MTG age ratings, target markets and censorship
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 10, 2015, 3:05 p.m. by Darthagnon
How does WoTC get away with only a 13+ age rating on Magic: the Gathering, while still selling the likes of Murder, Self-Inflicted Wound, Archfiend of Depravity, Lord of the Pit, Tymaret, the Murder King, Oni Possession, Silence the Believers, Surgical Extraction, Rakshasa Deathdealer, Ultimate Price, Blood-Chin Rager, Kill Shot, Soldier of the Pantheon, Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, Hero of Bladehold, Thassa, God of the Sea, etc.?
jandrobard Self-Inflicted Wound does not contain violence or blood, the text insinuates that the man might be about to suicide, but that's not depicted, legally that image is PEGI 12+.
June 10, 2015 7:44 p.m.
I'd hardly say magic glorifies violence because of how it is played. I suppose its about as violent as chess or checkers because those imply that the pieces you capture were people in an army that were killed. Lore-wise(might need someone to correct me on this since I'm no expert), magic players are planeswalkers who can conjure up various spells. The creatures they summon to fight are created from spells and dissolve back into spells once defeated. You're not forcing people/animals to kill each other, you're creating people/animals that are constructs of magic to fight with other constructs of magic. Also, containing violence does not mean glorifying violence. While there are cards like Slaughter Pact, there are also cards like Peacekeeper and Holy Day that have the express purpose of stopping the fighting.
June 10, 2015 8:45 p.m.
biggestmtgnerd says... #6
I'm 14 right now, but I started when I was 12 and had no problem, nor am I violent, perverted, satanic, or traumatised because of any cards. I also know people who started in 3rd grade, and they were fine with it too. The only really gory cards are Victim of Night and Macabre Waltz. No other cards that I know of have the potential for harm to children, not even cards like Damnation which are isolated instances of swearing and are no more harmful than hearing your parents swear. Alesha's name is in no way harmful, and I am confused by your saying otherwise. Thassa's artwork is actually realistic, as in ancient times gods were represented as being nude; any censorship is not accurately representing ancient greek culture, which may lead to misconceptions later in life. Demons are in no way offensive, and often times they have drawbacks, like Lord of the Pits sacrifice, which is a metaphor for how following a demon will cost you your morality, so I don't see how that's offensive to christians but rather a lesson. Even if you ignore that, the demons are only represented, not glorified, just like in the Bible. For Hero of Bladehold, I've seen plenty of bikini's before at the beach, and I don't feel embarrassed at all by looking at her artwork. Bikinis are just an article of clothing, nothing more, nothing less. I have no idea what's so offensive about blood chin rager. The decapitated heads feature no violence at all, and since the beheading is never actually seen, what's the difference between the cards and learning about the french revolution in school. All cards featuring death, victim of night possibly excluded, do not have anything that wouldn't be put into a PG13 movie or a T rated game. From these arguments, all claims that cards are inappropriate are invalidated
June 10, 2015 10:51 p.m.
The problem people have with Alesha is that she's transgender, nothing with her name. And you have to delve pretty deep into the lore to even find that out, and it surprises me how mad people can get about it when it's such a small detail to her character.
June 10, 2015 10:53 p.m.
biggestmtgnerd says... #8
JDMCRIB darthagnon said the reason he didn't like her was because of the name, not that she was transgender. The fact that people are getting offended over that is also puzzling, because all people should be treated equally no matter their sexual identity.
June 10, 2015 11 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #9
So, I just have to say this, because it was bugging me, the title Alesha has, is because she smiled when she was faced with what was veritably her own death. She accepted her death with a smile, because she felt she had lived her life thus far to its fullest possible, if not its longest. She wasn't smiling at other people dying.
Alright, I'm gonna leave you guys alone now.
June 10, 2015 11:01 p.m.
The name has nothing wrong with it. It's just "Who Smiles at Death." That doesn't mean she enjoys death, it means that she laughs at it. More like a mocking kind of way, like "Ha, you don't dictate us!" Her ability of returning creatures from the grave seems to point to this.
June 10, 2015 11:02 p.m.
This is a really entertaining thread just to read how many null and void arguments people come up with.
Again, I don't disagree with the idea that this stuff isn't harmful but oh god some of the logical fallacies and misunderstandings here are amazing.
June 11, 2015 7:43 a.m.
Chief, you cannot expect random people to debate like philosophers, I learned that sometime ago.
Those arguments might not stand in court or a serious debate, but here we are not talking about that, this subject is quite abstract, where some people see violence or nudity other people don't see that, it's a matter of perspective, culture and personal feelings rather than logic and reason.
June 11, 2015 8:07 a.m.
I'm not expecting sophisticated responses, but at least responses that don't meet almost every logical fallacy in the book haha. There's a very wide margin between 'great argument' and 'just wrong'.
jandrobard says... #1
Question 2: Does MTG glorify violence, going a step beyond from just depicting it? The premise of the game is that you summon people/animals/things and force them to kill other summoned people/animals/things and to try to people like you, and there are more than a few spells with a violent act being the art's focus, so I'd say yes.
June 10, 2015 7:38 p.m.