The Smoking Mirror

The myth

The Smoking Mirror, a tezcatl giving off smoke, is the emblem of Tezcatlipoca, whose name means exactly that. In images, the mirror appears at the god’s temple or in place of the foot he lost fighting the earth monster, always trailing curls of smoke. Polished obsidian mirrors were used to divine and to “see” what was distant or hidden. In many tales Tezcatlipoca uses the mirror to show people the truth about themselves, as he did with Quetzalcóatl at Tula, who saw himself old and ugly and fell into despair.

Why it has this power

A Common trap that reflects the attack’s damage back at your opponent. The blow goes into the mirror and comes out the other side, at whoever struck. The perfect trap against high-attack monsters: the harder the blow, the more damage reflected. The Rare version of the same effect is Mictlantecuhtli's Judgment.

Did you know

In the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, Tezcatlipoca shows Quetzalcóatl a mirror, and seeing himself aged, Quetzalcóatl decides to hide from his people.

Connections

• In Citlali, Priestess of the Stars's deck

Where to get it

• Comes in every duelist's starter deck.
• Daily Offering: 0% per pack (Common 64% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 0.97% per pack (Common 70% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.88% per pack · 5.2% in the themed pack (Common 64% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.86% per pack · 5.1% in the themed pack (Common 62% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.67% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Common 49% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.46% per pack · 2.7% in the themed pack (Common 33% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.69% of days · 150 gold
• Craft with card dust: 40 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. El símbolo de Tezcatlipoca, el espejo humeante (Arqueología Mexicana) — Xavier Noguez
2. Tezcatlipoca frente a Quetzalcóatl (Arqueología Mexicana) — Miguel Pastrana Flores
3. Tezcatlipoca — World History Encyclopedia — Mark Cartwright