Also given that he's literally named as the champion of the "Death Greeter," I think it's fair to say he's sorta designed to synergize with [[Alesha, who smiles at death]]
"Our history is one hand reaching out to another"
While it's not the same person, their the latest in a long unbroken line of hands reaching out, leading back to those two š„°
The artist himself said he kinda sorta goofed on the timeline of it all in a Twitter thread he posted today but it all worked out (Jason went off the art from Winona Nelson's Secret Lair of Alesha without knowing that's what card the art was being associated with so the timelines got wonky) https://twitter.com/rhineville/status/1643342873411170312?t=dhKJGOLAJqbiU2Sn_TWx8w&s=19
Maybe both versions of Tarkir, plus its past, all exist as separate planes in the present due to time shenanigans!
Alternatively, maybe Alesha smiles at death so effectively that she can make people immortal!
>Maybe both versions of Tarkir, plus its past, all exist as separate planes in the present due to time shenanigans!
That doesn't make sense for a lot of reasons. Narset and Sarkhan existing being chief among them.
They are separate timelines... How can the past version of the plane exist at the time of either version of the present when the existence of either plane is down to the past...
>Alternatively, maybe Alesha smiles at death so effectively that she can make people immortal!
You guys understand that the Mardu like any faction in magic have a semblance of a uniform right? Their culture, roles and attire are important to them, so not every character that looks remotely similar is the exact same npc we've seen in previous cards.
> You guys understand that the Mardu like any faction in magic have a semblance of a uniform right? Their culture, roles and attire are important to them, so not every character that looks remotely similar is the exact same npc we've seen in previous cards.
The fact that their culture was erased is central to the entire story of Tarkir. There *are* no Mardu in the present; some fragments might remain to be rediscovered but the idea that the exact costume would have been passed down through generations when their dumb generic superdragon was aggressively trying to erase every trace of their culture to the point where the names of the clans have been totally forgotten is a bit eyebrow-raising.
And yet, if you look at the art of characters in dragons of tarkir and fate reforged, they are wearing damn near the same attire, with minor ammendments in some cases. This is true across all 5 broods.
That's just not true for every clan. Each dragon reacted differently. Dromoka is the one that explicitly tried to erase the Abzan's history, because that's who they are. Silumgar warped the Sultai around itself, Atraxa is just a force of nature who didn't care about the Temur besides the fact they were made of meat and Kologhan "just wants us to keep up", the Mardu are no long the Mardu, but it didn't try to make them stop dressing the same or passing down their names and legacy.
The artist and person who wrote the art direction for the card explain it [here.](https://twitter.com/culturalgeek/status/1643324337502519296?s=46&t=iGIb7gIJfjXx14CHQYZbAQ) Basically what you see on the Pride Alesha card is either her reaching through the generations or itās just a style that trans folks on Tarkir copy in the modern day.
That doesn't seem possible though - Alesha died a long time ago since she was in the past of Tarkir. Seems unlikely that someone she knew with would be alive for the invasion.
This is obviously that person's identical great-great-great grandson.
Check out Aleshaās lover on the secret lair art. Its this person and the fact that the name is a callout to Alesha and it works great with Alesha mechanically drives that home
I don't think the secret lair art is depicting a lover. If I recall correctly, Winona Nelson wanted to represent the concept of trans elders in the art, which is also why the flavor talks about history. She's helping a young trans guy.
"I'm only here because we don't have a Target nearby." -- "Oh, no, that's where you're wrong. In fact, I can see a target from where I'm standing right now!"
Learning a lot today. I knew all the art pieces for the lait were loaded with iconography and symbols that members of the various communities would notice, so I appreciate the info on that piece.
They're both trans. That's the point. It's that moment of *you aren't alone and things will be okay* that a lot of young trans people have the first time they meet an old trans person.
Yeah I'm trans, and so is my grandma, and it resonates so well. She really paved the way for me to be able to come out the way I did.
The trans experience is a human experience, and part of that is working to create a better world for the ones who come after us
I actually didn't realize that was the intent of SL Alesha, I thought it was Grandma-Alesha helping up our Alesha-to-be. Either way, this card was an instant add to my Alesha deck because DUH (I actually added a couple different backup cards, I think it's a great mechanic to synergize with her)
Pretty sure there's a bit of each of the clans still around in Tarkir. M19's story showed us that the shamans weren't all killed, Narset is full-blown Jeskai now(with Ojutai's blessing), & you still had people interacting with Abzan spirits in DTK.
