#Benalish

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Benalish Cavalry

"My people swore to protect Benalia to the end. It is battered, but yet stands, as do we."

Artist: Paolo Parente TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[dailymtgflavortext]

"The true measure of all heroes is not what they achieve, but who they inspire." —Triumph of Gerrard

-Benalish Honor Guard

[alurenrecycle]

Marath, Will of the Wild tokens, part 5

Soldiers, 1/1s

Soldiers, 2/2s

Soldiers with lifelink

And spirits

[donatoarts]

Gliding in, gracefully landing on the steps of a Benalish Cathedral, my latest creation for Magic:The Gathering:

Lyra Dawnbringer

24" x 20"  Oil on Panel  2021

A nod to Chris Rahn for the inspiring original card illustration, it is intimidating to follow a great painting with a new interpretation.

[ourlittleforever]

Love is Stored in the Kitchen

Arvad's love language is food. Pre-relationship fluff.

Rating: G

Words: ~1500

Warnings: none

Also on AO3!

Knock knock. The sound of someone at the door yanked Millie from their thoughts; they’d been so focused on unpacking their bags that they hadn’t even heard anyone approach the door. “Come in!”

They tossed the last of their dresses onto the bed and clambered to their feet, dusting their skirt off as the door opened. Arvad, the ship’s chief of security, was standing awkwardly in the doorway, holding a plate with a towel over the top of it. He nodded politely to them.

“I brought you something.”

“I see that,” Millie teased, carefully stepping over the vast array of their belongings strewn about the floor. They sniffed, catching the scent of chocolate and sugar, and their eyes lit up. “Are those… cookies?”

“Yes.” Arvad handed them the plate, and the warlock gingerly lifted the towel. The cookies were chocolate chip, perfectly golden and delightfully soft. They picked one up and took a bite, a hum of contentment escaping their throat.

“Oh my goodness. These are amazing.” Millie stuffed the rest of the cookie in their mouth without thinking; Arvad was watching with a quietly pleased expression. “You didn’t have to,” they said, covering their mouth as they finished chewing. “But thanks!” They paused, then quickly added, “I’ll try not to eat them all at once. Or so messily. Sorry.”

“I’m glad you enjoy them,” he replied, stepping away from the door. “Welcome aboard.”

—

“Millie, can you come here?”

Millie backpedaled, still amazed Arvad could tell their footsteps apart from everyone else’s. He said they walked heavily; they’d tried to walk lighter, but he always knew it was them. Millie poked their head into the kitchen. “What’s up?”

“Can you taste this for me?”

“Sure. What is it?” Millie sauntered over to the stove, where Arvad was cooking some type of stew. The liquid was a deep, ruddy orange, and they could see bits of beef, potatoes, and carrots floating in the mixture.

“Benalish beef stew.” Arvad dipped a clean spoon into the stew and, cupping his hand under it, held it out to Millie. Without even thinking to take the spoon for themself, Millie leaned forward, savoring the taste of the stew on their tongue. It was hearty, flawlessly seasoned, and reminded them of their home in the Croger mountains. Millie’s eyes fluttered shut at a memory of their grandmother, standing at the stove as they studied, humming an odd tune.

They stepped back, and upon realizing what they’d done, Millie’s face became uncomfortably warm. Arvad was seemingly unfazed, placing the spoon in the sink, but there was a slight stiffness in his movements now. He glanced at Millie over his shoulder. “What did you think?”

“It’s wonderful. As always.” Millie glanced at their feet, trying not to think of how close they were to him, and how he’d given them a taste of the stew, his fingers so close to their face. “Why do you have me taste-test your food? You know it’s going to come out amazing.”

“I was worried about the spices I chose,” Arvad admitted.

“You don’t have to worry. You’re an excellent cook.”

“Thank you,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Millie was acutely aware of how close he was standing to them, the subtle scent of his cologne (“Even a vampire needs to smell nice,” he’d said), the shadow he cast on them as his imposing height blocked the low light in the kitchen. The warlock’s body felt warm in his presence.

The world saw a vampire. Millie saw… Arvad, the gentlest person they’d ever met. Their eyes caught on his soft belly, hanging over his belt slightly, and they quickly glanced away – but they were, admittedly, pleased that he wasn’t all-muscle, all-the-time. “Um. I should get going. I’ll set the table.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you out there in a bit.”

