Starting fellowship... of eight

[HalbaradDunadan]

I recently played a game on gemp, where I had a starting fellowship of eight companions.(I did win the game.)
They were:

Frodo
Faramir, captain of gondor
Halbarad
Aragorn, strider
madril, defender of osgiliath
gondorian prowler x2
ranger of the white tree

Has anyone else ever tried this before? If so, do you have any suggestions for improvement? Particularly I would be interested in a defense against ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul.
Thank you!

                  ~HalbaradDunadan

[Not a Zombie]

I think you mean Faramir, Captain of Gondor. Any particular reason not to include another companion and get up to 9? Ithilian Blade is your best protection.

[sgtdraino]

I recently played a game on gemp, where I had a starting fellowship of eight companions.(I did win the game.)
They were:

Frodo
Faramir, captain of ithilien
Halbarad
Aragorn, strider
madril, defender of osgiliath
gondorian prowler x2
ranger of the white tree

I'm still trying to figure the math on this:

Frodo
Faramir, captain of ithilien (2)
Halbarad (2)
Aragorn, strider (1)
madril, defender of osgiliath
gondorian prowler x2 (1 + 1)
ranger of the white tree (1)

That adds up to 8 twilight, not 4. Are you sure you didn't start with Faramir, Captain of Gondor instead?

Has anyone else ever tried this before? If so, do you have any suggestions for improvement? Particularly I would be interested in a defense against ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul.

Any Madril fellowship that has 6 or more companions is going to be in danger from Shotgun Enquea because of Morgul Squealer, who can pull Shotgun Enquea and Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow right from the opponent's draw deck. In my experience the best defense against this is Stewards' Legacy used in conjunction with Faramir to cancel Shotgun Enquea's special abilities. It works best with Faramir, Captain of Ithilien, who has the built-in ability to exert himself during the Maneuver phase. Alternatively, if you can get an Ithilien Blade on your Faramir, any Faramir can use Stewards' Legacy in Maneuver.

Of course, the issue is also getting out Stewards' Legacy quickly, in order to protect you. It's difficult to do that with the kind of fellowship you are proposing. There's basically 4 ways to get it faster:

-Pack 4x copies
-Use Saved From the Fire to burn a guy (need Gandalf)
-Grab it with Something Slimy (need Smeagol)
-Grab it at a sanctuary with Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith (need Denethor)

As you can see, 3 of those 4 methods require another companion not in your Fellowship. And if you're not using Faramir, Captain of Ithilien, you'll also need something like Ithilien Blade that will enable him to exert in Maneuver.

Long story short, I feel like the Madril decks with BIG starting fellowships generally do not work very well. IMO they leave Madril way too vulnerable to being taken out, and then the rest of the fellowship becomes pretty weak.

[HalbaradDunadan]

Yes, my mistake, it was captain of Gondor. Thanks for the correction

[sgtdraino]

In that case, if I were you, I'd go ahead and start with a ninth companion: Smeagol. He will enable you to use Something Slimy to get your conditions much more quickly. With his help you can get Stewards' Legacy out, along with other things that help against Shotgun Enquea, like Soldier's Cache and Storied Homestead. Smeagol also gives you access to Deagol, which can get your Ithilien Blades out quicker, or get you stuff like Ranger's Cloak, which can also help versus Enquea. You might even be able to use Smeagol to get some control over what sites get played, which can be a big help also.

[bibfortuna25]

You can also do an 8-companion start with:

Merry, In the Bloom of Health
Pippin, In the Bloom of Health
Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Marish
Quickbeam, Bregalad
Skinbark, Fladrif
Host of Fangorn
Ent Horde

[BigRedMF]

If you throw in one more unbound Hobbit (Fatty Bolger) you can start all 9

[Vordan]

And you you discard the  hobbit at some point you can pack some more strong ent with little to no twilight (Leaflock, Huorn, Shepherd Of The Trees, a version of Treebeard).

Throw in a Gandalf BoO, packs of follower, events, condition and the fp is done with not so many cards.

[Sefestis]

You can also do an 8-companion start with:

Merry, In the Bloom of Health
Pippin, In the Bloom of Health
Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Marish
Quickbeam, Bregalad
Skinbark, Fladrif
Host of Fangorn
Ent Horde

I cant figure out how this works. Can you explain?
Because it say Ent OR Hobbit. Not like Quickbeam's text which can use both.

[bibfortuna25]

The rules say it counts both.

[Sefestis]

The rules say it counts both.

Strange ruling. It seems like it should be one or the other, not both. Because Quickbeam text allows both by saying AND, and the others say or. Therefor you should have to choose either Ents or Hobbits to spot, not both.

I don't like the ruling if it works the way it does.

What ruling is it and where? I'm curious.

[sgtdraino]

The way the card is worded, it doesn't make any difference whether "and" or "or" is used. It's not telling you to make a choice between Hobbits and Ents, it's just telling you what cards affect the twilight cost.

In fact, the "and" structure is slightly more confusing, since it's possible to make the interpretation that the cost is only minus 1 for each PAIR you can spot (Ent and Unbound Hobbit). "Or" is clearer, since it obviously isn't referring to pairs.

[Larry5000]

You can also do an 8-companion start with:

Merry, In the Bloom of Health
Pippin, In the Bloom of Health
Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Marish
Quickbeam, Bregalad
Skinbark, Fladrif
Host of Fangorn
Ent Horde

I would also like more clarification on how this works step by step. What does it mean on Merry and pippin when it says add 1 for the ents? Does this mean instead of your standard 4 twlight start you can in fact add 2 more twlight for a total of 6 ? I assume you have to play certain cards in order to make this work. As of now this is so confusing.

[Enabran]

It is simple.
Starting Fellowship:
You play your Ringbearer for free. Now you can play companions up to 4 twilight cost.
1. play Merry for 1 (1)
2. play Pippin for 1 more (2)
3. play Farmer Maggot for 1 (3)
4. play Quickbeam for zero (Quickbeam's twilight cost is -1 for each Ent and unbound Hobbit you can spot.) You can spot 3 unbound Hobbits and 2 Ents with Merry and Pippin.
5. play Skinbark for 1 (4)
6. play Host of Fangorn for free
7. Ent Horde for free

[Larry5000]

It is simple.
Starting Fellowship:
You play your Ringbearer for free. Now you can play companions up to 4 twilight cost.
1. play Merry for 1 (1)
2. play Pippin for 1 more (2)
3. play Farmer Maggot for 1 (3)
4. play Quickbeam for zero (Quickbeam's twilight cost is -1 for each Ent and unbound Hobbit you can spot.) You can spot 3 unbound Hobbits and 2 Ents with Merry and Pippin.
5. play Skinbark for 1 (4)
6. play Host of Fangorn for free
7. Ent Horde for free

So without the risk of coming across dumb here the game text of merry and pippen where it says Add 1 to the number of Ents you can spot. means that they have sort of a build in Ent companion with them? I know sounds funny. Usually any time it says "to spot"  means (in this case) that the Ents have to be on the table already, and if you are going in order of cards played the Ents come after Merry, Pippen, and Farmer Maggot. This is what has me totally confused.

I understand now (more or less) by Merry and Pippen's game text that adding 1 to the number of Ents you can spot means you're seeing 2 extra Ents but since you are playing them before Quickbeam, Host of Fangorn and Ent Horde are even on the table can that be right?

Sorry this is more or less the first time I have come in contact with these versions of Merry and Pippen and I am just not quite sure how to read into them?