What do I buy? Mirkwood Runner Buying Guide

It doesn't matter what forum you frequent, any where that discusses LOTR, the same question comes up.  "What should I buy next?"  Ian, over at Tales from the Cards, has done at great job keeping up with the new expansions in his buying guide.  What my intention is to not give as much of an in depth look at each individual expansion, but to look at them at a higher level and give you advice as to what to buy next.

Not all players are created equally, and as such, I do not expect one buying guide to handle all.  To that end, I have come up with a few player types, and in each, axioms which I will use to build their guide.  My hope is that you will find a player type that fits your interest in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and will be helpful when making your purchasing decisions.

Slave to Theme

The Slave to Theme players are fans of the books, first and foremost.  They are looking to recreate the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings through the card game.  Because of this, the majority of quests will be those which come in the saga expansions, but other expansions are purchased for the cards which fit thematically.  Not only does Ian make a great buying guide, but I also recommend his custom expansion, First Age, to be able to play through the events of The Silmarillion.

Axioms

• Gameplay must be focused on the events from the books.
• Utilizes cards that are thematically accurate to the books.

Purchasing Order

In this list, I took care to focus on the saga expansions, and also add in other expansions to add characters that were central to the part of the books represented by that particular saga expansion.  All these expansions are optional, as their quests do not tie into the events of the books, but the player cards included do.

• Core Set
• The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill Saga Expansion
• Khazad-Dum Deluxe Expansion
• Across the Ettenmoors Adventure Pack
• The Hobbit: On the Doorstep Saga Expansion
• Return to Mirkwood Adventure Pack
• The Battle of Lake-town Print on Demand Expansion
• The Black Riders Saga Expansion
• The Wastes of Eriador Adventure Pack
• The Old Forest Saga Expansion
• Fog on the Barrow-downs Saga Expansion
• The Road Darkens Saga Expansion
• The Dead Marshes Adventure Pack
• The Watcher in the Water Adventure Pack
• The Treason of Saruman Saga Expansion
• The Voice of Isengard Deluxe Expansion
• The Land of Shadow Saga Expansion

LCG Enthusiast

With the variety of living card games, such as Android Netrunner and Warhammer Conquest, and even non-FFG games which follow a similar game model, such as AEG's Doomtown Reloaded or Plaid Hat Games' Ashes, some people will find their whole gaming life consumed by them.  Lord of the Rings is a great addition to the LCG collector, as it fits a specific niche not held by others.  To the best of my knowledge, LOTR is the only LCG that is cooperative.  Because of this, it's easy to fit into the collection, without having to worry about keeping up with the meta like you have to in competitive LCG's.  This type of player is personified in The Tenth Nazgul's Progression Series.  Unfortunately, Mitch has moved on to cover Conquest, but another member of the community has taken up the task in the form of The Warden of Arnor's Line Unbroken Series.

Axioms

• Buys multiple LCGs
• Interested in deck building and how the game has evolved

Purchasing Order

This is the simplest purchasing order of the group.  For the player interested in experiencing how the game has changed since its inception, simply buy it in the order of release.  Ian's buying guide is organized by order in which things were released.  I would also recommend Nightmare decks as you feel comfortable with the respective quest, and are ready to kick up the difficulty.  Extra core sets can also be added as you see the need for extra copies of the 1-of and 2-of cards.

Deck Builder

The deck builder player is similar to the LCG enthusiast, and may also collect other LCG's, but this player is interested in building the strongest decks first.

Axioms

• Wants the best decks as quickly as possible.
• Quest variety is secondary to getting the best cards.

Purchasing Order

• Core Set x3
• The Dunland Trap Adventure Pack
• Trouble in Tharbad Adventure Pack
• The Antlered Crown Adventure Pack
• Celebrimbor's Secret Adventure Pack
• The Black Riders Saga Expansion
• The Road Darkens Saga Expansion
• Return to Mirkwood Adventure Pack
• Khazad-Dum Deluxe Expansion
• The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill Saga Expansion
• The Hobbit: On the Doorstep Saga Expansion
• Foundations of Stone Adventure Pack
• The Watcher in the Water Adventure Pack
• Shadow and Flame Adventure Pack
• Heirs of Numenor Deluxe Expansion

Cost Conscious

I try not to think about how much money I've spent on this one game.  Between three core sets, every expansion, sleeves, etc, the total is high at this point.  For someone just getting into the game, this can be fairly daunting, regardless of their gaming budget.  This list is intended to help get the player in and maximize the utility of their purchases.

Axioms

• Get the most "bang for their buck"
• If you can't fully utilize the expansion, save it for later.

Purchasing Order

• Core Set
• Return to Mirkwood Adventure Pack
• Khazad-Dum Deluxe Expansion
• The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill Saga Expansion
• The Hobbit: On the Doorstep Saga Expansion
• The Watcher in the Water Adventure Pack
• Foundations of Stone Adventure Pack
• Heirs of Numenor Deluxe Expansion
• The Steward's Fear Adventure Pack
• The Voice of Isengard Deluxe Expansion
• The Lost Realm Deluxe Expansion
• The Grey Havens Deluxe Expansion
• The Black Riders Saga Expansion
• The Road Darkens Saga Expansion
• The Treason of Saruman Saga Expansion
• The Land of Shadow Saga Expansion

In this list, you are given two main archetypes to play with: Dwarves and Outland.  Both are very strong, and give you good decks with minimum investment.  The deluxe expansions give  you a  view into the various types of decks you can build.  If a certain trait catches your eye, I recommend Ian's guide to find the adventure packs that are associated with those traits.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of player types, but a start.  Do you have other ideas for player types?  Feel free to let me know your thoughts and look forward to new player types, and decks to fit the types.