In a wonderfully flavorful coincidence, few Magic cards have ever been as powerful or influential as The One Ring. Though underestimated at first, the card quickly grew to become a staple in both Modern and Commander. Its price, as you’d expect, grew in turn. Now the card is a problem on two fronts.
The One Ring is both too powerful for the formats it sees play in and too expensive for most players to afford. Because of this, many players are expecting a ban for the card come December 16th. In turn, the price of the One Ring has actually dropped by half in anticipation. Whether this drop is sustainable or not very much remains to be seen.
The One Ring Price Drops By Half?!
- Mana Value: 4
- Rarity: Mythic
- Card Type: Legendary Artifact
- Card Text: Indestructible.
When The One Ring enters, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring.
Tap: Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring.
The One Ring has had a very interesting history price-wise. Pre-release, copies of this fantasy icon were going for just $30. This was one of the rare instances where pre-purchasing a card would’ve paid off. After launch, the card maintained a value in the $60-70 range for the better part of a year. Come April 2024, and the release of Assassin’s Creed specifically, the card spiked hard into the $120 range.
While this timing is interesting, the spike had little to do with Assassin’s Creed specifically and more to do with The One Ring’s performance. Over time, more and more Modern players have started jamming four copies into their decks and having great results. Turns out a generic draw engine that protects you for a turn is stellar in the majority of decks in the format. At the time of writing it’s the single most popular card in Modern by far, appearing in 60% of decks according to MTG Goldfish stats.
Players have been discussing the card’s overperformance since it was played in 40% of decks. At 60%, it’s really hard to deny that the card is a problem. Calls for the card to be banned in Modern are now ramping up ahead of the next scheduled ban announcement on December 16th. Because of this, in an effect not dissimilar to the one experienced by Nadu, the price of The One Ring is on the decline.
What was once a $120 card is now sitting at around $60, which is more in line with its original post-release price tag. Clearly, a lot of players are so confident about a ban that they’re willing to sell their copies now at a potential loss.
A Ban On The Horizon?
As mentioned above, a One Ring ban has been discussed by players for a long time now. It’s become a homogenizing force in Modern, making decks less diverse and price tags much higher. The fact that a potential ban has robbed the card of so much value, however, is interesting. There is a lot of evidence to support a ban in two weeks, but it’s by no means a done deal.
“The One Ring up to 60% of Modern decks. If it doesn’t get banned this month I don’t know what to say.”
SaffronOlive
The most compelling argument for a One Ring ban is the card’s ludicrous play percentage. 60% is absolutely wild for a single card. Even Phlage, a staple inclusion in Modern’s most popular deck, only sits at 46%. Wizards definitely takes figures like these into account when making ban decisions, since a format where everyone runs the same card isn’t a desirable outcome at all.
Additionally, Wizards itself has noted in the past that The One Ring is on its radar for a potential ban. When Nadu was banned back in August, Wizards’ statement also included a note on The One Ring.
“We certainly considered a few other cards to take action against in this announcement—namely The One Ring. While present in several decks, there is no clear The One Ring deck terrorizing Modern. […] Ultimately, we decided not to act against The One Ring. The possible problems it may be causing for Modern just aren’t as clear as Nadu and Grief. Once we see how the format evolves after this change, we will continue to observe and evaluate the health of Modern and see which future actions are necessary.”
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards didn’t consider The One Ring ban-worthy back in August, but things have changed since then. The card’s ubiquity has only increased over time, and it’s now gone far beyond being “present in several decks.” You could reasonably describe Modern as a “One Ring-centric format” now, which wasn’t quite the case back then.
So The One Ring is on Wizards’ watchlist, and it’s only become more of a problem while it’s been on there. Expecting a ban at the next possible opportunity, December 16th, feels pretty reasonable, then. While the recent price drop is severe, I think The One Ring may drop even further if it does get banned. Sure Commander will still drive demand, but not nearly to the same extent.
The Players Speak
As you’d expect, the Magic community has a lot of thoughts on a potential One Ring ban. It’s a discussion that’s been raging for months, and now that there’s real hope for a ban players are latching on hard. Many are just sick and tired of the card dominating in Modern.
“With Modern RCQ+MOCS seasons over, I am relieved I will not need to play Modern until the upcoming Banned & Restricted announcement on December 16 2024. The current B&R system does not work with Horizons-type sets adding so many power outliers at once. Please find a solution.”
bamzing_mtg
Bamzing’s point echoes what a lot of other players are saying right now. Not only does The One Ring need to go, but the concept of “Horizons” sets, or direct-to-Modern sets, also needs to be adjusted. It’s true that Modern essentially rotates whenever a set like this is released. More regular bans would help to correct power overshoots like Nadu and Hogaak without resorting to emergency bans.
“I believe The One Ring will be banned in Modern this month. I think it should have been banned in Modern over a year ago. Leaving problematic cards to dominate while pitiful trinkets like Umezawa’s Jitte rot on the current ban list is frustrating. Hoping for good news soon.”
Todd Anderson
Many pro players and prominent community members have also come out against The One Ring. Todd Anderson’s point, that the card is much better than many cards on the actual ban list, rings very true. The One Ring very much feels like a protected card at this point, exempt from the usual ban conditions. Of course, this could well be by design.
“I’ll be a little surprised if they ban TOR (The One Ring) to be honest. A lot of their current logic revolves around NOT banning expensive cards.”
Particular_Coyote_55
It’s true that banning pricey cards is undesirable for Wizards. Pricey cards sell packs, which in turn makes them more money. Banning said cards lowers demand for entire sets and erodes consumer confidence over time.
“Genuine question- would it cause issues with the licensing agreement between Hasbro and the Tolkien estate if WotC mandate that you cannot play this card in certain tournaments?”
Matt R
That alone makes The One Ring an undesirable ban for Wizards, but the Universes Beyond angle complicates things further. While nothing has been explicitly stated, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t pressure in the contract to keep the cards printed legal for as long as possible.
The case in both directions is strong. I’d be surprised if The One Ring survives December 16th, but at the same time, I really wouldn’t be. Only time will tell.