Magic: The Gathering (known to most as just "Magic" or "MTG") is a collectable card game from Wizards of the Coast that can be played physically as a tabletop game, or digitally online.
It releases in sets which tell an overarching story, but sometimes Wizards of the Coast will take a break from that story to incorporate worlds and characters from other settings in something called "Universes Beyond".
"Universes Beyond Our Own" was born in 2019, and has featured iconic IPs from outside the world of Magic: The Gathering, including Fortnite, Street Fighter, and The Walking Dead.
It's latest foray outside of the world of Magic comes in the form of its latest set - "The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth".
A new way to experience the trilogy
This set is based faithfully on the books, and is designed and orchestrated by huge fans of the series from within the Magic: The Gathering Team.
One of the best things about the "Universes Beyond" series is that it lets players find a common language with non-Magic players, and this is something Wizards have been keen to weave into this set.
Everything from the card artwork to the text is as faithful to Tolkien's books as they can be, including countless small details and quotes from the books that will engage the most die-hard Lord of the Rings fans.
The artwork is clearly a labour of love, with a tonne of thought going into each and every card. Where card art highlights a location or a landscape, it engulfs the characters, highlighting the danger they're in, and the sheer size of the journey they're undertaking.
The set aims to highlight the journey to destroy the ring, and visits locations from The Shire, to Gondor, to everywhere in between. It also includes special card art for some of the characters, showing some of their most pivotal and testing moments from the story.
This makes it a great introduction for fans of the trilogy to get into Magic: The Gathering, and is a great crossover point for fans of MTG to involve their Middle-Earth-mad friends.
A separate version of Nazgul for each of the nine Kingdoms
Wizards are keen to stress that they went "all-in" for this set, and if you needed proof you need look no further than the commitment they've made to the characters and creatures contained within.
The Nazgul come from nine different Kingdoms, so there are no less than nine different versions of the card. They even included the red eyes in the hood as described in the books.
Showcase Ring Treatment cards delve deep into the narrative of Lord of the Rings, and portray the most pivotal moments in a character's or the story's progression, such as Sam looking into the Mirror of Galadriel or Boromir failing to resist temptation.
There is flavour text on most of the cards which come direct from the books (although it is reconditioned in places for space reasons), and a lot of the card art shows the characters living the life that they fought for - Samwise for example, is shown married with a family.
War is a tragedy that has to be fought to preserve what the characters love, and the set really aims to highlight this as much as possible in a way that shows a real understanding of the core themes and meaning behind the books.
There are also Borderless Scene cards, which line up to form an overall scene, such as the 18-panel war painting depicting the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. This was a gargantuan challenge for the set creators, who actually spent time walking in the woods thinking hard about Tolkien's description of the battle as they conceived it.
How will the cards release?
The cards will come in a tonne of different places, including four Commander Decks, two Starter Decks, Jumpstart Boosters, Draft Boosters, Collectors Boosters, Gift Bundles, and a Secret Lair drop which will not be based on the books, but instead will feature artwork based on the 1978 animated film.
Some cards will be exclusive to a particular set, including the serialized sol rings, which can only be found in Collector Boosters, and The One Ring, which alongside the normal print will also have a one-of-a-kind "traditional foil card printed in the Black Speech of Sauron using Tengwar letterforms".
This version of the One Ring will be printed once only and can be found in a random Collectors Booster.
There will also be exclusive promo cards, including the Bundle Promos, which feature a 2x2 borderless scene comprising of Frodo, Samwise, Gollum, and The One Ring.
Four Commander Decks
The sets come with four commander decks built around themes prevalent in the Lord of the Rings.
The first, Riders of Rohan, is commanded by Eowyn, and is a blue/red/white deck built around sheer force in numbers. The hobbit's deck is called Food and Fellowship, which is a green/black/white deck commanded together by Sam and Frodo.
Galadriel commands the Elven Council deck, which is a blue/green deck themed around diplomacy, and the final deck is called The Hosts of Mordor, which is a red/blue/black deck commanded by none other than Sauron himself, capable of bringing things back from the graveyard.
These decks are carefully constructed and feature many of the new and returning mechanics that are found in this set.
New and Returning Mechanics
Among the mechanics introduced in this set are some familiar concepts which are being reintroduced:
- Sagas return - including cards that include epic stories that play out over a series of turns was apparently a "no-brainer" for Wizards when creating this set
- Amass Orcs - the Amass mechanic isn't new, but this version has a Middle-Earth twist, allowing you to summon and strengthen orcs.
There are also some new mechanics:
- Food tokens - you couldn't have hobbit cards without including their love of food in one form or another, food tokens can be sacrificed to regain life.
- The Ring Tempts You - Some cards cause the Ring to tempt you, and this mechanic reflects the corrupting influence of the One Ring on those who possess it. Each time the ring tempts you, it gains its next ability. You must also choose a Ring-bearer, although if you don't have any creatures the ring will still gain its next power. Some spells and abilities refer to the Ring-bearer, including the Ring itself, which causes the Ring-bearer to become legendary and unblockable by creatures with greater power. The One Ring has four levels of power.
When is it being released?
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be released on June 23, 2023, and will be straight-to-modern, however, you can preorder it now from wherever you usually get your cards.
That's not the whole story though - the jumpstart boosters will be coming in two volumes, with the second volume releasing later, and in addition, there will be a Holiday Release expected to release sometime in November.
