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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:48 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
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Location: Rivendell
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We all know that Decipher is going to stop making new Lord of the Rings Sets, but this doesn’t mean the game is dead! Let’s look at some fun new decks to keep the game alive, and get a peek at the future of LotR: Age’s End!
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Credit for the ToC format goes to Felipe Musco. Use the "Find" command and the numbers to find what you want. Thanks!
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The CobraCards Top 17
3. Let’s Have Some Fun!
3.1 Eowyn, The Spellcaster
3.2 Elvents Galore
3.3 Gandalf, Lord of the Rohirrim
3.4 New and Improved Warg Riders!
3.5 Nazgul… Swarm?
3.6 Forget Strength, Vitality is… Stronger.
3.7 Make Your Own!
4. The End of an Age
4.1 Arwen, the Fortune-teller!
4.2 The Threatening Power of Gollum and His Orcs
4.3 Aragorn and Boromir; The Dynamic Duo!
4.4 Boromir, Savior of the Halflings
4.5 Balgy Beats
4.6 They Are Coming – Tentacle Swarms
4.7 Wikkie Beast
5. Conclusion
6. Special Thanks
1. Introduction
On May 22, 2007, Decipher announced that Treachery and Deceit was to be the last full set they would produce. Finally, after a long decline, the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game was going to die. It’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Slowly, but surely, Decipher was getting rid of all its designers and playtesters, until there were none left. Sets were becoming more and more broken and outlandish. And with deteriorating support for the game and the remaining players screaming for spoilers and new set releases, who could blame them?
But anyways, this article isn’t about that. It’s about the best of LotR. Personally, I’ve been playing this game since Realms, and it’s been harder to see it go downhill that it actually is to see it end. And I know that many of my fellow players here at CC, no matter how long they’ve been with this game, feel the same way. So I’d like to dedicate this article to the pure fun that LotR has been. Not to some new ultra-broken combo that’s sure to corrupt your opponent in one regroup phase, or to some swarm that can empty your deck of minions in one turn. This article is about simply fun decks to play; so that once tournaments have come to a close we can think beyond just decks to win, but decks to use to have fun and keep this game alive!
2. The CobraCards Top 17
Well, first off, I polled the player community to see what they thought the best (not broken) cards in the game were. So let’s get to those! These are the all-star cards of the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game!
Dunland Culture 
Hides – Anyone who’s used or played against a deck knows that the minions can get high strength for very little twilight (Dunlending Elder is an example), however, their low vitalities can be a problem. Hides solves that problem. For one, it’s cheap and easy cycling, and two, it provides easy wound prevention. You can use any additional twilight (and with the low cost of most minions, there’s sure to be leftover twilight) to save your minions’ lives. Or, if worst comes to worst, you can discard this card to prevent the wound. Also, Hides is a possession, not a condition, so it will be harder for fellowship cards to remove it.
Dwarven Culture 
This one was actually a tie! Here’s the two winners:
Durin III, Dwarven Lord – Durin is a must-have companion for anyone using a dwarf deck. His ability to reach astronomical strength simply by loading up with possessions allows him to beat up everything save for the Dark Lord himself with ease!
Blood Runs Chill – This is the only form of condition removal, and yet it is very powerful. Dwarves can get very big damage bonuses (Proud and Able along with Durin, perhaps?) so this card can wipe away all of your opponent’s shadow cards in one go.
Elven Culture 
Legolas, Greenleaf – A favorite card of old-time players; more FotR block decks have a Greenleaf than don’t have one. His ability to wound any minion you like during archery can be a life-saver, killing off minions or at least stopping them from exerting for special abilities or other things. Load him up with The Tale of Gil-Galad and Aiglos for even more destructive power!
Gandalf Culture 
By far the most popular culture with the extra 3 fellowship votes, a ton of different cards got some of the spotlight here. There was a 2-way tie, however, these two cards only won over the others by one vote. So, without further ado, here they are!
Saved From the Fire – What can I say about this card? It’s a staple in many different decktypes as a way to burn a relatively useless companion, drain threats, thin your deck, and of course, take any three cards you desire! Use it with Smeagol to set up a shadow hand, use it with Rohan for even better thinning than usual. The uses of this card are endless.
Gandalf, Leader of the Company – The ultimate splash companion, give him a Glamdring, Foe-hammer and he’s ready to leap into any deck! Early game, he powers up other companions, and slowly gets the strength back onto himself. Simply with his sword, he can start at 9 strength, and end up at 11, powering others along the way. A staple card for men decks or any splashed  deck.
Gollum Shadow Culture 
Okay, there was a three way tie on this one, so I decided to break it by throwing in my all-time favorite card. So, here’s the winner!
Promise Keeping – This card is a must-have for Ninja Gollum decks. Each time you wound a companion with Not This Time! or They Stole It, you get to add an extra wound. Even if a companion just plain loses a skirmish to Gollum or Shelob, there’s an added exertion for you. Then, if a companion dies and threat wounds are dished out, Promise Keeping exerts for each one of those, too!
Gondor Culture 
Ah, for once a clear winner! Here we are:
Aragorn, Thorongil – This guy is the original hunter of the Three Hunters. With a potential starting strength of 10, it’s easy to see why he’s so popular. Also, he’s got the ability to exert any minion with strength less than his, helping out in Archery Decks, LoI decks, and when you just plain don’t want a Saruman, Mouth of Sauron, Grima, or Bill Ferny ruining your day.
