Prolific MTG artists halt work with Wizards after Ravnica Remastered AI debacle

Several visual artists who have helped bring Magic: The Gathering cards to life are taking a stand against Wizards of the Coast after it was revealed the company may have used AI generative art in a recent teaser post—something WotC has said it would not tolerate from its artists.

WotC’s Jan. 5 post hyping up the upcoming release of Ravnica Remastered drew heavy criticism from the wider community who believed elements of the background image behind the cards were generated by AI. This accusation prompted a response from the company, who stated the piece was created solely by human hands. “We understand confusion by fans given the style being different than card art, but we stand by our previous statement.

However, this follow-up response was called out with Twitter’s Community Notes feature, which claims the image “contains clear signs of AI generation.” From nonsensical wiring in the lights behind the cards to an odd fragmentation of the gauge at the front, the image has hints of AI involvement. Whether WotC intended this or not is not clear, and the company has not issued another response to this accusation as of the publishing of this article.

This ambiguity has left a sour taste in the mouths of the community, particularly those associated directly with WotC—with some going so far as to cut ties with the company immediately. Dave Rapoza, a visual artist who has an extensive history with WotC and MTG, announced on Jan. 6 that he would no longer work with the company in protest.

“I’m done working for Wizards of the Coast. You can’t say you stand against this then blatantly use AI to promote your products,” Rapoza said on Twitter. He went on to say he was unhappy with WotC’s public denouncing of the use of AI in mid-December, only for them to implement it themselves less than a month later. “If they said they were going to use AI that’s a different story, but they want to grand stand like heroes and also pull this.”

Another artist, Jason Rainville, is holding fire for the moment and is eagerly awaiting WotC’s clarification on the Jan. 5 post. However, should it be revealed AI was not accidentally but intentionally used and published, he’s more than happy to join Rapoza. “I could defend an art director at [WotC] for not being able to spot AI, things falling through the cracks and investigated, etc, [but I] can’t when the social media page doubles down on something with some possible markers,” Rainville added.

Discussion over how much involvement AI should have in the design process for a game like MTG, or even other WotC products such as Dungeons and Dragons, has remained constant as technology has improved over the years. Time will tell whether the Ravnica Remastered post was simply an overlooked accident, or if WotC’s stance has wavered in the past few weeks.

Dot Esports has reached out to Wizards of the Coast for comment but has not received a response at this time. This article will be updated should a response be received.

Update, Jan. 6 at 9:57pm CT: Twitter’s Community Note, added to WotC’s response shortly after its release on Jan. 5, has been taken down and is no longer attached to the tweet.

Update, Jan. 7 at 10:11pm CT: Wizards of the Coast deleted the promotional tweet and has issued a statement revealing AI was inadvertently used to create the image.