MTG Lord of the Rings surprisingly impacts Modern at Pro Tour Barcelona

The Modern format in Magic: The Gathering will get featured at Pro Tour Barcelona this weekend, showcasing a number of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth cards. 

Wizards of the Coast changed up how Universes Beyond sets can look in MTG with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) set. Over 200 Modern-legal cards were added to various formats like Commander and Modern, which will have a significant impact at Pro Tour Barcelona from July 28 to 30.

Players at the Pro Tour will compete through LTR Draft Swiss rounds and Modern Constructed Swiss rounds to earn a spot in the top eight playoffs on July 30 and potentially a seat at the World Championship. And there are two Lord of the Rings cards that are dominating the Modern meta, according to WotC. 

Both The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters have had a huge impact on the MTG Modern meta. These cards are found within the two most popular decks that were brought to Pro Tour Barcelona: Rakdos Evoke and Four-Color Omnath. 

• Rakdos Evoke: 19.3 percent of the field
• Four-Color Omnath: 11.2 percent of the field
• Rhinos: 10.8 percent of the field
• Mono-Green Tron: 8.9 percent of the field
• Golgari Yawgmoth: 7.1 percent of the field
• Dimir Control: 5.9 percent of the field
• Living End: 4.1 percent of the field
• Burn: 4.1 percent of the field
• Izzet Murktide: 3.3 percent of the field
• Five-Color Creativity: 3.0 percent of the field
• Jeskai Breach: 2.6 percent of the field
• Other decks: 19.7 percent of the field

The two most-played cards from the Modern Constructed decks submitted at Pro Tour Barcelona are The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters. Other top-played MTG cards at the final Pro Tour tournament of the season are staples like Misty Rainforest, Thoughtseize, Chalice of the Void, and Fury. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer is still a popular card, although some players cut it due to the popularity of Orcish Bowmasters. 

Close behind the Modern staples, though, are a large number of LTR cards that are also getting played at Pro Tour Barcelona. 

• The One Ring: 450 copies
• Orcish Bowmasters: 413 copies
• Lórien Revealed: 233 copies
• Delighted Halfling: 220 copies
• Sauron’s Ransom: 87 copies

Both Sauron’s Ransom and Lórien Revealed are popular cards in the upcoming Dimir Control Modern deck. And Delighted Halfling is often found in builds like Four-Color Omnath and Golgari Yawgmoth as a solid form of ramp. 

Fans can watch the Modern format meta unfold at the MTG Pro Tour Barcelona tournament from July 28 to 30.