I get disagreeing with me, and pointing out things that I didn't see initially (like the Scavenger taking a ring off of the hand), but those of you who seem to think that your opinion about art is 100% correct, and I am 100% wrong about the art I dislike don't seem to get what "opinion" means! We all have different tastes when it comes to pretty much everything, including art. I'm not trying to say the cards in this video have universally bad art that everyone hates, I'm just saying that I personally don't like the art on these cards. How can I be wrong if all I am doing is stating my own opinion? You liking the art and me disliking the art can coexist without either of us being "wrong."
I just think this was a very silly video to make. One of your biggest appeals is how you intelligently and objectively list cards according to a pre-existing basis. To make a random list of your opinions on the most subjective thing in humanity didn't exactly seem like a recipe for success with your subscriber base
I liked the video, I enjoy hearing your opinion on magic cards and seeing interesting cards I haven't seen in years or from sets I didn't really get into. There are so many cards out there that I didn't understand the art but a friend instantly saw what it was supposed to be and vice versa. If its that confusing its probably not great art tbh (unless its trying to be an optical illusion etc).
One thing i think you should have pointed out about Stasis is according to different sources, Fay Jones is one of the original twenty-five Magic: The Gathering artists. Being an established artist in Seattle, Fay did the one illustration for Alpha as a way to support her nephew Richard Garfield. I agree, the card doesn't evoke the idea of what it's suppose to do. It's weirdness though and cards similar to it is what really drew me to magic. I like videos like this one where a little bit of MTG history is highlighted. Keep up the good work!
Wow, never knew that, thanks for the factoid. My best 60 card deck is a control faerie stasis lock deck, I love the card Stasis even if the artwork is a little wacky.
I believe it was also a fill-in because a piece of art was missing or something. I can't remember the details but it wasn't the best planned piece of art.
With the right restructure, this thing could look unique and great. As a Yu-Gi-Oh player, some extra detail and darker lighting would make this feel right at home as a vanilla monster.
There were many cards with abstract art in the beginning, I really liked it and found it fitting. Now it’s all gone and everything is just regular computer drawings.
I feel that way about a lot of the art on this list. Especially Stasis. He did preface the video by saying cards that just didn’t feel appropriate for Magic would qualify though.
I don't, it's too figurative to be abstract and it looks very much like a student made the art. Abstract art can be good, you just have to know what you're doing. It looks like Eysing wanted experiment with another style that's different from what he'd done up to that point and it doesn't look great. Like he saw abstract paintings and thought "Oh I get it, it's meant to be a bunch of colors just thrown around nonsensically I'll just do it with a figure in mind."
@Kel'Thuzad Only people with poor artistic taste would say such a thing, Mold Demon doesn't belong on this list even you're not a fan of the picture, there's much worse art on Magic Cards to choose from.
I disagree heabily with the inclusion of mold demon, but i am very happy you included it as I had never seen mold demon before and have fallen in love with its art
Yeah this one had me rush for the dislike button. While I get it is subjective, Stasis has made best of classic MTG art lists online and off and for someone who likes to do objective lists, probably should have left a couple of these off. Maybe done an honourable mentions section to account for personal taste. For the argument that more abstract art has no place in magic, I would point to Seb Mckinnon, a modern MTG artist with a huge fanbase. One of the biggest, to be sure. The danger of making subjective lists when you are known for objective ones, is that people who come to your channel may have wildly different views as they never came to your channel for that reason. Now that I have seen this video, I will listen to Nizzahon and think, 'Ah, he is one of THOSE guys'. I mean it is just art and it isn't a big deal in this case, but it is something to think about.
@@jamiemc2313 to compare seb McKinnon's art to stasis is such an insult to him. Yes, his art is not the boring, generic cg looking story based art of many modern cards. And is very good standalone art, his artwork still conveys at least somewhat what the card it is on does. They make sense in the context of the mechanics
@@mpapalionakis7816 I never once compared to the two artists. I'm not sure what you are talking about, I think you misread what I was saying. I brought up Seb in reference to Nizzahon's suggestion that more abstract/surrealist art has no place in MTG. It is however interesting you mention that, as Seb was chosen to do the reprint for Stasis.
Stasis is my favorite mtg art in all of magic, period. Seb McKinnon is also a great artist that I like however his art is nothing compared to the masterpiece that is Stasis.
Necro but I disagree. The art is more consistent and more routinely feels like it fits in the same universe. There's still plenty of art that looks and feels iconic.
@@lexnaum Mold Demon looks creepy AF, maybe the simplistic approach gives it an eerie unnerving edge but it does a good job of leaving the viewer feeling a little unsettled while observing it. Art is more than just trying to make something look realistic, I'm guessing you're not a fan of Picasso.
I NEVER noticed that Scavenger Folk is holding a dismembered hand! I thought that was his hand, and I always hated how dumb it looked. Actually, now that it's like holding some yucky hand and they're stripping the ring from it, I love it a whole lot more! That's awesome.
In Scavenger Folk, you can actually see that the Scavenger is lifting up the large hand by the wrist with its left hand, while holding a ring in its right. That's what the folk is gazing so much and why the ring ringer of the big hand is pointed out. Still garbage art, but you just gotta take your focus away from the big hand to see the smaller hands.
Scavenger Folk took me a minute to understand. It looks like the eponymous Scavenger Folk has scavenged a gold ring from a dead person's massive hand. He (or she?) is holding the ring between thumb and forefinger and staring really, really intensely at it.
Word of Command actually is from the Alpha (and was printed up until Masters Edition IV). I think I understand what they tried to do there - a mysterious figure commanding you with his eyes, something like overtaking your mind.
Stasis for me is one of the most iconic of the early mtg art, up there with black lotus and the like. I know a lot of ppl hate it, but it really just works for me. Most of these others I agree with tho, except scavenger folk
The Gimmick in seventh edition was that every card had new art. The players did not like those new artworks very much so most were quickly changed back in 8th.
