Magic artist acknowledges using another creator’s artwork for The One Ring card.

A newly unveiled version of The One Ring card for Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming crossover with The Hobbit has sparked backlash within the artist community, revealing that the artwork was derived from another artist’s work.

Originally featured as the standout card in 2023’s The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, The One Ring will be reprinted for The Hobbit, as announced during a recent panel. This reprint credits artist Dan Frazier, showcasing the One Ring floating against a marbled gold backdrop, glowing with an intense light. The design is minimalist, centering on the Ring itself, but notably lacks any visible Elvish runes.

This straightforward approach, along with its resemblance to previous representations of the Ring, quickly attracted criticism online.

In a detailed Facebook post shortly after the reveal, veteran fantasy illustrator Donato Giancola, who has a long history with Wizards of the Coast, accused the company of reusing and altering existing artwork instead of commissioning something new. “They just digitally sampled the previous One Ring card from the Lord of the Rings set and flipped and deleted the Elvish runes,” he stated. “I doubt Dan Frazier had any real say in how this came about.” In the comments, Frazier’s agent confirmed this, stating, “He did not. After several changes requested we never saw this version.”

Giancola was referencing the borderless art treatment for The One Ring illustrated by Marta Nael, which also features Gollum’s outstretched hand. He claims that Wizards of the Coast mirrored the Ring from Nael’s work and removed the Elvish runes.

In a statement from Wizards of the Coast, which has been shared online, both the company and Dan Frazier acknowledged the use of Nael’s artwork 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’s Ring as a reference and painted over it to try to depict the item fans hold dear to their hearts,” Frazier explained. “In doing so, I didn’t make it my own.”

Wizards of the Coast reiterated this sentiment, noting that their internal review process “didn’t catch the issue” before the card’s reveal. The company has apologized to Nael, plans to update digital versions of the card to credit both artists, and will ensure Nael receives compensation.

Wizards characterized the situation as unintentional but acknowledged shortcomings on both sides. “Dan made a mistake,” the statement concluded. “We made mistakes in our process to not catch the error.”