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Kaervek
Kaervek-the-Spiteful
Details
Race Human
Birthplace Urborg, Dominaria
Lifetime War with Phyrexia-present
Born Before 3975 AR.[1]
Colors
{B} (current)
{B}{R} (formerly)
Sources
Mirage, Visions

Kaervek (KAIR-vehk[2]) the Merciless is a black-aligned human warlock from Dominaria. He was the main antagonist of the Mirage block storyline.[3][4] Kaervek's lifetime is longer than a normal human's, likely due to his magic, and he was already centuries old by the time the Mirage War started. [5]

History[ | ]

Kaervek came from one of the states of Urborg. Ambitious and talented in magic at an early age, Kaervek harbored dreams of ruling a kingdom. But in a realm as harsh as the Burning Isles, there were dozens of lords capable of thwarting his goals of rulership.

Kaervek

Kaervek the Merciless

When he picked up an enormous energy surge from the Chaza Isles, he set sail to discover what caused this and, more importantly, if he could use it to his advantage. However, this energy surge had been caused by the planeswalker Teferi, when he accidentally removed himself and everything else on his island from the time stream. Thus when Kaervek arrived, he did not find anything of use, just a barren rock in the sea. He did meet with two other people who had been attracted by the energy surge though: Mangara of the White Woods and Jolrael of Mwonvuli.

The three settled in Jamuraa and Kaervek quickly allied himself with Jolrael. When they returned from a survey of the continent to find Mangara in control of the kingdom of Zhalfir, Kaervek convinced Jolrael that Mangara had but one purpose: to take over the continent. Together they planned their assault, and a war began. Kaervek managed to trap Mangara in an Amber Prison, but he manipulated Jolrael to continue the war so he could seize Jamuraa for himself.

Calling upon his allies from Urborg, the nightstalkers and the Breathstealers, and his right hand, the panther warrior Purraj, as well as the Viashino that Jolrael had allied herself with, and the dragons the lizard-men commanded, Kaervek raged a long war at Zhalfir, Femeref and Suq'Ata. When he sensed Teferi's return, Kaervek sailed his armada to attack the planeswalker's isle. His ally Jolrael, disillusioned with Kaervek, ambushed him while the fleet was in the Kukemssa Sea, injuring him greatly. After Teferi sank his fleet, Kaervek managed to escape to the Uuserk Marshes.[6] At the same time, Rashida Scalebane and Asmira managed to free Mangara. Mangara then defeated Kaervek and locked him inside the amber prison himself.

Phased out[ | ]

Kaervek's amber prison, located in the prison city of Aku was phased out of Dominaria by Teferi along with the rest of Zhalfir. The plane had seemingly rid itself of Kaervek after Zhalfir was lost in the time streams due to the interference of the planeswalker Jeska. However, when Teferi discovered that Zhalfir had been preserved in a pocket plane, he found that only a decade had passed and that Kaervek's prison had been shattered, allowing him to escape.[7] Later, in the wake of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, Zhalfir became a plane in its own right, connected to the rest of the multiverse by Omenpaths, and Kaervek used one to leave the plane.[8]

Thunder Junction[ | ]

KaervekOTJ

Kaervek on Thunder Junction.

Kaervek arrived on the lawless plane of Thunder Junction and was recruited by Oko to take part in a heist on Maag Taranau, the vault at the plane's center.[9] At some point, an incident occurred between him and Satoru Umezawa that led to enmity between the two of them. Later, they were imprisoned by the Sterling Company, the plane's law-keeping body, but Eriette and Annie Flash broke them out. Upon returning to their base of operations, Oko had Kaervek analyze a key to the vault that he had stolen from the Sterling Company's headquarters.[10] He determined that its magic belonged to an ancient civilization as old as or perhaps even older than the Thran, and cautioned that opening the vault may unleash a malevolent force akin to Phyrexia on the Multiverse.

After Oko found a map leading to Tarnation, the fortress of the Hellspurs and Maag Taranau's true location, Kaervek traveled there with the rest of the gang to break in. He used his expertise in ancient magic to disable wards on the vault's entrance as the other members fought off the Hellspurs that had followed them in.[11] However, when it was finally opened, the heist's benefactor revealed himself to be Jace Beleren. He took an infant creature out of the vault and disappeared alongside Vraska, setting off a trap that would cause the vault to collapse. The gang was forced to fight their way out and later regrouped at their hideout, where Oko admitted that he had no way to pay them for their time. Kaervek was insulted and warned Oko that if he did not find Jace and Vraska, there would be dire consequences.

Story appearances[ | ]

