The official previews for the upcoming Magic: The Gathering expansion, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, have finally kicked off, and during today's livestream on Twitch.tv/magic, Wizards of the Coast has shared a statement regarding a name change on one of the MTG cards in Ikoria due to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. There's a card originally named "Spacegodzilla, Death Corona" since the "Corona Beam" is Spacegodzilla's traditional breath weapon, but since Ikoria was finalized months ago, before the outbreak of the coronavirus, Wizards had to change the actual name since the word "corona" has taken on a new meaning.
"However, we were unable to change our printing in time to address the new meaning of corona," Wizards explained in a statement. "The initial printing of Ikoria will arrive on shelves soon and this card will be part of the set, but we are taking steps to remove or change the card where possible."
Wizards will remove this card in all reprints of Ikoria, and they are renaming the card on Magic: The Gathering Arena to "Spacegodzilla, Void Invader". On Magic Online, which will be offering the special Godzilla Series Monster versions of cards only in Treasure Chests, this card will not be distributed.
This card is a special version of the card "Void Beckoner" from the Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set.
Although it's unfortunate that the word was used at a bad time, it's good to see that WotC is handling this professionally to avoid offending everyone affected by the COVID-19. The company has helped the Magic community and local game stores well during these challenging times.
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths is officially scheduled to be released on May 15 (rescheduled release day).
Related: New MTG Companion Cards From Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Revealed
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