Is It Worth It To Buy A Lord Of The Rings Commander Deck? A Magic The Gathering Product Review

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Looking for the perfect way to frame and display your favorite Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and other standard-sized trading cards? Check out Frameamajigs here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/thingamajigs/frameamajigs?ref=f40j9e

[@skylermorrow4849]

I don't know if this'll be seen but I would like to known that the food and fellowship deck is a card short of being a full commander deck

[@sfquigle]

This product would also be a great option for the magic equivalent of dice shaming. A wall of cards that have failed a player repeatedly (or an area at a store) would be awesome.

[@dogthrutime]

@@skylermorrow4849 I also don't know if this will be seen, but if the deck has 98 cards that is correct, as partner commanders "reduce" your deck size by 2.

[@BXnitecrawler]

+1

[@johnsabilla5897]

I wish the professor does an "end of the year" commander tier list where he rates all of the commander decks that came out that year.

[@leoandthefuture5309]

Great idea!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@supdrboblewis]

I'd like to see this, alongside a shuffle up and play of the best 4.

[@dexteradao4186]

I agree and maybe livestream a game with the top 4 or 5..

[@ChristianM1978]

Very good idea. Make it so! :)

[@cristinbuskard9250]

Wonderful video idea!

[@jointhetorterra]

To be fair with the original designs as well: the Warhammer didn't have an actual set attached to it, so they couldn't get away with only having 20 designs in a single deck

[@gabrielamaro1470]

Additionally, 40K had a bunch of creature types and concepts that just didn't exist in the magic setting. It only makes sense that in order to properly represent a futuristic sci-fi setting they'd need to print more cards for it. But we'll see if the reduced quantity of original designs is a lasting trend.

[@benvictim]

Yeah. The only sci-fi space theme before Warhammer was unfinity . So they needed new art to fit the setting.

[@ArtistTech]

@@gabrielamaro1470 I do believe that its due to the set being included in the UB product this go around, and basis for that is the Doctor Who products which are also commander only will include 40 ( might be 50 can't recall ) per deck and that's again due to not having a set I believe

[@steveheist6426]

​@@benvictim Unfinity came after

[@benvictim]

@@steveheist6426 Warhammer was released at October 7, 2022. Unfinity was also October 7, 2022 but it got delayed. It was originally slated for April 1st 2022 but got delayed due to supply chain issues. So they were released at the same time but unfinity was fished months before 40k.

[@davidshiroky2932]

Reprints vs Original Designs feels a bit like a can’t-win scenario. If the deck is all originals, people will complain that Wizards is introducing too many universes beyond ‘staples’ into an eternal format. If the deck is mostly (even great) reprints, the deck is slammed for being lazy. As someone who isn’t wild about playing non-MTG IPs in my decks, I’m sorta glad to see more reprints here. All of this takes nothing away from feeling like these decks should be cheaper, but I’m actually glad to see fewer new designs here.

[@johnmorton4750]

And all the art design is great too, so I don't have much to complain about there

[@BobNinjaCat]

It isn't really a no-win scenario, though. Original designs can later be reprinted as magic-themed cards as WotC already stated they would when the Walking Dead SL dropped (which we're still waiting on, but y'know). There really isn't an excuse not to maintain the same level of original designs across the board unless there simply wasn't enough effort put into the set. I mean, look at the set mechanic of the ring tempting the player. Any time the ring tempts the player, there's basically zero benefit or consequences. In the LotR, the ring tempting its bearer had minimal benefit and significant consequences. The issue here is the sycophantic behavior of those who say this kind of bad design is "okay" cause it offends nobody and doesn't over-saturate the game with external ip's. What even is that line of reasoning? It's incredibly short-sighted and lacking any level of functional intelligence. If original designs are so offensive, do the smart thing and push WotC to reprint those designs as Magic-themed cards. Not that hard to arrive at that conclusion.

[@a.velderrain8849]

​@@BobNinjaCat Reprinting LotR cards in Magic IP versions doesn't fix the problem of introducing tons of new cards directly into Commander, which has caused tons of problems in the past. Think about problem cards like Hullbreacher, Dockside Extortionist, Fierce Guardianship and Deflecting Swat... all made for Commander cards that didn't go through Standard. WotC printing cards directly into eternal formats has a bad track record (the common complaint in Modern is that MH2 took over the entire format, and MH1 wasn't great either... Hogaak had to be banned, and Urza got Mox Opal banned). On top of that, you're completely wrong about the Ring. What negative effects did Bilbo suffer? He had the ring for 60 years and used it multiple times, and in exchange he was able to escape from Gollum, and he got an exceptionally long life for a hobbit in good health. You can even argue Gollum mostly benefited from the Ring, he lived for hundreds of years because of it.