Millie shuffled out of the kitchen, their face beet red, heart thumping, and thoughts racing.

—

“Hey, how come Arvad lets you in the kitchen when he’s cooking?” Raff asked, setting his chin in his hand. He frowned deeply. “He always tells me to get out if I try to come in.”

“Are you casting spells while you’re in there?”

“That was one time!”

“So that’s the reason,” Millie replied, taking a bite of their sandwich. Arvad had prepared Raff and their sandwiches for the day; the warlock and the wizard were sent to retrieve spellcasting supplies while Jhoira, Shanna, Arvad, and Tiana spoke to Benalish officials about the crew’s next move. The youngest members of the Weatherlight had been a bit annoyed at being left behind, but ultimately, Millie didn’t mind. Raff was pleasant company. They were surprised to learn he was seven years their junior, as he was incredibly well-spoken and intelligent.

“That’s not the reason. He doesn’t want Shanna or Jhoira or Tiana in there, either,” Raff huffed. “I think he likes you.”

“Whatever,” Millie said, but they could feel heat creeping up their neck at the thought. Millie noticed that Raff’s sandwich was stacked with lettuce, tomatoes, and some kind of sauce. Their own sandwich was plain, with cheese and turkey.

Some time ago, Arvad had packed them a lunch with a vegetable filled sandwich; Millie had tried to stomach it out of politeness, but they barely got half of it down due to the textures. They’d never told Arvad they didn’t enjoy sandwiches like that.

He remembered.

“What’s so dreamy about turkey and cheese?” Raff asked, snapping Millie out of their thoughts.

“Nothing.” Millie glanced in the basket, where four cookies sat in a neat paper package. Oatmeal – their favorite. A soft smile tugged at the corners of their lips.

“Thinking about your knight?”

“No…”

“You are!” Raff reached across the table and poked Millie’s arm. “You’re too easy to read! How come you don’t make a move?”

“It wouldn’t be…”

“Wouldn’t be what?”

“I don’t know.” Millie sighed. “I don’t want – well, if things ended up badly… the crew… I wouldn’t want to make things weird.”

“You worry too much.”

“Just trying to be practical.”

Raff reached into the basket to retrieve two cookies, wrinkling his nose. “Oatmeal? Yuck!” He handed them to Millie. “Here, take ‘em. I hate oatmeal.”

Millie blinked, then grinned.

—

“Ow,” Millie pulled their arm out of the blackberry brambles and examined the scratches flaring on their skin. Hot bright red welts danced across the ivory, and they winced. They’d left their witch-hazel back on the ship, of course – Millie had no idea they were allergic to the brambles. They sat back in the grass, considering their options. The warlock looked over at Arvad, then back at their splotchy arms and the angry contusions forming on their skin. Millie didn’t want him to be alone out here.

The things I do for love.

Millie reached into their side bag and found a few strips of cotton gauze, for emergency use. Gingerly, they wrapped their arms in the fabric, then set back into the blackberry bush. Their hands itched and burned, and their arms weren’t any better, but they endured, leaning further into the bush. A cluster of blackberries hovered just in front of their short, stubby fingers, taunting them. Millie canted into the bush, desperately trying to keep their face out of the thorns’ way. “C’mon… almoooooost… Damnit…”

“Millie.”

They yipped and nearly leapt from the grass, Arvad’s hand on their shoulder being the only thing keeping them on the ground. He knelt beside them, taking their hands in his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were allergic.”

“Me neither,” they murmured with a defeated little chuckle. “Oh well. It’s nothing a good washing and some witch-hazel can’t fix.” They nodded to the bush. “There’s a really good cluster in there, but I can’t reach it. I wanted to get it before we left.”

“I think we have enough. But…” Arvad reached into the brush, squinting in the darkness. There was a snapping sound, and he pulled his hand out, blackberries in hand. “Here. You’re not allergic to the berries themselves, right?”

“Right.” Millie opened their hand, and Arvad dropped the berries into their open palm. “Thank you,” they said, and they popped the berries into their mouth. Juice dribbled down their chin, and Millie giggled despite themself, despite the burning and itching and the sensation of a bug crawling over their leg.

This was good.

Arvad smile – a true, beautiful, wonderful smile, and Millie’s heart ached. “You know,” he said, “I can’t eat real food anymore, but… it’s nice to watch others enjoy it.” His voice held a bittersweet quality as he spoke. “I’ll just live vicariously through you, when it comes to eating.”