You're right on Scavenger Folk. That's because there's no proper flow of motion. You basically have to read the card and name to figure out the art, which isn't quite good. Hence the late realization that he's stealing a ring.
Am I the only one who liked the chaotic nature of the older art styles? I really liked that all the art felt unique as opposed to what is now a ultra cohesive flow. All of the art on this list make the sets more interesting and more archaic feeling... more like uhhh "Magic" cards. Shoot... I always thought it would be cool to do an ultra mystical cycle of tarot cards.
I really like the art of stasis. I think it makes sense to abstract art for that card. I wish magic incorporated more variety of artsyles when thematically appropriate. The dramatic lighting & misty backgrounds on so many of the modern cards is cool, but it gets repetitive
This is a really interesting video, considering how this channel focuses almost exclusively on uncontroversial statements about magic stats, and here we have that channel dipping it's toes into a more vulnerable expression of personal taste. I disagreed with a lot of the list and that's awesome, this channel isn't generally a place I go to for opinions and it's cool to see a glimpsr the person behind that impersonal content, how they think and what they value on a more personal level
Me and you are the exact opposites when it comes to what we like in Magic art, hahah. This could literally be a Top 10 list for me. If you ever need someone to split a lot of random Magic paintings, we should go in on it -- we could probably split them down the middle without any arguments, hahaha.
*scavenger folk pops up on screen* Nizzahon: "it isn't clear what's going on here" Me: Wtf he's literally scavenging a dead body. How do I know this you ask? Well, if you look REALLY closely, you can almost make out the fact that HES LITERALLY HOLDING THE RING HE JUST TOOK OFF OF THE DEAD GUYS HAND.
Honestly, I think the art makes sense in context of 7th edition. It's sort of eerie, creepy, otherworldly in the way 7th edition green cards are. Think of thorn elemental. Creeping mold. Elves as a concept. Familiar Ground. Lure. Nature's resurgence. Nature's revolt. Wild growth. There's this whole idea of nature being significantly more *alive* . Cognizant. Powerful, something you have to battle with directly; it's actively looking to mess with you. Rampant growth captures that in the same way the rest of the set does, it's nature *directly* fighting back.
Yea, they almost felt like tarot cards or something. Like they weren't just depictions of what happens in the game universe when you "cast" the spell, they were the spell.
Also, is the guy in Rampart Growth already dead, or just trapped? Because he doesn't look like he's dead - he's still holding his sword, his head is upright etc. But at the same time, he looks awfully chill for this kind of situation: instead of some kind of frantic response, he's just like "well...I'm trapped in vines that ties themselves around my neck. Maybe I should take a nap and it'll pass naturally".
The flavor of Scavenger Folk's art makes me like it actually. I also enjoy Mold Demon's art b/c its just different and odd while still nightmareish in the right context. In general, I liked you judgements though and really like the objective videos.
While, I get your choices for this list and mostly go accord with you. The last statement at 7:50 is not what art is supposed to be - not even an a hyper commercial trading card game like MTG. Yeah the artwork shouldn't be too abstract. But the most appealing cards in the game also have a picture that stimulate you fantasy just by looking at it - Even if the card itself is trash. Sadly these days the art of magic cards inspires me less and less. There are too few artist like Seb McKinnon for my tastes.
I like that you're keeping in style with the rest of your Best/Worst videos with this one despite subjectivity. Others claim clickbait, I claim this. Kinda funny how others apparently can't see this simple truth, and argue with you about minutae like "well the intro's not enough to explain the subjectivity away." I won't comment on whether I thought your specific choices were good or not, that doesn't matter. What matters is that people who like to complain will find whatever they can to complain about, so letting it get to you is pointless. Tl:dr, it's pointless to get so pissed one way or the other. It's subjective but keeping with Nizzahon's normal style of Best/Worst videos, not clickbait, as I have seen argued.
I agree with you on both parts. I think the newer art is technically better in alot of ways, but its all so homogeneous. So much less flavorful than the old art. On many old cards you could identify the artist just by picture.
@@strawhataddison That's what they're trying to avoid with modern art. Strong art direction means that there should be a cohesive feel to every magic card, if you laid them out side by side. The result is, aside from a few outliers (Seb McKinnon), all the art looks to have the same style. I think it's a good thing for the game.
Not going to pick Lure from Ice Age. It is the most brilliant and dumb are for a that card. It depicts a pebbly goblin being pull by a fishing lure. It is my favorite art for that card because of how ludicrous it is. How about the green enchantment Regeneration? For years I thought it was showing a dude ripping his own head off! I thought it was some hard for flex, but damn if a dude ripped his head off when fighting me and acted like it was nothing, then I'd stop fighting! Turns out he is putting his head BACK on. (I like my interpretation better)
Good list! I would really like to hear some explanation of Stasis’s art from its artist. Like what even is that. How would you feel about doing a top 10 most weirdest effects? Like just effects on cards that do really fringe, unusual things- not necessarily bad, but just something you don’t really see on other cards. Reverse Polarity actually gave me this idea. That effect is odd.
If Justin Hampton’s art looks like that so consistently over so many cards then I think it eventually stops being his fault and wraps back around to whoever kept commissioning an artist with that style for magic cards. They clearly had an idea of what he was going to give them and they kept asking him for it so at that point he’s just doing his job.
I dont really think that mold demon looks that bad. It's abstract art imo which you don't really find nowadays in magic. I liked the old artworks more. There was a bigger variety of art. And I love the artwork of stasis. The only reason I wanna buy stasis is because of its special and cool unique artwork...
Scavenger folk appears to be a grave robber. evidence being the dark purples indicating dead flesh, the dirt wall behind the character indicating its perhaps inside a grave.
I just realised, did you forget that Presence of the Master, Urza's Mita, Unholy Strenth (the pentagram one...and you know the other) and Descendent's Path? And a few of the cards referenced in the video are in Circle of Protection: Art.
