Top 10: The Art of Outlaws of Thunder Junction

  About the Top 10 series:

In a world where we mindlessly scroll past inexhaustible quantities of "content", consuming works of art that took days to create in mere seconds, this series is an invitation to investigate, appreciate, and celebrate standout works from my favorite card game, Magic the Gathering. It is a meditation on my own tastes and fancies, an opportunity for me to analyze what "works" at a gut level. This usually involves readability at card size, creative storytelling, technical prowess, and the intangible X factor of true greatness!

-Vic 

10. Steer Clear & Archmage's Newt

We're on number 10 and I'm already cheating by including two illustrations from Edgar Sanchez Hidalgo...surely not a sign of things to come. Anyway, it's pretty clear where my allegiances lie when it comes to Magic art: give me fun, colorful, legible, and preferably traditionally painted any day! Edgar checks almost all of these boxes and serves them up with a Dutch tilt!

 

9. Vraska Joins Up

Always a treat when we get not one, not two, but a whole set of five Wylie Beckert illustrations, as we did in the "Joins Up" cycle featuring Oko's Heist Gang.

8. Lazav, Familiar Stranger

Tyler Jacobson only painted one card for Thunder Junction, but luckily for us, he made it count. I love the elegant simplicity of the image and the composition, perfectly communicating both the mechanic of the card and Tyler's love of the genre <3

7. Loan Shark

I mean, come on. Do I even need to explain this one? Wayne Reynolds, ladies and gentlemen.

6. Tinybones, the Pickpocket

Credit must be given when a piece so singlehandedly sells the entire spirit and idea of a set as Tinybones did for Thunder Junction. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. As always, I am eternally saddened not to have access to the high-res of this piece yet so I can gorge on the generous detail and masterful technique of Ekaterina Burmak.

5. Gisa & Geralf

Love to see these Zombie-loving siblings painted so expertly by Chris Rahn. Continuing a trend from the last few sets, his use of (relatively) exaggerated empasto for light or FX, especially near the portraits, leads to an unmistakable traditional feel and serves its intended purpose of creating visual depth when layered on top of thinner darks, which in turn recede. The fact that the two have essentially inverted relationships of warm and cool purples and blues ties them together perfectly. Yummy!

4. The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride & Baron Bertram Graywater

Johan blowin my mind this set with these delicious paintings that I initially had no idea were done in oils! The saturated maw of the Gitrog Monster absolutely jumps off the card in the most satisfying way, and I cannot get over the pitch-perfect homage to Sargent in Baron Bertram, lending the character all the haughty aristocratic airs that a wealthy patron commissioning a self-portrait would have. Bravo!

3. Obeka, Splitter of Seconds

Ryan Pancoast's latest grand slam features the rather unique Obeka, with a masterfully executed background time shatter effect (in oils!!) that we are not likely to forget for years to come. It's a detail, but I also commend Ryan on the distinct design of the stools which help set it apart from any other Western bar. An iconic piece for an already wildly popular and offbeat commander.

2. Pillage the Bog

Forrest absolutely dominating the set with five knockout pieces that capture all the fun, vibrancy, and rootin-tootin antics of Thunder Junction. Perhaps even more fascinating to me is the fact that Forrest shares my interest in taking the frame into account when painting a Magic illustration, leveraging the card's colors, (including gold for multicolored cards, or the red of a mythic set symbol) to, well, make sure the picture harmonizes with the frame! He goes into much more detail about this in the following video which I can heartily recommend you check out: Click Me!

1. Kambal, Profiteering Mayor

This piece wins out against some tight competition for its sheer je-ne-sais-quoiness. The gesture, the composition, the materials, the lighting. It's captivating but it's also kind of weird, and I love that. The Silver Company was, in my opinion, one of the cooler design ideas in Thunder Junction but regrettably did not get too many cards to show it off. Luckily, this card does a lot of heavy lifting in selling the concept of these white-suit-clad caballeros. Desperately wish Andreas Zafiratos would post the high res somewhere or sell prints...