User blog comment:Mckrongs/Monster Hunter 4 for the Nintendo 3DS/@comment-74.193.207.108-20120924050307/@comment-3062343-20120924053335

I think this wiki's definition of the flagship monster is the monster that appears on the cover art, and since we haven't seen MH4's cover, it's not 100% certain that Goa Magara is the flagship (but I'd be willing to bet that it is). If you go by the monster that is the main "antagonist" in the game, then I'd say Yian Garuga is more of a flagship in MHF1 than Rathalos is, but Rathalos appears on the cover. Also, while I don't really know what the villagers say, it seems like Bracchi comes out of nowhere in the "story", much like Narga in Unite, while Lagiacrus is the main antagonist of low rank, and Deviljho shows up a bit in High-Rank (Jho's first appearance in a Jaggia-slaying quest is pretty similar to Lagiacrus' in the monster guts quest (i.e. the guild lady freaks out and tells you to run)).