‘Magic: The Gathering’ publisher Wizards of the Coast sent out the Pinkertons after a leak

When a highly anticipated set of Magic: The Gathering cards leaked on YouTube last week, it’s hard to imagine anyone would have guessed that the incident would end with the involvement of one of the world’s most infamous private security firms. But that’s exactly what happened after YouTuber Oldschoolmtg uploaded an unboxing video featuring a collection of March of the Machine: The Aftermath booster packs.

If you’re not familiar, Aftermath is an upcoming 50-card Magic: The Gathering set Wizards of the Coast will be released on May 12. It is billed as an add-on to the game’s current March of the Machine expansion, which has been available since April 21. Unsurprisingly, Oldschoolmtg’s unboxing video was everyone in the Magic: The Gathering community could speak in the last days. Based on Wizards of the Coast’s reaction, it’s safe to say the video also riled the Hasbro-owned publisher.

Over the weekend, Oldschoolmtg uploaded another video, this time titled “The Aftermath of The Aftermath… Everything is Gone!” In the clip, the YouTuber says that Pinkerton agents showed up at his house on Saturday morning and began demanding that he hand over the “stolen” product. “I got up and shot some videos,” Oldschoolmtg says. “Right after I was done with the video, the dogs started barking because someone was at the door. I go out and the wife is opening the door and it was the Pinkertons.”

If you live in the United States, the Pinkertons need no introduction. The company is one of the oldest private security firms in the country, with its original incarnation, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, dating back to 1850. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Pinkertons made a name for themselves with their operations. union busters, a job they continue to do in the 21st century.

Oldschoolmtg speculates that the person you bought the unreleased cards from probably didn’t know they were sent an unreleased set. “Someone screwed up and sent the wrong cases to the gentlemen I bought the boxes from, because when he sold me the stuff he said he was selling me the March of the Machine collector’s boxes, not Aftermath.”

After recovering the leaked Magic: The Gathering set, including empty boxes and wrappers, the Pinkertons put Oldschoolmtg in contact with a representative from Wizards of the Coast, who “was very apologetic for making my wife cry first thing this morning by sending these agents of the heavy duty law.

A Wizards of the Coast spokesperson confirmed to Polygon and Kotaku that the company sent the private security firm to Oldschoolmtg as “part of its investigation” into the leak. The YouTuber says that the contact they spoke to at Wizards of the Coast offered to send them free products as compensation for what had happened. For what it’s worth, his YouTube audience has also doubled since he uploaded the original video.

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