[@leoandthefuture5309]

I agree. Especially because we are before everything Magic lovers and not the other way around.

[@mudvayne6987]

100% agreed.

[@WCOBDisorder]

I really like how the decks come with a short description about why these decks were the color identity they are. Very flavorful.

[@PsychophantFR]

I played my first game of magic today and it was so fun!! I went to the pre-release event that was held in my city to try it out and had a ton of fun. I may have gone 0/8 but it was super cool to see try and i will definitely play again some time. You and command zone are the only reason i wanted to play in the first place so thank you professor

[@starmanda88]

Welcome to the game! It’s ok you’ll get better. Plus you’ll learn when people are pub stomping you. 💖😊

[@DieFrauAmHerd]

Welcome to the community, you will get better, its one of the most complicated game for a reason, just keep at it you will win and you will enjoy the game more.

[@johnr797]

One of us one of us gooble gobble

[@chortlesinthecorner]

Had the same experience back in 2017. I had played back in the 2000s but caught onto The Prof and Command Zone early on. Playing more draft/prerelease events will help you with strategy and deck building, but commander can be the more fun route if you're able to get a playgroup going that has the same intensity. Good luck!

[@PsychophantFR]

@@chortlesinthecorner thanks homie, I want to get myself a standard legal deck and start really getting into the game as a proper hobby

[@pdieraue]

Magic has elves. It doesn't have Tyranids. I really think that the reason why the Warhammer 40K decks had so many new designs is simply because the decks were impossible to make otherwise, not because WotC just wanted to pack them full of new designs. The Doctor Who decks will certainly be closer to the 40K side of things.

[@pytawidmo]

It could have been Slivers with name-changing treatment. _(I'm still salty it was not slivers in disguise :( )_ Or just aliens / insect / beasts / mutant or any other 'kind of feels like it fits' subtype. _(yes, alien is a creature type in MtG)._ Like Hobbits are Halflings and Dragonborns are Dragons with a class. But I think GW wanted them to feel really Warhammer and forced WotC to include the trademarked names.

[@leviponce7730]

That and Warhammer wasn't attached to a whole set they had to design

[@The-0ni]

@@pytawidmo Im sorry but do you play 40k? Tyranids are not slivers…I don’t suddenly get wings and can fly with my termagaunts by moving a winged hive tyrant next to them. Just because you wanted/hoped for more slivers doesnt mean WoTC is gonna turn every new card into a sliver. Making Nids into slivers would be a HUGE flavor fail and if you can’t understand that then by all means ignore this post and keep praying for more sliver cards with the Dr.Who set.

[@SimKill]

Why? Dr Who is a core set

[@TheSpiritombsableye]

They have Tyranids now

[@Crimson_Fist]

I picked up the Sauron deck yesterday. For anybody else that did so, I would recommend running Saruman as your commander if you're playing it straight out of the box. As most of the deck is mostly noncreature spells, you can amass a massive army with him in play. You can get him out quicker and thus start doing things earlier.

[@ThaMobstarr]

Just so that new player don't get confused: Amass means that you only make ONE creature token. You don't make a token with each trigger. It looks if you have an "army" token. If no, you make an army token. If yes, it will instead put +1/+1 counters on that existing army token. It won't make another army token in that case.

[@zometthecomet]

@@ThaMobstarrI play all creatures get -1 -1 😂 no? I play a fetch card into wrath of god 😂😂😂

[@commandercody8085]

thank you battle brother, the chapter approves!

[@doom1153]

Played against 3 of the decks (except the elf one) and let me just say, the Frodo/Sam deck is crazy. It easily eclipsed the other two.

[@chanic4621]

Are they out yet? I thought they didn’t come out till the 23rd?

[@jasonr.2506]

That is the one I am excited to play the most

[@HeGotTheBoof]

​@chanic4621 If you go to a LGS you can usually get them a little early around prerelease. At least for me

[@nicka.9057]

People on reddit claim that Amazon shipped pre-orders for the early

[@kevinredd3354]

I can imagine. Just off Pre-Release draft games last night, one dude was running every Food Token generating card he could pull and threw it into a deck. He left early because he had stuff to do, but my game against him was hell. Generated 18 health off tokens alone and could not lose no matter how big I was swinging 😂

[@JacobLambert2]

I love the disdain on deck box comment. I would love it more if the deck box I spent a lot of money of from Prof would actually arrive.

