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When is MTG Pro Tour Lord of the Rings Barcelona?

History will unfold at the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour in Barcelona, featuring gameplay from Universes Beyond set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth .

Tabletop Magic returned with the 2022-2023 season, showcasing a total of three Pro Tour tournaments at MagicCon events around the world. For the first time in the history of MTG , professional players will compete at a Pro Tour with Universe Beyond cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) set.

How to watch Pro Tour Lord of the Rings

The Pro Tour Lord of the Rings will take place over the course of three days at MagicCon Barcelona from July 28 to 30, just one month after the tabletop global release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth .  A broadcast will run from July 28 to 30 through Twitch . Gameplay on Friday and Saturday starts at 4am CT and competition on Sunday starts at 3am CT.

• July 28: Three rounds of LTR Draft followed by five rounds of Modern Constructed.
• July 29: Three rounds of LTR Draft followed by five rounds of Modern Constructed—Top eight advance to final day. Players who reach 13 match-wins advance to the playoffs.
• July 30: Top eight playoffs featuring Modern Constructed gameplay.

Players who compete in the LTR Pro Tour tournament can earn invites to future Pro Tour events and even a slot at the Magic World Championship. Similar to Pro Tour March of the Machine , the prize pool for the event is $500,000, with first place taking home $50,000.

Related: All MTG Commander Masters cards worth money: Projected prices before launch

Other MagicCon Barcelona events

In conjunction with Pro Tour LTR are several events open to all players. A Secret Lair Showdown Championship will take place, along with another Un-known tournament hosted by game designer Gavin Verhey.

The weekend of Pro Tour LTR Barcelona coincides with the Commander Masters prerelease. The Precon decks will drop on Aug. 4. Limited players can dive into any number of LTR Draft and Sealed events in Barcelona as well.

Update July 25, 7:30am CT : Broadcast times were added for the MTG Pro Tour Lord of the Rings in Barcelona.

What to Expect at Pro Tour Barcelona: MTG Deep Dive

Expect some old classics and a lot of Lord of the Rings.

By Andrea Mengucci | @Mengu09 | Published 8/2/2023 | 7 min read

Pro Tour Barcelona is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to seeing how the pros will attack and change the Modern metagame.

Unfortunately, I'm not qualified for the tournament, but I'll be competing in the Sealed GP on Friday and will commentate the semifinals and finals alongside Toffel and Filipa Carola, live from MagicCon Barcelona!

The last time we had a Modern ProTour was 2019, just after Modern Horizons came out. This was also known as PT Hogaak, won by Toffel on Mono-Green Tron!

I've been dedicating a lot of my work to Modern since 2021 when Modern Horizons 2 shook up the format and made it the best Constructed format.

While I write monthly Power Rankings here for ChannelFireball, I wanted to update you on what to expect since the addition of Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth has changed the landscape a lot.

Orcish Bowmasters

Orcish Bowmasters is the most impactful card from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth . While many might think it actually is The One Ring , I'll disagree and say that Orcish Bowmasters changed a lot of the Power Rankings, pushing decks that can cast it to the top (like Rakdos Scam and Golgari Yawgmoth ) and pushing down decks that are being hurt by it (like Izzet Murktide and Hammer Time ).

The deck that performed the best in these first two weeks of Modern post Lord of the Rings is without a doubt Rakdos Scam, that I expect to be the most played deck at the ProTour!

Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Rakdos Scam by Andrea Mengucci

'Rakdos Scam' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!

Created By: Andrea Mengucci

Market Price: $864.58

({T}: Add {R}.)

Whenever Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card. Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)

Shadow (This creature can block or be blocked by only creatures with shadow.) If a card would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, instead exile it with a void counter on it. {T}, Sacrifice Dauthi Voidwalker: Choose an exiled card an opponent owns with a void counter on it. You may play it this turn without paying its mana cost.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Verdant Catacombs: Search your library for a Swamp or Forest card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.) I — Create a 2/2 red Goblin Shaman creature token with "Whenever this creature attacks, create a Treasure token." II — You may discard up to two cards. If you do, draw that many cards. III — Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.

Destroy target creature if it has mana value 2 or less. Revolt — Destroy that creature if it has mana value 4 or less instead if a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn.

{T}, Sacrifice Nihil Spellbomb: Exile target player's graveyard. When Nihil Spellbomb is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay {B}. If you do, draw a card.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Marsh Flats: Search your library for a Plains or Swamp card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Menace When Grief enters, target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. Evoke—Exile a black card from your hand.

Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.

