This is unacceptable. In a community we are trying to mold into an accepting, unbiased, and friendly atmosphere, this is a step back. I’m not talking about the WoW-like setting, characters, or weapons. I’m not talking about a “king” sitting on his throne with a dragon as a pet. I’m not even talking about the sexual style in which the female bodies are drawn. I’m talking about what’s happening right there in front of your eyes in the center of your vision: the goblin.

What’s Wrong

Let’s start off with a statement directly from WotC’s style guide sent to all artists involved with Magic, one that’s been held up as matter of law for years in the way Magic presents itself through art and story; “Feel free to paint beautiful women, as long as they're shown kicking ass. No damsels in distress. No ridiculously exaggerated breasts. No nudity.”

For those still unsure of the picture’s content, there are no women kicking ass! Sure, they’re beautiful—sexy even, thanks to the skimpy clothing and “armor” they are wearing. That’s fine at a certain level, but when those same beautiful women start acting submissive toward another entity, that’s when things go wrong very fast. Specifically, this occurs with the second female from the right.

A much shorter version of the style guide’s line was written by Elaine Chase, Brand Manager of Magic; “Sexy is OK, submissive or damsels in distress is not.” There is no question that this artwork violates the rules set forth by those currently steering Magic.

Because different people have different views on what “sexy,” “beautiful,” and “inappropriate” mean, let’s look at some examples to see WotC’s guidelines put into practice. The following are art pieces commissioned by Wizards that have been controversial in Magic’s past—a great way of gaining an understanding of how Wizards has put the above statements into practice.

This violates the “submission or damsels in distress” (SDID) statement in a very vivid way. Luckily, Wizards has an excuse: It was from Alpha and was never printed after Magic’s first year of life.

This didn’t do much better than Earthbind to be honest. True, it avoids the SDID predicament, but very few cards have toed the no-nudity line so finely. Again, this was created for Alpha, before Magic matured. This particular picture was last seen in Sixth Edition, a bit late, but it was changed for Seventh Edition.

Why am I showing art of a male when the column is about females? To show that it has happened. Wizards has printed cards with artwork of men in extremely sexual and questionable positions. This card has received less attention than many of the others on this list, perhaps because it is a male, but also partially due to a very small printing; it was released in Homelands, one of the most disliked sets of all time, and only on one version of the card. (Homelands and a few other early sets released functionally identical cards with different art and flavor text.) For all of that, it comes very close to falling under SDID category as well as treading closely to the no-nudity rule.

Ah, we finally come to a card bordering on acceptable. Despite the obvious ’80s/early ’90s fantasy style that would look nice on a romance novel, this is clearly a woman in control. Not only does she have biceps and abs that make me jealous, but she has a blowgun in the ground before her and darts in her left hand. I highly doubt Wizards would print this artwork today, but I also doubt they would ever condemn the artwork as a mistake.

Terese Nielson is a very outspoken critic of artwork showing negative-evoking pieces, and it shows through in her artwork. Basandra, along with pretty much every other angel drawn in Magic over the past ten years, is shown in that original image of Serra Angel. They radiate beauty (and usually sexiness) all while they hold weapons, stand, levitate, or float in positions of authority and power, and are often caught in the action of an unseen battle.

As one of the more recent pieces that have raised eyebrows and questions, this card toed the line. Many questioned the point of a no-nudity rule if artists are allowed to just draw thin, extremely tight clothes over a character. It was drawn by Matt Cavotta, an inside member of Creative at the time, and thus, it may have seen less scrutiny than pieces done by freelance artists. With that said, I doubt this would get past Elaine Chase, someone who was not in control at the time of Time Spiral.

Our final piece is extremely recent. While there were comments about the cleavage and seductive look in Liliana’s eye when it was released, this piece is obviously seen as safe by Wizards. It avoids any SDID, and there is less skin showing than what you can find in the newspaper these days.

Let’s take another look.

This was an alternate version done by the same artist, Steve Argyle, but not published by Wizards. The added skin might make things a bit racy, but the character is still extremely strong. In Steve’s own words, the card was designed as though, “She’s coming for you, smiling, but you’re the victim . . . ”

So, what do we see after reviewing cards over Magic’s lifespan? There has been a very clear and extreme move away from any SDID. There has also been a shift away from nudity, but with a few slip ups from time to time. Skin, sexuality, and cleavage have been ever-present in Magic throughout its history, and they will probably continue for as long as the game sticks around. As with card power levels and gameplay, Wizards hasn’t always gotten things perfect, but they are committed to improving.

The Result

What happens when art like this is allowed within our community? Quite simply, it diminishes our popularity and our population.

A large chunk of society is going to find art with submissive women offensive. Look at female subjects in Western art over the past two hundred years. You won’t find many examples of submissive women. Hollywood? Filled with images of skilled women leading movies and TV shows. Sports? Take a look at female Olympic swimmers still wearing one-pieces while their male counterparts wear almost nothing. What is the public going to think of Magic when they see this painting?

There are many reasons that Magic, and video games along with it, has come from being, “That thing the nerdy kids do when they get together,” to the very simple adjective “cool,” but I believe a part of that is the fading images of scantily clad women in the background while a muscle-bound man fights the forces of evil. As quirky as the world of ’80s and ’90s fantasy was, I have no desire to go back there.

If we let art like this proliferate, Magic will lose what foothold it has gained in mainstream culture. We will lose all of those people who have been flocking to Magic over the past three years of unencumbered growth. Tournaments will go on, but many play groups and kitchen tables will dry up like a pond in a drought. Magic won’t die, but it will become a former husk of what it is today.

The Community

Now, let’s take a step back. This was the play mat image for GP: Indianapolis, which was organized and planned by a third-party organization: Pastimes. Wizards had no hand in the creation or generation of the product (beyond any possible vague suggestions of: “A play mat is a great incentive to attract more players to your event.”). But is that enough? Are we okay with saying, “Wizards didn’t create it, so it’s not associated with the game?”

My extremely quick retort would be, “NO!” Something that can directly affect over a thousand players and thousands of other players/family/friends/random passersby in the very near future is not something we should overlook as a community. It is our responsibility to send mail, call, or message the organizer (Pastimes) in an attempt to convey the idea that we do not accept this. It is up to us to keep our community growing and to keep the atmosphere positive for everyone who’s already here.

As you have probably already heard, this issue was put behind us before the majority of the Magic community even knew of it. I’m extremely happy to know that Wizards is paying attention to not only our complaints, but to their internal guidelines as well. I only worry that the next time this happens, they might not learn of it until it’s too late.

The next time you see something within our amazing community that doesn’t seem to fit, don’t just keep walking, tell someone or put it out there for Wizards to find. Ignoring it will only make the problem worse in the future, and by then, it may be too late to repair what’s been done.