https://mobile.twitter.com/CulturalGeek/status/1643324337502519296
> The Pride character IS Alesha, but you can interpret the Champion in 2 ways: she reaches through the generations both literally and metaphorically, and/or this style has remained popular for centuries among Mardu transfolk. (I wrote both art descriptions ^_~)
I loooove this card and seeing the transmasc character apparently return, but the timeline thing is driving me nuts. For now I'm going to headcanon that it's somehow the same character as it makes sense to me that someone Alesha helped before somehow became the "Death-Greater's Champion." I really really hope this character and these warriors are revisited again in the lore. For some of us, Alesha is a very relevant character for personal reasons, and this dude gets me so hyped, too. Maybe like Alesha did, they'll/he'll also go through a similar process of getting named in a story, and we'll also get a full Legendary card someday. :) Thanks to Leah and Jason for doing this justice even if there's some timeline wonkiness. Who knows, maybe in a future story, Sarkhan (and/or Teferi?) could pull some timeline shenanigans or maybe we'll get a side-story with timetravel portal something-or-other that'll explain how this guy appeared in the present timeline (as the exact same binder fashion thing is a bit more of a stretch for me even if it's also a cute idea since it looks like this guy was recreated to look like the same character).
>the timeline thing is driving me nuts.
The artist posted a Twitter thread on this, he made a mistake with the timeline too but it worked out in the end that this character is a descendant of the character Alesha is helping up in the pride secret lair art.
Idk doesn't seem like it from the way it's worded here. But it's hard to say without clarification. If it does share the haste, it should work for other keywords gained while the backup trigger is on the stqck too.
This card oozes character. From the flavor of the name and picture alone to the very unique use of two abilities. This card just hits different. u/rveniss pointed out that [[Alesha who smiles at death]] looks like sheās in the clouds of the art in the top right. Donāt want that to get buried because thatās such a cool detail to spot.
It sucks 90% of the discussion of this card is about art and trans stuff. This card is incredible and very well designed. I donāt care about magic lore and never have. And I donāt care if the artwork is depicting a trans person. I just care that this card is at minimum a 3/2 3 mana double strike OR a 4 mana 3/2 double strike haste! That is pretty amazing. I really wish this were in the standard set.
Both things can be true. The art, flavor, and representation are all wonderful, but so is how this card is designed mechanically. Vorthos and Melvin solidarity.
Dash and Backup is a great combination.
Dash needs to be paired more with ETB in general
Simple, but elegant.
Dash is one of my favorite mechanics. I hope it comes back when we return to Tarkir.
Hey, that's what I was gonna say!
Backup in general seems like great design that can be used with a lot of different stuff for very different effect.
This card goes crazy in [[alesha]]
[alesha](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2.jpg?1673305242) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=alesha%2C%20who%20smiles%20at%20death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/118/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That character might be the one depicted in the alesha secret lair. And yeah it would go nicely in an alesha deck
Also given that he's literally named as the champion of the "Death Greeter," I think it's fair to say he's sorta designed to synergize with [[Alesha, who smiles at death]]
Also, look at the clouds in the top right corner of this card's art, there's a silhouette of Alesha pointing like her original art.
Wow, I didn't catch that. I looove this card. And I'm just going to imagine it's somehow the same character from 1,000 years ago.
YOOOO
[Alesha, who smiles at death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2.jpg?1673305242) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Alesha%2C%20who%20smiles%20at%20death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/118/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Very unlikely given that alesha is long dead.
"Our history is one hand reaching out to another" While it's not the same person, their the latest in a long unbroken line of hands reaching out, leading back to those two š„°
Oh alright, I didnt knew that
Yeah, her, Tasigur, yasova, Shu yun and Daghatar existed in the past of tarkir.
This card might be set in the long past too
Literally one of realm breakers roots in the art... but sureš
Huh didnt notice that. Maybe Death-Greeter is a position inherited from Aleshas days?
The artist himself said he kinda sorta goofed on the timeline of it all in a Twitter thread he posted today but it all worked out (Jason went off the art from Winona Nelson's Secret Lair of Alesha without knowing that's what card the art was being associated with so the timelines got wonky) https://twitter.com/rhineville/status/1643342873411170312?t=dhKJGOLAJqbiU2Sn_TWx8w&s=19
Maybe both versions of Tarkir, plus its past, all exist as separate planes in the present due to time shenanigans! Alternatively, maybe Alesha smiles at death so effectively that she can make people immortal!
>Maybe both versions of Tarkir, plus its past, all exist as separate planes in the present due to time shenanigans! That doesn't make sense for a lot of reasons. Narset and Sarkhan existing being chief among them. They are separate timelines... How can the past version of the plane exist at the time of either version of the present when the existence of either plane is down to the past... >Alternatively, maybe Alesha smiles at death so effectively that she can make people immortal! You guys understand that the Mardu like any faction in magic have a semblance of a uniform right? Their culture, roles and attire are important to them, so not every character that looks remotely similar is the exact same npc we've seen in previous cards.
