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Quick Draft LTR 25 July 2023

25 July 07:53 - FUCH 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Merry, Esquire of Rohan image
1 Errand-Rider of Gondor image
1 Haradrim Spearmaster image
1 Shadowfax, Lord of Horses image
5 Westfold Rider image
2 Relentless Rohirrim image
1 Bill the Pony image
2 Stalwarts of Osgiliath image
1 Protector of Gondor image
1 East-Mark Cavalier image
1 Erkenbrand, Lord of Westfold image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (8)
3 Dúnedain Blade image
1 Escape from Orthanc image
1 Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image
1 Hobbit's Sting image
1 Lost to Legend image
1 Rush the Room image
Land (15)
8 Plains image
7 Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Esquire of the King image
1 Took Reaper image
1 Nimble Hobbit image
1 Knights of Dol Amroth image
1 Frodo Baggins image
1 Escape from Orthanc image
1 Stone of Erech image
3 Fire of Orthanc image
1 Second Breakfast image
1 Soothing of Sméagol image
1 Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image
1 Ringsight image
1 Saruman's Trickery image
1 Treason of Isengard image
1 The Grey Havens image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Merry, Esquire of Rohan
Merry, Esquire of Rohan image 3.0 This seems like a nice card. Drawing a card with it and giving it First Strike are fairly obtainable things, even if they aren’t necessarily always going to happen, and a 2/2 Haste as the baseline isn’t bad
Glorfindel, Dauntless Rescuer image 2.5 This combination of abilities seems pretty good, and makes Glorfindel capable of doing something powerful in a few different situations. For example, if your opponent has a 2/2 around that you can force to block, that feels pretty good. And, if your opponent can only take down Glorfindel with a double block, you can shut that down. It gets really interesting when you scry more than once in a turn and you can choose both, which you’ll want to do in some situations. All that said, while the design is definitely cool, I think it will be hard to line things up consistently with Glorfindel, especially because he demands you Scry for this effect to ever happen in the first place.
Rise of the Witch-king image 2.0 4 mana is a lot for a symmetrical edict, but the ability to return any permanent to the battlefield makes up for that some. Since it lets you get any permanent, you have a better chance than usual of having something worth bringing back, although the best thing to bring back is usually still going to be a creature. It does also take something away from your opponent, but it will frequently not be a very meaningful creature
Horses of the Bruinen image 1.0 You usually go down a card when you cast this without taking any cards away from your opponent. You might get some tempo, provided you bounce things that are expensive enough, but that is far from guaranteed. This can bounce Armies, which might feel pretty good when the Army is particularly large, but overall this doesn’t feel like it can consistently give you what it needs to when you’re spending 5 mana and using up a card.
Orcish Medicine image 1.5 This trick isn’t that likely to help your creature win combat, but it does blank an attack and gain you some life at worst, and the fact it blanks most removal isn’t too bad either. Add Amass to the mix and I think you have a card that makes the cut in your deck sometimes, but for a trick to really be worthwhile it does need to be more useful in combat than this is
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Elven Farsight image 2.5 This is a surprisingly powerful draw spell for green. You get to see up to four cards and you should be able to make sure you draw a creature most of the time when you play it. On top of that, Scrying is something you’re going to want to do a lot of when you’re playing Green. It doesn’t effect the board, but this feels like it is going to do such a good job of making your draws smoother and more consistent for so little mana that I’m tempted to go all the way up to a 3
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Protector of Gondor image 2.5 We see versions of this card a lot, and its always fine. It is pretty much exactly what you expect to get from a 4-mana Common – 4/4 of stats spread across two bodies.
Troll of Khazad-dûm image 2.0 This 6/5 is pretty tough to block and can alter combat even in the later stages of the game, and if you draw it early and you need a land, it can fetch one for you
Esquire of the King image 1.5 This ability costing only three mana is pretty sweet, especially if you’ve gone wide enough – and doing that in White certainly seems doable. The bad news is, as a one mana 1/1 it is pretty irrelevant up until the point it can use its ability, and paying 5 for that ability isn’t nearly as appealing.
Pippin's Bravery image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 is usually a decent enough trick, and the food upside here is very real. This can allow your creature to win combat very efficiently, and that’s always what you want from a combat trick
Isolation at Orthanc image 3.0 This is nice removal. You always trade 1-for-1 with it, and because it is an Instant, sometimes you’ll be able to really get your opponent if you cast it in response to a trick or something.
Warbeast of Gorgoroth image 2.0 On its own, this is a 5-mana 5/4 that Amasses 2 when it dies. That’s not bad, but not really anything to write home about either. Obviously, it does get better the more 4 power or more creatures you have, and it makes any trades you make with those creatures into a pretty decent deal, but its still expensive and has mediocre stats
Pack 1 Pick 2: Dúnedain Blade
Quickbeam, Upstart Ent image 3.5 On its own, Quickbeam is a 6-mana 5/6 that can give two things +2/+2 and trample until end of turn. That’s enough to make the board a lot more favorable for you to attack. Even if Quickbeam hase bad base-stats, I think that ETB ability is enough to make this a nice card. One that gets even better if you have some more Treefolk
Rise of the Witch-king image 2.0 4 mana is a lot for a symmetrical edict, but the ability to return any permanent to the battlefield makes up for that some. Since it lets you get any permanent, you have a better chance than usual of having something worth bringing back, although the best thing to bring back is usually still going to be a creature. It does also take something away from your opponent, but it will frequently not be a very meaningful creature
The Mouth of Sauron image 3.5 If you get Amass 2 or more out of this, it is going to feel like a great deal, and by the later stages of the game it could make your Army absolutely massive or just create a massive Army for you. There will be some awkward times where you can only Amass 0 or 1, but you do have two separate graveyards to rely on, so your chances of getting good value out of this are pretty high
Protector of Gondor image 2.5 We see versions of this card a lot, and its always fine. It is pretty much exactly what you expect to get from a 4-mana Common – 4/4 of stats spread across two bodies.
Mushroom Watchdogs image 3.0 This is a pretty solid food payoff. The Watchdogs can quickly become a problem, and the fact that they gain Vigilance can really help out in a race. I’m giving this a 3.
Glorious Gale image 2.5 This is a strictly better Essence Scatter, and Essence Scatter is always decent in Limited. It is cheap and counters the most common type of spell in your typical game.
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Willow-Wind image 3.0 The last time we saw a 5-mana ¾ Flyer that Scried 2 on ETB it really over-performed, and that wasn’t even in a set with a Scry deck. This is probably one of Blue’s best Commons.
Dúnedain Blade image 2.5 If you are paying three to equip this, it is basically unplayable. If you’re paying one to equip it enough of the time, it becomes a solid playable. There are certainly enough Humans in White, as well as some equipment synergies in the set.
Took Reaper image 2.0 This has mediocre stats that would make it a 1.0 at best these days. Getting tempted by the ring is nice upside, and does mean you’ll come out ahead in most trades, but it also isn’t the type of upside to get that excited over.
Mordor Muster image 3.0 Two mana 1/1s that draw you a card are always solid in Limited, and that’s certainly the case here, especially because the format has extra Orc and Army synergy all over the place
Oliphaunt image 2.0 A 6-mana 6/4 with Trample isn’t very good, but offering +2/+0 and Trample to something else when it attacks can result in some pretty potent attacks. Adding Mountcycling for only one mana to the mix is a big deal though, as it means you can use this to help you hit a land drop early, and if you get it later in the game it can come down and impact the board
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Escape from Orthanc
Stone of Erech image 0.5 There’s some graveyard stuff going on in this format, but not really enough for this to be main deck material. Sure, it replaces itself in a worst case, but that’s not really enough
Old Man Willow image 4.0 This is a great signpost Uncommon. It is always going to have at least decent stats, and the attack effect is really strong too. You won’t always have something to sacrifice, but there is a lot of Food in this format, and that’s the ideal thing to give up. There are going to be tons of situations where this can attack and easily remove opposing creatures by giving up sacrifice fodder
Erebor Flamesmith image 2.5 We see this type of spell payoff pretty often, and they are always pretty reasonable, especially when you can get multiples of them. Pinging your opponent can really add up if you’re doing a good job casting instants and sorceries.
Uruk-hai Berserker image 2.0 These are definitely below-rate stats these days, and if this didn’t do anything else it would be a 1.0, even with a useful creature type. Getting tempted by the Ring is real upside, but it also isn’t so insane that I’m thrilled about the idea of playing this
Dreadful as the Storm image 1.0 Lately, we’ve finally been seeing cards with this type of effect actually be playable, but that’s because they have drawn a card. Once that’s the case, a boost like this can be a 2-for-1 and that’s a big deal! The Ring tempting you isn’t nearly as good as drawing a card, so I don’t think this does enough. The problem with this type of boost is that you end up overpaying for it on most creatures – like a 3/3 that gets +2/+2 from this is not a good deal. Sure, on 1/1s it feels better, but that makes this overly situational
Generous Ent image 2.5 A 6-mana 5/7 with Reach that gives you a treasure isn’t a terrible late game play. In fact, it is the kind of body that can help you stablize, especially because the Food can gain you life! And if you draw it early and need a land drop, you can always cycle it away
Birthday Escape image 2.5 This seems like a nice deal for only a single Blue mana. Most of the time getting two effects for one mana ends up being pretty nice, and I think that’s the case here.
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Lash of the Balrog image 3.0 This is another nice removal spell for Black decks. This is Bone Splinters when that’s what you need, but having the option of paying 5 to kill something with it is nice, since it means in the later stages of the game you don’t need to give up a creature. Neither mode is super efficient of course – individually each of those cards is probably a 2.0 or a 2.5, but I think the modality – plus the presence of good sacrifice fodder makes it a 3.
