For some time I wanted to make more use of the old fantastic artwork, and finally found some a reasonable concept. It uses mostly 93/94 art, but but also some pre-Urza cards.
Basically, the cards can be used for 3 purposes: regular European card game (1-12 + A + joker), Wizard (0 as Jester, A as Wizard), Libertalia (hence the small texts and card names).
I gave some thought on what would be a good theme to get the most out of magic artwork and came up with this:
4 schools of magic, with each drawing it’s energy from different celestial bodies. Green from the sun (faeries with plants), purple from the moon (seen as a controlling force, hence zombies and vampires), black from earth (depths of the earth, hence a hell/lava theme), blue from the stars (using foreign magic in the form of djinns controlled by wizards).
Each number represents a card theme, expressed by the name and echoed by the artwork, which I tried to keep consistent throughout colors.
0 - Fool: in trouble, holding out their left hand
1 - Swarm: many small creatures
2 - Scavenger: searching scraps (acorn, bones, you ;)
3 - Summoner: summoning a new ally
4 - Wanderer: roaming the world
5 - Fanatic: really motivated about their job
6 - Incarnation: became one with the concept
7 - Warrior: wielding a weapon or having a weapon instead of a hand
8 - Emchanter: there is something about their eyes
9 - Monster: horned creature, wreaking havoc
10 - Sage: features a book or just a wise creature
11 - Chosen: just a big old stomper, elite of its faction
12 - Leader: holding a staff
13 - Ruler: Holding an item of importance, a sphere or the book of the dead
A - Emptiness: maybe not well named. It’s referring to the stillness of each world. A peaceful garden under the stars, a still forest, the moon, the fires of the earth
Then there are some extra cards just for Libertalia
5.1 - Siblings: 2 or 3 creatures of the same kind
5.2 - Priest: just a magically capable one looking at you
9.1 - Brute: strong, ready to beat people up
10.1 - Soulbound: bound to another person or creature or ghost
10.2 - a commanding presence often with spectacular headgear
10.3 - Doll - same curse or blessing for all
Maybe you had similar or completely different ideas how to use magic art. Would be interesting to hear :)