Oh man, I missed the Circle of Protection: Art thing. Definitely would have mentioned the cards on the list that made it on to that card, since it is Wizards essentially acknowledging that people don't like the art of those cards -- including Stasis, which it turns out has a lot of fanboys!
As everyone has already said, subjective videos are great to have every now and then. And I know that this request is older than an Alpha Black Lotus, but gimme top 10 vintage cards.
I whole heartedly disagree with this list. These oldschool, real arts ooze so much more character than these overdesigned CG artwork of today. Edit typo
I think my favorite art style is Impressionism, and in Magic you get a lot of Impressionism these days with lands that convey enormous scopes or panoramas with highly "detailed" attributes. Although I do love realism, I really hate the newer Eldrazi style that looks completely computer generated- like they belong in a bulbous Jimmy Neutron cartoon. This is painfully obvious when you compare old Ulamog and new Ulamog, or even with Emrakul. Kozilek on the other hand actually has the opposite problem where his initial art was animated in that bulbous style while the new one looks pretty neat. They just look like videogame characters on cards, and that doesn't feel right to me.
In Scavenger folk the big hand does not belong to the creature you are seeing the face off. there are two smaller hands in the picture. one is holding the big hand and the other one is holding a ring fetched from the big hand. the big hand seems to be from a corpse in graveyard, probably where the ring was stolen from.
Whatever artifact is scavenged is probably going to be taken apart and/or melted to make it unrecognisable. This ring for example, it may have an engraved name so then it must be melted down so that it can be sold as just gold. Silver holy cross with gemstones? Take out the gems, melt the silver! But I don’t know why the scavenger folk must die for this. ;-)
@@imakuni67 I decided to do some digging to see if your accusation had any merit. I found a page that said he was racist but gave no proof. It then said if the reader wants to investigate further I advise not pulling on that thread. I pulled the thread...I wish I hadn't. If you want to pull the thread...check out his Facebook page. But dear reader, I don't recommend it.
Mold demons art slaps, but if needed to at least be a different card if not a different TCG. Like, if it had been a blue black nightmare it might have worked
For clarity's sake. Justin Hampton was very young when he was illustrating for WOTC. It was his first gig as a professional artist and he has since improved. He now does bold retro art-deco pieces. I highly recommend checking him out. His use of bright saturated colors and wavy loopy lines and shapes make for beautiful visuals. www.justinhampton.com
Scavenger Folk is a little person pulling a ring from another person’s (large) hand. You can tell because the large hand has a hand holding it at the wrist, while another one holds up a ring.
I think a lot of your problem with older art stems from the way Wizards of the Coast used to deal with the artists. Back in the 90's, the only direction the card design team would give the artist was the name of the card they were painting. Which is why we ended up with Force of Will looking like it was a red card, because Terese Nielsen assumed it was a red card from the name. I was so glad when they reprinted it in EMA she was given the art to redo. Also, Word of Command wasn't the only rushed art for Alpha on your list. Stasis was one of the five last minute additional rares to the set as well. Fay Jones painted it on a two day schedule as a favor to her nephew, Richard Garfield. I think the art for that gets a bad rap. Imagine you have two days from concept to finished product and you are given such an abstract subject matter as time standing still. Based on the situation, it's a hell of a lot better than two eyes in darkness. :) Not saying you are wrong, just that our opinions differ. Have a nice day.
Stasis has some of greatest abstract art that we will never see again in magic. I built a Stax deck solely for how much I like the art. The balance of beings blinded by the abstract colors of another's personality puts them at a standstill until somebody gives up the argument. Flavor for upkeep restrictions and depth of the art. Didn't dislike the video because most of it I agreed with.
For the OG Flash art just look at straight at the ground underneath the creapy drake creature's tail and it will look nicer, at first glance the art is shit, but if you look at that one area under the tail it gives SOOO MUCH MORE DEPTH AND FEEL TO THE ART.
With number 7, Scavenger Folk, you can actually see the little dudes other hand holding the arm along his shoulder. That leads me to believe that what he's holding is also the severed arms ring.
Number 7, scavenger folk is taking a ring from the finger of a corpse. The hand is in the foreground and he is staring at the ring. The art is pretty meh, but not "worst"
The art of stasis is on of my favorites, because i always made up my own story about what we see. The artwork kinda fits the theme of "stasis". We look at a scene so strange we cant comprehend it because it has been like that since millenias ( or 10 turns against stasis ). Imagine a board of creatures with stasis in play, they would look even more strange then the artwork.
Also the artist is Richard Garfield's Aunt, a celebrated artist known for using clowns and other circus themes in in her art. It is the only art she contributed to MTG and did so as a favor to her nephew to help attract the art community.
While most card art is glanced at for a second before moving on, stasis seriously engages the viewer's creativity to derive their own meaning from the art. Anyone who sees it for the first time will spend several minutes scrutinizing every detail, and if that isn't effective art I don't know what is. Same for Mold Demon, to a lesser extent.
There is a card from Theros block that might have made it on here. I can't remember the name for the life of me. But it was a group of kind of stiff looking soldiers behind what looked like a simple digital colour background. It looked VERY "bad CGI". Ahh! I can't remember the card.
Not really seeing the problem with Reverse Polarity. Yeah, I do not like the art style either, but it seems rather obvious what is going on here. The guy on the right is confused, because hitting the guy on the left makes him stronger instead of injuring him, which is what the card does.
I understand this is your opinion and respect your choices in art as art is in the eye of the beholder. I love the art to stasis it doesn't need text. Anyone who has played this card or had it played on them will never forget it. I may have a print of it and would love the original but it is way out of my league now. Love the top 10 videos and I will try to figure out my best and worst top 10 art.
In Scavenger Folk, the hooded figure is taking a ring off a dead man's hand. You can see the cloaked man's right hand holding the ring and his left on the wrist of the large arm he is holding up.
