Taking place in Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond Settings, the characters of Middle-earth are now battling it out, MTG style. Similar to Warhammer 40K, Walking Dead Secret Lair, and Transformers Secret Lair, the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth comes as a full set for players to indulge.
Quick notes
- The Ring Tempts You is a new mechanic that plays very well to the lore
- Commander Decks offer fun themed gameplay
- There's literally only One Ring
Of course, it wouldn’t be an MTG game without new mechanics, and LOTR: ToMe comes with a completely new unique mechanic fit for the setting. It’s called “The Ring Tempts You”, which reflects the core storyline of LOTR. Like the story, the mechanic reflects how the One Ring (or any Ring, really) corrupts the bearer. When players play a card that has the phrase “The Ring Tempts You”, a creature becomes a Ring-bearer, and gains up to four powerful effects that may or may not help you win.
Other effects also come into play when the Ring tempts someone. For example, if you’re playing as the forces of Mordor, every time you get tempted, your Nazgul becomes stronger. This mechanism brings a whole new dimension to the game, especially in my favourite limited draft format. Of course, if you want something more consistent, this LOTR set has four Commander decks, which are 100-card themed decks. You can choose to play as the Riders of Rohan, the Food and Fellowship, the Elven Council, or the Hosts of Mordor. Each deck comes with a mechanic, such as Food tokens for the Food and Fellowship. These tokens have effects that return life to the player.
Besides Commander Decks, players can also get Jumpstart Boosters for a quick game, or a Starter Kit for two aimed at new players. It comes in two sets of preconstructed decks (Gondor versus Mordor) and a how-to-play guide booklet. And if you’re feeling lucky, you can buy Collector Boosters, which come with alternate art cards and extended-art. There’s also a one-of-a-kind One Ring — literally the only one — and only comes in the Collector Boosters. Currently, there’s a US$2 million bounty for this card.
Overall, the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is a fun-themed set that is definitely a can buy if you’re a fan of both MTG and LOTR. It’s a good reason to play together with friends, and there’s nothing more fun than spouting memes and quotes from the movies while playing this. It adds a whole another layer of geekiness to an already geeky game. Get it from Shopee.
Note: Review set provided by Wizards of the Coast.
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