Easter Eggs

[Morganator 2.0]

Easter was about a week ago so this is unfortunately coming a week late. I've always seen chatter on other sites about hidden surprises found in MTG cards, but not on Deckstats. That's about to change. There are loads of Easter Eggs so if you know of any, add it to this thread. Here are some of my favorites.

• The artwork for Precinct Captain and the RTR soldier token is supposed to be the same scene from different angles.

• The card Puncturing Blow depicts The Scorpion God being killed. If you used Puncturing Blow on The Scorpion God, it prevents it from coming back.
• Dragonlord Silumgar is wearing Tasigur, the Golden Fang like a necklace.
• Each of the Ultimatums from Shards of Alara have a Planeswalker in their art. The exception is Cruel Ultimatum, but it later had an artwork featuring Nicol Bolas.
• There are two monkeys going doggy-style in the background of Uktabi Orangutan. They appear again in Uktabi Kong, this time with a child on the way.
• You can see the artwork for Krenko's Command in the background of Krenko, Mob Boss.
• Force of Will was originally a red card, but was changed to a blue card during design. The artwork from Alliances clearly shows that this was supposed to be red. Makes me wonder what Legacy would look like today.
• Expropriate has a bunch of other cards hidden in it's artwork, including the moxes and Muzzio, Visionary Architect's hat. See if you can find everything.

• Fblthp, the Lost has a tendency to show up in artwork of other cards, including Statute of Denial, Unquestioned Authority, and March of the Multitudes.
• Raid Bombardment and Unified Will shows the same scene.
• There are a lot of sets where the basic lands form a panorama.
• Curiosity from Exodus shows Mirri stalking Crovax after he got cursed. In the alternate timeline, Keen Sense shows Crovax fleeing from Mirri after she got cursed. These cards are color shifted versions of each other.
• Gather the Pack shows elves hunting the goblin party shown in Boggart Brute.
• Presence of the Master is very clearly Albert Einstein.
• Saying the flavor text of Carnivorous Death Parrot triggers 5 of the gotcha cards from the same set.

[WWolfe]

Those are all neat.

The one difference I notice in the Precinct Captain one is in one card the soldier is holding the sword, in the other it's not.

[CleanBelwas]

For me, it's these little attentions to detail that turn MTG from a good game to a superb one. Not necessary in the slightest, but oh so satisfying.

Another one I remember fondly from recent memory is that Charming Prince can rescue your creature from being Trapped in the Tower.

[Morganator 2.0]

Did some digging and found a few others you might like.

• Dreamcatcher has the dreams of other planes in the background. Namely slivers, although the implications of this conflicts with the MTG timeline.
• The Masterpiece art for Extraplanar Lens shows the Approach of the Second Sun on it; a card that, at the time, hadn't been released.

• Here's a really cool puzzle. The tokens from eternal masters had words running along the edges. You need a whole bunch of tokens to be arranged to solve the puzzle, which ended up being a preview for Conspiracy: Take the Crown. The message read in one direction was told by Queen Marchesa, instructing her new subjects that she is the queen now. Read in a different direction revealed a message from Adriana, Captain of the Guard, urging the people to resist Marchesa's rule.
• The artist Robert Bliss is known for including phallic imagery in his work. As a result, later printings of Polymorph had the art cropped.
• Goblin Charbelcher is launching a Black Lotus.
• Treasure Nabber managed to nab a Sol Ring. Makes sense, considering that this card was released in a commander set.
• One of the swamps from Eventide is shown in Flame Jab, but completely on fire.
• There are a lot of cards that reference people's names in various ways, like their initials (Jayemdae Tome), short name (Mons's Goblin Raiders), or name spelled backwards (Nevinyrral's Disk). The most recent card to do this is Gavi, Nest Warden.
• Flame Wave has a dude surfing on it.
• Relic Ward and Natural Order are two parts of the same flavor text.
• Speaking of flavor text, Spread the Sickness references Fecundity.
• Alex Horley-Orlandelli decided to include their name on the side of the coffin in Disentomb.

[Slyvester12]

I wouldn't really call them Easter eggs, but one of the reasons I always liked New Phyrexia was that it showed various cards from Mirrodin in they're compleated versions. (E.g. Blightsteel Colossus is a compleated Darksteel Colossus, Etched Monstrosity is a compleated Etched Champion.)

[ApothecaryGeist]

All the regular frame basic lands from the Unsanctioned box set have squirrels hidden in them in an abstract kind of way.

[dexflux]

Iroas's Blessing is a clear sign that even Magic isn't save from memes and anime. Compare its artwork to this:





JoJo references in Magic: The Gathering. What a time to be alive.

[Slyvester12]

Are you sure that's a Jojo reference? The only thing those really have in common is the perspective.

[dexflux]

Are you sure that's a Jojo reference? The only thing those really have in common is the perspective.

I'm not perfectly sure, but the meme and JoJo are pretty well known, so it's not exactly farfetched to assume. Anime has become mainstream and WotC asked about it in their surveys. Maybe I could mail the artist to make sure.

