Magic: The Gathering’sStreets of New Capenna are a classy cocktail of grit and glamour; the high lives of the rich and powerful juxtaposed with the cold cruelty of the streets, shaken up with a healthy splash of gang warfare, served chilled over ice.
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Channeling the themes and ideas found in popular interpretations of gangster life, such as The Godfather, it’s a complex and layered world; one of the most interesting new creations in Magic’s recent history, and one that makes us long for the days of the three-set block so that we might spend more time walking its sparkling boulevards and dark alleyways. It also, like every world in Magic, comes to life through its artwork; we’ve gathered ten of its most evocative pieces here, for your consideration.
10Shadow of Mortality, By Robin Olausson
A callback to the iconic Modern staple Death’s Shadow, Shadow of Mortality is an incredibly cool piece. Making clever use of perspective and shadow, as well as New Capenna’s urban setting, Olausson manages to convey the sheer scale of the dark Avatar by plastering it over a series of skyscrapers like some kind of macabre billboard.
The creature also serves as a clever visual metaphor for the ever-present danger in New Capenna, and the inescapable shadow that hangs over all of its inhabitants. The captured figure in the foreground may just be the latest victim of the city’s dark underworld, but he certainly won’t be the last.
9Brokers Ascendancy, By Shawn Pagels
Part of the Ascendancy cycle, a series of five cards intended to showcase the five feuding crime families of New Capenna, this version of Brokers Ascendancy was part of the set’s Showcase lineup.
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It marries the diverse cast of creatures that make up the Brokers with a striking art deco style, making great use of strong lines and simple shapes to present an unusual take on the dramatic original piece, that nevertheless manages to retain and even expand its impact.
8Cut Your Losses, By Dominik Mayer
Known for his powerful, flat compositions that make great use of colour and angular lines, Dominik Mayer brings his signature style to this devastating mill spell. The central figure, shown splitting an unfortunate victim in two while still keeping their drink aloft, creates a twisted symmetry in the piece that mirrors its gameplay functionality.
Just as the character in the piece has been split in two, so too will your opponent’s deck be, once you’ve cast this spell. You can even sacrifice a creature to copy the spell, a mechanic that’s reflected in the ‘sacrifice’ of the dropped glass on the left of the piece.
7Tenacious Underdog, By Jason A. Engle
Channeling classic boxing movies such as Rocky and Creed, this piece presents a familiar angle for fans of the sport: the corner seat, where the second fight, the personal struggle that rages between rounds, takes place.
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The scene is framed by a huge crowd of shadowy, faceless observers, enough to seem intimidating from another angle, but the fighter here is positioned above them, reinforcing the focus and will that his facial expression establishes. The whole piece screams ‘determination’, from art to title, perfectly capturing the ideal that has made the films it evokes so enduring.
6Titan of Industry, By Lucas Staniec
A piece that’s as brilliant in concept as it is in execution, Titan of Industry presents an urban vision of an Elemental: a huge golem built of buildings, with iron girders for bones and a high-rise office for a heart.
The viewer is given a front-row seat to the carnage this creature is causing, watching a huge tower block fist crash into other buildings. This is both an exciting scene in which to showcase this powerful creature, and a metaphor for the way in which New Capenna, through its endless gang-based conflict, is destroying itself.
5Cormela, Glamour Thief, By Samy Halim
A covetous Vampire with a taste for fine art, it’s appropriate that Cormela is portrayed with such a dazzling piece in her Showcase variant. There’s a brilliant use of contrast throughout, from the pure white stone of the foreground statue, to the decadent red backdrop, to Cormela’s strong blue palette that encompasses both her outfit and hair.
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The gold outlines here, as well as the gold detailing on the backdrop, neatly convey the elegance that Cormela strives for, while also blending seamlessly with the gold frame used across the different Showcase cards in New Capenna.
4Rogues’ Gallery, By Matt Stewart
This piece achieves two things very efficiently: firstly, it showcases one member from each of the five New Capenna families together in one scene, a rare chance to contrast their differing styles and personalities in a non-combat setting; and secondly, it makes use of the classic ‘line up photo’ shot composition, an image that recurs frequently across all manner of crime dramas.
The piece itself is quite simple, but the varied sizes, postures and expressions of the five characters shown act as a brilliant quick summary of each family, and mirror the card’s ability to recur cards of different colours from your graveyard nicely.
3Incandescent Aria, By Yoshi Yoshitani
Showcasing the literal vocal power of Kitt Kanto, a singer for the Cabaretti family, Incandescent Aria is one of the more unique takes on a board wipe that Magic has seen, from a flavour perspective at least. The original composition for this card is excellent, but the Showcase variant by Yoshi Yoshitani is even more striking.
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With its cheerful central figure and colourful floral ring, representing the aria itself, the piece brilliantly contrasts the beauty of music with its destructive capabilities, shown in the red rings and jagged white lightning surrounding the two assailants that frame the scene.
2Riveteers Ascendancy, By Svetlin Velinov
One of the most enduring images of New York is the ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ photo, showing construction workers lined up along a steel beam while taking a break during the construction of the Rockefeller Centre. Svetlin Velinov cleverly echoes this famous photo in his piece for Riveteers Ascendancy, where five members of the Riveteers family are shown in the same position.
It’s a great way to evoke the feeling of one of the cities most synonymous with crime, in fiction and reality, but beyond that it also allows Velinov to establish the identity of the Riveteers; with the bright colour palette and varied cast of characters, this piece beautifully showcases the diversity of New Capenna’s working class.
1Unleash the Inferno, By Justin and Alexis Hernandez
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. Showcasing a powerful fire blast leveled against an insectile opponent by a member of the Riveteers, Justin and Alexis Hernandez use a bright, jagged vision of fire to convey its devastating impact, and frame the piece from the insect’s point of view, so the viewer can really feel the power of the attack.
The bright flames contrast with the shadowy, imposing figure of the Riveteer in the background, who himself represents a contrast, between his draconic form and the suit he wears. It’s a piece that efficiently captures a lot of ideas, and one of the best illustrations of a brute-force red removal spell the game has seen.
