The 30 Best Kev Walker Art Pieces in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 27, 2026

Atraxa, Praetors' Voice | Illustration by Kev Walker

How do you pick the best pieces from the most prolific Magic artist we have? How can you evaluate the impact of someone whose art has likely been seen by every person who has played for more than a few weeks?

It’s hard. But it’s awesome to be able to pay tribute to someone whose art has been a part of my life for decades. So let’s get to it!

What Is Kev Walker’s Art Style in MTG?

Devouring Sugarmaw | Illustration by Kev Walker

Kev Walker is so prolific and is such a master of different styles. So much of Walker’s work, especially in the 90s, bears the marks of his career as a comics illustrator, with a dramatic pen and ink style in the British tradition. His more painterly work tends to play with that question of the edges in ways other artists don’t always do. I don’t know if you’d always be able to tell a Walker when you see it, but the figure is always popping from the ground, often dramatically.

Content-wise, Walker has a deft humor that he can weave into even serious ideas, including scary ones. His style, emphasizing character and character emotions in closer frame than the small figure scale preferred by many artists, coupled with those popping edges, make the ideas clear in Walker’s pieces.

Finally, I’d say his art often clearly interacts with the rules and mechanics, which I’m not sure is always (or even usually) communicated in the art briefs from WOTC. Maybe he’s paying attention when that happens, but Walker might just have an uncanny grasp of the big picture.

How Many Cards Has Kev Walker Illustrated for MTG?

504, including non-card illustrations like tokens! The most of anyone! Almost a hundred more than Svetlin Velinov in second place.

#30. Erg Raiders

Erg Raiders | Illustration by Kev Walker

I think of this card as Raiders of the Lost Art, and I have a special place in my heart for awesome art that is stuck on a card cursed to never be played. It’s not hard to improve upon the astonishingly problematic original Erg Raiders art, but Walker’s Masters 25 art is so next level with the backlit dawn light that has all the story you need, plus the double layer of colors for the shadowed raiders extending back beyond sight. Stunning.

#29. Deranged Hermit

Deranged Hermit | Illustration by Kev Walker

The card that birthed a thousand squirrely dreams, Deranged Hermit is Walker in full throttle 80s British comics style, with the heavy yet somehow light black outlines you could see in his work on Judge Dredd and 2000 AD. It follows its own illustrated spatial logics, and I wonder how those spindly arms can spend the day holding squirrels aloft after a blowout hair routine accomplished daily in the forest. I pity the person  tasked with creating new art after 26 years of this magic.

#28. Drey Keeper

Drey Keeper | Illustration by Kev Walker

Walker himself returned to this character two decades later with Drey Keeper, whose hair routine has adapted to style and who seems to have done a wrist curl routine. A more tongue-in-cheek, “the squirrels are coming to get you” Barbara vibe, belied by a common Walker device: A payoff for looking more closely at the art. Behind the green splash of magic is that hand with wicked claws outstretched, lurking in the art for Hermit but now unleashed.

#27. Doomwake Giant

Doomwake Giant | Illustration by Kev Walker

Magic has a long history with giants, but Doomwake Giant is one of the few that makes you feel its immensity. This is one of the very best executions of the starfield motif enchantment creatures from Theros. The hand is creepy because it’s just so… whatever. It’s just walking by, murdering people casually, and not really even by accident. It sees the people on the hill. But it just doesn’t care. It’s trailing its hand through the lives of these people like you would trail your hand through the air after rolling the car window down.

#26. Grave Pact

Grave Pact | Illustration by Kev Walker

I have liked every version of Grave Pact, from the outstandingly oddball Scott Kirschner original to Zach Alexander’s Enchanting Tales abstraction. But Walker’s Commander Masters art is my fave. Someone invited late stage Cobra Commander to French neoclassicism with the wink to David’s Oath of the Horatii. Kev Walker likes to pair humor with seriousness in his best work, like this, and that contrast pays off well. At least, for everyone but the guy on the table.

#25. Soul of Migration

Soul of Migration | Illustration by Kev Walker

I just find this Lost Art Draft chaff artwork to be astonishingly effective with what must have been a very challenging art brief to work with. The birds are kind of funny, but the elemental gets creepier the more you look, especially at those horrific hands. A longer look at Soul of Migration shows the line of autumn, swooping in on this elemental wind like a planetary terminator. Lovely stuff.

