What living card game do you recommend to people first?

I've only played the LOTR LCG and have thousands of cards for this game at this point...all of them sleeved. I love the game. I jump into it and invest a bunch of money on it...then I forget about it for a year or 2 just to jump back into it again eventually, and I've never regretted over investing in the game. I'm super glad to have so much of it. I've been into many trading card games, and I love building decks. The LOTR LCG has been a blast for this. I only add new cards to my decks as I defeat the scenarios and really look forward to going through what goodies open up to me as I go through things. I also love how ridiculously powerful my decks have become...yet how the game is difficult enough that I don't just stomp everything. I'm also in love with the 4 starter decks they released...the fact that they're so incredibly thematic and strong right out of the boxes. I haven't made any changes to the decks and pretty much always have a great time playing them just as is. It's how well the game captures the books/movies...not only with the incredible art, but the gameplay as well...plus the very fun deck building aspect that have me the most hooked on this game.

When I started to play LCG games I picked a copy of LOTR and Arkham Horror. Since I am fan of LOTR I just bought the full Saga and pick some expansions for the player cards. Me and my son went through the all saga and we simply love it. Arkham was set aside since my first experiences with it were quite disappointed and I didn't have the same love for the theme as I have for the LOTR. Finally after some remorse of having Arkham closed and set aside, I just bought two player decks, a full campaign and went for it ... the result is I also love it, especially for the story and how it changes and evolves due to our decisions. My favourite is still LOTR LCG, there is nothing like going through Middle Earth and I am very happy and thankful that FFG is still supporting and investing in it and hopefully we will see in the future new campaign releases.

Loved AH, these past few years. I've wondered about LotR and Marvel. I'm so glad you made this video to help me decide!

Thanks for the video, just what i was wondering was answered

I spent a month or so researching these three games. I got out of Magic years ago, and didn't want to jump back in, but was looking for another card based game where I could do some cool combo play. If this would have been 10 years ago, I probably would have went Lord of the Rings, but back then I think I enjoyed deck building almost more than playing the game. Nowadays I really want to play more than deck building, so Marvel Champions was the route I went. No regrets! This game is amazing!! Thanks for the informative video!

Thanks for the information. I just got Arkham because it looked like a good place to start. Thank you for your insights on LOTR which I wanted to get, but I think I will wait to see what happens.

I think the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle contains some good cards, which may be missed, like the Song of Wisdom, etc. I do not use them often, but it is nice to know I have access to them if I feel like I need them. Also Spirit Frodo is a good hero in that cycle. A Burning brand is my favourite, rather than hasty stroke, if I have access to Lore... Etc. Plus if you want to play Eagles, then this is a must have. And it is the only living card game I play, been at it for a while, and really enjoy it, but larger pool makes it easier. But then I have single core set... And not planning to do the revised one.

I had a ton of content for LotR, dabbled in Arkham's core box, and now have replaced both with Marvel Champions. I like the structure of MC sooo much better than LotR. I like the fact I can grab a pack of the shelf of a hero I'm interested in, and play with its pre-con. I know the pre-cons aren't the best, but at least it's thematic and ready to play unlike LoTR's adventurer packs. So I stopped playing LotR before they implemented the Revised edition and new model for how they release cycle packs and expansions so take what I say with a grain of salt: But I always hated how little player cards each "deluxe" xpac and adventure pack gave. Not to mention the hero in the pack would rarely come with cards in the same pack that made sense for him. Why would I get "Gondor" only attachments and have a Noldor hero in said pack? Yes I know I could make him one, with that broken resource generator attachment that's in the base game, that gave you the title of "gondor" that everyone ran in their decks, but still. Then playing Arkham, I loved how much they cleaned things up, made deck building easier, but it felt strictly "campaign only." I am not dogging the campaign at all, cause I think it was fantastic, compared to the other three, but it was hard for pick up and play, which is what I want out of these games. Mind you my extent is the core box, Not to mention a lot of the player cards could only be put into your deck if you "bought" it with campaign XP, meaning you had less cards to actually deck build right out of the gate. I am aware that in the Reference there was a way to play scenario based games, by giving yourselves 10-20 xp on the offset, to include said cards and I just hated it. It felt far too clunky for my tastes. I will admit compared to Lord of the Rings, it was better, but I preferred LotR cause of its scenario based play MC, I think, gives me the best of both worlds. Modular encounter sets for scenarios and the option to run a short campaign, with those "upgrades" you get depending on how well you do. Not to mention the ability to buy a pack based solely on the interest of playing said hero, and play it out of the box. That's just my opinion overall and I think whichever someone goes with, they can't go wrong. But heed my warning: Get into ONE LCG. By all means don't try to juggle 2-4, cause that crap gets expensive.

