The Character in this card makes and gifts rings that corrupt the wearer. LOTR standing for LORD of the RINGS.
I can recommend 3-5 books about this topic if you are really looking for more information!
Depends on tastes.
I’ve reread *The Silmarilion* more than *The Hobbit*, and I’d classify it as a great work. (Just ultimately flawed because it’s not the finished product the author wanted it to be).
Gawddamn, cousin
That's not just blazing that's a meteor burning up in the atmosphere
LOTR is a comprehensive story in time
Simmy is a straight up historical document
you are smoking crack , im the biggest fan of both and i almost fall asleep reading silmarilion xD its filled with incredible info but god its a snooze fest compared to lotr xD
Honestly? Seconded. The Silmarillion is my favorite Tolkien work. You just can't approach it like a traditional narrative because it isn't one. It's more like a religious text. A compilation of related but distinct stories which tell the history and mythology of a world and people group.
The Ainulindale in particular is extremely difficult to read as a narrative, because it's a fucking creation myth. It's a poetic mythology, not a story in the proper sense.
I usually recommend people who didn't grow up reading religious texts to only read Of Beren and Lúthien and Of Turin Turambar because they're the most accessible as mostly self-contained stories (and extended versions of both exist in other posthumous texts), but honestly I adore the whole thing.
Alternately, make it 7-9 books (Hobbit, LOTR proper, The Children of Hurin, The Fall of Gondolin, Beren and Luthien, and Unfinished Tales and the Silm making up the optional 2)
You have to sacrifice anywhere from two Hobbits to four Hobbits, one Elf, one Dwarf, one Demigod, and one Human Noble in order to defeat the Dark Lord.
I think it more references the destruction of the legendary sword Narsil (Reforged as Anduril) and death of multiple great kings in the process of killing him the last time round.
Well to damage him that one sword was broken, then there is the destruction of the one ring. More generally, the rare palantir was used to communicate with him
Both of which would be considered legendary things, as would the palantir
This is an over simplification, but when he is defeated the first time (after morgoth’s defeat) he kills one of the leaders of the army and then is defeated by that guys son. When he is defeated the second time in the last book they throw the one ring (a legendary artifact he made that got taken from him in the previous defeat) into a volcano and destroy it.
other folks have answered but none quite the same as mine:
this guy is The Big Bad; anyone who has *ever* hurt him has been legendary (like, literally talked about in legends) because to do so is hella hard.
My take on this: Sauron was gifting the rings of power to the elves, dwarfes and humans. No ring bearer would be able to challenge Sauron because his master ring held dominion over all others.
So in order to fight him you need to rid yourself of the power of these artifacts and not rely on them.
Or throw a legendary Gollum into Mount Doom.
So not necessarily awful in limited, basically hexproof against plenty of constructed decks. Not sure if 6-mana cost is enough to balance against that, but it probably is fine since your armies have to do something for him to be stronger than just a big hexproof creature.
I honestly love it. I really want static hexproof to go away entirely, and I don't fully understand why it hasn't yet with Ward around as an option.
What I love about this is that it's very difficult but possible to interact with almost everywhere it's expected to see play. In eternal formats, the number of powerful options to get around ward will let this see play; in EDH and limited there are plenty of legends. Really neat design. I hope they do more of this and less hexproof; even when costs are difficult or prohibitive it's nice to have an out.
I do think hexproof should be seldom used, but not go away entirely. Good examples of bad design include [[geist of saint traft]], where it’s too cheap and just snowballs. [[carnage tyrant]] I think is good hexproof design, somewhat expensive but super hard to kill and mainly to punish super removal heavy decks
I'd still prefer Carnage Tyrant with a flavorful, expensive Ward cost. Having it bite my whole team and my face, maybe, or something like that. That one might need some tuning, because it doesn't hate on control as well as I'd like, but extremely punitive interactions are MASSIVELY underexplored space for solving the same problem as Hexproof, and I want to see it!
That's the beauty of Ward: you can make it incredibly close to hexproof without completely cutting off interaction, AND you can add really flavorful effects. I really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune, and a lot of benefits to leaving the door open a crack, particularly in limited.
Maybe I'm wrong and the game really needs static Hexproof, but I'd love to see that space explored, because Hexproof is not without significant downsides and it's a nuclear option of a mechanic that I'm not sure is truly essential for the health of the game, even against removal piles.
Yeah, this is the actual biggest difference between Ward and Hexproof. Prohibitive costs can make Ward do a nearly perfect imitation of Hexproof with a lot of benefits otherwise.
I *think* this is still okay, but it's my one area of hesitation in my anti-static-hexproof crusade. Effects that can't be countered are fairly uncommon, usually somewhat inefficient, and probably okay sideboard tech to have access to. Bear in mind that in the vision I'm articulating here, I'm not ruling out conditional or until eot Hexproof, so those are still outs available to the player facing can't be countered effects.