Isengard Culture 
Saruman, Servant of Sauron – Easily one of the most splashable shadow cards in the game, for a simple cost of  this guy can add 2 to any minion’s strength, as well as adding a handy exertion ability. Plus, at Isengard Ruined, this guy can dish out even more pain. What’s not to love?
Men Culture 
Mumak Commander, Giant Among the Swertings – This guy is just plain beastly. 14 strength isn’t bad, but he really shines when it comes to his oh-so-splashable maneuver ability. For two easy exertions, he can exert a companion twice. A two-for-two, but from a minion to a companion this is really worth it! And slap a Pavise on him for yet another two exertions.
Moria Culture 
Goblin Runner – Yet another splashable minion! Anyone noticing a pattern here? Basically, this is a 5-strength minion that adds to the twilight pool. And who doesn’t need twilight? A must-have for swarm decks, and good anywhere else you have deck space.
Orc Culture 
Goblin Hordes – Now, no one can tell me that they didn’t see this one coming. The ability to pull any 4 minions from your discard pile every turn is simply amazing. And with Orkish Smith and Unforgiving Depths, it’s easy to keep each site as an underground, even if you went first.
Raider Culture 
Desert Lord – Gosh, more splash minions. Like the Mumak Commander above, he can slap two exertions on unbound companions. If you pair this guy with some Seasoned Leader, he can be a force to be reckoned with.
Rohan Culture 
We have a two-way tie for , as well! Let’s see our lucky winners!
Simbelmyne – This handy event can pull just about anything you want, companion, possession, ally, from your deck. It can get you what you need, when you need it, and is a handy substitute for extra copies of companions. Also, it thins out the freeps cards in your deck, something is rather good at.
Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien – So great, she got an entire deck built around her. With proper maneuver and archery abilities, she can wipe out any remaining minions during skirmish, with just one exertion. Fun stuff, huh?
Sauron Culture 
Hate – The staple card of a grind deck, this gives your exert-to-wound minions a little extra power as they can target any companion you like… preferably an exhausted one.
Shire Culture
Sam, Great Elf Warrior – This guy took hobbits from a culture that avoids skirmishes and runs away into a beast of a battler. With all the hobbit companions out there, he can easily match even Durin in strength, in the right deck.
Smeagol Fellowship Culture
There was a tie here, too! Gosh, this isn’t really the top 17 any more…
Smeagol, Bearer of Great Secrets – This is the Smeagol Ring-bearer. He’s great to use solo, choking the twilight pool and controlling the site path. Or, we oldies can remember using him with Ring-bound rangers with great success. His regroup ability is pretty cool, too.
Deagol, Fateful Finder – Deagol is an unfortunate fellow, but he’s served us well in the Lord of the Rings TCG. His ability to pull out a possession from our deck on any companion is really useful, making Smeagol a splash companion in many decks. And with four of these, Smeagol, Simple Stoor can get up to 11 strength without anything else. Not bad, eh?
Uruk-Hai Culture 
With another three-way tie, I had to throw in my vote to decide the winner. So here it is, guys!
Ugluk, Ugly Fellow – The biggest, baddest minion in Uruk Hunter decks. A free exertion is always nice, as well as a 12 strength fierce minion for only  twilight. With one Violent Hurl, you can knock down a 3 vitality companion. With two, a 4 vitality companion. Get the picture? This guy is killer.
Wraith Culture 
Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders – This guy can swap out sites like nobody’s business. Use him to replay stuff like Fangorn Glade, Neekerbreekers’ Bog, or Courtyard Parapet. Swap them out for something with a Shadow: ability. Then, swap again for something like Cavern Entrance. The possibilities are endless!
Well, okay, so it wasn’t the top 17, more like… the Top 21. Oh well. Let’s move on.
3. Let’s Have Some Fun!
Alright. We all know that, since Decipher is cutting off new LotR production, they’re going to stop having tournaments soon. So super-boring, NPE decks are going to just kill the game. We need something fun to use and play against! In this part of the article, I’d like to brainstorm a few fun deck ideas. As you review this article, feel free to post your own ideas for new, fun decks, and I’ll get some of the most popular ideas on here! This is more or less a “melting pot” of fun deck ideas and interesting variations on popular stuff. Let’s get started, shall we?
3.1 Eowyn, the Spellcaster (37)
We should all be familiar with the popular Eowyn Wounding deck type. If you’re not, just go in the deck archives. It won’t be hard to find. Well, it normally uses Aragorn, Thorongil and a bunch of other toys to mess with minions. Well, a friend of mine recently opened up a can of whooping on me with a new take on the deck: Gandalf Spells. Gandalf, Powerful Guide is a neat companion who can beat up minions simply by adding burdens after playing spells. Eowyn needs wounds on minions to kill some more. See the connection? Good. Let’s get this going.
Starting Fellowship:
Frodo, Resolute Hobbit with The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien
Sam, Resolute Halfling
Companions:
Gandalf, Powerful Guide x4
Aragorn, Thorongil
Legolas, Greenleaf x3
Possessions:
Glamdring, Foe-hammer
Anduril, Sword that was Broken
Coif
Eowyn’s Sword, Dernhelm’s Blade
Brego
Aragorn’s Bow
Radagast’s Herb Bag x2
Gandalf’s Staff
Events:
Servant of the Secret Fire x4
Strength of Spirit x4
Long I Fell x2
Terrible and Evil x4
Intimidate x2
Into Dark Tunnels x2
So it’s a little big. So what? With Gandalf’s ability, you should cycle well enough. Now let’s get to some of the sweet combo action in this deck. With Radagast’s Herb Bag and Gandalf himself, you can wound two minions or a minion twice, every time you play a spell! And with Thorongil holding a bow, it’ll be easy to put on more wounds. Anything not dead yet? Throw them over to Eowyn. Strength of Spirit is beautiful in this deck. Many of the cards require exertions, but it prevents those, and on top of that, it’s a spell! Servant is a handy skirmish event, and, of course, a spell. If Gandalf is about to lose a skirmish, use Long I Fell and add a burden to wound a minion. Then, if the shadow player chooses to let you wound a minion, you could potentially kill the one threatening to wound Gandalf! Terrible and Evil is obvious. If you’re getting too high on burdens, kill off Frodo and let Sam have the Ring.
