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Farmer_Maggot

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:07 pm

Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 17 Location:

--- description ---
My take on the now forgotten Uruk strategy - resistance abuse! Be prepared to be blitzed by an aggressive zealot... and more.
--- end description ---

Our Foes Are Weak...

Now to be honest with all you good people reading this article, I can’t remember whether this design of deck has had hundreds of articles written about it or none at all, but this is my take on an Uruk based deck that has seen very little play since the introduction of The Hunters. It may not be Tier 1 exactly but I think it can give a good number of Standard Free Peoples decks a good run for their money. Without further ado, I shall get on with describing the decks main cards and strategy…

The Deck…

Cards: 35
Uruk Zealot x3
Uruk Blitz x3
Uruk Desecrator x4
Uruk Aggressor x4
Uruk Invader x4
Axeman of Harad x2
Patroller of Haradrim x2

Shingle in a Storm x4
Our Foes Are Weak x4
Fortitude x2
Wielding the Ring x3

Sites of Note…

Hill of Sight - Fairly obvious. You need companions at resistance 0 and this helps you get it.

Neekerbreekers Bog - This site is just perfect for this deck. 3 vitality companions think they are safe until they move here. Please use it!

Rohan Uplands - Sometimes you just need one turn where your minions survive to the skirmish phase to cripple heavy archery based decks. This site gives you that turn.

The Cards…

“Against the Deeping Wall the hosts of Isengard roared like a sea”

O.K. So the main focus of the deck is the Uruk-Hai Culture. It provides a majority of both the lowering of companions resistance and the cheap swarming minions to hit your opponent when they have none left. Uruk-hai are some of my favourite minions in the game because they are all damage +1 or fierce. I love it! Everyone of them is a little beast which can be a right old pain for your opponent. Large amounts of damage +1 minions means that the Free Peoples player must win all of the skirmishes to avoid large amounts of damage. Often this is not possible of course so don’t underestimate the 9 strength, 2 vitality, damage +1 uruk-hai minion. Especially when they cost 0 twilight.

Uruk Zealot
This guy is the daddy of uruk resistance abusers. He is big, ugly and, at the same stats as the Witch-King for -2 twilight, I feel a good deal. His strengths lie in his high strength and vitality, damage +1 and his anti-resistance ability. While you’ve got a bunch of conditions out and an Uruk Desecrator graces the field you’ll find that almost all companions become strength -3. The Zealot’s glaring weakness is his spotting requirement to play and uniqueness. For this reason I would only use three and try and use him carefully to make the most of his abilities. 12 other Uruk minions should be enough however to play him when you wish.

Uruk Blitz
One of my favourite Uruk minions. Cheap for his stats he has his uses in early, middle and late game with his varying abilities. If your opponent goes all out at site 2 playing companions and what not you can hit him with a Blitz and another minion for some major hurt to companions early. Region 2 his ability is useful generally and by region 3 he should put all companions down to 0 resistance. As with the Zealot, his weakness lies in his spotting cost as well as his lack of damage +1. A travesty if you ask me…

Uruk Desecrator
A fairly obvious choice in my opinion. He’s pretty big, pretty cheap and has a really useful ability for lowering companion’s resistance. Can be played early on while setting up or later with a Zealot. Versatility is good.

Uruk Aggressor
1 twilight for a 8 strength, 2 vitality, damage +1minion seems good to me. Use this guy to swarm your opponent on later sites or just spot for playing Our Foes are Weak. Versatile like the Desecrator and the Invader.

Uruk Invader
The Uruk Aggressor’s bigger brother. 1 more strength than the Aggressor and generally costing 0-1 twilight. I like this guy.

Shingle in a Storm
I love this condition so much! There’s no down side to it. It costs nothing and has no spotting requirement. It controls large fellowships by increasing Uruk-Hai’s damage output, so should make the Free Peoples player wary (Damage +5 Uruk-Hai are funny to watch though). Companions with 2 or less resistance should be everywhere in this game so take your pick of which one you want to pile your minions on. 2 are normally enough but use 3 or 4 just to make sure if you need to. Cool picture and text too just to make it even better.

Our Foes Are Weak
An obvious addition and crucial to the deck. -1 strength and -3 resistance to any unbound companion. What can I say - plaster your opponent with them.

Fortitude
You could make a case that this condition is too expensive to use effectively but I consider it very important. A vast majority of Free People sides pack wounding of some kind (Aragorn’s Bow, Eowyn Lady of Ithilien, various Legolases) not to mention keeping minions alive for double moves. If you can get this in early all the better.

“Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need?”

I’ve included a small Evil Man splash in the mix for this deck. I understand that this may not appeal to all but often Wielding the Ring is essential for dropping resistance down to 0 (or at least under 2). The minions abilities are bonuses (they’re there really to play the condition) with the Patroller discarding possessions quite easily and the Axe man adding to your swarming capabilities. Not always necessary or playable but it makes the deck a bit more original.

