Sauron, the Dark Lord
Legendary Creature — Avatar HorrorPower and toughness7/6
Card text
Ward—Sacrifice a legendary artifact or legendary creature.
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, amass Orcs 1.
Whenever an Army you control deals combat damage to a player, the Ring tempts you.
Whenever the Ring tempts you, you may discard your hand. If you do, draw four cards.
Showing The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth#224
Price
18.80 $
Foil 29.99 $
27 printings · up to 596.40 $
Daily estimate from Scryfall, not a shop quote.
Sauron, the Dark Lord rulings
Some cards refer to the "amassed Army." That means the Army creature you chose to receive counters, even if no counters were placed on it for some reason.
If you don't control an Army, the Goblin Army token you create enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature before receiving counters. Any abilities that trigger when a creature with a certain power enters the battlefield, such as that of Mentor of the Meek, will see the token enter as a 0/0 creature before it gets +1/+1 counters.
Some spells and abilities that amass Goblins may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't amass Goblins.
To amass Goblins N, if you don't control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black Goblin Army creature token. Then you choose an Army creature you control and put N +1/+1 counters on it. If that Army isn't already a Goblin, it becomes a Goblin in addition to its other types.
Amass Orcs works the same way, except you create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token if you don't control an Army. And if the Army creature you chose isn't already an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types. By combining cards with amass Orcs and amass Goblins, you can end up with a Goblin Orc Army.
In the rare case that you control multiple Army creatures (perhaps because you control a creature with changeling) while you amass Goblins, you choose which of your Army creatures to put the +1/+1 counters on. If that creature isn't a Goblin, it becomes a Goblin in addition to its other types.
Some spells and abilities that amass Orcs may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. You won't amass Orcs.
As the Ring tempts you, you get an emblem named The Ring if you don't have one. Then your emblem gains its next ability and you choose a creature you control to become (or remain) your Ring-bearer.
In the rare case that you control multiple Army creatures (perhaps because you played a creature with changeling) while you amass Orcs, you choose which of your Army creatures to put the +1/+1 counters on. If that creature isn't an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.
The Ring gains its abilities in order from top to bottom. Once it gains an ability, it has that ability for the rest of the game.
Some cards refer to the "amassed Army." That means the Army creature you chose to receive counters, even if no counters were placed on it for some reason.
Amass abilities are now written as "amass [subtype] N." Previous cards with amass have received errata to say "amass Zombies N."
To amass Orcs N, if you don't control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token. Then you choose an Army creature you control and put N +1/+1 counters on it. If that Army isn't already an Orc, it becomes an Orc in addition to its other types.
Some spells and abilities that cause the Ring to tempt you may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. The Ring won't tempt you.
If you don't control an Army, the Orc Army token you create enters the battlefield as a 0/0 creature before receiving counters. Any abilities that trigger when a creature with a certain power enters the battlefield, such as that of Mentor of the Meek, will see the token enter as a 0/0 creature before it gets +1/+1 counters.
Amass Zombies works the same way, except you create a 0/0 black Zombie Army creature token if you don't control an Army. If the Army creature you chose isn't already a Zombie, it becomes a Zombie in addition to its other types. By combining cards with amass Orcs and amass Zombies, you can end up with an Orc Zombie Army.
The Ring can tempt you even if you don't control a creature. In this case, abilities that trigger "whenever the Ring tempts you" will still trigger.
Each player can have only one emblem named The Ring and only one Ring-bearer at a time.
Each time the Ring tempts you, you must choose a creature if you control one.
If the creature you choose as your Ring-bearer was already your Ring-bearer, that still counts as choosing that creature as your Ring-bearer for the purpose of abilities that trigger "whenever you choose a creature as your Ring-bearer" or abilities that care about which creature was chosen as your Ring-bearer.
Sauron, the Dark Lord keyword rules
Amass Rule 701.44
To amass [subtype] N means “If you don’t control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black [subtype] Army creature token. Choose an Army creature you control. Put N +1/+1 counters on that creature. If it isn’t a [subtype], it becomes a [subtype] in addition to its other types.”
A player “amassed” after the process described in rule is complete, even if some or all of those actions were impossible.
The phrases “the Army you amassed” and “the amassed Army” refer to the creature you chose, whether or not it received counters.
Some older cards were printed with amass N without including a subtype. Those cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference so that they read “amass Zombies N.”
Ward Rule 702.21
Ward is a triggered ability. Ward [cost] means “Whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless that player pays [cost].”
Some ward abilities include an X in their cost and state what X is equal to. This value is determined at the time the ability resolves, not locked in as the ability triggers.
Sauron, the Dark Lord format legality
Constructed
- StandardNot legal
- PioneerNot legal
- ModernLegal
- Future StandardNot legal
Eternal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- PauperNot legal
- PremodernNot legal
- Old SchoolNot legal
- Penny DreadfulLegal
Commander
- CommanderLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
- Pauper CommanderNot legal
- Duel CommanderLegal
- PreDHNot legal
Arena & online
- HistoricLegal
- TimelessLegal
- AlchemyNot legal
- GladiatorLegal
- BrawlLegal
- Standard BrawlNot legal
- Competitive BrawlLegal
Other
- TLRNot legal
All printings of Sauron, the Dark Lord 27
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