Matchups:
Corruption:
Since corruption (besides Retribution corruption) generally doesn’t have or need high strength, this deck won’t need to add burdens with it’s spells to survive. And with a 14 resistance Ring-bearer, you should do fine. Plus, you can always kill Frodo to let Sam have the Ring; that’s 7 more burdens they’ll need to get. Retribution will be harder to beat, but just make sure you can manage your burdens and they don’t get too many on. Eowyn will easily shut down Enquea, Toto in corruption decks.
Archery:
This deck can kill some minions (Giant Among the Swertings, for example) before they do too much damage, and most companions start with high vitality, so not much to fear. Sam can also peel off a few wounds in each fellowship phase.
Beatdown:
This is where this deck shines. Minions will be killed before they can do anything.
Wounding:
I wound you before you wound me. Simple.
Swarms:
Eowyn and spells can wound all the small minions to death. This shouldn’t be a problem.
3.2 Elvents Galore (40)
Okay, maybe this isn’t the most unique idea, but ever since T&D came out I’ve been dying to put the new Gil-Galad in an Elvent deck. So let’s try it out, shall we?
Starting Fellowship:
Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom with The One Ring, The Binding Ring
Elladan, Son of Elrond
Elrohir, Son of Elrond
Companions:
Cirdan, The Shipwright x2
Elrond, Venerable Lord x2
Gil-Galad, High King of the Noldor x3
Gandalf, Manager of Wizards x3
Possessions/Artifacts:
Elven Armaments x4
Glamdring, Foe-Hammer
Nenya
Vilya, Ring of Air
Narya, Ring of Fire
Aiglos
Conditions:
Glimpse of Fate x2
Into the West x2
Events:
Still Needed x4
Forearmed x4
Uncertain Paths x2
Attunement x3
Alliance Reforged x2
Another big deck, but since Gil-Galad can pull Alliance Reforged every turn, cycling shouldn’t be an issue. Simply use Gilly to pull 3 events every turn, put a still needed (or any elf card, thanks to Gandalf) on top, and peels it off with Into the West to remove your threats. The rest is simple elvent/telepathy style.
Matchups:
Corruption:
Corruption (besides corruption) is an elvent deck’s biggest challenge. Maybe put in some elf-song (and take it back with Gilly) and switch rings to RoR if there’s a lot of corruption in your meta.
Archery:
Elven Armaments. Some call it broken; I call it my answer to archery. Enough said.
Beatdown:
Another strength. This deck can clear out beatdown shadows easily.
Wounding:
Harder than Archery, but with a potential 6 vitality Cirdan and Elrond, and 5 Vitality Gil-Galad, you’ll be hard to beat.
Swarm:
While the Ring-bearer may look relatively unprotected, 13 skirmish events (and the ability to pull up to 7 of them in one turn) will make you relatively unswarmable.
3.3 Gandalf, Lord of the Rohirrim (42)
Okay, recently, Rohan Ring-bearer assigning has become a the major strategy for decks. It opened up a lot of new strategies and culture splashes. The first thing that crossed my mind when it came out was, “Wouldn’t this be cool with some sort of ARB?” But most ARB’s have some sort of text that hurts you when they are assigned. The few that don’t are mostly weak companions anyways, so why not use Frodo? But there’s one that stands out to me as an option; Gandalf. Rohan has always paired well with Gandalf, with cards like Hearken to Me. Gandalf also has condition removal, which Rohan, unfortunately, lacks. But to keep up Gandalf’s ability, we’d need a load of cards… looks like another big deck coming!
Starting Fellowship:
Gandalf, Bearer of Obligation with The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Eowyn, Northwoman
Hama, Northman
Companions:
Eomer, Northman
Theoden, Northman, King of Rohan
Aragorn, Defender of Rohan
Possessions/Artifacts:
Glamdring, Foe-Hammer
Narya x2
Anduril, Sword that was Broken
Herugrim, Sword of the Mark
Eowyn’s Sword, Dernhelm’s Blade
Eomer’s Spear, Trusty Weapon
Erkenbrand’s Shield
Conditions:
Brooding on Tomorrow
Watch and Wait x4
King’s Board
Events:
Saved From the Fire x4
Ease the Burden x4
Simbelmyne x4
Have Patience x2
Out of the High Airs x2
Servant of the Secret Fire x4
Terrible and Evil x2
King’s Advisor
Once the companions are loaded up with their respective hand weapons and Gandy is assigned, they are really strong. Narya, Glamdring, and the four Watch and Wait are there to manage burdens. Get a Saved From the Fire and burn Hama, then discard the others for Gandy’s ability. It’ll be easy to get the other companions fast, with 4 Saved and 4 Simbelmyne. King’s Board helps out when the original strength of your buddies isn’t enough. Brooding gets rid of conditions. The events are basically a toolbox for you to use, just discard the ones you don’t need to Gandy. Have Patience is for Healing, Ease the Burden is for burdens, Out of the High Airs is double stuff, Servant is skirmish, and Terrible and Evil takes down pesky minions. This is the Boy Scout of decks; you should be ready for anything!
