Legacy Set Review - The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!

If my teenage self back in the far-off year 2001 heard that a Magic expansion based on J.R.R. Tolkien's greatest work would be released, he would be seriously torn between having a massive heart attack or calling it an outright lie. Well, it happened, it's true. 22 years after the release of the first movie and 69 years after the first book, Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn and all those (many!) characters have made it to the greatest card game in the world. In the past, there have been other card games based on the franchise (Middle-earth CCG, The Lord of the Rings TCG and The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game), but now they are introduced into an already well-established game with a huge player base.

As for the expansion itself, it follows the line of Modern Horizons 1 and 2, being legal in formats up to Modern (Vintage, Legacy, Modern, Pauper and Commander). There are 281 new cards (101 commons, 80 commons, 60 rares, 20 mythics, and 20 basic lands).

LOTR's Mechanics

The main mechanic presented in the series is The Ring Tempts You, I will comment more about it soon. Other mechanics in the expansion are the Amass update, which now creates an Orc Army token (the original War of the Spark mechanic has now been renamed to Amass Zombies and creates Zombie Army tokens); a heavy emphasis on Food Tokens, with various interactions and generators, and also Landcycling returning in some cards, with a primary focus on Limited formats.

Returning to the Ring mechanic, it works like this: when a card Tempts you, if you haven't already, you receive a The Ring emblem (The Ring Card // The Ring Tempts You Card). This emblem contains a series of stacking abilities that last for the rest of the game. After that, you choose a creature you control to become or, if it already is, remain the Ringbearer.

It's important to remember that the ability happens and progresses even if you don't control any creatures. The chosen creature remains your Ringbearer until it leaves play, if the Ring tempts you again, and you choose another Ringbearer, or if you lose control of that creature—and each player can have only one Ringbearer.

The first time the Ring Tempts you, the emblem (and consequently the chosen Bearer) gains the first ability on the list – the Bearer becomes Legendary and can't be blocked by creatures with greater power than it. With each new activation, the Ring gains the next ability in the list, but keeps all the others already gained. If you acquire all four ability, each new Temptation doesn't generate new abilities, but allows you to choose a new Ringbearer.

Additionally, some cards have triggered abilities that happen when the Ring Tempts you—these abilities happen even if you don't control any creatures or the emblem has already gained all abilities—and some cards refer to the Ringbearer, such as Sauron the Necromancer.

The mechanic, therefore, favors decks with enough creatures to be Ring Bearers and with a few activations of the ability, the Ring Bearer becomes a threat that is hard to block and that can quickly pressure the opponent. Decks like Maverick, Death & Taxes, Ninjas, and Jund can make good use of a semi-unblockable buddy, which filters a card when attacking, kills those that can block it, and makes the opponent lose 3 extra life when connecting.

Phew, with that out of the way, let's finally get to the review:

Boromir, Warden of the Tower

Mono White cards with effects that disrupt your opponent's game are very useful in Legacy. Boromir is one more in that long list and his ability is quite interesting, blocking not only the alternative cost counters, but also the flood of 0 cost artifacts from some decks and, essential to say, the MH2 Incarnations if they're evoked.

The second ability is also relevant for dealing with sweepers, often a problem for these decks. Boromir is already eyeing a spot on White and Boros Initiative and even, who knows, Maverick and Death & Taxes.

Forge Anew

Hammer Time is a deck that has made the transition from Modern to Legacy very efficiently. With the triggered ability of Sigarda's Aid, equipping a Colossus Hammer is pretty simple, but if the creature is removed, if not for the eventual Puresteel Paladin, the Equipment just sits there doing numbers on the board.

Enter this enchantment representing the hour in which the elves reforge Andúril, Aragorn's sword! Right off the bat, it already brings back some of your destroyed or discarded Equipment. Hence, it already allows you, without the need for Metalcraft, to equip the Hammer or even Kaldra Compleat, or a Batterskull, for free. And at instant speed during your turn. This is particularly useful when the opponent has blockers.

Most likely, it should be the new toy for this deck.

Reprieve

"Ah, but that's a Remand, and it doesn't see play in Legacy!"

No, my dear friend, that is a Remand on White! And who hits Supreme Verdict. Decks like Death & Taxes, White/Boros Initiative, Maverick, Naya Depths, among many others, cannot afford to add Blue to try to have cards that deal directly with the Stack.

Having this alternative within your basic colors is a great tool and, in a format where every inch of advantage counts, winning a turn for a deck that often just needs it can make all the difference. This is my guess for the most underrated card in the set for Legacy.