“Is that why you’re always trying to fatten me up?” The warlock scowled. “Hey! Don’t snicker! I’ve gained thirty pounds!”

He laughed. Arvad never laughed, but he laughed for Millie. In spite of themself, they laughed, too.

The sun set, and the two walked back to the Weatherlight, itchy little hand in calloused hand.

[danshive]

It’s evolving…

The Esper Sentinel can be absurd, and is a way to both slow down the opponent, and speed up my deck.

The Benalish Knight-Counselor can be a good way to swing for high damage without sacrificing something more valuable, and give whatever's cast next a boost.

The Coppercoat Vanguard is just absurd, especially if it's copied via Mystic Reflection and Horn of Gondor.

The previous deck version had 24 lands, and I had an issue with being mana-flooded given the deck is mostly doing what it wants to do with 5 lands. I also lacked a good way to add toughness to creatures.

So I reduced the land count to 22, tossed out one Ambitious Farmhand, and added 3 Paladin Class (this deck can really make it annoying for your opponent to try and cast an instant spell that targets one of your creatures).

Cleric Class would also be good, but the +1/+1 tokens get REALLY tedious if things are going well, and sits like a lemon unless one of the life gaining creatures are in play. It's also good to avoid things that might cause Arena to hang from too many simultaneous triggers if lots of creatures are in play.

Deck 4 Horn of Gondor (LTR) 240 4 Hengegate Pathway (KHM) 260 4 Benalish Knight-Counselor (Y23) 1 4 Hanweir Militia Captain (J21) 14 10 Plains (LTR) 263 4 Coppercoat Vanguard (MAT) 1 3 Ambitious Farmhand (MID) 2 4 Mystic Reflection (KHM) 69 4 Esper Sentinel (MH2) 12 4 Soul Warden (M10) 34 4 Lunarch Veteran (MID) 27 4 Deserted Beach (MID) 260 4 Adarkar Wastes (DMU) 243 3 Paladin Class (AFR) 29

[danco110]

“Jamie! We need all hands on deck to stop these dragons! That includes you!”

The woman in the green dress backpedaled away from the Benalish knights, and the Phyrexian dragons quickly approaching them from above. Jamie anxiously wrung her hands as she shook her head in response to the knight’s call.

“What?” balked the unarmed and unarmored civilian.

“I know you can take care of yourself,” growled the knight.

“A little...”

“Uncoil your wires and help us!”

“Wires…?” Jamie protested weakly.

The knight’s mouth curled into a scowl. “Oh, don’t play coy with me, Jamie. We need your help! Do you really want to help out this new wave of Phyrexians?”

Jamie stared fearfully at the still-beckoning knight for a time. Her gaze flicked back and forth between them and the dragons, before her expression finally hardened. A dark liquid began to leak from her eyes as she balled her fists.

“Understood,” Jamie murmured, in a suddenly sinister tone.

“Here they come!”

A second knight called out, and hurled an enchanted javelin through the air at the nearest of the compleated dragons. The beast dodged the missile with a flap of its wings, metal joints whistling menacingly as it dove down towards the offending knight.

“Leave him alone!”

A sleek, blue steel cable whipped through the air, impacting against the dragon’s metallic skull with a deafening crack. The monster roared in pain and fury, and changed course on a dime, only to catch a second cable for its trouble - this one directly through its eye. The dragon was killed instantly, landing with a cacophonous rumble and skidding to a stop at Jamie’s feet, just as the older Phyrexian retracted her wire whips into her arms with a mechanical whir.

“I’ve got your back!” Jamie shouted to the knights. “Go!”

Their morale bolstered by Jamie’s violent display, the Benalish troops roared a furious battle cry, and charged to meet the remaining dragons.

[“I don’t care what you used to do, or what your-your…your name is. This is the land of second chances!”]

[bacejelerenvorthos]

The Lore of Dominaria United: Benalia

“Benalia is a land of natural and architectural beauty: vast fields of sun-kissed grain crisscrossed by meandering rivers and dotted with cities of white limestone towers and vivid stained glass. One would hardly guess that less than a century ago, this great empire was fractured, its people scattered, its shining capital city a salt-choked ruin. Today, the seven noble houses of Benalia once again rule one of the most prosperous and powerful nations of Dominaria. The Benalish are keenly aware that their new Benalia is in its infancy, with a thousand years of heroic ancestors and tales of bravery to live up to. But they are a proud people also—proud enough to consider themselves equal to the task.”

