The game was just not meant to hold up with
people accelerating their mana this quickly. On
turn one, you can immediately tap this for two
mana... and spend that mana on two more Sol
Rings? Even if all you have is a Mind Stone or
the like, that's FIVE mana on turn TWO. You're
now casting 5/5's while your opponent is still
making Grizzly Bears. They don't print this
anymore, because when this was current, it
turned Magic: the Gathering into "whoever draws
a Sol Ring in their opening hand wins".
If having Card X in your opening hand means you
win, then suddenly it's not a game of strategy
anymore, it's a game of luck... and the
secondary singles market.
It's very easy to look at this card and sneer.
It's very easy to say "How could it not have
been obvious that a card that generates more
mana than it costs is dangerous?" Don't do that.
Seriously. Apart from the fact that Sol Ring was
in Alpha and thus was one of the things that
taught later designers about those sorts of
issues, Dr. Garfield never anticipated that
people would have more than one of a card like
this - things like this are less dangerous when
you don't have four of them and thus often see
one in your opening hand and often get a
super-explosive start. (On that note, you should
really try more singleton formats, including
ones that aren't Commander. They're fun.) Even
so, Sol Ring is not quite useless at any stage
of the game - it's not an ideal late topdeck by
any means, but unlike a Llanowar Elves variant,
you can use it the same turn you cast it, making
it essentially free. Moreover, its incredible
mana-produced-to-mana-cost ratio means that if
you even have one in your deck, it makes you a
little more comfortable about including
high-cost cards. After all, it accelerates you
from five mana to eight over two turns just as
effectively as it can help you play four spells
on your first turn.
Today's card of the day is Sol Ring which is a
one mana artifact that taps for two colorless
mana. Any deck with colorless costs that
can include this card generally should,
particularly in Commander, plus there is really
no drawback to mana acceleration that is both
reusable and also pays for itself the turn it
enters play. Sol Ring is an excellent card
that has been a top pick from the very beginning
of Magic and is overall one of the best
artifacts ever printed.
When I first encountered Sol Ring, it was hard
for me to believe that Sol Ring was printed as
an uncommon. Seriously, I argued with my friends
until they pulled out an Inquest and showed me
that Sol Ring was not a Rare. This sent me down
a quick path to getting a play set of Sol Rings.
Yes, I understand that Sol Ring cannot win games
by itself but it gives you mana advantage. The
last time that I checked, mana advantage is a
big deal Magic the Gathering.
Personally, I have an angry soft spot for Sol
Ring. Mainly because it was such a staple card
when I started playing and because it took me
forever to get a play set. Nobody wanted to
trade such an amazing card. Sol Ring will go
down as the one of the best mana producing
artifacts ever!
