Magtheridon

Magtheridon
Title	Lord of Outland (formerly)
Gender	Male
Race	Annihilan
Affiliation(s)	Burning Legion, Magtheridon's forces
Former occupation(s)	Lord of Outland and Master of the Black Temple
Location	Magtheridon's Lair, Hellfire Citadel
Status	Defeated (lore); Killable

For his The Frozen Throne statistics, see Magtheridon (Warcraft III). For information on how to defeat him in World of Warcraft, see Magtheridon (tactics).

“These upstarts are tiresome gnats, nothing more. The might of Magtheridon cannot be denied! I am the Lord of Outland! Those who dispute my rule will soon regret their folly.”

— Magtheridon

Magtheridon, the former Lord of Outland, is a pit lord who conquered the ruins of the orcish homeworld following its destruction. His reign was ended by the arrival of Illidan Stormrage, who took Magtheridon's throne at the Black Temple for himself. Deciding that Magtheridon would have a further part to play, Illidan had Magtheridon's body dragged to the Hellfire Citadel where he imprisoned the pit lord, leaving him at the mercy of the fel orcs.^[1] A group of adventurers entered the depths of Hellfire Citadel, released the former Lord of Outland from his bonds, and finally destroyed him, taking his head as proof of their prowess.

Biography

Claiming Outland

Illidan Stormrage, Akama, Vashj, and Kael'thas Sunstrider fighting Magtheridon.

Following the end of the Invasion of Draenor, the Burning Legion took full advantage of the open portals created by Ner'zhul, sending the mighty pit lord Magtheridon to seize the broken world in Kil'jaeden's name.^[1] With the clans in disarray, and most killed in the disaster, the cruel and powerful commander went to seize its inhabitants. He hunted down the remnants of the Horde, enslaving those who surrendered and butchering those who still had the will to resist. The orcs were forced to drink his demonic blood, becoming fel orcs. Magtheridon's new Fel Horde established its home in Hellfire Citadel and then struck out to claim other locations with important confluences of power. Foremost among them was the Black Temple. Whenever he sent his armies deep into Outland, the Sons of Lothar were there to carve up their flanks and pick off any stragglers. The two forces would skirmish intermittently for years.^[2]

Magtheridon succeeded and claimed the Black Temple as his home^[3] and declared himself the ruler of the ruined world Outland.^[4] Over the years, Magtheridon brought legions of demons to Outland through the four dimensional gateways which Ner'zhul shattered the world with, and his forces became very expansive. These forces included nether dragons, voidwalkers, succubi, felguard, felbeasts, doomguard, eredar, and infernals.

The Frozen Throne

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

In the aftermath of the Third War, Illidan Stormrage and his forces came to Outland to escape the wrath of the demon lord Kil'jaeden, Illidan's vengeful master. In time, Magtheridon found himself under attack by Illidan, Kael'thas Sunstrider's blood elves, Lady Vashj's army of naga, and even the elusive Ashtongue tribe of Broken led by the elder sage Akama. The group managed to shut down the dimensional gateways which supplied Magtheridon with reinforcements,^[5] and then laid siege to Magtheridon's Black Temple. The Pit Lord rallied his forces to defend himself, but the combined skills and armies of Illidan's forces crushed his resistances. Eventually, Illidan broke through and Magtheridon was defeated by the four generals. Magtheridon asked if Illidan had been sent by the Legion to test him but Illidan cackled in reply, saying that he had come to replace him.^[6]

Many believed that Magtheridon had been slain in the attack.^[1] Though the pit lord was defeated, he apparently still served some yet undiscovered purpose in the dark designs of the new lord of Outland.^[7]

After his defeat, Magtheridon was dragged all the way to Hellfire Peninsula and restrained and bound with magical chains underneath Hellfire Citadel, his blood being extracted with magical generators and used to create fel orcs for Illidan Stormrage. Once locked up, Illidan came to observe the pit lord. Magtheridon took the chance and lamented how the demon hunter failed to destroy the Lich King, and Illidan answered by activating the generators that hurt him, scorching his flesh. The demon hunter also wondered how Magtheridon had learned of his failure. The pit lord told him he just sensed it. They continued their bickering and torture until the new lord of Outland called in Akama and told him how he was creating fel orcs with the demon's blood, but the Broken did not really like it.^[8] Magtheridon would be kept imprisoned for the next four years.

The Burning Crusade

This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

Main article: Magtheridon (tactics)

During the invasion of Outland, the Alliance and Horde learned of Magtheridon's fate and purpose. Adventurers raiding Blood Furnace found him chained at the bottom of the citadel, and his rumbling cries could be heard throughout the area. His wardens were green-skinned orcs.

Since Magtheridon's death was requested by the naaru A'dal,^[9] a group of adventurers entered the depths of Hellfire Citadel, released the former Lord of Outland from his bonds, and finally destroyed him, taking his head as proof of their prowess.^[10]

The news of Magtheridon's demise reached the Illidari Council and Illidan himself. The Betrayer knew that this would cost him his army of fel orcs.^[11]

Quotes

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

Fel Orc Warlock: Our enemies draw near, Lord Magtheridon.

Magtheridon: These upstarts are tiresome gnats, nothing more. The might of Magtheridon cannot be denied! I am the Lord of Outland! Those who dispute my rule will soon regret their folly.

I do not know you stranger, but your power is vast. Are you an agent of the legion? Have you been sent to test me? (After being defeated by Illidan)

World of Warcraft: Illidan

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft novels, novellas, or short stories.

Magtheridon: You are strong--for a mortal.

Illidan Stormrage: I am not a mortal.

Magtheridon: Anything that can be killed is mortal.^[12]

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

Main article: Magtheridon (tactics)#Quotes

In the TCG

This section contains information from the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game and is considered non-canon.

The body parts of Magtheridon are said to hold tremendous, latent power. The Eye, when properly channeled, will bend fate toward the will of the user.^[13]

In Hearthstone

This section contains information exclusive to Hearthstone and is considered non-canon.

Magtheridon appears as a legendary neutral minion in the Ashes of Outland expansion for Hearthstone. His flavor text reads: "Came from another world to invade Outland and bend it to his will… only to be overthrown by an elf from another world who invaded Outland and bent it to his will."

He also appears in two boss fights in Trial by Felfire, first as a bio-augmented version named Magtheridon Prime in the story missions, then as a recreation of his Burning Crusade boss fight in the challenge missions.

Some of Magtheridon's TCG artwork is also used for the Warlock minion Pit Lord and Warrior spell Crush.

He reappears as Magtheridon, Unreleased, a legendary demon hunter minion in the Whizbang's Workshop expansion. His flavor text reads: "Playing with this card can be penalized with up to a two-year suspension. Please wait until the card is officially released." This card art shows him after his transformation into Magtheridon Prime.

Trivia

Strangely, he was purple in Warcraft III, but now in The Burning Crusade he is green like most (if not all) pit lords.
Magtheridon was voiced by Earl Boen, a narrator for WoW's cutscenes, in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
His name is very similar to - and likely inspired by - the phrase "To mega therion", which is Greek for "The great beast" and refers to The Beast encountered in the Apocalypse.
There are two servers in World of Warcraft named Magtheridon: Server:Magtheridon Europe and Server:Magtheridon US.
During the Legion beta, Destromath's Broken Shore ID was used by Magtheridon.