Hello folks! I hope you're having a fantastic (and safe) day today! Today I want to look at what I feel are key missed opportunities in Double Masters for new art in these reprints. In the past Masters sets we've had some great and key art that was added to a card, often with some really impactful art!

But Double Masters came and went and we didn't get the high profile new art that I love. These were missed opportunities.

Here let's drill down into a card that won't make my list today to explain my issue.

Take Arcum Dagsson. As you can see, he has a side-view of him from a distance examining something old and metallic with a staff. This art is fine. There's nothing wrong with it. Modern legendaries for Commander have more attention to detail, and bigger pieces of art. Compare it to Core Set 2021's Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner. See how much more fleshed out the art is? See how much more evocative and lush the image is? That's where we want to be with our art for major pieces. A new version of Commander favorite Arcum Dagsson in the style of new legendaries would have been lovely and was a missed opportunity.

In order to make this list a card cannot have a Double Masters variant,and cards that would have made my list (Kaalia of the Vast, Blood Moon, Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of War and Peace, Sword of Feast and Famine were all in my list before I pulled them) without the new art in the variant version of this card. Many of these cards have never had any other art (although not all).

Ready for my list? Let's do it!

Honorable Mention #1 - Everflowing Chalice

The art on this powerful card is better than most, but I feel we are due another option for Commander fans who love this card. Man, Everflowing Chalice just keeps getting reprinted over and over and over again. From Commander sets to Masters to preconstructed decks, we've had a lot of Chalices. It may be time for some new art out here folks! This is a missed opportunity!

Honorable Mention #2 - Path to Exile

Path to Exile has a few different pieces of art for you to choose. This is in my Honorable Mention as this would have been a good opportunity for a Double Masters variant. But that wasn't to be. Sad. But the fact that we have a good number of alternate art available drops this to Honorable Mention. This is a missed opportunity!

Honorable Mention #3 - Conclave Naturalists

I'd like a non-Ravnica art of this card, please! The art here is good and fine and does its job reasonably well. It's just very Ravnica and a more generic art would be fun. It's also a heavily played card in Commander and kitchen table games. An alternate art for out here would be kicking. This is a missed opportunity!

10. Vampire Hexmage

Given the high rate of reprints for the solid Vampire Hexmage we get, I'd like new art eventually. This thing has all the reprints! But the original art is solid so it hits back here at #10 for me, although some higher have no reprints either. This is a great card for killing planeswalkers and isn't played as much as it should be. Run it more and enjoy it more! This is a missed opportunity!

9. Master of Etherium

We've never had a different art! This is the beginning of a section of iconic cards with no alternate art anywhere, nor any variants in this set either. I know that's weird to me! This has been printed five times now and with the same art every time! Can we get another for this classic artifact creature lord? Thanks! This is a missed opportunity!

8. Death's Shadow

Considering how iconic this card is an older format like Modern, some new art would have been lovely. Or a variant. Alas, neither was to be. The art here isn't as iconic as some others, and yet this is a card that has defined archetypes named after it. Could we get another bit of art for this Modern staple? Or a variant for Double Masters? This is a missed opportunity!

7. Avenger of Zendikar

Beloved in Commander, no new art or variants in Double Masters. That's weird to me. Really weird. This Green staple adores ramp and midrange strategies with a lot of bodies for the battlefield on arrival. And they pump as it adds lands. They grow over time and punch above their hit range. Without new art or a variant? This is a missed opportunity!

6. Godo, Bandit Warlord

Hello fans of Godo, Bandit Warlord! His image is too far away. I think Parente's art is fine, but this was made before the modern emphasis on legendaries that I mentioned above when considering Arcum Dagsson. We need a new Godo. Badly. And that list should at least include a variant in Double Masters. This is a missed opportunity!

5. Stonehewer Giant

How come Stoneforge Mystic has a variant version, but not Stonehewer Giant? Or any other art, for that matter? Given just how common you see them together in casual builds and Commander decks? That feels off to me. How about you? That feels off-putting to me that one has it and the other doesn't. This is a missed opportunity!

4. Baleful Strix

We've had a lot of Baleful Strixes (Strixi?) down through the years. It's heavily printed in decks, Commanders, and elsewhere. And yet despite that we've never had a promo or another card with alternate art. No variants. No Masterpieces. Nothing. Why not? It's past time! This is a missed opportunity!

3. Rolling Earthquake

I love the art for this card. I think Yang Hong did a great job with it! But I think it's a little too on theme as a member of the Portal Three Kingdoms set. I'd love to see a new version of this art that's as good as this one and leaves behind the overly themed parts of the art. This is a missed opportunity!

2. Trinisphere

For years Trinisphere has been an iconic card! But's it's art? I love the Hildebrandt's, but this is not their best work, in my opinion as there is not much of a background or anything else, just the Trinisphere itself. How has a card this iconic not had any new or alternate art down through the years? No clue! This is a missed opportunity!

1. Jace, the Mind Sculptor

This inspired today's article! How could there not be new art or a variant for Jace, the Mind Sculptor? Cyclonic Rift has a variant, but not this? When you told me there were alt-art variants in the set and you told me that Jace, TMS is among the reprints, I knew that this would have one. How much of a no-brainer is that? How do you not have a variant option (or brand-new art) for the arguable best planeswalker of all time? (I think it's Liliana of the Veil, but I'd listen to arguments otherwise) Did you not want to let people have the experience of opening arguably the best variant they could given the card selection of the set? I still don't get it. This is a (big) missed opportunity!

Note that in some cases (Dualcaster Mage, for example) the card has never had new art, not even in the promo version, nor do they have a variant, but I love the art and have difficulty imagining new art. But a variant would be nice.

And there we have it! What did you think of my list? Anything in here that I missed? Anything you agree with? Just let me know! And have a safe day! And week! And year!