Here’s Everything You Need to Know About LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters in MTG

Sean Migalla October 9, 2023 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Products

Last updated on January 17, 2024

Sylvan Tutor | Illustration by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt

In recent years, Wizards has been printing a lot of cards in a lot of different products. Some might even say too many. Not only are we getting the typical Premier sets, but we’re also now getting several supplemental sets a year, Universes Beyond products, many more Commander decks than the original five per year, and Secret Lairs. With so many products it can be hard to keep track of what's in each set, especially when they’re as confusing as the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Boosters.

Though they share the name of the set released in June, these boosters came out in November, well before black Friday. Since they were announced, players have been expressing some confusion over what exactly is in these new boosters. This confusion is understandable, as Wizards doesn’t usually release products seemingly from the same set months apart from one another.

I’m going to go through some of the biggest questions surrounding this set and explain exactly what to expect from the new Lord of the Rings Special Edition boosters. I’ll also give you my thoughts on whether this set is worth buying or if you can skip it as I most likely will.

Table of Contents show

What Are the LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters?

Sauron, the Dark Lord | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

These special edition collector boosters are 15-card packs containing new treatments of cards from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, as well as a few brand new cards. Instead of being released alongside the rest of the set, these boosters release on November 3, 2023.

What Comes in a LotR Special Edition Collector Booster?

The special edition collector boosters have a few new additions to them that can’t be found in the original set’s collector boosters. These include the showcase scroll treatments for LotR cards, borderless poster-style cards, surge foils, and the relatively new silver foil treatment.

There are borderless cards with art by Greg and Tim Hildebrandt who have a long history of notable fantasy artwork, including old Lord of the Rings calendars. They’re also the ones who made one of the most famous posters for the original Star Wars.

Players also have a chance to find surge foil versions of the Realms and Relics Box Toppers from the original Tales of Middle-earth set. There are also 100 serialized versions of each Realms and Relics card in a double rainbow foil treatment. These are the rarest cards in these boosters and will likely be pretty valuable, especially for cards like Ancient Tomb.

The only cards in these boosters that aren’t reprints are the new Scene Box cards and the 5 new cards introduced in Tales of Middle-earth Jumpstart Volume 2 boosters which release alongside the Special Edition Collector Boosters. The breakdown for each booster pack is as follows:

2 Non-foil showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth commons
2 Silver foil show Scrolls of Middle-earth commons
2 Non-foil showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth uncommons
2 Silver foil showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth uncommons
1 Non-foil showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth rare or mythic rare
1 Silver foil showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth rare or mythic rare
1 Surge foil full-art Middle-earth map land
1 Non-foil borderless Scene Box rare or mythic rare, or 1 extended-art rare Jumpstart card
1 Surge foil extended-art rare or mythic rare
1 Surge foil Booster Fun card, or a surge foil or serialized Realms and Relics card
1 Silver foil or non-foil Brothers Hildebrandt card, 1 traditional foil or non-foil borderless poster card, or 1 serialized borderless poster card
1 Double-faced surge foil token

Do LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters Contain New Cards or Reprints?

The answer is yes, Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Boosters have a mixture of new cards and reprints. That said, reprints make up a much larger proportion of the cards found here than new ones. There’s only one slot in each of these boosters for one of the new cards, and there are only 29 new cards that can be found in this set. The rest are reprints.

Of the reprints, most are from the original Tales of Middle-earth set. However, the Realms and Relics cards and the Brothers Hildebrandt cards are all reprints of other Magic cards with Lord of the Rings-themed artwork.

What Are the Showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth Cards?

The showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth cards make up the bulk of each Special Edition Collector Booster. These are simply reskinned cards from Tales of Middle-earth made to look like they’re printed on an aging scroll of paper. The artwork on the cards themselves are the same from the original set, with the new showcase treatment seemingly being a type of filter applied over each card. For the most part, this is what you’ll be getting from these boosters, so if you find this style, I don’t know, ugly and lazy, then you may want to consider just buying singles of the new cards available like the Brothers Hildebrandt cards or other new treatments.

What Are the Poster Cards?

The poster cards are unique borderless art treatments applied to 20 mythic rares from the original Tales of Middle-earth set to make them look like music posters. Music plays a big role in the world of Middle-earth, so it seems like a natural pairing. These cards also look visually distinct both in style and artwork from the original printings of the cards, making them genuinely cool collectibles. Just make sure you’re familiar with what your cards do when playing in this style, as the text isn’t necessarily as clear as it is on traditional printings.

New Double-Rainbow Serialized LotR Cards

There are two new types of serialized cards in these boosters, borderless poster cards and Realms and Relics cards. Not all of the poster cards or Realms and Relics are serialized, but each type has 100 serialized versions of each card. The cards are:

Serialized Poster Cards

Serialized Realms and Relics Cards

Do LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters Have Cards from the Original Set?

