How to Paint MTG Unpainted Miniatures: An Ob Nixilis Painting Tutorial

Quick Answer

Paint Ob Nixilis by working from the inside out: prime the miniature, block in skin and armor, shade the recesses, then finish the wings and flaming sword last. Keep your layers thin and let each one dry before the next. A WizKids Deep Cuts or Nolzur's figure is already primed, so you can start base coating right away.

Magic: The Gathering unpainted miniatures give you a blank canvas for one of the game's most recognizable villains. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is a great first project because his silhouette reads clearly: broad wings, heavy armor, and a sword wreathed in flame. You do not need a display-case standard to get a table-ready result.

This tutorial walks through the full process in order, with the mistake to avoid at each stage. If you have painted a WizKids miniature before, you already know the drill: thin paints, steady layers, and patience on the details.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather a primer, a few base colors, a wash, a detail brush, and a dry palette or wet palette. You will also want a hobby knife and a soft brush for cleanup. None of this has to be expensive; a starter set of acrylics covers everything Ob Nixilis needs.

WizKids Deep Cuts and Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures come primed and ready to paint out of the box, so you can skip the priming step on those figures. Check the miniature before you start: if any mold lines or flash remain, scrape them away now, because paint will make them more obvious, not less.

• Work under good light; a desk lamp beats a dim room every time.
• Keep a cup of clean water and a paper towel within reach.
• Do not shake a wash bottle violently; it foams and dries unevenly.

Step 1: Prime and Prep the Miniature

If your Ob Nixilis is already primed, inspect it under a lamp and touch up any bare spots with a thin brush of primer. If you are working from an unprimed figure, use a light gray or white primer in two thin coats rather than one heavy pass. Gray gives you a neutral base that shows both warm and cool colors accurately.

The common mistake here is spraying too close or too long. That fills in the fine details on the face and armor, and you cannot get them back without stripping the model. Hold the can about 20 cm away and sweep across the figure in short bursts.

• Checkpoint: the primer should look like a smooth coat, not a wet puddle.
• Let the primer cure fully before painting; tacky primer will lift under your brush.

Step 2: Block In the Base Colors

Start with the largest areas: skin, armor, and cloth. Use thin, opaque layers and build up color rather than trying to cover in one pass. Ob Nixilis reads as a dark, infernal figure, so a deep red-brown or charcoal skin tone works well as a base, with a cooler gray for the armor plates.

The mistake to avoid is painting the wings and sword before the body. Those areas are the most visually interesting, and you will be tempted to rush the body to get to them. Paint the body first so the focal points stay clean and sharp.

• Two thin coats beat one thick coat for even coverage.
• Keep your brush damp, not dripping, to avoid tide marks.

Step 3: Shade the Recesses

A wash does the heavy lifting on a figure like this. Apply a dark wash over the skin and armor, then let it settle into the recesses. On the wings, a thinned wash in the membrane creases will suggest leathery texture without extra brushwork. This is where the miniature starts to look three-dimensional.

The common mistake is flooding the wash. Too much wash pools on flat surfaces and leaves shiny, uneven stains. Load your brush lightly and wick away excess with a clean, dry brush before it dries.

• Checkpoint: the wash should darken the recesses, not the raised areas.
• If the wash dries too dark, you can lift some of it with a damp brush before it sets.

Step 4: Layer and Highlight

Once the wash is dry, go back over the raised areas with your base color, leaving the wash in the recesses. Then add a lighter tone on the highest points: cheekbones, shoulder plates, and the edges of the armor. Keep your highlights thin and build them gradually.

The mistake here is highlighting too broadly. A highlight should catch the light, not repaint the whole surface. If your figure starts to look chalky, you have gone too far; a thin glaze of your base color will bring it back.

• Use the side of your brush for edge highlights on armor.
• Checkpoint: step back and look at the figure from arm's length; that is how it will be seen on the table.

Step 5: Paint the Wings and Sword

The wings and flaming sword are Ob Nixilis's signature features, so save them for last. For the wings, layer a dark base into a lighter tone toward the tips to suggest tension and movement. For the sword, paint the flame from a deep orange at the hilt to a bright yellow at the tip, then add a thin white core along the hottest part.

The mistake is painting the flame as a flat yellow shape. Fire looks best when it transitions through several warm tones. Work from dark to light and keep the brightest color at the center of the flame, not the edges.

• Thin your flame colors more than your armor colors; smooth blends matter here.
• Checkpoint: the flame should look like it is glowing, not like a painted stripe.

Step 6: Finish the Base and Seal

Give the base a simple treatment: a dark earth tone with a dry brush of lighter gray or brown reads as rocky ground. If you want a lava effect, paint the base in warm oranges and reds before adding a dark crust. Keep it simple; the base supports the figure, it does not compete with it.

Once everything is dry, seal the miniature with a matte varnish. This protects the paint from handling during games. The mistake to avoid is sealing too soon; if any paint still feels cool or tacky, wait. A rushed varnish coat can smear your work.

• Apply varnish in thin coats, not one heavy pass.
• Let the figure dry completely before storing it in foam.

Ob Nixilis Painting Steps at a Glance

1. Prep and prime: Clean mold lines, then apply a thin gray or white primer if the figure is not already primed. Checkpoint: a smooth, even coat with no filled-in detail.
2. Block in base colors: Paint skin, armor, and cloth in thin layers, starting with the largest areas. Mistake to avoid: rushing the body to get to the wings.
3. Shade the recesses: Apply a dark wash over skin and armor, wicking away excess before it pools. Checkpoint: recesses darken, raised areas stay clean.
4. Layer and highlight: Reapply base color on raised areas, then add thin highlights on the highest points. Mistake to avoid: highlighting too broadly and making the figure chalky.
5. Paint wings and sword: Layer the wings from dark to light, and blend the flame from deep orange to a bright core. Checkpoint: the flame glows rather than reading as a flat stripe.
6. Base and seal: Finish the base with a simple earth or lava treatment, then seal with matte varnish once fully dry. Mistake to avoid: varnishing while the paint is still tacky.

WizKids Miniatures That Fit This Process

• D&D Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures: Dwarf Female Fighter: Comes with highly detailed figures, primed and ready to paint out of the box, with deep cuts for easier painting and clear packaging that shows exactly what you are getting. You can skip priming and start base coating immediately, which makes it a low-risk figure for practicing the same layering steps you use on Ob Nixilis.
• D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures: Ogre Soldier: Features highly detailed figures, primed and ready to paint, with deep cuts for easier painting and visible packaging. The larger surfaces give you more room to practice thin layers and washes before you move on to a more detailed character miniature.
• WizKids Deep Cuts - Braziers: Part of the Deep Cuts unpainted miniatures line, which features game accessories that let painters explore fine details and create a unique look for each piece. These scenery pieces let you test flame and glow techniques on a small, inexpensive model before applying them to Ob Nixilis's sword.

Ob Nixilis rewards patience more than precision. Work through the steps in order, keep your layers thin, and save the wings and sword for last. If you want a lower-stakes warm-up first, a WizKids Deep Cuts or Nolzur's figure gives you the same process on a simpler surface.