Alternate art

Some Magic: The Gathering cards have two or more versions with different art pieces. Such cards are said to have alternate art.

A few early sets, such as Alliances, experimented with alternate art for cards to make common cards more collectible. However, Wizards came to believe that this impeded easy recognition of a card and that having multiple versions caused confusion when identifying a card at a glance. Consequently, alternate art is now only used sparingly and mostly for promotional cards. That said, when older cards are reprinted in new (non-Core Edition, and not "timeshifted" reprints in the Time Spiral set) sets, Wizards of the Coast has guaranteed that they will be printed with new art to make them more collectible.

Alternate arts are used nowadays in reprints, and promotional cards, such as APAC lands and pre-release cards. Within a set, alternate art now generally only appears on the five basic land cards, as they are recognizable enough to avoid confusion.

Alternate art cards

• Brothers Yamazaki: this was printed with two different art pieces in the same set so that the same card could depict each of the two brothers. It is the most recent non-land example of alternate art within a set.
• Crusade: Crusade's art was changed due to public outcry.
• Ertai, the Corrupted, Skyship Weatherlight and Tahngarth, Talruum Hero: the premium versions of three of Planeshift's legendary cards were printed with alternate art to make them more collectible.
• Plateau: Plateau's original art in Wizards of the Coast's art database was accidentally deleted cards, and when it was to be reprinted, they recommissioned new art. This is the only instance of unintentional alternate art.
• Unholy Strength: The art of Unholy Strength, like that of Crusade, was changed due to public outcry; it was about the pentagram, a symbol for the occult and suggestive of demonic themes, depicted in the card's previous versions' art.