Find the precious in Magic: The Gathering The Lord of the Rings, Tales of Middle-Earth

Coming soon, on June 23, 2023, experience the epic story of The Lord of the Rings like you never have before. The newest line in Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond series brings beloved Lord of the Rings characters to Magic: The Gathering in an ambitious crossover, taking familiar favorites on a whole new journey there and back again. You'll have the chance to join the Fellowship in adventures filled with valor, courage, and second breakfast. 

At the forefront of the hype is the potential to find The One Ring, a special 1 of 1 Mythic Rare card of the titular ring featured in extended art and written in Sauron’s black speech. While standard printed copies of this legendary artifact card will be easily found and played, this singular card will be the only one ever printed and will only be found within certain packs, so read on as we break down each set in the release to help you better plan how to chase the precious…

Starter Kit Gear up for your first game with a Starter Kit. These come with two decks featuring unique set-themed art. Each deck contains 1 Mythic Rare card with a shiny Traditional Foil treatment and 4 Rare cards, plus codes to unlock them both online on Magic: The Gathering Arena. The interactive online tutorial will take you through all the basics, and then the forces of Middle-earth will be yours to command.

Jumpstart Quick, fun, and easy with five unique themes. Just mix and match two packs, shuffle, and you’re ready to play. Includes 18 Jumpstart Boosters, and each pack contains 2 basic land cards with a shining Traditional Foil treatment.

Commander Decks Reimagine your favorite Lord of the Rings characters and try out Magic’s most popular format with a deck that’s ready to play right out of the box. Each The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Commander Deck set includes 1 ready-to-play deck of 100 Magic cards (2 Traditional Foil Legendary Creature cards, 98 nonfoil cards), a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack (contains 1 Traditional Foil or nonfoil special treatment card of rarity Rare or higher and 1 Traditional Foil special treatment Common or Uncommon card), 1 foil-etched Display Commander (a thick cardstock copy of the commander card with foil etched into the card’s border and art), 10 double-sided tokens, 1 Helper card, 1 deck box (can hold 100 sleeved cards), 1 Life Wheel, 1 strategy insert, and 1 reference card.

Collector Booster Box In secret, Sauron forged a booster—one far more powerful than those owned by Elf, Dwarf, or Man. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Booster Box contains 12 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Boosters and 1 Traditional Foil Box Topper card. Each Collector Booster contains 15 Magic: The Gathering cards and 1 Traditional Foil double-sided token, with a combination of 5–7 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 3–5 Uncommon, 3–6 Common, and 1 Land cards. Every pack contains a total of 8–10 Traditional Foil cards.

Set Booster Box Set off on your own adventure with 1 Traditional Foil Box Topper card and 30 Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-Earth Set Boosters containing Rare and Mythic cards.

Draft Booster Box A favorite for playing Limited. Draft with your friends and play straight out of the pack. Contains 3 Draft Boosters, and a Traditional Foil Box Topper card.

Bundle This is the ultimate fan kit that also includes a themed 4-promo card scene series. Set out on an adventure through Middle-earth with 8 Set Boosters, shiny Traditional Foil and alternate-art cards, and an oversized Spindown for life counter.

Bundle: Gift This jam-packed bundle is a perfect present for fans of Magic and The Lord of the rings, alike! It includes a Collector Booster, Rare cards, Traditional Foil Treatments cards, special alternate-borders, a themed promo card scene series, and more.

So which of these can contain the coveted One True ring? Check out this handy guide below:

“The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time.” – Gandalf

Our take: If our preorder numbers are any indication, The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-Earth release is one of the most anticipated crossovers in the Universes Beyond series from Magic. When you have a genre-defining IP such as The Lord of the Rings and pair it with another large beloved following that is Magic: The Gathering, it’s not hard feel the excitement. This kind of chase for a singular one-of-a-kind card has never been done before, and while there are some mixed opinions on it, there is no doubt that this release will prove to be an interesting shakeup. We wish anyone endeavoring to be the bearer of The One Ring, much luck!

As of this publishing of this article, we are nearly sold out of all our first wave of Magic: The Gathering The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-Earth, though we do have a few Gift Bundles, Starter Kits, Jumpstart, and Set Booster Boxes available. If you are still hoping to pick any of these up at release, well, what are you waiting for? Fly, you fools!

Preorder Magic: The Gathering The Lord of the Rings Tales of Middle-Earth