War of the Ring: Lords of Middle-earth Expansion

Get this expansion because it provides alternate sculptures for your characters as well as a dedicated sculpture for both Aragorn and Gandalf the White. The other sculptures are ok, I was excited for the Balrog but it was not as impressive as I had hoped; same for the Witch-King. This expansion basically works as a variant setup for the game, affecting the characters and cards, not the starting state of the board. If you need some variability for characters, then get this expansion. The new dice it introduces are beautiful but not a necessary mechanic. Fortunately, you don't have to incorporate everything from this expansion to use it; you can choose what you want to use in a session. Definitely worth getting, buy this now.

The added characters greatly add replayability to an already highly replayable game. More strategies to unfold.

This is a relatively small expansion, and there is less in the box than one might expect. As the product description says, it's got a few minis (these match the dark-silver colored miniatures for unique characters in the base game), a few tokens, a couple dozen cards (all the same size as the base game), and 5 dice. For players familiar with the WotR 1st Ed. Battles of the Third Age expansion, some of the updates to the base game will be familiar: Galadriel, the Balrog, the Mouth of Sauron, and a second version of the Witch King are all added. Basically, it covers what it says on the box, that is, adding in powerful lords such as Elrond to your war for middle earth. While it has a only a potion of what was included in the aforementioned 1st edition expansion, it also has some things that are entirely new, namely, unique dice. In the base game, the Free Peoples player has the option to spend tokens representing the 3 Elven Rings to alter a die result. This Expansion replaces that function with an entirely new, and more in-depth mechanic of adding special dice for each of the rings. To summarize, though there's not a whole lot in the box, what it has will add even more depth and new strategies to the game (for both players). See the Warriors of Middle Earth expansion for WotR 2nd Ed if you're interested in the new units that were included in the 1st Ed Battles of the Third Age expansion.

Of the current expansions available for the exquisite THE WAR OF THE RING board game, I'd give this one the highest marks. While not necessary, it adds a handful of beloved characters from the books to the game (the Keepers of the Elven Rings, Smeagol, the Balrog, etc.) and does so in a way that doesn't overcomplicate or bog down the base experience. Even if you don't choose to play with the additional stuff, this set includes the two figures that many lamented weren't included in the base game (Aragorn and Gandalf the White). The extra dice and characters of this expansion can be added to the game with minimal disruption to base game's flow. B+.

Sure War of the Ring is awesome, but what if it it could be more awesome?? Enter the Lords of Middle-earth.

Excellent expansion for those who have played enough of War of the Ring base game to want to spice things up.

Great addition to the base game.

I was surprised by the inumerous aditions this expansion brings to the core game. The Balrog and the keepers of the elven rings dices are great. Did not used the "Council of Rvendell" rule though. Other great adition is having Smeagol leading the Fellowship before reaching Mordor. As a bonus we have new minitures to Gandalfa the white and Aragorn heir of Isildur. It's a must have expansion indeed.

I was surprised by the inumerous aditions this expansion brings to the core game. The Balrog and the keepers of the elven rings dices are great. Did not used the Council of Rvendell rule though. Other great adition is having Smeagol leading the Fellowship before reaching Mordor. As a bonus we have new minitures to Gandalfa the white and Aragorn heir of Isildur. It's a must have expansion indeed.