Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Decks: Are They Worth It?

Last updated on February 18, 2024

The Balrog of Moria | Illustration by Rudy Siswanto

I’ve been a huge fan of Lord of the Rings for like the last 20 years. It’s the thing that sparked my undying love for medieval-style fantasy, and what better entry point than one of the best examples of it? Even as a kid I’d already watched the Ralph Bakshi movie several times just to find new ways to immerse myself into that world.

Something very notable about LotR for me is that the books are basically the single most influential work of their genre. They’ve informed the medieval fantasy genre for decades: Dungeons and Dragons, Magic’s early sets, countless video games, tons of books, movies, even works that directly try to question or oppose Tolkien’s views like George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. There’s even a very recognizable style of fantasy that gets called Tolkienesque, even though it can be argued that most “Tolkienesque” fantasy at best takes the most superficial aspects of Tolkien’s work, usually missing the more interesting and deep aspects of the books.

Sadly (for me) we’re not here to hear me rant on and on about The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s greater body of work. We’re here to take a look at Magic’s new Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (these crossover sets really need shorter names) precon EDH decks.

Let's dive in!

Sale

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck Bundle – Includes Pack of 4 Decks

• 4 THE LORD OF THE RINGS-THEMED COMMANDER DECKS—Get all 4 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Decks, with 1 Riders of Rohan, 1 Food and Fellowship, 1 Elven Council, and 1 The Hosts of Mordor; each 100-card deck contains 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• INTRODUCING 80 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$190.98

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What Are the LotR: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Decks?

Elvish Mystic | Illustration by Iga ‘IgsonArt' Oliwiak

Tales of Middle-earth (for the sake of brevity) Commander decks are a supplemental product to Magic’s latest Universes Beyond set, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings book trilogy (and slightly on The Hobbit and The Silmarillion). These are four preconstructed Commander decks built to be ready to play right out of the box. They each focus on specific archetypes and strategies, and they’re meant to be played in casual-level EDH games.

Each of these decks has 20 new-for Commander cards set in the LotR universe. Every other reprint in these decks features new art to fit the in-universe aesthetics and themes of the set.

Each of the decks contain:

• 1 foil-etched display commander card
• 1 regular foil commander
• 1 additional foil legendary card
• 98 regular cards
• 10 double-sided tokens
• 1 helper card for The Ring tempts you mechanic
• 1 cardboard deck box
• 1 life wheel
• 1 collector booster sample pack of two cards

There are also 30 box topper cards that count as part of the Tales of Middle-earth Commander release. They’re called “Realms and Relics” and consist of pre-existing cards that have been given the same “alter” treatment as the Godzilla cards from Ikoria, but as important artifacts or places from Middle-Earth.

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Best Value, Most Competitive

Most Fun

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 4 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 1 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$94.95

$49.45

$44.95

$73.95

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Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

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Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 4 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$94.95

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 1 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$49.45

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Best Value, Most Competitive

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$44.95

Buy on Amazon

Most Fun

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$73.95

Buy on Amazon

The decks themselves are pretty good overall. They’re not the strongest EDH product ever, but I’d safely say they can hold their ground, at least at first glance. They’re clearly focused with well-supported strategies. It’s also worth noting that, as has been the case with more recent Commander products, the mana bases for these decks has improved greatly when compared to those of decks a couple of years ago.

The Hosts of Mordor

Decklist

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

The Hosts of Mordor‘s commander, Sauron, Lord of the Rings, lines out its two main strategies pretty well: reanimation and amass orcs.

Sauron is a highly expensive commander at a mana value of eight. This means you’re probably gonna be casting it only a couple of times each game, but the card itself is designed to make each of those plays worthwhile. The second this card hits the battlefield you amass 5, then you self-mill five and return a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. All of this on a 9/9 body with trample that can make the Ring tempt you.

While Sauron, Lord of the Rings is a very expensive commander, it’s also quite an explosive one that makes up for its high cost. Another thing to consider is that the deck is built with all of this in mind, so there are both explosive creatures to bring back and several ways to send those into the graveyard earlier on. But first let’s talk about the deck’s lieutenant.

Saruman, the White Hand ties into the deck’s amass orcs theme while adding another subtheme: spellslinger. The deck has tons of spells of various mana values, which means Saruman’s gonna be amassing a pretty significant army. It also gives ward 2 to goblins and orcs you control. If you want an alternative to fill Sauron, Lord of the Rings’s spot as this deck’s commander, Saruman, the White Hand is definitely a great choice.