When Seasoned Pyromancer enters, discard two cards, then draw two cards. For each nonland card discarded this way, create a 1/1 red Elemental creature token. {3}{R}{R}, Exile Seasoned Pyromancer from your graveyard: Create two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens.

Chalice of the Void enters with X charge counters on it. Whenever a player casts a spell with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on Chalice of the Void, counter that spell.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Bloodstained Mire: Search your library for a Swamp or Mountain card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

({T}: Add {B}.)

Kicker {B}{B} (You may pay an additional {B}{B} as you cast this spell.) Protection from white Whenever an opponent discards a card, put a +1/+1 counter on Tourach, Dread Cantor. When Tourach enters, if it was kicked, target opponent discards two cards at random.

{T}: Add {B}. Channel — {3}{B}, Discard Takenuma, Abandoned Mire: Mill three cards, then return a creature or planeswalker card from your graveyard to your hand. This ability costs {1} less to activate for each legendary creature you control.

({T}: Add {B} or {R}.) As Blood Crypt enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.

Sunburst (This enters with a charge counter on it for each color of mana spent to cast it.) {2}, Sacrifice Engineered Explosives: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on Engineered Explosives.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Polluted Delta: Search your library for an Island or Swamp card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Until end of turn, target creature gains "When this creature dies, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it."

Blackcleave Cliffs enters tapped unless you control two or fewer other lands. {T}: Add {B} or {R}.

Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated.

{T}: Put an oil counter on The Filigree Sylex. {T}, Sacrifice The Filigree Sylex: Destroy each nonland permanent with mana value equal to the number of oil counters on The Filigree Sylex. {T}, Remove ten oil counters from among permanents you control and sacrifice The Filigree Sylex: It deals 10 damage to any target.

Double strike When Fury enters, it deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or planeswalkers. Evoke—Exile a red card from your hand.

Flash When Orcish Bowmasters enters and whenever an opponent draws a card except the first one they draw in each of their draw steps, Orcish Bowmasters deals 1 damage to any target. Then amass Orcs 1.

Nonbasic lands are Mountains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gt6T-R7WZw

I wrote about Rakdos Scam last week post-LMS Bologna and not much has changed since then. The deck continued to crush the scene at SCG Cincinnati and on Magic Online.

It's going to be interesting to see if any anti-Scam deck might arise at the Pro Tour, since I didn't find the deck to struggle against any particular archetype.

Lorien Revealed

Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Temur Rhinos by Andrea Mengucci

'Temur Rhinos' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!

Market Price: $790.09

This spell costs {2} less to cast if it targets a blue spell. Counter target spell unless its controller pays {3}.

{T}: Add {U}. Channel — {3}{U}, Discard Otawara, Soaring City: Return target artifact, creature, enchantment, or planeswalker to its owner's hand. This ability costs {1} less to activate for each legendary creature you control.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Misty Rainforest: Search your library for a Forest or Island card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

({T}: Add {U}.)

If it's not your turn, you may exile a green card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Destroy up to two target artifacts and/or enchantments.

If Gemstone Caverns is in your opening hand and you're not the starting player, you may begin the game with Gemstone Caverns on the battlefield with a luck counter on it. If you do, exile a card from your hand. {T}: Add {C}. If Gemstone Caverns has a luck counter on it, instead add one mana of any color.

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Wooded Foothills: Search your library for a Mountain or Forest card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.)

Flash Reach When Endurance enters, up to one target player puts all the cards from their graveyard on the bottom of their library in a random order. Evoke—Exile a green card from your hand.

{T}: Add {G}. Channel — {1}{G}, Discard Boseiju, Who Endures: Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or nonbasic land an opponent controls. That player may search their library for a land card with a basic land type, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. This ability costs {1} less to activate for each legendary creature you control.

Fire deals 2 damage divided as you choose among one or two targets. // Tap target permanent. Draw a card.

{T}, Pay 1 life: Add {U} or {R}. {1}, {T}, Sacrifice Fiery Islet: Draw a card.

({T}: Add {R} or {G}.) As Stomping Ground enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.

({T}: Add {G}, {U}, or {R}.) Ketria Triome enters tapped. Cycling {3} ({3}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.) Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.

Flash Flying When Subtlety enters, choose up to one target creature spell or planeswalker spell. Its owner puts it on the top or bottom of their library. Evoke—Exile a blue card from your hand.

Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.) Flying Murktide Regent enters with a +1/+1 counter on it for each instant and sorcery card exiled with it. Whenever an instant or sorcery card leaves your graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on Murktide Regent.

