Latest articles
89 pieces so far — Curio archives, set explainers, beginner guides, comparisons, and the occasional take. Anything worth more than a bullet point in the directory ends up here.
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Adam Burke on Sorcery
Oregon painter behind Nightjar Illustration — metal album art and natural-world oils, now a recurring Sorcery contributor across Alpha, Beta, and Gothic.
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Adam Kašpar on Sorcery
A Czech contemporary-realism painter known for landscapes and geology, shown beside Monet — and the hand behind Sorcery's Bedrock.
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Alan Pollack on Sorcery
A TSR-and-Magic veteran who painted over 100 MTG cards in oils. One of the deepest contributors to Sorcery's Alpha set, across all four printed sets.
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Andrea Modesti on Sorcery
Italian historical illustrator from Pavia, working in watercolor and gouache. Sorcery was his first TCG — and it shows in the medieval rank-and-file.
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Atlas Thorn on Sorcery
The South African-born, Blue Mountains oil painter who came up as a Magic alterist and painted Sorcery's three Crossroads Tower promos.
artists thorn - Article
Boris Vallejo on Sorcery
One of the defining fantasy painters of the paperback era, on Sorcery through two licensed promo cards: Amazon Warriors and Waypoint Portal.
artists vallejo - Article
Brian Smith on Sorcery
Self-taught LA surrealist working in oil on wood panel. His haunting, Giger-tinged figures run deep through Sorcery's Alpha, Beta, and Gothic sets.
artists smith gothic - Article
Bryon Wackwitz on Sorcery
One of Magic's original 49 artists, lead illustrator on Legend of the Five Rings — back at the easel for Sorcery after a 24-year break.
artists wackwitz arthurian-legends gothic mtg-veterans - Article
Caio Calazans on Sorcery
Self-taught Brazilian painter who came up through Magic card alters. Now a recurring Sorcery landscape artist across Alpha, Arthurian Legends, and Gothic.
artists calazans - Article
David O'Connor on Sorcery
UK oil painter and early Magic: The Gathering illustrator whose Stephen Donaldson cover art now anchors Sorcery's Gothic set.
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Doug Kovacs on Sorcery
The Dungeon Crawl Classics painter is on Sorcery — fifteen cards across Alpha, Beta, and Gothic, in the same gonzo-fantasy ink-and-gouache he made his name
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Ed Beard Jr. on Sorcery
The MTG artist who gave players Nicol Bolas and the original Elder Dragons hand-painted Sorcery's entire 13-card Dragonlord mini set.
artists beard dragonlord mtg-veterans - Article
Elwira Pawlikowska on Sorcery
Polish-born, Sweden-based architect turned illustrator. Her ink-and-watercolor cities and structures run across all four Sorcery sets so far.
artists pawlikowska - Article
Emil Idzikowski on Sorcery
A Warsaw-trained Polish painter who works in acrylics and oils and brought a full 14-card run to Sorcery's Gothic set. The footprint, traced.
artists idzikowski gothic - Article
Jeffrey Laubenstein on Sorcery
The watercolorist who built the look of Shadowrun and Earthdawn, later a Magic artist — now four Arthurian Legends cards into Sorcery.
artists laubenstein arthurian mtg-veterans - Article
Juan Machuca on Sorcery
A self-taught illustrator from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, whose first-ever professional project is a 15-card debut in Sorcery's Gothic set.
artists machuca gothic - Article
Jussi Pylkäs on Sorcery
Finnish concept artist behind Sorcery's Battlemage Avatar and a run of ink-and-acrylic Gothic undead. Comic-rooted line work, painted by a player.
artists pylkas battlemage gothic - Article
Margaret Organ-Kean on Sorcery
A Seattle watercolorist and early Magic artist whose whimsical, childlike fantasy work now spans 12 Sorcery cards across four sets.
artists organ-kean - Article
Marta Molina on Sorcery
A Madrid-born, self-taught painter who came up through Magic card alters — now a multi-set Sorcery illustrator known for luminous acrylic landscapes.
