MTG: Lore of the Multiverse – Origins of Karn
From weapon of war to peace-loving Planeswalker, let’s take a look at the story behind everyone’s favorite silver golem.
Welcome, Praetors and Planeswalkers, to our ongoing series about the people and places that help make MTG incredible. From great heroes and deadly villains to gorgeous locales and important events, the Multiverse is constantly evolving to keep the game fresh. Even if you don’t know anything about the story, all the background is what drives your favorite cards from place to place. You can check out all the previous MTG goodness over here.
Our first major hero focus will be on the solemn hero, Karn. Originally created as a dimensional probe by the wizard Urza, Karn gained sentience through a strange series of events. Since then, he has participated in several major Multiverse events, sacrificed his spark on multiple occasions, and been responsible for both the return and defeat of one of Dominaria’s greatest threats. Let’s dive into Karn’s history.
The Silver Golem
Based on a war design theorized by Urza years before, Karn was a powerful and nearly indestructible construct. Thanks to the unique silver in his design, he was able to survive the ravages of temporal travel. Hoping to create a truly sentient automaton, Urza implanted the heartstone of his friend Xantcha, a Phyrexian sleeper agent who had broken free of Yawgmoth’s control.
Karn began to develop emotions, and was put under the care of first Teferi, then Jhoira, who tutored him in the ways of the world. When she died, Karn used a temporal machine to travel back in time and save her, inadvertently destroying the Academy. As time went on, Jhoira left to return to her homeland of Shiv, and Karn was mostly sidelined by Urza. However, he would come into his own when he was given stewardship of the young Gerrard Cappashen.
Rebuilding the Legacy
All of Urza’s designs to defeat the Phyrexians, collectively “The Legacy”, had been stored in preparation for Yawgmoth’s eventual attack. However, Urza knew they would need a human wielder. To that end, he began manipulating bloodlines to create one. Karn was given care of the most promising candidate, Gerrard, a young Benalian. When Benalia was attacked by Phyrexians, Karn spirited the boy away.
When Gerrard’s adoptive brother stole the Legacy, Karn pursued but was tricked into killing an innocent. He was frozen by a mystical artifact, the Touchstone, and was later found by Sisay, captain of the semi-sentient Weatherlight ship. When Gerrard reawakened him, he swore to never take another life.
Greven, one of Gerrard’s greatest enemies, captured Karn during a raid as he refused to fight off his attackers. Greven delighted in torturing the golem, putting him in a tumbling room and sending wave after wave of Mogg soldiers in. The room forced Karn to fall on the Moggs, crushing them and inadvertently killing them.
Gerrard rescued him, and he set out on his own mission to retrieve the remainder of the Legacy artifacts. He approached the Sliver Queen, who was guarding many of the stolen artifacts. By convincing her the artifacts were a part of him, as her hive was to her, he was allowed to leave unharmed.
Yawgmoth’s Invasion
When the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria began in earnest, Karn maintained his vow of pacifism. However, when a blow from the creature Tsabo Tavoc shattered an iron cap on his head, a wave of memories suppressed by Urza flooded back. He saw himself slaying hundreds of Phyrexians in defense of Jhoira, and broke his vow to help Gerrard slay Tavoc.
However, Phyrexia began to fold itself over Dominaria, and the time to celebrate was short. Karn studied an ancient Thran tome, hoping to improve the Weatherlight and understand the Legacy weapon. As he made his improvements, the ship gained true sentience. Karn’s joy at this was short-lived, as the ship gave its life to protect him from Yawgmoth.
As the battle grew bleak, Gerrard implanted the Mightstone and Weakstone into Karn’s body. This completed the circuit for the Legacy weapon. The collected pieces fired a beam of concentrated white mana that obliterated the Phyrexians. The two humans were killed as well, but the transfer of power created a spark in Karn, and he became the first artificial Planeswalker.
To read how Karn’s Story evolved in the modern era, check out our New Phrexia Explainer here.