[@gareyysenpaaiii]

I bought and used the Food and Fellowship deck yesterday, aside from one game where my opponent’s just ramped way faster than me and I couldn’t recover, it dominated every other game I played last night. Easily could have won 3 in a row if I kept track of my ring tempt counter. Lost by 3 life and if I kept track, the last time I swung with Frodo should have been lvl 4 ring bearer and done 3 damage to my opponent and made all the difference. Can be tricky to remember everything but it’s a very strong and fun deck

[@failfurby]

These deck reviews are my favorite ones you make. I have a fairly experienced eye when I look at precons, but it is always good to see what other highly experienced players are saying.

[@corbenmurphy1807]

Prof, this is probably my favorite "Is it worth it to buy" I've watched! Seeing all the reprint names with their associated values was very helpful, and I ended up picking up a deck just because of your video. Thanks so much for your content and I look forward to seeing your deck boxes on store shelves in the future to support you some more!

[@BouncingTribbles]

I really appreciate good reprints. The effort taken to find the right rules for the right character or moment shows when it really works

[@comicgeekpunk7599]

As someone who buys playsets for 60 card formats, as a LotR fan the reprints in these are astounding. I’m blown away with many of these reprints, and am so happy to have Tolkien-focused reprints of these cards. I get the ultimate grade, but good golly am I stupid happy with this product. 🎉🎉🎉

[@Russian_engineer_bmstu]

One of the cons: if you get the wrong deck accidentally they will send pinkertons after you

[@TMidander]

That definitely sounds like a magic con

[@Mulletdog1]

True

[@zometthecomet]

I live in the red and white capital of Canada 😂 They can try and get past the bikes

[@jamsebarrow6167]

That wasn't an accident, but rather than acknowledging their own mistake, they rather threaten you by sending Pi despite taking measures to rectify it, especially when 2 decks share the same name

[@gestalt1]

I bought and played Riders of Rohan out of the box at my LGS and won both of the games I was in that night - Humans/Knights/go wide is one of the decks I didn't have yet, hence picking that one, but I'm certainly not upset with it! Taunt From The Ramparts was an excellent player both times.

[@Beckola44]

I appreciate you taking the time to review the 4 LOTR Commander Decks. My sons and I each bought all 4 from our LGS. I can't wait to make some tweaks with these decks and play Commander. Thank you for the video Professor.

[@matheusfolgearinisilveira]

13:15 the audio explains one deck while the video shows the elf deck. Thanks for the video!

[@rings-cn1yn]

Commander decks nailed the flavor of LOTR better than the Modern-legal portion of the set, that's for sure. I really appreciate how you continue to factor in new players, that's a big part of my own playgroup and it helps me a lot since I got all 4 precons.

[@codycarter7853]

The other 2 precon decks are also amazing. The Starter Kit has two more precon decks. Is this the first time a set has had six precon decks? A review of those would be amazing.

[@darkmagedan2353]

Absolutely worth it. Me and my group played last night with all commander decks in the line-up, and it was an absolute blast!

[@cross_lair]

I think that they are saving the "Warhammer treatment" for the Doctor Who decks

[@AlexanderBC42]

Idk what's worse the show itself or the art direction. ugly ass 'realistic' cards and absolutely horribly brainlet show.

[@starmanda88]

I don’t get it. Why can’t they do that for every damn commander UB deck?

[@nicolmanninc3578]

@@starmanda88 I think it depends on if you get an additional set tbh cause that's the key difference with LOTR

[@dizzlegrizzle1919]

doctor who is garbage

[@miekamariehodson1731]

@@dizzlegrizzle1919 your opinion

[@AcroxShadow]

If only Wizards of the Coast weren't appallingly hostile toward its own userbase.

[@dasilva552]

I went to proxies about one year ago and have no regrets... finally i can enjoy the game after years of paywalls. I actually can feel that I'm not playing magic like it's 2015, totally recommend

[@TonyAllen-kx4nu]

I really love that you did a check up on the prices of Warhammer 40K. Please do a check in on the price for sets more often, they are really helpful! I am looking into buying older precons now and found this very enlightening.

