Sometimes it’s hard to know where to draw the line with seemingly harmless things. For example, collecting cards, stickers, and other similar products. The fact that they are randomly obtained, with some being more common than others, doesn’t seem like a big issue. However, it is true that in recent times, with loot boxes and competitive online gaming, they have become a problem that intersects with and reinforces patterns associated with gambling addiction. That’s why good ideas, which make sense in terms of marketing and have value in addressing design issues, can end up creating unforeseen problems. And it appears to be the case with the creation of “The One Ring” from the “Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth” collection in Magic: The Gathering.
In this collection, Wizards of the Coast, the company behind Magic: The Gathering, wanted to pay a special tribute to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. They aimed to capture the essence of his work in terms of mechanics, narrative, and aesthetics. That’s why the collection features meticulously crafted artwork and gameplay elements that reference various aspects of the Lord of the Rings story, while also challenging certain conventions of the game. This unique approach has led to a situation that has sparked a lot of discussion.
The entire story of the Lord of the Rings revolves around the One Ring and its destruction. That’s why they decided to print only one copy of the One Ring card. It is a numbered version of the One Ring card, written in Elvish script, with gold accents, and it only appears in English collector booster packs of the game. This is not a new concept in Magic, as similar things have been done before. On a smaller scale, alternate art and numbered cards have been used to create collector’s versions of cards that are attractive to collectors, increasing their value and encouraging them to purchase more booster packs. As a result, more cards enter the secondary market when more packs are opened, which leads to a decrease in prices for non-collector’s cards since there is a greater supply and they are not sought after as exclusively.
The problem is that this also encourages a certain economic mindset, rather than a recreational one. It’s as if it were a gamble. Opening packs and boosters to see if you get a special or rare artwork to make money, not for the excitement of obtaining a card that we particularly want or have been searching for a long time. And that’s what seems to have been emphasized with The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth.
Although there are many exclusive cards with special artwork treatments, and a handful of numbered cards whose price ranges from hundreds to thousands of euros, the crown jewel is The One Ring. It’s a card without an official price, but rather the price that people want to assign to it. But therein lies the problem. There is only one. And Magic: The Gathering is a game with enough fame and credibility to be considered an investment that provides security. That’s why, even though its value started at the $100,000 offered by collector Dan Bock, currently we are already at €2,000,000 offered by the Valencian store Gremio de Dragones.
This has several problems. The first is that a lot of material is being opened, but a lot of that material is being opened by people who are not interested in Magic. This means that there are lots and lots of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth cards being opened, but not as many are being resold as collections geared towards the gaming community, so secondary market prices are not dropping as much as they should be. The second problem is that many generalist streamers are taking the opportunity to open boxes of collection envelopes to see if they can find the unique ring. Spending huge amounts of money, creating a dangerous trend that is nothing short of a form of gambling.
Ignoring the former, because it is only a commercial failure, it is difficult to overlook the latter, because it has created an ethical crossroads of the first order. Recently the famous streamer xQc, which has switched its platform from Twitch to Kick for a $100 million semi-exclusive contract, has opened a box of collector’s envelopes worth $9,000. As is evident, he hasn’t found the ring, but the seed has already been planted. After opening eighteen boxes of collector’s envelopes in front of an underage audience, the image I send to the world about Magic: The Gathering and about The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth is that it is a collection and gambling-based game whose value as a game is possible to ignore entirely.
Of course, Wizards of the Coast is not to blame for what xQc does in its streaming. It can’t even foresee how far the situation might go. In terms of marketing, the idea of The One Ring is brilliant. And if we stick to sales, it’s a triumph. It is undeniable that they are selling a lot. But if we add the advertising interests, not to give a pernicious image of the product, and the medium and long term business interests, to make the game viable for the players, the collection is on a tightrope.
What should Wizards of the Coast do? Disassociate itself from what xQc and similar streamers are doing. Emphasize the importance of the game. Reprint the most important cards in a way that they will now reach those who will play them. Demonstrate to the players who care and to society that this is a game, competitive and casual, and not a lottery. Because The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth is a great collection full of exceptional cards that every player deserves to enjoy, without controversy, without thinking about looking for financial gain. And also because, at the end of the day, Wizards of the Coast does not deserve to end up having the same fame that EA has today with FIFA and its lootboxes.
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