Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      From the Uncharted lighter to the giraffe plushie. Read More
    • 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      From Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett to a potential upset in Best Actress, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Read More
    • Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Here are the 18 contestants who will be vying for $1 million. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Exclusive First Look at 'Magic: The Gathering Amonkhet'

Exclusive First Look at 'Magic: The Gathering Amonkhet'

By Nivea Serrao April 11, 2017 at 08:58 AM EDT
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Welcome to Amonkhet

Amonkhet-Key-Art
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Get ready to step into the world of Amonkhet, Magic: The Gathering fans, as the game’s last expansion set—which hits stores later this month—is entirely set in this Ancient Egypt-inspired realm. Ahead, EW presents an exclusive look at some of the art and cards of the upcoming expansion set, as well as a look at the soon to be released Amonkhet-themed art book, The Art of Magic: Amonkhet. The Amonkhet expansion hits stores April 28 — preorder it here — while The Art of Magic: Amonkhet will be available for purchase July 4. Preorder it here.

1 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sunscorched Desert Card

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

This setting serves two purposes. First, it allows the game’s creative team to tackle different facets of Egyptian mythology — as evidenced in the art of the upcoming cards, which will feature mummies, sphinxes, and scorpions, as well as various animal-headed gods and people. Second, it lets the game delve into its "graveyard" mechanic, which sees players discard played cards into a pile that renders them no longer relevant to the game (with a few exceptions).

Exert, which reflects the way that the people of this world are pushing themselves to succeed in the trials of the gods and earn a place in the afterlife, which basically means that when you attack with a creature you can leave it. It's putting in an extra effort so it stays tapped longer. It doesn't untap during your next untap step.

"The Egypt world fit in well with our story plans, and is a world that our fans have been demanding for a long time,” explains writer James Wyatt. "It was time in our story for the planeswalkers of the Gatewatch to go and confront [Elder Dragon] Nicol Bolas in his lair, and making it an Egypt world fits with him and informs a lot of the mechanics and creative elements of the cards."

2 of 20

3 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Grim Strider Card

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

And of course, drawing on Egyptian mythology means that Death will be involved. "Amonkhet is a plane that hates the idea of an end. Death, as we know it, is a mostly unknown concept on this plane, as any being that dies and has enough of a body is immediately brought back to life," explains writer Alison Luhrs. "This second life is not a sentient one, and the majority of creatures that die return as mostly mindless zombies. The residents of Naktamun use cartouches to control their dead, but the mummies of the desert are not nearly so tame."

Adds Wyatt of the city-state of Naktamun, "One of the key concepts of the world is that there's this little, and literal, bubble of civilization, It's protected by this magical veil called the Hekma. Beyond that is the barren desert. But inside it they are sheltered and protected by the beneficence of the god-pharaoh."

3 of 20

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Cryptic Serpent Card

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

But just because the iconography of Egyptian mythology is familiar, players shouldn't expect what they already know. "There are pyramid structures, but they're not tombs. They're monuments and celebrations of achievement, not places where mummies are buried," explains Wyatt. "But there are also mummies who are embalmed inside the city, circumventing that curse. So yes, they rise up again as mummies, but they are controlled. They're bound to the service of the living people in the city."

Part of this is rooted in the culture of Naktamun, which sees its people eagerly awaiting the afterlife. "The people of Naktamun undergo trials to prove themselves worthy of a glorified death," explains Wyatt of the residents' mindset. "It sounds nice at one level, but maybe not so much on another level. The gods seem like they're nurturing and helpful, but then also one of them is granting the glorious death to a person. So it's definitely a mixed bag."

4 of 20

Advertisement

5 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Art of Magic: Amonkhet 

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

"The central tension that we're exploring at this particular moment is Gideon, one of our planeswalker characters, has come here, and he has a weird history with the gods of his home world of Theros, the Greek mythology-inspired world," says Wyatt. "The faith that he used to have in those gods has broken, and now he comes to this world and he sees these five animal-headed gods. He was expecting to find a hellhole ruled by this evil dragon. Instead, he finds gods walking among the people and caring for and protecting and nurturing them. It's this weird cognitive dissonance for him."

Of course, there's been a lot of speculation among fans about when the other shoe is going to drop and Gideon will discover that this plane is not what he thought it to be. "We're starting to see some of that," explains Wyatt. "In the card, Cruel Reality, we see Gideon being restrained as he watches an initiate of the city drowning another initiate in a pool of water. Suddenly, he's realizing that there's something rotten in the city, which he should've expected all along."

5 of 20

6 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Art of Magic: Amonkhet 

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

6 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Lord of the Accursed (Art by Grzegorz Rutkowski)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

7 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Desert Cerodon (Art by Igor Kieryluk)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

8 of 20

Advertisement

9 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Prowling Serpopard (Art by Tyler Jacobson)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

9 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sandwurn Convergence (Art by Slawomir Maniak)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

10 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Heart-Piercer Manticore (Art by Scott Murphy) 

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

11 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Glorybringer (Art by Sam Burley)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

12 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Grasping Dunes (Art by Daarken)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

13 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Painted Bluffs (Art by Mark Poole) 

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

14 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Soulstinger (Art by Mike Burns)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

15 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Ornery Kudu (Art by Deruchenko Alexander)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

16 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Defiant Greatmaw (Art by Deruchenko Alexander)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

17 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sunscorched Desert (Art by Min Yum)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

18 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

19 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Grim Strider (Art by Christine Choi)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

19 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

20 of 20

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Cryptic Serpent (Art by Lius Lasahido)

Magic The Gathering: Amonkhet CR: Wizards of the Coast
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

20 of 20

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Nivea Serrao

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 20 Welcome to Amonkhet
    2 of 20 Sunscorched Desert Card
    3 of 20 Grim Strider Card
    4 of 20 Cryptic Serpent Card
    5 of 20 The Art of Magic: Amonkhet 
    6 of 20 The Art of Magic: Amonkhet 
    7 of 20 Lord of the Accursed (Art by Grzegorz Rutkowski)
    8 of 20 Desert Cerodon (Art by Igor Kieryluk)
    9 of 20 Prowling Serpopard (Art by Tyler Jacobson)
    10 of 20 Sandwurn Convergence (Art by Slawomir Maniak)
    11 of 20 Heart-Piercer Manticore (Art by Scott Murphy) 
    12 of 20 Glorybringer (Art by Sam Burley)
    13 of 20 Grasping Dunes (Art by Daarken)
    14 of 20 Painted Bluffs (Art by Mark Poole) 
    15 of 20 Soulstinger (Art by Mike Burns)
    16 of 20 Ornery Kudu (Art by Deruchenko Alexander)
    17 of 20 Defiant Greatmaw (Art by Deruchenko Alexander)
    18 of 20 Sunscorched Desert (Art by Min Yum)
    19 of 20 Grim Strider (Art by Christine Choi)
    20 of 20 Cryptic Serpent (Art by Lius Lasahido)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Exclusive First Look at 'Magic: The Gathering Amonkhet'
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.