Draw three cards. Islandcycling {1} ({1}, Discard this card: Search your library for an Island card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)

If it's not your turn, you may exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Counter target noncreature spell. If that spell is countered this way, exile it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard.

Dead deals 2 damage to target creature. // Return target creature you don't control to its owner's hand.

Suspend 4—{G} (Rather than cast this card from your hand, pay {G} and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.) Create two 4/4 green Rhino creature tokens with trample.

({T}: Add {U} or {R}.) As Steam Vents enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.

({T}: Add {G} or {U}.) As Breeding Pool enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.

({T}: Add {G}.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEM4UV1XUp0

Temur Rhinos dropped a lot of spots in my June Power Rankings, the main reason being the ascent of Living End , its worst matchup, and the lack of any new cards to the archetype while having to fight against The One Ring , which is really hard for this deck to beat.

However, in the most recent Modern Challenge, Temur Rhinos won the whole thing with a playset of Lorien Revealed in the main deck. This card does it all for the archetype since it let you cut on a lands a bit while keeping redundancy for blue pitches for Force of Negation and Subtlety .

Temur Rhinos is a weird deck that needs to play a high volume of lands (around 25) to have higher chance of hitting the third land drop every game while not wanting to flood since it doesn't have many mana sinks. Lorien Revealed is going to help a lot there since it's very castable, unlike Sea Gate Restoration which is going to be impossible to cast in most games, and it's the perfect top-deck in matchups like Rakdos Scam or against control decks that will leave you without any cards or will counter most of your threats.

The list that won the MTGO Challenge played 20 lands and four Lorien Revealed and I think that's too few. I bumped up those numbers to 22 and four Lorien Revealed, and I think counting these effects as lands is a bit wrong since they're basically taplands and this deck wants to try to interact on turn one and two with Dead // Gone and Fire // Ice .

Brazen Borrower lost a lot in Modern since Orcish Bowmasters is around and while the Orc is very likely a card that'll be sideboarded out, I wouldn't play any Borrower in the main deck.

Mystical Dispute also lost a lot since Izzet Murktide went from most played deck in every event to fifth, but I would still play a couple since having a three-mana counterspell isn't as bad in this deck and, again, it's a blue pitch for your Force of Negation and Subtlety.

I've seen a lot of anti-The One Ring effects going around like Bonecrusher Giant , Questing Beast and Insult // Injury , and while these might be effective in some specific scenarios, I don't want them to be in my hand most of the time. Bonecrusher Giant and Questing Beast are too underpowered for Modern and it's cool if they get to blank a Fog effect in certain spots but I don't think you should build your Modern deck this way.

I expect Temur Rhinos to gain a lot from Lorien Revealed, in the same way Living End gained a lot with Generous Ent and Oliphaunt .

Sauron's Ransom

Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Dimir Murktide by Andrea Mengucci

'Dimir Murktide' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!

Market Price: $1489.29

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Scalding Tarn: Search your library for an Island or Mountain card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Choose a card name. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand, and library for up to four cards with that name and exile them. That player shuffles, then draws a card for each card exiled from their hand this way.

Choose one — • Counter target spell with mana value less than or equal to the number of cards in its controller's graveyard. • Destroy target creature with mana value less than or equal to the number of cards in its controller's graveyard.

Choose one — • Each opponent sacrifices a nontoken creature. • Each opponent sacrifices a creature token. • Each opponent sacrifices a planeswalker.

You may exile two blue cards from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Gain control of target noncreature spell. You may choose new targets for it. (If that spell is an artifact, enchantment, or planeswalker, the permanent enters under your control.)

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Prismatic Vista: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

Destroy target nonartifact creature.

Counter target instant or sorcery spell unless its controller pays {1}. Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)

Deathtouch Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life. Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life.

Indestructible When The One Ring enters, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn. At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring. {T}: Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring.

Counter target spell.

({U/P} can be paid with either {U} or 2 life.) You may have Phyrexian Metamorph enter as a copy of any artifact or creature on the battlefield, except it's an artifact in addition to its other types.

Destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated.

Choose an opponent. They look at the top four cards of your library and separate them into a face-down pile and a face-up pile. Put one pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard. The Ring tempts you.

({T}: Add {U} or {B}.) As Watery Grave enters, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters tapped.

Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays {2}.

{T}: Add {U}. {U}, {T}: Untap target legendary permanent.

Flash When Dress Down enters, draw a card. Creatures lose all abilities. At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Dress Down.

