Diversity in MTG

ostewartostewart
edited February 2017 in Off-topic Chat
Recently, I have been thinking about diversity on MTG cards. I have noticed that there are a lot of impressively inclusive cards, especially as the field of gaming is notoriously unaccepting. I made this thread to discuss these, and any future improvements they could make. For reference, here are some examples of this.

First gay couple on an MTG card: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=398553, who are the same people as http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=420653.

First Black person on an MTG card: I think the first may have been Lady Caleria from legends http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=1665

First interracial couple on an MTG card: Might also be http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=420653

First trans person on an MTG card: I wasn't aware of this one until recently, but here it is http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=420736

Comments

  • ostewartostewart
    Oh, and the recent promo snapcaster mage is black.
  • saveria201saveria201
    mtg art has always appeared diverse to me since I started playing just before rise of the eldrazi released. origins ~ kaladesh sets especially have lots of amazing art that can be classified as diverse.
  • CorwinnnCorwinnn
    I've been playing since The Dark, and I've always felt they made a good effort to have great diversity in their artwork, just look at Mirage, which is a much older set... Granted they haven't given Rabbits or Ants the love they deserve... but you can't please everyone
  • FlatfishFlatfish
    I guess they don't want to Invoke Predjudice.

  • ostewartostewart
    That is a picture.... of the KKK.
  • TrippleBoggey3TrippleBoggey3
    I don't want to comment anything I want to comment, cause it will just be removed.
  • ShadikalShadikal
    The first three examples are the exact same card. Why?
  • saveria201saveria201
    Encourage discussion of increasing diversity in mtg sets by turning attention to the most racist card they've ever printed...well done.
  • LujikulLujikul
    I'd argue that Invoke Prejudice isn't a racist, but rather, an unfortunate coincidence. Since blue loves to wield social things as weapons, (Propaganda and Hive Mind for example) it only makes sense that there'd be a card of that sort. Now, if it was white and was super resemblent to the KKK, then we might have an issue.
  • ChargingBadgerChargingBadger
    @Lijikul I feel like it was some sort of wizards employee in-joke that made it into the final printing somehow. The artist is a super-racist crazy (I did a quick google search of Harold McNeill) and the majority of his art is white supremacist. The number can't be a coincidence.
  • ostewartostewart
    @Shadikal the second one needs a fix, I'll do that. As for the other two, I believe that Kynaios and Tiro were both the first gay couple and the first interracial couple.
  • ostewartostewart
    Updated.
  • ostewartostewart
    @ChargingBadger what number?
  • KJMartinKJMartin
    Not to sure about diversity, but the ah...more revealing images of woman (and occasionally men) on MTG cards really peeve me off.
  • ostewartostewart
    Agreed, those are unnecessary @KJMartin.
  • PlatypusburgerPlatypusburger
    @KJMartin , I've always found MtG to be one of the more reasonable fantasy outlets in terms of outfits and overall coverage, especially in recent years. Can you give a couple examples of what bothers you?

    Also, I think MtG deserves a shoutout for its absence of defined gender roles. While there's not perfect parity, MtG has always been good about depicting women in roles that other fiction might have defined as purely masculine, like Barbarians or Warriors.
  • Biblio4Biblio4
    First intersex (or "hermaphrodite".) http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=373500
  • ostewartostewart
    Thanks @Biblio4!
  • ChargingBadgerChargingBadger
    @ostewart the card in question's collector number is 1488, a number very significant in the white supremacy movement.
  • PlatypusburgerPlatypusburger
    @Biblio4 , are you sure that Ashiok is intersex? I was under the impression that Ashiok was of a sexless race.
  • Biblio4Biblio4
    @Platypusburger Karn is genderless since it's not human and does not associate itself with a sex in that way. Ashiok is genderfluid and androgynous - some people hold that Ashiok is sexless, others that he or she is either or both. Both makes the most sense. Even androgynous humans have a sex, however mysterious- and for a small percentage that is intersex. WotC doesn't want to give a definitive answer though, they mean it to leave it ambiguous.
  • PlatypusburgerPlatypusburger
    @Biblio4 , well I have two comments on that. The first is Karn may be sexless, but he's not genderless. He identifies as male, which can be seen in the flavor text of many cards that reference him, Corrupted Conscience being one example of that.

    My other comment is on whether or not it's reasonable to assume that Ashiok is intersex simply because they're genderless, when the Aetherborn of Kaladesh are a great example of a race without either sex or gender. Since we don't know Ashiok's race, it's really totally up in the air either way.
  • LujikulLujikul
    I never thought I'd see a gender debate outside of the Five Nights fandom.
This discussion has been closed.