[@oom-3262]

I don't know if new designs is that much of a need tho- consider the slouch of flavourful but outright mediocre cards in the 40k decks. Plus you can't really compare them directly, since its more difficult to make real 40k cards: things like necrons and space marines don't exist in magic, or at least didn't. On the other hand, elves, golbins and orcs do already exist. I'd rather have them reprint good elves and goblins than to make filler mediocre ones IMHO

[@Filip-uo2sq]

What they lack in original design they compensate with high value reprints and mana base never seen in edh precons. But I would be surprised if wizards keep that quality in the future.

[@Cromulorf]

Question Prof: would you rather have more unique designs in these decks or valuable reprints? Are reskins a la Godzilla more or less desirable?

[@mjjdj88]

Very excited. I have finally convinced my friends to let me teach them commander because of this product. Can’t beat that.

[@NickSalvatoriello]

The production value on this video is so solid. You showed and told me exactly what I wanted to know about these decks. Such a solid channel for MTG fans. Thank you! ❤

[@SirJamesIGamerfuzion]

While I'm not super heavy in this hobby as some but as a big fan of the Lord of the Rings I went all in on this set and I honestly do not regret it for all 4 commanders , 1 collectors box , 2 set booster boxes , 3 pre release and 1 Collector Gift Bundle not out yet and sure I may not gotten in of the cool numbered cards I did get most of the collection and completed all the scene cards which to me make it all worth it Being able to sit down and play a Themed Commander game with each of the decks was my favorite experience and I did use 2 of the pre cons in standard plays and actually managed to hold my own I think with of course a couple upgrades here and there it should be great

[@thomasdehetre300]

Really appreciate how you compared the warhammer decks value to how they are today. It was quite eye opening

[@BlueJtee]

My fav mtg channel hands down, amazing breakdown

[@cantremember6794]

Had brain surgery a week ago and my nurse played magic and he was telling me about it and hes got a hobbit deck. Little to say it made me extremely interested and here i am checking it out.

[@Gershelf]

I got the elf deck, and I'm thrilled to try it. Though I am gonna switch up about 20-25 cards. I think it will work a lot better, if the big creature part is out, non-elves gets cut, and more of the new elves are added, to make it a Simic Scry Elf Tribal. There's a lot more to work with, with Scry, than there is the voting, and it helps stack the game more in your favor.

[@felipeguidolin1055]

I wanted to do that, but couldn't justify the price

[@Gershelf]

@@felipeguidolin1055 Just give it a month or so. Due to all the boxes being opened of basically everything in this product line, the prices on singles will drop harshly. It's already going down across the board, dur to an oversaturated market. You should be able to get the singles well enough soon. :)

[@RenstashMCDS]

Just picked up my Elven Council and some singles to upgrade it with the rest of the singles arriving in the mail Monday! VERY excited to have a fun Elf deck again :)

[@goldenspiral6008]

This is gonna be my first time buying a precon deck and hopefully my first time getting into commander. As a cadual fan, I'm just excited for the collab, but it's nice to watch your videos and see what I'm getting in terms of Value.

[@PatKVoiceActor]

I just picked up Food and Fellowship. Thank you so much for this video!

[@roccocat1000]

I just noticed your sub count, been watching over the years ... congrats on 845k!!! so close to 1 mil I can't wait til the day happens!!! grats on the 100% quality content.

[@michaelmiller5177]

I think the reprints will end up giving better value over time. There are countless cards that have a modest value, but slap a foil treatment and a unique run of art and the card can be exponentially more valuable.

[@TechtonixZi]

I always appreciate your work for things like this. I do plan to pick up one deck but I will wait and buy singles for others! Thanks again!

[@Guevon_Pajaro]

Bought the elves and sauron decks. Pretty excited to run these out. Thanks as usual prof! Useful info and analysis in these videos.

[@raizx155]

Btw you showed the elf deck while talking about the human deck. Apart from that great video as always!

[@SingleLupus]

I picked these decks up back when they came out, but I'm dropping by tonight to leave a comment to let you know that your analysis of the Hosts of Mordor deck being just as viable as the other three decks despite its higher skill ceiling was spot on. At Friday Night Magic tonight, I piloted the unmodified Forces of Mordor deck, with Sauron in the command zone, against a pair of heavily modified precons (Prosper, Tome Bound from Adventures in the Forgotten Relams, and Anikthea, Hand of Erebos from Commander Masters), and an Elrond, Master of Healing homebrew based around setting up a value engine to execute some kind of infinite combo shenanigans (as Simic does). Despite getting off to a relatively slow start, and having my commander countered the one time I tried to cast it, I was still able to successfully pilot the deck to victory over my opponents with a little bit of luck and some clever play. There are some legitimately powerful tools in this deck that can absolutely swing games if they're leveraged properly, and even having my commander countered was ultimately irrelevant because I still got value from it just for casting it. Overall, a solid review video, and I look forward to seeing your evaluations of the Doctor Who decks when those are finally released.