[Red_Wyrm]

I feel like there is a problem when I misread Carnivorous Death Parrot as Coronavirus Death Parrot.

[WizardSpartan]

I think the cabin fever is getting to you, baby.

[Slyvester12]

Found one by accident: you can see a Phyrexian Tower in the background of Xantcha, Sleeper Agent.

Also, in Unwind, I'm pretty sure Jhoira is holding the modern masters version of Timetwister.

[Red_Wyrm]

I never knew timetwister was something you hold like that. I always just assumed it was like some sort of vortex or something. I guess it does make sense that it is an object that lets the user twist time.

[Morganator 2.0]

Found some more.

• Gallantry and Repentant Vampire are the same scene. There are actually a lot of cards like this. Guardian Angel and Paralyze is another one I found.
• Legacy Weapon has a bunch of other cards in it, depicting most of the different parts of the legacy weapon.
• You can see the Helvault in the background of Tree of Redemption. A destroyed Helvault is in the background of Tree of Perdition, and it looks like the tree is mimicking it's shape.
• The Warchief cycle from Scourge (Daru Warchief, Goblin Warchief, Krosan Warchief, Mistform Warchief, and Undead Warchief) are all wearing a mox of the appropriate colour.
• The art for Triskaidekaphobia references the number 13 a lot.
• 13 logs in the fireplace
• 13 rocks in the arch
• 13 rocks for the fireplace
• 13 shards of glass
• 13 drips of blood
• 13 bolts in the barrel
• 13 utensils on the wall
• 13 planks on the roof
• 13 planks on the wall
• Likewise, Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign references the number 3.
• 3 keyword abilities
• 3 horns, with 3 earings apiece
• 3 columns
• 3 birds in the background
• 3 urns
• 3 carpets
• Incense burner has 3 supports
• Inexorable Blob has a portrait of the guy from Ancestral Recall in the background.
• Beastcaller Savant is holding a Lotus Cobra.
• Sun Titan gets destroyed in Terminate, and then brought back in Animate Dead (Graveborn).
• Koth of the Hammer is fighting in the Phyrexian Arena.
• The art for Rampant Growth resembles The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Orcish Settlers resembles American Gothic.

• Each of the Hideaway lands from Lorwyn have a creature hidden in them, but that creature wasn't revealed until Shadowmoor.
  
  Howltooth Hollow -> Hollowborn Barghest
  Mosswort Bridge -> Mossbridge Troll
  Shelldock Isle -> Isleback Spawn
  Spinerock Knoll -> Knollspine Dragon
  Windbrisk Heights -> Windbrisk Raptor

[Morganator 2.0]

More easter eggs!

• The MDFC markers from Kaldheim, Strixhaven, and Zendikar are all in sets of 9. The backgrounds can be arranged to show an image.
• There is a rumor that the names of shock lands are innuendos for a vagina. I don't buy it. I mean, you might have a case with Breeding Pool and Blood Crypt, but Godless Shrine and Steam Vents is a bit of a stretch.
• You can see Saffi Eriksdotter in the background of Hans Eriksson. There is a shadow looming over them, presumably a Lhurgoyf.
• Some of the werewolves in human form will have features that carry over into their wolf form. For example, Convicted Killer has a brand and Kessig Forgemaster has three thumbs.
• The curse cycle from C17 features a planewalker finding himself in trouble across all planes. He also shows up in Flame Blitz.
• There are a few cards that mention a goblin named "Furt". Nosy Goblin, Goblin Lookout, Misguided Rage, and most recently Fodder Tosser.
• Nine Lives shows 9 cats in the art. One of them is Kemba, Kha Regent.
• The flavor text of Squirrel Sovereign references the flavor text of Goblin King.
• The backsides of the magic cards have a pen mark on the "Deckmaster" logo. It's a printing error that wasn't corrected.
• Wizard's Lightning and Wizard's Retort show the same scene.
• Bösium Strip is an anagram of Mobius strip. The artwork features a Mobius strip.
• You can see plans for building Karn, Silver Golem in the background of Stroke of Genius.
• The Innistrad block has a total of 666 cards. Coincidence? Probably.
• Remember how I said Fblthp gets lost easily? He's also in Captive Audience.
• Shark Typhoon is a reference to the Sharknado movie. Oh who am I kidding, you already knew that.
• The art of Grave Betrayal resembles Shivan Dragon. As these two cards are from different planes, this is likely a coincidence.
• The decree cycle from Scourge all show Karona, False God. Or rather her shadow is shown.
• The Lament for Bala Ged is shared over 4 cards. Yarok, the Desecrated, Yarok's Wavecrasher, Yarok's Fenlurker, and Healer of the Glade.
  
  • Yarok grieves within the waste
    Of Bala Ged's corrupted land.
    
    Yarok's waters rush and rage
    Where armies bled into the sand.
    
    Yarok's nightmares lurk and wait
    Where dark despair is near at hand.
    
    Grief and rage and nightmares fade
    Where hope and comfort make their stand.