I gotta admit I’m happy picking marvel champions. I have never touched the campaign because the deck building is my favorite and the initial 15 cards can give me direction and even tell me what the character is about a bit so if I wanted to theme it around the character instead of just optimization, I could. I play games to play with people and most of my friends don’t really enjoy listening to Dialogue or story mode, they are there to play. Solo I would probably enjoy the story more though.

thanks for the great video. I have all three and LOTR LCG is still my number one favorite game of all time :) I think FFG releasing Angmar Awaken cycle just right after the core box is a bit cruel, but we now know Saga boxes will be reprinted as well, and there are some great heroes and player cards in there

Very helpful video. I had Arkham LCG, then sold it. I'm interested in LoTR. Boiler Up!

It's an easy decision!! Get all of them!

Spot on!!! I think you’re right to deviate from the IP suggestion. I’m not a big LOTR or even fantasy genre fan in general but I LOVE the LCG. Conversely love the Lovecraft setting but struggle at times with getting into the game. Though I do play it regardless haha. -Sharkchops

I actually own all three but I actually haven't played the LOTR one yet. I do have everything (barring Edge of the Earth) for Arkham and I'm missing Mad Titan and a few hero packs for Marvel but I really enjoy them. I think with LOTR I was a bit intimidated because it has SO much to buy for it, but now that theyre doing the revised sets I may just be getting those

They're all so good, impossible to choose just one.

For me I started with marvel champions and its a great introduction to the lcg model I ha e everything released so far ut with the announcement of the xmen cycle I'm going to pass on that one, I pick the revised core set of lotr and have all the re releases so far so I'll concentrate on that for a while I love both games but marvel champions will always be my first pick

I'm very new to LCGs. I started with Arkham Horror LCG (The Old Starter Box) because it was so cheap. I got to try out the concept but I wish I had gotten the new revised box now that I know that I like it. I am also trying out LOTR LCG, again with the old starter box, because I had bought it many years ago but never really knew how to play or even approach it. Out of the box LOTR has been far more challenging and I still haven't beat the first quest yet. I bought some hero packs to help me and I'm looking forward to tinkering to beat the first quest.

I'm really hoping that FFG is able to reprint/repackage the majority of the LotR LCG, as I do think they've seen an uptick in sales with the repacking. It was an absolute nightmare finding product, figuring out what to buy, etc. before this, and I think it shows just how robust the game is, and how strong the IP is as well. Ive been pretty harsh on FFG since Netrunner died, and I've seen their IPs sort of collapse under mismanagement (L5R LCG, the Netrunner IP in general), but I'm glad that Marvel Champions and my current LCG muse of Arkham are still going strong. I've bought a few sagas for LotR and the new core, but I'm excited to keep playing as it scratches its own unique itch, I'm just hoping that I can find everything and get a complete collection at some point.

Thank you for making this video; I was torn between Marvel and Lord of the Rings because I adore both series, but after seeing it, my decision is much apparent.

Thanks for the TLDR

A Game of Thrones 1st Edition and Star Wars The Card Game by FFG are excellent. The overwhelming majority of players never participate in organized tournaments so does it really matter that these games are out of print?

I agree with you worh Lotr being hard to recommend when you don’t know what and when they are going to do reprints. However, saying that it’s my favorite of the 3 by far. I like Arkham, while champions I don’t care for at all even though thematically I like marvel the best.

I would love to get into the arkham horror lcg, but my wallet says no. I don't think it will ever forgive me for my lotr lcg collection...

All of them!

man i'm having a struggle with LOTR LCG . I got the core and saga and it is brutal at times true solo.Considering two handing but I would say for me MC is the one I would recommend to people.Fast setup,easy deckbuilding,and you can really pick and choose with what you want in terms of hero packs/exspansions.I just like it more cause I can get a game in quicker than with Arkham which can usually take me more than an hour.

It's like the most spot on comment on the internets on these games in the first 5 minutes. Very very sound logic and recommendations. From my pov I would add that I never found the motivation to play any Arkham scenario for the second time. That means you'll have a slew of heroes never to be played. Subjectively - Arkham has one of the best and thematic art in the industry. As for me - sold my moderate Arkham collection and bought MC even I'm deeply indifferent to the superheroes universe.

