Forge Anew – LOTR: TALES OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.50
Casual: 4.50
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.88
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
We talk so much about the value of instants as surprise plays, that we are sometimes surprised ourselves when a sorcery-speed card enables the same type of thing. The first turn you cast Forge Anew, that’s exactly what it does – and it’s always a very powerful effect, regardless of what exact card you’re bringing back. Even just the “basic” ones can change games, much less when you’re going up to things like Batterskull and the mythic swords. I daresay someone will probably try to make some kind of rogue reanimator deck for Modern, where the main target is something with the living weapon mechanic (Kaldra Compleat, maybe?). It might not stand up to the artifact removal prevalent in that format, but then again, it would have cards to bring things back from the graveyard.
Modifying the speed and cost of equip abilities is a trick that your opponents will see coming in future turns, but that doesn’t automatically mean they can stop it. And it almost goes without saying that if you have more than one creature, at least one equipment, and the ability to equip as an instant, your opponents’ options as far as blocking become a lot more difficult and a lot less advantageous.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Forge Anew, meant to capture (here) the forging of the shattered sword Narsil (wielded by Isildur, the guy who cut off The One Ring) into Andúril (Aragorn’s sword once he accepted his role as Gondor’s heir) is an interesting bit of Equipment support. It’s both recursion for Equipment that’s already been shattered and support for that which has yet to hit the board, and there’s plenty of cards it supports. The most obvious is the infamous Colossal Hammer, but there’s also plenty of other Equipment cards this pairs well with. If it has a powerful effect but a high casting cost or high equip cost, this pairs great with it, and the ability to equip during your turn at instant speed (with a free equip on the first one) can come in handy in terms of shifting things around to maximize the chaos. I imagine first strike and double strike creatures will make this especially entertaining.
I doubt Forge Anew warps formats, but it is a strong part for a particular deck, and it’s certainly shown up there. Being able to cheat on equip costs has always shown itself to be worth notice, and this also gives your Equipment a second chance if you need it. There’s a fair bit to like, and I feel like this’ll keep seeing healthy play.
Constructed: 4 (not for every deck, but great in the ones that it goes into)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 3 (not as much Equipment worth getting this for, so you’ll only want this if your deck calls for it)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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