Core Set 2020 as Told by Flavor Text

"Oh, you must be mistaken. Hawks are solitary hunters, you see." ~ Bunder Diedreck, ornithologist

Waves of gloom crash in vain against his unyielding light.

"With me! Break this line and the rest will fall!"

"Within every angel is a spirit of light that will fight as long as there is darkness."

"As long as your courage remains, your life will not falter." ~ Sephara, Sky's Blade

"As the sun rose behind the Bone Spire, an angel appeared over the charnel fields, bringing a surge of new hope." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

"May the light shine through me to guide the lost."

"It is not punishment. I am simply making things as they should be." ~ Sephara, Sky's Blade

Where the holy light of the angels has shone, only purity remains.

"Well, at least it's a lovely view."

"Go find yourself a couple of friends, and bring me a blindfold. Then we might have a fair fight."

"Here is a companion who will never falter, no matter how desperate the battle!" ~ Ajani Goldmane

Once a griffin sentinel adopts a territory as its own, only death can force it to betray its post.

"Fear neither clouds nor darkness. The light shall overcome them all."

"We are armed with light and steel. Who can stand against us?"

"Time to show the foe our true mettle."

"Even if I should die in the saddle, she will not let me fall to the ground." ~ Hypatia of the Winged Horse

Phyrexian artificers remove the flesh they no longer need and use it to bring their unholy creations to a greater semblance of life.

"My faith is stronger than fang, claw, or mindless hunger."

Inquisitors are taught scripture, philosophy, and the fine art of sharpening an axe.

"Can't a fella get a moment's peace around here?"

Like blinking or breathing, responding to an alarm is an involuntary reflex.

The law is meant to ensure that people kill each other with only the utmost fairness.

"Healing is more art than magic. Well, there is still quite a bit of magic."

The strength of the one is the strength of the many.

"The realm of the gods opens before me!"

"Get up, slugabeds! We've got company, and they're not dressed for a party!"

The courage of those who work the land is born of long days of labor in the hot summer sun and the cold winter wind. It is the courage of the earth itself.

The chill wind extinguishes flame, and frosts the leaf on the branch.

"The more secrets you have, the more easily you become my pawn."

As the ship approached, the jade totem rose high overhead. Power rippled. Eyes of stone glowed and crackled. Out hissed a breath of the world, and a windstorm came alive.

Divining the future is easy when you hold the power to sway it.

The trick to talking sense into Keldons is getting them to hold still.

"I can think of worse ways to go. On second thought, maybe not." ~ Ludevic, necro-alchemist

Winter's breath given form.

"I always attack from where their spyglasses can't see."

"That's enough of that." ~ Atemsis, All-Seeing

Dragons avoid the bright colors of its wings.

"I can see which way the wind is blowing."

"Let's see how badly you want what you came for!"

"From a sea of infinite possibilities, our choices create the future." ~ Mu Yanling

One faerie distracts the judge while a second steals the law.

"I have wept such a torrent as to scour the land clean." ~ Mu Yanling

Unbreakable and unappetizing, the crab grows uninterrupted, sometimes to the size of a cottage and beyond.

"Reel it in. No, wait! Throw it back!" ~ Gertrude, deep-sea angler

It readily attacks much larger prey, knowing retaliation is impossible.

A good book is a refuge, but a great book is a fortress.

"Well, if that goblin didn't want his tongue pierced, he shouldn't have stuck it out at me."

"Come on, it's not even that deep!" ~ Gorin the Brazen

"As one, nature lifts its voice to tell you this: 'No.'"

In every swirl of the tide, it sees the awakening of things yet to come.

"If you need to disappear for a while, I know a place." ~ Bilivus, master archivist

"Forget what you have learned from other teachers. I bring you the truth."

"I study the past to find hope for the future."

Sleep doesn't always mean rest.

"Any ship that sails on these mean seas for long is bound to pick up a ghost or two." ~ Admiral Beckett Brass

"When you are gone, will anyone remember your story?" ~ Unknown

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" ~ Sharuum the Hegemon

On Evos Isle, the swift and formidable aven enforce the will of the ruling sphinxes.

Magic written across the sky falls like rain on thirsty ground, bringing forth wisdom in its season.

"Yarok's waters rush and ragenWhere armies bled into the sand." ~ Lament for Bala Ged, stanza 2

"The knights charged forward on wings of wind, and the necromancer's horde roared in helpless rage." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

"Your death will take a mere moment, but it will feel like an eternity." ~ Vilis, Broker of Blood

"Skill, imagination, smarts: none of it matters unless you have the nerve to use it."

"Poor little sun-dweller out past curfew. And to think, you might have survived if it wasn't so close to suppertime."

"One knife, two knives, three knives, four—which will drop you to the floor?"

Leaf and soul alike wither at its touch.

