Moria Marauder – LOTR: TALES OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.00
Casual: 4.50
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
In the Middle-earth legendarium, “goblin” and “orc” are essentially synonyms, though there are a few occasions where they’re used alongside each other. This, presumably, is where some people got the idea that they should be separate creatures in Dungeons and Dragons and other later media; this, along with Tolkien himself pointing out the fact that “orc” is not an English word. For Magic, of course, we go by the actual literal letter of how cards are written, so it’s perhaps fortunate that they remembered to group the creature types for Tales of Middle-earth – this card is actually a pretty powerful red-styled Ophidian variant in itself, and gets somewhat ridiculous if you can force lots of goblins through combat. And goblin decks tend to have ways of doing just that. A properly constructed deck might be able to play half of its cards in just a few turns if the Marauder isn’t answered, and that sort of fear factor is the kind of thing that might give the card a chance even in the bigger formats.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Moria Marauder has a clear home: Goblin decks. Technically it pairs well with Orcs, but the main point here is that Moria Marauder is a vicious part of the Goblin engine, turbo-charging a lot of what they want to do by drawing loads of cards. At least, drawing in the red sense. Double strike here means Moria Marauder is worth two cards on an unblocked swing, which can make for an explosive third turn. It’s not the solution to every problem Goblins have; it’s only got one toughness (though it does pair well with lords), and it wants more of a board to get going, but this is a very nice weapon for an aggressive deck to be even more aggressive.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 4
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