Is It Worth It To Buy A Lord Of The Rings Starter Kit? | A Magic: The Gathering Product Review 

Be sure to also watch "Lore Of The Rings" Commander Deck | Build-Your-Own Commander Precon For Less Than $45 by following our guide here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-34KFG1dZPrU.html

$60 of cards, plays against each other, amd free code. I was able to grab them for $20 and feel it's one of the more solid buys outside of commander for the set.

2:45 the fumble 2:52 the swift recovery. The Professor, as always, a class act.

as a long time player these decks are a joy to play against each other- not even vaguely competitive otherwise but well matched and fun as a sealed pool

This kit is actually how me and my fiance started magic and we really enjoyed playing them, this made us want to buy the commander starter decks which along with drafting and building decks using a draft booster box have been a huge source of fun for us

I was shocked when I got the starter decks to see two codes, each allowing me to redeem both decks. This seems to be a product meant to be shared and used to teach, not taken apart by collectors, which I really appreciate.

I LOVE this product I preordered one to get in on the LotR fun with a tight budget. I kept Mordor and gave Gondor to a friend, we then bought 2 set boosters each and traded cards for our decks. Then i ordered a few cheap singles online and turned mine into a commander deck for about $55 total. Super fun experience 9/10 would recommend

Seems like the best starter set for the theme, gives you every lotr creature a fan would want.

I’m brand new to MTG and a LOTR collector. This got me into mtg and I’m loving these 2 decks. I have also picked up the pre-release box and about a dozen booster packs that I have a wide variety of cards from this series and I have adjusted both decks to make them better for the way that I’ve been learning to play. I plan on creating a commander deck off the Mordor set And really want to pick up the 9 wraith cards.

I'm a big fan of duel decks and really liked this product but I learned how to play from this exact type of product.

I pre-ordered one as a collectible to play with my friends who love LOTR but are not as much into magic, makes for a fun experience and opens shared spaces

I picked this up for 25 bucks at GameStop to play some cool Lord of the Rings themed decks with my bros. Love em. Wanted something other than Commander and while I have some other 60 card constructed decks I wanted some that I didnt have any intention of taking apart.

Something else worth mentioning is that the kits come with 2 codes, each of with gives you both decks. At least, that's how the old Arena one worked. That way you can split a kit with a friend who is also new to the game and both be able to practice on Arena with each of the decks.

This starter set is what got me into magic so I think it’s incredibly worth it as a starter. Both decks are very well balanced against each other!

I purchased this starter kit as an intro to magic. Absolutely love it. Big LoTR fan and I look forward to getting into events at my local LGS when I can buy a decent commander deck 🎉 Got mine before 7/4/23 for $20.

I have to say that I think this product should be viewed as a "teacher product". Let's be serious for a minute. How many people walk into an LGS with a friend and say "ooh ,let's learn to play magic", versus someone who already plays and buys this to teach someone else how to play. The value of the cards is enough to tell the new guy "Hey, don't just put a rubber band around your deck and throw in your backpack", like me and my buddies did in '95 . It's an opportunity to teach value and collectabilty as well as game play.

I started playing in December 2022 and the 2022 starter kit was my first product. It was a great way for my wife and me to play and learn together. I got the LOTR starter kit when it came out so I could also get some of my other friends into the game. These sets have been a great place to start for me and my friends

Friend of mine is learning magic right now, he ordered these decks and we play with them against each other. Its crazy how much flavor and an outside universe help to get someone excited for this game! I am a huge Tolkien fan as well so I have tons of fun with the artworks, flavor texts etc :)

I bought three of them. One set to keep to teach people how to play. And two to take apart for my cube and custom jumpstart.

I'd be great if there was a video showing how to upgrade both decks with cheap cards while keeping both at the same power level.

One of the reasons I enjoy playing decks like this is usually because of the lack of playsets. While playsets are the "professional" way to play Magic, and are certainly required in any real competitive setting, the fun tends to drop out of the bottom of the barrel for me when the focus of the deck becomes so razor-sharpened that the variety of the cards you can draw falls to maybe 10 or so. It feels better for me to play a luck-based game by the seat of my pants rather than have a solid set-in-stone combo win condition that I'm trying to draw into. I'd rather test my tactics than my strategy, and when all my games start feeling the same, it bores me. Granted, if you're playing for money, I can see the appeal in focusing on consistency, as those game-winning combo conditions are more important, but to me it's just an entirely different game, and it's not one that I'm into. Sealed, Draft, and Commander for life!

