EDH Lord of the Rings

Commander / EDH Casual Theme/Gimmick

Bou

Land (38)

• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Cinder Glade
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 3x Forest
• 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hanweir Battlements  ^Meld
• 1x Island
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savage Lands
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Instant (2)

• 1x Harrow
• 1x Hero's Downfall

Creature (29)

• 1x Battleflight Eagle
• 1x Benevolent Bodyguard
• 1x Borderland Ranger
• 1x Brutal Hordechief
• 1x Cudgel Troll
• 1x Dwarven Grunt
• 1x Elder Deep-Fiend
• 1x Farhaven Elf
• 1x Hanweir Lancer
• 1x Hussar Patrol
• 1x Ishkanah, Grafwidow
• 1x Ivorytusk Fortress
• 1x Kithkin Daggerdare
• 1x Kithkin Mourncaller
• 1x Knight of Meadowgrain
• 1x Liliana's Specter
• 1x Magus of the Mirror
• 1x Magus of the Moat
• 1x Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
• 1x Nightmare
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1x Orc Sureshot
• 1x Rakdos, Lord of Riots
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Seedguide Ash
• 1x Selvala, Explorer Returned
• 1x Sygg, River Cutthroat
• 1x Thornweald Archer
• 1x Wood Elves

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Burgeoning
• 1x Heartbeat of Spring
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Quest for Renewal
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Sylvan Library

Commander (1)

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Decimate
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Explosive Vegetation
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Sylvan Scrying
• 1x Tempt with Discovery
• 1x Tyrant's Choice

Artifact (11)

• 1x Blade of Selves
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Horn of Greed
• 1x Howling Mine
• 1x Loreseeker's Stone
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Tower of Fortunes
• 1x Viridian Longbow

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana Vess

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Maybeboard

Creature (6)

• 1x Evil Eye of Urborg
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Knights of the Black Rose
• 1x Shaman of the Great Hunt
• 1x Stallion of Ashmouth
• 1x Thornbow Archer

Artifact (1)

• 1x Eye of Doom

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This deck has absolutely no win-con, and is poorly optimized. It's main goal is to have fun and reenact the LOTR tale.

Casting

The Fellowship - Main Characters

It wasn't easy to find something resembling Hobbits, but after auditions, I decided to go with the following:

Frodo: Knight of Meadowgrain - Truthfully, none of the kithkin are interesting (sorry), and I almost went with Goldmeadow Dodger, but the meadowgrain knight has a cuddly mount so that's a win.

Sam: Kithkin Mourncaller - In this deck, this Frodo is probably going to get himself killed instead of finishing the journey, so .. yeah.

Merry and Pippin: Kithkin Daggerdare - Now this I like! two hobbitses fighting together.

The other members of the cast weren't easy to find either, but I feel I've found the right person for each role:

Gandalf: Magus of the Moat - "You shall not pass!"

Aragorn: Borderland Ranger - Just look at him, he's perfect!

Boromir: Benevolent Bodyguard - This one was the trickiest of the humans.. on the one hand, I wanted someone I could sacrifice, on the other, I wanted a knight or a soldier with high toughness or able to block multiple creatures. Guardian of the Gateless would have been perfect were it not for the fact that she's an angel (and female but meh).

Gimli: Dwarven Grunt - I'm deeply saddened by the lack of beards in the new dwarves. I don't like playing with the older cards, but for Gimli I simply don't have a choice.

Legolas: Thornweald Archer - Finding an Elf Archer is harder than you'd think, but this one will have to do. Coupled with a bow (Viridian Longbow) Legolas will be able to fire off the finest shots. alternatively Thornbow Archer seems nice.

Side Characters

Important casting choices were made for the additional characters, but due to budget cuts and deck restraints we couldn't pick every character to be represented, so some characters made the cut, and others didn't.

Sauron: Liliana Vess - the Lead Villain role goes to Liliana! As a planeswalker, I feel she has enough presence in the field, and the fact that she is a necromancer means she won't have much issue with the script. Lim-Dul the Necromancer could have worked, but Liliana is prettier .

Saruman: Magus of the Mirror. Where Gandalf is played by the Magus of the Moat, it would only be fitting to have the previous white wizard turn black, corrupted. Magus of the Abyss was a viable choice.

