Do you ever wonder where Wizards of the Coast comes up with some of these card names? In a world where more than half of new set releases are based in Universes Beyond, this isn't a challenge because the creative team has plenty of pre-existing IP to choose from. When new planes and worlds are created, however, someone has to come up with names like Mm'menon, the Right Hand and Ragost, Deft Gastronaut.

I won't poke too much fun because, if I'm honest, I don't think I'd do a better job coming up with these names. It's been a challenge for Magic R&D since the game's initial launch in 1993. Where do they come up with these card names? In many cases, it's a mystery. Perhaps someone spins a wheel of letters and then attempts to formulate a clever name based on the results. Perhaps someone is an expert at creating fantasy names (unique names, at that). And maybe, just maybe, someone had a catchy Muppets song stuck in their head.

One thing is fairly certain. The frequent practice of the 1990s, where cards would be named after Magic creators and their friends, is no longer a viable option.

Vanity Cards

In the early days of Magic, a handful of cards had a creative element--usually in the card name--that references someone who worked on the game (or someone close to someone who worked on the game). These are referred to as vanity cards, because it naturally plays on a person's vanity to secretly reference them in the card game.

You may be thinking to yourself, there's no way this exists. How could Wizards of the Coast reference real-world people in this fantasy card game? In many cases, this was all done in a subtle, inside-joke kind of way. Of course, over the years, most of these inside jokes have since been identified and explained to the broad user base.

Mind you, vanity cards differ from easter eggs. An easter egg references Magic itself--a sort of clever self-reference. On the other hand, a vanity card references a "behind the scenes" person. Easter eggs are still allowed, whereas vanity cards are not.

Let's dive in and review ten iconic vanity cards from Magic's early days, so that more players are familiar with the inside jokes at Wizards of the Coast.

Ten Iconic Vanity Cards (in no particular order)

1. Maro

Maro is possibly the most recognizable vanity card because many Magic players know the card's namesake, Mark Rosewater. This simple name abbreviation was applied to a card during Mirage design as a placeholder file name. Mark Rosewater designed the card, and Bill Rose saved the file with an abbreviation of Mark's name. The creative time knew this story, but liked the name of the card; so, they left it. Maro is the most readily identifiable vanity card, and there have since been numerous spinoffs related: Maro's Gone Nuts, Adamaro, First to Desire, Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer, The Water Maro, Territorial Maro, and many others.

2. Jayemdae Tome and Jalum Tome

These books are two for the price of one, because they both make the same joke. You may be wondering how they came up with the words "Jayemdae" and "Jalum", since they sound nonsensical. That's because they are essentially portmanteaus of two people's initials. "Jayemdae" is pronounced "JMD," the initials of J. Michael Davis, the friend who convinced Ricard Garfield to contact Peter Adkinson of WOTC. "Jalum" is pronounced "JLM", the initials of Joel L. Mick, former Magic play-tester, designer, and developer.

Turning this into a three-for-one, Emmessi Tome from Tempest was also a vanity card, named for Michael Scott Elliott ("MSE"), another early Magic designer and developer.

3. Wyluli Wolf

What exactly is a Wyluli? It appears to be a character's name, according to this card's flavor text: Maimum al-Wyluli. That doesn't give us much to work with, however. It turns out the inspiration for this card name came from Richard Garfield's first wife, Lily Wu. You'll notice that Wyluli is an anagram of her name!

4. Minion of Leshrac

Speaking of anagrams, here's another one you may not immediately recognize. Minion of Leshrac (and Leshrac's Sigil) both use the name of some Magic character, Leshrac. Like Wyluli, Leshrac isn't a real word in the English language. The name was developed as another anagram, this time for "Charles." Charles was the middle name of early Magic play-tester Chris Page.

It turns out Wizards went back to this one a couple times since Ice Age, with the Coldsnap printing of Hearld of Leshrac and the reprinting of Leshrac's Rite in Seventh Edition.

5. Erhnam Djinn

Anagrams were apparently a popular vanity card naming strategy back in the day, because here's yet another one! Originally from Arabian Nights, newer players may recognize the card for its reprint in the Mystery Booster 2 set. A powerhouse for its day, Old School favorite Erhnam Djinn is named for Richard Garfield's then brother-in-law, Herman. I guess "Herman's Djinn" wouldn't have sounded nearly as exotic!

