I love hidden images in card art. It was one of the best feelings when I was working as an art director when an artist played the game enough that they felt confident enough to put nods and references in the art. I lived for that. The ability to hide references for established, enfranchised players, allowed for deeper flavorful interactions and created hype for a new product release. With minimal effort, an artist could affect sales numbers just by hiding things in the background. It’s funny how that works.

The last time I saw a Magic piece so integrated with easter eggs was Damia, Sage of Stone by Steve Argyle. Check out that article here if you want to find the sheer ton of references Steve snuck in there.

As for today, Zack Stella just came out with this piece, Expropriate, and it’s loaded with references. You’ll be able to buy a print or foil artist proof from his webstore soon! You ready?

Expropriate by Zack Stella

Mox Sapphire

Mox Ruby

Mox Jet

Mox Pearl

Selvala's axe

Muzzio's hat

Grenzo's key

A chest of gold stolen from Marchessa

True-Name Nemesis

Here are all of them from Zack himself in case you couldn’t find them quickly. Now, is the globe the globe from Dominaria in the card Invasion Plans? I wish it were.

Conspiracy 2 comes out August 26. Cool Stuff Inc will have all the cards for pre-order, including this beast of a card for future Commander games.

—Mike