There's a land card called Mogg Hollows with some weird art. It kinda looks like some moggs found a camera and they're trying to take a selfie. I thinks it's great though, I love weird art on cards.
Actually, the art in Word of Command wasn't even a replacement, it was actually a joke and he never intended for it to be used. Jesper Myrfors was the original art diretor of the game and was working with some textures, he drew those eyes in one of them and showed it to Richard Garfield, who tought it was amazing and put it in this card he had in mind, thus Word of Command was born. That being said, it's still the art he dislikes the most.
Oh nooooo! That's so funny. There's this thing with presenting art to your art director - never present something you don't like just because you're sure they won't pick it!
I think the art of "Flash" is that the creature is going to attack the figure in white, the face at the front and the white figures are the same person. He is taking steps towards the creature and suddenly he uses magic to teleports to the creature's back to avoid him, then the creature looks behind itself due to not understanding what happened.
You are wrong about the “scavenger folk”. You can clearly see both of the folks hands. One is holding up an obviously dead arm. The other is holding the ring they just scavenged from it.
Someone may have said this already, and I definitely don't disagree with it making the list, but Rapid Fire seems to be portraying the man with the shield being hit with a rapid series of blows to his shield so fiercely that it knocked it hard enough into his own blade to break it. (Note the artifacts of the tip of his blade traveling downward in front of the left side of his shield)
I think the art for rapid fire is trying to convey that the Egyptian guy is swinging his sword at the viking a bunch of times in rapid succession. That is why there is a broken sword. Viking was going to swing, got his sword cut in half and was immediately put on the defensive.
Flash is the shit: It DEMANDS your attention. You can't NOT stare directly into that Zulu's eyes; then that wierd thing behind him is like "wut, fight me boi." I would hang that up as a shower curtain if I could.
I get disagreeing with me, and pointing out things that I didn't see initially (like the Scavenger taking a ring off of the hand), but those of you who seem to think that your opinion about art is 100% correct, and I am 100% wrong about the art I dislike don't seem to get what "opinion" means! We all have different tastes when it comes to pretty much everything, including art. I'm not trying to say the cards in this video have universally bad art that everyone hates, I'm just saying that I personally don't like the art on these cards. How can I be wrong if all I am doing is stating my own opinion? You liking the art and me disliking the art can coexist without either of us being "wrong."
I just think this was a very silly video to make. One of your biggest appeals is how you intelligently and objectively list cards according to a pre-existing basis. To make a random list of your opinions on the most subjective thing in humanity didn't exactly seem like a recipe for success with your subscriber base
@@GacNac I think doing opinion based videos on occasion is good. Also, my subscriber base voted for this video
@@NizzahonMagic I'm not saying don't do it, just why it will definitely be much more decisive then your normal Fridays
I liked the video, I enjoy hearing your opinion on magic cards and seeing interesting cards I haven't seen in years or from sets I didn't really get into. There are so many cards out there that I didn't understand the art but a friend instantly saw what it was supposed to be and vice versa. If its that confusing its probably not great art tbh (unless its trying to be an optical illusion etc).
One thing i think you should have pointed out about Stasis is according to different sources, Fay Jones is one of the original twenty-five Magic: The Gathering artists. Being an established artist in Seattle, Fay did the one illustration for Alpha as a way to support her nephew Richard Garfield. I agree, the card doesn't evoke the idea of what it's suppose to do. It's weirdness though and cards similar to it is what really drew me to magic. I like videos like this one where a little bit of MTG history is highlighted. Keep up the good work!
The scavenger is taking a ring off the dead body's hand
I always thought that was pretty obvious.
That is my take as well
yeah that felt really obvious too
It is really obvious blown up and up close.
He's basically Dio's dad.
Mold demon is fun to look at and I appreciate when the art style goes different directions rather than boring hyper realism 24/7
I wish we had more impressionist pieces in modern magic :(
I do agree. Getting older, I am apreciating the diversity in styles more.
Yeah I think it's awesome. The style of application makes it looks literally like mold
Yeah, it’s a striking and evocative look. I think it’s a nice bit of impressionism.
Yes thats why i love timewalk and statis, wish we got a bit more creative art.
Stasis was the one and only card illustrated by Fay Jones, aunt of Richard Garfield. That's a fun fact for y'all.
Wow, never knew that, thanks for the factoid. My best 60 card deck is a control faerie stasis lock deck, I love the card Stasis even if the artwork is a little wacky.
Nepotism at its best
I believe it was also a fill-in because a piece of art was missing or something. I can't remember the details but it wasn't the best planned piece of art.
I've always really liked the art on Stasis.
I think it is so intricate in it's meaning that you have to enter stasis to understand what it meant
Obviously I am not the only one who like mold demon.
I like it, but I don't think it fits the name well.
I think it just looks bad. It's just splotches with razor claws and eyes.
@@jebronekitty it goes hard
it's great
With the right restructure, this thing could look unique and great. As a Yu-Gi-Oh player, some extra detail and darker lighting would make this feel right at home as a vanilla monster.
I think mold demon is supposed to be more abstract. I kind of like it, but not so much on a magic card.
Yea. I mean I like the art in a vacuum, but like it clashes so much with the rest or with the cardframe
agreed, mold demon was actually my favorite art because it was abstract and disturbing.
There were many cards with abstract art in the beginning, I really liked it and found it fitting.
Now it’s all gone and everything is just regular computer drawings.
I think Mold Demon is good art, the style is abstract and I like that. It just doesn't fit for MTG
I feel that way about a lot of the art on this list. Especially Stasis. He did preface the video by saying cards that just didn’t feel appropriate for Magic would qualify though.
I don't, it's too figurative to be abstract and it looks very much like a student made the art. Abstract art can be good, you just have to know what you're doing. It looks like Eysing wanted experiment with another style that's different from what he'd done up to that point and it doesn't look great. Like he saw abstract paintings and thought "Oh I get it, it's meant to be a bunch of colors just thrown around nonsensically I'll just do it with a figure in mind."