[beatsandskies]

deePRECONnaissance: beginner battling in Shandalar

I felt like taking a look at something a wee bit older for a change of pace. And what’s better than slapping Holy Armour on a Benalish Hero turn two and smashing in? Not much, I’d say. Enchanting a Savannah Lions instead, of course, but that’s a given. I’m not sure how much explaining of Shandalar I need to do. It was the first Magic computer game. Despite being released in 1997 all the cards…

[mtgbirthdays]

Happy birthday to Benalish Hero (SUM), who's turning 30 years old today! Bands.

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Benalish Commander

Artist: Paolo Parente TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[i-am-nickelbolt]

Bronze to Mythic, Dominaria United premiere draft #4, new dad style! It’s been two weeks since I have been able to fire up arena. Many sleep-interrupted nights, lots of exhaustion, and a bucket of tears (more than a few of them were my own.) But we finally got a decent night’s sleep and my son is napping well again, so it’s time to jump back into the queues!

The draft was interesting.

Pack 1 a worthy first pick Phyrexian Missionary. Great 2 drop for every white deck, excellent to kick. Pick 2 Benalish Sleeper over Extinguish the Light and Blight Pile. I find Extinguish the Light to be okay but Shore Up is kind of a blowout. Blight Pile is okay but it’s more of the fail-case if you don’t have Chaplain in the wall deck than it is an early pick. I kind of wanted to try base white, so I went with Sleeper. Pick 3 Heroic Charge out of a mediocre pack. Gaea’s Might, Shore Up, Shadow Prophecy, and red-white land are good but don’t really fit what I’m doing. If you’re base white, the first Charge is a lot better than dorky filler. Pick 4 Phyrexian Missionary over Love Song of Night and Day. I feel like I’m kind of doing it. Pick 5 Bone Splinters is kind of perfect for black-white, especially if I get a couple token makers. Pick 6 was a curveball Essence Scatter, and I thought it might be a signal, as this is one of the best blue cards. Pick 7 Gibbering Barricade over Pixie Illusionist and Shadow Prophecy, which I think is a mistake. I am pretty sure I overvalue the barricade, it just wasn’t impressive at all in these games, even though I was thinking I maybe wanted defensive plays to go with Essence Scatter. Pick 8 Battlefly Swarm is a flier if I want to Charge, and a grindy blocker for Missionary to rebuy if I abandon Charge. Pick 9 Phyrexian Espionage kind of confirmed the grindy Esper plan for me. Crystal Grotto, Shadow Prophecy, a speculative Shield-wall Sentry and a Salvaged Manaworker rounded out the pack.

Pack 2 pick 1 I immediately saw second Phyrexian Missionary buuut... Nemata Primeval Warden was right next to it. Nemata is pretty busted, so here we go 4 color, lets pick some lands! Pick 2 I immediately saw blue-white land, buuut... there was Boretusk Bonerattle. I’m basically on lands over everything at this point. Pick 3 Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator over second Crystal Grotto. Pick 4 Talas lookout over Scout the Wilderness, but I think I should have taken Destroy Evil. Pick 5 Deathbloom Gardener over Citizen’s Arrest... hmm...

I think basically everyone else in the pod was taking lands, because I only saw a couple of them for the rest of the draft. I had to resort to Salvaged Manaworker and Scout the Wilderness. Fortunately, I was mostly looking for colors to cast my spells, not necessarily needing to get land types quickly. The domain cards I had were still pretty good at 3 types. I did think I had a trainwreck. Fortunately, I rattled off 6-1 despite making a ton of mistakes. I misclicked an Urborg Repossession, I made a ton of weird blocks, my sequencing was bad, I almost needlessly decked myself once, but the late game grind got me there. I’m not even sure if I built my deck right, or even drafted my lane correctly. The game I lost could basically be traced down to missing a double-block because I thought my opponent’s Karplusan Forest contributed to Domain and the Rootwalla was smaller than I thought it was. I think I made a couple other mistakes that match, but I made it harder for myself by missing that block.

The last two games I lost were card quality issues. The problem with playing a lot of mediocre cards to make your mana work is when you draw a lot of those mediocre cards, your deck looks horrible.

A couple of observations:

Nemata, Primeval Warden is busted.

