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Total Votes : 6 |
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| CarpeGuitarrem |
![]() Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:07 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 3361
Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville
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--- description ---
There’s one culture that can send Bill Ferny to a well-deserved retirement. Ironically enough, it’s the very guys he ran into at Bree!
--- end description ---
All right, you’ve heard the fuss about Bill Ferny, Agent of Saruman. You’ve seen the insane builds focused around him, and you’re petrified of the moment when he makes an appearance in your Meta. Right there, you can just see your well-crafted fellowship falling prey to a Site 2 Shadowkill, courtesy of Bill. Fear not! There’s still a way to beat the sneering Breelander. And, believe it or not, it’s connected with the little guys. The very people that should be scared stiff of Ferny are the ones who can send him running to the hills! That’s right-the  culture holds some of the deadliest ways to dispatch this dude. But before we delve into stopping Ferny, let’s review just why some fellowships are scared stiff of him. Then we’ll start strategizing, Grasshopper.
There’s 57 varieties of Bill Ferny...actually, there’s not quite that many. But they all work off of one premise: keep Ferny unwounded, then use him for a quick Shadowkill by overwhelm on the Ring-Bearer. One version of this is the "Speedy Ferny". Basically, it focuses around a Site 3 or Site 4 Shadowkill. This version plays Bill Ferny, Agent of Saruman and Pavise/ The Mouth of Sauron, Messenger of Mordor (depending on which one you draw), then pumps Ferny up with plenty of events, and possibly Great Axe. Another version is the Site Control Ferny: it controls sites to use Chieftain of Dunland with Bill, and typically sets up much later. It also sometimes incorporates Last Days and Countless Companies into its strategy, playing Ferny in the skirmish phase with the former card, and using the latter card to get Pavise again and again. So, my young Padawans, it’s time to beat Bill!
Did Widdle Biw Get Huwt?
The one problem with Bill Ferny is this: he’s a monster when he’s unwounded, but he’s a wimp. After one exertion, he just drops out of the Shadowkill mode, and goes to attack some random companion. Pavise theoretically takes care of this, but it only goes so far. The one thing it doesn’t prevent is exertions-and the culture is primed for using one card to the fullest...Shadowplay. This card just might one of the biggest silver bullets to hit the game scene. With four copies out, you can exhaust all but Shelob-and Bill Ferny is among those ranks. A simple Shadowplay exertion, and he goes down the drain! Unfortunately, he’s still around to fight. And this is where "Each time" actions become important...
Bye, Bye Bill; Bye, Bye Shadowkill...
When Bill Ferny is played by the Shadow player, and that player has a Pavise in hand, the Pavise can’t be played until all "Each time a minion is played" actions are resolved, along with responses triggered by them. As a result, Bill Ferny can fall prey to one of the best combos in the Hobbit world: Shadowplay + Unheeded. Two copies of Shadowplay guarantee an exhausted Ferny. After the second exertion, play Unheeded to kill him off! You’ve just eliminated Bill from the face of the earth, before the Shadow player could even begin to play Pavise! Muahaha...Just beware of Last Days. USE WITH DISCRETION.
Go Back To Where You Came From!
Of course, you won’t always be able to afford those exertions for Shadowplay. And wouldn’t it be nice if you could get rid of Bill Ferny without having to fear Last Days? The answer, my friends, lies in something that puts him out of play but doesn’t discard him...something so fair that he just recoils at the thought of it. Something that Gollum wasn’t too happy about. And, of course, something that a Hobbit can use. If you haven’t guessed it by now, it’s Elven Rope! This little beauty gets rid of Ferny quite nicely, since at the most he can become Strength 6. So, let Ferny come! We’ve got a nice little bit of Elven Rope for him...
One Last Problem-
Even without Bill Ferny, or a toothless Bill Ferny, the Shadow player still has a big weapon with Chieftain of Dunland and Site Control. One solution is to kill the units that control sites...but this won’t always be an option. culture doesn’t have any site liberation either, so we can’t go that route. However, we can go with the tried-and-true technique of Site Path Manipulation. Cavern Entrance, if played each time, will effectively neutralize Chieftain of Dunland...and what better to use than Traveled Leader? With this event, you can get a sneak peek at the Shadow Player’s minions, and then play Cavern Entrance in the maneuver phase if needed. And besides, Gandalf makes a nice splash, doesn’t he?
So with all of that covered, it’s time to build our deck. We’ll need 4x Shadowplay for sure, and a reliable way to draw them would be nice. What about that tried-and-true tactic, burning Pippin? (I can hear Billy Boyd screaming now: "NOT AGAIN!!") But it’s true! Pippin, Hobbit of Some Intelligence, helps to tone down your starting bid, and then he can be dumped to get 3x Shadowplay. Of course, with all that Shadowplay going on, you’ll need ways to heal. Fates Entwined is the answer here, and we’ll also have to include some more Hobbit support cards. Salt From the Shire and Sam, Great Elf Warrior work great with G for Grand and Sworn Companion, and Hobbit Sword will help those little guys to new heights!
