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Judith
Judith
Details
Race Human
Birthplace Ravnica
Lifetime Mending Era

Judith, known as the Scourge Diva[1] is the grand dame of the Cult of Rakdos on Ravnica.[2] Though Rakdos is still considered the leader of his guild, Judith serves as its speaker in most circumstances.[3] She is currently missing.[4]

Description[ | ]

Judith appears at Rakdos clubs and street shows as a singer and performance artist, combining dark monologues with bizarre pain stunts. She tends to show up during the final act in a dramatic unveiling, marking the moment that a performance shifts and the lampooning antics turn painful.[5] She always wears black and red skin-tight leather and flowing velvet draperies.[6][3] She has perfectly shaped, perfectly red lips.

She keeps gorehounds and a hellhound named Tesak.

History[ | ]

Jealous of Rakdos[ | ]

Judith coveted the adoration heaped on Rakdos by his cultists. She did eight performances a week, but the demon got all the praise.[5] She believed that the guild needed new leadership, and began to assemble a small entourage of fans, toadies, and understudies who echoed her complaints about the guildmaster.[7]

The invasion and its aftermath[ | ]

Judith fought in defense of Ravnica during New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse. Ever the consummate performer, she protected Ravnica using the same things that had always thrilled her fans: courage, charisma, and a grand assortment of spiked chains.[8][9]

As the top performer of the Cult of Rakdos and the owner of the nightclub Hellbender, Judith was openly ambitious about wanting to take Rakdos's seat as the head of the Rakdos, hoping to convert it instead into a cult revolving around her performance and personality. Thanks to her ruthless ambitions, she made enemies of more than a few of her guild members, to the point that she had to avoid certain parts of Rakdos territory or risk her own life.[10]

Murders[ | ]

A year and some months following the Invasion, she was the only representative for the Rakdos at the celebration at Karlov Manor.[6] She was conspicuously absent when Zegana was assassinated during the celebration, but did submit to questioning by Azorius lawmages afterward.[11][3] She hired the Rakdos assassin Massacre Girl to kill Alquist Proft as a message to the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations to stay out of guild business.[12] Kaya Cassir and Kellan later visited her for further questioning, and she directed them to the original text of the Guildpact at Vitu-Ghazi, which seemingly implicated Rakdos himself. However, when their partner Agrus Kos became suspicious and came to investigate at Rix Maadi, Judith revealed that she had deliberately misdirected them in the hopes that the crime would be pinned on Rakdos and she could take his place.[13] She then imprisoned Kos in a crystal skull to prevent him from interfering. She was later invited to Vitu-Ghazi by Alquist Proft to learn the truth of the murders, where the detective revealed that Oba, the central dryad of Trostani, had organized them in retribution for those she considered traitors to the plane during the Invasion.[14] When Oba attacked the guild leaders, Judith ran away but was stopped by Massacre Girl, who blamed Judith for leaving her to the Boros and attacked her with a knife.[15] Judith's whereabouts afterward are unknown.[4]

Trivia[ | ]

  • When first revealed, fans wrongly identified Judith with Massacre Girl. The idea came from people misinterpreting the D&D Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica, where a small box of text describing Judith is next to a picture of the girl from Deviant Glee, who according to The Azorius's Ten Most Wanted is Massacre Girl.[16] However, the picture in the Guildmasters' Guide is attached to a different NPC being described on the same page (labeled "Blood Witch").
  • Sam Stoddard likes to believe that Judith is the same person as Lunicia, the girl he wrote about in Life in the Ring.[17]

Story appearances[ | ]

Title Author Publishing date Set Setting (plane) Featuring
Episode 1: Ghosts of our Past Seanan McGuire 2023-12-05 Murders at Karlov Manor Ravnica Teysa Karlov, Kaya Cassir, Ezrim, Lavinia, Tolsimir Wolfblood, Aurelia, Judith, Tomik Vrona, Kellan, Vannifar, Zegana, Krenko, Yarus
Episode 4: Justice Before Mercy Seanan McGuire 2024-01-10 Murders at Karlov Manor Ravnica Kaya Cassir, Ezrim, Kellan, Agrus Kos, Judith
Episode 7: Rot Before Recovery Seanan McGuire 2024-01-11 Murders at Karlov Manor Ravnica Kellan, Kaya Cassir, Anzrag, Ezrim, Agrus Kos, Etrata, Alquist Proft, Izoni, Rakdos, Judith, Aurelia, Delney
Episode 8: Gods of Chaos Seanan McGuire 2024-01-16 Murders at Karlov Manor Ravnica Judith, Kaya Cassir, Ezrim, Yarus, Krenko, Massacre Girl, Vannifar, Aurelia, Alquist Proft, Etrata, Lavinia, Trostani, Tolsimir Wolfblood, Ral Zarek, Izoni
Episode 9: Beauty in Destruction Seanan McGuire 2024-01-17 Murders at Karlov Manor Ravnica Ezrim, Kaya Cassir, Tolsimir Wolfblood, Alquist Proft, Trostani, Judith, Krenko, Izoni, Aurelia, Lavinia, Vannifar, Etrata, Ral Zarek, Massacre Girl, Yarus, Kellan

In-game references[ | ]

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Depicted in:
Quoted or referred to:

References[ | ]

  1. Nicky Drayden (January 23, 2019). "The Illusions of Child's Play". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. James Wyatt and Jeremy Crawford (November 2018). "D&D Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica", Wizards of the Coast.
  3. a b c Seanan McGuire (January 10, 2024). "Murders at Karlov Manor - Episode 4: Justice Before Mercy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. a b Seanan McGuire (January 18, 2024). "Episode 10: Roots of Decay". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. a b (2019). Ravnica Allegiance Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. a b Seanan McGuire (December 5, 2023). "Murders at Karlov Manor - Episode 1: Ghosts of Our Past". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Seanan McGuire (January 15, 2024). "Episode 7: Rot Before Recovery". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. Mark Rosewater (Apr 3, 2023). "March of the Machine Learning, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. Judith, the Scourge Diva
  10. Emily Teng (February 6, 2024). "The Legends (and characters) of Murders at Karlov Manor". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. Seanan McGuire (January 8, 2024). "Murders at Karlov Manor - Episode 2: Monsters We Became". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. Flavor text of Slice from the Shadows (Murders at Karlov Manor)
  13. Seanan McGuire (January 15, 2024). "Episode 7: Rot Before Recovery". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  14. Seanan McGuire (January 16, 2024). "Episode 8: Gods of Chaos". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Seanan McGuire (January 17, 2024). "Episode 9: Beauty in Destruction". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. Jenna Helland (October 29, 2012). "The Azorius Ten Most Wanted". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  17. Sam Stoddard (May 8, 2013). "Life in the Ring". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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