I've played a lot of LOTR and MC, never played Arkham Horror though. My thoughts: LOTR have a really awesome deckbuilding - I simply love it - but it can be hard to grasp for someone new to CCG or LCGs. Marvel Champions is such a great entry for people interested in deckbuilding and, in general, everyone can play their favorite hero without running the risk of getting a team that simply doesn't work. On LOTR, if every player do not build a deck that synergizes with each other, it can easily happen, because the team building matter a lot. On the other hand, MC deckbuilding is really straightforward, which is good for some, bad for others. If you played MTG, Netrunner or AGOT you will find the deckbuilding of MC really simple, but still enjoyable. Like all Fantasy Flight games, the Core will not give you a lot of deckbuilding options for both games. I find 3 players to be the best player count, but both games work great with 2 players. LOTR is a hard game, you need your deck and your team on point, and still, some scenarios are hard! Marvel is a fun pick and play, fast deckbuilding game. I personally prefer LOTR as a game, but I'm investing right now in MC, because it's also fun and it's cheaper and easier to find content.

Dangit, I watched a few minutes of Edge of the Earth playthrough and the story pulled me in so much that I stopped the video, and bought the core box of Arkham, but really I wanted to get to Antarctica ASAP, I loved the setting. Is it too bad an idea? Is Dunwich really so good?

After purchasing the Core set for Arkham Horror can you skip around the different campaigns? For instance after completing night of the zealot can I fast forward to Edge of the Earth? Or does the story make more sense going in order??

I completely agree about LOTR. That’s the first LCG I saw and I was ready to go all in but I’m confused about their release strategy, which makes me hesitant. My OCD wants to buy everything in order. It’s fine if they don’t play to print revised versions of cycles, but it would be nice to know what isn’t coming so that can be purchased now.

Come my friend joint the cult of lovecraft we have lita chantler

Lotr of course

I understand your point about not just recommend to people the IP they're interested to get into LCG's and at least talk about what the games do differently. However, the theme of the IP is still an important factor. As great as Arkham Horror looks from a gameplay perspective, I have no interest in the theme personally. Maybe one day they'll come with a Star Wars Co-OP LCG that has a strong narrative aspect of AH:LCG, then I'll buy into that :) Also, I was one of the unfortunate souls who started diving into LOTR:LCG about a year before the Revised Core set was announced. I have mixed feelings about it because of how much I tracked down. I have the complete sagas and the first two cycles. Your concerns about where FFG jumped into for the reprints makes me feel a little bit better in that I might have a decent enough card pool to tackle those reprinted campaigns should I decide to buy them. Right now, I'm too busy playing MC to get LOTR:LCG to the table anyway.

Imperium: Classics and Legends ;D

I just got into Arkham Horror and am loving it so far, I played LOTR a LONG time ago (first core release) and thought it was cool, but I'm kind of LOTR'd out after all the LOTR content that has come out over the years. Arkham is fresh for me, and I loved the 2nd edition board game. Sure it can be brutal at times, but I enjoy challenges. Also the scenarios supports not always winning because it knows you will eventually lose. I am interested in Marvel Champions, but I can't invest anymore at this point in time.

I picked LOTR first and my very first LCG. Probably Marvel Champions would have been the most appropriate one given how introductory it sounds to me from the information I'm getting. But "adventure" is the key criteria that I was craving for. I would still consider Marvel Champions (not now yet, I think LOTR would even last me for a lifetime 😂). Arkham Horror is just enticing as well.

Out of curiosity, do you think having a core set with the intention of just getting the sagas is worth it/fun enough or would it be infuriating to near impossible - sucking all the enjoyment out?

LOTR all the way !!!!

Nice topic. At some point I had all of them. I sold Arkham Horror despite loving the theme, cause *I simply don't enjoy the game system*. I thought LotR was my favorite, and still own it, until... Marvel Champions became my favorite LCG ever! If I want strong Lovecraftian story I rather read one of Lovecraft's works than play a game. The game mechanisms of AH LCG are an overcomplicated mess and a luck fest imo (no matter how well you play, if you just pull constantly the worst modifiers, like - 4, you simply cannot win!. Period!) I'm a big J. R. Tolkien fan, but LotR LCG have a problem in my view: There's too many over complicated scenarios that requires to build specific decks in order to succeed.... decks that cannot stand against other scenarios that also demand for very specific builds! Sad. Also, players commonly don't go through all their decks, which seems frustrating for a LCG to me. Marvel Champions have fixed all those issues imo. Nothing else to say.

I count The Veil as an lcg as well, also WQACG. Both are better than AHLCG but AH has the best artwork. Rules are a bitch in either FFG product.