Matchups:
Corruption:
With four Watch and Wait and Glamdring, corruption should be manageable. Just make sure you can consistently discard 3 cards from hand.
Archery:
Besides a few Have Patience, you don’t have much wound prevention or healing. Probably a tougher matchup.
Beatdown:
This deck is meant to take down beatdown. Eomer can easily reach 14 strength with the Ring-bearer assigned. Other companions aren’t too shabby, either.
Wounding:
Again, with little healing power, this could be a tougher matchup. Probably best to move as much as possible and try to end the game quick.
Swarm:
You want the Ring-bearer assigned! Swarm decks are really only doing you a favor. Add in some PATHS if you’re really that worried about it.
3.4 New and Improved Warg Riders! (36 )
Wargs were a really cool decktype back in the Towers days, heck, my best deck was once a Warg deck. Eventually, they had a fall from grace, and sank into the mire of memory. But decipher brought them back recently in the new culture! Now, most people have just been looking for ways to throw wargs into already established decktypes ( wounding, for example), but I’d like to make a deck focused around these new wargs and cards that use them!
Minions:
Orkish Cavalry x4
Orkish Flanker x4
Orkish Rider x4
Orkish Traveler x4
Orkish Warg-Master x4
Conditions:
A Defiled Charge x4
Possessions:
Rider’s Gear x2
Relentless Warg x2
Vicious Warg x2
Threatening Warg x4
Events:
Barrage x2
This deck is beatdown. It keys off your minions being mounted. The Cavalry draws cards and can be comboed with Relentless Warg to be assigned to whatever race of companion you chose. The Flankers can exert companions or discard conditions, what’s not to love? Riders are cheap ways to pull mounts from your discard pile, and power up other minions. Travelers are great. They reduce the cost of your mounts, and combo with A Defiled Charge, using the extra generated twilight to empower your minions. The Warg-masters, yet again, play mounts from your discard pile. Runners are simply there to add a bunch of twilight, especially when bearing one of those wonderful mounts.
Matchups:
Dwarves:
Most Dwarf decks choke the twilight pool, making it hard for you to play all your minions. Durin can beat down and kill what minions you can play rather easily. This could be a tough Matchup.
Elvents:
It’ll take a good amount for elves to beat your minions once, and then they’ve got fierce skirmishes to worry about! The Warg-masters can put some events below their decks, if your minions win. The Travelers ought to be able to match their events well enough.
Gondor Tokens:
Like Elves, you can match their strength bonuses with your own with your Travelers. Hopefully they’ll get beaten down quite easily.
Ents:
Ents have large enough strength to nearly beat your minions right away, but they give enough twilight that you should be able to play enough to get them. Just put all your efforts into getting big, damage +1 minions (with Relenteless Wargs).
Solo Smeagol:
A really hard matchup. It’ll be really hard to get even one good minion assigned to Smeagol. However, if you can pull off a Traveler with a Relentless Warg (powered by A Defiled Charge) you might be able to get him.
Rohan:
Can you be stronger than them? I think so. A pure-power fellowship like Rohan probably won’t be able to stand up to the Wargs. Erkenbrand’s shield will be awfully annoying, however.
Shire:
Twilght choke and skirmish canceling will take down your strategy. Try to overwhelm a key companion with a Traveler as soon as you get the chance.
Three Hunters:
It’s going to be difficult, with Forth the Three Hunters! weakening your minions at every turn. With only four companions, though, maybe a swarm is possible.
Eowyn Wounding:
With high-vitality minions and Rider’s Gear, you might be able to take it down. Just play smart.
3.5 Nazgul… Swarm? (35)
Of course, Nazgul are one of the cultures we wouldn’t expect to swarm an opponent… which is exactly the reason I want to try! Forestguls can do it; let’s see if we can’t find another way.
Minions:
The Witch-King, Captain of the Nine Riders x2
Ulaire Enquea, Black Threat x2
Ulaire Attea, Keeper of Dol Guldur x2
Ulaire Toldea, Wraith on Wings x2
Black Rider x 4
Ulaire Otsea, Thrall of the One x2
Ulaire Lemenya, Eternally Threatening x2
Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders x2
Ulaire Nertea, Thrall of the One x2
Ulaire Cantea, Faster Than Winds x2
Conditions:
Bent on Discovery x3
Ghastly Host x2
Out of Sight and Shot
Moving This Way x2
Artifacts:
Ithil Stone
Events:
There Came a Cry x4
Stack your Nazgul on the bottom of your deck with Moving this way, then get up to 13 Nazgul in hand with Bent on Discovery and Ithil Stone. You can even play one back with Out of Sight and Shot if needed. They should be full on threats with There Came a Cry, Lemenya, and Cantea. Slap down a big site like Fangorn Glade and swarm with Ghastly Host. The two big toil Nazgul should drop down for free by the time you’re done. Cantea adds back threats once you remove them.
Dwarves:
Though they may choke the pool a bit, those Hand Axes (along with the Dwarven Axes) should provide a nice lot of twilight at Fangorn Glade. Also, they don’t have many companions, so it shouldn’t take all 13 Nazgul to manage a kill.
Elvents:
A bit tougher, because they have few possessions but a large number of companions. Also, their Ring-bearer will be well protected with a slew of events. Hit them as hard as you can and pray.
