Shu Grain Caravan

The Shu Grain Caravan was released in 1999 as part of the Portal Three Kingdoms set, a specialized expansion for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. This set was designed primarily for the Asian market, drawing thematic inspiration from the 14th-century Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was created to provide a simplified, accessible entry point for new players by using mechanics that were less complex than those found in the standard base sets of the time.

The artwork for this card was provided by Li Wang, whose illustrations for the set sought to evoke the aesthetic traditions of historical Chinese portraiture and landscape art. The card features the 'horsemanship' keyword, a mechanic unique to this set that represented the tactical advantage of cavalry in historical warfare. While it was intended as a functional common card for limited play, the set itself has since gained significant interest among collectors for its distinct historical flavor and relatively limited print run in the West.