Top 10 Greatest Artists / Illustrators from Magic: The Gathering

Hey, guys! Today I bring to you a top 10 with great Magic artists.

As my personal taste does end up affecting the choices a bit, make yourself comfortable to leave your favorite artists in the comment section too!

10 - Drew Tucker

Starting our list with Drew Tucker, one of Magic's original 25 artists. This is a love him or hate him artist, some find his artworks very good and some find terrible, obviously I tend to agree with the ones that think his artworks are amazing. Just by looking at the cards he made, you can see why he draws in so many different opinions.

His artworks, sometimes kinda blurred, others seemingly an indistinguishable blot on your screen, reminds me of that Monet phase in which, almost blind by cataracts, he started to alter his landscapes a lot.

9 - Jeff Laubenstein

An artist that I had the honor to meet at Sao Paulo's Magic Fest (GP) in 2019. He was always very upbeat in his flowery shirts, shorts and sandals, said he liked Brazil and the Magic community, because even though he did only a few artworks, players always remember him fondly, be it by signing cards, buying his art and signed playmats or just by talking to him.

I personally think this artist's artwork is quite interesting because they remind me a lot of comic book art, besides Jeff Laubenstein having a very characteristic feature: you need only to look at his art to recognize him.

8 - Jesper Myrfors

An artist that brings a lot of nostalgia is Jesper Myrfors. Beside him being one of the first original 25 artists, he was also Magic's first art director. He made countless iconic cards, always with a very "dark" tone, just like his look. It was this man that created the back of Magic cards.

Currently, he says hating Magic due to the numerous, of many levels, mistakes that Wizards did with him. It's a pity that the company doesn't give value to its first art director.

7 - Christopher Rush

Black Lotus' artist! With that in his CV, need I say more?

One more of the original 25 artists, did countless famous cards, illustrated more than 100 artworks for Magic. He was also the one responsible in helping design the icons of each five colors of mana. Unfortunately, he died in 2016, at 50 years of age.

6 - Terese Nielsen

Force of Will's illustrator, both in the original artwork and the reprint, is sister to another great known Magic artist, Ron Spencer.

I love Terese Nielsen's art, I met her when I was buying Allegiance collection boosters. Currently she was involved in a bunch of polemic news due to tweets about conspiracy theories, some with racist tones. With that, Wizards came out to say she will no longer illustrate any cards, and there won't be any reprints with artworks produced by her.

5 - Mark Tedin

Another one of the original 25 artists, and alongside artists Ron Spencer, Rob Alexander, which are also part of the original illustrators, are the only ones left that are still producing artworks for Magic to this day.

I really like this artist, and for those who read the latest article on Magic's scariest artworks, knows that Mark Tedin showed up many times, with his great creativity to create plenty of very scary creatures.

4 - Rebecca Guay

Rebecca Guay is a favorite to a lot of players, creator of beautiful artworks. She has a signature trace that is hard to mix up, and does the most beautiful elves and angels I have ever seen.

This artist has illustrated Neil Gaiman's comic book "Sandman" and was elected the best artist in 2005 by the magazine "InQuest" for "Fan Choice Awards".

3 - Quinton Hoover

From the third place onward, it was very hard to put these artists in order, but as I got to choose, I put Quinton Hoover in this position. But he might as well come in first!

Unfortunately another artist that is no longer with us, he passed away in 2013. He illustrated more than 70 Magic cards, and even though he has passed for a while now, he is still remembered as one of the biggest illustrators. It is very hard to find someone who doesn't like his art.

2 - Richard Kane Ferguson

Ever since I was a kid and I played Magic on my school's floor, no shields, of course, this is one of my favorite artists. Richard Kane Ferguson's art has always reminded me of RPGs, fantastic tales, and all the epic stories with these artworks that even seem to be moving.

This is another illustrator that has a very signature style, you can find out easily which art is his! All legendary creatures should have this artist's artwork!

1 -John Avon

And the first place goes to John Avon, yes, the landscape master! How can we forget the basic lands he illustrated?

One of the most prolific Magic artists, with over 280 cards drawn by him. He also painted covers for books by Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Arthur C. Clark and Harry Harrison.

How nice it was to come back from school, open up my shoe box with Magic cards and stare at the mountains from the Mirage collection that John Avon illustrated. Really, one of the best artists not only in Magic, but of the current days.

I felt compelled to add more illustrators to this TOP 10.

Seb McKinnon (@SebMcKinnon)

Volkan Baga

Ron Spencer

RK Post

Phil Foglio

Melissa Benson

This Top 10 was done taking in consideration my own personal taste, so many artists were left out, besides being so small, only 10 illustrators. Magic has many good artists, so I think it would be fair to write a top 50 of the best artists!

Leave your comments down below on what artist do you think I left out or if you agree with my list! See you next time.