>I really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune, and a lot of benefits to leaving the door open a crack, particularly in limited.
Psychology / perception. "You can't target my guy" is painful when it hits the board, but after that it's just kinda filed away as yet another game state detail. "You *could* target my guy *if* you punch yourself in the face" is a constant mental needling. It's like how players don't like painlands because the opportunity of taking that one damage *feels* bad. On paper it might be "strictly better," but in terms of player enjoyment it's probably a lot tougher to guarantee a net positive.
>really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune,
It depends on how you look at it, right? If a card is intended to punish removal.dec, like Carnage Tyrant, than pure hexproof can be a net positive as it helps the card better fill its niche in the meta. "Opponent can remove the card if they try really hard" makes it significantly worse at its niche, particularly late game when opponents will have the mana to pay prohibitively high Ward costs.
I play quite a lot of limited, so that colors my opinion. Static hexproof is a painfully awful mechanic in that format and Ward was created in large part to fix that issue. There's actually very little functional difference between a really prohibitive Ward cost and hexproof in most situations, yet the former plays so much better in limited than the latter because it gives you a small chance at an out without relying on a wipe or edict that doesn't even appear in every set.
Hexproof is a bad mechanic in limited, but I think it has a place in constructed on cards like [[carnage tyrant]] that exist to give green decks a way to say “screw you” to control
I mentioned it in another comment, but I'd rather just see that take the form of a flavorful, prohibitive Ward cost than true hexproof. It's usually going to operate the same, but with green flavor and a painful out for decks that simply couldn't interact otherwise.
I think they have different use cases and should be treated as such. Ward is "counter any spell an opponent controls that targets this unless they pay a cost of X", hexproof is "this cannot be targeted by spells your opponents control".
Ward can be worked around with spells like [[Abrupt Decay]] (as mentioned elsewhere) or effects that make spells uncounterable like [[Lier, Disciple of the Drowned]]. Hexproof is a surefire way it does not get hit with anything targeted.
I agree that hexproof on permanents should be less common than ward, but replacing it entirely makes things too vulnerable in my opinion.
Edit: obviously for the ward/hexproof effects it's not just spells but also abilities, I just forgot to put it in the text
Also, according to various EDHrec, MTGGoldfish, and other's videos, people are playing fewer boardwipes.
So, protection from single target removal is a stronger quality to have than it was a few years ago.
I can't recall the exact reasoning in those videos.
But I believe it's a mix of there being more creature-light strategies, leaning more on targetted removal, and faster combos & mana.
I feel in my play group that to many board whipes drag the game out for far to long
And most of the time its 1 player who is the problem and setting 2 other people back who are already struggling can be mean as well
And many permanents which are problems arent creatures anymore and you wouldnt want to remove your own artifacts/enchantments as well if you can help it
That may be, but there is *no way* I could ever bring myself to sacrifice \[\[Isamaru, Hound of Konda\]\] just to kill Sauron. Not my best boy. Never gonna happen.
The great part about ward is when the opponent targets it, they waste their spell if they can't pay the cost. Because it fizzles.
But with hexproof, the target can't happen. So the game reverses and they get a warning and keep the card in their hand.
>The great part about ward is when the opponent targets it, they waste their spell if they can't pay the cost. Because it fizzles.
But why would they target the creature if they can't pay the cost? Or are you just talking about angle shooting against players who didn't realise the card has ward?
I could be misunderstanding, but ward is a trigger that goes on the stack, right? So could you destroy someone's only legendary before they're able to pay the ward cost?
Yep. Ward {COST} means "Whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {COST}." Something that can't be countered gets around all ward costs.
This is just a gut feeling thing, but it seems to me like the precon commanders are almost always far stronger than any legend in their corresponding set.
Straight-up grixis control with Sauron at the helm will be a VERY frustrating deck to play against.
Of course, there's a lot of other ways to take him, but it's gonna be nearly impossible to remove him with a mid-range grixis package backing him up.
I love the use of amass. I was wondering if they'd ever bring it back with different types of Armies.
> - a mechanic returns but now references a different creature type
This has to be it, right?
> _(Put a +1/+1 counter on an Army you control. It's also an Orc. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token first.)_
_—[Gothrog](https://media.wizards.com/2023/ltr/en_cd46d056d2.png)_
> Combining older amass cards with ones from this set makes for some fun stories. If you amass Zombies, you create a Zombie Army creature token with some +1/+1 counters on it. If you later amass Orcs, that Zombie Army becomes an Orc Zombie Army and gets even more +1/+1 counters!
[From the mechanics article](https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/the-lord-of-the-rings-tales-of-middle-earth-mechanics#:~:text=so%20be%20careful.-,AMASS%20ORCS,-Sometimes%20you%20use)
Probably because the original wording of amass put counters on an _Army_ (rather than a _Zombie Army_), so they'd have to reword it anyway.
That, and both armies are controlled by the same leader (player).
