A First Look at The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify promotional details.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ brings to life the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien and lets you follow the paths of beloved characters in the way only Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond can. Play your favorite moments of the Third Age or turn Middle-earth on its head and surrender to the temptation of the One Ring. It's all in your hands, so prepare to step onto the road—there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to and who you'll meet!

And there's more to Middle-earth than the One Ring. You'll play as beloved characters and visit locations at the heart of the story, from the Shire to Mount Doom. You may be tempted by the Ring along the way (we'll talk more about that mechanic at the debut)—but the gameplay is all about the journey there and back again.

Characters we fell in love with, moments that brought tears to our eyes, and the struggle over the One Ring—we've captured The Lord of the Rings through Magic for you to play and replay.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth features multiple representations of iconic characters—which will be revealed later—to capture the depths of the story and changes. Legal in Modern and Commander (and other Eternal formats) and playable in both Draft and Sealed Deck formats, this set is a love letter to the tale that touched generations and immerses you in Middle-earth itself. The Commander release alongside The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth—which is Eternal legal—carries over that same sentiment and care for the world and words of Tolkien.

The One Ring to Rule Them All

The most iconic element of The Lord of the Rings is the One Ring itself: the treasure—and temptation—of Sauron's power. While other Rings of Power were forged for Elven-kings, Dwarf-lords, and the Mortal Men of Middle-earth, there is only one that matters most: the One Ring to rule them all.

And so, as part of an extraordinarily rare and exciting promotion only for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, we made one such card.

*Digital render. Not actual card.

A Ring-bearer has found the 1:1 serialized The One Ring! You won’t find this exceptional card in packs anymore:

As part of the celebration of this legendary set, we created a card befitting The One Ring—a 1:1 serialized traditional foil version of The One Ring card printed in the Black Speech of Sauron using Tengwar letterforms. Though the "Precious" 1:1 serialized The One Ring has been found, the adventure with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth continues!

But what about those Rings of Power?

Available in all languages of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Boosters are versions of Sol Ring themed after the Rings of Power crafted for the Elves, Dwarves, and Mortal Men of Middle-earth. These feature the language of the High Elves, Quenya, in Tengwar letterforms. A limited number of both double rainbow foil and non-foil versions can be found, though double rainbow foil versions will be serialized with different total counts:

• 300 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Elven)
• 700 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Dwarven)
• 900 Serialized double rainbow foil Sol Ring (Human)
• 3,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Elven)
• 7,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Dwarven)
• 9,000 Non-foil Sol Ring (Human)

The One Ring one-of-one promotional card will only be found in an English-language Collector Booster, while the Rings of Power–themed Sol Rings can be found in all languages of Collector Boosters.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Details

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Set Code: LTR

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Set Code: LTC

Tabletop Legality (New-to-Magic Cards):

• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR): Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC): Legacy, Vintage, and Commander

MTG Arena Legality:

• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR): Alchemy and Historic
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC): Not available on MTG Arena

Website: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Important Dates

• MagicCon: Minneapolis: May 5–7
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Debut and Previews Begin: May 30
• Card Previews: May 30–June 9
• Commander Previews and Decklists: June 8
• Complete Card Image Galleries: June 9
• In-Store Prerelease Events: June 16–22
• MTG Arena Digital Release: June 20
• Global Tabletop Release: June 23
• Launch Party Events: June 23–25
• Bundle: Gift Edition Release: July 7
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth In-Store Celebration Events: July 7–9
• Commander Parties: July 21–23
• MagicCon: Barcelona featuring The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth: July 28–30
• Store Championships: August 5–13
• Holiday Release: November 3

You can set out with the Fellowship through many paths this June and July, including:

• Starter Kit
• Jumpstart Boosters
• Prerelease Pack
• Set Boosters
• Draft Boosters
• Collector Boosters
• Commander Decks
• Bundle
• Bundle: Gift Edition

Realms and Relics Box Toppers and Buy-a-Box Promo

Each The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft, Set, and Collector Booster display includes a traditional foil Realms and Relics Box Topper card, a powerful and exciting Magic card with artwork and treatment at home with The Lord of the Rings.

There are 30 total Realms and Relics Box Topper cards, each either a borderless mythic rare land or artifact card featuring the set code (LTC) and set symbol of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander cards. These Realms and Relics cards also appear in Collector Boosters, both in non-foil and surge foil!

Plus, there's one more bonus artifact to show off today: the Buy-a-Box promo for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth! With the preorder or purchase of a Draft, Set, Collector, or Jumpstart Booster display from your local WPN game store (while supplies last), you may also receive a thematic version of Trailblazer's Boots.

Check your local WPN game store for more details on preordering The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and receiving this card!

Starter Kit

Featuring two 60-card decks with everything you need to learn and play Magic: The Gathering, the Starter Kit also includes ten more new-to-Magic cards (five in each deck) headlined by a traditional foil mythic rare card for each deck—perfect for anyone starting a Magic journey with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. The new-to-Magic cards in the Starter Kit are Modern legal, and each card in both decks features artwork celebrating The Lord of the Rings.

Bundle

With eight Set Boosters, a themed storage box, 40 basic lands (20 traditional foil and 20 non-foil), and an oversized spindown life counter, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Bundle makes a great gift for any fan of Magic or The Lord of the Rings. And these Bundles include an exclusive set of variants that show off one of the beautiful features of the set: borderless scene cards.

These four variant scene cards are included only in the Bundle and Bundle: Gift Edition (plus non-foil versions in Collector Boosters) and depict the pivotal moment before the One Ring was destroyed. You can see this scene in a two-by-two card grid, but other scenes exist in a range of grids all the way up to six by three cards—worthy of showing an epic scene!

There are several more scenes in the set you can assemble with cards found in Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters.

