37 Best and Funniest MTG Flavor Text Lines Ever

Ignacio (Iñaki) February 14, 2024 MTG Cards, MTG Story

Last updated on October 11, 2024

Rancor | Illustration by Kev Walker

Magic is a game of words. Words make up the rules and mechanics of the game. I’ve talked before about how words are carefully chosen for the game and how a card's abilities, effects, and keywords usually help to inform us about the world, the characters, and the events that take place.

The story of the game is told through the cards first and through novels, free short stories, and other media second. Keywords and names aren’t enough to convey a story properly. This is where flavor text comes in.

Let’s talk about that.

Table of Contents show

What Is Flavor Text?

Inspiration | Illustration by Izzy

Flavor text is any italicized text that isn’t between parentheses on any given Magic card. It can have a handful of purposes but it’s usually there for world building.

Some cards had quotes from literature as flavor text in the earlier years of Magic. This was eventually abandoned in favor of original texts as the game’s own universe and lore started to expand.

The Categories of Flavor Text

Most players classify flavor text in a few different categories, which I usually agree with.

First, there’s worldbuilding. These are texts that give some insight into the world the cards represent. The dynamics between different groups, a snippet of the history of the place, maybe even geographical details. I’d add cards that also represent important story beats and moments here too.

Quotes are another prominent form of flavor text. They’re usually said by important characters or protagonists, but sometimes they’re attributed to background characters. There’s even various characters whose only appearance in the game is through flavor text quotes.

I include short dialogue here too since it works in a similar way. Some players also consider instances where cards have real world quotes to be part of this category. While I think those can be really good and work really well on cards, I won’t be talking about those cards since I’m going to focus on original text made for Magic.

Then we have humorous and whimsical flavor text. I adore this type of text when it’s well used. It can give insight into the world and characters while also giving you a good laugh. The bad thing is that this kind of text can absolutely ruin the flavor of a card when used in the wrong place.

I find Gorilla Titan to be one of these cases. This isn’t a funny card and there’s nothing on it that makes room for a comedic quote. The art wasn’t intended to be funny, but they added comedic text since it has a “silly” pose. I think this takes away from the card’s flavor while also being somewhat disrespectful to the artist.

On the other hand, I think cards like Werebear work really well. The text is funny while actually being related to the creature depicted in the card. It makes it funny without undermining the card’s flavor.

And finally there’s stand-alone flavor text. This includes pieces of text that may not be explicitly about the card they’re on but are still great complements.

The 2007 judge promo print of Vindicate works as an example of this. The text itself isn’t attributed to any character and it doesn’t mention anything directly related to Magic. It still relates to the effect of the card, but at the end of the day it’s a piece of writing that you could use in a completely different setting outside of Magic and it’d remain equally powerful and good.

I think this type of flavor text works in contrast to the comedic one. Stand-alone flavor text needs to be good writing, so it doesn’t matter what card it’s on because it almost always helps to elevate it and make it more dignified and flavorful.

The Criteria for Choosing the Best Flavor Text Out There

Blood Clock | Illustration by Keith Garletts

What flavor text you may or may not find good depends strongly on what you think is cool, your personal opinion and taste. That’s gonna play a huge part in why I choose some of the flavor texts in this list.

That being said, I do still have some criteria for the cards I chose. I prefer cards that help give depth to the worlds and characters they show or that help move the plot forward in interesting ways. Text that evokes emotions or is memorable in its own right will also be included. This includes good comedic text since I like it when it’s used right. I’ll mostly avoid cards from un-sets or else most of the list would be jokes and puns.

Cards where the flavor text undermines or contradicts established canon, ridicules the card it’s on when the original purpose of the cards wasn’t to be funny, or basically any flavor text that makes the world more uninteresting or unnecessarily contrived won’t make the cut.

But enough preamble about rules and criteria. Let’s go into some of the best flavor text in Magic!

