He/they. This is my blog for posting Magic: the Gathering content I happen to like and/or make myself, whether it's fanfic, cards, memes, news, or ramblings! I think turtles are pretty neat.
Background art by Jonas De Ro for MTG card Raugrin Triome. Avatar art by Jesper Ejsing for MTG card Yidaro, Wandering Monster.
So I really love Kaldheim and the stuff associated with the Magic: the Gathering expansion, Kaldheim.
That being said, there’s a bunch of changelings in Magic that aren’t flavoured with Kaldheim’s brand of changelings and I wanted to try my hand at changing that, so this post will collect a series of doodles that I did over the past 5 days, that involve these changelings from Lorwyn and Modern Horizons reflavoured to match the Changelings of Littjara.
Ameboid Changeling
Ego Erasure
Mothdust Changeling
Shapesharer
Turtleshell Changeling
WIngs of Velis Vel
Chameleon Colossus
Changeling Titan
Game-Trail Changeling
Webweaver Changeling
Woodland Changeling
Amorphous Axe
Birthing Boughs
Runed Stalactite
Mutavault
Which one should I paint to completion, and would you like to see me tackle the changelings in the other colours (white, black, red, and the multicolour ones)?
Serial Killer Whale 4BB
Creature- Whale Assassin [rare]
Submerge (Whenever this creature attacks, you may have it gain "This creature can't be blocked," until end of turn. If you do, return it to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
When this creature enters, destroy target creature or Vehicle an opponent controls.
5/5
2
Kindred Sorcery- Shapeshifter
Changeling (This card is every creature type.)
Choose a creature type. Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a card from among them that’s a land or is the chosen type and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Cenn's Aspen
2W
Creature- Treefolk Citizen
This creature enters with two -1/-1 counters on it.
3W, Remove a counter from this creature: Create a 1/1 green and white Kithkin creature token.
5/6
Even kithkin accept a tree who’s grown up in the Cenn longer than they have.
Pixie Prank
1U
Instant
Choose one-
* Create a 1/1 blue and black Faerie creature token with flying.
* Vivid - Counter target spell unless its controller pays 1 for each color among permanents you control.
Perfect Reputation
2B
Enchantment- Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +3/+1 and has menace.
2B: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it attached to target Elf. Activate only as a sorcery. (If a permanent with a finality counter on it would be put into a graveyard, instead exile it.)
Boggart Business
2R
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, blight 1 or remove a counter from a creature you control. (To blight 1, put a-1/-1 counter on a creature you control.)
Create three 1/1 black and red Goblin creature tokens.
Burrowing Borrower
3R
Creature- Goblin Rogue
At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may blight 1. When you do, target creature with power 2 or less can’t be blocked this turn. (To blight 1, put a -1/-1 counter on a creature you control.)
3/4
After a string of thefts, the giants found tunnels under each of their homes.
Faultless's Hunt
2G
Instant
Choose a creature type. Each creature you control of the chosen type deals damage equal to its power to target creature.
Though the Glit-Leaf empire has lost much power since the invasion, non-Elves still steer clear of their territory.
Honorgrave Glyph
1 W/B
Enchantment
When this enchantment enters, draw a card.
W, Sacrifice this enchantment: You gain 4 life.
1B, Sacrifice this enchantment: Return target creature or kindred card from your graveyard to your hand.
Uncommons
Merrow School Leader
4WW
Creature- Merfolk Wizard
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 1 or one mana of that creature’s color.)
When this creature enters, it deals damage to target creature or planeswalker an opponent controls equal to the number of tapped creatures you control.
4/4
Reliquary Druid
G
Creature- Elf Druid
T: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to pay hybrid costs.
Vivid — 5G: Until end of turn, this creature gets +1/+1 for each color among permanents you control and gains trample.
1/1
Flamekin Crossing
Land
As this land enters, you may behold an Elemental. This land enters tapped unless you do. (You may choose an Elemental you control or reveal an Elemental card from your hand.)
T: Add R.
1 U/R U/R, T, Sacrifice this land: Discard your hand, then draw that many cards.
Rares
Merrow Muckdweller
2UU
Creature- Merfolk Rogue
Creatures you control can’t be blocked by creatures with -1/-1 counters on them.
