<p style="text-align: right;"><em>EDHREC lightning snail mascot commission | art by <a href="https://www.emmagudrian.com/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=snail">Emma Gudrian</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.spacecowmedia.com/products/lightning-snail-playmat?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=snail"><strong>Buy the lightning snail playmat at our official merch store here!</strong></a></p>
<p>Ever wondered what EDHREC's logo depicts? Since the beginning of the website, you've been looking at an "electric snail." But now, it's time to bring that snail to life.</p>
<p>Emma Gudrian, a graphic artist, is the artist to do just that, and she's been hard at work creating a new look for EDHREC's mascot!</p>
<p>Emma's work is featured on a <a href="https://shop.spacecowmedia.com/products/lightning-snail-playmat?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=snail">brand new playmat available now</a> via the Space Cow Media merch store.</p>
<p>We'll be asking you at the end to take part in choosing a name for the little critter, but first, we took some time to interview Emma about the process behind her "electric snail" art piece. Here's what she had to say about it!</p>
<h2>Interview With Emma Gudrian</h2>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-189148" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait.jpg" alt="" width="461" height="461" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait.jpg 1808w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian_2026_Portrait-1536x1536.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" /></a></p>
<h3>Tell us about your art career. How did you first get into the industry? How many years have you been creating art?</h3>
<p>I’ve always loved to draw since I was a kid, before I even knew it could be a career. I enjoyed going to art class, learning just about everything I could there, and creating fan art for my favorite manga and video games. I grew up with all these different styles and worlds that inspired me to keep drawing and learning.</p>
<p>I pursued a BFA in Graphic Design and a minor in Studio Art, my makeshift Illustration major in a way, graduating in 2018. Since then, I’ve been in the creative industry for almost eight years now! While most of this time has been spent as a graphic designer and art director at an agency, my main goal has always been to be an illustrator. So in between long hours working on brand campaigns, websites, banner ads, and commercials, I spent the remainder of my time during the day continuing to illustrate for myself, honing my skills and style.</p>
<p>Yes, sometimes it led to burnout, but I’m grateful that I kept up with it. Because as of the beginning of 2026, I decided to take the leap and become a full-time illustrator working freelance, and it’s been amazing! It’s been nice having more time to create my cozy worlds and getting commission opportunities.</p>
<p>The focus of my personal work has evolved to cozy and whimsy. The aesthetic runs far with ideas such as a faun serving you a piping hot cup of coffee in an alpine cafe, a comfortable train ride with some spectral passengers, or simply soaking up the sun in a flourishing garden within a greenhouse with your friends.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-189149" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2.jpg" alt="" width="729" height="484" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2.jpg 1620w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Sourdough-protected-intensity-LOW-V2-1536x1019.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px" /></a></p>
<h3>How did EDHREC get you involved in this project?</h3>
<p>The EDHREC crew has been following my work for some time now. They found out about me back in 2025, when I had the opportunity to meet the team and network a little bit. It was cool to see many faces light up with immediate ideas for future projects that I could be a part of.</p>
<p>This particular project, however, I need to shout out my husband, Ben. The community might know him more through the Archidekt deck-building contest he helped run during 2025, and the work he does on <a href="https://archidekt.com/">Archidekt</a>. Ben saw a need for an artist on an idea being thrown around in the company Discord. No joke, he turned to me in our office and went, “Hey, wanna draw an electric snail?”</p>
<p>I dropped everything to sketch that little snail for the rest of the day. It was a fun little challenge that thankfully led to this project. That sketch that started it all is still in the vault; we’re hoping maybe to use it in the future.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-189150" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected.png" alt="" width="746" height="497" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected.png 1650w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected-300x200.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected-1024x683.png 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected-768x512.png 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EGudrian_Skadi-Kafe_LowRes-protected-1536x1024.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 746px) 100vw, 746px" /></a></p>
<h3>What inspired you to go with a snail for the EDHREC mascot?</h3>
<p>The snail has been here the whole time! *<em>Insert Sam Reich/Dropout TV joke here</em>* The EDHREC logo is an electric snail, and we wanted to give this little logo the full character mascot treatment it deserves. We played around with parts of the snail a lot. Like, is the body long or stubby? Is the shell curved, or more jagged edges, to reflect the logo? Are they dark mode or light mode with their colors?</p>
<h3>Did you hide any Easter eggs in the art for this currently still-unnamed mascot?</h3>
<p>Oh absolutely! I wonder if everyone will find them all! Maybe the team will post an answer sheet of some kind in the future.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC-Snail_Token_RGB.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-189144" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC-Snail_Token_RGB.jpg" alt="" width="392" height="547" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC-Snail_Token_RGB.jpg 745w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC-Snail_Token_RGB-215x300.jpg 215w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC-Snail_Token_RGB-734x1024.jpg 734w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px" /></a></p>
