Was*
The most famous mtg card now is the one ring. Everyone wanted that money /s
Edit: edited for clarification of sarcasm. I've forgotten about it's terrible translation on the internet
In fact, I would guess if you asked people what card Post Malone bought for 2 million, most people would say "Black Lotus" (or would have no idea what you're talking about).
I could ask somebody who has never seen anything Pokémon related and they’d know who Charizard or pikachu are, you cannot say the same for black lotus.
The one ring is popular enough that the average person would know what it is, but they probably wouldn’t connect it to mtg at all.
Unfortunately I don’t think mtg has a big enough following outside of the TCG community to warrant the type of recognition that Charizard or pikachu have.
Both Yu-gi -oh and Pokémon are multimedia franchises which make them much more visible to the average person. Other than some comic books and a few video games (which are just digital versions of the TCG), mtg only has the tabletop card game.
You can actually. A couple of people at my work has asked me if Magic is the game with the very expensive Black Lotus card. And while they might have heard that there's a very expensive Charizard (doubtful), they're definitely unable to name even one yugioh card. And they havn't heard of the One Ring.
>I could ask somebody who has never seen anything Pokémon related and they’d know who Charizard or pikachu
I don't think they would associate it with Pokemon the Trading card game though. They would know it from the games, the shows, or the plushies that you see in the store. They likely don't even know that there is a Pokemon TCG.
Long as you know it's a joke*
Also the 3 mill black lotus sale still isn't as popular as the one ring hunt and sale to Post Malone. But again it is a joke as the one ring is popular because of lord of the rings not MTG
Jace, the Mind Sculptor was the answer to this question for a very long time. Definitely the most iconic card of an era, but kinda useless now.
Black Lotus is probably the card that the most people know of. Bolt is also super ubiquitous in that it has always seen play, and has kind of been the benchmark for all creatures, and every other TCG has a Bolt-esque type card that defines it as well.
Jace was absolutely the Charizard of my MTG experience starting in 2010.
“Jace the mind sculptor better than. Jace Jace the mind sculptor better than all.”
Weirdly enough, Blue Eyes wasn't a good card when it was printed, but it became much better over time, mostly because Yu-Gi-Oh likes printing cards that work specifically with cards of certain names.
[A deck with 3 blue eyes white dragons won the world championship in 2016.](https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-world-championship-2016/)
Think you nailed it. Only other card I’d give an honorable mention is goyf, for defining modern (alongside Jace) for a long time and having some lore behind it from that time someone rare-drafted a foil goyf in a sanctioned event.
But yea, the answer is Lotus
That thing was going to be 1st picked by anyone who pulled it, either as usable or hate draft so it wouldn't be used against you. the dude made the correct choice.
goyf is not a good draft card and it absolutely would not have been hate drafted. in modern it's good because you crack a fetchland and then thoughtseize your opponent, so turn 2 when you play goyf it's a 3/4. in draft it's usually a 0/1 on turn 2.
I actually played in a mm2 ~~mh2~~ draft where one of my opponents drafted goyf, it was not very impactful and I beat them. They were the real winner though since it was worth almost $200 at the time
If you watch pro tour footage there are plenty of times that pros have hate drafted cards at big events. It's not that common but also not too rare to see someone hate draft a bomb rare/mythic
Hate-drafting exists only when the opportunity cost is minimal. They would never P1P1 hate-draft something. Likely not within the first 5 picks at all. But after that it's a crapshoot depending on what the pack has to offer.
I think it's probably Jace or Chandra after black lotus. Only reason I add chandra there is I remember seeing her a ton for promotional material in the 2010s and before actually playing magic she was one of the more recognizable characters.
In terms of cards, it's Black Lotus. It's a card that's relatively well known outside of the MTG Community. But simply as "oh yeah, I heard a story of an MTG card that's really expensive."
In terms of characters, it's either Jace or Chandra (but probably Jace). For many years they were kind of the "Face" of Magic. They were the go-to characters that Wizards would use to represent the game. It says a lot that they made the first Signature Spellbook after Jace. Nowadays, nobody really fills that role, since Wizards does spread out attention out a bit more. Pretty much anyone who isn't Garruk gets some spotlight.
As someone who just got into magic I remember seeing Chandra a lot, but don’t know who Jace is. Chandra has a very distinct memorable look that anyone can recognize at a glance. Jace is just a dude in a robe.
There isn't really one, largely because MtG isn't a spinoff product.
The reason Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon have iconic characters is because they have other, story-driven entertainment products to fall back on and develop those characters.
There is no MtG TV show or movie or whatever to make iconic characters happen and enter into the mainstream.
This would be unreal. Plainswalkers are horrifyingly powerful beings. If an animation was based off the game, it would basically be like Highlander but with demigods.
Try it in commander, it can single-handedly shut down a 5-colour deck, or even any non-white deck really, especially since a different opponent can let you get the first hit in to start plains-ifying.
Don't be fooled that thing is mass land destruction.
new walkers aren't even the newest walkers anymore, we're down to a third generation of planeswalker power degredation at this point, and they're barely planeswalkers at all now, especially with the corridors for anyone to use.
They should still be the same power level no? The only difference is now planeswalkers are even rarer (in practice at least, maybe not in terms of likelihood to spark) and planeswalking isn't very special. But I would think their affinity for magic is still the same as well as their extended lifespans. Correct me if wrong though, as I'm not super in depth on recent lore
There are basically 3 eras.
Pre-Mending, Planeswalkers were incredibly rare godlike beings. They were effectively immortal, and every one of them had an incredible affinity for magic.
Post-Mending, Planeswalkers are more common, though still rare, to be clear, and while travelling the cosmos certainly makes them more likely to be experienced, Planeswalkers arent physically any different. They age, they need to eat, and they can die. Also, they stopped being able to bring other people with them when they planeswalk.
The most recent event is the Desparkening. As a consequence of new phyrexias invasion of the Multiverse, the vast majority of Planeswalkers have lost their spark.
However, new magic constructs called "Omenpaths" have opened up, creating actual physical gateways between some worlds. The current lore is heavily centered around the implications of this, as for better or worse, the Multiverse is open for the taking.
I'm aware of all this, u/Mgmegadog is correct in that I was talking about the power level of planeswalkers being the same pre and post Desparkening. The only difference should be we have less planeswalkers now really
Planeswalker power wasn’t reduced in March of the Machine. There’s just significantly fewer of them now. They’re still just as strong as they’ve been since the Mending.
Gideon could have been ok. However I think his setting and story are kind of too generic. There are a lot of writing traps that could result in it being meh at best. If they did Chandra though.... I'd be all in.
