Standing Troops

Standing Troops was released in 1998 as part of the Exodus expansion for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Exodus served as the final installment of the Rath Cycle, a narrative-driven block that introduced players to the Phyrexian stronghold of Rath. As a common creature card, it was designed to provide functional depth to the white color identity within the set, embodying the disciplined, defensive nature of generic infantry units during the complex mechanical meta of the late 1990s.

The artwork was created by Daren Bader, a prolific illustrator whose work became synonymous with the aesthetic of late-nineties Magic. Bader utilized a grounded, painterly style to depict the soldiers in a moment of stoic readiness, focusing on uniform detail and atmospheric lighting to ground the fantasy subject matter. While not a centerpiece card, the piece is recognized by collectors as a quintessential example of Bader’s contribution to the game’s transition into more sophisticated artistic themes during that era.