Suit of Pentacles (Behind the Scenes)
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Ace of Pentacles (Rings)
For the Ace of Pentacles, the rings found scattered across Sonic’s world seemed the obvious choice. They’re the key to purchasing new items and power-ups, and having one means you’ll always get a second chance to try again. Of course, that makes the Chaotix’s bad money management stand out even more for the reversed meaning of this card. I knew I wanted to do the Casinopolis ring vault for the art to hammer in the overwhelming amount of rings, but didn’t immediately settle on who to depict. I originally sketched Team Dark, but decided the Chaotix would be more fitting given that two of its members are money-obsessed over Team Dark’s one.
Two of Pentacles (Extreme Gear)
For the Two of Pentacles, I wanted to feature the Sonic Riders series through the Extreme Gear. In general, I enjoy mascot racing games a lot because of how the players are allowed to use strategy in their choice of vehicles, power-ups, or courses. The Two of Pentacles deals with adaptability and seemed the best fit, especially given the reversed meaning reflecting the poor optimization of less skilled players. For the art, I decided to feature both Sonic and Jet on their respective boards, as I feel they represent the differing ways to approach races and tournaments rather well. I was unsure of which board designs to go with initially, but I ultimately went with the original versions of both of them.
Three of Pentacles (Tornado)
For the Three of Pentacles, I wanted to highlight Sonic’s teamwork with Tails once again. As such, the Tornado, their shared airplane, seemed the perfect fit. The aerial stages of the franchise almost always take place on the Tornado and require careful cooperation between pilot and passenger to succeed. Additionally, a Tails-piloted Tornado often comes in clutch in rescuing Sonic and his friends from tricky spots following climatic battles, and several games end with the heroes flying off in the airplane as well. Of course, such prevalent participation in adventures leads it to be damaged or destroyed rather frequently, seen in the reversed meaning. The art is of Tails and Sonic flying a Sonic Generations-styled Tornado on a clear day, with them communicating on where to go next; I did move Sonic to the wing for clarity’s sake. I thought this art was simple but effective in its presentation, and so I chose for it to be the cover art of SONIC THE TAROT’s box.
Four of Pentacles (Death Egg)
For the Four of Pentacles, I chose to continue the theming of Eggman’s Emperor assignment and use the Death Egg. The Four of Pentacles represents control and greed, and the Death Egg is arguably the most iconic of Eggman’s large-scale inventions with its aims to conquer the entire planet in the name of the Eggman Empire. Its material excess is clear in its sheer size and manpower required to operate such a large aircraft. Naturally, as the Four of Pentacles show, this is not a sustainable model and is literally shot down by Sonic and friends with most attempts to revive it unsuccessful. I knew right away that I wanted Super Sonic squaring away with the Death Egg for the art, but the angle at which I approached the composition changed. Originally, I had Super Sonic looking down at the Death Egg, but I thought it diminished the intimidation factor of the flying fortress. In the end, I made Super Sonic look more up at it, with the Death Egg itself staring down its nose at him. Rather smug for a floating egg, huh?
Five of Pentacles (Eclipse Cannon)
For the Five of Pentacles, which is a rather negatively charged card, I decided to use the Eclipse Cannon. Regardless of its original, noble intent to thwart the Black Arms’ invasion, this weapon utterly destroys all that it touches, explicitly designed to leave no survivors. Even the fallout from its creation was ruinous, leaving Maria dead, Shadow locked up, and Gerald in the sights of an execution squad; the moon itself was not spared its wrath, either. Not everything was for naught, however. Eggman’s plot to take control of the weapon revived Shadow and allowed him to come to terms with his creation and new purpose in the world. Even such a downer card can have a positive reversed meaning. The art of this card is notable for being the only one without a character in it: I wanted to focus solely on the destructive nature of the weapon.
Six of Pentacles (Item Box)
For the Six of Pentacles, I felt that the Item Boxes found throughout the series best represent the card’s theme of generosity. They are almost always in every zone in the games, the powers they bestow upon Sonic and friends can be key to beating particularly tricky levels. Of course, the reversed meaning of this card crops up in the Eggman Mark boxes, aiming to take advantage of players’ inattentiveness to damage them, instead. Not the most complicated card or assignment, but I thought it fitting regardless. The art has Knuckles obtaining the Invincibility power-up, which was changed from the sketch’s Shield due to the former being my favorite aesthetically and the one I feel is the most helpful in a variety of situations.
Seven of Pentacles (Chaos Emeralds)
For the Seven of Pentacles, it might seem like I only chose the Chaos Emeralds due to there being seven of them. However, the themes of culmination and conclusion fit the Emeralds rather well, as collecting them is often the goal throughout the games due to allowing Sonic to transform into Super Sonic. The Emeralds are naturally desired by Eggman and other antagonistic forces as well, usually for plans that abuse their powers and end up in some form of disaster. Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) also shows both ends of the upright and reversed meanings of the Seven of Pentacles, as certain endings keep Shadow moving forward for a better future while others have him stuck in the past and doing evil. As such, the card art features Shadow with the Emeralds in a callback to the last cutscenes in the standard endings from Shadow ‘05; the original sketch was closer to the actual game composition, but I shuffled it around to work better with the more vertical orientation of the cards.
