<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Image credit: Ron Spears</em></p>
<p>Ron Spears, an iconic <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> artist responsible for many of the game's most memorable pieces of artwork, has passed away at the age of 66. According to his agent, Mark Aronowitz, Spears had been contending with a brain tumor for the past few months. He passed away on Monday, according to Aronowitz, on Wednesday, June 24th, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/545759985597960/">via Facebook post</a>.</p>
<h2>Ron Spears' Life and Legacy</h2>
<p>Many people in the fantasy art world celebrated Ron Spears as a force of "generosity and mentorship", according to <a href="https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/ron-spears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illustration History</a>. "Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1960, Ron Spears graduated with a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound in 1988, and earned his M.F.A. in illustration from the University of Hartford in Connecticut in 2009," that article goes on to say. In addition to illustrating for Wizards, Spears also worked as an artist for Upper Deck and Blizzard, among others. Spears and his family resided in Reno, NV, where he taught art and design at Southern Utah University.</p>
<h2>Ron Spears' Impact on <em>Magic</em></h2>
<p>Some of Ron Spears' greatest pieces of fantasy artwork were his <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> pieces. The cards you might find Spears' artistic touch include the following:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Confidant|RAV|81"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phage the Untouchable|LGN|78"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Akroma, Angel of Wrath|LGN|1"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krosan Cloudscraper|LGN|130"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin King|10E|207"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atogatog|ODY|286"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lavaleaper|ECL|150"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Altar|INV|306"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Foresee|FUT|36"></div></div>
<p>As you can see, the body of Spears' work was not one to undersell. His portfolio showcases some of the most iconic, most impactful cards in the game through the art he provided to Wizards of the Coast.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708482xl.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-187002" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708482xl.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="821" height="559" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708482xl.jpg 900w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708482xl-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708482xl-768x523.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 821px) 100vw, 821px" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4709314xl.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-187003" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4709314xl.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="778" height="559" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4709314xl.jpg 900w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4709314xl-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4709314xl-768x552.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708474xl.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-187004" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708474xl.jpg" alt="Image credit: Wizards of the Coast" width="741" height="559" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708474xl.jpg 900w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708474xl-300x226.jpg 300w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/33629_4708474xl-768x579.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /></a></p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Ron will be greatly missed. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends at this time.</p>
<p>We'd like to offer you the floor, dear readers. What are some of your favorite pieces of art by this wonderful artist? Let us know in the comments below.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/731199713_37286370890961416_6642694808699702381_n.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-187001" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/731199713_37286370890961416_6642694808699702381_n.jpg" alt="Image credit: Ron Spears" width="419" height="559" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/731199713_37286370890961416_6642694808699702381_n.jpg 526w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/731199713_37286370890961416_6642694808699702381_n-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" /></a></p>


Remembering the Iconic Magic Artist Ron Spears, 66

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring|LTR|451" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CMarta+Nael%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marta Nael</a></em></p>
<p>On Friday, May 1st, Wizards of the Coast previewed a large number of cards from various upcoming <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> sets. Among them was <em>The Hobbit</em>, which includes multiple box toppers. One such topper is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the most sought-after card in <em>Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth</em>.</p>
<p>However, many keen-eyed players noticed that something appeared off about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring|HOC|44" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s art. As it turns out, credited artist Dan Frazier used Marta Nael's Bundle promo rendition of the card as a reference for his iteration. Late on the evening of Saturday, May 2nd, Wizards of the Coast and Dan Frazier released joint statements on their social media platforms.</p>
<h2>Wizards of the Coast's Joint Statement Regarding <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring|HOC|44" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>At the late hour of 7:00 PM Eastern Time, in the midst of MagicCon Las Vegas 2026's 4:00 PM, Wizards of the Coast released the following statement alongside Dan Frazier. In it, both parties apologized for missing the mark on properly vetting Frazier's art references:</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:rcyyjldt7topi6fz3dxnsaxx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkvqoghxru24" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreiaegofc3kejptfltgxpsjnfdbvvn7u7lariyxjihi53r4lefjpuxi">
<p>A message from Dan Frazier and Wizards of the Coast:</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rcyyjldt7topi6fz3dxnsaxx?ref_src=embed">Magic: The Gathering (@magic.wizards.com)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rcyyjldt7topi6fz3dxnsaxx/post/3mkvqoghxru24?ref_src=embed">2026-05-02T23:00:09.850Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>While the above post on BlueSky didn't use alt text to offer the text for the visually-impaired, we do have alt text courtesy of one user on the platform:</p>
<blockquote><p>A message from Dan Frazier and Wizards of the Coast:</p>
<p>Recently, fans noted the similarities between The One Ring by Marta Nael, and the newly released image of The One Ring by Dan Frazier. Those similarities are not coincidental, unfortunately.</p>
<p>From Dan,</p>
<p>I made a mistake, and I feel awful. I especially feel for Marta, whose work I adore. 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. In doing so, I didn't make it my own. I'm reaching out to Marta privately to apologize artist to artist. I love creating art for <em>Magic</em>, I've loved being a part of this artist community for more than 30 years, and I'm sorry I've let my fans down.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Dan Frazier</p>
<p>From Wizards of the Coast,</p>
<p>Dan Frazier is a titan of the art industry and of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. He has created so many iconic pieces of art for the game that he will forever be a part of our game, and we value his contributions tremendously. With that in mind, we're disappointed our review process didn't catch the issue. Like Dan, we have already reached out to apologize to Marta Nael for not catching the use of her art in this piece.</p>
<p>None of this was intentional, but we're going to make it right as much as we can.</p>
<p>On digital versions of the card, we will credit both Dan Frazier and Marta Nael.</p>
<p>We will also make sure Marta is compensated for her work here.</p>
<p>This is a good moment to recognize that we are all humans who make mistakes.</p>
<p>Dan made a mistake. We made mistakes in our process to not catch the error.</p>
<p>We don't condone or accept either, but we still value Dan and his contributions and are grateful for his place in the game.</p>
<p>Thank you to the eagle-eyed fans who noticed this, and for all of you for being strong advocates for amazing art and artists.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>All of us at Wizards of the Coast</p></blockquote>
<p>At this time, a statement by Marta Nael is yet to be released.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>At the risk of editorializing this news piece, I will say that this series of statements is, at the very least, a good way to segue into closer examinations of, and further discussions about, the issues that led up to this mistake.</p>
<p>And now, let me open the floor to you, dear readers. How does this issue with <em>The Hobbit</em>'s iteration of The One Ring affect your morale regarding the set? Will you be buying more or less of the product as a result of it? Alternatively, will you be buying Dan Frazier's version of the card, which will be circulating with the other Box Toppers? Or will you buy another copy, namely Marta Nael's Bundle promo? Let us know in the comments below.</p>


mtg art

Remembering the Iconic Magic Artist Ron Spears, 66

Wizards of the Coast, Dan Frazier Post The One Ring Statements

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