Ready your bows and axes, it’s time to assemble the fellowship with the new Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond set, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth! With the official release date (June 23, 2023) right around the corner, we’ve crafted a comprehensive breakdown of all the unique card variants and printings you can expect when cracking open packs.

Before we dive in to the realm of Middle-earth, we’d like to go over some frequently asked questions regarding Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth:

Q: Where can I list the cards from the Commander Decks?

A: Cards that were printed for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will be part of the main set, Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Older reprints that were slotted into the Commander Decks will be found in Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth as they have a unique set abbreviation (LTC) and set symbol.

Q: Why can’t I list the Buy-a-Box, Lórien Brooch – Trailblazer’s Boots Promo Card?

A: Due to concerns from sellers and Wizards of the Coast’s policy, this card will not be available to list until release day (June 23, 2023).

Q: How can I tell if a card is a Variant Card in the Seller Portal?

A: All variant cards feature their Variant Type in parentheses after the card name. Examples of these will be (Borderless) and (Extended Art). When exporting inventory and sorting by card number, all Variants will be above card number 301.

Q: How can I tell if a Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth card is Traditional Foil or Surge Foil?

A: Several of the Commander reprints for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth were printed in traditional foil, non-foil, and surge foil for the release of Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. These cards, dubbed Realms and Relics, are a set of Mythic rares that have their original reprint name underneath the name of a location or artifact of great importance in the world of Middle-earth.

Surge Foil printings of these cards will have a (Surge Foil) identifier next to the card name, and have card numbers from 0378 to 0406.

Q: Why is the “1 of 1” print of The One Ring not available for searching and listing on TCGplayer?

A: The “1 of 1” print of The One Ring is a borderless alternate art variant of The One Ring of which only one copy was printed. As a result, during the release of Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, only one copy can be pulled from a random Collector Booster, or be in circulation.

Given the unique pull nature of this card and its high value, we will not enable sellers' ability to list and sell this card without ensuring the security of buyers interested in a genuine copy. If you are looking to list this card on the TCGplayer Marketplace, please reach out to our Catalog Team at catalog@tcgplayer.com with any images of the card as you have it on hand.

Without further ado, here all all the variants you can expect in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth:


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

Cards numbered 0001 through 0296 are your main set items. These come in all the normal locations, and a few more:

  • Draft Boosters
  • Set Boosters
  • Bundles
  • Commander Decks
  • Starter Kits

 


TCGplayer Set Name: Buy-a-Box Promos

This card is numbered 0398 and titled Lórien Brooch – Trailblazer’s Boots. The card features unique borderless art only available as the Buy-a-Box promo, and can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Buy-a-Box Promo - Foil Only

Note: Due to issues with Wizards of the Coast’s Retailer Agreement, the Buy-A-Box Promo will not be listed until closer to release day. 


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

These unique full art land cards feature beautiful recreations of the maps of Middle-earth from the original The Lord of the Rings novels! They are numbered 0272-0281 and can be found in the below locations:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 Foil Full Art Middle-earth Land
  • Set Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil basic land or Full Art Middle-earth Land (80% chance)
  • Draft Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil basic land or Full Art Middle-earth Land
  • Bundle
    • Can appear in Set Boosters in this product


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

Showcase Cards are numbered 0302-0331 and can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Draft Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Rare or Mythic Rare (possibility for showcase treatment)
  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Common or Uncommon borderless scene, Nazgul, or showcase treatment (23.3% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless or showcase treatment (50% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Non-foil Nagzul or showcase card (91% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil
  • Set Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Rare or Mythic Rare (possibility for showcase treatment)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil card of any rarity (possibility for showcase treatment)
    • Potential Slot: 2 “Wildcards” with the possibility of up to 2 of foil or non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare in showcase treatment
    • Potential Slot: 1 Common or Uncommon borderless “scene” or showcase treatment (50% chance)
  • Bundle
    • Can appear in Set Boosters in this product

 

TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

In acknowledgement of the 9 ringwraiths featured in the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy, this set features 9 card variants of the Nazgûl card, each with unique artwork! The Nazgûl alternate art variants are numbered 0332-0339 and can ONLY be found in the following products:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Common or Uncommon borderless scene, Nazgûl, or showcase treatment (2.3% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Non-foil Nazgûl or showcase card (9% chance)

​


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

There are several types of borderless cards included in the release of Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth; borderless cards based on locations in Middle-earth are numbered 0340-0345, while the borderless “scene” cards are numbered 0497-0759. 

