A “first look” at The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth set from Wizards of the Coast features iconic characters as legendary creatures, The One Ring, and a cycle of full art basic lands.
Scheduled to release in June, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth (LTR) set is legal to play in Modern and Eternal formats and has been designed for Limited Draft play as well. It’s a full MTG set that should have over 200 regular cards and plenty of variants. Products for the set are already available for pre-order, from four Commander Precon decks and two bundles to Jumpstart boosters and a starter kit.
The first MTG Lord of the Rings spoilers began on March 13, showcasing Gandalf the Grey, The One Ring, and a cycle of full art basic lands. More cards dropped on March 14, from Frodo, Sauron’s Bane, and Samwise the Stouthearted to Tom Bombadil and Sol Ring.
The One Ring
Keeping the flavor of The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings story, it’s a four-drop legendary Artifact that has Indestructible. Upon casting the Artifact, its controller gains protection from everything for that turn. Players also have the option to tap The One Ring to add a Burden counter and draw a card.
For each Burden counter on The One Ring at the start of your upkeep, it deals one life of damage. The Artifact also draws cards based on the number of Burden counters on The One Ring.
Gandalf the Grey
There are three versions of MTG Gandalf in LTR, with Gandalf the Grey featuring four modal ability options upon casting an Instant or Sorcery spell. The legendary wizard is in the colors Red and Blue and has a casting cost of 3UR.
Each of Gandalf’s abilities can impact a board state, providing value to the five-cost legendary. And the final ability of Gandalf leaving the battlefield is a total flavor win for WotC.
Full art LTR basic land cycle
Each of the five MTG-colored basic lands showcases a portion of the Middle-Earth map. Plains, for example, feature The Shire and surrounding Hobbit towns while Island highlights the Belegaer Sea and Eriador.
Frodo, Sauron’s Bane
Frodo, Sauron’s Bane is a legendary creature in White and Black. It only costs one White mana to cast Frodo, Sauron’s Bane but Black is needed to level him up into a Scout that can win the game through the Ring tempting its controller.
Samwise the Stouthearted
Similar to Gandalf and Frodo, there are multiple versions of Sam with this legendary creature version having a rarity of Uncommon. Samwise the Stouthearted has Flash and an ETB effect that returns a permanent from the graveyard to hand if it was put in the graveyard this turn.
Gollum, Patient Plotter
Gollum, Patient Plotter also has an Uncommon rarity that can reanimate from the graveyard to hand upon paying one Black mana and sacrificing a creature. The halfling horror’s stats are also a solid 3/1 for a two-drop legendary creature.
Tom Bombadil
The Middle-Earth storyteller Tom Bombadil has his own card on LTR, showcasing a casting cost of WUBRG and synergy with Sagas.
Sol Ring
Sol Ring is getting a reprint in LTR as the Rings of Power. The elves, dwarves, and humans each have their own Sol Ring card that showcases the text in the elvish language Quenya. There is also an alternative version of The One Ring, with only one printed copy in the entire MTG Lord of the Rings set.
LTR Starter deck MTG cards
The two face cards for the LTR Starter deck were shown during the “first look,” featuring Aragorn and Arwen, Wed, and Sauron, the Lidless Eye.
You Cannot Pass!
Not all LTR cards are based on creatures and characters, with You Cannot Pass! honoring the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog. The one-drop White Instant is a cute combat trick that leans into the legendary theme.
Reprieve
Reprieve is a new LTR Instant that is very similar to Remand. The White Instant will likely see a good amount of gameplay in both the Commander and Modern formats.
Legendary lands The Shire and Mount Doom
Two legendary lands were included in the LTR spoilers: The Shire and Mount Doom. No legendary land cycles were announced and it was confirmed there isn’t a dual land cycle. Both lands contain powerful activated abilities that are sure to shake up the meta in formats like Modern and Commander.
All images via WotC.
Update March 14 5pm CT: Additional MTG Lord of the Rings spoilers were added from the “first look” stream.
