The Ideal Portrayal of Asians in Magic: the Gathering

by Kai Chang, Crazy About MtG

Today, we’re going to talk about race in relation to Magic: the Gathering again. To see my first post on this topic, you can check it out here. These are important issues that don’t get half the attention they deserve. Again, thanks to Shivam Bhatt    and  Commanderin’   for inspiring me to write about diversity issues.

Let's get onto the main topic of the article. Today, I’m going to talk about what I perceive as the ideal portrayal of Asians in Magic: the Gathering.

My vision for the ideal portrayal of Asians in Magic: the Gathering is where the fact that they’re Asian is not the primary reason that they’re Asian. That may sound weird, but what I’m trying to express is that the ideal portrayal is as if they took Jace Beleren and made him Asian.

I don’t want an Asian character that is Asian because they know martial arts. I want an Asian character that is Asian, but their race doesn’t play a primary role in defining who they are.

Narset is an example of a sub-optimal portrayal of Asians in Magic: the Gathering. She’s Asian because she is a master martial artist and she’s a sage. Though I am happy that Magic: the Gathering portrayed an Asian at all, I feel like there is massive room for improvement.

I do understand that the fact that her plane was an Asian themed one did play a part in the person she was, but she still could’ve been someone who wasn’t defined by her race.

Kaya is an example of an almost perfect portrayal of a minority. Her race isn’t the biggest defining factor of who she is as a person.

In the future, what I am expecting is a portrayal of an Asian in the same way they portrayed Kaya: someone whose personality and identity isn’t defined by their race.