"You've heard that a vampire can't enter a home without an invitation? A lie meant to help you sleep at night." ~ Kerin, watch sergeant

Blood seeps into the stone, and darkness emerges.

A circus acrobat in life, she kills with such fluid grace that even her victims are awed by her performance.

"I will make your bones into a weapon that will lay even the mighty low." ~ Modriss of Zargoth Fen

"Living or dead, everyone responds to the proper motivation."

"Let this serve as a reminder of your failure." ~ Exdratha, bog witch

It beckons silently, waiting in the darkness.

Resistance is unthinkable.

"I feel your pain. It's exquisite."

"Fleshy, with just a hint of leather. A fine vintage."

"It was a bad evening for you, mate. Now it's chow time for the sharks."

"If you manage to get to the heart of the bog, you'll find things there that make zombies seem downright lovable." ~ Byaras, backwoods guide

In Amonkhet's ever-shifting sands, nothing stays buried for long.

His whips twist and tremble like living things, moved by the fury of the horde he commands.

"With a single word, they were unmade." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

Many an inventor has collapsed under the pressure to create a flawless design.

"By fate or by will, every reign must come to an end." ~ Kethis, the Hidden Hand

"The bog doesn't give a stinking bubble about your title, wealth, or piety. It's just hungry." ~ Byaras, backwoods guide

"Now, that's a zombie!" ~ Modriss of Zargoth Fen

His mind was lost long before his flesh.

"One for you, one for me. What could be more fair?" ~ Kethis, the Hidden Hand

"The Great Serpent slumbers now, but all warmbloods will grovel in the dirt at its awakening!"

The first mistake the Grimnant knights made was bullying the owner of an Urborg corpse shop. Their second mistake was dying.

"The skull is rigid, but the mind is so deliciously supple." ~ Eromena the Mind Render

"There are always more like you." ~ Modriss of Zargoth Fen

"Don't think of it as selling your soul. It's more like you're bequeathing it to me." ~ Vilis, Broker of Blood

"This place suits me: craven authorities and plentiful prey."

"Try to steal from me and I'll add your skull to my collection."

"You can sign, or you can spend your life imagining what might have been yours."

"Yarok's nightmares lurk and waitnWhere dark despair is near at hand." ~ Lament for Bala Ged, stanza 3

She learned a tragic lesson that day: even the purest can be corrupted when the heart's emotions are twisted.

"Furballs? Try dealing with fireballs." ~ Chandra Nalaar

"There's plenty of fire to go around." ~ Chandra Nalaar

"I've lit most everything on fire—trees, rocks, even the water. Now it's time to burn the clouds."

"Coming down is the best part!"

"I love digging. It gives me lots of time to think about how much I love digging."

"Yes, it's huge and strong and breathes fire. But we're smart!" ~ Tadith the Wise, last words

"Spread out, you idiots! Spread out!" ~ Marsden, party leader, last words

Not every job in the goblin army is glamorous. Actually, no job in the goblin army is glamorous.

"The best way to learn from a book on pyromancy is to burn it." ~ Jaya Ballard

"I have calculated that a dragon in flight, in a single strafing run, can cover an area of—" ~ Thaedus the Clever, last words

"I'm afraid your dinner got a little . . . overcooked." ~ Marlan Farthwald, innkeeper

"I opens my mouth to catches the bugs!"

"I am but a humble traveler. I have no taste for sneakery nor thiefiness."

"No shirt, no shoes, no service." ~ Marketplace sign

Keldon raiders' spoils are limited to what their colos can carry. No matter the value, the rest goes up in smoke.

She swings with the ease of flowing lava and hits with the force of a meteor.

Rage is the culmination of an accelerating cycle of anger and violence that feeds itself in battle, spreading like a flame from one warrior to another.

"Stand still and try not to look like prey!" ~ Skerk Hobnett, wilderness guide

Their loyalty is not to any master, but to the pack.

"Surely it won't notice if I take—" ~ Theria the Sly, last words

"I have a great idea!"

"Before they can go to their final rest, the wicked must be purified by fire." ~ Harra the Adjudicator

It's in the nature of fire to grow.

Dinosaurs rarely understand the idea of boundaries between the wild and the urban landscape.

"Keep your flammables out of reach." ~ Kerin, watch sergeant

"Yes, she can be a nuisance. But at least my tea never gets cold." ~ Marlan Farthwald, innkeeper

"I love this thing! It's my best invention since the boulderfist gauntlet!"

"You will kneel before me, even if I have to split the earth under your feet!" ~ Ash Kronor, Keldon warlord

The cage is a crucible for the rage that builds inside, refining it into something pure and terrible.

Sathros turned his restraints to revenge.

"Many have walked here, but there is only one trail I seek."

