Welcome to Cardboard of the Rings!



A bi-weekly podcast for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (a Living Card Game, by Fantasy Flight Games)

Join co-hosts Brandon, Andrew, Brian, and Mitch, along with their latest addition, Jared, as they discuss weekly articles and monthly expansions for the LOTR LCG, along with providing card analyses, play experiences and release speculations in a laid-back, casual atmosphere. They also host regular giveaways in which listeners can enter to win a free copy of an upcoming Adventure Pack of their choice!

Be sure to check out our latest episode:

Episode 38 - Mirror of Galadriel

As well as our latest and greatest series of videos:

The LOTR LCG Progression Series

You can get in touch with us in any of the following ways:

http://cardboardoftherings.com/
http://www.facebook.com/CardboardOfTheRings
http://www.youtube.com/COTRPodcast
[email protected]
http://twitter.com/#!/cotrpodcast
Cardboard of the Rings on Fantasy Flight Games
Cardboard of the Rings on BoardGameGeek

NOTE: Mitch's product reviews for LOTR LCG mentioned in many old episodes are now hosted here, and are no longer being produced.

Feel free to contact us to suggest topics for discussion or to share your thoughts on anything LOTR LCG!

Full list of Cardboard of the Rings episodes:

Episode 1 - Don't Ignore Eleanor

- Our first episode, starring Brandon and Andrew! Topics include their initial impressions of LOTR LCG, as well as previews for The Hunt for Gollum.

Episode 2 - Die Hard Fans

- Topics include The Hunt for Gollum previews, as well as a discussion of the cooperative format, various LOTR LCG community resources, and some Core set player card analyses.

Episode 3 - New Fish At Dol Guldur

- Featuring guest-host Dave! Topics include a review of FAQ v1.0, the discussion of the LOTR LCG personality profiles, the Escape From Dol Goldur scenario, as well as more Core set player card analyses.

Episode 4 - Gateway Drug

- Topics include The Hunt for Gollum previews and some Core set encounter card discussion.

Episode 5 - Westfold!

- Topics include The Hunt for Gollum and Conflict at the Carrock previews, as well as a discussion of the updated FAQ v1.1.

Episode 6 - Down On Bilbo?

- Topics include Conflict at the Carrock previews, as well as a review of The Hunt for Gollum.

Episode 7 - Missing At Osgiliath

- Topics include a trip report for Gen Con 2011, previews for The Dead Marshes, a full review of The Massing at Osgiliath scenario and encounter cards, as well as The Hunt for Gollum play experiences and an analysis of the Conflict at the Carrock player and encounter cards.

Episode 8 - One And Three Are Odd

- Topics include A Journey to Rhosgobel previews, as well as a discussion of Conflict at the Carrock play experiences and difficulty scaling in LOTR LCG.

Episode 9 - Rules Are For Fools!

- Co-host Brian joins the cast! Topics include a discussion of Adventure Pack release scheduling, as well as A Journey to Rhosgobel player cards, encounter cards, and initial play experiences.

Episode 10 - Samwise Cometh

- Co-host Mitch joins the cast! Topics include The Hills of Emyn Muil and Khazad-dum previews, as well as further A Journey to Rhosgobel play experiences, table talk in LOTR LCG, and a discussion of the evolution of several Core set cards.

Episode 11 - Ruined My Ride

- Topics include The Dead Marshes previews, The Massing at Osgiliath play experiences, a review of The Hills of Emyn Muil player cards, and a discussion of whether or not buying three copies of the Core set is worth the investment.

Episode 12 - Who Let The Bees Out

- Topics include previews of The Dead Marshes, The Redhorn Gate, and the Dwarrowdelf cycle of adventure packs, as well as a review of The Hills of Emyn Muil and a discussion of the hosts’ top 5 Tactics cards.

Episode 13 - Second Second Breakfast

- Featuring guest-host Jared! Topics include an interview with Nate French and Lukas Litzsinger, previews for Khazad-dum, a review of The Dead Marshes player cards, and a discussion of FAQ Version 1.2, as well as the hosts’ top 5 Spirit cards.

Episode 14 - Gollum's Pleasure

- Topics include a preview of Return to Mirkwood, a review of The Dead Marshes encounter cards, and a discussion of the concept of scoring, as well as the hosts’ top 5 Leadership cards.

Episode 15 - Not A Dwarf

- Topics include more previews for Khazad-dum, a continued discussion of The Dead Marshes play experiences, a review of the Return to Mirkwood player cards, and a discussion of the hosts’ top 5 Lore cards.

Episode 16 - 10th Nazgul And A Dorito

- Topics include additional previews for Khazad-dum and the Dwarrowdelf cycle of adventure packs, as well as a review of the Return to Mirkwood encounter cards and associated play experiences.