Whenever you attack, for each defending player, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature that player controls with toughness 2 or greater.
3/3
Starlight Waystone
5
Artifact
1, T: Put a color counter of the color of your choice on target creature. Activate only as a sorcery. (A permanent with a color counter on it is that color in addition to its other colors.)
White creatures you control have vigilance. The same is true for blue and flying, black and lifelink, red and menace, and green and deathtouch.
Tam, Light's Vessel 3WW
Legendary Creature- Human Dragon Avatar [rare]
Flying, vigilance
Spells and abilities your opponents control can't cause you to sacrifice permanents.
Whenever you attack, for each defending player, create a 2/2 white Knight creature token attacking that player.
4/4
The second is identical, except it is named En and Sil, Honor-Touched
“Gobakhan is a desert plane with twin suns, where civilization is surrounded by two massive sandstorms known as the Eastern Cloud and the Western Cloud. These contain deadly amounts of diamond micrograins.
“The people of Gobakhan depend on the monks of the Order of the Shield Mage to protect them against the diamond storms. The planeswalker Teyo Verada used to be an acolyte of that order.
“Much of the landscape of Gobakhan consists of dunes of sand. One of the bigger settlements on Gobakhan is the town of Oasis, which has a small park in the town square. The Gobakhans have domesticated carry-beasts that they use for transport. Other known inhabitants include sand-devils, minotaurs, djinni, dwarves and goblins.” (MtG Wiki)
(Long post, speculation/theorizing ahead)
The Diamond Storms
Neither the Eastern nor Western Clouds originated with Gobakhan itself. Ancient mages, some time after the plane’s inception, attempted to cast a blanket defensive spell to ward away the hostile creatures of the desert. The spell backfired, instantly killing its casters before billowing into the diamond storms of today.
At present, the day the Clouds first appeared is on the brink of vanishing from living memory. Survivor accounts tell of entire cities scoured from the desert. The shelters hastily constructed between the Clouds quickly grew into the first of many new settlements, expertly built and heavily enchanted to survive even the worst of the storms’ advances.
The Clouds swell and contract over time, as if they were breathing. One week, miles of clear, open desert may stretch to the east and west, revealing sandblasted ruins and ancient tombs. The next, the storms may batter the walls and wards of even the innermost cities, trapping the entire population in their homes. And yet, so far, every storm has had an end.
To this day, shieldmages study the Clouds and the diamonds they produce, in an attempt to stop the storms for good, or at least better understand their behavior. Their research has not yielded much, but perhaps with the appearance of omenpaths, fresh perspectives and new technology may produce some insight.
—
The Order of the Shield Mage
Acting as both a civil defense group and a peacekeeping force, these mages are tasked with protecting the cities and outlying towns. During diamond storms, they maintain the wards that shield citizens and structures alike. Afterwards, they are responsible for maintaining order during recovery. In times of peace, they serve as town guards.
Manpower varies heavily, as does standard equipment; whereas inner cities may employ entire companies of armed and armored taskmages, smaller settlements may have one concerned citizen, armed only with his wits and magic.
Technically, shieldmages are meant to be separate entities from civil government, due to their apolitical task of general protection. Because of their invaluable skills and selfless service, however, many shieldmages are given positions of leadership among the people. It is not uncommon to see one of them sitting as governor, or on a city council.
Lightshields: The shieldmages’ primary spell is, naturally, a defensive shield. They project a barrier of light that is tailored to stop small, fast projectiles - perfect for warding against the Clouds. However, they also serve passably well to block hits from held weapons, or direct contact, though repeated blows will break the shield. Also, the spell can either be expanded to cover a wider area, or focused to last longer without intervention.
—
The People of Gobakhan
Though blocked from the east and west, the safe zone for most inhabitants of Gobakhan stretches on from north to south, resulting in a number of different climates throughout the desert. Despite being so restricted, the people of Gobakhan are also extremely diverse, a fine pairing to their land.