“Flee them! Speak no words to them! They are deadly.”

Brawling Uruk x4
Ulaire Cantea, Black Assassin x1
Tempest of War x2

I have included a few alternative cards that maybe a good idea to add should you not use the Evil Men cards. The Brawling Uruk can be an extremely useful minion in the right circumstances, especially when dealing with the (in my opinion) ridiculously over powered Cirdan. He also another cheap-ish minion which makes it easier to play the Uruk Blitz and the Uruk Zealot. Ulaire Cantea, Black Assassin is also useful in circumstances as a distracter if there happens to be companions you would rather not have skirmish. His second, skirmish ability cannot , unfortunately, be used as there are no other Wraith cards in the deck. I am always hesitant to use Tempest of War as, although it inflicts some resistance damage on companions, it takes out any Shingle in a Storm conditions that you still have on the field. Despite that discarding all conditions from the Free Peoples player’s support area is a vicious ability and can easily turn the tide of the game.
This alternative set up is probably better than the original but both give options and I’ll leave it to you to judge whether originality out weighs pure effectiveness.

The Strategy…

Setting up early is crucial and often the reason why this deck fails to function sometimes. Sites 2-4 and, if desperate, site 5 should be used to get your conditions out. Playing a single uruk or evil man minion a turn allows you to set up your Our Foes Are Weak, Wielding the Ring and Fortitude conditions ready to beat the stuffing out of your opponent at 5-9. Thankfully Shingle in a Storm is free and has no spotting requirement so can be played at anytime. Your opponent may aid your resistance reducing cause by bidding at the beginning of the game. Key, strong companions (e.g. Aragorn, Eomer and Durin III) should be -5 resistance by site 6 tops. I cannot deny, however, how effective a region 1 Uruk Blitz can be with other , now damage +2, uruk minions. Reminiscent of an early Violent Hurl.
When it comes to playing minions an ideal set up involves an Uruk Decimator followed by an Uruk Zealot or Blitz accompanied by as many Aggressors and Invaders your hand can manage. This, as with any ideal minion set up, is not always possible. Axemen of Harad almost always settle at a cheap 2 twilight that can aid your swarm. The Patroller may be a good choice of minion should particularly pesky possessions be present on the field. Just having 2 larger uruk-hai present is often enough to kill off a companion if accompanied by a pair of Shingle in a Storm conditions.
The Manoeuvre and Archery phase are often considered the Uruk-Hai’s most vulnerable stage but Fortitude should keep the wounds off effectively, and the high vitality of the Zealot and Axeman allow some wound absorption. It might be worth noting that no minions in the deck require exertion to fulfil their abilities so vitality is purely about survival..
The skirmish phase: this is where the deck must make or break. Consistent wearing down of companions must occur as the deck is unlikely to be able to take down a Fellowship player in one turn. Using the Zealots ability is important. Weaker companions (e.g. Legolas, Pippin and Eowyn) are now easily overwhelmed and a couple of well timed Shingle in a Strom assignments should be enough to deal with larger companions. For example, my experience of dwarf decks result in Durin settling at around 16 strength. While he bears an Our Foes are Weak and has 0 resistance he is at 12. Assign a Desecrator and a Zealot to him and that’s 25 against Durin. If he’s not overwhelmed you’re dealing out 3 wounds.
Of course, as with most shadows these days, it is best to pair this with a fellowship that cycles well and can run when called upon if problems do arrive. I’m not suggesting this is the best Shadow deck ever but I suggest trying it out and making your own adjustments to it.

The Future…

We never know what crazy new strategies Decipher are thinking up at this very moment and it would seem unlikely that resistance Uruk-Hai will make a dramatic resurgence. I feel they require a leader in the style of Ugluk, Ugly Fellow - cheap and almost always effective - and perhaps a purely resistance focused Saruman to become a strong contender in the post-hunter days. We never know. Thank you for reading (enduring) my article. I hope you enjoyed it.

Ps. I know spelling can be an issue to some of you judges so I apologize to any readers from the U.S. for any “English” spellings there might be in here. Don’t mark me down for them. Please. Very Happy

Last edited by Farmer_Maggot on Thu Jan 18, 2007 8:30 am; edited 1 time in total

CarpeGuitarrem

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:14 pm

Joined: 07 Apr 2006 Posts: 3361 Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville

Very interesting article, I don’t believe I’ve really run into this decktype before. I like how you outlined your playing strategy especially. An incredibly solid article, at least a 4 or 5. Now I need to try this one out...

"ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm)

NBarden

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:24 pm

Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...

Grown Suddenly Tall, Sleep Caradhras, Deep in thought, etc.