The rest of the deck is pretty much tailored to fit these three themes. Moria Scavenger is a great way to build up your orc army while also discarding creatures to reanimate later. Orcish Siegemaster makes your orc army a massive threat by giving it trample, and in return it also gains a power bonus whenever it attacks.

You also get several legendaries: Shelob, Dread Weaver can act as graveyard hate on your opponents while also gaining some pretty great benefits if needed. Monstrosity of the Lake can be a great way to pave your way for a final attack that’ll take down all of your opponents. Lord of the Nazgûl and Gríma, Saruman's Footman both give some nice support to the spellslinging theme.

The deck also has some pretty huge creatures for you to discard then bring back onto the battlefield for free with your commander. Cavern-Hoard Dragon is the first that comes to mind, and it also allows you to cast it for way cheaper if one of your opponents has too many artifacts.

The deck also has some cool instants and sorceries that make the spellslinger subtheme even more worth it. Summons of Saruman is amazing since it essentially works with all themes of the deck: amass orcs, fill your own graveyard, then cast another instant or sorcery for free. Too Greedily, Too Deep gives some support for the reanimation theme while also acting as a board wipe. Subjugate the Hobbits is a pretty massive and game-ending spell, and I also like it because it represents the Scouring of the Shire, a very interesting and important part of the books that the movies left out.

The whole deck is basically built around these strategies with several ways to amass orcs, tons of support for spellslinging, and support for reanimation, either as big creatures to reanimate, discard to send them to the graveyard, or actual ways to reanimate them.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$$

There are around 38 cards in this deck that are worth 1$ or more. It’s worth keeping in mind that this is before the decks have actually been released, so a lot of this is speculation when it comes to new cards. The values of reprints may also vary a bit since all of them have been given new alternate art, which could have some effect over their prices.

The cards in the deck that are estimated to go for over $10 are:

• The Black Gate
• Cavern-Hoard Dragon
• Reanimate
• Sauron, Lord of the Rings
• Monstrosity of the Lake
• Scourge of the Throne
• The Balrog of Moria
• Shelob, Dread Weaver

There’s also Sol Ring, which’ll have four different versions in this set. One is a “regular” version with LotR art, which is estimated to go for about $19, but the other three are special Rings of Power alters with text written in Quenya (elvish) varying between $40 and $143.

The deck seems to have some reasonably good value overall. Even if the cards eventually fluctuate some of them can be expected to hold some value, and reprints like Reanimate and Scourge of the Throne are sure to keep a relatively high price.

The Verdict

I’m not into Magic for the financial aspect (if I were, I wouldn’t have spent so much money on cardboard that I absolutely don’t intend to resell) so you can always take my opinion on the value aspect with a grain of salt. All around I think the deck holds enough value to more than make up for its cost.

Now onto the parts that interest me more! I think The Hosts of Mordor‘s strategy and playability are pretty fun. I worry that it may rely a bit too much on cards with a very high mana value, which can be a risk if your opponents play lots of counterspells and removal spells, but it’s hard to tell how it’ll actually work before having a chance to play it. The three main themes of the deck are fun, and it’s built in such a way that they complement each other without feeling like its scope is too narrow.

In terms of sheer lore (yes, this is something that I absolutely care about, possibly more than I should), I think the deck works perfectly. Sauron being the commander with Saruman as the lieutenant is perfectly reasonable. Basically, all their more important subjects are there as legendary creatures. The mix of orcs, goblins, and humans also fits nicely with how the army of Sauron was in the books. The presence of dragons is a bit off since there was no mention of dragons except for Smaug during the Third Age, but I’m honestly being nitpicky now.

I really like this deck overall, both in terms of gameplay, and as a big LotR nerd.

If you’re looking to upgrade The Hosts of Mordor, look no further.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 4 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• THE HOSTS OF MORDOR—Join the hosts of Mordor with a 100-card Blue-Black-Red deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$94.95

Buy on Amazon

Riders of Rohan

Decklist

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Éowyn, Shieldmaiden rides at the front of Riders of Rohan. There’s also a secondary theme around monarchy, supported by the deck’s lieutenant Aragorn, King of Gondor.

I personally think Éowyn, Shieldmaiden is a notably powerful commander. It’s a 5/4 body with first strike for a total mana value of five, which is already pretty decent, but it also consistently creates tokens and can eventually become a way to draw cards. You’re gonna be activating Éowyn’s ability more often than not because this deck has plenty of ways to put humans onto the battlefield.

