Lord of the Rings vs Marvel Champions - Play This, Not That
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2024
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LCG's are a big investment, there are a lot of them out there to choose from. I've been loving Marvel Champions for a long time now and Lord of the Rings I was eager to dive into and table...will it challenge a favorite? Which game is better for me, which aspects determine that? Do I have room for both in my collection?
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TimeStamps:
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:00:34 - Overviews
0:01:30 - LOTR Overview
0:03:30 - Marvel Overview
0:04:35 - Why They're Worth Comparing
0:06:26 - Price Point
0:06:48 - Learning & Teaching
0:07:55 - Theme
0:09:36 - Art & Components
0:10:20 - Mechanics
0:17:50 - Summary
0:20:53 - Recommendations
5.0 - My absolutely favorite games. You can pry them out of my cold dead hands.
4.5 - Love this game! At the same time missing something that would make it a 5. Could be hard to table, lacking variability, a little light, etc.
4.0 - Really great game, almost always keeping, although has meaningful complaints as to what takes away from the experience.
3.5 - Really enjoyed, don't love it, may lose out to better games but the idea of never playing again is a bit sad.
3.0 - A good game, would play and suggest with the right people, if I never played it again wouldn't lose any sleep.
2.5 - A game I'd play again , but will never suggest it myself
2.0 - A game I don't want to play again
1.5 - A game I can't find any reason to recommend
1.0 - A game that is just bad.
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Having played multiple session of Marvel, LotR and Arkham Horror, I think theme is critical across all three: heroic, fantasy and (duh) horror respectively and should be highlighted as the game mechanics support the intended atmosphere. Thus, I've found audiences at my table(s) for all three games.
Yep, all three are great. But marvel has remained my go to pick.
Hi. Would it be safe to say that all 3 are great LCGs and to choose just one (to invest in), the best criteria to use is: which “theme” excites the most?
@@Henry-lk5pm Theme is important but they do have differences. Marvel is the most accessible and "casual", LOTR doesn't really hold your hand and is more puzzle-y, Arkham is kind of a mix of the two.
@@sonyabladesbooty3890 good job i invested in Arkham LCG then! Lol.
Wow, great timing-I was just thinking about this topic a couple days ago. Thanks for the rundown!
Happy to help :)
If you are willing to go beyond the core set and spend a lot of money and time, and if you enjoy crunchy deck construction, and if you like highly challenging and complex solo games, and you love Lord of the Rings, then I highly recommend playing LotR LCG solo, mainly “two handed”, i.e. playing a two player game by yourself. Playing this way, it is by far the best game I know. I love it to bits.
I can totally see that, the scary part is how much time and energy do I want to invest when I already have a system I love... I'm not willing to try too hard to fix a problem I don't have.
LOTR is much deeper, much more involved and gives you a much better sense of teamwork during battles due to ranged and sentinel keywords (you really do feel that you help other players more). Also, it has locations which allow for some additional mechanisms and provide a thematic background to quests. Marvel is great, it's just more shallow (which is a great thing, it has way broader appeal). LotR is the best cooperative game I've ever played. I've played it close to 600 times now and I'm not even close to getting burnt out on it.
Wow... I've played Marvel Champions around 600 times too, and every time I can't wait to play again 🤩
@@kentcarlisle5660 it's a fantastic game, I'm not surprised many people prefer it to LotR, there's a lot to like there ;). I just really enjoy the openess of deckbuilding in LotR and the extra weight of gameplay.
Agree with the sentiments, though the hard requirement in LOTR to deck build among many packs in order to face even core box challenges (at least with the previous edition) killed the game for me. It took it down further because once we had two functional decks to play, we weren't able to make other decks for lack of other availabile cards. I'm happy with the Marvel system because I have a huge variety of heroes who feel different, not just thematically, but mechanically due to the design. That makes the variability shoot way up and setup Marvel as one of my all time favorites.
Best short presentation of two games that I love! You quickly touched the point of narrative/story telling. A point for Lord of the Rings in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing. I have and enjoy both, MC:LCG the most.
When I saw this title was ... "Them is fighting words" a lot of strong feelings on these games. Personally love LOTR better but own both.
How does Primal compare to these? I remember either you or Jesse from Quackolope made a comparison to Marvel
I play both but got into LotR late in the game and some expansions are harder to get but the new Starter Decks might help me playing some of the standalone sets I bought.