"The centaurs are truly free. Never will they be tamed by temptation or controlled by fear. They live in total harmony, a feat not yet achieved by our kind." ~ Ramal, sage of Westgate

Nylea's sacred lynx guards those who honor the Nessian Wood and hunts those who don't.

The strongest pack has the fiercest pups.

Within a mile of the woodland, you will feel her eyes upon you. Within its borders, you will feel her blade.

"Shed your faded husk! Emerge sleeker and stronger!" ~ Tyris, fauna shaman

"Grief and rage and nightmares fadenWhere hope and comfort make their stand." ~ Lament for Bala Ged, stanza 4

He and his pack sing the same mournful song to the moon.

"I am rooted in the life of all that thrives around me. You cannot move me."

"The living don't ever stay living, and the dead don't always stay dead." ~ Jeddeg, philosopher of graves

"If a careless elf ends up caught in a spider's web, we must expect nature to take its course. Do not blame the spider for being a spider." ~ Dellin Berting, Tolarian entomologist

The Joraga elves never need ask a troll to leave their territory. They merely grant it their combined strength, and it can't resist embarking on a merry rampage.

The haunted blade shattered, and the geist drifted gratefully to the Blessed Sleep.

It is an expert at culling individuals who stray too far from the herd.

A strong leader means a growing pack.

"Forward! Until the horizon is ours!" ~ Khemses, charioteer

"Even the pterodon, who chases the clouds from its skies, must bow to the great forest below." ~ Mahuiz, Sun Empire archer

"Little flower twirl and bloom, arise from this your rocky tomb. Little warrior slash and brawl, be born again to free us all."

"You should have seen the look on both their faces." ~ Morkamp, Lambholt innkeeper

"Awake, and lift your faces to the sun."

Thakolides the MightynSlayer of minotaursnVanquisher of giantsnKilled by a scorpion ~ Inscription on an Akroan grave

"In times of need, the forest creates its own protectors." ~ Vivien Reid

The apes of Yavimaya draw strength from the spirits of their ancestors.

"Tread too hard in the forest and it will tread on you in return." ~ Vivien Reid

It cares more about preserving the herd's territory than about preserving itself.

Roots reach deep, and sometimes they tap into things better left undisturbed.

"When the forest walks, it's too late to run." ~ Horent, Khalni druid

"Every footfall on the forest floor is a heartbeat sending strength into my veins."

"With each knight that rode out from the bone-white keep, the queen's soldiers felt their courage failing." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

The destruction of a wildfire with the tenacity of a jungle vine.

All the birds of the skies are the spirit's brood, gathered for safety under its wings.

"Alone, it's a fortification. At the head of its troops, it's a battering ram." ~ Skerk Hobnett, wilderness guide

"The pen is mightier than the crown."

"The raging gale fans the flames of righteous wrath."

"I strike in the same place as many times as necessary."

"The heroes of the past nourish our spirits by their example—and nourish our crops by their decay." ~ Jeddeg, philosopher of graves

"What he doesn't burn, he smashes." ~ Captain Wellis, ogre wrangler

"No, not 'washed' ashore. It walked ashore." ~ Shafring Hulm, beachcomber

"Jump! NOW!"

"Yarok grieves within the wastenOf Bala Ged's corrupted land." ~ Lament for Bala Ged, stanza 1

"I know its lightness, for I have seen it fly. I know its weight, for I have seen it strike." ~ Brigone, soldier of Meletis

There's no prepared like overprepared.

"There's only one way to be sure it's really dead."

"I see it taunting me whenever I close my eyes." ~ Nayrex Slipfinger, master thief

"Best bury them right. We don't want any gruesome encores." ~ Constable Trosk

"Locks want to be opened, and treasure wants to be free." ~ Nayrex Slipfinger, master thief

A sharp axe solves most problems.

The impact sent the soldiers scattering—then something came out of the crater.

"Good! Now put it with the other widdle bunnies." ~ Sargis Haz, artificer

Even its shadow is a dazzling rainbow.

"The last blast is the biggest." ~ Sargis Haz, artificer

"The next model should be able to achieve a rescue without self-destruction." ~ Sargis Haz, artificer

With five lenses on its "head," it sees the world in a range of colors beyond ordinary perception.

"The world is already run by all manner of machines. One day, they'll remind us of that fact." ~ Sargis Haz, artificer

The sculptor, like most artists, put his heart and soul into his work. But the newly awakened golem decided it wanted its creator's other, more tangible parts.

"The artificer assured me that the vial is strong enough to contain the dragon's breath. I just need to make sure to throw it far enough." ~ Kunh Mei, last words

Only when you've given up the search will the caves yield their secrets.

Without the interfering hands of civilization, nature will always shape itself to its own needs.

"Now is not the time for your light to fade."

"It soars on the winds of dreams." ~ Mu Yanling

"They come to drink, to bathe, and—I believe—to play."