I like the art, but it doesn't seem to match mold demon, imo. In a different pallette, it might make a good angry thallid or lava monster.
This. Now every single card looks the same and I hate it
@Kel'Thuzad Only people with poor artistic taste would say such a thing, Mold Demon doesn't belong on this list even you're not a fan of the picture, there's much worse art on Magic Cards to choose from.
If a kid painted that Mold Demon I would be very very concerned...
I disagree heabily with the inclusion of mold demon, but i am very happy you included it as I had never seen mold demon before and have fallen in love with its art
Its nightmarish and abstract and I think its sick
Stasis is some of my all-time favorite art. I really miss the abstract nature of early MtG art.
Yeah this one had me rush for the dislike button. While I get it is subjective, Stasis has made best of classic MTG art lists online and off and for someone who likes to do objective lists, probably should have left a couple of these off. Maybe done an honourable mentions section to account for personal taste.
For the argument that more abstract art has no place in magic, I would point to Seb Mckinnon, a modern MTG artist with a huge fanbase. One of the biggest, to be sure.
The danger of making subjective lists when you are known for objective ones, is that people who come to your channel may have wildly different views as they never came to your channel for that reason. Now that I have seen this video, I will listen to Nizzahon and think, 'Ah, he is one of THOSE guys'. I mean it is just art and it isn't a big deal in this case, but it is something to think about.
@@jamiemc2313 to compare seb McKinnon's art to stasis is such an insult to him. Yes, his art is not the boring, generic cg looking story based art of many modern cards. And is very good standalone art, his artwork still conveys at least somewhat what the card it is on does. They make sense in the context of the mechanics
@@jamiemc2313 Seb Mckinnon's art is abstract, sure, but it still looks like it took effort. Stasis has art that I could easily reproduce in MS Paint.
@@mpapalionakis7816 I never once compared to the two artists. I'm not sure what you are talking about, I think you misread what I was saying. I brought up Seb in reference to Nizzahon's suggestion that more abstract/surrealist art has no place in MTG.
It is however interesting you mention that, as Seb was chosen to do the reprint for Stasis.
Stasis is my favorite mtg art in all of magic, period. Seb McKinnon is also a great artist that I like however his art is nothing compared to the masterpiece that is Stasis.
It really feels like the art of MTG has become more and more homogenized. And because of that, fewer pieces feel “iconic”.
Necro but I disagree. The art is more consistent and more routinely feels like it fits in the same universe. There's still plenty of art that looks and feels iconic.
3 words. Deliver Unto Evil.
Allure of the unknown and doom foretold are amazing and iconic to me
Sometimes they still hit gold; like someone mentioned, Deliver unto Evil.
Just imagine if MTG was more abstract thematically like Mold Demon... That'd be so cool!!
I’m waiting for a block that’s all anime styled.
@@ElfHostage a year later and Kamigawa Neon Dynasty has anime showcase arts on a lot of cards :)
Mold demon is a great piece of art. Hyper realisim doesnt = good art.
Case in point, Picasso and the modernism movement.
Bad art is bad art. It looked amateurish, even if it weren't made for magic I'd say it's bad art.
Disagreed, it looks like something my 6-year-old cousin could make.
Art is subjective. That alone implies that bad art is not necessarily bad art. I think it looks cool but I can see why it's not very popular.
@@lexnaum Mold Demon looks creepy AF, maybe the simplistic approach gives it an eerie unnerving edge but it does a good job of leaving the viewer feeling a little unsettled while observing it. Art is more than just trying to make something look realistic, I'm guessing you're not a fan of Picasso.
I NEVER noticed that Scavenger Folk is holding a dismembered hand! I thought that was his hand, and I always hated how dumb it looked. Actually, now that it's like holding some yucky hand and they're stripping the ring from it, I love it a whole lot more! That's awesome.
In Scavenger Folk, you can actually see that the Scavenger is lifting up the large hand by the wrist with its left hand, while holding a ring in its right. That's what the folk is gazing so much and why the ring ringer of the big hand is pointed out.
Still garbage art, but you just gotta take your focus away from the big hand to see the smaller hands.
Scavenger Folk took me a minute to understand. It looks like the eponymous Scavenger Folk has scavenged a gold ring from a dead person's massive hand. He (or she?) is holding the ring between thumb and forefinger and staring really, really intensely at it.
Yeah beat me to it. Not that this revelation makes the art any better cause it is so hard to parse
@@gbort1 For me it just seems weird that the card is in green
My..... PRECIOUS !!!
I actually like the dodgy old art. It felt like it had character unlike many of the soulless CGI renders they churn out now
Word of Command actually is from the Alpha (and was printed up until Masters Edition IV). I think I understand what they tried to do there - a mysterious figure commanding you with his eyes, something like overtaking your mind.
Stasis for me is one of the most iconic of the early mtg art, up there with black lotus and the like. I know a lot of ppl hate it, but it really just works for me. Most of these others I agree with tho, except scavenger folk
The Gimmick in seventh edition was that every card had new art. The players did not like those new artworks very much so most were quickly changed back in 8th.
You're right on Scavenger Folk. That's because there's no proper flow of motion. You basically have to read the card and name to figure out the art, which isn't quite good. Hence the late realization that he's stealing a ring.
Am I the only one who liked the chaotic nature of the older art styles? I really liked that all the art felt unique as opposed to what is now a ultra cohesive flow. All of the art on this list make the sets more interesting and more archaic feeling... more like uhhh "Magic" cards. Shoot... I always thought it would be cool to do an ultra mystical cycle of tarot cards.