Honorable Mentions

Most Goblin Cards

I put a few specific goblin-related cards in this list because I think they work particularly well on their own, but goblin cards in general are some of the most comedic and ridiculous in all of Magic’s flavor texts. Some can be a little hit or miss but it’s almost impossible to not find at least some of them either funny or endearing.

The Sarpadian Empires Tome

I believe this was the first time in Magic that we ever got one single “book” written throughout several different cards. The Sarpadian Empires is a tome of seven volumes that tells the story of the fall of the five kingdoms of Sarpadia. All of the quotes from this imaginary book can be found on cards from Fallen Empires except for Time Spiral card Empty the Warrens. Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII is the only card that represents the book itself.

The flavor text on some of these cards isn’t particularly good in and off itself so I didn’t think it was worth its own official spot on the list. That said, the idea behind the Sarpadian Empires is flavorful and fun so it gets a special mention.

The Phyrexian Progress Notes

The invasion of Dominaria by the Phyrexians was one of the biggest events in all of Magic’s history and set them up as a threat to be feared. With the turning of Mirrodin into New Phyrexia we saw the full power of the Phyrexian oil and their compleation process.

But a cycle of four cards from Urza’s Legacy introduced us to the cruelty of the machines. And this was presented in flavor text that looked like research studies, making the cruelty of the Phyrexians feel super cold and calculated.

Yargle and Multani

“I’ve heard much about you from my daughter,” Multani rumbled. “There was a time when I’d balk at your aid, phantom, but she has shown me the merit in Urborg’s strange ways.”
“Gnshhagghkkapphribbit,” replied Yargle.

The legendary duos are my kind of crossover and some of my favorite Magic cards. Yargle and Multani captures a cool exchange in which Multani sets aside the past in recognizing the gravity of the Phyrexian attack during the events of March of the Machine and teams up with the frog spirit, who I imagine sounds like an enormous wet wookiee.

It's a case of the refined and wise speaker working with an instinctual, yet sentient animal that listens and can only respond with gutteral sounds. Did you catch the “ribbit” in the end of Yargle's reply?

Candy Grapple

“Don’t you mean ‘poisonous’? There’s no such thing as a venomous—AGGHHH!”

Candy Grapple gets bonus points for a card name being a play on words. We needed a poison apple for the plane of Eldraine and this feels like such a beautiful fit for a fairy tale set.

I really appreciate that Magic players key in to specific differences and have likely had a conversation like the flavor text. I'm sure you dear reader could explain very well the benefits of an instant versus a sorcery or hexproof vs. shroud, and that's what makes the flavor on this apple work.

Heartwarming Redemption

Kytheon had known war every day of his life. Now he finally knew peace.

Heartwarming Redemption is probably one of the most bittersweet cards in this list. Gideon Jura, or Kytheon, is a super interesting character for a mono-white planeswalker. He caused the death of his friends in Theros and then fought his entire life for good causes as a way to atone for his awful mistake. His final act of heroism was saving Liliana Vess after a weird series of plot twists, giving up his literal immortality just to save the life of someone who didn’t even like him all that much.

The saddest part about this flavor text is that, while Gideon finally finds peace in death, he’s not really reunited with his friends in the Theros underworld since he died in Ravnica. But his final vision while dying was that of his friends greeting him. This card doesn’t depict what actually happened but rather what Gideon saw right before passing, a final view that lets him know peace after a life of nothing but war.

Venser’s Diffusion

Each reality is but the dream of another, and each sleeper a god unknowing.

You can probably tell I like deep or poetic-sounding flavor text. They make the game more beautiful and compelling. The one problem with this type of flavor text is that it's sometimes featured on cards that don’t reflect such a poetic text all that well.

While this is a great line of text that can be thought-provoking and interesting, Venser's Diffusion has a pretty simple and unrelated effect. You can reach a bit and talk about how being able to return a creature to their owner’s hand is putting it to sleep or something, but the truth is that this is a great line on a pretty average card.