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Nimrodel Watcher image 3.0 This is a nice Common payoff for scrying. There seems to be a critical mass of Scry at lower rarities, so imagining that you can get in with this an unblockable 3/1 a couple of times isn’t a pipe dream. Sometimes it will be a very real win condition.
Ent's Fury image 3.5 This looks like a nice removal spell for Green. +1/+1 + Fight for two mana is a good enough rate for this to be a nice card, so the 4 toughness or greater upside is enough to push this into “premium removal” range. You do always need to be careful with fight spells and choose a spot where you don’t risk getting completely blown out – like if your opponent removes your fighter in response – but there are plenty of windows where casting this will have a big impact
Pack 1 Pick 4: Errand-Rider of Gondor
Peregrin Took image 4.0 There are many ways to make tokens in this set, and lots of Food and Food payoffs, so Peregrin’s ability to give you more Food and cash in that food for cards is pretty impressive. The stats are underwhelming to be sure, but this is a very real value engine
Prince Imrahil the Fair image 3.0 This is a nice signpost for Blue-White, which is obviously about drawing two cards a turn. Getting a 1/1 is a very real return on that type of investment
The Torment of Gollum image 2.5 So, the last time we saw Amass, there was an Amass discard spell that really overperformed. It only amassed one and cost one less mana, so the cards aren’t identical, but I am reasonably confident in saying that this is going to be a nice Common. This can net you a 2-for-1 in lots of situations. Just imagine this was a 4-mana 2/2 that lets you go after your opponents hand…because that’s basically what this is. It does feel a little less good when you just put two counters on something, but that’s still not a bad deal
Shire Terrace image 2.5 This can’t grab you a land for no mana the way Evolving Wilds can, but the fact it can tap for mana in the mean time makes up for that.
Mirkwood Spider image 2.5 One mana 1/1 deathtouchers are pretty much always playable, since they are relevant all game long thanks to their ability to trade with anything. Sometimes this will also be able to grant a problematic legendary creature death touch, and that’s some nice additional upside
Chance-Met Elves image 3.0 This looks like another quality Scry payoff. Starting as a 3/2 obviously isn’t very good, but there’s definitely a critical mass of Scry in the set, so this will do a good job of accumulating counters throughout the game.
Rohirrim Lancer image 2.0 A one mana 1/1 with Menace can get in for a few swings in the early game, and in the later game you can give this up to get tempted by the ring
Soothing of Sméagol image 2.0 Two mana to bounce a nontoken creature isn’t an amazing deal these days. Remember, you’re only getting tempo and are actually going down a card. Still, this does allow you to impact the board and getting tempted by the ring is never a bad thing.
Errand-Rider of Gondor image 2.5 If you don’t control a legendary creature this gives you some decent card selection, and if you do control one, we’re talking about a 2-for-1. Generally that seems like that means if you play this on turn three it is probably just card selection, but by the mid to late game it will usually draw you a card straight up. The stats aren’t great of course, but this definitely does enough to make the cut pretty often.
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Revive the Shire image 1.5 This type of effect usually isn’t anything special, as 9 times out of 10 you’d rather just be adding to the board, and the fact that this is almost a blank card in the early game is an issue. Using it to get back a bomb or some other powerful permanent is definitely nice, and the Food makes it a little more attractive, but this seems like the kind of card that just doesn’t make the cut most of the time because it doesn’t usually do enough
Pack 1 Pick 5: Second Breakfast
Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain image 3.5 This is mostly useful alongside Amass, but the good news is there’s a ton of that in Black and Red in this set. A two mana 2/2 with Menace that gives you some extra counters here and there definitely makes for a nice signpost Uncommon
Bill Ferny, Bree Swindler image 2.0 So, the Horse effect is some hilarious flavor, but this is mostly just a two mana 2/1 that makes a treasure when it gets blocked. That’s a fairly mediocre two-drop, but not a disaster either.
Glorious Gale image 2.5 This is a strictly better Essence Scatter, and Essence Scatter is always decent in Limited. It is cheap and counters the most common type of spell in your typical game.
Galadhrim Guide image 2.0 Stats aren’t good, but there are enough Scry payoffs for the first copy of this to make the cut pretty often
Mordor Trebuchet image 2.0 Obviously you’re going to be happiest with this in a Black-Red deck, but in that deck this seems like a pretty legit payoff. A three mana ¼ isn’t anything to write home about, but throwing a 2/1 Boulder at your opponent every time you attack with a Goblin or Orc is pretty sweet. It also works quite well alongside sacrifice outlets
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Warbeast of Gorgoroth image 2.0 On its own, this is a 5-mana 5/4 that Amasses 2 when it dies. That’s not bad, but not really anything to write home about either. Obviously, it does get better the more 4 power or more creatures you have, and it makes any trades you make with those creatures into a pretty decent deal, but its still expensive and has mediocre stats
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Ithilien Kingfisher image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as a three mana 2/1 with Flying that draws when it enters the battlefield, but it is still quite good. It is a reasonable threat in the air, and it can deliver a two-for-one pretty often.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Haradrim Spearmaster
Lost Isle Calling image 0.0 Scying is a big theme for Blue in the set, but even with that in mind, I don’t like this very much. Actually getting cards out of it is going to take a very long time because you have to build up counters and then pay six mana. Obviously, if you find yourself able to get it up to seven counters you not only reload your hand entirely, you also get a Time Walk – and that’s crazy if you can pull it off, but the issue is that pulling it off is going to take way too long, and in the meantime? This does stone nothing.
Rise of the Witch-king image 2.0 4 mana is a lot for a symmetrical edict, but the ability to return any permanent to the battlefield makes up for that some. Since it lets you get any permanent, you have a better chance than usual of having something worth bringing back, although the best thing to bring back is usually still going to be a creature. It does also take something away from your opponent, but it will frequently not be a very meaningful creature
Wizard's Rockets image 1.5 If you need fixing, there are worse ways to do it. In total, you end up spending one more mana than you get back, but the fact that they replace themselves helps soften the blow. Still, it doesn’t really feel like this is a card that will make the cut in all of your decks or anything
Inherited Envelope image 1.5 Manalith doesn’t tend to be very good in Limited. Using up a card just for inefficient fixing and ramp can be rough, though adding “The Ring Tempts You” to the mix probably does enough for this to be fixing you turn to when you’re desperate
Great Hall of the Citadel image 1.5 This can certainly help you splash some powerful legendary creatures, but I’m a little skeptical. Most of these lands that normally only produce colorless, but can produce colored mana for a certain type of card end up not being worth it. Producing only colorless for the majority of cards in your deck can be a liability for your mana base, so it ends up sort of canceling out any upside you might get out of it when you have your legendaries around. You’re going to want to go after different fixing than this most of the time
Soothing of Sméagol image 2.0 Two mana to bounce a nontoken creature isn’t an amazing deal these days. Remember, you’re only getting tempo and are actually going down a card. Still, this does allow you to impact the board and getting tempted by the ring is never a bad thing.
Haradrim Spearmaster image 2.0 It is a little sad it can’t buff itself, as that would have made it significantly better, but offering +1/+0 to something every turn does do enough to improve combat for you often enough for this to be fine
Generous Ent image 2.5 A 6-mana 5/7 with Reach that gives you a treasure isn’t a terrible late game play. In fact, it is the kind of body that can help you stablize, especially because the Food can gain you life! And if you draw it early and need a land drop, you can always cycle it away
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Nimble Hobbit
Celeborn the Wise image 3.0 Scrying is a well-supported theme in Blue-Green, and Celeborn is another nice payoff for doing so. He will always attack as a 4/4, since he counts himself, and there are going to plenty of times where you can Scry additional times to buff him, especially because his Scry ability will theoretically allow you to find even more Scry! He will largely be a Hill Giant on your opponents turn, but some instant speed scry can also cause some problems for your opponent
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Many Partings image 2.5 This offers some quality fixing while also helping you up your deck’s Food count, something that certainly matters in Green
Cirith Ungol Patrol image 2.5 This is a fairly powerful sacrifice effect. Normally we just get “draw a card” on this type of thing and that ends up being fine, so also getting a Food out of it is some serious business. Gaining life on top of drawing a card can be a powerful way to pull ahead in a game. This has sort of decent stats too, and a useful creature type, and there’s plenty of good sacrifice fodder around
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Brandywine Farmer image 2.0 The stat-line is horrendous, but getting two foods out of one card is a nice thing in Green, and especially in Green-White, where you can find many uses for Food
Nimble Hobbit image 2.0 Tapping opposing creatures tends to be pretty good in aggro decks, but paying three for the effect is kind of rough. Giving up a Food is more appealing, but you’re still attacking with a 1/3, and there’s a pretty good chance that even when you tap down an opposing creature with this, your opponent can easily take it down in combat, especially after the early stages of the game.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Shadowfax, Lord of Horses
Ent-Draught Basin image 0.0 This looks pretty bad. Sure, one mana to put a counter on a 1/1 isn’t a terrible deal, and as a mana sink you could do worse, but it will eventually be fairly expensive to put counters on things, and the fact it does it only at Sorcery speed is a pretty big problem too. This just seems too clunky
Shadowfax, Lord of Horses image 2.5 This is nothing fancy, but it is a pretty amazing rate. They do enter tapped, which matters – as this will feel pretty miserable when you’re behind. Playing this on turn two will apply some serious pressure on your opponent, though
Treason of Isengard image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 that puts a spell on top of your library is an okay card. This is an effect players often overrate, as they imagine getting back a really great spell – and when you can do that it is pretty good. However, the fact you have to wait to draw that card really makes it significantly worse
Soldier of the Grey Host image 2.0 This has what are well below-rate stats these days, and while the enter the battlefield ability can be useful, it also isn’t anything special. This does have Flash, so sometimes it can work like a combat trick, but a +2/+0 boost isn’t exactly the sort of thing that helps your creature survive combat a large percentage of the time.
