Introduction
Middle-earth has arrived in Magic! The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth brought us a wonderfully thematic collection of cards, and among the most exciting offerings is the “Food and Fellowship” Commander precon deck. This deck, steeped in the flavors of the Shire and the spirit of camaraderie, offers a unique play experience centered around Food tokens, lifegain, and the charming inhabitants of Hobbiton. Whether you’re a seasoned Commander player or a newcomer drawn in by the magic of Tolkien’s world, this deck provides a fantastic starting point. In this article, we’ll embark on a deep dive into the Food and Fellowship precon, exploring its strengths, weaknesses, key cards, and, most importantly, how to transform it into a powerful and personalized Commander experience worthy of a grand feast. Get ready to delve into the delicious world of Food and Fellowship!
The Core Decklist: A Detailed Exploration
The Food and Fellowship deck isn’t just about making delicious treats; it’s about building a resilient and synergistic strategy. At its heart, the deck aims to create a wide board presence of Halflings, generate a steady stream of Food tokens, and leverage that Food to gain life, generate value, and ultimately overwhelm opponents. The deck does have some weaknesses as any precon does, but with some upgrades you can have a powerful deck.
The intention is a swarm and buff deck style with the Halflings.
Critical Creatures
The engine of the deck are the Halflings. Cards like Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Samwise Gamgee are at the forefront of building synergy around the strategy. These two create the most impactful presence in the strategy. Other Halflings like *Peregrin Took* also help generate more value from Food tokens and further boost synergy.
Enchantments and Artifacts that Empower
Peregrin Took is an incredible source of Food creation, so keeping him on the battlefield is imperative to running the deck effectively. Oliphaunt is also a strong source of attack power, giving the creatures trample and power boosts when sacrificing Food tokens. Both of these cards give the deck reach and help it create synergy with the Halflings that are the backbone of the strategy.
Spells that Stir the Pot
Second Breakfast is a card that stands out among the crowd, helping to trigger life gain and create Food tokens while also pumping up Halfling creatures. Feasting Hobbit also contributes to pumping up all creatures on the battlefield and creates a win-win scenario for the strategy to build up and overwhelm opponents.
Analyzing the Land Base
The land base is solid for the start, but there is always room for upgrades to ensure that your mana is consistent and flowing smoothly to allow your cards to be played.
Assessing Strengths and Vulnerabilities
The Food and Fellowship deck excels at generating incremental advantage. It’s good at grinding out value through Food tokens, gaining life to stay alive, and eventually overwhelming opponents with a swarm of Halflings. However, the deck can be vulnerable to board wipes, which can set it back significantly. The mana fixing can also be improved, and the deck sometimes lacks a clear, decisive way to close out the game against more controlling or powerful decks. It tends to lean more into a creature based win con, which could be easily removed.
Commanders: Frodo and Samwise (and the Possibility of Others)
The stars of the show are undoubtedly Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Samwise Gamgee, the legendary pair whose bond and culinary creations define the spirit of the Shire. However, there’s room for experimentation with other commanders in the deck.
Frodo, the Courageous Halfling
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit is the face commander. As a commander, his card draw ability can get out of hand quickly. With the right build and setup, you can get a free card every turn. Since his power and toughness are so low, he isn’t much of a threat on the battlefield, but his passive card draw helps to trigger more opportunities. When the food tokens go in the graveyard, he can also trigger a ring tempt. This can benefit the deck and create a formidable strategy for the deck overall.
Samwise, the Supportive Chef
Samwise Gamgee, a card that brings forth synergy and value, can bring a lot to the strategy. Sacrificing a Food and bringing back a creature creates recursion, and recursion is a very powerful tool to have in the Commander format. With this tool in the toolbox, the deck is very formidable. Sacrificing tokens to bring back creatures allows the engine to run and bring even more Halflings and synergizing creatures to the battlefield. He also gives the opportunity to have a second chance at Halflings that generate food tokens.
Potential Alternative Commanders
While Frodo and Samwise are excellent choices, Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant can be fun to play as a commander. He also plays to the theme of gaining life and plays in the same synergy as the strategy of the precon deck. With this card as a commander, it is possible to still have the Food and Fellowship theme that the precon brings, but with an alternative playstyle.
Upgrading the Food and Fellowship Deck: A Culinary Transformation
Upgrading any Commander precon is about refining the existing strengths while patching up the weaknesses. For Food and Fellowship, this means enhancing the Food-generation engine, amplifying lifegain synergies, adding more resilience, and including more potent ways to close out games.
Enhancing Food Production
A key upgrade path is to increase the amount of Food tokens you can generate. Cards like Academy Manufacture turn every Food token into a Treasure and a Clue, generating even more value. Another key card to add would be Tivit, Seller of Secrets, turning every Treasure into a draw effect. Another option could be Gyome, Master Chef, which creates Food tokens on other creatures entering the battlefield.
Amplifying Lifegain Synergies
Since the deck already gains a lot of life, we can add cards that reward that life gain. Aetherflux Reservoir is a classic lifegain win condition, allowing you to blast opponents for massive damage. Felidar Sovereign is another win condition that allows you to win the game if you are above forty life.
Strengthening the Halfling Army
To pump out the Halfling tribe, adding cards that help create more Halflings would be an excellent choice. Cards such as Kithkin Harbringer give the deck consistency, since you can go search for a Halfling straight to your hand. Elvish Piper also brings a Halfling directly to the battlefield, which is more efficient than the card going to the hand.
Ramping to Success
To ensure you cast spells, adding ramp cards to the deck will enhance the consistency. Cultivate will fetch a land and put it into the battlefield, while also grabbing one to put into your hand. Farseek fetches a land to bring to the battlefield and is a very affordable and budget friendly card.
Removal and Control
Adding removal and control to the deck is also important, so that you are able to deal with opponents that may have a better strategy or a card that is ruining your strategy. Swords to Plowshares exiles a creature. Path to Exile is another option. Generous Gift allows the deck to destroy a permanent, which gives you value in destroying any permanent you want.
Card Draw to Keep the Engine Running
Card draw is important to any Commander deck to consistently draw into value pieces and creatures. Harmonize is a card that allows you to draw three cards, which allows you to consistently get cards to play. Beast Whisperer draws a card when you play a creature, so it plays to the strategy of playing a lot of creatures.
Finishing the Feast: Adding Win Conditions
The original deck can sometimes struggle to finish games. Adding a more definitive win condition helps. Craterhoof Behemoth can swing in for a massive amount of damage to all creatures on the field. Approach of the Second Sun also allows you to win the game if you cast it twice.
Gameplay Tips and Strategies: A Hobbit’s Guide to Victory
Mastering the Food and Fellowship deck requires understanding its various stages of gameplay.
Early Game: Setting the Table
In the early game, focus on establishing a board presence. Play Halflings to start generating Food tokens. Focus on cards that ramp, so you’re able to play bigger cards later in the game.
Mid Game: Savoring the Flavor
The mid-game is where the deck shines. The deck shines at playing multiple creatures and churning out Food tokens to gain value. Focus on generating value from creatures that create Food tokens and creatures that benefit from the tokens.
Late Game: The Grand Finale
In the late game, it is important to find a way to close out the game. Overwhelm with the Halfling army or go for a card like Aetherflux Resevoir to blast everyone for a large amount of life gain.
Combos and Synergies
Peregrin Took with Samwise Gamgee is an excellent play to trigger the engine and have even more cards to be played. Academy Manufacture with anything generating Food turns the token into a Treasure, Clue, and Food token.
Watch out for…
Board wipes can be devastating to the deck. Watch out for opponents that may have a card that can clear out creatures on the field.
Conclusion: A Taste of Victory
The Food and Fellowship Commander precon deck is a delightful introduction to the world of Lord of the Rings and the Commander format. It offers a flavorful and engaging play experience centered around Food tokens, lifegain, and the beloved Halflings. While the original deck has its strengths, upgrading it with strategic card choices can transform it into a potent and personalized Commander powerhouse. By enhancing the Food-generation engine, amplifying lifegain synergies, and adding more decisive win conditions, you can create a Food and Fellowship deck that’s ready to feast on victory. So, gather your friends, brew up some delicious strategies, and prepare for a grand adventure in Middle-earth! What are your favorite cards to include in the Food and Fellowship deck?