Wasteland

The land promises nothing and keeps its promise.
Oracle en-Vec

This text is a great example of flavor text that could be completely unrelated to Magic and still be enticing. One short sentence gives us a wonderful insight into nature and lands we’d consider barren. One look at a real desert is enough to understand exactly what this line means.

And the text also works great with Wasteland’s effects. A colorless land that you can sacrifice to destroy a non-basic land. A land that promises nothing and can bring nothingness to both you and your opponents.

Icatian Scout

In these, our final days, I offer this. Though we could not save Icatia, we gave our children time to grow, and love, before it fell.
Ailis Connaut, diary

Some flavor text combines two of the categories I mentioned before. Icatian Scout gives us an emotional and beautiful text combined with a snippet of history.

Icatia was an old kingdom on the plane of Dominaria that fell to the hordes of orcs and goblins. This was when Magic was still finding its footing when it comes to lore. Fallen empires presented a series of old realms that had already become history in the game’s universe. This card gives us an insight into Icatian values along with the tragedy of its destruction.

Doran, the Siege Tower

Each year that passes rings you inwardly with memory and might. Wield your heart, and the world will tremble.

Treefolk are clearly inspired by the ents from The Lord of the Rings. A towering yet slow and poetic people. Both the design of this card and its flavor text perfectly reflect this. We get a text that’s beautiful and poetic, referencing the inner strength that we develop as time goes on. It’s a great metaphor for the growth that comes from travelling and becoming older and wiser.

This text also perfectly reflects the card's ability. Doran, the Siege Tower lets your creatures deal damage with their toughness instead of with their power. You could argue that the toughness of a creature is more akin to their heart than their power, and Doran’s flavor text invites your creatures to wield their heart and use it to deal damage.

Vindicate

Some convictions are so strong that the world must break to accommodate them.

I was honestly torn on which of the different prints of Vindicate to choose. Gerrard’s quote is pretty strong and a defining moment in the plot while Sorin’s gives us some insight into him and how he views the world around him ~~and how much of an edgelord he is~~.

I ended up choosing the one from the 2007 Judge promos because I think it’s a really good quote with a pretty inspiring message. We all know that some convictions we hold have to eventually accommodate the world around us, but the idea of being able to hold those convictions so strongly that they warp the world to accommodate them is an inspiring thought.

Clinging Darkness

There’s an experience worse than blindness—it’s the certainty that your vision is perfect and the horror that there’s no world around you to see.

This one’s far from inspiring. I think we can all agree that the idea of nothingness and being trapped in an absolute void is one of the most terrifying ideas possible. Clinging Darkness’s flavor text perfectly captures that exact feeling. Sadly the card itself isn’t much to remember nor does it feel too strongly related to the text.

Snarling Wolf

Oh, thank the angels. It’s not a werewolf, just a regular wo—
Bruno, Ulvenwald guide, last words

I think this flavor text isn’t unique as much as it’s a good representation of good worldbuilding text. This short line gives us a lot of info about the plane of Innistrad: the angels are important figures revered as guardians, the existence of horrors like werewolves makes threats like regular wolves seem not as dangerous, that erroneous perception of danger is all one needs to die in Innistrad. We’re thrown into this somber and unforgiving plane head first.

And the fact that this Ulvenwald guide was so wrong in assessing the threat before it is also a good representation of Snarling Wolf’s ability to give itself +2/+2, making it a greater threat than it would’ve seemed at first.

Blood Clock

In an age of war, time is measured not by sand but by blood.

The original Kamigawa block was kind of a mess when it came to mechanics. It was a whole different story when it came to flavor. A lot of flavor text from these sets was interesting, profound, or simply good storytelling.

Blood Clock’s text reminds us that there’s a bloody war waging through the entire plane and it gives a simple but important reminder of the real cost of war on the way. It’s short and to the point, directly related to the card’s name, and it’s compelling.

Ogre Resister

He didn’t have a word for “home,” but he knew it was something to be defended.

