I’m a big Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fan, and being a card game and boardgame nutter, have played several games based on the awesome franchise.

My first ever Cards & Boards print column story was on the LOTR RISK boardgame. The LOTR TCG (Trading Card Game) by Decipher was one of my most enduring passions throughout the 2000s, when the game was in print, and its prime.

In fact, due to my new-found love for DBGs (deck-building games), I’ve even rekindled the love for that awesome TCG. Yes, there is an LOTR DBG! Fortunately, the TCG lives on, in the form of fan sites and what not.

One game I’ve yet to dabble in is Fantasy Flight Games’ (FFG’s) LOTR LCG (Living Card Game). Well, looks like the time is ripe for me to do so: the “Black Riders” Saga Expansion seems geared to be introductory, fun, and challenging at the same time.

With multiple “difficulty” settings, the set offers new and older players a variety of options. And of course, the slew of new cards will be another major pull factor!

Players can recreate three scenarios from the first half of the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. Each can be played on its own, or in sequence, in a massive “Campaign” mode.

Previous sets seemed to allow one to two players (if you bought one set), but up to four players can game together if you have two “Core Sets” combined. Not too sure if the same applies to “Black Riders” – that’ll be worth confirming soon then!

“Black Riders” is slated for release sometime in the second half of this year.

Any thoughts of your own? Do tweet me at www.twitter.com/arcturus_mengsk or leave me feedback below.