Following allegations of plagiarism on the artwork for the Crux of Fate Mystical Archive version in the upcoming Strixhaven: School of Mages set, Wizards of the Coast has issued a statement announcing their suspension of work with Magic: The Gathering artist Jason Felix. The announcement comes on the heels of Kitt Lapeña, the fan artist whose art was allegedly plagiarized, claiming that the art he illustrated back in 2016 was used in the new Crux of Fate card, and he provided a clip as evidence.
Lapeña, who's known as Scarypet on various sites including DeviantArt, shared his claim on Twitter, wherein a video was tweeted to show how his art resembles Felix's.
Analysis also reveals that another MTG artist, Raymond Swanland, may have had his art for Ugin, the Spirit Dragon appropriated as well, although details of its permission and usage are less clear.
In response to the controversy, Wizards of the Coast has shared the following statement on their website:
"It has come to our attention that the card Crux of Fate from the Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archive may overtly feature Magic: The Gathering fan art and the contracted artist did not receive permission for this incorporation. These actions do not reflect the values of Wizards, and, as a result, we will be suspending future work with Jason Felix until we have been able to bring this matter to successful conclusion."
It's good that WotC immediately addressed the claim, and decided to suspend Felix. I hope that the company will hire Lapeña to illustrate new art for Magic in the near future.
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