Dan Frazier, the gathering artist behind the new The One Ring card in The Magic: The Hobbit set, has confirmed that he has “painted over” Marta Nell's version of the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set.
Although players are undoubtedly getting a bit sick of all the crossovers, Magic: The Gathering has had some great success with its Universes Beyond sets over the past few years. Perhaps the biggest example of this is The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, which notably included an incredibly limited One Ring card that made both headlines and a ton of money for one lucky collector.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Wizards of the Coast is returning to Middle-earth later this year with a new set based on The Hobbit. WotC couldn't help itself from including a new version of The One Ring drawn by veteran Magic: The Gathering artist Dan Frazier, though fans were quick to point out that the card looked very familiar.
MTG artist Dan Frazier confirmed “painted over” for his own version of Marta Nell
“We are all human to make mistakes”
When The Hobbit set's version of The One Ring was revealed earlier this week, MTG fans noticed it was incredibly similar to the One Ring that Marta Nell created for the Tales of Middle-earth set in 2023. A comparison between the two shows that the ring is almost identical, save for a different background and the inscriptions being removed.
Magic: The Gathering – The Hobbit Set Guide
Let's go over everything we know about the Hobbit MTG set, including card previews, launch and pre-release dates, and all the products.
As it turns out, MTG fans were right to be suspicious. Earlier today, the official Magic: The Gathering Twitter page shared statements from both the new One Ring card artist, Dan Frazier, and Wizards of the Coast. Frazier says he “made a mistake” and feels “terrible”, noting that he looked at the references online and featured in Nel's version.
Frazier admits that in doing so, he did not “own” his version of The One Ring, and he approaches Nael to apologize. Wizards of the Coast says it “overvalues” Frazier's contributions and is disappointed that the issue did not catch on in the review process.
WotC is making it right by including Marta Nell in the new card credits (digitally, at least) and compensating her for the use of her art. While it's a big mistake that MTG players are clearly not happy about, WotC has been quick to defend Frazier, saying, “We're all human to make mistakes.”
- Franchise
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Magic: The Gathering
- Original release date
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August 5, 1993
- Count the players
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2+
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