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Matt Tames on Sorcery
A US multi-disciplinary designer and 3D artist whose Sorcery footprint is the game's elemental Walls and seasonal Rivers across Alpha and Beta.
artists tames alpha - Article
Mattias Frisk on Sorcery
Swedish metal-album painter and Vanhelgd vocalist, now a recurring Sorcery artist — fifteen cards across Alpha, Beta, and Gothic, plus the Gothic logo.
artists frisk gothic metal-art - Article
Michal Nagypál on Sorcery
A Slovak oil painter, Prague Academy-trained, for whom Sorcery was the first trading card game he ever painted. Father of #FrogNation.
artists nagypal - Article
Ossi Hiekkala on Sorcery
The Finnish illustrator who set aside his digital workflow and painted 15 Sorcery cards in gouache, from Lightning Bolt to Sisters of Silence.
artists hiekkala alpha beta arthurian-legends - Article
Pedro Ferreira on Sorcery
The Porto-based traditional illustrator who arrived on Sorcery through an album cover — a Gothic-set debut grounded in Golden Age illustration.
artists ferreira gothic - Article
Raffaela Lerch on Sorcery
Austrian traditional painter behind Sorcery's underwater set Atlantean Fate — a 15-card footprint across Alpha, Beta, and Gothic, all hand-painted.
artists lerch - Article
Sam McKinnon on Sorcery
Montreal illustrator and graphic designer, brother of MTG's Seb McKinnon. Four nature-soaked acrylics for Arthurian Legends.
artists mckinnon arthurian-legends - Article
Santiago Caruso on Sorcery
Argentine dark symbolist known for literary covers — Jane Eyre, Maldoror, The King in Yellow. Five Sorcery cards across Alpha, Beta, and Gothic.
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Scott Kirschner on Sorcery
Magic veteran who painted the censored Four Horsemen — now on Sorcery with a six-card Gothic run of gaunt, brooding minimalism.
artists kirschner gothic mtg-veterans - Article
Seb McKinnon on Sorcery
Canadian Magic illustrator known for ethereal, dreamlike oils. His Sorcery footprint so far: one Arthurian Legends card, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
artists mckinnon arthurian mtg-veterans - Article
Tony Szczudlo on Sorcery
Lead artist on D&D's Birthright and a 73-card Magic veteran, now spread across four Sorcery sets — including the fan favorites Major Explosion and King of the
artists szczudlo mtg-veterans - Article
Vasiliy Ermolaev on Sorcery
A Moscow-trained book illustrator and wargame-miniature painter whose gothic line work runs across all four Sorcery sets. The footprint, traced.
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Zohn Dyer on Sorcery
Australian sci-fi and horror painter whose first Sorcery work landed across the Gothic set — eleven cards of detailed, richly colored dread.
artists dyer gothic - Article
Anson Maddocks on Sorcery
One of the original 25 Magic artists — thirty Alpha cards, the first Hurloon Minotaur — now on Sorcery with one of 2026's most-played Avatars.
artists maddocks gothic avatars mtg-veterans - Article
Dan Seagrave on Sorcery
The painter behind Entombed's Left Hand Path and Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness is now a recurring Sorcery artist — two Avatars and four precon alt-arts.
artists seagrave gothic avatars metal-art - Article
Drew Tucker on Sorcery
An original 1993 Alpha Magic artist with a loose, thick-paint style unlike anything else on a TCG — now a four-set Sorcery contributor. The footprint, traced.
artists drew-tucker curios alpha mtg-veterans - Article
Elvira Shakirova on Sorcery
The Moscow-trained, London-based illustrator whose Sorcery commissions thread through more design-history stories than any other artist on the wave-4 roster.
