Unholy Strength
Unholy Strength is a black enchantment card initially printed in Alpha. Its original artwork has drawn moral and religious criticism[1] to the card and Magic: The Gathering as a whole.
Criticism
The original art in Unholy Strength featured a pentagram, considered to be a symbol for the occult and suggestive of demonic themes, and, as of 4th Edition and subsequent reprinted versions, it had been removed. It was the result of pressure from various groups against the demonic and satanic themes[2][3] and Christian groups started to complain about how Magic: The Gathering was introducing young defenceless minds to the influence of the devil; such groups caused enough of a stir that Wizards of the Coast also stopped producing creatures of the subtype "Demon" for several years.
Unholy Strength is remarkable, but it is by no means the only card in Magic where the art has been changed due to public outcry; other cards, including Crusade, have been given alternate art due to public outcry.
References
- ↑ Brandon Haught, Athiest Parents.org. "The Gap in the Cards" (September 07, 2003): "...such animosity towards these games led to one card being modified"
- ↑ Mark Rosewater, Making Magic. "Where Have All The Demons Gone?." (5 July, 2004): "...this, for example, is why the pentagram got removed from the Fourth Edition Unholy Strength"
- ↑ J.R. Antrim, "The 10 WORST Collectible Card Game Cards (February 2005): "Pressured by parents and teachers, Wizards of the Coast took a card called Unholy Strength and removed the flaming pentagram from the background."