Sand-Devils: Sand elementals, formed from the diamond storms. As such, many view them unfavorably, but their name belies their nature; they are heavily resistant to the storms that made them, but not fully immune. So, the struggle for survival extends to them as well. As such, many work as scavengers, braving the diamond storms to explore old ruins from before the storms, and recover resources or historic artifacts. Still others, feeling unwelcome in the cities, prefer a nomadic life, either as bandits or simple hermits, visiting the outlying settlements just long enough to replenish supplies.
Minotaurs: Brave to a fault, these brazen souls are often seen on the frontlines of whatever cause they champion. Straight shooters with “upper management” written all over them. Shieldmage captain, gang leader, or governor; regardless of motivation, they put their entire being into their work, and usually find success, whatever form that takes.
Djinni: Being one of the longest-lived people of Gobakhan, it makes sense they are also the most historically-inclined. For any given written record on the plane, it is roughly even odds that a djinn wrote it - firsthand. Some of their number do indeed possess magic powerful enough to grant wishes, a fact which brings no small annoyance to the rest, from countless petitioners. Librarians, town gossips, and spies are more than happy to count djinni among their ranks.
Dwarves: Lovers of art and architecture. Jewelers, engineers, stonecarvers. They have performed invaluable work on setting foundations for construction in the desert, for everything from city plazas to thief hideouts. A recent surge of underground housing has been attributed to dwarven builders - understandably popular given its safety aspect - with some cities even planning for entire sectors to be built underground.
Goblins: The odd man out, with boundless determination to make it big. Often overlooked, many goblins compensate by seeking to make their name known all across Gobakhan. Some become treasure hunters tagging along with sand-devils on the score of a lifetime. Others, entrepreneurs, convinced that their idea is the one. Lately, a number have even joined their local shieldmage groups, wanting to make a difference while getting their big break.
(I wanted to put Lightshield Array here, but it’s all humans on the art! Come on now Wizards, gimme something to work with here!)
—
Oasis
While not the largest settlement in the safe zone, Oasis is almost certainly the wealthiest. Many scientists and engineers settled here after the Clouds displaced them, forming a largely self-sufficient community. Their greatest accomplishment, however, is the pump system allowing them to draw water from underground aquifers. This made them millionaires, or at least the barter equivalent. The city is now a hub of commerce where one can find anything from industrial equipment to handmade tapestries. Whenever another settlement needs machined parts, or emergency supplies, or specialized personnel, they trade with Oasis.
Oasis also serves as a capital of sorts, though it is not named as such. It hosts the largest contingent of shieldmages anywhere on Gobakhan, and its city council holds sway in nearly every settlement in the safe zone. Still, there is disagreement about who truly rules, and Oasis often finds itself in dispute with larger cities, over the title, trade, and much more.
The Park: The impeccably maintained plaza at the city’s center has no name other than “Park,” for it does not need one. The Park is known far and wide, both as a symbol of Oasis’s wealth, to be able to foster such a lush environment in the desert; and as a symbol of vanity, to use so many resources on such a frivolous thing. Meanwhile, the people of Oasis themselves see it as a symbol of victory and survival, a physical reminder that despite the constant disasters, they can - and will - flourish again.
—
Gobakhan Today
Following the Phyrexian invasion and the appearance of omenpaths, the people of Gobakhan must now contend with a world outside their safe zone, and even beyond the Clouds. Though many are excited by the prospect of worlds not under constant threat, others are concerned with how these outside influences may affect them.
Many Gobakhans fled for other worlds as soon as the portals appeared. Return trips, however, varied wildly. Someone coming back from Avishkar or Ravnica may regale their friends with tales of luxury beyond their wildest imaginations. Meanwhile, a traumatized traveler might warn everyone they meet of the dangers of Innistrad or Grixis. These accounts quickly averaged out, however, and the populace has generally drawn more moderate conclusions about the wider Multiverse.
No shortage of treasure hunters have made their way to Gobakhan, hearing of the plane’s diamond storms through tavern rumors and traveling there in the hopes of getting rich quick. Many quickly learn, unfortunately, that the plane’s jewels are deadly, and unavailable even then. Shieldmages have managed to extract small quantities of diamonds from the Clouds, but the stones crumble when brought through omenpaths. Still, the constant rumor mill ensures a constant flow of tourists, albeit quickly disappointed ones.
