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The Art of Magic: The Gathering
Art of Magic: The Gathering - Amonkhet
Magnificent hardcover art books featuring the incredible images and lore of The Gathering®!
Danger and adventure await in these pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of The Gathering® !
“When the Second Sun rests between the horns on the horizon, so begins the Hour of Revelation. Then the Hour of Glory, the Hour of Promise, and finally the Hour of Eternity.”
— The Accounting of Hours
The Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of The Gathering ®, will introduce you to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. Join the heroic Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch as they come here to face the evil dragon Nicol Bolas, whose schemes span the planes of the Multiverse.
The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet await you as the final hours draw near!
Danger and adventure await in these pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of The Gathering® !
“When the Second Sun rests between the horns on the horizon, so begins the Hour of Revelation. Then the Hour of Glory, the Hour of Promise, and finally the Hour of Eternity.”
— The Accounting of Hours
The Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of The Gathering ®, will introduce you to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. Join the heroic Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch as they come here to face the evil dragon Nicol Bolas, whose schemes span the planes of the Multiverse.
The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet await you as the final hours draw near!
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 4, 2017
About the author
James Wyatt
102 books146 followersJames Wyatt is an award-winning game designer at Wizards of the Coast, and now holds the position of Design Manager for Dungeons & Dragons. He was one of the lead designers for D&D 4th Edition and one of the original designers of the Eberron Campaign Setting, and has written and co-authored dozens of game supplements. He grew up in Ithaca, New York, and now lives in Washington State with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 11, 2017
Brushworm Speaks!
The Art of Magic: The Gathering
Amonkhet
****
Acquired: Amazon.com
Series: Magic the Gathering (Book 4)
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Perfect Square (July 4, 2017)
Language: English
Subject: Fantasy
****
The Story: The Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering®, will introduce you to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. Join the heroic Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch as they come here to face the evil dragon Nicol Bolas, whose schemes span the planes of the Multiverse. The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet await you as the final hours draw near!
The Review: Kaladesh was the expansion that caught Brushworm’s attention to Magic: The Gathering but when Amonkhet came along, Brushworm was blown away. For some people, all that really matters is the eponymous card game and the playing of it. Which is fine, but it also enables people to tragically overlook the superb artwork and the rich lore and storytelling that goes into the creation of the cards and their expansion sets. This book, along with the rest of the Art of Magic: The Gathering books, solve this problem and allow those who have never played the game to dive right in to this almost literally, infinite world.
This expansion is Brushworm’s favorite.
It could be said that this expansion was what solidified the love for Wizard’s of the Coasts gaming franchise.
There are plentiful examples of ancient Egyptian culture that have in almost every branch of popular culture, even the hospitality industry. Amonkhet takes it further though and does much more than merely replicate the Giza pyramids and the sphinx.
Something that is interesting to consider in spite of the very fantastical setting, Amonkhet actually does have a few points towards historical accuracy. Popular culture as well as modern day geography have cemented the view that ancient Egypt was always the desert wasteland it is today. This actually wasn’t so. The Nile River Vile was once a lush and green land that slowly dried up over the millennia. That is the reason such a wealthy and developed civilization came to be. Amonkhet acknowledges this and Amonkhet is a gorgeous, green, lush city. This is particularly the realm of Rhonas the God of Strength and Willpower, whose temple is a jungle teeming with wildlife that is richly described in the artwork and text of this book.
Brushworm acknowledges that a fantasy settings filled with walking mummies and people with crane heads, is what is being discussed here but popular culture is an important front in progressive social movements. As a result, this art book and by extension, this expansion, deserves not a small amount of credit for deftly avoiding whitewashing. The “ancient egyptian” proxies in Amonkhet are correctly depicted as having dark skin. For almost as long as Ancient Egypt has appeared in popular culture, there has also been the tragic tendency to cast caucasian actors as the pharaohs or other figures from mythology or history. Needless to to say that is a very backward view such a rich culture, not to mention racially insensitive. Thankfully, this artwork is a very significant step in the right direction towards more racial and cultural inclusivity in popular media.
Another point in favor of Amonkhet is the overall atmosphere of the world itself. The veneration of death is something that was quite a facet of ancient Egyptian culture. The reason ancient cultures made such a big deal out of the afterlife and gods of death was the fact that life back then tended to be a very short life. Death was much more common than life in theses times. Amonkhet takes this theme and manages to skillfully integrate it into weave of this world to quite the affect. The constant use of mummies in the city, called Naktamun, as well as the hope towards a better afterlife is a unique take not always found in works of fiction.
