A Lot Going on in the Multiverse

With all the excitement happening in the world of Magic this week, I thought I would take today to cover some of the Magic news that you might have missed.

The Beginning of Spoiler Season

Spoiler season kicked off in a big way today with the full Kamigawa Neon Dynasty story now available on the mothership, and the first big round of official previews broadcast on Twitch and YouTube.

The preview show revealed all the planeswalker cards in the set, as well as a number of other goodies. Here's a sampling of some of the most exciting ones:

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It wouldn't be a Kamigawa set without shrines, so I'm happy to see them coming back in Neon Dynasty. Of all the reveals, I think the card I'm most excited about is Silver-Fur Master, both because it's a lord for ninjas and rogues, and because of the obvious nod to Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Needless to say, if we don't get at least one green ninja turtle creature in this set, I will be disappointed. Wizards continued the reveal during the Weekly MTG show immediately afterward, sharing additional spoilers, as well as discussing the mechanics of the set, and the limited archetypes.

Based on what I've seen so far, Kamigawa Neon Dynasty looks like a slam dunk of a set. I'm looking forward to seeing more in the coming days. The launch of spoiler season was only the most recent part of an eventful Magic-related week.

Bannings in Standard, Legacy, and More

On Tuesday the latest Banned & Restricted list update nuked several cards from Standard and Legacy and brought a number of rebalances to Alchemy on Arena. Divide By Zero, Alrund's Epiphany, and Faceless Haven all exited Standard, and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer was removed from Legacy.

For reactions and analysis from the QS team on the bannings, and equally important, what wasn't banned, you can check out our new podcast Quiet Conversations.

Bannings didn't just take place in Standard and Legacy this week.

Christopher Rush's Daughter Banned from MTG Art Market

In an announcement that stunned many in the Magic: The Gathering art collecting scene, Sierra Troi Rush, daughter of the late Magic artist Christopher Rush, was banned from the MTG Art Market, one of the internet's largest markets for the auction and sale of original Magic art. In the statement released on Sunday by Jason Sirichoke, of the MTG Art Market admin team, he wrote:

"Sierra has offered for sale a number of prints which she claims include the signature of her late father, Christopher Rush. Multiple members of the community raised concerns directly to the admin team about the signatures on these prints and pointed to several inconsistencies. The MTG Art Market team submitted samples of the signatures to PSA and BGS authentication services, two independent third parties. Both authentication services returned a result of “likely not genuine” and will not pass full authentication if physically submitted.

Jason Sirichoke, MTG Art Market Admin.

Based on these findings, the admin team voted 9-0 to issue a lifetime ban for Ms. Rush from MTG Art Market. During the investigation into the allegations, Ms. Rush maintained that "the ones with his signature were all from his personal stuff or storage. Which would all have been made by him."

Speaking to Quiet Speculation about the banning, Sirichoke suggested that folks with Rush prints now possibly questioning the authenticity of the signatures, should refer to Vault of Alexandria's "Ultimate Guide to the History of Cards Signed by Christopher Rush," or consult directly with an expert from the art community.

He had this general advice for collectors:

the #1 tip is to use the community and ask questions. We see people get burned the most keeping things "hidden" thinking they are getting the deal. There's a lot of experience in this community and folks willing to help. No one wants to see anyone get ripped off.

Jason Sirichoke, MTG Art Market Admin.

It was a week of shakeups in all corners of the Magic community, but few could have predicted this next piece.

SCG Lays off Most of Their Content Team

Star City Games (SCG) announced Tuesday they are laying off a large swath of their content team at the end of February. Announced the same day as the Banned & Restricted update, the news took a bit to circulate on social media but came as a shock to many readers.

In the statement, SCG owner Pete Hoefling cited a decline in the effectiveness of strategic content due to the lack of in-person events, and the content division losing a substantial amount of money over the last two years as reasons for the change. Not all content will be leaving the site, he notes. As part of the announcement, he reveals that SCG will be "debuting some new article series covering a variety of non-strategy/tournament-related topics," and continuing some of their existing content in that vein.

As a content creator myself, I was saddened by the news that so many brilliant creators will soon be out of work. As the Director of Content for a site committed to producing a variety of Magic content including competitive/strategic content, I strongly encourage any of those creators looking for work to reach out to me on Twitter or via email.

End Step

What do you think about all the Magic news this week? Have you checked out our new podcast yet? What Kamigawa Neon Dynasty cards are you most hyped about. Let me know in the comments, via Twitter, or email.