Yes, in fact, they make up the bulk of these boosters. But they’re also all in new treatments, mainly the Scrolls of Middle-earth one. If you’re looking for the original art treatments of these cards, you’ll need to buy the original boosters.

What’s the Purpose of LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters?

Probably even more than normal Collector Boosters, this release does seem like one that’s mostly just for collectors of Magic. There are only a handful of new cards here, so the main appeal is just the new treatments of these cards. From Wizards’ perspective, the purpose is likely to release a product tied to a popular IP that comes out around the holidays.

What’s the Maximum Number of Rares in a LotR Special Edition Collector Booster?

The maximum number of rares in a LotR Special Edition Collector Booster is 6. Each pack has a guarantee of 4 rare or mythic rare cards, with the chance at an additional 2 from the Booster Fun/Realms and Relics slot and the Brothers Hildebrandt/poster card slot.

Do You Get a Foil and Borderless Card in Every Pack?

Yes, each pack comes with at least one surge foil extended-art rare or mythic rare. You’re also guaranteed one borderless Brothers Hildebrandt or poster card in each booster, though these come in both foil and non-foil.

Why Are There Only Five Cards in a LotR Special Edition Collector Booster?

There aren’t, each pack comes with 15 cards and one double-faced surge foil token.

LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters vs. Collector Boosters

There are a few main differences between the original run of Collector Boosters from Tales of Middle-earth and the new Special Edition Collector Boosters. One is that you can’t find the original treatments of any Tales of Middle-earth cards in the Special Edition, only the showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth versions. Special Edition Collector Boosters are also the only place to find poster cards and Brothers Hildebrandt cards.

Additionally, the types of serialized cards differ from each booster type. You can only find the serialized Sol Rings in the original Tales of Middle-earth Collector Boosters; they aren’t in the Special Edition. Likewise, the serialized poster cards and Realms and Relics cards can only be found in the Special Edition.

There are also some surge foil versions of specific extended-art cards from the original set that can only be found in the Special Edition. Finally, the Special Edition contains the 29 new-to-Magic cards from the Lord of the Rings Scene Boxes and Tales of Middle-earth Jumpstart Volume 2.

Are LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters Worth Buying?

I would say no, with some caveats. If you want some of the Brothers Hildebrandt or Poster cards and don’t much care which ones you get, these boosters are the only place to find them so it might be worth picking a few up. These packs are also slightly cheaper than the original Tales of Middle-earth collectors packs so if you don’t dislike the Scrolls of Middle-earth style as much as I do, these packs are essentially a discounted version of the originals.

The main reason I say these aren’t worth it is that a set pack from the LotR set is about $6. Buying four of these guarantees you four rares from the set at $24. A Special Edition Collector Booster will run you about $34 and also only guarantees you 4 rares. This means you’re paying $10 more for 4 rares or mythics pulled largely from the same pool of cards. I’m not factoring serialized cards into this because they’re so rare, you’re essentially paying a premium to gamble and will likely lose.

How Many Packs Come in a LotR Special Edition Collector Booster Box?

There are 12 packs in each Booster Box for this set.

Is a Booster Box or Individual Packs a Better Deal?

LOTR Special Edition Collector Booster Box

According to TCGplayer prices, A booster box costs about $328, around $27 a pack, while an individual pack costs about $34. The full booster box is the better deal if you’re set on buying 12 packs.

Can You Draft with LotR Special Edition Collector Boosters?

Officially, no, this product isn’t really designed for a Draft. That said, there’s 15 cards in a pack, and players sometimes do Draft collectors packs, so there’s nothing really stopping you from doing it. Keep in mind you may not get as balanced of an experience as you would from draft boosters.

Wrap Up

Witch-king of Angmar - art by Anato Finnstark

Witch-king of Angmar | Illustration by Anato Finnstark

After looking at this new release, there doesn’t really seem to be a lot to it. It feels more to me like Wizards had too many ideas for Lord of the Rings card treatments to squeeze into a single set, so they made a new one specifically for the Brothers Hildebrandt and poster cards. The inclusion of new serialized cards seems less like an exciting opportunity than a cynical method to get players to fork over cash for the same cards they bought a few months ago. That said, I do like the design of the poster cards and the Brothers Hildebrandt art is all fantastic as is to be expected from them, but I’d advise buying the ones you want as singles.

Are you going to buy these new Lord of the Rings boosters? Would you like to see Magic sets get similar Special Edition treatments? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s Twitter/X.

Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next time!

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Sean Migalla

Sean Migalla has been playing Magic consistently for the past 6 years. His favorite aspect of the game is building new decks, which makes Draft and Sealed two of his favorite formats. He also enjoys playing competitive constructed formats on MTG Arena like Standard and Historic, as well as a casual game of Commander.