Our first major look at the upcoming MTG Lord of the Rings crossover set includes a load of cards featuring iconic characters, including Frodo, Sauron, Sam, Tom Bombadil, and Gollum.
Wizards of the Coast recently showed off The One Ring and Gandalf cards – an early tease at the army of MTG cards to follow. But in its First Look stream on Tuesday, we got a whole load of MTG Lord of the Rings cards to analyse. Check out the new spoilers below.
First of all we have Frodo, Sauron’s Bane. This white halfling citizen creature features a version of the pseudo-‘level up’ mechanic seen on cards like Evolved Sleeper, changing form each time you invest mana. It also features a payoff for a new mechanic “the Ring tempts you” – which Wizards is yet to share. If Frodo’s final form deals combat damage to a player, and you’ve been tempted by the ring four times or more, they lose the game.
Then there’s Samwise the Stouthearted, another white creature that can bring a creature back from the graveyard, if you don’t mind being tempted by the Ring. (Again, we won’t know if we mind or not until the rule is revealed.)
Another halfling in the set, this one a halfling horror, we have Gollum, Patient Plotter. This one looks like sacrifice fodder, as it can come back from the graveyard again and again. Each time Gollum dies, the Ring tempts you, suggesting that perhaps you’ll want to be tempted, at least in some decks.
Tom Bombadil is one of the most interesting Lord of the Rings cards spoiled so far, a five-colour MTG Commander that works with Sagas, sort of giving them a variant of the MTG Cascade mechanic.
More characters from the video include Sauron, the Lidless Eye and Aragorn and Arwen, Wed. These cards are from the Starter Kit, so they have rather simple effects. Sauron can steal a creature for a turn, and pump the team at the cost of mana and life. Aragorn and Arwen can put counters on all your creatures and gain life, a classic Selesnya go-wide strategy.
If some of these cards seem a bit underwhelming for such iconic characters, then fear not. There’s going to be multiple versions of pretty much everyone we’ve covered so far, and Wizards is likely saving its best spoilers for later.
To illustrate that, we’ve already seen a second version of Sam: Sam, Loyal Attendant. This frying pan-wielding hobbit makes food tokens, and makes them easier to use. He partners with an unshown Frodo card, Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit.
Both of these cards are found in the Commander decks releasing alongside the Lord of the Rings set, but apparently these are not the face commanders for any of the decks.
Want more top-notch card analysis? Check out our guide to the best MTG Arena decks. And don’t miss a date with our MTG release schedule.
Source: Wargamer