Gondor Tokens:
All the possessions used to reinforce tokens will provide fuel for Fangorn Glade. Also, Gondor doesn’t usually choke. This should be a manageable matchup.
Ents:
They give out tons of twilight. They may have nine companions, but you have 13 Nazgul.
Solo Smeagol:
Extremely tough. If you can get enough twilight for 2 Nazzies, it could be possible. Maybe.
Rohan:
Spears, bows and javelins give out tons of twilight at Fangorn Glade. You should be getting plenty of twilight. And without an ARB, Rohan should be easy to take down.
Shire:
Another tough matchup, since the Ring can often go to Sam. You’ll have to hope to kill Frodo in one swarm, and save another for Sam, since they can’t cancel skirmishes involving the Ring-bearer.
Three Hunters:
Only four companions, so it should be relatively easy. Just don’t leave too many exhausted minions around for Forth the Three Hunters! to pick off.
Eowyn Wounding:
Again, try not to leave many exhausted minons for other companions (Archers or Gorn’s Bow) to pick off. But beside that, no worries, Eowyn can’t kill all the minions.
3.6 Forget Strength, Vitality is… Stronger. (35)
As soon as I saw the card Final Triumph, I’ve wanted to make a deck around it. So here goes!
Minions:
Lurtz, Now Perfected x4
Uruk-hai Troop x4
Uruk Zealot x2
Ugluk, Ugly Fellow x4
White Hand Scout x4
White Hand Slayer x3
Possessions:
Spear of the White Hand x3
Isengard Siege Bow x2
Lurtz’s Bow, Black-fletch Bow x2
Events:
Final Triumph x4
Ghastly Wound x3
Alright. Lurtz is in there to exert companions and to bear his bow. The Troop and Zealot just plain have 4 vitality. Ugluk, Lurtz’s Bow, and the Slayer can exert companions. The possessions add to vitality (and two of them can wound/exert companions). White Hand Scout isn’t bad for 2 twilight, and has 3 vitality and Damage +1. Final Triumph is obviously the star of the deck, and Ghastly Wound helps with bringing companions down to low vitality.
Matchups:
Dwarves:
Durin’s high strength won’t matter if you can wound him up with Lurtz’s Bow or Ugluk. Add on a few Damage bonuses, and they’ll fall.
Elvents:
Easy. If their events can’t help them, you can kill them. Simple as that.
Gondor Tokens:
Again, since they draw strength from token cards, they won’t be able to do a thing once you throw Final Triumph at them.
Ents:
A much harder matchup, since they have high starting vitality. Try to wound them up with Lurtz and his bow (and a Ghastly Wound or two) before dropping a few Triumphs.
Solo Smeagol:
A near impossible matchup. Hopefully Ugluk and Ghastly Wound can do the job, but you may not even be able to play Lurtz at all with the twilight choke.
Rohan:
Tough, with mounts, bows, and javelins to wound up your minions. Make sure to wound them up a lot before attempting to use Final Triumph.
Three Hunters:
With Focus for healing, this is potentially problematic. Kill of Legolas first, if at all possible.
Eowyn Wounding:
Exhaust Eowyn with Lurtz’s bow, and you’ve got an easy ride. Watch out though, they can easily wound your minions. You could take out some the vitality increasing cards for copies of Fortitude.
3.7 Make Your Own!
Remember, I just threw out a couple of MY ideas for fun decks I’d like to try. Everyone plays the game with their own style, and there are probably a lot of different decktypes and strategies you’d like to use. Just remember; don’t get caught up in building a deck that always wins, build one that you like. Find a certain card or combo you like, and build a deck around it! There are thousands of cards to choose from. Now, the sky’s the limit!
If you come up any crazy and fun deck ideas, go ahead and post them in your review of this article, and I’ll add a few of them up here. This is an article that the whole community can be a part of.
4. The End of An Age
Beyond Treachery and Deceit, there is one more small thing Decipher is going to trhow out to us old LotR fans. It’s a collection of 40 cards called Age’s End. I thought it would be fitting to talk a bit about Age’s End in this article.
First off, I’ll give my own thoughts on the Age’s End cards. (By the way, all the Age’s End images are here if you want to check out what a card does).
The One Ring, The Great Ring
This ring is sweet. Although it gives no stat bonuses, it can be put on easily and has a great way to power up your Ring-bearer. Not the greatest thing for ARB’s, but in classic hobbit decks, this rocks!
Gimli, Opinionated Guide
He’s pretty good, although most people will still use the ARB. Massive cycling, though, if you have a deck that needs that. Would be good in a two-culture deck with a bunch of dwarven possessions (so that you could still use some other ARB).
Still Twitching
Pretty good card. You have to stop it transferring sometime, and make sure the companion that gets it wins their skirmish. Dwarves needed some hunter stuff anyways.
That’s Two!
I don’t like it very much. Even though it’s one of the few cards that uses the fellowship keyword to some good, it is far overshadowed by Blood Runs Chill.
Army Long Trained
Blah. It’s a very bland card, but it does have its uses, I guess. I wouldn’t ever use just one copy, though.
Arwen, Royal Maiden
The subtitle and the fact that she’s a ranger don’t really fit together, but I still think it’s about time we got another ranger Arwen. Reminds me of Lady Undomiel with the first ability, and the second one is just killer. To use Gil-Galad, or Arwen? Decisions, decisions…
Legolas, Sceptical Guide
He would have done well with a hunter bonus, because he seems to fit into the hunter theme pretty well. All in all, a worthy Greenleaf ‘reprint’. He’s a card I’d consider using.
