The Ring Goes South
Sorcery
The Ring tempts you. Then reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal X land cards, where X is the number of legendary creatures you control. Put those land cards onto the battlefield tapped and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #6241
The Ring Goes South searches out two basic lands and puts them into play tapped — three mana for two landfall triggers and a guaranteed fourth and fifth land drop is a real rate. In Sméagol, Helpful Guide decks it also tempts the Ring, which matters, but the raw mana fixing alone justifies the slot in any green-adjacent midrange shell.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sméagol, Helpful Guide
Sméagol, Helpful Guide runs The Ring Goes South in over 40% of builds because it simultaneously advances the board and tempts the Ring, pushing Sméagol's Ringbearer up the corruption track for free while hitting land drops.
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee cares about Food tokens and non-Human creatures entering, but The Ring Goes South earns its slot here as reliable ramp that also tempts the Ring, synergizing with any Ringbearer-matters payoffs in the 99.
Galadriel of Lothlórien
Galadriel of Lothlórien rewards controlling the Ring's temptation and benefits from scrying, and The Ring Goes South feeds that engine while smoothing mana in a color identity that can stretch across multiple colors.
Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh
Cleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh uses The Ring Goes South primarily as efficient ramp in a shell that needs to hit land drops consistently to execute its late-game plan.
Aragorn, the Uniter
Aragorn, the Uniter is a four-color deck that needs every color of mana on curve, and The Ring Goes South fetching two basics is straightforward fixing that also incidentally triggers Aragorn if you cast it while controlling him.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the natural home for The Ring Goes South — two lands into play at sorcery speed maps cleanly onto the format's slower pace, and the Ring temptation rider is pure upside in a format built around legendary creatures. In Legacy and Vintage the card is legal but essentially unplayable; three mana for two tapped basics doesn't come close to the efficiency those formats demand. Modern has more midrange space but still wants ramp that does more than fetch basics for three mana, so The Ring Goes South stays firmly in the casual-Commander tier even where it's legal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for The Ring Goes South at the moment, so check Scryfall or Card Kingdom for the current market rate. Given its niche appeal — nearly all play is in Lord of the Rings-themed Commander decks — it's unlikely to command a premium outside of that specific demand.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.