Middle-Earth is crossing over to Magic: The Gathering on June 23

“The Ring has awoken, it’s heard its master’s call.” – Gandalf

2023 will go down as one of the best years for Magic: The Gathering with regards to collaboration as players get to experience J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece crossing over to the popular card game medium with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth.

This is Wizards of the Coast’s second outing for their “Universes Beyond” product line, which aims to bring popular franchises to Magic: The Gathering and integrating their well-loved game mechanics like the mana system.

Last year, they started with Warhammer 40,000 which saw a number of products like their print on demand Secret Lair cards and the release of Commander (EDH) pre-constructed decks, with the latter gaining a lot of interest from both the MTG and Warhammer community.

This time around, it looks like this set will go all-out as they will release a horde of different products that will span across multiple formats. Let’s see what they will have on offer below, coming from Wizards of the Coast:

Prerelease Box

“The best way to build a Sealed deck right out of the box—The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Prerelease Pack contains 6 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft Boosters, 1 Traditional Foil year-stamped Rare or Mythic Rare card, 1 Traditional Foil year-stamped card from a pool of 6 Prerelease Promo cards, 1 Helper card, 1 MTG Arena code card (only available in select regions), 1 deck box, and 1 Spindown life counter. Each The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Draft Booster contains 15 cards and 1 token/ad card or Helper card, including 1 card of rarity Rare or higher and 3 Uncommons, 10 Commons, and 1 Land cards. Traditional Foil Borderless Mythic Rare card in <1% of boosters. Traditional Foil of any rarity replaces a Common in 33% of boosters.”

Starter Kit

“Experience the epic story of The Lord of the Rings like you’ve never seen it before! Gear up for your first games with two The Lord of the Rings-themed decks. 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! The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Starter Kit contains 2 ready-to-play 60-card decks (Lands included), 4 double-sided tokens (2 with each deck), 2 deck boxes, 1 how-to-play guide booklet, 2 double-sided reference cards (Turn Order/Attacking & Blocking), and 2 code cards for two people to unlock both decks and play online in Magic: The Gathering Arena, a digital platform available on desktop and on the mobile app.”

Draft Boosters

“Each Draft Booster contains 15 cards and 1 token/ad card or Helper card, including 1 card of rarity Rare or higher and 3 Uncommons, 10 Commons, and 1 Land cards. Traditional Foil Borderless Mythic Rare card in <1% of boosters. Traditional Foil of any rarity replaces a Common in 33% of boosters.”

Set Boosters

“Each Set Booster [pack] contains 12 Magic cards, 1 Art Card, and 1 token/ad card, Helper card, or card from ‘The List’ (a special card from Magic’s history—found in 25% of packs). Every pack includes a combination of 1–4 card(s) of rarity Rare or higher and 3–7 Uncommon, 3–7 Common, and 1 Land cards. A Traditional Foil Land replaces the basic land in 20% of Set Boosters and a Foil-Stamped Signature Art Card replaces the Art Card in 10% of Set Boosters. A Traditional Foil Borderless Mythic Rare card can be found in <1% of boosters.”

Collector Boosters

“In this Collector Booster, Sauron sealed away the most incredible cards to grace Middle-earth: foils, Showcase cards, Borderless cards, and more. Who knows what these cards could do in the wrong hands? At least with you, we know they’ll look great. Each The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth 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.”

Jumpstarts Boosters

“Each The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Jumpstart Booster has a theme. Just grab two packs and shuffle them together for wild combos and a unique gameplay experience that’s great for a quick game, for long-time fans looking to jump back in, or for a fun way to learn to play. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Jumpstart Boosters contain 20 Magic cards (including all the lands you need to play). In every pack, you’ll find 2 Rare cards (1 Rare card designed for Jumpstart boosters and 1 Rare or Mythic Rare from the main set), and 2 Land cards with a shining Traditional Foil treatment. If you’re looking to maximize your mashups, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth Jumpstart Boosters can be combined with packs from any other Jumpstart product.”

Bundle

“The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Bundle contains 8 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Set Boosters—the best boosters to open just for fun—plus other The Lord of the Rings-themed goodies, with 4 Traditional Foil alternate-art cards, 40 basic land cards (20 Traditional Foils and 20 nonfoils), 1 oversized Spindown for life counter, 1 card storage box, and 2 reference cards. Each Set Booster contains 12 Magic cards, 1 Art Card, and 1 token/ad card, Helper card, or card from “The List” (a special card from Magic’s history—found in 25% of packs), with a combination of 1–4 card(s) of rarity Rare or higher and 3–7 Uncommon, 3–7 Common, and 1 Land cards. A Traditional Foil Land replaces the basic land in 20% of Set Boosters and a Foil-Stamped Signature Art Card replaces the Art Card in 10% of Set Boosters. A Traditional Foil Borderless Mythic Rare card can be found in <1% of boosters.”

Here’s the relevant dates for those who are anticipating the game’s release.

First Look: March 14
Debut: May 30
Prerelease: June 16
MTG Arena Release: June 20
Tabletop Release: June 23
Holiday Release (more details to come): November 3

Additionally, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will also arrive to Magic: The Gathering Arena and will be legal in Alchemy and Historic format. Aside from the digital cards, expect to see some form of game cosmetics and a Mastery Pass.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth releases officially at your friendly local game stores on June 23, 2023. Check out this store locator to find a gaming area near you.