Chandra brings the heat, because that’s what Chandra does. Image : Lius Lasahido ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts )

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Magic: The Gathering might be about flinging spells and summoning creatures to also fling at your opponent—well, doing that through the medium of more delicately putting cards down on a table—but its the spell-flingers themselves, the Planeswalkers, that are the stars of this gorgeous new art book.


Magic: The Gathering—Rise of the Gatewatch, set to release in a few weeks from Abrams ComicArt, tells the story of eight founding Planeswalker members of the Gatewatch, and some of the most famous mages in Magic’s pantheon of characters: Jace Beleren, Kaya, Chandra Nalaar, Nissa Revane, Ajani Goldmane, Liliana Vess, Teferi, and Gideon Jura. In Magic’s story, the Gatewatch was formed as an alliance between some of the most powerful casters in existence to essentially be a multidimensional version of the Avengers, fighting the threats to every elemental Plane no other heroes ever could.

The cover art for Rise of the Gatewatch. Image : Wizards of the Coast, foreword by Jenna Helland ( © Abrams ComicArts, 2019 )


Rise of the Gatewatch will provide a visual history of each Gatewatch member, from their early days to the recent, climactic events of the War of the Spark expansion in the card game, all through lush and evocative art from across Magic’s history, including the cards themselves, packaging details, and even banner art made for conventions.

In some cases, it’ll be the first time ever fans have gotten to see some of these visuals printed outside of their original format. To celebrate its impending release, you can check out a sample of just some of the art included below, making its debut here on io9.

Liberating Combustion Image : Lius Lasahido ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Chandra, Pyromaster Image : Jae Lee ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Jace, Vyrn’s Prodigy Image : Wayne Renolds ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Jace, Telepath Unbound Image : Wayne Renolds ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second You can go to the next slide after 1 second Continue Liliana, Heretical Healer Image : Wayne Renolds ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Liliana, Defiant Necromancer Image : Wayne Renolds ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Teenage Liliana Concept Art Image : Eric Deschamps ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Dark Dabbling Image : Bastien L. Deharme ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Advertisement You can skip ad after 1 second You can go to the next slide after 1 second Continue Kytheon, Hero of Akros Image : Willian Murai ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Teenage Nissa Concept Art Image : Eric Deschamps ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) Nissa, Vastwood Seer Image : Wesley Burt ( Wizards of the Coast/Abrams ComicArts ) 1 / 11


Rise of the Gatewatch hits store shelves July 23rd.

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