Back in 1994, Nalathni Dragon—Michael’s first and only Magic: The Gathering card—caused waves in the world of collectible card games when it was unveiled at Dragon Con. As the first promotional giveaway from Wizards of the Coast, it hit at a time when Magic cards were in high demand and short supply, fueling a collector frenzy. Bowing to demand, Wizards of the Coast eventually included the card in Duelist magazine, allowing fans who couldn’t attend the convention to collect this high sought after card.

For decades, fans have inquired about the original art for Nalathni Dragon, but because Michael composed the image digitally no original artwork exists. But a few years later, InQuest magazine commissioned Michael to illustrate a battle between a pair of creatures from the original Magic lineup: Serra Angel and Hurloon Minotaur. This became his only true painting featuring characters from MTG.

As fate would have it, Michael recently unearthed the painting, which is titled BALANCE OF POWERS. We were pleased to add a high quality scan to our website gallery.

When Inked Gaming recently asked if Michael would participate as a featured artist in their upcoming Kickstarter campaign, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to showcase this rare piece of Magic: The Gathering art. We’re pleased to announce that BALANCE OF POWERS is now available on officially licensed gaming merchandise at Inked Gaming.

The Kickstarter campaign is scheduled to launch later this summer with the goal to fund new product lines such as custom cards sleeves, deck boxes, and playmat tubes. Check out Inked Gaming for all the latest information and make sure to sign up for notifications. Early bird rewards will include playmats signed by Michael.