Relic of Sauron | Art by Anton Solovianchyk

Artifacts and Lands | Enchantments | Instants and Sorceries| Legendary Creatures | Non-legendary Creatures | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Set Reviews

There and back again...

Hello everyone! It’s Travis again, and I'm back with more artifacts and lands, but this time just the brand new ones we're getting in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander decks (LTC). Since we've already had the first set reviewfest, it's time for the second Commander deck reviewfest. Let’s see what new goodies we've got!

Crown of Gondor

This Equipment is the epitome of "a ruler and their kingdom is only as strong as their people". Immediately, a go-wide strategy springs to mind, and the archetype that can fill a board quickest is tokens. Cadira, Caller of the Small is one of the first commanders that jumps out. Whenever she connects, her bunny army grows, and she will also buff herself while wearing the Crown of Gondor. Any other creature that benefits from having a slew of creatures on board, like Kemba, Kha Regent, Valduk, Keeper of the Flame or Jetmir, Nexus of Revels would also wear the Crown quite regally. As the Crown sits unworn on the battlefield, of course it needs royalty (a legend) to appear and claim (quite literally) the Monarchy. That is of course if no one else is the Monarch, which is a nice option if you don’t feel like painting that target on your back right away. But, if you are indeed the Monarch, the Crown becomes easier to wear and wield into battle. On the flip side, if you aren’t the Monarch, it gives you a little incentive to go and claim it. The Crown of Gondor truly belongs to one character, and Aragorn, the Uniter wears it the best.

Field-Tested Frying Pan

A Hobbits' -I mean Halflings'- signature tool, the Field-Tested Frying Pan, brings both the chef and the meal right to your doorstep. Fully at home in any lifegain strategy, this Frying Pan gives a boost to the equipped creature equal to however much life you gain. Decks like Rodolf Duskbringer, Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, and fellow Universes Beyond legend, Celestine, the Living Saint, could whip up some delicious value. And no Halfling adventure is complete without a Field-Tested Frying Pan, so Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant, Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit, and Sam, Loyal Attendant shouldn't leave the house without one. Treebeard, Gracious Host, not only works with lifegain, he will also grow any Halfling whenever you do gain life. A commander that I talked about last time, Evra, Halcyon Witness, will get a supersized boost whenever you use her ability. And remember, if you're ever caught in a salt storm, the Field-Tested Frying Pan, can always be used as a drying pan.

Hithlain Rope

A handy-dandy little artifact that either ramps you or gives you a little bit of card advantage, but with one condition: you’ll have to pass it to the player to your right. In group-hug decks like Kwain, Itinerant Meddler, Gluntch, the Bestower, and Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, Hithlain Rope will find a nice place in their tool kit. The “can’t be sacrificed” clause is quite handy, giving the Rope a better chance to make it around the table back to you. Play this in a deck with Brooding Saurian, and you won't have to worry about your opponents getting their hands all over your precious Hithlain Rope. In the end, the Rope is a good piece for decks looking to help the table as well as help themselves.

Lothlórien Blade

Lothlórien Blade reminds me of another card I have recently reviewed, Bilbo's Ring. It’s an Equipment that benefits everybody, but really benefits a specific creature type. In this instance, the creature type is Elves, and the equip costs are quite different between Elves and non-Elves. A direction that the Blade leans toward is a Voltron/one-big-body strategy. When that big creature attacks, they get to do damage to a creature the defending player controls. Some Elves that can get quite swole quickly are Imaryll, Elfhame Elite, Marwyn, the Nurturer, or in the right build, Trelasarra, Moon Dancer. Some other Elves whose power can creep up to a point that they turn into monsters (which the Blade can turn into removal spells) are Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord or Abomination of Llanowar. There are even a few Elves from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth sets (both regular and Commander) that this sword fits with: All of the Legolas’: Legolas, Master Archer, Legolas, Counter of Kills, Legolas Greenleaf, and Haldir, Lórien Lieutenant. Outside of a dedicated Elf (or Shapeshifter) deck, I would not personally recommend running Lothlórien Blade.

Model of Unity

Oh fantastic, another three-mana “tap for any color” mana rock with an upside! Model of Unity entices your opponents to vote the same way you are by offering a nice little bonus scry 2 when they do. There haven't been a whole lot of commanders that care about voting, other than Tivit, Seller of Secrets, and the new precon deck led by Galadriel, Elven-Queen. In those decks, this can play a role in reliable card selection, and be a prime piece in any plans that help progress your political puppeteering. Outside of those decks or any synergy involving the voting mechanic, Model of Unity turns into a worse Darksteel Ingot.

Relic of Sauron

Comparing Relic of Sauron to Hedron Archive will help set a baseline for how good this Grixis card could be. Therein lies the rub, as it can only go in decks that play with the Grixis colors, as opposed to the Archive, which can go in any deck. Saying that, colored mana (especially in pip-filled costs) is much more useful than colorless. If you're running Hedron Archive in your Grixis decks, swap it out for Relic of Sauron. The Relic gives you the mana you need, and for one more mana lets you discard, enabling graveyard shenanigans, which are right in that color combo’s wheelhouse. Relic of Sauron is a great ramp piece, albeit a little expensive mana cost wise, but hey, at least it’s a lot better than Firemind Vessel.

The Black Gate

The only new land we are getting from LTC is The Black Gate. We can see that it has that beautiful Gate typing that Nine-Fingers Keene decks love to see. This land has an activated ability that makes one of your creatures unblockable to the opponent with the most life. Combine that with the clause seen on the mythic cycle of MDFC lands from Zendikar Rising, and it's clear The Black Gate isn’t messing around. There is a drawback with that ability though, if you have the most life, you won’t be able to target anyone else. Some creatures would chomp at the bit to be unblockable, like Phage the Untouchable, Virtus the Veiled, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, Ashling, the Extinguisher, and the aforementioned Nine-Fingers Keene. Look at me forgetting to point out another crucial word on the card, The Black Gate lives up to its legendary name by being, well, legendary. Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful partnered up with any partner with black in its identity would like this, as would Dihada, Binder of Wills, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain, or Kethis, the Hidden Hand.

A short and sweet serving this time around. Which card out of these are you most looking forward to playing with? Make sure to go and check out the other reviews if you haven't already! Until next time, take care and don’t forget the Lembas.

Travis Stanley

Travis is an improviser, actor, writer, and all-around nerd hailing from Victoria, BC. Commander/EDH was the way he was taught to play Magic, and he has loved it ever since. Funnily enough, his origin with Magic: the Gathering was with the set Magic Origins. Outside of Magic, Travis loves watching the NFL, playing all sorts of TTRPGs, and watching too much anime.