The newest Magic: The Gathering crossover will bring the Tolkien mythos through a Universe Beyond set with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
The Middle-earth characters and setting have long been on fans' wishlists. And unlike the previous crossover with The Transformers, the characters and locations in The Lord of the Rings do not feel out of place in MTG’s Dominaria.
Just like the Forgotten Realms from the Dungeons & Dragons crossover, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the Hobbits, and the rest of Middle-earth are right at home with MTG’s Planeswalkers and high sorcery.
What has been revealed so far for the anticipated epic fantasy crossover? Check out the details below.
The crossover between Magic: The Gathering and The Lord of the Rings was made possible by Wizards of the Coast closely working with Middle-earth Enterprises (which is now a subsidiary of Embracer Group). As the tagline for this special crossover set of cards reads:
Journey with familiar favorites on a whole new adventure, there and back again, filled with valor, courage, and second breakfast.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth cards will be under the Universes Beyond sub-set and will not be legal in Standard tournament formats, but are legal in Modern formats. These cards will also have digital versions for Magic Online and Magic: The Gathering – Arena.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be released with Set Boosters, Collector Boosters, and Draft Boosters displays. Plus, Commander Decks, Starter Decks, Jumpstart Booster displays, and prerelease packs. There will also be two Bundles: a Standard Bundle and a Deluxe Gift Bundle.
The Standard Bundle will include eight The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-earth MTG Set Boosters, four Traditional Foil alternate-art cards, 40 Land cards (20 foil and 20 nonfoil), one Spindown life counter, one card storage box, and two reference cards. Meanwhile, the Deluxe Bundle includes everything from the Standard Bundle, as well as one Collector Booster, one exclusive Spindown life counter, and one foil card storage box.
Amazon pre-orders have also been announced. There were complaints with another recent Universes Beyond crossover for Warhammer 40,000. Due to the high demand and limited print run, the Warhammer 40K set has been difficult to acquire and inflated the prices.
By comparison, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth pre-orders are available earlier and have more options, including the 2-deck Starter Kit for around $20.
Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro have had their hands full doing damage control after Magic: The Gathering controversies, such as the recent overpricing of the 30th Anniversary set of reprinted cards that are not legal for tournament play. Could crossing over with the beloved LoTR franchise help fans forget about these issues?
The Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be released on June 23, 2023 (with a holiday launch sometime in November later in the year).
