Hello I'm a new player of LOTR LCG and I was wondering if there is a list for what order to purchase the expansion packs or if it matters.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ian over at Tales from the Cards has a New Player Buying Guide that I can definitely recommend:

http://talesfromthecards.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/new-player-buying-guide/

Folks on the forums will definitely be helpful if you have specific questions. Many people are having problems finding Adventure Packs from the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle so you may have to wait until later this summer when FFG is set to reprint them. In the mean time the Hobbit Saga expansions are still easy to find and work well with only a core set.

the list of release is

Core set

Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle

hunt for gollum

conflict at the carrock

journey to rhosgobel

dead marshes

return to mirkwood

khazad dum (deluxe pack)

Dwarrowdelf Cycle

redhorn gate

road to rivendell

watcher in the water

the long dark

foundations of stone

shadow and flame

hobbit saga pack 1 - overhill and underhill

hobbit saga pack 2 - on the doorstep

(i am not sure whether hobbit pack 1 was released before or after hiers of numenor- it doesnt matter as the hobbit packs are saga packs (see below) so i just left them as they are to avoid confusion)

Hiers of Numenor (deluxe pack)

Against the Shadow Cycle

The Stewards Fear

The Druadan Forest

Encounter at Amon Din

Assault on Osgilliath (not released yet)

The Blood of Gondor (")

The Morgul Vale (")

additional POD packs

Massing at Osgilliath

Battle for Laketown

so what order should you buy them in? well if you can i would say the above, with the expection of the 2 saga packs and the POD packs, as those arent connected to any other packs. They are difficult though so i would say leave them until you have at least the mirkwood cycle and dwarrowdelf cycle

as the above poster pointed out some of the shadows of mirkwood cycle is hard to find until their reprints. personally i would buy them in order as i play for theme and narrative, but you dont really miss out on anything if you skip a pack or two.

remember though that to play any cycle you need the deluxe pack before it. shadows of mirkwood doesnt need a deluxe set as the core set acts as this, however the dwarrowdelf needs khazad dum and the against the shadow needs hiers of numenor

this is all becuase the encounters in the follow cycle use cards from the deluxe pack.

overall i would say shadows of mirkwood is harder solo and easier as you add more players, but anything from the hobbit packs onwards is the opposite

the POD packs are the print on demands packs that were released at events such as gencon and ffg released them for sale afterwards. they are not normal packs as they have no player cards, just the quest, and are part of no narrative cycle. they are usually very difficult.

if you cannot get mirkwood then i would recommend khazad dum then work your way through dwarrowdelf cycle- its a great cycle with some nice 'medium' difficulty quests

another thing to think about is player card choices- take a look at cardgamedb.com at the LOTR LCG section and look at the spoilers for the packs (if you are ok with spoilers....i usually hate them but for some reason i love them for this game). you can see which hero and player cards you get. heres some tips:

if you like eagles or rohan then shadows of mirkwood is a great pack

if you like dwarves then khazad dum (and the dwarrowdelf cycle), and the two hobbit packs are great packs

if you like elves (noldor that is) then the dwarrowdelf cycle is a great pack (ironic how elves were featured in the dwarven cycle)

if you like the realms of gondor then hiers of numenor and the against the shadow is the one to go for

hope this helps!

rich

Thank you both for all of the great help and information!