Ogre Resister was a filler card in one of the first precon decks I ever bought. The deck was fun enough and this ogre had nothing to do with its overall theme, but I remember that the flavor text really stuck with me.

With two simple lines of text this flavor conveys an extremely visceral feeling of knowing where your home is and wanting to protect it even if you don’t have a word for it.

Urabrask the Hidden

When the Mirran resistance arrived, the furnace dwellers looked to Urabrask for guidance. His decree stunned the others: “Let them be.”

Of the five original Phyrexian praetors, only three had flavor text. And I think Urabrask the Hidden holds the most interesting out of those three.

While Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur are obsessed with turning into their twisted sense of perfection, Urabrask’s text rebels against the other four praetors by letting the Mirrans hide in his realm. It puts red mana’s philosophy of freedom and passion over Phyrexia’s obsession with control and perfection. It’s a great reminder that the mana chosen for creatures also determines a part of their personalities.

Crystal Quarry

How tragic that greed eclipses beauty.
Seton, centaur druid

At the risk of sounding a little preachy, I think this being said by Seton holds some weight. I agree that sometimes greed can eclipse beauty and that it’s always tragic when that happens.

Crystal Quarry’s flavor doesn’t strictly relate to its mechanics but I still think it’s fitting in a way. I don’t think I can properly explain it because it’s more about the vibes than a concrete interpretation of the text on the card.

Feldon of the Third Path

She will come back to me.

Short and sweet. Mad with grief after the death of his loved one, Feldon tried to create an automaton that would “replace” her. He eventually realized that an automaton could never be his wife, so he shut it off.

Feldon of the Third Path’s effect encapsulates that story perfectly while the flavor text gives a simple and direct look at his reasons. At why he does what he does.

Youthful Knight

Let no child be without a sword. We will all fight, for if we fail, we will certainly all die.
Oracle en-Vec

I have to admit that I really enjoy flavor text like this that puts in perspective how big the threats in Magic’s lore are. I think the bad thing about world-ending threats is that you can sometimes lose perspective on the more personal drama going on in the background.

When the threat is just ending the world you can get detached from it and see it as another adventure. But when the honorable knights who are fighting against that threat speak of arming children because they’re all in danger and they have no choice, the threat and drama of the situation feels more personal and tragic. And Youthful Knight’s flavor text exactly captures that feeling of tragedy.

Fractured Sanity

The body grows stronger under stress. The mind does not.

Sometimes very simple and direct writing is exactly what’s needed. This text applies perfectly to what Fractured Sanity does since it makes your opponent mill a ton of cards. But it’s honestly good life advice.

We’re too used to thinking stressful situations will help us grow and harden us. But minds need rest, and this flavor text is a good reminder of that.

Carnival of Souls & Deranged Assistant

‘Davvol, blast those elves.’ ‘Davvol, transport those troops.’ No one cares that today is my birthday.

Garl, adjust the slurry dispensers. Garl, fetch more corpses. Garl, quit crying and give me your brain tissue. If he doesn’t stop being so rude, I’m quitting.

Let’s take a short rest from all the tragedy and war-related flavors. I put these two together because they go for the same kind of humor and I think it works really on both of them.

Carnival of Souls’s effect isn’t exactly related to the flavor, but the art has a strong humorous tone and the combination works perfectly.

Deranged Assistant is almost the opposite. The art has that grim and dirty style that was so prevalent in Innistrad, but the flavor text actually relates to the card’s effect. Although it technically makes you the deranged assistant who has to give the brain tissue by milling a card.

Llanowar Elves

One bone broken for every twig snapped underfoot.
Llanowar penalty for trespassing

I have mixed feelings about this one. Llanowar Elves is one of the most famous cards in all of Magic, and one of the most fundamental. It’s been reprinted or functionally reprinted an absurd number of times and its original flavor text is absolutely iconic. It set the character of the Dominarian elves as more violent and ready for conflict than the elves from something like The Lord of the Rings.

