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Wizards of the Coast talks MTG's Lord of the Rings set

We spoke with the team behind Magic: The Gathering to learn more about the state of the card game.

Donovan Erskine

July 13, 2023 12:20 PM

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Magic: The Gathering continues to be one of the most popular collectible card games on the market, with publisher Wizards of the Coast continuously releasing new cards and sets for players to hungrily seek out. Most recently, the company collaborated with the Lord of the Rings franchise to bring Middle-Earth to the world of MTG, sparking a rush to buy new sets and a race to acquire the coveted One Ring card. We interviewed Wizards of the Coast to learn more about the present and future of Magic: The Gathering.

Shacknews’ Greg Burke spoke with Trick Jarrett, who works on the marketing team at Wizards of the Coast. During the chat, he talked about the new collaboration with Middle-Earth to bring Lord of the Rings characters to MTG. He shared that one of the most exciting parts of the partnership is the ability to introduce Magic: The Gathering to a brand new audience of players, and vice versa.

He also talked about the importance of community feedback and how it factors into decision-making. Speaking of community, it was quite the communal event when the Lord of the Ring Magic cards went on sale, as players desperately opened packs in search of the One Ring card, which had offers in the ballpark of $2 million dollars. The card has since been found and graded.

If you’re interested in more insightful interviews, or want more content about cards and collectibles, be sure to subscribe to the Shacknews and Shacknews Interviews YouTube channels.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_