Some Magic: The Gathering cards have been banned from sanctioned play due to being deemed racially or culturally offensive in the contemporary perspective.[1][2] This happened in 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
Description
From the Tournament Rules (May 29, 2023—March of the Machine)
- 6.6 Legacy Format Deck Construction
The following cards are banned in Legacy tournaments:
• Cards whose art, text, name, or combination thereof that are racially or culturally offensive are banned in all formats. This list is a work in progress.
The cards show up in Gatherer with the following warning: We have removed this card image from our database because it has racist or culturally offensive art, text, or a combination thereof. Racism and cultural insensitivity are unacceptable and have no place in our games, or anywhere.[3]
Banned cards
| Card name | Set | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Cleanse | Legends | 1994 |
| Crusade | Alpha | 1993 |
| Invoke Prejudice | Legends | 1994 |
| Imprison | Legends | 1994 |
| Jihad | Arabian Nights | 1993 |
| Pradesh Gypsies | Legends | 1994 |
| Stone-Throwing Devils | Arabian Nights | 1993 |
Other cards
When the Lost Legends were distributed via Dominaria United all cards by Harold McNeill were withheld. In addition, Barbary Apes, Craw Giant, Gwendlyn Di Corci and Pyrotechnics were deemed unsuitable for redistribution due to their depictions or flavor texts.[4]
When the 30th Anniversary Edition of Beta was released in 2022, Earthbind and Weakness were removed from the card list, because they "didn't meet modern standards".[5]
Additional changes
In 2023, R&D reviewed its stance towards several terms and types in the light of cultural and religious sensitivity.[6] The decision was made to rename the keyword ability "Totem armor" to Umbra armor. This change was implied because Totems are considered sacred objects or symbols that serve as an emblem of certain groups of people.
In a similar vein, "Kindred" replaced "Tribal" as a card type (while "Typal" already had replaced the tribal theme). This came about because the word “tribal” has some unintended connotations.[7] At the same time, Rakshasa lost the cat-type to reflect their Hindu origin (as opposed to the Dungeons & Dragons influence).[8][9]
Meanwhile, Druid and particularly Shaman are also under consideration for a reboot, because these have connections to modern-day religions.[10][11]
References
- ↑ Depictions of Racism in Magic. magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast (June 10, 2020).
- ↑ David McCoy (June 10, 2020). "Wizards Bans 7 Cards with Racist Depictions, Including Invoke Prejudice". Hipsters of the Coast.
- ↑ Crusade. Gatherer. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on October 31, 2022.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (July 21, 2022). "Lost Legends". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (October 4, 2022). "Celebrate 30 Years of Magic: The Gathering with 30th Anniversary Edition". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (November 3, 2023). "Card Updates Coming with Khans of Tarkir on MTG Arena". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 5, 2023). "Just for clarification - is "typal" the same thing as what's commonly referred to amongst players as "tribal"?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Card Updates Coming Soon (Tribal, Naga, Totem Armor errata'd out of the game). Reddit (November 3, 2023).
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 3, 2023). "I have not seen it explained, but why was cat typal removed from those creatures?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 28, 2023). "If 'witch' is excluded bc of its significance as a real world religious identifier, why are 'shaman' and 'druid' creature types?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 29, 2023). "Please don't phase out druids". Blogatog. Tumblr.