Convention Preparation

With Con of the Rings at the end of this month and the pre-registration for Lure of Middle Earth opening on September 15th, I feel that this time is as good as any to talk about what to bring to conventions and what to prepare yourself for. While the usual convention advice is applicable, there are some for LOTR LCG that you might want to think of before setting off to your nearest multi-day convention.

Decks

You can’t really play the game if you forget your decks, though you’d be surprised how willing people are to hand you a deck of theirs for you to try out. I have heard stories of people who ended up playing decks from other people all weekend long. Not only will this strategy save space in your backpack, but you might also be exposed to decks you do not usually play yourself.

But if you want to make sure you know what you’ll be playing, bring some decks of your own. There is no exact number of decks you have to bring, but I would argue that some variety will be nice to have, or else you might get stuck playing the same heroes over and over and over again. For a convention that lasts a weekend, I would recommend bringing at least 4 different decks. That way, you can alternate deck styles depending on what decks other players are bringing. Not only do you avoid conflicts with unique cards this way, but you also ensure that there is at least a deck on the table that can quest or handle enemies. If all players are bringing combat decks, then the quest phase will be quite a challenge!

Some deckstyles that I would suggest you build around for conventions are:

• Any deck focusing on a specific trait with solid synergy in the deck itself. This is usually an all-around solid deck. You are more than welcome to bring several of these in order to have some variety. The benefit of these decks is that they are less reliant on unique staple cards that other players might bring.
• A deck focusing on willpower and the quest phase. Your team will rely on you to make progress during the quest phase and perhaps reduce the amount of cards that are revealed. These decks are usually a combination of Spirit and Lore and can splash in cancelation or location control. But willpower should be the main focus and include several ways to boost the willpower of your deck if you are ever short a few points. While Spirit is the first sphere you think of, you can also experiment with Leadership and providing willpower boosts across the table.
• Location control/encounter deck manipulation. While the willpower deck might have some of these cards included, it is smart to have a dedicated deck for location control in a four-player game (or against certain scenarios). This deck will help out a little on the willpower front but will focus more on using the characters to scry the encounter deck, make progress on locations in the staging area, and cancel cards that are revealed from the deck. Woodmen placing attachments on locations is also a great deck under this category, but Rangers with Traps can also be included here.
• A combat deck that engages enemies and deals with them. This will draw from the Dunedain archetype but can be important to draw enemies away from decks that are less capable of handling them. This deck should be able to take on several enemies at once, though the focus should not lie with the Ranged and Sentinel keywords. Being able to cancel shadow effects can also be the responsibility of this deck, though others are fit to include it as well.
• A Ranged/Sentinel deck. This deck will help out across the table with any enemies that engage players who cannot deal with them. I have found that this deck often runs the Three Hunters contract, though you can also use Ranged and Sentinel allies to great effect in a deck like this. While this deck can handle combat pretty well, it might not want to engage the enemies themself. They might rely on heroes like Bard the Bowman or Haldir to handle ranged combat, at which point it would be better if the enemies are engaged with someone else.

Aside from these generic deck styles, there are a few that might be more niche in their scope, so you might only bring these if you enjoy playing them:

• Victory Display decks are a staple at conventions, and you will see plenty during the weekend. You could bring one yourself and have a large portion of the encounter deck in the victory display at the end of the game. Aside from putting cards in the victory display, the deck can also serve as a source of cancellation/encounter deck manipulation.
• Decks focusing on specific quests. If you are going to a convention where you know which quests are going to be played ahead of time, then you can craft a deck specific to that quest. It likely will not do much against other scenarios, but it will carry the team during Epic Multiplayer games, for example.
• Direct damage decks can help to support combat decks by softening up enemies ahead of the combat phase. They tend not to do much else, being a weaker all-round sort of deck. But against the right quests, these decks can be a great relief during the combat phase, especially against weaker enemies such as Goblins.
• A deck you want others to play. If someone has no deck with them during the convention or is looking for something else to play, it would be useful to have a deck prepared for them. Of course, you could give them one of the other deck styles, but you can also craft a deck that complements another one of yours quite well. It might even be 2 or more decks that work really well together, but you just need pilots for the deck.
• A grief/joke deck. Conventions are about having a laugh, and sometimes, you can set up some great jokes with your deck.
• Any deck with special artwork is worth bringing to the convention to show off. Whether you designed the artwork yourself, used AI, or were inspired by pop-culture to make an alt art deck, having it on the table will be an eye-catcher for sure!

