To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Magic: The Gathering, VIZ Media has released a beautiful, oversized hardback book exploring the entire history of the strategy card game, divided into sections on the different Planes, Races, Creatures, and Characters. The 192 page coffee table book is slipcased and includes four double-sided art prints suitable for framing – if you can decide which side you want to display (the artwork features Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth/Cabal Stronghold, Kev Walker/Chris Rahn Llanowar Elves, Donato Giancola/Greg Staples Serra Angel, and Weatherlight/Skyship Weatherlight).

Each section features gorgeous full-color artwork as well as sketches and notes for each release of the game that discuss the various designs and the development of the overall multiverse in which the game is played. For those not familiar with the gameplay, there are five colors (Red, Blue, Green, White, and Black), each tied to a particular elemental power (Fire, Water, Forest, Air, and Death) with particular creatures and spells associated with them. With each new release of Magic: The Gathering, new or reimagined worlds are designed and there is an overall narrative, including Legendary heroes and villains, that is played out behind the scenes as you build your decks and do battle with your friends (and enemies).

I haven’t actually collected the cards or played regularly for probably twenty years, so the vast majority of information in this book was new to me. I honestly had no idea that so much went into the development of each new iteration beyond the simple (and sometimes not-so-simple) gameplay dynamics, creature designs, and spells. Concepts & Legends is written by James Wyatt, a senior game designer and author of five Dungeons & Dragons novels, campaign settings and Dungeon Master’s Guides, as well as each of the Art of Magic: The Gathering hardbacks that have been released since 2016 (each volume focuses on a different Plane: Zendikar, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Amonkhet, Ixalan, and Dominaria). There’s a lot of information in here and Wyatt makes it all very accessible and entertaining – which I honestly wasn’t expecting from a project like this. What could have been a very dry and boring read, kept me interested and invested from start to finish.

If you have any interest in the worlds of Magic: The Gathering, this is a book that you can’t pass up. Every single page is filled with amazing artwork and you won’t be able to stop turning the pages to see what mind-boggling image is revealed next. I was particularly fond of the Creatures section and loved seeing all the detail work that went into each design and its subsequent variations; especially for my favorites the Black Creatures, zombies, and demons. I still have my old black deck sitting on a shelf in my office and this makes me want to break it out, if only to gaze lovingly at the cards’ beautifully horrific artwork.

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