There's a new but expected twist in the Magic: The Gathering Arena union drama, as the United Wizards of the Coast union confirms it was not recognized by Wizards of the Coast before the May 1 deadline, meaning it must now seek recognition via an NLRB election.
Despite a pre-deadline press release, there was never a sense that WotC would recognize the union, given some of the potentially anti-union language in its statement. United Wizards of the Coast also claims in a new open letter that this press release was the only time they heard from WotC on the matter, despite the statement citing employees who have been heard.
WotC refuses to recognize the union, NLRB proceedings begin soon
We've covered the formation of the United Wizards of the Coast Union and the first WotC statement of its intentions, but this third update is significant.
Wizards of the Coast has declined to recognize the United Wizards of the Coast union before May 1, 2026, the deadline stated in the union's original open letter.
The follow-up statement offers little hope of a quick resolution, as Wizards of the Coast came under fire for using what was perceived as anti-union language.
Whether or not that is the case, only Wizards of the Coast and its representatives will know, but it certainly read poorly for most of the community and only increased support for the union.
In a new open letter confirming that WotC has not acknowledged it, United Wizards of the Coast claims that over 30,000 people have signed an official petition in support of its actions.
This number is significant considering that, according to the SteamDB charts, only around 11,000 people play MTG Arena daily. If you assume equal numbers use the direct PC or Mac client and mobile, then a large portion of daily Arena players actively support this union.
Sure, it's clear from the online support that many players aren't even active Arena users, but instead are long-time Magic players who are upset about the situation as a whole.
Next up for the United Wizards of the Coast is an NLRB election, which feels certain given the initial internal support for the union. The federation goes so far as to say in its latest statement that confirmation of its recognition is “only a matter of time”.
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Huge news from the MTG Arena team: it's forming a union to address issues like AI, job security, workload and career development.
Amidst all the messages of support for the union, especially on Reddit, there have been calls for Magic players to stop paying for new products while the issue is ongoing. As one user puts it, “Keep playing but stop buying. WotC gets nothing from you playing. It's only purchases they care about.”
This statement was met with some cynicism, as others argued that players could not band together in sufficient numbers to make an impact, or that a temporary drop in sales would be nothing more than a “drop in the bucket” for WotC.
We will be closely monitoring the situation between WotC and the Magic community, as it feels like something may be brewing as players become more and more upset about the situations the company is constantly finding themselves in, and the recent artist scandal that arose with the revelation of previews of The Hobbit cards and The One Ring.
WotC Responds to MTG Arena Union with Boilerplate Statement
A statement from Wizards of the Coast highlights the “direct relationship” and “strong connection” with employees, as it does not recognize the union.
