Lotr Legacy
Dierdre Roussin
One of the competitors at the forefront of our format recently commented on the state of Legacy, and I could not agree more. The format is wide open right now. Even historically powerful decks are prone to misstep these days given a skilled pilot on the other side of the table with an unknown, but powerful strategy.
I want to cover two things this month. First, is Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth, which was released on June 23rd and dumped a host of new cards into the format. Next, I want to talk about the Jordan Aisaka Memorial, a paper tournament that occurred last week in Bellevue, WA to celebrate the legacy of Aisaka, who passed away last year due to a brain aneurysm.
Jordan was an avid Magic player, helping to cultivate the Legacy scene in Seattle, and is widely known for appearing on Card Kingdom streams over the years. While I am a Seattle local, I cannot claim to have known Jordan. My return to Magic, unfortunately, occurred too late for me to have gotten to know him personally. What I can attest to is the fortitude of the Legacy community in Seattle. Playing even weekly Legacy at Mox Boarding House feels like a major tournament just based on the skill of the regulars in attendance!
Orcish Bowmasters is the new kid on the block that everyone wants to be friends with; and for good reason! Expectations were high for Bowmasters prior to release and it has delivered since day one. Even decks like Maverick are splashing Black to take advantage.
MH2 brought some major changes to Legacy when it was released. Since then, however, no card has turned the format on its head quite like Orcish Bowmasters. Blue mages in particular have to think twice at the thought of facing down what is arguably the best Legacy card in the set. Having your opponent respond to your Brainstorm with Bowmasters is not pleasant!
Many people whiffed on this card during preview season, and it entered the wild at under $1. Since, it has been picked up by Boros Initiative mages, along with some other Jeskai brewers, and pushed the value up over $15 for a single copy!
In addition to what I wrote above, the tournament itself brought out folks from across the country. A strong contingent of Portland folks traveled in and at least one person from the east coast was in attendance, a testament to the Legacy that Jordan left.
But what about the tournament itself? With 72 slots available, the event sold out which was great to see as it was a fundraiser. MTGTop8 has the results of the top of the ladder and you can check them out for individual card selections for the top decks.
The event was run at the equivalent of Comp REL however, due to it being an unsanctioned event, the organizers allowed decks to be comprised of up to 50% proxies. The prizes for the event were nothing to sneeze at either! Store credit was offered with additional prizes for the top four slots.
While I am unable to perform a deep dive on the entirety of the decks in the event, the Top 8 shows that LOTR cards made only a small impact with Chase Hansen deploying a playset of Bowmasters in the runner-up deck.
When EI and WPA were banned, I welcomed the return of more fair strategies to Legacy. Does Bowmasters continue that? Does the threat of taking 15 damage from drawing your library with a combo deck bring some more creature-based play back to Legacy tables? I sure hope so, because it does feel good to beat down an opponent to 0 life rather than combo-ing their deck into the graveyard.
Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship eventually splits up, and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Boromir, and the wizard Gandalf, unite to save the Free Peoples of Middle-earth from the forces of Sauron and rally them in the War of the Ring to aid Frodo by distracting Sauron's attention.
The three films were shot simultaneously in Jackson's native New Zealand from 11 October 1999 until 22 December 2000, with pick-up shots from 2001 to 2003. It was one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with a budget of $281 million (equivalent to $514 million in 2023). The first film in the series premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December 2001; the second film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on 5 December 2002; the third film premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington on 1 December 2003. An extended edition of each film was released on home video a year after its release in cinemas.
The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made. It was a major financial success and is among the highest-grossing film series of all time having grossed over $2.9 billion worldwide. Their faithfulness to the source material was a subject of discussion. The series received numerous accolades, winning 17 Academy Awards out of 30 total nominations, including Best Picture for The Return of the King. In 2021, the Library of Congress selected The Fellowship of the Ring for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1]
In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the lords of Elves, Dwarves, and Men are given Rings of Power. Unbeknownst to them, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom, instilling into it a great part of his power to dominate the other Rings and conquer Middle-earth. A final alliance of Men and Elves battles Sauron's forces in Mordor. Isildur of Gondor severs Sauron's finger and the Ring with it, thereby vanquishing Sauron and returning him to spirit form. With Sauron's first defeat, the Third Age of Middle-earth begins. The Ring's influence corrupts Isildur, who takes it for himself and is later killed by Orcs. The Ring is lost in a river for 2,500 years until it is found by Gollum, who owns it for over four and a half centuries. The Ring abandons Gollum and is subsequently found by a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who is unaware of its history.