Title Author Publishing date Set Setting (plane) Featuring
The War of Mirage* Scott Hungerford October 1996 Mirage Dominaria Teferi, Kaervek, Jolrael, Mangara
The Story of Jamuraa* Unknown October 1996 Mirage Dominaria Teferi, Mangara, Jolrael, Kaervek, Hakim Loreweaver, Spirit of the Night
Mirage: Oasis* Wolfgang Baur, Kij Johnson, Michael G. Ryan, Mike Selinker, and Teeuwynn Woodruff December 1996 Mirage Dominaria Kaervek, Hakim Loreweaver, Fola, Jojo, Chouri, Spirit of the Night, Bwire, Neshi Malu, M'bari, Rashida Scalebane, Naimah, Jaleen Firedrinker, Jora, B'temba, Tulu, Kenta, Rika, Okulu, Kopu, Mwani, Hapari, Kjono, Fadira, Yellow-Ear, Short-Tail, Broad-Paw, Six-Toe, Raklok, Rhimak, Khiba
Visions: The Backstory* Unknown February 1997 Visions Dominaria Kaervek, Jolrael, Mangara, Teferi, Asmira, Rashida Scalebane, Jabari, Hakim Loreweaver, Mwigo, Purraj, Sisay
Visions Told: The Resolution of the War for Jamuraa* Pete Venters February 1997 Visions Dominaria Kaervek, Jolrael, Mangara, Teferi, Asmira, Rashida Scalebane, Jabari, Hakim Loreweaver, Purraj, Sisay
Visions: The Oracle* Pete Venters April 1997 Visions Dominaria Jabari, Kaervek, Hakim Loreweaver, Lounda Ogum, Ofunda Falmani, Gambati Folresh, Norganu, Mwigo, Lunami, Eliko, Old And Dusty, Akeloni
Scalebane's Elite* Teeuwynn Woodruff Unknown Visions Dominaria Taysir, Kulinda, Jerran, Mangara, Kaervek, Rashida Scalebane, Asmira, Sisay, Tahngarth, Purraj of Urborg, Forena
Dying Breath* Teeuwynn Woodruff Unknown Visions Dominaria Taysir, Qhattib, Hilel, Kaervek, Spirit of the Night, Telim'Tor
Dominian Chronicles* Pete Venters, Kij Johnson & Scott Hungerford April 1997 Fifth Edition Dominaria, Rabiah, Phyrexia Urza, Mishra, Teeka, Kaervek
Weatherlight Ports of Call Pete Venters October 1997 Weatherlight Dominaria Mirri, Rofellos, Hanna, Barrin, Ertai, Nevinyrral, Crovax, Kaervek
Dominian FAQ part 8 Pete Venters June 1998 Homelands, Mirage, Legends Ulgrotha, Dominaria Sengir, Taysir, Daria, Feroz, Kaervek, Johan, Dakkon Blackblade, Jedit Ojanen, Galina
Phyrexia: All Will Be One - Alone Reinhardt Suarez 2023-01-17 Phyrexia: All Will Be One Dominaria Teferi, Eshe, Oyana, Neema (mentioned), Kami (mentioned), Amana (mentioned), Adia, Jabari, Wezna, The Wanderer, Kaervek (mentioned), Mageta (mentioned)
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Episode 2: The Jailbreak Akemi Dawn Bowman 2024-03-13 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Thunder Junction Annie Flash, Tinybones, Breeches, Malcolm Lee, Oko, Geralf Cecani, Gisa Cecani, Eriette, Vraska, Ashiok, Rakdos, Kaervek, Satoru Umezawa, Ral Zarek, Kellan
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Episode 3: A Train to Prosperity Akemi Dawn Bowman 2024-03-18 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Thunder Junction Akul, Oko, Kaervek, Annie Flash, Vraska, Gisa Cecani, Geralf Cecani, Eriette, Malcolm Lee, Breeches, Satoru Umezawa, Tinybones, Kellan, Ashiok, Nolan
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Episode 4: Finding Tarnation Akemi Dawn Bowman 2024-03-18 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Thunder Junction Oko, Kellan, Rakdos, Kaervek, Nolan, Breeches, Malcolm Lee, Tinybones, Vraska, Eriette, Ashiok, Annie Flash, Satoru Umezawa, Gisa Cecani, Geralf Cecani, Twist Fandango, Akul
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Episode 6: The Ballad of Thieves and Thunderslingers Akemi Dawn Bowman 2024-03-25 Outlaws of Thunder Junction Thunder Junction Oko, Breeches, Annie Flash, Tinybones, Rakdos, Satoru Umezawa, Geralf Cecani, Gisa Cecani, Kaervek, Akul, Vraska, Malcolm Lee, Eriette, Kellan, Ral Zarek, Jace Beleren, Loot, Amalia Benavides Aguirre

Trivia[ | ]

  • According to Hakim Loreweaver, the amber prison was swallowed by a goat named Nine of Thirteen shepherded by a goatherd named Jojo. After a battle with Bwire, a shaman rumored to be a relative of Kaervek, the guildmage Fola released Kaervek from the prison to imprison a dragon in his place. Loreweaver admits that this story may not be entirely true.[12]

In-game references[ | ]

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Depicted in:
Quoted or referred to:

Sources[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. The Mirage War
  2. Matt Cavotta (March 22, 2007). "Speak the Word, the Word is All of Us". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017.
  3. a b Brady Dommermuth (November 13, 2006). "The Legends of Time Spiral". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016.
  4. Encyclopedia Domina - Kaervek (archived)
  5. The Mirage War
  6. Pete Venters (February 1997). "Visions Told: The Resolution of the War for Jamuraa." The Duelist #15, 63
  7. Miguel Lopez (January 17, 2023). "Alone". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. Magic Creative Team (April 11, 2024). "A Legendary Crew for an Unbelievable Heist: Outlaws of Thunder Junction". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Akemi Dawn Bowman (March 13, 2024). "Episode 2: The Jailbreak". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  10. Akemi Dawn Bowman (March 17, 2024). "Episode 3: A Train to Prosperity". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. Akemi Dawn Bowman (March 25, 2024). "Episode 6: The Ballad of Thieves and Thunderslingers". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. Tales in the Sand
  13. Magic Arcana (November 13, 2006). "Sketch Quickies: Time Spiral Legends". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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