Prerelease Pack

Your local game store has everything you need from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Be among the first to experience the adventure and gameplay at a Prerelease event, taking place June 16–22. Build your sealed deck with six Draft Boosters and two foil-stamped promo cards: a rare or mythic rare from the set plus a beautiful borderless scene card to assemble a scene available only through Prerelease Packs and Collector Boosters! Prerelease Packs also include a spindown life counter (sometimes as a special version we'll show you later). It's just what you need to form your Fellowship and challenge fast friends locally.

Commander Decks

The four Commander Decks for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth add even more characters and flavor to the experience. Each deck features 20 new-to-Magic cards (including two mythic rares) legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. Plus, you'll find a Collector Booster Sample Pack, and every card in each deck has artwork set in Middle-earth. These flavorful decks are ready-to-play adventures featuring familiar characters working together for the fate of Middle-earth.

These decks celebrate the factions within The Lord of the Rings in their own ways.

Collector Booster Display

For fans who want it all, Collector Boosters are the easiest way to add the coolest cards to your decks and collection. These boosters include multiple rare or mythic rare cards and feature beautiful Booster Fun treatments (learn more about those below!) and foil cards, plus your opportunity to find amazing collectible cards found only in Collector Boosters. And to top it off, each Collector Booster display also includes a Realms and Relics Box Topper card!

A First Look at Booster Fun

The One Ring and Rings of Power aren't the only ways we're sharing more beautiful artwork and storytelling for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.

These full-art map basic lands are evocative of the incredible work of Pauline Baynes who illustrated one of the first maps of Middle-earth. Each full-art map basic land shows off a different location featured in the stories of The Lord of the Rings and can be found in Draft, Set, Jumpstart, and Collector Boosters—and in those Collector Boosters, it will be a traditional foil card!

The showcase Ring treatment highlights 30 legendary cards in epic moments of the story, adding a stylish look for the characters you love. Cards with the Ring treatment can be found in Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters.

Borderless lands also show up in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, depicting key locations of Middle-earth in full-art beauty. These borderless lands can be found in Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters.

Extended-art cards return in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. These versions of rare and mythic rare cards show off even more of their beautiful artwork.

And, of course, there's another kind of treatment that offers an art experience you must see to believe: borderless scene cards.

These borderless scenes cards feature artwork that stretches across multiple cards seamlessly, showing a crucial moment from The Lord of the Rings.

Scenes range from two by two cards, as seen above, up to six by three cards—an epic 18 cards to show an epic scene at that scale—and there are seven total scenes available in June, five of which appear in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft and Set Boosters, with all seven appearing in Collector Boosters. (The scene above is available in Bundle and Bundle: Gift Edition as well as Collector Boosters and gives you a taste of what to expect.)

Then in November, four additional scenes (each three by two cards) arrive to add to the incredible sights found in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. (We'll share these with you later this year.)

Jumpstart Booster Display

Already know how to play Magic? Jumpstart Boosters with five unique themes allow players to hop into The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth for quick, fun, and easy-to-start games. Like recent Jumpstart Booster releases, each of the five themes also includes a rare card designed for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Jumpstart. (These five rare Jumpstart cards can also be found in Collector Boosters.)

Set Booster Display

See more of what The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth offers and expand your Magic collection with Set Boosters: a fun-to-open booster featuring an opportunity to open multiple rare or mythic rare cards, a chance at flavorful reprints of Magic's past with cards from The List, and an art card in every booster. Plus, each Set Booster display comes with a Realms and Relics Box Topper card!

Draft Booster Display

Ready to draft with friends? Need more sealed-deck pools to play with? Draft Boosters are the tried-and-true way to play Magic just by opening new cards. Even better, each Draft Booster display comes with a Realms and Relics Box Topper card!

Bundle: Gift Edition

Arriving July 7, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Bundle: Gift Edition includes everything you'd find in the regular Bundle with some fantastic twists: a themed storage box featuring different (equally epic) artwork, a variant color of the oversized spindown life counter, and a Collector Booster for even more cards to discover. It's the supercharged version of an amazing gift for yourself and friends!

Holiday Releases Await

In addition to our June 23 release, we have a little more in store for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth this year. Arriving November 3, some exciting additions that share more from The Lord of Rings include:

• Scene Boxes—discover beautiful traditional foil borderless scene cards depicting new moments from The Lord of the Rings.
• Collector Booster: Special Edition—packed with a new treatment and a special edition for longtime Magic and The Lord of the Rings fans.
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Jumpstart Volume 2—adding more themes to mix and match within The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.

November's releases for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth build on the excitement of the set just in time for the holidays!

Magic Celebration Event for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

July 7–9, grab your companions and head over to your nearest participating WPN game store for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Magic Celebration event! New and veteran players alike can dive right into the story of The Lord of the Rings to earn promo cards (from WPN event Promo Packs or Bring-a-Friend promos, where available), take a souvenir photo, receive a bonus MTG Arena code (where available) direct to their account, and even take home special The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth–themed promotional six-sided dice.

For fans new and old across Magic and The Lord of the Rings, this is a chance to celebrate with an unforgettable event for an amazing set. We'll show you more about the Magic Celebration event later this year.

Secret Lair Joins the Fellowship

Not all who wander are lost, like the awesome cards celebrating The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth that have found their way into a Secret Lair drop releasing later this year. Stay tuned for when and what to expect from this incredible collaboration soon.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth on MTG Arena

In addition to an epic tabletop release, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth arrives on MTG Arena June 20! From the One Ring and the temptation it offers to the story beats and characters we love in The Lord of the Rings, this release brings the same tabletop-Magic-meets-Middle-earth adventure to your PC and mobile phone.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be legal in both Alchemy and Historic, adding fresh gameplay and new cards to explore for MTG Arena players.