<h3>Did this mascot have a nickname while you were working on the piece? What was it, if so? Otherwise, what would you call the mascot if given the opportunity to name it?</h3>
<p>I kept calling them Eddie during development. It just stuck as soon as it came out of my head. I didn’t like just calling them “electric snail” all the time; they started developing a quirky personality in my head and needed a placeholder name.</p>
<h3>What techniques did you use to create this piece? How long did it take you?</h3>
<p>With my style, I’ve been striving to make sure it has evident painterly qualities. I love that you can tell that there was a hand that was making this, especially since I work digitally using Procreate on my iPad. I use a lot of brushes from Maxpacks, an artist who created brushes that emulate traditional mediums on a digital canvas. I love using their gouache brush set and the tech pen from their comic pack.</p>
<p>The painterly look I achieve is with a lot of loose, organic brush strokes while rendering shadow, light, etc. And I also love using hatching for those edges in the render. Gives it that handmade feel on a digital canvas and some energy to the piece.</p>
<p>For the composition itself, we kept it simple, showing the snail full front and in their little home. We wanted to make this more of an introduction to this little snail and its connection to EDHREC. As we were working on the comp, we wanted to reflect the original snail’s design in the EDHREC logo, which turned into actually having the logo reflected within the pond’s edge the snail was hanging out at. From there, it was a balancing act of what got the most detail, what had and what didn’t have linework to help push focus? How can the colors make the scene more interesting? How do we incorporate that he’s an electric snail in a cool way?</p>
<p>It was fun seeing the piece develop and change as we tried new things, changed colors around, and more as we got closer to the final look we landed on. And of course, the Easter eggs were a fun conversation. We had to stop ourselves from dropping in too many Easter eggs in this composition.</p>
<p>Overall, this piece took me a little over 32 hours start to finish.</p>
<h4><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDHREC_Snail_Final_30-Sec-Speeddraw-Vid.mp4">Here's a 30-Second Time Lapse of Emma's Work</a></h4>
<h3>What is your next upcoming project, and where can we find it?</h3>
<p>I just finished a very cool project for a new client that I can’t talk about quite yet. But it will be public in August, so I’m excited for that.</p>
<p>More personally, I share what I’m creating that’s cozy and whimsical. We need more of that in the world. Specifically, I have started an ongoing project with my two witch characters, Cass and Amy. They are a cute couple that I love drawing in any cozy moment I can come up with. It’s been a fun world-building exercise that I started writing down and creating on multiple canvases. My goal is to get to a point where I could create a whole art book for them and their little world. It’s a moonshot idea.</p>
<p>You can find my work, and also projects I get to be a part of, like the one dropping in August, on my Instagram <em>@artsygud</em> or my website, <a href="http://www.emmagudrian.com"><em>www.emmagudrian.com</em></a>, where I have both my portfolio and a newsletter.</p>
<div id="attachment_189151" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-189151" class=" wp-image-189151" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="925" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1.jpg 1080w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Emma-Gudrian-Self-Portrait-1-768x960.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-189151" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>A self-portrait by Emma Gudrian</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>A huge thanks to Emma Gudrian for allowing us to pick her brain about the art piece she has so graciously done for us!</p>
<p>And now, dear readers, we come to a slight dilemma. Our team has narrowed down the name for our awesome electric snail mascot to a few options. But now, we want you to choose one of them! This will be our mascot's name, so pick wisely! A poll is below for you to conveniently use. Please note we will only consider names from this poll, not suggestions in comments or social media. And as always, please let us know your thoughts in general down in the comments below!</p>
<p><script type='text/javascript' charset='utf-8' src='//static.polldaddy.com/p/17276704.js'></script><noscript> <a href='https://poll.fm/17276704'>View Poll</a></noscript></p>


Help Name EDHREC's New Electric Snail Mascot

<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Archidekt logo courtesy of Archidekt</em></p>
<p>Ever wanted to add your own custom cards or custom art to your deck, or even start brewing with a card that hasn't been released? Now you can, thanks to the new Custom Cards feature available only on <a href="https://archidekt.com/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=footer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Archidekt</a>.</p>
<p>What's really nice about this feature is the flexibility and different ways it can help users out. A lot of <em>Magic</em> content creators and players have custom tokens made up as swag and promo merch featuring them or their brand, and you can now upload those if they're something you use for a specific deck.</p>
<p>For me, I have an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isperia, Supreme Judge" href="#" target="_blank">Isperia, Supreme Judge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Sphinx kindred list that I've been playing for years running custom art showing Sphinxes on the basic lands.</p>
<p>The best use for this feature though is for folks making custom cards of their own creation. Fellow EDHREC writer <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/levi-stevenson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Levi Stevenson</a> has been working on his own custom cube built around the Halo series of games, and this feature will really shine when it comes to similar projects.</p>
<h2>Custom Card Settings in Your Archidekt Account</h2>
<p>Viewing custom cards has to be enabled in your account. If you don't want to see non-official art showing up in deck lists, by default you won't see them.</p>
