Wizards R&D: "Hey, the Hunger Games was popular. Think we should put something in Theros for it?"
Creative: "Yeah. We've got a god of war, that makes sense. Let's call it the Iroan Games."
R&D: "You think that people will pick up on the blatant rip-off?"
Creative: "Good point. Let's make this years champion female too!"
Hunger Games is a fusion of the Gladiator Colosseum and Olympics which are also a clear influence on the Games devoted to Iroas. This is wizards making sure they hit all the tropes that people associate with greek mythos, not a cash grab on hunger games.
This card is the fakest fake i have ever seen faked.
Polyplatypus, world eater
then a World DRINKER?
Its a cycle, alongside Kraxios, World sneezer, who is a legendary dragon that deals x damage and makes an x/x ooze token named Achoo when you make him monstrous.
I think I'd look at the full art first before taking judgments any further. The fundamentals of art are a thing to look at, but I don't see any major breakages here, even allowing for style. I realise that this is one of the more radical departures from MtG's normal style, which I assume is everyone's foremost qualm with the art. It may just be me being overprotective of the art because I quite like the new art direction.
That's pretty much what I mean by 'opinion up to a certain extent'. After assessing the fundamentals, it's style and preference that decide whether the viewer enjoys the artwork or not. I'll admit I'm being a tad stubborn because I'm quite like the art, but I've hopefully looked at the composition. I can tell you've looked at it and thought about it clearly, and chosen your opinion on your observations and preferences, as anybody would. It's those who only base their opinions on preferences that annoys me. When entering a subject you know less about, it's perhaps a little foolish to judge straight away and being, perhaps, ignorant.
Regarding your observations, I do agree with them, but I think they're minor issues on what is otherwise a very well done piece. I think I'm perceiving the warp of the fisheye effect as stronger than others, which is why perspective seems fine to me. I'd ask to check leading lines again, allowing for a stronger distortion. I agree that the light source within the skull is a little off, but it does shine a visible light on the subject: search around the index finger of the left hand and the sheen upon his head.
I'm sure it's not a sign of the overall direction Magic art is taking, because of its fantasy roots, but I found this an interesting experiment to see how this style was received.
Yay, I'm glad we're getting towards a mutual understanding. I agree with your admittances and observations above almost 100%. For you and your personal taste it doesnt bother you, (I happen to be an illustrator who does spot art and editorial work for several clients and therein lies my bias against fisheye and poorly executed perspective affects, which I have seen handed in to several clients and immediately get rejected.)
I agree with the notion that this is Clint experimenting, as you can see in syncopate, and as a trend in some of his other recent pieces. I dont see this experimentation everywhere, or even with that many of the pther new magic artists. It seems to be allowances of the Art Director to let Cearley loose a bit to see what happens. Don't take this as a sign of how things as a whole will move, as this was not amongst the first images of art shown, which are usually what they consider to be the most appealing to the consumer.
>
Well, art is opinionated after a certain extent, so your opinion is simply opinion. Specifically opinion regarding style, to be honest, which is incredibly superficial. Every card game experiments with new styles, and it's this sort of prejudice of an artist's style that meant that Rebecca Guay's art was judged an awful amount.
The fact of art here is all of the traditional virtues. It's well composed, lighting is accurate, it has flow and a beautiful colour scheme. Therefore, it's good art. When someone says 'It's bad art', I can guarantee they actually mean 'the art is not my style and I don't like it.'
Of course my opinion of art is superficial, everyones is by definition of the medium and experience of it. Not every card game experiments with new styles, take a look at munchkin and the like with a consistent vision of the art direction. A specific faction of the fandom hates rebecca guays symbolist and watercolor styles, but the faction is counterbalanced heavily by its fans.
The figure is squished into the center of the frame, and possibly warped with perspective to fit in those awkward confines. The proportions, even with fisheye allowing, are terribly off, there is no foreshortening of the left arm and its hand which is unnaturally larger than the right hand, which is only slight further away than the left hand. As far as lighting is concerned there are 2 distinct lightsources shown on screen and an unshown one from behind the viewer that mimicks the effect of flash on a camera. The figure does not sit well in relation to the table, and given the scale of the leading lines from the skeleton in the bottom corner, contradicts itself on both sides. The light source of the skull in the upper right corner has zero effect on the objects in the composition. The lines of the skeletons also create tangents with the edge, providing unecesscary tension. I wouldnt bring up Cearleys other mistake of Syncopate as an example, its not helping his track record. I will admit the limited cool palette is nice.