"I have no patience for sipping blood from crystal goblets. I want to bite and tear."

"My people serve the dragon Kolaghan, but I give my blood for a greater lord."

"A whole life, full of memories and experience, love and sorrow, drained drop by drop into this bottle. Could any feast be more glorious?"

"It's high tide."

"Whoever thought of making mobile volcanoes was a genius." ~ Chandra Nalaar

"Fire is always dancing, leaping and whirling, seeking more fuel. It never rests, so why should I?" ~ Chandra Nalaar

"I think it's trying to tell us that the forest is angry." ~ Vivien Reid

"Regardless of where they come from, crocs are usually able to find their way home. For this one, home is me." ~ Vivien Reid

Headquartered at the Bastion of the Honorable, the soldiers of Ghirapur are charged with the task of keeping peace in the city.

In the cloudy skies and dim light of autumn, a flash of white wings is a reminder that better times lie ahead.

"You two, cover the alley! You, with me! Eyes on windows, balconies, and rooftops. Who knows what a fish-octopus-crab can do!"

In times of unrest, the crowd is eager for the comfort of strong convictions.

Her mount's hollow crest can produce a trumpeting warning that carries for miles, summoning more knights to her aid.

"We need to block the exits from the plaza! What's big, heavy, and available?" ~ Gideon Jura

A hunter in the city requires the utmost cunning to survive. It must pounce only if the kill is certain, and leave the remains where no one will see.

She watches over the city just as Serra watches over all.

"As the knight struggled to stand, his squire took up his blade. The foe advanced not a single step." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

"The walls of the wicked will fall before us. Ready the siege engines. We proceed to war!" ~ General Avitora

"Your death will be a balm, your passing a welcome revision, and all will sigh with peace to know of your demise."

The merfolk know every contour of their coral homes; each reef is a garden in times of peace, and a refuge and fortress in times of war.

"Only when I saw my enemy walk through all my defenses, untouchable as the moon in the sky, did I truly know what it is to be afraid." ~ King Ixes

"Safe passage requires only a simple answer to a simple question, traveler."

Foul-tempered, poorly trained, and mule-stubborn, the drake is the perfect test of the master's will.

At night, bats will feast on whatever is drawn to lanterns and streetlights.

"They are gentle herbivores, despite their size. Approach cautiously, and hum a tune to let them know you mean no harm." ~ Vivien Reid

"Writhing tendrils of darkness stitched him back together. Though his will and body both were broken, the necromancer's magic would not let him rest." ~ Krinnea, Siege of the Bone Spire

"If we've run out of warm bodies, then cold bodies will have to do." ~ Modriss of Zargoth Fen

It glides on silent wings across the midnight sky, and a dread host rises to follow.

"Soul, flesh, even eyes—none of these are strictly necessary for deadly precision." ~ Modriss of Zargoth Fen

"All your steel won't protect you if your will is weak."

"I think I cracked a fang."

"What does it mean when the dead feed on the dead? When no new life emerges, but only more death? Is it not an endless spiral into annihilation?" ~ Jeddeg, philosopher of graves

"Compared to the hunger of the fires within the earth, the appetite of a mere wurm is nothing." ~ Phelgis Ojin, Keral Keep acolyte

"I spent some time in the Legion, but I'm done taking orders all day."

What he lacks in patience, intelligence, empathy, lucidity, hygiene, ability to follow orders, self-regard, and discernible skills, he makes up for in sheer chaotic violence.

The bellow of a minotaur always translates to "charge."

Their fires burn quietly, allowing the phoenixes to glide silently through the canyon.

"What goes up must get stuck."

Joining a guild, even the Gruul, would mean giving up some of his independence. He'd rather smash what he wants to smash.

"It's just playing with us, Marsden." ~ Dafynne the Radiant, last words

"That's no ordinary eruption!" ~ Grazlash Stonehold, last words

"Approach from behind. That way, if it does charge, at least you aren't in front of it." ~ Vivien Reid

The spikes of bone protruding from its hide serve primarily as protection, but as they accumulate bits of foliage from the surrounding forest, they also provide camouflage.

It keeps the upper reaches of the forest free of every menace . . . except for the spider itself.

"Even the smallest creatures are fierce in defense of their own territory." ~ Vivien Reid

"When the beast cloaks itself in the mighty oak, what good is a bow? When the oak wraps itself around the snarling beast, what good is a hatchet?" ~ Dionus, elvish archdruid

"Friend and foe alike are irresistibly drawn to its beauty—the good, to their lasting reward, and the evil, to their brief and painful regret." ~ Vivien Reid

The massive dominate through might. The tiny survive with guile. Beware the tiny who become massive.

"I sing to the branches, and they reach to the sky. I sing to the leaves, and they open to the sun. I sing to the roots, and they dig their fingers deep. I sing the song that creation sung."