Aladdin's Ring MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 14 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants persistent damage potential without reducing your hand, tipping the card advantage balance.
  2. Diverse mana ramp strategies can render Aladdin’s Ring’s activation cost manageable in-game.
  3. Operates at instant speed, allowing for versatile and strategic responses to in-game actions.

Text of card

o8: Do 4 damage to any target.

"After these words the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it on one of Aladdin's, saying: 'It is a talisman against all evil, so long as you obey me.'" —*The Arabian Nights*, Junior Classics trans.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Aladdin’s Ring doesn’t directly provide card drawing capabilities, the repeated ability to deal damage without expending additional cards can tip the scales of card advantage over time by removing key threats or pressuring life totals without diminishing your hand.

Resource Acceleration: Financially speaking, Aladdin’s Ring demands a considerable mana investment which, in the right deck, can often be generated through artifacts or card effects that accelerate your resource pool, allowing its activation cost to become very feasible as the game progresses.

Instant Speed: The beauty of Aladdin’s Ring is in its activation at instant speed. This allows flexible response windows for dealing damage, whether it’s disrupting an opponent’s strategy during their turn, picking off creatures post-combat, or even finishing off an opponent who’s low on health before they have the chance to recover.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Aladdin’s Ring does not demand you to discard cards, its high activation cost can deplete your resources, similarly to discarding, which might stall the progression of your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Aladdin’s Ring requires a significant amount of colorless mana to both cast and use. This mana specificity can be challenging for decks that rely on a diverse color pool or those that aim to utilize their mana more efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial casting cost of eight mana and an activation cost of another eight, Aladdin’s Ring has one of the highest associated costs for an artifact that simply deals damage. This makes it less appealing compared to other cards with lower costs and comparable or superior effects.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Aladdin’s Ring has the unique ability to fit into decks that can generate a large amount of mana, allowing you to direct damage toward any target. This capacity makes it a useful tool in decks that can reliably ramp up their mana supply.

Combo Potential: When combined with cards that untap artifacts or double the damage dealt, Aladdin’s Ring can become a key component in an unexpected and powerful combo, wreaking havoc on your opponent’s life total or clearing the board of pesky creatures.

Meta-Relevance: Aladdin’s Ring may not be at the forefront of current competitive play, but in a slower-paced or casual meta where games tend to go long, this artifact can serve as a repetitive source of damage, outlasting opponents with its consistent, albeit costly, damage output.


How to beat

Overcoming Aladdin’s Ring in MTG can be a nuanced challenge due to its potential for dealing direct damage. This artifact, once on the board, requires a substantial investment of eight mana to activate, rendering it a late-game threat. To effectively counteract this, players should consider strategies that minimize the ring’s impact or remove it before it becomes a problem.

One effective method is employing artifact removal spells. Cards like Disenchant, Naturalize or Shatter are basic yet powerful tools that can dismantle the ring before your opponent accumulates enough mana to use it. These options serve as straightforward answers to the artifact, ensuring it doesn’t activate and impact the game state.

Another approach is to wield counterspells when opponents attempt to cast high-cost cards like Aladdin’s Ring. By negating the ring upon casting, players can prevent the artifact from ever touching the battlefield. Counterspell, Mana Leak, and Negate are prime examples of spells that can efficiently achieve this.

Positioning yourself to fend off Aladdin’s Ring calls for foresight and control over the game’s pace. Ensuring you have the right removal or counterspell at the crucial moment shifts the odds in your favor, keeping your opponent’s potential game-changers at bay.


Cards like Aladdin's Ring

Aladdin’s Ring is a unique artifact in Magic: The Gathering that demands a hefty investment, both to play and activate. It stands out in its capacity to deal direct damage, akin to Rocket Launcher, which also allows players to pay and sacrifice it to deal damage equal to the amount of mana invested. However, Aladdin’s Ring does not require the sacrifice, enabling multiple uses throughout the game.

Diving into artifacts with similar destructive potential, we encounter Triskelion, a card that arrives with charge counters which can be removed to ping any target for damage. Despite Triskelion’s versatility in targeting, it’s limited by its counters, unlike the repeatable nature of Aladdin’s Ring’s effect. Another parallel is found in Staff of Nin, which provides a steady card draw alongside the capability to deal one damage each turn. Though it lacks the same power punch as Aladdin’s Ring, the added card advantage is beneficial.

While considering the landscape of direct-damage artifacts, Aladdin’s Ring has its niche due to the sustained threat of direct damage each turn. Its durability and consistent pressure make it an interesting choice for decks that can manage the high mana cost.

Rocket Launcher - MTG Card versions
Triskelion - MTG Card versions
Staff of Nin - MTG Card versions
Rocket Launcher - Antiquities (ATQ)
Triskelion - Antiquities (ATQ)
Staff of Nin - Magic 2013 Promos (PM13)

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Xanthic Statue - Weatherlight (WTH)
Gate Colossus - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
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Possessed Portal - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Platinum Emperion - Ultimate Box Topper (PUMA)
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Everythingamajig - The List (Unfinity Foil Edition) (ULST)
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Puresteel Angel - Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 (CMB2)
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Marut - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut - Phyrexia: All Will Be One Promos (PONE)
Everythingamajig (f) - Unstable (UST)
Walking Skyscraper - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Su-Chi Cave Guard - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Darksteel Monolith - Commander Masters (CMM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Aladdin's Ring MTG card by a specific set like Arabian Nights and Foreign Black Border, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Aladdin's Ring and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Aladdin's Ring Magic the Gathering card was released in 11 different sets between 1993-12-17 and 2005-07-29. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-12-17Arabian NightsARN 571993normalblackDan Frazier
21994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 2321993normalblackDan Frazier
31994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 2321993normalwhiteDan Frazier
41994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 2321993normalwhiteDan Frazier
51995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 2921993normalwhiteDan Frazier
61995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 2921993normalblackDan Frazier
71997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 3461997normalwhiteStuart Griffin
81999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 2711997normalwhiteStuart Griffin
92001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 2861997normalwhiteDave Dorman
102001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 286★1997normalblackDave Dorman
112003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 2912003normalwhiteDave Dorman
122003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 291★2003normalblackDave Dorman
132005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 286★2003normalblackDave Dorman
142005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 2862003normalwhiteDave Dorman

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Aladdin's Ring has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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