Who Are the Voice Actors For MTGA? 27 Characters Revealed

Last updated on October 17, 2023

Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

There’s no denying that MTG Arena has become a digital show-pony for Wizards. It’s been a massive success and millions have been introduced to this wonderful game that is MTG ever since its official release.

You also might have noticed that WotC is doing several things differently with their Arena than with MTGO. For instance, there are a ton more graphic FX, a plethora of sound effects, and a lot of voice actors have been tapped to bring your favorite planeswalkers and creatures to life.

But who are these voice actors? Are they mentioned anywhere? Is there a database available for you to peruse so that you might be able to find out more about your favorite planeswalker’s voice? Maybe you’d like to know who else they’ve voiced or you feel you might’ve heard the voice before.

I’ll dive into them today and try to find out if there’s a vocal (or visual) platform for those actors that breathe life into the MTGA experience.

Where to Find the Actors

Shalai, Voice of Plenty | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

Just like “regular” actors, voice actors are often part of an agency. A few big ones out there like SBV, WME, and Atlas Talent Agency include some of the voice actors used in Arena.

Another way for Wizards to scout for voice actors is by their name. By this I mean that they’re a well-known name in the voice over industry with lots of previous work in other video games. If you’re well known enough, then having your own website might be all you need.

Before you get to that stage, though, you’ll most likely have to start at an agency that specializes in voice overs. WotC can contact them and get recommendations on who will be right for the job.

In my research I couldn’t find any official sources confirming how Wizards find their talent for doing voice over work. But I feel it’s safe to assume that the most logical route would be to contact an agency or several of them. Either this or they might’ve had contact with a voice actor from a previous engagement or introduction.

How Many Are there Per Set?

Now let’s get into how many voice actors WotC needs. Is there a handbook that they use? Once again, not much is known about this (read: nothing), but I’ll have a gander at it anyway.

Most likely is that there is no “set number” of voice overs each set. The way the story is told as we hop from plane to plane is the best dictator of what’s needed. For instance, War of the Spark featured a lot of planeswalkers that were doing something crucial for the story. More voice actors would be appropriate to breathe more life into the story.

It’s usually a number of planeswalkers traveling together in search of something and interaction will be had with someone (or a few someones) on the plane that they’re visiting. Using this logic, it seems you can expect between three and six voices per set. This is an average, of course. If we’re heading to another War-of-the-Spark-type setting, though, more than six seems only reasonable. Keep in mind that no hard data is available on the exacts, it’s just following logic and assumptions.

Story-driven need is, in my opinion, the most flexible and natural way for Wizards to incorporate them into their vision.

What Characters Get Voice Overs?

Serum Visions | Illustration by Dan Scott

You can safely assume that every existing and newly-found planeswalker will get a voice over as we go from plane to plane. Many of them already have since MTGA was released, but with the amount already in existence, there are a few that still need to get a voice, so to speak.

Next to planeswalkers there are various legendary humans, angels, and demons that have gotten a voice. In short, legendary creatures also enjoy a voice over from time to time when the story calls for it. In some cases, the newly-introduced characters are planeswalkers-to-be, like Samut, the Tested. And in other cases, they’re some of the most well-known legendary creatures of the game like Rakdos the Defiler.

The most logical approach is that the storyline dictates who gets a voice and who doesn’t. But a rule of thumb is whoever gets a voice is sure to be important for the story. Usually, this manifests into beings that are either legendary or planeswalkers as they’re our eyes and ears on the plane and story.

The Voice Actors Table

A quick sidenote before you scroll down to the list of voice actors. Not a lot has been released by Wizards concerning which voice actors voice which character. A few have been confirmed, but a lot are still unknown or in heavy speculation. The list below contains only the actors that are 100% sure to have done the voice. There are two (with a *) whose names have come up again and again as the actor, so I feel like they're a safe bet.

As time progresses, I’m sure more names will be added to the list. Enjoy!

Finding the Voice Actors in MTGA

Song of Creation | Illustration by Noah Bradley

You’d think that with these actors playing such an important flavorful part of Arena that their names would be mentioned somewhere. Alas, you couldn’t be further from the truth. No names are mentioned within MTGA.

There’s an IMDB list which contains a number of voice actors for Arena in 2018, but nothing solid or as convenient exists in the present day. From time to time a name will be confirmed either by the actor themselves or by WotC, but they’re staying very quiet on the subject as a whole.

The Most…

Famous

The most famous in terms of high-stake celebrity is probably Billy Boyd, who voices Will Kenrith.

Notable

There are a couple of names that could be counted as “notable:”

• Nolan North as Jace Beleren
• Darin De Paul as Rakdos the Defiler and Angrath, Captain of Chaos
• Steve Blum as Ashiok and Sarkhan Vol
• Robin Atkin Downes as Dovin Baan

Characters

A few actors have voiced two different characters. More than two has so far not appeared on my radar. The lucky few who have voiced two characters are:

• Darin De Paul as Rakdos the Defiler and Angrath, Captain of Chaos
• Crispin Freeman as Lazav and Sorin Markov
• Dave B. Mitchell as Calubi and Tezzeret
• Jonothan Lipow as goblins and Nicol Bolas
• Steve Blum as Ashiok and Sarkhan Vol

Surprising

The most surprising, if the rumors are true, would probably be Lennie James as Teferi.

Easter eggs

Researching this topic, I’ve so far have come up empty. If you happen to know a cool easter egg concerning Arena’s voice actors, feel free to let me know in the comments down there!

The Wish List

Of course, there are a couple of people I’d love to hear voice an MTG Arena character. Here’s my list:

• Bill Hader as Dack Fayden
• Josh Barnett as Ob Nixilis
• Pam Grier as Kaya the Inexorable
• Margot Robbie as Elspeth Tirel

Who would you like to hear do a voice and which character would you pick?

Wrap Up

Battle of Wits | Illustration by Jason Chan

As you might’ve guessed, there’s not too much to be found on the voice actors of Arena, or any part of MTG, really. In a way it’s sad, but if you look at it from the perspective of who you’d like to imagine when you hear the voice, it might not be such a weird thing on Wizard’s behalf to not go into the topic too deeply.

Personally, I like a couple of voice overs a lot. I’m a big fan of Ashiok and Sorin Markov. My favorite has to be Sparky though. The way she coaches you through the games and her lines are really fun!

All in all, WotC’s done a good job. It’s always difficult trying to match every character’s personal imaginative voice that they’ve given to a character and some do feel like they could do with some improvement. But when you think about the extra dimension they add to the game with their quirky, rude, or funny remarks it’s a job well done in my book.

As always, feel free to head on over to our blog if you want to read more awesome content. If you like our stuff and want to show your support, you can head on over to our Patreon. We greatly appreciate your support.

That’s all for now. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!