Fans of Magic: The Gathering had long been clamoring for dinosaurs, and Ixalan gave it to them in a delightful variety. The plane is home to a beautiful array of dinosaurs, displayed in a bevy of feathers of colors that helped give the two sets both beauty and an interesting combination of powers. But of all the dinosaurs, none are as fascinating and mysterious as the Elder Dinosaurs. These powerful creatures were introduced with the second Ixalan block, Rivals of Ixalan, and they brought with them some of the most epic powers. Here are ten facts about these awesome beasts that you probably didn’t know.
10 Elder Is A Creature Type First Used For Elder Dragons
This creature type was among the first used, since it appeared in Legends (1994), but it didn’t appear on new cards for more than 20 years, appearing again with Dragons of Tarkir (2015). Thus, there are two planes that have Elder Dragons: Dominaria and Tarkir. Then the Elder Dinosaurs appeared. Finally, there is also an Elder Demon of Dominaria: Belzenlok. It remains a relatively rare type, having been used on only 22 cards in all.
9 Two Of The Elder Dinosaurs Weren’t Based On Dinosaurs
All the Elder Dinosaurs are indeed called by that name, but they aren’t all dinosaurs. Zetalpa is a pterosaur, which is a flying reptile, while Nezahal is a plesiosaur, an aquatic reptile. They lived during the time of the dinosaurs, but they aren’t considered dinosaurs. Aquatic reptiles are closely related to snakes and lizards. Flying reptiles are more closely related to dinosaurs, but they’re just as closely related to crocodiles. This is a common mistake, and, really, what else would you choose for a blue mana “dinosaur”?
8 Two Of Them Seem To Be Influenced By Godzilla Monsters
While it’s easy to link most of the Elder Dinosaurs to their source creatures, two of them seem a little harder to trace. Zacama, Primal Calamity is a three-headed dinosaur monstrosity and not related to any known dinosaur. Tetzimoc, Primal Death, has some superficial resemblance to armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus and Gastonia, but its spikes and stance make it very different. These monsters were strongly influenced by two Godzilla foes: Ghidorah, the three-headed dragon, hinted at with the bright yellow art on the card, and Angilas, the spiky kaiju who was sometimes a friend and sometimes a foe of Godzilla.
7 The First Elders Revealed Were Tetzimoc And Ghalta
Before Rivals was released, news came out that there would be Elder Dinosaurs, which set off a wave of speculation as to what they might be. Many people thought that these Elder Dinosaurs would be linked to the Naya Mana (green, white, and red), the only colors that had dinosaurs in Ixalan. Thus, when Tetzimoc was leaked, people realized they would get a much larger selection for Elder dinosaurs, including an entire cycle.
6 Ghalta Is The Most Popular
Of course he is. Ghalta, the Primal Hunger, is a whopping 12/12 green beast, and if there’s one thing that Magic players love, it’s big green creatures. Plus, he’s based on Tyrannosaurus rex, which is (tiny) hands down the most popular dinosaur of all time. Ghalta’s popularity is confirmed not just by this informal survey, but also on card statistics showing that it’s used in more decks than any of the others.
The second most popular? Etali, Primal Storm, based on Spinosaurus. So it’s likely that many Friday Night Magic games repeated the epic confrontation of these two powerful carnivores from Jurassic Park III.
5 Their Tale Took Huatli The Longest To Memorize
The rebirth of the Elder Dinosaurs is told in the Magic story: “The Arbiter of Law Left Chaos in His Wake.” This story tells of the dinosaur rider Huatli’s quest to find the city of Orazca. When she finds it, we learn that this is the resting place of the Elder Dinosaurs, but they, like many things in Magic, are complicated. Getting their story straight in her mind took Huatli longer than any other—a full two years!
4 They Weren’t Originally Going To Be Called “Elder”
As noted above, the Elder designation is very rare in Magic, so it’s not surprising that the designers weren’t originally going to have Elder Dinosaurs at all. However, as the designers realized just how important it was to make sure every Ixalan deck had access to dinosaurs, they decided to make a dinosaur cycle that represented all five Mana types. Once they designed the cycle, they decided to call them Elder Dinosaurs, a fitting decision given the age and majesty of these creatures.
3 Ghalta Was designed As A Reward
Ghalta’s origins come from the experience of the Play Design team, which, in addition to balancing and debugging Magic, strives to make the game more fun to play. They observed that one particularly fun style of play, dino-aggro decks, which cast dinosaurs on-curve with some power-ups, tended to do poorly. They wanted to reward this type of play by giving them a “finisher” that they could access easily (generally by the fourth turn, and sometimes by the third!). As one of the most powerful creatures in the game, that’s some reward!
2 The First Five Elder Dinosaurs Were Born At The Five Corners Of Orazca
When Huatli comes to Orazca and touches the Immortal Sun, she feels the beating of five immense hearts, “one at each corner of the city.” Apparently, Orazca is a pentagonal city. This makes sense for the five elemental dinosaurs of the cycle. However, Zacama’s origins are a little less clear. He doesn’t appear in “The Arbiter” and in the next story, “Who Tells the Stories,” Huatli rides in on Zacama with a lot of fanfare, but not much explanation.
1 They Can Be Linked To Five Aztec Gods
Part of what makes Magic such an intriguing game is that the more you know, the more you appreciate its design. Take, for example, the fact that the five Elder Dinosaurs of the cycle can be easily linked to five Aztec gods, each of whom ruled an age of the earth, according to Aztec mythology. Tetzimoc can be linked to Tezcatlipoca, a god of sorcerers. Zetalpa can be linked to Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, god of wind and knowledge. Etali can be linked to Tlaloc, god of rains. Nezahal can be linked to Chalchihuitlicue, goddess of the oceans. Finally, Ghalta can be linked to Tonatiuh, the Earthquake sun. For more information about these connections, check out this detailed blog.
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