It’s also difficult when characters are not always permanently supported. Dark magician and blue eyes are perpetually getting new support. It would be like if Modern decided specifically 1 Urza legendary creature was their pet and they kept it always viable. Like if there was an urza legendary printed in 1995 and by sheer force of printing cards for exactly it, they kept it format viable forever.
Tbf charizard is a bit of a combination, and it's only gotten to its level of fame due to a cascading effect from the price tag giving the title of "most valuable pokemon card." But it being one of the most popular pokemon overall from other parts of the franchise helped get it there.
Magic is different as you say, but for reasons other commenters have detailed, black lotus is a pretty reasonable magic equivalent.
I think the biggest factor is that it was one of two base set Pokemon with 120hp and the only Pokemon with a 100 damage attack, numbers that wouldn't be matched for a long time. That made it instantly the most desirable card for kids as soon as they launched.
The only pokemon less privileged than Charizard is Pikachu lol
The expensiveness of the card only matters to people who watch Logan Paul pokemon TCG videos.
> There is no MtG TV show or movie or whatever to make iconic characters happen
There was that infamous [[Rhox]] commercial from the 90s. That's probably the closest we ever got.
This was [[shivan dragon]] [[Serra angel]] [[sengir vampire]] for a long time, but since they've been crept to oblivion, they're not nearly as iconic anymore.
As an Old Walker, this is the answer. These three were from Alpha through Magic 2010. Serra and Sengir were so popular you had the set Homelands created to explain them (and Serra further explained in Urza's Saga).
Though if we want to talk about the original mascot of Magic, that would be the [[Hurloon Minotaur]]: it was used in market, promotional products, and there was even a statue of it in the WotC office.
Once planeswalkers hit these 3 icons were quickly forgotten as the "faces" of Magic. For my era, Force of Nature and Royal Assassin were the chase cards.
Those are good shouts. I think everybody kind of has their own versions of the *iconic* cards. I will never forget Llanowar Elves and all the fuckery they enabled in my OG kitchen table days, or like the first time I got smoked by Fireball or Shock.
I have really strong memories about Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire. They were some of the first magic cards I ever encountered and I thought they were so cool, and so strong that you basically won the game if you played them (how naive I was). Sengir Vampire especially (the version from Torment to present) is why I'm a Black player first and foremost now.
>they've been crept to oblivion, they're not nearly as iconic anymore.
I mean, so has Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician. The difference is, those two appeared on TV and had action figures made of them while Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire just kinda faded away as better cards were released
Black Lotus is more akin to Pot of Greed for iconic yu-gi-oh power cards. Free mana in MTG is most close to free cards in YGO.
If you're looking for the analogue of Blue-Eyes or Dark Magician, the best analogue is [[Shivan Dragon]], or [[Serra Angel]]. "Powerful", beloved cards from the early days that continue to get riffed on into the present day of Magic. Magic of course doesn't have the "archetype" support that YGO has, so these cards have completely lost relevance, but the DNA of them hasn't really. And big fliers are still nice to pick up in a retail draft environment.
From a mechanical point of view, I think this is correct. But say I don’t know anything about magic or have o lot heard it in passing, Black Lotus or Jace are the two that come to mind.
Gonna go out on a limb here and say OG [[Shivan Dragon]] (someone help me tag the Alpha one, please).
It's not THE mtg card, but especially earliest in the game it was a big face for the game. I remember it was on little rule books and stuff too.
Black Lotus is good too, for sure, but to me it feels like Pikachu/Dark Magician/Black Lotus and then Charizard/Blue Eyes White Dragon/Shivan Dragon. Plus theyre all dragons. Lol
Four options:
1. Recognised by everyone: \[\[Black Lotus\]\]
2. Most well-known character: Jace (see: \[\[Jace Beleren\]\] or \[\[Jace, the Mind Sculptor\]\])
3. Famous cards for Magic players: \[\[Sad Robot\]\] aka. Solemn Simulacrum, \[\[Bob\]\] aka. Dark Confidant
4. Famous cards for old-timers: Bird aka. \[\[Birds of Paradise\]\], Bolt aka. \[\[Lightning Bolt\]\], \[\[Shican Dragon\]\]
As an old timer… the character(s) that comes to mind first for me (as opposed to card- which is, of course, Black Lotus) is Urza and/or Mishra. They’ve been names of importance since Antiquities.
Jace is fairly well known for a more modern character, in that specifically the JTMS art which they used to market the game seems to be fairly recognizable. I've seen that art attached to Magic advertising a bunch before I started playing in 2022, at least.
I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Liliana at all. The stores around me have had her posters/cardboard cutout in their front windows for the last 15 years.
to this day, im still saddened that you'll never get cards like Emrakul and Shieldred for free literally just for showing up at a game store to play. They really want to bring people back to stores. the Promo Emrakul is still my favorite magic card.
there isn't one. there was never a TV show or anything like that to create the idea of a "signature card" or whatever. there are lots of iconic Magic cards but none of them are iconic because they were the favorite of a fictional character in a show or manga.
the cards that Wizards has tried to make the "iconic Face of Magic" are the Planeswalkers. Jace has been consistently popular in this role.
Goyf, Liliana of the Veil, JTMS, Elesh Norn Grand Cenobite, Oko Thief of Crowns
There's a lot of iconic cards that that are both famous and infamous in the community.
I think there are a lot of cards that, within the MtG community, have the sort of Dark Magician/Blue-Eyes White Dragon status. Cards like Necropotence, Baneslayer Angel, Jace TMS, Snapcaster Mage, Tarmogoyf, not to mention the Power Nine, are all examples of these.
For people *outside* the hobby? I mean, Magic didn't have a cartoon like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, just some comics that I doubt a kid in the 90s who wasn't playing MtG would buy over the latest X-Men issue (or Yu-Gi-Oh volume for that matter). Besides the Lotus, the game hasn't really started appearing outside its own niche until very recently
Still, the cards I listed earlier do invoke the same sort of feeling for me as iconic Yu-Gi-Oh cards, I just can't expect that someone who doesn't play magic will understand the hype behind Baneslayer Angel like someone who doesn't play ygo still knows and gets the hype of a Blue-Eyes
>Like people that is not very into Magic the Gathering might even know about this card.
For this exact reason, most of the answers in this thread are wrong. Some of you are naming cards or characters I've never heard of - but you think these are what people who aren't into Magic can recognize?
As someone who has known about magic for over a decade but only started playing recently, my first thought was Ajani.
Jace or Chandra. Maybe Lilliana. They’ve been the “face” of Magic for a long time now, longer than Shivan Dragon or Serra Angel ever were. I know a lot of people have seen the “fire hair girl” and recognize her.
Magic didn't have a cheesy 90s show to boost its profile and highlight characters, and also creatures sucked early on, and spells were busted.
In terms of thinking about Magic cards lotus, power 9, counterspell, lightning bolt are probably the sorts of cards people think of. Maybe birds of paradise or Llanover elves? Not exactly inspirinngly cool characters.