Lembas image 2.5 This seems pretty solid. Scry 1 + Draw 1 when it ETBs is nice, and it is nice that it is Food – not only because it can gain you life, but because the format has lots of payoffs for Food – as well as things like Historic and Artifacts more generally, which it helps you with. The Scry and the extra draw also works well with decks in the format
Took Reaper image 2.0 This has mediocre stats that would make it a 1.0 at best these days. Getting tempted by the ring is nice upside, and does mean you’ll come out ahead in most trades, but it also isn’t the type of upside to get that excited over.
Many Partings image 2.5 This offers some quality fixing while also helping you up your deck’s Food count, something that certainly matters in Green
Pack 1 Pick 9: Esquire of the King
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Elven Farsight image 2.5 This is a surprisingly powerful draw spell for green. You get to see up to four cards and you should be able to make sure you draw a creature most of the time when you play it. On top of that, Scrying is something you’re going to want to do a lot of when you’re playing Green. It doesn’t effect the board, but this feels like it is going to do such a good job of making your draws smoother and more consistent for so little mana that I’m tempted to go all the way up to a 3
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Esquire of the King image 1.5 This ability costing only three mana is pretty sweet, especially if you’ve gone wide enough – and doing that in White certainly seems doable. The bad news is, as a one mana 1/1 it is pretty irrelevant up until the point it can use its ability, and paying 5 for that ability isn’t nearly as appealing.
Pippin's Bravery image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 is usually a decent enough trick, and the food upside here is very real. This can allow your creature to win combat very efficiently, and that’s always what you want from a combat trick
Isolation at Orthanc image 3.0 This is nice removal. You always trade 1-for-1 with it, and because it is an Instant, sometimes you’ll be able to really get your opponent if you cast it in response to a trick or something.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Took Reaper
Mushroom Watchdogs image 3.0 This is a pretty solid food payoff. The Watchdogs can quickly become a problem, and the fact that they gain Vigilance can really help out in a race. I’m giving this a 3.
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Willow-Wind image 3.0 The last time we saw a 5-mana ¾ Flyer that Scried 2 on ETB it really over-performed, and that wasn’t even in a set with a Scry deck. This is probably one of Blue’s best Commons.
Took Reaper image 2.0 This has mediocre stats that would make it a 1.0 at best these days. Getting tempted by the ring is nice upside, and does mean you’ll come out ahead in most trades, but it also isn’t the type of upside to get that excited over.
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Stone of Erech
Stone of Erech image 0.5 There’s some graveyard stuff going on in this format, but not really enough for this to be main deck material. Sure, it replaces itself in a worst case, but that’s not really enough
Dreadful as the Storm image 1.0 Lately, we’ve finally been seeing cards with this type of effect actually be playable, but that’s because they have drawn a card. Once that’s the case, a boost like this can be a 2-for-1 and that’s a big deal! The Ring tempting you isn’t nearly as good as drawing a card, so I don’t think this does enough. The problem with this type of boost is that you end up overpaying for it on most creatures – like a 3/3 that gets +2/+2 from this is not a good deal. Sure, on 1/1s it feels better, but that makes this overly situational
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Nimrodel Watcher image 3.0 This is a nice Common payoff for scrying. There seems to be a critical mass of Scry at lower rarities, so imagining that you can get in with this an unblockable 3/1 a couple of times isn’t a pipe dream. Sometimes it will be a very real win condition.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Fire of Orthanc
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Revive the Shire image 1.5 This type of effect usually isn’t anything special, as 9 times out of 10 you’d rather just be adding to the board, and the fact that this is almost a blank card in the early game is an issue. Using it to get back a bomb or some other powerful permanent is definitely nice, and the Food makes it a little more attractive, but this seems like the kind of card that just doesn’t make the cut most of the time because it doesn’t usually do enough
Shire Terrace image 2.5 This can’t grab you a land for no mana the way Evolving Wilds can, but the fact it can tap for mana in the mean time makes up for that.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Escape from Orthanc
Bill Ferny, Bree Swindler image 2.0 So, the Horse effect is some hilarious flavor, but this is mostly just a two mana 2/1 that makes a treasure when it gets blocked. That’s a fairly mediocre two-drop, but not a disaster either.
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Soothing of Sméagol
Soothing of Sméagol image 2.0 Two mana to bounce a nontoken creature isn’t an amazing deal these days. Remember, you’re only getting tempo and are actually going down a card. Still, this does allow you to impact the board and getting tempted by the ring is never a bad thing.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Westfold Rider
Borne Upon a Wind image 2.0 This replaces itself, so it is hard for it to be terrible, but paying two mana to give your spells Flash normally isn’t going to be that good in Limited. First, you need to cast this, and then, you have to have mana available to cast your non-instants for the effect to actually matter, and having that all line up consistently in Limited is going to be rare. Still, it does have upside, and the worst case is that you pay two to draw a card, so it is difficult for it to be terrible.
Denethor, Ruling Steward image 3.5 Playing this in your second main phase after something died in combat is going to feel pretty good, as at that point Denethor is a three mana 2/4 and a 1/1 token, which is an amazing rate! Plus, he can give up creatures to drain life, and you can do that once every turn without really giving anything up, because he can just sacrifice the token every time
Ent-Draught Basin image 0.0 This looks pretty bad. Sure, one mana to put a counter on a 1/1 isn’t a terrible deal, and as a mana sink you could do worse, but it will eventually be fairly expensive to put counters on things, and the fact it does it only at Sorcery speed is a pretty big problem too. This just seems too clunky
Legolas, Counter of Kills image 2.5 His ability to untap is reasonably easy to trigger in Blue-Green, but also not the most exciting thing ever. His ability to grow is where the real value is, but Green/blue is awkwardly a color pair that isn’t that good at killing things outside of combat, which limits just how good this can be. Additionally, his base stats are not remotely impressive
Morgul-Knife Wound image 0.0 I don’t think this is very good. I know it looks like a really cheap removal spell, but it has some serious problems. It is basically a Black version of the kind of removal spell Blue usually gets that makes a creature into a 0/2 or whatever, and those are always pretty underwhelming. So, let’s go through this card’s problems: The biggest thing is that it it doesn’t entirely remove a creature on its own. That effectively means you’re going down a card, and not taking a full card from your opponent.. Just lowering a creature’s power means that it can still block – perhaps even really effectively since its toughness is unaffected. It can also use all of its abilities. And heck, if it has high enough power it might still be a decent attacker! All of that is bad news. Additionally, giving your opponent an option about whether to pay life or exile the creature is way worse than it looks, because your opponent can always choose whichever option doesn’t really matter for them, and most of the time – neither of them will matter. Basically, even when this does operate as removal it isn’t going to give you a full card of value, and there will be plenty of times where it is far worse than that
Hithlain Knots image 2.0 This does a bunch of little stuff that will play reasonably well in multiple decks in the format. Whether you’re interesting in drawing extra cards, casting spells, or Scrying, this has you covered!
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Sam's Desperate Rescue image 2.0 One mana to return a creature from your graveyard to your hand is a passable card, though I’d usually pay three mana to get two things back, as that gives you a more significant advantage by the later stages of the game. That said, paying one will often mean you can play the thing you get back right away, and getting tempted by the ring even makes this have a decent fail case if you don’t have something in your graveyard
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Shire Scarecrow image 1.5 A two mana 0/3 defender doesn’t tend to be very good, but this does a reasonable job of filtering your mana
Rush the Room image 1.5 +1/+0 and First Strike can help a creature win a decent number of combats, but not so many that I’m super excited about this as a trick. The extra Goblin/Orc upside is good, and occasionally giving something Haste will make a difference, but this seems pretty weak overall
Arwen's Gift image 2.0 Having two legendary creatures in play is very doable in this set, but you also shouldn’t always expect to be able to cast this for three. At four mana it is definitely a little bit clunky, but at least you can see up to 4 cards – which is a ton in Limited.
East-Mark Cavalier image 1.5 This has passable stats as a two mana 2/2 with Vigilance, but the other upside it has is very underwhelming. There will be some occasions where it lines up nicely since it can trade with a larger Goblin or Orc, but a lot of the time the ability doesn’t matter, and even when your opponent does have a creature with one of those types, they are often already just going to trade with the cavalier.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Relentless Rohirrim
Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant image 4.0 So if you don’t already have an Orc Army, this is 4-mana for a 3/3 and a 1/1 with death touch, and if you do have one, this is 4-mana for a 3/3 and a +1/+1 counter on your Army. That’s a pretty good rate all around. It works with all the other tokens too!
