Magic: The Gathering May Have to Bite The Bullet With One Controversial Card

by

Magic: The Gathering May Have to Bite The Bullet With One Controversial Card

Key Takeaways

  • The One Ring is a dominating card in MTG, present in most decks, especially in Modern format.
  • The card’s powerful ability allows players to draw their entire deck, affecting game outcomes.
  • WotC may need to take action by either banning or errata-ing The One Ring to maintain game balance.

As a seasoned Magic: The Gathering (MTG) player with over two decades of deck-building and card-slinging under my belt, I can’t help but feel a sense of unease about the current state of affairs surrounding one particular artifact – The One Ring. This ring, which hails from the Lord of the Rings set, has been causing quite a stir in the MTG community, and not in a good way.

Recently, Magic: The Gathering found itself at the center of a heated debate after four key Commander cards were banned due to their high value and widespread use. This controversy has led to numerous appeals to reverse the bans, calls for the removal of the Commander Rules Committee, and even threats against the committee members. For now, the issue of card banning in Magic: The Gathering seems a sensitive topic within Wizards of the Coast. At present, however, there is one particularly contentious card causing trouble in Magic: The Gathering, and its prevalence in the meta necessitates some form of intervention.

In the game of Magic: The Gathering, each format is overseen by a dedicated committee responsible for maintaining balance and addressing issues caused by problematic cards or outdated ones that have become safe to unban. Banning cards is not a decision taken lightly, considering the difficulties faced by the CRC in the past, and its potential impact on the game’s value and the livelihoods of many players. If necessary, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) may choose to address The One Ring card.

Magic: The Gathering’s The One Ring is Risking a Ban or Nerf in Modern

How The One Ring Wins Games in Magic: The Gathering

The $2 million dollar Magic: The Gathering card you’re referring to is, in fact, modeled after The One Ring from Lord of the Rings. However, this specific version is unique because it embodies the lore of the series. It doesn’t imply that no other copies of The One Ring existed within the MTG set of LotR, but they were less valuable or distinctive, often intended for gameplay rather than collection. As expected, The One Ring card is also incredibly powerful and nearly always included in every deck or format it can be used in.

In a significant shift, The One Ring artifact from “Magic: The Gathering” has become a dominant force in the Modern format. This card is so influential that many competitive decks carry three to four copies of it. The strategy is to ultimately triumph by exhausting the entire deck with The One Ring’s ability. For those unfamiliar, The One Ring is a colorless mana artifact that cannot be destroyed and provides protection against everything when played until the user’s next turn. It also allows players to draw cards, but doing so places burden counters on the card that cause damage to the player when they take their next turn. Even in formats like Commander where only one copy is allowed per deck, The One Ring remains exceptionally potent.

In games of Magic: The Gathering, if The One Ring is played across several decks, it becomes a formidable threat due to the Legend Rule. This rule forces players to forfeit one of their controlled copies of a legendary card when two are in play. By employing this strategy, players can utilize The One Ring’s ability multiple times – either twice or thrice – and then introduce another copy of the card, thereby gaining an invulnerable shield. When it becomes necessary, they may sacrifice the burdened copy to “refresh” it.

As a result of this, The One Ring’s value has soared dramatically, reaching approximately $100 and sometimes higher on platforms such as TCGPlayer. Decks incorporating this card in three or four instances are priced between $300 to $400 from the start.

Why The One Ring is Problematic in Magic: The Gathering’s Modern Format

The problem with this strategy is that it’s so oppressive that many Modern games end up being decided by whoever plays the first The One Ring. Not every deck plays it, but this could also be because of the steep price point of the card, which in turn is due to its popularity. As such, WotC may either have to ban it from Modern or at least release some kind of errata to limit its unlimited power. If the latter is the chosen option, there are two possible paths:

  • Limit The One Ring to one copy per deck
  • Make the burden counters go on players, rather than the card

As a gamer immersed in Middle-earth lore, I’d say this alternative fits well with The One Ring from Lord of the Rings. Limiting its use to just one per deck still seems sensible, given its powerful nature. Instead of completely banning the card, which is a firm decision, adjusting The One Ring to not be as dominant through an errata would be a smart move.

Read More

2024-10-27 01:37