#Matt Cavotta

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Kami of the Palace Fields

Artist: Matt Cavotta TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[sandmandaddy69]

Matt Cavotta

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Etched Champion by Matt Cavotta

[horror-art-the-gathering]

yixlid jailer

[art-the-gathering]

alloy myr

[magicmalcolm]

Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

[vetyr]

Fixed Point in Time • Here's another illustration of mine for Magic the Gathering's Doctor Who set!!

AD: Matt Cavotta

[erionmakuo]

MARSHAL'S ANTHEM. For Magic: The Gathering and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth AD: Kieran Yanner, Matt Cavotta

[elbenherzart]

✨ Inscription of Abundance  ✨     For Magic: The Gathering - Tales of Middle Earth AD: Colin Boyer & Matt Cavotta  A very challenging card to find a working composition for but I was excited to paint Galadriel teaching a spell to little Arwen.

[shahabalizadeh]

Growth Spiral

Art direction by Matt Cavotta

[markrosewater]

Do you have a favorite Magic artist?

Matt Cavotta because he's a good friend. : )

[anthonydevineart]

MTgxWH40K Necron Monolith

Illustrated for Magic the Gathering Universes Beyond- Warhammer 40,000.

Art Director: Matt Cavotta © Wizards of the Coast 2022

[byfeldonscane]

https://web.archive.org/web/20071021022939/http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mc93

Tea and Biscuits with Pete Venters

Matt Cavotta Taste the Magic Thursday, June 7, 2007

[...]

PV: Here's another piece of trivia—during the wars depicted in Fallen Empires, it was the thrulls that won control of Sarpadia. No one else could match their ability to react and evolve. Supposedly the orcs gave them the hardest fight but when the thrulls started creating Cave-Stormers (a creature composed of a central mouth ringed with razor sharp teeth surrounded by eight legs that could charge through orc caves, turning anything it met into a meaty red vapor without even decelerating) the end was in sight for the orcs. I'd still like to see that sucker on a card.

MC: When did this happen? What was the historical context with regard to Magic sets?

PV: The thrulls probably took less than fifty years to dominate Sarpadia. There's no historical context as Sarpadia is so isolated. The only reason that the thrulls didn't go on to rule the world is that they lacked imagination and never realized that there was anything else beyond the horizon-line of water surrounding Sarpadia. We used to say, that if one day a ship came to Sarpadia it might be the beginning of the end for Dominaria.

Still, the Phyrexians beat them to it. However, you'll note that we never did learn what happened when the Phyrexians tried to invade Sarpadia.

MC: Did any of this thrull history or thrull vs. Phyrexian stuff appear on cards or in books?

PV: There was one tale that saw print in The Duelist where Phyrexians were questioning someone (possibly Endrek Sahr?) about the thrulls. I can't find the details now, but it may have hinted that the thrulls' creation involved some stolen Phyrexian devices. The Phyrexians were not only miffed at the theft of their secrets, but what they'd been used for. Still, rumor persists that the Phyrexians eventually had to admit that the thrulls showed promise and imported some of them into Phyrexia for study.

Even with the Phyrexians' laborious planning for the Invasion, they may have met far greater resistance than they imagined in Sarpadia. Even now there may be Thrulls trying to understand where the Phyrexians came from. Who knows? Maybe future products will contradict all of this; after all, if it hasn't seen print, it's not necessarily canon. But this is what I had planned. I'd love to see a future Magic set tackle these questions.

(Hey all you story goobs—if you know anything about the Duelist story Pete mentioned, please post it on the message boards.)

[horror-art-the-gathering]

tattermunge maniac

[art-the-gathering]

jester's scepter

[askkrenko]

Krenko’s Guide to Creature Types: Mystic

Art by  Matt Cavotta

What is a Mystic (flavorfully)?

Flavorfully, Mystic is not a well defined creature type. Mystics appear to be a type of spellcaster who gain their powers from pure spirituality without a specific connection with a divine entity. While the first two Mystics are clearly Taoist monks (and yet not of the Monk creature type), the Mystics in Odyssey are nomads who gain powers for unclear reasons.

What is a Mystic (mechanically)?

The initial two Mystics were random green creatures in Portal: Three Kingdoms. They’re both 2/2s for 2G, which feels more like a coincidence than an intentional decision to have them mirror each other.

The Mystic type reappeared in Odyssey, where it appears on five White Human Nomad Mystics that have a Threshold ability to grant Flying. One of them is also Green.

And then Mystic disappeared. Forever. Despite a large number of creatures with Mystic in the name.

Can I make a Mystic deck?

While it’s not unreasonable to use all the Mystics in a single deck, and the fact that five of them have Threshold abilities means they all work well with the same strategy, the need to get seven cards in the graveyard doesn’t really work well with their designs as aggro creatures. Mystic Penitent is potentially a one mana 2/2 Flying Vigilance creature, which sounds amazing, but filling your graveyard quickly takes time away from playing aggressive creatures. Mystic Enforcer, potentially a 6/6 Flying for 4, would also be great on curve but the setup necessary to make it work means it doesn’t compare favorably to many other aggressive options.

The Mystics are also only legal in Eternal formats, which means an even harder brand of opponents, and there aren’t nearly enough to make a commander deck.

Sixty card super casual is about all you’re going to pull off here.

Is Mystic a good creature type?

Mystic is an obvious mistake. While there’s a clear mechanical identity, there’s no actual need for the creature type, especially when those with a shared identity are already Nomads. Further, ‘Mystic’ is a viciously undefined term in a game with Shaman, Wizard, Cleric, Druid, and now Warlock. It’s obviously not a supported type, too, as there are some two dozen creatures with Mystic in the name that aren’t of the Mystic creature type. Granted, some of these are things like “Mystic’s Familiar” and “Mystic Snake,” but others are “Elvish Mystic” and “Stoneforge Mystic.”

Curiously, the new Spellslingers game does use the type Mystic, which encompasses Druids, Shamans, spellcasting Monks, and Stoneforge Mystic. It also includes a few magical creatures, such as making the unicorn a “Mystic Beast.” It’s a great type option for a game with limited types, and a complete creature type rework could definitely make use of it… but as is, Magic has basically forgotten it exists, and that’s fine. It’s a dead creature type and should probably stay that way.