Episode 16.5 - Boromir Gets Fresh

- Topics include additional previews for Khazad-dum and the Dwarrowdelf cycle of adventure packs, as well as a review of the Return to Mirkwood encounter cards and associated play experiences.

Episode 17 - Shadowing Mirkwood

- Topics include previews for Khazad-dum, and an in-depth review of the entire Shadows of Mirkwood cycle of adventure packs.

Episode 18 - Insane in the MemDain

- Topics include a discussion of “Boromir’s Guide to Deck Construction,” a preview of The Long Dark, and a review of the Khazad-dum player cards.

Episode 19 - Thunder from Down Under

- Co-host Jared joins the cast! Topics include a continued discussion of “Bormomir’s Guide to Deck Construction,” an analysis of the power of Zigil Miner, and a review of the “Into the Pit” scenario.

Episode 20 - Goblin Flavour

- Topics include a continued discussion of “Bormomir’s Guide to Deck Construction,” an analysis of the power of Zigil Miner, and a review of the “Into the Pit” scenario.

Episode 21 - Medulla Oblongoblin

- Topics include The Redhorn Gate previews, as well as a discussion of FFG deck archetypes and analysis of the Flight from Moria scenario.

Episode 22 -They're Taking The Hobbits to Isengard!

- Topics include Road to Rivendell and Shadow and Flame previews, a comparison between Khazad-dum and the Core set, and a discussion of The Redhorn Gate player cards.

Episode 23 - Gorn Hole

- Topics include Secrecy, The Redhorn Gate encounter card highlights, Keen-eyed Took vs. Wandering Took, and Road to Rivendell player cards.

Episode 24 - We're All Out Of Chicken

- Featuring guest-host Brev! Topics include The Watcher in the Water and The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill previews, as well as a review of Road to Rivendell and a Gollum impersonation showdown.

Episode 25 - Ladies Love

- Topics include The Long Dark and The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill previews, The Watcher in the Water player cards, as well as a deconstruction and analysis of a Rohan-themed deck designed by Brian.

Episode 26 - The Devil Made Me Do It!

- Topics include more The Long Dark previews, The Watcher in the Water encounter cards and play experiences, as well a deconstruction and analysis of two Dwarf-themed decks designed by Mitch.

Episode 27 - David Asfaloth

- Topics include Foundations of Stone previews, a discussion of the future of LOTR LCG, as well as a review of The Long Dark player cards.

Episode 28 - White Wizard

- Topics include more Foundations of Stone previews, a review of The Long Dark encounter cards and some related play experiences, as well as a discussion of luck versus skill in LOTR LCG.

Episode 29 - Andrew Stabbed With Morgul Blade

- Topics include a Shadow and Flame preview, a discussion of several hosts' own "pet" or once-overlooked cards, and a review of the Foundations of Stone player cards.

Episode 30 - The Pearl of Middle-Earth

- Topics include another Shadow and Flame preview, a discussion of "power creep," as well as a review of the Foundations of Stone encounter cards and a discussion of their associated scenario.

Episode 31 - Beravor is Always Ready for a Good FAQ

- Topics include The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill previews, and in-depth discussion of the updated FAQ v1.3.

Episode 32 - Not Just Gen Con!

- Topics include extensive Heirs of Numenor previews, a review of Shadow and Flame player cards, and a massive trip report for Gen Con 2012.

Episode 33 - Hot Coffee

- Topics include a review of the Shadow and Flame encounter cards, as well as associated play experiences.

Episode 34 - Share the Load

- Topics include previews for The Hobbit: On the Doorstep and Heirs of Numenor, as well as a review of player cards from The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill.

Episode 35B - I Smell Manflesh B

- Topics include previews for The Hobbit: On the Doorstep and Heirs of Numenor, as well as a review of player cards from The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill.

Episode 36 - Spoiler Alert

- Topics include previews for Heirs of Numenor and the Against the Shadow cycle of adventure packs, as well as a discussion of the LCG World Championship, a recent round-table chat with LOTR LCG lead designer Caleb Grace, and a review of the “Over the Misty Mountains Grim” scenario.

Episode 37 - Double Deluxe

- Topics include previews for Heirs of Numenor and the Against the Shadow cycle of adventure packs, as well as a discussion of the LCG World Championship, a recent round-table chat with LOTR LCG lead designer Caleb Grace, and a review of the “Over the Misty Mountains Grim” scenario.

Anyone who hasn't heard this show, make sure you do it is pretty good and gets steadily better as they go on. The addition of Jared for example has brought some much needed card synergy expertise to the show to augment Brain. With so many personalities on it there is some that are sure to grate but I think they do a great job, I recommend this to "most" people.

Im a little behind on listening to all of these, but I can recommend them to people!

It is a decent length podcast and the guys are a laugh! They are pretty fair on their card reviews and dont mind admitting if they were wrong about a card in the past! It is refreshing and honest!

