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A newly revealed version of The One Ring card for Magic: The Gathering<\/em>\u2019s upcoming crossover with The Hobbit <\/em>drew criticism from within the game\u2019s own artist community, ultimately revealing that the artist had copied the work of another.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The One Ring originally appeared as the headliner card in 2023\u2019s The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth<\/em> set with several different art treatments, and as revealed during a MagicCon: Las Vegas 2026 panel on Friday, it will be reprinted for The Hobbit<\/em>. That reprint credits artist Dan Frazier for the illustration, which depicts the One Ring floating at an angle over a marbled gold background as it glows with a fiery light. The composition is minimalist and focuses almost entirely on the Ring itself. Despite the hot glow, there are no visible Elvish runes.<\/p>\n That relatively simple presentation \u2014 and its similarities to earlier depictions of the Ring \u2014 quickly drew scrutiny online.<\/p>\n In a lengthy Facebook post published hours after the reveal, veteran fantasy illustrator Donato Giancola \u2014 who previously worked with Wizards of the Coast for 28 years \u2014 accused the company of reusing and modifying older artwork rather than commissioning an original piece. \u201cThey just digitally sampled the previous One Ring card from the Lord of the Rings<\/em> set and flipped and deleted the Elvish Runes,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI doubt Dan Frazier had any real say in how this came about.\u201d In the comments on that post, Frazier\u2019s agent said that was the case, writing, \u201cHe did not. After several changes requested we never saw this version.\u201d<\/p>\n Giancolo was referring to the borderless art treatment for The One Ring illustrated by Marta Nael that also features Gollum\u2019s outstretched hand. He alleges that Wizards of the Coast sampled the Ring itself, mirrored it, and then removed the Elvish runes.<\/p>\n In a statement from Wizards of the Coast obtained by Polygon that has since been posted online, the company and Dan Frazier confirmed that Marta Nael’s work had been used in a public apology. “In trying to create an iconic version of The One Ring, while looking at references online, I ended up using Marta\u2019s Ring as a reference and painted over it to try to depict the item fans hold dear to their hearts,” Frazier wrote. “In doing so, I didn\u2019t make it my own.”<\/p>\n Wizards of the Coast echoed that sentiment in its own statement, saying its internal review process \u201cdidn\u2019t catch the issue\u201d before the card was revealed. The company says it has also apologized to Nael, will update digital versions of the card to credit both artists, and ensure that Nael is compensated.<\/p>\n Wizards described the situation as unintentional, but acknowledged failures on both sides. \u201cDan made a mistake,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cWe made mistakes in our process to not catch the error.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n