Jace Beleren, a central figure in Magic: The Gathering for nearly two decades, has officially been replaced as a Planeswalker. The events unfolding in the recent Reality Fracture set and its accompanying short stories have concluded the arc of Jace, leading to the emergence of a new character, Tam, who inherits his Planeswalker spark.
Jace, a powerful mind mage and member of the Gatewatch, has been a cornerstone of the game's narrative. However, in the lead-up to Reality Fracture, Jace's story took a dark turn. During the Tarkir: Dragonstorm set's narrative, Jace attempted to reshape reality using the dragon Ugin’s Spirit Gem to prevent past tragedies. This act resulted in his psyche fracturing, with one dominant aspect, the Theorist, seizing control. The Theorist created an alternate reality known as the Echoverse and intended to replace the core Multiverse, erasing significant events like the War of the Spark.
Within this Echoverse, Jace also created a magical school called Hexhaven, populated by alternate versions of existing characters. Crucially, the Theorist also fashioned Tam from pieces of Jace's own personality as a contingency plan for his eventual demise. Tam, initially introduced as a student at Strixhaven, began to question the Theorist's ruthless plans and the artificial nature of the Echoverse's inhabitants, who were described as soulless husks.
Tam's journey involved a betrayal of her friends and a reunion with the Theorist, only to eventually confront him. Despite being created to aid his goals, Tam made the choice to oppose him, marking the first truly independent decision of her existence. This internal conflict and subsequent defiance position Tam as a compelling new character in Magic: The Gathering's lore.
Meanwhile, other Planeswalkers like Vraska, Chandra, Ajani, and Garruk worked to gather the scattered fragments of Jace's mind. In the story's climax, these fragments were reabsorbed into Jace, who then died in Vraska's arms. His death triggered the release of his Planeswalker spark, which flowed into Tam, overwhelming her with raw magical power.
Empowered by Jace's spark, Tam summoned the Eldrazi titan Emrakul to devour the Echoverse, effectively severing the artificial reality from the original Multiverse. This act allowed Emrakul to separate the two realities before consuming the Echoverse. Following this, Tam, having inherited Jace's spark and aspects of his personality, including his curiosity and diplomatic skills, chose to define herself independently. She introduced herself simply as "Tam," signifying her new identity separate from her origins.
Jace, in a final impression carried within his spark, designated Tam his