[@BillyMcBillface]

My friend got me Food and Fellowship for my birthday and we finally played it a few days ago against his custom deck. I’d never played commander before, and am still a relatively new player, but it played great and I loved the artwork! Certainly something I’d recommend to anyone else who is new to commander

[@rathlord]

It's been a while since I disagreed with you much, but I definitely do here. The reduction in original designs is likely better for the game in the long run, given the almost certainty that these cards won't see reprints in the future. And the quality of reprints in these decks is magnificent and should absolutely carry these into solid A territory alone. But beyond that, you somehow barely mentioned the land base, which is maybe the best of any Commander decks ever made? I'm utterly confused after so many years of (rightfully) pointing out how dreadful Commander precon lands were that you completely glazed over the fantastic lands in these decks. Really weird video for these- as I mentioned, I feel our views on things almost always align, but I would have without a doubt given these an A+.

[@theelectricant98]

​@@MrCenturion13i don't think it was intentional at all, surely just an oversight

[@LuuXorD]

I think they put less new design cards becouse they want the people to purchase some cards from the "Modern" list to this commander decks. There is a Sauron and other characters out of the precon that fits perfect with this decks. It's something that i think it's important to put that in cosideration, but again, Wizards wanting the players to put more money on its products.

[@MoarCheeseBirb]

The 2 random card sample pack backs up this logic, just a tease of what else is in the packs that could fit in the deck without breaking the lotr theme. I got a Minas Tirith, really tempting to put that in deck for the men of Gondor and Rohan.

[@LuuXorD]

​@@MoarCheeseBirb yes! In my case i've got "The Shire" and it fits perfect with the hobbit precon hahah

[@danieldragotti2608]

Host of mordor feels like it needs sauron the dark lord as it's commander insted, and needs some mana fixing. I see it having the highest ceiling when tuned up

[@Duskrequim]

EXACTLY... I also feel like they should have repirnted some of the War of the Spark Army cards to help boost it as well.

[@StJimmy765]

Turning this deck into having an amass/discard focus with the Dark Lord as commander is the main reason I bought the precon

[@Duskrequim]

@@StJimmy765 Yep... Im taking my Nekusar wheel deck and switching it over to this. Getting the Orcish Bowmasters and keeping the wheels

[@12jacobmar]

That's the one I'm high on right now, it's buggy out of the box but good potential.

[@johnnyreaper9714]

adding both Sakashima creatures to it would be very good and the obvious rhystic study and stuff like dig through time etc.

[@michellewolfezogg5340]

Whoever helps to write and edit deserves an award for the way they got you to say "thicc"

[@leoandthefuture5309]

PROF !!!! The Sponsor of this Episode is soooooo coooool I am going to buy it !!!! 👏👏👏👏 BRAVISSIMOOOO !!!! 🥳

[@hackbug77]

I'd love to see more revisiting prices at release vs prices after the market has settled for these precons. It would be nice to see if it is a easily generalizable pattern.

[@mattmcdonald6655]

I don’t know if anyone reads these messages, but I bought the Sauron precon and it is absolutely powerful. I spent maybe 15 maybe $20 to put a couple new cards in it and I win almost every time it’s so stupidly broken, especially if you’d like returning creatures from the graveyard

[@McDorsch]

I´ve read it :) Is it worth the price? Its still around 70€ for this deck and i am thinking to just buy all the singles and build my own. Not talking abt the fun part of playing this set, just a matter of money to me..

[@5b_c4ll3d_p4ul]

Sounds good

[@mattmcdonald6655]

@@McDorsch there are a lot of good cards that come stand in that deck played it a couple times figure out how it works and extremely powerful

[@ezekielherrera4070]

I havnt played magic in years byt i still love watching your vids Prof. Hope you have a good day!

[@mcnishjr]

it was nice getting to see you this weekend prof.

[@mkainourg3502]

I believe these decks are almost a home run. Almost. It was literally the perfect opportunity to introduce archenemy in the format! So many great evil personalities that fit the description in the lore and even the good guys could get a crack at it by introducing the several different parties hunting for the ring! Each of those decks could have a scheme list to compliment it!

