Youd think that the artists would be given some inkling about the effect of the card to help them match the art to the card, but thats not the case, as Fackova explains: The brief doesnt describe what the card will do in the game so we dont specifically know the mechanics when we work on the art. The brief I receive specifies the colour(s) the card will be associated with, what plane it exists on, the requested subject matter, and any features theyd like to be made prominent, adds Finnigan
Almost nothing gets past them, and thats why there are only a few of these powerful spells in existence
"Origins Award Winners (1993)"
The first way which is the most usual is opening booster packs
Technically , for people whom a HotR card was gifted to in an official capacity and whose name is on the card, Heroes of the Realm cards are legal in Commander, but this is more relevant as trivia than for actual discussion