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Tuktuk
Tuktuk
Details
Race Goblin Golem
Birthplace Zendikar
Lifetime Died and Returned ~4507[1], eaten before ~4559
Sources
The Tale of Tuktuk

Tuktuk the Explorer was an adventurous goblin, brave for his kind and curious, always willing to venture deep into the vaults and chasms where Zendikar kept its best shinies.

History[ | ]

Tuktuk wasn't a particularly remarkable fighter or a particularly charismatic leader, but his curiosity burned like a pure flame. He was also very, very dumb.

Tuktuk knew the only way he would earn respect in his tribe was to capture a treasure like no other ever found. Vowing to return with the most amazing artifact goblin-kind had ever seen, he ventured into an unknown, famously dangerous ruin—because remember, he was very, very dumb.

The ruin Tuktuk chose had been polluted by thousands of years of Eldrazi influence. The walls were crusted with unnatural rock formations that mimicked the carvings of hedrons, and the air was sodden with the soundless utterances of ancient monstrosities. Tuktuk was afraid, but he trundled on, his bravery reinforced by his tragic stupidity.

As soon as he found his prize, Tuktuk was promptly killed. He discovered a massive, profoundly powerful hedron fused into the cavern wall (unluckily), touched it (stupidly), and triggered an ancient rune trap (inevitably). The trap exploded with dark energies, rupturing his skin and fragmenting his bones—but also set free a measure of Eldrazi magic. And what happened next was most strange.

Tuktuk the Returned[ | ]

Tuktuk the Returned

Tuktuk the Returned Art by Franz Vohwinkel

The mystical hedron trap, designed to protect the integrity of the ruins, struggled to replace what had just been lost. The Eldrazi-soaked magic drew stone from the walls of the ancient chamber, fusing it and forming it into a roughly humanoid shape. What resulted was a massive and powerful stone golem, but the golem bore a strange resemblance to the dead goblin interloper. Although Tuktuk's guts were splattered around the cavern, his mind and memories became trapped within the stone, giving it goblinoid form—and mingling Tuktuk's mind with ancient Eldrazi magic.

The stone creature that resulted was not Tuktuk. But in a way, somehow, it was.

When the golem-goblin emerged from the ruin, his new, daunting form amazed and enthralled his tribe mates. They marveled at his formidable form, his dauntless bravery, and his muscles made of pretty stone artifacts. They dubbed him Tuktuk the Returned, and he became the most famous of his people. That very day he was made chief of the clan, which went on to be called the Tuktuk tribe.[2]

Tuktuk's end[ | ]

He taught the Goblins of Zendikar that they could get stronger by eating hedrons and other magic rocks. Ironically, this turned out to be his undoing: Zada, listening to Tuktuk's wise advice, ended up consuming Tuktuk himself.[3]

In-game references[ | ]

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Quoted or referred to:

References[ | ]

  1. Doug Beyer (April 07, 2010). "The Tale of Tuktuk". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. Magic Creative Team (December 16, 2009). "A Planeswalker’s Guide to Zendikar: Goblins". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. Kelly Digges (October 14, 2015). "Revelation at the Eye". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

External links[ | ]

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