{T}: Exile up to two target cards from a single graveyard. Unlicensed Hearse's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards exiled with it. Crew 2

{T}, Pay 1 life, Sacrifice Flooded Strand: Search your library for a Plains or Island card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqBXG0-oYdQ

This is the newest deck in Modern that popped out of nowhere and has been doing very well recently. It's playing all the best cards in Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth such as Orcish Bowmasters , The One Ring , Sauron's Ransom and Lòrien Revealed.

Sauron's Ransom is a great card in a draw-go deck, as it's a strong card advantage tool that will help you get to The One Ring while filling the graveyard for Murktide Regent.

Having your card advantage tool be instant speed is fantastic, making it similar to Archmage's Charm , which is seeing less and less play because Blood Moon is too important for Izzet Murktide to give up.

At first look, it might seems like this deck struggles to get The One Ring off the board and might die to its own Ring, but Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and extra copies of The One Ring will save you from it.

Ever since The One Ring showed up in Modern, the requirements for it seemed to be that your deck needed to ramp mana to cast it, using something like Delighted Halfling or Wall of Roots , but this deck doesn't have any of that, but it does interact with counters and removals and that's very important in order to safely reach the fourth turn to jam The One Ring and start fueling your hand.

Force of Negation and Subtlety require you to have card advantage flowing and that's provided by The One Ring and Sauron's Ransom.

Minamo, School at Water's Edge is really nice tech that will let you go over the top in combination with The One Ring in just few turns. It's a really nice free land that you should always play in your One Ring decks as long as you don't need too many colors to function, and this deck can safely do that!

The One Ring

Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Mono-Green Tron by Andrea Mengucci

'Mono-Green Tron' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!

Market Price: $764.42

{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Power-Plant, add {C}{C}{C} instead.

{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Power-Plant and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead.

{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Chromatic Sphere: Add one mana of any color. Draw a card.

{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Chromatic Star: Add one mana of any color. When Chromatic Star is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, draw a card.

Trample When you cast this spell and whenever Cityscape Leveler attacks, destroy up to one target nonland permanent. Its controller creates a tapped Powerstone token. Unearth {8}

{T}: Add {C}. Whenever you cast a colorless spell with mana value 7 or greater, you may sacrifice Sanctum of Ugin. If you do, search your library for a colorless creature card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.

Creatures with power greater than the number of cards in your hand can't attack.

Walking Ballista enters with X +1/+1 counters on it. {4}: Put a +1/+1 counter on Walking Ballista. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Walking Ballista: It deals 1 damage to any target.

When Sundering Titan enters or leaves the battlefield, choose a land of each basic land type, then destroy those lands.

Look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal a colorless card from among them and put it into your hand. Then put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.

+4: Target player exiles a card from their hand. −3: Exile target permanent. −14: Restart the game, leaving in exile all non-Aura permanent cards exiled with Karn Liberated. Then put those cards onto the battlefield under your control.

{T}, Sacrifice Tormod's Crypt: Exile target player's graveyard.

Search your library for a land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.

Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated. +1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value. −2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.

Each player sacrifices all permanents they control that are one or more colors.

({C} represents colorless mana.) Choose one — • Exile target creature with power or toughness 1 or less. • Counter target sorcery spell. • Create a 1/1 colorless Eldrazi Scion creature token. It has "Sacrifice this creature: Add {C}."

{2}, {T}, Sacrifice Expedition Map: Search your library for a land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.

+2: Ugin, the Spirit Dragon deals 3 damage to any target. −X: Exile each permanent with mana value X or less that's one or more colors. −10: You gain 7 life, draw seven cards, then put up to seven permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield.

{T}: Target permanent becomes an artifact in addition to its other types until end of turn.

When you cast this spell, exile two target permanents. Indestructible Whenever Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger attacks, defending player exiles the top twenty cards of their library.

As long as Trinisphere is untapped, each spell that would cost less than three mana to cast costs three mana to cast. (Additional mana in the cost may be paid with any color of mana or colorless mana. For example, a spell that would cost {1}{B} to cast costs {2}{B} to cast instead.)

{T}: Target player exiles a card from their graveyard. {1}, Exile Relic of Progenitus: Exile all graveyards. Draw a card.

{4}, {T}: Put a fate counter on target permanent. {5}, {T}, Sacrifice Oblivion Stone: Destroy each nonland permanent without a fate counter on it, then remove all fate counters from all permanents.

