”We wants them! We needs them!” – Gollum, The Two Towers and me, reading the Tales of Middle Earth cardlist.
Have we all been waiting by the door for the mailman to drop off our Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth orders? No, just me? There are such juicy cards and so much flavor for all formats in this set! Well, to keep from going crazy while waiting, I have gathered the 5 cards I am most excited for. I can’t wait to see them in action!
1. Shelob, Child of Ungoliant
Food tokens take a front and center place in the Tales of Middle-Earth set, and Shelob, Child of Ungoliant is a great example of how this plays out. Pairing her with Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, Taste of Death, Giant Opportunity, or Wicked Wolf, you’ve got yourself a brilliant Golgari glutton strategy.
In terms of legendary spiders, Shelob, Child of Ungoliant is just what we needed. At a mana cost of 6, her deathtouch and ward 2 abilities (which she also gives to other spiders under one’s control) keep her well protected. Not only that, but her Food token making ability adds a great lifegain potential as well. At a whooping 8/8, Shelob, Child of Ungoliant will be a force to be reckoned with.
2. Flowering of the White Tree
Let’s get straight to the point, this is a great card. Flowering of the White Tree has got a lot of bang for its buck at 2 white mana cost, giving +2/+1 and ward 2 to legendary creatures and +1/+1 to nonlegendary creatures. Many other cards in Tales of Middle Earth offer what it takes to optimize legendary creatures (Gandalf the White, Eowyn, Fearless Knight, and Merry, Esquire of Rohan for example), so they would go great in legendary-themed decks like Dihada, Binder of Wills if you run something of the like. Mostly, however, it works great with the new mechanic ‘The Ring tempts you’, as the first instance makes your Ring-bearer a legendary creature, thus making that creature even more powerful.
3. Aragorn, the Uniter
This card is an ability buffet. You absolutely need Aragorn, the Uniter if you play an Ink deck. Every one of your turn has an extra surprise! There are so many ways to create insane synergy with all of the effects of this card according to the mana identities of your deck. It’s a domino effect of power ready to unfold.
A few notable high-synergy cards include Heronblade Elite, Kyler, Sigardian Emissary, Arwen Undomiel, Glorfindel, Dauntless Rescuer, or Bloated Contaminator, but there’s hundreds of other options. It’s also an incredibly versatile card that will bring value to any deck style, from aggro to midrange to control. Take your pic!
4. Call of the Ring
The ‘The Ring tempts you’ mechanic is something I’m really looking forward to seeing in action. At only two mana, Call of the Ring is a great add-on to any deck that benefits from that mechanic. When it was revealed, the mechanic of ‘The Ring tempts you’ raised a few eyebrows. However, now a few days before the release, players have understood how exciting this can be, as a hybrid of Saga and Enchantments that can really take the game in a whole new direction. A few turns in and you can have a seriously threatening creature on the battle field. Throw Call of the Ring in a deck with Sauron, the Dark Lord, Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit + Samwise, Loyal Attendant (paired of course), Aragorn, Company Leader or Faramir, Field Commander and reap all the Ring-tempting benefits!
5. The One Ring #0
Do I really need to explain myself here?
The One Ring in and of itself is a Legendary Artifact that requires 4 colorless mana. It has indestructible and has the following abilities: ‘when The One Ring enters the battlefield, you gain protection from everything until your next turn. At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each Burden counter on The One Ring. Tap 1 mana of any color: put a Burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each Burden counter on The One Ring’.
There will be a few iterations of The One Ring, but it goes without saying that THE The One Ring, 001/001 is the most exciting. With bounties as high as 2 million dollars before the set is even released, this is a huge moment in Magic The Gathering history. I can’t wait to see how this unfolds!
Wishing you legendary draws, abundant mana, and that one card you need to run that sweet combo you’ve been waiting to pull. Thanks for reading!