Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Satisfying Design

The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Satisfying Design

Tom AndersonCommander, Modern

Tales of Middle-earth proved how well Magic can adapt itself to capture the identity of other blockbuster media products through its design. As with the Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks last year, Wizards of the Coast bet a lot on their ability to draw in new and returning players from among fans of the source material. It’s a confident move; Magic …

The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Modern Results

The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Modern Results

Mason ClarkModern

Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth hasn’t been around Magic Online for long, but there are already plenty of Modern results to look at from recent challenges and the showcase.  The decks we’re looking at today are all from the finals of either kind of event. And while that’s not a direct indicator of how good the decks are, …

The Lord of the Rings Updated Decks for Modern

The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Updated Decks for Modern

Mason ClarkModern

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is just one week away, which means it’s time to get to brewing decks for Modern! As an incredibly wide format, this set offers many powerful options to build around and opportunities to improve existing archetypes.  Mono White Legends  White Aggro has been a staple of lower power formats for years. Looking …

The Other Rings of Power in Magic

The Other Rings of Power in Magic

Tom AndersonCommander, Modern

Of all the new Magic cards spoiled from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, the most eye-catching is The One Ring itself. Potent, mechanically unique and with a mind-bogglingly valuable serialized Elvish printing to be found… who wouldn’t be tempted by such a treasure?!  All I’m saying is if my cousin was as annoying as Deagol, I’d probably …

Is Tempted by the Ring the New Initiative?

Is the Ring Tempts You the New Initiative?

Michael RappLegacy, Modern

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth brings us the newest Magic mechanic “The Ring Tempts You.” Naturally, once players saw the ring tempts you in stages on a track that exists outside the game, comparisons to the Initiative mechanic started flowing.  Is being tempted by the ring going to be as format defining in Modern as taking the …

The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth Modern Highlights

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Modern Highlights

Mason ClarkModern

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is our first Universes Beyond set that goes straight to Modern. Since it’s unprecedented, players have wondered since its original announcement how it would pan out in the format. Well, today we’re taking a look at three cards that could change up the format and open new styles of decks. Stern Scolding …

Sultai Battle Shadow in Modern

Sultai Battle Shadow in Modern

Michael RappModern

Death’s Shadow decks haven’t had a meaningful addition in some time, which contributes to a decline in both play rate and success, as of late. However, I’m not here today to bemoan the performance of Shadow — I actually have good news! Not only did Death’s Shadow win an MTGO challenge last week, piloted by xfile, but it is a …