ANIME ART CARDS IN MAGIC THE GATHERING
Whether or not you enjoy anime TV shows, movies, manga, or the unique art style associated with them, anime has become a major part of contemporary culture. In recent years, this influence has crossed over into Magic: The Gathering. Although there are currently no Universes Beyond sets based on anime, a total of 315 Magic cards have been printed with an anime art style.
The first of these cards were the Chandra Nalaar and Jace Beleren Planeswalkers, printed in the Jace vs. Chandra Duel Decks. The War of the Spark set followed, introducing a series of 14 Planeswalkers featuring anime art. We offer several of these as proxy cards:
As Secret Lairs grew in popularity, Wizards of the Coast began printing several anime-themed Secret Lair Drops, including Kamigawa: The Manga and Secret Lair: Hatsune Miku – Sakura Superstar. The Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set, which is heavily influenced by modern Japan, contains the most cards in the anime art style to date. The most recent anime-style cards appear in the Foundations Jumpstart set, which includes both reprints and new cards in this distinct style.
If you want some to collect or play with some of these special anime art cards you’re going to pay for it. The Encore Electormancer (Snapcaster Mage) Secret Lair Drop card’s lowest listing on TCGPlayer is currently $700! Ms. Bumbleflower Raised foil from Commander: Bloomburrow is currently selling for over $300 and the Jace, the Mind Sculptor Raised Foil from the same set is going for almost $400. Buying proxies of these cards is a great option if you want to protect your foils or bling out your casual Commander deck.
It’s clear that anime art style is here to stay in Magic: The Gathering, and we’re excited to see what the future holds. Will we get an entire anime-based Universes Beyond set? Perhaps superhero-themed anime cards? Or a return to Kamigawa with even more anime-inspired art?