Massive Leak Reveals Brand New Lord of the Rings MTG Cards?!

In many ways, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is unlike any other MTG set in history. Most obviously, for instance, it’s the first every Universes Beyond Draft set. Alongside this, it was also the first set to contain a one-of-one serialized card! As if those weren’t enough unique points already, the set is being released twice!

Teased by Wizards earlier in the year, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is also getting a “Holiday Release.” While this has been confirmed, details about this second release were shrouded in a thick layer of mystery. We knew that the set would feature new art treatments in Collector Boosters, but would there be any new cards? Unfortunately, it was too early to tell.

Thankfully, that waiting has finally been put to an end thanks to a massive new leak. Three months ahead of schedule, MTG cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Holiday Release have been revealed and they’re brand-new. Appearing as part of Scene Boxes, Wizards is releasing, at least, four sets of six never before seen cards.

While we have seen those upcoming cards now, it is worth noting, this is only a leak. As a result, there’s a non-zero chance these new cards could be well-made fakes. Saying that, however, it appears the art seen on the boxes lines up with the cards, so there is some chance at authenticity at least.

Ultimately, until we see official spoilers, or these leaks are confirmed, it’s best to be somewhat skeptical and keep your wits about you. That being said, however, we can’t resist talking about the leaked cards, as they are seriously strong. If you thought the main set was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.

As eloquently put by Reddit user u/smashbro188 when reacting to the leak “All of these cards seem stacked.” Considering every single one of the eighteen newly revealed cards is playable, this might even be putting it lightly. With complexity, versatility, and powerful effects aplenty, each of the leaked cards is absolutely insane.

To show this off, we can simply look at Legeolas’s Quick Reflexes. Part of the Aragorn at Helm’s Deep Scene Box, this new instant is absolutely cracked. Allowing you to untap, protect, and then deal damage with a creature, this one mana green instant does it all. It remarkably even has Split Second to prevent it from being countered and disrupted!

From the same Scene Box, we also have Aragorn, Hornburg Hero who turns the Renown mechanic into a major threat. Able to consistently double the number of +1/+1 counters on all Renowned creatures, this Aragorn can create an utterly immense board rather quickly. As if that wasn’t good enough, Aragorn, Hornburg Hero also gives each attacking creature First Strike and Renown!

While both of these cards are already amazing, Aragorn at Helm’s Deep Scene Box has even more in store. Anduril, Narsil Reforged, for instance, is yet another insanely powerful card. Offering +1/+1 counters to each creature you control by attacking, this 2 mana equipment is already outstanding. If you have the city’s blessing through Ascend, however, it’s literally twice as good.

If you somehow haven’t been sold on the Aragorn at Helm’s Deep Scene Box quite yet, it still has three more cards. This includes a damage-tripling Sorcery, a fight-enabling Enchantment, and an equipment-finding creature.

Even from that very brief look, it’s safe to say that the Aragorn at Helm’s Deep Scene Box is incredibly strong. Remarkably, however, despite how good it is, Aragorn at Helm’s Deep is arguably the worst scene box of the bunch.

For better or worse, there’s not a huge power gamut between the new scene boxes. That being said, however, The Might of Galadriel box is definitely head and shoulders above the competition. This is largely thanks to the new Galadriel card; Galadriel, Light of Valinor.

Offering free mana, a buff to your board, or card draw whenever a creature you control enters the battlefield, this potential Commander does it all. They also offer a Bant color identity which presents a unique twist on Elf Typal Decks. As a downside, each of Galadriel’s abilities can only happen once per turn, however, they’re still insanely powerful.

To keep the Galadriel theme going, the Might of Galadriel Scene Box also includes Galadriel’s Dismissal. Phasing out a creature for one white mana, this spell offers fantastically useful protection. This can also be scaled up through Kicker, turning Galadriel’s Dismissal into a slightly more expensive Teferi’s Protection.

If that’s still not enough power for your liking, The Might of Galadriel also offers plenty of Elf Typal Support. Arboreal Alliance for instance, provides Populate whenever one or more Elves attack, allowing you to create more tokens. Alongside this, Arboreal Alliance also creates an X/X Treefolf for added value!

To further beef up Elf decks, there’s also Galadhrim Brigade. While on the surface this card is a fairly basic lord, they do have Squad, allowing multiple copies to be created. This turns them from a rather expensive lord, into potentially one of the best!

While there is one more Scene Box that’s been leaked, and one yet to be revealed, these boxes are utterly incredible. Despite this, however, they don’t cost the world. Currently, on Amazon, each Scene Box can be yours for only around $42. Within this price, not only do you get the six new bombs, but you also get six art cards and three Set Booster packs! Thanks to this, the price of each card is only $3.50, which is insanely good for a Commander bomb.

As a note, while each of the cards we’ve seen has been incredibly powerful, they are Commander set cards. This means they will only be legal in Commander and other Eternal formats like Vintage and Legacy.

Ultimately, thanks to the new leaks, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Holiday release now looks like an amazing MTG set. After all, not only are there the new Scene Boxes, but there are also new Collector Boosters and art treatments. Thanks to these, the second release of this groundbreaking set should very much be worth looking forward to. We just hope it doesn’t set a precedent that crowds the jam-packed release calendar even more.

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