 

Both types of borderless cards can be obtained through the following products:

 

  • Draft Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Rare or Mythic Rare (possibility for borderless treatment)
  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare (possibility for borderless treatment)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless or showcase treatment (50% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Common or Uncommon borderless scene, Nazgul, or showcase treatment (41.8% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil (18.7% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 Non-Foil borderless scene card of any rarity
  • Set Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Rare or Mythic Rare (possibility for borderless treatment)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil card of any rarity (possibility for borderless treatment)
    • Potential Slot: 2 “Wildcards” with the possibility of up to 2 of foil or non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless treatment
    • Potential Slot: 1 Common or Uncommon borderless “scene” or showcase treatment (50% chance)
  • Bundle
    • Can appear in Set Boosters in this product

​​


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth


Extended Arts are numbered 0346-0397 in Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR) and 0086-0147 in Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTC). They can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil (9.9% chance)
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 Rare or Mythic Rare extended art from the main set (LTR)

Guaranteed Slot: 1 Non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare extended art from the commander set (LTC)

 


TCGplayer Set Name: Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

Note: Double-sided tokens are added to the catalog during release week once confirmation of double-sides are received.

Token faces are the same as the Main set, but are double-sided, foil, and can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 Foil Double-Sided Token

 

TCGplayer Set Name: Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

New, unique cards numbered 0001-0410 and curated non-LTR reprints with set abbreviation LTC can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Commander Decks 
    • Eowyn, Shieldmaiden (001) can be found in the Riders of Rohan Commander deck
    • Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit (002) can be found in the Food and Fellowship Commander deck
    • Galadriel, Elven-Queen (003) can be found in the Elven Council Commander deck
    • Sauron, Lord of the Rings (004) can be found in The Hosts of Mordor Commander deck

Exclusive Commander cards with the Extended Art treatment are numbered 86-160 in Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTC). They can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil (9.9% chance)
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 Non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare extended art from the commander set (LTC)

The Commander exclusive “Realms and Relics” borderless cards are numbered 348-0377, with the Surge Foil printings spanning numbers 0378-0407. These cards are ONLY available via the following products:

  • Collector Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 Non-foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless or showcase treatment (31.3% chance)
    • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Rare or Mythic Rare in borderless, showcase, extended-art from commander (LTC), or surge foil (0.8% chance)

The “Realms and Relics” borderless cards will also be given out with Draft Boosters, Set Boosters, and Collector Boosters as Box Toppers in traditional foil.

There are six versions of the card Sol Ring in Commander: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, spanning the card numbers 0408-0410. These cards, which represent the rings of power gifted to the elves, dwarves, and men, were printed with the written form of the languages of High Elves, Quenya, and Tengwar. 

Both the Foil Serial Numbered print and the Non-Foil print of these special Sol Ring cards are only available via Collector Boosters:

  • Potential Slot: 1 Foil Common or one of the following:
    • 1 Non-Foil Elven Sol Ring (< 0.1% chance)
    • 1 Non-Foil Dwarven Sol Ring (< 0.25% chance)
    • 1 Non-Foil Human Sol Ring (< 0.3% chance)
    • 1 Foil Serial Numbered Elven Sol Ring (< 0.01% chance)
    • 1 Foil Serial Numbered Dwarven Sol Ring (< 0.025% chance)
    • 1 Foil Serial Numbered Human Sol Ring (< 0.03% chance)

 

In order to make The List work well with the existing catalog, we have set up the below guidelines:

  • If the card was previously printed as a non-foil only Mystery Booster Card, it will not be added to The List (this would duplicate the card in the catalog) - List with caution as copies of these cards are already in the wild, and cannot be presold.
  • If the card was previously printed as a foil-only Mystery Booster Retail Exclusive, it will not be added to The List (this would separate printings of the same card in the catalog) - The non-foil printings will not be listable until release day (June 23, 2023), and cannot be presold.

Cards from The List can be found in the below location from Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth:

  • Set Boosters
    • Potential Slot: 1 token, ad card, or card from The List
  • Bundle
    • Can appear in Set Boosters in this product

 

 

TCGplayer Set Name: Art Series: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

Cards feature full art on the front with card information on the back can be found ONLY in the below locations:

  • Set Boosters: 
    • Guaranteed Slot: Art Card Slot (81 potential art cards)
    • 10% of the time, rather than a normal art card, you'll get one with a gold-stamped signature of the artist. Every art card exists in both its normal version and its signature version.
  • Bundle
    • Guaranteed at least 1 in every Set Booster in this product

 


TCGplayer Set Name: Unique and Miscellaneous Promos

Something new and unique to the Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is that there is not one, but four Bundle promos! These four cards when combined make a borderless scene depicting the moment when the One Ring is destroyed. The card names and card numbers are as follows:

  • Frodo, Sauron’s Bane (Borderless) (0448)
  • Samwise the Stouthearted (Borderless) (0449)
  • Gollum, Patient Plotter (Borderless) (0450)
  • The One Ring (Borderless) (0451)

These cards can ONLY be found in the following products:

  • Collector Booster
    • Potential Slot: 1 non-foil borderless scene
  • Bundle
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 foil borderless scene from Mount Doom
  • Gift Bundle
    • Guaranteed Slot: 1 foil borderless scene from Mount Doom

Have questions for our team? Please contact us at catalog@tcgplayer.com.