Alter by MIB Alters.
One of the common things I see shared on Facebook groups are alters of the original dual lands, and I can understand why as the white border is not exactly appealing. At least that is how I feel about it and I knew that when I eventually purchase Plateau for the deck I would want it altered. Initially I thought about an extension of the original art to cover up the border and retain as much of the original card as possible, but to be honest I didn’t like the original art and I wanted to include the Church of Avacyn theme somehow anyway.

When I began looking for inspiration I started with the idea of something like Clifftop Retreat from Dominaria, an angel carved into a mountain but I wasn’t sure how well that would work. Then as I browsed photos of real plateaus and mountain cliffs I noticed a theme where people were taking photos of themselves sitting on cliffs. Which gave me an idea of Avacyn sitting on a cliff, overlooking a town or a village on Innistrad. It also provided an opportunity to draw an angel from behind, which I always find to be an interesting perspective given the wings.
At some point during research I also came across a drawing of a little girl on a swing above a cliff, which I thought looked cool and it inspired my second idea. Basically the same premise, but replace the girl with young Avacyn. When I contacted MIB that was the main idea I went with but I was torn so I asked if he could do two sketches. I also wanted him to preserve the name box and the rules text of the original card so it is clear that the alter is done on an actual Plateau. When MIB showed me the sketches I really loved the version where Avacyn was sitting on a cliff, so that is the version I went with.

The coloured final version blew me away. The whole colour palette really compliments the original text box colours, and overall the alter gives off such a serene feeling. The whole deck revolves around aggression, blood and fire but I thought this was a perfect fit nevertheless, like the calm before the storm, a moment of peace before the inevitable conflict.
Facebook page: MIB Alters
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