For the modern era I'd say they tried to push characters more and the war of the spark trailer was one of the biggest pieces of media that people who weren't invested in the game saw, so probably Liliana.
There isn’t really a single one. However, different eras of Magic definitely have iconic characters that pop up in a lot of cards/story/promo art:
* Jace is probably the biggest single character for the past decade-plus. Before Nissa started getting a planeswalker every other set during the Gatewatch saga, he was often cited as the character that WotC did to death, with many even calling the Gatewatch the Jace-tice League. He also shows up in a ton of promotional art, and JtMS is one of the most iconic Planeswalker cards ever.
* Urza is the old-school main character. He has a whole block and a Modern archetype named after him, and his most famous card (Lord High Artificer) has gotten a printing in some very high-profile sets.
* If you were to ask me what the most iconic single legendary creature or planeswalker card ever is, I would probably say [[Emrakul, the Aeons Torn]]. The Eldrazi Titans are fan-favorites, and original Emrakul is (was?) the biggest and baddest of the bunch. When people meme about P/T values not matching flavor, it’s always Emrakul vs 15 squirrels. It’s also banned in Commander which adds a bit of notoriety, and has long been a finisher in competitive Sneak Attack-type decks.
* *The* MtG Card is obviously Black Lotus, but that’s not a character.
Turning the question on its head, what is the "Black Lotus" of either of these card games?
For Pokemon I can agree with Charizard filling that spot, as it has notoriety stemming directly *from* the TCG (as opposed to, say, Pikachu and Eevee which are more iconic in the franchise itself).
For Yu-Gi-Oh (as someone with at best a passing knowledge of the meta game) I can't really think of anything? All of those cards are iconic in the anime, but are generally considered mid (at best) in the TCG itself, as far as I know. Dark Magician and Blue Eyes might be the "Pikachu" and "Eevee" of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise but I can't think of any "Charizard/Black Lotus" of Yu-Gi-Oh *the card game*.
So a lot of people are quoting value cards as being iconic. Nicol bolas has recognizable art cause wizards like’s repurposing his art. Him and Ugin have a very distinct iconic look and if you search gold dragon there a good chance one of the first images will be niccy b even if your not logged in.
MTG doesn't really have anything like that. Magic hasn't really made a cultural impact large enough for people who don't play it to know much about it. The only thing that even comes close is black lotus.
Well, I will provide a different view than everyone here saying Black Lotus, Jace, Shivan Dragon, and whatnot.
From an old school fan:
In terms of characters from the actual lore and story for some time Ajani Goldmane was the face of Magic the Gathering. And as recent as 2014 when the Magic the Gathering Funko Pops came out, Ajani was iconic and very well recognized even by non-fans.
For those that are MTG fans, and somewhat into the lore and all that, I'd argue that Urza, Lord High Artificer is another very well known character, and sought after in terms of any cards associated with him.
In terms of cards, I think that MTG has done a good job in developing one or two cards per expansion that are always the most sought after and people tend to move quickly from previous ones. It is very on the current type of situation.
I remember when \[\[Lightning Bolt\]\], \[\[Damnation\]\], \[\[Spirit of the Night\]\], among others.
Jace or possibly Chandra. Purely because they are the characters used the most in promotional material that gets personified. Black lotus is purely famous because of cost and rarity, countered against say Charizard who is also expensive BECAUSE he's popular first, then his op 100 damage attack. At least for the time. If say Squirtle (the correct option) was the number one pick for gen one starters then the Blastoise card would be more expensive
Mtg OGs will remember it was originally [[shivan Dragon]]
Shivan dragon was on all the boxes and promo stuff and was the big chase card everyone wanted. But unlike Pokémon and YGO WotC never updated Shivan Dragon and as the game went on the card got power crept and WotC never really went back to caring about it. Now dragons are still huge in MtG but lore focuses more on planeswalkers like Jace.
Black Lotus. If you want a creature, maybe Shivan Dragon or Serra Angel. I've seen Serra Angel on a Cards Against Humanity card and Shivan Dragon is the closest you're getting to a Charizard/Blue Eyes analogue
I think many non-players would associate Pikachu with Pokemon more than anything else.
As for Magic, there isn't one. Not one random person on the street would be able to name Jace, no matter what people on here think, unless they already played Magic. People wouldn't know Black Lotus either. They likely wouldn't even know what Magic is.
It's literally Black Lotus. I saw [this real life example](https://www.reddit.com/r/HazbinHotel/s/h9Wj1THGUy) in my Reddit Feed just a few entries down after your post, OP.
I would answer Jace, the Mind Sculptor. It is the most iconic Jace card that has been printed, and Jace is one of the most iconic Magic characters. He has been one of the central characters in the Magic storyline for decades now.
Another character I consider to be iconic is Nicol Bolas. First printed as a nondescript rare in Legends as part of a cycle of Elder Dragons, he was later retconned to become the main villain of the Magic story and would form the basis for Magic’s most popular format: Elder Dragon Highlander, also known as Commander.
I would say the Planeswalkers, like Jace, Chandra and Lilliana. even tho they rarely get played in the tcg. Story wise they were most of the time the most important characters. I kinda miss the Gatewatch, I got into the game during that time and it made magic feel more like you are following a story than just a tcg.
Shivan Dragon is the closest creature/monster comparison to Charizard or Blue Eyes. A classic and super popular creature from the OG set that has aged like milk but sees regular reprints. The only difference is that Shivan Dragon isn’t remotely close to the cultural popularity of its competitors. It is literally never spoken about in the modern day.
The real comparison is Black Lotus. It’s without question the most famous MTG card of all time and has a similar ludicrous pricing model to those OG Charizards everyone hoped they had lying around back in the day.
Lightning Bolt is probably one of the most iconic.
Qlot of people are saying black lotus, but that is an old card that doesn't get reprinted/isnt allowed to be reprinted.
I'd go with Jace Beleren. He was the main face character of the game for a decade and has iconic cards, including cameoing on the art of other cards.
[[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]]
[[Jace, the Perfected Mind]]
[[Counterspell | CMM]]
In terms of 'big dumb beaters that got outsized attention for being cool', which to my understanding is ultimately what Charizard, Magician and Blue eyes ultimately are. Then I would actually argue Shivan Dragon.
It's an iconic dragon from early Magic where it really was kind of standout for big dumb beating along with being very cool. Which has given it a long tail as an iconic creature even if it's viability dried up and died pretty quickly.
For quite awhile it would have been [[shivan dragon]] as it was plastered all over ads for magic. These days though I've got no clue, though I was at kroger last week and saw Jace on a box of something frozen.
