Etrata – not all new art is an improvement

Last week I wrote about how my ninja deck I’m brewing was also going to have assassins, they kinda fitted together thematically.

One of the cards definitely being used was Etrata, the Silencer from Guilds of Ravnica. With the release of the Guild Packs on Friday the card got reprinted with new art.


I hate the new art, it doesn’t say assassin to me, it says dinner party. Don’t get me wrong, the art is nice. Just not as good as the original, nor evocative. For me the original art oozes vampire, assassin, creature of the night. I look at the picture and think I don’t want to meddle with them, I sure hope they aren’t after me. The new art just says to me they are waiting to be seated at a table at a restaurant.

I really don’t know what WotC thought they were doing. If I was going to commission another piece of art for this card, the brief would not allow what we have been given. I’d want it to be more visceral, showing Etrata in action maybe. Although there have been a couple of cards in the set that show similar already such as Never Happened.

I just don’t get how the new art is assassin. Sorry guys at WotC think you failed this time with the art.

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