~ M Dizzy ~

The Gathering Steve Argyle’s Magic Top 100

#85

Tunare

This 2009 illustration, for SONY Online Entertainment game Legends of Norrath, is my favorite of the eighteen pieces he did for the game and the only one in my top 100 list.

I’ve had the good fortune to see full resolution versions of his work from this game and I wish you all could see it.  I’ve never seen prints of this piece in Steve’s offerings and it could be that SOE didn’t let him have the rights to do that which is a shame.

Steve Argyle - Magic: the Gathering date-stamped Amonkhet pre-release promo Soul-Scar Mage, card # 148/269

[Overall release #114] - [Promotional release #12]

Amonkhet is the Ancient Egypt inspired set released on April 28, 2017.  Steve Argyle made three illustrations for the set.

Beginning with the Battle for Zendikar set in September 2015 Wizards of the Coast changed how pre-release promos were handled.  Previously there was only one (sometimes more) pre-release promo for a standard-legal set and everyone got the same one.  The cards were foil-only and had a date stamp indicating when the pre-release was for the set.  Now and for the foreseeable future the date-stamped card a player receives at the pre-release can be any rare or mythic from the set but still foil and still date-stamped.  They are distributed in a cellophane wrapper.

Amonkhet is the first standard-legal release since the implementation of this new program that has any rares or mythics illustrated by Steve Argyle.  This is the only card from Amonkhet that has a Steve Argyle illustration that can be acquired with a pre-released date stamp.  The Amonkhet pre-release dates, and as such the date stamp upon these cards, are “22-23 April 2017″.

Steve Argyle has had one pre-release promo six years earlier in his career, one of the two Mirrodin Besieged pre-release promos, Glissa, the Traitor.

I have been preparing my MtG archive to include the recent Soul-Scar Mage spoiler from Amonkhet.  It is my intention to list the date-stamped prerelease versions as a separate printing of the card.

While my archive needs this distinction indicated for absolute clarity concerning the printings available I’m curious what you collectors think about the subject.

WotC started using date-stamped versions of every rare and mythic card in a regular release standard legal set as prerelease promos beginning with Battle For Zendikar in September 2015.  Sadly, Steve Argyle has not had any rares or mythics in standard during this entire stretch of time and Amonkhet will be the first time this happens to any of his cards.

What would you do?  Would you go out of your way to secure a date-stamped copy of his cards.  Would this be a separate card in your collection… or would it simply replace and supersede the regular version?  Or, would you deliberately ignore it?

Good Gravy! I hit 11k followers today, so i’d like to run a giveaway.  I’m giving away two gryphon playmats 14x21, which i’m down to my last 10!  All you have to do is either favorite or reblog the image here to enter into the raffle! 

First, let’s hear it again for Minion #541 who was selected by popular vote to become Ascended Minion #30!

Voting in that selection was part of making a valid entry into the Game Show.  In order to win the First Place prize, a 2007 Full Bleed promo Togashi Satsu EX 3 from L5R, you had to have voted for the eventual winner and correctly identify the event from which the deckbox on Steve’s table in this photo came from… which happens to be GP Dallas/Forth Worth 2011.  That winner is Minion #201!

I offered a consolation prize to be given to one randomly selected Minion among all who identified the deckbox correctly, regardless of who they voted for.  The prize was a French language, non-foil Monastery Swiftspear and its new owner is Minion #491, aka Ascended Minion #28!

Everyone guessed correctly (includig my girlfriend, who would have known) that my number 3 spot goes to bloodbraid elf. I actually bought mine quite recently, while i did own them originally. I gave them to minion 559 because she likes them way more and i had the hardest of times finding them again. But i digress, i love this art.

Welcome To The Autumn 2016 Ascension Campaign Voting Ballot!

(as usual… I’ve bastardized one of Steve’s pictures in MSPaint for my own use… someday I’ll pay dearly for that… but not today.)

The selection will happen on this Thursday, September 22, 2016.  Until then I leave it to you all to give me some input about the prowess of the Minions on my radar.  I will amend my radar over time to add or remove Minions for future campaigns.  For now these are they… and they need your support.

Here are links to the posts [in bold] these Minions are connected to.  Any campaigning they’ve done can be found there.

Minion #77 - @alegitteapot Minion #194 - @ampminion194 Minion #385 - @xanddra Minion #533 - @curbynet Minion #541 - @rory4231

All of these Minions have potential for Ascension.  Some have been more active than others in recent days.  I ask all my followers to answer carefully.

As some might have guessed, my number 4 is liliana of the veil. I have loved this card for a long time and have been very lucky to pick up the nonfoils at their all time low. I bought the foils (pack foils! The promo are lighter in tone which i find inferior to the original) because i always play steve his cards in modern. ( Jund with lili, eldrazi taxes with thalia, infect with glistener elf and now i have my eyes set on suicide zoo with my number 5).

So my number 5 is monastery swiftspear. Theres one really simple reason why i love this card, i think steve perfectly capture a stong female. She retains a very feminine look while emitting a air of power.

Heres my number 6 of favorite steve cards, coincidentally i started playing in zendikar so its no coincidence i love this one so much. I think steve perfectly captured her strong will. I love the use of fire without overdoing it.

GUYS IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!!!! so these are all foils, we have a FTV Lightning Angel, Iridescent Angel, Archangel of Strife, Platinum Angel, and a Pack Art foil Angelic Arbiter signed by Steve Argyle.

rules are: - first of all I’d like to apologize to my foreign followers but I can not afford to ship outside of the US. - you do not have to follow me to be entered, but it doesn’t hurt. - reblog, like if you want but I’m only going to count reblogs towards RNGeezus choosing the winner. - if you win you will have to PM me a mailing address.