That’s right, there’s an entire LOTR ED set available for print and play in person or online on Vassal, complete with decks, maps, even cut-out figures! Everything is completely free, but we appreciate comments and feedback.
As of 2026, we have 44 total LOTRED decks so all the major characters are here: Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo & Sam, Saruman, the Witch King, and of course, Legolas & Gimli! Like the SWED decks from Geektopia, these decks were put together collaboratively and thoughtfully, and most decks have been heavily play-tested.
Lord of the Rings Epic Duels is based on the game Star Wars Epic Duels, designed by Rob Daviau and Craig Van Ness, and released by Hasbro in 2002. We have no rights to the game, nor any LOTR materials and everything here is available for free.
The Original 12 LOTR decks were led by Roman (game design) and Robert Moore (art), and created though extensive collaboration with the ED online community, including well-known Epic Duels designers like Sultan, Scott Hagarty and fishfleas. The 6-deck Armies Expansion started with Faramir and Sharku from the original set, and Roman and Robert created 4 more plus 2 more maps. They use the same style of art and printing so this 18-card set is grouped together, though they do get different treatment on Vassal.
We added an 8-deck Hobbit Expansion around 2015 following the final film of the trilogy, mostly Roman with key help from Separatist on Smaug.
Then in 2020, we followed with the Legends Expansion and another 6 decks, with help from our blog’s followers like JAG and James Bungart.
Finally, in 2026, we released the Battles Expansion of 6 new decks, plus a Middle Earth Redux of another 6 decks including 5 variants and one new deck. With Galadriel, Radagast and Beorn joining the party, the gang’s all here. We even threw in some old, old ideas for the King of the Dead and a motely crew of baddies.
All decks are available for printout and play, or for online play on Vassal. Try them out and let us know what you think!
Play LOTRED on your computer, by yourself or online with others, using Vassal
If you’ve already got the SWED module for Vassal, that’s probably the easiest way to get a quick look at all of them and get a sense of the experience. If you don’t have Vassal or have never played online, go here for more information.
Get LOTRED for Vassal! (all decks, expansions and maps)
Decks for Live Play
The decks are listed individually below so you can explore and print them. If you’re ready for a complete set, I’ve put everything for print on this Print-and-Play page.
Maps for Live Play
LOTR Maps, some in .JPG form, others in .PDF.
Figures for Live Play
Robert was thoughtful enough to include cut-out figures with the deck .JPGs. If you’re looking for actual figures, you can get really great ones through Games Workshop, but you’re going to pay for them and paint them yourself. At least, that’s what I did.
Individual Deck Pages
I rank the first 32 decks and discuss them in this post.
Original 12 Lord of the Rings Epic Duels + 6-deck Armies Expansion
Aragorn & Arwen
Boromir & Denethor
Eomer & Rohirrim Archers
Eowyn & Merry
Faramir & Gondor Rangers
Frodo & Samwise
Gandalf & Pippin
Legolas & Gimli
Theoden & Rohirrim Riders
Cave Troll & Goblins
Gollum & Shelob
Gothmog & Orc Archers
Lurtz & Uruk-hai Archers
The Nazgul
Saruman & Grima Wormtongue
Sharku & Warg Riders
Uruk-hai Army
Witch King of Angmar & Orc Archers
The Hobbit Expansion
Bard Bowman & Village Militia
Bilbo Baggins & Kili & Fili
Tauriel & Elven Archers
Thorin Oakenshield & Dwarves
Azog & Hunter Orcs
Bolg & Orcs
Great Goblin & Goblins
Smaug & Fire Pillars
LOTR Legends Expansion
Elrond & Elf Archers
Isildur & Elendil
Treebeard & Ents
The Balrog
Eye of Sauron & Mouth of Sauron
Sauron the Dark Lord & Mordor Orcs
LOTR Battles Expansion (2026)
Beorn
Radagast the Brown & Eagles
The King of the Dead & Undead Warriors
Khamul & Easterlings
War Troll & Orcs
Ugluk & Gorbag, Grishnak & Shagrat
Middle Earth Redux (2026)
Boromir & Merry & Pippin
Gandalf & Gondor Warriors
Theoden & Eowyn
Smaug
The Balrog & Goblin Archers
Other deck ideas:
Fingolfin: Elf who challenged Morgoth (a Vala) to single combat. Lost but wounded him 7 times and permanently crippled him. Pure martial ability.