Great overview and comparison- very helpful, thanks! I’m leaning toward MC, for the IP but also because I’d most likely be playing this solo. Question, though: when playing solo, do you play two handed? Or with one hero (or more)?
I play was one player when playing solo
I play "true solo"... I've seen a couple polls that show that roughly 2/3 of solo players play exclusively one-handed "true solo.". It's fantastic that way...
I like Marvel Champions, but LOTR LCG is way better: the mechanics of the game, awesome deckbuilding, great marriage of gameplay and lore. I've played a lot of it, and I can see myself playing it for years to come. On a side note: Arkham Horror LCG is also pretty cool, especially with thematic integration and different outcomes of scenarios, though I find deckbuilding there much less interesting than in LOTR (and maybe even Marvel Champions).
Yep, I've played Arkham as well and really enjoy it.
@@BoardGameCoGreetings. Tell me, what do you think should be bought in LoTR immediately after the base game? I would like to play interesting and moderately complex scenarios and have the necessary character cards to be able to pass these scenarios.
I collect the 3 lcg, this is one of the games that will age well and will be regarded the best solo card games
LOTR is easily my favourite, I sold AH and now selling Marvel
Hehe, these are the two LCG I've decided to buy.
I started with marvel champions, it came out when I started getting into the hobby.
Now with the revised cores I also got AH and Lotr.
All 3 are great and deliver a different experience.
Playing mostly pure solo MC is my favourite because it's quick and punchy.
AH is better for stories and immersion but weakest gameplay wise for me.
LOTR is actually my favorite gameplay and deck building but less casual so not always in the mood.
Overall I'm just really glad about the new release format!
Glad you're enjoying all three, I only have time for one of these in my life.
@@BoardGameCo I might be overextending lol but I basically gave up on all campaign games to get some time back.
i play all 3 (MC, Ark, LOTR). Arkham is my favorite. MC and LOTR are both super challenging but fun dynamics in play. I really enjoy all 3
Which does he prefer? Checks which game is sleeved.... 😉
I did wonder who would spot this :) Not always true but a good indicator.
@@BoardGameCo Hehe, found your tell 😘 Great vid and channel by the way, kudos!
I have never played Marvel Champions but I have a full collection of Lord of the Rings. But from the little I understand of Marvel Champions, I think it would be a much better game if all you have is the core set and maybe a few expansions. Regardless of what anyone says online, in order for Lord of the Rings to actually be good you absolutely need a large amount of expansions. Yes you can get a few enjoyable games out of the core alone but you cannot get a true feel for what Lord of the Rings has to offer until you have collected at least 3 cycles. Being about $120 per cycle, that's a heavy investment but definitely well worth it.
That makes sense...for me marvel is scratching the itch in a way that doesn't make me need the expansions for lotr
Sounds like LOTG is a better deck builder and adventure game. And Marvel is a better boss battle and hero face off. It's interesting though the points for each are very back and forth so this makes me think they're similar enough that if you like one you will like the other but not similar enough that you should only get one. Regardless it's the IP plus being a good game that I'm most interested in for both.
LOTR lcg is too crunchy. I love the idea of it and the explanation of areas but way to crunchy. I love Star Wars lcg and wish they were able to keep it.
AHLCG is the one you should be playing.
Truth!
Marvel Champions is my #1 game and love it to bits. I have also just jumped into LOTR LCG as well with the new core set. And I also really love it (maybe not quite as much). They both play different enough, so I will be happy keeping and playing both.
Nice, glad you're enjoying.
Marvel champions is fantastic and my favorit solo and coop game. Spider Women allows you to build with two aspects. She is great and a lot of fun. I'm thinking of buying LOTR but the lack of deck cycling is bothersome. I sold Arkham Horror for that reason. Also, did not like the luck bag in Arkham
I own a bit of the Arkham Horror LCG (I started with the revised core and am following the new re-release cycles) and everything from Marvel Champions.
Marvel Champions brought all my friends into the hobby and we play it regularly.
Arkham Horror I only played with my wife and we played the first 2 scenarios with me having played the first scenario twice solo for learning purposes.
LOTR also interests me but I heard it's harder and needs more deckbuilding. I also guess it's not wise to have 3 LCGs alongside my other board games as that might get very expensive.
I love both LCGs and they do different things so I wouldn't necessarily compare them too much but I slightly prefer Marvel Champions as it is easier to get to the table in my group and my wife also prefers Marvel.