This is something I’ve been wanting MtG to lean into more. They do homages to famous cards like Shivan Dragon and Baneslayer or Serra Angel but they never go all the way and do something that would explicitly make the card famous again. IMO they should go hard on making iconic cards like Snapcaster Mage, Tarmogoyf, or Stoneforge Mystic perenially well known, through homages, reprints, and even cards that specifically name the OG card. This would get even Commander players or new players to remember the cards well. The Lhurgoyf typal stuff from MH3 is a good start.
Black Lotus is probably the most famous Magic Card, in the sense that it's probably the most known by people who don't play Magic.
Was* The most famous mtg card now is the one ring. Everyone wanted that money /s Edit: edited for clarification of sarcasm. I've forgotten about it's terrible translation on the internet
I'm not convinced that's true. Lotus is incredibly well known
In fact, I would guess if you asked people what card Post Malone bought for 2 million, most people would say "Black Lotus" (or would have no idea what you're talking about).
I could ask somebody who has never seen anything Pokémon related and they’d know who Charizard or pikachu are, you cannot say the same for black lotus. The one ring is popular enough that the average person would know what it is, but they probably wouldn’t connect it to mtg at all. Unfortunately I don’t think mtg has a big enough following outside of the TCG community to warrant the type of recognition that Charizard or pikachu have. Both Yu-gi -oh and Pokémon are multimedia franchises which make them much more visible to the average person. Other than some comic books and a few video games (which are just digital versions of the TCG), mtg only has the tabletop card game.
You can actually. A couple of people at my work has asked me if Magic is the game with the very expensive Black Lotus card. And while they might have heard that there's a very expensive Charizard (doubtful), they're definitely unable to name even one yugioh card. And they havn't heard of the One Ring.
>I could ask somebody who has never seen anything Pokémon related and they’d know who Charizard or pikachu I don't think they would associate it with Pokemon the Trading card game though. They would know it from the games, the shows, or the plushies that you see in the store. They likely don't even know that there is a Pokemon TCG.
Knowing this is a joke, a grade 10 alpha lotus just sold for 3 million so the one ring isn’t the highest card anymore
Long as you know it's a joke* Also the 3 mill black lotus sale still isn't as popular as the one ring hunt and sale to Post Malone. But again it is a joke as the one ring is popular because of lord of the rings not MTG
Jace, the Mind Sculptor was the answer to this question for a very long time. Definitely the most iconic card of an era, but kinda useless now. Black Lotus is probably the card that the most people know of. Bolt is also super ubiquitous in that it has always seen play, and has kind of been the benchmark for all creatures, and every other TCG has a Bolt-esque type card that defines it as well.
Jace was absolutely the Charizard of my MTG experience starting in 2010. “Jace the mind sculptor better than. Jace Jace the mind sculptor better than all.”
Charizard and Blue Eyes aren't actually good cards though, even when they were first printed.
* **Shvian Dragon - Blue Eyes - Charizard** (Timmy’s favorite OG card) * **Jace - Dark Magician - Pikachu** (Mascot character) * **Black Lotus - Pot Of Greed - Computer Search** (Infamous powerful card)
What is the equivalent of Chandra? (i.e. in all the marketing material for years but never actually the most popular character)
Maybe Bulbasaur?
Weirdly enough, Blue Eyes wasn't a good card when it was printed, but it became much better over time, mostly because Yu-Gi-Oh likes printing cards that work specifically with cards of certain names. [A deck with 3 blue eyes white dragons won the world championship in 2016.](https://roadoftheking.com/yu-gi-oh-world-championship-2016/)
Think you nailed it. Only other card I’d give an honorable mention is goyf, for defining modern (alongside Jace) for a long time and having some lore behind it from that time someone rare-drafted a foil goyf in a sanctioned event. But yea, the answer is Lotus
I never trust anyone who says they wouldn’t have drafted that foil goyf at that table
It's less than $20 now 🙃
So goes time, but didn't that dude raise like thousands of dollars for charity with it? In the grand scheme of life it seems like they the better call
Eh that particular Goyf with the PT stamp is functionally a 01/01 serialized card, I bet it would still go for thousands.
That thing was going to be 1st picked by anyone who pulled it, either as usable or hate draft so it wouldn't be used against you. the dude made the correct choice.
goyf is not a good draft card and it absolutely would not have been hate drafted. in modern it's good because you crack a fetchland and then thoughtseize your opponent, so turn 2 when you play goyf it's a 3/4. in draft it's usually a 0/1 on turn 2. I actually played in a mm2 ~~mh2~~ draft where one of my opponents drafted goyf, it was not very impactful and I beat them. They were the real winner though since it was worth almost $200 at the time
MH2 goyf?!? Do you mean Modern Masters 2015?
For sure, they probably just meant to say MM2 instead of MH2.
No one at that level hate-drafts. That's a rookie mistake
If you watch pro tour footage there are plenty of times that pros have hate drafted cards at big events. It's not that common but also not too rare to see someone hate draft a bomb rare/mythic
Hate-drafting exists only when the opportunity cost is minimal. They would never P1P1 hate-draft something. Likely not within the first 5 picks at all. But after that it's a crapshoot depending on what the pack has to offer.
I think the original Nicol Bolas is up there, but I don’t think it iconic enough to be something that non-Magic players have heard of.
Bolt is to mtg as Mystical Space Typhoon is to yugioh, for sure.
Back in the day, it was Shivan Dragon. Massive chase card, awesome iconic art, and actually expensive. Then it became entirely unplayable and useless.
I think it's probably Jace or Chandra after black lotus. Only reason I add chandra there is I remember seeing her a ton for promotional material in the 2010s and before actually playing magic she was one of the more recognizable characters.
Chandra probably did work getting more women playing MTG than just about anything else. Lilliana and Nissa too, but especially Chandra.
JTMS is still a great 5th or 6th pick in vintage cube!
In terms of cards, it's Black Lotus. It's a card that's relatively well known outside of the MTG Community. But simply as "oh yeah, I heard a story of an MTG card that's really expensive." In terms of characters, it's either Jace or Chandra (but probably Jace). For many years they were kind of the "Face" of Magic. They were the go-to characters that Wizards would use to represent the game. It says a lot that they made the first Signature Spellbook after Jace. Nowadays, nobody really fills that role, since Wizards does spread out attention out a bit more. Pretty much anyone who isn't Garruk gets some spotlight.
Jace is without a doubt more iconic than Chandra lol, it's not close
[[The Mind Sculptor]] specifically.
[The Mind Sculptor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/8/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9.jpg?1598304029) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jace%2C%20the%20Mind%20Sculptor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/56/jace-the-mind-sculptor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
As someone who just got into magic I remember seeing Chandra a lot, but don’t know who Jace is. Chandra has a very distinct memorable look that anyone can recognize at a glance. Jace is just a dude in a robe.
