Throughout Magic: The Gathering history, there have been well over 1,500 artists who have done art for at least one card. It's known as one of the best gigs in the medium and something many artists aspire to, thanks in part to the high bar to get commissioned and the overall uniqueness of the work.
Of those, only a small handful have done something so bad that they aren't allowed back in. Troubling beliefs and sexual misconduct have forced out a few in the past, and in one case, it was stealing fan art. Magic spells out the rules pretty clearly, and to the relief of fans everywhere, Wizards of the Coast is taking a hard line against any AI art.
But in recent Magic, there has been one bout of plagiarism so blatant that Magic had to make a statement against them. And that is the Fay Dalton incident of 2024.
That year, fans started to notice something about her art. Most notably the card Trouble in Pairs from the Murders at Karlov Manor Commander set:
Piece by piece, fans noticed that something in the art was being blatantly lifted from somewhere else. Using references is one thing, but taking entire designs down to the small details was another. A cover of a Cyberpunk 2020 novel drawn by Donato Giancola. A Morton Kunstler painting. A magazine cover drawn by Will Hulsey. Other works were uncovered too, including a Magic: the Baseballing SLD:
However, Trouble in Pairs became the poster child of the plagiarism and copying issue. A lot happened behind the, and within only a few weeks Magic gave a rare announcement on cutting all ties with an artist.
"We've heard questions on the integrity of the art on the card Trouble in Pairs from the Murders at Karlov Manor Commander set, and we had questions, too. As we have looked into this further, we're now suspending future work with Fay Dalton."
Since then, her name has never entered the conversation of MTG artists. That's lost future work, a name attributed with cheating leading to fewer commissions in the future, and not being allowed to do any conventions, shutting down another vital part of work that, for many artists, is actually one of the best perks.
To date, there has not been another major announcement like this by Magic. It's a hint as to what future artists may face if they try an pull this, and could give a clue to what kind of 'death sentence' awaits the first high profile AI art thief caught. The Dalton incident gives precedence for punishment, and for artists, it is pretty damn scary.
