Silumgar
| Silumgar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Colors |
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| Species | Elder Dragon |
| Birth, Life & Death | |
| Birthplace | Tarkir |
| Lifetime | From before the Khanfall (the Thaw) until present |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Silumgar (/sɪlʌmɡɑːr/ SIL-um-gar)[1] is one of the five elder dragons of Tarkir. He is a fat, snake-headed creature with a corrosive, venomous breath that hoards valuable items. He is destructive, cruel, and murderous.
Silumgar's Brood
Silumgar and his brood emerged full-fledged from Ugin's dragon tempests and were drawn to Tarkir's misty jungles and swamps, stealing treasure and spreading death everywhere. Like their progenitor, Silumgar's brood breathe toxic corrosive gas.[2]
Original timeline
Silumgar and his brood were revered by the Sultai Brood for their ruthlessness. After Ugin's death, they lost the battle against the clans of Tarkir. No new brood was created and all died. Silumgar never reached elder status and died in the river Marang near the Molderfang Falls. There, he was killed by a young and cruel Sultai khan (likely Tasigur) and the place became a holy site for the Sultai.[3]
Current timeline
In the current timeline, the Sultai khan Tasigur offended the Rakshasa and the Nagas, prompting them to abandon the clan, forcing them thus to make a pact with Silumgar and his brood. Tasigur later betrayed the other khans by revealing the location of their meeting, under the promise of a special place of power under Silumgar's regime. His 'reward' after the Khanfall of Tarkir was to become a pet for Silumgar to display his dominance over.[4] 1280 years later, Silumgar still wore Tasigur's body as a pendant.[5]
Clan Silumgar
Of the five dragonlords on Tarkir, Silumgar had the fewest living followers, but the clan's undead numbers were unrivaled. Silumgar's underlings emulated their dragonlord in all that they did.[6] They took care to curry favor and deflect blame. Assassination and extortion were commonplace as those in the inner circle jockeyed and killed for a position. The naga translators were often the first and fastest to gain favor. They were also the first to abuse what they had earned. When Silumgar wanted to lay waste to his enemies, he called on the Deathbringer dragons. They breathed clouds of poison gas that choked armies and drooled streams of acid that dissolved everything in their path. Meanwhile, some necromancer dragons would enhance their terrible magic by pulling the latent energy from dead flesh.
The dragonlord himself had grown paranoid about losing everything he had gained to Kolaghan or that the Rakshasa might turn against him as they did with the Sultai. In these fits, he often killed his subjects. When he discovered that someone had attempted to undermine or manipulate him, his answer often was swift and brutal, rooting out whole networks to punish sedition. As a result, numerous festivals and rites were designed to distract, soothe, or delight the dragonlord and keep his thoughts away from paranoia.[7]
Defeat
During the New Phyrexian Invasion, many of Silumgar's dragons were compleated. The substantial casualties for the dragons, combined with reduced dragonstorms, sufficiently weakened the dragonlords' grip on power.[8] The humanoid rebellions were able to gain traction, evolving from scattered militias and guerilla operations to overt and open rebellions under the banners of the old clan names.
The former Planeswalker Narset hoped to find a way to end what she saw as a perpetual battle of attrition that would leave Tarkir as little more than ruins.[8] In her research, she uncovered a spell scroll for the Stormnexus Ritual. Though hesitant to use the ritual due to its potential dangers, was convinced by the other rebellion leaders that this was the best way to ensure a unified Tarkir.
The magic called up a massive dragonstorm, and in its swirling energies, five mighty spirit dragons emerged.[8] In a flash of power, the dragon spirits and what would become the new clan leaders were bound. As the ritual was enacted, the dragonlords and their remaining broods attempted to stop the rebellion's plans. A fearsome battle ensued between the dragonlords and the newly formed spirit dragons, the storm raging around them. In the end, the dragonlords were defeated and seemingly swallowed up by the massive storm.
Story appearances
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Quoted or referred to:
- Coat with Venom
- Custodian of the Trove
- Damnable Pact
- Death Wind
- Fate Forgotten
- Gravepurge
- Kishla Village (Tarkir: Dragonstorm, #396)
- Noxious Dragon
- Oculus Whelp
- Palace Familiar
- Runeblade Raiser†
- Ruthless Deathfang
- Sandsteppe Scavenger
- Sight of the Scalelords
- Ukud Cobra
- Ultimate Price
- Wandering Tombshell
- Verdant Catacombs
- Youthful Scholar
- ^† Scryfall does not record flavor text for digital cards. See Alchemy: Tarkir/Flavor text.
References
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (March 31, 2015). "Here's a pronunciation guide for some of the names that were requested earlier today.". The Official Magic: The Gathering Tumblr. Tumblr.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (February 25, 2015). "Breath weapon rundown". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
- ↑ Magic Creative Team (September 3, 2014). "Planeswalker's Guide to Khans of Tarkir, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23.
- ↑ Kelly Digges (February 18, 2015). "Khanfall". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2015-02-21.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (March 11, 2015). "Silumgar's Fancy Jewelry". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2019-08-23.
- ↑ The Magic Creative Team (March 11, 2015). "Planeswalker's Guide to Dragons of Tarkir, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-31.
- ↑ Cassandra Khaw (March 3, 2025). "Tarkir: Dragonstorm - Episode 1: Stories and Their Bones". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c Lauren Bond & DK Billins (February 21, 2025). "Planeswalker's Guide to Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (January 11, 2015). "Is Silumgar the dragon depicted on Dig through Time artwork?". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
- ↑ Trick Jarrett (April 20, 2015). "Qarsi Exploits". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05.
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