And yet this is just a 1/1 mana dork. They couldn’t break a bone for each twig snapped if they wanted to. The flavor text is very flavorful, but it paints the elves as a threat when it’s other cards that actually give us the stronger elves.

Soul’s Attendant

In truth, her own faith was gone, trodden in Ulamog’s wake. She pantomimed the blessing in the hope that it would inspire others to continue to struggle.

I don’t think there are many cards that summarize the reaction of the people of Zendikar in the face of the Eldrazi as well as Soul's Attendant. When the titans first showed up in Magic, everything seemed lost for the plane of Zendikar. They were essentially unbeatable. This was before Mirrodin was overtaken by Phyrexia, so for the first time it seemed like the bad guys were going to win.

In the face of such a threat, the people of Zendikar were shown as desperate but still fighting. There’s a lot of different flavor texts that can be boiled down to desperate last attempts against the Eldrazi before they devoured the plane. But I think this card perfectly encapsulates that feeling while staying true to its mono white identity.

Dark Confidant

Greatness, at any cost.

There’s no better way to explain Dark Confidant than this text. One of Magic’s most (in)famous cards thanks to how powerful it can be and how much of an advantage it can bring, but that advantage always comes at a cost. This short and sweet piece of text is a great meta commentary of its card.

Daemogoth Titan

Of course it offered you power. Demons always do. But trust me—the sweeter the prize, the more ruinous the price.
Professor Onyx

This is arguably one of my favorite flavor texts in Strixhaven thanks to how much it says. It establishes Daemogoth Titan’s effect; paying a price for being able to use the creature’s power. It gives us insight into Witherbloom and what they’re willing to do in the name of research. It directly relates to Professor Onyx’s backstory, to her life before Strixhaven and her dealings with demons.

We don’t get just any random character saying this. We get Liliana Vess herself trying to stop young students from going down a self-destructive path similar to the one she’s gone down. The one that made her betray her friends and saw Gideon Jura give up his immortality to save her. It shows character growth while also expanding the world of Strixhaven.

Near-Death Experience

Lands ravaged, cities in ruins, so many lives sacrificed, and yet there was no other word for it but victory.

I’ve talked about the hopelessness Zendikar faced when the Eldrazi rose, and I’ve talked about how Gideon Jura only knew war for most of his life. Near-Death Experience brings both of those into a single flavor text.

This is what it takes to survive the Eldrazi. We know that they weren’t even totally defeated yet. They only lost this time, and despite how much they ravaged in their wake, it could be considered a victory. This is what it was like during the time the titans were on Zendikar. And this card also gives us more insight into Gideon’s eternally tragic life thanks to the art.

Selfless Savior

She raised him from an orphaned pup and gave him a life of love. With his last act, he thanked her.

It’s not even funny how incredibly sad Selfless Savior makes me. I’ve had dogs my whole life. I grew up surrounded by dogs and I’ve experienced first-hand time and time again how caring and sweet they are.

The combination of this card’s art, flavor text, name, and effect paints a story that’s extremely endearing and sad. The dog in the art looks happy; he’s happy to sacrifice himself to make another creature indestructible. And the flavor text is the cherry on top that makes this one of Magic’s most bittersweet cards in my opinion.

Fodder Cannon

Step 1: Find your cousin.

Step 2: Get your cousin in the cannon.

Step 3: Find another cousin.

Let’s go for something a bit more fun now. Fodder Cannon isn’t technically a goblin but its flavor text makes it an honorary goblin in my eyes. This is the exact type of humor that makes goblins one of the funniest creature types in Magic.

What makes this card particularly funny is that it doesn’t over-explain itself. If step three was something along the lines of “fire your cousin” it’d still be funny, but not as much. It’s the omission of the actual third step that makes the joke work so well.

Yes, I know when I explain jokes they become a lot less funny. No need to remind me of that in the comments.

