Magic: The Gathering YouTubers Home Raided By Infamous Private Detective Agency

Leaked Magic: The Gathering cards were retrieved from a Youtuber via the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

By Jason Collins | Published 10 months ago

Nintendo isn’t the only gaming company going after YouTubers; Wizards of the Coast sent private investigators to the Magic: The Gathering YouTuber’s home to confiscate his cards. The tabletop franchise has recently announced a crossover with two huge franchises and several digital-only cards, but the card in question is actually leaked cards that are supposed to hit the stores in May.

According to Polygon, Wizards of the Coast have confirmed that there has been an incident involving cards, private investigators, and a YouTuber—the latter of which denies anything illegal took place. For context, the YouTuber published a video showcasing the opening of the collector booster packs for Magic: The Gathering’s new set, titled March of the Machine: The Aftermath. After he made and published the video, he was visited by the Pinkertons—the same private investigative agency you came across when playing Red Dead Redemption 2.

Magic: The Gathering developer and publisher confirmed that Pinkertons, a private investigative agency that was founded in the 1850s (yes, they’re that old), were involved in the incident. Magic: The Gathering YouTuber described agency representatives as big, heavy-hitter men who frightened his wife. They presented him with the contact information for Wizards of the Coast, and after speaking with the company representative, the YouTuber decided to pull their videos showcasing the new Magic: The Gathering cards.

Further description of the incident, made by the YouTuber himself, states that the Magic: The Gathering spoke person was apologetic about making his souse cry first thing in the morning by sending Pinkertons to collect stuff and discuss stolen stuff goods and jail time. However, the presenter also stated that he didn’t steal anything—apparently paid for the whole box fair and square. However, Wizards of the Coast wanted the box back as part of an ongoing investigation by the company to find a person or persons responsible for the content leak.  

And it would seem that Wizards of the Coast have a problem on their hand, but the YouTuber stated, in a video following the incident, that someone, somewhere in the distribution chain, accidentally mistook one Magic: The Gathering card for the other. And that’s not impossible, as their titles are very similar. So, it’s entirely possible that someone sent out the wrong boxes, which ended up in his YouTube video, bringing private investigators to his door.

This isn’t the first-time gaming companies sent out private investigators or law enforcement to either retrieve stolen goods or apprehend a pirate. Nintendo is perhaps the most notorious company when it comes to legal witch hunts; just a few months back, they took a hacker to court to pay for his crimes. The company has shut down pirate sites and even forced a dead website to destroy pirated games. However, the Magic: The Gathering publisher decided on a different approach.

Wizards of the Coast later stated that the company intends to deliver the unreleased Magic: The Gathering product the YouTuber paid for due to his cooperation in the matter, but only once the content has been officially released on May 12.

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