Samwise the Stouthearted

Brave Sam gives an extra life to your permanents and advances the Ring's abilities a little further.

You know a permanent that plays in White decks of creatures that tend to go to the graveyard? It's called Wasteland. Sam has many interesting iterations in Death & Taxes and Maverick in addition to the above.

With an Aether Vial active, he can rescue a dead important creature and the artifact already puts it back in the field in the sequence. With Flickerwisp, you quickly reach the 4th level of the Ring while replenishing your hand.

It is quite possible to see him playing even with his little friend Boromir, Warden of the Tower, who can take one for the team and be rescued for another round.

Borne Upon a Wind

Control decks like cards like Faerie Mastermind or Snapcaster Mage because of the possibility of being able to pass with mana for answers and still have something to do if the opponent doesn't offer a target. Borne Upon a Wind gives you the ability to use that mana to cast a Planeswalker or Monastery Mentor at the end of your opponent's turn, which can give you a free turn by untapping your lands and still draw a card.

But that alone doesn't make this card attractive to use in the format.

What makes this card particularly attractive is its use combined with Day's Undoing, a card that already plays in many UW and Jeskai lists, combined with Teferi, Time Raveler, Narset, Parter of Veils and/or Hullbreacher. Being able to cast this spell at the end of your opponent's turn without having to lower defenses to fit Teferi allows for a much more reactive play style.

And just like one of the archetype's favorite cards, Dress Down, there's always the possibility to cycle for 2 mana if the situation calls for it.

Stern Scolding

Blue counterspells that cost mana (before anyone talks about Reprieve!) have to be very effective in Legacy, hence why they see little play in a format where Daze and Force of Will are legal. Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm and Mystical Dispute are among the main representatives of this group.

Stern Scolding hits plenty of important features of the format at a very cost-effective rate and could appear on some sideboards depending on how the Metagame unfolds.

Call of the Ring

One of the problems with the Ring mechanic is how to fit multiple ways to activate it without taking up too much space in your deck. Well, this enchantment provides a continual way to advance your Emblem while also offering to recoup your investment in cards.

I see it as a card for those attrition games, where an Aggro needs to push a little more pressure without losing gas.

Orcish Bowmasters

As I said in my article on its potential for Legacy, this card is the one that is generating more hype for the format.

Orcish Bowmasters does a lot for little mana and has the ability to do some damage against the most popular card in the format - Brainstorm. It's flexible enough to fit into many decks and is useful against most opponents. We should see several Orc Armies marching soon!

Cast into the Fire

Abrade is a card that tends to appear occasionally because it's a versatile answer at a fair cost. Cast into the Fire card has a similar function. The part of exiling artifact is obviously better, as it deals with a very problematic card for red decks: Kaldra Compleat. Also, it can break graveyard recursion engines.

The creature removal part will depend on the Metagame: Abrade deals better with Delver of Secrets (kills both sides of the card), Dragon's Rage Channeler with Delirium, Red Prison's creatures, to name a few uses.

Cast into the Fire is better against Elves, Mother of Runes (in response to her activation, Cast kills both Mother and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), Infect and Goblins, for example.

I see it basically as a card that will appear in formats where Kaldra is more frequent, and the second ability is a bonus that will be useful in some other games.

Display of Power

Display of Power basically halves the need for spells to get a lethal Storm count: a Tendrils of Agony with 4 more copies on the stack, or a Grapeshot with 9 more copies, each of those spells can be copied at once.

It could just be cute, or it could be a new way to build the deck, and with more defensive tools, since there's no need to cast so many spells to go for lethal.

Moria Marauder

Goblin decks might consider this card here, but I think it's behind in the queue of both Warren Instigator for combat damage triggers and Conspicuous Snoop for Card Advantage, just to name a few cards with the same mana cost.

There and Back Again

Honorable mention. 5 mana is too much mana for Legacy and this card shouldn't see any games even though the third chapter is strong.

I bring it here just to highlight how strong the flavor is in this set and this card represents the apex of it: In the first chapter, Bilbo finds the Ring, becomes invisible and runs away from Gollum. In the second chapter, the entourage arrives at Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. And in the third, after defeating the dragon Smaug, 1 Treasure is created for each of the 13 dwarves in the Company and 1 for Bilbo the Thief. Impressive!

Delighted Halfling

There is no shortage of “mana dorks” (1-mana creatures that turn over to add 1 mana) in Legacy, so the competition is fierce for the young Halfling.

However, she has 2 factors playing in her favor:

The first is that she has 2 Toughness, which makes it far less vulnerable than its peers Noble Hierarch and Birds of Paradise, for example. This becomes even more important with the arrival of Orcish Bowmasters to the format, an expert hunter against X/1 creatures.

