Bottle Gnomes

Bottle Gnomes was originally introduced as an uncommon card in the Tempest expansion set for Magic: The Gathering, released in 1997. It was later reprinted as part of the 1999 World Championship Decks, a series of pre-constructed products designed to replicate the exact deck lists used by top-performing players at the Magic: The Gathering World Championship. These decks were unique in their execution, featuring gold-bordered cards with specialized back designs that made them ineligible for standard tournament play, serving instead as educational tools and commemorative items for fans of professional competitive play.

The artwork for Bottle Gnomes was created by illustrator Heather Hudson, who was a prominent artist for the game during the late 1990s. The design aimed to capture a whimsical yet utilitarian aesthetic, depicting the small, mechanical gnomes designed to sacrifice themselves to restore health to their controller. Within the meta-game of the era, the card became highly regarded for its ability to stabilize a player's life total against aggressive strategies, cementing its status as a quintessential utility creature from the Tempest block that appeared frequently in championship-level decks.