Dark Confidant

original card

And here comes one of the stars of the game. Dark Confidant has recently been considered, in a draw with Tarmogoyf, the best creature ever printed in the game. Both do honor to such title. Dark Confidant will be one of the most seen cards in the new Modern format as soon as it becomes oficial. Quite looking for that format as well. I just hope Wizards does the same with Commander and it becomes a sanctioned format.

Original card artist: Ron Spears
Altered card artist: Andrew How

Nath of the Gilt-Leaf

original card

I'm getting completely addicted to EDH lately. I'm constantly looking for new Commanders to build a cool deck around them, and being elves one of the most prominent tribes out there (only beaten by Humans and Goblins) I had to build an elves deck! Having Rofellos banned, I think Nath will be a good choice, as it lets you add B to the mix and both of his two abilities are quite good.
In terms of the illustration, I picked that fantastic one because it portraits a darker elf than the original, and I always felt that elf assassins are one of the coolest creatures out there :D.

Original Card Artist: Kev Walker
Altered Card Artist: Dave Rapoza

Shivan Dragon

original picture (previous to 7th Edition)
original picture (7th Edition and onwards)
original picture (From the Vault: Dragons Special Edition)

When I started playing Magic TG (back then in 4th edition), the Shivan Dragon was one of the most charicmatic mean creatures. It wasn't really playable in standard, but I used to splash two of them every time I played with a GR aggro deck. I just loved his presence in the table. These days, there are better utility dragons than him: Bogardan Hellkite, Ancient Hellkite, Flameblast Dragon or the recent Mana-Charged Dragon (infinite fun in EDH). They will get more places in decks than the Shivan, but he'll still be #1 in my personal Hall of Fame of Dragons.

Original Shivan Dragon artist <7th Ed.: Melissa Benson
Original Shivan Dragon artist =>7th Ed.: target="_blank"Donato Giancola
Original Shivan Dragon artist FtV:Dragons: Justin Sweet
Alternative Shivan Dragon artist: Sansyu

Grave Titan

version A


version B

I've chosen a new M12 card that is getting a bit of buzz these days that I particularly like in concept. Here I leave two different versions, please vote your favorite!

Original picture

Original Grave Titan artist: Nils Hamm
Version A illustration artist: Andrei Pervukhin
Version B illustration artist: Per Haagensen

I'm back! :D

After a very long time without dedicating much time to Magic, I've recently discovered the EDH format. I think it's the most fresh thing I've seen in a long time for Magic (yeah, I know it's already very old, but it was just not played at all in my area). So with the discovery of a new format, it comes new altered cards!

Black Knight

original picture

Taking up again the subject of Knights (see the previous Blood Knight below), I've versioned this time the Black Knight. Most of the times, I always find a place for these type of cheap knights in my decks; they have an excellent cost/quality ratio, and I also like a lot how they feel in play.
It's a real pity for me that the Black and White knights have been replaced by other creatures in standard (In fact, they haven't even been reprinted since a long time ago). I guess this is just a nostalgic feeling, because with so much tribal decks, I don't think they'll have a place on standard these days.
And here's my version of this old classic, the Black Knight (or should I say Dark Knight?) with Batman featuring him. What do you guys think? Please comment!

PD: I wonder if someone already realized that I'm a big fan of comics too :-P

Original Black Knight Artist: Jeff A. Menges
Original Alternative Batman Illustration Artist: Silvestri

Prodigal Pyromancer

original picture

Back in the days, in my area of playing we used to call Prodigal Sorcerers (and that kind of creatures) 'gunslingers'. I even remember when I did, just for fun, a deck with 4 Prodigal Sorcerers, 4 Rootwater Hunter, 4 Suq'Ata Firewalker, 4 Zuran Spellcaster and 4 Pirate Ship and a lot of counters :D. Sure the deck wasn't competitive... but it was a lot of fun! It felt like Far West reached Magic TG.
These days I'm reading the "The Dark Tower" comic book saga (very recommended), and this idea came to my mind. I hope you like it! Please comment!

Original Prodigal Pyromancer Artist: Jeremy Jarvis
Original The Dark Tower Illustration Artist: Marvel - Jae Lee & Richard Isanove

Juniper Order Ranger

original picture

Without any doubt, Frank Frazetta is one of the artists I would love to see working for Magic TG, and overall, one of my favorite fantasy artists. This is the first of a series I will like to create featuring this artist.
Juniper Order Ranger recently appeard in a combo standard deck I quite liked, and sadly, it'll soon rotate out of standard with the appearance of Eventide. I don't see him being playing in nothing else but standard, so I've created this version to give him an honorable farewell.
Given his ability, and how quickly it grows to immeasurable power, I though that he deserved a more warrior looking intimidating aspect... and here it goes! and yeah, I also thought that a polar bear driven charriot was also muuuuch cooler than a giant goat :-/
What do you think? Please comment!

