We’ve previously reviewed the March of the Machines edition of Magic: The Gathering and have been on a roll since then. After collecting all four of the Warhammer 40,000 MTG decks, it’s high time to give this hobby another try. Just in time is the release of the Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth. Since the whole title is just too long, let’s just settle with MTG LOTR for now. Anyhow, unlike other Universes Beyond sets, Lord of the Rings is part of the usual cycle. This means that it is legal and you can use it in modern tournament play. Is it good? Is this a set you should skip? Let’s find out in this MTG LOTR review!
Note: The writer of this review is a collector and more of a casual player of MTG. If you wish to see how the set performs overall competitively, you may need to look at dedicated reviews from that standpoint.
MTG LOTR Review – Summary
Get Memorable Characters, Places, & Events
From Basic Lands up to the Legendary Heroes, cards in MTG LOTR are graced with eye-catching art and lore-friendly effects and mechanics. Memorable locations are included as lands, heroes have multiple versions with each one specific to a certain event in the story, and some cards have been reprinted and re-imagined to fit Tolkien’s lore.
Also note that the art on the cards are not based on the Peter Jackson’s famous trilogy and artistic liberty has been taken to portray characters, locations, and events.
New Mechanics
The Ring
Like the name implies, players can vie for control of the “One Ring” to rule the battlefield. The “One Ring” has abilities that scale whenever a card “tempts” you. You can choose the bearer of the Ring whenever you are tempted and you also get an upgrade to its abilities. While you can play around this mechanic, note that your opponent too can utilize the same.
MTG LOTR Review – Returning Mechanics
Food
Food is back and what it does is it’s a token artifact that only has a single ability. However, you can produce a lot of them and you can combo it with cards that run on either Food or artifacts. I’ve seen my share of devastating Food decks in the past and seeing it back again brings back memories both fond and traumatic.
Sagas
Sagas are enchantments that run for a specific number of turns. They introduce effects during your first main phase and the effects usually escalate the longer they are on the table. As Sagas last for more than one turn, the effects are usually worth it as they come from only a single card and you benefit from it more than once.
Landcycling
Getting mana screwed is an inevitable part of playing MTG and what you can do is lessen the chance of getting into that situation. One of the easy counters is to use cards with landcycling. These cards are usually big and you can cycle them to draw specific basic lands from your library. Pretty helpful if you are in a pinch or during the first few turns of the game
For a whole list of the mechanics, both new and old, check out the official page.
MTG LOTR Review – Conclusion
A Must For LOTR Fans
Upon opening my first pack of cards for this edition, I was amazed with the variety of art and the possibilities of filling binders full of it. WOTC re-imagined a well-known franchise and they took it seriously. Locations, characters, and events are masterfully redone and repackaged in Magic: The Gathering form and it does not seem out of place given the hobby’s usual setting and lore.
Easy To Play
One thing to note about this edition is that while it has some quirky mechanics in “The Ring”, most of the other mechanics are easy to understand. Not only that but they also reintroduced some beloved mechanics from of old such as food tokens and land cycling.
In addition to the beginner-friendly mechanics, this set is also home to beginner-friendly box sets. These bundles or boxes come with ready-to-use starter decks, and can be used as tutorial pieces to welcome you to the hobby.
Commander Decks Are Limited
The only gripe that I have with this edition is that the Commander Decks are incredibly hard to come by. I’ve tried most shops here in the Metro Manila and I’ve been met by either “out of stock” replies or wildly inflated prices. I would have wanted to collect all four of them but unfortunately, being late in the reservation list did not do me any favors.
A Great Edition If You Play & Collect
I found that the mechanics in this MTG LOTR set are easy to understand, familiar, and quite welcoming for someone that has been gone from the hobby for years. It’s a casual set and is easy to pick up and go. Like March of the Machines but simpler, Lord of the Rings presents easy abilities and rules, making it a good set to start from if you are a beginner or someone wanting to jump into the hobby out of curiosity.
Another good thing to note is that the set is pretty good for collectors. The cards have numerous variations and collecting them to populate a large binder may be a chore but an achievement if done well. Also, some cards are quite pricey and may net you additional cash if you do get them from boosters and packs. Getting useful and rare cards is part of the thrill in opening packs and MTG LOTR has a lot of them.
To summarize, if you are new or wanting to jump into Magic: The Gathering, the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth is a good place to start. It has a great theme, large variety of cards, and is from a franchise widely-loved and respected. You definitely can’t go wrong with this one.
