SPECIAL POST: Black History in Magic: The Gathering

    This post lies outside the blog series. I plan on doing posts like these as events/news in the community occurs. This post is inspired by Black History Month, and the announcement of the new Black History themed Secret Lair drop (find the announcement here)

    So, spoiler alert, I am Black for those who don't know me personally. Yes, Black people DO play magic, and let me tell you something– sometimes I do feel like a unicorn. As a queer person of color, I see a lot of awesome representation within the MTG universe, but when I look up from the cards on the table to the faces of my Magic community, it doesn't seem to match up. Nevertheless, I am proud to be Black and a Magic fan, so let's celebrate the history of Black culture within the game! For those who want to learn more about the history of the game, you're in luck. Who knows, maybe this will help other people of color see what I see in my favorite game! 

THE FIRST OF MANY: 

    Upon brainstorming this post, I thought it would be fun to dive into MTG Black history by looking at the first Black person depicted on a Magic card. Starting with Alpha and Beta blocks, which were the very first sets of Magic to be released in 1993, I found interesting results. I didn't necessarily find Black people; however, I found ambiguous people of color depicted on Meekstone and Drain Power. Even though I didn't count them due to their ethnicity being ambiguous, I feel like they deserve honorable mentions nonetheless.

I already knew Magic has an expansive and diverse history, but I didn't expect these depictions so early in Magic's history, all the way back when a card such as Wall of Ice was printed in the green color identity (big flavor no-no around here). The next set to follow was Arabian Nights, which was (to nobody's surprise) filled with brown people. However, the first Magic card with a clearly depicted Black person comes from the set Antiquities, released on March 4th, 1994. Said card is the only one in the set that depicts a Black person, and holds a bold name, Martyrs of Krolios. The art featured on this card is a visually intense resemblance of contrast between two looming figures, one with a broken sword and the other with some sort of breaking contraption. The downward angle of their gaze with the broken tools in their hands adds great flavor to the effects of the card, giving an interesting dynamic to the essence of the card. From here, we see a long history of strong black and brown faces across the card game's many sets. 

A WHOLE LOTTA TEFERI:

    There are many Black men within MTG lore, however, one in particular stands out as arguably one of the most popular characters amongst the rest. Teferi is a wizard from the plane Dominaria, with extremely potent time manipulation abilities. As a planeswalker, he has been a consistently active part of the MTG universal lore. Nonetheless, Teferi is more than just a character in a card game– he is a cult icon amongst players across the board (see what I did there?). This is so for a few reasons; his cards are usually loaded with powerful effects. Cards such as Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Teferi, Time Raveler have broken formats respectively.

In addition, Teferi is notorious for his involvement in some of the most powerful decks and synergies in the game. You want flicker abilities, extra turn potential, control magic? He's got you covered. As much as I despise seeing a Teferi across the table, I can't deny it is an awesome feeling to see a black man as one of the most powerful characters in a game run by white men. AND INTENTIONALLY SO AS WELL! The designers at Wizards could very easily make him weaker in development, but that goes against the nature of his character, and I respect the hell out of them for that. As of the publication date, there are 25 unique cards of Teferi or involving him in the artwork, and that doesn't even include cards that either reference him or things/characters associated with him, such as Teferi's Protege, OR his showcase run with unique border design and alternate arts (let me know if I counted wrong, that would be embarrassing. I recounted about four times). 

Side note, they depict him looking like Idris Elba often. It has nothing to do with this, I just think it's cool as hell.

BADASS WOMEN:

    Somehow, from a company run mostly by now older white men, they have consistently featured depictions of not only strong Black men, but strong black women as well. We will get to the company soon, but I have to give it up to our strong black women first! Characters like Kaya the Ghost Assassin, Niambi, Subira, or Samut aren't treated as side stage characters to their male cohorts to add to the lore, but as active and important pieces to the greater universe. Another cool aspect is the fact that I am only mentioning four of the many Black women depicted in MTG, or referencing women like Vivien Reid, who as much as I love, am not entirely sure she's Black (whoops). Nevertheless, if you'd like to show your black pride via your play, you can't go wrong with any of these women!

