After the Zendikar Expeditions, the next entry in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic: The Gathering’s Masterpiece series was the Kaladesh Inventions. This series took a similarly diegetic approach to its predecessor, reimagining a range of iconic Magic artifacts as entries into the Kaladesh Inventors' Fair competition, an event which serves as a key plot point in the block’s narrative.
The intricate, artistic style of artifice associated with Kaladesh proved an ideal fit for many of Magic’s best artifacts, while the framing, both in terms of the overarching Inventors' Fair device and the literal gilt frames used on the cards, was very well-received. Here are our picks for the ten best from this series: the big ribbon winners in our own Inventors' Fair.
10 Mana Vault, By Kirsten Zi🔴rngibl
One of Magic’s premiere broken mana rocks, this vivid Vault looks fantastic on Kaladesh. Kirsten Zirngibl doesn’t stray too far from past interpretations here, sticking with the cube design that the originalꦐ Mana Vault used, but she infuses it with so much Plane-specific detail that it feels shiny and new regardless.
The way the Vault is sitting on a podium, protected by a gilt fence as the public mill around and marvel at it, feels spot-on for the series. The outside of the Vault is intricately detailed, full of cogs, gears, and flourishes, while the door, hanging slightly ajar, gives the viewer a tantalising glimps🐼e of the wonders that lie within.
9 Scroꦿll Rack, By Jason A. E🍌ngle
One of the most interesting thiꦉngs about the Kaladesh Inventions series is the way in which it creates practical, everyday applications for past artifacts. Scroll Rack is a great example, presenting an automated document management device that calls to mind the book wheels 🅰of the 16th century.
Everything about the way this device works is evident in the design: the scroඣlls revolve on the upper wheels, being picked out by mechanical claws when necessary. They are then distributed elsewhere, and there’s even a holder and lenses at the bottom for reading specific scrolls. This card exemplifies the level of detail that makes the Kaladesh Inventions so interesting, and looks amazing while doing so.
8 Painter's Servant, By Magali Villeneuve
A piece that embodies the Kaladesh ideals of art and artifice in a beautifully literal way, Magali Villeneuve shows us an artifact created to produce art here, in her 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:signature elegant style. The Servant has multiple arms, 𒐪each linked to a different supply of coloured ink. These supplies are visible through filigree grates on the Servant’s side, making a practical element of the design artistic in its own right.
In addition to being a creative take on a classic artifact creature, the piece also 𒀰has a welcome undercurrent of levity, with a flock of white birds, presumably bothering the Servant in the ♑tradition of their species, being sprayed with paint in an act of automated revenge. This piece is as close as you can get to Kaladesh on a canvas.
7 Pithing Needle, By Joseph Meehan 💛 🔯
Pithing Needle may not be the most exciting card, but this fresh take on its art from Joseph Meehan certainly is. In a stroke of ☂thematically-appr๊opriate genius, the Needle is shown next to a blueprint detailing its use, which seems to be disabling automatons that have gone awry.
This not only creates a nice contrasting palette, with the blueprint blues standing out nicely against the golden browns of the Needle and the table, but it works well on a narrative level, too. Arranging an Inventors' Fair entry next to an explanation of its use makes perfect sense, particularly for a device such as the Needle where it may not be immediately obvious. It’s a piece that expertly draws the viewer deeper into the world of Kaladesh.
6 Sol Ri🃏ng, By Volkan Baga ♒
Perhaps the best fusion of a piece of art and the Kaladesh Inventions frame, Volkan Baga’s Sꦕol Ring feels like an extension of the card itself in the best possib♛le way. Where the intricate frame ends, the intricate design of the altar steps in; Where the burnished orange of the text boxes ends, the burnished orange glow that envelops the piece takes over.
The result is a card that feels incredibly coherent, before you even get to how stunning the titular Sol Ring is, hanging in an orange haze that makes the viewer feel like they’re staring at the sun itself in the way it evades full comprehension by the eye. It’s a fittingly glorious art treatment for one of Magic’s most 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:iconic Commander staples.
5 Duplicant, By Slawomirᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Maniak 🔴
A brilliant interpretation of a mechanical Shapeshifter, Slaw🧸omir Maniak depicts his Duplicant mid-transformation, a bundle of m♋etal coils about to come together in a new form. It’s quite a dark piece overall, with the Duplicant’s nigh-featureless face swathed in background shadow, glaring directly at the viewer as though they’re witnessing something they shouldn’t be.
The blue light at the end of the Duplicant’s arm does double duty here, serving as a nice spot of contrast in the gloom of the overall piece, while also representing the means by which the creature scans and replicates others. It’s a tonal standout among the Kaladesh Inventions, and a welcome reminder of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:darkness at work behind the scenes on the Plane.
4 Wurmcoil Eng🃏ine, By Ale🀅ksi Briclot
It wouldn’t be a fictional Inventors' Fair without a malfunctioning entry laying waste to the city, so it’s a good thing Aleksi Briclot’s Wurmcoil Engine is here to fill that crucial role. Shown wrapped around some kind of tower, the viewer is able to pick out every interlocking metal plate and curved cable that makes up this catastrophic contraption.
The perspective used here, which has 🎃the viewer looking up at the Engine from ground level, works alongside the clouds and swathes of sky to establish a sense of scale. It also draws the viewer’s gaze to meet with that of the engine itself, whose piercing blue eye anchors the piece, implying an intelligent threat behind the rampant destruction going on below.
3 Mind's Eye, By David Gaillet
It’s surprising that, given they’re all set within a public Fair, more of the Kaladesh Inventions don’t show people testing out the Invention they depict. Mind’s eye bucks this trend, recalling early VR headsets in its awkwardly clunky setup, while still feeling slick th♏anks to a strong external design.
Granted, this appears to be more advanced than even our best efforts at VR so far: since the Vedalken shown here has his eyes closed, we can only assume that the device he’s attached to is broadcasting imagery directly into his brain itself, with the blue projection being shown only for the audience’s benefit. This is a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:strong sci-fi concept piece, executed to perfection by David Gaillet.
2 🎃 Grindstone𝓰, By Johann Badin
Sometimes the simplest ideas 💦are the most effective. This piece zooms right in on an unknown Invention that has malfunctioned, dooming its gears to spin on endlessly with no recourse. It’s great to see the fundamental building blᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚocks of the other Kaladesh Inventions up close; building blocks which, tellingly, have received the same level of artistic polish as everything else on the Plane.
The lighting here is fantastic, with various shafts interlocking with the gears, bathing the piece in a reverential glow that reflects how highly the profession of artifice is prized on Kaladesh. It’s a perfect f🐬it, both for Grindstone as a mechanical card, and the Kaladesh Inventions as a series.
1 Torrential Gearhulk, By Jakub Kasper �ꦗ�
A piece that truly captures the scale of the Inventors' Fair competition, Jakub Kasper’s Torrential Gearhulk is a towering achievement. Showing large crowds of Vedalken gathered to admire the titular colossal creation, the piece adds a humorous edge by placing said crowds within the Gearhulk’s ‘splash zone’, umbrellas up as it unleashes torrents of water upon them.
This is a fantastic piece of worldbuilding, establishing a playful tone that fits we💟ll with the boundless creativity of the Plane’s artificers. This tone is reinforced by the unconventional curves of the Gearhulk itself, crꦍeating a Construct that feels more like a musical instrument than an instrument of warfare.