6. Feldon's Cane and Delif's Cone

This is another two-for-one with a funny backstory. Someone wanted to create a vanity card for Don Felice, early Magic play-tester, designer, and developer. They created a card called Feldon's Ice Cone, which was going to be an anagram of "Don Felice's Cone." The card name was changed before printing, however, leaving the anagram a little short.

Then in Ice Age, Wizards of the Coast tried again by creating Delif's Cone, an anagram of Don Felice's.

7. Telim'Tor

My friends and I had a little inside joke about Telim'Tor. We found Telim'Tor's Darts was a fairly bad Magic card. Because of that, we joked about the card's flavor text, "People laughed at my darts--once." I got bad news for you Telim'Tor, it's 2025 and I'm still laughing at your darts.

It turns out, my friends and I could have found something even more entertaining about Telim'Tor. Not only are his darts laughable, but his name inspiration is equally hilarious. It turns out Telim'Tor is the anagram of designer Elliot Segal's nickname, "Mr. Toilet." You can't make this stuff up!

8. Ifh-Biff Efreet

If you search "Ifh" in Scryfall, Ifh-Biff Efreet is literally the only match. I don't know the letters "f" and "h" appear next to each other very often in the English language, so it would be difficult to decipher where this Arabian Nights creature's name originally came from.

Interestingly, this one isn't an anagram. Instead, "Ifh-Biff" was a childhood nickname for Richard Garfield's sister, Elizabeth. This is the Elizabeth who was married to Herman, of Erhnam Djinn fame. Isn't it wild to learn about these connections between cards and their names?

9. Mijae Djinn and Ydwen Efreet

Arabian Nights was filled with genies (djinns and efreets) with creative, exotic names. We've already learned where the names Erhnam and Ifh-Biff came from. It turns out, Mijae Djinn and Ydwen Efreet were also genies with vanity names! Mijae and Ydwen are anagrams of two of Richard Garfield's best friends, Jamie and Wendy. While designing Arabian Nights these two friends ended up getting married, and Richard Garfield was their best man.

10. Nevinyrral's Disk

This article would be incomplete if I didn't mention Nevinyrral's Disk, one of Magic's classic mass destruction cards. I remember jamming this card in my early days of playing Magic--it was easy to recognize the card's power even as a young player.

It wasn't until years later, however, that I learned the story behind Nevinyrral's name. This one is technically an anagram, though it's a much more straightforward one to decipher. All you have to do is read the name backwards! Nevinyrral = Larry Niven, a popular science fiction writer. According to Larry Niven's Wikipedia page, the tribute was paid because the game's system where mana from lands is used to power spells was inspired by his book, The Magic Goes Away.

Wrapping It Up & Honorable Mention

I discussed over a dozen cards, yet this list is far from complete. If you want to hear more, I'd encourage you to check out the Wiki Fandom page on vanity cards. Mark Rosewater also recorded a Drive to Work podcast episode on this topic back in 2021. Between these two sources, you'll find a more complete list.

I love these subtle real-world references, and it's a shame that Wizards of the Coast is no longer allowing them. I understand their rationale, though. If you start selecting certain individuals to receive vanity cards, then others are also going to want one, and things could certainly get out of hand. Also, this likely creates some awkwardness between employees. If a card was to be named after me, I know I'd want it to be as flashy and powerful as possible.

As for this article, I want to make sure I shout out one more card with honorable mention: Phelddagrif from Alliances.

Amy Weber (and perhaps her art director) did a phenomenal job with this card art. Someone unfamiliar with Magic would have no clue what a Phelddagrif was, but this art depicts a convincing image of the creature. A flying hippo? Sure, why not?

The name itself is yet another one of those anagrams, this time rearranging the letters of Magic creator himself, "Garfield, PhD." If any person deserves a vanity card in Magic, Richard Garfield himself would be my first choice. Of course, he also received a silver-bordered vanity card named Richard Garfield, PhD. That one was a little less subtle!