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Coldsnap Holistic Art ReviewBy edgecrusher on August 3rd, 2006 · Filed in General Magic · 24 Comments Most cards wish they were this cool 1. Dark Depths: One of the most well constructed cards in Magic's entire history. So there. Why do I say that? First, and very importantly, the art is amazing. The composition is perfect, using angle and the careful colour tones to throw the creature into peculiarly revealing darkness. At the same time, the contrasting shadows make it clear that we're seeing only a fraction of this monster's bulk, and the tentacles peeking through the ice also suggest that the ice is not going to hold it forever. I first mistook the second tentacle to be a person, as did one of my friends until the other pointed out it led off underneath the ice, which kind of underlines the problems on the technical side of analysis. Nonetheless, and while I think the menace would be increased with some unwitting fool walking over the ice above, there's a palpable sense of impending disaster all around the art here, and it goes to show that sometimes the threat is far more effective than the reality. Compare to Jokulmorder for an important difference in tonal and mood quality. The name is perfectly fitting, for obvious reasons (it's all about what lurks in 'the dark depths' and the fact its coming to get you), and the mechanic is so perfectly fitting it's almost sublime. Pay mana, and over a series of turns the ice holding back the creature melts away until it finally bursts free and you're facing down a really, really scary monster... until it gets repealed. Methinks a blue deck with counter support  2. Phyrexian Etchings: Even their writings are lethal TIER 2: CHILLED Ohran Yeti: The Ohran Yeti was a surprise for me. I was expecting it to be phenomenally boring. But lo and behold, it's not! The p/t is certainly appropriate, on a creature that looks ready to kill something and looks more than able to do it. As a plus its more than clear where the first strike is coming from, and the flavour text is brilliantly fitting. It's very reminiscent of classic descriptions of Polar Bears by Eskimos, and ironically makes this look like a much better 'stalker' than the piss-poor 'stalking' yeti I'll be looking at later. Braid of Fire: A strong card, definitely, perfectly representing the slow build up of a great deal of devastating power. The 'shockwave' running through the snow and the fact this meditation is going on over open coals helps add to the impression. The name is a little off as far as I'm aware (I don't really know any definitions of 'braid' that apply here), but otherwise it all ties together perfectly. I believe Seething Song remains the best art and flavour combo for mana out of any colour, personally. But that isn't in this set so it isn't getting reviewed. Funny how that happens. TIER 3: LOOKING A BIT RUNNY Ronom Hulk: This is very much an example of what a big green creature should look like. Bursting up from the ice (which it is immune to and therefore can't protect against it), scattering everyone around it, it's snarling, angry and it's quite obvious that once it's completed its dramatic exit there's going to be some eating to be had. It's also distinctive, much better than the 'look, it's a creature' kind of art that is far too common in Magic. The only reason this isn't a tier up is because there's no real logic behind or effort to explain cumulative upkeep. The obvious explanation of course is that creatures freeze to death; but how does that make sense on a creature with protection from snow? Vanish into Memory: This poor, poor card. Vanish Into Memory is in some ways a great result. It's the YMAC card, and having the fans doing all of this is obviously a recipe for disaster. However, it's actually turned out pretty well. The mechanic is so weird that representing it is very difficult indeed. The name, however, is fabulous and the flavour text, while not, is very fitting. The girl is clearly the one doing the magicing, making it even more awkward. You'd think she would be the one that was getting magiced, from the text. This is tiered good because the art is superb and most of the card fits together. It'd only be so-so without it. As it is the mixing of colour and composition is arresting, and the transition effect on her flowing hair is excellent. It's a very imaginative piece and far outstrips the majority of magic art. Lovisa ColdEyes: This is good, but I feel like I'm maybe being too kind. The art is Grrrr, I r an Nordic Warlord Adarkar Valkyrie: Angel art is usually good. Serra Angel (9th) is one of the best bits of art ever. Angels almost always get hard work put into them and have something to offer. Pristine Angel is another one that's good. Well, here, this angel is streaking to the offense. She's a white finisher, and you can easily believe it. The angle is original and very effective, with white eyes blazing and wings outspread. There's no real link to her ability, unfortunately, and the flavour text is linked just to that, but overall it's still a great card. It's in this position mostly on the art, like Vanish into Memory. Deepfire Elemental: The art is okay, and certainly has some very nice and complex fire tones put to work; the pose of the creature and the angle are all good stuff. The name is alright. The effect makes perfect sense, and certainly is believable looking at the creature it's attached to. But what in the name of all the cursed hells is up with the flavour text? Don't get me wrong, fundamentally there's nothing wrong with it. Sek'Kuar gets a bit of character here. But is it just me or should this be flavour text on a land? This Elemental is a CREATURE, it's NOT a place. The flavour text says nothing whatsoever about the Elemental's purpose, place or existence in Coldsnap, other than there's hot bits underground where it came from. Whoopee. Arcum Dagsson: This is a much better example of what a legend should look like. The flavour text is excellent, Arcum himself is cool, and the ability is surprisingly well reflected, as he's quite clearly taking out an artifact creature. Not remaking it, but the rest adds up perfectly. TIER 4: BOBBING IN SOMEONE'S DRINK Rimewind Taskmage: Great flavour text, but it doesn't seem to fit in with what he actually does. The art is considerably better than Heidar's, but the whole package is distinctly lacking. Karplusan Wolverine: Can you say 'ouch'? Unless I'm mistaken this thing's Mogg Fanatic version 2, not as good but still pretty good. Anyway, that's not what we're here to talk about. The art is SO bog standard for Magic cards. It isn't very adventurous, and the weird shading and colours make it seem more reminiscent of a spirit than a beast, which is really very strange. White Shield Crusader: and Stromgald Crusader. Both of these cards are incredibly boring. The art isn't bad. Lines are