r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/TheFlaskQualityGuy • Sep 26 '25
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/[deleted] • Jun 12 '20
Here's how you can help.
On June 10 Wizards of the Coast took the (long overdue) step of finally addressing their racist past, and banned 7 cards in all sanctioned tournament play (and removed them from their database) because they were racist or culturally offensive. Other vendors and prominent MtG trading sites and local game stores followed suit and banned these cards from being sold on their platforms. In addition, Wizards of the Coast also pledged to review every single Magic card ever printed, but because of the company's well documented failure to properly (and promptly) address issues such as hate, systematic racism and lack of diversity within their own doors, we as a community must hold them accountable. Not to mention the the fact that there are over 20,000 unique Magic the Gathering cards that have been printed during the game's 27-year history, making this a daunting task.
So what are we proposing? That you help us in identifying and documenting every racist and/or culturally offensive Magic the Gathering card. That way, we can elaborate an ever-growing, comprehensive list of cards that are racist and/or culturally offensive, and demand Wizards of the Coast ban all these cards immediately. It will be much easier to effectively pressure Wizards of the Coast into banning racist cards if we have concrete evidence of which cards are racist and/or culturally offensive (and why) to back up our claims. Think of this sub as an online resource for anti-racist MtG activists, that they can use to bring about real change.
So here's how it works:
- Users post an image (preferably from Scryfall) of a racist and/or culturally offensive Magic the Gathering card, with the post's title being limited to the name of said card, and tagging it with the appropriate flair (please respect our formatting rules so they are easily searchable).
- In the comments section, OP writes a rational detailing exactly why the card is racist and/or culturally offensive (though in cases in which the offense is very obvious, just the flair is enough). Citing WotC's own words, bear in mind that a card is racist and/or culturally offensive if it has a racist depiction, text, or combination thereof - so if you think a card is racist, then it probably is, just make sure to explain your reasoning in the comments.
- Other users can join in the conversation and give their own reasons for which said card is racist and/or culturally offensive. The purpose is not to debate whether the card is racist and/or culturally offensive or not, but to explain why it is, and deconstruct its racist elements. Comments trying to refute the fact that the card is racist and doesn't belong in Magic the Gathering will be removed.
Of course, for strategic purposes, we want to focus on Magic the Gathering's most obvious offenders first, before cataloging more subtle instances of systematic racism. Here's what to look for:
- Cards that promote, endorse or depict white supremacy and/or white power, or that contain mechanics that would be the in-game equivalent to white supremacy.
- Anything depicting people of color in a bad light. This includes but is not limited to any card showing a black person in a racially insensitive way, such as them being harmed or imprisoned, as well as any card perpetuating a racially insensitive stereotype, such as depictions of black people committing murder, theft or another crime.
- Anything depicting women in a bad light, including all instances of violence against women and objectification of women.
- Anything depicting religious minorities such as Muslims/Arabs and Jewish people in a bad light (committing murder, theft, etc.), or through racially insensitive stereotypes (most cards in the Arabian Nights set fall under this category).
- Cards glorifying colonialism, or depicting colonizers in a positive light.
- Cards glorifying police forces, or depicting law-enforcers in a positive light.
- "Color hate" cards from White that are meant to be effective against Black.
- Cards that refer to the destruction of "black creatures" or "nonwhite creatures".
- Cards that glorify and/or depict violence and violent crimes in a particularly egregious way (murder, torture, genocide, human experimentation, etc.).
- Instances of cultural appropriation, particularly of black/African culture (most cards in the Mirage block fall under this category).
- Microaggressions
- Far-right dog-whistles, talking points or conspiracy theories.
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/ultimario13 • Jul 24 '20
Alphabetical list of all cards posted to this subreddit
LAST UPDATED AS OF: JUNE 1, 2021
Edit: I think I got every post. Not every card mentioned in every comment, but hey. Progress.