A few citizens, and a surprising number of shieldmages, still regard the outside world with trepidation. They heard of the former machinations of Nicol Bolas, saw Elesh Norn’s legions firsthand, and they shudder. Gobakhan has not often warred amongst itself - its people have been far too busy uniting in survival against the Clouds. But with this massive influx of travelers, many wonder how fast their unity and their shields will hold against those who truly mean them harm.
—
[Not quite the breadth or depth of a real planeswalker’s guide, but hey! It’s fun to worldbuild, regardless!]
Me: So yeah, that's the basic gist of everything that's happened since you died, Urza. Do you have any thoughts on how your actions may have led to this?
Urza, who I just revived as a head with [[repair and recharge]]: Holy shit, New Capenna has cars? That they drive??
Me: How do you think the opening of the omenpaths is going to affect the multiverse going forward?
Magic was first sold in late 1993, and ended up being a success well beyond what its creator and publisher expected. Within a few years, they'd started a popular tournament circuit, with Pro Tours and World Championships. In 1997, they wanted to add another prominent event to the calendar, but their budget for that was relatively small. Even with only a handful of carefully-picked players, flying them in and renting the venue and preparing everything would already take most of the budget they had for the event.
So, to save money, they came up with a new idea for the prize won at this tournament, one that wouldn't cost them a penny! The winner would get to help design a magic card, and it would then be printed in a future set with them featured as the character in the illustration. The company was gonna make cards and commission artists anyway, so it didn't cost them anything. Thus, the Invitational was born, and because of a small budget, the coolest reward in Magic. To be immortalized forever, as one of the pieces of the game you proved yourself in.
The Invitational would return, at first every year, then every couple years, before finally being retired after 2007. But the idea was just too enticing to remain on the shelf forever. It would return unexpectedly in 2019, as a reward for winning the World Championship in 2018 and in future years! This time in ADDITION to prize money, the budget at WotC having increased a bit since the 90s. And with the name of the player featured on the card itself!
These cards are not just ceremonial pieces of cardboard either. They tend to be pretty unique, efficient and pushed for playability. Only a couple of these didn't see major tournament play in one format or another. Some became iconic cards of the game in general, I'm sure if you've played a bit of magic, even outside of tournament formats, you've encountered some of these and recognize them.
Sylvan Safekeeper/Olle Råde (the first one earned, despite taking a few years getting made) was a major player in its era and beyond, remaining a premium protection option to this day... As well as being a key player in a combo deck that took over a tournament in Modern just last year in 2024! Almost all of them, except for Rakdos Augermage/Terry Soh, sorry Augermage, saw some significant play in the Standard format they were in, some more than others. Some, like Solemn Simulacrum/Jens Thoren, Dark Confidant/Bob Maher and Snapcaster Mage/Tiago Chan, became icons of entire other formats and still are. Solemn Simulacrum is so iconic it was included in Magic Foundations, the recent product that aims to be the game distilled to its purest form. Dark Confidant was reprinted into Standard to... Some play, though less than the first time after two decades of power creep. All four of the world champion cards released so far have seen standard play, though Duelist of the Mind took a while to find a deck with the room for it.
The one that saw the least play of all is of course, the one for Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Formidable Speaker, that will release in a few months. Though the card is definitely strong enough I'd be shocked if it doesn't find many homes, be it in Standard, Commander or even older formats.
Since it takes between one and three years for the process to get the art and cards made, we also have another one pending, and it's a first in Magic's history. For the first time ever, someone earned... A second card! After winning the 2018 World Championship and being immortalized as Fervent Champion, Javier Dominguez won ANOTHER world title in 2024, piloting a very cool deck! We'll have to see what that results in.
But what about 2025? Well, if you're seeing this post soon after I posted it, you're in luck! It isn't decided yet. The World Championship will start roughly one week after I posted this, on the first weekend of December 2025, starting December 5th and with the top 8 on December 7th, on the official Magic Twitch channel (and probably also streamed on Youtube though I don't have a handy link for that yet.) It will be primarily Standard, that was just shaken up by a broken deck being banned a couple weeks ago and then reshaped by a new set bringing enough powerful cards to make new decks emerge just last week. It will be an exciting tournament to see who will get immortalized into the game!
