For its Lord of the Rings Magic: The Gathering set, Wizards of the Coast has printed a special, one-of-a-kind, The One Ring card and hidden it in special packs.
I’m usually immune to the charms of Magic: The Gathering’s special crossover sets (although the Bob Ross lands collection almost got me). But this Lord of the Rings-themed collection has pretty much obliterated all of my willpower because these cards are. so. frigging. cool!
I love seeing Frodo and Sam and Aragorn and Arwen rendered in cards that pay homage to their personalities and their big hero moments in the story. I think it’s really clever that Sam’s card, Samwise the Stouthearted, can be flashed in at any time and will return a dead creature to the battlefield, just like when he showed up to rescue Frodo from Shelob’s clutches.
The card for Tom Bombadil — who is either whimsical or boring depending on who you ask — artfully captures his love of storytelling and song by allowing you to play Saga cards over and over again.
Though there are only a handful of cards teased, it’s really clear that a lot of thought went into ensuring that these cards had great art and abilities that are well suited to their subjects. As a further commitment to the bit, Wizards is releasing three LOTR-ified versions of the famous card Sol Ring (y’know, because the whole thing is about rings). One version features humans, the other two feature elves and dwarves, and Wizards is releasing each with a very specific number of printings.
The elven Sol Ring will get 3,000 printings, the dwarven one will get 7,000 printings (see where they’re going with this?), and the human one will get 9,000 printings. If the numbers mean nothing to you, let me jog your memory.
“One ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.”
To celebrate that special One Ring, Wizards has decided to make its own. Though players will be able to purchase and play with the standard printing of the mythic-rare legendary artifact card The One Ring, Wizards has printed a single, 1 of 1 special version of the card with extended art and text rendered in the Black Speech of Sauron.
This is essentially Magic’s version of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, and my husband is convinced (although I maintain a healthy skepticism) this special This One Ring will be worth more than the Black Lotus — the most expensive Magic card ever printed. But, before you start a run on the Walmarts and local card shops of the world, take note: this card won’t be in draft or set booster packs but only in the slightly more expensive, English-language collector packs.
The set launches mid-June, and the cards will be legal in the Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander formats, and Wizards is also making a Commander LOTR set for you Elder Dragon Highlander lovers. The cards will also be available in Magic The Gathering: Arena, which makes me very happy.