We've now all had a chance to get our hands on and play with the newest Magic: The Gathering set, Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth. As we explore its impact on constructed formats and delve into its limited environment, it seems like an appropriate time to identify the most important aspect: Flavor Wins!
You Cannot Pass!
Add it to your Bingo cards now; casting this on the Balrog after it is blocked by one of the many versions of Gandalf is a must-do. A moment many guessed would be depicted on a card, the flavor of a showdown with a legendary figure makes sense.
Claim the Precious
An obvious piece of flavor, sometimes a story point easily slots into a card design. Smeagol killing his friend because of the temptation of the One Ring had to go on a card, and it finds itself on an efficient black removal spell that also has the ring tempt you. Simple, easy, flavorful.
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin!
Let’s be honest, Theoden has some of the best dialogue in The Lord of the Rings, so bringing some of it to a card was a must. You are required to do your best Bernard Hill impression when casting this card, and extra points if you recreate the sound of the Horn of Helm Hammerhand.
Lembas
With a food theme found in the set, the ever-present Lembas bread was bound to show up, and they made it an easy flavor win. Providing the sustenance of normal food with the added insight of the elves in the form of the scry and draw fits great, plus the shuffling back into your library creates the sense of how much the Fellowship was provided during their stay in Lothlorien.
Long List of the Ents
A less obvious flavor win for many, mainly because it is more specific to book readers, Long List of the Ents is subtle but well done. We see in the movies when Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard that he has never heard of a hobbit before. The extended conversation in the book includes Treebeard reciting all the races of Middle Earth as he was taught when he was young, to which Merry and Pippin add a verse so that hobbits are included. The card creates a great representation of the list of races, allowing you to go down your own list as the chapters go by.
Smite the Deathless
I include Smite the Deathless both for its flavor around another iconic moment, but also for the fact that they could have taken the card in a different direction that would have made it a lot worse to play. With the Witch-King of Angmar being such a feared and powerful figure, it feels like they could have made this a 5-mana / 5-damage spell, which we often see in modern sets. But making it an efficient burn spell makes it one of the best red commons in the set and lets us play the epic takedown of the Witch King by Merry and Eowyn.
Horses of the Bruinen
Wizards packed a lot into this card, and it all works. Amazing artwork depicts the banishment of the Nazgul down the river Bruinen as the elves save Frodo (Arwen in the movie, Glorfindel in the books). And function fits flavor, as we get to bounce multiple creatures, scry because of the presence of the elves, but also be tempted by the presence of the ring.
Gimli, Counter of Kills / Legolas, Counter of Kills
A fantastic flavor inclusion, the competition by Gimli and Legolas throughout the story (both in the movies and the books) brings levity to the story and a glimpse into the incredibly close friendship that Legolas and Gimli develop. These cards capture the spirit of that competition and the differences between the two very well.
Nazgul
This design will remind many players of the Seven Dwarves from Throne of Eldraine, and I love that they used the same flavor to allow you to include nine of the servants of Sauron in your deck. Deathtouch adds to that fear factor that they instill in many, and their growing power as the ring tempts you makes the design flavorful and fitting.
There and Back Again
Although disappointed that they did not create a card for the Lonely Mountain-dwelling Smaug, they made up for it in part by adding him to a saga covering the Hobbit. With a great name calling back to Bilbo’s book, chapter two makes sense with the company finding the Lonely Mountain and chapter three having the devastating Smaug appear. The only piece I’m not totally sold on is chapter 1: the creature can’t block because it has left the Shire and is on a long adventure maybe?
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