artists shakirova curios gothic avatars - Article
Francesca Baerald on Sorcery
The Italian cartographer who painted Sorcery's first finished card, both card backs, and more Avatars than anyone else on the roster.
artists baerald cartography alpha beta card-backs - Article
Frank Frazetta on Sorcery
The biggest name in fantasy illustration is on a small New Zealand TCG, posthumously, four times over. How the Frazetta footprint got there.
artists frazetta curios alpha licensing - Article
Gadu Duaso on Sorcery
A Filipino oil painter on 48-by-36-inch canvas, ten Alpha paintings, and the only contemporary monster cluster on the roster painted at gallery scale.
artists duaso alpha beta gothic - Article
Gerald Brom on Sorcery
The painter who defined TSR's Dark Sun is now fifteen-plus cards deep in Sorcery's Gothic set. How the Brom footprint got there, and what to chase.
artists brom gothic curios dark-fantasy - Article
Heidi Taillefer on Sorcery
The painter behind Cirque du Soleil's Dralion poster is fifteen cards into a Sorcery footprint that spans Arthurian Legends and Gothic. How it got there.
artists taillefer arthurian gothic surrealism - Article
Ian Miller on Sorcery
The British pen-and-ink illustrator behind Fighting Fantasy and Warhammer is the stylistic outlier on Sorcery's oil-painter roster — and this site's backdrop.
artists ian-miller gothic curios alpha - Article
Jeff Easley on Sorcery
The man who painted the AD&D Monster Manual dragon is on Sorcery — a dozen base cards plus two Beta Curios. How the TSR house look landed here.
artists easley curios beta tsr - Article
Jeff A. Menges on Sorcery
An original 1993 Alpha Magic artist and editor of two dozen Dover fantasy anthologies — now a four-set Sorcery contributor with 15+ paintings on the roster.
artists menges curios alpha mtg-veterans - Article
Lindsey Crummett on Sorcery
Ancient Dragon and Occult Ritual on the same roster — a former Weta Workshop sculptor whose retail painting got Frazetta as its alt-art.
artists crummett alpha gothic - Article
Liz Danforth on Sorcery
The Tunnels & Trolls and original-era Magic illustrator — one of the few women in the founding generation of fantasy game art — on the Sorcery roster.
artists danforth alpha curios mtg-veterans - Article
Melissa Benson on Sorcery
An Alpha-1993 Magic painter — Shivan Dragon, Nightmare, Lord of Atlantis — and now a multi-set Sorcery Curio contributor. The footprint, traced.
artists melissa-benson curios beta mtg-veterans - Article
Quinton Hoover on Sorcery
An original 1993 Alpha Magic artist who died in 2013, now on Sorcery via a family arrangement. Four cards across Arthurian and Gothic, traced.
artists hoover arthurian-legends curios mtg-veterans - Article
Rodney Matthews on Sorcery
The British painter behind Magnum, Asia, and Nazareth covers is also on Sorcery — Archimago, the Green Knight, Dozmary Pool, and a long earlier tail.
artists rodney-matthews arthurian-legends avatars album-art - Article
Séverine Pineaux on Sorcery
The French illustrator who painted all four base Avatars, lives near the real Brocéliande Forest, and got an Arthurian Curio named in her honour.
artists pineaux avatars alpha beta arthurian-legends - Article
Truitt Parrish on Sorcery
Colorado-trained illustrator who launched his career on Sorcery. Painted retail Wyvern — shares the card with a posthumous Hoover Curio.
artists parrish arthurian-legends - Article
Vincent Pompetti on Sorcery
A Belgian-trained, France-based graphic-novel painter brought into the original Alpha pool, with a watercolor-ink signature unlike anything else on the roster.
artists pompetti curios alpha - Article
The Most Expensive Sorcery Cards Right Now (What the Data Actually Says)
The actual top of Sorcery's secondary market in May 2026 — pulled from TCGplayer and cross-checked. Alpha foils dominate. Curios sit off-grid.
