Zurgo

Zurgo's History

Zurgo is a vicious Mardu orc from Tarkir.

In the original timeline, Zurgo was the Khan of the Mardu. As Khan Zurgo Helmsmasher, he had a vendetta against Sarkhan Vol who, as a Mardu general, sacrificed all his men when he ascended as a planeswalker. When he learned that the former had returned to Tarkir and had been seen in Temur lands, Zurgo mobilized the horde to hunt Sarkhan down. When he pushed into the hostile territory and the Temur used their superior knowledge of the area to give the Mardu heavy losses, more and more of his warriors came to doubt him and his leadership qualities. Zurgo was able to kill the first challenger to his rank, but the rest of the horde deserted him afterward under the command of his former second, Varuk. Left alone, Zurgo realized that he would only find reacceptance in the clan when he killed Sarkhan. He reached Ugin's Nexus and killed Narset, but Sarkhan was able to flee into the past.

In the new timeline, he rings the bell signaling the other dragons, and has no memory of Sarkhan Vol ever existing. He has also been reduced to being frequently threatened and harassed by the dragons, much to the shock of even planeswalkers such as Sarkhan.

Though he had been harassed and beset by dragons throughout his life, Zurgo was the first to understand that dragons and non-dragons would not be able to survive without each other's help and would have to work together if they were to save Tarkir. Swallowing all his bitterness and pride, he approached the one dragonlord he thought would be the most likely to listen to reason: Ojutai. With the dragons' numbers decimated by the invaders, Ojutai agreed. Together, the partnership of dragonlord and despised outcast set an example that others soon followed, leading to unprecedented cooperation between dragons and their scions.