[@seanmcnallyactor]

Thank you prof. Was waiting for your opinion above all others.

[@Dooby-Scoo]

I lucked out. Where I bought my precon they had food & fellowship and hosts of mordor for 55$ and the other two for 45$ Another lgs near me was selling all 4 for 50$ tax included meaning a 50$ bill and u can walk out the store. The lgs that I play at most often sold the decks for 70$ each. I picked my deck up for 55$ since where it was 50 they sold out but still great for me. I think it's insane how different these prices are since there is no set market price by wotc

[@jaredbarton6161]

I played Elves against some decently strong constructed decks after prerelease and it's a house. Even if you don't hit curve right away it goes big pretty easy.

[@pascalsimioli6777]

Can't even state how happy I am that the 40k decks are being praised so much, gotta be that sunk cost fallacy speaking! The Imperium deck is good (although it's a mess of different strategies and commanders for different brews) but the Chaos deck is...rough, to say the very least. I had to destroy the sacrality of the lore to stuff a bunch of demons and cascade synergy inside and now I'm working on making my own 40k proxies for it.

[@garrett1433]

My friends and I have tried the chaos deck against the other warhammer decks....and it couldn't win a single match 😅

[@kinggame40]

So all im hearing is chaos needed to corrupt other places in order to get strong enough /s Yeah chaos was def the weakest.

[@ScornfulEg0tist]

One of my favorite parts of the nids precon is that I feel extremely free to tweak and modify it without worrying about ruining flavor or lore Genestealer cult is "your guys" after all. No one can tell me that the cult facilities don't have amenities like a hotspring or buffet, and why can't there be acolytes in the cult named Garruk or Jaya?

[@Nemissis4265]

Its not the decks 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 FAIL. its that there are 20 BRAND NEW NEVER PLAYD NEVER USED NEVER PRINTED CARDS 😂😂😂😂😂 ofcourse they are NEW TREATMENTS no shit they where never printed god some people are so gullible a d dumb

[@Drako9823]

It is sunk cost fallacy. Crossover pop culture sludge is gross

[@coybackus7665]

newer player here: really looking forward to learning the evil deck. it may not be the best for the beginner, but there is only one evil deck :P

[@pytawidmo]

While inclusion of cards like Reanimate, Heroic Intervention or Toxic Deluge is great and this should be the case for all precons, it's still a shame that the mana bases are rather "mid" at best. At least they included the painlands and checklands (at least the ones that did not have plane-specific names). But could easily get triomes and shocks, with in-universe name treatment same as box toppers for the set if necessary. Given that each color has land-subtype-cycling would make it logical inclusion too. At least one of those got a battlebond land, _it's something_ Why not one for each though? I get they wanted to avoid cards with names specific to MtG planes, but Bountiful Promenade is an easy fit for the Hobbit deck, Training Center sounds good enough for Rohirim, and Morphic Pool is generic enough for 'the bad guys'.dek

[@Zaalbarjedi]

I'm pretty sure that they will print all battlebond lands in the upcoming Commander Master's set, they seem to be perfect fit for a rare land cycle there. Thus, they woudn't want to print a lot of them in these commander decks, as it would decrease the value of the Commander Master's set. And we all know that even a slightest thought of slightly reduced profit is a huge red flag for such a greedy company as WotC.

[@robertneilson2780]

Thanks prof! I think I will buy this produt!

[@atasin]

I really don't mind the fact that there are less original designs, I kind of like it in fact. There are already so many cards in commander, I do think the trend of less new designs and more quality reprints is a good direction to take, especially with so much new product coming out all the time.

[@amacuro]

3:46 thank you professor! This is all i wanted to know when I clicked this video :D

[@julianperry4767]

I got a serialized 1 of 500 Pinkerton holo. At the cost of one mana they will show up to your house and beat the crap out of you for owning forbidden cardboard.

[@Shishkebarbarian]

I loved the Warhammer decks, i picked up 3 of the 4 but they are fun as hell. i dont care so much about the value of the cards within as long as they are good cards and fun to play. To me the flavor is very important. I picked up all 4 of these decks for just under $50 a deck after taxes/shipping and I feel like playing them together with friends will yield many great game nights. The Mishra/Urza decks from Brother's War are hella fun to play against each other if you like MTG lore.

