Hiding in Plain Sight: Magic: The Gathering's Alchemy Artworks
Are there paintings, buried within Arena's Alchemy releases, that the art-loving community of Magic should be paying attention to?
Last article's mailbag included an interesting question by John Dale Beety:
“What are the best artworks that almost nobody knows about because they were put in Alchemy sets and not on physical cards?”
Alchemy is a digital-only format found on Magic: The Gathering Arena, begun in 2021 as a divergent play experience from the Standard format printed in paper. It’s a selection of new cards, often with abilities that would not work seamlessly for tabletop play, and including around thirty cards with new artwork. In previous writing endeavors I have largely ignored the new artwork presented in Alchemy. It was simply from a bandwidth perspective, and its seeming lack of relevance to the larger scope of current Magic art. With the massive volume of new artwork per month, I had to draw the line somewhere.
JDB’s question is cause for re-visitation. The alchemic oeuvre is a cocktail of artists, subjects, and styles, varied enough that it may not work in the namesake set, but with enough uniqueness that each Alchemy set is a company all its own. Are there things, hidden away from the general player’s eye in Alchemy, that the art-loving community of Magic should be paying attention to? It turns out there are.
Oglor, Devoted Assistant by Michele Giorgi
The very first Alchemy set released in December 2021 was Alchemy: Innistrad, and featured new cards and artworks on the heels of the dual release of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Above is Oglor, the homunculus assistant to the game-famous necro-alchemist Ludevic. He appeared on the Innistrad card Stitcher’s Apprentice, but Alchemy has provided the space for his very first card all his own.
The painting itself is a standout amongst the dozens that were a part of the initial swath of new artwork. Well rendered, well composed, and full of narrative, it’s evident this was a work where the artist had something to prove. It was in fact artist Michele Giorgi’s very first card, and has kicked off what has become two dozen more pieces, and a beautiful burgeoning career with Magic.
History of Benalia by Alix Branwyn
This card was first printed in Dominaria back in 2017, and was one of the artistic signposts of the set; it highlighted the stained glass armor of the knights of New Benalia, as well as what could be done in the brand new Saga card art box. As Magic re-commissions work done by it’s previous artist, it has been given new life, and an opportunity for a new rising star to leave her mark.
Alix Branwyn now boasts over fifty cards for Magic, and both stained glass and Sagas are starting to become something she’s well known for. Her artwork was originally published as a Magic: The Gathering Online digital promo in April 2022, and then adopted to Arena for Alchemy: The Brother’s War later that year. It’s Branwyn doing what she does best, telling stories through historical artwork, as if it could appear in the fantasy world it depicts. It’s instantly recognizable as the card it emulates with none of the negative connotation, and a case study on how to reuse already very good, albeit different and largely unseen, artwork for Alchemy.
Hex, Kellan’s Companion by Kaitlyn McCulley
The thirty works for the Wilds of Eldraine Alchemy set are perhaps the strongest collection of any Alchemy adjacent release since its inception, and chief among them is Hex, Kellan’s Companion by Kaitlyn McCulley. McCulley just had her paper Magic debut in Outlaws of Thunder Junction (to much fanfare on Twitter), but this piece was the one that gave her a start, and what a work it is.
As the reflections of the green gem around his collar glint off his fluffy fur, those green undertones, mixed with grays, pinks and purples, elevate what would have otherwise been a very neutral subject palette. The background alludes to the pastoral fairytale plane of Eldraine, but without muddying the composition with unnecessary detail. And if you look very closely, that subtle outline around our canine friend sets him apart from his world, adding to his overall exuberance and conveying that feeling right into our hearts. It’s Impressionistic Magic at it’s best.
End Step
There are some real gems concealed away in Alchemy, and it’s something I should have paid closer attention to these last few years. It’s another place for artist’s to get discovered, and for Magic to continue to tell it’s story beyond the tabletop.
But from an art and artist perspective, my only rub is this. Because Alchemy is digital-only, artists do not get artist proofs. There are no physical cards to sign. They can still make prints and playmats, but who is going to buy an image of a card they probably never played with? Or maybe haven’t even seen? There have been cases where paintings slated for the main set end up in Alchemy for a confluence of reasons, and this can, as one might be expect, end with and artist’s utter disappointment. For many it would almost be better to have a work ‘slushed,’ meaning it’s shelved for a later physical release because a card was cut or changed, than having it fill an Alchemy slot. At least there is some degree of hope it will live past the few month window when the set is active on Arena, or you’ll get to sign one, or sell a proof somewhere down the road. It’s something I hope to hear happening less in the future, and am confident those conversations are already underway.
I do not expect Alchemy to go away, and I think it fills a space that can do a lot of good for a lot of different players in the Magic space. My hope is that it continues to be a springboard for those looking to join Magic, and a place for innovation. When you really look, there are absolutely some standouts, and opportunities realized that otherwise would not have been. I’ll need to keep it in my peripherals looking for that next great artist flying in under the radar.
And next time it’s one of those very artists, the aforementioned Kaitlyn McCulley, that joins me here. Stay tuned.