Original Juniper Order Ranger Artist: Greg Hildebrandt
Original Alternative Illustration Artist: Frank Frazetta

Darksteel Colossus

original picture

This time for the first artifact of my custom cards. Darksteel Colossus is one of the most artifact creatures being played in Vintage right now. I like a lot original Carl Critchlow's art, but one thing I think it lacks is a reference to his size. You can't really perceive how big is the colossus in comparison to something.
As an avid videogamer too, I think the coolest colossus I've ever seen have been in the mythical and completely awesome game Shadow of the Colossus by SCE.
In honor in both, the card and the videogame, here's a TRUE colosssus. What do you think?

Original Darksteel Colossus Artist: Carl Critchlow
Original Shadow of the Colossus Artist: Sony Computer Entertainment

Blood Knight

original picture

I remember back in the days when the people used to play 4 Black Knight or 4 White Knight. Those cards where quite good back at that time, and with the arrival of Planar Chaos (I love that expansion), the red version arrived: the Blood Knight.
I really like the original art done by Matt Cavotta, but I somehow imagine Blood Knight as a more bloody warrior (duh), more savage, gore, primal... more viking style; someone that will make his opponents piss their pants off just by hearing him galloping in the distance.
So what do you think?

Original Blood Knight Artist: Matt Cavotta
Original Alternative Illustration Artist: Alexei Samokhin

Bitterblossom

original picture

Faeries decks completely overbooked the standard format a couple of months ago. Still, this is one of the most seeked for cards at the moment. First of all, I have to say that Rebecca Guay is one of my favorite artists in Magic TG. She's been delighting us with her work since 1996 in Alliances with a unique style, and this time it has been really hard to introduce a new concept for Bitterblossom.
The fact is that when I think about faeries, I almost do it the same way I do for mermaids: beautiful, wonderful and charming... to just finish you off when you're thinking about rainbows and hapiness :). So here's my version of Bitterblossom with a bit more charming faeries. What do you think?

Original Bitterblossom Artist: Rebecca Guay
Original Faeries Illustration Artist: Antgerm

Chameleon Colossus

I've been having this concept for over a week already, and although I had the idea very clear in my mind, it was pretty tough to find an illustration that fit it. So there we go, two possibilities but only one winner :). This time is up to you guys which one prevails. Please fill the survey to the right!

Intimidating Hulk:


Raging Hulk:

original picture

So, first time I looked at the Chameleon Colossus original art, I saw something pretty huge (colossal :D) and green!... come on, it came to my mind in about 2,79 seconds... nothing better than HULK to feature something green and colossal :), and it also shapeshifts!! (Bruce Banner - Hulk). Just another of those 'fits perfectly' concepts.
But which one do you prefer? I like the first one because of the intimidating and powerful stance, covering the whole space because of his colossal size; but I also like the second one because of the destructive and raging feeling.

Please vote!

Original Chameleon Colossus Artist: Darrell Riche
Original Intimitating Hulk Illustration Artist: Marvel
Original Raging Hulk Illustration Artist: Marvel

Lord of Atlantis

original picture

I started playing Magic 11 years ago. One of the most mythical creatures I had back at that moment was Lord of Atlantis. It was one of the few Lords of 3rd edition (together with the Goblin Lord and Lord of the Pit if I remember correctly).
I'm playing at the moment a standard Merfolks deck that I'm quite liking, and I couldn't resist making a tribute to Lord of Atlantis using one of the coolest creatures of World of Warcraft, the Murlocs.
I just love it. What do you think?

Original Lord of Atlantis Artist: Melissa A. Benson
Original Murloc Illustration Artist: Dan Scott

Flame Javelin

original picture

Another custom card for my Hellboy deck. When I looked at the Flame Javelin, I realized the original artist pictured it as some type of Kamehameha or an Energy Beam and, who performs the most powerful energy beams??? Cyclops!!! so there he goes... blasting everything for just 3 red manas :).

Original Flame Javelin Artist: Trevor Hairsine
Original Cyclops Illustration Artist: X-Men Legends II Rise of Apocalypse Videogame

Demigod of Revenge

original picture

These days I've been playing around a deck that I'm calling "Hellboy". It's basically built around 'Demigod of Revenge'. I really like this creature, almost as much as I do with Hellboy comics :). I was thinking around the concept of the card, and the idea of the Demigod of Revenge being Hellboy just seemed so perfect that I had to make this version. Definitely, the ultimate Demigod of Revenge...

Original Demigod of Revenge Artist: Jim Murray
Original Hellboy Illustration Artist: Unknown