Ranger’s sword, Blade of Aragorn, Long-Knives of Legolas, A Blended Race, etc.

Let Fly. (ouch. Kills any splash)

Measure of Comfort.

This deck is to easy to kill. Uruk-hai are easy to nail, conditions are easy to nail, and splashes are easy to nail. Mix them together, you get a very easy to kill deck.

However, it was very well-written, so I give it a 3.

-Trade With Me Exclamation

Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about? Shocked

As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation.

CarpeGuitarrem

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:56 pm

Joined: 07 Apr 2006 Posts: 3361 Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville

Let Fly and Measure of Comfort were the only cards you mentioned that would apply to this Standard-format deck...and those aren’t in a lot of decks...

"ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm)

sickofpalantirs

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 9:44 pm

Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 7750 Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

NBarden wrote:

N-barden if you are going to give a near perfect article a 3, because you are in the article contest to... it was great perfect a Gp and a 5.

Sop's haves/ top wants Exclamation

(mm)"SoP: you will always be the Official CC Spammer in my heart"
"DáinIronfoot"
Spammers really are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month. And yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you. Razz

NBarden

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:30 pm

Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...

sickofpalantirs wrote:

N-barden if you are going to give a near perfect article a 3, because you are in the article contest to...

That would be the lowest of lows. I would never, never give someone a low grade to try to lessen the competition. As a matter of fact, I remember awarding someone a four very recently. I did not realize this was for standard, and I’m sure you would agree that it wouldn’t survive in expanded.(Sorry, I didn’t realize it was standard, I play open and expanded only).

I believe that conditions should not be a focal point to any shadow deck, and used at best to supplement a strategy. (the only deck I built around conditions, I don’t actually play anymore, uruk site control swarm). As this deck revolves around conditions, (look no further than the title), I concluded that the deck would not survive, but then again, I don’t play standard. So sorry, in standard it would probably do better, but I didn’t realize it was standard only.

I grade an article on both how well it is written and its content. I remember reading an article about Iocaine that was very well written (most well written, article so far), but it still didn’t go over very well with people because they didn’t think the bluffing tricks would work. Well...no matter how well written this article is, I stand by my original conclusion that the deck is to easy to kill, although it would probably do better in standard, but I apologize for my mistake in not realizing it was standard and would have given it a four.

~nbarden

P.S. I run at least two copies of Measure of Comfort in every deck with hobbits.

-Trade With Me Exclamation

Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about? Shocked

As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation.

sickofpalantirs

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:31 am

Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 7750 Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

NBarden wrote:

sickofpalantirs wrote:

N-barden if you are going to give a near perfect article a 3, because you are in the article contest to...

I did not realize this was for standard, and I’m sure you would agree that it wouldn’t survive in expanded.(Sorry, I didn’t realize it was standard, I play open and expanded only).

I believe that conditions should not be a focal point to any shadow deck, and used at best to supplement a strategy. (the only deck I built around conditions, I don’t actually play anymore, uruk site control swarm). As this deck revolves around conditions, (look no further than the title), I concluded that the deck would not survive, but then again, I don’t play standard. So sorry, in standard it would probably do better, but I didn’t realize it was standard only.
~nbarden

P.S. I run at least two copies of Measure of Comfort in every deck with hobbits.

a few things, generally it is a good idea to wait a bit before voting, the person might edit the article people might bring to your attention things you hadn’t seen, etc. Would i give an article a 3 because it would be massacred in Open by fruit loops? of course not, it isn’t exactly the same for this but its obvious the deck would be competitive then I go to whether or not the article was written well, Essentially the only deck that is a guaranteed win is Fruit loops and it should be pretty obvious this deck could be quite competitive, and even if someone has a grown suddenly tall, if they have conditions they will think twice before using it, And as CG said let fly is hardly ever used and measure of comfort isn’t that common either, and generally they is some card that can hurt any deck you can think of especially in expanded.

Sop's haves/ top wants Exclamation

Farmer_Maggot

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:18 pm

Joined: 11 Sep 2006 Posts: 17 Location:

Thanks for the comments. I did forget to mention it was standard. Basing a deck around conditions can be risky but you would be surprise how little anti-shadow condition hate is used, in my games anyway. In my experienced Let Fly and Measure of Comfort are extremely rare in their use.

CarpeGuitarrem

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:05 pm

Joined: 07 Apr 2006 Posts: 3361 Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville

Yeah, you should mention that in a meta that doesn’t ever go after conditions, this is pure gold. But in a condition-hNOLINKate meta, this deck would indeed be toast.

"ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm)

Turin06

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:38 pm

Joined: 24 Oct 2006 Posts: 197 Location: Good Question

I would probably have given this a four. But I feel it would be an injustice to let that shameful three stand so I’m giving it a five in correction.

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

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