In the end, I would settle on about 6-7 decks if you have a complete collection. Of course, you could bring more, but more than 8 will really be more of a burden during the weekend. Decks are heavy and bulky in your backpack, and if you don’t end up playing a particular deck, you will have carried it around for nothing. Make some decisions on which decks you want to bring beforehand, and make sure you don’t bring two similar decks with you. If you really want to have more variety, put some cards in your sideboard to swap at the convention.

Sideboard

I have written a dedicated article on this a while back, so I will summarize here. A sideboard is a set of cards that might be worth including in a deck if you are going to need specific tools against a scenario. You might want to bring some condition removal for the Dread Realm, for instance, but those cards are next to useless against quests without condition attachments. And this can be true for a variety of card categories. You might need more defenders for your deck after you’ve lost a game, or it might need more willpower. That’s where a sideboard comes in handy. While some players make the decision to bring their entire collection to a convention, that’s usually too heavy for most of us who need to use planes or have limited space in the car. So, a small box of cards that you can easily swap in and out of decks will be really useful.

It is also important to have a wide selection of heroes available to you. Chances are that you are bringing the same hero as someone else at the table, causing a uniqueness conflict. Or someone might need to use an ally and doesn’t want to swap it out. Then, it is useful to have some extra heroes that you can slot into your deck easily. Use Spirit Eowyn instead of Arwen if someone wants to use the ally. Or run Beravor if your other Lore hero is more useful in another deck. Be flexible and have a discussion beforehand about who can change heroes most easily.

A further list of suggestions can be found in the dedicated Sideboard article, but try not to bring too many cards. A sideboard will take up valuable space in your backpack, and you could use that space for an additional deck.

Scenarios

Decks are, of course, only one side of the game. You will also need some scenarios to play at the convention. Depending on the convention, there may be a focus from the organizers to play particular cycles, so if you are able to bring those quests, you definitely should. If you are travelling from further away and do not have space in your luggage, then quests would be the first thing I would cut. There are a lot of other players who will be bringing quests, and you only need one set per four players. It is nice to bring your own quests for sure, but don’t feel bad if you are unable to fit it in your backpack.

Beyond the convention-specific quests, you might want to bring some quests for decktesting (though it is a bit late for that) or some casual games. It’s nice to stomp on an easy quest after having been defeated all day. The casual quests are also easier to play if you are playing with new players. The two Dark of Mirkwood quests are perfect for this, as they are also a self-contained mini-campaign (though bringing the Core Set quests with you can also be a good idea).

Lastly, the custom scenario quests can be great to bring with you to a convention. You can prepare the encounter decks beforehand and then exchange quests with another group to try and beat it the fastest. If there is a tournament for this format, it’s nice to sign up beforehand and prepare your decks for the worst. But they are also nice and compact for your own decktesting if you want to play games before the convention and do not want to bring an entire cycle.

Gaming items

Beyond cards, you will need some additional items during your games that you should definitely bring. Not all of them are required, but they can make your experience at the convention a lot easier.

