It’s time to check out what denizen of Middle-Earth will be in charge of your deck – as we check out a full list of all LOTR MTG Commanders!
Starting life as a game variant called Elder Dragon Highlander – or EDH – the Commander format of Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has massively increased in popularity in recent years, helped along by official support from Wizards of the Coast, who now release pre-built Commander decks for most new set releases.
The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) set is no different, with four Commander decks on offer.
However, as a Commander can be any Legendary Creature card (or card which explicitly states the following: ‘This card can be your commander’), there are – of course – more Commander cards in the LOTR MTG set, which players can use when building their own decks.
The combination of coloured Mana used to pay to cast a Commander card dictates what colour of cards can be included in a Commander deck.
So, for example, Bill the Pony – who is, amusingly, a Legendary Creature card – costs three Colorless and one White mana to cast.
Therefore, in the event that you used Bill the Pony as your Commander, you’d only be able to construct your deck with Colorless and/or White cards.
So, with those guidelines in mind – what Commanders feature in the Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-Earth MTG set?
Let’s find out, as we check out all LOTR MTG Commanders!
White LOTR MTG Commanders
Full of hobbits and their allies, White LOTR Commanders are well represented in the Tales of MIddle-Earth MTG set.
There’s the aforementioned Bill the Pony, along with familiar characters such as Faramir and Eowyn.
The White LOTR MTG Commanders list also contains some of the most important characters from the Fellowship – Frodo, Samwise, Gandalf and Boromir, for example.
Though mono-coloured commanders (or at least, mono-colour and colorless) are less common, if you do have a deck that’s going to be based primarily around White cards, you may well be able to build yourself a nicely thematic deck with one of the below – though I’m willing to wager that we’re not likely to see many players opting for Bill the Pony as their Commander card!
- Bill the Pony
- Boromir, Warden of the Tower
- Eowyn, Lady of Rohan
- Faramir, Field Commander
- Frodo, Sauron’s Bane
- Gandalf the White
- Landroval, Horizon Witness
- Rosie Cotton of South Lane
- Samwise the Stouthearted
Blue LOTR MTG Commanders
Though the Legendary Creatures that can be utilised as Commanders all generally fall onto the side of good, the Blue Commanders are a more mixed bag of good and neutral, though arguably not outright evil, characters.
Another incarnation of Gandalf makes the cut here, as does his former ally, the power-hungry Saruman the White.
Elrond and The Watcher in the Water aside, slightly lesser known characters make up the rest of the Legendary Creatures that can be Blue or Colorless and Blue Commanders – but it’s great to see that Wizards of the Coast have taken such a deep dive into Tolkien’s saga for their first LOTR set.
- Bill Ferny, Bree Swindler
- Elrond, Lord of Rivendell
- Gandalf, Friend of the Shire
- Goldberry, River-Daughter
- Ioreth of the Healing House
- Meneldor, Swift Savior
- Saruman the White
- The Watcher in the Water
Black LOTR MTG Commanders
Less numerous are the Black LOTR MTG Commander cards, with a number of dastardly, untrustworthy and downright evil characters making their presence felt.
Here we find not just Gollum, Grima Wormtongue and the Witch-king of Angmar – but also a version of Sauron himself!
- Gollum, Patient Plotter
- Gorbag of Minas Morgul
- Gothmog, Morgul Lieutenant
- Gríma Wormtongue
- Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
- Sauron, the Necromancer
- Witch-king of Angmar
Red LOTR MTG Commanders
Not content with just one version of Éomer, Red gets two Legendary Creatures representing one of the most well known of the Riders of Rohan.
Gimli pops up here too, as does fellow Dwarf Glóin – but Red does feel a little short on options in the LOTR set, at least when it comes to its potential Commanders.
- Éomer, Marshal of Rohan
- Éomer of the Riddermark
- Erkenbrand, Lord of Westfold
- Gimli, Counter of Kills
- Glóin, Dwarf Emissary
- Grishnákh, Brash Instigator
Green LOTR MTG Commanders
The last of the mono and mono colour plus colorless cards, the Green Commanders are numerous and feature numerous characters from the Fellowship of the Ring.