You know, looking back on it, the history of queer representation in Magic the Gathering is kind of wild.
1995: Ordando, a relatively minor side character in the novel Shattered Chains, is a woman with two wives making her Magic's first ever queer character. (And first poly character!)
1998: The novel Planeswalker is released, which features the character Xantcha. While she probably wasn't written as such as purpose, Xantcha's story and character arc is 100% a trans narrative and she's considered by many to be Magic's first trans character. While the card Sleeper Agent from the set Urza's Saga (also released in 1998) is sort of intended to represent her and she had a Vanguard card, she doesn't get a proper legendary creature card until Commander 2018 (20 years after her debut!) She's Magic's oldest queer character to eventually get a legendary card.
2001: Magfire is introduced in the story Jedit, where she aggressively flirts with Adira Strongheart. 8 years into Magic's lifespan and it's mostly thanks to novel authors inserting random minor sapphic women and a probably unintentional trans fem storyline that we have any queer representation in Magic.
2007: Chandra Nalaar is introduced as one of the first five characters to get a Planeswalker card in the set Lorwyn. While it's questionable if she was intended to be pansexual from the beginning, it does make her retroactively the first queer character to make her debut on a Magic card.
2009, 2012: Similar to Chandra, the characters of Nissa and Ral Zarek are introduced as characters before their sexualities are revealed. Nissa debuts in the Duels of the Planeswalkers game from 2009 before getting a card in Zendikar, and Ral is introduced in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 before getting a card in Dragon's Maze.
2013: Ashiok debuts in the set Theros. Ashiok is initially introduced with an annoying gimmick of being "so mysterious" that their gender and even pronouns are unknown and they're exclusively referred to as Ashiok in place of pronouns. They're also a slightly androgynous humanoid with a cloud of nightmare magic for a face. Not exactly great nonbinary representation, and not really initially really pushed too strongly as such. They would eventually be given they/them pronouns and acknowledged as a nonbinary character.
2014: As part of their early attempts at doing web fiction, WotC releases the story Emonberry Red, a riff on the Greek myth of Pyramus and Thisbe set on Theros. The main couple featured in the story is a pair of gay boys named Pavios and Thanasis. This is Magic's first story directly supervised by WotC to deliberately include queer characters.
2015: During the set Fate Reforged, Magic introduces the character of Alesha alongside a story, The Truth of Names, starring her and revealing her to be a transgender woman. She's arguably the first queer Magic character to debut on a card as an explicitly queer character, and Magic's first intentional trans character.
Also 2105: We get Magic Origins and Battle for Zendikar, which kick off the formation of the Gatewatch and the beginning of the proper Bolas Arc of the story. This includes the beginning of Chandra and Nissa intentionally being written as queer, as they have a slow burn romance that builds up over the course of this arc.
2016: Kaladesh is our next real attempt at adding more queer representation. Oviya Pashiri is introduced as a lesbian widower and has a small role in the story. The aetherborn are introduced as an entire species that's genderless and uses they/them pronouns. WotC kind of tries to present them as being a nonbinary species, but it has mixed reactions from the fandom over whether that counts. In a bit of accidental queer representation, the aetherborn Yahenni (who gets a card in 2017) is written as being aromantic and WotC never draws attention to it because they didn't seem to realize. We also see the first appearance of Saheeli Rai, although like most the other queer planeswalkers her sexuality isn't defined when she's first introduced.
Also 2016: The 2016 Commander precons are released and one of the decks is led by the card Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, which depicts a pair of gay kings who ruled Meletis in the distant past. We also get the first appearance of Halana and Alena in the Shadows over Innistrad/Eldritch Moon story, who are confirmed to be a lesbian couple by the author. They wouldn't get cards until 2020 with Commander Legends.