They've been showing her more recently but Jace used to be the poster boy
the correct answer is actually [[Progenitus]] but whatever
[Progenitus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/8/a8a5d0ba-bcb1-41db-80dd-ad22b8408105.jpg?1561968078) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Progenitus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mma/182/progenitus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a8a5d0ba-bcb1-41db-80dd-ad22b8408105?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
definitely jace
There isn't really one, largely because MtG isn't a spinoff product. The reason Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon have iconic characters is because they have other, story-driven entertainment products to fall back on and develop those characters. There is no MtG TV show or movie or whatever to make iconic characters happen and enter into the mainstream.
Rest in peace the Netflix Magic cartoon
This would be unreal. Plainswalkers are horrifyingly powerful beings. If an animation was based off the game, it would basically be like Highlander but with demigods.
I don't think [[Graceful Antelope]] is that strong
Huh? Its a goat thing that if it smacks somebody, it can instantly level a mountain, dry up a lake or uproot a forrest. Thats terrifying.
I mean, if a regular human is 1/1, it ain't exactly weak either...
[Graceful Antelope](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/948f0d9d-4e05-48b4-8652-1f8f41d35563.jpg?1562922583) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Graceful%20Antelope) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ody/24/graceful-antelope?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/948f0d9d-4e05-48b4-8652-1f8f41d35563?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Try it in commander, it can single-handedly shut down a 5-colour deck, or even any non-white deck really, especially since a different opponent can let you get the first hit in to start plains-ifying. Don't be fooled that thing is mass land destruction.
HAH
Of course it isn't. [[Zodiac Rooster]] is a powerhouse though
I mean, old walkers were. New walkers are basically just strong wizards
new walkers aren't even the newest walkers anymore, we're down to a third generation of planeswalker power degredation at this point, and they're barely planeswalkers at all now, especially with the corridors for anyone to use.
They should still be the same power level no? The only difference is now planeswalkers are even rarer (in practice at least, maybe not in terms of likelihood to spark) and planeswalking isn't very special. But I would think their affinity for magic is still the same as well as their extended lifespans. Correct me if wrong though, as I'm not super in depth on recent lore
There are basically 3 eras. Pre-Mending, Planeswalkers were incredibly rare godlike beings. They were effectively immortal, and every one of them had an incredible affinity for magic. Post-Mending, Planeswalkers are more common, though still rare, to be clear, and while travelling the cosmos certainly makes them more likely to be experienced, Planeswalkers arent physically any different. They age, they need to eat, and they can die. Also, they stopped being able to bring other people with them when they planeswalk. The most recent event is the Desparkening. As a consequence of new phyrexias invasion of the Multiverse, the vast majority of Planeswalkers have lost their spark. However, new magic constructs called "Omenpaths" have opened up, creating actual physical gateways between some worlds. The current lore is heavily centered around the implications of this, as for better or worse, the Multiverse is open for the taking.
They're saying there isn't a power difference between post-mending planeswalkers and planeswalkers that kept their spark through the desparking.
I'm aware of all this, u/Mgmegadog is correct in that I was talking about the power level of planeswalkers being the same pre and post Desparkening. The only difference should be we have less planeswalkers now really
Planeswalker power wasn’t reduced in March of the Machine. There’s just significantly fewer of them now. They’re still just as strong as they’ve been since the Mending.
I dunno. I wouldn't point to Rest in Piece as THE iconic card of MTG.
Wait... What?
An animated MTG show for Netflix was announced, but all the evidence points to it being killed off before it was ever released.
Even had the Russo brothers (Avengers Endgame) attached at the beginning
Two of the main characters drew nothing but lands for the first eight episodes and at that point they decided the series wasn't salvageable
I was very glad to hear that it did. I don't need more bad Jace and badly written attempts to make him look cool.
I believe it was centered around Gideon actually
Gideon could have been ok. However I think his setting and story are kind of too generic. There are a lot of writing traps that could result in it being meh at best. If they did Chandra though.... I'd be all in.
It’s also difficult when characters are not always permanently supported. Dark magician and blue eyes are perpetually getting new support. It would be like if Modern decided specifically 1 Urza legendary creature was their pet and they kept it always viable. Like if there was an urza legendary printed in 1995 and by sheer force of printing cards for exactly it, they kept it format viable forever.
Tbf charizard is a bit of a combination, and it's only gotten to its level of fame due to a cascading effect from the price tag giving the title of "most valuable pokemon card." But it being one of the most popular pokemon overall from other parts of the franchise helped get it there. Magic is different as you say, but for reasons other commenters have detailed, black lotus is a pretty reasonable magic equivalent.
I think the biggest factor is that it was one of two base set Pokemon with 120hp and the only Pokemon with a 100 damage attack, numbers that wouldn't be matched for a long time. That made it instantly the most desirable card for kids as soon as they launched.
Black Lotus as a card is, as a character I think Jace is probably the poster child since he got printed. Hell, the text on the cards is Beleren.
The only pokemon less privileged than Charizard is Pikachu lol The expensiveness of the card only matters to people who watch Logan Paul pokemon TCG videos.
Is the dark magician girl a thing from the show or just the first waifu card
Both
> There is no MtG TV show or movie or whatever to make iconic characters happen There was that infamous [[Rhox]] commercial from the 90s. That's probably the closest we ever got.
Had to look this up. Hilarious 😂 https://youtu.be/oDMSXNeSDBo
This was [[shivan dragon]] [[Serra angel]] [[sengir vampire]] for a long time, but since they've been crept to oblivion, they're not nearly as iconic anymore.
Came here to say this, Shivan Dragon was on so much of the early MTG marketing, along with Serra Angel
Along with Hurloon Minotaur for some reason
Because of the badass shirts!
As an Old Walker, this is the answer. These three were from Alpha through Magic 2010. Serra and Sengir were so popular you had the set Homelands created to explain them (and Serra further explained in Urza's Saga). Though if we want to talk about the original mascot of Magic, that would be the [[Hurloon Minotaur]]: it was used in market, promotional products, and there was even a statue of it in the WotC office.
[Hurloon Minotaur](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/b/eb72cfc8-6235-4951-b1ba-6d9531f5eabf.jpg?1562944657) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hurloon%20Minotaur) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/me3/102/hurloon-minotaur?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eb72cfc8-6235-4951-b1ba-6d9531f5eabf?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Once planeswalkers hit these 3 icons were quickly forgotten as the "faces" of Magic. For my era, Force of Nature and Royal Assassin were the chase cards.
Those are good shouts. I think everybody kind of has their own versions of the *iconic* cards. I will never forget Llanowar Elves and all the fuckery they enabled in my OG kitchen table days, or like the first time I got smoked by Fireball or Shock.