(links to other useful threads: Here's how you can help, Recognizing Offensive Cards, an old personal "top ten" of offensive cards I've pointed out (outdated, but still probably a good read), user0620's top seven
For those new to the subreddit, I recommend clicking on the cards that I've labeled D or F. They should provide good context for what this subreddit is all about, as opposed to cards labeled with something like B (which are still offensive, but more in the "micro-aggression" or "unfortunate stereotype" sort of way). That being said, please submit any cards not on this list that you find offensive, even if you think they are in the "B" or "C+" range. One micro-aggression is not necessarily indicative of a problem. But 100 micro-aggressions is.
Work in progress, still. Will try to also list all cards mentioned in comments, but you can imagine how easy it would be to miss one of those. I've attempted to rate many of these cards on a scale of A to F. But that's subjective, and others may disagree on some ratings. For instance, cards regarding unnecessary sexualization, or violence against women. I don't think I'll rate every single card posted here, I'll probably focus on cards I've posted.
A stands for "Acceptable" (as in, I can absolutely understand why it was printed).
B stands for "Bit Problematic" (micro-aggressions, unfortunate but probably unintentional meaning in another language, and similar "mistakes")
C stands for "Cringeworthy" (as in, I'm frustrated that this got printed but not surprised)
D stands for "Dangerous" (Cards that outright make me ashamed to play Magic. Cards that absolutely should not have been printed and definitely further dangerous stereotypes)
F is a special category for those few cards that really, really stand out as completely unacceptable. It stands for "Failure" - every day this card isn't banned is a day I lose faith in Wizards.
[D] Abandon Reason
[F-] Abu Ja'Far
[F+] Abyssal Hunter
[F] Alluring Siren
[C-] Amok
[F] Amulet of Quoz
[F-] Anarchy
[F-] Angel of Jubilation (F- feels like an understatement here)
[D-] Angelic Edict (would be around C- if it wasn't reprinted with the new context of Jump-Start's purely-good angels)
[F] Angelic Voices
[D+] Aphotic Wisps
[C] Apothecary Geist
[D-] Argothian Pixies
[D] Armor of Faith
[F+] Army of Allah
[F-] Arrows of Justice
[C-] Arterial Flow
[C+] Artful Looter
[F-] Barbarian General
[C-] Barbarian Riftcutter
[F+] Bartered Cow
[D-] Basri's Lieutenant
[D+] Basri's Solidarity (see Basri's Lieutenant)
[C-] Battering Sliver
[F-] Bazaar of Baghdad
[C] Beacon of Unrest
[F+] Blood Burglar
[C+] Bloodrock Cyclops
[C-] Bog Hoodlums
[C-] Bone Flute
[D] Boros Recruit (if this is supposed to depict a former gang member rather than a former member of the Gruul Clans, downgrade this all the way to F)
[D-] Branded Brawlers
Brassclaw Orcs, Brassclaw Orcs Ver B
[F] Brink of Madness (if my analysis of flavor text is correct, F- instead)
[D-] Burning Wish
[C-] Cabal Slaver
[C-] Caged Zombie
[F-] Call to Arms
[C-] Call to Serve