#24. Air Elemental

Air Elemental | Illustration by Kev Walker

Looking at art that displays a similar concept in a similar pose helps us understand just how good Walker is. There are many versions of Air Elemental, but Walker’s version from Tenth Edition really gets it right. The Soul of Migration art is more abstract, but clearly echoes this earlier work, with the clouds wrapped about the glowing-eyed center (if there is one) like a flying mummy, giant, impossible cloud claws stretching to the side as this stalks the stormy sky. The vibe is different, with the skull-like face clearly hunting for prey, but these two works of art are effective because of that difference. That nagging similarity might have drawn me to the Soul in the first place. Walker’s been at this long enough that he can reference himself, and it’s a delight, not an indulgence.

#23. Book Devourer + Divergent Transformations + Seizan

Left to Right: Book Devourer, Divergent Transformations, Deizan, Perverter of Truth | Illustrations by Kev Walker

I am a huge fan of Walker’s motif of the big lozenge head on tiny legs that started  with Seizan, Perverter of Truth and was honed over time to reach Book Devourer and Divergent Transformations. I find all of these funny, even Seizan, and I want plushies of these at the next MagicCon. If someone can make that happen, please drop a comment below.

#22. Thud

Thud | Illustration by Kev Walker

Thud is funny, from the name down, and Walker’s art gives us humor that doesn’t completely break game immersion, which is a tough balance.

#21. Divebomber Griffin

Divebomber Griffin | Illustration by Kev Walker

Any number of emo superheroes have adopted this pose in the history of comics, which Divebomber Griffin makes hilarious. This angle, this close, connecting the comic trope with the fantastic weirdness of a card concept that unites WWII aircraft with a mythical creature just pops.

#20. Generous Gift

Generous Gift | Illustration by Kev Walker

As slapstick as anything in Walker’s oeuvre, and as funny as getting Thuded by an elephant can be, Generous Gift is comedy all the way, from the tilted up legs of the victim, to the cartoony panic of the people around him, to the placid expression of the elephant who has been here before. The glowing lights in the back give the proceedings a subtle touch of class and hard lighting on the edges.

#19. Door Keeper

Doorkeeper | Illustration by Kev Walker

More funny stuff, but this time grounded in the Doorkeeper’s shiny eye. The horror of the glistening expanse of a bulbous eye hasn’t been emphasized this way on homunculi for some time. The line of drool hits both comedic and horrific marks as you wonder if the person entering will see the saliva and defend themselves in time, the way no one ever seems to be able to do in an Alien movie.

#18. Carrion Imp

Carrion Imp | Illustration by Kev Walker

Carrion Imp is a good example of Walker’s subtler humor, recalculating the humorous biology ratio from the big-headed doofuses to this small-headed imp with big claws. I wouldn't want to meet this thing under my bed, but imagining it pulling up an entire body raises a smile.

I’ve spent so much time trying to express how Kev Walker works through ideas that I haven’t spent much time on technique, but I love the contrast between the hard overhead lighting effect on the body of the imp with the splay of soft colors on the partially translucent wings.

#17. Wit’s End

Wit's End | Illustration by Kev Walker

Wit's End is another good example of how Walker blends terror and humor, as this is reasonably horrific, but it’s nothing like Izzy’s original Peer into the Abyss in tone. Given the pun in the title, this close-up of eye-related horror needs to allow the joke to emerge, and the art does that. We are, in the end, looking up some dude’s nose.

#16. Goblin Lore

Goblin Lore | Illustration by Kev Walker

One last mini lecture on balancing humor before we progress to more art, Walker’s Goblin Lore for Jumpstart is a key example for the approach. Goblin jokes have been around since the beginning of Magic, with goblin art shifting wildly from slapstick comical to pretty darn creepy. Just compare Goblin Artisans to Festering Goblin.

Walker’s Lore uses all his skill with tone to give us a goblin with over-the-top features and fingers, in a humorous pose lampooning the idea of knowledgeable goblins, while retaining enough realism to keep the viewer honest. It’s slight, but this is one of the only goblins we’ve seen who reads, and they’re tearing out the pages not because they doesn’t understand them, but because they do.

