Category Archives: Play Style

Deck Spotlight: Bear Draft at Con of the Rings 2023

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Beorn

I had the privilege of attending Con of the Rings 2023 in Minnesota this past weekend. There I ran the latest version of my Bear Draft (v9) with a cooperative twist. In this version, participants were able to pass hero … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Archetypes, Bear Draft, Combo, Community, Con of the Rings, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Live Play, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series, Swarm | Tagged Bear Draft v9, Caldara, Community, Con of the Rings, Con of the Rings 2023, Deck List, Durin's Father, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Limited Format, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Mono-Spirit, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Tolkien, Vision of the Palantir | 1 Comment

Game Variant: Bear Draft v9 at Con of the Rings 2023

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Beorn

With Con of the Rings 2023 fast approaching, it is time to post the updated version of the Bear Draft. At the Lure of Middle-earth in Germany earlier this year I had the pleasure of participating in a cooperative version … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Bear Draft, Community, Con of the Rings, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Live Play, Lure of Middle Earth, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series | Tagged A Long-extended Party, ALeP, Bear Draft, Community, Con of the Rings, Con of the Rings 2023, Copperative Draft, Custom Scenario Kits, Draft, Escape from Kazad-dum, Fantasy Flight Games, French LotR Forum, Fun, Limited Format, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Lure of Middle-earth, Rouxxor, The Mines of Moria, Tolkien | 1 Comment

Alternate Art: Blue Shell of Friendship

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Beorn

Try as we might, it was not possible to convince BeornGPT to design an F1-themed alternate art deck for electronjon. For some reason it kept trying to use photos of Mario Andretti for every character. As a consolation prize, we … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Alternate-Art, Archetypes, Community, Con of the Rings, Events, Games, Media, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series, Support, Uncategorized | Tagged A Test of Will, Alternate-Art, Ancient Mathom, Arwen Undomiel, Beregond, Bofur, Community, Deck List, Dwarven Tomb, electronjon, Elrond's Counsel, Eowyn, Ethir Swordsman, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Galadhon Archer, Galadriel, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Glorfindel, Gondorian Shield, Imladris Stargazer, Inner Strength, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Mario Kart, Mirror of Galadriel, Multiplayer, Nenya, Pelargir Shipwright, Reforged, Roving Herbmaster, Silver Harp, Stand and Fight, Support Deck, The One Ring, Theodwyn, Thorongil, Tolkien | Leave a comment

Homebrew: Songs of Light and Hope

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Beorn

Continuing the series of custom cards no one asked for, this installment focuses on encounter card cancellation effects. The Core Set introduced the two most iconic cancellation effects in the form of A Test of Will and Hasty Stroke. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Archetypes, Control, Custom Cards, Game Variant, Homebrew Cards, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series | Tagged A Test of Will, Cancellation, Community, Elfhelm, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Game Balance, Haldir of Lorien, Hasty Stroke, Hirgon, Homebrew Cards, Idraen, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Shadow Cancellation, Song, Spirit, Strategy, Tolkien, Treachery Cancellation | 2 Comments

Alternate Art: The Last Alliance of Bears and Trees

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Beorn

Among the decks I brought to Con of the Rings 2022, my favorite was a deck called The Last Alliance of Bears and Trees, designed by Shellin of Cardboard of the Rings. The mix of Beornings and Ents, in an … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Aggro, Alternate-Art, Archetypes, Combo, Community, Con of the Rings, Events, Live Play, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series, Swarm, Theme | Tagged Alternate Art, Beorn's Welcome, Beornings, Birna, Care Bears, Community, Con of the Rings 2022, Contract, Deck Building, Ents, Fantasy Flight Games, Grimbeorn the Old, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Osbera, Quickbeam, Shellin, Strategy, The Last Alliance, Treebeard | 2 Comments

Homebrew: Forgotten Lore

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Beorn

Limited formats like the Bear Draft present a particular challenge to designing a balanced metagame. The card counts are skewed significantly by the overall size of pool and constraints on deck size. Common cards have only 3 copies in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Con of the Rings, Custom Cards, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Homebrew Cards, Live Play, Lure of Middle Earth, Multiplayer, Play Style, RingsDB, Series | Tagged Bear Draft, Blessing of Nimrodel, Community, Deck Building, Dunedain Guardian, Fantasy Flight Games, Gatekeeper, Homebrew Cards, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Lore, Lore is less popular in draft, Metagame, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Tolkien, Woodman's Axe | 1 Comment

Celebration: A Decade of the Hall of Beorn

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Beorn

It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to. ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Like many epic … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Austin Community, Books, Celebration, Community, Con of the Rings, Events, Fellowship Events, GenCon, Hall of Beorn Card Search, Legendarium, Live Play, Lure of Middle Earth, New Players, Patreon, Play Style, Series, The Grey Company | Tagged A Decade, Alternate Art, BeornBot, Blog, Cardboard of the Rings, Celebration, Community, Con of the Rings, Conventions, Discord, Fantasy Flight Games, Friends, Fun, GenCon, Gratitude, Hall of Beorn Card Search, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Lure of Middle-earth, The Grey Company, Tolkien | 2 Comments

Game Variant: Bear Draft v8 at Lure of Middle-earth 2023

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Beorn

The Lure of Middle-earth is a convention which features events for both the Lord of the Rings LCG and the Middle-earth CCG. It is held in castle Stahleck in Bacharach Germany and will take place next year from February 24th … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Bear Draft, Community, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Live Play, Lure of Middle Earth, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series | Tagged ALeP, Bacharach, Bear Draft, Bear Draft v8, Castle Stahleck, Community, Draft, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Germany, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Multiplayer, Tolkien | 4 Comments

Deck Spotlight: Bear Draft at Con of the Rings 2022

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Beorn

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend Con of the Rings 2022 and it was a wonderful experience. It was nice reconnecting with folks I haven’t seen all year, playing lots of games, and sharing some fun alt-art … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Aggro, Archetypes, Combo, Community, Con of the Rings, Deck Spotlight, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Live Play, Multiplayer, Play Style, RingsDB, Series, Support, Theme, Tribal | Tagged ALeP, Bear Draft, Bear Draft v7, Beorning, Community, Con of the Rings, Con of the Rings 2022, Deck Building, Deck List, Draft, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Healing, Limited Format, Living Card Games, Location Control, Lord of the Rings LCG, Support Deck, Thanks, Thengel, Traps | Leave a comment

Deck: Ithilien Hunters

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Beorn

Con of the Rings is just around the corner, and will feature quests from the Heirs of Númenor and Against the Shadow cycle. Into Ithilien has long fascinated me as quest, in both its original and nightmare version. It’s been … Continue reading →