The second factor is the "Cavern of Souls" effect that it adds to Legendary creatures.

That girl on turn 1 can guarantee an uncountable Thalia, Guardian of Thraben on turn 2 and still leaves room for that naughty Wasteland.

Elven Farsight

Preordain on green? Okay, it's not as good as the Blue cantrip, but then what is? Having access to up to 4 cards for 1 mana with a good chance of replenishing itself is an alternative that you don't see every day outside the format's most powerful color.

Decks with a good creature density that want to find key pieces quickly may be interested in Elven Farsight.

Éowyn, Fearless Knight

While the Boros Initiative cost curve 4 is primarily formed by The Initiative Card // Undercity Card explorers, the knight who defeated the Witch-king of Angmar seems like an interesting option for breaking tricky tables and applying pressure to the at the same time, particularly against other Initiative decks, as well as being very useful against frequent bombs, like Murktide Regent, Tarmogoyf, Death's Shadow or Knight of the Reliquary.

Prince Imrahil the Fair

Combine this prince with Staff of the Storyteller and we have an engine. Add (what do you mean add, if the deck is Blue, they'll already be there!) Brainstorm and Ponder and the Soldier factory is open.

It's true that Monastery Mentor does it all a lot faster. But there's that tiny little detail that makes a crucial difference: Imrahil can pitch for Force of Will.

Theoden, King of Rohan

Humans is a deck around the Meta trying to become the main tribal deck in Legacy, with greater or lesser degrees of success. What the King of Rohan offers is the possibility to make a Champion of the Parish or a Thalia’s Lieutenant to end the game quickly, which the deck struggles with sometimes. Double Strike is a very strong ability when combined with buffs.

Glamdring

Every Equipment in Legacy will always live in the shadow of Kaldra Compleat, Batterskull and Umezawa's Jitte. To get considered, it has to do something they don't. Gandalf's sword's first ability is similar to Runechanter's Pike, but costs even more to activate.

But the second ability… Most Stoneforge Mystic decks can't extract value from this card because they don't have many spells, the exception is Stoneblade. This deck can not only hit hard with Glamdring, but also cheat something on the board! It has some potential!

The One Ring

Apart from the fact that some lucky person will get rich when they hyperlink(open

the serialized 001/001 Ring), the Artifact around which the entire story is centered has its uses as well. 4 mana, as I say, is a lot in Legacy, especially if you have to be exposed to your opponent.

Fortunately, the turn you play the Ring, your opponent can't do much to you, and you can place the Ring to generate resources. Unfortunately, its clause prevents recursion via Goblin Welder, or we would have a problem there.

It's slow, yes, but one-turn protection can be the difference between playable and useless. And if you find ways to reuse its protection effect (Teferi, Time Raveler, for example), some decks might simply surrender.

Stone of Erech

{-insert generic 1-mana artifact that affects graveyard here-}

It seems that in every set, we have something like this. Unfortunately, 2 mana to activate is a bit too much, and Soul-Guide Lantern ends up looking like a better option.

Barad-dûr

Lands that enter the battlefield tapped aren't a good in Legacy, even if it has a clause that will remotely make it enter the battlefield untapped. What's positive about Barad-dûr for a Control archetype is the possibility of having a finisher that doesn't take up space on the deck.

Make no mistake, a Grixis can very well kill a threat with a Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt and create an Army at the end of the turn.

Minas Tirith

On the one hand, Minas Tirith can fit in decks that are far more capable of untapping it, and those same decks shouldn't have too much trouble triggering its ability. On the other hand, these decks have a lot more to lose when it comes into play tapped than the decks that might be interested in Barad-dûr.

Perhaps the Death & Taxes with Yorion, Sky Nomad wouldn't mind opening a gap between the Plains to fit the capital of Gondor.

To paraphrase the great Bilbo Baggins, “I don't know if half of this expansion will play half as much as I'd like, and I like less than half of the Legacy cards half of what they deserve.”

Because it was advertised as a Modern-legal set, there was a lot of expectation that Lord of the Rings would be Modern Horizons 3. It's not the case, we don't have that flood of broken things like the Forces or the Incarnations. A lot of the expansion seems to be geared towards Limited (and the Draft of that expansion seems to be wonderful) and a lot of it is at a power level that could play smoothly in Standard.

But that said, it's a set with interesting additions and a few cards might make an impact on the format. And it's the Lord of the Rings, for Ilúvatar's sake!

Until next time!