I'm bumping this because I just went 11-2 in a league, even beating a Madril deck! Okay, it didn't start Madril - it started Denethor and got Madril at site 3. Also, I didn't see any
Powerful Guide decks, which are real problems because they run multiple races in the Fellowship.
Grimbeorn and Gandalf turn off Nertea, which removes a major path to victory. I'd still call this Tier 2 - because I think there are better decks. This deck is almost never comfortable, because it's fragile. Even if I'm controlling the site path, one Nelya takes away
Caras Galadhon and I get swarmed. Archery is less of a problem, because I can generally control my advance - and
Neekerbreekers' Bog and
North Undeep can often keep archery down. Sure, there are archery losses, but less than I thought.
I take back what I said about the Shadow being easy to play - it's not. Most of the time, I need to attack the Ringbearer, and then involves sequencing
Gollum Dark as Darkness,
Morgul Brute,
Morgul Destroyer, and many things. This Shadow is about tricks. Can I recycle Nertea against mono-race fellowships? Can I use Cantea to remove a vitality-adding possession? (People, against Nazgul you should NEVER use a vitality-adding possession or condition on the Ringbearer. I'll figure out a way to remove it.) Can I explode with an Enquea against someone who doesn't think it's coming? This deck is never dull - one of the reasons I like playing it.