The One Ring MTG: Mythic That Players Fear
The One Ring MTG is one of the most talked-about cards in recent memory. Released in June 2023 alongside The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, this 4-mana indestructible artifact can draw you seven cards if you survive long enough — a draw engine so powerful that it became a Modern staple within weeks and earned a ban within a year. At $100+ for a normal print and $130+ for foil, it’s also one of the most expensive non-reserved-list cards in Modern. This Spotlight walks through everything you need to know: what it does, why it’s so expensive, why it got banned, and where you can still play it.
Quick Facts
Card Abilities
The One Ring has three abilities that combine into something much stronger than any single line of text suggests:
Indestructible. It cannot be destroyed by damage or by the words “destroy” on a removal spell. Exile, bounce, and sacrifice effects still work, but Lightning Bolt and most board wipes are useless against it.
Cast trigger — Protection from everything. When you cast The One Ring (not just play it from your hand), you gain protection from everything until your next turn. That means nothing can target you, deal damage to you, or attach to you for an entire turn cycle. It’s a one-shot fog effect bundled into your 4-drop.
Upkeep — Burden counters and card draw. At the beginning of your upkeep, The One Ring tempts you. You put a burden counter on it (no choice) and draw X cards, where X is the number of burden counters on it. So the first upkeep you draw 1, the second you draw 2, the third you draw 3, and so on — but at the end of your turn, if it has 4 or more burden counters, you lose the game at your next upkeep.
The tension: more draws means more cards, but each draw pushes you closer to death. Most players keep it under 3-4 burden counters and use the protection to stabilize before continuing the chain.
The One Ring Price: Why Is It So Expensive?
A normal print of The One Ring has held steady at $100-$110 since release. Foils are $130+. The reasons:
Surprise reprint: In early 2026, The One Ring was included as an uncommon in Lorwyn Eclipsed. That printing is around $25-30, but the original LTR mythics hold their value because collectors want the Tolkien-flavored art, not the Lorwyn reskin.
- Universal playability. It’s one of the few colorless cards legal in basically every format.
- The Tolkien IP. Even outside Magic circles, the LOTR branding makes it a collector item.
- High demand, single print. The 4 main LTR prints are the only standard frame, with extended-art and showcase variants commanding premiums.
The Modern Ban: Why Wizards Stepped In
When The One Ring was legal in Modern, every competitive deck wanted four copies. The card did everything:
The result: Modern became a format of “who resolves The One Ring first.” Wizards banned it in Modern in late 2023, along with a small number of other cards aimed at diversifying the format. It remains legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker.
- Drew cards at a rate no other engine could match.
- Protected you for a full turn on cast.
- Was indestructible, so it stuck around.
- Cost 4 colorless, fitting into any shell.
Where The One Ring Still Shines
Commander is where The One Ring finds its home now. It’s an EDHREC rank-90 card — meaning it’s in nearly 1 in 10 Commander decks at the time of writing — and most casual playgroups allow proxies anyway, so the $100 price tag is less of a barrier in this format. In a 4-player game, drawing 7 cards from one card is even more backbreaking than in 1v1.
Legacy and Vintage also still allow it, and combo decks there use it as a fast card engine. If you’re playing Legacy competitively, expect to see at least one player with The One Ring in their deck.
Casual formats and kitchen-table Magic — naturally, you can play it wherever your playgroup allows.
Why Players Fear Playing It
Two reasons.
First, it’s a target. A resolved One Ring immediately becomes the most important permanent on the board. Your opponents will hold removal for it, hold countermagic for it, and attack into you rather than going wide.
Second, the burden counter mechanic is real. Lethal damage from a card draw engine is a humbling experience. The One Ring can kill you if you’re not paying attention to the counter count — and once you have 4 burden counters, you’re on a clock to draw 7 cards before you lose on your next upkeep.
This tension is part of the card’s appeal. It rewards skill and timing, not just casting it and watching it go.
Should You Buy One?
That depends on what you’re playing.
- If you’re a Modern player: don’t. It’s banned.
- If you’re a Commander player: yes, if your budget allows. It plays beautifully in the format. Otherwise, a high-quality proxy fills the same role at a fraction of the cost.
- If you’re a collector: the LTR #246 normal print is the iconic version, and the art-by-Veli-Nyström borderless treatments are the most desirable. If you want a sealed-display version, the Tales of Middle-earth Collector Commander deck had a special frame.
- If you’re a casual player: a Lorwyn Eclipsed uncommon printing or a proxy will give you 99% of the gameplay experience.
How The One Ring Looks Across Printings
Whether you’re building a deck around the card or just want to admire Veli Nyström’s iconic artwork, these are the four main prints to know.
The LTR #246 and #380 prints are the most-coveted; the Lorwyn Eclipsed version is the affordable “just want to play the card” pick.