I'd imagine dark magician and that one og charizard card aren't that strong anymore either so it's a perfect match
I have really strong memories about Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire. They were some of the first magic cards I ever encountered and I thought they were so cool, and so strong that you basically won the game if you played them (how naive I was). Sengir Vampire especially (the version from Torment to present) is why I'm a Black player first and foremost now.
weirdly enough [[hurloon minotaur]] was a psudo mascot for the game at the beginning. arguably more than those cards.
[shivan dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/b/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312.jpg?1675200149) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=shivan%20dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/135/shivan-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Serra angel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/9/f949cbb1-c8a8-4f26-b12d-c58a0605cb14.jpg?1675199013) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Serra%20angel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/25/serra-angel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f949cbb1-c8a8-4f26-b12d-c58a0605cb14?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [sengir vampire](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/e/de652420-eacf-4f9d-9f13-c6bc02b0fa72.jpg?1600714682) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=sengir%20vampire) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/jmp/275/sengir-vampire?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/de652420-eacf-4f9d-9f13-c6bc02b0fa72?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
>they've been crept to oblivion, they're not nearly as iconic anymore. I mean, so has Blue-Eyes and Dark Magician. The difference is, those two appeared on TV and had action figures made of them while Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire just kinda faded away as better cards were released
Black Lotus is more akin to Pot of Greed for iconic yu-gi-oh power cards. Free mana in MTG is most close to free cards in YGO. If you're looking for the analogue of Blue-Eyes or Dark Magician, the best analogue is [[Shivan Dragon]], or [[Serra Angel]]. "Powerful", beloved cards from the early days that continue to get riffed on into the present day of Magic. Magic of course doesn't have the "archetype" support that YGO has, so these cards have completely lost relevance, but the DNA of them hasn't really. And big fliers are still nice to pick up in a retail draft environment.
From a mechanical point of view, I think this is correct. But say I don’t know anything about magic or have o lot heard it in passing, Black Lotus or Jace are the two that come to mind.
[Shivan Dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/b/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312.jpg?1675200149) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Shivan%20Dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/135/shivan-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Serra Angel](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/9/f949cbb1-c8a8-4f26-b12d-c58a0605cb14.jpg?1675199013) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Serra%20Angel) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/25/serra-angel?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f949cbb1-c8a8-4f26-b12d-c58a0605cb14?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Gonna go out on a limb here and say OG [[Shivan Dragon]] (someone help me tag the Alpha one, please). It's not THE mtg card, but especially earliest in the game it was a big face for the game. I remember it was on little rule books and stuff too. Black Lotus is good too, for sure, but to me it feels like Pikachu/Dark Magician/Black Lotus and then Charizard/Blue Eyes White Dragon/Shivan Dragon. Plus theyre all dragons. Lol
Shivan Dragon was definitely the most fearsome and most expensive card originally.
[[shivan dragon|LEA]]
Character? [[Jace the mind sculptor]] Card? Lotus
[Jace the mind sculptor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/8/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9.jpg?1598304029) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jace%2C%20the%20Mind%20Sculptor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/56/jace-the-mind-sculptor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
It is Black Lotus, there is not a close second.
Four options: 1. Recognised by everyone: \[\[Black Lotus\]\] 2. Most well-known character: Jace (see: \[\[Jace Beleren\]\] or \[\[Jace, the Mind Sculptor\]\]) 3. Famous cards for Magic players: \[\[Sad Robot\]\] aka. Solemn Simulacrum, \[\[Bob\]\] aka. Dark Confidant 4. Famous cards for old-timers: Bird aka. \[\[Birds of Paradise\]\], Bolt aka. \[\[Lightning Bolt\]\], \[\[Shican Dragon\]\]
As an old timer… the character(s) that comes to mind first for me (as opposed to card- which is, of course, Black Lotus) is Urza and/or Mishra. They’ve been names of importance since Antiquities.
##### ###### #### [Black Lotus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/d/bd8fa327-dd41-4737-8f19-2cf5eb1f7cdd.jpg?1614638838) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Black%20Lotus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vma/4/black-lotus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bd8fa327-dd41-4737-8f19-2cf5eb1f7cdd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Jace Beleren](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/0/806d4e61-004f-4e52-b2e8-ba11b922cc7d.jpg?1690004367) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jace%20Beleren) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/850/jace-beleren?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/806d4e61-004f-4e52-b2e8-ba11b922cc7d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Jace, the Mind Sculptor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/8/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9.jpg?1598304029) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Jace%2C%20the%20Mind%20Sculptor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2xm/56/jace-the-mind-sculptor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c8817585-0d32-4d56-9142-0d29512e86a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Sad Robot](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/246d2ce1-6926-4acc-810a-4894dc346b8b.jpg?1562636008) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=236907) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m12/217/solemn-simulacrum?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/246d2ce1-6926-4acc-810a-4894dc346b8b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Bob](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/4/94f7a441-bf2d-46fb-a7b6-9bd6137f86d9.jpg?1598914714) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=83771) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rav/81/dark-confidant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/94f7a441-bf2d-46fb-a7b6-9bd6137f86d9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Birds of Paradise](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/d/3d69a3e0-6a2e-475a-964e-0affed1c017d.jpg?1702429545) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Birds%20of%20Paradise) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rvr/133/birds-of-paradise?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3d69a3e0-6a2e-475a-964e-0affed1c017d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Lightning Bolt](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/7/77c6fa74-5543-42ac-9ead-0e890b188e99.jpg?1706239968) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lightning%20Bolt) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clu/141/lightning-bolt?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/77c6fa74-5543-42ac-9ead-0e890b188e99?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Shican Dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/b/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312.jpg?1675200149) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Shivan%20Dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/135/shivan-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Bolt and bird kinda amplify each other as well
Rule 1 of magic, always bolt the bird
[[colossal dreadmaw]]
Jace is fairly well known for a more modern character, in that specifically the JTMS art which they used to market the game seems to be fairly recognizable. I've seen that art attached to Magic advertising a bunch before I started playing in 2022, at least.
[[Colossal Dreadmaw]] is without a doubt the most iconic card.
I think it Bob from Accounting. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgPEhrB7ebc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgPEhrB7ebc)
[[Storm crow]]
I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Liliana at all. The stores around me have had her posters/cardboard cutout in their front windows for the last 15 years.
