Magic: The Gathering’s Lord of the Rings Crossover: Art Mishap
Magic: The Gathering’s highly anticipated crossover with The Lord of the Rings has been the talk of the gaming community recently. The crossover introduces a series of scene cards that, when placed together, form an impressive picture of The Battle of the Pelennor Fields. However, it has come to light that an unfortunate mistake occurred during the creation of this epic scene. The art for one of the cards was swapped out incorrectly after approval, resulting in the wrong character being depicted. Let’s jump into the details of this art mishap and its impact on the Pelennor Fields scene.
The initial plan was to feature Théoden, King of Rohan, at the center of the battle scene. To bring this vision to life, Magic: The Gathering’s publisher, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), commissioned the talented artist Tyler Jacobson to create the entire scene and its accompanying cards. However, a decision was made later in the process to replace Théoden with Éomer, Marshal of Rohan.
Unfortunately, during an internal miscommunication, the card’s title, mana cost, and rules text were mistakenly swapped after the art had already been approved. As a result, the scene went to print with the image of Théoden, even though the intention was to depict Éomer. WotC expressed their regret over this error on the official Magic: The Gathering website.
The consequence of this mistake is that the scene card featuring Éomer actually portrays Théoden, while the non-scene versions of both characters’ cards remain accurate. Take a look at the non-scene Éomer, Marshal of Rohan card below, which shares the same stats as the wrongly pictured Théoden card (Éomer is a 4/4 Human Knight with Haste).
Wizards of the Coast, however, emphasizes that this mix-up does not diminish the incredible artwork by Tyler Jacobson. They hope that it will not detract from the joy of assembling this massive scene, despite the character confusion.
MTG’s Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, the crossover set, has been generating much anticipation among fans. Previews for the set have been rolling out, offering glimpses of exciting features such as Food tokens, the return of the amass mechanic from War of the Spark, Legendary matters, a new mechanic called “The Ring Tempts You,” alternate art styles, the nine Nazgûl, The One Ring, and more. The release of the set is scheduled for June 23, with additional editions, including the Special Edition Collector’s Booster, four Scene Boxes, and a second Jumpstart set, set to arrive on November 3.
Beyond the realm of Magic: The Gathering, The Lord of the Rings franchise has been expanding its presence in the world of video games. The recently released game, Gollum, developed by Daedalic Entertainment, has faced criticism for its quality. Nevertheless, reports have emerged suggesting that Daedalic Entertainment is already working on another Middle-earth game, indicating that fans can look forward to further adventures in the beloved fantasy world.
In the meantime, the collaboration between MTG and The Lord of the Rings offers an exciting opportunity for fans to experience the wonders of J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe in a new and captivating way. Despite the art mishap in the Pelennor Fields scene, the crossover promises to deliver an extraordinary experience that will surely leave players enthralled.
