A handful of Strixhaven pulls are sparking more discussion than the set’s spellcraft ever intended.
Magic: The Gathering’s return to Strixhaven is already drawing attention during pre-release week, though not solely for its spells and archetypes. As players open packs, an unusual printing detail has begun circulating, one that does not belong to the Multiverse.
Reports across Reddit and collector communities show that some Secrets of Strixhaven cards are carrying an incorrect anti-counterfeit holo stamp. Rather than the standard Magic: The Gathering insignia, these cards feature “a bunch of tiny X-Wings flying by”—a pattern used for Star Wars: Unlimited.
The discovery was highlighted in posts such as:
Why are there Star Wars X-Wings on MTG Strixhaven cards?
The holo stamp, typically found on rarer cards as a security feature, appears to have been swapped during production. The most likely explanation points to a factory mix-up, with the incorrect stamp pattern applied during printing.
The issue does not affect gameplay and is being treated as a novelty misprint. Given how subtle the stamp is, many players may not notice it without a closer look.
Magic: The Gathering quality control concerns in recent sets
The X-Wing misprint has prompted renewed discussion around quality control across Magic and the wider trading card game space. While misprints have always existed, ranging from off-centre cuts to irregular ink patterns, recent cases have drawn attention for crossing into entirely different products.
Earlier this year, some Lorwyn: Eclipsed Commander decks reportedly contained faint traces of Pokémon energy symbols printed onto Magic cards:
There have also been distribution errors. During the Lorwyn: Eclipsed prerelease, some boxes reportedly contained Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cards in place of Magic cards. Meanwhile, Tarkir: Dragonstorm has been flagged by players for an “unusually high number” of standard print errors:
Ongoing discussions around Secrets of Strixhaven have also surfaced, with many expressing concern over the quality of the cards that have been coming out lately. Redditor sargonas said in her thread that “The quality control on the Secrets of Strixhaven set have been beyond abysmal not only from looking at social media” but also their firsthand experience.
They wrote that their pre-release kit included multiple irregularities. They also noted other players at their event encountering mismatched or inconsistent seeded packs, including one case where a player reportedly had “two seeded packs in their kit… both for the wrong school,” and another who won the event with an unusual advantage.
In the same post, they added that “five of my rares from a booster box have the Star Wars X-Wing security holo seals on them,” referencing the misprinted authentication stamps appearing across multiple cards.
The user concluded by stating their reaction was less frustration and more concern, saying they were “not even mad as much as I am depressed about it and what this means for the game and Wizards of the Coast.”
In the same thread, other Redditors chimed in with other irregularities, with someone sharing how they witnessed someone open a Silverquill pack that has the entire seeded pack missing. Others had smaller complaints like print quality and more.
Magic the Gathering isn't the only TCG franchise that experiences quality issues. Similar incidents have been reported in the past, where Pokémon players previously shared holo cards with football card imagery faintly layered over them:
Strixhaven’s return continues across local game stores worldwide, with pre-release events underway and players revisiting the university setting first introduced in Strixhaven: School of Mages in 2021, this time with a printing anomaly that has drawn attention beyond the set itself.