Entish Restoration image 3.0 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they tend to be pretty good at fixing your mana and ramping. What we haven’t seen before is the “power 4 or greater” upside. When you can trigger that, this will really be a nice way to ramp and fix, although a lot of the time by the time you have a creature with power 4 or greater you won’t be as interested in fixing anyway. This does look like the kind of fixing you’re going to want to pick up if you’re splashing a third color or going with more than two colors, but you probably don’t play it beyond that. Worth noting that this can even potentially help you splash cards with double-costed mana, which isn’t always the case
Strider, Ranger of the North image 4.0 This has solid base stats and a really strong landfall effect. He can always give the boost to himself, which means he can rumble as a 5/5 with First Strike, something that is formidable on virtually every board state! He can also spread the love around, of course, which is great because it can enable you to attack with more of your creatures
Swarming of Moria image 2.5 A three mana 2/2 that gives you a treasure is decent, as is a three mana spell that puts two counters on something and gives you a Treasure. It is always nice having fixing and ramp in Red, as it doesn’t always have access to it
The Torment of Gollum image 2.5 So, the last time we saw Amass, there was an Amass discard spell that really overperformed. It only amassed one and cost one less mana, so the cards aren’t identical, but I am reasonably confident in saying that this is going to be a nice Common. This can net you a 2-for-1 in lots of situations. Just imagine this was a 4-mana 2/2 that lets you go after your opponents hand…because that’s basically what this is. It does feel a little less good when you just put two counters on something, but that’s still not a bad deal
Claim the Precious image 3.5 This is Murder, except it gets downgraded to a Sorcery and you get tempted by the ring in exchange. Either way, this is definitely premium removal as it can deal with almost anything efficiently while giving you a bonus effect. It does cost double black, and that does actually matter on premium removal, because the ones that only have one colored symbol are easily splashable, and that won’t be the case here
Mirkwood Spider image 2.5 One mana 1/1 deathtouchers are pretty much always playable, since they are relevant all game long thanks to their ability to trade with anything. Sometimes this will also be able to grant a problematic legendary creature death touch, and that’s some nice additional upside
Breaking of the Fellowship image 1.5 We have seen cards like this before, and they are always surprisingly difficult to set up correctly. First your opponent needs to have two creatures, second one has to be able to kill the other. That sounds simple enough, but the stat-lines don’t always line up correctly. The fact this is a Sorcery makes it even harder to make it work. Basically, this is a removal spell that asks too much to be very good. Especially because you don’t have that much control over what its asking for
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Pelargir Survivor image 2.0 Fixing and ramp for spells is alright, though even in a spell-heavy deck it always seems that this spell-specific ramp underperforms. The other ability is even less meaningful for the most part, as it costs a ton of mana and won’t do something meaningful most of the time.
Arwen's Gift image 2.0 Having two legendary creatures in play is very doable in this set, but you also shouldn’t always expect to be able to cast this for three. At four mana it is definitely a little bit clunky, but at least you can see up to 4 cards – which is a ton in Limited.
Relentless Rohirrim image 2.5 These aren’t great stats these days, but because the ring tempts you on ETB you are at worst going to give this one extra ability – although if it’s the first time the ring has tempted you it isn’t going to feel very good. If it is the second time or later though, the Rohirrim will feel like a solid card
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Pack 2 Pick 3: Bill the Pony
The Mouth of Sauron image 3.5 If you get Amass 2 or more out of this, it is going to feel like a great deal, and by the later stages of the game it could make your Army absolutely massive or just create a massive Army for you. There will be some awkward times where you can only Amass 0 or 1, but you do have two separate graveyards to rely on, so your chances of getting good value out of this are pretty high
Long List of the Ents image 1.0 This is a really neat and flavorful design, and sometimes it will give you a ton of value. Imagine playing it on turn one with a hand that can curve out. Theoretically, if you name the right creatures, you can have all of those come down with extra counters. Of course, problem is, getting this late makes it pretty close to a dead card, and it will really only shine if you play it on turn one and have a hand full of creatures. That makes it too narrow
Bill the Pony image 3.0 Not killing everything is a little bit of a bummer, but this will usually be able to kill the best things on the battlefield. You can build around it to some extent too, but not having a bunch of creatures who get destroyed by it, and it isn’t like that’s super hard to do in White. Getting some Food is some nice upside to have too. Overall I think this looks pretty good. IT will be a bit awkward sometimes, as sweepers often are in Limited, and there will be times where it hurts you more than your opponent. However, you will find enough board states where you come out ahead when the dust settles.
Deceive the Messenger image 2.0 Instants that temporary lower power usually aren’t very good, since they aren’t usually enough to help your creature win in combat or anything, instead they just feel like they delay the inevitable. However, Adding Amass to the mix does matter. If you think of this as a one mana 1/1 that gives a creature -3/-0 until end of turn, that sounds a lot better. It won’t always be that, but if it isn’t well, then it will put a counter on your Army, and that does increase the chances of this feeling more like a combat trick.
Shower of Arrows image 0.5 We see this type of effect all the time, and it is generally better to leave it in your sideboard. You just don’t have enough targets consistently enough.
Stalwarts of Osgiliath image 2.5 This starts out with bad stats, but it does have the ability to grow reasonably well. The fact the Ring tempts you could actually help you get the Stalwarts going too, since one of the Ring’s bonuses is that your creature loots when it attacks, which will mean the Stalwarts get a counter.
Isolation at Orthanc image 3.0 This is nice removal. You always trade 1-for-1 with it, and because it is an Instant, sometimes you’ll be able to really get your opponent if you cast it in response to a trick or something.
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Dúnedain Blade image 2.5 If you are paying three to equip this, it is basically unplayable. If you’re paying one to equip it enough of the time, it becomes a solid playable. There are certainly enough Humans in White, as well as some equipment synergies in the set.
Snarling Warg image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ Menace isn’t the worst stat-line, and this will be a 4/4 sometimes
Mordor Muster image 3.0 Two mana 1/1s that draw you a card are always solid in Limited, and that’s certainly the case here, especially because the format has extra Orc and Army synergy all over the place
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Pack 2 Pick 4: Hobbit's Sting
Gollum's Bite image 3.5 A one mana instant that gives -2/-2 is already premium removal. You can trade up with it super easy, so the fact that you can also get the Ring to tempt you from the graveyard is amazing upside to have on an already very good card.
Enraged Huorn image 2.0 A 5-mana 4/5 Trample is probably a 1.5 these days, but the ring tempting you does mean that at the very least, you can give the Huorn some extra abilities – or do the same for some other creature
Revive the Shire image 1.5 This type of effect usually isn’t anything special, as 9 times out of 10 you’d rather just be adding to the board, and the fact that this is almost a blank card in the early game is an issue. Using it to get back a bomb or some other powerful permanent is definitely nice, and the Food makes it a little more attractive, but this seems like the kind of card that just doesn’t make the cut most of the time because it doesn’t usually do enough
Deceive the Messenger image 2.0 Instants that temporary lower power usually aren’t very good, since they aren’t usually enough to help your creature win in combat or anything, instead they just feel like they delay the inevitable. However, Adding Amass to the mix does matter. If you think of this as a one mana 1/1 that gives a creature -3/-0 until end of turn, that sounds a lot better. It won’t always be that, but if it isn’t well, then it will put a counter on your Army, and that does increase the chances of this feeling more like a combat trick.
Pippin's Bravery image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 is usually a decent enough trick, and the food upside here is very real. This can allow your creature to win combat very efficiently, and that’s always what you want from a combat trick
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Mirkwood Bats image 3.0 This stat-line is well below rate these days, but this ability has the potential to be fairly strong, especially if you have some Food or Treasure tokens around since they are tokens that you create with built-in sacrifice effects
Hobbit's Sting image 3.0 White has a decent amount of food and lots of cards that help it go wide, so this will often have no problem doing at leas three damage. There are of course the awkward times where your board isn’t where it needs to be to take full advantage, and that probably prevents this from being premium removal.
Grey Havens Navigator image 2.0 We’ve seen three mana 3/2s with Flash that Scry a lot lately, and they haven’t been that good – but in the other sets there wasn’t a Scry deck like there is in this one. That probably does enough for this to be solid
Wose Pathfinder image 3.0 This is fragile and inefficient when it comes to stats, but it also fixes and ramps your mana, and in the extreme late game it has an effect that isn’t a terrible one to sink your mana into
Improvised Club image 1.5 Giving up a real creature for this is not very good, as you end up 2-for-1ing yourself, but if you have a treasure or food, or expendable body to sacrifice, this will do a decent job. Its nice that it can go after the opponent, and that will sometimes close out games. Still, it takes enough set up to actually be worthwhile that you’re not always going to play it
Pack 2 Pick 5: Stalwarts of Osgiliath
The Grey Havens image 2.0 This seems like it will be able to add at least one color of mana to your mana pool by the middle stages of the game, and that’s not bad on a land that also Scries and has the potential upside of tapping for more colors. Still, there will be some awkward situations where you can only get colorless mana out of this, and that’s kind of rough
Stalwarts of Osgiliath image 2.5 This starts out with bad stats, but it does have the ability to grow reasonably well. The fact the Ring tempts you could actually help you get the Stalwarts going too, since one of the Ring’s bonuses is that your creature loots when it attacks, which will mean the Stalwarts get a counter.
Knights of Dol Amroth image 2.0 We’ve seen this card before by a different name, and it was pretty underwhelming. Starting out as a Hill Giant is pretty rough these days, and even in a deck built around drawing extra cards, getting this to 4/4 isn’t always going to happen – and even if it does you don’t really feel like you’re getting there
Breaking of the Fellowship image 1.5 We have seen cards like this before, and they are always surprisingly difficult to set up correctly. First your opponent needs to have two creatures, second one has to be able to kill the other. That sounds simple enough, but the stat-lines don’t always line up correctly. The fact this is a Sorcery makes it even harder to make it work. Basically, this is a removal spell that asks too much to be very good. Especially because you don’t have that much control over what its asking for
Mirrormere Guardian image 2.5 3-mana 4/2s tend to be reasonable, and in this set there are several cards that like it when you have a creature with 4 or more power, and this is one of the earliest ways you can meet that requirement. The ring tempting you when it dies is some very nice additional upside, too
Shire Terrace image 2.5 This can’t grab you a land for no mana the way Evolving Wilds can, but the fact it can tap for mana in the mean time makes up for that.