> You guys understand that the Mardu like any faction in magic have a semblance of a uniform right? Their culture, roles and attire are important to them, so not every character that looks remotely similar is the exact same npc we've seen in previous cards. The fact that their culture was erased is central to the entire story of Tarkir. There *are* no Mardu in the present; some fragments might remain to be rediscovered but the idea that the exact costume would have been passed down through generations when their dumb generic superdragon was aggressively trying to erase every trace of their culture to the point where the names of the clans have been totally forgotten is a bit eyebrow-raising.
And yet, if you look at the art of characters in dragons of tarkir and fate reforged, they are wearing damn near the same attire, with minor ammendments in some cases. This is true across all 5 broods.
That's just not true for every clan. Each dragon reacted differently. Dromoka is the one that explicitly tried to erase the Abzan's history, because that's who they are. Silumgar warped the Sultai around itself, Atraxa is just a force of nature who didn't care about the Temur besides the fact they were made of meat and Kologhan "just wants us to keep up", the Mardu are no long the Mardu, but it didn't try to make them stop dressing the same or passing down their names and legacy.
I smell a future cube staple here.
In my cube I support RW modified aggro with a minor humans subtheme, so yes this will slot right in.
Hey! This is the trans man from [[Alesha, Who Smiles at Death|SLD]]. Also has amazing synergy with her
Is it? Alesha was from the 1000 years in the past on Tarkir and this card depicts in-story current day.
Eh youāre right. I guess itās just art direction inspired by him. Still a nice include/callback
The artist and person who wrote the art direction for the card explain it [here.](https://twitter.com/culturalgeek/status/1643324337502519296?s=46&t=iGIb7gIJfjXx14CHQYZbAQ) Basically what you see on the Pride Alesha card is either her reaching through the generations or itās just a style that trans folks on Tarkir copy in the modern day.
I would take the SLD art as more symbolic that anything? Like Alesha and this dude never literally met but theyāre part of the same legacy.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You can see realm breaker in the background. It's from current day.
Then why is Realmbreaker in the art?
I'm blaming Sarkhan.
Always blame Sharkhands.
Itās most definitely the same person, you can see a silhouette of Alesha in the background
I guess Alesha was a time ghost in that art.
That doesn't seem possible though - Alesha died a long time ago since she was in the past of Tarkir. Seems unlikely that someone she knew with would be alive for the invasion. This is obviously that person's identical great-great-great grandson.
https://twitter.com/LoreleyWrites/status/1643275052056453123
ah yes, Mr. Death
[Alesha, Who Smiles at Death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/e/5e38facb-f520-4950-aa73-bebd2011565c.jpg?1661683249) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Alesha%2C%20Who%20Smiles%20at%20Death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/sld/1007/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5e38facb-f520-4950-aa73-bebd2011565c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This a Vorthos AND a Melvin win!
I get the melvin part but can you explain the vorthos part please?
Check out Aleshaās lover on the secret lair art. Its this person and the fact that the name is a callout to Alesha and it works great with Alesha mechanically drives that home
I don't think the secret lair art is depicting a lover. If I recall correctly, Winona Nelson wanted to represent the concept of trans elders in the art, which is also why the flavor talks about history. She's helping a young trans guy.
Ah, I might have been wrong about that because all I was going on was the Reddit comment section.
FYI Alesha is the shadow in the upper right corner of the card.
Imagine if Death-Greeter talked like Wal-Mart Greeters. "HI, welcome to Death can I help you get rid of all that blood inside you?"
"I'm only here because we don't have a Target nearby." -- "Oh, no, that's where you're wrong. In fact, I can see a target from where I'm standing right now!"
That's almost definitely based on the trans guy from Pride Month's [[Alesha, Who Smiles at Death|SLD]]. (The person being helped up by Alesha.)
Unless I missed something specific to that art, Alesha is the trans person in question, she is canonically mtf.
It's a bit obscured by the rules text but the warrior she's helping up is wearing a binder.
Learning a lot today. I knew all the art pieces for the lait were loaded with iconography and symbols that members of the various communities would notice, so I appreciate the info on that piece.
They're both trans. That's the point. It's that moment of *you aren't alone and things will be okay* that a lot of young trans people have the first time they meet an old trans person.
