Invading Manticore

Invading Manticore was released in the 2019 Magic: The Gathering expansion, War of the Spark. The set serves as the climax to a multi-year narrative arc involving the interplanar threat of Nicol Bolas, who utilized an army of undead soldiers, known as the Eternals, to invade the plane of Ravnica. This card depicts one of these creatures, integrated with the biomechanical armor characteristic of the Bolas-aligned forces, representing the relentless and invasive nature of the antagonist's army.

The artwork was commissioned from artist Jehan Choo, who aimed to capture the terrifying synthesis of feline physiology and the necrotic, gilded aesthetic associated with the Eternals. As a common-rarity card, it was designed primarily to function as a functional limited-play piece, contributing to the set's overall mechanical draft environment. It received modest attention from players for its utility in draft formats, where its ability to interact with the game's planeswalker-heavy design provided a necessary tactical bridge.