The green-aligned Planeswalker Vivien Reid will play a major role in the upcoming Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. Vivien is relatively new to Magic’s story, so not much is known about her. Let’s take a look at her life up to this point and why she’s the perfect Planeswalker to be our guide on a plane full of gigantic monstrous creatures.
Arkbow Ranger
Vivien grew up on the plane of Skalla, where she fought to protect the plane’s natural beauty from the spread of civilization. It was a losing battle, and it became even more difficult when the Elder Dragon Nicol Bolas arrived and plundered the magical secrets of Skalla’s cities. But the city people and forest people of the plane united to resist Bolas. They poured all their magic into the Arkbow, a magical bow that held the spirits of Skalla’s wildlife, and gave it to Vivien to wield.
As Bolas destroyed Skalla, Vivien’s Planeswalker spark ignited, sending her and the Arkbow to safety. She wandered the Multiverse, seeking natural wonders to protect and opportunities for revenge on Bolas. Vivien even started collecting the spirits of creatures from other planes in the Arkbow, studying the most powerful creatures on each world and increasing her ability to fight those who would destroy the environment for their own personal gain. She has used this power to destroy the city-state of Luneau on the plane of Ixalan, after discovering that their famous menagerie was full of mistreated beasts and unethical medical experiments. During the War of the Spark, Vivien helped the Gatewatch defend Ravnica so she could get revenge on Bolas for destroying her home. After the war, she joined a group of Planeswalkers hunting down Dovin Baan, one of Bolas’s minions, to bring him to justice.
Champion of the Wilds
The following decklist represents Vivien’s connection to the wildlife of Skalla and her drive to protect the natural world. It casts big green creatures and makes them even bigger using Vivien’s loyalty abilities.
Creatures
4 Arboreal Grazer
4 Vivien’s Jaguar
4 Gnarlback Rhino
4 Skalla Wolf
2 Aggressive Mammoth
Noncreature Spells
2 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
2 Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
2 Vivien, Nature’s Avenger
4 Adventurous Impulse
4 Broken Bond
4 Giant Growth
Lands
4 Castle Garenbrig
4 Memorial to Unity
16 Forest
Alex is an Azorius bureaucrat who dreams of joining the Selesnya Conclave. Their favorite color of mana is green, and they love brewing for Commander variants.