MTG: Lords of Middle-earth – Awesome Commanders from ‘Tales of Middle-earth’
Whether you follow them out of fear or trust there are some characters that just make excellent leaders. It’s time for a Commander breakdown!
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set has been out for a bit now and folks are already starting to brew their strongest EDH decks. Boards flooded with hobbits and their delicious delicacies clash into armies of Orcs and flying Nazgul wraiths. Leading these armies are the brave heroes and terrible villains that populate the lands of Middle-earth: the stoutest farmers, greatest warriors, and divine the beings from the beginning of time. While not enough time has passed to really gauge how they’ll perform in the long run a few legendary creatures have already made their marks. EDH is a constantly changing meta and right now these cards are worth looking at.
Tom Bombadil
Tom Bombadil is one of the most powerful characters in Middle-earth. Whether he’s a Maiar like the wizards, a spirit of nature, or even the manifestation of Eru itself, it cannot be denied this happy gentleman is a powerful force. He isn’t a warrior, however; he just wants to whistle, sing, and tell his stories. As such his power comes from the Saga enchantments; temporary pieces that provide different effects as they progress. If enough stories are being told at once Tom becomes even harder to pin down. The best part is whenever you finish a story you can go right into the next one with his second ability. Since he’s all five colors you have access to every story ever told. Load up on your gnarliest pieces and let Tom spin a tale of victory.
Aragorn, the Uniter
The finest general of the armies of good and the true king of Gondor, Aragorn is a powerful force multiplier. He can adapt his leadership to the styles of the warriors in his care and his four-color card reflects that. Depending on the color of the spells you cast Aragon produces a different effect in keeping with what that color is known for. Blue gives you deck manipulation, white gives you more fighters, red gives you direct damage, and green buffs your creatures. With his wide color identity, your deck can pack a lot of interesting pieces and your opponents will have to figure out on the fly exactly what deck you’re playing. By that time, though, it will already be too late and the field will be yours.
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant
The Queen of Spiders is a nasty addition to the roster and a fun alternative “food” commander. While on the surface she appears like a Spider typal auto-include it’s her second ability is what makes her really nasty. There are a lot of creatures that have incredible abilities that weaken them over time and Shelob lets you cocoon them in web to use at your leisure. This doesn’t just mean your creatures either; it’s easy to steal your opponent’s combo pieces and put them out of reach of a board wipe. The best part of all is even if your opponent DOES find a way to remove them you can just eat them for that sweet three life. If you want a food deck with a malicious twist then give Shelob a look.
What commander are you running these days?
