I have played LOTR and owned it for 2 days short of 2 weeks. That game destroyed me in my local tourney. MB, which was also at the same tourney last Spring, helped me with a nice comeback on a last ball. So MB has love from me. I just can't really say it's fair for me to choose. MB is in bad shape and not maintained well. LOTR is a great trilogy (theme bias) imho with some dark and intense call outs..... "TO WARRRRRRR!" Obviously this is a matter of taste. Some people like some fun others like the rush from completing a very difficult game. Add themes and all that blah blah. IMHO MB is goofy and campy and not a theme for me. I like the game though. I'm just too much of a newb to say I have the experience to vote on the poll, but I will give you my opinion. LOTR!~
To be fair, I own LOTR and played it in the same Tourney last year with MB. LOTR overwhelmed me. I owned it 2 weeks and I'm up to 90+ million all set on medium settings. I do find all the 555 and easy to access GI and inserts makes it a breeze to add lights. Be patient and honestly I don't think you can predict a correct decision without having both for 3 months and then decided which one to part with lol. GL