Magic: The Gathering's new Lord of the Rings set garnered racist backlash over its depiction of Aragorn as a Black man, and some fans countered it with lustful remarks.
Shortly following Wizards of the Coast's (WotC) reveal of its upcoming Lord of the Rings set, some fans of the TCG went on social media to express outrage over making one of Middle-earth's most iconic characters a Black man. Most tried to argue that their anger was justified due to Tolkien's Norse basis for the world, while others claimed WotC had "tokenized" Aragorn. In response, many fans posted thirst comments about MTG's Aragorn design.
MTG Receives Racist Backlash to Its LOTR Cards
Aragorn isn't the only character in MTG's Tales of Middle-earth set to be depicted as a POC, something unheard of in the famous films of the early 2000s. The racist backlash extended to WotC's designs for Galadriel and Eowyn, who are also Black. Its depiction of mixed-race couples, such as Aragorn and Arwen, also received flak from the same group. However, countering the racism directed at these cards, fans expressed enthusiasm for an inclusive version of the Lord of the Rings cast.
MTG's Modern-Legal Lord of the Rings Set
WotC previously announced the upcoming Tales of Middle-earth set during its first-ever Wizards Presents in August 2022. Recently, WotC announced the first batch of MTG Lord of the Rings cards would launch on June 23 with another drop on Nov. 3. Tales of Middle-earth is modern legal and includes a Starter Kit, four Commander decks, Draft, Set, Collector and Jumpstart Boosters, Secret Lair drops, Scene Boxes as well as a Bundle and Gift Bundle.
Tales of Middle-earth's Modern-legal status surprised many MTG fans, as it is an unusual choice for a specialty collection like this. Magic: The Gathering has never included crossover sets in its Modern format before, which is often played in competitive games and tournaments. Typically, crossovers were only playable in the Commander, Legacy and Vintage formats. As a result, MTG fans are questioning whether Wizards of the Coast might continue this as a new precedent with other upcoming crossovers, including the highly-anticipated Doctor Who Magic: The Gathering set coming in Q4 2023.
Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth comes to Magic: The Gathering on June 23.
Source: Twitter