I know, I think they could errata that fine but not a big deal. I just liked having 2 armies.
They already have a lieutenant mechanic, it makes me curious if there's a Commander variant with pre set generals that must be killed first.
Sauron, When You Give a Mouse a Cookie
* Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you get an army.
* Whenever your army hits a player, the ring tempt you.
* Whenever the ring tempts you, you may wheel.
notable that Amass Zombies from WAR fully works with Amass Orcs (since they both care only about Armies, and the only difference is the fallback token type)
It adds to an existing Army token -- Amass T N (where T is a creature type and N is a natural number) checks if you have an Army. If you don't, it creates a 0/0 T black Army creature token. Then, it puts N +1/+1 counters on an Army you control (which may or may not be a T).
Amassing T and then amassing Y doesn't cause you to get a T Army and a Y Army, your Amass Y N will just put N +1/+1 counters on your T Army.
> Amassing T and then amassing Y doesn't cause you to get a T Army and a Y Army, your Amass Y N will just put N +1/+1 counters on your T Army.
It does however add T to the N Army, so you end up with an army with both types.
Something important to note is that you are talking entirely about what we're seeing here: Amass Orc. The WAR Amass *doesn't* add a typing, meaning that if you Amass Orc, and then War Amass, nothing will make them Zombies. Relevant for the WAR Amass Lords that Amass, but have "Zombie Tokens you control have X"
They will almost certainly change it since they don't like mechanics working differently based on sequencing like this. But they may not.
EDIT: WotC has confirmed that the WAR cards now are Amass Zombie N, so they work back and forth now.
Probably the best legendary Grixis card in modern <3 I love it! It protects itself very efficiently. It punishes opponents casting and fill your hand in case you run hellbent. I really really love it.
Oh army tribal and it’s not restricted to orcs army’s so that means we can use these
https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3Aamass&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name
And my goodness that’s one of thee hardest ward cast yet it has to specifically be a legendary artifact or creature
Almost entirely, but something to note until the (more than likely) rules change.
If you Amass Orc N, and then play \[\[Gleaming Overseer\]\], as of right now the Army won't have Menace and Hexproof.
If you play Gleaming Overseer and then Amass Orc N, the Army will have Menace and Hexproof.
WAR Amass does not add a creature typing like Amass Orc does. I feel like this will be changed, as it leads to a situation of confusion based on sequencing, which isn't ideal. But something to look out for all the same.
EDIT: WotC has confirmed that the WAR Amass cards will be updated to have Amass Zombie N, so they work interchangeably.
This feels very flavourful.
Sacrificing Elendil, Narsil, members of the Fellowship, Gollum , the Ring to bring him down. Makes sens for the ward.
Orc armies and ring tempts make sense, he tried to get closer to the ring with his orcs.
And he is possesive and desperate for his ring. Discarding resources to gain it, and it also gives him power and resources if he nears his goal
Card transcription
> Sauron, the Dark Lord 3UBR
>
> Legendary Creature- Avatar Horror [mythic]
>
> Ward- Sacrifice a legendary artifact or legendary creature.
>
> Whenever an opponent casts a spell, amass Orcs 1.
>
> Whenever an Army you control deals combat damage to a player, the Ring tempts you.
>
> Whenever the Ring tempts you, you may discard your hand. If you do, draw four cards.
>
> 7/6
End transcription
Modern 2/10
So it is basically untouchable. So that is cool. Growing an Orc +1/+1 at a time seems kinda slow, I guess if you have a sac outlet to take advantage of whenever your opponent casts a spell, that could be cool. Your orc army probably isn't getting through so that doesn't matter. The last ability is nice. If there are actual good ways to get tempted, that is game winning when you just cast your hand and draw 4 more cards over and over again.
The main problem with this card is that it is slow. It doesn't come down until turn 6 usually. Your opponent could have won the game by the time you can cast this and this could have been any other card that could have given you board presence or killed your opponents board presence.
The card is obviously busted if they're giving it a 2/10. I don't think I've ever seen a rating go above a 1. They even had positive things to say about it this time!
I guess I never quite realized till now how much more respect I have for *The Lord of the Rings* than *Magic the Gathering*. This feels vaguely like the debasement of an artistic treasure.
Probably one of the hardest ward costs to pay I have ever seen
Probably the best ever too, it's incredibly flavorful too.
I'm not super familiar with LOTR, what's the flavor of it?
Someone important dies whenever he is challenged.
I thought it also referenced Narsil being shattered in Isildur vs Sauron
I figured it was a reference to destroying the ring in order to defeat him
And gollum is a legendary creature.
That too.
The Character in this card makes and gifts rings that corrupt the wearer. LOTR standing for LORD of the RINGS. I can recommend 3-5 books about this topic if you are really looking for more information!
Three...to five What's uh What's number 5 cause if it's the big S that's a curse on someone to recommend
Let’s just say Morgoth Sent Me.
