Magic: The Gathering Artist Expresses Regret Over Plagiarism Controversy: “I Made a Mistake and I Feel Awful”

After days of speculation among fans and artists, Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that the newly unveiled artwork for The One Ring, set to debut in the upcoming Magic: The Gathering set The Hobbit (Universes Beyond), was “unfortunately” plagiarized by well-known MtG artist Dan Frazier.

The controversy has been gaining traction, particularly fueled by discussions on the r/magicTCG subreddit. When comparing the two cards, it’s clear that Frazier’s artwork (on the left) for the new The Hobbit set closely resembles Marta Neal’s version (on the right) from the Tales of Middle-earth set.

Flipping Neal’s artwork reveals even more similarities. The runes from her version can still be partially seen in Frazier’s rendition. Both artists have a long history with Wizards of the Coast, but Frazier has the distinction of having worked on the very first MTG set, Limited Edition Alpha, released in 1993.

Frazier’s art has graced some of the most iconic Magic: The Gathering cards, including Ring of Ma’rûf, Berserk, the original Swamp, and every original Mox and Signet card. This led some fans to believe that the similarities were coincidental and that Frazier hadn’t intentionally copied Neal’s work.

As noted by an outlet, this perception was further supported by Frazier’s agent responding to a Facebook post from fellow Wizards of the Coast artist Donato Giancola, which mentioned: “After several changes requested we never saw this version.”

However, Wizards of the Coast and Frazier released a joint statement on Bluesky this morning, acknowledging that the similarities between the two artworks “are not coincidental.”

“I made a mistake, and I feel awful. I especially feel for Marta, whose work I adore,” Frazier stated. “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 the fans hold dear to their hearts. In doing so, I didn’t make it my own. I’m reaching out to Marta privately to apologize artist to artist.”

While Wizards of the Coast emphasized that Frazier’s mistake was not “intentional,” they also announced plans to compensate Marta Neal and credit her on “digital versions” of The One Ring card. The company concluded the statement by thanking the vigilant fans who brought this to light and for their advocacy for exceptional art and artists.

Wizards of the Coast expressed continued appreciation for Frazier’s contributions, stating, “This is a good moment to recognize that we are all humans who make mistakes. Dan made a mistake. We made a mistake in our process to not catch the error. We don’t condone or accept either, but we still value Dan and his contributions and are grateful for his place in the game.”