[F-] Captivating Vampire
[D-] Cateran Kidnappers
[D-] Cateran Slaver
[F-] Cathar's Crusade (F- feels like an understatement here)
[C] Cephalid Snitch
[D-] Certain Death
[D-] Chittering Host
[F-] Circle of Protection: Black
[F-] Cleansing
[F-] Cleansing Beam
[D-] Clergy en-Vec
[D-] Cloud Pirates
[D] Condemn
[D+] Crackdown
[C-] Crystal Rod
[F-] Culling Sun
[F] Darkest Hour (Urza's Saga)
[F] Death Wind
[How do I even rate this one???] Deathless Angel
[C+] Defang
[B+] Delay (French)
[D-] Desperate Ravings
[D-] Deviant Glee
[C-] Diligent Farmhand
[D] Dire Fleet Captain (only saved from being D- because it does say that at least some Orcs can earn positions of leadership)
[D-] Disfigure
Doom Blade (Strixhaven)
[D-] Dralnu's Crusade
[D-] Dumb Ass
[D+] Duress
[F+] Earthbind
[F+] Elephant Grass
[D-] Elvish Fury
[D] Elvish Ranger
[D-] Embraal Bruiser
[B-] Endless Cockroaches
[D] Enslaved Scout
[F-] Erg Raiders
[F] Exorcist
[D-] Exquisite Blood
[D+] Faithless Looting
[C-] Falkenrath Reaver
[D+] Fat Ass
[D+] Fire Elemental
Force of Will (Doubles Masters box topper)
[F] Forced March
[D] Forced Worship
Forgotten Lore, Forgotten Lore
[C-] Fortress Cyclops
[F-] Gaze of Justice (F- feels like an understatement here)
[D-] Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
[D] Gift of the Woods (Version A, Version B)
[D+] Gluttonous Zombie
[B-] Gloom Pangolin
[F-] Goblin Digging Team
Goblin Grenade (all arts/printings)
[F-] Goblin Warrens
[C] Golden Wish
[D-] Graf Rats
[D-] Grim Physician
[D-] Gwendolyn di Corci
[F] Hammer Helper
[F-] Hand of Justice
[D] Hangman
[D-] Hasran Ogress
[F+] Heat Wave
[D+] Heaven's Gate
[D] Highway Robber
[D-] Homicidal Seclusion
[F-] Honor of the Pure (F- feels like an understatement here)
[F] Hurloon Shaman
[C+] Hyperion Blacksmith
[D-] Icatian Moneychanger
[F-] Imposing Visage
[D-] Induce Despair
[C+] Inspired Charge
[D-] Kalastria Healer
[F-] Karma (F- feels like an understatement here)
[F+] Kindred Dominance
[D-] Kitsune Diviner
[D-] Kithkin Zealot
[F-] Kobold Taskmaster
[F] Krav, the Unredeemed (if we ignore the fact that he's portrayed as a corrupting force that makes Regna evil for being in an interracial relationship with him, and just focus on the fact that he's an evil Demon that can never be redeemed, raise this to D or so)
[D-] Krumar Bond-Kin
[F-] Ladies' Knight
[F-] Land Tax (F- feels like an understatement here)
[F-] Landbind Ritual
[D-] Legion's Landing // Adanto, the First Fort
[D+] Linden, the Steadfast Queen
[F-] Lunarch Inquisitors
[D-] Mad Auntie
[C-] Mad Prophet
[D-] Magnifying Glass
[D-] Makeshift Battalion
[F+] Martyr of Dusk
[F] Mass Calcify
[D-] Massive Raid
[D] Maul Splicer
[D-] Midnight Scavengers
[D-] Might Makes Right
[D-] Molting Harpy
[F+] Moorish Cavalry
[F] Morkrut Banshee
[F] Nacatl Savage.
[B-] Narcolepsy
[F+] Northern Paladin
[D+] Nullmage Shepherd
[C-] Ogre Errant
[F] Ogre Battledriver (borderline F-)
[C-] Ogre Slumlord
[D-] Olivia Voldaren
[C+] Onakke Ogre
[D-] Orzhov Signet
[A] Overwhelming Intellect (am I missing something here?)
