Seven Cards are being removed from Magic: The Gathering due to their racist content. Wizards of the Coast, the game's publisher, is removing them from its database and all officially sanctioned competitions.
Many of the banned cards have been around for decades. One of the most notorious is the "Invoke Prejudice" card. This card depicts a group of hooded Klansmen, with one of them wielding an ax. It has the inscription "If opponent casts a Summon spell that does not match the color of one of the creatures under your control, the spell is countered unless the caster pays an additional X where X is the casting cost of the Summon spell." In other words, it targets creatures with a different mana color.
According to Kotaku, Wizards of the Coast released an apology saying, "The events of the past weeks and the ongoing conversation about how we can better support people of color have caused us to examine ourselves, our actions, and our inactions.” It goes on to say, "We appreciate everyone helping us to recognize when we fall short. We should have been better, we can be better, and we will be better.” When the cards are removed from the database, there will also be a notice saying the card was racist and that racism is unacceptable.
The other cards getting removed are Cleanse, Stone-Throwing Devils, Pradesh Gypsies, Jihad, Imprison, and Crusade. The Cleanse card says," All black creatures in play must be destroyed," and the Crusade card says, " White creatures get +1/+1." The other banned cards have depictions that could be deemed offensive to Arabs and Gypsies. Some of these cards were created way back in 1994 and obviously haven't aged well.
There probably won't be much of a difference in how the game will be played since none of these cards are very popular. The company will also be reviewing all their other cards to remove any that are offensive. There are also bound to be some new, more inclusive cards on the horizon. Ironically, the banned cards will probably increase in value and become collector's items.
After the death of George Floyd, many companies have made statements and come out in support of Black Lives Matter. Many people question their motives because the companies have always been conspicuously silent in the past. Wizards of the Coast was called out for years about some of these cards but did nothing. They also have a glaring problem with the lack of diversity among their staff.
Thanks to the wave of activism sweeping the country, Wizards of the Coast have no choice but to move with the tide or get left behind. Positive change is good, regardless of their motives. Admitting they were wrong was the first step in a new direction, and hopefully, they will continue on the new path. They have everything to gain by being welcoming and inclusive to everyone.