Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Art as Storytelling in MTG’s Silver-Bordered and Un-Set Traditions
Magic: The Gathering has always thrived on storytelling through both card text and artwork, but the Un-sets — those gleefully silver-bordered experiments — push the narrative into a different dimension. They’re not just jokes and jabs at the rules; they’re a playful reminder that art is a conversation between flavor, myth, and playstyle. When you glance at a card like Necropolis Fiend, you’re reminded how a single illustration can anchor a moment in a mythos, even if the surrounding jokes of the multiverse nudge you toward a wink. 🧙♂️🔥
Necropolis Fiend sits in a broader spectrum of MTG storytelling: a creature whose very frame and function whisper about graveyards, power, and the peril of overextending in a game that loves both strategy and spectacle. While Un-sets often lean into satire, this piece—presented here in a serious, gothic mood by Seb McKinnon—demands that we listen to the quiet gravity beneath the humor. The demon’s wings slice through the art with a promise of menace, and the necropolis backdrop asks us to consider the cost of power that leans on exiled memories. That’s the kind of storytelling that sticks with you after the dice are put away. 🎨⚔️
Necropolis Fiend: A Giant Demon with a Graveyard Toolkit
This card is a rare treat to analyze in depth because its design ties together three layers of MTG storytelling: mechanics, color identity, and narrative iconography. With a mana cost of {7}{B}{B} and a formidable base body of 4/5, Necropolis Fiend is a deliberate behemoth. The Delve mechanic — where each exiled card from your graveyard reduces the spell’s total mana cost by one colorless mana per card — frames the demon as a creature who feeds off the graveyard’s stored history. It’s a perfect metaphor for a species of dark storytelling: the more you mine from the past, the more raw power you can unleash in the present. And yes, the Delve interaction also creates tense decisions: do you want to push the big spell early, or hold back to sculpt the exact mana you need? 🧙♂️💎
In addition to its flying threat, Necropolis Fiend features an activated ability that flexes the card’s graveyard theme: {X}, {T}, Exile X cards from your graveyard: Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. This isn’t just a damage swing or a value engine; it’s a narrative moment that says, “If you keep a memory of your fallen foes in your graveyard, you can bend reality for a moment.” The X variable invites players to craft meticulous control sequences—exiling precisely the number of cards to exile-wrangle an opposing threat while swinging for game potential. It’s a reminder that in MTG, the graveyard is not simply a grave; it’s a reservoir of possibilities. ⚔️🎲
The card’s color identity is black, and its artistry—Seb McKinnon’s signature gothic lighting and moody atmosphere—renders Necropolis Fiend as a visual chorus to the Delve theme. The black mana alignment supports a lore of necromancy, power, and the seductive pull of exile as currency. In this sense, the art becomes a storytelling device in its own right: the demon’s perched, almost elegiac stance, against a necropolis skyline, becomes a visual poem about power earned by pairing sacrifice with cunning. It’s a stark contrast to the more lighthearted, puzzle-piece humor you might associate with Un-set imagery, yet it nonetheless belongs to the same grand tradition: revealing story through disciplined, imaginative design. 🎨💎
- Rarity: Rare — a standout in any black-dominated deck that wants a late-game finisher and a toolbox of graveyard interactions.
- Set: Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander (tdc), a commander-focused environment that invites big plays, synergy with stax of dragons and storms, and memorable moments of dramatic outcomes.
- Flavor and lore: The demon isn’t just a stat line; it’s a mythic figure whose presence hints at necloric markets of soul and memory—the kind of figure you’d expect to show up in a Tarkir night-market of spirits and iron. The art and the name together evoke a creature that thrives on what we throw away, a classic parable about power sourced from reclamation rather than glory. 🧪🧙♂️
- Collector value: The card’s price sits in the “budget-friendly rare” lane in digital and physical markets, with USD listings around 0.14 and EUR around 0.09, plus the occasional tix option for a whimsical EDH experience. This makes Necropolis Fiend approachable for commanders who want a strong singular threat with gruesome storytelling punch. 🔥
“Art is the hinge between rules and reverie—an image can echo a rule’s consequence before a single line of rules text is read.”
For players who enjoy the cross-pollination between set design and art, Necropolis Fiend is a case study in how storytelling travels across MTG’s ecosystem. The Delve mechanic turns the graveyard from a mere discard pile into a strategic resource, inviting players to think several moves ahead about how their memory assets will shape the battlefield. The activated -X/-X effect, meanwhile, makes the card a flexible removal option in the late game—an exiled sacrifice that becomes a precise countermeasure against a single, dangerous foe. In gameplay, you might see a clever sequence: exile a handful of creatures from your graveyard to pay for the big cost, then unleash the demon to fly over a ruined fortress of blockers, all while your opponents wrestle with the inevitability of a black spell that leans on the past to crush the present. 🧙♂️⚔️
And then there’s the art, which deserves its own round of applause. McKinnon’s work on Necropolis Fiend channels a mood that’s equal parts cathedral crypt and moonlit battlefield. The demon’s silhouette, the skeletal spires, and the cool, desaturated palette all converge to tell a story of ambition and consequence—one that’s perfectly at home on a card from a commander-focused set, yet also resonant with the broader Un-set tradition of breaking expectations through storytelling. In the end, the image and the text work in tandem to remind us that MTG is a living mural, where every card contributes to an ever-growing legend. 🧙♂️🎲
If you’re a collector, a lorehound, or a casual gamer who loves a good doom-demon tale with a side of strategic depth, Necropolis Fiend is a perfect artifact to add to your collection. It’s a piece that invites discussion, invites deck-building experimentation, and invites you to imagine the necropolis as a stage for power plays and peril alike. And for fans who want to carry a touch of MTG into daily life, there’s a delightful cross-promotion opportunity to explore: a Neon Slim Phone Case for iPhone 16 with a glossy Lexan finish that echoes the sleek, modern lines of a card frame while keeping your signature MTG fandom close at hand. 🎲🧙♂️
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