How “The Ring” Works

Tales of Middle-earth introduces The Ring as a helper card that tracks your current Ring-bearer and The Ring’s growing influence. Whenever a card says “The Ring tempts you,” choose a creature you control to become your Ring-bearer (you can move it to another creature the next time you’re tempted). You can have only one Ring-bearer at a time.

Each time The Ring tempts you, you gain the next ability on The Ring for the rest of the game:

1. Your Ring-bearer is legendary and can’t be blocked by creatures with greater power.
2. Whenever your Ring-bearer attacks, draw a card, then discard a card.
3. Whenever your Ring-bearer becomes blocked by a creature, that creature’s controller sacrifices it at end of combat.
4. Whenever your Ring-bearer deals combat damage to a player, each opponent loses 3 life.

This creates tense lines: bigger blockers can’t stop your bearer, unfavorable blocks become sacrifices, and unblocked hits drain extra life.

Amass Orcs (Updated Mechanic)

The set retools Amass from Zombies to Amass Orcs. When a card says “Amass Orcs X,” if you don’t control an Orc Army, create a 0/0 Orc Army token and put X +1/+1 counters on it; otherwise, put X +1/+1 counters on your existing Orc Army. In Limited, amassing into a massive single threat and then granting evasion (trample, flying, etc.) is a clean win path.

Limited Impressions (Sealed & Draft)

Drafting this set has been a blast. Returning tools like landcycling and Sagas pair nicely with The Ring’s temptation and Tolkien-flavoured archetypes, keeping games fresh. Amass decks, in particular, have been great in Sealed and Draft—one run even delivered a first Sealed 7-win on MTG Arena.

For Collectors

This set is a whale’s playground. Completing a binder is daunting with the single serialized 1-of-1 The One Ring and the limited double-rainbow Sol Ring printings—Elven (300), Dwarven (700/800 in original announcement ranges), and Human (900). It’s easy to get swept up: even big streamers have chased cases of Collector Boosters.

Standout Cards & Set Art

Even outside the big chase cards, there are plenty of stunners—an Extended Art Gandalf the White will light up any pack opening. The set also features gorgeous basic lands that assemble into a map of Middle-earth, plus an 18-card borderless panorama depicting an epic LOTR moment.

Video

Thanks to Wizards of the Coast for sending product to crack on camera—spoiler: the 1-of-1 Ring wasn’t in there (you’d have heard about it).