I’m definitely considering picking this up for helping teach my lady to play! As always, I appreciate your reviews very much, Prof!! ❤

My boyfriend and I got into MTG recently because of this starter kit! So happy to have found it 😊

I really appreciate the commentary and discussion of the decks, but I also kind of love how you occasionally drop them. :) And then had a backup product in a drawer to continue with. Good show!

Having already bought one of these I have this to say about it: if you remember opening packs over 20 years ago the cards smell like they did back then. I got a blast of nostalgia right in my nose holes upon opening these cards.

I enjoyed the decks. I couldn't afford anything else but I got many of the cards that I wanted in the starter decks.

I'm just hyped that its a duel deck they were literally my favorite mtg product. The lack of4 ofs I hoenstly like in these because it keeps every game from feeling to samey

Got mine at my flgs for $20. I wanted Bilbo's ring for a commander deck, and can see using a few others as well. It was totally worth it for me.

I’m diving in for the first time in twenty years, I haven’t played or collected since I was 12 and this seems like a fun way to dive back in! Can’t wait to play these decks!

For newer players, I think it's a positive to not have too many 3 and 4 ofs. It's a lot more fun to have varied decks IMO - and it gives more variety to the games compared to a usual constructed deck (which is important if these are designed to be played against each other a good bit). I know that I bounced off more competitive magic (and still am not into the most consistent/fast formats) because the repetitiveness of the decks appealed to a different side of play than the more casual, varied playstyles I was enjoying with battle decks. It also helped me early on with stealing a few wins from my more experienced friend due to variance. Having more constructed decks would cut down on the number of different cards they had, make games more similar, and not appeal to the same demographic overall. So I think I agree with them not going with the 3/4 ofs you would prefer.

I got this for £15.99 ($20). I've never played MTG but I really like LotR so when I heard of this colab I was really interested in trying it out. I've not yet had the time to play with the decks but i've had a quick flick through both and I really like how focused both decks are. If I can get to grips with the game I would be really keen to try a pre-made commander deck hearing that that is the most play format.

I buy these to play with my son. I have no time to build new decks to teach him, and these are great for that. I actually like for them yo not have playsets. There's a sense of discovery when you're playing with them, and that adds to the experience. Maybe it's because I'm a Vorthos-like deckbuilder, but I enjoy it playing with my child.

Always a good critic and explanation on what we can really expect of one of these products. A+ for you Professor :D !

Great video! I honestly cackled out loud when you hit the box off the desk at 04:15

Two things happened for me. I decided to get into Magic. The LOTR Starter Kit was released. Of course I couldn’t resist! A great way for me to be introduced into Magic.

I am excited for this little kit. I love playing commander, and play no standard other than on Arena. This gives me 2 whole decks to shuffle up and play *wink* with a friend anytime I want a change, a quick two player game for fun. And I love LOTR!

got this today for me and my brother to try out magic. im excited to try this out

This guy is seriously so wonderful. He really answers all the questions you could have about the products, IMO!

Hey Prof I don’t play MTG but I watch almost all your videos because of how wholesome they are. Keep up the good work

As an on and off player since The Dark/Fallen Empires, I think I agree with Prof on this one. These are really little more than the spiritual successors to the Duel Decks. Not always the greatest value, but great fun, at least. IDK that they're the greatest intro to magic, but they're not bad. Especially with the Arena codes.

I'm actually pretty tempted by this! I've the remaining 1/3 of Lore of the Rings on the way already, plus a super-budget green/black phyrexian deck (the sleeves cost more than the deck itself and the incubator tokens cost more than 2/3 of the actual cards), so it's safe to say I'm heading out down the MTG rabbit hole.

I bought this for my wife and I to learn to play magic. It definitely was worth the money as we play way more than I expected and I’m also addicted to Arena now. As far as the decks go tho whoever plays as Mordor wins almost every time it’s definitely an easier deck to grasp than the Fellowship.

Thanks a lot Prof. i was looking like crazy through my packs for some of those, and the prizes are actually crazy, for some of these. I might just pick it up as a full package from my local LGS. As its more worth than buying the singles.

Im glad Prof included the shot of him dropping the box - he always includes the shots with some throw-tricks, but I appreciate he doesnt care to make it "super duper perfect".

13:49 I bought one in the late 90s. It came with a little comic book that explained how to play. It was a very rigid experience where if you shuffled the deck, the instructions would be worthless because they had a very specific order that the turns should go in. The cards had a white border with a star for the expansion icon. It was an interesting way to learn, but I’m not even sure if both decks were 60 cards. I haven’t purchased any recent starter decks, but I imagine things have been streamlined.

Nice video prof! I picked up this product for less than $20 so I thought I got a good deal. The decks have cool cards and play okay too.

