Barad-dur (LTR)

Barad-dûr
Card Type: Legendary Land
Card Text:
Barad-dûr enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a legendary creature.
T: Add B.
{X}{X}B, T: Amass Orcs X. Activate only if a creature died this turn.
Flavour Text:
"Those who pass the gates of Barad-dûr do not return."
-Gandalf
Artist: Sean Vo

Card Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Strengths:

  • Can enter the battlefield untapped if you control a legendary creature, providing faster mana.
  • Provides an additional layer of board development with its ability to create Orc tokens.
  • Fits well in decks that have a death theme or focus on tribal synergies.

• Weaknesses:

  • Requires a creature to have died to activate its amass ability, making it conditional.
  • Slightly expensive for generating tokens due to the {X}{X}B cost.

Deck Utility:

• Tribal Decks: Particularly strong in Orc-based tribal decks.

• Sacrifice Decks: Can be a great fit in decks that focus on sacrificing creatures for value.

• Legendary Decks: Synergizes well in decks that feature a lot of legendary creatures, as it can enter the battlefield untapped.

Interactions and Combos:

• Death Triggers: Cards that have effects when a creature dies can synergize well with this land.

• Mana Ramp: The {X}{X}B cost can be exploited more effectively in decks that focus on generating lots of mana.

• Token Strategies: This land can fit well into decks that aim to overwhelm opponents with tokens.

Flavor and Lore:
Barad-dûr, Sauron's dark fortress in Mordor, is accurately represented here as a place of dread and death. The ability to amass Orcs and the stipulation of needing a death to activate it are both deeply thematic.

Overall Impression:
Barad-dûr is a versatile land that can fit into multiple deck archetypes. Its utility is maximized in decks that can fulfill its conditions easily, but even outside of those decks, it can still provide a consistent source of black mana. The extra layer of token generation makes it a potentially impactful card in the right setting.