2017-2018: A much slower time period. Hallar is introduced as the first kind of proper nonbinary character in Dominaria. As previously mentioned, Xantcha finally gets a legendary creature card. We also get the first appearances of three different planeswalkers who would be revealed to be queer later: Huatli in 2017's Ixalan and the Kenrith twins Rowan and Will in 2018's Battlebond. Huatli and Saheeli Rai have a minor interaction at the end of the Rivals of Ixalan story that creates a very popular ship in the fandom between the two (this will be important later.)
2019: A rollercoaster of a year. Tomik is introduced in The Gathering Storm (and gets a card in War of the Spark) as Ral Zarek's boyfriend, confirming Ral as gay. Chandra and Nissa's years of subtext finally payoff with a big damn kiss at the end of War of the Spark: Ravnica. At this point in time we have 12 characters who have appeared on cards and are confirmed queer. If we analyze these early attempts, we do see WotC has been playing it safe. Alesha and the gay kings are historical characters from the distant past and therefore irrelevant to the modern stories, Xantcha is a classic novel character so she's equally irrelevant to the modern story and WotC doesn't really acknowledge her as trans yet, Yahenni was arguably unintentional in a similar fashion to Xantcha, Ashiok is...Ashiok, Hallar is barely a character with no role in the story, and Oviya is a widower and very minor in the long run. Ral and Tomik plus Chandra and Nissa are the boldest WotC has been with their queer rep so far with explicit relationships from major characters.
Also 2019: The lowest point in the history of queer representation in Magic. War of the Spark: Forsaken releases and breaks up Chandra and Nissa and makes a clumsy (and likely Hasbro mandated) attempt to claim Chandra isn't actually pansexual. This receives massive backlash from the fandom, to the point that it actually causes us to receive an apology from WotC that states that Chandra is pansexual.
Still 2019: In the shadow of all this controversy, the ebook for Throne of Eldraine releases and quietly confirms the Kenrith twins as being bisexual. A lot of people don't actually read this ebook, and years later when Will appears on a Pride playmat it causes people to go "Wait, since when was Will queer?"
2020: We're still in the shadow of the Forsaken controversy and WotC's small attempts at queer representation feel very downplayed. Hal and Alena get cards in Commander Legends as does the nonbinary character Alharu. Theros Beyond Death sees the addition of Haktos, an Achilles expy. His sexuality is revealed in the D&D sourcebook Mythic Odysseys of Theros which also mentions his lover Perynes (aka his Patroclus expy.) Two of the side stories for Zendikar Rising also casually include minor nonbinary characters who use they/them pronouns.
2021: Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of Forsaken, this is the big revival of Magic's attempts to be queer. In the lead up to the Kaldheim story, WotC releases a statement that in order to better commit to having queer representation, they're just going to stop releasing the story in certain countries...and then from Kaldheim onward WotC really doubles down on introducing queer characters. Kaldheim sees the introduction of Niko Aris, our first proper nonbinary planeswalker. We also get a handful of story characters who are just casually queer. This includes Orhaft Stoneback who is Magic's first character to use neopronouns (xe/xer.) The stories for Strixhaven, Midnight Hunt, and Crimson Vow will also just casually pepper random queer characters throughout (casual they/them pronouns honestly start becoming a regular feature in the Magic story.) As far as cards go we get Nassari, Rootha and Felisa introduced in Strixhaven/Commander 2020, and we get Vadrik and Adeline in Midnight Hunt. Also shout out to Crimson Vow giving Hal and Alena a new card that depicts the two of them together called Halana and Alena, Partners. I'm also not going to typically bother with Universes Beyond stuff in this timeline, but I feel a need to acknowledge how the Stranger Things Secret Lair gives us our first queer character on a UB card (Will Byers.)
2022: The big news of course is the Pride Across the Multiverse Secret Lair. In addition to being an explicit Pride themed batch of Magic cards, it gives us two major relationship upgrades. The card Savor the Moment depicts Ral and Tomik's wedding. The card Heartbeat of Spring and a special bonus story released alongside the announcement of this Secret Lair makes Dinobot, the popular ship of Saheeli Rai and Huatli, canon. We also see Chandra and Nissa in the art of the card Collective Voyage participating in a Pride parade, yet another confirmation that they are still queer despite Forsaken. There's also the version of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death from this drop that has Magic's first depiction of a trans man in the art as someone Alesha is extending her hand to.