<p>For you, the addition of this feature won't change a single thing about your user experience. However, if you want the option to view custom art in decks it's easy to enable with just a few clicks.</p>
<p>To enable custom cards, click on your account name in the top right of the screen, go to "My other stuff," then "Account settings."</p>
<div id="attachment_169158" style="width: 275px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-140326.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169158" class="wp-image-169158 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-140326.png" alt="Menu showing the location of the Account settings option" width="265" height="441" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-140326.png 265w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-140326-180x300.png 180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-169158" class="wp-caption-text">Menu showing the location of the Account settings option</p></div>
<p>Once there, make sure you're on the Site Settings tab on the left, then scroll down until you see "Content Settings" toggle, and click to enable it.</p>
<div id="attachment_170360" style="width: 399px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-095228.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-170360" class="wp-image-170360 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-095228.png" alt="Content settings" width="389" height="159" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-095228.png 389w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-21-095228-300x123.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-170360" class="wp-caption-text">Content settings</p></div>
<p>It's as simple as that. Once you return to your deck, you'll now be able to see art created for custom cards in other decks. More importantly you'll be able to create custom cards of your own, which is the real reason we're here.</p>
<h2>Creating Custom Cards</h2>
<p>Sure, seeing other people's custom cards is fun, but we really want to be making our own, or using our own art.</p>
<p>To do this, go back to your account name in the top right of the screen, go to "My other stuff" in the dropdown menu again, and click on "Custom cards."</p>
<div id="attachment_169160" style="width: 789px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169160" class="wp-image-169160" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051-1024x765.png" alt="Custom card editor page" width="779" height="582" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051-1024x765.png 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051-300x224.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051-768x574.png 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-07-144051.png 1069w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-169160" class="wp-caption-text">Custom card editor page</p></div>
<p>Looking through some of the cards designed for Levi's cube we can easily add them using the custom card tool. First up, you can recreate the card by editing a custom card and filling out the appropriate fields. Levi was nice enough to share one of his designs with me, so in looking through the files I replicated one of the cards:</p>
<div id="attachment_169366" style="width: 298px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-141331.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169366" class="wp-image-169366 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-141331.png" alt="Card designed using the custom card editor page" width="288" height="404" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-141331.png 288w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-141331-214x300.png 214w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-169366" class="wp-caption-text">Card designed using the custom card editor page</p></div>
<p>If however you already have the cards designed and built with art, you can simply upload the entire file. To do this you do the same thing as you would above, filling out the appropriate fields for the card, but you then click the blue "Upload image" button.</p>
<div id="attachment_169367" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169367" class="wp-image-169367 size-large" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240-1024x494.png" alt="Custom card image uploader" width="1024" height="494" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240-1024x494.png 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240-300x145.png 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240-768x370.png 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142240.png 1093w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-169367" class="wp-caption-text">Custom card image uploader</p></div>
<p>This lets you select the entire custom card to upload. The Archidekt team will be moderating the images and created cards for inappropriate material, so use reasonable judgment when creating these, but by and large let your custom card juices flow. Once added, you'll be able to see your own custom cards.</p>
<div id="attachment_169368" style="width: 524px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142348.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-169368" class="wp-image-169368 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142348.png" alt="Side by side of the same card, one uploaded with the uploader after being created elsewhere, and one created using the custom cards feature" width="514" height="470" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142348.png 514w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-10-142348-300x274.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-169368" class="wp-caption-text">Side by side of the same card, one uploaded with the uploader after being created elsewhere, and one created using the custom cards feature</p></div>
<p>As you can see above, I have both the complete custom card that Levi had created uploaded into the system, as well as the version I made by copying the card specs. Both are now available for me to use in my brewing in any future decks I build, and anyone who has the Custom Card feature enabled will be able to see these in any of my decks where they're included.</p>
<p>This is a really exciting new feature, and we're curious to see what new additions to decks you can come up with now that you're not longer bound by needing a card to actually exist to use it. Let us know in the comments below what you plan to build with this new tool!</p>


Archidekt Announces: Custom Cards!

