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Sometimes, mistakes can actually contribute to some pretty great art. Did you know Twin Peaks only introduced the sinister Bob because Frank Silva, who was crew at the time, got caught in a shot? Rather than reshoot, David Lynch, wrote a role for Silva, and TV history was made. Of course, error as art doesn't only exist in the television medium - it weaves its way into tabletop games such Magic: The Gathering as well. And at PAX Unplugged 2024, Popverse learned that one of the most infamous (but also objectively delightful) mistakes made MTG history is getting a special shoutout in the brand new Foundations set.

The story comes from Gavin Verhey, a principal game designer on Magic: The Gathering, lead designer on the upcoming Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set, and cohost of the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Power Hour in Philadelphia this weekend. At about the 20-minute mark of the panel, Verhey and cohost Maria Bartholdi (of MTG podcast Good Luck High Five) were teasing some new Foundations cards, when this image came up on the big screen of the Main Stage:

"This is one of my favorite Magic stories," said Verhey, "Does anyone know this story?" A few audience members (and one presumes, die-hard fans) whooped in response.

"So here's Hyalopterous Lemure," Verhey continued, "Back in the Ice Age [Editor's Note: 'Ice Age' is a way MTG familiars refer to the early days of the game], things were a little bit less refined than they are today. The process was that artist just took the names of the cards and then drew them and sent them back."

"So one such card that they took to draw was Hyalopterous Lemure. If you've never played Dungeons and Dragons, you might know not know that a lemure is a dark, evil spiri, but [illustrator Richard Thomas] thought it was a typo, and that the card was referring to a lemur. So instead, [he] drew a lemur and sent it back."

"You can see what they were thinking at that moment," chuckled Verhey, "They're like, 'Oh well, we'll draw some wings on it. It'll be fine.'"

Eventually, Verhey went on to explain, another card with the name Hyalopterous Lemure was produced, with an image that's closer to the spirit's original idea: a ghastly visage of energy and anger. The new card sort of corrected the adorable mistake, but as the whooping MTG fans 

Now, the card called Proposterous Proportions {pictured in the header image) elevates the new Foundations set by depicting what is clearly a group of monstrous lemurs attacking a host of terrified citizens. No, the card actually has nothing to do with Hyalopterous Lemure's usage in the game, but it's a pretty solid meta joke for fans that have been playing Magic: The Gathering since days of yore, when one of the deadlier and more eldritch things you could encounter was a foot-tall bug-eyed fuzzbuddy.

One that is a damn sight cuter than Twin Peaks' Bob.

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