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Orcish Medicine image 1.5 This trick isn’t that likely to help your creature win combat, but it does blank an attack and gain you some life at worst, and the fact it blanks most removal isn’t too bad either. Add Amass to the mix and I think you have a card that makes the cut in your deck sometimes, but for a trick to really be worthwhile it does need to be more useful in combat than this is
Mirkwood Bats image 3.0 This stat-line is well below rate these days, but this ability has the potential to be fairly strong, especially if you have some Food or Treasure tokens around since they are tokens that you create with built-in sacrifice effects
Uruk-hai Berserker image 2.0 These are definitely below-rate stats these days, and if this didn’t do anything else it would be a 1.0, even with a useful creature type. Getting tempted by the Ring is real upside, but it also isn’t so insane that I’m thrilled about the idea of playing this
Pack 2 Pick 6: Protector of Gondor
Friendly Rivalry image 3.5 This card would be awesome even without the Wizard upside. Three mana to do 5 damage to a creature is premium, and it offers additional options! If you do have a Wizard it can feel truly insane, as drawing 2 and killing a creature, or destroying an artifact for three mana is nuts!
Shower of Arrows image 0.5 We see this type of effect all the time, and it is generally better to leave it in your sideboard. You just don’t have enough targets consistently enough.
Protector of Gondor image 2.5 We see versions of this card a lot, and its always fine. It is pretty much exactly what you expect to get from a 4-mana Common – 4/4 of stats spread across two bodies.
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Nasty End image 1.5 This type of spell is never amazing, but it does often find a niche. If you have a legendary creature that is worth sacrificing this can feel particularly good, but the problem with this kind of card is always that you don’t always have something worth giving up. Using it in response to removal is often the ideal situation, and that can potentially be quite impressive. However, it still ends up being too situational to be anything special.
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Nimrodel Watcher image 3.0 This is a nice Common payoff for scrying. There seems to be a critical mass of Scry at lower rarities, so imagining that you can get in with this an unblockable 3/1 a couple of times isn’t a pipe dream. Sometimes it will be a very real win condition.
Haradrim Spearmaster image 2.0 It is a little sad it can’t buff itself, as that would have made it significantly better, but offering +1/+0 to something every turn does do enough to improve combat for you often enough for this to be fine
Mushroom Watchdogs image 3.0 This is a pretty solid food payoff. The Watchdogs can quickly become a problem, and the fact that they gain Vigilance can really help out in a race. I’m giving this a 3.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Lost to Legend
Lost to Legend image 3.0 There are enough Historic permanents in this format for Lost to Legends to be quite good. While it may not permanently get rid of a card, it is still a 1-for-1 trade, and 4 cards deep means you don’t need to worry about it for awhile.
Hobbit's Sting image 3.0 White has a decent amount of food and lots of cards that help it go wide, so this will often have no problem doing at leas three damage. There are of course the awkward times where your board isn’t where it needs to be to take full advantage, and that probably prevents this from being premium removal.
Nimble Hobbit image 2.0 Tapping opposing creatures tends to be pretty good in aggro decks, but paying three for the effect is kind of rough. Giving up a Food is more appealing, but you’re still attacking with a 1/3, and there’s a pretty good chance that even when you tap down an opposing creature with this, your opponent can easily take it down in combat, especially after the early stages of the game.
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Grey Havens Navigator image 2.0 We’ve seen three mana 3/2s with Flash that Scry a lot lately, and they haven’t been that good – but in the other sets there wasn’t a Scry deck like there is in this one. That probably does enough for this to be solid
Eagles of the North image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly, but the ETB ability will often be enough to drastically alter combat. +1/+0 and First Strike together makes a whole lot of your board into effective attackers. Of course, you do need to have a significant board for it to really make a difference, but that’s not the biggest ask by the time you have six mana. The fact it has Plainscycling is really nice, because in the early game this is going to feel really bad in your opening hand, especially when you need to get your hands on some more land drops.
Mirrormere Guardian image 2.5 3-mana 4/2s tend to be reasonable, and in this set there are several cards that like it when you have a creature with 4 or more power, and this is one of the earliest ways you can meet that requirement. The ring tempting you when it dies is some very nice additional upside, too
Dreadful as the Storm image 1.0 Lately, we’ve finally been seeing cards with this type of effect actually be playable, but that’s because they have drawn a card. Once that’s the case, a boost like this can be a 2-for-1 and that’s a big deal! The Ring tempting you isn’t nearly as good as drawing a card, so I don’t think this does enough. The problem with this type of boost is that you end up overpaying for it on most creatures – like a 3/3 that gets +2/+2 from this is not a good deal. Sure, on 1/1s it feels better, but that makes this overly situational
Pack 2 Pick 8: Dúnedain Blade
Ringsight image 0.0 Three mana tutors don’t tend to be very good in Limited. After all, the average power level of the cards in your deck isn’t all that high, and you don’t end up netting any cards – you just go down a card and get one back and that doesn’t tend to be worth three mana. Because the ring tempts you, as long as you have a creature, this will tutor for something since your ringbearer becomes legendary, but this still looks really rough
Dúnedain Blade image 2.5 If you are paying three to equip this, it is basically unplayable. If you’re paying one to equip it enough of the time, it becomes a solid playable. There are certainly enough Humans in White, as well as some equipment synergies in the set.
Shire Scarecrow image 1.5 A two mana 0/3 defender doesn’t tend to be very good, but this does a reasonable job of filtering your mana
Generous Ent image 2.5 A 6-mana 5/7 with Reach that gives you a treasure isn’t a terrible late game play. In fact, it is the kind of body that can help you stablize, especially because the Food can gain you life! And if you draw it early and need a land drop, you can always cycle it away
Shire Terrace image 2.5 This can’t grab you a land for no mana the way Evolving Wilds can, but the fact it can tap for mana in the mean time makes up for that.
Swarming of Moria image 2.5 A three mana 2/2 that gives you a treasure is decent, as is a three mana spell that puts two counters on something and gives you a Treasure. It is always nice having fixing and ramp in Red, as it doesn’t always have access to it
Lórien Revealed image 2.0 5 mana to draw 3 at sorcery speed is often a little too clunky to be something every deck wants, but the fact this can island cycle earlier in the game helps make up for that a fairly significant amount. When you do have the time to cast this, the card advantage it can give you is pretty sweet too. The only problem is sometimes tapping out and not adding to the board can mean you’re going to die
Pack 2 Pick 9: East-Mark Cavalier
Hithlain Knots image 2.0 This does a bunch of little stuff that will play reasonably well in multiple decks in the format. Whether you’re interesting in drawing extra cards, casting spells, or Scrying, this has you covered!
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Shire Scarecrow image 1.5 A two mana 0/3 defender doesn’t tend to be very good, but this does a reasonable job of filtering your mana
Rush the Room image 1.5 +1/+0 and First Strike can help a creature win a decent number of combats, but not so many that I’m super excited about this as a trick. The extra Goblin/Orc upside is good, and occasionally giving something Haste will make a difference, but this seems pretty weak overall
East-Mark Cavalier image 1.5 This has passable stats as a two mana 2/2 with Vigilance, but the other upside it has is very underwhelming. There will be some occasions where it lines up nicely since it can trade with a larger Goblin or Orc, but a lot of the time the ability doesn’t matter, and even when your opponent does have a creature with one of those types, they are often already just going to trade with the cavalier.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Westfold Rider
Breaking of the Fellowship image 1.5 We have seen cards like this before, and they are always surprisingly difficult to set up correctly. First your opponent needs to have two creatures, second one has to be able to kill the other. That sounds simple enough, but the stat-lines don’t always line up correctly. The fact this is a Sorcery makes it even harder to make it work. Basically, this is a removal spell that asks too much to be very good. Especially because you don’t have that much control over what its asking for
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Pelargir Survivor image 2.0 Fixing and ramp for spells is alright, though even in a spell-heavy deck it always seems that this spell-specific ramp underperforms. The other ability is even less meaningful for the most part, as it costs a ton of mana and won’t do something meaningful most of the time.
Arwen's Gift image 2.0 Having two legendary creatures in play is very doable in this set, but you also shouldn’t always expect to be able to cast this for three. At four mana it is definitely a little bit clunky, but at least you can see up to 4 cards – which is a ton in Limited.
Bombadil's Song image 2.5 The stats boost here isn’t great, and that means there are a more narrow number of creatures who can win a previously unwinnable combat with the help of Bombadil’s Song. It makes up for that some by also being capable of blanking removal spells and tempting you with the ring, so in the end I think you get a reasonable return on your investment
Pack 2 Pick 11: Dúnedain Blade
Deceive the Messenger image 2.0 Instants that temporary lower power usually aren’t very good, since they aren’t usually enough to help your creature win in combat or anything, instead they just feel like they delay the inevitable. However, Adding Amass to the mix does matter. If you think of this as a one mana 1/1 that gives a creature -3/-0 until end of turn, that sounds a lot better. It won’t always be that, but if it isn’t well, then it will put a counter on your Army, and that does increase the chances of this feeling more like a combat trick.
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Dúnedain Blade image 2.5 If you are paying three to equip this, it is basically unplayable. If you’re paying one to equip it enough of the time, it becomes a solid playable. There are certainly enough Humans in White, as well as some equipment synergies in the set.
