I don't play much anymore, but I always enjoyed the KS format. Set 7 was well constructed and complemented previous sets without rendering them useless (arguably the last of its kind before the power creep started with Siege of Gondor). I have a few quibbles with a couple RotK cards (
Merry, Swordthain and
Pippin, WoBaS clean up indirect wounding a little too easily for my liking), but overall it's a terrific format.
If I had to make any changes, I always thought that the X-list was poorly thought out in King Standard, particularly for the races which received no help in set 7 (
and
). Decipher consistently underestimated how much cultures "fell behind" when they sat out a set. X-listing
Relics of Moria always seemed unnecessary to me. The corresponding X-listing of
Frying Pan was the justification given at the time, but even with
RoM likely would have been worse off in KS (as compared to TS, where
RoM was not X-listed) seeing as most other cultures received help in set 7 and
lost its favorite kill-site in
Cavern Entrance. Similarly, I thought at least one of
StMtN or
Saruman, KoI could have been removed from the X-list in order to keep non-tracker
Uruks relevant. Trackers were the only Uruks near tier 1 in KS, and they would've benefited only marginally from either, given that they are already fierce. Like
,
lost ground to all other cultures by virtue of receiving no benefit from set 7 and losing
Deep of Helm. Minor quibbles, though; KS is still great regardless.