Magic: The Gathering has an incredible wealth of stories hidden in its cards. The first modern trading card game has been around since 1993. And in those decades, it has spun up a lore that might make any franchise feel envious. The beauty of the stories that Magic tells through its cards, though, is that they are so rich and yet leave so much space for growth and exploration. Magic: The Gathering‘s cards reveal moments and snapshots brought out of an even richer tale. And happily, a new licensed publishing program between Dark Horse Comics and Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast division, MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories will dive into some of these epic tales and give them even greater life. At Nerdist, it’s our pleasure to reveal exclusive excerpt pages from MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth. This unpublished story from Theros Beyond Death! reveals the highly anticipated story of how Elspeth finally escaped the underworld.
It’s a story you won’t want to miss.
Read 5 Exclusive Pages From MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth
Get ready to hear the story behind Theros: Beyond Death. The incredible Magic: The Gathering expansion set took us into the world of Greek mythology through the lens of MTG. And now, we’re delving even deeper into one of its myths with a four-issue comic miniseries that tells the story of Elspeth through incredible art, color, and narrative. It’s Magic: The Gathering like you’ve never seen it before.
In our exclusive excerpt pages from MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth, we find ourselves at the very beginning of Elspeth’s unknown story. Elspeth has been sentenced to a terrible fate in the Underworld by the one whom she once championed. Now she must relive some of her worst nightmares, including her forced killing of her love Daxos, her terrible death at the hands of Heliod, betrayed by the god she had sworn to serve, and her horrifying capture by the terrible Phyrexians in her childhood. (They are CREEPY.) But that’s only the start for Elspeth. How will she ever escape her torment… We are about to find out.
Theros: Beyond Death promises us that Elspeth will conquer death, face the sun god, and take on her worst nightmares. It also reveals that the misery of the Underworld is no trifle. And hints at Heliod, the sun god’s might, rage, and fate. But how these pieces, these cards, if you will, come together, that’s the journey that MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth will take us on.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth Synopsis
The official synopsis of MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth reveals more to us about what we can expect from the comic story. It shares:
Elspeth is dead. But her story is not yet over.
The sun god Heliod, having grown envious of his champion, struck her down to the underworld. There, she is forced to relive the worst moments of her life for all eternity. But Elspeth does not submit to despair—she emerges from each conflict a greater hero than before. And for a great hero like Elspeth, what is death but another challenge to overcome?
We love a fearless hero, not cowed even by death. Elspeth has been through so much in life; what is a little underworld to her? Jackie Jones, Vice President of Creative for MAGIC: THE GATHERING at Wizards of the Coast, shares, “Elspeth’s journey has always resonated deeply with our fans, and bringing her untold story to life in this exciting new format has been a real creative highlight for us. Working with Dark Horse and this phenomenal team of artists and writers, we’re thrilled to give players and readers a deeper look into one of MAGIC’s most iconic heroes.”
“We can’t wait to finally tell the story of Theros: Beyond Death,” adds Roy Graham, Senior Story Lead for MAGIC: THE GATHERING at Wizards of the Coast. “Our fans and dedicated readers have wanted to see Elspeth’s escape from the underworld brought to life since the iconic set was first released, and working with Dark Horse to make it happen is a dream come true.”
And truly, is there a more iconic story than escaping the realm of death itself?
More About MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth
A comic narrative seems like the perfect choice to expand a Magic: The Gathering tale. The medium allows for more linear storytelling, but retains the magnificent art that Magic: The Gathering is so known for.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth will be a four-issue miniseries written by renowned author Dan Watters (Cyberpunk 2077: Psycho Squad, Home Sick Pilots, Nightwing), illustrated by Owen Gieni (Manifest Destiny, Rat Queens), colored by Hilary Jenkins (Hairball, Slow Burn), and lettered by Clayton Cowles (Helen of Wyndhorn, FML). It will feature covers by Gieni, Vincenzo Riccardo, and Anna Steinbauer.
Illustrator Gieni reveals, “I’m so honoured to illustrate the story of these great characters and lore. And Dan’s scripts are absolutely amazing, legitimately brilliant stuff. The only request I gave him at the start was to give me some of those epic Theros gods and monsters to draw, and he fully delivered with a vengeance! Killer stuff that I think MtG fans are gonna love.”
In just our exclusive pages from the MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth comic, we see plenty of incredible AND terrifying gods and monsters. So we can’t imagine what the rest of the mini-series holds, but know it will be amazing.
More Stories Are Coming
As mentioned, MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth #1 marks the first release of a new licensed publishing program between Dark Horse Comics and Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast division. This new era will expand the worlds of MAGIC: THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS with comics, graphic novels, art books, and more. And we absoutely can’t wait.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth‘s Release Date
MAGIC: THE GATHERING: Untold Stories—Elspeth issue #1 releases in stores on September 17, 2025. You can preorder it today from your local comic shop for $4.99.
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