Having played multiple session of Marvel, LotR and Arkham Horror, I think theme is critical across all three: heroic, fantasy and (duh) horror respectively and should be highlighted as the game mechanics support the intended atmosphere. Thus, I've found audiences at my table(s) for all three games.

Lotr Lcg is clearly the superior game, it's not an accident that is the lcg that has the greatest longevity, or the fact that after all the competitive ones died, Lotr Lcg not only it didn't but they also started making other games like it

LOTR is much deeper, much more involved and gives you a much better sense of teamwork during battles due to ranged and sentinel keywords (you really do feel that you help other players more). Also, it has locations which allow for some additional mechanisms and provide a thematic background to quests. Marvel is great, it's just more shallow (which is a great thing, it has way broader appeal). LotR is the best cooperative game I've ever played. I've played it close to 600 times now and I'm not even close to getting burnt out on it.

If you are willing to go beyond the core set and spend a lot of money and time, and if you enjoy crunchy deck construction, and if you like highly challenging and complex solo games, and you love Lord of the Rings, then I highly recommend playing LotR LCG solo, mainly “two handed”, i.e. playing a two player game by yourself. Playing this way, it is by far the best game I know. I love it to bits.

Agree with the sentiments, though the hard requirement in LOTR to deck build among many packs in order to face even core box challenges (at least with the previous edition) killed the game for me. It took it down further because once we had two functional decks to play, we weren't able to make other decks for lack of other availabile cards. I'm happy with the Marvel system because I have a huge variety of heroes who feel different, not just thematically, but mechanically due to the design. That makes the variability shoot way up and setup Marvel as one of my all time favorites.

Wow, great timing-I was just thinking about this topic a couple days ago. Thanks for the rundown!

I like Marvel Champions, but LOTR LCG is way better: the mechanics of the game, awesome deckbuilding, great marriage of gameplay and lore. I've played a lot of it, and I can see myself playing it for years to come. On a side note: Arkham Horror LCG is also pretty cool, especially with thematic integration and different outcomes of scenarios, though I find deckbuilding there much less interesting than in LOTR (and maybe even Marvel Champions).

When I saw this title was ... "Them is fighting words" a lot of strong feelings on these games. Personally love LOTR better but own both.

I started with marvel champions, it came out when I started getting into the hobby. Now with the revised cores I also got AH and Lotr. All 3 are great and deliver a different experience. Playing mostly pure solo MC is my favourite because it's quick and punchy. AH is better for stories and immersion but weakest gameplay wise for me. LOTR is actually my favorite gameplay and deck building but less casual so not always in the mood. Overall I'm just really glad about the new release format!

Best short presentation of two games that I love! You quickly touched the point of narrative/story telling. A point for Lord of the Rings in my opinion.

I have never played Marvel Champions but I have a full collection of Lord of the Rings. But from the little I understand of Marvel Champions, I think it would be a much better game if all you have is the core set and maybe a few expansions. Regardless of what anyone says online, in order for Lord of the Rings to actually be good you absolutely need a large amount of expansions. Yes you can get a few enjoyable games out of the core alone but you cannot get a true feel for what Lord of the Rings has to offer until you have collected at least 3 cycles. Being about $120 per cycle, that's a heavy investment but definitely well worth it.

The Marvel cards are all sleeved. The Lord of the Rings are sleeveless. I think he gave away early which game he prefers. lol

AHLCG is the one you should be playing.

How does Primal compare to these? I remember either you or Jesse from Quackolope made a comparison to Marvel

i play all 3 (MC, Ark, LOTR). Arkham is my favorite. MC and LOTR are both super challenging but fun dynamics in play. I really enjoy all 3

Which does he prefer? Checks which game is sleeved.... 😉

I own both and Arkham LCG. They are just too unique and offer fundamentally different experiences to make a comparison.

Funny. Almost all of the points you gave Marvel Champions i would give Lord of the Rings using the exact same argument. But all positives you had for MC i would say is negatives for me! Funny how subjective this is. Love both games though!

Sounds like LOTG is a better deck builder and adventure game. And Marvel is a better boss battle and hero face off. It's interesting though the points for each are very back and forth so this makes me think they're similar enough that if you like one you will like the other but not similar enough that you should only get one. Regardless it's the IP plus being a good game that I'm most interested in for both.

