During Early Access, The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game will be available with three tiers of Founder’s Packs. Each of these packs will include bonus Valor points, additional cards, exclusive cosmetics, and more. They’re designed to give Early Access players a head-start on their journey through Middle-earth. Today, we’re going to take a look at the details and contents of each of these Early Access packs.
A quick reminder: The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game is still in development. Card design may change between now and Early Access. This includes both the cards’ mechanical and visual designs.
That being said, on to the announcement!
Every player, regardless of which Founder’s Pack they purchase, will gain access to the Core Starter Set. It includes the 4 main Hero cards as well as the 42 player cards, 5 pairs of cards from each Sphere of Influence and 2 copies of the neutral ally Gandalf. (You can take a look at the entire Core Set as a work-in-progress here: http://www.fantasyflightinteractive.com/go-now-with-good-hearts.html )
We’ve talked about this Core Set before. What we haven’t talked about, however, is the bonus Valor Points that will be included with the Core Set. Every player will receive 3,000 Valor Points to get their journeys through Middle-earth started. They can use this Valor however they want— to unlock new cards, new quests, or to gain more Palantír Views.
Every player will also receive four total card backs, two for their own deck and two for Sauron’s deck. The Classic card backs are a nod to the tabletop game’s graphic design, while the Digital card backs are original to LOTR:LCG.
This Core Starter set is the free-to-play content that every player will receive once they complete the opening tutorial. That includes players who wait until after the Early Access period is over and the game goes full free-to-play.
For those who would like to join us during Early Access, you’ll have three Founder’s Pack options to choose from.
The Shire Pack ($7.99)
The Shire Founder’s Pack includes an assortment of cards, cosmetics and Valor to prepare any hero for their journey through Middle-earth. In addition to the standard core starter pack, players who unlock The Shire Founder’s Pack will receive 5,000 additional Valor points (for a total of 8,000 Valor points) and a bonus Palantír View.
Additionally, Shire Pack purchasers will receive bonus content unlocked for them as part of the content package. These items include an uncommon Valor Card- A Friend in Need and the Frodo avatar, which can otherwise be obtained only via the Palantír. This content is not exclusive, but unlocked and ready to play for people who purchase the Shire pack.
The Shire Pack also includes some exclusive cosmetics. We wanted a way to make early adopters stand out, to thank you for buying into the game before full release. In the Shire Pack, you’ll get the Shire Avatar, depicting a hobbit armed with only his pipe, cloak, hat and an iron will. You’ll also get the Shire player tag and avatar frame. Finally, you’ll get the Shire player card back, displaying a pipe and branch of leaves.
Overall, the Shire pack is the perfect option for someone who wants to try the game out in Early Access, but would like to unlock a majority of their content through gameplay.
The Steward of Gondor Pack ($15.99)
The Steward of Gondor Pack is a step up from the Shire Pack. This pack comes with some extra cosmetics, cards, and Valor, as well as the standard core starter pack. Players who purchase the Steward of Gondor Pack will receive 13,000 additional Valor points (for a total of 16,000 Valor points) as well as two bonus Palantír views.
They’ll also get access to two cards, Reinforcements, an uncommon Leadership event card, and Ghân-buri-Ghán, a rare Lore ally, as well as the Aragorn avatar. Again, like the cards and avatar included in the Shire Pack, these items aren’t exclusive to the Steward of Gondor pack, they come pre-unlocked and ready to play.
Cosmetics-wise, the Steward of Gondor Pack features its own exclusive card back, player tag and avatar, designed to let early adopters stand out.
The Steward of Gondor Pack is built for players who want deeper access to the game from the start, but who aren’t necessarily opposed to playing to earn extra cards or quests.
The Istari Pack ($29.99)
Finally, the Istari Pack is designed for players who want the greatest level of flexibility and freedom in their play. It comes with an additional 27,000 Valor points, which, when combined with the Valor in the Core Set, comes out to a total of 30,000 VP. Additionally, players who buy in at this level will get a bonus 4 Palantír Views.
They’ll also get three cards unlocked right out of the gate: Star Brooch, an uncommon Spirit attachment card, Beorn, a rare Tactics ally, and Tom Bombadil, a Legendary Neutral ally. Like the cards in the other packs, these won’t be exclusive to the Istari Pack, but they’ll be unlocked the first time Istari Pack owners play the game. They’ll also have access to two bonus avatars, Gimli and Aragorn.
Just like the two packs above, the Istari Pack also includes exclusive cosmetics: A player avatar, player tag, and a card back.
The Istari Pack includes enough Valor to unlock much of the Early Access content. Some things will still need to be unlocked, but players who purchase this pack will have enough Valor to get their collection really rolling.
Finally, for superfans: These packs will be cumulative. If you’d like access to all the exclusive cosmetics and extra Valor, you can purchase all three packs. You can even mix-and-match the included exclusive cosmetics!
The Founder’s Packs will be available during Early Access, and the game will be free-to-play once we go into full release later.
Thanks!
FFI