Aragorn, King of Gondor brings a lot of support for the monarch theme while also using that to enable wide attacks by stopping your opponent’s creatures from blocking.

A lot of the new cards in this deck bring plenty of support for the monarch theme: Denethor, Stone Seer, Archivist of Gondor, Éomer, King of Rohan, Champions of Minas Tirith, Forth Eorlingas!, Crown of Gondor, Fealty to the Realm, and Oath of Eorl all bring some much needed support for the archetype, and in varied and interesting ways. There’s also Faramir, Steward of Gondor, which cares about monarch, creates humans, and supports a mini-subtheme of the deck with legendary creatures mattering.

Most of the creatures in the deck are humans, neatly supporting its themes. Beregond of the Guard can absolutely turn your army of humans into an unstoppable force that can run over your opponents. Boromir, Gondor's Hope, Riders of Rohan, Lossarnach Captain, and some of the cards I’ve already mentioned for monarch all bring some new support for the tribe.

The deck has a couple cards that, in my opinion, don’t fit into the strategy so neatly. Harsh Mentor isn’t a bad card but feels like it doesn’t serve much of a purpose in this deck, the same as Gimli of the Glittering Caves.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$$

There are 43 cards estimated to cost over a dollar in this deck. Keep in mind that prices may vary as the decks release.

The most expensive cards in the deck (aside from the possible Sol Ring alter) are:

• Door of Destinies
• Éowyn, Shieldmaiden
• Aragorn, King of Gondor
• Gimli of the Glittering Caves

The Verdict

This deck seems a bit weaker in terms of value. The only reprint worth over $10 is Door of Destinies, and I’d say it’s safe to assume that original cards may lose a bit of their value with time.

In terms of playability, it does a good job of having clear strategies with clear and straightforward support. It makes it easy and possible to go wide with Human tokens, taking advantage of several of the cards in the deck to make that token army overwhelmingly strong. The monarch theme also gets some great support and can easily be complemented with other monarch cards if you want to steer it in that direction.

Lore-wise I think the deck is kinda all over the place. I don’t really like that the deck is called Riders of Rohan when almost half of the deck is made up of Gondorians. If I’m not wrong, there are actually more Gondorian legendary creatures than there are Rohirrim, too. I also think having Éowyn as the leader of the deck doesn’t suit all that well thematically considering she wasn’t the leader of her army, but rather had to hide herself so she could actually march to battle.

Having Aragorn as the commander would’ve made more sense, especially since he’s the one to convince King Théoden to march towards Gondor. I also have some issues with Éowyn’s art because her pose and movement look completely unnatural and I think it takes away from how genuinely cool her fight against the Fell Beast actually was (yes, I’m absolutely nitpicking, don’t mention it).

Aside from my very niche issues with the deck’s lore, the theme of monarch and human typal make perfect sense and are integrated seamlessly into the playability.

If you’re looking to upgrade Riders of Rohan, look no further.

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 1 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• RIDERS OF ROHAN—Join the riders of Rohan with a 100-card Blue-Red-White deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$49.45

Buy on Amazon

Elven Council

Decklist

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

At the forefront of Elven Council is Galadriel, Elven-Queen. The ability on this card neatly ties both themes of the deck together by having a will of the council ability that triggers if an elf entered your battlefield that turn.

I don’t really think this card is that strong overall. The ability isn’t bad, and it’s definitely very lore-friendly considering Galadriel’s internal conflict regarding the Fellowship, but I think it can be a little unfocused. The extra card draw can definitely be useful, especially considering this ability triggers more often than not, but I think the dominion option is a bit lacking. This is the only card in the deck that has anything to do with the Ring tempting you, and your opponents may simply vote against it if it’d really benefit you.

There are several cards that can occupy the place as lieutenants in this deck. First is the one I’d actually play as the commander, which is Erestor of the Council. This is one of the few cards in the deck that have some kind of payoff for voting, so I’d rather have it in my command zone where I can cast it at any time rather than lost somewhere among my 99. It brings a bunch of value for you every time players vote, which may not be all that often but should be often enough to make it worth it.

The following two options are Círdan the Shipwright and Elrond of the White Council. They both have secret council abilities that can be fun for political gameplay. Elrond of the White Council in particular can be super fun to play at the right time.

