Onslaught rare. The original design for Kamahl, Fist of Krosa had two abilities. The first was the “Animate Land” ability that made it to the final card, but the second was “Lands get +1/+1.” His design name? Kamahl, Landlord. That second ability didn’t make it through development and templating, but the idea was later used on Guildpact’s Earth Surge.
Guildpact uncommon. The zeppelids were not originally part of the Ravnica worldbuilding. They were added into the novels by author Cory Herndon, who needed unique flying transport for his story and decided to go with bioengineered creatures rather than traditional dirigibles. They were compelling enough that they later found their way onto the cards Stratozeppelid and Assault Zeppelid.
Mirrodin rare. Illustrator Jeff Easley was given an assignment to concept Mirrodin creatures from scratch (without having cards to go by). Arc-Slogger was one of the creatures he came up with; it existed long before its card did. The card was designed somewhat “top-down” as an electrically charged creature that could imitate Shock. Anodet Lurker and Ferropede are other examples of Easley’s early concept designs.
Future Sight rare. Scourge of Kher Ridges was pickup art from a previous set. It was originally commissioned for a card meant to represent a dragon with wings of fire. When it arrived at Wizards and showed a dragon with wings on fire, it was shelved for many years before finding a home in Future Sight.
Onslaught rare. Quicksilver Dragon was originally Quicksilver Drake, a smaller creature with the same ability. It was made a Dragon and pumped up a bit toward the end of the development cycle to add to its Timmy appeal. Artist Ron Spencer helped by adding forelegs to his illustration; in addition to size, this is the primary anatomical difference between dragons and drakes in Magic.
