Wizards of the Coast has begun removing cards from Magic: The Gathering, with seven cards currently being removed from the game.
The cards include Cleanse, Crusade, Imprison, Invoke Prejudice, Jihad, Pradesh Gypsies, and Stone-Throwing Devils. All of these cards either have... interesting imagery, wording, or both. This is apparently just the initial wave of banned cards, as "every single card we have printed" is being investigated.
Below is a statement from Wizards of the Coast on removing the cards:
We have removed this card image from our database due to its racist depiction, text, or combination thereof. Racism in any form is unacceptable and has no place in our games, nor anywhere else.
Additionally, these cards will be banned in all sanctioned tournament play.
There's much more work to be done as we continue to make our games, communities, and company more inclusive. Know that we work every day to be better and that we hear you. We look forward to sharing more of our plans with you as our games and organization evolve.
In their longer statement on their website, Wizards of the Coast also explained that they are removing cards that are culturally offensive, which may also include some of the cards in this batch, even if racism is not particularly the matter with that card. The most recent reprinting of one of these cards was Crusade which got a Magic Online promo card, and was included in the 2010 Elspeth vs Tezzeret: Duel Decks product, which had new Elspeth based art.
For casual players, it also creates the odd situation where the Unstable (one of Magic: The Gathering's comedic 'Un' sets) card Spike, Tournament Grinder can tutor up the cards.
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