It is not simply "I dont like it because its not my style" There are criteria to assess art, known as fundamentals, and those are the closest to objective answers one can ascertain. While styles can break these, they have to do so with purpose and expression. Terese neilsen and rebecca guay sacrifice realism to use linework and simplified color to be the hallmark of their expression, for example. When I say this is bad art, while it is my opinion, it is also through citing objective problems. Yes, I realize there are different styles to try, and it is important to experiment to see what the viewers want, but in general it goes against magics general art direction of subject focused art with a style towards expressionistic realism, stylized fantasy, and expressive line and form.
• More people mentioning the totally original thought of comboing this with Invisible Stalker
• More people mentioning other hexproof/shroud creatures, which leads to...
• More people mentioning that this also works with shroud
• More people hating on the art
• More people coming up with the totally original idea of a creature and/or enchantment giving other spells cipher
• More people misspelling cipher "cypher"
• More people mentioning that this card should be at "instant speed" (i.e. idiots)
• More people mentioning that WotC is ruining the game
• More people praising WotC
Not enough people talk about the art in depth, and why they dislike or like it, which makes sense as the majority of forum viewers are focused towards tournament play. While I understand your points, that is just what to expect when joining in on the conversation, people will complain/praise what they see because we are the informed consumer, and we will either want this or not, the demand starts here.
The art is very terrible, it looks like the bad editorial work of the mid 90's that dominated magazines. Magic art usually tries to steer clear of gimmicky styles like that, and instead go for compositions that directly engage the viewer with the subject of the art.
This art is not subtle, it is yelling in your face what the whole thing is about. I believe the art direction was good, but Clint Cearleys approach tanked. I hope they commission Nils Hamm, Jesper Ejsing, or Chippy for the alternate art promo.
On the subject of the art, i love how gross he is, all veiny, but still semi regal.
This cross Hippo/elephant, generic skin guy, and something else is great,
really conveys an orzhov beast of burden, one that no one will want to touch,
fitting for a "bank truck".
Can you stack the ability? Like play one spell and tap three mana to deal 3 and gain 3?
Each instance of extort provides you an opportunity
to play a B/ for life drain.
so if you had 3 of the thrulls you would have 3 triggers,
and chances to respond by paying the cost.
While I do agree that this is similar in composition to mycoloth, there are distinctions. As the link shows, he is not nearly that repetitive, other than his gestural sweeping style. It is difficult to differentiate elementals as they are typically just masses of the element in a human like silhouette.
But if the theory that these are the promos is true, then we'll very likely see a different take on the 'Hulk.
I found nerimon through other sources, he draws people in with videos and songs about Dr. Who, Videogames, Pokemon, etc. Giving him a preview is great because of how the fans can overlap from all of these areas. Before going "Oh he's being a jerk with that card" realize two things.
1. In a previous video he went into depth about player who care "too much" about the quality of their cards. These are the guys who sleeve all their decks and call judge when you bridge shuffle. As a casual player and outsider to that scene, he finds that to be rude and unfun, so the treatment of HIS card he feels is his choice.
2. By making the decision to abuse the card in video, he did several of the fake card tests verbatim. Folding it in half and on the corner. The way he presented it seemed seamless because of his reason, and added to the organic flow of the video. This makes it so that we, the insiders, know this is real, but to the outsider, he's just having fun with his card.
Be nice to the Newcomers, they will beat you one day.
This is awesome. By syncing up the guilds with the planeswalker points, it really hits the theme of choosing your guild. By giving cool achievements, and honor and glory to acheivements in the guild, it makes the whole experience great.
Tell your friends to choose a guild, or sign up for a dci number for a guild, the higher the numbers and the better the players, the better the guild does. Recommend the quiz to help make sure placement is right.
The Defender of the Iron oaks is Troslon, a rugged loxodon.
