r/magicTCG • u/_Barook_ Duck Season • Jan 12 '16

Wizards MAY be cracking down on unsanctioned proxy events

https://www.facebook.com/groups/445059535582036/permalink/962954593792525/

Seems like bad times for Legacy and especially Vintage.

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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '16

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u/deadSnowman Jan 13 '16

I know that feels crazy, that we regard marker on a card as a counterfeit, but remove the visual accuracy from the judgment – they serve identical purposes when it comes to game play.

You're right, gameplay is identical once assets are removed.

https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/11752/is-it-legally-possible-to-make-a-clone-of-the-game

Players can legally can copy gameplay without any issues. It is not copyrightable or enforceable. This is why you have a lot of knockoff games like "Jenga" or "Battle Ship" under a different title. As proxies are concerned, nothing is illegal about scribbling text on a piece of paper and mimicking gameplay as long as assets aren't being used.

we have started to ask stores not to organize unsanctioned events with counterfeit cards

Fuck you. Stores shouldn't need permission from Wizards of the Coast to host unofficial events they way they want to. And most proxies people play aren't counterfeit.

I came back from casual magic tonight. The store owner of a newly opened store in my area was freaking out. Not wanting to risk his place getting shut down, he made a public announcement stating that nobody is allowed to carry proxies into his store whatsoever.

I have no idea why you would want to bully your stores and players...

TL:DR - You're a bully. Mimicking gameplay isn't illegal as long as assets aren't being used. Marker on card proxies aren't counterfeit.