Bilbo, Retired BurglarBilbo, Retired Burglar | Art by Anna Pavleeva

Hey, everyone! The Hobbit, Magic: The Gathering's latest foray into Universes Beyond has just released. I strongly recommend checking out all the wonderful deck techs and set reviews other writers have poured their hearts and souls into to help you figure out which new cards you want to jam into your decks.

I, on the other hand, would like to tempt you with something more nostalgic: a short series on most played cards with mechanics from the original The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) set. Today, we're looking at cards that tempt with the Ring.

The first time the Ring tempts you, you first choose one of your creatures to be the Ring-bearer, then you get this handy emblem that stays with you for the rest of the game. Your Ring-bearer gets the ability at the top of the rules text.

Then, every subsequent time the Ring tempts you, you move down the emblem and you get to choose a new creature, if you like. Your Ring-bearer has every ability you've unlocked with however many temptations you give into.

It's a really fun and flavorful mechanic — albeit one that takes a bit of explaining and experiencing to understand — and I'm glad to get the chance to see which cards with the ability have broken into Commander. Let's dive right in!

10. Inherited EnvelopeInherited Envelope - 40,776 decks

Once in a while, I'll find a ManalithManalith-but-with-extra-utility in my top 10 research and it'll really hit home how important developing your mana is in Commander.

Paying three mana to get one back just doesn't look that great on its face. But then, I'll recall that CultivateCultivate is of the most played mono-green cards in the format, and then it all starts to make sense.

It gets you two landfall triggers as well as card advantage out of your deck, and isn't all that gravy just the "extra utility" part of this sorcery Manalith variant, like how Envelope makes a creature unblockable on top of giving you an extra pip?

"Okay grandpa, let's get you to bed," you might say, as I ramble on about card evaluation and utility and how this is probably better than Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach in a lot of decks because some decks have an artifact subtheme. But, I have nine more cards to write about!

9. War of the Last AllianceWar of the Last Alliance - 44,038 decks

This has a lot going on: it's a Saga, which matters for the many decks built around that subtype, which are often led by Tom BombadilTom Bombadil or Narci, Fable SingerNarci, Fable Singer.

It helps aggressive decks by granting double strike to your team. You can also run it in decks going hard on temptation, likely as a subtheme in decks like Frodo, Sauron's BaneFrodo, Sauron's Bane.

And, perhaps most importantly, it draws you two of the best legendary creatures from your deck for the particular circumstances you find yourself in when you cast War.

The last bit makes it a decent choice in Aragorn, the UniterAragorn, the Uniter and Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier, though it really does seem to get played at a higher rate in Sagas.

8. One Ring to Rule Them AllOne Ring to Rule Them All - 49,232 decks

Like War, this was one of the 10 most played Sagas in Commander when I wrote that list last year. As I wrote then, it works really well with some of The Lord of the Rings' legendary creatures: Sméagol, Helpful GuideSméagol, Helpful Guide mills your opponents ahead of Chapter III and Sauron, the Dark LordSauron, the Dark Lord uses tempt triggers to restock your hand.

Outside Universes Beyond synergies, this is another strong one in Narci, Fable SingerNarci, Fable Singer while also giving you options to cast out of opposing graveyards with Coram, the Undertaker. Oh, and Chapter II can just be a Plague Wind sometimes, no big deal.

7. NazgûlNazgûl - 52,592 decks

I was initially pretty surprised to see how much play this sees in Commander, because it seemed to only work with other copies of itself, or in a Lord of the NazgûlLord of the Nazgûl or Sauron, the NecromancerSauron, the Necromancer deck.

But then, I realized what playing this actually lets you do: you essentially get eight extra copies of a card that tempts you with the Ring!

I've harped on endlessly about redundancy and critical mass in build-around decks, and when you look at this through that lens, you'll realize how busted this is in Sauron, the Dark Lord, Sméagol, Helpful Guide, and Frodo, Sauron's Bane.

6. Witch-king of AngmarWitch-king of Angmar - 54,824 decks

I wasn't sure whether this sees play outside of Ring tempts deck, perhaps as some sort of combat deterrent that you can CloneClone a bunch.

A quick look at its EDHREC page confirms that this King really is one for the Lord of the Rings-obsessed deckbuilders.

That's not a bad place to be, of course, and you can still make copies to complicate combat in decks touching , like Lord of the NazgûlLord of the Nazgûl and Sauron, Lord of the RingsSauron, Lord of the Rings.