Eight of Pentacles (Piko Piko Hammer)
For the Eight of Pentacles, I wanted to highlight Amy’s skill with the Piko Piko Hammer, in particular. The primary cast usually relies on innate abilities to aid in their adventuring, such as Sonic’s speed, Knuckles’ strength, Tails’ flight, etc. So I think it’s especially cool that Amy can keep up with these guys through her mastery of different skills, like her tarot cards and (in this case) her hammer. Of course, she doesn’t use the Piko Piko Hammer for altruistic means all the time, as she embodies the Eight of Pentacles reversed with her threats toward Sonic and anyone else who may have slighted her. The art for this card is relatively simple, with Amy holding the Piko Piko Hammer out while leaping toward the viewer. For the original sketch, I considered having her do her Hammer Jump from SA1, but I thought that even though the composition was fun, it took away from the hammer itself too much.
Nine of Pentacles (Chili Dog)
For the Nine of Pentacles, I really wanted to do the Chili Dog, even if there are probably better options to represent rewards in the series. Sonic has been tied to chili dogs in canonical and non-canonical materials for decades now, so I thought such a rich and questionably nutritious treat fit the indulgences of the Nine of Pentacles pretty well. I especially thought the Eggdog from Unleashed represented the reversed meaning’s corruption very fittingly, as it’s rather gross-looking and apparently tastes like it, too. I didn’t change much between the sketch and final art for this card, as I thought Sonic snoozing with a chili dog in hand was perfect. Pretty simple card overall but my favorite in terms of the guidebook blurb!
Ten of Pentacles (Badniks)
For the Ten of Pentacles, showcasing the Badniks seemed like a good choice. Eggman seems to have them in a never-ending supply and they often form the bulk of opposition for Sonic and friends. Certain Badniks outside of standard issue even present more success for Eggman’s goals, such as Metal Sonic and (initially) Gamma. Of course, Eggman’s callousness towards his creations is seen in the reversed Ten of Pentacles, with Belle in particular sticking out as a “good” Badnik that isn’t soon destroyed like in Gamma’s case. Choosing Badniks for this card was a bit difficult given the sheer number of them, but I decided to go for the ones I consider the most “iconic” from the first game: Crabmeat, Moto Bug, Buzz Bomber, and Caterkiller. They were originally to appear by themselves on the card, but I thought I needed a fifth, organic character to ground the piece and give them someone to menace, thus Knuckles’ inclusion.
Page of Pentacles (Egg Mobile)
For the Page of Pentacles, I needed a recurring element from the series that encompasses the dependability aspect of the card—thus, I went with the Egg Mobile. Eggman very rarely goes a game without utilizing this hovercraft, with the early 2D entries’ boss fights often being a version of the Egg Mobile with a new weapon attached. Of course, given Sonic’s success rate, the Egg Mobile gets trashed badly and often, as Eggman seems to love putting obvious weak spots on each new iteration. Sometimes, however, Eggman does build a design that isn’t so obvious on how to defeat—like the Egg Inferno—guaranteeing its return for future endeavors. The art features an Egg Mobile based on the design used by both Eggmen in Sonic Generations; I think it represents the best middle ground between the Classic and Modern iterations of the vehicle. And I felt like I HAD to include the Egg Wrecker attachment for the Egg Mobile, and it’s the first time Sonic fights against Eggman and thus, our first experience with their long-going rivalry, as well.
Knight of Pentacles (Miles Electric)
For the Knight of Pentacles, I knew that I wanted to feature Tails’ inventions in some fashion, given that he is arguably the most practical-minded of the heroic characters. That led me to the Miles Electric, which has been a solidly recurring device of Tails’ since Unleashed. On top of operating with all the capabilities of a normal smart tablet, Tails can modify the Miles Electric to do more extreme tasks, with it becoming rather crucial in communicating with the Wisps in Colors. But, as with any piece of tech, the Miles Electric has failed in situations like that of Infinite, which personally makes me a bit weary of Tails’ overreliance on it in games from the ‘10s. I wanted Tails to be hard at work on the tablet for the card’s art, but I thought it would be fun to include the considerably-more-relaxed Big and Froggy as well for a more visual contrast of hard work versus relaxation.
Queen of Pentacles (Capsule)
For the Queen of Pentacles, I ultimately went with the maybe-unorthodox choice of the animal Capsules found throughout the series. Whenever the Capsules pop up in any given adventure, they signal the current success Eggman is experiencing within his schemes and are abundant in numbers to reflect it. Of course, the reversed meaning of the Queen of Pentacles is the more prominent element of the Capsules, with their exploitation of wildlife and their ludicrously impractical design. I wanted to include several common Animal friends being released from a Capsule for the art; I went with a Flicky, Pecky, Picky, and Pocky, first debuting in Sonic 1. Many Sonic characters interact with Capsules across the series, and I decided on Cream and Cheese for this one due to Cream’s childlike innocence contrasting the best with the cold impersonalness of an active Capsule.
King of Pentacles (Master Emerald)
For the King of Pentacles, I immediately knew I would use the Master Emerald. It is literally a grounding force in the series, tempering the powers of the Chaos Emeralds and providing Knuckles with a purpose and home. I also think the fact that it elevates the entire Angel Island to be a floating landmass in the sky conveys the immensity of what it provides to the series very succinctly. But the reversed, greedy meaning of the King of Pentacles is just as fitting given that the Master Emerald’s value leads it to be targeted. A lot. I wanted to sorta reflect that by making Knuckles sleep in this card—he tries his best to protect his charge but he’s not infallible, and his foes abuse that often. I also featured some spirit apparitions of Tikal and Chaos to represent the supporting “heart” of the Master Emerald and the previous generations that have come before Knuckles.