The Ring Tempts You

The Ring Tempts You is a keyword action introduced in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
==Description==
The Ring Tempts You shows the influence of the One Ring on those who possess it. As the temptation grows stronger, so does the Ring-bearer.
Much like venturing, the phrase "the ring tempts you" activates a command zone effect. This time, each instance of "tempting" grants an ability to a particular creature, dubbed the "Ring-bearer". The player may change the Ring-bearer for each instance of tempting. Unlike the dungeons, which have single-trigger effects, the temptings create an emblem with up to four abilities, of which each ability specifically affects the ring-Bearer.
Each time the Ring tempts you, two things happen. First, you choose a creature you control to become your Ring-bearer. If you have a Ring-bearer, you may choose to have that creature remain your Ring-bearer, or you may choose another creature you control to carry that burden. 
Second, The Ring gains its next ability, if it can. Once The Ring has all four of its abilities, it has reached its full power and won't gain additional abilities as the Ring tempts you in the future. Notably, The Ring will gain its next ability even if you didn't control any creatures as the Ring tempted you, meaning you didn't choose a Ring-bearer.
===The Ring===
You can keep a printed emblem in your command zone to remind you that you have The Ring and what it does.
The Ring gains the following effects, in order:
*Your Ring-bearer is legendary and can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.
*Whenever your Ring-bearer attacks, draw a card, then discard a card.
*Whenever your Ring-bearer becomes blocked by a creature, that creature's controller sacrifices it at the end of combat.
*Whenever your Ring-bearer deals combat damage to a player, each opponent loses 3 life.
===Ring-bearer===
Ring-bearer is a new designation; it's not a creature type or an ability. The creature you choose remains your Ring-bearer until you choose another one, it leaves the battlefield, or another player gains control of it. Each player has their own Ring-bearer (and their own The Ring), and you can never have more than one Ring-bearer.
Spells and abilities may refer to your Ring-bearer. Most obviously, The Ring itself has abilities that affect your Ring-bearer. It immediately becomes legendary and can't be blocked by creatures with greater power. In time, The Ring's other abilities will provide valuable combat bonuses. Other cards, including Sauron, the Necromancer, refer to your Ring-bearer.
===Triggered abilities===
Some triggered abilities trigger whenever the Ring tempts you. These abilities will trigger if the Ring tempts you even if you didn't choose a Ring-bearer because you didn't control any creatures. However, some of these abilities will further specify that they trigger only if you chose specific creatures as your Ring-bearer.
==Rules==
==Rulings==
*As the Ring tempts you, you get an emblem named The Ring if you don't have one. Then your emblem gains its next ability and you choose a creature you control to become (or remain) your Ring-bearer.
*The Ring can tempt you even if you don't control a creature. In this case, abilities that trigger "whenever the Ring tempts you" will still trigger.
*If the creature you choose as your Ring-bearer was already your Ring-bearer, that still counts as choosing that creature as your Ring-bearer for the purpose of abilities that trigger "whenever you choose a creature as your Ring-bearer" or abilities that care about which creature was chosen as your Ring-bearer.
*The Ring gains its abilities in order from top to bottom. Once it gains an ability, it has that ability for the rest of the game.
*Each time the Ring tempts you, you must choose a creature if you control one.
*Each player can have only one emblem named The Ring and only one Ring-bearer at a time.
*Some spells and abilities that cause the Ring to tempt you may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. The Ring won't tempt you.
==Trivia==
*The design of "The Ring Tempts You" was based on a mechanic called Leader which was made for the small set that was originally going to accompany Dominaria.
*The mechanic originally was called “choose a ringbearer”, but was changed to “the ring tempts you” to be more flavorful.
*The progressive abilities of the Ring emblem match the three stages (declare attacks, declare blocks, combat damage) of combat, which also limits the power of instant-speed Tempting as each ability checks at exactly one juncture.
==References==
Category:Universes Beyond