Aronja-Art submerges Siege in her fantasy art

The three deserts from Alpha/Beta are a staple of many fire decks in Sorcery: Arid Desert, Red Desert, and Remote Desert. In early 2019, during the first development days, Raffaela Lerch, also known as Aronja-Art, painted these landscapes that would later strike fear in many 1-power creatures.

Fairytales, infernos, and an alpine market

Her art combines her passion for fantasy, gaming, animals, and nature with her love of painting. She pursued her passion and started painting full-time in 2020 by working on commissions for games, selling paintings online, and setting up her own booth at conventions. Her acrylics and oil paintings now reach a worldwide audience, and Sorcery is part of that.

You can see Raffaela’s love for fantasy at a single glance at her work, both in and outside of Sorcery. She brings magical landscapes to life that evoke wonder and awe, while also creating whimsical creatures and critters straight out of fairytales.

The tone of her work can also be dark, as seen in many of her cards for Gothic. Hellfire and Raze both depict an inferno of destruction, while Gargantula shows a monstrous spider eager to prey on its next victim. Raise Militia is a grim counterpart to Truitt Parrish’s Border Militia, with its army of relentless undead wandering through whatever remains of their village.

Hellfire, Raze, Gargantula, and Raise Militia, illustrated by Raffaela.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Raffaela’s favourite piece for Gothic, Harvest Festival, depicts a bustling mountain town with people trading wares and celebrating. It is filled with details: every time you look at it, you notice something new. It is no coincidence that this painting is reminiscent of a medieval alpine village: Raffaela is from Austria, where the Alps serve as inspiration for her art. Mountainous landscapes like these are a recurring theme in her personal work.

The medieval marketplace depicted on Harvest Festival feels like an alpine village.

Inspired by Middle-earth and video games

For Alpha she painted only four cards: the three deserts and one of the most powerful water cards in the game, Atlantean Fate. The card feels amazing to play and back-breaking to face, and it is one of the most iconic and beautiful cards of the set.

Part of the inspiration for Atlantean Fate comes from the Dark Souls games, which have a similar architectural style. Other games Raffaela has cited as inspiration are The Witcher series and Assassin’s Creed. But the most influential work for her is by far Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Her Instagram is filled with hand-illustrated scenes from the books and films, and she even painted characters from them on the back of Sorcery artist proofs. She will bring some of those artist proofs to Siege at the Core. If you want to know what she painted on the back, you will have to visit her table.

A piece of Sorcery history

A lesser-known piece of Sorcery art by her is the Water Castle curio from the Beta set. It is a relic of early Sorcery game design: during playtesting, there was a time when sites were vertical instead of horizontal like today. The artwork has never appeared on a playable card. On Raffaela’s YouTube channel you can see the timelapse where she brings the Water Castle, back then named Island Citadel, to life. Browse through her videos and you will find a timelapse of a desert painting for Sorcery, too. This one is also vertical, and not one of the three she painted for Alpha.

Could we see this art again in a future Sorcery set?

What she brings to Zaventem

At Siege at the Core she brings prints, playmats, and artist proofs. She will also sign cards. Siege at the Core runs from Friday December 4 to Sunday December 6 in Zaventem, and you can register on our site.

Find more of her work on her website, aronjaart.com, or watch her timelapses on her YouTube channel.

Raffaela is active on Instagram as @aronjaart, and you can find her Sorcery artist page on the official site.

Feeling invigorated to meet her? Bring your deserts and your Atlantean Fates to her table in Zaventem.