Finally you have Gandalf, Westward Voyager and Radagast, Wizard of Wilds. They both have a “creatures with mana value 5 or greater matter” theme. While I appreciate them thematically as I think they fit relatively well with the deck’s general vibe, I don’t think they make much sense from a technical standpoint. The deck has a few cards with mana value five or greater, but it’s far from a strong subtheme. I’d say they can be replaced with more fitting cards.

The greater part of this deck is aimed at the typal theme, with tons of new and returning elves to fill up your battlefield. Haldir, Lórien Lieutenant can be a great way to overpower your opponents and close a game through combat. Arwen, Weaver of Hope helps you build a strong army slowly but consistently. I personally think Legolas Greenleaf is a bit outside of the deck’s main themes. It runs enough legendary creatures to make Legolas work, so it can ensure some card draw in the process.

Two weird reprints in this deck are Colossal Whale and Hornet Queen. I guess they both work with the “creatures with mana value 5 or greater” theme, but I personally think they feel really out of place, both mechanically and thematically.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$$

There are 41 cards worth over $1 in the deck. The ones that go for more than $10 are:

• Círdan the Shipwright
• Arwen, Weaver of Hope
• Heroic Intervention
• Swan Song

The Verdict

Elf typal is always a super safe bet for a deck. Even if you feel like the precon may be a bit lacking or you want to play it differently, it’s easy and straightforward to upgrade. I think the political aspect of it is also pretty fun and nicely developed.

I like that the deck lets you play around with its many options for LOTR commanders. They’re also really good to build around if you wanna take them out of your deck (especially Gandalf and Radagast).

In terms of value, I think Elven Council does pretty alright. I doubt Círdan the Shipwright will keep such a high price for long, but I’d bet it’ll still hold some value. Heroic Intervention and Swan Song are amazing cards to have in a precon.

Lore-wise I think the deck is fine. Having Galadriel as the commander makes perfect sense, and the fact that there are so many lieutenants also feels flavorful because it plays into a “large council” idea that fits Tolkien’s elves really well. My only nitpick is Colossal Whale because it really doesn’t make sense in terms of lore. I’m even willing to let Hornet Queen slide because that one at least can be justified with “elves live in the woods and have bonds to their inhabitants.” Why is a whale here?

If you’re looking to upgrade Elven Council, look no further.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• ELVEN COUNCIL—Join the elven council with a 100-card Green-Blue deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$44.95

Buy on Amazon

Food and Fellowship

Decklist

Commander, Theme, and Strategy

Food and Fellowship’s mechanics are the most effective at representing the most important and fundamental aspect of Tolkien’s books: a hobbit’s daily meals. And hobbits eat a lot.

We get a deck focused on Food tokens and gaining life with Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Sam, Loyal Attendant partnered at the helm of this precon, with some typal inclinations because there are plenty of halflings here. These two commanders complement each other wonderfully with Sam creating Food tokens and making them easier to use, while Frodo benefits from you using those tokens to gain life.

An alternative to your two main hobbits are Merry, Warden of Isengard and Pippin, Warden of Isengard. These also partner with each other and keep the Food theme going.

Pippin, Warden of Isengard can be especially useful thanks to its two abilities. Being able to create a Food token at any time makes it so that you can get them during your opponents’ turns, which would cause Merry, Warden of Isengard to trigger during that turn, somewhat bypassing its “this ability triggers only once each turn” rule. The second ability on Pippin can also be a massive game ender if you have enough creatures on the field.

There are plenty of other interesting cards in the deck. Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant and Farmer Cotton are both really good cards and could be commanders in their own right. Banquet Guests, Feasting Hobbit, and Rapacious Guest all interact really nicely with Food tokens and ensure some great support for the deck’s main strategy. The Gaffer and Gwaihir, Greatest of the Eagles are absolutely amazing payoffs for lifegain. They’ll trigger on each end step, which means that sacrificing a Food on each of your opponents’ turns nets you an absurd amount of value.

Basically, all the new cards support either Food tokens or lifegain (or both) or bring some additional kind of value, usually related to generating or benefiting from tokens.

Hithlain Rope is arguably a kind of odd one-out-card here because it doesn’t necessarily fit the rest of the deck in terms of strategy, but at least it’s flavorful since it’s Sam’s rope. The deck also features a handful of treefolk creatures which can serve as large finishers while also staying pretty on-flavor. They gain advantage from Treebeard, Gracious Host.

