| “ | If the populace fears our authority, then I’d say we have an appropriately sensible populace. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
Dovin Baan is a Vedalken Planeswalker and minor antagonist in Magic: the Gathering. He is obsessed with upholding the law, preserving peace, and maintaining order. This led him to serve the governing Consulate on his home plane of Kaladesh, even after it was usurped by the villainous planeswalker Tezzeret. It also led him to take over the Azorius Senate and turn Ravnica into a draconian police-state, all while serving the goals of an even more evil and tyrannical planeswalker named Nicol Bolas.
While he is an artificer and has the engineering skills to create and control artifacts, he also has the distinct ability to detect flaws in machines, plans, and people with disturbing accuracy. (It is not clear if this ability is magical in nature or simply a result of his keen analytical insight.) In War of the Spark he also displays the ability to use counterspell magic.
In Magic the Gathering: Arena, he is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes, who also voiced Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Medic in Team Fortress 2, Baron Zemo and Abomination in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Abomination and Annihilus in the 2010 Marvel Animated Universe, Lachlan McDermott in Criminal Minds, Luxord in the Kingdom Hearts series, Deathstroke in Beware the Batman, Riddler in Batman: The Enemy Within, Falcon Graves in Ducktales, Mumm-Ra in ThunderCats, Shinnok in Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, and Emperor Nefarious in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
History[]
Kaladesh[]
Dovin Baan was a member of the Consulate of Kaladesh and was designated as the Senior Inspector of the Inventor's Fair. He was doing his duties admirably but when an unexpected and unpredictable Renegade threat emerged, he traveled the multiverse in search of assistance. He had a meeting with the Gatewatch, a group of Planeswalkers bound together with the purpose of defending the Multiverse against threats, and asked if they would help. They refuse to help him because the renegades were only a problem on Kaladesh and not to the rest of the Multiverse. His arrival managed to inform Chandra Nalaar about the current state of her home plane and she and Liliana Vess Planeswalked there with Dovin and Nissa following after them. Dovin later appeared with the Planeswalker Tezzeret when he arrested Renegade Prime(who was Chandra's mother Pia). With her in custody, he believed that the Inventor's Fair wouldn't have any other complications.
During Tezzeret's coup, Dovin provided his assistance but was hesitant to do so due to the brutal methods Tezzeret employed. Tezzeret assured Dovin that this was necessary to protect the artifacts from the Renegades and help usher in a new era of innovation. Tezzeret decided to put Dovin in charge of making newer and superior technology for the people of Kaladesh, but only after the Gatewatch was dealt with since he was the one who brought them here. Dovin immediately went to work creating new soldiers and assessing the Gatewatch for weaknesses.
After the Renegades claimed control over the Aether Hub, Dovin was tasked to help Tezzeret make battle plans. Dovin figured that most of the Renegades were positioned inside of the Hub and that a direct attack would result in failure. He suggested having forces around the Hub and lure their leaders and the Planeswalkers out and subdue them with air support and armed enforcers. He relayed the weaknesses of the Gatewatch to Tezzeret and noted that Chandra was the weakest member due to her impulsiveness. Tezzeret decided to deal with her by sending Officer Baral to stop her. Dovin was uncertain that his plan would work due to Baral's unstable state of mind.
Dovin was ordered to supervise Baral and was assured that the conflict would take place in a vacant area. He watched as Chandra and Baral brawled with no side having an advantage. When Baral requested reinforcements, Dovin denied aiding him to not harm the populace. Later in the clash, Dovin learned that Baral murdered Chandra's father, imprisoned and tortured Pia, and lied to the Consulate. After this confession, Dovin arrested Baral with charges of murder, attempted murder, and falsification of the public record. Baral yelled at Dovin to stop the Renegades(who were escaping), but Dovin stated that the Aether Hub was in their control. His last appearance on Kaladesh was when he boarded the Heart of Kiran and sabotaged the Hope of Ghirapur which was designed to destroy Tezzeret's Planar Bridge. Chandra tried to stop him, but Dovin Baan Planeswalked to safety.