Yep, that's part of the problem. All 3 games are great, But they are all commitments.
Really about the theme of the game as most should be enjoying these for the theme which range vastly different.
Truth though all super fun games to play :)
Yep 😁
I play both. 😉
How does Marvel Legendary compare? It feels about the same experience i.e quick, fun, and done.
The Marvel cards are all sleeved. The Lord of the Rings are sleeveless. I think he gave away early which game he prefers. lol
I am stupid... i own both 🤷♂️
Lol enjoy them
🐐🥁👍
:)
Neither, play Arkham Horror LCG :) Weird comparision, as AH is much closer to LotR than MC. For me AH is best, then LotR, and MC way worse. It's still fine but playing it I feel like I would play "my first LCG" instead of full deck construction experience.
I think all three have plenty to compare, this year just happened to be those two :-)
>My exact thoughts. I think AH is the best of the three by far but I enjoy more a roleplaying game and find AH the most inmersive of the LCGs.
For me they are no comparable that much since LOTR sucked so so bad hated playing it, it was in my opinion thier worst lcg ever.
Marvel champions in the other hand I wish to buy it soon
Marvel is like walking into a candy store, LOTR is like you woke up in a challenging nightmare. Just get Arkham Horror LCG, it's better :P If you don't care about your bank balance, just get all 3!
If only they had marvel done like LOTR so you play teams of heroes.
I'm not sure whether that would have been better or not ...there are aspects of both I like.
Lotr >> marvel and I'm a big marvel fan.
Glad you're enjoying it :)
Haha same. When I saw champions get the nod for even art I could tell this was going to be lopsided (and I don’t even like high fantasy). I rate ahlcg over both though, but I put ah and Lotr well ahead of champions which is honestly too shallow for such an otherwise demanding game. That said different strokes for different folks and appreciated the analysis even if I may disagree!
@@astrothelad i think sometimes people are just in the mood or have enough time for simpler, more straightforward gameplay and just don’t have the appetite for a brain burner. I got bored with Champions pretty darn quick
The bad taste in my mouth left by the Marvel movies makes me avoid Marvel games.
Lotr put me off LCGs for years. The first couple of cycles were fun but then the difficulty spiked to sheer impossibility mode unless you played with only the best cards all the time, which lead me to just hate the game. Also it says it’s made for 1-4 players but is obviously not balanced for more than 2 in the majority of scenarios. I only hear love for this game from groups who played it solo or 2 player, and I heard they got pretty creative as time went on but the game left a pretty bad taste in my mouth
Ouch, totally hear that. Power creep can always be a problem in these games.
I went for Arkham over both of these.
My man.
The good ending.
He loves Marvel Champions so he shits on LOTR haha. It's not even a fair comparison.
If you wanna see which one you would prefer investing in, just go buy the core sets and go from there 😅 you'll just base your first LCG purchase on the theme anyway.. or you could watch a few How To Play videos, they would bring more more life to both games than this biased guys opinion. Haha.
Anyway I went for LOTR LCG simply for my love of the theme so I started with LOTR a few weeks ago. It's not boring, it's quite challenging, and there are boss fights 😂😂 Also the text on the cards are easy to read too and I'm a man who needs glasses.
Who cares though, these games are all about your love for the theme. 🎉 if you love the theme, you will love the LCG.
Simple.
Lord of the Rings is overrated. Lots of unplayable cards in the core box. Questing is lame. Only drawing one card per turn is the worst, there is barely any agency there. Think about it.
Marvel Champions is awesome. You get a fresh new hand of cards each turn and that makes for much more interesting decisions.
If you want an actual adventure game, AH: LCG is by far the best of the three mechanically AND thematically. You draw one card per turn, but there’s ways to draw more.
@@lawrence9515 I like that one too, it' s a lot better than LOTR IMO. High quality game.
Questing in LOTR is just the opposite of scheming in Marvel. Questing is tense as you wait to see how terrible or not the encounter cards are. Whereas in Marvel you are trying to outpace how terrible the scheme the boss is outputting. You should accept your fate and just be playing(dying?) Arkham Horror LCG. But the card draw is all about deck construction and plenty of decks in LOTR can draw more cards (if that's what you think you need to be doing).
Lotr is overrated?
I think you haven't taken your pills today pops
@@seileen1234 The core set sucks compared to other games. Arkham Horror and Marvel Champions have far superior core sets.