Index -> Glossary -> Rarity

Rarity

In The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, cards have varying rarities, which indicates how common they are compared to other cards. Each card may be Common, Uncommon, Rare, Rare-plus, Promo, Premium, Digital or Legends Masterworks in rarity. In the bottom-right corner of a card, you'll see the collector information written as number-letter-number (such as 6R88). The letter tells you the rarity:

• C: Common (an 11-card booster typically contains 7 commons)
• U: Uncommon (an 11-card booster typically contains 3 uncommons)
• R: Rare (an 11-card booster typically contains 1 rare)
• R+: Rare-plus (Some card from the Reflection set are Rare-plus and there are about 5 R+ cards per 24 Reflections boosters)
• S: Starter-only (These cards are found ONLY in Starter decks though you may find a foil version of 'S' rarity cards in boosters or through promotions)
• D: Digital-only (These cards are unique to the Online game)
• P: Promotional or Premium (Cards with set number zero (cards marked 0P42 for instance) are promotional cards not found in any set. 'P'-rarity cards with set numbers (such as 3P122) is a Premium card found only in a Starter in that set)
• Ring Symbol: A card with a Ring Symbol for its Rarity is part of the Legends Masterwork subset of Rare cards. A Legends Masterwork card features an alternate art template and is extremely rare. On average, 1 Legends Masterwork card is found per 35 packs. Only sets 12+ (Black Rider and beyond) feature Legends Masterwork cards.

Most Booster packs are composed of eleven random cards: seven common cards, three uncommon cards, and one rare card all from one set. Starter Decks include 71 pre-established cards (sometimes mixed from earlier sets, but always cards from the same block) plus 3 random rares from that set. Large sets include 121 common, 121 uncommon, and 121 rare cards; expansion sets include 41 common, 41 uncommon, and 41 rare cards. The newest set, Black Rider, features 60 common, 60 uncommon, 60 rare and 14 Starter-only cards and 9 of the rare cards are available in Legends Masterwork format.

If you ever wish to attend a No-Rares tournament, keep in mind that R+ and cards with the Ring Symbol are not allowed in your deck. Also, if a 'P' card has been issued in R or R+ Rarity, it is not valid. For example, the card Sauron, The Lord Of The Rings has one version that is 0P54. However, there is also a version by the same Title and Subtitle that is 9R+48, so this card would NOT be legal in a No-Rares format.

See also Sets and Blocks and Collector's Info