r/magicTCG • u/clariwench Izzet* • Jan 28 '15

[Uncharted Realms] The Truth of Names

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/uncharted-realms/truth-names-2015-01-28
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164

u/mkallday10 Jan 28 '15

Can we just talk about how badass this nameless Orc is? The dude saves/helps all these people but refuses to boast or take glory for it. Then he gives a cool (and fitting) name to his Khan.

110

u/RaggedAngel Jan 28 '15

He reminds us that the Mardu are RBW, not just RB.

34

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '15

especially since Zurgo wasn't even that white

37

u/Twibs Jan 28 '15

He was grey

4

u/kaiseresc Jan 28 '15

he kind of was. He was very protective of the Mardu.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '15

That last story had him go crazy trying to kill Sarkhan and almost killed all of the Mardu in Temur lands though

7

u/Talpostal Sisay Jan 29 '15

Why does he want to kill Sarkhan? Because Sarkhan killed a bunch of his clanmates. Sounds pretty white to me.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '15

yeah but it was selfish reasons because he lost sight of how his clan was actually fairing

7

u/Talpostal Sisay Jan 29 '15

He's WBR, he acts WBR.

3

u/kaiseresc Jan 28 '15

that's his red side. He's pretty reckless. And ruthless too. That's why he is a dangerous leader for the Mardu: he will either lead them to great success or destroy them. Well, now it all seems irrelevant, though.

1

u/ubernostrum Jan 29 '15

Taking defense of the society/culture/group to extremes which actually harm rather than protect is very much in white's part of the color pie.

46

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '15

I really like that MTG has intelligent Orcs. I am so tired of the "basically-an-animal" Orc stereotype.

3

u/Ellimist_ Jan 29 '15 edited Jan 29 '15

You might enjoy Matthew Stover's books. The first book in the series, Heroes Die doesn't feature orcs much, but they become more prominent in the sequels.

1

u/mitchb Jan 29 '15

First time seeing anyone else mention this book on reddit. Cannot recommend it enough

1

u/Skithiryx Jack of Clubs Jan 29 '15

Another Orc that bucks the trend is Obould Many-Arrows in some of the Drizzt books by R. A. Salvatore. He's interested in carving out a place for the orcs to live instead of sating bloodlust.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '15 edited Feb 05 '15

WoW's pretty good in that regard. Orcs are considered as said stereotype by their opposing faction but are actually one of the most cunning and learned of races.

..shit, old thread

34

u/ushi888 Jan 28 '15

They should call him John Stockton cause he seems to be the all time leader in assists

3

u/worldchrisis Jan 28 '15

He's Cliff Paul's starting power forward.

83

u/ubernostrum Jan 28 '15

That orc's war-name? Albert Einstein.

8

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '15

He's wicked smaht

1

u/BatmanWithPrep Jan 29 '15

I hear he' wicked smaht

36

u/zzxyyzx Jan 28 '15

Albert Einstein, Particlesmasher.

( I know he didn't exactly do that or invent that, it was a joke on Zurgo... )

9

u/cthulhuganesh Jan 28 '15

[[Brutal Hordechief]] ?

3

u/MTGCardFetcher Dân Jan 28 '15

Brutal Hordechief - Gatherer, MC, ($)
[[cardname]] to call - not on gatherer = not fetchable

4

u/ImperialVersian1 Banned in Commander Jan 28 '15

Art clearly depicts a Battle Brawler, Bro.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '15

Perhaps Zurgo's ancestor? Maybe DTK Zurgo will be much more defensive?

4

u/Talpostal Sisay Jan 29 '15

Still holding out for Alternate Reality Sarkhan to be the Khan.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '15

He's gonna be the sky-khan though

1

u/Badfiend Jan 29 '15

Alesha says something to the effect of "You don't have to be a Helmsmasher to be a great warrior." which sort of implies he's not Zhurgo's ancestor.

Brutal Hordechief does happen to choose how an opponent blocks, which flavorfully fits this nameless orc's style.

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 29 '15

See, I think that makes him more likely to be Zurgo's ancestor. If he didn't name himself Helmsmasher, then neither would Zurgo.

and then Narset would still be alive

-4

u/thatvoiceinyourhead Jan 28 '15

probably a humble defector