Race to Mount Doom
Following the success of the Spring 2002 League Kit as a tool for community-building, Decipher elaborated on the concept with the Race to Mount Doom reusable league kits in October 2002[1][2]. Expanding upon the "Encounter" system of the earlier kit, the Race incorporated a randomized and reusable system of modifiers that would alter league games. Players would progress down the "path" of unique modifiers, earning themselves harder and harder challenges to confront during each game. Participation was further incentivized by the awarding of exclusive Pins and Foils (both randomized and static promos).
Race to Mount Doom would receive a refreshed re-release the following year in November 2003[3], just in time for The Return of the King. This included a new wall mat using ROTK imagery and a further-expanded list of path modifiers, as well as an update to the Pins and foil promos used as awards. Race was extremely popular for the two years of its promotion[4], and is often referred to fondly to this day.
Unlike the league kits before it, the Race to Mount Doom had both a retail version and a home version of the kit, which omitted prize and advertisement support, and also utilized an abbreviated 5-site path rather than the full 9-site path in the full version.
The Race format was implemented digitally on the official Lord of the Rings Online TCG client, a feat later matched by the fan-based mLOTRO platform.
For more detailed information on the contents of these kits, please see the dedicated articles below:
Gameplay
League organizers (optionally with the input of league players themselves) choose 9 game text modifiers from the list provided and assign them to a Race site path, which then remains unchanging for the next 8-10 weeks. Players then begin at Race site 1 and play league matches with associated modifier in force for the entire game. Players who win a match move to the next Race site, which alters the modifiers in force for them in all following games. Once a player makes it to site 9 and wins a match, the league is concluded.
These modifiers range from beneficial to challenging, with many so impactful as to require dedicated decks to be constructed just to be functional. Since the format encourages placing easier modifiers at the start of the Race path, and harder modifiers at the end of the path, the entire system operates similarly to a handicap, meaning that stronger players (who advance quicker down the Race path) are forced to play with harsh restrictions against opponents saddled with less challenging requirements.
The included game text modifiers were crafted to sustain 2-4 Race leagues on their own, but players running subsequent Race leagues are encouraged to mix and match modifiers into their own site path, or even to invent their own modifiers. As a result, the replayability of the Race format is quite high, and scales with the game knowledge of the community running it.
References
- ↑ Wayback Machine: Decipher Introduces New Way to Play The Lord of the Rings™ Trading Card Game
- ↑ Wayback Machine: What If... You Raced to Mount Doom?
- ↑ Wayback Machine: RACE TO MOUNT DOOM: The Return of the King Edition
- ↑ Reports From the Race to Mount Doom™ 'Round the World