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><strong>Reaper of the Wilds | Art by: <a href="https://karlkopinski.com/">Karl Kopinski</a></strong></h6>
<p>Earlier this year, long-time artist for <em>Magic: The Gathering, </em>Karl Kopinski, suffered a stroke.</p>
<p>While his recovery is ongoing, Kopinski has incurred medical costs as a result. To help defray those costs, fans of Kopinski's work have organized a charity auction with the proceeds directly benefitting Kopinski.</p>
<p>The auction is now live, and will close on Sunday, June 15.</p>
<p><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3Akopinski+game%3Apaper+not%3Areprint&amp;order=edhrec&amp;as=grid&amp;unique=cards">Karl Kopinski</a> to date has illustrated nearly 200 <em>Magic: The Gathering </em>cards and tokens beginning in 2008's <em>Shards of Alara. </em>Most recently, he illustrated the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endrider Catalyzer" href="#" target="_blank">Endrider Catalyzer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which appeared in <em>Aetherdrift. </em>Among Commander players, his work on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hinterland Harbor|ISD|241" href="#" target="_blank">Hinterland Harbor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathars&#039; Crusade|AVR|10" href="#" target="_blank">Cathars&#039; Crusade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elvish Archdruid|M10|176" href="#" target="_blank">Elvish Archdruid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is likely best-known, but his catalog is well-represented in Commander decklists worldwide.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Mob Boss|M13|138"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Consuming Aberration|GTC|152"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stormtide Leviathan|M11|74"></div></div>
<p>A native of Nottingham, England, Kopinski has worked in the illustration industry since 1997 and in addition to his work with Wizards of the Coast, has also illustrated for clients such as Ubisoft, Games Workshop, and Peter Jackson. A few months ago, Kopinski took to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DHRpP8eoKRd/">Instagram</a> to provide an update of his recovery process:</p>
<p><em>"The day after my stroke while my wife was visiting I managed to move my arm and hand, which apparently was a good sign. I decided at that point the only option was to try take the same obsessive and dedicated attitude I have taken with my art over the last 30 years and put into retraining my brain and body to do what used to be simple movements. So I picked up my pencil, it was incredibly difficult, upsetting and frustrating but repetition and hard work seems to be the only way!"</em></p>
<p>That hard work is paying off, as Instagram posts as recently as today <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DKr9TkiIXPb/">offer a look</a> at his artistic process and improvement in his extremities.</p>
<p>Currently at auction and featured among the available artwork is the original oil painting by Karl Kopinski himself for the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reaper of the Wilds" href="#" target="_blank">Reaper of the Wilds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which debuted in <em>Theros</em>. The piece, probably most recognizable to <em>Magic </em>fans among the art listed and is estimated to be worth $2,000-$2,300.</p>
<p>In total, there are 23 original works of fantasy art available, including several more by Kopinski as well as pieces by fellow <em>Magic </em>artists <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3Aejsing&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Jesper Ejsing</a>, <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3Aciruelo&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Ciruelo Cabral</a> and <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3Aorizio&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">Daniele Orizio</a>.</p>
<p>Head over to <a href="https://www.catawiki.com/en/a/1124611">auction-hosting site Catawiki</a> to place a bid.</p>


Art Auction to Benefit Magic Artist Goes Live

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swamp|FDN|286" href="#" target="_blank">Swamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.stevenbelledin.com/">Steven Belledin</a>)</h6>
<h1>Your Deck is a Canvas</h1>
<p>With <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> just around the corner, spoilers are starting to finally pull their way through the bloat of Universes Beyond.</p>
<p>As I'm writing this I've just now seen a little preview of the full art basics we'll be treated to in packs and bundles via a <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/saffronolive.bsky.social/post/3lknprwike227">post on BlueSky</a> from good old Saffron Olive.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-146734 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg" alt="A preview of the full art basic lands in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Close ups of the eyes of dragons whose colours match those of the five colours of magic. Their pupils the shape of each mana symbol." width="1449" height="431" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg 1449w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-300x89.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-1024x305.jpg 1024w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-768x228.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1449px) 100vw, 1449px" /></a></p>
