Formats: Difference between revisions

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With the release of ''[[The Two Towers]]'', Decipher decided to hold tournaments with different card limitations, regularly creating or retiring Formats as the need arose (and as sales numbers dictated).  Each format would have it's own [[X-list]] and [[R-list]] as needed to check abuse and keep gameplay fresh. '''[[Standard]]''' format usually allowed all released sets, with according X- and R-lists, until March 2005, when ''[[Fellowship of the Ring|Fellowship]]'' block "rotated out" and was no longer permitted.  Decipher claimed this was to keep the card pool manageable for new players, but many viewed this action as a marketing scheme requiring players to update their collections.  At this point the '''[[Expanded]]''' format was created that allowed all sets, and the '''[[Open]]''' format followed suit that had no [[X-list]] (though an R-list was enforced).
With the release of ''[[The Two Towers]]'', Decipher decided to hold tournaments with different card limitations, regularly creating or retiring Formats as the need arose (and as sales numbers dictated).  Each format would have it's own [[X-list]] and [[R-list]] as needed to check abuse and keep gameplay fresh. '''[[Standard]]''' format allowed all released sets (with an X-list) until March 2005, when [[Fellowship of the Ring|the first set]] of ''[[Fellowship block]]'' "rotated out" and was no longer permitted.  Decipher claimed this was to keep the card pool manageable for new players, but many viewed this action as a marketing scheme requiring players to update their collections.  At this point the '''[[Expanded]]''' format was created that allowed all sets, and the '''[[Open]]''' format followed suit that had no [[X-list]] (though an R-list was enforced).


The "official" formats listed below are snapshots of each particular format in its corresponding timeframe.  "Movie" block encompassed all the sets released in conjunction with the movies just before Shadows was released.  Several "unofficial" formats have been standardized over the years, usually for individual tournaments or a fun alternative to the established metas.
With each new block Decipher released, some portion of the player base felt it drifted away from what made the game great and did not adopt it. Decipher continued to offer support for all Block formats while it had the rights to the game, and while the championship tournaments were always held in Standard format there were plenty of opportunities for players to play any block format at a competitive level. As a result, the community has been fractured to this day: over the last 10 years on [[Gemp]], Fellowship Block has almost always been the most popular format, Movie Block a solid second, Expanded third-favored format, and Towers Block / Standard formats making up fourth. All other formats combined usually make up about as many games than Towers Block and Towers Standard, and it is rare that any other format surpasses either of those two in number of games played. This divided community attention makes LotR something of an oddity among card games. It also allows new players a clear onramp to learn the game almost as if they were joining during its inception. By starting in Fellowship block and adding more blocks of cards at their own pace, someone who had never even heard of the game can settle into the format that best captivates them in nearly the same way that players who have enjoyed the game for 20 years have done.
 
The "official" formats listed below are snapshots of each particular format in its corresponding timeframe.  "Movie" block encompassed all the sets released in conjunction with the movies just before Shadows was released.  Several "unofficial" formats have been standardized over the years, usually for individual tournaments or a fun alternative to the established metas. In addition, variants exist across all formats which provide additional restrictions on deckbuilding.


{{Format Table}}
{{Format Table}}

Revision as of 04:11, 19 October 2022

With the release of The Two Towers, Decipher decided to hold tournaments with different card limitations, regularly creating or retiring Formats as the need arose (and as sales numbers dictated). Each format would have it's own X-list and R-list as needed to check abuse and keep gameplay fresh. Standard format allowed all released sets (with an X-list) until March 2005, when the first set of Fellowship block "rotated out" and was no longer permitted. Decipher claimed this was to keep the card pool manageable for new players, but many viewed this action as a marketing scheme requiring players to update their collections. At this point the Expanded format was created that allowed all sets, and the Open format followed suit that had no X-list (though an R-list was enforced).

With each new block Decipher released, some portion of the player base felt it drifted away from what made the game great and did not adopt it. Decipher continued to offer support for all Block formats while it had the rights to the game, and while the championship tournaments were always held in Standard format there were plenty of opportunities for players to play any block format at a competitive level. As a result, the community has been fractured to this day: over the last 10 years on Gemp, Fellowship Block has almost always been the most popular format, Movie Block a solid second, Expanded third-favored format, and Towers Block / Standard formats making up fourth. All other formats combined usually make up about as many games than Towers Block and Towers Standard, and it is rare that any other format surpasses either of those two in number of games played. This divided community attention makes LotR something of an oddity among card games. It also allows new players a clear onramp to learn the game almost as if they were joining during its inception. By starting in Fellowship block and adding more blocks of cards at their own pace, someone who had never even heard of the game can settle into the format that best captivates them in nearly the same way that players who have enjoyed the game for 20 years have done.

The "official" formats listed below are snapshots of each particular format in its corresponding timeframe. "Movie" block encompassed all the sets released in conjunction with the movies just before Shadows was released. Several "unofficial" formats have been standardized over the years, usually for individual tournaments or a fun alternative to the established metas. In addition, variants exist across all formats which provide additional restrictions on deckbuilding.

Formats
Sets 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 9 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 16 19
Historical Decipher Formats Fellowship Block Towers Block King Block War of the Ring Block Hunters Block
Towers Standard
King Standard
Movie Block
War of the Ring Standard
Standard
Expanded
Open
Player's Council Formats (including PC Errata) 1 2 3 V1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
PC-Fellowship
PC-Movie
PC-Expanded
Unofficial Formats 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 9 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 16 19
French French
Austrian (Movie)
Austrian (Shadows)
Other Variants
SealedBooster DraftCube DraftCulture ShockHighlanderPoor Man'sPC Errata