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Not to channel Billy on the Street, but for a dollar, picture a wizard. 

Chances are, if you're built like me, you pictured Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, or Gale from Baldur's Gate 3. Or maybe you've lorded Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals, and now you're raging at me. But I digress! The point is that wizards in pop culture, for better or for worse, are often depicted with a pointy hat on. But for years, this was an image that Magic: The Gathering's parent company, Wizards of the Coast, wanted no part in. 

The head of game design at Magic: The Gathering, Mark Rosewater, revealed on his Tumblr blog that, "Wizards [of the Coast] has had a rule (with actually very few exceptions) for years that wizards in Magic aren’t illustrated with pointy hats." One of the cards that Magic players shouted out in the responses to the post was Puppeteer (10th Edition), one of those rare examples of a wizard in Magic: The Gathering exercising his right to wear a pointy hat. 

To be fair, pointy hats don't really make that much sense from a sartorial standpoint. They have a higher center of gravity than regular-sized hats, making them less aerodynamic when in motion and more likely for them to get blown off the wearer's head. I don't know about you, but the last thing I'd want when I'm a wizard in a wizard battle is to worry that my hat will fly off my head. I'm sure Doctor Strange or Gale would agree? We could always ask Alan Moore. 

Whether you are a Commander player, a regular at your local game shop's FNM event, or simply love collecting Magic: The Gathering cards, you've landed in the right place. From Universes Beyond to the furthest reaches of the Magic Multiverse, we've got you covered here at Popverse. 

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