Mirari and Mirari's Wake - Magic Storyline - Magic Fundamentals - MTG Salvation Forums (2025)

Welcome to the storyline forum!

The two cards are, indeed, connected. The Mirari was an artifact created by the planeswalker Karn to act as a probe into other worlds. However, Karn failed to limit the power of this artifact. The Mirari amplified the wishes and spells of those who possessed it. The barbarian Kamahl was involved in much of its effects, as well as the merfolk ambassador Aquatus, and the dementia summoner Chainer.

The Mirari began affecting the land, especially the island on Otaria, where it was located. The Mirari's wake, then, are the effects of its powers. Creatures mutated and magical ability heightened. The landscapes accentuated. All this was further complicated by the manifestation of Magic herself, the false goddess Karona.

Finally, Kamahl used a sword (with the Mirari as its pummel) to kill Karona. Karn, the planeswalker, took the artifact back to his created plane of Argentum, and made a golem out of it. Karn left his homeworld in the care of this golem, whose name became Memnarch. Memnarch later changed Argentum's name to Mirrodin, and sought to become a planeswalker himself.

That is a SUPER BRIEF history of the Mirari, which spans the sets from Odyssey to Fifth Dawn, basically. The Mirari was turned into Memnarch at the end of Scourge, and Memnarch became the leading "villain" in the Mirrodin block. For more clarification and details, just ask!

I haven't played Magic in quite a while, so someone else may be more familiar with the cards.

However, in the story, the Mirari was spread across the colors. It caused a "holy" crystalization, a huge tidal wave, and a bunch of other destructions--so each color was amplified by the Mirari. As far as alignments, the Mirari was neutral. It was not necessarily "good" or "bad," and affected everything equally (though with disastrous consequences). Of course, each color does have its extreme, and each color can have global effects. The Mirari just assured that they happened!

Also, harkening back to the original post, it's important to keep in mind that green + white does not necessarily = good. There are good and evil aspects to each color, including green and white. A few examples

White
Good - Healing
Evil - "Needs of the many" mentality

Blue
Good - Learning
Evil - Control

Black
Good - Eliminating the dead to allow the living
Evil - Murder

Red
Good - Defending home
Evil - Blowing stuff up

Green
Good - Natural growth
Evil - Isolationism

There are many other examples on both sides of the spectrum (good and evil). So just because the Mirair's Wake is green and white doesn't mean that it embodies growth and order. In this case, the card embodies zealotism and a distortion of the natural world.

And welcome to the storyline forums. We're here to answer questions. They don't even let us go home anymore.

Don't look at the Mirari through the lense of good and evil; It was used both ways. Instead look at it through the lense of Order and Chaos. The Mirari, in many ways, was chaos incarnate.

Edit: AD&D's alignments leave an entire axis out of practical annalysis of actions and motivations. You need to add the focus/intent alignment. People can be 'lawful evil' because they're lawful and evil, or they can be 'Lawful Evil' because they worship evil/an evil deity and see it as their duty to do its work. There's a vast difference in motivation and action, but AD&D classifies them as the same.