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Archimago, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Archimago is Sorcery's defining control Avatar — and the 2025 European Crossroads winner. Here's what's won with it, and where to read the lists.
avatars archimago control tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Auras in Sorcery, Explained: How They Work and Why They're Different
Sorcery's Auras don't attach to creatures — they sit on grid squares. The single mental flip MTG converts need before the Aura card pool makes sense.
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Battlemage, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Battlemage is Sorcery's most-piloted aggressive Avatar. Here's what's won with it — and where to read the lists, breakdowns, and matchups.
avatars battlemage tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
The Sorcery Cornerstone Championships, Explained: Format, Qualification, and Why They Matter
Cornerstone is Sorcery's regional-flagship event series — the local store tier that feeds Grand Contest and Avatar of the Realm. Here's the structure.
competitive tournaments cornerstone organized-play - Article
Druid, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Druid is Sorcery's transforming Arthurian Avatar — what's won with it (Hot Springs, Fire/Air, Bearly Afloat) and where to read the lists.
avatars druid hot-springs-druid tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Enchantress, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Enchantress is Sorcery's premier aura-animation Avatar. Here's what's won with it — and where to read the lists, breakdowns, and matchups.
avatars enchantress aura tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Every Sorcery Keyword, Explained (With Examples)
Airborne, Voidwalk, Burrow, Submerge, Genesis, Ward, Stealth, Movement +X — every keyword in the rulebook, in plain English, with one example card each.
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Geomancer, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Geomancer is the Earth precon Avatar that ramps sites onto the board. Here's what's won with it — and where to read the lists, breakdowns, and matchups.
avatars geomancer earth beginner tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Mono Water in Sorcery, Explained: The 2026 Meta Boogeyman and Where to Learn It
Mono Water is the post-Gothic archetype community writers call the 2026 boogeyman. What it does, which Avatars pilot it, and where to read the lists.
archetype mono-water meta tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Necromancer, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Necromancer is Gothic's token-engine Avatar — bones into value, every turn. Here's what's won with it, and where to read the lists.
avatars necromancer graveyard tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
Sorcerer, Explained: Tournament Results and Top Community Decklists
Sorcerer is the second-most-piloted Avatar in competitive Sorcery — but top-cut finishes are scarcer than the pilot count suggests. Here's the honest record.
avatars sorcerer control tournament-results archetype-survey - Article
The Sorcery Meta in 2026: What's Actually Winning (and Why)
A post-Gothic survey of what wins Sorcery tournaments right now — which Avatars converted, which fell off, and what new players should care about.
meta competitive archetypes 2026 tournament-results - Article
Sorcery vs Flesh and Blood, Explained
What's actually different about Sorcery if you already play FAB — the grid, the two-deck draw, the hand-painted art, and the scene around it.
comparison flesh-and-blood fab indie-tcg - Article
Which Sorcery Precon Should You Buy First?
Eight Sorcery precons, two waves, $40-67 each. The honest pick depends on what kind of player you are. Here's how to choose.
beginner precon buyer-guide - Article
How Combat Actually Works in Sorcery (Strike Order, First Strike, Intercept, Damage)
Every fight in Sorcery follows the same five-step skeleton. Walk through it once and the rest of the rulebook stops fighting you.
combat mechanics beginner rules - Article
How to Mulligan in Sorcery (and Why the 3-Card Limit Changed Everything)
Sorcery's mulligan rule is one redraw, capped at 3 cards total. Here's how to think about your opening hand and when to take the redraw.
mulligan mechanics beginner rules - Article
Sorcery Card Rarities, Explained: Ordinary, Exceptional, Elite, Unique
Sorcery's four-tier rarity system caps copies of high-rarity cards. What each tier means, what Peasant format actually is, and why budget decks compete.
