Monsters of Magic The Gathering: Hellion

Worms and snakes are weird to us. They are nothing like us in shape, they lack senses we take for granted (snakes can't hear like we do, after all) and they wiggle around with their noodle-shaped bodies. No wonder that many people fear them. Now I like snakes, I think they are adorable. But worms? Worms are freaky. Now imagine, if you will, a giant worm with an armor plated almost stone-like body. And it's really big. And really, really angry. And most likely on fire.

Cinder Hellion by Jason Kang.

That is an Hellion, a monster in Magic: The Gathering. Connected to red mana (and to a lesser extent, green), it is no surprise that Hellion are the raging, living engines of unbridled destruction that they are. Now one could make the case that inserting these beasts into a D&D-style game would simply make them distant relatives of Purple Worms and/or Remorhaz and there is a good case for that but I think Hellion bring some more thematic abilities and ideas into play:

In this article, it said, about Hellions:

"The Hellion is the beating heart of the volcano, the surging force of nature's bloody wrath."

It also states:

"Maybe you've thought of a Hellion design of your own. Here's a quick quiz—is it red? Hellions are about as red-aligned as creatures come. If your design doesn't have red mana in the cost, it's probably not a proper Hellion, and you're probably a terrible person! I mean designer! The fact that Hellions lack flying helps distinguish them from some of red's other iconic creatures, such as Dragons, rocs, and Phoenixes."

The bolding is mine. Hellions aren't just beasts, they are a type of magical creature if not some sort of more material plane-connected elemental. They represent violence, anger, fury and lashing out. They are not dragons or worm-shaped dragon stand-in. A Hellion is more like The Incredible Hulk: a force of anger, rage and brutality made flesh. Red, in Magic: The Gathering, is the color of strong emotions. Hellions are all that but without any veneer of civilization or even possibly intelligence. They are big, dumb and impossibly angry.

An encounter with a Hellion should stress the beast's savage fury: other large burrowing snake-monsters may very well make use of other advantages, such as the environment. Not so much a Hellion. It will burst out, as quickly and as violently as possible and lash out until it's dead or has been driven back. It will not pause or give any quarter. The fight will be a whirlwind of pure violence and destruction.

Like a mosh pit. Only it's a giant, flaming worm. That is angry.

Stats: Like a big centipede to a purple worm, only with fire immunity, more morale and maybe a red dragon's fire breath.