Artist attribution errors

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Several Magic cards have been printed with incorrect artist credits. Such occurrences are relatively rare: as of June 2025, out of more than 88,000 unique paper printings, fewer than 250 have such errors. Of those, more than half are a misspelling of a single artist's name.

In recent years, Wizards of the Coast has issued statements acknowledging these errors.

Typos

The single most common attribution error is this misspelling of Douglas Shuler's name, found on all of his Alpha cards and their early reprints.

Many attribution errors are simple typos. The most pervasive error of this type is credits given to "Douglas Schuler" in Alpha, Beta, and Collectors' Edition, totaling 134 cards.[1] The correct spelling of that artist's surname is Douglas Shuler. He is correctly attributed from Arabian Nights onward.

Boell Oyino[2], Dennis Detwiller[3], Margaret Organ-Keen[4], and Randy Asplund-Faith[5] have also seen their name misspelled.

Collaborations

Instances of artist collaboration are another common category of attribution error.

The twin brothers Greg Hildebrandt and Tim Hildebrandt were often credited incorrectly. Dozens of cards were incorrectly attributed to the pair working together when only one brother was responsible, or vice versa, or the wrong brother credited for solo work.[6]

Six cards from Mirrodin block were credited to Anthony S. Waters, neglecting to name his collaborator, Cara Mitten.[7] Artists M. W. Kaluta and DiTerlizzi partnered for three cards in Stronghold and Exodus. One of these, Wayward Soul, was credited to DiTerlizzi alone.

Incorrect artist

More than four dozen cards are attributed to the wrong artist entirely. Two of these are incorrectly credited because the cards were printed with the wrong artwork. In the Spanish printing of Fourth Edition, Cavar túneles was printed with David Gelon's artwork for Strip Mine. The printed credit to Mark Poole is correct for the intended artwork (Burrowing). Similarly, Ángel de Serra was intended to use Douglas Shuler's Serra Angel artwork, but was mistakenly printed with the artwork for Amy Weber's Time Elemental.

From 2022 onward, Wizards has issued statements on the official website regarding such errors.

Card Correct artist
Kairi, the Swirling Sky ヨシヤ/YOSHIYA[8]
Heroic Charge Zoltan Boros[9]
Furnace Host Charger Andreas Zafiratos[10]
Phyrexian Archivist Andreas Zafiratos[11]
Firespitter Whelp David Alvarez[12]
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship Imiri Sakabashira[13]
Promise of Loyalty 山田航平/KOHEI YAMADA[14]
Jumbo Cactuar 百瀬寿/HISASHI MOMOSE[14]
Nine Lives C.F. Villa and Brian Reber[15]

References

  1. ↑ Search for artist misprints by Shuler. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  2. ↑ Search for artist misprints by Oyino. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  3. ↑ Search for artist misprints by Detwiller. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  4. ↑ Search for artist misprints by Organ-Kean. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  5. ↑ Search for artist misprints by Asplund-Faith. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  6. ↑ Search for artist misprints involving either Hildebrandt brother. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  7. ↑ Search for artwork by Waters and Mitten. Scryfall search. Scryfall (2025-06-10).
  8. ↑ Statement on Borderless Artwork Version of Kairi, the Swirling Sky | MAGIC: THE GATHERING (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  9. ↑ Statement on Dominaria United Artwork for Heroic Charge | Magic: The Gathering (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  10. ↑ Statement on March of the Machine Artwork for Furnace Host Charger (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  11. ↑ Statement on March of the Machine Artwork for Phyrexian Archivist (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  12. ↑ Statement on Magic: The Gathering Foundations Artwork for Firespitter Whelp (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  13. ↑ Statement on Aetherdrift Artwork for Skysovereign, Consul Flagship (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  14. ↑ a b Statement on Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ Cards Promise of Loyalty and Jumbo Cactuar Artist Attribution (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06.
  15. ↑ Incorrect Artist Credit on Nine Lives (en). MAGIC: THE GATHERING. Archived from the original on 2025-09-05.
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