Magic: The Gathering Responds to Major Modern Horizon 3 Leaks with a Racy Article Instead of Pinkertons

We’re quickly approaching another big Magic: The Gathering set after leaving the deserts of Thunder Junction behind, which invariably means the return of spoiler season. But this time, enterprising leakers beat Wizards of the Coast to the punch by posting tons of images of the upcoming Modern Horizon 3 set online – so much so that the publisher responded with better-quality spoilers of its own.

Leaks are a regular occurrence when it comes to a collectible card game of MTG’s size and popularity, but the images for MH3 were disproportionately larger than usual when they spread across Twitter, Reddit, and other social media platforms. Wizards responded with a hilarious mix of tact and cheekiness in a recent post by Blake Rasmussen on the official MTG website.

Rasmussen, MTG's community director, said the company wanted to respond to this leak in a similar way to others, by offering fans images of the spoiled cards “without the blurry, distorted potato cam photos getting in the way.” Often, the company simply ignores leaks, thereby depriving them of any legitimacy or power with regards to the Streisand Effect. “If you're the type who devours leaks and previews as quickly as possible, the Modern Horizons 3 leaks aren't hard to find,” Rasmussen wrote. “We're not going to point you in their direction or anything, but if you're into that sort of thing, you probably already know where they are.”

Most of the cards featured in Wizards’ article have already been widely circulated, but the publisher offered up a few alternate and extended-art versions to sweeten the deal. Eldrazi players are eating well with cards like Nulldrifter and Ugin’s Labyrinth, while those who prefer older 60-card formats will be drooling over the reprint of Kappa Cannoneer for artifact-heavy decks (everyone else should keep an eye out for Meltdown’s new staple artifact). There’s plenty more inside the post, including an absolutely adorable corgi legendary creature and the king consort of all bears.

The MTG creator strikes an odd tone in the article, simultaneously lamenting the fact that he had to publish this article at all (an implicit disappointment that gamers couldn't wait for the company to do its thing) and a resigned acceptance that they can only control so much. Designers, artists, producers, and other teams coordinate each game release as a celebration of the one everyone involved obviously loves. Seeing this undermined by leaks is obviously disappointing. At the same time, some gamers probably want to feel like their hobby isn't entirely controlled by the Hasbro corporate promotional circus.

At least Wizards of the Coast didn’t sue the Pinkertons this time. In April 2023, the company hired private investigators to track down and seize boxes of March of the Machine: The Aftermath that had been accidentally delivered to YouTube creator oldschoolmtg, who opened them while streaming. The Pinkertons, who have a bloody history of protecting corporate interests and capital over workers and the public good, allegedly threatened him with prison and massive fines if he didn’t hand over the cards immediately.

The event further tarnished Hasbro's goodwill with the community, which has felt deeply drained by the OGL licensing fiasco. Perhaps they've learned their lesson about lobbying individuals with private force, or maybe they just can't track down the address of this latest leaker. Official Modern Horizon 3 previews begin on May 13, ahead of the set's full release on May 21.