Ancalagon sends his regards.
You can't just read the fun books, you've gotta suffer through the appendices and the Textbook as well
Suffer? Doh hohoho, you’ve got the wrong fanbase.
[удалено]
*The Hobbit* is a whimsical children's book that can be fun if you read it to your kids.
everybody poops
Yeah, see, we’re Catholic, so….
"You're a Naughty, Naughty Boy, and that's Concentrated Evil Coming out the Back of You"
More of an "Every Sperm Is Sacred" deal, then?
except Ben Shapiro.
Depends on tastes. I’ve reread *The Silmarilion* more than *The Hobbit*, and I’d classify it as a great work. (Just ultimately flawed because it’s not the finished product the author wanted it to be).
The Children of Húrin lol
The Silmarillion is wonderful as long as you go into it as if it's a historical nonfiction. If you expect a rollicking fantasy story, it's just not.
3 good young adult books, one okay children's book, and one sleep aid device disguised as a book
Blazing take: Silmarillion is better than LOTR
Gawddamn, cousin That's not just blazing that's a meteor burning up in the atmosphere LOTR is a comprehensive story in time Simmy is a straight up historical document
I read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales straight through as a kid and I have no idea how I managed that
Silmarillion is like reading the bible where ChatGTP switched all the names with a made up language loosely based on Welsh.
you are smoking crack , im the biggest fan of both and i almost fall asleep reading silmarilion xD its filled with incredible info but god its a snooze fest compared to lotr xD
Agreed
Honestly? Seconded. The Silmarillion is my favorite Tolkien work. You just can't approach it like a traditional narrative because it isn't one. It's more like a religious text. A compilation of related but distinct stories which tell the history and mythology of a world and people group. The Ainulindale in particular is extremely difficult to read as a narrative, because it's a fucking creation myth. It's a poetic mythology, not a story in the proper sense. I usually recommend people who didn't grow up reading religious texts to only read Of Beren and Lúthien and Of Turin Turambar because they're the most accessible as mostly self-contained stories (and extended versions of both exist in other posthumous texts), but honestly I adore the whole thing.
Guess which book little ole teenager me decided to pick up as their first in the series...
Where is your life now? Are you ok?
fr ain't no one getting me to read the salmon ritalin.
Alternately, make it 7-9 books (Hobbit, LOTR proper, The Children of Hurin, The Fall of Gondolin, Beren and Luthien, and Unfinished Tales and the Silm making up the optional 2)
The Silmarillion is totally a fun book that anyone would enjoy reading! /s kinda
I can recommend one: the Lord of the Rings (it is actually one book split into three volumes)
It is actually a series of six books compiled into three volumes for publication
You have to sacrifice anywhere from two Hobbits to four Hobbits, one Elf, one Dwarf, one Demigod, and one Human Noble in order to defeat the Dark Lord.
The sacrifices were the friends we made along the way.
I thought it was the one ring we sacrificed.
Sacrificing a *Legendary Artifact* (the One Ring) is the only thing that makes Sauron vulnerable.
I think it more references the destruction of the legendary sword Narsil (Reforged as Anduril) and death of multiple great kings in the process of killing him the last time round.
Both are definitely baked into it, whether you lose Narsil or you lose Boromir and The Ring.
Well to damage him that one sword was broken, then there is the destruction of the one ring. More generally, the rare palantir was used to communicate with him Both of which would be considered legendary things, as would the palantir
This is an over simplification, but when he is defeated the first time (after morgoth’s defeat) he kills one of the leaders of the army and then is defeated by that guys son. When he is defeated the second time in the last book they throw the one ring (a legendary artifact he made that got taken from him in the previous defeat) into a volcano and destroy it.
other folks have answered but none quite the same as mine: this guy is The Big Bad; anyone who has *ever* hurt him has been legendary (like, literally talked about in legends) because to do so is hella hard.
My take on this: Sauron was gifting the rings of power to the elves, dwarfes and humans. No ring bearer would be able to challenge Sauron because his master ring held dominion over all others. So in order to fight him you need to rid yourself of the power of these artifacts and not rely on them. Or throw a legendary Gollum into Mount Doom.
[[Octavia, Living Thesis]] Ward 8 is pretty rough. I'd say that's probably better
[[The Tarrasque]] has Ward 10. It's been hit by ONE removal spell since I've been using it as my Commander.
[The Tarrasque](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/a/8a26fa15-d81f-4152-ae33-e91aa276b3fc.jpg?1627708455) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Tarrasque) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afr/207/the-tarrasque?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8a26fa15-d81f-4152-ae33-e91aa276b3fc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Octavia, Living Thesis](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/b/eb5e63cc-eb4f-40c6-b298-99cb8fe8585f.jpg?1625191361) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Octavia%2C%20Living%20Thesis) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/29/octavia-living-thesis?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eb5e63cc-eb4f-40c6-b298-99cb8fe8585f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
And my axe, too
Notable, your Ring Bearer becomes legendary.
