[17] Jon Bitner, for The Gamer, highlighted that this art book is good at both catching up newcomers to the lore of Magic and giving veterans a "deeper understanding".
[18] Bitner wrote "its focus is heavily on War of the Spark, but you'll find content reaching back several years to help answers any lingering questions you might have on your mind.
Discussing Nicol Bolas, Planeswalkers, and various Planes of the Multiverse takes up the majority of the early portion of the book, with the 'War of the Spark' section not surfacing until page 170.
[18] Rollin Bishop, for ComicBook.com, commented that "historically, VIZ Media has been compiling these hardcover editions based on the various locations and planes present in the game like Dominaria, Ravnica, Innistrad, and so on.
[19] Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (2018) was the first Magic: The Gathering campaign setting adapted for Dungeons & Dragons and was released on November 20, 2018.
[...] DM's and players alike should recognize that there are people who love Dungeons & Dragons to death but have zero interest in Magic: The Gathering.
Alexander Sowa, for CBR, highlighted that "Greg Weissman's War of the Spark: Ravnica [was] infamous among fans for its misrepresentation of existing characters".
[26] Sowa commented that its sequel, War of the Spark: Forsaken, "was greeted with a lukewarm response after it infamously attempted to retcon the sexuality of one of the book's protagonists, Chandra.
[27] Reactions to the sequel[28][29] were "overwhelmingly negative"[30] and it was "lambasted for its disappointing prose, lack of understanding of character voice, and failure to provide any emotional payoff for the relationships that have been set up in the world of Magic.
[32] Charlie Hall, for Polygon, wrote that "Magic: The Gathering’s War of the Spark is an attempt by publisher Wizards of the Coast to elevate the storytelling in its marquee franchise".
[...] Players who have been keeping up with the last few years worth of new card sets likely have a small stockpile of underutilized Planeswalkers that suddenly look a lot more attractive than they did just a week ago.
[34] Ethan Gach, for Kotaku, wrote: "narratively, War Of The Spark couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune cultural moment.
As the current chapters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Game of Thrones come to a close, Magic’s latest expansion plays with ideas from both.
[...] War Of The Spark offers a ton of tools for crafting high-stakes plays, exactly the kind I’m looking for as a chronically lapsed player".
Many times while playing over the weekend, I was relieved to be able to rely on the game to automatically be doing my upkeep for me rather than have to keep track of it all by myself, or negotiate mental lapses out loud with someone sitting across from me".
In the War of the Spark set, it seemed she finally cast down her bad girl persona for good in favor of stabbing someone in the back who actually deserved it.
To make a very long story short, Liliana played a critical role in defeating Nicol Bolas, the big, bad elder-dragon douchebag who wanted to rule over the multiverse with the help of some immensely powerful zombified gods.