Remember, this is Magic: The Gathering. No expansion would be complete without sinister undertones, and this one seems to have the most sinister undertone of them all.
Naktamun is part farm, part factory. All solely dedicated to a single purpose: to create corpses. Think about it, all the menial work, the farming, the training, the construction and cleaning, is all done by the mummies. The preserved undead created from the bodies of failed initiates. All the living people need to do is train and sharp eyed readers may notice the one thing missing from this world: the elderly.
Brushworm will not give away the ultimate ending to this whole escapade but when the ending comes, the whole picture crystallizes in a terrifying realization. It really is a gut punch. One can’t help but wonder how the next expansion will turn out after such a grand event.
There is very little in the way of flaws here. The biggest one honestly is the way the story told by the artwork is conveyed. This is not a novel, the story of the realm as well as that of the Planeswalkers when they arrive, is told in avery flat manner. It is reading a detailed Wikipedia article about a story, rather than the story itself.
Brushworm cannot stress enough that any interested reader should further explore this world and in order to do that, they need to consult the Magic: The Gathering website.
Final Verdict: The Art of Magic the Gathering - Amonkhet is gorgeous. The art is breathtaking. The setting is one of the most iconic ones Brushworm has encountered in quite some time. This story does not feel like it is quite finished yet. The day we return to Amonkhet will be a glorious one indeed!
Ranking: Five Amonkhet Icons out of Five
Buy One Now!!!
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
The Art of Magic: The Gathering
Amonkhet
****
Acquired: Amazon.com
Series: Magic the Gathering (Book 4)
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Perfect Square (July 4, 2017)
Language: English
Subject: Fantasy
****
The Story: The Second Sun creeps across the sky, growing ever closer to the horns of the God-Pharaoh. These pages, lavishly illustrated with the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering®, will introduce you to the people of Amonkhet, whose life is a series of trials meant to prepare them for the great God-Pharaoh’s return. Join the heroic Planeswalkers of the Gatewatch as they come here to face the evil dragon Nicol Bolas, whose schemes span the planes of the Multiverse. The glorious hope and desolate despair of Amonkhet await you as the final hours draw near!
The Review: Kaladesh was the expansion that caught Brushworm’s attention to Magic: The Gathering but when Amonkhet came along, Brushworm was blown away. For some people, all that really matters is the eponymous card game and the playing of it. Which is fine, but it also enables people to tragically overlook the superb artwork and the rich lore and storytelling that goes into the creation of the cards and their expansion sets. This book, along with the rest of the Art of Magic: The Gathering books, solve this problem and allow those who have never played the game to dive right in to this almost literally, infinite world.
This expansion is Brushworm’s favorite.
It could be said that this expansion was what solidified the love for Wizard’s of the Coasts gaming franchise.
There are plentiful examples of ancient Egyptian culture that have in almost every branch of popular culture, even the hospitality industry. Amonkhet takes it further though and does much more than merely replicate the Giza pyramids and the sphinx.
Something that is interesting to consider in spite of the very fantastical setting, Amonkhet actually does have a few points towards historical accuracy. Popular culture as well as modern day geography have cemented the view that ancient Egypt was always the desert wasteland it is today. This actually wasn’t so. The Nile River Vile was once a lush and green land that slowly dried up over the millennia. That is the reason such a wealthy and developed civilization came to be. Amonkhet acknowledges this and Amonkhet is a gorgeous, green, lush city. This is particularly the realm of Rhonas the God of Strength and Willpower, whose temple is a jungle teeming with wildlife that is richly described in the artwork and text of this book.
Brushworm acknowledges that a fantasy settings filled with walking mummies and people with crane heads, is what is being discussed here but popular culture is an important front in progressive social movements. As a result, this art book and by extension, this expansion, deserves not a small amount of credit for deftly avoiding whitewashing. The “ancient egyptian” proxies in Amonkhet are correctly depicted as having dark skin. For almost as long as Ancient Egypt has appeared in popular culture, there has also been the tragic tendency to cast caucasian actors as the pharaohs or other figures from mythology or history. Needless to to say that is a very backward view such a rich culture, not to mention racially insensitive. Thankfully, this artwork is a very significant step in the right direction towards more racial and cultural inclusivity in popular media.
