Scuffle at PlayingMTG collected 100 Lord of the Rings trophy lists between the release of Tales of Middle Earth and Tuesday June 27th, collecting 15 each weekday and 20 each weekend day, from a combination of Discord communities and the fabulous 17lands.com. All lists are from players ranked Diamond or Mythic on Magic Arena.
“A trophy deck” is one that achieved seven wins before three losses in the Premier Draft Event game mode in Magic the Gathering Arena, and analyzing these presents a picture of what cards, combinations, and strategies are finding success at high levels of draft play.
Here’s the raw data that they used, and here’s what they learned:
Is a surprisingly deep set with an abundance of little combos, complex mechanics, and powerful uncommons. Traditionally, the summer release set has been a “Core Set” with more straightforward cards and easier-to-answer bombs. With Lord of the Rings, Wizards of the Coast have managed to develop incredibly deep and interesting mechanics while keeping the cards simpler. Every color pair and strategy has a path to the trophy, even if some of them are more difficult to navigate.