In this video, we take a look at Ashnod, a gifted (and cruel) artificer working for Mishra and key player in Magic: The Gathering's Brothers' War storyline. 

In this video, we take a look at Ashnod, a gifted (and cruel) artificer working for Mishra and key player in Magic: The Gathering's Brothers' War storyline. 

Video Transcript:

Welcome back to Who Is on Magic Untapped as we look at some of the important players from Magic: The Gathering’s Brothers’ War storyline.

Today, we take a look at Ashnod, a sadistic-yet-brilliant artificer and (for a while) Mishra’s right-hand-man… er… woman.

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Ashnod was a brilliant artificer, albeit a cruel one.  Standing at the side of Mishra, Urza’s younger brother and a prodigy of artifice himself, her sadistic tendencies earned her the nickname “Ashnod the Uncaring.”

She was of great assistance to Mishra in the early days of what would become the Brothers’ War and led the Fallaji people to a number of victories over the people of Yotia and its capital, Kroog, despite the nomads considering her fiery red hair to be a bad omen.

A while into the decades-old war, Mishra led a peacekeeping contingent to Kroog.  In attendance at this summit was, of course, Urza (now ruler of Kroog after the death of his father-in-law, the land’s late warlord) and his wife, Kayla bin-Kroog, as well as Ashnod.  In exchange for peace from the Fallaji, Mishra demanded his older brother’s mightstone – the missing half of the powerstone that split into two when the brothers were youths and the item at the heart of their long-standing strife.

Urza refused to relinquish his mightstone and talks were suspended.

Afterwards, Ashnod enjoyed some libations and drunkenly told Tawnos – an opposing artificer and one of the few people Ashnod actually liked – of Mishra’s plan to steal the mighstone out from under Urza’s nose.  The plan went awry and Urza, in rage, turned the power of the mightstone on his brother, who (along with most of the Fallaji in attendance) fled.  Ashnod, however, was briefly captured until, during Urza’s absence as he chased after his younger brother, Kroog was laid siege and nearly destroyed.

A while after, while the war was being fought to a stalemate, Mishra’s Fallaji attacked Terisia City.  During a sandstorm, many of the city’s inhabitants attempted to flee.  One such person, a scholar named Loran, attempted to escape to the Ronom Glacier to the north and meet her friend, an archeologist named Feldon.  With her was an ancient artifact known as the Golgothian Sylex.  As she fled, however, she was captured by Ashnod, the commander of Mishra’s forces there, and was forced to give up the sylex and share its secrets with her.

After a months-long siege, Terisia City was sacked and its ivory towers burnt to the ground.

Years later, when Urza and his forces were on the offensive, Tawnos, Urza’s apprentice, was captured by the Fallaji.  Ashnod personally handled his interrogations, seeking information she can relay to her master, Mishra.  Ashnod, however, had a soft spot for Tawnos, even going as far as giving him an adorable nickname: “Duck.”

Her affection for him got the better of her and she provided her Duck a means for escape – an action for which Mishra would banish her.

Years down the line, on what would be the final day of the Brothers’ War, Ashnod met up with Tawnos one final time.  She brought with her the sylex that she had confiscated from the scholar, Loran, many years prior.

Presenting it to him, she instructs him to deliver it to Urza as its power is one that could end the war.  It’s then that the pair is approached by a horror of which they have never before seen.

The phyrexian demon, Gix, who has been pulling the strings of both sides from deep in the shadows, appears before them and attacked, intent on killing Tawnos.  Ashnod the Uncaring, however, got in the demon’s way and allowed her duck to escape at the cost of her own life.

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And thus ends the story of Ashnod, but don’t fret – we still have plenty more characters from Magic’s Brothers’ War storyline to cover before November when the 94th Magic expansion, the appropriately named “Brothers’ War” set, is due to release.

I’m Barry White.  Thanks for watching.

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