Phial of Galadriel – LOTR: TALES OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.00
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 3.88
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
You might recall the Phial’s first ability from Blood Scrivener, from Dragon’s Maze. It feels like an age and a day ago, but that’s a playable card, and it seems reasonable to me to see its ability here. I’m not sure the no-cards-in-hand clause is really a black ability per se, and I can think of plenty of decks that can exploit it – it’s easy to have no cards in hand every turn when the rest of your deck is burn spells. The lifegain ability is probably not going to attract as much attention, though I could see it enabling some really demoralizing comebacks and scenarios; it’s more nice to have around. And generating mana on top of all that is way more abilities than most cards get to have, though perhaps fitting for the card’s association with one of the most powerful beings east of the Sea. Bonus points if you manage to sneak the quote “I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold . . .” into the conversation when you cast or use it.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4 (needs the right kind of deck, but a mana ramp option with additional upsides seems worth looking into)
The Phial of Galadriel was a gift given to Frodo, filled with water from Lothlorien and enchanted from to act as a light in the darkness when he and his party most needed it. The point of necessity certainly rings true here, as it represents an extra card or extra lifegain when your resources wane. The former is certainly more immediately apparent in its utility, particularly in colors like red or white that tend to run out of resources. Of note is that this triggers any time you draw with an empty hand, so that’s a potential boon. The lifegain might help in a pinch, particularly with lifelink or other triggers; it rarely will win you a game on its own, but suddenly gaining 10 or 20 life out of nowhere might be time enough to swing the gam around.
And, besides that, it’s a decent mana rock. Three mana to make one of any color unconditionally is about on-rate for the effect anymore, so this will never not be useful to some degree. I feel like Phial of Galadriel is more subtle in its power overall, but it can definitely get you that bit extra to get to where you’re going.
Constructed: 3 (I feel like it might shine brightest in controlling shells, but this might not be strong enough to see play there)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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