On the surface, 2006 Topps Lord of the Rings Evolution is a character-driven release. But for a lot of collectors, it’s more notable for having the first Lord of the Rings sketch cards.
The base set takes a page from the earlier Star Wars Evolution set. Done in foil, cards have two images of characters showing how they changed through the Peter Jackson trilogy.
Evolution A and B inserts take things a bit further. These have the same general design but are increasingly tougher to find.
Sketch cards are the lead chase element. They were a big driver for hobby boxes. Inserted 1:14 hobby packs, the majority of 2006 Topps Lord of the Rings Evolution boxes have a pair of sketch cards. And while the quality varies, a decent percentage are more than rough doodles. A moderately sizable roster of artists means lots of different styles are represented as well.
2006 Topps Lord of the Rings Evolution retail packs don’t have sketch cards. In their place are Memorabilia Cards.
Ten Stained Glass cards complete the checklist.
2006 Topps Lord of the Rings Evolution Checklist
Click on links to shop for cards or check current market values on eBay.
Cards per pack: 6
Packs per box: 24
Boxes per case: 8
Shop for 2006 Topps Lord of the Rings Evolution boxes on eBay.
Base Set
72 cards.
1 Aragorn
2 Arwen
3 Bilbo
4 Boromir
5 Cave Troll
6 Celeborn
7 Déagol
8 Denethor
9 Elrond
10 Éomer
11 Éowyn
12 Everard Proudfoot
13 Faramir
14 Figwit
15 Frodo
16 Galadriel
17 Gamling
18 Gandalf
19 Gash-Face
20 Gimli
21 Gollum
22 Gorbag
23 Gothmog
24 Grishnákh
25 Haldir
26 Háma
27 Isildur
28 King Elendil
29 King of the Dead
30 Legolas
31 Lurtz
32 Merry
33 Mouth of Sauron
34 Pippin
35 Rosie Cotton
36 Sam
37 Saruman
38 Sauron
39 Sharku
40 Sméagol
41 Snaga
42 The Bounder
43 Théoden
44 Treebeard
45 Uglúk
46 Wltch-King
47 Wormtongue
48 Army Of The Dead
49 Corsairs
50 Dwarves
51 Easterlings
52 Elves
53 Ents
54 Gondor
55 Harad
56 Hobbit
57 Nazgul
58 Orcs
59 Rohan
60 Trolls
61 Uruk-hai
62 Wildmen
63 Wizard
64 Balrog
65 Fell Beasts
66 Great Beasts
67 Great Eagles
68 Mûmakil
69 Shelob
70 Wargs
71 Watcher
72 Checklist
Sketch Cards
1:14 hobby packs.
Odds for Individual Groups: A – 1:32, B – 1:346, C – 1:70, D – 1:111, E – 1:93, F – 1:209
Ryan Benjamin F
Joseph Booth D
Dennis Budd E
Matt Busch F
Jeff Chandler D
Justin Chung F
Joe Corroney F
Cynthia Cummens D
Christian Dalla Vecchia A
Renae De Liz E
Ray Dillon D
Dave Dorman E
Michael Duron E
Jan Duursema F
Chris Eliopoulos F
Scott Erwert E
Davide Fabbri A
Otis Frampton A
Grant Gould E
Paul Gutierrez A
Gabriel Hernandez F
Thomas Hodges A
James Hodgkins A
Rafael Kayanan E
Mike Lilly F
Tom Mandrake C
Randy Martinez A
John McCrea D
Mary Mitchell E
Rich Molinelli F
Monte Moore F
Jake Myler C
Dan Norton D
William O’Neill E
Dan Parsons C
Amy Pronovost C
David Rabbitte E
Juan Carlos Ramos E
Brian Rood C
Howard Shum A
Allison Sohn E
Cat Staggs C
Robert Teranishi C
Russ Walks E
Sarah Wilkinson D
Brent Woodside B
Jeff Zapata F
Memorabilia Cards
7 cards, 1:24 retail packs.
Arwen’s Nightgown – 1:464
Frodo’s Travel Cloak – 1:72
Galadriel’s Grey Havens Cloak – 1:184
Gandalf the White’s Cloak – 1:347
Gandalf the White’s Shirt – 1:464
Merry’s Travel Cloak – 1:165
Pippin’s Travel Cloak – 1:106
Evolution A
20 cards, 1:4 packs.
1A Aragorn
2A Arwen
3A Bilbo
4A Boromir
5A Elrond
6A Éomer
7A Éowyn
8A Faramir
9A Frodo
10A Galadriel
11A Gandalf
12A Haldir
13A Legolas
14A Lurtz
15A Merry
16A Pippin
17A Sam
18A Sauron
19A Théoden
20A Witch-King
Evolution B
12 cards, 1:12 packs.
1B Aragorn
2B Arwen
3B Bilbo
4B Elrond
5B Éomer
6B Éowyn
7B Faramir
8B Frodo
9B Galadriel
10B Gandalf
11B Sam
12B Théoden
Stained Glass
10 cards, 1:6 packs.
S1 Aragorn
S2 Bilbo
S3 Boromir
S4 Frodo
S5 Gandalf
S6 Gimli
S7 Legolas
S8 Merry
S9 Pippin
S10 Sam
Promo Cards
P1 Frodo