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| legoles3333 |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:01 am |
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--- description ---
A list of the many swarms that have appeared in LOTR TCG over the years, including some of the more recent ones.
--- end description ---
In general, a swarm is a way to overwhelm the free peoples play with massive amounts of minions, which in turn gives the Ring-Bearer 2-3 minions to fight, Swarms are an important factor in LotR TCG, they are a good way to overwhelm and kill the opponents Ring-Bearer and/or other companions. There have been several types of swarms over the ages, some better then others, but they all accomplish their purpose. So without further ado, the Swarm Guide.
Index
1.Basic Swarm Strategies
2. Basic Isengard Swarm
3. Isengard Site Control Swarm
4. Moria Swarm
5. Man Swarm
6. Orc Swarm
7. Troll Swarm
8. Raider Wounding Swarm
9. Forestgul Swarm
10. Uruk-Hai Swarm
11. Dunlanding Swarm
12. Conclusion and Special Thanks
1. Basic Swarm Strategies
A basic swarm consists of a lot of low cost minions (usually cost  or less), playing a lot of minions each turn, and two main "bombs" (a huge drop of 6-8 minions) one at site 4, and the other at site 9. A bit more about swarms in general, they generally cycle well, and are a lot better if you pare them with a deck that has good synergy, they will own. General cards that hurt swarms are cards like, Aragorn’s bow, Ranger’s Longbow, Frodo, Weary from the Journey, Caras Galadhon, Reckless we Rode, and Rohan Fighting Ring Bearer, which isn’t really a card, but still hurts by loading up on the Ring-Bearer.
1. Basic Isengard Uruk-Hai Swarm
Now Isengard doesn’t seem like your typical swarm deck, but there are plenty of minions that will help out with this quest.
A) Deck
Minions-33
Uruk Regular x4
Orthanc Warrior x4
Uruk Plains Runner x3
Uruk Lieutenant x4
Uruk Soldier x4
Uruk Foot Soldier x4
Uruk Fighter x3
Uruk Captain x3
Uruk Spy x4
Events – 7
Abandoning Reason for Madness x4
Savagery to Match Their Numbers x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
These are all good, cheap minions. Uruk Regular can help play minions for little, Orthanc warrior will help with small fellowship strategies, a lot of them are also Fierce so that will help as well, and Abandoning Reason for Madness well help cycle this deck.
Archery
Simple to beat cause of your great vitality you should be able to survive most archery decks.
Beatdown
Well relatively easy cause of your natural high strength, but decks like killer Boromir and a loaded Durin might be hard.
Solo
Since you have a lot of small minions, it should be easy to do so, plus Uruk Spy helps to corrupt, especially if your playing a deck that utilizes the ring’s ability.
Ranger
The IB is simple to play, with a lot of minions in play it should be fine to lose one here and there.
2. Isengard Uruk-Hai Site Control Swarm
Another good Isengard swarm deck is the Uruk-Hai site control swarm, since it allows you to play minions dirt cheap.
A) Deck
Minions – 30
Uruk Besieger x4
Uruk Veteran x3
Uruk-Hai Horde x4
Uruk-Hai Marauder x4
Uruk-Hai Mob x4
Uruk Foot Soldier x4
Uruk Regular x4
Uruk Brood x3
Events - 4
Sack of the Shire x4
Conditions – 8
Down to the Last Child x2
Attack on Helm’s Deep x4
Greed x 2
B) Strategy & Match-up
Getting tokens on Attack on Helm’s Deep is a piece of cake, and Down To the Last Child isn’t to shabby either. Once you get enough sites, your Uruk-Hai get dirt cheap. And then all those minions that stack on sites get dirt cheap as well. Sack of the Shire for an Uruk-Hai Horde may be good, and Banner of Isengard is decent as well. Greed is crowd control. Throw out a puny minion and use the extra twilight to lower the companion count to 5 for a swarm.