5. RingsightRingsight - 64,986 decks

This tutor has a few constraints you need to work with, but being able to get the best legendary creature out of your deck is still really good.

Just make sure you have at least two legendary creatures in play when you cast this so a removal spell doesn't blow you out and leave you with only a tempt as a consolation prize.

Naturally, you would like to run this in a deck where this is almost never stuck in your hand. That could mean a Ring tempts theme deck like Sauron, the Dark Lord or another type of deck that runs a bunch of cheaper legends, like a Ninja list led by Satoru UmezawaSatoru Umezawa or Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow.

A look at the Ninja theme page on EDHREC confirms that tasty options abound, including Satoru, the InfiltratorSatoru, the Infiltrator, Tetsuko Umezawa, FugitiveTetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive and Nashi, Moon Sage's ScionNashi, Moon Sage's Scion.

4. There and Back AgainThere and Back Again - 72,654 decks

The final member of the trio that already competed for most played Sagas in 2025, this one can produce an absolute hoard of Treasures, which works really well in different types of decks: Magda, Brazen OutlawMagda, Brazen Outlaw can go crazy and fetch up multiple artifacts and/or Dragons, Brudiclad, Telchor EngineerBrudiclad, Telchor Engineer and Vihaan, GoldwakerVihaan, Goldwaker can go really wide, really fast, and Korvold, Fae-Cursed KingKorvold, Fae-Cursed King goes brrrr! when you sacrifice some cardboard.

Paired with ClockspinningClockspinning, the Saga also generates infinite enters and leaves-the-battlefield triggers, infinite Treasures, and a bunch more. I ask that you kindly read the Commander Spellbook entry on how to actually execute the combo.

3. Call of the RingCall of the Ring - 107,125 decks

A repeatable source of Ring tempts with potent upside is exactly what decks leaning heavily into this mechanic and on LTR cards needs.

Call is as close as possible to an auto-include in many decks that want to get Ringy with it. It's in at least 90% of Sméagol, Helpful GuideSméagol, Helpful Guide and Frodo, Sauron's BaneFrodo, Sauron's Bane decks on EDHREC!

Outside of decks looking to deliver a Ring-bearer to Mordor, which in this case means the opponent's face, its play rate drops dramatically.

You'll see it in Obeka, Splitter of Seconds extra upkeep decks and Felothar the Steadfast builds that hope to ensure opponents will die in combat to an unblockable The Walls of Ba Sing Se.

2. Fiery InscriptionFiery Inscription - 130,031 decks

Apart from in decks like Sauron, the Dark LordSauron, the Dark Lord, where you really want to be tempting a lot, deckbuilders aren't exactly trying to put a Ring on it when they run Inscription.

Instead, they're commonly using it as a more resilient GuttersnipeGuttersnipe/Electrostatic FieldElectrostatic Field/Kessig FlamebreatherKessig Flamebreather, because enchantments are harder to remove than creatures.

Spellslinger is another deck that relies on playing multiple versions of the same effect. You can read more the archetype in my deck guide here.

1. Boromir, Warden of the TowerBoromir, Warden of the Tower - 163,165 decks

LTR was such a delicious set for Commander that the most played Ring tempts card only ranks 14th among most played cards from the set overall. That's no knock on Boromir, though, as he's a powerful form-agnostic but function-purist "hate bear," in the sense that he costs three and is a 3/3 instead of being a 2/2 for two mana.

His abilities are awfully disruptive, offering protection against widely played answers like Snuff OutSnuff Out and Force of WillForce of Will and entire strategies like cascade.

If the prospect of getting free-spelled into oblivion doesn't bother you too much, you can also cash him in to protect your commander from targeted removal or a destruction-based sweeper.

He also brawls and blocks with vigilance, making for a powerful and efficient package that also delivers one of the most flavorful and lore-accurate rules texts in the entire game. Shame he can't stop an arrow, though.

After a Hundred Years, Hobbits Can Still Surprise You at a PinchAfter a Hundred Years, Hobbits Can Still Surprise You at a Pinch

Let's consider what we've learned from this list. When you're looking at a parasitic mechanic, meaning one that requires a lot of cards with the same ability in the same deck to work well, it's likely that the cards that are just great without building around the mechanic will end up being the most played. Commander is a vast format, after all.

You definitely have the tools to build a deck that takes advantage of the Ring tempts mechanic, but I also think it's great that these Universes Beyond cards have had a big impact on some of MTG's classic archetypes like spellslinger.

What's your favorite Ring tempts card that missed the list? Let us know, and make sure you don't miss amass next week!