Darksteel Plate

If there can be no victory, then I will fight forever.
Koth of the Hammer

Koth of the Hammer is probably one of my favorite planeswalkers in all of Magic’s lore. He represents red mana in a great way; a man who fights for freedom and refuses to die to the Phyrexians. When Mirrodin was completely overtaken and turned into New Phyrexia, Koth was one of the few survivors that went into hiding to help other survivors organize a resistance.

Darksteel Plate’s flavor text gives a glance into Koth’s eventual fate (at least until we see him again) while also being quite literal in what the card does. An indestructible creature can essentially fight forever.

Norin the Wary

I have a bad feeling about this.

Another great example of name, effect, art, and flavor text all coming together. Norin the Wary goes into hiding whenever a player casts a spell or attacks. So whenever almost anything happens. He always has a bad feeling about everything.

I have to admit I gave extra points to this card because the flavor text is a reference to Star Wars and I’m a huge fan, so that made me a little biased.

Inspiration

Day 31: I finally Succeeded in my time reversal experiment!

Day 30: I might have a problem here.
Journal of the Prime Izmagnus

There’s no other joke out there that summarizes Izzet better. As with a few other cards on this list I’m not a fan of how little the flavor text relates to Inspiration’s effect. It would have ranked higher otherwise.

This isn’t the only version of this card with great flavor text either. “Madness and genius are separated only by degrees of success” is also wonderful flavor text and I admit some might even prefer it over the one I chose. In any case, both are deserving of praise for being good.

Fecundity & Spread the Sickness

Life is eternal. A lifetime is ephemeral.

Life is ephemeral. Phyrexia is eternal.

I couldn’t separate Fecundity and Spread the Sickness. They play on each other and it works great to show the fanaticism of the Phyrexians. They believe themselves part of something greater and that something is eternal through them. It corrupts the idea of the eternity of life, it gets rid of life to feed the Phyrexian machine.

I like cards that are callbacks to previous flavor texts. This one takes the cake because it isn’t just a great reference; both flavor texts are compelling and powerful with very little words.

Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind

(Z–>)90º – (E–N²W)90ºt = 1

I already hate having to over-explain some of the jokes on these cards, but Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind makes me especially sad. There’s something to be discovered that makes the flavor text make sense if you’re very attentive.

In case you wanna find it for yourself, don’t read this bit. For those of you who want the explanation, here you go. You’ve been warned. First of all, N² equals NN. Once we do that, follow up with the 90º multipliers at the end of each parentheses. We turn those symbols 90 degrees clockwise. The result of the equation is “NIV – MIZZET = 1.”

Okay, you can read again. This is a great flavor text for Ravnica’s greatest scientific mind while also being a pretty endearing joke and riddle. I have to admit I had to google the result myself because I’m absolutely terrible at math.

The Theriad

If the Sarpadian Empires flavor texts was a great way to bring the idea of a tome or particular book told through various cards to life, The Theriad perfected it. This is an epic poem that tells the various stories of different champions of Heliod, the sun god. The full text is divided between various cards from the original Theros block and one Theros: Beyond Death card.

This is an absolutely incredible way to use vanilla cards to expand a plane’s lore and worldbuilding. I especially like this because I’m a history student and absolutely love the classics. That this is a reference to the classic Greek epics like The Iliad and the Odyssey is absolutely amazing and plays right into my personal tastes.

Blood of the Martyr

The willow knows what the storm does not: that the power to endure harm outlives the power to inflict it.

I find this to be a really beautiful piece of writing. It’s inspiring and reassuring in a very poetic way. I love that this particular piece of flavor text comes from a rather old card when Magic was still trying to find its footing when it came to flavor and lore.

What’s even better is that Blood of the Martyr’s effect works perfectly with the text. Being able to absorb the damage that would be dealt to your creatures knowing you can endure it makes perfect sense.