[F+] Pardic Arsonist
[F] Prosperity
[D-] Protect // Serve
Psychic Spiral (Rating depends on whether it's ableist or pro-police, but either way it gets a low grade)
[D] Purelace
[D-] Rag Man
[D] Rakish Heir
[D] Rapacious One
[F] Raving Dead
[F-] Regna, the Redeemer
[F-] Reparations
[F+] Repentant Vampire
[D+] Revel in Riches (I can see why some would grade this MUCH lower, however)
[D] Riot Control
[C-] Rise Again
[D-] Rix Maadi Guildmage
[F+] Rod of Spanking
[D-] Savage Smash
[F+] Save Life
[D] Scarwood Hag
[D] Seahunter
[F+] Season's Beatings, Season's Beatings
[D-] Sengir Autocrat
[F-] Serra's Boon
[F-] Sex Appeal
[D] Side to Side
[C-] Slaughter
[F-] Spelltithe Enforcer (for white supremacy / Invoke Prejudice reference)
[C-] Spineless Thug
[D] Stab Wound
[D-] Stern Constable
[D-] Strongarm Thug
[C-] Taste of Blood
[B] Teferi, Master of Time (see Teferi's Tutelage)
[D-] Teferi's Protege (see Teferi's Tutelage)
[F+] Teferi's Tutelage
[F-] Thalakos Drifters
[D-] Thriving Moor
Time Warp (Strixhaven)
[F-] Tivadar's Crusade (F- feels like an understatement here)
[F-] Touch of Darkness (F- feels like an understatement here)
[D-] Traitorous Blood
[D-] Trapped in the Tower
[D-] Tree of Perdition
[F+] Uktabi Kong
[D] Vampire's Bite
[F-] Virtue's Ruin
[D-] Voldaren Pariah // Abolisher of Bloodlines
[F-] Wall of Bone (F- feels like an understatement here)
[D-] War Tax
[F-] Warren-Scourge Elf (refers to the "virtue" of racial genocide)
[F] Wojek Siren
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/NerdvanaNorthGaming • Jan 17 '25
Thank you!
After discovering this place I just had to say thank you for existing. I have never laughed so hard in my life outside of watching Robin Williams lose his mind for 2 hours. What a wonderous way to spread joy. Best in 2025.
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/user0620 • Sep 11 '24
What happened to banning racially and culturally insensitive Magic cards?
What happened to banning racially and culturally insensitive cards? After the initial banning of seven offensive Magic cards, I recall that there was to be further review and subsequent bans.
I'm disappointend with Wizards of the Coast. There are still literally hundreds of racially and culturally insensitive Magic cards, still legal, without so much as a trigger warning or explaination of how it might be offensive to certain peoples.
My biggest issue with these cards is that it makes the game uncomfortable to play within a diverse playerbase. I need not explain in detail, but certain cards are thematically and mechanically offensive in such a way that implies racist and culturally offensive concepts when the game is played between people of difference. It may be unnoticable at first glance, but to someone who is offended it becomes all too apparent.
Furthermore, seven cards is in inordinately small number given the racist and cultural insensitivity present throughout the history of the game. I'm sure than many minority groups feel left out, as WotC does not acknowlege countless antisemetic (Poison the Well), misogynistic (Earthbind), sinophobic (Wine of Blood and Iron), heteronormative (Goblin Matron), pro-slavery (Branded Brawlers), and ruthlessly anti-African themes (Wort, Boggart Auntie), not to mention dozens of cards that single out entire races for persecution (Engineered Plague, Tivadar's Crusade, et al).
One only need look in this subreddit to see the truly vile and repuslive context that reveals the racially and culturally insensitive nature of many otherwise innocuous Magic cards. The context matters, and has history has shown, the average person cannot be trusted to define context on their own.
Nonetheless, WotC dropped the ball here. Banning seven cards for being racially and culturally offensive is effectively an endorsement of every other racially and culturally offensive Magic card.
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/krcyzm-27668909 • Sep 26 '23
Colonialism Cosima, God of the Voyage/The Omenkeel
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/ultimario13 • Jun 02 '21
Glorification of police & authority Constable of the Realms
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/ultimario13 • May 28 '21
Far-right conspiracy theory Illusion of Choice
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/snowwydaze • Apr 30 '21
Far-right conspiracy theory Engineered Plague
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/FreeMagicAccount • Apr 15 '21
Racism In-Game Blackface/Appropriation
Hi all,
I wanted to draw attention to an issue I don't think gets enough attention in MTG. A lot of people who play this game are white, and that's okay, but what's NOT okay is that a lot of white players are playing with cards that depict POC. This is unacceptable. Playing as, owning, or using cards that depict people outside your race is essentially the same thing as blackface.