War of the Spark[]
Dovin in War of the Spark
After Dovin learned that Tezzeret wasn't the mastermind he appeared to be, he sought out Tezzeret's boss. This led him right to Nicol Bolas as the dragon planned it to happen. After meeting Bolas for the first time, he was very impressed with his intelligence and his "flawless planning skills." Bolas offered Dovin an opportunity he couldn't refuse, the chance to fix Ravnica's government and make it perfect. After his first visit to Ravnica, Dovin wanted to improve Ravnica's governing structure and accepted the chance to be the new Guildleader of the Azorius Senate. After joining the guild, he exploited numerous loopholes to disrupt the chain of command. From occupying judges and senators with paperwork to rescheduling key meetings and arranging the terminations of specific members, Dovin became the new head of the Lyev Column replacing Agmand Sarv in the process. He wouldn't get his chance to be Guildleader until Isperia was murdered by Vraska. As guildleader of the Azorius, he taught the Guild how to make spy thopters and how to use precognitive mages to stop crimes before they happen. This led to many innocent Ravnicans being detained and Dovin Baan being despised by most.
When Ral Zerek (one of Bolas's former minions) decided to fight against Bolas instead of for him by creating a device to give Niv-Mizzet the power of the Guildpact, Dovin discovered this and played along. Before Bolas arrived, Dovin sabotaged the device leaving Jace Beleron as the Living Guildpact. However, Dovin soon became trapped because of the Immortal Sun, as Bolas's true plan was to trap all of the multiverse's Planeswalkers on Ravnica and absorb their sparks.
Once the War truly began, he is instructed by Bolas to defend the Immortal Sun. Dovin intended to use the Immortal Sun to trap as many Planeswalkers as possible including Bolas to prevent their influence on the Multiverse. Dovin guarded the Immortal Sun until Chandra Nalaar came to challenge him. The two clashed until it was revealed that the Chandra he was fighting was actually the Dimir Guildleader Lazav. The real Chandra was busy deactivating the Immortal Sun with Lavinia and Saheeli. Dovin was burned and blinded by Lazav but escaped after the Immortal Sun was deactivated. He survived the war, but Vraska was tasked to kill Dovin.
Forsaken[]
After Lazav blinded him, Dovin returned to his home plane of Kaladesh for a short time and once again went to his safe house on Ravnica. He returned to living a normal life by using his memory to help him build devices to compensate for his blindness. Vraska had found the vedalken and Dovin offered to help her maintain her leadership in the Golgari in exchange for his life. Feeling desperate, she agreed and the two devised a plan to fake Dovin's death. Using a statue with a similar appearance to Dovin, the two staged a fight between him and Chandra Nalaar on Regatha. As proof that Baan was dead, his right hand was severed and Chandra destroyed the statue believing that the real Dovin was cinders. With their plan successful, Dovin returned to Ravnica only to be slain by Atkos Tarr. She was ordered by Lazav to murder him and retrieve Dovin's left hand as a way to blackmail Vraska.
Quotes[]
| “ | We're finished here. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
| “ | I see you’ve learned nothing, Chandra. You’d still put a match to something rather than understand it. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
| “ | Give me eight walkers, I’ll give you the city. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
| “ | Too much friction on your bearings, your countersinking is inconsistent, and there are lines in your casting. Dispose of it, and begin again. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
| “ | It must be infuriating, to pour so much rage into your assault and see it wasted. Perhaps you'll learn something from this. | „ |
| ~ Dovin Baan |
Gallery[]
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 Villains
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Planeswalkers Phyrexians Multiversal Threats Villains by Plane Mirrodin/New Phyrexia Kamigawa Ravnica Lorwyn/Shadowmoor Alara Zendikar Innistrad Theros Tarkir Kaladesh Amonkhet Kaldheim Ikoria Arcavios Unknown | ||