Fans Ecstatic Over Garruk Wildspeaker’s First Appearance Since 2020

Last updated on February 14, 2026

MagicCon Amsterdam Promotional Art

New promotional art used to advertise MagicCon Amsterdam on X foreshadows the return of Garruk, a fan-favorite planeswalker who has been absent from Magic’s story for years. This new art suggests the planeswalker might make a return in 2026—but where, and when, and why should we care?

source: X.com

Who Is Garruk?

Garruk Wildspeaker | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

Garruk is a hunter from an unknown plane. He obeyed nature over humanity, considering civilization a trap. Garruk is always green, representing a fundamental might makes right, return to nature mindset that makes him one of the more primal green planeswalkers, compared to others like Nissa and Vivien.

The last Garruk cards printed, excluding reprints and digital-only cards, were a handful of of cards in Core Set 2021, including the oft-reprinted Garruk's Uprising, Garruk's Harbinger, and Garruk, Unleashed. But Core Sets are completely disconnected from the story, so these tell us little about Garruk in the present. He also seemingly appears in the art of March of the World Ooze, which is more Easter Egg than anything.

Magic’s story last focused on Garruk during Throne of Eldraine. In short, Garruk, suffering under a curse Liliana placed on him with The Chain Veil, was hunting Oko. Oko used a glamor with control Garruk and make him his bodyguard. Garruk traveled with the Kenrith twins, Will and Rowan; they eventually threw Garruk into The Cauldron of Eternity, curing him. After the twins planeswalked away at the end of the story, Garruk followed to verify their safety, then went on his merry way.

As part of the game, Garruk also carries some weight. He’s part of the Lorwyn Five, the nickname for the mono-colored planeswalker cycle in Lorwyn that debuted the card type. That first card, Garruk Wildspeaker, still stands out as a great card and is easily the best of the Five in modern Magic—and probably the best Garruk, despite all the other versions.

When Could We See Garruk Again?

Return of the Wildspeaker | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Assuming this art foreshadows a new Garruk, when could we see him again? 2026 isn’t exactly filled with options since we only have two sets with Magic IP coming out this year, so it has to be Secrets of Strixhaven or Reality Fracture.

Reality Fracture seems the most likely choice, primarily because of the few details we have regarding the set, from both official WotC sources and leaks.

MagicCon Atlanta 2025 was a big deal because Wizards debuted their Magic’s 2026 lineup, including Reality Fracture. They had little to say about the set then, but told us “Fans can expect to see some of their favourite characters return in this set that might just reshape the Multiverse.”

There’s also the matter of leaks. Back in 2024, some players on Reddit discussed a survey they received in regards to Hexhaven, a mirror to Strixhaven from which Jace would reshape the Multiverse in his own image as the conclusion to Magic’s current story arc. Redditor u/Electronic-Voice-613 posted images text from the survey to r/MTGrumors two months ago, with the following image depicting two Garruks battling, as well as an icy alternate Chandra:

Source: u/Electronic-Voice-613, reddit.com

Now, art that appeared this early cannot be taken as gospel. Things can always change. But it is a very solid indicator that Wizards at least intends to revisit Garruk. We can even speculate that there could be multiple cards referencing the planeswalker; as nice as the promotional art is, it’s unsuited for planeswalker card art because it Garruk isn’t foregrounded enough.

It should also be noted that this Reddit post includes an image of a white, color-shifted Liliana that did come to pass, as the mono-white, healer Liliana appeared 100% canonically at the end of the Lorwyn Eclipsed story.

Could Garruk Be Colorshifted?

In Garruk's Wake | Illustration by Chase Stone

Garruk’s color identity has shifted over the years. Initially mono-green, once afflicted with the Chain Veil’s curse, he became the ultimate planeswalker hunter and adapted black, for a string of Golgari planeswalkers. Once cured of the curse, it seems likely he’ll return to being mono-green.

That said, we probably will see a colorshifted Garruk, but not be because the base planeswalker’s colors have changed. Based on the leaked art, and the description from the survey, we’ll see a mirrored Garruk. The survey promises “familiar characters and spells” returning “in ways you never expected,” and all the references to characters focus on the idea of mirrored opposites.

As such, it seems reasonable to expect two Garruks: The mono-green one we know and love, and its polar opposite in mono-black. If Garruk traditionally cares about the sanctity of nature over humankind, the mono-black Garruk probably doesn’t. Perhaps mono-black Garruk could be our first pollution-themed planewalker?