Lord of the Rings set has been out for over a month now and I feel like it is past time to write some thoughts about the cards from Middle-Earth that slot into Leviathan Commander decklists.
When this set was originally announced Wizards made a statement that it would not be the next Modern Horizons set, and the power level of some cards would be modern playable, but just a few. I believe they kept true to that statement, most of the cards are fair and not that pushed (with some exceptions).
There are several cards that are playable, and present a good power level, but the format set has a much lower power level than something like a Horizons/Masters set. Even so, I believe we got some really nice additions to our format, so let’s dig in to what are my thoughts and opinions on the printed cards.
Honorable Mentions
I am adding in this section some cards I feel are good, but not good enough to become heavily played in the Leviathan format. Maybe they will be leveraged in highly synergistic or specific niche decks.
Stern Scolding
I believe wizards leaned in the side of caution with this card, and with good reason.
Stern Scolding is playable, but probably a bit weak to become a big player in Leviathan. This is a card that will likely get included in mono-blue decks to function as a cheap removal, or if your local meta has a lot of aggro and low curve decks.
Otherwise I don't see this one getting included in many control decks as it is too narrow.
Moria Marauder
Goblin tribal is a pretty rare breed in Leviathan format. As I searched the reports I found very few decklists, even though Goblin commanders such as Grenzo and Krenko can be scary with the right build.
This card could be a pretty powerful card advantage tool that demands a quick answer (two cards a turn by itself is no joke) and it can also provide advantage the turn it comes down if you had a one drop! I still think it will be mostly restricted to tribal builds.
Pippin, Guard of the Citadel
Mother of Runes type effects are very powerful, and sometimes annoying to deal with.
This little guy makes it even more annoying by having a ward 1 ability. Combined with a fine 2/2 for 2 body and the ability of being able to attack and keep the protection activation make for a fine card inclusion for UW Tempo decks such as Geist of Saint Traft, or UW Yoshimaru or maybe even as a commander himself.
Pippin is a card I almost choose to have in the Best Cards section instead of Honorable mentions, but the two mana cost does take away from this effect.
Aragorn The Uniter
It is always fun when a new 4 color commander shows up.
I’m having this version of Aragorn in the Honorable mentions for its potential as a commander.
This card can provide a lot of value by triggering multiple types with multicolor spells. The green and red triggers provide a lot of explosive damage, which could fit well in a Zoo type of aggressive deck.
The glaring weakness here is not doing anything by itself, and being a 4 drop that does not have any sort of protection. I am skeptical that this card will see much play, but I would like to test some builds as the potential is there.
Sauron, The Dark Lord
This Dark Lord gives me some serious Tivit vibes. A big finisher that is hard to remove and is relevant as soon as it hits the table.
Sure… it does not give the treasure acceleration that the mustache sphinx does, but it has a almost guaranteed 2 for 1 built-in for targeted removal and it dodges most edict effects due to the amass 1 text. When you connect with the army it also provides some nice draw effects.
I think this card will be a fine commander option for a Grixis control decks.
Legendary Lands
These lands are nothing extraordinary. Most of the time they will come into play tapped, and their effects are not that powerful. But having access to utility lands is always useful, so they are worth a mention here.
Pay special attention to Minas Tirith, which fits perfectly into Yoshimaru shells as well as Mines of Moria, which is a great land for Magda decks.
Best Cards
Boromir, Warden of the Tower
Boromir does a lot of things that White-based aggro decks like. It prevents “free” cards from getting cast, it protects your team from board wipes and it is a decently sized body with Vigilance. This card is especially good in Yoshimaru builds as it is also legendary. The ring temptation part is flavorful, but probably won't be that relevant in most cases, but it is a nice bonus.
Flowering of the White Tree
Can you hear the sound of Yoshimaru players cheering from around the world? Because I can !
This is the best Anthem effect printed to this date, and boy it’s a powerhouse.
Just being a 2 mana anthem for all creatures would already be above average, but adding the +2+1 and ward 1 for legendaries just makes this a great card for any white-based aggro deck, and if the deck runs a high density of legendary creatures it just becomes a must include. Very good card.
Reprieve
Since we are already talking about great cards for white, let's round it up with a better Remand. Reprieve is just that, a Remand that can get around uncounterable spells (I am looking at you supreme verdict). It also has the added bonus of being mono white, which gives that awesome “mana tithe” feeling of getting your opponent unprepared.
Orcish Bowmasters
Who would have thought that two orcs with bows would cause such a big impact in Magic’s older formats. These little guys don’t seem that intimidating, but legacy players nowadays are having to respect two mana open much more than before.
One important thing to understand with this card is that it works with multiple draws, so if this is cast in response to a brainstorm it will deal 4 damage and create a 4/4 for just 2 mana !
Brainstorm and other cantrips and card draw spells are very common in our format, so I expect this card to do good work in Leviathan.
This card will fit right into midrange and tempo decks such as Grist, Slimefoot and Squee and Raffine.
Delighted Halfling
What if Birds of Paradise had a child with Cavern of Souls? Meet Delighted Halfling, another one of many 1 drops that must be properly answered by control players.
As a control player myself, I am already expecting to have to use up my Swords to Plowshares on this little gal, or just have counterspells stranded in hand.
It is also very cool that this card says “legendary spell”, which means all planeswalkers and other types of legendaries as well. I expect any deck that plays birds to also play a copy of this, not much more to say.
Aragorn, King of Gondor
It’s hard to talk about this card without drawing a direct comparison with Queen Marchesa, a commander that sees a pretty good amount of play in Leviathan format.
Honestly I think this is a straight upgrade to Marchesa. The body is bigger and harder to remove. It is a much better stabilizer against aggro. And the most important factor: it enables blue in the deck.
Being able to drop this card into an empty board and later control the game with removal and counters will be a very good strategy for what I think will be a high tier Jeskai deck.
I am biased towards control, so this card is my favorite one from this set, and similar to how we are seeing in the brother format duel commander I expect to see lots of Aragorn decks appearing soon.
The One Ring
I have mixed feelings on The One Ring. In older formats it is having great results in Combo decks, and it is being tested as a card advantage engine for control decks with slightly less success. I don't think it will have the same combo potential in Leviathan, which leaves it being a more control oriented card.
In Leviathan, most decks might use this as a card advantage tool. In the space of two turns you get 3 cards and from that onwards it will just get crazy. Just need to be mindful in being able to close the game quickly, when you start taking 3 or more per turn it does stack up really fast.
The protection from everything will be mostly a fog, nothing that game breaking specifically because it must be a cast trigger for it to work. I don't think this card will be an auto-include in every deck, but I do expect to see it a fair bit.
Flame of Anor
Magic has come a long way since instant speed divinations had drawbacks. This one has only upside, and what upside!
This has double as creature and artifact removal, and don't get me started on how good it is to flashback this card using a snapcaster mage. I think this card will be a staple for Izzet decks that are planning to play a fair number of mages, a welcome addition to Kess decks.
In summary this set brought some nice cards, including some very needed anti-control tools and aggro boosts.
Probably the most benefited color from this set would be White, closely followed by Green.
Control has gotten a new powerful commander in Aragorn, King of Gondor which I am sure will eventually see play.