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros, Wizards of the Coast
  15. Doug Beyer (January 16, 2015). "Is Ugin an Elder Dragon like Nicol Bolas?". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  16. Doug Beyer (December 19, 2007). "Folk of the Non-Pines". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01.
  17. Greg Weisman (April 2019). "War of the Spark: Ravnica". Del Rey
  18. Mark Rosewater (November 12, 2018). "I think my question got lost in the crowd…". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  19. Mark Rosewater (March 30, 2021). "Sorry, a clarification.". Blogatog. Tumblr.