Another MTG Lord of the Rings card has seen a major price spike, this time thanks to the Legacy MTG format. The price of Sauron’s Ransom increased 800% on July 16, increasing from $1 to $9 on secondary market MTGGoldfish. A similar spike can also be seen on TCGPlayer, where the price of the Magic: The Gathering card has risen from $0.58 to $4.15.
Part of the recently released MTG Lord of the Rings set, Sauron’s Ransom is an Instant that costs one blue, one black, and one colorless mana. When played, it prompts you to choose an opponent, who then looks at the top four cards of your library. They then separate these into two piles – one with the cards face-up, and the others face-down. You choose one pile to add to your hand and one to place in your graveyard, and then the Ring tempts you.
This card bears a strong resemblance to Fact or Fiction, another more mana-costly Instant that prompts you to choose between two piles of your own cards. There’s a little more mystery with one of the piles being face-down, but there are still plenty of advantages to the card draw and milling Sauron’s Ransom prompts – especially if you’re looking for something specific.
While it’s legal in Modern, Commander, Historic, and Vintage, Sauron’s Ransom seems to be gaining in popularity for Legacy players. It keeps popping up in Death’s Shadow MTG decks, as well as Grixis Tempo and Grixis Delver. Orcish Bowmasters, another card that’s seen plenty of hype (and ban concerns), sees plenty of play in similar areas.
You can learn more about the latest MTG sets from the MTG 2023 release schedule. And if you’re a fan of digital trading card games, here’s all you need to know about MTG Arena decks and MTG Arena codes.