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Pack 2 Pick 12: Fire of Orthanc
Deceive the Messenger image 2.0 Instants that temporary lower power usually aren’t very good, since they aren’t usually enough to help your creature win in combat or anything, instead they just feel like they delay the inevitable. However, Adding Amass to the mix does matter. If you think of this as a one mana 1/1 that gives a creature -3/-0 until end of turn, that sounds a lot better. It won’t always be that, but if it isn’t well, then it will put a counter on your Army, and that does increase the chances of this feeling more like a combat trick.
Pippin's Bravery image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 is usually a decent enough trick, and the food upside here is very real. This can allow your creature to win combat very efficiently, and that’s always what you want from a combat trick
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Fire of Orthanc
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Orcish Medicine image 1.5 This trick isn’t that likely to help your creature win combat, but it does blank an attack and gain you some life at worst, and the fact it blanks most removal isn’t too bad either. Add Amass to the mix and I think you have a card that makes the cut in your deck sometimes, but for a trick to really be worthwhile it does need to be more useful in combat than this is
Pack 2 Pick 14: Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin!
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Relentless Rohirrim
Fall of Cair Andros image 1.5 Most red decks will have a few sources of noncombat damage that might allow them to Amass, but this card looks like it will be pretty bad in the early stages of the game, as getting it to do something consistently is tough. It does have some insane late game upside, where you can just start pumping 8 mana into this every turn and killing something and amassing. If the game reaches that point, it will be tough for your opponent to win, but this is so bad in the earlier stages of the game
Arwen Undómiel image 3.5 This is a great payoff for Scrying, which is a big part of what Blue-Green is doing in the format. Getting to put a counter anywhere is powerful, and in the late game she can fuel herself. There will be times where Arwen is just a two mana 2/2 and you don’t find your Scry stuff, but one of the nice things about Scry is, if you find a little bit of it, you increase your chances of finding more, because…you know, you Scried
Oath of the Grey Host image 2.5 I don’t love giving my opponent a Food token, but the end result of this card is very efficient. You get three 1/1 Flyers, a treasure token, your opponent loses 3 life, and you get a Food – though that part is kind of a wash because your opponent does too. So, its kind of slow, but each chapter does deliver real value, and getting those 1/1s at the end is going to feel great. They do enter tapped, which makes this a lot clunkier than it would otherwise be, but I still think this looks pretty nice
The Grey Havens image 2.0 This seems like it will be able to add at least one color of mana to your mana pool by the middle stages of the game, and that’s not bad on a land that also Scries and has the potential upside of tapping for more colors. Still, there will be some awkward situations where you can only get colorless mana out of this, and that’s kind of rough
Inherited Envelope image 1.5 Manalith doesn’t tend to be very good in Limited. Using up a card just for inefficient fixing and ramp can be rough, though adding “The Ring Tempts You” to the mix probably does enough for this to be fixing you turn to when you’re desperate
Relentless Rohirrim image 2.5 These aren’t great stats these days, but because the ring tempts you on ETB you are at worst going to give this one extra ability – although if it’s the first time the ring has tempted you it isn’t going to feel very good. If it is the second time or later though, the Rohirrim will feel like a solid card
Treason of Isengard image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 that puts a spell on top of your library is an okay card. This is an effect players often overrate, as they imagine getting back a really great spell – and when you can do that it is pretty good. However, the fact you have to wait to draw that card really makes it significantly worse
Mirkwood Bats image 3.0 This stat-line is well below rate these days, but this ability has the potential to be fairly strong, especially if you have some Food or Treasure tokens around since they are tokens that you create with built-in sacrifice effects
Eagles of the North image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly, but the ETB ability will often be enough to drastically alter combat. +1/+0 and First Strike together makes a whole lot of your board into effective attackers. Of course, you do need to have a significant board for it to really make a difference, but that’s not the biggest ask by the time you have six mana. The fact it has Plainscycling is really nice, because in the early game this is going to feel really bad in your opening hand, especially when you need to get your hands on some more land drops.
Wose Pathfinder image 3.0 This is fragile and inefficient when it comes to stats, but it also fixes and ramps your mana, and in the extreme late game it has an effect that isn’t a terrible one to sink your mana into
Quarrel's End image 1.5 This is an interesting take on the obligatory Tormenting Voice effect. It costs one more, but you also get to add something to the board, and I think that’s pretty nice. Still, it is the kind of card that gets cut a lot as it doesn’t actually do that much
Lash of the Balrog image 3.0 This is another nice removal spell for Black decks. This is Bone Splinters when that’s what you need, but having the option of paying 5 to kill something with it is nice, since it means in the later stages of the game you don’t need to give up a creature. Neither mode is super efficient of course – individually each of those cards is probably a 2.0 or a 2.5, but I think the modality – plus the presence of good sacrifice fodder makes it a 3.
Soldier of the Grey Host image 2.0 This has what are well below-rate stats these days, and while the enter the battlefield ability can be useful, it also isn’t anything special. This does have Flash, so sometimes it can work like a combat trick, but a +2/+0 boost isn’t exactly the sort of thing that helps your creature survive combat a large percentage of the time.
Shower of Arrows image 0.5 We see this type of effect all the time, and it is generally better to leave it in your sideboard. You just don’t have enough targets consistently enough.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Westfold Rider
Goblin Fireleaper image 3.0 A two mana 1/1 that does 1 to something when it dies is borderline playable, and this has a much higher ceiling than that! It goes great with Equipment and other buffs, and it can buff its own power, really presenting a problem for your opponent. It is a pretty nice card all game long, as you can always attack with it and threatne to buff it, which creates problems on most board states. Your opponent often has to take it or risk getting 2-for-1’d when it gets pumped
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell image 3.5 A three mana 3/2 with Scry 1 isn’t terrible, and adding Scry 1 to all of your creatures is a nice deal. Triggering it more than once isn’t impossible either, and the value you get from the Ring gives you even more upside
Stern Scolding image 0.0 This is definitely here for constructed formats, as it is far too narrow to ever be worth including in a Limited deck. It just won’t have enough targets. There may be a corner case where your opponent has tons of creatures with 2 or less toughness and you side it in.
Uruk-hai Berserker image 2.0 These are definitely below-rate stats these days, and if this didn’t do anything else it would be a 1.0, even with a useful creature type. Getting tempted by the Ring is real upside, but it also isn’t so insane that I’m thrilled about the idea of playing this
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Breaking of the Fellowship image 1.5 We have seen cards like this before, and they are always surprisingly difficult to set up correctly. First your opponent needs to have two creatures, second one has to be able to kill the other. That sounds simple enough, but the stat-lines don’t always line up correctly. The fact this is a Sorcery makes it even harder to make it work. Basically, this is a removal spell that asks too much to be very good. Especially because you don’t have that much control over what its asking for
Claim the Precious image 3.5 This is Murder, except it gets downgraded to a Sorcery and you get tempted by the ring in exchange. Either way, this is definitely premium removal as it can deal with almost anything efficiently while giving you a bonus effect. It does cost double black, and that does actually matter on premium removal, because the ones that only have one colored symbol are easily splashable, and that won’t be the case here
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Enraged Huorn image 2.0 A 5-mana 4/5 Trample is probably a 1.5 these days, but the ring tempting you does mean that at the very least, you can give the Huorn some extra abilities – or do the same for some other creature
Easterling Vanguard image 2.0 You get three 3/2 worth of stats for two mana here. And sure, you don’t get it all at the same time, but this still looks like a solid two drop.
Isolation at Orthanc image 3.0 This is nice removal. You always trade 1-for-1 with it, and because it is an Instant, sometimes you’ll be able to really get your opponent if you cast it in response to a trick or something.
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Erkenbrand, Lord of Westfold
Erkenbrand, Lord of Westfold image 2.5 We’ve seen a lot of 4-mana 3/3s that give +1/+1 to your whole board in the past, and they are usually pretty medium. This doesn’t offer the toughness boost, but it does have the potential to offer multiple boosts if you have enough Humans in your deck, and it goes especially well with human creature tokens since those help you go wide and trigger this, sometimes more than once in a turn
Shadow Summoning image 3.0 This is nothing fancy, but it is a pretty amazing rate. They do enter tapped, which matters – as this will feel pretty miserable when you’re behind. Playing this on turn two will apply some serious pressure on your opponent, though
Esquire of the King image 1.5 This ability costing only three mana is pretty sweet, especially if you’ve gone wide enough – and doing that in White certainly seems doable. The bad news is, as a one mana 1/1 it is pretty irrelevant up until the point it can use its ability, and paying 5 for that ability isn’t nearly as appealing.
Wose Pathfinder image 3.0 This is fragile and inefficient when it comes to stats, but it also fixes and ramps your mana, and in the extreme late game it has an effect that isn’t a terrible one to sink your mana into
Lembas image 2.5 This seems pretty solid. Scry 1 + Draw 1 when it ETBs is nice, and it is nice that it is Food – not only because it can gain you life, but because the format has lots of payoffs for Food – as well as things like Historic and Artifacts more generally, which it helps you with. The Scry and the extra draw also works well with decks in the format
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Mordor Muster image 3.0 Two mana 1/1s that draw you a card are always solid in Limited, and that’s certainly the case here, especially because the format has extra Orc and Army synergy all over the place
Rally at the Hornburg image 3.0 Two mana for two 1/1s with Haste would be good in any format, but there are many cards in the format – especially in Red/White, that both like going wide and having Humans around. It can be specially spicy with the cards that give you an effect for each human who enters the battlefield
Stalwarts of Osgiliath image 2.5 This starts out with bad stats, but it does have the ability to grow reasonably well. The fact the Ring tempts you could actually help you get the Stalwarts going too, since one of the Ring’s bonuses is that your creature loots when it attacks, which will mean the Stalwarts get a counter.
