The Lord of the Rings

Getting Started
Starter Decks and Sets for The Lord of the Rings™ TCG

We provide two different kinds of starter products to begin your Lord of the Rings TCG adventures: starter decks and deluxe starter sets. There's been a lot of discussion and questions about these products, so this article attempts to set everybody straight on all the details. You'll also find below complete cardlists for all three kinds of starter products.

Starter Decks

There are two different starter deck products, one featuring Aragorn, and one featuring Gandalf. You'll see a cool picture of each special guy on the front of the tuck box for his starter. The display box comes with 6 of each kind.

Each starter deck has a fixed component of 60 cards, including:

1 Frodo companion card,
1 The One Ring card,
9 site cards,
2 copies of a special premium card, and
47 mixed common and uncommon cards.

The special premium cards, found only in these starter deck products, feature the main companion for that starter (Aragorn or Gandalf). In the Aragorn starter, you'll find a Shadow strategy based on the damage-dealing Uruk-hai of the Isengard culture. The Gandalf starter uses Orcs from the Moria culture and features archery tactics.

Along with a fixed component (which is made up of different cards for the two different decks), we provide 3 random rare cards that are like the rares you might get in a regular booster pack. That's designed to help sealed deck play be a lot more interesting.

There's a rulebook in the box too, which tells you how to play a shortened, 7-site game with your starter deck. That's because the regular 9-site game uses a draw deck of 60 cards, and your starter deck has a draw deck of only about 52 cards (Frodo, The One Ring, and the 9 sites aren't part of your draw deck). We provide a complete set of 9 sites so that when you get some more cards to make a standard 60-card draw deck, you'll be ready for your first tournament.

Deluxe Starter Set

We also offer a deluxe starter set product that features the four Hobbits and Nazgûl from the Ringwraith Shadow culture. This deck also has its own 60-card fixed component (that's three different 60-card fixed decks total). All the cards in this deck are also available in regular booster packs (there are no premium cards in the deluxe starter).

This set comes in a handy, oversized storage box that holds your cards with or without protective sleeves (like we've used for previous sealed deck products). There are three different kinds of boxes, each featuring a special cultural look. The box has a sleeve around it, but you can pick which culture you want before purchase. You'll also find a standard 11-card booster pack in the box, bringing the total number of cards in this product to 74.

An illustrated collector's card list is in the box as well, along with 15 black glass tokens to keep track of the twilight pool total, 6 different-colored tokens for your fellowship's player marker on the adventure path, and 10 red tokens for all the wounds you'll take on your adventure. Hey, nobody said this was going to be easy!

I hope that covers all the questions you might have about starter products for The Lord of the Rings TCG. If you have any more questions, please let me know. We want to get the word out everywhere about this terrific game to every Tolkien fan and TCG player!

Gandalf Starter Deck Cardlist
(three random rare cards not listed here)
Ring-bearer (2 cards)
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
Adventure Deck (9 cards)
Westfarthing
Ettenmoors
Council Courtyard
Mithril Mine
The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
Dimrill Dale
Anduin Confluence
Shores of Nen Hithoel
Emyn Muil
Free Peoples (24 cards)
Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor
Boromir, Son of Denethor
Bounder x3
Defiance x2
Gandalf, The Grey Wizard (starting) x2
Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor x2
Hobbit Sword
Intimidate x3
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood x2
Mysterious Wizard x3
Noble Intentions
Their Halls of Stone x2
Treachery Deeper Than You Know
Shadow (25 cards)
Drums in the Deep x3
Goblin Marksman x3
Goblin Runner x3
Goblin Scavengers x3
Goblin Scimitar x3
Goblin Sneak x3
Host of Thousands x2
Moria Scout x3
They Are Coming x2

Aragorn Starter Deck Cardlist
(three random rare cards not listed here)
Ring-bearer (2 cards)
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
Adventure Deck (9 cards)
East Road
Bree Gate
Rivendell Terrace
Moria Lake
The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
Galadriel's Glade
Silverlode Banks
Pillars of the Kings
Slopes of Amon Hen
Free Peoples (25 cards)
Aragorn, King in Exile (starting) x2
Athelas x2
Boromir, Son of Denethor x2
Coat of Mail
Eregion's Trails x2
Great Shield x2
Hobbit Sword x2
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood
No Stranger to the Shadows x2
Pathfinder x2
Sam, Son of Hamfast
Swordarm of the White Tower x3
Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom x3
Shadow (24 cards)
Bred for Battle x3
Saruman's Ambition x2
Their Arrows Enrage x2
Uruk Rager x3
Uruk Savage x3
Uruk Shaman x3
Uruk Slayer x2
Uruk Soldier x2
Uruk-hai Armory x2
Uruk-hai Raiding Party x2

Deluxe Starter Set Cardlist
(three random rare cards and 11-card booster pack not listed here)
Ring-bearer (2 cards)
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
Adventure Deck (9 cards)
East Road
Bree Streets
Ford of Bruinen
Moria Stairway
The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
Lothlórien Woods
Anduin Wilderland
Anduin Banks
Emyn Muil
Free Peoples (25 cards)
Boromir, Son of Denethor x2
Bounder x3
Halfling Deftness x2
Hobbit Appetite x2
Hobbit Intuition x3
Hobbit Party Guest x2
Hobbit Stealth x3
Hobbit Sword x3
Merry From O'er The Brandywine (starting)
Pippin, Friend to Frodo (starting)
Sam, Son of Hamfast (starting)
Stout and Sturdy x2
Shadow (24 cards)
Black Breath x2
Blade Tip x2
Forces of Mordor x2
Morgul Skulker x3
Orc Cheiftan x3
Orc Scimitar x3
Orc Soldier x3
Sword of Minas Morgul x2
Úlairë Lemanya, Lieutenant of Morgul x2
Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur x2

October 23, 2001

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Getting Started Starter Decks and Sets for The Lord of the Rings™ TCG

Getting Started
Starter Decks and Sets for The Lord of the Rings™ TCG