Archery
This is easy, since it’s an Uruk-Hai swarm, they have high vitality, so you won’t be torn apart by most archery builds, but Eowyn, lady of Ithilien will hurt.
Beatdown
Well once again, the Uruk-Hai pull through, their naturally high strength make them great against the beatdown, also greed will help out with some crowd control.
Solo
Harder but still easily beaten because of your great minions, even solo smeagol will have a run for his money.
Ranger
Um well the IB isn’t hard to play since you have a lot of minions in play at a time and if any of your minions get past the Maneuver phase you have Damage +1 so it should be easy.
3. Basic Moria Swarm
Moria has ruled swarms since the beginning of time, their cheap, disposable minions make them ideal. I now present to you the basic type of Moria swarm.
A) Deck
Minions - 26
Goblin Scrabbler x 4
Goblin Runner x 4
Goblin Backstabber x 4
Moria Scout x 4
Goblin Sneak x 4
Goblin Scavengers x 4
Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul x2
Possessions - 4
Goblin Scimitar x 4
Events - 4
Host of Thousands x 4
Conditions - 11
Goblin Armory x 4
Goblin Swarms x 2
Relics of Moria
The Underdeeps of Moria x2
They are Coming x2
B) Strategy & Match-up
One rule, abuse Relics of Moria (wonder why its restricted?). If that doesn’t work, Goblin Scavenger will. Scrabbler for roaming swarm. (site 2 swarm is really cool, I did it once), Goblin armory is a wilight adding machine, goblin swarms is nice for replaying minions later, so is host of thousands.
Archery
This hits this deck hard, even though you have Goblin Armory, dropping minions left and right will mess up the final result.
Beatdown
Well this doesn’t hurt as long as it doesn’t load the Ring-Bearer, if it does, well not that bad as you will be able to injure them a lot and use frenzy to make it hard.
Solo
Easy, very easy even solo Smeagol, because he adds burdens for Troubled Mountains, which means more minions, I was playing a friends solo smeagol and got him to 9 burdens and had 5 minions on him, other solo strategies made easier with the Balrog.
Ranger
The IB is killer, but some of your minions should survive to hurt them, others builds are not that hard to beat.
4. Men Swarm
Since the release of Shadows, when men swarms were started, they have become better and better, so now, the new Men swarm
A) Deck
Minions-22
Man of Bree x4
Bold Easterling x4
Courageous Easterling x4
Easterling Scout x3
Crazed Hillman x3
Rampaging Easterling x4
Possessions-3
Ceremonial Armor x3
Events-4
Pandemonium x4
Conditions-6
Goaded to War x3
Last Days x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok bid high to go second and then get Goaded to War out ASAP, make sure your sites are battlegrounds or plains, then start swarming. Last days will play minions when the ones you have out die, ceremonial armor will catch minions discarded by Ithilien Blade, What Are They, and the like, Pandemonium will replay them from ceremonial armor, Bold and Courageous Easterling play minions from your discard pile, also Man of Bree, Easterling Scout, Crazed Hillman, and Warrior of Dunland will boost up.
Archery
Not hard but a lot of your minions have low health, the advantage for you is that if any of your minions get through they will have very little protection.
Beatdown
Purty easy, as I said before most beatdown decks will avoid boosting the Ring-Bearer, and you have your own boosters, plus last days’ awesome ability
Solo
Surprisingly, no solo strategies are hard. Solo Smeagol can be beaten by last days, other solos don’t have his defense system so ‘tis easy.
Ranger
IB is not a problem thanks to ceremonial armor, and pandemonium helps to play them back.
5. Underground Orc Swarm
Well everyone around here says that the [orc] culture is broken and as I usually say “Take all of your advantages!” so… here’s an underground orc swarm.