rarities beginner rules - Article
Sorcery's Death's Door Mechanic, Explained
Reducing an Avatar to 0 life doesn't end the game. Death's Door is the window between zero and dead — and it's why Sorcery rewards finishers, not damage.
rules mechanics beginner - Article
The Sorcery Turn Structure: Start, Main, End — and What You Can Do When
Three phases, one draw, and a permanent choice between two decks. The Sorcery turn isn't an MTG turn — here's how it actually flows.
rules beginner reference - Article
The Regions of Sorcery: Surface, Underground, Underwater, Void
Sorcery has four regions, not five. Surface, Underground, Underwater, Void — and why Air is an element, not a region. The primary-source walkthrough.
regions mechanics beginner rules - Article
How to Identify Authentic Sorcery Cards
Hand-painted art, black-core stock, a tightly-controlled foil pattern — Sorcery's authenticity signals, in one primer. For buyers in the secondary market.
authentication collecting - Article
Every Curio in Alpha, Documented
Eighteen cards the publisher won't acknowledge, reconstructed by collectors. Mostly pre-production sketches and abandoned mechanics, pre-Kickstarter.
curios alpha - Article
Every Curio in Arthurian Legends, Documented
Twenty-four Curios in Sorcery's first standalone expansion — and the first themed subseries (the Gilded knights) in the chase pool.
curios arthurian-legends - Article
Every Curio in Beta, Documented
Eighteen variant prints in the first retail Sorcery set — mirrored art, foil hybrids, typo'd cards. Catalogued by collectors; the publisher won't.
curios beta - Article
Curio Cards in Sorcery: Contested Realm, Explained
What Curios are, why the publisher won't acknowledge them, how the community catalogued them, and how each set's pool differs. The canonical primer.
curios collecting overview - Article
Why Dragonlord Has No Curios
Sorcery's mini-set has no Curios — and the structural reason why says something about how the publisher seeds them in the first place.
curios dragonlord - Article
Every Curio in Gothic, Documented (So Far)
Seven Curios catalogued from the December 2025 set. Fallen Angel is the marquee — Scott Kirschner's parallel commission to Brom's standard print.
curios gothic - Article
Curiosa.io, the Official Sorcery Deckbuilder, Explained
How a fan-built tool became the publisher's official platform — and the one place every Sorcery player ends up sooner or later.
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Every Sorcery Avatar, Explained
All 34 playable Avatars across Alpha through Gothic — ability, archetype, skill level, card image and flavor for every one.
avatars mechanics beginner - Article
Every Sorcery: Contested Realm Format, Explained
Every way Sorcery is actually played — Constructed, Sealed, Draft, the OP pipeline, and the casual variants — laid out so you can pick the right one.
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How to Play Sorcery Online, Explained
The Tabletop Simulator mod, how to install it, how to import a Curiosa deck, and where to find opponents — written down for once.
beginner online-play tabletop-simulator - Article
Is Sorcery: Contested Realm Worth It in 2026?
An honest look at where the game stands in 2026 — what's strong, what isn't, and which players should actually buy in this year versus wait.
beginner buyer-guide awareness - Article
Sorcery Threshold and Sites, Explained
Threshold isn't mana. It's a permanent floor your Sites unlock and don't spend. The single concept MTG converts need to flip in their head.
beginner mechanics mtg - Article
Sorcery vs Magic: The Gathering, Explained
What's actually different about Sorcery if you already play Magic — the grid, the two-deck draw, the hand-painted art, and the scene around it.
beginner mtg comparison - Article
Why Sorcery Exists: Erik Olofsson, Path of Exile, and the Game He Built
The Grinding Gear Games co-founder who walked away from Path of Exile to make a hand-painted card game on a 5x4 grid. How and why.
history designer origin - Article
Every Sorcery: Contested Realm Set, Explained
A plain-English tour of every set released so far — Alpha, Beta, Arthurian Legends, Dragonlord, and Gothic — and what each added.
beginner overview
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