{2}, {T}, Exile The Stone Brain: Choose a card name. Search target opponent's graveyard, hand, and library for up to four cards with that name and exile them. That player shuffles, then draws a card for each card exiled from their hand this way. Activate only as a sorcery.

When Haywire Mite dies, you gain 2 life. {G}, Sacrifice Haywire Mite: Exile target noncreature artifact or noncreature enchantment.

{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3lN1EgaTC4

There's one more deck I want to boost from my June Modern Power Rankings and it's Mono-Green Tron !

Tron hasn't received a powerful new card since War of the Spark with Karn, the Great Creator , and has been kept afloat among Modern's mid-tier decks.

Thanks to The One Ring, that's all changed, and now Mono-Green Tron is one of the best decks in Modern. At LMS Bologna, it was the most popular deck in Day 2 with an insanely good Day 2 conversion rate of 25 percent.

It's got great matchups against other The One Ring decks thanks to its big-mana nature and Karn, the Great Creator, which made it succeed in Bologna. While I don't expect Four-Color Omnath to be as nearly as popular as it was there, I think Mono-Green Tron has now the inherent power level to be a top performer at the event, regardless of the metagame.

Oliphaunt and Generous Ent

Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Living End by Andrea Mengucci

'Living End' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!

Market Price: $591.13

If Leyline of Sanctity is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it on the battlefield. You have hexproof. (You can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.)

When Foundation Breaker enters, you may destroy target artifact or enchantment. Evoke {1}{G} (You may cast this spell for its evoke cost. If you do, it's sacrificed when it enters.)

Hexproof (This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.) Cycling {U} ({U}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Trample Whenever Oliphaunt attacks, another target creature you control gets +2/+0 and gains trample until end of turn. Mountaincycling {1} ({1}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Mountain card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)

Swampwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a Swamp.) Cycling—Pay 2 life. (Pay 2 life, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

When Architects of Will enters, look at the top three cards of target player's library, then put them back in any order. Cycling {U/B} ({U/B}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Flying Whenever you cycle or discard another card, scry 1. Cycling {U} ({U}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Botanical Sanctum enters tapped unless you control two or fewer other lands. {T}: Add {G} or {U}.

Reach When Generous Ent enters, create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.") Forestcycling {1} ({1}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Forest card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)

Creatures your opponents control get -1/-0. {1}{U}, Discard Waker of Waves: Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other into your graveyard.

{T}: Add {C}. {U/B}, {T}: Add {U}{U}, {U}{B}, or {B}{B}.

Suspend 3—{2}{B}{B} Each player exiles all creature cards from their graveyard, then sacrifices all creatures they control, then puts all cards they exiled this way onto the battlefield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqvWp2w2pGE

In my June Modern Power Rankings, I placed Living End in first place due to a response to previous metagame having both Indomitable Creativity and Temur Rhinos in first and second position, which its two best matchups, as well as the easy addition of Generous Ent and Oliphaunt making the deck even more consistent than before.

After a few weeks, the metagame adjusted and now you see a lot more Dauthi Voidwalker and Teferi, Time Raveler out of many decks. If people were maximizing out on Engineered Explosives for Crashing Footfalls , now you're seeing more Tormod's Crypt out of sideboards.

Living End is a crazy powerful deck, capable of Legacy-esque things with its turn three combo with double protection, but it's also a deck that suffers dedicated sideboard hate.

While I'm bumping Living End down a couple of slots, I still expect it to be a popular choice and do well at the Pro Tour.

My Pre-Pro Tour Power Rankings

• Rakdos Scam
• Jeskai Breach
• Indomitable Creativity
• Mono-Green Tron
• Four-Color Omnath
• Temur Rhinos
• Izzet Murktide
• Amulet Titan
• Dimir Murktide
• Azorius Control
• Hammer Time
• Mono-Black Coffers

Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings

• VisualEditor

Pro Tour the Lord of the Rings was the final Pro Tour of the 2022–23 season . It took place on July 28-30, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. It followed the release of the straight-to-Modern set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth , and the first Modern Pro Tour after the return of the Pro Tour Label. Additionally, it was the final Pro Tour before 2023 World Championship , so it was the final chance to earn AMP and lock up a slot.

Modern [ | ]

With most of Constructed Magic being relegated to MTG Arena from 2020 to 2023, Modern had been upended multiple times as to be basically unrecognizable from Mythic Championship IV Barcelona , especially with the release of Modern Horizons 2 .

