The story woven in The Lord of the Rings™ novels by J.R.R. Tolkien is beloved by fans the world over. With The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ releasing this June, you may see new faces in your store, whether brought through your door from their own curiosity or pulled in by a friend. In these situations, you should take the opportunity to guide these new players through the world of Magic.

For those brand new to Magic, Magic: The Gathering can feel a bit like Sam and Frodo taking their first steps out of The Shire—intimidating and overwhelming, but exciting. But if you help them keep their feet, they may be swept off to explore the greater multiverse of Magic, discovering what makes the game so fun.

Design New Player-Friendly Events

A great way to keep curious customers around your store for a bit longer is to offer them a demonstration of how to play Magic: The Gathering. If they arrived in your store with interest in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™, you might want to have a spare copy of the Starter Kit handy to sit two players down and run through how a game of Magic works.

To help support your in-store demonstration experiences, we are sending The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth demo kits to WPN stores across the globe. Each demo kit contains the following:

• One Learn-to-Play demo guide with gameplay mechanics, featuring artwork from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
• One Learn-to-Play Playmat featuring artwork from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
• WPN Premium stores will receive additional support. Demo kits are expected to ship alongside promo kits for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.

Beyond a demonstration, try to schedule regular new player-friendly events in your store, from Beginner Booster Drafts to Learn-to-Play Events using Jumpstart Boosters or the Starter Kits. Coming this summer is one excellent opportunity to get you started: the Magic Celebration Event.

The Magic Celebration Event is intended to welcome new players to your store and give your existing player base a space to jam fun, casual games of Magic. Players will play rounds of Jumpstart, immersed in a familiar setting from the epic fantasy novels written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Encourage players to sign up for the event using the Magic: The Gathering Companion App so they're able to receive all the promotional items this event has to offer. Check the Magic Celebration Event page for full details.

Draw New Players to Familiar Faces

The Lord of the Rings centers around a story filled with a cast of iconic and memorable characters, and many of those characters have been translated into cards for the set. Strike up a conversation with players about who their favorite characters are—and show off some products where relevant cards may be found.

For example, Aragorn and Arwen are together on the face card for one of the Starter Kit decks, but if players want to see the scene at Mount Doom recreated, you'll want to guide them to the Bundle or the Bundle: Gift Edition. Inside these two products are four variant borderless art scene cards, depicting the pivotal moment before the One Ring was destroyed.

Players will find no shortage of familiar faces in many products in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. The set captures multiple representations of iconic characters that we'll share closer to the set's release, each which explores the breadth and depth of story and changes.

Encourage Interested Players to Explore Events & Products

Once players have had their first experience with Magic, it's up to you to encourage them to return to your store for future events. Find out what they liked about the game, and what other areas of it they're interested in exploring. With a broad range of products available with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, there is sure to be a product for every new player that drops by.

• Did they enjoy the challenge of strategizing on the fly? Draft Boosters may be the best fit.
• Were your players most interested in opening packs just for fun? Set Boosters are their go-to product.
• Did your players enjoy the quick, easy games of Jumpstart? Encourage them to bring a Jumpstart Booster display home with them!

Beyond products, be sure to promote your store's events. A new player won't be an expert after their first few games, so having a calendar full of new player-friendly events will give them the confidence to return to your store and keep learning—especially if they had a great first experience.

If they don't seem ready for either just yet, encourage them to get their own Wizards Account and download the Magic: The Gathering Companion App. That way, when they're ready to jump back into the fray, they'll have the tools at their disposal to streamline their experience.

Cross-promoting can be a unique challenge for your store, as you may find both new-to-Magic players and deeply experienced players both coming to you to see what The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is all about. Be prepared with a full suite of events for players to pick between.