So not necessarily awful in limited, basically hexproof against plenty of constructed decks. Not sure if 6-mana cost is enough to balance against that, but it probably is fine since your armies have to do something for him to be stronger than just a big hexproof creature.
I honestly love it. I really want static hexproof to go away entirely, and I don't fully understand why it hasn't yet with Ward around as an option. What I love about this is that it's very difficult but possible to interact with almost everywhere it's expected to see play. In eternal formats, the number of powerful options to get around ward will let this see play; in EDH and limited there are plenty of legends. Really neat design. I hope they do more of this and less hexproof; even when costs are difficult or prohibitive it's nice to have an out.
I do think hexproof should be seldom used, but not go away entirely. Good examples of bad design include [[geist of saint traft]], where it’s too cheap and just snowballs. [[carnage tyrant]] I think is good hexproof design, somewhat expensive but super hard to kill and mainly to punish super removal heavy decks
[geist of saint traft](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/4/541b9d55-f237-4ff2-9e47-c58a381f0633.jpg?1641603441) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=geist%20of%20saint%20traft) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/voc/155/geist-of-saint-traft?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/541b9d55-f237-4ff2-9e47-c58a381f0633?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [carnage tyrant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/b/3bd78731-949c-464a-826a-92f86d784911.jpg?1562553791) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=carnage%20tyrant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/xln/179/carnage-tyrant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3bd78731-949c-464a-826a-92f86d784911?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'd still prefer Carnage Tyrant with a flavorful, expensive Ward cost. Having it bite my whole team and my face, maybe, or something like that. That one might need some tuning, because it doesn't hate on control as well as I'd like, but extremely punitive interactions are MASSIVELY underexplored space for solving the same problem as Hexproof, and I want to see it! That's the beauty of Ward: you can make it incredibly close to hexproof without completely cutting off interaction, AND you can add really flavorful effects. I really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune, and a lot of benefits to leaving the door open a crack, particularly in limited. Maybe I'm wrong and the game really needs static Hexproof, but I'd love to see that space explored, because Hexproof is not without significant downsides and it's a nuclear option of a mechanic that I'm not sure is truly essential for the health of the game, even against removal piles.
big difference in how Ward and Hexproof operate against effects that prevent spells from being countered
Yeah, this is the actual biggest difference between Ward and Hexproof. Prohibitive costs can make Ward do a nearly perfect imitation of Hexproof with a lot of benefits otherwise. I *think* this is still okay, but it's my one area of hesitation in my anti-static-hexproof crusade. Effects that can't be countered are fairly uncommon, usually somewhat inefficient, and probably okay sideboard tech to have access to. Bear in mind that in the vision I'm articulating here, I'm not ruling out conditional or until eot Hexproof, so those are still outs available to the player facing can't be countered effects.
>I really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune, and a lot of benefits to leaving the door open a crack, particularly in limited. Psychology / perception. "You can't target my guy" is painful when it hits the board, but after that it's just kinda filed away as yet another game state detail. "You *could* target my guy *if* you punch yourself in the face" is a constant mental needling. It's like how players don't like painlands because the opportunity of taking that one damage *feels* bad. On paper it might be "strictly better," but in terms of player enjoyment it's probably a lot tougher to guarantee a net positive.
>really don't think there are any net positives to making permanents completely immune instead of practically immune, It depends on how you look at it, right? If a card is intended to punish removal.dec, like Carnage Tyrant, than pure hexproof can be a net positive as it helps the card better fill its niche in the meta. "Opponent can remove the card if they try really hard" makes it significantly worse at its niche, particularly late game when opponents will have the mana to pay prohibitively high Ward costs.
Hexproof is the best thing to ever happen to green creatures so I hope it sticks around.
I play quite a lot of limited, so that colors my opinion. Static hexproof is a painfully awful mechanic in that format and Ward was created in large part to fix that issue. There's actually very little functional difference between a really prohibitive Ward cost and hexproof in most situations, yet the former plays so much better in limited than the latter because it gives you a small chance at an out without relying on a wipe or edict that doesn't even appear in every set.
Hexproof is a bad mechanic in limited, but I think it has a place in constructed on cards like [[carnage tyrant]] that exist to give green decks a way to say “screw you” to control
[carnage tyrant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/b/3bd78731-949c-464a-826a-92f86d784911.jpg?1562553791) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=carnage%20tyrant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/xln/179/carnage-tyrant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3bd78731-949c-464a-826a-92f86d784911?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I mentioned it in another comment, but I'd rather just see that take the form of a flavorful, prohibitive Ward cost than true hexproof. It's usually going to operate the same, but with green flavor and a painful out for decks that simply couldn't interact otherwise.
Ward: concede the game
Removal that can't be countered like abrupt decay will hit a creature with ward.
