DECIPHER.com > Lord of the Rings > Expansions > Reflections

Reflecting Back and Looking Forward

by Brad DeFruiter
Decipher Game Designer

It is an exciting time. When a new set comes out, more often than not, players look at the new cards and figure out how those cards will fit into their existing decks or how those cards will help a certain deck type. It is an exciting time for everyone.

Trading card games can be great fun because you can use different strategies depending on what you want to do. In fact, multiple players can be trying to do the same thing with their deck and describe their deck the exact same way but in the end have very different decks. There are a large variety of strategies to try out and play in The Lord of the Rings TCG.

To keep the game fresh and exciting the designers have to stir up the pot a bit every so often. Offer something different and appealing and help gently push players into trying new things. This is when a game becomes truly fun.

Reflections offers many truly fun things to many different players. Big cards, combo cards, meta-game cards, fun cards, old card for new players, and a peek into the future to see what The Lord of the Rings can offer everyone.

The future looks bright when we see that gameplay can be opened up with images and story from the books such as the Ithil Stone and the Red Arrow. We get a peek at a new value that will show up on companions in the Shadow block. And hints about future companions can be found in cards' game text. These peeks into the future of the game should be exciting for all players but more so for those who doubt the future of the game, because we have great plans for it.

So, get ready to reflect back on some great cards from the past and look forward to an exciting game that is just going to get better in the next year starting with Reflections.

Get ready for:
Elven artifacts and gifts.
A High King, a Mariner, and Dwarven Lords.
Saplings, Scrolls, and Seeing Stones.
Hosts, savages, and the slippery.
Glowing Wizards, thirsty Hobbits, and horns to blow.
Blades, spears, and knives.
Trees, libraries, and burning villages.
Six new ring-bearers.
Rings to strengthen, rings to corrupt, and a Ring to bind them all.

And speaking of the Ring to bind them all, here is a text spoiler to whet the appetite:

•The One Ring
The Binding Ring
Strength +1. Vitality +1.
Fellowship: Add 2 burdens to play a ring from your draw deck.
Maneuver: Exert bearer to wear The One Ring until the regroup phase.
While wearing The One Ring, each time the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, add a burden instead.

Over the next few weeks we will be spoiling cards and giving inside looks at how the most dynamic set of Lord of the Rings cards ever made came about and what they can mean to you and the way that you play the game.

It is an exciting time.

March 25, 2004