Following the set's official reveal late last month, Wizards Of The Coast has pulled back the curtain further on Magic: The Gathering's upcoming Tales Of Middle-earth expansion, with multiple cards being shown for the first time.

　　The most recent episode of WeeklyMTG--the game's weekly YouTube livestream--showed multiple characters and locations from the Lord Of The Rings universe. The stream also showed off multiple variants for each card, including a "Ring Showcase" variant which frames each character within The One Ring.

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　　Some of the cards revealed during the livestream include:

　　Frodo, Sauron's Bane (Legendary Creature) 1 power/2 toughness creature card costing one white mana which can change its creature type.Frodo's abilities reference a mechanic where "the Ring tempts you."Samwise, The Stouthearted (Legendary Creature) 2 power/1 toughness legendary creature card costing one generic and one white mana.Sam returns a single card to a player's hand when he enters the game.The Shire (Legendary Land) The Shire enters the battlefield tapped unless the player also controls a legendary creature.Ability 1: Tap for one green manaAbility 2: Pay one green and one generic mana, tap The Shire, and tap one untapped creature to create a Food tokenMount Doom (Legendary Land) Ability 1: Tap and pay one life to create a black or red manaAbility 2: Pay one generic, one black, and one red mana, then tap Mount Doom to deal 1 damage to each opposing playerAbility 3: Pay five generic, one black, and one red mana, then tap Mount Doom and sacrifice both it and a legendary artifact to destroy all creatures except for two of the activating player's choosing.Gollum, Patient Plotter (Legendary Creature) 3 power, 1 toughness creature costing one generic and one black manaWhen Gollum leaves the battlefield, the Ring tempts youPay one black mana and sacrifice a creature to return Gollum from your graveyard to your hand.You Cannot Pass! (Instant) Pay one white mana to destroy a creature that either blocked or was blocked by a legendary creature this turn.Reprieve (Instant) Pay one generic and one white mana to return a target spell on the battlefield to its owner's hand and draw a card.Existing Magic: The Gathering cards will also be adapted to the LOTR universe, with the first example revealed to be Sol Ring. Three different versions of Sol Ring will be released in the set, each one referencing either the Elven, Dwarven, or Human rings of LOTR legend. Other examples shown include The Great Henge's adaptation into LOTR's The Party Tree, as well as MTG's Wasteland card becoming the Valley of Gorgoroth.

　　Magic: The Gathering's Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth expansion will launch on June 23 with Draft, Set, Collector, and Jumpstart booster packs, four preconstructed Commander format decks, a Starter Kit, a Bundle and Gift Bundle, Scene Boxes, and Secret Lair drops. A second release is planned November 3, with more details to be announced at a later date.

　　The next Magic The Gathering expansion, March Of The Machine, will conclude the conflict between the evil Phyrexians and the multiverse of worlds contained within the MTG lore. The set launches April 21, with multiple events planned leading up to the release.

　　Jason Fanelli on Google+