A) Deck
Minions – 28
Denizen of Moria x4
Orkish Smith x4
Scurrying Goblin x3
Skulking Goblin x3
Denizen of Khazad-Dum x4
Unyielding Goblin x3
Orc Plains Runner x3
Underdeeps Denizen x4
Conditions – 7
Goblin Hordes x4
Unforgiving Depths x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok all these minions like underground sites (hint, hint) getting goblin hordes out is a must, combine with underground site to revive 4 minions every move. Unyielding goblin wounds people, skulking goblin adds underground when needed. The “Denizens” boost from underground sites and scurrying goblin plays for free if not roaming, and Orkish smith replays conditions.
Archery
Kinda, but not really hurts this deck, since a lot of your minions have high health, but the same with several other swarms.
Beatdown
Pretty simple, lots of your minions have high strength, plus underground sites will boost a few up.
Solo
Solo smeagol is harder, but he will only be able to use his ability for so long but everything else is easy.
Ranger
IB is easy, but site manipulation would be nasty to play, since they will kill the effectiveness of goblin hordes
6.  Troll Swarm
Now trolls do not seem ideal for swarms, but they can some help with this from orcs, so here’s one idea for a [or] troll swarm.
A) Minions - 24
Cave Troll of Moria, Savage Menace x2
Ordnance Grunt x3
Tower Troll x2
Mountain-Troll x3
Beastly Olog-Hai x3
Troll’s Keyward, Keeper of the Beast x4
Orkish Worker x3
Orkish Smith x4
Possessions
Vicious Warg x4
Conditions – 10
Unreasonable Choice x2
Beasts of Burden x2
Forced March x2
Goblin Hordes x4
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok well all these guys rely on the fact that, you have a lot of trolls in hand, what you wanna do is play troll’s key ward, exert him to add twilight, do it a couple times, then play as many trolls as you can, for your main bomb, drop it around site 7-8, and try and have 5 orcs in play to get out a mountain troll, also try and have a troll’s Keyward to add twilight, goblin hordes is also very important to recycle, and Orkish smith revives goblin hordes if it gets discarded.
Archery
There is almost no way that archery will hurt this deck, all your minions have high health, so that will not be a problem.
Beatdown
Not a problem from having such high natural strength.
Solo
You are dead, if you are playing solo you are dead, even if any of your minions get played, which doesn’t always happen, a solo can boost themselves to unimaginable strength.
Ranger
Not hard per se, but frustrating if they’re using the IB, since you’ll get a couple minions and then they get discarded.
7. Raider Wounding Swarm
Well a Raider swarm is really only possible with mostly TTT cards, but as a after thought I found some ROTK cards for it
A) Deck
Minions - 28
Desert Sneak x4
Desert Runner x4
Desert Scout x4
Desert Spearman x4
Southron Wanderer x4
Southron Runner x4
Southron Marcher x4
Events - 4
Whirling Strike x4
Conditions - 3
Harsh Tongues x3
Under Foot x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok well a lot of your minions want to have the initiative, which is where harsh tongues comes in, after you have 3  tokens on that, it will be a simple matter to wound people, plus they’re all low cost, so swarming will be nice, and Whirling Strike, is also nice wounding.
Archery
Ouch, a lot of your minions only have 1-2 vitality, so it will be a lot harder then normal.
Beatdown
Another ouch, but easier if you get your right wounding cards out, and deserter spearmen will help out some.
Solo
Hmm, this can be hard, but with the right cards, you should be able to simultaneously swarm and wound to death.
Ranger
Very easy, this is your best match-up, you should be able to take it down.
8. Forestgul Swarm
Now forestgul is a term used for Forest Nazgul, this trend started with the release of shadows, and with several other recent releases, has gotten better, so here is a Forestgul swarm.