Gibbering Barricade was very disappointing. it never really blocked the way I hoped and I thought it would be better with Scout the Wilderness.

Scout the Wilderness was okay. It’s nice that you can get tokens off of it and shuffle back Scrys in the late game from Automatic Librarian digging for land. And the tokens can be relevant.

Automatic Librarian overperformed in this deck. 3/2 brawls reasonably well, and it was pretty nice with all the graveyard recursion. It seemed like I could always dig to land or powerful spells for as long as I wanted. Also, just being able to always cast a 3 drop with whatever lands I had was really nice.

Salvaged Manaworker was only okay. Where it shined was more as a 2 mana blocker, not so much at fixing mana.

Here’s a shocker of a headline: “Merfolk Looter is great!” But Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator was really nice with all the graveyard recursion.

You can deck yourself pretty easily with a couple Shadow Prophecy.

Also, my son was a lucky charm! He cried during two matches, so I had to run and get him. But then I won both of those match-ups. And the third game he cried and I left him in his crib, I lost. So the lesson is if I can play Arena while holding him, I will always win.

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Shanid, Sleepers' Scourge by Ryan Pancoast

[magicalhobo72]

Some screens of new art for the cards of Dominaria!!! No artists were given during the Access but ©️Copyright Wizards Of The Coast Until we find out!

[weekly-mtg-posts]

Knights of Dominaria

Benalish Marshal | Mark Zug Call the Cavalry | Scott Murphy History of Benalia | Noah Bradley Dauntless Bodyguard | Manuel Castañón Danitha Capashen, Paragon | Chris Rallis Arvad the Cursed | Lius Lasahido

Visit the Archives for more themed posts.

[5ecardaday]

And now the second ever creature card that I’ve converted, the classic favorite Benalish Hero. I’ve incorporated quite a bit of the actual lore in MtG into this one, for the better I think. A few moderate changes, and Benalia actually really shines as an interesting place to hold a few sessions, or perhaps even an entire campaign focused on the rise of the party from a odd ball group pulled from various castes to an elite fighting force of Heroes, each one equivalent to the near-mythical Gerrard Capashen. Also, be on the lookout for a special homebrew related to the Benalish Hero. A fun idea for anyone looking for some MtG specific homebrew classes.

A Caste Above. In Benalia, there is a complex caste system in place which shifts and changes with the process of the lunar year. All castes are derived from one of seven clans, giving each citizen of Benalia a designated position in society at birth. Despite the changing structure of Benalish society, there is one caste which always holds a high position of authority, demanding respect from all- the caste of the hero. Heroes within the Benalish caste system must be awarded this caste in a dual ceremony performed both by a religious and a political leader, and are usually granted this honor after proving themselves to be warriors of the highest caliber. Once named as a true member of the Hero caste, a Hero may never lose their position in this caste. Even Heroes who have retired to more peaceful living situations still draw gazes of admiration from those who know them.

Outside the Lines. Once named to the Hero caste, a Benalish citizen is still considered part of their former clan caste, but they are not subject to many of the laws and restrictions of the system. Benalish citizens who are elevated to the Hero caste are always considered to be a Hero first and a member of their clan second. This is because, beyond their duties as guardians of Benalia, a Hero is also expected to act a neutral arbiter, capable of intervening and delivering judgement during disputes amongst Benalish citizens. A Hero is also expected to guard and uphold the tenets and ideals of the Benalish caste system, ensuring that each citizen performs their expected duties, and measures up to expectations, including other Heroes.

Makings of a Hero. Members of the Hero caste are incredibly varied, and may come from any other caste or race, but there are a few notable similarities to be found between all Heroes. The first is the remarkable ability to influence others, even staunch foes, into siding with the Hero under difficult circumstances. The second is an inborn spirit of compassion, and a desire to protect others from harm at any cost. Benalish Heroes may often risk their lives on the battlefield in order to ensure that their allies live on to fight another day. Some Benalish citizens believe that members of the Hero caste are born into it, marked from birth and blessed with charisma which seems almost magical, developing other heroic talents later in life. Other disreputable sources spread dark whispers about the ritual which raises a citizen to the Hero caste, claiming that before the ceremony, behind closed and tightly locked doors, magical rituals grant soon-to-be Heroes with the skills necessary to defend Benalia, including an almost fanatical desire to uphold the rigidity of the caste system.