Considering the damage done to the right side of the face of the loxodon art,
chances are that this is Troslon, or at least a nod to him.
The Prominence of the Guildmark in the land art makes me excited for whatever cycle its from, but makes me think that it is not a shock land reprint, as the sigil makes it extremely guild specific rather than color interaction generic.
Some killer art, same basic concept but a bit further delved into.
The details on the voice of the conclave seem new to me, and oddly similar to the fire mind, but with the main difference being that the firemind is ruled by niv mizzets intellect, whereas the Voice of the Conclave is equally driven by all those in it. Become one with the force, like Qui Gon style.
Traditionally the magic gift amongst family was a fat pack.
I still think that the product within the fat pack is better,
but the 35$ price is because of the stellar product.
This is about half the fat pack product, but with double the space.
That said, I think that this is a better holiday product because of price and volume.
The box looks big enough to be excited about.
Plus, that art is amazing.
This product is for a Magic player with a growing collection.
one entering the 2nd or so year of play, and in need of organization.
and the lands is a good sign of that,
This is what I am recommending as a holiday gift for most of the new players I've taught
In rosewaters original article on Green black he says
"...these are the two colors that most easily build themselves up over time.
The best example of this is the +1/+1 counter.
No other color pair makes more use of the +1/+1 counter than these two colors,
most often using it as a means to represent their ability to strengthen themselves through adversity."
The only additional information lies in the ravnica novels, and possibly in some obscure flavor columns.
Now we can all be on the same page when talking about this mechanic within the context of the golgari.
Hunger Games is a fusion of the Gladiator Colosseum and Olympics which are also a clear influence on the Games devoted to Iroas. This is wizards making sure they hit all the tropes that people associate with greek mythos, not a cash grab on hunger games.
Its a cycle, alongside Kraxios, World sneezer, who is a legendary dragon that deals x damage and makes an x/x ooze token named Achoo when you make him monstrous.
Yay, I'm glad we're getting towards a mutual understanding. I agree with your admittances and observations above almost 100%. For you and your personal taste it doesnt bother you, (I happen to be an illustrator who does spot art and editorial work for several clients and therein lies my bias against fisheye and poorly executed perspective affects, which I have seen handed in to several clients and immediately get rejected.)
I agree with the notion that this is Clint experimenting, as you can see in syncopate, and as a trend in some of his other recent pieces. I dont see this experimentation everywhere, or even with that many of the pther new magic artists. It seems to be allowances of the Art Director to let Cearley loose a bit to see what happens. Don't take this as a sign of how things as a whole will move, as this was not amongst the first images of art shown, which are usually what they consider to be the most appealing to the consumer.
Of course my opinion of art is superficial, everyones is by definition of the medium and experience of it. Not every card game experiments with new styles, take a look at munchkin and the like with a consistent vision of the art direction. A specific faction of the fandom hates rebecca guays symbolist and watercolor styles, but the faction is counterbalanced heavily by its fans.
The figure is squished into the center of the frame, and possibly warped with perspective to fit in those awkward confines. The proportions, even with fisheye allowing, are terribly off, there is no foreshortening of the left arm and its hand which is unnaturally larger than the right hand, which is only slight further away than the left hand. As far as lighting is concerned there are 2 distinct lightsources shown on screen and an unshown one from behind the viewer that mimicks the effect of flash on a camera. The figure does not sit well in relation to the table, and given the scale of the leading lines from the skeleton in the bottom corner, contradicts itself on both sides. The light source of the skull in the upper right corner has zero effect on the objects in the composition. The lines of the skeletons also create tangents with the edge, providing unecesscary tension. I wouldnt bring up Cearleys other mistake of Syncopate as an example, its not helping his track record. I will admit the limited cool palette is nice.
It is not simply "I dont like it because its not my style" There are criteria to assess art, known as fundamentals, and those are the closest to objective answers one can ascertain. While styles can break these, they have to do so with purpose and expression. Terese neilsen and rebecca guay sacrifice realism to use linework and simplified color to be the hallmark of their expression, for example. When I say this is bad art, while it is my opinion, it is also through citing objective problems. Yes, I realize there are different styles to try, and it is important to experiment to see what the viewers want, but in general it goes against magics general art direction of subject focused art with a style towards expressionistic realism, stylized fantasy, and expressive line and form.