• Playmats will prevent your cards from getting dirty when playing on convention tables. While the tables will be cleaned each day (hopefully), the table can get sticky and dirty during the day. Sleeving your cards already protects them, but having a playmat adds to the protection and makes it easier to pick up your cards from the table. There are more than enough LOTR LCG playmats for a thematic one, though you can also bring one of the new MtG ones or a mat that you made yourself. The more unique your playmat, the more it will stand out and draw people to your table to watch!
• Tokens and/or dice are needed to keep track of your resources, damage, and progress. You can bring the regular cardboard tokens that come from the Core Set, or you can get fancy. There are several vendors for custom tokens for this game, but dice are a more compact method of keeping track of your stats.
• Notebook/pen for logging playthroughs. It’s always nice to reflect back after the convention on what quests you have played and with whom you’ve played them. You do not even need a dedicated playthrough tracker for this; having spare pieces of paper will serve the need as well. This is not a necessary thing to pack, but I do bring my book with me to each convention.
• Spare sleeves in case you want to drastically change a deck by using half of your sideboard and parts of other decks. It helps to be a bit more flexible by crafting a deck at the con for a situation you didn’t forsee ahead of time. You can also use these sleeves in case you are handed a new deck by someone for you to keep. It is not uncommon to receive alt art decks at conventions if you make the right friends.
• Threat trackers are important to bring, as you otherwise need to write your threat on a piece of paper constantly. Bringing a regular Core Set tracker serves the needs, but you can also use trackers from different games, such as MtG life counters. Bringing multiple trackers can also help to keep track of other stats during the game, such as progress on big quests or resources on objectives during Epic Multiplayer games.
• While the convention is probably exclusively LOTR LCG, it doesn’t hurt to bring additional games to the convention or to off-site parties. Changing things up with a party game or a different game set in Middle Earth can help pass the time if you are a bit burned out after a long playthrough of the LCG. For off-site parties, you can bring a lot of wacky games; there will be enough people to play them with!

Generic items

Aside from gaming stuff, the following items are also useful to bring with you or have in your backpack. These are usually the same items you would bring to other (non-gaming) events.

• Water bottle, so you do not have to get up each time for a drink.
• Power bank: your phone battery could drain pretty quickly during a day of making photos or finding people to play with via Discord.
• Money, you’ll need it for food and drinks, but also if you want to buy games at the convention.
• Food, as long as it is allowed by the convention location. If there are off-site parties, then you can bring food and drink to those as well. Bonus points for bringing local food to the convention to give people a taste of what things are like in your neck of the woods.
• Spare deckboxes so that you can store additional decks or other items you might receive. Conventions are the place to get alt arts or other custom items, so having a place to store them will be important.
• You get a lot of goodies during conventions and might buy a lot too. So having a spare bag or extra space in your backpack is nice to have.
• Deodorant, you know why…

Additional Tips

• Look at the program for the convention beforehand and see if there are any events happening that you want to be a part of. You might have to sign in beforehand, so ask the organizers.
• Try to play with as many different people as possible. Do not stick to your core group, but sit down with others for a game and get to know them. This is what conventions are really for! If you are a bit shy, then there are usually tables for people to meet up, so just sit there and see if anyone joins you. Alternatively, you can spectate a game and ask to join in on the next attempt.
• Trade decks with people to experience a different style of playing the game than you might be familiar with. Just keep track of who has a deck that belongs to you.
•  Make sure you buy your ticket in advance. Some conventions only have a set number of people who can fit in the venue, so once tickets sell out, you might not be able to join in. After getting your tickets, secure transportation and accommodations.
• Make some space in your schedule for a break every now and then. Get some fresh air, walk around a bit, or get something to eat after every game. It helps your mind to unwind a bit and rebuilds some energy for your next game. It’s also a good opportunity to meet other players and chat a bit, which can lead to your next game with them.
• Make pictures! It’s nice to put into your playthrough logs if you make a picture of the final boardstate.
• If you are attending a multi-day convention, think about bringing your own food and preparing some meals beforehand. Eating at a convention’s venue can get pretty unhealthy really fast, so being able to eat something healthy will help out immensely. Doing this for dinner can be a bit difficult to do, but you can prepare lunch ahead of time to reduce the reliance on unhealthy food for which you sometimes have to stand in line and which will drain your wallet.
• COTR Tardy Takes have done two episodes talking about convention preparation. If you are a Patreon supporter of them, you definitely should give those episodes a listen in order to prepare better! look for Road to Rings, which was made leading up to Con of the Rings 2021.

I hope this article helped a bit in your preparation for your next convention. Hope you have fun and get to play plenty of games with the people there! If you have suggestions on things to bring or tips for people going to conventions for the first time, be sure to leave a comment! I will also share how well this preparation went after each convention I go to, so look for dedicated recap articles in the future.