Tyrian Tarot illustration 1/3 - 7 of Wands
Shipping of Tyrian Tarot is almost concluded (just a few boxes dozen to go) and we’re finally allowed to show these. It’s been an absolute nightmare, but also one of the best things to happen to me this year, a total blast and incredible honor.
Organized by the GW2 Artist Collective and the ever-amazing Melanie Sayre / Zorav, The Tyrian Tarot was the surprise success story, and although some unforeseen production pains happen to it, the final product is the single best and most professional fan project I’ve ever seen and one of the highest quality items in my gaming memorabilia collection.
7 of Wands - Defiance, conviction
Pyre Fierceshot, charr ranger and renegade. 7 of Wands symbolises rebellion, firing the first shot, taking a stand. While Pyre was not the first to rise against the Flame legion, he was the first rebel to succeed and make a dent in the shaman caste system. While the successful defeat of the Flame fell to his grandcub Kalla, her victory was built on his shoulders.
Pyre was a challenge to adapt, since his in-game models are only known from Guild Wars 1, where charr anatomy is… wonky at best. I had to make some changes, including dropping the weirdo spike things GW1 charr had all over the place (because back when charr were the evil enemy race, more spikes meant more metal or something). I kept the overal leonine snout, somewhat blocky, sharp features and jawline (although I’m pretty sure that was mostly engine limitation) and the beard.
I never actually played GW1 that much (I got stuck in Borlis Pass, since you either need friends or a particular build, and I have neither), so there’s no human caped crusader of mine who’d have history of helping Pyre free his charr brothers (no sisters back then, because… again, GW1 charr). And while his storyline made me roll my eyes at Gwen Thackeray a lot (seriously, does she have *any* dialogue that doesn’t go “And btw I hate charr” with every sentence? Like… lady, we get it, chill), It was pretty fun to watch and layed interesting foundations for what later became Guild Wars 2.
