Is MTG Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth Standard Legal?
Wizards of the Coast is starting off yet another batch of spoilers for Magic: The Gathering, this time for the upcoming Universes Beyond set Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth. This comes as a return to relative normalcy for MTG following shakeups in the Standard meta with changes to rotation and an update on the ban list. Here's how LOTR factors in.
Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth is the latest set that's a part of MTG's new Universes Beyond initiative, taking existing properties like Warhammer and Transformers and merging them with Magic gameplay. Tales of Middle Earth puts a new spin on classic characters like Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf and introduces new flavorful mechanics related to The One Ring, for example.
But they aren't the only people we met with. We traveled to Middle-earth, to talk to one very special fan… #MTGxLOTR pic.twitter.com/reUw7PfGWY
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) May 30, 2023
Is MTG Lord of the Rings Standard Legal?
While Tales of Middle Earth is a full-fledged Magic set, it will not be Standard or Pioneer legal, according to TCGPlayer. However, cards from the set will be playable in other formats like Commander and Modern, so the cards will be able to be integrated into regular gameplay, even if this thematic transition may be a bit jarring to some.
This means Standard players have months to go until they get to play with a new set: Wilds of Eldraine, coming this fall.