Rangers - Tracker Grind

[MuadDib85]

Free Peoples (33 cards):
1x Frodo, Reluctant Adventurer
1x The One Ring, Isildur's Bane
1x Arwen, Daughter of Elrond Start
1x Legolas, Greenleaf Start
4x Aragorn, King in Exile
3x Boromir, Lord of Gondor
1x Sam, Son of Hamfast
4x Athelas
2x Flaming Brand
2x Armor
2x Aragorn's Bow
1x Blade of Gondor
1x Ranger's Sword
1x Sting
1x Bill the Pony
1x Asfaloth
1x Gwemegil
3x No Stranger to the Shadows
1x There and Back Again
1x O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!
2x Power According to His Stature


Shadow (33 cards):
2x Tower Assassin
3x Morgul Hunter
3x Orc Ambusher
3x Orc Assassin
4x Orc Scouting Band
2x Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
1x The Balrog, Durin's Bane
2x The Balrog's Sword
1x Whip of Many Thongs
4x Orc Bowmen
4x Under the Watching Eye
4x Hate


Sites:
The Prancing Pony
Trollshaw Forest
House of Elrond
Moria Lake
The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
Caras Galadhon
Anduin Confluence
Shores of Nen Hithoel
Tol Brandir


Bid (Nelya, RIT early can hurt), start first, if you don't draw Aragorn first hand, add a burden and play him using The Prancing Pony. The Magical Healing Fellowship I like to call it. Aragorn's Bow and Greenleaf kill bad guys, King In Exile and athelas keeps everyone healthy. Boromir and armor for the Balrog. NSTTS and Bill the Pony make sites six, seven and eight managable. The only two cards free peoples cards I keep in hand (if needed and drawn early) are Sam and Bill the Pony, everything else can be discarded or used.

Play as many shadow conditions as possible early, UTWE really helps. The Balrog's Sword and Whip of Many Thongs can be a nice suprise. Use Hate when enough copies are built up to do max damage. By site nine most companions should be dead or dying, use Tol Brandir to bring back whichever orcs are appropriate depending on hand, usually Orc Scouting Band works well. If your opponent has everything depending on a run to site nine, use Shores of Nen Hithoel to stop them.

I am trying to foil this deck, please see the link in signature to my trade list.

[Witchkingx5]

I am actually not convinced about the freeps, why not bid 3 and go with Hobbiton Party Field, fetch Sam, and eat the burdens? This destroys most FotR Block Decks during your first turn!

BUt I really like the Shadow, I must say. I'm not sure if all this Balrog stuff is useful, but I didn't try it before, so I can't really say if it's bad or not.

[MuadDib85]

The freeps is solid. (I like the look of it alot more than your 'Maybe the Best Ranger Deck'). 

[Witchkingx5]

Maybe I should just post the cards I don't like:

4x Aragorn, King in Exile
4x Athelas
2x Armor
1x There and Back Again
1x O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!
2x Swordsman of The Northern Kingdom

I dno't say they are bad, but I think there actually are better cards to use instead of those.

[legolas3333]

O elbereth! Gilthoniel! is needed because of Return to its master and it looks to me like his freeps is more of a set up for his shadow side then trying to win the game

[Witchkingx5]

Agree to that, my Deck is more like double move lots of times and stop the opponent with my Nazzies.

[MuadDib85]

Armor is great with Boromir, Lord of Gondor, athelas is great against Blade Tip and Black Breath and is used here to heal Greenleaf, King In Exile works perfectly in this deck healing everyone except Greenleaf, four copies of KIE keeps himself healed aswell. I also don't like running hobbit stealth, which is why there is Swordsman of The Northern Kingdom. Both hobbit cards can be (and have been) used to save Frodo.

[Witchkingx5]

For me, some Hobbit Stealth are Staples in Fotr Block against Durin's Bane, which is in nearly every FotR Block Deck!

[Cw0rk]

Due to your lack of condition removal, I feel like the biggest weakness of your deck is being swarmed. Swarm doesn't care much about choke. You should consider adding another PATHS and maybe removing a copy of Aragorn (4 seems a lot in a 33 cards deck considering that you may be able to play it at site 1 anyway).

Otherwise, choke and armor will be great vs Uruks, 4 Athelas and Aragorn will be awesome vs Wounding and Athelas will beat Blade Tip and Black Breath. You're fine vs corruption as well. Good deck.

Your shadow looks nice.

[MuadDib85]

For me, some Hobbit Stealth are Staples in Fotr Block against Durin's Bane, which is in nearly every FotR Block Deck!

I don't like running hobbit stealth, which is why there is Swordsman of The Northern Kingdom.

The deck would be stronger with 2x hobbit stealth instead of 2x SOTNK, but for some reason I like trying to find other ways to deal with Durin's bane.

Due to your lack of condition removal, I feel like the biggest weakness of your deck is being swarmed. Swarm doesn't care much about choke. You should consider adding another PATHS and maybe removing a copy of Aragorn (4 seems a lot in a 33 cards deck considering that you may be able to play it at site 1 anyway).

Swarm is a problem, really the only chance of surviving against Moria is to hope they don't draw enough Goblin Armory and to double move as much as possible.

I have thought about replacing 2x SOTNK and 1x Aragorn, King in Exile with 2x Gandalf, The Grey Pilgrim and 1x Sleep Caradhras just for Goblin Armory.. or Maybe just get rid of Boromir and all of his possessions to add Gandalf.

[Cw0rk]

I have thought about replacing 2x SOTNK and 1x Aragorn, King in Exile with 2x Gandalf, The Grey Pilgrim and 1x Sleep Caradhras just for Goblin Armory.. or Maybe just get rid of Boromir and all of his possessions to add Gandalf.

It wouldn't be a ranger deck anymore.

Seriously, just add more PATHS and I think that you will be fine most of the time.

[MuadDib85]

I'll try that. Removed: 1x SOTNK, added: 1x PATHS.

[MuadDib85]

Looking at the deck now, 1x SOTNK seems like a wasted spot. Should I add a third PATHS or a second Aragorn's Bow?

[Faelach]

I would definitely suggest adding in that extra Aragorn's Bow.  It'll help you alot vs. swarm.  Considering your deck is 33 cards, you MAY have enough PatHS to make it through a swarm with Frodo.