As much as Universes Beyond may be diluting things going forward, there’s no denying Magic: The Gathering has iconic characters. For the most part, the most iconic characters have just been dudes and dragons, which isn’t unexpected for a 31-year-old fantasy game. Between the Gatewatch and Nicol Bolas, there are undeniably familiar faces but few who are innately marketable.
For many years, the closest thing Wizards had was Ajani Goldmane, Magic’s resident cat dad. Offering a more fantasy feel than boring ol’ Gideon Jura it’s not uncommon to see Ajani’s face plastered over booster boxes. While this seemed to work well enough, Magic was still missing that je ne sais quoi of peak virality. What MTG needed was its very own Baby Yoda…
Loot, the Key to Marketing Success
In 2024, Wizards of the Coast debuted Loot, Key to Everything. Found inside of Outlaws of Thunder Junction’s Fomori Vault MacGuffin, Loot is supposedly, well, the key to everything. In MTG lore, this means they’re a living map of the multiverse that can be used to traverse the multiverse.
Unsurprisingly, given their name, it’s expected that Loot is going to be pretty important in the grand scheme of MTG. Now they’re in the custody of Jace and Vraska, it’s expected they’ll appear again during the ongoing major MTG storyline. Once this all wraps up, Loot’s future is a lot more ambiguous, but it’s hard to think they’d go anywhere.
Beyond being important in Magic’s current storyline, Loot is obviously an adorable and marketable mascot for MTG. Just like Baby Yoda has become for the Star Wars franchise, this little alien could become the literal poster child for MTG. Such a strong recognizable face is good for any business, but for Hasbro, Loot is a literal gold mine.
It only took eight days after being revealed to the world for Loot to be turned into merchandise. Admittedly, since then Wizards hasn’t gone all in on Loot, but they did appear again in Foundations. Thankfully, Loot, Exuberant Explorer is a lot less nightmarish than their plush rendition, which raises a good question. Is Loot actually even adorable..?
Loot, a Kickable Face
Following a question from Dinosaurssss on Blogatog, this question might be answered once and for all. After hearing Loot be called “Somewhat… strange,” MTG Head Designer Mark Rosewater set up a poll. With the simple goal of finding out “Is Loot cute?” this poll has already fielded over 1300 votes, and it’s not over yet.
Technically, yes, Loot is cute. That’s according to the popular vote, at least, as 39.4% of players have voted yes in the poll. While this is hardly the most landslide victory, it’s nonetheless a victory that Loot can be proud of.
That being said, 32.8% of players voted no in the poll while 27.8% voted to remain neutral. Since all of these numbers are rather close to one another, it’s safe to say that Loot isn’t wholly beloved. To say that this alien child is divisive would be a better way to put it, as even Loot’s fans aren’t totally won over.
In the poll’s comments, even fans like Silas-mn called Loot “Cute in a kinda weird way, but I kinda like that.” This comment was actually one of the more positive ones, as readers like Brandongcg leaned into cute aggression. “He’s cute but I do wanna pick him up and kick him like a football.”
Weirdly, this isn’t the only comment stating that they want to punt Loot, and players have previously shared a desire to drop-kick him too. Part of this desire likely comes from the fact that Loot feels forced as a mascot, unlike the beloved Fblthp. The other part is surely down to the fact that Loot looks like they crawled out of the uncanny valley.
Almost Adorable
Even if they’re a bit too cute coded for MTG’s general aesthetic, Loot definitely has potential. We can see this already in the reaction to different art pieces depicting the character. The Showcase Vault Frame artwork for Loot, Key to Everything is adorable and beloved. Their regular printing, however, looks like weirdly gummy nightmare fuel.
Similarly, the regular artwork for Loot, Exuberant Explorer in Foundations is pretty cute, or inoffensive at worst. The card’s borderless art, however, is the one that crawled out of the uncanny valley this time around. It may look really cute at first glance, but the more you stare, the more unsettling it becomes.
With this in mind, Loot could have a marketable future going forward, but Wizards will have to strike the right balance. As cute as cute is, leaning too far into that with reckless abandon can quickly do more harm than good. Sometimes less is more, as MTG players will ultimately like what they like, just like Poison Dart Frog.
This seemingly small detail is incredibly obvious when you look at the sketches for Loot, Exuberant Explorer. Shown off online by artist Arif Wijaya two of the sketches are totally adorable and actually really cute. The third picture, however… I feel like I’m honestly going to have nightmares about that demon child…
Ultimately, we don’t know what the future holds for Loot at the moment. While we doubt Wizards is going to brutally kill off this literal child, their role in Magic’s future is uncertain. Who knows, maybe some time travel shenanigans will take place and we’ll get an older Loot in a few sets. We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds.