Also 2022: In terms of regular sets we're firmly in the territory of minor story only queer characters being unremarkable. Kamigawa Neon Dynasty gives us Heiko Yamazaki; New Capenna and Commander 2022 give us Errant, Parnesse, Rocco and Tivit; and Brothers' War of all sets gives us Myrel. Dominaria United is weirdly lacking in any queer characters at all (the only Magic lore set to not include at least one queer character, old or new, as a legendary card since Kaldheim), but to compensate there's Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate which is the queerest set in Magic, with a whopping 18 canonically queer characters. Sure, it's not Magic lore but it's still worth acknowledging.
2023: As we move into the big finale of the Phyrexian arc, we get some sets that don't introduce any new queer characters but do feature plenty of old queer characters, Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine (and MOM: Aftermath...and Lost Caverns of Ixalan from after this arc as well.) However, in the story department WotC finally rights a great wrong by finally undoing Forsaken's worst plot point and having Chandra and Nissa become a couple again. We also do get a few new queer characters in Wilds of Eldraine with Talion, Yenna, and Syr Armont plus the Alchemy set attached to this set give us our first digital exclusive card for Magic lore queer characters, Syr Joshua and Syr Saxon.
2024: The queer representation train just doesn't stop, with three of the four sets this year introducing at least one new queer character. Delney from Murders at Karlov Manor, Yuma from Thunder Junction (technically the Commander decks), and three characters from Bloomburrow/Bloomburrow Commander: Baylen, Zinnia, and Oregano of the Odd Acorn Gang.
2025: As we finally catch up to this year, we see we're still in a very good place for queer representation. Aetherdrift takes a break from new characters on cards (although has a few story only characters) but then Tarkir Dragonstorm and Edge of Eternities come back with a vengeance with three and four new characters respectively. Felothar, Eshki, and Ureni for Tarkir and Sami, Mm'menon, Xu-Ifit, and Vv'viza for the Edge. The Edge also sees the second ever use of neopronouns in a Magic story, although it's in the context of some bug people that I'm not 100% certain have normal binary sexes in the first place.
With Edge of Eternities being the last Magic lore set of 2025, the count of queer Magic lore characters that have appeared on a card is 49 characters (spread across 47 cards because Kynaios and Tiro, and Syr Joshua and Syr Saxon double up) with an additional 30 story only characters. If we mark Alesha as kind of the starting point of them putting queer characters on cards, that means we've gotten just shy of 50 in 10 years of Magic. Just imagine how many more we might get in the next 10 years.
FUCK YOU, Ravnica! If you’re dumb enough to planeswalk this weekend, you’re a big enough schmuck to come to Big Nick Balls War! Corrupt guildleaders! A giant army of zombies! Thieves! If you think you’re gonna find a victory at Big Nick’s, you can KISS MY ASS! It’s our belief that you’re such a stupid motherfucker, you’ll fall for this bullshit! GUARANTEED! If you find a better plan, shove it up your ugly ass! You heard us right, SHOVE IT UP YOUR UGLY ASS! Bring your weapons! Bring your dog! Bring your wife! We’ll kill her! That’s right, we’ll kill your wife! Because at Big Nick Balls, you’re fucked 6 ways from Sunday! Take a hike, to Big Nick Balls! Home of Challenge Planeswalking! That’s right, CHALLENGE PLANESWALKING! How does it work? If you can walk to another plane with the Immortal Sun blocking you, and not get torn to shreds by the Blind Eternities, you don’t get your spark eaten! Don’t wait! Don’t delay! Don’t fuck with us! Or we’ll rip your spark out! Only at Big Nick Balls, the only elder dragon that tells you to fuck off! Hurry up, asshole! This event ends the minute after I achieve godlike power, and it better not bounce or you’re a dead motherfucker! Suck my balls! Big Nick Balls War, Ravnica’s filthiest, and exclusive home of the meanest sons-of-bitches in the multiverse! GUARANTEED!