#15. Late to Dinner

Late to Dinner | Illustration by Kev Walker

With Late to Dinner, Walker gives us subtle and gentle humor underscored by bittersweet flavor text that always makes me just a touch sad. The rich details of the rhino’s clothes underscore how important it was for these old friends to dress to their nines for this shared dinner, important enough to attend even after death. The saddest humor is the subtlest, and the hardest to pull off.

#14. Undying Evil

Undying Evil | Illustration by Kev Walker

Look, I want to pivot us to exploring  Walker’s other tonal expertise, and I thought I’d rip the band aid off with these here floorboards. Undying Evil is the kind of card that makes a kid terrified of Magic so they run to play Yu-Gi-Oh! for a month. It’s an effective Evil Dead riff that is perfect Innistrad. It’s a messed up idea, a scary situation, with effective use of shadows and darkness to sell it all and… wait… hey, Shaggy… look at its forehead! Jinkies, it’s a clue!

This is what Walker does better than any other Magic artist: He gets it. His art fits the narrative space. I’m sure the forehead mark was in the art brief, but Walker gives it the visual weight it needs to not get lost in the overall image.

#13. Field of the Dead

Field of the Dead | Illustration by Kev Walker

The temptation with Field of the Dead is to have, well, a lot of zombies, which we see in the unsettling and excellent version done by Ralph Horsley. But Walker's Core Set 2020 original nails it with subtlety. How many times did you have to look at it before the two zombies popping out of the chasm were obvious to you? It took me a minute back in the day.

So it’s perfect. The zombie literally emerges later, slowly, which is what a) slow zombies do, b) is how you almost make a jump scare in static card art, and c) mimics what the card does mechanically. Brilliance.

#12. Fleshtaker

Fleshtaker | Illustration by Kev Walker

For contrast, here’s what Walker can do when he goes all out. Fleshtaker is a messed up looking card. I can think of no Limited Magic podcast that didn’t say something like that when previewing it. The bull’s head with drool coming out the mask, the cleaver slightly out of frame, a damn cornfield for God’s sake. And the stillness. Like we just pushed aside some stalks to find this small clearing and, oh, okay. That cleaver wants to be bloodied.

#11. Brain Gorgers

Brain Gorgers | Illustration by Kev Walker

Brain Gorgers is the scariest Magic card done in a cartoonish style. There is such a preponderance of mainstream style fantasy art in the game after the pen and ink heyday of the 90s (and don’t get me wrong, I love that!), that pen and ink seems relegated to humorous cards these days. There isn’t a touch of whimsy here, but you hit the guy’s face, and, yep, not great, Bob.

#10. Bladewing the Risen

Bladewing the Risen | Illustration by Kev Walker

I refuse to believe anybody could make a better bone dragon. I just refuse. Don’t give me counterexamples, especially not in the comments or on Discord. Walker’s original Scourge version of Bladewing the Risen pops. The head-focused angle makes this feel like the frame of film after a jump scare, when Bladewing has literally risen through those teal mists just as we decided it was okay to walk through them. It’s also a beautifully executed interplay of color, light, and shadow.

#9. Corpse Traders

Corpse Traders | Illustration by Kev Walker

In case you need a demonstration of Walker’s versatility, another Lost Art classic is Corpse Traders, a macabre scene set in the foreground of a creepy landscape. By the time you look at the horses you can see how effective he is with light and shadow.

#8. Savor

Savor | Illustration by Kev Walker

Walker firing on all cylinders, Savor is one of my favorite pieces of art in the last two years. It’s a striking execution of an awesome concept that just sits right in Walker’s wheelhouse. There’s comedy and whimsy, but it’s also pretty terrifying for kids who grew up overidentfying with Mrs. Brisby.

#7. Street Savvy

Street Savvy | Illustration by Kev Walker

Another bit of Lost Art, Street Savvy is a masterclass. There’s the cinematic angle, with the green chiaroscuro glow highlighting the foreground figure, more sharply drawn in the light than the shadowy streets, with their surrealist geometries. The whole thing is done in this evocative and creepy greenish monochrome palette. But the landwalk text dooms it to never be heard from again.