Free Peoples (33)
Ringbearer and Ring
Frodo, Protected By Many
The One Ring, the Ring of Doom
Starting Fellowship (3)
Sam, Great Elf Warrior
Pippin, Hobbit of Some Intelligence
Farmer Maggot, Hobbit of the Marish
Companions (3)
Gandalf, Leader of the Company 3x
Possessions (9)
Salt From the Shire 2x
Sting, Weapon of Heritage 1x
Elven Rope 3x
Hobbit Sword 3x
Conditions (7)
Shadowplay 4x
G For Grand 3x
Events (11)
Saved From the Fire 4x
Sworn Companion 2x
Unheeded 2x
Traveled Leader 3x
For sites, use Cavern Entrance, and then any combination of dwellings and forests. Valley of the Silverlode wouldn’t be amiss here, nor would Hobbiton Market. Pack some more dwellings and forests-and to go with that, you might consider using a Forest Nazgul (aka Forestgul) deck with this Free Peoples, especially because Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine lets you cycle that Cavern Entrance again and again. If your hobbits run into trouble versus Bill Ferny, Forestguls should finish them off. And with that, Grasshopper, you’re ready to go and kick some Ferny! Good luck... |
| Last edited by CarpeGuitarrem on Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:58 pm; edited 3 times in total"ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm) |
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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:25 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 3065
Location: Rivendell
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at a quick glance...
everyone knows doesn’t work on frodo! and with only 3 vitality, it wouldnt work on maggot either, then if you burn pippin, they’re worthless!
seems like a short article, mostly just says: how to beat ferny? use shadowplay!
beyond that i dont see much point. |
Last edited by elf lvr on Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:43 pm; edited 1 time in totalHappy Hunting! Elf Lvr
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:41 pm |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 3947
Location: Maryland
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Quick note...
Quote: After the second exertion, play Unheeded to kill him off! You’ve just eliminated Bill from the face of the earth, before the Shadow player could even begin to play Pavise!
I don’t think it’s wise to kill him in the Shadow phase, since they can play another copy of him. Since he’s just 4 strength, he’s not really a threat (unless he goes to your Ring-bearer), so you had might as well just exert him once. |
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| CarpeGuitarrem |
![]() Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:10 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 3361
Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville
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elf lvr wrote: everyone knows doesn’t work on frodo! and with only 3 vitality, it wouldnt work on maggot either, then if you burn pippin, they’re worthless!
Argh! I should read my cards closer...
I’ll just nix that and put in some copies of Hobbit Sword.
Quote: seems like a short article, mostly just says: how to beat ferny? use shadowplay!
beyond that i dont see much point.
I also mentioned Elven Rope, as well as site path manipulation to stop Chieftain of Dunland + Bill.
AC: You’re perfectly right. I added a disclaimer.  That’s one of the reasons I mentioned Elven Rope as a viable alternative. |
| "ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm) |
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| hblika |
![]() Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 3:16 am |
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Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 287
Location: Norway
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You are basically putting words to something that has already been discussed to the tiresome. If only you had invented this strategy yourself, or at least come up with an original idea, or a deck that would actually work...
BTW, how do you expect to use Well-traveled when you have no ranger to exert?? It is pretty obvious that it should have been Traveled Leader instead, but it further degrades your article as you haven’t even been bothered to check the cards you have included in your sample deck.
On a positive note, you have a good layout of your article, and your language is good, so I’ll increase my rating from 1 to 2. |
| Last edited by hblika on Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:59 am; edited 2 times in totalI'm not stupid. I'm just unlucky when I'm thinking. |
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 7:23 am |
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 7750
Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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| yeah I have to say I have heard most of this before btu it was kinda funny and i liked it. So you get a 3 |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:45 am |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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| Fair article, CG. The deck does seem to revolve around Shadowplay a little too much, but otherwise, it looks like a fairly solid deck to beat Ferny. I give it a 3. |
| I had to put something here. |
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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 9:50 am |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 3065
Location: Rivendell
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True, it may be able to beat ferny. But see the thing about lotr is not everyone uses the same deck. I know the whole POINT of the article was to make a deck that beats bill ferny, but beyond that pupose the deck is quite usesless. Nazgul, for instance, would wipe the floor with you. You would have done much better, i think, to review how to improve already existing decks to counter ferny. For example: when using a noble leaders deck, perhaps include thisandthisandthis and when using ents, be sure to have thisandthisandthis but if you play dwarves...
An article of that sort would have been quite frankly a heck of a lot more useful and practical. Plus, you have obviously said how you would counter ferny, but the most effective ferny strategy is a stragglers/last days based deck that simply includes four ferny instead of some random other minions. So yes, this deck would do well against four ferny’s, but odds are the shadow player will have more than that up his sleve.
Its well written however. So I will give this a 2 or 3. I will wait a while before voting. |
Happy Hunting! Elf Lvr
Winner of Best Personality in the FPCA. Thanks!
Archduke Elf Lvr - Archidoux of the Chosen Ones
AMV Maker In-Training! Check out my newest production, Katsu!- A Diedara Tribute!
And behold, EL declared it good. And there was morning, and there was evening, the first (new) day. ~ DainIronfoot |
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| CarpeGuitarrem |
![]() Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:57 pm |
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Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 3361
Location: Franciscan University of Steubenville
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hblika wrote:
BTW, how do you expect to use Well-traveled when you have no ranger to exert?? It is pretty obvious that it should have been Traveled Leader instead, but it further degrades your article as you haven’t even been bothered to check the cards you have included in your sample deck.
Whoops, wrong card. Mental slip. |
| "ok, change of plans. the Cobracards christmas party is coming to my house, and we’re gunna teach FM how to hunt." (mm) |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:59 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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| Just dropping by to cast my vote before the end of the month. This one gets a 3. |
| I don't like YOU. |
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