Review: THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING - WAR OF THE SPARK Is Gorgeous and Introduces Fans to the Lore of the Popular Game
Wizards of the Coast has released another artbook for their popular TCG Magic: The Gathering. The Art of Magic: The Gathering – War of the Spark is full of beautiful art and is very nice if you’ve ever wanted to learn more of the lore behind the popular game. The writing was handled by James Wyatt. VIZ Media publishes the book, and they were kind enough to send me a copy.
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!
This book is absolutely fantastic. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the lore of the many characters in the MTG multiverse, War of the Spark is incredible. It dives just deep enough where you feel like you learn about the characters without giving each one a novel. Plus, it features my boy Ajani Goldmane! The characters of course are woven together by the tale of the War of the Spark in this artbook that lets you feel like you now understand the game better and a better understanding of what to expect from the upcoming Netflix series.
Once again, the art is absolutely fantastic and comes from a wide variety of artists, each of them credited. I do love that about MTG. They credit their artists!
My only complaint is that there’s no index or anything in case there was a specific character you wanted to find. You’re just left to flip through the pages until you find what you’re looking for. It’s just a little annoying to be honest.
If you’ve ever wondered what the story behind the popular TCG is, War of the Spark is a great place to start. Unfortunately, it costs roughly $40, and therefore more casual fans probably won’t be buying it, but hardcore fans will absolutely love this addition for their coffee table.