<p>Would you just take a look at those! I'm well aware that the art of full art basics can be a touchy subjects for <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> purists.</p>
<p>But personally I'm in love with these. Even as a player that doesn't usually run dragon focussed decks. They're such a perfect blend of the modern, glossy stylings of recent full arts that we've become accustomed to with truly classic fantasy art.</p>
<p>This cycle in fact was illustrated by none other than <a href="https://ronspencer.wordpress.com/">Ron Spencer</a> , one of the original collection of artists that worked on <em>Magic's</em> <em>Alpha</em> set.</p>
<h2>The Beauty of Basic Lands</h2>
<p>And this got me thinking, once again, about all the gorgeous art we're treated to in this game of ours. One of my favorite things about building mono decks, in any format, is the amount of beautiful basic lands you can flood your deck with.</p>
<p>And as this is <em>The Monolith</em>, the column in which I try to convince you to build more mono decks, this seems like a perfect opportunity to gaze and gawp at some of the most gorgeous illustrations your mana base can have.</p>
<p>For this list I'm going to be sticking with only full arts that are available in standard sets. Regular game pieces that you get from a booster pack, just like any other card.</p>
<p>There's plenty of stunning illustrations in Secret Lairs and promos, but the cards listed on this article aren't locked behind paywalls or artificial scarcity.</p>
<p>They're a part of the game just like any other basic land. So with that being said, let's take a look at some of the most beautiful basics money can buy.</p>
<h2>Foundations</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|FDN|282"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|FDN|285"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|FDN|286"></div></div>
<p>I'll kick off with some recency bias in the shape of what has to be the coolest core set we've ever had, right? Foundations was a slam dunk in my opinion, providing a perfect jumping off point for new players whilst also establishing a new bedrock for standard decks of all kinds.</p>
<p>There's some nice new designs, a tonne of old favourites, and most importantly - some absolutely beautiful art.</p>
<p>And the full art lands are no exception. There's two cycles, all portraying locations from across <em>Magic's</em> multiverse including planes from sets old and new.</p>
<p>My favorite of the two depicts some of the settings most iconic Planeswalkers relaxing in the vistas. I love the way they cut silhouettes across the landscapes and add a nice sense of scale to the artworks. Not to mention the absolutely beautiful colors.</p>
<p>Just look at Ajani's Plains. The incredible sunset hues, glowing against his face. The wreaths of shadow slicing across the golden fields. Stunning.</p>
<h2>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|NEO|299"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|NEO|295"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|NEO|293"></div></div>
<p>Magic's return to the plane of <em>Kamigawa</em> saw a departure from its roots as a play on traditional Japanese folk lore. Instead, <em>Neon Dynasty</em> flung itself far into the future with a cyberpunk twist. Mechs and motorbikes careened down neon soaked alleyways and the ninjas stalked the rooftops.</p>
<p>However, the set's full art basic lands looked back at the plane's original scope. To a Japan more feudal, rich with tradition and concerned with the old ways. A nod to the original set but also a celebration of the nation's artworks. Wood block prints and delicate ink-works.</p>
<p>The cards depict a <em>Kamigawa</em> more rural and pastoral than its future form in which the set takes place. And as a result, we're left with what must be some of the most enticing depictions of a <em>Magic </em>plane ever rendered on cardboard.</p>
<h2>The Brothers' War</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|BRO|282"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|BRO|284"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|BRO|280"></div></div>
<p>Things don't have to be innately beautiful for one to make beautiful art of it. Whilst there are many tranquil scenes in <em>Magic's</em> world, most of the game's subject matter depicts stories of turmoil and strife.</p>
<p>And no classic story in <em>Magic's</em> cannon was so tragic and also caused so much destruction as that of the <em>The Brothers' War</em>. When Urza and his brotherly rival Mishra ravaged a world in their attempts to best one another.</p>
<p><em>The Brothers' War's </em>basics show the dichotomy artists strike when they illustrate for <em>Magic: the Gathering</em>. Between violence and beauty.</p>