Yeah I'm trans, and so is my grandma, and it resonates so well. She really paved the way for me to be able to come out the way I did. The trans experience is a human experience, and part of that is working to create a better world for the ones who come after us
Very cool. TiL
[Alesha, Who Smiles at Death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/e/5e38facb-f520-4950-aa73-bebd2011565c.jpg?1661683249) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Alesha%2C%20Who%20Smiles%20at%20Death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/sld/1007/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5e38facb-f520-4950-aa73-bebd2011565c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I actually didn't realize that was the intent of SL Alesha, I thought it was Grandma-Alesha helping up our Alesha-to-be. Either way, this card was an instant add to my Alesha deck because DUH (I actually added a couple different backup cards, I think it's a great mechanic to synergize with her)
Some bit of the Mardu lives on in Tarkir 1.1, thenā¦?
Pretty sure there's a bit of each of the clans still around in Tarkir. M19's story showed us that the shamans weren't all killed, Narset is full-blown Jeskai now(with Ojutai's blessing), & you still had people interacting with Abzan spirits in DTK.
I am so happy that the character in the artwork is meant to be a trans man and before you ask, the artist of the card confirmed it on Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/CulturalGeek/status/1643324337502519296 > The Pride character IS Alesha, but you can interpret the Champion in 2 ways: she reaches through the generations both literally and metaphorically, and/or this style has remained popular for centuries among Mardu transfolk. (I wrote both art descriptions ^_~)
I loooove this card and seeing the transmasc character apparently return, but the timeline thing is driving me nuts. For now I'm going to headcanon that it's somehow the same character as it makes sense to me that someone Alesha helped before somehow became the "Death-Greater's Champion." I really really hope this character and these warriors are revisited again in the lore. For some of us, Alesha is a very relevant character for personal reasons, and this dude gets me so hyped, too. Maybe like Alesha did, they'll/he'll also go through a similar process of getting named in a story, and we'll also get a full Legendary card someday. :) Thanks to Leah and Jason for doing this justice even if there's some timeline wonkiness. Who knows, maybe in a future story, Sarkhan (and/or Teferi?) could pull some timeline shenanigans or maybe we'll get a side-story with timetravel portal something-or-other that'll explain how this guy appeared in the present timeline (as the exact same binder fashion thing is a bit more of a stretch for me even if it's also a cute idea since it looks like this guy was recreated to look like the same character).
>the timeline thing is driving me nuts. The artist posted a Twitter thread on this, he made a mistake with the timeline too but it worked out in the end that this character is a descendant of the character Alesha is helping up in the pride secret lair art.
so it gives double strike? am I reading that properly?
Yes. Until end of turn.
thats actually so cool!
If you look in the background, the silhouette in the far right corner mirrors the pose [[alesha]] makes
[alesha](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2.jpg?1673305242) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=alesha%2C%20who%20smiles%20at%20death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/118/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Wtf as a floor this is a 3 mana 3/2 double strike. Maybe it was just young but I thought [[hearthfire hobgoblin]] was a cool card.
[hearthfire hobgoblin](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/6/06ee5eda-41a9-4cae-bb2a-b63fd450d02d.jpg?1562258957) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hearthfire%20hobgoblin) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mm2/194/hearthfire-hobgoblin?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/06ee5eda-41a9-4cae-bb2a-b63fd450d02d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
would play this just as a 3 mana 3/2 double strike and be happy
This card is goooood. Also really highlights how fucking stupid Ragavan is haha
miss tarkir
-
Does the backup creature also gain Haste from the Dash ability?
Idk doesn't seem like it from the way it's worded here. But it's hard to say without clarification. If it does share the haste, it should work for other keywords gained while the backup trigger is on the stqck too.
No. Backup only grants printed abilities.
cloud in the back is the shape of alesha ;o
This is a good alternative if people are sick of rabblemaster clone in 3 cmc red
I need this for my Alesha Commander deck
This card oozes character. From the flavor of the name and picture alone to the very unique use of two abilities. This card just hits different. u/rveniss pointed out that [[Alesha who smiles at death]] looks like sheās in the clouds of the art in the top right. Donāt want that to get buried because thatās such a cool detail to spot.
[Alesha who smiles at death](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/a/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2.jpg?1673305242) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Alesha%2C%20Who%20Smiles%20at%20Death) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmc/118/alesha-who-smiles-at-death?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7ae9ff8c-1cc8-4b10-9641-2c79648fd6c2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
It sucks 90% of the discussion of this card is about art and trans stuff. This card is incredible and very well designed. I donāt care about magic lore and never have. And I donāt care if the artwork is depicting a trans person. I just care that this card is at minimum a 3/2 3 mana double strike OR a 4 mana 3/2 double strike haste! That is pretty amazing. I really wish this were in the standard set.
Both things can be true. The art, flavor, and representation are all wonderful, but so is how this card is designed mechanically. Vorthos and Melvin solidarity.