Also a fan of the cat who occasionally shows up! Star of the show! Go Misty!

booored said:

Can't tell if insulted or complimented. <shifty eyes>

Drengi said:

Except for Brian, who chronically underrates Ride to Ruin just because it isn't awesome enough for him

I also miss the cat.

starhawk77 said:

I will fully admit I was wrong if someone can prove to me that adding three progress tokens equals the valiant act of virtually the entire organized militia of Rohan charging across the fields of their allies to honor an oath their kings of old once swore upon, losing their king (and almost the closest thing they have to a princess) in the process and decimating a substantial portion of what national defense they could maintain!

I welcome all challengers!!! All of you I say!

FallenTurtles said:

This is an example of why I listen to this show

FallenTurtles said:

I meant you and Jared have some pretty good incite to the card interactions. The others are entertaining.. but nearly all the useful information comes from you , and now also Jared.

Morbid666 said:

The cat is surprisingly quite often in the podcast, e.g. you can hear her (?) in the latest episode in the background.

cat should get more air time.. do not feed her/him b4 the show so the puss is all up on the deck during the cast so we can hear the meows!

Avalanche said:

I'll do my best to continue my rages for you

booored said:

I certainly appreciate the compliment, but I gotta stick up for the other guys. They are far more knowledgeable about this game than myself. I think, going into this, my role was always somewhat of the perspective from someone who doesn't understand card games as well. The interactions I've seen all four of the other guys come up with is incredible. Mitch is a master of building synergistic decks, Andrew comes up with card combos I've never even remotely thought of, and Brandon somehow manages to make cards I thought were garbage look like cards made of solid gold. Jared, of course, does all of that and then multiplies our skills by 20 or so. I like to think that what I bring to the show is, like I said, the perspective of someone who is learning all of this as he goes, plus I'm big into the actual lore of the story, so I like to really look at the flavor of the cards.

As for the missing cat, we haven't heard her in awhile! Mitch and I have animals running around the house that I usually try to edit out of the recording because they're more annoying in the recording than they are cute. I'll make sure Brandon knows that the fans are missing the sixth co-host.

Some Cardboard of the Rings trivia: the cat you occasionally hear when Mitch is speaking is Fenris, whom would be the kitten you hear during Episode 22.

Now, if he would only hunt and eat that little barking dog...

I've been a fan since I first discovered it a couple months ago. I've been catching up ever since. LotR is my first ever card game and if it wasn't for this podcast I'd still be pretty overwhelmed by it all. Listening to you guys discussing each card has been invaluable in my learning how to look for synergies, play combos and what to include in a deck build.

You know what I'd love though? A newbie section. A 5-10 minute portion of each episode where you guys explain and discuss core concepts in card games. Like draw advantage. What is it? How is it useful? Which spheres lend themselves to strong card draw? Which cards are good for card draw techniques? A lot of these concepts I've had to find out for myself and hearing you guys go over each concept supplemented by examples of how you'd build and play your decks would be awesome.

Can I offer one critique? Give Andrew some ADHD medicine before each show. There's no doubt he's clever but he's Mr Tangent the flow-breaker at times. You can tell when he starts to get bored because he starts to crack the jokes. Most of them are funny, but they can be pretty interruptive.

Apart from that, two thumbs from me. Keep up the great work, guys.

xibxang said:

I think that's a great idea, Xib. I started the exact same way with the podcast and the game. My only real experience beyond LOTR was the Xbox versions of Magic The Gathering, which I primarily picked up just to finally learn the dang game.

I'll bring your suggestion to Brandon. I know we're looking for good discussion materials for future recordings, and I think this is a great way to start. Please feel free to bring up more ideas and suggestions for items we can talk about!

Star Trek fans rejoice! Episode 23, Gorn Hole, has been released!

TheLightdarker said:

Downloading it now. I haven't listened to all the episodes just yet (they're all downloaded), but I'm working on it. Hopefully the cat makes a quest appearance in this episode.

After some technical difficulties, Cardboard of the Rings makes their triumphant return in Episode 24, We're All Out Of Chicken, featuring guest-host Brev!

I caught up on the last few episodes while traveling the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I was traveling in a noisy motorhome, and it pointed up the problem I've mentioned before; Andrew is too quiet. He might as well have not even been there much of the time, because I couldn't hear or understand him. Please tell him to SPEAK UP and not sort of mumble and almost whisper like he does a lot. PROJECT! And Brandon should still be closer to his mic source, but at least the tone and delivery of his voice cuts through enough, unlike Andrew.

Great content and interaction on the podcast, but it's a shame if everyone can't be heard well.

Congratulations to the cast of Cardboard of the Rings, whom today celebrate the one-year anniversary of their very first Episode!

TheLightdarker said:

Happy Birthday.

Looks like LLCOTR is back, with our 25th Episode - and this time, it's serious business. Check it out!