Living Artifact

Living Artifact was released in 1993 as part of the Unlimited Edition, the second print run of the original Magic: The Gathering base set. Designed by Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast, the card emerged during the infancy of the collectible card game genre. Mechanically, it functions as an enchantment that attaches to an artifact, granting it the ability to generate mana at the cost of sacrificing a permanent, a design choice intended to emphasize the high-stakes resource management central to the game's early identity.

The illustration for Living Artifact was created by artist Jesper Myrfors, who served as the original art director for Magic: The Gathering. Myrfors employed a distinctive, painterly aesthetic that defined the visual language of the game's first sets, often focusing on surreal and mystical imagery. While the card is not considered a competitive staple in modern formats, it remains a notable piece of early gaming history that reflects the experimental and often chaotic nature of the game's initial design philosophy.