It is always nice to have cards with alternate art for Magic The Gathering and even MTG Arena. It gives you the feeling that you can customize your deck beyond building it with strategy and mechanics in mind. Wizards of the Coast introduced Godzilla alternate art cards for some of the cards from their Ikoria set. A total of 19 of them, and they look incredible – here’s everything you need to know about them.
As a whole, the Godzilla alternated art style cards are limited edition cards released in the Ikoria set
The Godzilla alternate art style cards are from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set. There are 19 special edition Godzilla cards, 15 were printed in all languages while 3 were exclusively published in Japanese. The card Godzilla, King of Monsters, could only be obtained through a By-a-Box promo.
If you want to know what all the Godzilla alternate art style cards are, what their original counterparts are and how to get them either on paper or on MTG Arena, then read through this article. I’ll give you details on everything you need to know concerning the Godzilla Series Monster Cards from Magic The Gathering.
Godzilla MTG cards Overview
The company that makes MTG cards (Wizards of The Coast) partnered up with the Toho corporation to bring us 19 alternate Godzilla art for specific cards from the Ikoria MTG set.
It is important to note that all the alternate card styles have the name of the original card underneath the Godzilla name, and they will all have the same abilities as the original card.
Mike Turion, a Principal Product Designer at WotC, stated that they went through Ikoria to find the best flavor fit for each Godzilla monster card.
You can check out this video that goes over the announcement of the Godizall cards and how they were released into Magic.
There are 15 cards from the Core Series, 3 from the Japanese Series, and 1 from the Buy-a-Box promo. I have listed them for your perusal.
Core Series Godzilla cards
| Godzilla Alternate Art Card | Original MTG Card |
| King Caesar, Ancient Guardian | Huntmaster Liger |
| Mothra, Supersonic Queen | Luminous Broodmoth |
| Babygodzilla, Ruin Reborn | Pollywog Symbiote |
| Spacegodzilla, Void Invader | Void Beckoner |
| Destroyah, Perfect Lifeform | Everquill Phoenix |
| Godzilla, Doom Inevitable | Yidaro, Wandering Monster |
| Anguirus, Armored Killer | Gemrazer |
| Godzilla, Primeval Champion | Titanoth Rex |
| Bio-Quartz Spacegodzilla | Brokkos, Apex of Forever |
| Ghidorah, King of the Cosmos | Illuna, Apex of Wishes |
| Biollante, Plant Beast Form | Nethroi, Apex of Death |
| King Caesar, Awoken Titan | Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt |
| Dorat, the Perfect Pet | Sprite Dragon |
| Rodan, Titan of Winged Fury | Vadrok, Apex of Thunder |
| Gigan, Cyberclaw Terror | Gyruda, Doom of Depths |
The card Spacegodzilla, Void Invader is actually a reprint of the same card with a different name. MTG cards are made long before they are ever printed, and this card’s original name was Spacegodzilla, Void Corona, which was taken from its weapon beam.
However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the name’s inappropriateness given the circumstances, it was changed to Void Invader. You can find WotC’s official statement here regarding this.
The name was changed on all printings except for the initial batch making this card rarer, collectible, and a bit higher in price than the subsequent ones.
The Japanese Series Godzilla cards
| Godzilla Alternate Art Card | Original MTG Card |
| Mothra’s Great Cocoon | Mysterious Egg |
| Battra, Dark Destroyer | Dirge Bat |
| Mechagodzilla, the Weapon | Crystalline Giant |
The above-mentioned cards are exclusively printed in Japanese. They were supposed to be published in all languages but were not due to a non-intentional error by WotC.
Buy-a-Box Promo Godzilla card
The only card that you are able to get if you opt for the Buy-a-Box promo (that is, you buy an entire Ikoria booster box) either in paper or on MTG Arena is Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Technically there is no original card art for this card, and its name is Zilortha, Strength Incarnate.
This can be confusing for some, especially in MTG Arena, where you have to name cards for specific abilities. You will not go searching for Godzilla, King of Monsters but rather Zilortha, Strength Incarnate.
Keep that in mind because MTG Arena does have a countdown timer for each of your phases.
What magic set has Godzilla?
The Godzilla monster cards come from the Godzilla pantheon as an MTG card from the set called Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths.
Are Godzilla cards in draft boosters?
There are Godzilla cards in draft boosters. Wizards of The Coast have stated that every sealed drafter booster pack display for Ikoria will contain one random Godzilla Series Monster card. Additionally, the Ikoria: Liar of Behemoths collector booster packs will contain two.
Is Godzilla legal MTG?
As a whole, the 19 Godzilla cards are tournament legal. These 19 unique Godzilla cards were not printed with Magic The Gathering’s silver border and the cards possess tournament legal black borders. Cards that are printed with a silver border are not tournament legal.
Cards printed with silver borders are meant to be used in friendly casual play.
Thus because the Godzilla cards are not printed with the silver border, they are totally tournament legal.
How do you get the Godzilla in Magic The Gathering Arena?
The Godzilla alternate arts on MTG arena can be obtained in three ways:
1. Purchasing multiple packs on MTG Arena
The MTG Arena store lets you purchase packs so you can add cards to your collection. To get the alternate Godzilla-style arts, you will need to buy packs from the Ikoria set.
It is important to note that you spend 200 gems when buying a pack, no matter the number of packs you buy. However, if you purchase multiple packs at once, you are able to get more Godzilla-style alternate arts than you would if you bought them all separately.
2. Buy-a-box promo
All the cards that you get from purchasing packs are cosmetic and are not actual cards. You will need a copy of the original card in your library if you wish to use these Godzilla cosmetics.
There is a way to get the actual card, though, and that is through the buy-a-box promotion. This means if you purchase 45 packs at once at the MTG arena store (from the Ikoria set), you will receive the Gozilla, King of Monsters card, and not just the cosmetic. If you purchase 90 packs at once, you will receive two.
3. Crafting Godzilla with a mythic wildcard
A more straightforward option if you do not want to go spending money purchasing packs and if you have some wildcards to spare is to use one of your mythic wild cards and craft Godzilla, King of Monsters.
It is important to note that you can only craft this card and that it is just the cosmetic, not the actual card.
Playing limited events for Ikoria (no longer available)
When the set came out, you were able to play draft events, and each entry would give you one of 18 Godzilla alternate arts. However, this event has since ended, but you never know, MTG Arena may bring it back as a special event.
Conclusion
We discovered that there are 19 unique Godzilla alternate art cards with Godzilla, King of Monster, having no original art. Additionally, 3 of the alternate Godzilla art cards are only printed in Japanese, so you will need to get your hands on some Japanese Ikoria boosters if you wish to obtain them. Otherwise, you could ask your local MTG store if they have any in stock, or you could purchase them online.
Godzilla, King of Monsters, can only be obtained through Buy-a-Box promo specials or by crafting it on MTG Arena with a wild card, but remember, you will have to look for Zilortha, Strength Incarnate.
Lastly, remember that these cards are not special cards but rather alternate art styles of cards that already exist. That means that these cards will have the CMC, be the same MTG colors, and sport the same abilities as their original counterparts. The only difference is the art.