I really like these items. Like you mentioned, reminds me of duel decks

Brand new player here and this info is invaluable, tha ks mate. Commander does seem like the most fun as opposed to the other formats being more competitive

Just got into magic after my brother bought the game night edition, and I bought two of theses decks for my 1st ever mtg purchase, one for playing and one for never opening. Thanks for the video gives me hope I could end up with a pricey box 😂

I like the Arena redemption codes. We play pre-made games at home as a family and tweak them to include play-sets and filter lands. Great to see filter lands included in this product.

I love that smooth recovery!

Thnk you for this insightful analysis!

I have bought all commander strater decks, (first decks ever bought) and I am a huge LOTR fan. As of now I am probably going to buy this product too, in order to get my friends to play MTG too :) Thank you for this video :)

Great review! Well explained!

I got this last year when I was first getting back into magic and I think it was an awesome RETURNING player experience

I bought once you said they are like duel decks and you get the codes for MTGA. I used to get duel decks with a friend and play them for fun but now we live far away from each other. Going to get a MTGA duel deck game going soon and I can't wait!

So great that they introduce the codes to redeem those decks :)

This was my first purchase which got me back into magic after a few years. Definitely don’t regret it at all.

Last time I played Mtg was in 01/02 during Odyssey! But I'm a huge Lotr fan soI just picked up this kit for €19. The first store I went it was sold out.

Bought the starter kit and had a blast learning magic for the first time (on arena). Just hoping to get to a point i can play at my local game store 🤞

This set made me finally give magic a try. Prior, I had no experience with the game. I bought this starter deck and used the code online to immediately start messing with it. I’ve been using the Swamp/ mountain deck. It took me awhile and I am still quite noobish but I’ve managed to climb into the gold rank with the deck. It’s been great fun and thankfully, this starter deck has helped bring me into a new hobby. The starter deck did work in at least bringing me into the game!

I played MTG years ago, but with my friend's decks because it was too expensive for my family. I like the game, but I never got into it. I enjoy watching it, tho. A few months ago, my GF (who loves lord of the rings) commented she saw this passing by, and asked about the game. She sounded interested, but not interested enough to justify buying it. I just found this video by chance, and decided to watch it. I think, all in all, I'm gonna get it for her as a gift. Worst case scenario, we'll play a few games and keep it as a collectible. after all, the promo cards look amazing and having the collection of legendary characters on display (in protective cases, of course) seems cool. Thanks for the video =D

Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin is a beast. He was my commander in the new Arena event. And of course goes great in the Lord of the Nazgul commander deck that everyone is building right now

Professor Thanks for the code!!! I got the first one :D

I had bought the starter decks set and the sauron commander deck when the pre-release happened and I couldn't have made it out like a bandit more cause the day after the value of the cards inside started to show me and my wife haven't played magic since we were in highschool and having the starter decks and playing with each other has been fun

i got this starter kit for $16 on Amazon(pre order). and a friend and I played with them. was fun but felt like Mordor was a bit more OP. will be excited to upgrade these decks a bit to make them more competitive. would love to see a video on what cards you could add to "upgrade" these 2 decks from your perspective. thank you!!

After not playing MtG since I was a child (25+ years ago), I picked up the starter due to the LotR theme. I absolutely love it and feel like two decks for $25 is a great value. I do feel the opposite of you on not having playsets of cards in the starters because it allows there to be more variety in what you get to see every game. And when I decided to purchase singles and upgrade the two decks, I was able to think about what gameplay mechanics of the decks to I want to focus on like do I want to go all in on the orc army amassing cards (heck yes). It works from a business standpoint too, since even though I was more than happy to leave the decks as they came if I wanted additional copies I'd have to purchase more product. My one complaint is that the forest/plains deck doesn't have a Legolas.

I’m new to the game (playing mtg arena) and love the lotr cards. I’ve noticed your many youtube videos, they are great. I hope one day wizards of the coast make a card in your honor, as it’s clear you love the game, and want newbies like myself, to discover the fun of mtg.

Love your work Professor.

Great video. Very succinct 👊

Got a gift bundle for $70 and one of these for another $15 (preordered them as soon as they became available). Made out pretty well in the end I think

I bought this as a duel deck for my wife and I. She is a new inexperienced player, and really enjoys the green white deck. I play the Rakdos deck. We have a lot of fun with it. Gollum, Scheming Guide is a funny card.

They maybe should also include a sample pack or a pack. I recall Portal had a pack of cards that could be added to the premade deck. I know that might raise the price though.

My lgs sold it for $25. I started playig with the arena one, but got this one so i could keep teaching my daughter how to play. She already knew some of the basics but thought itd be fun to play with a themed one.

