Dan Frazier, one of the original artists for Magic: The Gathering, has been wrapped up in a plagiarism scandal this month over a recently released image of the One Ring from The Hobbit set. Fans on Reddit quickly noticed that Frazier’s image greatly resembled a previous One Ring illustration by Marta Nael from the Tales of Middle-earth set. Now, Frazier and Magic: The Gathering’s parent company, Wizards of the Coast, have acknowledged that Nael’s art was used without her permission or credit for her work.
“I made a mistake, and I feel awful,” wrote Frazier in a statement on X. “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 the 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.”
A message from Dan Frazier and Wizards of the Coast: pic.twitter.com/4VCM8avcay
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) May 2, 2026
Wizards of the Coast’s message stated that it has plans to pay Nael for her work and that both she and Frazier will be credited for the art in the digital versions. The company’s statement also noted that it didn’t catch the similarities between the two works before adding, “We still value Dan and his contributions and are grateful for his place in the game.”
Nael has yet to comment about the incident on social media, but some fans have pointed out that Frazier’s agent, Mark Aronowitz, denied that his client had seen Nael’s One Ring illustration before Frazier ultimately admitted he had used it.
To be blunt given this post from his agent it seems a bit hard to take Dan’s story at face value. Dan is claiming he referenced Marta’s art as a copy and then his agent says they “never saw this version”
Unless I’m missing something these seem like nearly contradictory accounts? pic.twitter.com/ruoJpKKRAu— Veritox (@Veritox223) May 3, 2026
Most of the reactions to the statement by Frazier and Wizards of the Coast appear to have been negative, with some calling out the company for continuing to use the plagiarized image.
How do you “mistakenly” copy someone else’s work 1:1?
This was an intentional act and your solution is to… keep using the stolen work?— coof cops (yacht rock arc) (@realcoofy) May 4, 2026
It’s interesting to watch them explain away in their “apology” plagiarism as if it were spilled milk or tripping. pic.twitter.com/AphB2hXoR8
— RebelJediCollectibles (@RJCollectibles) May 3, 2026
Full of corporate flab and shows that you just care about the publicity and being lazy over actually accommodating the players with new art.
I would respect a bullet point list over this shit. A massive company trying to come off as a single person has always been manipulative.— Knockers (@KnockThem) May 3, 2026
It literally was intentional. What Dan said was the definition of intentional. He was being lazy and got caught.
— bd (@bdactual) May 3, 2026
Side-by-side from MTGRockshttps://t.co/EkCBnf4LGj pic.twitter.com/NkDU5X9UT4
— Gravis (@BiblioPhilip) May 3, 2026
In other MTG news, Wizards of the Coast recently shared a glimpse of Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Reality Fracture set. A handful of cards from The Hobbit set were also previewed ahead of MagicCon Las Vegas.
