Modern has seen Horizon set 1, 2, and now 3 with the Lord of the Rings set a year ago sandwiched between MH2 and MH3. Despite such an unreal influx of powerful cards, there is one in particular that keeps stirring the pot and elicits a continuous ban discussion.

Today, I want to delve deeper into The One Ring - what’s wrong with it, why players hate it and why it might not be the best idea to ban it.

What are the issues with The One Ring in Modern?

Let’s first analyze the gripes players have with the card. There are many so I might not even be able to list them all but there are a couple that I reckon resonate particularly loudly among regardless of who you’re talking to.

The One Ring goes into any deck | MTG Modern

The One Ring is, without a doubt, colorless. Similarly to how players of all the archetypes played (or could play) Chalice of the Void against cascade strategies in Modern, The One Ring can also slot into any deck. 

Now, I want to address this argument in a way that’s not typically done. People say 'it goes into any deck' but the same *could* be said about Reckoner Bankbuster and nobody complains about that. The real question is how many decks it actually slots into. Yes, Burn *could* play it and Goryo’s Vengeance *could* play it - but they don’t.

This argument makes more sense as a slippery-slope type fear where Ring will always remain colorless which might promote a metagame sometime in the future where everyone plays Ring. But even if - we can ban it then when that actually happens.

It does see play in Eldrazi, Jeskai Control, and Coffers but doesn’t in Goryo’s, Energy, Nadu, UB Frog, or Ruby Storm.

The One Ring is oppressive in multiples | MTG Modern

One of the most popular complaints is the play patterns that the Ring decks generate. 

Some could cynically say that it’s a four mana Fog + Reach Through Mists - I definitely still say that. Some will compare it more to unending invulnerability because you untap with Ring, draw two more cards, probably draw into another Ring, and just chain them together. It also gives the opponent a (false) sense of hope that the Ring damage will accumulate and lead to a loss which it almost never does. Not only can you legend rule the old Ring away and stop losing life, if you actually have the life to work with you can legend rule the *new* one to get protection but still draw a ton of cards thanks to the counters you’d put on the first one.

There have been suggestions to restrict The One Ring to stop such loops and be more flavourful (it’s the ONE ring afterall). This would be a huge precedent as no Modern card has ever been restricted. But who knows? Personally, I’d have nothing against it but it would create a different feel bad moment, as you know that the Ring the opponent played was a one-of.

The One Ring warps the metagame | MTG Modern

Let me refer to the beloved image of players since PT Amsterdam.

It says that 46% of decks at the PT had The One Ring. It’s a shocking amount that immediately makes you want to pull the trigger. However, I don’t like that stat in particular, as PTs and Worlds have always had very specific metagames that never really reflected metas before or after. 

So I went to MTGGoldfish to double check what the situation is like right now, in early August 2024, expecting a completely different picture to be painted.

Much to my surprise, not much has changed. When playing Modern, you have to expect to play against Ring. 

Does it not contradict what I said earlier that it doesn’t actually slot into every deck? Well, it all comes down to which archetypes see most play. Right now we see a lot of Jeskai Control and Eldrazi, for instance, and they are indeed Ring decks. If you mix in an occasional Ring here and there in decks like Nadu, it does add up. 

The sheer presence of Ring also restricts which decks can see play. Hammer seems to have vanished completely and it’s one of those decks that have a hard time contesting Ring.

The reprintability of The One Ring

Concerns are also raised regarding the reprintability of The One Ring as it seems to be tied closely to the Lord of the Rings IP. That might not be an issue in itself, but considering that Ring is a mythic from a single set, its price keeps climbing, however slowly, and in a couple of years they might truly get out of hand. If the proportion of Ring seeing play maintains, the barrier of entry to Modern will be insanely high.

Should The One Ring get banned in Modern then?

That’s a tough question that probably WOTC themselves are struggling to answer. But let’s say it came down to me and me only. Would I pull the trigger?

I have to say that banning it to prevent decks from fogging every single turn would be great, but we’d also lose some genuinely interesting takes on the card. Station Breach combo can sacrifice to Grinding Station to replay it with Emry which is a nice trick up its sleeve, Twiddle combo can untap Rings to draw more cards to even draw the whole deck and win with Thassa’s Oracle.

However, I have to say that I really dislike how it has homogenised the 'four mana grindy' cards. We don’t see Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or Fact or Fiction. Why would we if you can just play Ring.

I am not sure that restricting is the way to go though, however tempting that sounds. Making it more of a 'have you drawn it?' type of vibe doesn’t sit right with me. That would leave looping Rings to very specific strategies, like the aforementioned Station Emry, but having this one-of in all the lists just feels off.

Banning it would make Ring decks worse, naturally, like Eldrazi or Jeskai. But wouldn’t there just be more Energy and Necro then? There is always a best deck or a best card. The question is how much better is the best card. 

As far as I’m concerned, there are merits to both sides and in a weird way, I think going ban or no ban is valid either way. It’s not that it doesn’t matter but any action has pros and cons that make perfect sense.

And that’s it from me. I’m excitedly waiting to see how it turns out on August 26. 

And as always please remember to hold my hand and pass the turn together! 

Cheers!

Skura