| “ | My time will come, when every soul will bask in my glory and obey my law. | „ |
| ~ Heliod |
Heliod is a major villain in Magic The Gathering, primarily on the plane of Theros where he serves as a supporting heroic character before his true nature is revealed, and ultimately becomes a major antagonist in the plane. He is the Sun God of Theros, believed by the plane at large to be the first of all the gods and is worshiped and adored as the most important and most powerful of the pantheon. He is the counterpart and archenemy of Erebos and was the patron god turned archnemesis of Elspeth Tirel. He is the divine manifestation of white mana on Theros. He becomes compleated during the events of March of the Machine.
Biography[]
Theros Block[]
Heliod is the first of all the Theros gods to come into existence, or at least, this is what he has the world at large to believe. In reality, he is not even the eldest of the leading five, for that would be Erebos, and the eldest god of all Kruphix. According to Theros mythology, with the first sunlight, Heliod himself, the first shadow was cast, Erebos. Heliod feared it and banished it to the Underworld, and with Kruphix scarcely ever appearing, the Sun God was free to, in his eyes, lay claim to the world. He is the most important god to the mortals, almost universally beloved save for those who are in direct opposition to him like the followers of Erebos or the other gods.
Heliod murdering Elspeth
During the chaos caused by Xenagos, Heliod's true demeanor would be revealed, and the prideful but benevolent lord became a harbinger of wrath and ruin. He would repeatedly attempt to kill his own champion, Elspeth, fearing her power and more specifically fearing she would try and usurp his position, and at one point even succeeded. After Xenagos was slain, Heliod rewarded his champion by impaling her with her own weapon, sending her into the underworld. As war broke out between the pantheon and ravaged Theros, Heliod desired to become the only god of the world, and attacked anyone who dared oppose him, or even those he simply thought were in opposition, going against everything the plane believed him to be.
Theros: Beyond Death[]
As the resurrected Elspeth's fame grew due to her efforts in the underworld, Heliod grew weaker and more paranoid. In their final confrontation, the planeswalker was able to defeat him once and for all. His reputation permanently shattered, and exposed as the evil megalomaniac he truly was, Heliod's final judgment came from none other than the one being he hated most; his dark counterpart Erebos, who in a twist of fate, had his reputation have the reverse effect of his own, with Theros seeing that despite his tyranny and dark ways, Erebos was not the great evil Heliod made him out to be. Fulfilling his duty as the jailer and tormentor of the wicked souls of Theros, Erebos sentenced Heliod to eternal damnation for his crimes; trapping the Sun God beneath a giant boulder in the underworld for all eternity.
March of the Machine[]
Heliod near the beginning of New Phyrexia's invasion of the multiverse.
Once Realmbreaker connected to the rest of the multiverse, the Phyrexians, mechanical and biomechanical lifeforms that wish to perfect all beings in the multiverse by transforming them into Phyrexians, became able to invade every plane at once. The compleated leonin planeswalker and Heliod's enemy Ajani Goldmane and the Phyrexians on Theros compleated enough of his followers to where Heliod's purpose became warped to fit Phyrexian ideals. This allowed Heliod to be compleated.
The Phyrexian god would meet his permanent end at the hands of the ghost assassin Kaya.
Quotes[]
| “ | The numbers of Nyxborn among us have swelled. Is this a sign of the gods’ favor, or does it portend something else? | „ |
| ~ Heliod |
| “ | I bring a dawn that no night can follow. | „ |
| ~ Heliod |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Heliod was based primarily on the Greek God Zeus, but also took inspiration from other characters from Greek Mythology like Helios and Alectrona.
- Heliod's ultimate defeat forcing him to remain in the underworld may be a reference to the titan of light Hyperion where he and his siblings were trapped in the Tartarus. Him forced to hold a boulder is a reference to Atlas and Sisyphus.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
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 | ||