Legolas, Merry and Pippin (ok, Meriadoc and Peregrin, if we’re referring to their full first names) are all here, as is the comparatively young Ent named Quickbeam and another ally of Gandalf, Radagast the Brown.
- Celeborn the Wise
- Fangorn, Tree Shepherd
- Glorfindel, Dauntless Rescuer
- Legolas, Master Archer
- Meriadoc Brandybuck
- Peregrin Took
- Quickbeam, Upstart Ent
- Radagast the Brown
Multicoloured LOTR MTG Commanders
So, now that we’ve taken a quick peek at the mono and mono plus colorless Legendary Creature cards from MTG’s LOTR set, it’s the turn of the multicoloured potential Commanders.
Of course, if you are going to be playing Commander with opponents who are also using the LOTR set to build their deck, you’re most likely to come up against one of the below cards as Commanders.
Not to mention the fact that it’s more than likely that you’ll find your own Commander to build a deck around from the extensive selection below.
There’s representation for pretty much all of the major characters in the Lord of the Rings saga here, even some that are already present in mono coloured form – such as Aragorn, Bilbo, Frodo, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, Pippin and Samwise.
One of the most powerful characters in the entire saga, Tom Bombadil, gets the only five-colour Legendary Creature card – which alone may make him a popular choice, certainly for experienced Commander players who like to keep their deck options wide open!
- Aragorn, Company Leader (Colorless, Green, White)
- Aragorn, the Uniter (Red, Green, White, Blue)
- Arwen, Mortal Queen (Colorless, Green, White)
- Arwen Undómiel (Green, Blue)
- The Balrog, Durin’s Bane (Colorless, Black, Red)
- Bilbo, Retired Burglar (Colorless, Blue, Red)
- Butterbur, Bree Innkeeper (Colorless, Green, White)
- Denethor, Ruling Steward (Colorless, White, Black)
- Elrond, Master of Healing (Colorless, Green, Blue)
- Éowyn, Fearless Knight (Colorless, Red, White)
- Faramir, Prince of Ithilien (Colorless, White, Blue)
- Frodo Baggins (Green, White)
- Galadriel of Lothlórien (Colorless, Green, Blue)
- Gandalf the Grey (Colorless, Blue, Red)
- Gimli, Mournful Avenger (Colorless, Red, Green)
- Gwaihir the Windlord (Colorless, White, Blue)
- King of the Oathbreakers (Colorless, White, Black)
- Legolas, Counter of Kills (Colorless, Green, Blue)
- Lotho, Corrupt Shirriff (White, Black)
- Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain (Black, Red)
- Merry, Esquire of Rohan (Red, White)
- The Mouth of Sauron (Colorless, Blue, Black)
- Old Man Willow (Colorless, Black, Green)
- Pippin, Guard of the Citadel (White, Blue)
- Prince Imrahil the Fair (White, Blue)
- Rise of the Witch-king (Colorless, Black, Green)
- Samwise Gamgee (Green, White)
- Saruman of Many Colors (Colorless, White, Blue, Black)
- Sauron, the Dark Lord (Colorless, Blue, Black, Red)
- Shadowfax, Lord of Horses (Colorless, Red, White)
- Shagrat, Loot Bearer (Colorless, Black, Red)
- Sharkey, Tyrant of the Shire (Colorless, Blue, Black)
- Shelob, Child of Ungoliant (Colorless, Black, Green)
- Sméagol, Helpful Guide (Colorless, Black, Green)
- Strider, Ranger of the North (Colorless, Red, Green)
- Théoden, King of Rohan (Colorless, Red, White)
- Tom Bombadil (White, Blue, Black, Red, Green)
- Uglúk of the White Hand (Colorless, Black, Red)
If this interests you be sure to check out what contents are in the LOTR MTG Collectors Box!