Thanks for sharing. I have and enjoy both, MC:LCG the most.

I collect the 3 lcg, this is one of the games that will age well and will be regarded the best solo card games

Great overview and comparison- very helpful, thanks! I’m leaning toward MC, for the IP but also because I’d most likely be playing this solo. Question, though: when playing solo, do you play two handed? Or with one hero (or more)?

Neither, play Arkham Horror LCG :) Weird comparision, as AH is much closer to LotR than MC. For me AH is best, then LotR, and MC way worse. It's still fine but playing it I feel like I would play "my first LCG" instead of full deck construction experience.

LOTR is easily my favourite, I sold AH and now selling Marvel

I own a bit of the Arkham Horror LCG (I started with the revised core and am following the new re-release cycles) and everything from Marvel Champions. Marvel Champions brought all my friends into the hobby and we play it regularly. Arkham Horror I only played with my wife and we played the first 2 scenarios with me having played the first scenario twice solo for learning purposes. LOTR also interests me but I heard it's harder and needs more deckbuilding. I also guess it's not wise to have 3 LCGs alongside my other board games as that might get very expensive. I love both LCGs and they do different things so I wouldn't necessarily compare them too much but I slightly prefer Marvel Champions as it is easier to get to the table in my group and my wife also prefers Marvel.

Marvel Champions is my #1 game and love it to bits. I have also just jumped into LOTR LCG as well with the new core set. And I also really love it (maybe not quite as much). They both play different enough, so I will be happy keeping and playing both.

Hehe, these are the two LCG I've decided to buy.

The bad taste in my mouth left by the Marvel movies makes me avoid Marvel games.

I play both but got into LotR late in the game and some expansions are harder to get but the new Starter Decks might help me playing some of the standalone sets I bought.

Marvel is like walking into a candy store, LOTR is like you woke up in a challenging nightmare. Just get Arkham Horror LCG, it's better :P If you don't care about your bank balance, just get all 3!

Marvel champions is fantastic and my favorit solo and coop game. Spider Women allows you to build with two aspects. She is great and a lot of fun. I'm thinking of buying LOTR but the lack of deck cycling is bothersome. I sold Arkham Horror for that reason. Also, did not like the luck bag in Arkham

LOTR lcg is too crunchy. I love the idea of it and the explanation of areas but way to crunchy. I love Star Wars lcg and wish they were able to keep it.

I am stupid... i own both 🤷‍♂️

Lotr >> marvel and I'm a big marvel fan.

For me they are no comparable that much since LOTR sucked so so bad hated playing it, it was in my opinion thier worst lcg ever. Marvel champions in the other hand I wish to buy it soon

How does Marvel Legendary compare? It feels about the same experience i.e quick, fun, and done.

I went for Arkham over both of these.

Really about the theme of the game as most should be enjoying these for the theme which range vastly different. Truth though all super fun games to play :)

I play both. 😉

If only they had marvel done like LOTR so you play teams of heroes.

Lotr put me off LCGs for years. The first couple of cycles were fun but then the difficulty spiked to sheer impossibility mode unless you played with only the best cards all the time, which lead me to just hate the game. Also it says it’s made for 1-4 players but is obviously not balanced for more than 2 in the majority of scenarios. I only hear love for this game from groups who played it solo or 2 player, and I heard they got pretty creative as time went on but the game left a pretty bad taste in my mouth

🐐🥁👍

Lord of the Rings is overrated. Lots of unplayable cards in the core box. Questing is lame. Only drawing one card per turn is the worst, there is barely any agency there. Think about it. Marvel Champions is awesome. You get a fresh new hand of cards each turn and that makes for much more interesting decisions.

He loves Marvel Champions so he shits on LOTR haha. It's not even a fair comparison. If you wanna see which one you would prefer investing in, just go buy the core sets and go from there 😅 you'll just base your first LCG purchase on the theme anyway.. or you could watch a few How To Play videos, they would bring more more life to both games than this biased guys opinion. Haha. Anyway I went for LOTR LCG simply for my love of the theme so I started with LOTR a few weeks ago. It's not boring, it's quite challenging, and there are boss fights 😂😂 Also the text on the cards are easy to read too and I'm a man who needs glasses. Who cares though, these games are all about your love for the theme. 🎉 if you love the theme, you will love the LCG. Simple.