Just bought the starter kit, huge LOTR fan and have always wanted to get into MTG, I’ll probably get the commander deck too 😊

I love this starter set. It is perfect to get in touch with MtG specially for LotR fans 👍🏽 Great Video 💚

I preordered this on Amazon way back in March and only spent $16 on it. I didn’t get it until a week and a half after I was supposed to, but it was still well worth it in my opinion.

I preordered mine ages ago on Amazon and only paid around $17. I'm happy with my purchase

Glad to see they are giving Arena codes with these. Something I've been hoping MTG would do for a while now. I collect Pokemon cards but only play online with the codes given with cards. Hopefully I can start doing the same with Arena now.

Got my LOTR friend into Magic with this. Best $20 Magic Spend for me because she ended up getting into Magic, mostly because she appreciated the art, and it got her into looking for more cards and wanting to learn how to play them.

Yes it is!!! 🎉❤ Bought these as an aniversary gift :)

I agreed completely the digital deck code is a HUGE plus

As for the Arena codes... if they were included in *everything*, I would buy so many packs! Love the game, love collecting cards, but have no one to play with in person so can't justify it. Don't buy anything on Arena because I don't like buying digital packs-- but if I could get digital copies of my *physical* packs? I'd be so damn broke.

I'm a born-again Magic player: played a bunch in high school, fell off, and came back around in the past couple of years. I snagged one of these for $16 during the Amazon presale. Don't know if I would have paid more elsewhere, but I've been having fun with them.

Thank you, a good video! Would you maybe like to create a video about the Starter Kit 2023 ? That would be great, Thank you!

I like starter kits because I can just add on to them. Plus me and my friend opened them up sleeved them and play. Then after we fix the decks.

I only bought this product for the cards for my collection. $25 AUD for some pretty valuable rares and bulk commons/uncommons from the main set is great value if you’re just looking to fill a binder.

4:15 box flip is my favourite moment of this video)

I know a guy who learned to play magic with an established group of EDH players (including myself). Bought the mono red Daretti precon back when it was new. Played it over and over until he felt like he fully understood it, then upgraded it and absolutely whooped butt with it. Certainly not how I'd recommend most people learn, but the dude definitely became a good player through the experience.

its my first magic the gathering product

I bought mine for $25 from my FLGS on opening day and haven’t regretted it! Great to play games against my son and we are both learning the game

The face card for the Gondor deck is a foil Magali Villeneuve art, so I'm picking it up anyway 😅

Thanks for the info Prof! Quick question, I'm looking into picking up the full set (barring any cost prohibitive cards) any recommendations on how to go about this?

As a established player retruning to the world of Magic back in 2017. I have only bought myself booster boxes of sets that Catch my interests ever since. I got introduced to th e game from my computer science Professor by playing tons of Cube formats with his cube collection. Then I bought myself some commander decks to help grow my small collection with just like booster boxes on sets that catch my interest. I do think these starter sets for commander play is a great product for the value on welcoming new players. I also hope Wizards see it a s a positive and start to create similar type of decks to their other formats as well like Oath Breaker, and Brawl, and standard.

The last few "Starter Kits" have been enjoyable Duel Decks nostalgia experience. They are also in expensive enough I can grab them as Christmas gifts (I preordered at $15.00).

I was happy with my purchase of these decks. The codes alone allowed both me and a friend to have digital copies of both decks. And while the decks aren’t perfectly built they are a great introduction to the mechanics of this set for the price.

I bought an earlier starter set to re-introduce my gf to mtg and it was a decent way to (re-)learn the game. I think those decks had the issue of being too weak which led to us getting bored pretty quickly (the most exciting card in one of the decks was a one-off Dragonsguard Elite). This looks like it could be overwhelming at first, but it definitely looks like it has enough power and complexity to be exciting for more games!

If you're reading this, it's probably not worth it. But if you like Lord of the rings and are considering getting in to magic because of the crossover, or you know someone that likes LotR and you think they would like to play magic, it's a good intro product to teach them.

I am happy with this product. It‘s fun to play. And I got mine for 19.99€

Hey! Love your videos, I’m a new MTG arena player just trying to rank up on the sparky rank, I’m nearly bronze now (I think) I bought this starter pack as I like LOTR and is exciting mixing up MTG with it. Although I have a question, do you think is going to be too advanced? Atm I’m playing with the starter decks given from colour challenge but every time I try to upgrade them following RU-vid videos it says some cards are illegal… and I’m very confused as I used wildcards for nothing. I have read online I could “unlock all game modes” so I can also play historic and play any card if I understood right, but then I’m still learning the game so not sure if I should unlock everything? I wonder when is going to unlock on its own.. any advice? Subscribed btw, love your videos and your style 😊