Magic: The Gathering's newest Universes Beyond project, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, is packed with fantastic legendary creatures that bring Tolkien's most famous heroes and villains to life in style -- including Sauron himself. Between the main set and the pre-constructed Commander decks, Tales of Middle-earth adds four Sauron cards, and Sauron, the Dark Lord is easily the most striking.

Sauron, the Dark Lord is the definitive version of this iconic legendary character in Tales of Middle-earth. While the Rakdos-colored Sauron, the Lidless Eye has strong and straightforward effects, Sauron, the Dark Lord is even mightier, and currently has an impressive $30 pre-order price tag. Sauron is a powerful asset to many MTG decks, but only with the right tools.

RELATED: LotR Galadriel Cards Stun Fans With Gorgeous Art But Lackluster Abilities

Sauron, the Dark Lord Is Flavorful, Fun and Effective

MTG_Tales_of_Middle-earth_Sauron_the_Dark_Lord_card

Sauron, the Dark Lord is a huge 7/6 creature that can easily face other legends from Tales of Middle-earth in combat. Fittingly, this Grixis-colored Avatar Horror is even more effective as a calculating villain who sits back and works his magic while his Orc armies do the fighting. This matches the character's lore, especially from the movies, where Sauron fought face-to-face against the Elves, but also commanded Mordor and its armies from afar.

Sauron, the Dark Lord has potent abilities for each of its colors, making it a strong and flavorful card on the whole. Its ward ability keeps Sauron safe, demanding that opponents sacrifice a legendary artifact or creature to target him with spells or abilities -- the best iteration of ward that MTG has ever seen. On the offense, Sauron slowly but surely builds up an Orc army as the opponent casts spells, making opponents feel like they're sealing their own doom just by playing cards.

In keeping with Tales of Middle-earth's remarkable flavor and gameplay effects, the The One Ring's emblem tempts the player each time Sauron's army tokens deal damage to a player, which is a serious payoff for any deck. The Ring's temptation also allows Sauron's controller to discard their entire hand to draw four new cards, an elegant combination Sauron's three colors. Gaining wisdom is blue, discarding to draw is red, and seeking power at any cost with The One Ring is black, making Sauron, the Dark Lord a true Grixis supervillain.

RELATED: MTG's Doctor Who Set Makes Companions Fun and Powerful Again

How to Use MTG's Sauron, the Dark Lord Effectively

MTG LotR Tales of Middle-earth Black Amass Orcs Cards

MTG players can clearly see how powerful and flavorful Sauron, the Dark Lord is, with its huge body and diverse Grixis-colored effects. Now, MTG players need the right deck for this incredible card in formats like casual "kitchen table" MTG and the increasingly popular Commander format.

Given Sauron's reliance on Tales of Middle-earth's unique gameplay design, it's clear that Sauron, the Dark Lord is a build-around card that won't slot into existing Grixis decks too easily. Sauron, the Dark Lord is a "parasitic" card that only shines in the context of a certain set or block, so players should build their decks accordingly, with a strong emphasis on Tales of Middle-earth cards at the core.

Related: LotR: Tales of Middle-earth's Aragorn, the Uniter Is Interesting, but Does It Work?

In a 60-card "kitchen table" deck or a 100-card Commander deck, Sauron players can use generic on-color cards for effects like removal, card draw and counterspell, with strong creatures and support spells from Tales of Middle-earth to make the most of Sauron, the Dark Lord's effects. Sauron can Amass Orcs on his own, but an ideal deck will also have other Amass Orcs effects to speed up the process while granting bonuses like deathtouch to the Orc Army.

The deck should also include other cards with The Ring's temptation, so the player can maximize the emblem's power right away without relying too much on Sauron's own triggered ability. All this combined with flavorful cards like the legendary Mount Doom make Sauron, the Dark Lord a force to be reckoned with.