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Some ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' [[card]]s have two or more versions with different art pieces. When these art pieces appear within the context of the same [[set]], the cards are said to have '''alternate art'''. ==History== A few early sets, such as ''[[Antiquities]]'', ''[[Fallen Empires]]'' and ''[[Alliances]]'', experimented with alternate art for cards to make common cards more collectible. However, [[WotC]] came to believe that this impeded easy recognition of a card and that having multiple versions caused confusion when identifying a card at a glance. Consequently, alternate art is now only used sparingly and mostly for [[promotional card]]s. For a time, when older cards were reprinted in new sets (non-Core Sets, and not "[[timeshifted]]"), Wizards of the Coast guaranteed that they would be printed with new art to make them more collectible.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/collecting-my-thoughts-2004-04-26|Collecting My Thoughts|[[Mark Rosewater]]|April 26, 2004}}.</ref> This rule was nullified with the introduction of the [[Two-Block Paradigm]] (e.g. <c>Felidar Sovereign</c> in ''[[Battle for Zendikar]]'').<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://dougbeyermtg.tumblr.com/post/129029860554/is-there-a-reason-why-felidar-sovereign-doesnt|title=Is there a reason why Felidar Sovereign doesn't get new art?|September 14, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Throne of Eldraine]]'' is the first set in over twenty years to feature cards with multiple versions of art on non-lands. Within a set, alternate art generally appears on the five basic land cards, as they are recognizable enough to avoid confusion. Alternate arts are mostly used for [[reprint]]s, and [[promotional card]]s. ==Examples== *The [[Urzatron]] lands from ''Antiquities'' had four variants.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/towers-urza-2006-08-08|Towers of Urza|[[Magic Arcana]]|August 08, 2006}}</ref> * Each common card and 5 uncommons cards from ''Alliances'' have 2 pieces of art <ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/two-adnates-2002-07-23|Two Adnates|[[Magic Arcana]]|July 23, 2002}}</ref> *<c>Brothers Yamazaki</c> from ''[[Champions of Kamigawa]]'' was printed with two different art pieces so that the same card could depict each of the two brothers. It is the most recent non-land example of alternate art on regular cards within a black-border set. *<c>Ertai, the Corrupted</c>, <c>Skyship Weatherlight</c> and <c>Tahngarth, Talruum Hero</c>: the [[premium]] (foil) versions of three of ''[[Planeshift|Planeshift's]]'' [[legendary]] cards were printed with alternate art to make them more collectible.<ref>{{DailyRef|planeshifts-legends-2003-02-11|Planeshift's Legends|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|February 11, 2003}}</ref> * The Peoples Republic of China does not allow the public display of human or humanoid [[skeleton]]s and ''Magic'' cards are no exception. For this reason the artwork of many Chinese-language cards depicting skeletons have to be altered to make it possible to sell the product.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/chinese-skeletons-2002-03-13|Chinese Skeletons|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|March 13, 2002}}</ref> * Some of the most tournament-used cards in ''Magic'' have been reprinted with new art, an unusual frame, and only the cardname (aside from this, it is [[textless]]). These cards are given to players as [[Magic Player Reward]]s. * In [[Conspiracy: Take the Crown]], <c>Kaya, Ghost Assassin</c>'s Premium card was printed with alternate art; this card is specially assigned with a unique collector number 222/221. * [[Promo]] cards and [[Masterpiece Series]] always feature alternate art. * All [[planeswalker]] cards in Japanese [[War of the Spark]] packs had a 50% chance of having alternate anime artwork.<ref>{{DailyRef|news/japanese-alternate-art-planeswalkers-2019-04-22|Japanese Alternate-Art Planeswalkers|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|April 22, 2019}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Cards]]
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