The One Ring, ultimate chase card from Magic: The Gathering’s most popular set, is falling in price, despite seeing just as much play as ever. The obvious conclusion is that collectors are afraid that the ban Modern players have been crying for all year could finally be on its way.
By now there are so many versions of this card from the Lord of the Rings MTG set that it’s pretty hard to keep track, but currently the cheapest is the foil card from the bundle. This variant, with alternate art that shows Gollum reaching for the precious artifact, has fallen by $40 – from $100 to just over $60 – in the last two months.
While it makes sense that this One Ring would be the most affordable, as it comes guaranteed with every bundle, the price drop cannot be blamed on the number of copies in circulation. After all, the next cheapest One Ring, the plain Jane regular version, has also plummeted even further – from $125 to $73.
There are plenty of reasons this card could be losing value. For starters, in mid-August Magic’s head designer stated that Wizards would have no issues reprinting The One Ring, something many players thought wasn’t possible for licensed, Universes Beyond cards. Furthermore, the recent controversial Commander bans for cards like Dockside Extortionist may have made players take a nervous look at the other expensive cards in their collection and start cashing in.
But the big reason is that The One Ring getting added to the Modern MTG banlist feels like an inevitability. The card sees play in more than 50% of the top Modern decks, seeing more play than any land card. That’s a sure sign that this card draw juggernaut is a bit too good.
Players thought the card would be banned at the last B&R announcement on August 26, and various versions of The One Ring all saw a little jump in price when it was spared (despite receiving a shout out). Now, we’re starting to get close to the next ban announcement on December 16, so the card’s price is dipping once more.
For more Magic content, check out the 2025 MTG release schedule, or take a look at the best MTG Arena decks you can play.
Source: Wargamer
