Hey all,

Casual solo player for a couple of years, finally doubling down by ordering all six Lord of the Rings Saga Expansions (I'd have gone for Hobbit , too, but On the Doorstep is at crazy prices right now, so I'll wait for a reprint).

Only The Black Riders has arrived so far, with the others all due over the next ten days or so. I had a quick test of the first adventure with a deck I had laying around - modified slightly for the Hobbits - but was absolutely crucified by the riders. Once the other expansions have arrived, I'm planning to spend some time building a proper deck, and going for the Campaign mode to play through.

This is where my question comes in. Can I use player cards - including heroes - from later Saga Expansions to create a deck for use from the beginning? I think I'm right in saying there's a Gandalf hero in The Road Darkens , for example, would I be able to create a deck with said Gandalf and then use it for Black Riders? I know you can usually draw cards from anywhere to build your deck, but didn't know if the rules would be slightly different with regards to the saga.

Cheers for any advice you can offer!

@willbrooks1989 nothing in the rules from the LotR campaign says you can't use cards from the later Saga boxes in the first one, so i'd say to follow the general rule that you can use them.

Although temtically using Gandalf in escaping from the Shire doesn't makes sense, but it is your play.

You can use any cards you like from any expansion, no need to restrict yourself to just the cards available at the the time of release (unless you want to, of course!)

Thanks for the replies, both! Not sure I'd specifically go for a Gandalf Hero in the Deck right from the start, but I'd be tempted to bring in the Ally Gandalf from On the Doorstep. I don't mind him popping in-and-out of play to aid the Hobbits on their journey so much!

Hi, I have a similar question are the Saga expansions meant to contain only the cards from the original set plus the expansion being played? I know there are restrictions on cards that cannot be used in other adventures but if I have other single play decks can they be incorporated into the Saga decks also?

The only rules about cards that you can include in a player deck for Sagas:

-Don't use a hero which conflicts with the Fellowship hero being used.

-Don't use Grima or Saruman player cards in the Treason of Saruman box.

-In later quests, there are restrictions about using Aragorn when you have the Frodo fellowship hero, or using Frodo when you have the Aragorn fellowship hero. These are outlined in the rules inserts for the boxes which have those restrictions. Not all of them do (you are free to use Aragorn in the first box, for example).

-There are special rules about the use of Boon player cards. You have to earn them first.

That's it. Beyond that, you can use any card you want to from the whole card pool. So if you feel like playing a campaign in which the Rohirrim come to claim the ring in the Shire and ride it straight to Mount Doom, go ahead. Build up that Eomer, Theoden, and Erkenbrand deck and take it through every saga scenario. And have fun!