A) Deck
Minions - 20
The Witch-King, Captain of the Nine Riders x2
Ulaire Cantea, Black Assassin x2
Ulaire Enquea, Black Threat x2
Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders x4
Ulaire Nertea, Ninth of the Nine Riders x2
Ulaire Toldea, Black Shadow x3
Ulaire Lemenya, Assailing Minion
Black Rider x4
Events - 4
Dark Approach x4
Conditions - 12
Out of Sight and Shot x4
Lost in the Woods x4
Moving This Way x3
Shapes Slowly Advancing
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok for you main bomb, you want to have played Cantea to crowd control down to 5, you also want to make sure to have all your lost in the woods in play, and 4 forest sites, then you want to have in you hand, 1 Dark Approach, 2 Black Rider, Nelya, Toldea, Lemenya, Enquea, and the Witch-king, first, play Toldea, then play Nelya with Dark Approach, use Toldea’s ability to retrieve it then play a Black rider with Dark Approach, repeat the last step, then play Lemenya, you can then successfully play the Witch-King for free, then, with him out, you can play Enquea for free, since you should have used Cantea for crowd control, you should have a 7 minions on 5 companions, and that should enable you to assign an extra minion to the Ring-Bearer!
Archery
Um kinda harder, since you’ll be exerting a lot, that could kill you.
Beatdown
Easy, your Nazgul are all 8+strength, and Black Rider will also boost himself.
Solo
I included a copy of Shapes Slowly Advancing for this purpose alone, to kill all solo decks with corruption.
Ranger
Easy, you don’t run site manipulation, so that’s easy, and all your Nazgul are site 3.
9. Uruk-Hai swarm
*sigh* I’ll sum it up in a few words, ouch, that hurts, I concede, so anyway here it is
A) Deck
Minions
Uruk Regular x4
Uruk Village Rager x4
Determined Uruk x4
Hounding Uruk x4
Searching Uruk x4
Vigilant Uruk x4
Events - 8
Broken in Defeat x4
Strange Device x4
Conditions
Fortitude x3
Greed x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
Ok for your main bomb, make sure you have used greed enough to kill companions until they have 5 left, but make sure you exhaust 1 before you knock them down to 5 then, have a hand that consists of 4 Vigilant Uruk, 2 Uruk Regular, and 2 Hounding Uruk, play Uruk Regular, then use his ability to play 4 Vigilant Uruk and then your 3 Hounding Uruk, and wala! You just played 8 minions for 9 twilight!
Archery
Hurts since lots of your minions are only 1-2 vitality, but is playable if you get enough minions out.
Beatdown
Kinda hard, but it can’t really stop this swarm with it’s high strength minions.
Solo
Um White Hand Sieger + Poised for Assault + death for all solo strategies.
Ranger
Easy, straight forward, it’s very, very easy to beat.
10. Dunlanding Swarm
Well this is it, the last swarm deck, and least of all it’s Dunlandings, oh well this is for people on a budget since it’s soo old, anyway here it is
A) Deck
Minions - 24
Dunlending Looter x4
Hillman Band x4
Hillman Rabble x4
Hillman Tribe x4
Dunlending Brigand x4
Dunlending Eldar x4
Possessions – 4
Hides x4
Conditions – 7
Ready to Fall x4
No Retreat x3
B) Strategy & Match-up
First win a couple skirmishes with Hillman tribe to take control of a site, then use Hillman rabble and Dunlanding looter, and stack them on sites, drop your bomb with 4 Dunlanding Eldar and 4 Dunlanding Brigand in your hand, and play 4 Hillman Rabble and 4 Dunlanding Looter, and you can have up to 16 minions in play!
Archery
Hides will help, but not enough to completely stop a devastating archery attack from your opponent.
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Beatdown
Hmm a little hard, but not bad, since most of your guys are strength 7+, and Dunlanding Eldar will boost up with controlled sites.
Solo
Harder, but most of your minions are Twilight Cost  or lower, so that should be helpful.
Ranger
Easy, you don’t care about sites, and the IB is simple to play against.
11. Conclusion
Well there you have it! A guide to almost all the known swarms, I can’t think of any others, also you can make completely random swarms, all you need is a bunch of low cost minions, because that’s what it’s all about!
I would like to thank
BobtheOrc – For giving me the basic Isengard Uruk-Hai swarm.
