Anrakyr the Traveller

Anrakyr the Traveller, featured as card number 28 in the Warhammer 40,000 Commander set released by Wizards of the Coast in 2022, represents a cross-pollination between the storied tabletop game Magic: The Gathering and the grimdark science fiction universe of Games Workshop. The card depicts a Necron Overlord from the Warhammer 40,000 lore, a character defined by his obsession with reclaiming lost artifacts from his empire's past. The card design was specifically crafted to reflect his mechanical ability to reanimate or deploy massive artifacts from a player's hand, echoing his narrative function as a relentless conqueror of ancient technology.

The artwork and mechanics for this card were developed through a collaborative licensing partnership, aiming to integrate the Necron faction's unique 'reanimation protocol' flavor into the Magic: The Gathering ruleset. Upon its release, the card was widely received by both communities as a thematic triumph, with collectors and players praising how the card's abilities—such as paying life to cheat heavy artifacts into play—mirrored the character's ruthless and high-stakes approach to warfare in the Necron codex. Its inclusion in the set marked a significant milestone in the expansion of Magic's 'Universes Beyond' series.