Yomiji, Who Bars the Way

As I died, I rejoiced. I would see my family again. But then I woke up back on the battlefield. Back in Kamigawa. Back in hell.
Kenzo the Hardhearted

I mentioned earlier that while the Kamigawa block wasn’t exactly good mechanically it had an amazing story. And I think this piece of flavor text shows the tragedy and overall feeling of the war between mortals and kami perfectly.

The text has a strong tragic tone while showing Yomiji, Who Bars the Way, a veteran samurai, not as sad but as tired and frustrated. The people of Kamigawa don’t have a desperation like the one the Zendikaris felt in the face of the Eldrazi. They’re tired and frustrated, they don’t want this war, they don’t want to keep fighting. This card shows just that.

Goblin Grenade

Don’t underestimate the aerodynamic qualities of the common goblins.

I left “most goblins” in the honorable mentions section, but I think Goblin Grenade stands as a representative for all goblin flavor text. I personally think it’s one of the funniest ones out there, if not the single most funny piece of goblin flavor text.

Humor is subjective so a lot of you probably disagree with me on this one and that’s fine. What made me choose this one over many others is the fact that the flavor text has such a serious feeling to it. The entire delivery of the joke falls on that last word that hits you out of nowhere. It’s just great comedy.

Squandered Resources

He traded sand for skins, skins for gold, gold for life. In the end, he traded life for sand.
Afari, Tales.

I’m actually not that big a fan of this one. I think it’s beautifully written and it paints an interesting picture. It’s somewhat related to Squandered Resources’ effect though it’s definitely related to the name.

I added this to my list anyway because a lot of players like it. After hours of going through forums, videos, reddit, and a huge etc., this card’s flavor text showed up time and time again. And while I may not be that big of a fan, I think it’s only fair that I put it in the top three for being a fan favorite.

Last Word

Someday, someone will best me. But it won’t be today, and it won’t be you.

If I chose Goblin Grenade to represent every goblin out there, then Last Word’s flavor text represents counterspells. A smug and direct insult towards the player whose spell you’re countering, this text almost makes you want to quote it any time you cast the spell.

What makes it especially good in my opinion is that this card makes sure that it can’t be countered itself, so it really drives home the idea that it can’t be bested. A great representation of the smugness of counterspell-heavy decks.

Rancor

Hatred outlives the hateful.

I dropped the link to Rhystic Studies’ video essay on Rancor’s flavor text and flavor text in general way up top. I doubt I can say anything about this masterpiece of flavor text that wasn’t said better in that video, but I sure can try.

I think flavor text that’s simply good writing regardless of if it’s related to Magic or not is always great, and this text encapsulates that in a very concise and neat way. With only four words we get a fundamental truth which also relates directly to the card’s name and effects. It’s simple, it adds a ton of flavor, and it fits the card perfectly. I’ve seen a lot of players mention it as one of the best pieces of flavor text in the game and I have to agree.

Wrap Up

Heartwarming Redemption | Illustration by Howard Lyon

Flavor text is as much a part of Magic as art or mechanics. Without it the game wouldn’t be as interesting or compelling. We wouldn’t get enough insight into the worlds and characters that make up this amazing universe.

It’s fair to say that I probably left out some amazing pieces of flavor text. After all there’s, well, thousands and thousands of cards with it. If you think I left out a fundamental piece of flavor text that should be included, let me know in the comments below! I’m dying to know what you think is the best flavor text out there.

And while you’re trying to decide your favorites, be sure to check out our blog for more content like this! You can also hop over to Twitter and blast all your favorite lines at us there.

That’s all from me for now. Have a good one, and I’ll see you next time!

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Ignacio (Iñaki)

Iñaki has loved collecting Magic cards going all the way back to the age of 8. Since 2011, he's been a casual player, focusing mainly on Standard and EDH. He's a clear Vorthos and big fan of the lore of the Magic universe. When he's not writing, he's probably avoiding college homework by playing Arena or trying to come up with some absurd Commander deck idea.

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