Sixty years later, Bilbo celebrates his 111th birthday in the Shire, reuniting with his old friend, the wizard Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo departs the Shire for one last adventure and leaves his inheritance, including the Ring, to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf investigates the Ring, discovers its true nature, and learns that Gollum was captured and tortured by Sauron's Orcs, revealing two words during his interrogation: "Shire" and "Baggins." Gandalf returns and warns Frodo to leave the Shire. As Frodo departs with his friend, gardener Samwise Gamgee, Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with the wizard Saruman but discovers his betrayal and alliance with Sauron, who has dispatched his nine undead Nazgl servants to find Frodo.
Frodo and Sam are joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin, and they evade the Nazgl before arriving in Bree, where they are meant to meet Gandalf at the Inn of The Prancing Pony. However, Gandalf never arrives, having been taken prisoner by Saruman. The hobbits are then aided by a Ranger named Strider, who promises to escort them to Rivendell; however, they are ambushed by the Nazgl on Weathertop, and their leader, the Witch-King, stabs Frodo with a Morgul blade. Arwen, an Elf and Strider's beloved, locates Strider and rescues Frodo, summoning flood-waters that sweep the Nazgl away. She takes him to Rivendell, where he is healed by the Elves. Frodo meets with Gandalf, who escaped Isengard on a Great Eagle. That night, Strider reunites with Arwen, and they affirm their love for each other.
The Fellowship of the Ring makes for the Gap of Rohan, but discover it is being watched by Saruman's spies. They instead set off over the mountain pass of Caradhras, but Saruman summons a storm that forces them to travel through the Mines of Moria, where a tentacled water beast blocks off the entrance with the Fellowship inside, giving them no choice but to journey to the exit on the other end. After finding the Dwarves of Moria dead, the Fellowship is attacked by Orcs and a cave troll. They hold them off but are confronted by Durin's Bane: a Balrog residing within the mines. While the others escape, Gandalf fends off the Balrog and casts it into a vast chasm, but the Balrog drags Gandalf down into the darkness with him. The devastated Fellowship reaches Lothlrien, ruled by the Elf-queen Galadriel, who privately informs Frodo that only he can complete the quest and that one of the Fellowship will try to take the Ring. She also shows him a vision of the future in which Sauron succeeds in enslaving Middle-earth, including the Shire. Meanwhile, Saruman creates an army of Uruk-hai in Isengard to find and kill the Fellowship.
The Fellowship travels by river to Parth Galen. Frodo wanders off and is confronted by Boromir, who, as Lady Galadriel had warned, tries to take the Ring. Uruk-hai scouts then ambush the Fellowship, attempting to abduct the Hobbits. Boromir breaks free of the Ring's magic and protects Merry and Pippin, but the Uruk-Hai leader, Lurtz, mortally wounds Boromir as they abduct the Hobbits. Aragorn arrives and kills Lurtz before comforting Boromir as he dies, promising to help the people of Gondor in the coming conflict. Fearing the Ring will corrupt his friends, Frodo decides to travel to Mordor alone, but allows Sam to come along, recalling his promise to Gandalf to look after him. As Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam make their way down the pass of Emyn Muil, journeying on to Mordor.
Awakening from a dream of Gandalf fighting the Balrog in Moria[a], Frodo Baggins finds himself, along with Samwise Gamgee, lost in the Emyn Muil near Mordor. They discover that they are being tracked by Gollum, a former bearer of the One Ring. Capturing Gollum, Frodo takes pity and allows him to guide them, reminding Sam that they need Gollum's help to infiltrate Mordor.
4a15465005