MTG: What I Learned from the ‘Tales of Middle-Earth’ Prerelease
Middle-Earth is a scary place, but a brave planeswalker will find plenty of willing allies (and enemies) to overcome their foes.
The latest Magic set will be out next week, and it’s going to be a big one since it’s set in Middle-Earth! Fans from both genres are excited to sling the new cards, learn the new combos, and, of course, hunt for the $2 million (and climbing) One Ring. I decided to grab my jacket, fill my bag with Lembas, and try my hand at one of the local prerelease events. I didn’t pull the greatest LoTR Magic cards, but I made a pretty passable Grixis Orc token deck. Here’s what I learned from my opponents!
Tokens are King
On the battlefields of Middle-Earth, more warriors on the field, trinkets in your coffers, or treats in your belly make for better fights. In LOR, that remains true. There are so many cards that benefit your tokens, whether you’re making them, breaking them, or attacking with them. One of the surprise bangers from the tournament was Mordor Trebuchet, which pops out a flying 2/1 token any time you attack with an Orc.
Of special note is the card Mirkwood Bats, which will drain your opponent any time you make OR sacrifice a token. And yes, that’s ANY token, from a mighty Orc Army to a humble Food token. Since the Trebuchet token is sacrificed at end of turn, it will trigger the Mirkwood Bats twice, making it a nasty combo. You’ll want to capitalize on your production if you want to stay ahead.
The Ring’s the Thing
The Ring is a new mechanic in this set, and it’s surprisingly powerful. Like experience counters, your level of temptation doesn’t deteriorate when your “Ringbearer” dies or changes, the more you allow temptation, the stronger you’ll be. Having a nonlegendary creature become your Ringbearer is probably your best play, since it allows you to capitalize on all the legendary interactions in the set, like Gimli. Sauron might not have been far off with all that business with the Ring…
The Age of (Hu)Man
Humans are a big part of the set, and they get a lot of in-set interaction buffs. The forces of Rohan and Gondor are especially strong when you’re putting your humans on the field, and the new four-color Aragorn is a powerhouse in EDH. Of course, Humans aren’t the only tribe seeing a lot of power-ups in this set; Elves, Halflings, and Orcs all see huge boosts the more of them you have, and even the humble Wraith type is seeing some tribal love. Honestly, even the previously underrated Avatar class could see a tribal list now, without dipping too deeply into Changelings.
Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth hits stores on June 23rd.
But you can pre-order all your products now!
