Wizards of the Coast has designed full a Modern-legal Magic: The Gathering set for the IP Lord of the Rings in Tales of Middle-earth, in which seven Rare and Mythic Rare cards stand out in the Limited Draft and Sealed formats.
There are 80 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) Rare and Mythic Rare cards within the Modern-legal crossover set. Many are legendary creatures, highlighting the characters from the lore. Not all of the high-rarity cards from the Universes Beyond set will dominate games within the Limited format, though.
Through a new mechanic called “the Ring tempts you”, to a variety of LTR Limited archetypes that can potentially rank at the top of the meta, here are the best Rare and Mythic Rare MTG Lord of the Rings cards for Draft and Sealed.
Honorable mention best Rare and Mythic Rare in LTR Limited
Dawn of a New Age is my sleeper for the LTR Limited format. It’s a two-drop Mythic Rare Enchantment in the color White that refuels aggro builds with card draw and life gain. Dawn of New Age isn’t an early-game Enchantment but can have a serious impact during the late-game stages in the right build.
Saruman of Many Colors is another powerful Mythic Rare that’s a definite build-around. Legolas, Master Archer is a double-Green pip, three-drop Rare that has Reach and 1/4 stats. The elf archer slots into a combat-trick Aggro style build, much like the other two honorable mentions, and is only a top pick within a specific type of build. The same can be said for Isildur’s Fateful Strike. All three of these LTR can function like bombs with the proper support through Sealed and Draft play.
As a Ring-bearer, Saruon, the Necromancer is a great card. But the Avatar Horror has another stipulation too—needing creatures to exile from your graveyard to create the tapped and attacking token. When the stars align, Sauron, the Necromancer will shut down games. Other times the legendary is a 4/4 with Menace that’s likely to get blocked and removed from play.
Best Rare and Mythic Rare LTR Limited card review
All best Rare and Mythic Rare LTR cards 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.
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant
One of the strongest finishers in the LTR Limited meta is Shelob, Child of Ungoliant. She can slot into any build that can accommodate the spider’s Black and Green pip, has Deathtouch, is an 8/8, and Ward two—not that Ward two matters much at that stage of the game.
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant does need Trample to end games, which isn’t hard in Green. As an added bonus the Spider Demon produces Food tokens each time it deals damage to a creature that perishes.
Éomer, Marshal of Rohan
Slotting into RW, BR, and GR archetypes is Éomer, Marshal of Roha. The double-Red pip four-drop has Haste with 4/4 stats. The Human Knight wants to be in a build where creatures are attacking every turn if possible and has synergy with other low-costed legendary creatures. Éomer, Marshal of Rohan is a solid card on its own that can overperform within aggro and midrange creature builds.
Elrond, Master of Healing
The Green and Blue Scry archetype has potential within the LTR Limited meta with Elrond, Master of Healing handing out +1/+1 counters while potentially drawing a card when a creature with that counter is targeted. The elf nobles’ baseline stats are fine, but the legendary creature will shine most in the GU archetype.
Gandalf the White
Gandalf the White is a great card in any deck that can support his double-White pip five CMC. The Avatar Wizard has Flash and a toughness of five to support blocking an opponent’s creature while also giving all other legendary and Artifact spells Flash as well. As an added bonus, when it does get triggered, Gandalf the White doubles enters the battlefield and exit-the-battlefield effects.
Spiteful Banditry
Removal that can create Treasure tokens has arrived within the LTR set through Spiteful Banditry. I was lucky to have this Mythic Rare Enchantment in my MTG Arena Early Access BR Sealed deck and it performed above my expectations. Spiteful Banditry can get used as a board wipe or as a form of ramp, making it a flexible Enchantment that can slot into a wide variety of LTR Limited archetypes.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
The BR Amass archetype will likely end up as a top meta build within the LTR Draft format. The Avatar Horror has a steep Ward cost, while also synergizing with the Amass and “the Ring tempts you” mechanics. And for a three-color six-cost, Sauron, the Dark Lord has 7/6 stats, but lacks a form of evasion to get that damage through consistently.
Aragorn, Company Leader
The GW archetype loves Food but also synergizes well with “the Ring tempts you” mechanic. Aragorn, Company Leader pushes the archetype to optimal performance levels through a keyword soup that includes First Strike, Vigilance, Deathtouch, and Lifelink. The strongest of the keywords is Deathtouch, turning low-cost and low-powered hobbits/human creature types into serious threats.
Orcish Bowmasters
Card draw advantage is prevalent within the LTR Limited format, bumping the value of Orcish Bowmasters. The Rare Orc Archer is one of the best two-drops in Black. Orcish Bowmasters pings any target for damage when its ability is triggered and creates a 1/1 Amass Army token. The Orc Archer can slot into any build and provide top-notch value for a two-drop creature.
Witch-king of Angmar
Witch-king of Angmar is the ideal top-end finisher in the color Black. The five-drop has Flying with a power of five and can gain Indestructible by discarding a card.
The Wraith Noble even has “the Ring tempts you” synergy, which provides additional value through the second ability on The Ring emblem. Witch-king of Angmar is a must-remove creature or the Wratih noble will end the game.
Related: All MTG Lord of the Rings cards worth money: Projected prices before launch
Update June 16 8:30am CT: Best LTR Limited bombs were updated with additional MTG cards after the Early Access event.