The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters , released in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth , were expected to make waves in the now turbulent format, by upgrading Tron and Rakdos decks, respectively. Additionally, the land-cycling spells introduced in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth were additions to the Living End and Crashing Footfalls decks. Delighted Halfling and Samwise Gamgee made appearances in select decks as a mana-dork and combo piece, respectively.

Day One [ | ]

Featured drafters: Nathan Steuer

The top eight players after day one:

Day Two [ | ]

Featured drafters: Kai Budde

Top 8 [ | ]

Javier Dominguez and Simon Nielsen make it back-to-back Pro Tour Top 8's, joined by two Italian players in Marco Del Pivo and Stefano Vinci. Additionally, Kai Budde would reach his tenth career top eight. Sadly, on this Sunday, the promise "Kai does not lose" would be broken, as Christian Calcano would beat him in the quarterfinals, en route to the finals, piloting a Mono-Green Tron deck. There he would face Jake Beardsley , who in his first Pro Tour, cheered on by commentators and fans, would win the day with a Rakdos Evoke Deck.

• 1 Duskmourn: House of Horror
• 2 Bloomburrow
• 3 Duskmourn: House of Horror/Commander decks

MTG Pro Tour 2023: Full List of Dates, Cities

By conner dejecacion | feb 16, 2023.

The MTG Pro Tour is a series of top-level competitions for Magic: The Gathering . It pits the best of the best against one another for huge cash prizes, as well as fame and glory in the trading card game community. Here are the details.

To enter the Pro Tour, players must first qualify via a Local Qualifier and a Regional Qualifier. These two events come together in the Pro Tour, where players from different regions play against one another in one massive event. The year is then capped off by the World Championship, which has a massive cash prize and the opportunity for the winner to be memorialized in an upcoming Magic card.

TOMORROW! #MCPhilly and #PTPhyrexia from the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA! Coverage of the Pro Tour starts 11am ET tomorrow on https://t.co/nUzYF5lMQ3 https://t.co/Bq6Nlk6oaJ for badges and more information pic.twitter.com/Q1UbTdZvhv — Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) February 16, 2023

Here's how the 2022-2023 Pro Tour season will shake out according to the Magic Wiki:

In between each event is a Regional Championship that will allow players to qualify for the Pro Tour, in addition to finalists from previous Pro Tours. Lastly, the Magic World Championship will be held Sept. 22-24, 2023 at MagicCon Las Vegas, USA, marking the grand finale of the 2022-2023 Pro Tour season.

If you're looking to go competitive, it might be a good idea to practice at in-store events or online. Also be sure to follow the latest decks and competitive strategies so you can plan to come out on top.

• Card Database

MTG Arena Announcements – July 24, 2023

In this edition:

Get Ready for 2023 Rotation and Renewal

Available now: historic anthology 7 and explorer anthology 3, watch pro tour barcelona this weekend, buy the magic anniversary sleeve next week, gen con in indianapolis begins august 3.

• Join the Explorer Metagame Challenge July 28–30

Event Schedule

September is a big month in the world of Magic , and this September is especially big for a couple reasons. Wilds of Eldraine arrives September 8 , and with it comes the yearly set rotation where older sets move out of the Standard format to make room new sets.

This year introduces a change to Standard rotation—specifically, Standard will not rotate this year as we shift to rotating sets out every three years instead of every two. Alchemy, however, will rotate this year as MTG Arena enters its yearly Renewal.

Renewal is an exciting time in MTG Arena , not only because of set rotations, but also for all the special rewards you can get to help kick off the new Magic year! Get the full scoop on what's coming and what to expect in the article Renewal for MTG Arena 's 2023 Standard Rotation .

Two new card anthologies are now available in MTG Arena! Historic Anthology 7 and Explorer Anthology 3 together introduce 50 previously unavailable cards to the game that bring new dimensions to the Historic and Explorer formats:

• Historic Anthology 7 Card Image Gallery
• Explorer Anthology 3 Card Image Gallery

Plus, for those who missed it the first time around, you can also pick up Explorer Anthology 2 with its 25 cards until September 5!

The last Pro Tour of the 2023 season is this weekend in beautiful Barcelona, July 28–30. MagicCon: Barcelona will host 280 of Magic 's best players in Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings as they vie for a share of the $500,000 in prizes and the prestige of being the best of the best!

For those of us who can't make it to Barcelona, we can still keep up with the action. All three days of the event will be streamed at twitch.tv/magic . Find details on how to watch, who's playing, who's casting, and the schedule in the Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Viewers Guide

The MTG Arena Summer Sale happens next week, and among the cool stuff you'll find will be the Magic Anniversary weathered card back sleeve from April Fool's! Players loved the sleeve, and this will be the first time you can purchase it! Look for the Happy Birthday Magic Bundle next week.

