Clan Vizsla / Legends Clan Vizsla was an ancient Mandalorian clan whose members throughout the galaxy ' s history included skilled bounty hunters , powerful warlords , and peaceful New Mandalorians . However , the clan would become most closely associated with the renegade Mandalorian group known as the Death Watch , formed by the barbaric clan member Tor Vizsla , and later led by his kinsman Pre Vizsla during the Clone Wars . History . The Vizsla clan was an ancient Mandalorian clan , its existence in the galaxy dating back thousands of years before the rise of the Galactic Empire . Though its history , Clan Vizsla counted a number of bounty hunters and warlords among their numbers . During a collapse in power of the Old Republic , the Vizsla clan was responsible for the theft of the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant . This unique black - bladed lightsaber would be passed down through the clan for generations , coming into possession of Pre Vizsla at some point prior to 21 BBY . Following the foundation of the pacifistic New Mandalorians in the aftermath of the Mandalorian Excision of 738 BBY , several members of the Vizsla clan joined the peaceful movement , becoming members of the New Mandalorians themselves . Perhaps the most notorious member of Clan Vizsla was the brutal soldier Tor Vizsla . In 60 BBY , Tor Vizsla and his followers broke away from the clans under the reigning " Mand ' alor " of the time , Jaster Mereel , and formed the Death Watch splinter faction . The sigil of Clan Vizsla was taken on as the symbol of the violent and radical group , and the clan would become closely associated with the Death Watch . However , the Death Watch ' s opposition — the Mandalorian soldiers loyal to Jaster Mereel calling themselves the True Mandalorians — could count members of Clan Vizsla among their supporters . After Tor Vizsla perished at the hands of Jango Fett , Tor ' s Vizsla clan kinsman , Pre Vizsla , took command of the Death Watch and rebuilt it during the early years of the Clone Wars , becoming the second Vizsla clan member to lead the faction . Pre Vizsla held an ambition to restore the glory of the Vizsla clan that had faded through the years , and make the name a feared one again . Notable members . Tor Vizsla . Tor Vizsla was a brutal , and barbaric soldier whose dreams of becoming " Mand ' alor " and returning the Mandalorians to their conquering ways were dashed by the ascension of fellow Mandalorian , Jaster Mereel , to the position . Mereel ' s attempts to return a sense of honor to the increasingly dishonorable Mandalorian mercenaries was met with objection from Tor , who gathered to him a group of like - minded warriors who had enjoyed their lives of unaccountability prior to Mereel ' s claim to the title of " Mand ' alor " . Under Tor , the Death Watch was formed , and he led his troops through the Mandalorian Civil War again Jaster Mereel ' s loyal " True Mandalorians " . Tor personally killed Mereel on Korda Six , and through his machinations , led the supercommandos of the True Mandalorians to their deaths on the planet Galidraan , at the hands of a Jedi strike team . Years later , however , Tor would meet the same fate courtesy of Jaster Mereel ' s adopted son , Jango Fett , who hunted Tor to Corellia and left the wounded Death Watch leader to be killed by a pack of dire - cat s following a lengthy fight . Pre Vizsla . Pre Vizsla grew up in an era of Mandalorian history wherein the peaceful New Mandalorians were the dominant faction , but Pre yearned for the New Mandalorians ' downfall and a return to the widespread warrior ways of the past . Having become the governor of Mandalore ' s moon , Concordia , Pre was publicly a supporter of the New Mandalorian government and of its leader , Duchess Satine Kryze . In secret , however , he despised Kryze , her government , and everything they stood for , leading the Death Watch against those he considered to be a disgrace to all Mandalorians . Pre revealed himself and his intentions during a battle with the Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi , and tried to kill the Duchess as part of a Separatist - backed plot to take over control of Mandalore from the New Mandalorians . Two years later , Pre was aided by the Sith Lord Darth Maul , his apprentice Savage Opress , and their Shadow Collective of gangsters in a successful coup against the New Mandalorian government . Overthrowing Duchess Kryze , Vizsla betrayed his Sith allies but was killed by Maul in a confrontation . Behind the scenes . The Vizsla clan can find its creative roots in the 2002 comic book series , " " , wherein the character of Tor Vizsla first appeared , but only as " Vizsla " . " The Essential Atlas " , released seven years later in 2009 , finally provided him with the first name of " Tor " . Later , in 2010 , the television series " " introduced the Death Watch leading character of Pre Vizsla , taking the surname from the previous Death Watch leader . Though both characters possessed the same surname and were Death Watch leaders , it was only with the publication of the " " reference book that Tor and Pre were officially connected and , together with the " " — responsible for adapting the previous Death Watch symbol as the sigil of their clan — the Vizsla clan introduced to " Star Wars " canon .