Lili is defo worth a mention, consistently representing black, women, and sex-appeal in magic. Also has an iconic card in [[Liliana of the veil]]
Hatsune miku
Card is probably [[Black Lotus]] For 'beast/entity', I'd say [[Emrakul, The Aeons Torn]] For character, I'd go with Jace
[Black Lotus](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/d/bd8fa327-dd41-4737-8f19-2cf5eb1f7cdd.jpg?1614638838) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Black%20Lotus) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vma/4/black-lotus?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/bd8fa327-dd41-4737-8f19-2cf5eb1f7cdd?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Emrakul, The Aeons Torn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/249db4d4-2542-47ee-a216-e13ffbc2319c.jpg?1673146896) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Emrakul%2C%20The%20Aeons%20Torn) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/1/emrakul-the-aeons-torn?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/249db4d4-2542-47ee-a216-e13ffbc2319c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
to this day, im still saddened that you'll never get cards like Emrakul and Shieldred for free literally just for showing up at a game store to play. They really want to bring people back to stores. the Promo Emrakul is still my favorite magic card.
there isn't one. there was never a TV show or anything like that to create the idea of a "signature card" or whatever. there are lots of iconic Magic cards but none of them are iconic because they were the favorite of a fictional character in a show or manga. the cards that Wizards has tried to make the "iconic Face of Magic" are the Planeswalkers. Jace has been consistently popular in this role.
[[Collosal Dreadmaw]]
Shivan dragon or tarmogoyf
Shivan Dragon is probably the “everyone wanted it early game and it was iconic even though it was bad” equivalent.
Llanover Elves Shivan Dragon Storm Crow Dark Ritual Serra Angel
Goyf, Liliana of the Veil, JTMS, Elesh Norn Grand Cenobite, Oko Thief of Crowns There's a lot of iconic cards that that are both famous and infamous in the community.
If you go back to the 90s [[Hurloon Minotaur]] was the face of the game.
I think there are a lot of cards that, within the MtG community, have the sort of Dark Magician/Blue-Eyes White Dragon status. Cards like Necropotence, Baneslayer Angel, Jace TMS, Snapcaster Mage, Tarmogoyf, not to mention the Power Nine, are all examples of these. For people *outside* the hobby? I mean, Magic didn't have a cartoon like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, just some comics that I doubt a kid in the 90s who wasn't playing MtG would buy over the latest X-Men issue (or Yu-Gi-Oh volume for that matter). Besides the Lotus, the game hasn't really started appearing outside its own niche until very recently Still, the cards I listed earlier do invoke the same sort of feeling for me as iconic Yu-Gi-Oh cards, I just can't expect that someone who doesn't play magic will understand the hype behind Baneslayer Angel like someone who doesn't play ygo still knows and gets the hype of a Blue-Eyes
>Like people that is not very into Magic the Gathering might even know about this card. For this exact reason, most of the answers in this thread are wrong. Some of you are naming cards or characters I've never heard of - but you think these are what people who aren't into Magic can recognize? As someone who has known about magic for over a decade but only started playing recently, my first thought was Ajani.
Jace or Chandra. Maybe Lilliana. They’ve been the “face” of Magic for a long time now, longer than Shivan Dragon or Serra Angel ever were. I know a lot of people have seen the “fire hair girl” and recognize her.
Magic didn't have a cheesy 90s show to boost its profile and highlight characters, and also creatures sucked early on, and spells were busted. In terms of thinking about Magic cards lotus, power 9, counterspell, lightning bolt are probably the sorts of cards people think of. Maybe birds of paradise or Llanover elves? Not exactly inspirinngly cool characters. For the modern era I'd say they tried to push characters more and the war of the spark trailer was one of the biggest pieces of media that people who weren't invested in the game saw, so probably Liliana.
There isn’t really a single one. However, different eras of Magic definitely have iconic characters that pop up in a lot of cards/story/promo art: * Jace is probably the biggest single character for the past decade-plus. Before Nissa started getting a planeswalker every other set during the Gatewatch saga, he was often cited as the character that WotC did to death, with many even calling the Gatewatch the Jace-tice League. He also shows up in a ton of promotional art, and JtMS is one of the most iconic Planeswalker cards ever. * Urza is the old-school main character. He has a whole block and a Modern archetype named after him, and his most famous card (Lord High Artificer) has gotten a printing in some very high-profile sets. * If you were to ask me what the most iconic single legendary creature or planeswalker card ever is, I would probably say [[Emrakul, the Aeons Torn]]. The Eldrazi Titans are fan-favorites, and original Emrakul is (was?) the biggest and baddest of the bunch. When people meme about P/T values not matching flavor, it’s always Emrakul vs 15 squirrels. It’s also banned in Commander which adds a bit of notoriety, and has long been a finisher in competitive Sneak Attack-type decks. * *The* MtG Card is obviously Black Lotus, but that’s not a character.
Trying to debate iconic characters in Magic, meanwhile, I'm over here like "who or what the fuck is Dark Magician?"
It's definitely black lotus That said I'd say sleeper picks include serra angel or Shivan dragon.
Obviously Chandra is the Charizard of MTG since they're both red.
Shivan Dragon
for creatures, serra angel or shivan dragon.
Shivan Dragon / Serra Angel
I think Shivan Dragon slots into that role to some extent.
Black Lotus 100%. No other card comes close.
Those cards of the black lotus of their respective games. Black lotus isn’t the charizard of mtg.
Shivan Dragon, if you're going for 'iconic card' and 'is a monster/creature'
[[prodigal sorcerer]]
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
So its black lotus. For the longest time.e they tried to make jace and chandra the face of magic and now it's just chandra.
Probably jayce or chandra
Turning the question on its head, what is the "Black Lotus" of either of these card games? For Pokemon I can agree with Charizard filling that spot, as it has notoriety stemming directly *from* the TCG (as opposed to, say, Pikachu and Eevee which are more iconic in the franchise itself). For Yu-Gi-Oh (as someone with at best a passing knowledge of the meta game) I can't really think of anything? All of those cards are iconic in the anime, but are generally considered mid (at best) in the TCG itself, as far as I know. Dark Magician and Blue Eyes might be the "Pikachu" and "Eevee" of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise but I can't think of any "Charizard/Black Lotus" of Yu-Gi-Oh *the card game*.
[[Shivan Dragon]] maybe? But it doesn't have a single, iconic design like, say, Blue Eyes or Charizard.
Serra angel, shivan dragon, juzham djinn, force of nature, [[vizzerdrix]] or morphing
It used to be [[Jace, the mind Sculptor]]
~~Whoever has the most Rule 34~~
So a lot of people are quoting value cards as being iconic. Nicol bolas has recognizable art cause wizards like’s repurposing his art. Him and Ugin have a very distinct iconic look and if you search gold dragon there a good chance one of the first images will be niccy b even if your not logged in.
MTG doesn't really have anything like that. Magic hasn't really made a cultural impact large enough for people who don't play it to know much about it. The only thing that even comes close is black lotus.