good, colours are fitting for what they are, you can see how they fly and all the rest of it. The Stromgald is the superior card, in my opinion, due to the art being a lot more interesting (more stuff in it) and the pose being a lot less stereotypical; there's just something irking about the white card's pose. It reminds me of Serra Angel too much. Haakon, Stromgald Scourge: Hi, mom! Blizzard Specter: Okay. Wizards comes ever closer to being sued for blatantly ripping off the ringwraiths with this not-quite flappy thing from Lord of the Rings. Specters are an odd type in Magic. They really don't demonstrate anything flavour-wise, certainly not their own ability, I can't think of a single spectre ever that does. But they look so menacing that they get away with it. Unfortunately, this is a holistic art review, and that means mr. Specter falls really low. Heck, he's not even in a blizzard, making that part of the name a little puzzling. They're getting lazy with specters. TIER 5: SLUSH Zur the Enchanter: My pick for least appropriate Flavour text EVER Aurochs Herd: This is totally off. The Aurochs are quite clearly supposed to be aggressive, but they're standing around like they're waiting to get mowed over by a combine harvester. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the art, but they look totally passive when they really shouldn't. There's also something about the way the four Aurochs are positioned which makes me feel a bit subdued. Since when did four creatures constitute a herd? They should have either shown a long shot of a lot of aurochs, or had them in full stampede mode, since that's exactly what the things are supposed to do. Again; boring, unimaginative, doesn't represent the card in anyway or come close to evoking what it does or its role in the game. Stalking Yeti: ARRRGH! So many problems here. This yeti is not stalking, for one thing. It looks like a beast that's been surprised and is about to go on the aggressive. Stalking is done by hunters. Hunters are subtle until the very last moment. This one is standing up straight, clearly roaring, and its stance suggests its either taken a swipe at or thrown something at someone. It kind of half suggests something, but doesn't do it very well. It has the right p/t imo, but at the same time the art throws the composition off completely. A pity, because this should have been easy to get right. Just awful from a holistic perspective. The art is fine in and of itself. Surging Dementia: The ripple cards are almost always boring, with no effort made to try and present this interesting mechanic. This one's one of the worst, rehashing a theme of black discard cards that has popped up a dozen times. Compare to Cabal Therapy, which wouldn't get an 'excellent' but is one of the most interesting looks on the discard effect ever. It's imaginative and original and memorable. This is bland, bland, bland. And Wrench Mind did it better. Heidar, Rimewind Master: Oh, God. Another godawful bit of legend art. Another bit of my soul dies. I wish they'd start treating legends like the special cases they're meant to be. The art here isn't really very good or fitting. Blue is the least 'in your face' colour of them all, and it's hard to tell whether he's supposed to be mad or constipated. Mechanic isn't represented at all, though the flavour text is nice, and in all he's just a really kind of crappy package. Garza Zol, Plague Queen: BORING. BORING. BORING. The art isn't that good. It's utterly uninspiring in every way (compare, please, to Soul Collector for vampire art done She stalks the frozen wastes, seeking the artist guilty of this abomination One of the best holistic vamps EVER Ronom Unicorn: Should be called 'random' unicorn, in my opinion. It's not good, either. It's 'just there' art and really has no meat behind it, just a hodge-podge of mechanics and whatnot. Real lazy stuff. Martyr of Sands: White one is bad, the art really doesn't make much sense with the rest of it; red one is bad, facial expression on the art is completely blah. Martyr of Ashes See?..... suffers from 'the cycle problem' in general. They all follow a theme (though they resisted the urge to try and have them 'appearing' from the side of the card where their respective colour is), and in general aren't that hot. The Blue one is okay, probably the best, but overall I just find them really uninspiring, even though they're very good cards. There's not even a sense of martyring here, which you'd think would be incredibly easy to achieve. Why does their ability kill them, again? Bleh. Kjeldoran Outrider: This goes a little wrong from the name downwards. It doesn't fit the rest of the card, the mechanic is all wrong. Outriders are scouts, not defenders. The art is quite nice, though. Ironically, this guy should fetch land, or let you look at someone's hand or something. Scouts really ought to be blue or green creatures, for the most part. Cover of Winter: Guys in the picture don't seem really aggressive. Since this is supposed to be protecting the person casting the blizzard, they should look like they're trying to attack something. Intead they look like random guys trying to get through a patch of bad weather. Wrapping up an art review is never easy. It's always tempting to say that previous sets were better or worse, but such a thing is hard to put out with any sense of certainty. Moreover, this is the first time I've done a full art review for a set, using this perspective. I'd certainly like to do the next few sets in this same format, in order to get a better impression and compare properly between different sets. But from what I've got here, it's fairly obvious that Coldsnap is mostly in the middling ground. When it's good it's very, very good, but my memories of Kamigawa block tell me that there was more interesting art there, and the heavy use of flavour text gave big points on holistic grounds. I'm not going to declare that the art on the whole is bad, it's certainly not. There's a reason for this. Many people have commented on the forums that art in Magic is very 'samey' these days. I'd argue that isn't the case, but the style has become more standardized, with emphasis towards computer-generated art. There's a clear trend in Wizards management to find a solid, easy-to-maintain status quo in art quality. I'm not sure, however, that this is working well for the holistic side of Magic. Legend art in particular seems to have taken a NOSE DIVE in quality since CoK Block, with the majority being the usual face-on nothing shots. There are undeniable gems, and I'm far from negative. Hopefully you'll find this article interesting and I'll be able to do next set as well, and give a much better and more directed round-up. As it is, I'm willing to say comfortably that it is very unlikely that Dark Depths will be surpassed in a very, very long time. I r teh winnar! |
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