LotR TCG Wiki → Card Sets:  All 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 → Forums:  TLHH CC

 
Cobra Cards Player Community Forum Index
 Forum index » Lord of the Rings TCG » LOTR TCG Strategy Article Contest
Author Message
Rate this article!

5 (Best)  
16%
  [ 1 ]  16%
 
4  
66%
  [ 4 ]  66%
 
3  
16%
  [ 1 ]  16%
 
2  
0%
  [ 0 ]  0%
 
1 (Worst)  
0%
  [ 0 ]  0%
 

Total Votes : 6
Ken Ellingsen
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:14 pm
Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Norway
--- description ---
Analysis of the Ent deck in the current LOTR TCG meta, with tips for playing with and against the Ents and a tournament-winning Free Peoples decklist.
--- end description ---

This is one of Ken’s old feature articles, which is being added to the forum database to help us keep our strategy section more organized. This article is NOT eligible for the contest, but feel free to rate and review it!

If you look at the top eight decklists from the online PSQ in September, you’ll discover that it was dominated by Ents. Those good old trees that were printed in the Ents of Fangorn set have made a huge comeback in the last months. In fact, I chose to play them at the PSE a few months ago because I thought they were very strong. I guess I was right, as I went undefeated both days with them, giving me an 14-0 win record that weekend.

What makes Ents so strong compared to other fellowships? And why have they suddenly become this good? Ents got some very strong cards from the latest set, Bloodlines. The most important card is Pallando, Far-traveling One. Earlier, when you played Gandalf for condition removal, you had to hold on to that Sleep, Caradhras or Grown Suddenly Tall until your opponent had lots of conditions on the table so you could wipe all of them out at once. With Pallando you can discard one each site just by winning a skirmish. That way you don’t clog your hand with a fellowship card, and you make it harder for the shadow player to set up, as you discard his conditions as soon as he plays them. Another huge card is Traveled Leader. Afraid of a swarm? Change the site to Caras Galadhon. Want an easy double? Change the site to Hobbiton Market. Gandalf was slaughtered by a huge troll? Play the Pinnacle and he’s alive and kicking again. One time I actually resurrected Gandalf two times with the help of that site! (I used Radagast and multiple Traveled Leaders to replay the site.) But it is not advisable to do this, as your opponent will usually burst into tears when you revive him for the second time.

Another reason why Ents are very good is bcause of their flexibilty. With Ents you can design a fellowship tailor-made to beat a popular meta. If a lot of players run Corsairs, you add Roll of Thunder. If corruption is popular, you add a couple of Watch and Wait. If Forest Nazgul are popular, add an extra Terrible and Evil and maybe some extra condition removal. Another big factor is that Ents can deal with any shadow. They have possession, burden, and condition removal as well as site manipulation and huge companions that are practically impossible to kill during a single skirmish. One more feature Ents have is the ability to triple-move with Radagast. Sometimes your shadow just isn’t working and you’re not able to stop your opponent’s fellowship. Maybe it’s because you’ve had a poor shadow draw, or perhaps he’s teched against your shadow. Either way, it’s always fun to look at your opponent’s site marker at site 8, play Radagast at site 6, and run faster than Forrest Gump to site 9.

It is very important to combine Ents with a shadow that cycles well. Ents need that early Saved from the Fire and some G for Grands. Without a Saved from the Fire at site 2 or 3, Ents are usually dead because they will generate a lot of pool when the shadow player has set up a strong minion hand. What is good cycling? If you don’t know, it’s got nothing to do with Lance Armstrong! Good cycling happens when you’re able to dicard most or all of the cards in your hand each turn and reconcile into an entirely new hand. My favorite shadows to use with Ents are Forest Nazgul and Corsairs. Both shadows cycle really well (using Moving This Way and Ships of Great Draught) and you don’t need to hold on to key cards to make them work.

What are the main pros and cons of playing Ents? Well, the bad part about Ents is that you need to draw that Saved from the Fire early. One more disadvantage is that the deck floods the pool on two or three occasions when you play your companions and G for Grands. A shadow that can benefit from a huge pool might cause you some trouble, for example Easterlings (Easterling Captain), Dunland (Ready to Fall + 2 sites) and Lurkers (Prowling Orcs or Armored Easterlings). The good parts about the Ent fellowship are that it is very hard to swarm and hard to kill, can deal with corruption, can triple-move, can manipulate sites, cycles well and sets up good shadow draws.

Since Ents are so flexible, there’s no formula for how to play them. You’ll just have to play some games and figure out what works for you. Usually you’ll want to use your first Saved from the Fire to get companions and/or Pallando, and later the rest of your G for Grand. Pallando is essential for beating Forest Nazguls and Orcs. Those Lost in the Woods can get pretty nasty if you don’t get rid of them early. Come to think of it, playing Lost in the Woods on Ents and particularly Treebeard is kinda funny. I suspect he knows his way around the forest! Playing Ents is fun and challenging at the same time. It’s like playing poker -- anyone can play it, but it takes a lifetime to master!

Here is the fellowship I used to win the latest PSQ and PSE. Good luck and have fun!


LOTR TCG Free Peoples decklist: Ellingsen’s Ents

Frodo, Protected by Many
The One Ring, The Ring of Rings

1 Ent Horde
1 Erland, Dale Counselor
1 Forest Guardian
1 Gandalf, Leader of Men
1 Járnsmid, Barding Emissary
1 Radagast, The Brown
1 Skinbark, Fladrif
1 Treebeard, Keeper of the Watchwood
4 G for Grand
4 Saved From the Fire
3 Terrible and Evil
4 The Flame of Anor
4 Traveled Leader
1 Pallando, Far-travelling One
1 Glamdring, Foe-hammer
1 Sting, Weapon of Heritage
Kenneth Ellingsen is a teacher and semi-professional card player living in Norway. With a Decipher rating of over 2000 and several major tournament victories under his belt, Ellingsen is respected among LOTR TCG players worldwide. His latest accomplishments include 1st place at PSE Utrecht 2004, 2nd at the LOTR TCG World Cup 2004, and 2nd at European Continentals 2005.
lotr~kid
Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 8:07 am
Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 149 Location: The South, down where 'Aint' is a word
whoa, dude, I love Ent, they’re awesome, I’m gonna use this deck for LotR Online, if its OK with you?
I currently have about 1,000 LotR TCG cards.
including 40 foil cards.
and who knows how many rares.
I'll have to count my rares sometime you know...

Display posts from previous:  

 Forum index » Lord of the Rings TCG » LOTR TCG Strategy Article Contest
All times are UTC - 4
Page 1 of 1 [2 Posts]  
View previous topic   View next topic