Revive the Shire image 1.5 This type of effect usually isn’t anything special, as 9 times out of 10 you’d rather just be adding to the board, and the fact that this is almost a blank card in the early game is an issue. Using it to get back a bomb or some other powerful permanent is definitely nice, and the Food makes it a little more attractive, but this seems like the kind of card that just doesn’t make the cut most of the time because it doesn’t usually do enough
Bewitching Leechcraft image 3.0 Obviously, this doesn’t work super well against Armies, since they will have counters to remove that allows this to untap, and there are other +1/+1 counters in the set too. However, I do think this will effectively lock down most creatures in the set, and it isn’t like if they have +1/+1 counters this goes away entirely anyway, because they have to keep removing counters from it to untap it. Obviously you want to use it on things that don’t have those counters at all, I’m just saying that even in the worst case it can be a problem for your opponent. I think this actually gets pretty close to being premium removal because it is so cheap, but even ignoring the whole +1/+1 counter part of the card, this doesn’t ever fully deal with a creature.
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Westfold Rider
Butterbur, Bree Innkeeper image 3.0 The stats aren’t good, but being able to get a food token any time you don’t have one seems pretty nice, especially if you have something to sacrifice it to every turn. You can also just sacrifice it to gain life every turn too, of course.
Ringsight image 0.0 Three mana tutors don’t tend to be very good in Limited. After all, the average power level of the cards in your deck isn’t all that high, and you don’t end up netting any cards – you just go down a card and get one back and that doesn’t tend to be worth three mana. Because the ring tempts you, as long as you have a creature, this will tutor for something since your ringbearer becomes legendary, but this still looks really rough
Chance-Met Elves image 3.0 This looks like another quality Scry payoff. Starting as a 3/2 obviously isn’t very good, but there’s definitely a critical mass of Scry in the set, so this will do a good job of accumulating counters throughout the game.
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Swarming of Moria image 2.5 A three mana 2/2 that gives you a treasure is decent, as is a three mana spell that puts two counters on something and gives you a Treasure. It is always nice having fixing and ramp in Red, as it doesn’t always have access to it
Warbeast of Gorgoroth image 2.0 On its own, this is a 5-mana 5/4 that Amasses 2 when it dies. That’s not bad, but not really anything to write home about either. Obviously, it does get better the more 4 power or more creatures you have, and it makes any trades you make with those creatures into a pretty decent deal, but its still expensive and has mediocre stats
Snarling Warg image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ Menace isn’t the worst stat-line, and this will be a 4/4 sometimes
Galadhrim Bow image 1.5 Thanks to Flash and the fact it attaches for free on ETB this can function as a trick. The bad news is, three mana for +1/+2, reach, and an untap normally isn’t very good. The good news is, that equation changes a bit when the +1/+2 and Reach, as well as an Equipment in general, sticks around.
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Saruman's Trickery
Saruman's Trickery image 2.5 I don’t love the stat-line here, even with Ward 2, but getting to Amass every time you cast a second spell is great.
Knights of Dol Amroth image 2.0 We’ve seen this card before by a different name, and it was pretty underwhelming. Starting out as a Hill Giant is pretty rough these days, and even in a deck built around drawing extra cards, getting this to 4/4 isn’t always going to happen – and even if it does you don’t really feel like you’re getting there
Dreadful as the Storm image 1.0 Lately, we’ve finally been seeing cards with this type of effect actually be playable, but that’s because they have drawn a card. Once that’s the case, a boost like this can be a 2-for-1 and that’s a big deal! The Ring tempting you isn’t nearly as good as drawing a card, so I don’t think this does enough. The problem with this type of boost is that you end up overpaying for it on most creatures – like a 3/3 that gets +2/+2 from this is not a good deal. Sure, on 1/1s it feels better, but that makes this overly situational
Swarming of Moria image 2.5 A three mana 2/2 that gives you a treasure is decent, as is a three mana spell that puts two counters on something and gives you a Treasure. It is always nice having fixing and ramp in Red, as it doesn’t always have access to it
Nimble Hobbit image 2.0 Tapping opposing creatures tends to be pretty good in aggro decks, but paying three for the effect is kind of rough. Giving up a Food is more appealing, but you’re still attacking with a 1/3, and there’s a pretty good chance that even when you tap down an opposing creature with this, your opponent can easily take it down in combat, especially after the early stages of the game.
Galadhrim Bow image 1.5 Thanks to Flash and the fact it attaches for free on ETB this can function as a trick. The bad news is, three mana for +1/+2, reach, and an untap normally isn’t very good. The good news is, that equation changes a bit when the +1/+2 and Reach, as well as an Equipment in general, sticks around.
Pelargir Survivor image 2.0 Fixing and ramp for spells is alright, though even in a spell-heavy deck it always seems that this spell-specific ramp underperforms. The other ability is even less meaningful for the most part, as it costs a ton of mana and won’t do something meaningful most of the time.
Warbeast of Gorgoroth image 2.0 On its own, this is a 5-mana 5/4 that Amasses 2 when it dies. That’s not bad, but not really anything to write home about either. Obviously, it does get better the more 4 power or more creatures you have, and it makes any trades you make with those creatures into a pretty decent deal, but its still expensive and has mediocre stats
The Black Breath image 0.5 A one-sided -1/-1 effect can be good in the right match-up, but I mostly think this needs a sideboard grade. If you’re not able to take down creatures with it consistently it just isn’t going to be worth it, as the Ring tempts you alone just won’t be enough for the cost.
Great Hall of the Citadel image 1.5 This can certainly help you splash some powerful legendary creatures, but I’m a little skeptical. Most of these lands that normally only produce colorless, but can produce colored mana for a certain type of card end up not being worth it. Producing only colorless for the majority of cards in your deck can be a liability for your mana base, so it ends up sort of canceling out any upside you might get out of it when you have your legendaries around. You’re going to want to go after different fixing than this most of the time
Pack 3 Pick 6: Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins image 3.0 This card has a really strange design. A two mana ⅓ that has the ring tempt you is a solid enough card, but the fact Frodo forces things to block him is really weird, especially because the very first effect you get from The Ring is that your creature can’t be blocked by creatures with more power than it has. So uh..in other words, Frodo will be very difficult to block most of the time anyway, thus forcing things to block him doesn’t really matter very much. The Ring does eventually give you some effects that like it when your opponent blocks, but again – if Frodo is your ring-bearer, very few creatures will be able to block him anyway. This doesn’t make the card bad at all, because the Ring is a nice thing to get going, or a nice thing to upgrade…just a very strange design
Olog-hai Crusher image 2.5 This isn’t exactly the Goblin/Orc payoff you’re hoping for, but a 4-mana 4/4 Trampler is fairly formidable, and it will often be capable of blocking
Shire Terrace image 2.5 This can’t grab you a land for no mana the way Evolving Wilds can, but the fact it can tap for mana in the mean time makes up for that.
Slip On the Ring image 1.0 This is cheaper than most versions of this effect that we see, but most versions of this effect also draw you a card, and The Ring Tempts You isn’t quite as good as that. Still, this will be effective in decks that end up with enough cards with ETBs. It is a bit of a bummer it can only hit creatures, as blinking Sagas can be particularly valuable. You can of course use it to help a creature dodge removal and stuff like that too. But Still, it seems like this type of card basically never makes the cut in Limited formats these days. It isn’t a disaster in the right deck, but actually generating a card of value with it is harder than you think. We’ve seen this be the case with basically every version of this effect in countless Limited formats at this point. While the list of situations where this is good seems long, the percentage of the time they come up just isn’t enough.
Generous Ent image 2.5 A 6-mana 5/7 with Reach that gives you a treasure isn’t a terrible late game play. In fact, it is the kind of body that can help you stablize, especially because the Food can gain you life! And if you draw it early and need a land drop, you can always cycle it away
Mirkwood Spider image 2.5 One mana 1/1 deathtouchers are pretty much always playable, since they are relevant all game long thanks to their ability to trade with anything. Sometimes this will also be able to grant a problematic legendary creature death touch, and that’s some nice additional upside
The Black Breath image 0.5 A one-sided -1/-1 effect can be good in the right match-up, but I mostly think this needs a sideboard grade. If you’re not able to take down creatures with it consistently it just isn’t going to be worth it, as the Ring tempts you alone just won’t be enough for the cost.
Treason of Isengard image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 that puts a spell on top of your library is an okay card. This is an effect players often overrate, as they imagine getting back a really great spell – and when you can do that it is pretty good. However, the fact you have to wait to draw that card really makes it significantly worse
Mordor Trebuchet image 2.0 Obviously you’re going to be happiest with this in a Black-Red deck, but in that deck this seems like a pretty legit payoff. A three mana ¼ isn’t anything to write home about, but throwing a 2/1 Boulder at your opponent every time you attack with a Goblin or Orc is pretty sweet. It also works quite well alongside sacrifice outlets
Pack 3 Pick 7: Rush the Room
Ioreth of the Houses of Healing image 3.0 The best use for this is to ramp your mana, but the ability to untap permanents has lots of other upsides too, and I like that flexibility. A three mana ¼ isn’t amazing, but it isn’t too bad of a defensive body
The Black Breath image 0.5 A one-sided -1/-1 effect can be good in the right match-up, but I mostly think this needs a sideboard grade. If you’re not able to take down creatures with it consistently it just isn’t going to be worth it, as the Ring tempts you alone just won’t be enough for the cost.
