In my eight years writing about Magic: The Gathering and art, I have never once written about a digital-only set. It’s where I drew the line during the Never-Ending Previews, and found peace in limiting my capacity; just as players need to decide the Magic they intend to interact with, so too did I with what I wrote about.
That changes today with Through the Omenpaths.
Last week this 188 card set, the digital Arena companion to the upcoming Universes Beyond: Marvel’s Spider-Man release, simply dropped out of the sky. It features the new, mechanically unique cards from the paper release but reskinned for Magic, in order to be published online. Now, it is not lost on me how back-asswards it sounds to say ‘Universes Within’ and that ‘something has been reskinned for Magic.’ To have to clarify that something on a Magic: The Gathering card is ‘Magic’ was not something I ever thought I’d say. But it’s what we’ve got for the moment, and I will say this time, they got it right. Omenpaths turned into something special, and something that matters.
Scion of the Ur-Spider and Wardens of Silverweb Summit by Jesper Ejsing. Traditional
Jesper Ejsing: Scion of the Ur-Spider & Wardens of Silverweb Summit
Ejsing is one of a handful of artists that worked on both Spider-Man and Through the Omenpaths, and while his Marvel cards are great (Venom, Gwenom and Ultimate Green Goblin), these two in-Universe cards show where his true passion lies.
We’ve got full fantasy, on full display; grandiose, whimsical, and exceptionally well executed even down to the smallest details. Note the costuming eccentricity of the Scion, and the woman’s hair matching the pattern on the spider’s head. It’s the little stuff, folks.
Strength of Will by Rhonda Libbey and Trail of Teacups by Volkan Baga. Traditional.
Bloomburrow Revisited: Rhonda Libbey & Volkan Baga
Only a year old, Bloomburrow instantly became one of Magic’s most beloved worlds, so it’s no surprise to see it reprised so strongly in Through the Omenpaths, especially in traditional media. We see the full stylistic spectrum, from the bold colors and 24K gold and oils of Rhonda Libbey, who created five paintings for the original set to Volkan Baga, who also painted six pieces for the original Bloomburrow across the main set. Commander set, and Special Guests.
These two cards feel like they are a perfect extension of the universe, wholly similar to what came before, now flagbearers of this new frontier.
Mothwing Shroud & King of the Coldblood Curse by Andrew Mar. Digital.
Andrew Mar: Mothwing Shroud & King of the Coldblood Curse
A man of many cards, Andrew Mar approached Through the Omenpaths no differently, contributing five cards to the set overall. He touched what appears to be five different places: Blomburrow, Eldraine, Ixalan, Kamigawa and Duskmourn, and covered the gamut of card types: creatures, legends, spells, and even an artifact. It’s called range, sweetie (look it up, it’s Andrew’s picture). It’s so incredibly difficult to run wide and keep your quality across all these different places and things, especially all at once. But he certainly proved it can be done, and done well.
Belion, the Parched by Dave Palumbo, Traditional, and Zan, Tunnelweb Explorer by John Tedrick, Digital.
New Legends: Belion, the Parched & Zan, Tunnelweb Explorer
The Spider-Man set is FULL of legendary characters, so many that I didn’t even attempt to count and hyperlink everything across the different releases. It also means that 80 of the 188 cards in Through the Omenpaths are, in fact, legends! Big ones, small ones, weird ones. And many related to spiders, there are a ton of creative solutions. These two in particular were standouts: the mono-blue (and painted as such) merfolk with a desperation for a drink by Dave Palumbo, and a clinic in value control as John Tedrick gives us every version of green for our spider-shadowed hero, hiding amongst the hues and brambles.
Sinister Hideout and Vibrant Cityscape by Julian Kok Joon Wen, Traditional & Digital
Julian Kok Joon Wen: Sinister Hideout & Vibrant Cityscape
Cresting 60 illustrations for Magic, Julian Kok has painted two landscapes here, one set in Bloomburrow, and the other in Kamigawa. He’s painted just about everything for Magic at this point, but I’m still always captured by his fantastical landscapes. Sinister Hideout lets us arrive as if on the beetle-y looking creatures in the foreground, rendered realistically but with a storybook flair expected of Bloomburrow. Vibrant Cityscape is a callback to the undulating clouds and stacked cityscapes of a world changed over a thousand years, riding on an air of mystery, and hope. Both are beautiful, and again show the range of artists working on this set; they quite literally can do both.
Perfected Pastry by Henry Peters and Treat Trolley by Josiah Cameron. Digital.
FOOD: Perfected Pastry & Treat Trolley
I’ve mentioned whimsy in this article before, but I think it’s such a crucial part of Magic and the art and play experience. It keeps things light when they could otherwise be heavy, and in some cases, like these two wonderful illustrations above, keeps things delicious. Again, Eldraine and Bloomburrow are places folks love, and to have a beautiful muffin and a cart full of sweets replace a Bagel and Schmear and Hot Dog Cart feels like things being tipped back in the right direction.
I mean, c’mon. Look at that little pastry-carrying mouse peekin’ over the card frame, and that big ole Bullfrog licking his lips as he waits his turn in line. These are what Magic is, and always has been.
Imposter Syndrome by Tehani Farr & Vexing Bots by Jonathan Wayshak. Traditional.
New to the Crew: Tehani Farr & Jonathan Wayshak
Through the Omenpaths plays host to a handful of new artists, debuting their first published Magic card as a part of this nearly 200 card release. I first saw Farr’s work when she won a Chesley Award, back in 2023, and again just recently with her variant cover for Heavy Metal magazine. She paints, strong, badass woman, and it feels as if we’re witnessing an origin story for one of her soon-to-be heroines.
Jonathan Wayshak has been a longtime comic illustrator, but also has done a smattering of trading card artworks for Marvel/Upper Deck, several of which I’ve been lucky to collect over the years. Edgy, gritty, and hyper-detailed, I think he’ll continue to bring his incredibly unique style to Magic, and sincerely hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of his work in the game.
Omenpaths is a literal melting pot of artists and styles, and bringing folks from diverse work backgrounds, comics, covers and other cards, was an A+ move to fill this set out with something special.
Fleem, Goben’s Creation by Nicholas Gregory. Digital.
Fleem, Goben’s Creation
Ah, Fleem. This little friend has gotten an incredible amount of love online for the short time he’s existed, but we could be seeing another Magic-al mascot in the making in real time. It’s also especially nice to see Nicholas Gregory sharing some of his pencil work; he’s responsible for some of the most interesting creature designs of the last few years, and this flying goblin is no different!
Shout-Out
While several art directors worked on this set, the lion’s share of direction on Through the Omenpaths belongs to Emily Mazza, a rookie AD for Magic debuting her first published project for the game. She brings a ton of experience to the role, coming from Upper Deck where she worked on some of their greatest Marvel trading card sets of the last few years, her co-leadership of 2023 Flair chief among them. Those releases brought together diverse artists and styles to depict characters from across time and space in the Marvel Universe, identical to what she was tasked with here. Her responsibility was to cover the breadth and depth of Magic’s recent history across the Multiverse, and despite not working on Magic until very recently, she figured it out with prowess and precision. Those enfranchised know how deep the well of Magic is, so I cannot overstate how monumentally impressive it is to see this pulled together.
Wrapping Up
Spider-Man should bring in the bucks, of this there is now doubt. But Through the Omenpaths, and the buzz around it, proves what makes a lot of Magic fans sing. Original worlds, unique and legendary characters, revisiting nostalgia and digging deeper into the places we know and love. Here’s hoping Universes Within becomes a tradition over a time, a treat for the Vorthos-forward folks who love Magic for what’s it’s always been.
Donny Caltrider (he/him) has been writing about Magic: The Gathering art since 2018. He has an M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University, and works in varying capacities as an agent with nearly 50 Magic artists.
He likes baseball, Magic, good cards, great art, whiskey, and you.