Notable Cards: Reprints and $$$

The deck has 36 cards that go for over $1. The ones worth over $10 are:

• Gollum, Obsessed Stalker
• Gwaihir, Greatest of the Eagles
• Lobelia, Defender of Bag End
• Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
• Toxic Deluge
• Treebeard, Gracious Host

The Verdict

I’m really excited for Food and Fellowship. I’ve wanted a proper Food deck for a long time, and I think this one is really well built. The cards supporting either the tokens themselves or lifegain in general are really good, the strategy seems well built and fun to play, and the deck is absurdly flavorful. Pun intended.

When it comes to value I think the deck has fewer cards in total than the others, but a few of them have a pretty notable price. I don’t think it necessarily falls behind the others too much.

The flavor of this deck works really well for me. It simultaneously captures the coziness and kindness that hobbits are usually more well-known for, while also managing to represent the more egotistical and hedonistic aspect to them.

The fact that the deck has several non-halfling creatures like elves, humans, and treefolk all works really well in my opinion. Humans and hobbits cohabit the town of Bree peacefully, the main group of hobbits receive help from elves quite often, and Merry and Pippin are the ones to start the Last March of the Ents. It all fits in really nicely.

If you’re looking to upgrade Food and Fellowship, look no further.

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP—Get a 100-card White-Black-Green The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$73.95

Buy on Amazon

The Best LotR: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Deck

For Value

Elven Council currently stands as the best deck in terms of value with a total cost of around 210$ in singles. Keep in mind that the prices of some of these cards are bound to change as the decks are released and cards start to circulate and get played, so this is just an estimation.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• ELVEN COUNCIL—Join the elven council with a 100-card Green-Blue deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$44.95

Buy on Amazon

For Competitive EDH

I wouldn’t take any of these precons to a competitive table right out of the box. But if you’re looking for a deck that can quickly and easily be upgraded to fit into a competitive environment, I’d probably go for Elven Council. Elf typal is easy to upgrade and has proven to be strong time and time again.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• ELVEN COUNCIL—Join the elven council with a 100-card Green-Blue deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$44.95

Buy on Amazon

For Fun

I have to give Food and Fellowship an easy win here. It has a very original strategy, great cards that synergize amazingly with each other, and the vibes of the deck alone are enough to make it stand out. I like pretty much everything about this deck.

I also wanna give The Hosts of Mordor a well-deserved second place. The deck is also very well-designed and well-built, it has good cards and an interesting strategy. I think it feels a bit risky with its strategies, in a very high-risk, high-reward way. It’s fitting for a Grixis () deck, and it sure feels lore-friendly, but it could end up with not-so-fun games.

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

• MAGIC MEETS THE LORD OF THE RINGS—Experience the beloved story of The Lord of the Rings with the strategic gameplay of Magic: The Gathering, facing off against opponents in thrilling magical battles
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
• FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP—Get a 100-card White-Black-Green The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth deck containing 2 Foil Legendary Creature cards and 98 nonfoil cards
• INTRODUCES 20 COMMANDER CARDS—This deck introduces 20 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
• COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 special treatment cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil

$73.95

Buy on Amazon

Commanding Conclusion

Sauron, Lord of the Rings | Illustration by Alex Brock

Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace!

Gandalf

I really like this set of EDH precons. I have mixed opinions on Tales of Middle-earth as a whole, but at least these decks all explore interesting strategies and feel pretty good lore-wise. I have some bias because all four of them either focus on mechanics I find really fun (monarch, politics and voting, and Food) or play into archetypes I already really liked (Grixis reanimation and spellslinger).

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Best Value, Most Competitive

Most Fun

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 4 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 1 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$94.95

$49.45

$44.95

$73.95

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 4 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$94.95

Buy on Amazon

-

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 1 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$49.45

Buy on Amazon

Best Value, Most Competitive

Magic: The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 3 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$44.95

Buy on Amazon

Most Fun

Magic The Gathering The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Commander Deck 2 + Collector Booster Sample Pack

$73.95

Buy on Amazon

But enough about what I think. What do you think of these decks? Are you getting any of them? Which one’s your favorite? How would you go about upgrading them? Feel free to drop a comment letting me know! And while you’re here, don’t forget to visit the official Draftsim Discord, where you can join an amazing community of Magic fans.

That’s all from me for now. Have a good one, I’ll see you next time, and don’t forget about second breakfast! And elevenses. And luncheon. And afternoon tea. And…

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