[@C1roKnight]

Do you guys think this would be a good starting point for me and 3 friends to get into MTG? We usually play boardgames together and are all LotR fans. When I heard of this product, I thought it would be very cool to buy. None of us has any experience with MTG, so I am not sure if this format with 100 cards is maybe too overwhelming?

[@EternalDM]

Yes! Go for it! I think it would be a great time

[@Tleilandrek]

Commander is the most casual and friendly format. Excellent entry point for MtG.

[@TheSteve5154]

Friend and I picked up some pre cons today, he got food and fellowship and I got host of Mordor. They were a blast to play.

[@ZeusTheGodSoA]

LOTR is one of my favorite franchises, so regardless, I was going to buy the 4 anyways. Favorite franchise? Favorite game to play? Yes please.

[@SingerOfW]

Man, I really wish these decks weren't triple the price of the other ones at my local stores. Guess I'll just have to make do with making some on my own, and luckily, the last few sets are in no shortage of cool new Commanders.

[@agentmoxie4715]

Was waiting for this one. Thanks, Professor!

[@IgnatiusHarris]

I played against the Sauron deck in a pod with 2 home brews and a food and fellowship deck this weekend, the Sauron deck did nothing for 6/7 turns and then just destroyed everyone and won the game. Complete domination, I guess as long as you can navigate not dying in the first half of the game then you’re good with Sauron

[@Vok250]

That great flavor honestly. Bro was just building power in the mirkwood.

[@justinshaddix2775]

Been waiting for this video! Appreciate your analysis.

[@TheGeth18]

I’ve been waiting for this video! Now the next video I’m waiting for is the update/expansion/upgrade plans for Counter Blessings with these new cards in tow! 😊

[@enfe8858]

Most important to me when looking at commander products is: - do they come up with new unique playstyles/strategies or offer new variations of existing ones? - are they consistant in their gameplan? - price tag not above 50€? I don't care about card value as cmd-decks are there to be played.

[@williamrodenbough5518]

Thanks for doing these videos I always look forward to them when new Pre-Cons come out.

[@josephpayne9011]

woah the sponsor for this one is actually a really great product. I can think of a friend i would want to give a framed "one with nothing" to. and another friend i would give an elder garganoth lol

[@elfaulkner84]

I love the new artwork for the reprints. I sadly can't buy the decks or single yet. I'm hoping Wizards continues this with the Doctor Who decks.

[@VijoPlays]

11:24 Gandalf, Westward Voyager is my favourite reprint in this set!

[@emilands3635]

That Mordor deck is phantastic! Played it yesterday, instant favourite precon I've ever had. Can explode and is very consistent in what it does.

[@pascalsimioli6777]

Please shut up I don't need more grixis in my life, I can't build any other color.

[@Deadpoolbigboss287]

I like the deck boxes that come with the precons….

[@airbrushaaron666]

In more than half of the commander deck openings I've watched on KZbin over the last few days for this set. The collector booster promo pack is shoved in the box, and the cards are bent.

[@coolBguy]

If I had to guess, Wizards might have taken a page out of Konami's book and put some of the cards for these decks into the booster packs. Yugioh decks always come with recommendations of cards to add from recent/upcoming sets to encourage you to buy more product.

[@Reblwitoutacause]

“What is GENEROUSLY called a ‘Deck Box’” killed me 😂😂😂 3:12

[@sneakybeak4032]

As a new player to magic but with experience in other card games, i agree with you, so many other channels are dissing on Hosts of Mordor though

[@bmprosser]

Thanks - debating buying these and this was a great help!

[@GG-oc5jy]

I am honestly okay with fewer new cards, ESPECIALLY with these decks in particular, where there is a whole new set attached. I am glad they did not skimp in the reprints.

[@clamrollvideos]