I really like the art of stasis. I think it makes sense to abstract art for that card. I wish magic incorporated more variety of artsyles when thematically appropriate. The dramatic lighting & misty backgrounds on so many of the modern cards is cool, but it gets repetitive
This is a really interesting video, considering how this channel focuses almost exclusively on uncontroversial statements about magic stats, and here we have that channel dipping it's toes into a more vulnerable expression of personal taste. I disagreed with a lot of the list and that's awesome, this channel isn't generally a place I go to for opinions and it's cool to see a glimpsr the person behind that impersonal content, how they think and what they value on a more personal level
Now you gotta do Top 10: Best Art and maybe Top 10: Strangest Art :P
Stasis makes it to the all the lists
Top 10 would all be cards illustrated by Rebecca Guay though
@@tomaszurbanowicz1559 its so true
The rampand growth artwork is really good imo. Nice composition, lighting and atmosphere.
Missed some of your audio on Glacical Wall.
Earth
i don't understand
Stasis is cool. I liked when the art could be more impressionistic rather than adhering to a strict aesthetic theme and setting.
Me and you are the exact opposites when it comes to what we like in Magic art, hahah. This could literally be a Top 10 list for me.
If you ever need someone to split a lot of random Magic paintings, we should go in on it -- we could probably split them down the middle without any arguments, hahaha.
*scavenger folk pops up on screen*
Nizzahon: "it isn't clear what's going on here"
Me: Wtf he's literally scavenging a dead body. How do I know this you ask? Well, if you look REALLY closely, you can almost make out the fact that HES LITERALLY HOLDING THE RING HE JUST TOOK OFF OF THE DEAD GUYS HAND.
Ryan Bob you LITERALLY NEED TO CHILL OUT A LITTLE THERE
Hey. I run that particular Rampant Growth. I feel personally attacked.
Nah. Just kidding.
I saw it and immediately thought "man, I really like that art. I should go pick up some copies to replace the newer versions in my commander decks!"
If it was a Naturalize, I wouldn't mind.
I like how confused the dude is.
Honestly, I think the art makes sense in context of 7th edition. It's sort of eerie, creepy, otherworldly in the way 7th edition green cards are. Think of thorn elemental. Creeping mold. Elves as a concept. Familiar Ground. Lure. Nature's resurgence. Nature's revolt. Wild growth. There's this whole idea of nature being significantly more *alive* . Cognizant. Powerful, something you have to battle with directly; it's actively looking to mess with you. Rampant growth captures that in the same way the rest of the set does, it's nature *directly* fighting back.
Sorry but Mold Demon and Stasis are beautiful artworks. Back when the art was really creative and "magic". Am i alone here?
Nicolas Carl no
Yea, they almost felt like tarot cards or something. Like they weren't just depictions of what happens in the game universe when you "cast" the spell, they were the spell.
Halsfield exactly
Yes you are
You just like them because you like the game, not because the art is good
Not That its really important, but i studied history of arts, so i think can pretty much make an objective statement
Fun fact. The dudes face in flash is actually Teferi
Also, is the guy in Rampart Growth already dead, or just trapped? Because he doesn't look like he's dead - he's still holding his sword, his head is upright etc.
But at the same time, he looks awfully chill for this kind of situation: instead of some kind of frantic response, he's just like "well...I'm trapped in vines that ties themselves around my neck. Maybe I should take a nap and it'll pass naturally".
It also looks far too realistic for the guy while the sunflower looks far less realistic.
I always interpreted that card as:
Rampart Growth = the growth is growing rampant or really fast, hence the thorned vines around him..
The flavor of Scavenger Folk's art makes me like it actually. I also enjoy Mold Demon's art b/c its just different and odd while still nightmareish in the right context. In general, I liked you judgements though and really like the objective videos.
I am really glad you didn't mention the Foglios in your video! #bringbackthefoglios
I love those two! Love them in the old Dragon and Mtg mags.
While, I get your choices for this list and mostly go accord with you.
The last statement at 7:50 is not what art is supposed to be - not even an a hyper commercial trading card game like MTG.
Yeah the artwork shouldn't be too abstract. But the most appealing cards in the game also have a picture that stimulate you fantasy just by looking at it - Even if the card itself is trash.
Sadly these days the art of magic cards inspires me less and less. There are too few artist like Seb McKinnon for my tastes.
I like that you're keeping in style with the rest of your Best/Worst videos with this one despite subjectivity. Others claim clickbait, I claim this. Kinda funny how others apparently can't see this simple truth, and argue with you about minutae like "well the intro's not enough to explain the subjectivity away." I won't comment on whether I thought your specific choices were good or not, that doesn't matter. What matters is that people who like to complain will find whatever they can to complain about, so letting it get to you is pointless.
Tl:dr, it's pointless to get so pissed one way or the other. It's subjective but keeping with Nizzahon's normal style of Best/Worst videos, not clickbait, as I have seen argued.
A bit of abstract stuff is cool in my opinion. I wouldn’t want all the art to be like that, but it’s nice to have a little variety and uniqueness.
I personally prefer even "badly" drawn old school art to the modern CGI style. Also I love Mold Demon art, how dare you! :D
I agree with you on both parts. I think the newer art is technically better in alot of ways, but its all so homogeneous. So much less flavorful than the old art. On many old cards you could identify the artist just by picture.
@@strawhataddison That's what they're trying to avoid with modern art. Strong art direction means that there should be a cohesive feel to every magic card, if you laid them out side by side. The result is, aside from a few outliers (Seb McKinnon), all the art looks to have the same style. I think it's a good thing for the game.
Wholeheartedly agreed.
the selfie comment about Flash was a good one.
I´m so sorry, but I love Stasis art so much. I have this card sinze revised edition, and it's one of my favourite cards in Magic Story.
And mold demon looks Nothing like crayons lol. That statement really bugged me. No way could you ever reproduce that art with crayons.
Not going to pick Lure from Ice Age. It is the most brilliant and dumb are for a that card. It depicts a pebbly goblin being pull by a fishing lure. It is my favorite art for that card because of how ludicrous it is.