INVOKE PREJUDICE:

    For those of you familiar with MTG history, you already know where we are going– and yes, I am going to talk about it. We have been talking about the many positives in Wizards of the Coast's intersectionality, now it’s time to talk about some of the.... rather questionable aspects. In June of 2020, amidst the height of the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd's murder (matter of fact, let's just cut the semantics and call it what it was)modern day lynching, Wizards of the Coast had something to say in response to a scathing article. They decided to ban seven cards from the game that invoked oppressive undertones, ceasing printing for said cards as well. One of those cards was the notorious, Invoke Prejudice. Click the link and see if you notice anything different compared to any other card linked in this whole blog. This is the card:

Now, right off that bat, just the name alone is a red flag. But, do you notice anything… familiar in the art? Anything reminiscent of, oh I don't know, a certain American domestic terrorist organization? Yeah, it was pretty obvious what the artist for this card was invoking. It's unclear whether the reference was intentional for political commentary, or if it was simply to add flavor to the card, but regardless, this card was a very dark symbol for players of color since its printing in the Legends set of 1994, around three months after Martyrs of Kolios was printed. Of course, with my sense of humor, the first thing I thought when I saw this card in person was, "...Why was this card printed in blue instead of white?" Moreover, Wizards isn't a stranger to controversy, even in their very first set, the card Demonic Tutor raised issues with Christian Karens across the US. So how did a card like Invoke Prejudice see play but never see printing again? Well, it's time for a little thought experiment, folks!

WHAT DOES WIZARDS REALLY STAND FOR?

    To the white Magic fan reading this, don't worry I am not going to demonize Wizards or call them a bunch of flaming racists. BUT there is something interesting about how a crew of mostly white men have been able to make what on paper  looks like one of the more diverse/inclusive games in popular gaming since 1993. Yet, what do you see when you look at the majority of Magic's fanbase? Who comes to your mind when you envision a stereotypical Magic player? It sure as hell ain't me, and that's not just because I'm slim. This is where that thought experiment I was mentioning comes into play. Let's step out of the bounds of black culture for a second and look at some of their inconsistencies. This is the same company that brewed a slow burning romance between Nissa Revane and Chandra Nalaar (two female core characters) yet backtracked at the height of their romantic tension. How does the same company that prints Teferi cards everywhere also the one who willingly printed Invoke Prejudice with that haunting artwork? We are talking about the same Wizards that has successfully made non-binary/non-gender conforming core characters in the past, yet made a walking laughing stock of the most recent non-binary planeswalker, right? How does this happen, and what does this mean? Well, that's the tricky part of this conversation. 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

    I say we “invoke prejudice” on Mark Rosewater! (I'm just kidding, love you Mark. But seriously, stop breaking Standard and Commander, it's pissing me off, man!)

    Okay, back to the topic at hand. I believe these problems lie in the boardroom, and I am not alone in this theory. I think Wizards does an amazing job of adding diversity and inclusion in their lore, but does a crappy job of encouraging healthy inclusion in their fan base. A LOT of companies used to think that if they put a black person on their website looking happy, they've solved their diversity problem. That is usually the opposite of the truth. Diversity lies in your actions as a company, both externally and internally. Having Black voices in the room might mean that Invoke Prejudice doesn't see the light of day. Having queer voices in the writers rotation might mean that maybe Niko Aris' character feels less empty to a portion of the LGBTQ+ community. I don't advocate for diversity taking the place of qualifications, but as a professional black artist, there has to be someone both qualified and able to speak from that perspective. This is why I LOVE the new black history Secret Lair drop. 

    THIS is how you create a warm sense of inclusion amongst your player base. THIS is how you say to the world "Black Lives Matter" rather than banning an old card that should have never been printed.  I learned how to play Magic while using the Commander format, therefore, I have only been paying attention to the competitive constructed formats for the past year so. In that time, we have seen a lot of game changing innovations from the Wizards team. So, as a magic fan I understand why fans might be skeptical of the Secret Lair as well. However, if you're not a POC, maybe you should speak to one first before you make a full assessment of the product's quality. I will not speak for others, but don't expect the best Black History Month special event from Wizards. Support a different game that does it better, and try not to salt what could be a fun way to celebrate for a POC Magic player. I have been able to give my partner characters who they can identify with and use in their deck as they learn the game, and it makes it that much better of an experience for them. Seeing women and people of color more often on MTG YouTube content has inspired me to make this blog and future MTG content a reality. Now, more than ever, is the time to make the Magic ecosystem as intersectional as its card pool. I have met people from all walks of life who play this game as religiously as I do, and I know they appreciate to see me at a table just as much as I appreciate them. Thank you for giving a ton nerds a game to express ourselves with like no other on this planet. I will never stop being a MTG fan till the day I die.... And even then, I'll probably get the logo on my casket somewhere. 

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVERYBODY!

-Harland

Editor: Gem Diaz Velázquez

Here's the links to a few Magic content creators and players of color who have inspired this blog, and a special ally who has made a difference for me:

The Princess Weekes (Twitter)

One More Mana (Youtube)

The Command Zone (Youtube)

Tolarian Community College Podcast (Youtube Playlist)

John Roberts II (Twitter)

 

NEXT TIME, IN FLAVORTOWN

Issue 2

Theme

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A strange figure appears....

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I think he wants to build a deck. I'm down

New post, Thursday Feb 11th @ Noon

IG: @_harleys_angels

Twitter: @TyronicTheTrill