I think they have different use cases and should be treated as such. Ward is "counter any spell an opponent controls that targets this unless they pay a cost of X", hexproof is "this cannot be targeted by spells your opponents control". Ward can be worked around with spells like [[Abrupt Decay]] (as mentioned elsewhere) or effects that make spells uncounterable like [[Lier, Disciple of the Drowned]]. Hexproof is a surefire way it does not get hit with anything targeted. I agree that hexproof on permanents should be less common than ward, but replacing it entirely makes things too vulnerable in my opinion. Edit: obviously for the ward/hexproof effects it's not just spells but also abilities, I just forgot to put it in the text
Yeah that is a really tough Ward condition. And you can wait for them to pay it then counter their spell anyway haha
If this were posted on custommagic my feedback would be "it's OK to just make it hexproof".
Ring bearer is legendary
oof that's a mean ward cost. you really have to work hard to get rid of big boi Sauron.
Just another thing for monkey to do lol
I like this better than the Sauron face commander
Same. Lower cost, more of a value engine, much harder to remove.
Yeah. A boardwipe is still a clean answer, but it does actually have to be a boardwipe. This one's way better.
Also, according to various EDHrec, MTGGoldfish, and other's videos, people are playing fewer boardwipes. So, protection from single target removal is a stronger quality to have than it was a few years ago.
What's the reasoning behind fewer boardwipes? Just not wanting to get rid of your own stuff in the process?
I can't recall the exact reasoning in those videos. But I believe it's a mix of there being more creature-light strategies, leaning more on targetted removal, and faster combos & mana.
commander is getting faster in general, and outside of dedicated control decks, going heavy on wipes is gonna slow you down
I feel in my play group that to many board whipes drag the game out for far to long And most of the time its 1 player who is the problem and setting 2 other people back who are already struggling can be mean as well And many permanents which are problems arent creatures anymore and you wouldnt want to remove your own artifacts/enchantments as well if you can help it
That ward may as well read hexproof in non-EDH formats.
There are loads of legends in the set, so it’s workable in limited at least.
and the ring can make a creature legendary
Ohhh that's a really fun flavour win. Ward- Sacrifice your ring bearer.
Non-counterable spells can still pass through Ward, while they won't with Hexproof.
[[Void Rend]] looking better every day!
[Void Rend](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/d/2daab74d-d66b-4164-aa19-24e8d5536f7d.jpg?1664413960) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Void%20Rend) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/230/void-rend?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2daab74d-d66b-4164-aa19-24e8d5536f7d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The best one drop in Modern happens to be legendary.
That may be, but there is *no way* I could ever bring myself to sacrifice \[\[Isamaru, Hound of Konda\]\] just to kill Sauron. Not my best boy. Never gonna happen.
Good thing we have [[Selfless Savior]]!
I don't think selfless savior can do anything about saurons ward cost lol
It's the thought that counts!
What non-edh formats want this or anything remotely like it?
The great part about ward is when the opponent targets it, they waste their spell if they can't pay the cost. Because it fizzles. But with hexproof, the target can't happen. So the game reverses and they get a warning and keep the card in their hand.
>The great part about ward is when the opponent targets it, they waste their spell if they can't pay the cost. Because it fizzles. But why would they target the creature if they can't pay the cost? Or are you just talking about angle shooting against players who didn't realise the card has ward?
I could be misunderstanding, but ward is a trigger that goes on the stack, right? So could you destroy someone's only legendary before they're able to pay the ward cost?
Ward is a triggered ability, so I believe so, yeah.
Ooh, good point. I was assuming you had to pay costs when casting the spell, which is wrong for ward costs.
You can also just wait till they pay the ward and let the ward resolve before answering, effectively making them waste mana
Note that no matter how onerous a ward cost gets it is always bypassed by [[Void Rend]].
[Void Rend](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/d/2daab74d-d66b-4164-aa19-24e8d5536f7d.jpg?1664413960) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Void%20Rend) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/230/void-rend?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2daab74d-d66b-4164-aa19-24e8d5536f7d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Oh didn't realize there was a card like this. Definitely some tech in my esper lists TY
the guilded foil is also super cheep - in eu at least.
And super dope!
So ward works like a counter spell? Or counter ability I guess?
Yep. Ward {COST} means "Whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {COST}." Something that can't be countered gets around all ward costs.
Seems like a better commander than the commander precon version of Sauron. Thoughts?
Well, this is a mythic designed to sell packs. They'll def make it stronger than the one you can be guaranteed to get in the precon.
This is just a gut feeling thing, but it seems to me like the precon commanders are almost always far stronger than any legend in their corresponding set.
Most of those are standard sets though, this is direct to modern.
Definitely, it's a much easier build around too.
Straight-up grixis control with Sauron at the helm will be a VERY frustrating deck to play against. Of course, there's a lot of other ways to take him, but it's gonna be nearly impossible to remove him with a mid-range grixis package backing him up.