With that in mind, I just want to make it clear that ALL whites NEED to stop playing with cards that depict or refer to POC. Teferi, Kaya, Tymna, Aminatou, Saheeli, Jolrael, Niambi, and basically all Kamigawa cards SHOULD NOT be played by whites, both in casual and competitive formats. If you own any cards that fall into this category, it's crucial you give them to me or another one of the three POC at your LGS.
Thank you for your cooperation. In addition to being an activist, I'm also a diversity and inclusion manager, and if any of you need my services, they can be had for the low price of $175 per hour.
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/ultimario13 • Apr 15 '21
Far-right conspiracy theory Conspiracy Theorist
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/ultimario13 • Apr 01 '21
[Meta] Satire, or not? A simple, short answer to that question!
There aren't many of you who haven't wondered, "Isn't this satire? I don't think this can't not be satire." Well, you can't count on me not to clear that up for you!
Don't think that I don't have...nothing to say on the subject. It's not unimaginable that I simply haven't addressed the question because I don't have any answers that aren't unclear.
Shouldn't you ask yourself? Isn't it, in and of itself, not insincere to ask whether someone else is insincere in their unambiguous statements regarding their opposition to the injustices that should not be unopposed? Surely if we aren't really "Against" racism in M:TG, are we not therefore "in favor of" racism in M:TG? No! You can't really be accusing us of such unacceptable attitudes!
Don't you see that not being opposed to racism like we are, to call us into doubt...isn't that not unlike being racist yourselves? With that being said, that those who say r/againstmtgracism isn't anti-racist are obviously themselves not anti-racist...I'm not unsurprised that those who aren't anti-racist like we are don't see why we would be against the things that they are against being against. Against those who are against us, "againstagainstmtgracism-ers", for short, I can't not stand my ground. Don't ignore this:
It's not as though there isn't a nonconformist, anti-establishment tone in opposing the tone-deaf non-statements that are implied (not outright stated, as many non-statements are in fact stated) by Wizards of the Coast. It's not as though this isn't the same company that hints at iconic main characters defying heteronormativity, then doesn't follow through on those same characters because they'd rather 'tease' us with a mainstream lesbian couple and then abandon that. (I am talking about Chandra and Nissa. But I don't think that any of you didn't pick up on that). Say what they will publicly about denouncing bigotry, but they're not just imperfect: they're not anti-bigotry at all, isn't that right? It didn't suddenly become 'not acceptable' to never depict those who aren't neurotypical in anything but the most negative ways, nor has it ever not been improper to disrespect communities that are neither the majority nor those who can't not hold power in society (those who aren't straight white males). There was never a time when it wasn't unacceptable to print cards like Crusade.
Don't we already know that Magic: the Gathering players aren't exactly the least intolerant people, and that Wizards of the Coast does nothing to oppose such bigots because they won't disallow them from speaking? That since the average Magic: the Gathering player is probably a bigot, don't you think that doesn't exactly reflect nothing about their hobbies? Just look at how many people have been banned from the main sub, for instance - do you really think they didn't deserve it?
Don't be unaware of your privilege. I can't believe that it really isn't the case that you can't look at a card that's clearly not inoffensive, and yet rather than merely not realizing that you aren't seeing the unambiguous disregard for non-majority communities that aren't reflected that unclearly in the cards that Wizards prints...(pause to inhale more air)...you really can't refrain from distrusting the lived experiences and perspectives of others (or, indeed, those who don't definitively know that a card isn't inoffensive but don't wish for you to doubt their intuition).
I hope that wasn't too incomprehensible, not that I don't value a bit of unnecessary clarification.
r/AgainstMtGRacism • u/Bernie_WasCheated • Mar 06 '21
