Wizards of the Coast is a tabletop gaming company

A powerful wizard flying above the coast and above controversy

Wizards of the Coast is a 30-year-old gaming company founded in 1990 by Peter Adkinson. These coastal casters deal primarily in fantastic games of the Dungeons and Dragons variety but have also dipped their robes into card games based on the famous Pokémon series. The company is most widely known for its original card game, Magic the Gathering (MTG). This card game is played by thousands of people and Wizards of the Coast even hosts various tournaments every year for players of all levels from amateur to professional.

Of course, this company is not without scandal

A female rouge causing a scandal in a small town

The company was involved in some shady dealings in the past. For example, the organization that provides the judges for MTG tournaments was criticized for not acting quickly enough to remove unfit judges. These unfit judges had allegations and sometimes convictions of sexual misconduct involving children. In a statement in January of 2018 the judge association defended themselves essentially stating that they cannot catch everyone and that it is a community responsibility to report individuals when information comes to light. They even go so far as to remark that the player-led movement for background checks was an “attempt to embarrass Wizards of the Coast, to incite panic and to create controversy.”

Despite the denials and accusations of attempts to embarrass them, Wizards of the Coast continued to employ a level 3 judge Ross Prajzner while he was being prosecuted and even after his conviction for distribution of child pornography. Prajzner was eventually banned from tournaments although since background checks were still not required he was able to judge a game under a different name. To their credit, since this all came to light, Wizards of the Coast has implemented background checks for all future judges.

The most recent controversy involves the Magic Pro League

A collection of powerful entities known as Planeswalkers from the Magic the Gathering card game

The MTG Magic Pro League is a group of 32 players from around the world who are offered contracts from Wizards of the Coast. The controversy involves these players receiving crucial information on changes to the competitive format. WotC used a non-disclosure agreement to make sure that non-Magic Pro League players would not be informed for weeks to come. An unnamed member of the League leaked this information to a well-known competitive player, Austin Bursavich who went on to inform the wider public online. WotC then permanently banned Bursavich from all forms of the game.

Coastal Crimes Committed Can’t Continue

A paladin seeking justice for the victims of the scandal

This particular controversy has dealt a blow to any competitive integrity of MTG tournaments going forward. Magic Pro League players have a significant advantage as the change implements in June allowing them to practice and prepare. The benefit to WotC is that MPL players have a better chance of winning upcoming events and thus of improving the WotC brand name. Of course, things will continue as ever but with so many great alternatives in the card game market, it’s hard not to want to move on to something with less baggage. It is, ultimately, sad to see one of the deepest and oldest fantasy card games tarnish its otherwise good name with controversy.