<p>Themes of darkness and streams of lights. In their imagery, the lands show gargantuan war machines, alone in empty fields and swamps.</p>
<p>A mech the size of a skyscraper stands solemnly in a torrential storm at sea. All in masterful, oil-like landscapes that ape of the depictions of war from centuries past.</p>
<p>It's Pacific Rim meets the Dutch masters. It's beautiful and it's sick as hell.</p>
<h2>Theros: Beyond Death</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forest|THB|254"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|THB|250"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|THB|251"></div></div>
<p>Sets like <em>Theros: Beyond Death</em> and <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em> that revisit planes from older sets, give an interesting insight to <em>Magic's</em> evolution over time.</p>
<p>You can hold one card up from the previous iteration next to another from the newest and physically gaze upon all the differences in the artworks between sets old and new.</p>
<p>The new blood of illustrators side by side with the old greats. The digital renderings of a modern card next to the traditional mediums of a classic.</p>
<p>The full art lands in <em>Theros: Beyond Death</em> were the topic of some controversy among <em>Magic</em> traditionalists when they released. "These aren't lands" they said. They're constellations. Nebulae. There's not a forest or a mountain in sight. And whilst on a surface level I agree, I do think the lands' detractors may have slightly missed the point.</p>
<p>There's plenty of abstraction in this game of ours. And whilst it's important to keep the game's themes rooted in internally consistent logic, the fact of the matter is that as ideas for planes get more ambitious - certain core principles need to adapt to fit in with those new designs.</p>
<p>Boiler rooms in haunted houses become mountains. Garden districts on top of skyscrapers become forests. And whilst <em>Theros</em> has plenty of regular lands to work with, it's also the domain of the gods. And here, the lands you seek are also among the cosmos. In beautiful and glittering starlight.</p>
<h2>Dominaria United</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|DMU|280"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forest|DMU|281"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|DMU|279"></div></div>
<p>But don't worry too much if you are a traditionalist, (although if you really are, are you even playing full arts to begin with?) because I've got a set of basic lands here that hark back to the stunning vistas of <em>Magic's </em>original setting, <em>Dominaria</em>.</p>
<p>Emblazoned in stained glass are a cycle of lands paying reverence to the myriad iconic locations of the OG plane. Floating cities and great forests surround stylized illustrations of the mana symbols.</p>
<p>The colours are bold and saturated and of all the standard sets' full art basic lands, these stand out from the rest of your board like no other. They're a perfect matching of style and substance for me. The perfect blend of a medium and a place to depict it with.</p>
<p>There's so much history in the lands of Dominaria and as the home of the Saga, the history depicting enchantment that pays homage to great stories in <em>Magic's </em>past, there seems no better way to make mana to cast them with.</p>
<p>I really like it when a card you can get in a standard booster pack feels like you've just ordered a secret lair by mistake. These lands have such a unique feel to them that stand out from so many of the other basics on offer.</p>
<p>Like they were custom-built for an artist to illustrate for some special drop. But they're not. They're right at the back of a <em>Dominaria United</em> pack.</p>
<p>Behind the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tolarian Terror" href="#" target="_blank">Tolarian Terrors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temporary Lockdown" href="#" target="_blank">Temporary Lockdowns</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse" href="#" target="_blank">Sheoldreds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> of an already fantastic set.</p>
<h2>The Best Land is Your Favorite Land</h2>
<p>One of the lovely things about art is its subjectivity, which means that no matter how hard they try any commenters on this article won't actually be able to tell me I'm wrong for these choices.</p>
<p>That does unfortunately go both ways however which means that in the end, whatever basics you love will also be the best of the bunch.</p>
<p>As long as they're in your deck. And no matter how much I disagree with your choices, that'll always be true. Funny how life is like that sometimes, huh?</p>
<p>Here's an honorary mention to the cool space lands from <em>Unfinity</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|UNF|242"></div></div>
<p>I'll see you in the next episode of <em>The Monolith </em>where I'll no doubt be checking out some cool new monocolored cards in Tarkir! Until then happy building, and happy full art admiring. I'll see you in the next one.</p>


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