I've only been playing Marvel Champions, but the competition I get is from my friends who are heavy into Sentinels of the Multiverse. Their gripe with MC is that setup is a pain. And the comparison is pretty correct --Sentinels, you grab hero, villain, and environment decks, and play. Even though I build all my decks ahead of time --all heroes have an (economically built) tailored aspect deck. It still takes longer to setup and tear down MC --and with 3-4, play time is usually longer. For me, Sentinels heroes are horribly imbalanced, and there's no way to fix the decks.

I've played Marvel champions a lot and I really like it. So one year ago, I decided to buy LOTR, and oh my god... LOTR is much more cruel, and the main problem for me is that I can't adjust the difficulty (only 2 levels, and even the easy one is hard in many scenarios). That's something that I really miss. Now I'm playing Angmar after all previous content and I would say that the change from the core is too brutal, and honestly I'm dissapointed with the game even I love the scenarios. Now, Spanish stores are dealing AH and I just bought it, so let's see how it goes😊. Great video by the way!!

I jumped into Lord of the Ring's with the revised core and I'm a bit scared/off-put by Fantasy Flights release plan as well (if only because I have no idea if they are going to re-release Lore Aragorn anytime soon), but I think at this point I've decided to just follow their plan as everything is re-released and expect it to be a really big challenge. Personally, I can have a lot of fun with the LCG's even if I'm losing a lot, so I don't mind.

I’m trying to decide between Marvel Champions and Arkham Horror right now!?!? I love Marvel but Arkham seems like more up my alley cuz of the campaign/story

I’ve played all 3, and rank LotR top, with AH a close second, and MC a distant third. As far as ease to get into for someone new to FFG LCGs though, I’d recommend the opposite order.

My gripe with Marvel Champions is that because I *never* play solo, and I build out all the decks ahead of time, I have to build economical decks (eg, aggression decks have 3-4 allies max)... So as soon as you get to Galaxies' Most Wanted, those villains are mostly impossible without house rules. It's like all the content went toward assuming we have all expansions, and that we're all building a task-specific solo deck with all the best cards to have a chance at one villain. I have zero interest in that direction for MC...

marvel it is

AH Always.

Has your opinion changed since post this video?

WRT MC Big boxes are the best "Value" and agree ROTRS for the simple fact it adds the least number of Keywords beyond the core. Yep GMW is currently the last big box expansion I'd recommend. Yet really due to the modularity and difficulty modifiers you can buy what you like... I'd say my favourite Hero's have been Venom, Drax and War Machine of the more recent packs with Venom being my most played already for True Solo. I find MC just more interactive gameplay wise and as I played it before AH I found the latter a bit slow. yet if I'd played AH first maybe I'd like it better... I don't favour either IP so as I prefer the gameplay of MC over AH it shows it's not a case of selecting based on IP. Ultimately MC is the new kid with the best business model (and a really important point you can actually buy it) and you can pick up a core for really cheap. After this you can really just buy what you fancy as most stuff is modular and can all be mixed and matched. With the others your buying cycles which locks you into a much bigger outlay .. if you can find them. So for new players MC is the most modular, the cheapest for a good solid core to try it then you can mix and match any content unlike the others which require you to invest in complete cycles. Still saying this I'll probably pick up LOTR at some point.

The luck bag and lack of deck cyclying in Arkham Horror vs. Marvel Champions is a big draw back.

Marvel Champions is overprice i think Lord of the ring is more fair an also fun ( 13/02/2023 checked on amazon)

looked at this recently I decided against AH because it honestly looked like a weaker mansions of madness, every gameplay/review ive watched just didnt sell me from the fact its mansions but less visual and less story. im over marvel stuff so didnt really bother looking at it because damn between the constant new shows and movies, i just dont care for anything marvel after i slogged it out through the endgame saga. i went with LOTR and i am worried about the release situation, especially as anything older is basically out of print and extremely over priced, but i hold out hope people are getting into more with the amazon show out now that it will generate enough sales to keep the new packs coming out. its been a riot so far, loving how difficult but rewarding it is. one turn you are down and out, the next suddenly a card pull changes everything and you have a killer round.

AH was alright, I dont like super heroes and marvel so did not enjoy that one, LOTR however is AMAZING.

I found the revised core to be way too easy for LotR even with only those cards, and desperately needs Angmar to turn up the heat threefolds. If I don't feel like it is a challenge at all, I'd much rather go back to Arkham and play those campaigns for the variety and unfolding stories.

Stay away from all three. Otherwise you will be sucked down the rabbit hole of wonderful card play. I have all three (not everything for them though - I wish) and they are never leaving my collection. If I had to trade one for a vital organ, it would be Arkham Horror since the IP is my least favorite of the three.