Gandalf, Wise Guide
Hey, a Gandalf with 8 strength, I’m not objecting! His ability may not be spectacular, but follower decks will sure want to pack him to counter Frenzy of Arrows.
Stern Words
One of the most OP cards yet, you could beat all nine Nazgul with the original nine walkers and four copies of this condition alone. One copy will be dead useful, but if anyone is insane enough to buy or trade for four of these, well…
Gollum, Threatening Guide
Sweetness on a stick! This Gollum is a nice twist on our old buddy Stinker, and is better in a lot of ways. Amazing combo potential with Plotting.
Smeagol, Pitiable Guide
This Smeagol absolutely rocks. His ability to recycle your fellowship or shadow cards is priceless, and the fact that any Ring-bound companion (including himself) can give him a boost is frankly amazing.
Aragorn, Well-Traveled Guide
This guy opens up the door to a whole new decktype of Aragorn-and-a-Ring-bearer. Frodo or Boromir would probably do best alongside this guy. I wonder what kind of tricks we could pull with this…
Boromir, Destined Guide
Sort of like the Boromir ARB, this guy is a sweet starter with Merry and Pippin. Another new decktype I can’t wait to try.
Not Bound To His Fate
Yet another ‘meh’ transferable condition. Let’s just pass over this one.
Strength In My Blood
This one I like. One reason to use Fellowship companions, and it can be a nice boost for that new Aragorn or Boromir.
Grima, Servant of Another Master
A Grima with a built-in Treachery. You gotta love it. Along with a way to sacrifice himself to lock up a strong companion, for example, Durin.
Urgency
A very meta-dependant card, it could help Uruks out against Ents, but besides that, it doesn’t have much use.
The Balrog, Demon of Might
This guy basically combines the best of all the Balrogs before him and turns into a beast worthy of its name. It shuts down Ithilien Blade and a lot of Hobbit canceling decks. And besides that, he’s Damage +2 and Fierce. A rival to the Dark Lord himself.
Reaching Tentacle
Interesting new tentacle for the old decktype. Not bad for a swarm.
Strong Tentacle
Like reaching tentacle, only bigger cost and stronger. Not bad.
Watcher in the Water, Many-Tentacled Creature
Sweet! A way to set up a tentacle swarm! Another card I really can’t wait to build a deck around. is back and kicking!
Pit Troll
Dropping fierce and damage +1 for a lousy hunter 2 is a no-no in my book, but he’s got a halfway decent ability. Good for those threat decks.
Troll of the Deep, Cave Troll
I can ignore the loss of normal Troll keywords on this guy because his ability simply rocks. This helps out threat decks a lot.
Brought Down From Inside
I don’t know about this one. If you have four of these, they can go to the companion currently in the skirmish at the start of each one, for +4 in every skirmish. Nearly as bad as Stern Words, in my opinion.
Eomer, Eored Captain
A Third Marshal reprint that drops twilight reduction for valiant. I liked the old one better, but hey, I’m glad they threw this one in here, too. Even if they could have been a little more original.
Eowyn, Lady of the Mark
There are so many better choices than her. If she worked on companions in your starting fellowship too, she might be worth it, but as is, no. I’ll take a LoI over her any day.
Sauron’s Might
Besides the lack of cultural enforcement and meta dependency, it’s an okay card. It can stop new token strategies in their tracks, and come back later for another go.
Frodo, Little Master
If I want a random Ring-bearer, I’d probably rather use Frodo, Weary From the Journey. He’s good at stopping an corruption deck, but nothing more. Again, meta-specific.
Merry, Resolute Friend
A twist on Merry, Friend to Sam, and I like this one more! Good with a lot of pipeweed discarding stuff, I think.
Pippin, Steadfast Friend
Although he could use a cap on that strength boost, he’s okay. I’d throw him in an Everyone Knows deck; they are tales, after all.
Rabbit Stew
One of the better transferable cards. Good healing for hobbits, and it links to the under-used new fellowship keyword.
Sam, Loyal Friend
Meh. I’d rather use Great Elf Warrior, unless I really need the extra resistance. Would be better if the Fellowship keyword did something.
Lurtz, Resilient Captain
He’s pretty good, but not amazing. Good with Final Triumph, so he can stay at high vitality.
In Twilight
This card should have made the Nazgul gain twilight. That would’ve been cool. Easy cycling, and another way to beef up a Witch-king.
Ulaire Attea, Dark Predator
Utterly useless. I’d rather play a Cantea than get Attea strength +3.
Ulaire Enquea, Dark Threat
A reprint of Shotgun Enquea. Load up with a deck full of Nazgul, and unload on your opponent’s fellowship.
Ulaire Lemenya, Dark Enemy
While rather inferior to prior versions of Lemenya, this opens up a new door to beatdown decks; instead of enduring, use possessions! Nazgul have always had a wide variety of hand weapons and mounts to choose from. This guy can take advantage of all those. In existing decks, he fits well in a mount deck.
Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman
The Bill Ferny of Nazgul. Load him up with a Mount, Sword, Morgul Blade, and In Twilight, then slap him on the Ring-bearer. Or against a multicultural deck, keep him away from the big bruiser of the bunch.
Ulaire Toldea, Dark Shadow
A good way of combating decks that only use one strong companion. Bad against solo’s, though.
The Witch-King, Dark Lord
In a deck with Enquea, not bad. Load up on Nazgul and beat down everything!
Now, let’s see how some of these cards can be put to use in new decktypes! I won’t use every card, since many fit into already-existing decks. I just want to try and make up something new!
