It is the most magical moment of my life.
I’m 10 years old and I’m standing in the games section of a Target store. In front of me is a wall full of trading card games of all kinds. The dazzling monsters of Yu-Gi-Oh! The glittering colors of Pokemon. But at that moment, a new game has captured my full attention. The booster pack features a beautiful angel—but not like the ones I see in church every Sunday. This angel is clad in battle-worn gold armor and holds aloft a pair of fierce, jagged swords. Behind her, a field of weary soldiers look up at her in awe, as if she has come in answer to all their beleaguered prayers. The lead soldier rises, arms limp and mouth open, and as I stand there in that target, my mouth drops open, too.
This was my first exposure to the art of Magic: The Gathering, the collectible card game that would soon get me hooked and play for the rest of my life. First introduced at GenCon in 1993, Magic has grown into a billion-dollar industry in its 30-year history, with over 27,000 unique cards created.
If you ask any of the game’s 50 million fans how they first came across it, you’ll probably hear a story very similar to mine. We all saw a dragon on the cards our schoolyard friends were shuffling, or a gruesome, grinning demon in the big glass case at the comic book store, and it gave us pause.
It was the art of the cards that first drew most of us into the game, and its art has always been something that sets it apart from its competitors. From the beauty and power of my beloved Serra Advocate to the overt enchantment of Magic’s latest Redwall-similar “Bloomburrow” expansion pack, Magic’s art not only allows players to distinguish one card from another, but also to make connections to specific cards, allowing for a high level of customization and self-expression. But in a world where companies are increasingly trading the work of talented artists for the creations of generative AI, many players are wondering if and when such a change will happen in Magic.
“I think we’re all pretty scared of the potential there, given what we’ve seen from the generative image side of things,” Sam, a YouTuber who runs the channel Rhystic Studies, told me. “It’s incredibly powerful. And it’s still in its infancy.”
Sam has been creating video essays for Rhystic Studies since 2013, exploring the art, culture, and history of Magic. For Sam, the game’s graphics are not just something nice to look at while playing, but “a mainstay of the game.”
“The greatest advantage of Magic has always been the obligation to create a new illustration for every new card,” he said. He adds that if we sacrifice that obligation in favor of AI, “you would get to a point pretty quickly where it just crumbles and becomes the ugliest definition of the word. product.”
So far, Magic’s parent company, Wizards of the Coast, has outwardly agreed with Sam, declaring in an official statement in 2023 that Magic was “built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people” and banning outside creatives from using AI in their work. A number of recent incidents – from the accidental use of AI art in a Magic promotional image to a very An intentional LinkedIn post for a “Principal AI Engineer” that Wizards had to clarify was for the company’s video game projects has left many gamers uncertain as to whether Wizards may be evolving its stance or simply trying to gain a foothold in an ever-changing AI landscape.
In response to fan concerns, Wizards has created an “AI Art FAQ” that describes, among other things, the new technologies the company has invested in to recognize the use of AI in art. Nevertheless, trust in the company has been damaged by this year’s incidents. Longtime Magic Artist David Rapoza even severed his ties with the game last January, citing this apparent discrepancy between Wizards’ words and actions regarding the use of AI as the reason. Sam says that the general public has also remained “cautiously suspicious” and hopes to believe Wizards’ official statements, while also paying close attention to the company’s moves and mistakes related to the technology.
“I think we want Wizards to commit to one lane and stick with what’s proven to work,” says Sam. “And that means prioritizing human labor over shortcuts.”
This desire for a firm commitment from Wizards is a sign of how quickly AI technology and the fears surrounding it have grown in recent years. In fact, the very idea of AI Magic cards was literally a joke just a few years ago. Social media account RoboRosewaterMasters has been releasing AI-generated Magic cards on X since 2021. Following in the footsteps of the original RoboRosewater (both are named after, but not affiliated with, longtime Magic lead designer Mark Rosewater), the 2000 users of the account’s Discord use an AI model trained on real Magic cards as well as external AI art generators to create crazy and often nonsensical cards. The project has been a huge source of laughter within the Magic community, as its cards not only highlight the shortcomings of AI, but often highlight absurdities in things like Magic text and naming conventions.
The team at RoboRosewater tells me the project exists “purely for fun,” but as advances in AI raise increasing ethical concerns, even they have to take it more seriously. Concerns within the team about the use of generative art have led them to look for new ways to create card illustrations, and the team answers me with a resounding “no” when I ask if generative AI should be used to create official Magic cards.
“Generative AI has fascinating potential, but should never be used as a cost-saving measure or to replace a human artist whose livelihood could be impacted,” they said. If Wizards used current versions of AI in the creation of Magic without the consent of its artists and writers, the team believes it would be “a cynical corporate cost-cutting measure.”
This opinion touches on a disturbing truth that lies at the heart of fans’ concerns about this issue, one that Sam also pointed out. While most believe that the game The internal team can be relied upon to preserve the magic of Magic, but they are not the only team making decisions for the game.
Wizards has been owned by toymaker Hasbro since 1999, and it’s sometimes hard for Magic fans to know how the company views its subsidiary on AI. Although Hasbro released a statement on generative AI in 2023, declaring “unwavering respect for creators’ rights” and promising to “empower each of our teams to decide whether generative AI tools are right for their company, their fans, and their community,” many fans remain skeptical. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks didn’t make matters any better when he told VentureBeat last March that there were “interesting and compelling use cases” for combining AI and the Hasbro brands, reiterating the need to respect the art and creators they work with. However, he specifically named Magic and Dungeons and Dragons as sources to “mine” and “leverage.”
When I asked him about this topic now, Scott Neumann, CTO of Digital Studios at Hasbro, told me quite clearly: “Hasbro stands behind Wizards’ commitment to avoid AI art and text,” adding that Magic itself sees growth opportunities in this new era, but these are only possible through the use of “ethical AI”.
“Respect for developers comes first,” Neumann said, “and our exploration of AI is done within that framework.” For example, Neumann says her development team recently worked on a proof of concept for a generative AI resource to help new players learn Magic.
“Players can ask questions about all aspects of the game,” Neumann said, “from questions about specific card interactions and categories to deck building and strategy.” According to Neumann, the focus of Magic’s current research using AI and Wizards’ archives is currently to help new players with questions, and the company’s commitment to human-created art and writing “hasn’t changed.”
Whether such assurances are enough to move Magic players from “cautious suspicion” to “cautious optimism” is hard to say. The rise of AI has brought us into a brave new world where people from all walks of life are simultaneously trying to capitalize on it, protect themselves from it, and figure out how to use it ethically. Like most fans, Magic players remain vigilant about the integrity of the game they love, and the continued incursion of AI into everything from search engines to dating apps has many on edge.
There is still much to see, How AI will ultimately impact the game, but I do know one thing: No matter what new technologies Magic might use, the little boy at Target wouldn’t have even looked at the game if artist Matt Wilson hadn’t illustrated this impressive battlefield angel.
Whatever comes out of the combination of AI and magic, I hope that Wizards’ creative teams continue to stick to their principles – and that the people who lead the company continue to know where the magic Is.
