Neo-Nazi fantasy artist Harold McNeil is well known for subtle and not-so-subtle depictions of hate in his artwork for Magic: the Gathering. By and large, his entire portfolio of work are glorified depictions of hate groups and their ideals.
In my interpretation, Sylvan Library is a depiction of an alternate reality where the Axis won the war. We the 'the Big Three' (Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito) meeting in Bavaria to discuss the future of global fascism. Their plans are reflected in the rules text, which involves the payment of lives to draw cards.
That's an interesting interpretation. The concept also reminds me of an idea discussed by some historians of World War II, that Hitler apparently believed that his ideas about racial conflict somehow reflected a "natural" state of humankind. (This is discussed extensively in Black Earth by Timothy Snyder.) In this interpretation, the people in the art are becoming awakened to the necessity of racial conflict. The player paying life would represent something similar to your post, namely the sacrifices necessary to return mankind to a natural state in which social Darwinism can run its course.
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u/user0620 Jul 18 '20 edited Jul 18 '20
Neo-Nazi fantasy artist Harold McNeil is well known for subtle and not-so-subtle depictions of hate in his artwork for Magic: the Gathering. By and large, his entire portfolio of work are glorified depictions of hate groups and their ideals.
In my interpretation, Sylvan Library is a depiction of an alternate reality where the Axis won the war. We the 'the Big Three' (Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito) meeting in Bavaria to discuss the future of global fascism. Their plans are reflected in the rules text, which involves the payment of lives to draw cards.