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. 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.

The Frozen Throne
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. With the clans in disarray, and most killed in the disaster, Magtheridon was quick to show his power, and rallied the surviving orcs under his pennant. The orcs were corrupted and became fel orcs. He declared himself the ruler of the ruined world Outland and ruled from the Black Temple, formerly the Temple of Karabor. 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. He continued attacking the draenei and everything that opposed him.

It was almost twenty years after the cataclysm that Illidan Stormrage and his forces came to Outland, to escape Kil'jaeden, Illidan's vengeful master, and his wrath. Magtheridon found himself under attack by Illidan, Kael'thas' 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, 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.

Before The Burning Crusade, it was commonly accepted that he had been killed by Illidan and his forces. However, new information revealed the truth:

"Many believed that Magtheridon had been slain in the attack." "Though the pit lord was defeated, he apparently still serves some yet undiscovered purpose in the dark designs of the new lord of Outland..."

The Burning Crusade
Recently it was discovered that after his defeat, Magtheridon was dragged all the way to Hellfire Peninsula and is locked up in a lair created for him underneath Hellfire Citadel, his blood being used to create fel orcs for Illidan Stormrage. It is interesting to note that his wardens are not fel orcs, but normal green-skinned orcs. It seems that Illidan is keeping Magtheridon alive for the sole reason of creating more fel orcs under his rule. While he is not an ally of Illidan, he remains a powerful tool.

Magtheridon is the boss of his lair, his rumbling cries are heard throughout the Hellfire Citadel. Strangely, he was purple in Warcraft III, but now in The Burning Crusade he is green like most (if not all) pit lords.

His death was requested by A'dal.

Warcraft III: 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

 * Magtheridon: You are strong--for a mortal.
 * Illidan Stormrage: I am not a mortal.
 * Magtheridon: Anything that can be killed is mortal.

In the TCG
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.

In Hearthstone
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.

Trivia

 * 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.