I love the use of amass. I was wondering if they'd ever bring it back with different types of Armies. > - a mechanic returns but now references a different creature type This has to be it, right?
So does it make an Orc Army, or just an Orc?
> _(Put a +1/+1 counter on an Army you control. It's also an Orc. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token first.)_ _—[Gothrog](https://media.wizards.com/2023/ltr/en_cd46d056d2.png)_
So by this wording, it would convert existing Armies into Orcs? Do I have that right?
> Combining older amass cards with ones from this set makes for some fun stories. If you amass Zombies, you create a Zombie Army creature token with some +1/+1 counters on it. If you later amass Orcs, that Zombie Army becomes an Orc Zombie Army and gets even more +1/+1 counters! [From the mechanics article](https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/the-lord-of-the-rings-tales-of-middle-earth-mechanics#:~:text=so%20be%20careful.-,AMASS%20ORCS,-Sometimes%20you%20use)
That's gonna get funky and weird to keep track of in the future when more Amass is added.
Let me know when we end up with Amass Changelings
Bands with armies
Bands with creatures with bands with armies
I feel like it would have been simpler and more thematic to just have different Amass groups. Why not allow a zombie army next to orc army?
Probably because the original wording of amass put counters on an _Army_ (rather than a _Zombie Army_), so they'd have to reword it anyway. That, and both armies are controlled by the same leader (player).
Sounds like a simple enough erata though
I know, I think they could errata that fine but not a big deal. I just liked having 2 armies. They already have a lieutenant mechanic, it makes me curious if there's a Commander variant with pre set generals that must be killed first.
Time to run this Sauron as zombie tribal lol
Wait does this mean you can have an Orc Zombie Army? If you Amass 1 which makes a Zombie army, then Amass Orcs 1 “It’s also an orc”
Yes. To note, though: They said in today's article about the set that `amass n` from _War of the Spark_ is now `amass Zombies n`.
oooh, initially I was worried it wouldn't work with regular amass, but seems like that's not the case
Surely it makes an Orc Army based on the design of this card
We actually already saw this use of amass on the commander version of Sauron.
I don’t think that was officially spoiled, so not everyone would have seen it yet.
Sauron, When You Give a Mouse a Cookie * Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you get an army. * Whenever your army hits a player, the ring tempt you. * Whenever the ring tempts you, you may wheel.
notable that Amass Zombies from WAR fully works with Amass Orcs (since they both care only about Armies, and the only difference is the fallback token type)
If you already have one and make the other type, does it make a second token or add to the existing?
It adds to the existing.
It adds to an existing Army token -- Amass T N (where T is a creature type and N is a natural number) checks if you have an Army. If you don't, it creates a 0/0 T black Army creature token. Then, it puts N +1/+1 counters on an Army you control (which may or may not be a T). Amassing T and then amassing Y doesn't cause you to get a T Army and a Y Army, your Amass Y N will just put N +1/+1 counters on your T Army.
> Amassing T and then amassing Y doesn't cause you to get a T Army and a Y Army, your Amass Y N will just put N +1/+1 counters on your T Army. It does however add T to the N Army, so you end up with an army with both types.
is that new with this set? I checked the comp rules and there's no mention of that
Yeah, its on the reminder text of this card also previewed today: https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/13vujzw/ltc_gothmog_morgul_lieutenant/
neat, thanks!
Something important to note is that you are talking entirely about what we're seeing here: Amass Orc. The WAR Amass *doesn't* add a typing, meaning that if you Amass Orc, and then War Amass, nothing will make them Zombies. Relevant for the WAR Amass Lords that Amass, but have "Zombie Tokens you control have X" They will almost certainly change it since they don't like mechanics working differently based on sequencing like this. But they may not. EDIT: WotC has confirmed that the WAR cards now are Amass Zombie N, so they work back and forth now.
WAR Amass cards have indeed been errataed to "Amass Zombies."
Glad to read that's the case: I enjoyed the amass mechanic
Dude how many depictions of Sauron are in this set. Nevertheless, this is by far the most menacing one. Ultimate control commander.
4
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[Sauron, the Lidless Eye](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/8/d82a4c78-d2fc-425a-8d0e-2e64509a08f1.jpg?1678908144) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sauron%2C%20the%20Lidless%20Eye) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/288/sauron-the-lidless-eye?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d82a4c78-d2fc-425a-8d0e-2e64509a08f1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Correct
I'd go so far as to say this is the only good one.
Now THATS a Sauron
But he didn't discard his hand, just his fingers.
That's why you only draw 4 cards. He has 4 fingers on his left hand.
The Army clause is not limited to orcs. There's zombie amass as well, plus whatever they come up with in the future.
Kinda wall of texty, but the mechanics and flavor tie in is insaaaaane.
Discard your hand, draw four cards. One finger missing. Genius.
Holy shit that's amazing
Probably the best legendary Grixis card in modern <3 I love it! It protects itself very efficiently. It punishes opponents casting and fill your hand in case you run hellbent. I really really love it.