How about the green enchantment Regeneration? For years I thought it was showing a dude ripping his own head off! I thought it was some hard for flex, but damn if a dude ripped his head off when fighting me and acted like it was nothing, then I'd stop fighting! Turns out he is putting his head BACK on. (I like my interpretation better)
Phil Foglio! He is a legend from Dragon magazine.
Good list! I would really like to hear some explanation of Stasis’s art from its artist. Like what even is that.
How would you feel about doing a top 10 most weirdest effects? Like just effects on cards that do really fringe, unusual things- not necessarily bad, but just something you don’t really see on other cards. Reverse Polarity actually gave me this idea. That effect is odd.
Nizzahon: "This is 100% my subjective opinion. Not everyone will agree with me"
Viewer: *Doesn't agree*
Viewer: *Surprised Pikachu face*
If Justin Hampton’s art looks like that so consistently over so many cards then I think it eventually stops being his fault and wraps back around to whoever kept commissioning an artist with that style for magic cards. They clearly had an idea of what he was going to give them and they kept asking him for it so at that point he’s just doing his job.
Glad/ surprised to not see any Phil Foglio
Man, I love that Rampant Growth's art... But I totally agree that it is a disconnect with the mechanics.
I dont really think that mold demon looks that bad. It's abstract art imo which you don't really find nowadays in magic. I liked the old artworks more. There was a bigger variety of art. And I love the artwork of stasis. The only reason I wanna buy stasis is because of its special and cool unique artwork...
I'm with you. I think Stasis is as cool and iconic as Time Walk.
Stasis fans are all probably either old school Magic snobs or art snobs. Either way yous are probably not that fun to be around
Good news! The 7ED Rampant Growth art is coming back for Double Masters 2022!
I really enjoy these subjective videos. I would rather have your opinion then research I could do myself. I’m excited for you going full time in May!
Thanks for showing me my new favorite art, Nizz 🤙🏼MOLD DEMON 4 LYFE
Scavenger folk appears to be a grave robber. evidence being the dark purples indicating dead flesh, the dirt wall behind the character indicating its perhaps inside a grave.
I just realised, did you forget that Presence of the Master, Urza's Mita, Unholy Strenth (the pentagram one...and you know the other) and Descendent's Path?
And a few of the cards referenced in the video are in Circle of Protection: Art.
Oh man, I missed the Circle of Protection: Art thing. Definitely would have mentioned the cards on the list that made it on to that card, since it is Wizards essentially acknowledging that people don't like the art of those cards -- including Stasis, which it turns out has a lot of fanboys!
If you flip Rampant growth upside-down looks like Mussolini, he died like that, tied and hung upside-down.
Ma cos ahahah
As everyone has already said, subjective videos are great to have every now and then.
And I know that this request is older than an Alpha Black Lotus, but gimme top 10 vintage cards.
I whole heartedly disagree with this list. These oldschool, real arts ooze so much more character than these overdesigned CG artwork of today.
Edit typo
Kinda sad of seeing Scott M. Fisher art here because he made the art of my favorite card ever: Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
Meloku is a gorgeous looking card.
You may not be a art expert, but the concepts you are talking about (like "how tall is the wall" in glacial wall) make a lot of sense. Good job.
Mold demons art is fantastic.
I think my favorite art style is Impressionism, and in Magic you get a lot of Impressionism these days with lands that convey enormous scopes or panoramas with highly "detailed" attributes. Although I do love realism, I really hate the newer Eldrazi style that looks completely computer generated- like they belong in a bulbous Jimmy Neutron cartoon. This is painfully obvious when you compare old Ulamog and new Ulamog, or even with Emrakul. Kozilek on the other hand actually has the opposite problem where his initial art was animated in that bulbous style while the new one looks pretty neat. They just look like videogame characters on cards, and that doesn't feel right to me.
In Scavenger folk the big hand does not belong to the creature you are seeing the face off. there are two smaller hands in the picture. one is holding the big hand and the other one is holding a ring fetched from the big hand. the big hand seems to be from a corpse in graveyard, probably where the ring was stolen from.
Scavenger Folk is also a flavor fail. It destroys an artifact. That's the opposite of scavenging!
What artifact? *whistles casually*
Whatever artifact is scavenged is probably going to be taken apart and/or melted to make it unrecognisable. This ring for example, it may have an engraved name so then it must be melted down so that it can be sold as just gold.
Silver holy cross with gemstones? Take out the gems, melt the silver!
But I don’t know why the scavenger folk must die for this. ;-)
Rapid fire needs a big giant "DOING!!!"
Personally I think the worst art is invoke prejudices just because of what it implies.
And it was drawn by a racist so there is that too...
@@imakuni67 I decided to do some digging to see if your accusation had any merit.
I found a page that said he was racist but gave no proof. It then said if the reader wants to investigate further I advise not pulling on that thread.
I pulled the thread...I wish I hadn't.
If you want to pull the thread...check out his Facebook page. But dear reader, I don't recommend it.
Mold demons art slaps, but if needed to at least be a different card if not a different TCG. Like, if it had been a blue black nightmare it might have worked
For clarity's sake.
Justin Hampton was very young when he was illustrating for WOTC.
It was his first gig as a professional artist and he has since improved. He now does bold retro art-deco pieces. I highly recommend checking him out. His use of bright saturated colors and wavy loopy lines and shapes make for beautiful visuals.
www.justinhampton.com
Scavenger Folk is a little person pulling a ring from another person’s (large) hand. You can tell because the large hand has a hand holding it at the wrist, while another one holds up a ring.
I think a lot of your problem with older art stems from the way Wizards of the Coast used to deal with the artists. Back in the 90's, the only direction the card design team would give the artist was the name of the card they were painting. Which is why we ended up with Force of Will looking like it was a red card, because Terese Nielsen assumed it was a red card from the name. I was so glad when they reprinted it in EMA she was given the art to redo. Also, Word of Command wasn't the only rushed art for Alpha on your list. Stasis was one of the five last minute additional rares to the set as well. Fay Jones painted it on a two day schedule as a favor to her nephew, Richard Garfield. I think the art for that gets a bad rap. Imagine you have two days from concept to finished product and you are given such an abstract subject matter as time standing still. Based on the situation, it's a hell of a lot better than two eyes in darkness. :) Not saying you are wrong, just that our opinions differ. Have a nice day.
