Magic: The Gathering is about to release a whole set inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Here are several opinions about this, all of which are my opinion.
The Set Annoys Gamers, Which is Good
In many ways this is the least interesting thing to talk about, but it’s the thing everyone is talking about, so let’s get it out of the way first. The visual art of the MTG LOTR set makes a number of choices which are calculated to annoy the obnoxious, reactionary morlocks who make up much of the loudest parts of Internet Discourse around any sort of Nerd Shit. This is what I’m talking about:
Yes, MTGLOTR features a Black Aragorn. Nor is Elessar the only person of color in the set. As one might imagine, this terrifying example of white genocide has outraged a certain subset1 of the Internet. This is, on its face, good. Annoying this particular brand of assholes is an unqualified boon and I can think of no better way to do that than with Black Aragorn. I’m not suggesting that the decision to depict Aragorn as Black was made solely out of spite, but I would be perfectly content if it was. Tolkien’s work has been too often misappropriated by a particularly awful brand of RETVRN fascists, and I’m delighted by anything that sticks a thumb in their eye. I say this with whatever eloquence the Valar have given to me: fuck those guys.
I Like The Art and the Choices About What to Include:
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