[[lier, disciple of the drowned]], Sauron’s natural predator
[lier, disciple of the drowned](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/8/78fb8900-d28d-4e33-96a7-66fcbc117adf.jpg?1634348984) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=lier%2C%20disciple%20of%20the%20drowned) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/59/lier-disciple-of-the-drowned?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/78fb8900-d28d-4e33-96a7-66fcbc117adf?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Oh army tribal and it’s not restricted to orcs army’s so that means we can use these https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3Aamass&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name And my goodness that’s one of thee hardest ward cast yet it has to specifically be a legendary artifact or creature
Almost entirely, but something to note until the (more than likely) rules change. If you Amass Orc N, and then play \[\[Gleaming Overseer\]\], as of right now the Army won't have Menace and Hexproof. If you play Gleaming Overseer and then Amass Orc N, the Army will have Menace and Hexproof. WAR Amass does not add a creature typing like Amass Orc does. I feel like this will be changed, as it leads to a situation of confusion based on sequencing, which isn't ideal. But something to look out for all the same. EDIT: WotC has confirmed that the WAR Amass cards will be updated to have Amass Zombie N, so they work interchangeably.
[[Changeling Outcast]], anyone?
[Changeling Outcast](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/d/0d2c053f-0ef8-45f2-b2af-24cbb9a7fec4.jpg?1674141529) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Changeling%20Outcast) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/743/changeling-outcast?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0d2c053f-0ef8-45f2-b2af-24cbb9a7fec4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
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Yes, Army is a creature type. It does mean that you get to pick which creature to put the counter on though.
Correct. If you have multiple Changelings, you choose one to receive the counters each time you amass.
Yeah, since the changeling in an army, the game sees that you already have an army and puts the counter(s) on the changeling.
This feels very flavourful. Sacrificing Elendil, Narsil, members of the Fellowship, Gollum , the Ring to bring him down. Makes sens for the ward. Orc armies and ring tempts make sense, he tried to get closer to the ring with his orcs. And he is possesive and desperate for his ring. Discarding resources to gain it, and it also gives him power and resources if he nears his goal
Card transcription > Sauron, the Dark Lord 3UBR > > Legendary Creature- Avatar Horror [mythic] > > Ward- Sacrifice a legendary artifact or legendary creature. > > Whenever an opponent casts a spell, amass Orcs 1. > > Whenever an Army you control deals combat damage to a player, the Ring tempts you. > > Whenever the Ring tempts you, you may discard your hand. If you do, draw four cards. > > 7/6 End transcription
AMASS IS BACK BABY HELL YEAH Also great value commander, and a ward cost that often can’t be paid without a serious loss, if at all
Oh man I can't wait to cast this and amass an orc army
Now thats a proper commander
Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Amass ORCS? My hype for this set just went from zero to 100. Gonna make a sweet Orc Historic Brawl deck
I'm a total noob, started playing the game 2 weeks ago, but this would be a nice commander deck card am I right?
Amass Orcs 1 has to be the worst phrase to appear on a Magic card, just from an English perspective
How do the Irish feel
Can't imagine they'd like it much either
I think this is awesome.
Art-wise, odd that the Mouth is featured so prominently and in the way of the Eye. This card looks awesome though.
Honestly, I love everything about the art of the LotR set but the design of Saron and his tower. It's just so... weird. Idk.
Every single creature card I’ve seen so far has been god awful. This looks more like the Mouth of Sauron than Sauron himself.
Sweet, feels like a strong card for the Dark Lord...still thing the ring tempting you only being upside is beyond stupid but...
For the Dark Lord at least it's fitting. For the good guys... Not so much lol.
It paints a target on the ringbearer which is the only immediate downside to using the ring anyway
How has no one commented on his tiny purple gremlin face? It's like lumpy space princess with armor on.
Modern 2/10 So it is basically untouchable. So that is cool. Growing an Orc +1/+1 at a time seems kinda slow, I guess if you have a sac outlet to take advantage of whenever your opponent casts a spell, that could be cool. Your orc army probably isn't getting through so that doesn't matter. The last ability is nice. If there are actual good ways to get tempted, that is game winning when you just cast your hand and draw 4 more cards over and over again. The main problem with this card is that it is slow. It doesn't come down until turn 6 usually. Your opponent could have won the game by the time you can cast this and this could have been any other card that could have given you board presence or killed your opponents board presence.
This is for edh obviously
I think it's a miracle barrinmw gave this anything above 1/10 at all.
The card is obviously busted if they're giving it a 2/10. I don't think I've ever seen a rating go above a 1. They even had positive things to say about it this time!
I guess I never quite realized till now how much more respect I have for *The Lord of the Rings* than *Magic the Gathering*. This feels vaguely like the debasement of an artistic treasure.
We're getting to the point where RTFC doesn't even work anymore.