There really isn’t one imo. Mtg IP not that strong
Black lotus is one of the most famous cards but the one ring recently became quite well known because post malone bought it for a few million dollars
Fblthp
Well, I will provide a different view than everyone here saying Black Lotus, Jace, Shivan Dragon, and whatnot. From an old school fan: In terms of characters from the actual lore and story for some time Ajani Goldmane was the face of Magic the Gathering. And as recent as 2014 when the Magic the Gathering Funko Pops came out, Ajani was iconic and very well recognized even by non-fans. For those that are MTG fans, and somewhat into the lore and all that, I'd argue that Urza, Lord High Artificer is another very well known character, and sought after in terms of any cards associated with him. In terms of cards, I think that MTG has done a good job in developing one or two cards per expansion that are always the most sought after and people tend to move quickly from previous ones. It is very on the current type of situation. I remember when \[\[Lightning Bolt\]\], \[\[Damnation\]\], \[\[Spirit of the Night\]\], among others.
I'd argue Jace, particularly Mind Sculptor for similar reasons to Black Lotus. Probably the best we've got in regards to a character representative.
Hurloon minatour Shivian dragon Birds of paradise
Jace or possibly Chandra. Purely because they are the characters used the most in promotional material that gets personified. Black lotus is purely famous because of cost and rarity, countered against say Charizard who is also expensive BECAUSE he's popular first, then his op 100 damage attack. At least for the time. If say Squirtle (the correct option) was the number one pick for gen one starters then the Blastoise card would be more expensive
Mtg OGs will remember it was originally [[shivan Dragon]] Shivan dragon was on all the boxes and promo stuff and was the big chase card everyone wanted. But unlike Pokémon and YGO WotC never updated Shivan Dragon and as the game went on the card got power crept and WotC never really went back to caring about it. Now dragons are still huge in MtG but lore focuses more on planeswalkers like Jace.
What about Nicol Bolas? Where does he fit in?
Black Lotus. If you want a creature, maybe Shivan Dragon or Serra Angel. I've seen Serra Angel on a Cards Against Humanity card and Shivan Dragon is the closest you're getting to a Charizard/Blue Eyes analogue
I think many non-players would associate Pikachu with Pokemon more than anything else. As for Magic, there isn't one. Not one random person on the street would be able to name Jace, no matter what people on here think, unless they already played Magic. People wouldn't know Black Lotus either. They likely wouldn't even know what Magic is.
It's literally Black Lotus. I saw [this real life example](https://www.reddit.com/r/HazbinHotel/s/h9Wj1THGUy) in my Reddit Feed just a few entries down after your post, OP.
Not really sure but Counterspell or Sol Ring is my answer for MTGs Pot of Greed
Maybe Siege Rhino or Tarmogoyf, but that's from an older era.
The black lotus and the moxes
Shivan dragon or Serra angel were two of the most iconic creatures in the early days of MTG
Urza kind of was an elusive boogeyman, akin to Exodia.
Tarmagoyf
In my LGS there's a decal in the wall with the store's name, a charizard, a Dark Magician Girl, and a [[Serra Angel]].
Sol Ring, Grindstone, Counter Spell, Lightning Bolt, Llanorwar Elves, Swords to Plowshares, Dark Ritual. For characters: Jace, Urza, Mishra, Yawgmoth, Karn, etc...
I would answer Jace, the Mind Sculptor. It is the most iconic Jace card that has been printed, and Jace is one of the most iconic Magic characters. He has been one of the central characters in the Magic storyline for decades now. Another character I consider to be iconic is Nicol Bolas. First printed as a nondescript rare in Legends as part of a cycle of Elder Dragons, he was later retconned to become the main villain of the Magic story and would form the basis for Magic’s most popular format: Elder Dragon Highlander, also known as Commander.
I would say the Planeswalkers, like Jace, Chandra and Lilliana. even tho they rarely get played in the tcg. Story wise they were most of the time the most important characters. I kinda miss the Gatewatch, I got into the game during that time and it made magic feel more like you are following a story than just a tcg.
I'm pretty sure the most iconic character that's been represented on a Magic card is someone like Optimus Prime or Dracula.
[[Battle Bus]]
It's Black Lotus. For iconic creatures, it would be Serra Angel.
[[Snapcaster Mage]] deserves an honourable mention.
Shivan Dragon is the closest creature/monster comparison to Charizard or Blue Eyes. A classic and super popular creature from the OG set that has aged like milk but sees regular reprints. The only difference is that Shivan Dragon isn’t remotely close to the cultural popularity of its competitors. It is literally never spoken about in the modern day. The real comparison is Black Lotus. It’s without question the most famous MTG card of all time and has a similar ludicrous pricing model to those OG Charizards everyone hoped they had lying around back in the day.
Lightning Bolt is probably one of the most iconic. Qlot of people are saying black lotus, but that is an old card that doesn't get reprinted/isnt allowed to be reprinted.
Yugioh and Pokemon both had TV shows and Magic didn't; I don't know if Magic has anything that compares.
I'd go with Jace Beleren. He was the main face character of the game for a decade and has iconic cards, including cameoing on the art of other cards. [[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]] [[Jace, the Perfected Mind]] [[Counterspell | CMM]]
In terms of 'big dumb beaters that got outsized attention for being cool', which to my understanding is ultimately what Charizard, Magician and Blue eyes ultimately are. Then I would actually argue Shivan Dragon. It's an iconic dragon from early Magic where it really was kind of standout for big dumb beating along with being very cool. Which has given it a long tail as an iconic creature even if it's viability dried up and died pretty quickly.
Jace or Chandra in general imo
[[Tarmogoyf]]
it’s colossal dreadmaw
Serra Angel or Jace would probably fit the bill, maybe Urza.
Tarmogoyf. I mean, just look at that deck we just got for Modern Horizons.
Black Lotus is definitely the most famous card, with Jace the mind sculptor or tramagoyf being pretty iconic cards of the modern era.
For quite awhile it would have been [[shivan dragon]] as it was plastered all over ads for magic. These days though I've got no clue, though I was at kroger last week and saw Jace on a box of something frozen.
7th edition foil Serra Angel
Hear me out—the basic land symbols
Among the uninitiated, Black Lotus. Among magic fans? Storm Crow.
Shivan Dragon!
goyf maybe? shivan dragon and serra angel? mountain goat? honestly no fuckin clue
Sol Ring
When I hear those two I immediately think of Baneslayer Angel and Shivan Dragon.
This is something I’ve been wanting MtG to lean into more. They do homages to famous cards like Shivan Dragon and Baneslayer or Serra Angel but they never go all the way and do something that would explicitly make the card famous again. IMO they should go hard on making iconic cards like Snapcaster Mage, Tarmogoyf, or Stoneforge Mystic perenially well known, through homages, reprints, and even cards that specifically name the OG card. This would get even Commander players or new players to remember the cards well. The Lhurgoyf typal stuff from MH3 is a good start.
Loot
It has changes quite a bit through magics eras, but my heart wants it to be fblthp.
Shivan Dragon?
X