Not enough people talk about the art in depth, and why they dislike or like it, which makes sense as the majority of forum viewers are focused towards tournament play. While I understand your points, that is just what to expect when joining in on the conversation, people will complain/praise what they see because we are the informed consumer, and we will either want this or not, the demand starts here.
The art is very terrible, it looks like the bad editorial work of the mid 90's that dominated magazines. Magic art usually tries to steer clear of gimmicky styles like that, and instead go for compositions that directly engage the viewer with the subject of the art.
This art is not subtle, it is yelling in your face what the whole thing is about. I believe the art direction was good, but Clint Cearleys approach tanked. I hope they commission Nils Hamm, Jesper Ejsing, or Chippy for the alternate art promo.
This cross Hippo/elephant, generic skin guy, and something else is great,
really conveys an orzhov beast of burden, one that no one will want to touch,
fitting for a "bank truck".
Each instance of extort provides you an opportunity
to play a B/ for life drain.
so if you had 3 of the thrulls you would have 3 triggers,
and chances to respond by paying the cost.
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?output=spoiler&method=visual&action=advanced&artist=+%5b%22Raymond+Swanland%22%5d&subtype=+%5b%22Elemental%22%5d
While I do agree that this is similar in composition to mycoloth, there are distinctions. As the link shows, he is not nearly that repetitive, other than his gestural sweeping style. It is difficult to differentiate elementals as they are typically just masses of the element in a human like silhouette.
But if the theory that these are the promos is true, then we'll very likely see a different take on the 'Hulk.
1. In a previous video he went into depth about player who care "too much" about the quality of their cards. These are the guys who sleeve all their decks and call judge when you bridge shuffle. As a casual player and outsider to that scene, he finds that to be rude and unfun, so the treatment of HIS card he feels is his choice.
2. By making the decision to abuse the card in video, he did several of the fake card tests verbatim. Folding it in half and on the corner. The way he presented it seemed seamless because of his reason, and added to the organic flow of the video. This makes it so that we, the insiders, know this is real, but to the outsider, he's just having fun with his card.
Be nice to the Newcomers, they will beat you one day.
Tell your friends to choose a guild, or sign up for a dci number for a guild, the higher the numbers and the better the players, the better the guild does. Recommend the quiz to help make sure placement is right.
Considering the damage done to the right side of the face of the loxodon art,
chances are that this is Troslon, or at least a nod to him.
The Prominence of the Guildmark in the land art makes me excited for whatever cycle its from, but makes me think that it is not a shock land reprint, as the sigil makes it extremely guild specific rather than color interaction generic.
Some killer art, same basic concept but a bit further delved into.
The details on the voice of the conclave seem new to me, and oddly similar to the fire mind, but with the main difference being that the firemind is ruled by niv mizzets intellect, whereas the Voice of the Conclave is equally driven by all those in it. Become one with the force, like Qui Gon style.
because its imperiosaur
I still think that the product within the fat pack is better,
but the 35$ price is because of the stellar product.
This is about half the fat pack product, but with double the space.
That said, I think that this is a better holiday product because of price and volume.
The box looks big enough to be excited about.
Plus, that art is amazing.
This product is for a Magic player with a growing collection.
one entering the 2nd or so year of play, and in need of organization.
and the lands is a good sign of that,
This is what I am recommending as a holiday gift for most of the new players I've taught
"...these are the two colors that most easily build themselves up over time.
The best example of this is the +1/+1 counter.
No other color pair makes more use of the +1/+1 counter than these two colors,
most often using it as a means to represent their ability to strengthen themselves through adversity."
Here is a link to Rosewaters article "Life and Death"
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr199
Additionally, Here's Matt Cavotta's article on the golgari.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mc10
and here is a link to the MTG wiki on the golgari.
http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Golgari_Swarm
The only additional information lies in the ravnica novels, and possibly in some obscure flavor columns.
Now we can all be on the same page when talking about this mechanic within the context of the golgari.