#6. Arcbound Ravager

Arcbound Ravager | Illustration by Kev Walker

Carl Crichtlow’s original art for Arcbound Ravager has a eerie, de-energized vibe, as if the Ravager is in the process of modular harvesting. Walker’s redo for Modern Masters has an energized thrum you can feel, as if it’s already eaten the little myr’s buddy and hunts for a chaser with that slightly out of frame claw. The teal mists echo Bladewing’s art, as does the angle, but the mostly monochrome palette in this piece adds such focus to the composition.

#5. Loyal Subordinate

Loyal Subordinate | Illustration by Kev Walker

This revision of Loyal Subordinate for Commander Masters has the feel of the EC Comics Horror titles from the 50s like Tales from the Crypt. The ghoulcaller in the background, which you don’t notice at first, is clearly just summoning this, which you can get from the slightly awkward posture of the Subordinate as it lurches from the shadows, haloed by the moon. Dramatic stuff, and a great homage to pop culture history.

#4. Approach of the Second Sun

Approach of the Second Sun | Illustration by Kev Walker

Inevitable Azorius control finisher… or cover of a prog rock masterpiece album? This Amonkhet Remastered version of Approach of the Second Sun is trippy and strange, and I hear a soundtrack when I look at it. The monument to Bolas on Amonkhet is so huge, as is the sound in my head. The beautiful yellow palette gives an unreal glow, grounded in that spray of startled birds.

#3. Balance

Balance | Illustration by Kev Walker

The original art was around forever, but Kev Walker’s version immediately became the standard for me. The Balance in the piece is immediately off, which is kind of metal, but the more you look, the more you see the image cohering around the echo of the helmet and the staff, pillars almost equidistant to the edges of the frame. But the cloak, providing a screened backdrop for the scales, billows to the side, and whatever is weighed upon won’t be balanced in the center of the frame. I love that Balance is imbalanced. I just do.

#2. Sanitarium Skeleton

Sanitarium Skeleton | Illustration by Kev Walker

We don’t change the art of Sanitarium Skeleton because it’s perfect. The concept alone is horrifying, but the details Walker nails in a soft-edged style make it sting. The loose hairs at the back the straitjacket prevents smoothing, the blank cell/room, and the unhinged glare through the one remaining eye. This is nightmare fuel.

#1. Cover of Darkness

Cover of Darkness | Illustration by Kev Walker

This original Onslaught work is my personal fave of Walker’s work. Cover of Darkness can be interpreted in many ways. A dark sewer is only one, and maybe not the one that comes most to mind, but I love that this operationalizes the rules here in a perfect way. Who would block your way in the sewers but black creatures and artifact creatures? The light and composition are both so centered for a Walker piece. And it makes it feel slow, perhaps tentative, maybe even scared.

Where Can You Buy Kev Walker Art?

Kev Walker doesn’t have a storefront, but he is active in a Facebook group for these purposes and for signings. And there are third party spaces for sourcing originals.

Wrap Up

Detention Sphere | Illustration by Kev Walker

Sometimes when you write, you know exactly what you’re going to say before you start. Walker’s body of work is so vast that I’d never tried to consider it as a whole before. When I did, it just seemed overwhelming. Only when I started selecting my choices for his best works and jotting notes did I see the bigger picture I’ve shared with you today.

Walker has mastered the subtleties of visual focus, with which he explores the subtleties of Magic and all its contradictions of tone, mechanics, styles, eras, and feelings. Having played since 1995, Walker has been more of a tour guide orienting me to this giant, sprawling weird game than anything else. How do you experience something as vast as Magic? How do you take it all in?

If you try, you’ll be working with Kev Walker’s work as a building block to understand how it all fits. It’s a pleasure to play a game with amazing works of art on every single card. They could just be game pieces. Instead, we hold up tiny windows into a multiverse of fabulous worlds and characters. Walker shines a light in just the right places to help a key idea or character pop out of the background, to help us learn to love this game.

Thanks, Kev. For all of it.

Which of these cards and art do you find most striking? Are their other Kev Walker pieces you think deserve consideration? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe!