Good morning friends, and welcome to a special edition of the Mirror Gallery here at Hipsters of the Coast! My name is Donny Caltrider, and this is the Hipsters home for all things related to Magic: The Gathering art. Wizards of the Coast has given us the opportunity for a free preview card to show off for the brand new Universes Beyond collaboration with The Hobbit, and I’m so excited to show you Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin by Carl Critchlow!
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin, Illustrated by Carl Critchlow
© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC
This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
Artist Carl Critchlow and I have been emailing penpals for nearly a decade now, and it’s an immense privilege to be able to showcase his newest work for Magic right here on Hipsters. For the occasion, I’ve asked him nine (get it?) questions to get to know him, his work, and how it all came together. Let’s begin as I always do:
Donny Caltrider: Who are you, where are you from, and what do you do?
Carl Critchlow: Carl Critchlow, a UK based illustrator and former comic book artist who started working for Games Workshop back in the early 1980s when I was still at art college and went on to work for 2000AD, DC comics and Wizards of the Coast amongst others, as well as producing a self published comic featuring my character Thrud the Barbarian.
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin by Carl Critchlow
© 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC
This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
DC: Let’s start at the beginning- are you a fan of Tolkien, and have you ever found it to inspire your work?
CC: My first experience of Tolkien was when an older cousin of mine lent me a copy of the Hobbit back in the 70s, can’t remember how old I was but when I attempted to get through a single volume edition of LotR the somewhat dense text defeated me (a bit like trying to read the Bible from cover to cover). I tried again a few years later with a three book version and enjoyed it, but I must admit back then I was more of a Robert E. Howard fan.
DC: The Witch-king is a pretty major character as far as Lord of the Rings villains go- was there anything special that went into illustrating such a major character?
CC: I was flattered to be offered such an iconic image. As well as the film version I’m also very familiar with the way the character (and the following scene with Eowyn) has been depicted by some of my favourite artists such as Frazetta, Michael Kaluta, the Brothers Hildebrandt and Angus McBride, so I went back to the original text to try and ensure I had my own version.
DC: There are several other elements here too- can tell me about the Fell Beast design?
CC: Again, I tried to refer back to the original text as well as other images I’d seen and create something more creepy than a standard dragon so I referenced some deep sea fish for the head and neck to try and produce something that looked like it might have been created by Sauron.
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin, Illustrated by Carl Critchlow © 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
DC: And then Minas Tirith below? I know landscapes aren’t something we see often (shout-out Grand Coliseum) but what a fun addition behind the text box!
CC: I knew the view of Minas Tirith was an important part of the image and even though it would be partially obscured by the text box on the card I know if you try and short change any part of an image like this it will show you up if you try and cut corners (and, as you say, it was fun to do).
DC: Were there any particular triumphs or challenges in composing this piece?
CC: The main compositional challenge, as with all full art MtG cards, is to make sure there’s enough wiggle room so that all the important elements don’t crash into the text block or title.
I seem to remember having to adjust the original composition to ensure there was enough room between the two areas of text to clear the Witch King’s mace and the Fell beast’s jaw without making the whole thing look too small in the overall frame.
As well as that making sure the perspective works on a round cityscape viewed from above took some plotting out – never my strong suit, but pleasing when it comes together.
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin, Illustrated by Carl Critchlow © 2026 MEE LLC. TM lic MEE to WotC LLC This is being shared with the permissions from Wizards of the Coast
DC: You’ve illustrated nearly 250 cards for Magic over your illustrious career- how does this work fit in?
CC: Well, the first Magic cards I ever did were for Weatherlight pretty much 30 years ago (can’t quite believe it’s been that long!) – I haven’t been doing as many cards as I used to recently, the first ever card I did was Morinfen, another creepy creation with leathery bat-wings, so maybe the two images will serve to bookend my contribution to Magic as my priorities for work continue to evolve.
DC: And where can folks find you if they want to keep up with your work?
CC: I don’t really have time for social media but do have a website which showcases a selection of my work including many of my favourite MtG cards here: www.carlcritchlow.com
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A big thank you to Carl Critchlow for taking the time to answer these questions and guide us through his brand new painting, and again to Wizards of the Coast for this Free Preview Card. The Witch-king has been one of my favorite Lord of the Rings characters since I first saw the movies. I have the WETA Sideshow Helm on my desk, and the Limited Edition Witch-king Fossil watch sits next to it, so what an incredible treat it is to show you all this new card; an all-time favorite character from one of my oldest artist friends.
Remember to check Hipsters of the Coast every Thursday for a brand new article, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all next time!
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.