4.1 Arwen, the Fortune-teller! (35)
Starting Fellowship:
Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom with The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Arwen, Royal Maiden
Glorfindel, Revealed in Wrath
Companions:
Gandalf, Manager of Wizards x3
Elrond, Witness to History x2
Cirdan, The Shipwright
Possessions/Artifacts:
Sword of the Fallen x4
Hadafang
Nenya, Ring of Adamant x2
Arwen’s Bow
Arwen’s Dagger
Followers:
Woodhall Elf, Exile
Celebring, Elven Smith
Conditions:
Glimpse of Fate x2
Into the West x2
Events:
Still Needed x4
Attunement x4
Back to the Light x4
This deck has so many combos, it isn’t right. Draw three cards with Woodhall Elf. Put cards on top of your deck with Nenya and heal some. Then play Back to the Light to arrange the top cards the way you like. Add three threats to reconcile. Draw cards with the dagger, discard some with bow. Put some still needed on top of your deck, and then use Attunement for a massive strength boost. Then, get cards back with Elrond. Remove threats with Into the West. I love telepathy. The two followers are just enough to trigger Arwen’s ability. How nice.
4.2 The Threatening Power of Gollum and His Orcs (35)
Gollum, Threatening Guide gets a major boost from threats, and (odd coincidence) so do orcs!
Minions:
Gollum, Threatening Guide x4
Troll of the Deep, Cave Troll x3
Pit Troll x2
Black Land Chieftain x2
Black Land Commander x2
Black Land Overlord x4
Black Land Shrieker x4
Conditions:
Fat One Wants It
Plotting x2
Not This Time! x2
Promise Keeping
Unmistakable Omen x2
Possessions:
Orkish Ax x2
Web x2
Events:
Captured By the Ring x2
Add threats and abuse them with your Black Land minions and Not This Time! Once a companion dies, slap down a Plotting to add up to 9 threats back again! There’s tricks in this deck to power up minions, weaken companions, and wound everything in sight!
4.3 Aragorn and Boromir; The Dynamic Duo! (35)
This deck uses the new Aragorn along with the Boromir Ring-bearer to choke the pool and kill everything in their path.
Starting Fellowship:
Boromir, Bearer of Council with The One Ring, The Ring of Doom
Aragorn, Well-Traveled Guide
Conditions:
Crown of Gondor x4
Invigorated x4
Not Bound To His Fate x4
Strength In My Blood x3
Heirs of Gondor x2
Possessions:
Blade of Gondor x2
Anduril, King’s Blade x2
Bow of Minas Tirith x2
Flaming Brand
Ranger’s Cloak x2
Athelas x4
Guarded City x4
The Goal of this deck is to get out Crown of Gondor and use it to turn all of our extra cards into strength +2 pumps. Load Aragorn and Boromir up with possessions and conditions so they can win skirmishes, and use Guarded City to get tokens on Heirs of Gondor for even more strength.
4.4 Boromir, Savior of the Halflings (35)
That new Boromir just screams for a new / deck. So here one is!
Starting Fellowship:
Faramir, Bearer of Quality with The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Boromir, Destined Guide
Merry, Resolute Friend
Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver
Companions:
Aragorn, Elessar Telcontar x4
Conditions:
Home and Hearth x2
Halfling Leaf x4
Southfarthing Leaf x2
Southlinch Leaf x4
Strength in my Blood x4
Possessions:
Sword of Gondor x2
Blade of Gondor, Sword of Boromir x2
Ranger’s Cloak
Bow of Minas Tirith
Flaming Brand
Armor of the White City
Events:
Banners Blowing x4
The purpose of the deck is to get Boromir to skirmish instead of the hobbits, then exert Pippin to discard the minions he was skirmishing, then return Pippin to hand to heal those wounds and use Home and Hearth. Faramir can make minions roaming to use Pippin’s game text. Merry makes use of the pipeweeds you’ll be discarding to make Boromir strength +2. You can cancel the hobbits’ skirmishes with Halfling Leaf, or discard some of Boromir’s cards to replace them in skirmishes. With Aragorn, you can exert Pippin to heal one of the men. Banners Blowing can be replayed by removing the cards you discard to Blade of Gondor.
4.5 Balgy Beats (35)
With the most powerful version of the Balrog yet being released, I think we need a new deck based just around him, don’t you?
Minions:
The Balrog, Demon of Might x4
Gollum, Skulker x4
Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders x2
Goblin Runner x4
Conditions:
Dark Places x4
Evil-smelling Fens x3
Artifacts:
The Balrog’s Sword x4
Whip of Many Thongs, Weapon of Flame and Shadow x4
Events:
Led Astray x4
Host of Thousands x2
The purpose of this deck is simple; throw out a 25 strength, fierce, damage +3 Balrog while getting rid of all of your opponent’s events with a twilight cost of 1 or less. Dark Places, Nelya, and Led Astray can get or replace the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Evil-smelling Fens is a way to replay the Balrog. If you don’t have a fens, Gollum can make the Balrog just a little bit bigger. Host of Thousands brings back Runners, which are there for twilight.
4.6 They Are Coming – Tentacle Swarms (35)
Minions:
Reaching Tentacle x4
Strong Tentacle x4
Watcher in the Water, Many-Tentacled Creature x4
Foul Tentacle x4
Huge Tentacle x4
Goblin Runner x4
Conditions:
Dark Places x3
Evil-smelling Fens x2
Destroyers and Usurpers x2
Events:
Foul Things x2
Troubled Mountains x2
The point is to get a ton of tentacles in your discard pile with minor swarms or good cycling, then late-game, play the Watcher and a few runners (even though they’ll get discarded) and dump out every tentacle you have the twilight for. Simple swarm, nothing’s better.
