MTG faces another plagiarism scandal as artist accused of nabbing Cyberpunk art

One of the latest Magic: The Gathering sets, Murders at Karlov Manor, has a card that has been analyzed and found to plagiarise art.

A piece of art featured on the card “Trouble in Pairs” in the Magic set, Murders at Karlov Manor, has been accused of plagiarism. In a Reddit thread, responding to another post on the dedicated Magic subreddit, the user points out that the art is lifted from a Cyberpunk 2020 cover.

Comparing the two, the accusations claim the art has been reversed and adjusted, removing any notable Cyberpunk 2020 elements. Adding to the mohawk, replacing the gun, and an additional goon to match the card name.

The background has also been altered to fit more in line with Ravnica, Karlov Manor’s setting. One user had sourced the original art to a book set in the Cyberpunk world, released in 1994.

Originally drawn by Donato Giancola, the artist created an account on Reddit specifically to comment that the art had been stolen.

In a comment, Giancola states:

“The art is stolen.”

He also accompanied it with an image extrapolating on this, which reads:

“Hey Fay Dalton, do you mind not stealing my work on highly paid, public commercial commissions in the genre which I make my living and hold my reputation dear?

“This is criminal and theft.”

He also added on his Facebook page:

“Nearly speechless, but not speechless enough not to contact a lawyer.”

Dexerto has reached out for comment from the artist Fay Dalton, who has said:

“I’m currently in the process of reaching out to the other artist.”

Wizards of the Coast, developers of D&D and MTG, have had issues with its art in the last few months. Previously, another artist was effectively sacked by Wizards over plagiarism, and an advertising campaign was accused of using AI art after Wizards said it wouldn’t implement it.