You do not want to mess with Wizards of the Coast, especially when leaking Magic: The Gathering products, be it intentional or not. Such is the case of YouTuber Dan “oldschoolmtg” Cannon, who was making a video opening some Magic: The Gathering booster boxes on April 20 (a Saturday morning).
Don’t Look a Gifted Deck in the… Mouth?
To his surprise, the box contained collector booster packs from March of the Machine: The Aftermath – a set that is expected to hit retail stores on May 12. Essentially, Dan Cannon got his hands on a leaked product. In a rush of excitement, he uploaded the videos to YouTube, which began circulating rapidly. Taking advantage of the situation, the content creator set out to make another video, but things did not go according to plan.
It was at this time that his wife came to him and told him the Pinkertons were at the door. The confrontation reportedly intimidated the YouTuber’s wife to tears, as they threatened the couple with jail time and up to $200,000 in fines for a “stolen product”. Dan Cannon described the Pinkerton agents as “big heavy-hitter guys”.
Those who have played Red Dead Redemption 2 might recognize the name, as the Pinkertons are a notorious private detective agency famous for being an extremely effective strike-breaking private paramilitary force against unions and organized labor, among other things. They are notorious for their intimidation tactics, ruthlessness, and violence when dealing with a problem. Wizards of the Coast have already confirmed the Pinkertons’ involvement in the incident. The confrontation ended with the confiscation of all leaked products and the takedown of the original video.
On April 22, Dan Cannon made a video explaining the situation. Despite the horrific incident, he was surprisingly civil and respectful towards Wizards of the Coast. According to Dan Cannon, a distribution issue is most likely the cause of the leak, due to the similarities between the current March of the Machine expansion and the upcoming March of the Machine: The Aftermath expansion. All in all, it does seem like an honest mistake that resulted in the product leak. However, the reaction from Wizards of the Coast is more than concerning, with some questioning the legality of their reaction to the leak. The company denies doing anything illegal.
One Bad Decision After Another
This is yet another terrible decision by Wizards of the Coast, which is already receiving massive criticism and backlash from fans and media alike. This is also their second major flop this year, after they revise Dungeons and Dragons’ Open Game License (OGL). This is a concerning tendency, as the company is losing fans seemingly by the hour. Many have been calling Wizards of the Coast “out of touch”, and with so many new releases and products on the horizon, one couldn’t help but wonder how badly these recent flops will affect the sales of said products.