A few early impressions from my play group. First off, playing all 4 decks against each other leads to very long games. We joke that it's a tribute to the extended editions of the movie, but in reality, they all just have a lot of fiddling going on and turns take a while. That aside, we found Sauron was stronger and needed some attention from all three players. Which was nifty in itself, but as mentioned, Sauron is a little difficult to pilot, so that can lead to some unfun games for the Sauron player if they're not able to handle it, and or their deck luck isn't great (shuffling 100 cards, we all know how that can go). The four decks as is we found to be fine. They're not gonna win you tournaments out of the box, but they each show potential. They're each clamoring for a rework though. I've seen a re-tooled deck of the hobbit food generation that's been pretty impressive (easily droppping 16 damage on each of 3 opponents over 1 turn, in "4 damage to target opponent" chunks). Each of them should be able to see an overhaul, dropping a dozenish cards and replacing them with better value, bigger payoff, etc. Also saw someone cobble the four into a Tom Bombadil deck that was pretty much every turn digging for a saga. And I've taken a dimir approach to a lord of the nazgul deck, which after 2 test runs, has been performing extraordinarily well. 9 nazgul plus loads of cheap instant & sorcery cards, some duplicate your creature spells, and lots of ring temptings. The +1/+1 counter generation is absurd. The deck can go both wide, and tall on creatures. Absolutely reccomended, though sourcing 9 nazgul might be difficult outside of a trip to staples (winkwink) the rest of the cards were largely found in set commons, and the commander decks. I think the set as a whole they knocked out of the park. I think the commander decks aren't quite as good as the 40k decks, but I think with some work and a little tuning, they'll be just as good. And I think my Ghyrson commander deck would be one of the few decks I own that would pick apart my new Lord of the Nazgul deck.

[@frisbeez1775]

Another good video! My big thought tho is that the reduction of original cards is fine if they reprint high value reprints like they did. Accessibility of good cards is a necessity.

[@andrewc1097]

These decks are why I just started. And making all the cards and art close to LotR lore, actually helps me learn lol

[@DreamDaddie]

Bought the elf and Rohan decks and both collector’s sample packs were bent like they were shoved in the box. So heads up folks, hopefully your cards won’t be damaged.

[@tvfbp23]

I had exactly the same problem. In those cases the sample packs were shoved under the main deck. For the other two sets, the sample packs were under the deck box and they were just fine. Annoying quality control flaw.

[@DreamDaddie]

So it is a common issue. What if The One Ring was in there? We’d have been screwed!

[@Bobbybillybillbob]

Looking forward to building a Merri and Pippin deck, also turning that Bilbo into an Abzan lifegain would be 🔥🔥🔥 in that combo!

[@leoandthefuture5309]

Merri and Pippin all the way!!! Absolutely thinking the same!!! Also I want to modify the food one to be so strong people are going to say “fudge all this food!” 😂😂😂

[@kirkwright8954]

The food and fellowship is essentially already an Abzan Life gain deck. You could just buy this precon, modify it a bit to your tastes and set Bilbo as the commander. Should work great!

[@greencuisine4273]

Already bought Hosts of Mordor, will be having a themed MTG night with 3 other friends who bought the other commander decks

[@wastelandcloud4355]

I think that might be my new favourite birds of paradise artwork

[@pytawidmo]

I feel like Hosts of Mordor are partially a reason why we didn't get an Orkz deck with Warhammer. I will likely build my own Orcs & Gobos deck though, with some of the boyz from the LotR set, close enough.

[@keeganbeecher5199]

As a blue player I love playing the Hosts of Mordor. Especially when I cast a spell that ruins my opponents game. The joy I find in their confident smile turing into panic is indescribable.

[@theonlyksmith]

I have no problems with reduced original designs IF they actually put in value reprints above and beyond the normal level

[@Doomwarden13]

I'm really thinking that the reprints are particularly important in these decks with how they form a pool of lotr only commander cards. The 40k decks had to stand on their own - or just mixed with each other - to stay on theme. The lotr decks are part of a pool, including the box toppers and Jumpstart cards, of in-setting cards. Not only are there a ton of staples, but many of the cards are receiving their first general western fantasy art of any kind whatsoever. Certainly it is the first time many are getting art that isn't either goofy or very plane specific. If 40k/unfinity opened up sci-fi space, these releases actually fill in fantasy space. I'm thinking we should all be playing no ban list lotr only commander. They put all the stuff in there for us.

[@cmbwtheliel]

I bought Riders of Rohan without watching reviews or spoilers because Rohan in my favorite LotR realm. It’s Human tribal and tribal Commander is my strongest strategy, so I’m happy with my purchase.

[@UltimatTacoman]

I played in a precon event at Commandfest Anaheim where veryone got one of these decks (first pod everyone had a different one, second pod got shuffled. We had one Gondor, two Elves, and I had Hobbits), and honestly, they play off each other very well. Hobbits get a bit durdley, but in a way that builds an imminent threat. Gondor gets aggressive, and can build an overwhelming force. Elves were very controlly, but never in a way that felt overbearing. Don't remember much from humans in the first round admittedly, lol. Honestly, I'm okay with fewer new designs. The reprints felt right at home, the new art added a lot, and the high value reprints were excellent. I personally agree with this ranking though.