Grey Havens Navigator image 2.0 We’ve seen three mana 3/2s with Flash that Scry a lot lately, and they haven’t been that good – but in the other sets there wasn’t a Scry deck like there is in this one. That probably does enough for this to be solid
Brandywine Farmer image 2.0 The stat-line is horrendous, but getting two foods out of one card is a nice thing in Green, and especially in Green-White, where you can find many uses for Food
Slip On the Ring image 1.0 This is cheaper than most versions of this effect that we see, but most versions of this effect also draw you a card, and The Ring Tempts You isn’t quite as good as that. Still, this will be effective in decks that end up with enough cards with ETBs. It is a bit of a bummer it can only hit creatures, as blinking Sagas can be particularly valuable. You can of course use it to help a creature dodge removal and stuff like that too. But Still, it seems like this type of card basically never makes the cut in Limited formats these days. It isn’t a disaster in the right deck, but actually generating a card of value with it is harder than you think. We’ve seen this be the case with basically every version of this effect in countless Limited formats at this point. While the list of situations where this is good seems long, the percentage of the time they come up just isn’t enough.
Wizard's Rockets image 1.5 If you need fixing, there are worse ways to do it. In total, you end up spending one more mana than you get back, but the fact that they replace themselves helps soften the blow. Still, it doesn’t really feel like this is a card that will make the cut in all of your decks or anything
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Rush the Room image 1.5 +1/+0 and First Strike can help a creature win a decent number of combats, but not so many that I’m super excited about this as a trick. The extra Goblin/Orc upside is good, and occasionally giving something Haste will make a difference, but this seems pretty weak overall
Pack 3 Pick 8: Stalwarts of Osgiliath
Stone of Erech image 0.5 There’s some graveyard stuff going on in this format, but not really enough for this to be main deck material. Sure, it replaces itself in a worst case, but that’s not really enough
Lothlórien Lookout image 1.5 This card’s pretty awkward, because 1/3 doesn’t exactly scream “Attack with me!” While Scrying is definitely important for Green decks in the format, there are lots of better ways to do it, so I don’t think this will usually make the cut unless you’re desperate for the synergy or two drops
Stalwarts of Osgiliath image 2.5 This starts out with bad stats, but it does have the ability to grow reasonably well. The fact the Ring tempts you could actually help you get the Stalwarts going too, since one of the Ring’s bonuses is that your creature loots when it attacks, which will mean the Stalwarts get a counter.
Glorious Gale image 2.5 This is a strictly better Essence Scatter, and Essence Scatter is always decent in Limited. It is cheap and counters the most common type of spell in your typical game.
Quarrel's End image 1.5 This is an interesting take on the obligatory Tormenting Voice effect. It costs one more, but you also get to add something to the board, and I think that’s pretty nice. Still, it is the kind of card that gets cut a lot as it doesn’t actually do that much
Galadhrim Bow image 1.5 Thanks to Flash and the fact it attaches for free on ETB this can function as a trick. The bad news is, three mana for +1/+2, reach, and an untap normally isn’t very good. The good news is, that equation changes a bit when the +1/+2 and Reach, as well as an Equipment in general, sticks around.
Fire of Orthanc image 1.0 Demolish is almost never worth it in Limited, and tacking on this unblockable angle doesn’t do enough to change that.
Pack 3 Pick 9: The Grey Havens
The Grey Havens image 2.0 This seems like it will be able to add at least one color of mana to your mana pool by the middle stages of the game, and that’s not bad on a land that also Scries and has the potential upside of tapping for more colors. Still, there will be some awkward situations where you can only get colorless mana out of this, and that’s kind of rough
Inherited Envelope image 1.5 Manalith doesn’t tend to be very good in Limited. Using up a card just for inefficient fixing and ramp can be rough, though adding “The Ring Tempts You” to the mix probably does enough for this to be fixing you turn to when you’re desperate
Treason of Isengard image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 that puts a spell on top of your library is an okay card. This is an effect players often overrate, as they imagine getting back a really great spell – and when you can do that it is pretty good. However, the fact you have to wait to draw that card really makes it significantly worse
Eagles of the North image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly, but the ETB ability will often be enough to drastically alter combat. +1/+0 and First Strike together makes a whole lot of your board into effective attackers. Of course, you do need to have a significant board for it to really make a difference, but that’s not the biggest ask by the time you have six mana. The fact it has Plainscycling is really nice, because in the early game this is going to feel really bad in your opening hand, especially when you need to get your hands on some more land drops.
Soldier of the Grey Host image 2.0 This has what are well below-rate stats these days, and while the enter the battlefield ability can be useful, it also isn’t anything special. This does have Flash, so sometimes it can work like a combat trick, but a +2/+0 boost isn’t exactly the sort of thing that helps your creature survive combat a large percentage of the time.
Shower of Arrows image 0.5 We see this type of effect all the time, and it is generally better to leave it in your sideboard. You just don’t have enough targets consistently enough.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin!
Stern Scolding image 0.0 This is definitely here for constructed formats, as it is far too narrow to ever be worth including in a Limited deck. It just won’t have enough targets. There may be a corner case where your opponent has tons of creatures with 2 or less toughness and you side it in.
Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin! image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide. Vigilance is a great addition to the counters, because it makes it a lot easier for you to play offense and defense with your newly buffed board. The Ring Tempting you will usually also mean you get to upgrade one of your creatures too. This probably needs a build around grade. Because if you aren’t a deck playing tons of creatures and cards that make multiple bodies, you probably don’t play this most of the time, and if you are a deck that’s good at that, you probably always want the first copy of this.
Second Breakfast image 2.0 Sometimes this kind of trick can generate a 2-for-1, which is obviously great – but with a toughness boost of only one, more often than not at least one of the creatures is going to die. Three mana is a lot to spend on a trick too! It is nice it gives you some food at least.
Isolation at Orthanc image 3.0 This is nice removal. You always trade 1-for-1 with it, and because it is an Instant, sometimes you’ll be able to really get your opponent if you cast it in response to a trick or something.
Escape from Orthanc image 2.0 This gives a reasonable boost for only one mana, and the toughness means it will do enough to save it from a decent amount of removal too. The fact it gives Flying also means you can use this sometimes before you attack to get in for lethal. It is cheap and has enough different uses that it seems like a quality trick for white aggressive deck.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Westfold Rider
Esquire of the King image 1.5 This ability costing only three mana is pretty sweet, especially if you’ve gone wide enough – and doing that in White certainly seems doable. The bad news is, as a one mana 1/1 it is pretty irrelevant up until the point it can use its ability, and paying 5 for that ability isn’t nearly as appealing.
Westfold Rider image 2.0 This has passable base stats and an ability that will actually do something sometimes. It is nice to be able to have a Disenchant in your main deck without having to pay much of a cost.
Revive the Shire image 1.5 This type of effect usually isn’t anything special, as 9 times out of 10 you’d rather just be adding to the board, and the fact that this is almost a blank card in the early game is an issue. Using it to get back a bomb or some other powerful permanent is definitely nice, and the Food makes it a little more attractive, but this seems like the kind of card that just doesn’t make the cut most of the time because it doesn’t usually do enough
Bewitching Leechcraft image 3.0 Obviously, this doesn’t work super well against Armies, since they will have counters to remove that allows this to untap, and there are other +1/+1 counters in the set too. However, I do think this will effectively lock down most creatures in the set, and it isn’t like if they have +1/+1 counters this goes away entirely anyway, because they have to keep removing counters from it to untap it. Obviously you want to use it on things that don’t have those counters at all, I’m just saying that even in the worst case it can be a problem for your opponent. I think this actually gets pretty close to being premium removal because it is so cheap, but even ignoring the whole +1/+1 counter part of the card, this doesn’t ever fully deal with a creature.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Ringsight
Ringsight image 0.0 Three mana tutors don’t tend to be very good in Limited. After all, the average power level of the cards in your deck isn’t all that high, and you don’t end up netting any cards – you just go down a card and get one back and that doesn’t tend to be worth three mana. Because the ring tempts you, as long as you have a creature, this will tutor for something since your ringbearer becomes legendary, but this still looks really rough
Surrounded by Orcs image 2.0 This is either a 4-mana 3/3 that mills three, or it makes an army you already have bigger, while milling even more. Neither of those are amazing deals, but if you’re doing graveyard stuff or your opponent is low and cards, this card can do something.
Cast into the Fire image 0.5 This has two modes that aren’t useful often enough, and while the fact that you can choose between them helps offset how narrow each effect is, we’re still looking at a card that won’t do anything meaningful far too often. This feels like sideboard material.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Knights of Dol Amroth
Knights of Dol Amroth image 2.0 We’ve seen this card before by a different name, and it was pretty underwhelming. Starting out as a Hill Giant is pretty rough these days, and even in a deck built around drawing extra cards, getting this to 4/4 isn’t always going to happen – and even if it does you don’t really feel like you’re getting there
Dreadful as the Storm image 1.0 Lately, we’ve finally been seeing cards with this type of effect actually be playable, but that’s because they have drawn a card. Once that’s the case, a boost like this can be a 2-for-1 and that’s a big deal! The Ring tempting you isn’t nearly as good as drawing a card, so I don’t think this does enough. The problem with this type of boost is that you end up overpaying for it on most creatures – like a 3/3 that gets +2/+2 from this is not a good deal. Sure, on 1/1s it feels better, but that makes this overly situational
Pack 3 Pick 14: Treason of Isengard
Treason of Isengard image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 that puts a spell on top of your library is an okay card. This is an effect players often overrate, as they imagine getting back a really great spell – and when you can do that it is pretty good. However, the fact you have to wait to draw that card really makes it significantly worse
Draft Pick Overview