4.7 Wikkie Beast (40)
This deck uses the abilities of the new Nazgul to make one heck of powerful witch-king!
Minions:
The Witch-King, Dark Lord x4
Ulaire Enquea, Dark Threat x4
Ulaire Attea, Thrall of the One x4
Ulaire Toldea, Dark Shadow x2
Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman x2
Ulaire Lemenya, Thrall of the One x2
Ulaire Otsea, Thrall of the One x2
Ulaire Nelya, Thrall of the One x2
Ulaire Cantea, Thrall of the One x2
Conditions/Artifacts:
Moving This Way x2
Ithil Stone
Bent on Discovery x3
Out of Sight and Shot
Hatred Stirred
Ring of Ire x2
Possessions:
The Witch-King’s Beast, Fell Creature x2
In Twilight x2
The Pale Blade x2
Use moving this way to get most of your nazzies beneath your deck, so that by the end of the game you’ll just have a bunch of minions to discard to the Witch-King and Enquea. Load up Wikkie with his mount, sword, ring, and In Twilight for a 22 strength, damage +2, fierce minion that may even have a third skirmish. Play any other minions you can, and discard the rest to your hungry Nazgul king. Ring of Ire returns Wikkie to your hand, and Attea can pull back other minions. Ithil Stone and Bent on Discovery can give you 13 cards in hand, more minions for the Witch-King! Your enduring minions keep the Bent on Discovery in play. Hatred Stirred helps recycle minions.
5. Conclusion
So, as you can see, even after Decipher stops printing new cards, and the final set of Lord of the Rings is released, we can keep this game going for a long time. I know players here have already begun inventing new formats, and everyone is going back through their card collections to find new stuff to use. The one thing we have to keep in mind is this: This game is no longer about just winning. It’s about having fun. Don’t take a card game too seriously, or soon it will die. No one is going to want to keep playing against the same NPE decks over and over again. To keep this game going, as I’m sure we all want to, we’re going to have to find things we like. Each player has their own style; their own favorite combo; their own favorite culture. Just stick to enjoying the game the way it was meant to be played, and Lord of the Rings will not have died yet, and won’t die for a long time.
6. Special Thanks
To Connor Brace for creating this site, hosting this contest, and being my main supplier of Lord of the Rings cards for the past year or so.
To DainIronfoot for giving this article a great review before I posted it.
To AnxiousCheiftain for talking tech with me and helping me make these decks the best I could.
To Sickofpalantirs for basically telling me everything looked great before I posted it.
And to You for taking the time to read, review, and hopefully, vote on my article! |
Last edited by elf lvr on Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:16 pm; edited 11 times in totalHappy Hunting! Elf Lvr
Winner of Best Personality in the FPCA. Thanks!
Archduke Elf Lvr - Archidoux of the Chosen Ones
AMV Maker In-Training! Check out my newest production, Katsu!- A Diedara Tribute!
And behold, EL declared it good. And there was morning, and there was evening, the first (new) day. ~ DainIronfoot |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:01 pm |
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 10:06 am |
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Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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| one big fat 5 |
 Sop's haves/ top wants
(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.  |
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| ingold55 |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 11:24 am |
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| From what I have read, it is great! (I am going to have to read it in sections, but when I get to read it I will vote.) By the way I think it is great! |
There is a power in this world beyond any of us, and Jesus is that power and The Savior.
 this is my attempt to look cool.
Trade list (Want Balrogs and Aragorns) |
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| AgentDrake |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:55 pm |
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Location: Halfway between eccentric and insane...
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Looks good, but you don’t have Nertea on the list, and Lemenya’s comments actually fit Nertea instead of Lemenya.
Other than that and two typos (which I forget where they were) it’s a great article. I just ordered a bunch of tentacles to try a variant of your Watcher decklist.  |
| Never kid about politicians. The more bizarre the joke, the more likely it is to come true. |
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| Lost Heir |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:07 pm |
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Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Ohio
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I haven’t read everything yet, but so far I really like it! Nice deck lists! I especially like the Boromir, Savior of the Halflings deck!
A 5. |
Check out my Trade List!
View the newest culture in my DC set, The Lords of Gondor: Gandalf |
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| Anautikus |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:21 pm |
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nice article. we all know that LotR will NEVER end!  4 or 5 fo sho |
Last edited by Anautikus on Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:27 pm; edited 1 time in totalMy Haves/Wants
Let's Trade!
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| mm doughnuts |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:26 pm |
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I really like this. It had some great deck ideas that pople can keep in mind and tweak to their liking. I love how you explained the deck types it is good and bad against. I enjoyed reading it. It took me a long time to read, but it was really great. You must have put a lot of thougt in it.  |
Only those who are awesome are able to comprehend the sheer super-special-awesomeness of this signature.
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| bunnydaman |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:28 pm |
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Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 338
Location: 'hillbilliesville'
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ummm, the post mm doughnuts just wrote was actually what I wrote, I just forgot to log him off and log me in! woops!!!!!
once again, I really loved it!!!!!!! |
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[idea from FM] |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:36 pm |
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Location: United States
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This article looks VERY nice, EL. I must say, I haven’t seen such a neat article since FM’s legendary Block Format article.
I have yet to read it in its entirety, but right now it looks like a solid 5! |
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