- For the novel, see The Prodigal Sorcerer.
Prodigal Sorcerer is a blue 1/1 Human Wizard creature card with the activated ability ": Prodigal Sorcerer deals 1 damage to any target". It is a very well-known card, first appearing in Alpha edition and inspiring several stories as well as the nickname Tim. However, it is no longer considered a good fit within the color pie.
History[ | ]
Alpha[ | ]
The card was introduced in Alpha, where its artist credit was incorrect, with Douglas Shuler misspelled as "Douglas Schuler". The card featured creature type Wizard (only) in Alpha; but, in Time Spiral, it gained the Human racial creature type to complement its class creature type.
Nickname and etymology[ | ]
The card is nicknamed "Tim", after the "Tim the Enchanter", a wizard portrayed by John Cleese in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and who had a talent for fire-based magic and damaging things.
The nickname "Tim" has inspired nicknames for other pingers, such as Rod of Ruin ("Tim on a stick"), Hermetic Study ("Tim on a whim"), Pirate Ship ("Tim on a ship"), Rootwater Hunter ("Tim who can swim", "swim Tim", or "fish Tim"), Thornwind Faeries ("flying Tim"), and Zuran Spellcaster ("Zim" or "icy Tim").
Reprints[ | ]
Prodigal Sorcerer was reprinted in every Core Set up until Seventh Edition.
Time Spiral[ | ]
In Time Spiral, it gained the Human racial creature type to complement its creature class.
Planar Chaos replacement[ | ]
Introduced in Planar Chaos as a red timeshifted version of Prodigal Sorcerer, Prodigal Pyromancer, nicknamed "Tom" for unknown reasons, other than "Tom" was the design file name,[1] was thought to be more appropriate given the understanding of the color pie then.
Prodigal Pyromancer was later reprinted in Tenth Edition, thus cementing R&D's position on damage-dealing creatures in red, not blue. It also featured in Magic 2010 and Magic 2011.
Story appearances[ | ]
Prodigal Sorcerer represents a character archetype rather than a specific character. Nonetheless, it has inspired several works about inexperienced mages:
- The Prodigal Sorcerer (1995) by Mark Sumner features Alligarius Timni of the Institute of Arcane Study, whose surname references the card's nickname and whose story matches its flavor text. A young Institute wizard named Kitrin also appears.
- The promo video for Homelands features a Prodigal Sorcerer as its main character.[2]
- A 1998 FAQ about "Dominia", the name originally used for Dominaria, states the Prodigal Sorcerors of Tamingazin were descendants of the School of the Unseen, itself a descendant of the College of Lat-Nam.[3]
- "The Prodigal Sorcerers" (2016) by Mark Price on Magic Story centers on Kellan Boldt, a young wizard bound for the Tolarian Academy before a life-changing crisis under the mentorship of elder Academy graduate Enthril. The art layout implies each wizard is a different iteration of the Prodigal Sorcerer archetype, and Enthril's description with a silver beard and black-and-gold tunic matches the original card art.
These stories take place on Dominaria, except for the Homelands promo video, which presumably is set on Ulgrotha.
In-game references[ | ]
- Represented in:
References[ | ]
- ↑ Aaron Forsythe (February 2, 2007). "Tom-Shifted: Red Tim finally exists!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast "Homelands" Promo (Video). Philemon Vanderbeck. YouTube (June 16, 2006).
- ↑ Pete Venters (May 1998). "Dominian FAQ" The Duelist #25, p.34.