Maro-Sorcerer
A Maro-Sorcerer, also known as a Force of Nature, is the elemental manifestation of the land, either brought about by strong magic or of nature's own will.
Description
In Dominaria, it's believed that every wood, from a sprawling forest or a shady grove, has a spirit or avatar that keeps the site safe: these creatures can be befriended with the right magic.[1] Dominarian forces of nature — some of which are servants of the Worldsoul, Gaea — are often called "maro." In its original art description, Maro (Mirage) was described as "the epitome of the fertility of the fresh ground."[2]
History
One Force of Nature was summoned by Dreygar and given the Dark Amulet, but was defeated by Aldon.[3] Another was summoned by Greensleeves.[4] The first Force of Nature to be called a Maro-Sorcerer was Multani.[5][6] The maro-sorcerer Sol'Kanar was corrupted into a monster by the planeswalker Geyadrone Dihada so that he might better serve her.[7]
List of Forces of Nature
| Maro-Sorcerer | Forest | Location |
| Autumn Willow | Great Wood | Plane of Ulgrotha |
| Force of Nature | Forests of Lat-Nam. | Lat-Nam island on Dominaria |
| Gaea's Liege Greensleeves[8][9] |
Whispering Woods | Aerona on Dominaria |
| Great Spirit | White Woods | Corondor on Dominaria |
| Lord Magnus | The forest on Argenti. (In prerevisionist continuity Llanowar.) | Madara on Dominaria |
| Molimo | Llanowar | Aerona on Dominaria |
| Modruni[10] | An unnamed forest | An unknown Plane |
| Muldrotha | Yavimaya (Urborg) | Urborg on Dominaria |
| Multani | Yavimaya (Terisiare) | Terisiare on Dominaria |
| Sol'Kanar | Khone | Corondor on Dominaria |
| Titania | Argoth | Terisiare on Dominaria |
| Unnamed | Arboria[11] (the Pinelands) | Jamuraa on Dominaria |
| Unnamed | Uktabi Jungle[12] | Jamuraa on Dominaria |
Trivia
- The Maro-sorcerers are named after Mark Rosewater, who created Multani and chose the name himself.[5][13]
- Although they don't depict Maro-sorcerors, the -maro cycle of legendary creatures in Saviors of Kamigawa was based on the card Maro.[14][15] Searching for card designs fitting the set's wisdom theme, the set's designers created a cycle based on the Mirage card. Brandon Bozzi, who was in charge of the set's names and flavor texts, decided to incorporate "maro" into the cards' names. Fortunately, -maro (まろ) was already an archaic suffix for male names in Japanese.
- Maro is the word for the color brown in Romanian.
- The Territorial Maro of Dominaria United hasn't been linked to a specific territory, yet.
References
- ↑ Magic the Gathering: Calendar 1997.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 2, 2002). "There's Always Two Maro". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Margaret Weis (1996), Serra Angel, Armada
- ↑ Clayton Emery (1995). Magic: The Gathering - Final Sacrifice. Harper Prism.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (March 22, 2013). "Was Multani, MaRo Sorcerer based on you?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 3, 2007). "Weather(light) Report". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ethan Fleischer (June 10, 2021). "The Returning Legends of Modern Horizons 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer
- ↑ Ethan Fleischer (August 28, 2022). "THE MARO-SORCERER MEGATHREAD". Twitter.
- ↑ Tribute to the Wild
- ↑ Flavor text of Arboria (Dominaria Remastered, #149)
- ↑ Michael G. Ryan (October 1996). "The Horizon Shimmers: The Making of Mirage." The Duelist #13, p.58-61.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 9, 2018). "given the "no vanity cards" rule, is the title of "Maro Sorcerer" still canon?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 16, 2005). "The Sun'll Come Out To Maro". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (August 1, 2007). "Ask Wizards - August, 2007". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021.