Spoiler Highlight: Orcish Bowmasters in Legacy

Legacy folks! Today we'll talk about a card from Sauron's crew: Orcish Bowmasters.

From the ancient Chains of Mephistopheles through things like Plagiarize, Uba Mask and Notion Thief to the current Narset, Parter of Veils and Hullbreacher, cards that interfere with your opponent's draws have always been a presence in Magic, with greater or lesser success. Lord of the Rings: Tales of the Middle-Earth (LOTR) brings the newest addition to that group with one of the most promising cards for Legacy.

First, let's elaborate on the new-old Amass mechanic, introduced in War of the Spark. The original mechanic received errata, and the cards from that expansion are now called Amass Zombies and create Zombie Army Tokens. That's because LOTR has as one of its core mechanics Amass Orcs – basically it's the same mechanic: Put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to its Amass value on an Army creature you control. If you don't control any, create a 0/0 token first, but in the case of cards from this expansion, the token created is an Orc Army. If by chance, you mix the mechanics, the army ends up becoming a Zombie Orc Army!

OK, with that technicality out of the way, let's talk about our highlight of the day. In the void, these Orc Archers represent 2 1/1 bodies with Flash that deal 1 damage when they come into play. Not a big deal, but it might kill a Delver of Secrets, a Dragon's Rage Channeler without Delirium, a Dryad Arbor fetched by Green Sun's Zenith or that Noble Hierarch that is accelerating your opponent's mana and still generating a board presence.

But that's not why I'm writing this article. The reason is the second clause that triggers Orcish Bowmasters.

If someone asks a Legacy player to name one and only one card that defines the format, I would venture to say that the winner of this contest would be Brainstorm. Responding to that instant with a Hullbreacher is one of the coolest sensations the format offers. But 3 mana is a lot of mana, especially to ambush a one mana spell. If my math talents don't fail me, 2 mana is a third less than 3 and that makes a lot of difference when it comes to casting and protecting your Orcs.

The effect might not be as devastating as turning your opponent's cards into Treasures, but the flexibility of the reduced cost should make a big difference, and not only does the Army get bigger if your opponent decides to ignore it to go along with their draw plan, as the 1 damage to each trigger also accumulates.

While ambushing a Brainstorm is the most beautiful scenario, even in response to a Ponder, Bowmasters already start to increase the pressure on the opponent. And outside the Blue universe, there are still plenty of cards in the format to flesh out your Orc Army: Sylvan Library, Mishra's Bauble, Fable of the Mirror-breaker, Faithless Looting, Street Wraith, Esper Sentinel, Soul-Guide Lantern, Glimpse of Nature – and even pings the Elves in the process!

You can even combine Orcish Bowmasters with Faerie Mastermind to increase the pressure on your opponent.

There's no obvious deck to fit these Orcs into. They are a very versatile card, fulfilling functions of disruption (your opponent is restricted on their draw effects), removal (there are enough targets even for a simple ping) and pressure (even with a single extra trigger, there are already three power on the board). All of this can be played at the end of the opponent's turn or in response to the right card.

This makes me think that the card can play in Blue decks like Dimir Shadow or Grixis Control, or even in a Jund Midrange. It's a card that reminds me of Collective Brutality in Modern: it's not the best discard, the best removal or the best life gain, but it does a little bit of everything in a way that there's always a use for it. I see Orcs like that, a very flexible card with a possibility of hitting the roulette wheel from time to time.

Then I'll discuss how to fit them into some lists. It's good to note that the 3 decks below already run many versatile cards, so I believe our little Orc friends will be well received.

Bowmasters Shadow

As a good Aggro-Control, it's not uncommon for Death's Shadow to pass with untapped mana to respond to the opponent, either with a removal or a counter and if the opponent doesn't offer anything worth answering, end with a Brainstorm or, cast Bowmasters and get two more bodies in play.

Bowmasters Grixis Control

If Shadow sometimes passes with untapped lands, that goes double for Grixis Control. This is a deck practically made up of answers to every type of card, a true Joker, and having access to such a card should be a natural option. Bonus for being able to combo with the aforementioned Faerie Mastermind.

Bowmasters Jund Midrange

Finally, another deck that looks like a Swiss Army Knife with so many cards with different modes, Jund Midrange is another one that can make the most out of the Orc Army.

I confess that so far, Orcish Bowmasters was the card that most caught my attention for Legacy. It's a card with what I usually call a low floor - it's not particularly efficient in its abilities - but with a very high ceiling: fitting at the right time is a real arrow to your opponent's knee.

I expect to see more Orc Armies on the Legacy tables.

Until the next article!