Stasis has some of greatest abstract art that we will never see again in magic. I built a Stax deck solely for how much I like the art. The balance of beings blinded by the abstract colors of another's personality puts them at a standstill until somebody gives up the argument. Flavor for upkeep restrictions and depth of the art. Didn't dislike the video because most of it I agreed with.
For the OG Flash art just look at straight at the ground underneath the creapy drake creature's tail and it will look nicer, at first glance the art is shit, but if you look at that one area under the tail it gives SOOO MUCH MORE DEPTH AND FEEL TO THE ART.
With number 7, Scavenger Folk, you can actually see the little dudes other hand holding the arm along his shoulder. That leads me to believe that what he's holding is also the severed arms ring.
Number 7, scavenger folk is taking a ring from the finger of a corpse.
The hand is in the foreground and he is staring at the ring.
The art is pretty meh, but not "worst"
The art of stasis is on of my favorites, because i always made up my own story about what we see. The artwork kinda fits the theme of "stasis". We look at a scene so strange we cant comprehend it because it has been like that since millenias ( or 10 turns against stasis ). Imagine a board of creatures with stasis in play, they would look even more strange then the artwork.
Also the artist is Richard Garfield's Aunt, a celebrated artist known for using clowns and other circus themes in in her art. It is the only art she contributed to MTG and did so as a favor to her nephew to help attract the art community.
Fun list! Mold Demon is one my personal favorites! It's fun to hear other perspectives, though
Scavenger folk is pretty damn straight forward artwork. It really made no sense putting it on this list. It's a pretty well put together piece too.
I can think of 20 cards with way worse art lol. But thats just me
While most card art is glanced at for a second before moving on, stasis seriously engages the viewer's creativity to derive their own meaning from the art. Anyone who sees it for the first time will spend several minutes scrutinizing every detail, and if that isn't effective art I don't know what is. Same for Mold Demon, to a lesser extent.
There is a card from Theros block that might have made it on here. I can't remember the name for the life of me. But it was a group of kind of stiff looking soldiers behind what looked like a simple digital colour background. It looked VERY "bad CGI". Ahh! I can't remember the card.
I don't like that Rampant Growth art because when I first saw it I interpreted the flower as a yellow baby bonnet and I can't unsee it
Not really seeing the problem with Reverse Polarity.
Yeah, I do not like the art style either, but it seems rather obvious what is going on here. The guy on the right is confused, because hitting the guy on the left makes him stronger instead of injuring him, which is what the card does.
I understand this is your opinion and respect your choices in art as art is in the eye of the beholder. I love the art to stasis it doesn't need text. Anyone who has played this card or had it played on them will never forget it. I may have a print of it and would love the original but it is way out of my league now. Love the top 10 videos and I will try to figure out my best and worst top 10 art.
In Scavenger Folk, the hooded figure is taking a ring off a dead man's hand. You can see the cloaked man's right hand holding the ring and his left on the wrist of the large arm he is holding up.
Wow, I really disagree with you. I think Mold Demon, Stasis, and Flash are some of the coolest MTG artworks ever done!
Absolutely love scavenger folk, what a mood that little dudes face has
Nizzahon: “it’s just an opinion and it’s ok if you disagree*
Also Nizzahon: EvEryOnE Iz veRy gLaD ThiS ArT Wuz neVeR uSeD AgaIn!!!”
I was laughing so hard on your commentary of the art.super good keep it up
I think the scavenger in scavenger folk just looted a ring of someone''s hand, hence the 1 straightened finger
There's a land card called Mogg Hollows with some weird art. It kinda looks like some moggs found a camera and they're trying to take a selfie. I thinks it's great though, I love weird art on cards.
Actually, the art in Word of Command wasn't even a replacement, it was actually a joke and he never intended for it to be used. Jesper Myrfors was the original art diretor of the game and was working with some textures, he drew those eyes in one of them and showed it to Richard Garfield, who tought it was amazing and put it in this card he had in mind, thus Word of Command was born. That being said, it's still the art he dislikes the most.
Oh nooooo! That's so funny. There's this thing with presenting art to your art director - never present something you don't like just because you're sure they won't pick it!
I think the art of "Flash" is that the creature is going to attack the figure in white, the face at the front and the white figures are the same person. He is taking steps towards the creature and suddenly he uses magic to teleports to the creature's back to avoid him, then the creature looks behind itself due to not understanding what happened.
The first selfie was taken way back in 1839, actually.
You are wrong about the “scavenger folk”. You can clearly see both of the folks hands. One is holding up an obviously dead arm. The other is holding the ring they just scavenged from it.
Someone may have said this already, and I definitely don't disagree with it making the list, but Rapid Fire seems to be portraying the man with the shield being hit with a rapid series of blows to his shield so fiercely that it knocked it hard enough into his own blade to break it. (Note the artifacts of the tip of his blade traveling downward in front of the left side of his shield)
Now where is Hyalopterous Lemure, the Card that Mistakenly depicts a Lemur because the artist didn't look up what a Lemure is.
Atog.
They printed so many of that crap card you could have built a house out of them, and every one looked like a three year old drew it.
"kid could have done this " people saying this have usualy never draw anything in my experience.
I think the art for rapid fire is trying to convey that the Egyptian guy is swinging his sword at the viking a bunch of times in rapid succession. That is why there is a broken sword. Viking was going to swing, got his sword cut in half and was immediately put on the defensive.
Flash is the shit: It DEMANDS your attention. You can't NOT stare directly into that Zulu's eyes; then that wierd thing behind him is like "wut, fight me boi." I would hang that up as a shower curtain if I could.