Emrakul

Emrakul
Details
Race	Eldrazi
Birthplace	Blind Eternities
Lifetime	Active until the Time of Legends, released and reimprisoned in the Mending Era
Born	Unknown
Colors

Emrakul, the "Aeons Torn," known as Keening Mother by some on Innistrad,^[1] is one of the three Eldrazi titans and the inspiration for the Zendikari merfolk god Emeria.

Description

Emrakul is the Titan of Corruption, the largest and most fearsome of the Eldrazi. She does not affect inorganic matter - rocks, water, etc. - but twists all things living, be they plants, animals, or other sentient beings. She causes silent terror wherever she soars, embodying desolation, emotional and physical distance, the chill of the void, and the terror of being alone. She is 60 meters or 200 feet tall.^[2]

Emrakul's Lineage

The Emrakul lineage is characterized by flesh-like lattice structures, uneasy bilateral symmetry, and tentacles that end in knobby, vestigial digits.^[3] Looking like spongy, alien baleen, the lattice respires independent of the Eldrazi herself, supporting a host of unseen mite creatures within. Some within this lineage, including Emrakul herself, float above the ground, using unknown powers to alter the surrounding gravity.

History

Imprisonment of the Eldrazi

After they discovered the threat of the Eldrazi 40 years prior, Ugin, Nahiri, and Sorin Markov prepared thoroughly to trap them on Nahiri's home plane of Zendikar. They devised a plan to trap the Eldrazi by creating a complex network of leylines, hedrons and nodes of mana. Nahiri was the one to build this intricate structure. She worked relentlessly, pulling and shaping hedrons from the living stone of Zendikar, while Ugin inscribed them with draconic runes to hold them in place. These hedrons, scattered across Zendikar, acted as both a lure and a trap, drawing the Eldrazi with their pulsing magical energy.^[4]

As the Eldrazi slowly approached Zendikar in -1400 AR, Nahiri warned the inhabitants of her plane — merfolk, kor, humans, elves, and even the surrakar — of the impending threat. The angels patrolled the skies, ever watchful. When the Titans arrived, it was a sight beyond comprehension. Ulamog, Kozilek, and the towering Emrakul descended upon Zendikar, their monstrous forms dwarfing everything in their path.^[4]

Ugin, Sorin, and Nahiri fought valiantly. Ugin unleashed his ghostfire, Sorin drained the Eldrazi's strength, and Zendikar's people battled the Titans' spawn, while the Eldrazi moved toward the heart of the trap — the Eye of Ugin. In a final act of power, the three Planeswalkers converged at the Eye, combining their magic to activate the hedron network. Every hedron on Zendikar shifted into place, sealing the Titans in a prison of mana and stone. The earth itself began to swallow the Eldrazi, encasing them and leaving them petrified, slowly sinking into the mountains themselves as Zendikar, though scarred, stood victorious. As the three Planeswalkers locked the chamber with a spell only three planeswalkers together could break, they knew that Zendikar would heal, and its people would adapt to life in the shadows of the hedrons.^[4]

The Eldrazi Released

After the release of Kozilek, Ulamog, and Emrakul by Nissa Revane, Emrakul vanished. After the death of Kozilek and Ulamog, Ugin confirmed that Emrakul had been absent from Zendikar for some time.^[5] She was drawn through the Blind Eternities to the plane of Innistrad by the planeswalker Nahiri, who was summoning Emrakul to enact her revenge on Sorin Markov.^[6] On Innistrad, her influence corrupted the people of the plane into tentacled monstrosities. The archangel Avacyn kept Emrakul at bay, but once she was unmade by Sorin, the titan physically entered Innistrad and her influence over the plane magnified. Jace Beleren returned to Zendikar to call the remaining planeswalkers of the Gatewatch: Gideon Jura, Nissa Revane, and Chandra Nalaar, to combat Emrakul, like they had Ulamog and Kozilek on Zendikar.

After destroying much of the city of Thraben, Emrakul is confronted by the Gatewatch and Liliana Vess, who is nearly brought down by her mental assaults. Jace communicates with a figment of her that manifests as Emeria, which tells him that she is "incomplete, unfulfilled, inchoate" and that Innistrad should welcome her, not reject her. When the Gatewatch performs the ritual to trap her, she willingly lets herself be sealed in Innistrad's moon. She possesses Tamiyo and has her read a scroll she has vowed to never read, after telling Jace, "I just no longer want to play" and "There should be blossoms, not barren resentment. The soil was not receptive. It is not my time. Not yet."^[7]

Emeria also appeared at the end of Nissa's vision of Nicol Bolas' plan while she was taking the Trial of Knowledge on Amonkhet. It is unknown if this communication originated from Emrakul.^[8]

Once Emrakul was banished to the moon, the great sigil on its face formed by the imprisonment spell eventually faded from view. However, the Eldrazi titan still resides inside, slumbering quietly. Prominent astronomancers and the Dawnhart Coven of witches believe that the cosmic titan's residency within the moon might be related to the coming of the Eternal Night.^[1]

Planes visited

• Countless planes consumed by the Eldrazi over the aeons
• Innistrad
• Zendikar

Gallery

• 
  Early concepts of the three Eldrazi titans by Aleksi Briclot.
• 
  Emrakul concept by Aleksi Briclot.
• 
  Emrakul concept by Aleksi Briclot.
• 
  Emrakul arrives on Innistrad. Art by Aleksi Briclot.
• 
  The Gatewatch fights Emrakul. Art by Aleksi Briclot.
• 
  Emrakul, the Aeons Torn art for Duel Masters.
• 
  Emrakul in the Duel Masters anime.
• 
  Secret Lair Drop Series: Spookydrop 2023 art

Story appearances

Trivia

• Emrakul, the Aeons Torn was also featured as a card in the Japanese TCG Duel Masters, which was likewise published by Wizards of the Coast.

In-game references

Represented in:

Associated cards:

Depicted in:

Referred to:

Emrakul's Brood:

Emrakul's Conscription:

Sources

• Doug Beyer (March 17, 2010). "Gods and Monsters". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Doug Beyer (March 29, 2010). "The Eldrazi Arisen". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Magic Arcana (April 12, 2010). "Sketches: Consume the Meek". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Monty Ashley (May 18, 2010). "Just Out of Shot". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Kelly Digges (May 14, 2015). "Know Your Spawn!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

References