Elrond: Nath of the Gilt-Leaf - Regal elf looking fellow

Arwen: Selvala, Explorer Returned - I wanted an Elf who would also be a bit adventurous, and good with animals. Selvala seems to fit this nicely (although art-wise Naya Hushblade would be perfect).

Galadriel: Seedborn Muse - Elf, spirit? witch? I'm not sure what Galadriel is anymore, but she's pretty and floaty, and Seedborn Muse has those qualities too.

Gollum: Sygg, River Cutthroat - Ugly? check. Fishy? check. Found in dark humid places? check. Obsessed with power? check. I think this could work.

Side Characters - Others / Extras

Sting: Blade of Selves - they look alike, perfect!

Nazgul: Liliana's Specter - Needs no explanation.

Nazgul horse: Nightmare - Yes, the Nazgul's horse got a part in my production, I like it, it's a nice horsey.

Treebeard: Seedguide Ash - Treebeard was tricky! Seedguide Ash would give some nice ramp, but Heartwood Storyteller would give draw. I went with the ramp for now.

The Riders of Rohan: Hussar Patrol - fills this slot at the moment, I haven't found a nice card with lots of horses yet, Hanweir Lancer could also work.

Light of Earendil: Loreseeker's Stone - left in the freezer too long, the water has frozen and became a glowing stone, doesn't seem to defrost.. the Temp who put it in the freezer has been fired.

Orcs: Orc Sureshot - I feel the art accurately represents the orcs, and the fact that they can also be dangerous, even though they don't always seem like it. Alternatively, goblins would work. those can be cheap and expendable as well.

Uruk-hai: Brutal Hordechief - I was initially thinking of using Zurgo Helmsmasher, but the Brutal Hordechief feels a little less hatey.

Random elves: Oracle of Mul Daya, Farhaven Elf, and Wood Elves, are there to help when people forget their lines or help build props and settings.

Eagles: Battleflight Eagle coming to save the day after all is done and the ring is destroyed.

Sites and Locations

Early story locations

For a glipse of rivendell, please have a look at Farseek. It is a beautiful elven city hidden away in a big forest which can be seen in Tempt with Discovery. Gilt-Leaf Palace is also a contender for the site.

Heartbeat of Spring - could be the stream where Gollum found the ring.

Hanweir Battlements: Represents Rohan, it looks fortressy enough at least.

Tower of Fortunes - Isn't this a perfect Isengard? Knowledge comes at a high price, but knowledge is power and power corrupts. Might also have something to do with the evil influence from the Eye of Sauron but meh.

Mines of Moria

Howling Mine could be the Mines of Moria (alternative could be Kher Keep, and Coercive Portal could also work as the Door of Durin), where Cudgel Troll is Decimate'ing everything and where the balrog Rakdos, Lord of Riots get stopped by Magus of the Moat who won't let anything pass (Who ironically can't actually prevent Rakdos from attacking because he has flying but meh, deal with it). Elder Deep-Fiend is a perfect Watcher in the Water. Not only does he look the part, he can also appear out of no-where, catching everyone by surprise.

Mordor

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is Mordor, which would make Evil Eye of Urborg a great choice! but I feel Eye of Doom or Mind's Eye would be more playable. The Evil eye seems perfect, but Mind's Eye lets me draw cards and it can function as if the Eye of Sauron is always looking at what is going on - I think you would feel it's presence more, the Eye of Doom is more of a 'I'm letting you keep this but if you do anything, feel my wrath'-kinda thing, which is also very tempting. If we squint at Necropotence we can sort of consider it as the torture of Gollum. And then there's Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle as our Mt. Doom, where we can throw in our Sol Ring. Well actually, it's where you are faced with the Tyrant's Choice, do you sacrifice the ring, or keep it and give in to its temptation? You'll need the Expedition Map to find your way up the mountain regardless, and be careful not to get caught by Shelob, played by Ishkanah, Grafwidow, or get trashed by the Oliphaunts, played by Ivorytusk Fortress.

Enjoy the Show!

-- Suggestions for new locations and actors always appreciated!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 51 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.44
Tokens	Copy Clone, Elf Warrior 1/1 G, Spider 1/2 G
Folders	decks i wanna make cause YOLO, LOTR
Based on	EDH Death from above! Bou EDH