King Standard
King Standard is a historical format that includes all of the sets up to set 7, The Return of the King. However, unlike its counterparts Towers Standard and Fellowship Block which encompass everything released up to the end of their respective blocks, the term Movie Block had already taken that meaning for King Block. As a result, the community has adapted "King Standard" to mean a snapshot of Standard immediately before the release of Siege of Gondor in March 2004. As such, it includes the first two waves of additions to the X-List, and uses the King Block site path, albeit without the sites from Siege of Gondor or Mount Doom. Ring-bearer skirmishes can be cancelled in King Standard as that rule had not yet been introduced, but Curse Them (4C113)
is the only legal card capable of doing so.
The format is less popular than the similar Movie Block, which includes the first ten sets. The format is mainly popular with players who felt that cards added in the three omitted sets were unacceptable power creep, or players who would rather not play with the alternate Ring-bearers first introduced in set 9, Reflections. The format is supported in both GEMP. mLOTRO has a similar format, called "Early King Standard", that includes sets 1-8.
X-list
The following cards cannot be included in King Standard decks. For more details, see X-list.
- Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (1R40)
- Galadriel, Lady of Light (1R45)
- Ottar, Man of Laketown (1R80)
- No Stranger to the Shadows (1U108)
- Savagery to Match Their Numbers (1R139)
- Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur (1U234)
- Forces of Mordor (1C248)
- Sting (1R313)
- Flaming Brand (2R32)
- Filibert Bolger, Wily Rascal (2C101)
- O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! (2R108)
- Aragorn, Heir to the White City (3R38)
- Horn of Boromir (3R42)
- Saruman, Keeper of Isengard (3R68)
- Relics of Moria (1R195)
- The Palantír of Orthanc (3R67)
- Frying Pan (3C108)
- Bill the Pony (3U106)
See Also
