Players competing in Magic: The Gathering prerelease and Draft events for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth through tabletop and MTG Arena will want to grab several top Common and Uncommon removal spells to deal with bombs in the Limited format.
For the first time in the Universes Beyond history, Wizards of the Coast designed a crossover set from an outside IP as a full Modern-legal set with Limited Draft and Sealed gameplay. There aren’t as many Rare and Mythic Rare bombs within The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) set as there were in MOM. But the set does have a powerful main mechanic called “the Ring tempts you,” along with around a dozen powerful cards that can take over a match.
Honorable mention removal spells in LTR Limited format
Foray of Orcs is a top-end removal/finisher. Having an Army in play allows players to deal significant damage to an opponent’s creature while buffing up the power and toughness of your Army. Without an Army token already on the battlefield, Foray of Orcs loses much of its value and is an overpriced four-drop with a rarity of Uncommon.
Soothing of Sméagol is a Fading Hope effect that returns a non-token creature to an owner’s hand while also triggering “the Ring tempts you.” It’s a solid tempo Instant spell that only costs two mana to cast, likely used to end a match or to set up for a lethal attack. You can also return a creature of your own for protection while gaining the benefits of the “the Ring tempts you.”
Lash of the Balrog is a powerhouse one-drop removal spell if the sacrificing a creature cost is met. Paying five mana to destroy a creature on the other hand is a poor rate. Within a sacrifice build, Lash of the Balrog is a great removal spell that players may even consider adding multiple copies to an LTR Limited build.
Related: All MTG Lord of the Rings cards worth money
Best low-rarity removal spells in LTR Limited format
All best removal spells at the time of writing are predictions leading up to the MTG Arena Early Access event and prerelease events. I will update any changes following these events.
Gollum’s Bite
Gollum’s Bite is a one-drop Black Instant that is good against aggressive and token-generating go-wide decks in the LTR Limited format. And as an added bonus, players can exile from their graveyard during the later stages of a match at Sorcery speed to trigger “the Ring tempts you” mechanic.
Ent’s Fury
Ent’s Fury is the typical Green Fight spell that costs two-mana to cast. It is at Sorcery speed, which is a slight downside, but it can pump the stats on a creature with a power of four or greater twice in one turn prior to fighting an opponent’s creature.
Shire Shirriff
Creatures like Shire Shirriff can act as removal too. The halfling soldier is a two-drop 2/2 with Vigilance that exiles an opponent’s creature upon Shire Shirriff entering the battlefield and a token getting sacrificed. Due to the large number of Food tokens getting produced in the MTG colors White and Green within the LTR set, sacrificing a token isn’t hard to accomplish.
The downside to Shire Shirriff is that the halfling is easy to remove. Players will want to use the soldier’s ETB ability for tempo and board state advantage.
Reprieve
Reprieve offers players multiple lines of play, costing 1W to cast at Instant speed. Players can bump an opponent’s creature back to hand for tempo or one of their own creatures as a form of protection. Both options draw you a card, which is a nice added bonus within a Limited format.
Hobbit’s Sting
Much like Shire Shirriff, Hobbit’s Sting is predominantly better within the LTR Limited format thanks to the abundance of Common and Uncommon rarity cards that produce Food tokens. This allows players to snipe an opponent’s creature for at least two to three damage early on in the game and take out larger creatures during the later stages of a match.
Glorious Gale
The LTR set is packed with legendary creatures with a rarity of Uncommon to Mythic Rare. Glorious Gale can counter any legendary spell, including lands and Artifacts, at a cost of only two mana at Instant speed while also triggering “the Ring tempts you” mechanic.
Claim the Precious
Claim the Precious is a typical three-drop Black Sorcery speed spell that destroys any target creature. It has a rarity of Common, making it available in most Draft packs and it triggers “the Ring tempts you.” Sorcery speed is a slight downside, as are two Black pips to cast. Within Tempo and Control builds, Claim the Precious is better than in an aggressive sacrifice-style deck.
Friendly Rivalry
Found in the MTG colors Red and Green, Friendly Rivalry is a Bite spell that can use the power of up to two creatures you control to target an opponent’s creature. The second creature you control has to be legendary, which shouldn’t prove to be too difficult within the LTR Limited format. And if you don’t have legendary on the battlefield the spell can still remove an opponent’s creature most of the time.
Smite the Deathless
Dealing three damage to a target creature at Instant speed is Smite the Deathless. The Common rarity spell in Red is one of the best removal cards within the LTR set, as it also forces a creature to lose Indestructible until the end of the turn. And if it should perish, the creature is exiled instead.
All images via Wizards of the Coast
