Magic: The Gathering has a major quality control issue

Wizards of the Coast has had a quality control problem for years. Anyone with a Magic: The Gathering collection knows new releases can be notoriously hit-and-miss in terms of their card quality, and foil cards are the worst of the bunch.

The new Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth scene cards are no exception, and fans on Reddit are complaining. One player posted on Nov. 6 to lament about the foiling on their scene cards from The Might of Galadriel Scene Box, which they called “absolutely atrocious.”

In the thread, lots of players are complaining about similar issues, explaining that their scene cards are washed out, with their detail and colors barely visible beneath the foil overlay. The cards in the photo are clearly sub-par, and I totally understand the Redditors’ frustrations.

This isn’t the only report, either. Many more posts like this are popping up on Reddit, and the comments paint a clear picture: For Wizards of the Coast, this is par for course.

Another user wrote “How is this quality acceptable?” and lamented that “it’s so disappointing to get official cards that look like this.” At the time of writing, the highest-rated comment on the post says “You keep buying it,” and, to be fair, they’re not wrong.

The only reason Wizards of the Coast keeps getting away with it is because fans keep buying their products. This year, Magic: The Gathering sales surpassed the billion-dollar mark for the first time, and although lots of players are complaining that MTG‘s monetization is worse than ever, the franchise just keeps on growing.

Washed-out foils aren’t the only thing irking fans: Another pervasive concern is that MTG foil cards tend to curl, including in the new Galadriel set. Some foils are so curved that they’re unplayable, which completely defeats their purpose, and trying to flatten them improperly can damage the card.

Bent cards that look like Pringles are no fun to open, and players regularly take to Reddit to complain about their curved foils. Every time, the sentiment is the same—it’s to be expected. Tellingly, the top comment on a Reddit thread complaining about bent Galadriel foils says “Yes, they are foils.” If that’s not indicative of community sentiment, I don’t know what is.

The MTG community is totally hopeless about anything changing, and with Wizards releasing product after product with quality control issues, it’s clear to see why.