Fëanor: Fingolfin’s half brother and craftsman of the silmarils but also a terrible, tragic figure who divided his people and even slew his kin.
Túrin Turambar: Killed Glaurung, Father of Dragons. He combines overwhelming physical prowess with grim, relentless will.
Húrin Thalion: Túrin’s father, and arguably even more physically overwhelming. Once slew 70 trolls before capture. Battlefield dominance and unbreakable endurance.
Glorfindel: Died then returned with greater power. Slew a Balrog in single combat.
Glaurung: The father of all dragons. Hypnotic gaze capable of paralyzing or dominating minds.
Ancalagong: Greatest dragon ever to exist. Required Eärendil in a flying warship backed by the power of the Silmaril to defeat him.
Gothmog (the real one): Lord of Balrogs. Slayer of Fëanor and Fingon. Elite even among Balrogs.
Ungoliant: Would probably eat everyone above, but died by eating herself. So maybe there’s a deck idea there.
CREDITS – Original Lord of the Rings 12 deck and 4 map set
Lead Designers
Roman F – lead designer
Robertmoore – lead visual designer, co-lead designer through the Hobbit decks
Co-Designers
isutton – graphic and visual design on updated decks
Fishfleas – co-lead designer, co-lead visual designer of original 12 + Faramir (mostly his) + Sharku
The Sultan – co-designer, map creator (Balin’s Tomb and Pelennor Field)
Tim Wutke aka volleballgy – co-designer, test decks creator of the original 12
fingersandteeth aka docmogs – co-designer, lead tester of the original 12
Scott Hagarty – co-designer of the original 12
Design Contributors
megaswfan – design contributor (led development of Lurtz deck)
wiwwt – design contributor
obiwanjohn – design contributor
Gustav Holst – design contributor
Separatist – design contributor
Special Thanks
Corey RIT – created Deck Designer, it makes it so easy to make your own decks, and easy to output them in both .PDF form and for Vassal!
Without it, this project would have taken at least another year.
Rob Daviau & Craig Van Ness – created Star Wars Epic Duels, the game this is based upon! Thank Rob & Craig for endless hours of fun.
CREDITS – Lord of the Rings Armies Expansion
Lead Designers
Roman F – lead designer
Robertmoore – lead visual designer, co-lead designer
CREDITS – The Hobbit Expansion and Legends Expansion
Roman F and the Geektopia Epic Duels community.
Hi everyone! Love these decks!
Is there a way to upload them in PDF format so that the resolution is best for printing (.jpg is not amazing). Also for minor edits to the text too.
Thanks heaps.
Welcome Greg, and thanks for your interest. As of right now, I don’t know of a way to upload these JPGs to PDFs. We have some talented fans and I can ask around to see if anyone wants to remaster these, but until then, this is what you’ve got. I’ve printed all mine (obviously) and I’m very happy with how they turned out. If you need any tips, just comment here. Happy dueling!
Second this!
These are amazing! Thank you for what must be countless hours of dedication. Can’t wait to give this a go this weekend. Much appreciation to everyone involved.
Thanks for giving it a look! It’s an older game now, but it still checks out. Let us know if you need help printing, and definitely let us know if you end up playing it and how it goes for you.
Hi was wondering about thorns 2 defend card that lets him attack. Can he still attack if the damage he receives kills him when defending with that card? Thanks
Thanks for the question and it’s a tough call honestly. The ruling on Maul’s BLINDING SURGE is that Maul STILL does the damage even if he’s killed, but does that apply to an attack? I think it probably does not. I don’t think you can attack when you’re dead. But, it’s more thematic if Thorin can do it. Ultimately you and your friends need to decide ahead of time.