Although Zendikar Rising’s story and cards are currently keeping Magic: The Gathering players busy on Magic Arena and in person, it wasn’t that long ago that planeswalkers from all over the multiverse were gathered together for the massive conflict in the May 2019 set War of the Spark.
War of the Spark was unlike any prior Magic: The Gathering set in that every booster pack contained a planewalker and planeswalkers appeared outside of the Mythic Rare slot for the very first time. The primary villain in the set was Nicol Bolas, who has remained a menace for many years in MtG’s history. After decades of plotting how to return his pre-mending level of power, War of the Spark represented the culmination of Nicol Bolas’ plotting. The Art of Magic: The Gathering War of the Spark provides a gorgeous coffee table tome for any fan of the game and offers a deep dive into everything that led to that deadly conflict.
Although many art books are great for displaying on coffee tables or bookshelves, this MtG collection goes a step further. As expected, yes, the oversized book (10 x 1 x 11.25 inches) is full of gorgeous art from the War of the Spark set. That said, this book goes above and beyond in two impressive ways.
First – there is art featured throughout this 240 page hardcover from the entire history of Magic: The Gathering, not just the War of the Spark set. Because the book offers the history of Nicol Bolas and many of the other key players in War of the Spark, it’s necessary to look back on some other key moments and locations from the history of the game and the art from those older cards all looks amazing in this book. Some pages feature a handful of different pieces to help tell a story, while others offer a full splash page for a particularly impactful or important image to take the spotlight.
The second way the Art of War of the Spark goes above and beyond is the context and story that it provides. James Wyatt, the book’s author, offers a fantastic summary of not only War of the Spark, but also so many other aspects of the multiverse. From summaries of a handful of the key planes to primary characters, past conflicts, and more Wyatt weaves a compelling tale that makes the book hard to put down. The art book reads like a history book about the world of Magic: The Gathering.
“Centuries of scheming have come to fruition at last. Meet Nicol Bolas: Elder dragon, Planeswalker, God-Pharaoh. He is the ultimate mastermind, whose plots for domination twist through the histories of countless worlds. Now those plots culminate on the shattered streets of Ravnica, with undead armies marching at his command and dozens of Planeswalkers marshaled to oppose him. In these lavishly illustrated pages, featuring art carefully chosen from more than two decades of Magic: The Gathering, the full scope of Nicol Bolas’s plans is revealed at last.
“It has all led to this. The greatest heroes of the Multiverse make their stand against the ultimate villain in the War of the Spark!”
Each page is jam-packed with the kind of lore that players would usually only be able to get if they read a bunch of novelizations from earlier sets or the more recent storylines that are presented as articles on the official Magic: The Gathering website. Although Nicol Bolas and his plot are definitely the driving force of this book, there are plenty of stops along the way to visit other key moments in Magic history, important planeswalkers, and interesting locations that somehow connect to Nicol Bolas and his nefarious plot.
The book retails at $39.99 which seems like a reasonable price for an oversized hardcover of this quality. The publisher, Viz Media, may be best known for its publication of manga (Japanese comic books), but it’s no stranger to art books either. In addition to other Magic: The Gathering art books, Viz has also offered a handful of other high quality art books for other IP including Transformers and Dragon Quest.
Game Rant was provided a review copy of the Art of Magic: The Gathering War of the Spark hardcover for this hands-on impression.
The Art of Magic: The Gathering War of the Spark is available now at bookstores and online. Magic: The Gathering Zendikar Rising is available now on Magic Arena and in game stores. Game Rant was provided a review copy of the Art of Magic: The Gathering War of the Spark hardcover for this hands-on impression.
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