NBarden – For giving me the Uruk Site Control Swarm deck and its strategy, And the moria swarm
Felipe Musco – For helping me put the finishing touches on this article.
Cobra – For this wonderful site for all of us rabid LOTR TCG players.
Deciper – For creating this wonderful game in the first place. |
Last edited by legoles3333 on Sun May 06, 2007 7:16 pm; edited 20 times in totalHere's My Trade List
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| corvus |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 8:23 am |
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| You got some nice strategies there, i will later give you some lists to improve. For the time being, check your typos in the dunland deck. See to it that they all link to the cards. |
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| legoles3333 |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 8:31 am |
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| Fixed, along with several other typos |
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| lem0nhead |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 8:40 am |
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| Extensive, thorough and accurate. Cant ask more than that, might need a teeny weeny bit of formatting, maybe not, but generally cool. Well done l3333, I will vote later. Its dunlending btw not dunlanding but thats neither here nor there. To make this symbol the word Orc has to be capitalised! |
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| Anvar |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:25 am |
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I like the fact that you are aiming for a comprehensive cover of Swarm decks but I have a few points to make:
 You have missed out at least one swarm archetype - Underfoot swarm, which in turn has two variations, pure Corsair and Firebomb = Moria + Corsair. You are also missing Sauron Orc swarm, though this might need to be a Fellowship block deck since Forces of Mordor is on the R-List. You’re also missing Stupid Swarm aka Isengard Orcs.
I’m not sure your builds of each of the decks are the best. Why run Goblin Spears in straight up Moria swarm? Why run the Balrog? And just because a culture can have a swarm deck, doesn’t mean you need to feature it. I’ve never seen anyone run a Raider swarm (without Underfoot) or a Dunlending Swarm. I’m not even sure the Forestguls really count as a swarm.
Finally, I think you should add more detail about general tactics of playing with and against swarms. Are there a couple of basic swarm archetypes (one big swarm at site 4, one big swarm at site 9, repeated playing of lots of minions etc.)? Which cards are the worst a swarm deck can face (Aragorn, Ranger of the North, Aragorn’s Bow etc.) and how can swarm decks deal with them?
I think the article has real promise but this is what I would add to make it better.
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| bobtheorc |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:39 am |
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:09 pm |
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| yeah cut the strategy and the deck list from your index, and use the kewl linking thing cobra had. |
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| corvus |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 2:03 pm |
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sickofpalantirs wrote: use the kewl linking thing cobra had.
Yeah, do that!  |
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| legoles3333 |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 2:14 pm |
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| thanks you guys, a little tweking made |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 10:48 pm |
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Cool article.
Where’s sack of the Shire in your Site Control deck? That card is AWESOME!
And frankly, your Moria doesn’t work. No Goblin Swarms? No Relics of Moria? What’s up with They Are Coming and Troubled Mountains? Trust me, I know Moria. My first deck was Moria, and I have ALWAYS had a playable Moria deck since. Goblin Scimitar is NOT just a free strength +2 pump. It is a card drawing/twilight adding engine, as it should almost always be played from the discard pile. Here’s a deck to use.
40 Cards
Goblin Scrabbler x 4
Goblin Runner x 4
Goblin Backstabber x 4
Moria Scout x 4
Goblin Sneak x 4
Goblin Scavengers x 4
Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
Host of Thousands x 4
Goblin Armory x 4
Goblin Swarms x 2
Relics of Moria
Goblin Scimitar x 4
There. That’s Moria. One rule, abuse Relics of Moria (wonder why its restricted?). If that doesn’t work, Goblin Scavenger will. Scrabbler for roaming swarm. (site 2 swarm is really cool, I did it once).
Crazy as it may seem, you might deck out. I have seen 50 card Moria deck out. Seriously.
Plundered Armories is good as well. But its not necessary, as you usually reconcile down.
Oh yeah, Ulaire Nertea, Messenger of Dol Guldur is a must if you run Open. |
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