The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
113 questions players ask about The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-06.
Setup and Deckbuilding
- Can I take a mulligan on my opening hand?
- Does my deck have to contain at least 50 cards?
- Do hero cards count toward the 50-card deck minimum?
- How many heroes do I start with, and can they be from different spheres?
- Do I need the Deluxe Expansion to play an Adventure Pack scenario?
- Do I have to play the expansions in release order?
- Are there special rules for four-player games?
- If I play solo with two decks, is that one party or two players?
- In solo play, can cards that say 'a player' target me?
- Can I put Saga expansion cards in decks for other scenarios?
Cards, Uniqueness and Attachments
- Can I have more than one copy of a unique card, such as Gandalf, in play?
- Can I play a unique ally again after the first copy was destroyed?
- Can I attach cards to another player's hero, or to a hero of a different sphere?
- How many Restricted attachments can a character have, and can I attach two copies of the same one?
- If a hero stops meeting an attachment's requirement later, is the attachment discarded?
- Does exhausting an attachment, like Steward of Gondor, exhaust the hero it is attached to?
- Can Steward of Gondor go on any hero, and does it make the hero a Gondor character?
- Does Caught in a Web go away once I pay the 2 resources?
- How do I get rid of Caught in a Web, and can effects that discard attachments I control remove it?
- What happens to a hero's resources, attachments and threat when it is destroyed?
- Can an exhausted character commit to a quest if a card says it doesn't have to exhaust?
- If another player played my card (for example with Stand and Fight), whose discard pile does it go to?
- What happens when my player deck runs out of cards?
- Does damage on a character wear off in the refresh phase?
Heroes, Allies and Events
- Can Stand and Fight bring back a neutral ally such as Gandalf?
- When does the ally brought in by Sneak Attack return to hand, and can it defend or quest?
- Does Gandalf's response trigger again if he returns to hand and is replayed, and who benefits from it?
- How does Dunhere attack an enemy in the staging area?
- When do I decide to pay a resource to ready Aragorn, and can Theodred's resource be used for it?
- Does progress from Legolas (or Northern Tracker, Blade of Gondolin and similar) go on the active location or on the quest?
- If Thalin kills an enemy as it is revealed, does its Surge still happen?
- Can Meneldor's Flight return Vassal of the Windlord or Winged Guardian before their Forced effect?
- Can Meneldor's Flight return an Eagle from the discard pile, and is its damage removed?
- Can I avoid Hummerhorns' 5 damage by engaging it myself, and does defense reduce it?
- Can Gandalf's damage ability hit an enemy in the staging area?
- Can Beorn be healed by player cards such as Warden of Healing?
- Does Eleanor's cancel also stop Surge or Doomed on the treachery she cancels?
- Can Faramir commit to the quest and also exhaust to boost willpower?
- Does Dain Ironfoot's bonus apply while he is attacking?
- What does being Sacked (Foul Sack) stop a character from doing?
Resource and Planning Phases
Quest Phase and Staging
- If I commit no characters, does the quest phase still happen and do I still take threat?
- Do players commit characters to the quest all at once or one at a time?
- Which cards count toward threat during quest resolution?
- When a treachery is revealed in staging, do I draw a replacement?
- Is a character still committed after it is readied or after the quest phase ends?
- If a committed character leaves play after quest resolution, does my quest progress change?
- Can questing willpower or another stat go below zero?
- If I complete a quest stage with extra progress, does the leftover carry to the next stage?
Locations, Travel and Progress
- When is a location discarded: as soon as it has enough progress, or only after I travel there?
- When I explore a location with extra progress, where does the rest go?
- If an effect removes progress from the current quest, does it come off the active location?
- What do I need to know about traveling: one location per round, travel costs, and exhausting characters?
- How long does a location stay active, and can I travel after a failed quest?
- If two locations are active at once, which one does an 'active location' effect hit?
Encounter Phase and Engagement
- Can I engage an enemy whose engagement cost is higher than my threat?
- Do heroes engage enemies, or do players?
- Does an enemy that survives combat go back to the staging area?
- Do enemies in the staging area attack in the combat phase?
- Does an enemy that engages me after the enemy attack step still attack that round?
Combat, Attacks and Shadow Cards
- When are shadow cards dealt and discarded?
- If an enemy can't attack (Forest Snare, Feint), does its shadow card still get dealt and resolved?
- If I don't defend an attack, who takes the damage?
- If the defender is killed or removed before damage, is the attack undefended?
- Can more than one character defend the same attack?
- How is damage figured when several characters attack one enemy?
- Can I attack the same enemy more than once in a combat phase?
- Can a character that defended also attack, and do attackers exhaust?
- How does Ranged work, and can it attack enemies in the staging area?
- Can Ranged characters join a Quick Strike attack?
- When can a Sentinel character defend an attack on another player?
- Do enemy attacks made outside the combat phase get shadow cards and can I defend them?
- Can I cancel a shadow effect with Test of Will or an action?
- How does Wolf Rider's shadow effect work and can I kill it?
- Can Quick Strike kill an enemy during its attack to stop it?
Keywords and Card Effects
- When do Surge and Doomed apply: only in the staging step, or whenever a card is revealed?
- Does Surge resolve before or after the card's When Revealed effect?
- How does Guarded work, and does the guard's threat count?
- What can I do to an enemy that is immune to player card effects?
- Can I choose an option an encounter card gives me if it does nothing?
- How do 'exhaust X to do Y' costs work, and can I pay if the effect can't happen?
- Must I take a card when a search effect finds a valid one?
Timing, Actions and Responses
- When can I play an event or use an Action?
- Can I play actions during a combat step or only between steps?
- When does Dol Guldur Beastmaster's extra shadow card get dealt?
- Is there a stack, like in Magic?
- Can I play a Response card I drew from a Response to the same trigger?
- In an action window, do players have to alternate taking actions?
Ending the Game
Campaign Mode and Scenarios
- Does replacing a hero in Campaign Mode cost threat?
- Do allies and attachments stay in play between scenarios of a campaign?
- Can I use the ally version of a hero on the Fallen Heroes list?
- If a hero dies in a lost Saga scenario, is that hero permanently dead?
- Can I use Campaign Mode with an original (first-edition) core set?
- Do I use Boons, Burdens and gold-bordered cards outside Campaign Mode?
- Does The Hobbit have campaign rules?
- Do When Revealed effects and responses work during setup?
- Does the Hill Troll engage me at setup in To The River?
- In Passage Through Mirkwood stage 3, what if Ungoliant's Spawn is already defeated or trapped?
- In Journey Along the Anduin stage 2B, are extra cards revealed and are engagement checks made?
- How do Orc Guards work in Escape from Dol Guldur, and when is Mendor freed?