A YouTuber for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering unexpectedly received a booster display full of cards from an unpublished set and made a video about it. Manufacturer Wizards of the Coast wanted the cards back and resorted to drastic measures: They sent private investigators to his home, the detectives from “Pinkerton” are known to gamers only from the western Red Dead Redemption 2.
What did the YouTuber do? He posted a video on his channel oldschoolmtg, in which he opened booster displays of Magic: The Gathering. Just as he had done countless times before.
The crucial difference, however, was that the display did not consist of the expansion “March of the Machine” released on April 21, but rather the so-called “Epilog Boosters” March of the Machine: The Aftermath, which were not supposed to be released until May 12.
The cards were still secret and should not have become known.
The now-deleted video spread quickly and was used by other content creators about Magic as a basis for reactions to the newly leaked cards. Wizards of the Coast also caught wind of this.
But instead of contacting the YouTuber, they sent private investigators to retrieve the cards.
More collectible cards can be seen in our video:
Investigators make YouTuber’s wife cry
How does the YouTuber describe the incident? In a video from April 22, oldschoolmtg reported on his eventful morning: He was filming videos for his channel on Saturday morning when his dogs began to bark.
His wife opened the door and found herself face-to-face with investigators from the Pinkerton agency. The YouTuber describes them as “big tough guys” who spoke of stolen goods and prison sentences and frightened his wife.
The Pinkertons took everything according to oldschoolmtg: not only the cards themselves but also all packaging including empty boxes and foils.
Currently, the agency belongs to the Swedish security group Securitas AB and also offers security services and “loss prevention”.
In Rockstar’s western Red Dead Redemption 2, the Pinkertons are an antagonistic, malicious faction, a portrayal against which the agency filed a lawsuit (via GamePro).
Exchange with Wizards of the Coast was “nice and relaxed”
Does the YouTuber face consequences? As the manufacturing company confirmed to Polygon, the seizure of the cards was part of their investigation. Apparently, they want to find out who might have leaked the unpublished boxes.
oldschoolmagic, however, explained that it was more of a misunderstanding than theft. The names of the sets are just too similar; someone probably sent the wrong boxes.
He himself legally acquired the cards, but his dealer is more of a “Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon type.” The seller was probably not even aware that these were the unpublished Aftermath set and not some kind of Collector’s Edition.
oldschoolmtg himself contacted WotC to clarify the matter. The manufacturer’s representative was friendly and apologized for having made his wife cry that morning. The YouTuber is said to be compensated at least partially for the confiscated cards.
Overall, WotC was “nice and relaxed.” For the YouTuber, it seems to be a done deal. He removed the video and advised everyone who had used it for their own content to do the same. He has since also published videos on the proper March-of-the-Machine set.
Wizards of the Coast spared no effort in this case to get the cards back. Their collectible card colleagues from Pokémon had more luck, as a thief of valuable cards more or less walked into their arms. What it’s about, you can read here:
