Tales of Middle-Earth is Magic: The Gathering's latest Universes Beyond expansion set, and it's filled with fan-favorite characters from Tolkien's fantasy saga. Among Tales of Middle-earth's legendary creatures is one of the wisest and fairest elves ever to walk Middle-earth -- none other than Galadriel, the Lady of the woods of Lothlórien.

Galadriel is without a doubt one of the most beloved characters not only in The Lord of the Rings but across all fantasy. Wizards of the Coast couldn't have released a LotR set without one of the original ring bearers, so Galadriel is the perfect inclusion. Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond gives the Lady of Lórien a striking new look that's visually stunning and fits the lore perfectly, but unfortunately, the cards might not hold up in-game.

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Galadriel, Gift Giver Has a Versatile but Underwhelming "Enter the Battlefield" Effect

MTG Tales of Middle-earth Galadriel, Gift-Giver card

Tales of Middle-earth, like most expansions released in recent years, releases with Boosters and Bundles as well as pre-constructed Commander decks. Galadriel, Gift Giver is the "Set" version of the Lady of the Woods that players can find in Booster packs. Even though her stats are quite powerful, with four power and four toughness, her legendary status and five mana investment led players to expect a strong "enter the battlefield" (ETB) effect as well. Unfortunately though, Galadriel, Gift Giver's ETB ability is rather lackluster. She makes the player choose between giving a single +1/+1 counter to another creature, creating a Food Token, or creating a Treasure Token.

It's a weak ability overall, but Galadriel, Gift Giver is quite versatile and fits into many different strategies. Galadriel could be a viable inclusion in Bant-colored Blink decks in Commander, where players might be able to trigger her ability multiple times. Her ability also triggers on attack, suggesting she could be suitable for more aggressive strategies. However, on the whole, Galadriel, Gift Giver is too slow and clunky for Modern, and not impactful enough for Commander -- so the card isn't quite as enchanting as fans previously hoped.

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Galadriel, Elven-Queen Gives Elf Decks an Interesting Political Spin in Commander Games

MTG Tales of Middle-earth Galadriel, Elven-Queen card

Galadriel, Elven-Queen is included in one of Tales of Middle-earth's pre-constructed Commander decks, and she has a unique ability specific to Commander. MTG's Commander format is inherently political, as games can involve more than two players. Galadriel, Elven-Queen offers an interesting new approach to playing elves, a tribe that already has plenty of support in Commander. Her ability, Will of the Council, lets each player vote before combat for either dominion or guidance. Dominion is the favorable outcome, as it lets the player put a +1/+1 counter on their Ringbearer. On top of this, the Ring tempts you, an interesting new mechanic from Tales of Middle-earth that flavorfully portrays The One Ring's power.

Unfortunately though, opponents will most likely vote in favor of Guidance, which only lets the player draw a card. Drawing a card is never bad in Commander, but this ability clearly underperforms compared to other commanders in Simic colors. To make ample use of Galadriel, Elven Queen, players need to get creative during deck-building and with in-game politics. Galadriel's ability motivates players to take a more diplomatic approach to the game. It's an interesting design choice that doesn't seem too effective on paper, but hopefully it will be fun to play in-game.

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Galadriel's Beautiful Artwork Contrasts With Her Lackluster Mechanics

MTG LotR Tales of Middle-earth Forest Land Cards

According to Tolkien's work, Galadriel is one of the most intelligent and powerful elves on Middle-earth. The art on both Galadriel cards encapsulates her essence and does justice to the character in both prints. Galadriel, Gift Giver is somewhat reminiscent of Cate Blanchett's interpretation of the legendary elf queen in Peter Jackson's trilogy, particularly when she gives The Fellowship their iconic parting gifts. In comparison, Galadriel Elven-Queen is much closer to the Galadriel of the lore and books -- a wise and beautiful queen.

Ultimately, players will have to playtest the cards themselves to see if Galadriel can keep up with today's power levels in Modern and Commander, but it doesn't look likely. Additionally, the jury is still out on whether Tales of Middle-earth's One Ring Emblem will have a meaningful impact on the game. Galadriel's mechanics and abilities, though very flavorful and on-point with the lore, are a huge letdown considering how powerful she is in the world of Tolkien. A queen of Galadriel's stature deserves much more impactful MTG cards.