World Champion Player Spotlight Cards

Wizards of the Coast ran the Magic Invitational tournament from 1997 to 2007 where the winner was allowed to design a Magic: The Gathering card with their likeness as the illustration. Starting with Throne of Eldraine, the current World Champion has been featured in a new Player Spotlight card each year.

Unlike the previous program, the players won’t contribute to its design, but they can consult with Wizards of the Coast’s R&D on its selection and will be immortalized in the art. The most recent card to be released was Nathan Steuer’s Duelist of the Mind card to be released in the upcoming Outlaws of Thunder Junction expansion!

Below is the current list of all World Champions and their cards, with pictures for side by side comparisons! Take note, there was no World Championship in 2020 due to the global pandemic.

Year	World Champion	Card
2018	Javier Dominguez	Fervent Champion
2019	Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa	Elite Spellbinder
2020	No tournament	No tournament
2021	Yuta Takahashi	Faerie Mastermind
2022	Nathan Steuer	Duelist of the Mind
2023	Jean-Emmanuel Depraz	To be announced

Javier Dominguez – Fervent Champion

Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa – Elite Spellbinder

Yuta Takahashi – Faerie Mastermind

Nathan Steuer – Duelist of the Mind

Duelist of the Mind has the Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s expansion keyword “commit a crime”: Whenever you cast a spell or activate an ability that targets an opponent, or something they own (spells, permanents, hand, library, graveyard) you are committing a ‘crime’.

Jean-Emmanuel Depraz – ?