While you wait for the sale to kick off, check out Ian Adams's latest article that recounts the story behind the April Fool's battlefield and weathered card back sleeve .

Gen Con is one of the biggest game conventions around, and Wizards of the Coast will be at Gen Con in Indianapolis, August 3–6 ! MTG Arena 's own Ian Adams will be there, and we'll be talking about Magic over the past 30 years, where we are now, and what to look forward to in the future.

Join the Explorer Metagame Challenge July 28–30

(Editor's Note: The pack reward for the Explorer Metagame Challenge has been corrected. The packs awarded are Shadows over Innistrad Remastered .)

Don't miss the next Metagame Challenge for the Explorer format from July 28–30. This is an opportunity to work in those cards from Explorer Anthology 3 (and Explorer Anthology 2!) and show your skill in the metagame. Plus, you can claim gold and Shadows over Innistrad Remastered packs in the process!

Events open on the starting date at 8 a.m. PT (excluding Midweek  Magic ) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted. 

Midweek Magic

Midweek Magic events  open on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• July 25–27: Dominaria United Bot Draft
• August 1–3: Alchemy
• August 8–10: Slow Start
• August 15–17: Historic Pauper

Quick Draft

• July 11–August 1: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™
• August 1–15: Dominaria United
• August 15–29: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
• August 29–September 15: March of the Machine

Other Events

• July 25–August 3: The Brothers' War Premier Draft
• July 28–30: Explorer Metagame Challenge
• August 3–14: Magic 30: Mixed-Up Premier Draft
• August 14–21: Throne of Eldraine Premier Draft

Premier Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-07:00).

Qualifier Events

Qualifier Play-In events  are single-day tournaments in which players compete to earn invitations to that month's Qualifier Weekend events.

Qualifier Weekend events  are two-day events in which eligible players compete for invitations to upcoming Arena Championship events. Check out the standings to see who's qualified for Arena Championship 4 .

Qualifier tokens are delivered in your MTG Arena inbox. Remember to claim them before the event starts!

• Format: Explorer

The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• August 26: Day One, Arena Cube Draft (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
• August 27: Day Two, Arena Cube Draft (Best-of-Three)

July 2023 Ranked Season

The June 2023 Ranked Season begins June 30 at 12:05 p.m. PT and ends on July 31 at 12 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00)

• Bronze Reward: 1 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth pack
• Silver Reward: 1 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth pack + 500 gold
• Gold Reward: 2 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth packs + 1,000 gold + Shadow Summoning card style
• Platinum Reward: 3 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth packs + 1,000 gold + Shadow Summoning card style + Press the Enemy card style
• Diamond Reward: 4 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth packs + 1,000 gold + Shadow Summoning card style + Press the Enemy card style
• Mythic Reward: 5 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth packs + 1,000 gold + Shadow Summoning card style + Press the Enemy card style

Follow MTG Arena Social

Keep up with the latest MTG Arena news and announcements on:

• Twitter @MTG_Arena
• Facebook @MTGArena
• Instagram @mtgarena
• TikTok @MTGArena
• MTG Arena YouTube channel
• Magic: The Gathering Discord channel
• Threads @mtgarena

Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Fact Sheet for Competitors

Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings will take place in Barcelona, Spain at MagicCon: Barcelona on July 28–30, 2023.

The formats for Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings are The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Booster Draft and Modern Constructed.

Official hashtag: #PTLOTR

MagicCon Barcelona Fira Gran Via, Barcelona Av. Joan Carles I, 64 08908 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat Spain

The Pro Tour will take place in the Pro Tour section of Hall 2 The Pro Tour section will be open to MagicCon Barcelona attendees.

Invited Competitors

Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations to Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings are awarded as follows:

• The Top 4 finishers at Magic World Championship XXVIII.
• Competitors with thirty-nine (39) or more points in the Adjusted Match Points standing generated at the conclusion of Pro Tour March of the Machine .
• Top finishing competitors from each Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Regional Championship.
• Pro Tour March of the Machine competitors that finished with twenty-seven (27) or more match points.
• Competitors from each MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend with seven (7) wins that awards invitations to Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings .
• The eight (8) competitors from the Magic Online Champions Showcase that awards invitations to Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings ..
• Members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame that selected Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings as their once per season Pro Tour invitation benefit.
• Competitors that are otherwise invited to Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings .

The Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings invitation list is available online . If you believe you are an invited competitor but are not on the invitation list, please email [email protected]

Competitor Information

Modern decklists will be due in MTGMelee on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 12:00 PM (Barcelona local time). To see the equivalent time where you are located, click here .

During the Modern rounds, opponents' decklists will be available for viewing on MTGMelee on your mobile device. Competitors can only access the decklists of other players prior to the start of a game or in between games. Competitors cannot reference decklists during games.

During the Booster Draft rounds, only competitors from the featured draft table will have access to their opponent's decklist. These will be a paper checklist.

The estimated hours of operation for Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings are:

• Friday & Saturday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
• Sunday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM

Note: The opening times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are for Pro Tour competitors ONLY. The public will be able to enter the Pro Tour section only when the show opens each day.

Registration

In-person registration takes place from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at a location to be determined (details will be provided to players at a later date). If you are unable to attend this registration session on Thursday, late registration will be available Friday morning from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM. Competitors should email [email protected] if they will not be attending the Thursday registration session.

Even though competitors will have registered for the tournament on MTGMelee prior to Thursday, competitors must still register on-site to confirm they are in Barcelona, undergo an ID check, and receive their complementary Pro Tour gifts.

For in-person registration, all competitors must present one of the following forms of identification:

• a driver's license; or
• a passport; or
• a copy of a birth certification and photo ID (school IDs are acceptable)

Tournament Information

The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and Infraction & Penalty Guide are in effect for this tournament unless specifically overruled by information in this section.

Structure (Swiss Rounds)

• Friday: 3 rounds of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Booster Draft, followed by 5 rounds of Modern Constructed.
• Saturday: 3 rounds of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Booster Draft, followed by 5 rounds of Modern Constructed.
• 16 Swiss Rounds total, 50 minutes per round.
• All competitors may participate in all 8 Swiss rounds of Friday's competition.
• Competitors with twelve (12) or more match points after Round 8 will advance to Saturday's portion of the competition.
• Whenever a competitor reaches thirteen (13) match wins before round 16, they immediately advance to the Top 8 playoff and are removed from future pairings in Swiss rounds.
• The round in which a competitor received their 13th win.
• Their OMW%, GW%, and OGW% as of the round in which they receive their 13th match win.
• Seeding for the Top 8 playoff is locked after each round in which a competitor reaches their 13th win.
• The top 8 competitors after Round 16 will advance to Sunday's single-elimination playoff rounds.

Structure (Playoff Rounds)

• Playoff rounds will use a traditional, single-elimination bracket.
• Playoff rounds will run in the Modern Constructed format.
• All playoff matches will be best 3 out of 5. The first two games played in each playoff match are pre-sideboard games. After Game 2 is complete, competitors may exchange cards from their deck for cards in their sideboard.
• Standings after the Swiss rounds will be used to determine final order in the standings for losing competitors in the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff rounds.
• While there are no time limits in the playoff rounds, competitors are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 90 minutes.
• For the first game of each match in the playoff rounds, the competitor that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each playoff match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

Other Items

• Rules Enforcement Level: Professional
• Competitors must use the same Modern deck for Day 1, Day 2, and the Top 8 playoff
• Competitors are responsible for knowing all tournament rules
• Competitors are responsible for bringing their own appropriate counters and tokens

Competitors that finish Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings with thirty (30) or more match points will be invited to the first Pro Tour in the 2023-2024 Season.

Competitors that have 39 or more Adjusted Match Points (AMP) in the post-Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings AMP standing will be invited to the first Pro Tour in the 2023-2024 Season.

Competitors that finish with 36 or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or the top eight (8) finishing competitors (whichever is greater) will be invited to the Magic World Championship XXIX.

There is a $500,000 prize pool, which is awarded to competitors based on their final standing in the tournament. All prizes are displayed in U.S Dollars. Prizes are subject to change.

Prizes for the Top 8 finishers are awarded as follows. All competitors will receive at least $1000 regardless of the final placing.

** Assumes 267 players

Second Chance Pro Tour Qualifier

Date: Sunday, July 30 at 9:00 AM.

Format: Modern Constructed

Invitations: Four (4) invitations to the first Pro Tour of the 2023-2024 Season.

Structure: 6 or 7 Swiss rounds (based on attendance), top 8 cut, 1 single-elimination round

Who can play: Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Competitors that are not already qualified for the first Pro Tour of the 2023-2024 Season. Remember that if you finish Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings with thirty (30) or more match points, you will be invited to the first Pro Tour of the 2023-2024 Season.