Another point in favor of Amonkhet is the overall atmosphere of the world itself. The veneration of death is something that was quite a facet of ancient Egyptian culture. The reason ancient cultures made such a big deal out of the afterlife and gods of death was the fact that life back then tended to be a very short life. Death was much more common than life in theses times. Amonkhet takes this theme and manages to skillfully integrate it into weave of this world to quite the affect. The constant use of mummies in the city, called Naktamun, as well as the hope towards a better afterlife is a unique take not always found in works of fiction.
Remember, this is Magic: The Gathering. No expansion would be complete without sinister undertones, and this one seems to have the most sinister undertone of them all.
Naktamun is part farm, part factory. All solely dedicated to a single purpose: to create corpses. Think about it, all the menial work, the farming, the training, the construction and cleaning, is all done by the mummies. The preserved undead created from the bodies of failed initiates. All the living people need to do is train and sharp eyed readers may notice the one thing missing from this world: the elderly.
Brushworm will not give away the ultimate ending to this whole escapade but when the ending comes, the whole picture crystallizes in a terrifying realization. It really is a gut punch. One can’t help but wonder how the next expansion will turn out after such a grand event.
There is very little in the way of flaws here. The biggest one honestly is the way the story told by the artwork is conveyed. This is not a novel, the story of the realm as well as that of the Planeswalkers when they arrive, is told in avery flat manner. It is reading a detailed Wikipedia article about a story, rather than the story itself.
Brushworm cannot stress enough that any interested reader should further explore this world and in order to do that, they need to consult the Magic: The Gathering website.
Final Verdict: The Art of Magic the Gathering - Amonkhet is gorgeous. The art is breathtaking. The setting is one of the most iconic ones Brushworm has encountered in quite some time. This story does not feel like it is quite finished yet. The day we return to Amonkhet will be a glorious one indeed!
Ranking: Five Amonkhet Icons out of Five
Buy One Now!!!
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
July 10, 2017
I've reviewed other "The Art of Magic: The Gathering - XXXXX" books before, and the things I said in those reviews apply to this one as well: game is neat, learning how Wizards used game elements to inform story choices is cool, reading a guidebook reference intended for use by artists and writers is... kinda dull after a while, but at least there are pretty pictures!
I do think the story of Amonkhet is particularly cool, though. The five heroic Planeswalkers that form the Gatewatch arrive on the Egypt-inspired plane of Amonkhet, hunting the evil dragon Planeswalker, Nicol Bolas. Instead of finding a blighted world, they arrive into a lush and protected paradise, where docile mummies take care of the inhabitants' every need so that the living can spend all their time perfecting their body and mind in preparation for the prophesized God-Pharaoh's return. But there are disquieting cracks beneath this perfect society's facade, and hints that the prophecy is far darker than any one imagined...
The story continues pretty much how one would expect; we're not talking award-winning literature here. But even if the plot is predictable, it hits all the right notes; I'd guess that most people would feel a little thrill of resonance reading card names such as "Razaketh the Foul-Blooded", "Hour of Eternity", and "The Locust God". There's nothing wrong with a little comfort food now and then. And mix in a game that allows you to play out the story and a community of fellow Magic players, and you have a strangely addictive brew.
I do think the story of Amonkhet is particularly cool, though. The five heroic Planeswalkers that form the Gatewatch arrive on the Egypt-inspired plane of Amonkhet, hunting the evil dragon Planeswalker, Nicol Bolas. Instead of finding a blighted world, they arrive into a lush and protected paradise, where docile mummies take care of the inhabitants' every need so that the living can spend all their time perfecting their body and mind in preparation for the prophesized God-Pharaoh's return. But there are disquieting cracks beneath this perfect society's facade, and hints that the prophecy is far darker than any one imagined...
The story continues pretty much how one would expect; we're not talking award-winning literature here. But even if the plot is predictable, it hits all the right notes; I'd guess that most people would feel a little thrill of resonance reading card names such as "Razaketh the Foul-Blooded", "Hour of Eternity", and "The Locust God". There's nothing wrong with a little comfort food now and then. And mix in a game that allows you to play out the story and a community of fellow Magic players, and you have a strangely addictive brew.
December 7, 2022
I ended up reading this one in one sitting. It has a lot less content than the last three, and it ends up a little formulaic thanks to so much of the world being focused on the trials. It was clearly engaging enough to have me get through it in one evening though, and the art is gorgeous as ever. I would even go as far as to say the art here is actually a step up, because these Egyptian-aesthetic pieces are really stunning and colours really pop.
May 12, 2018
This was really good. That art work for the cards is pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews