LOTR standard

LOTR Standard is a Dimir (blue-black) midrange/control deck built around The Lord of the Rings cards, using tempt/ring value, disruption, and incremental creature advantage to grind out games.

Its core plan is to control the board and hand early with cards like Orcish Bowmasters, Stern Scolding, and evasive/value creatures, while generating card selection and pressure through Call of the Ring, Sauron’s Ransom, and other Ring-themed effects. Cards like Sharkey, Tyrant of the Shire, Bill Ferny, Bree Swindler, and The Mouth of Sauron help disrupt the opponent while advancing your board.

The deck typically wins by out-valuing the opponent over time, chipping in with evasive or efficient creatures and eventually leveraging stronger threats like Sauron, the Necromancer to take over the late game.