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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:11 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
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--- description ---
Ranger and Beatdown Nazgul that really hurts!
--- end description ---
Ever since I started playing the LOTR trading card game, I have always enjoyed the shadow side. Sometimes during my games, I purposely don’t double move with my Free peoples just so I can destroy the opponents fellowship with my Shadow. Unfortunately, most of my shadow sides that I have built in the past have not beaten my opponents. Was it because of my bad decisions, or was I just not playing it right? I think it was both. Anyway, how do you build a good Shadow Side? Let’s begin with discussing the minions of my deck, since they are probably the most important part in the Shadow.
Minions:
First of all, what do you want your shadow side to do? For example: Let’s say Glamdring liked the idea of killing his opponent with wounds, and enjoyed the  culture partly because of the wounds and exertions. Seems pretty obvious, so we would begin with a wounding deck. What type minions should he use? He could first of all use Morgul orcs for Morgul archery, or he could use nazguls to exert companions (like ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders). Since Glamdring hates long setup as found in Morgul archey, he chose the nazguls, because of the fierce keyword found in them, and plus, they wound companions. Let’s look at a few nazgul that wound or exert companions:
ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul: A classic Nazgul which is heavily used in many decks these days, because of his great ability to prevent such large fellowships. A wonderful card, expecially if used in a Nazgul wounding build.
ulaire toldea, winged sentry: Another amazing card! Works wonders against alternate ringbearers that avoid burdens. When combined with fell beast, or stooping to the kill, he is one deadly monster!
Ulaire otsea, black-manteled wraith: Works well with a nazgul initiative build, and prevents the ringbearer from exerting most of the time, or this fellow may have a free peoples player return an unbound companion to hand. Just adds more twighlight! Who says we can’t use initiative?
ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders: A really mean card when you have 2 other nazgul out and this guy just keeps on adding the wounds.
Now that we have a basic idea of what Glamdring wants, we can start looking around at Cobra Cards and find some great Nazgul. If nazgul work wonders, can Morgul Orcs help to? Of course! Morgul orcs are a great way to add more wounds, and pump up the strength of the fellow black riders. Many orcs in the culture have to do a lot with wounds, and the strength bonuses, so what could we have for orcs? Let’s take a look:
morgul regiment: Very powerful card if you have enough twighlight! Even more exertions, and even has high strength to win a skirmish, probably not that important, but you could use him!
morgul predator: Pretty nice at pumping up the strength of his fellow companions. Also, he’s three vitality, so he has the possibility of him and one other minion to win a skirmish.
morgul spearman: The perfect little dude for wounds! He’s only two wimpy twilight, if saved in your hand, he deals out many wounds! (Note when combined with ulaire toldea, winged sentry, that is one deadly combo)
morgul cur: A whopping 10 strength if you can spot a nazgul. Also three twilight, so he may be able to swarm.
Since this deck is going to be about wounds, can’t we swarm a bit to add even more wounds? Yes, but how do we do it? Well, lets take a look at some nazgul that will be pretty easy to swarm with:
ulaire toldea, wraith on wings: A perfect swarmer! Of course you have to have initiative, but that’s easy to splash in.
That’s basically all of the nazgul that can swarm pretty well without twilight cost, but how can we get initiative? Now is time to look at conditions:
more unbearable: An important card that lets you have initiative. Of course you will need a minion heavy deck, which is one we are gearing towards.
flung into the fray: A must for most culture builds. When ulaire toldea, wraith on wings is stacked on there, you can play him for free over and over again!
What events can we use to add threats (in case the free peoples player kills a companion), or wound companions? (Basically here, I am just trying to get as much cards as possible to design the basic roughdraft of our deck) Well, I don’t think there is much cards that wound many companions, but what about threats? Let’s look at some:
their came a cry: The perfect card when combined with initiative. Also adds more wounds! Just what were looking for, and besides, it’s a common.
One of the last ideas in designing a shadow side, is choosing whether you need possessions, and how well it will work with your idea. So think about the build of this deck for a minute. What seems to be its weaknesses? Hmmm, choke seems pretty hard to fight against since most of your minions we have listed are at least 3-6 twilight. What if we need a possession that gives a strength bonus and helps cycle through your hand? The card is fell beast. The perfect possession to give a strength boost and cycle through your hand when clogged. Now that we have the basic idea, here’s a basic roughdraft of the deck:
Shadow Side:
Minions:
ulaire toldea, wraith on wings x4
ulaire toldea, winged sentry x3
ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul x2
ulaire lemenya, wraith on wings x2
morgul regiment
morgul predator x2
morgul spearman x4
ulaire otsea, black-mantled wraith x3
morgul cur x2
ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders x2
ulaire cantea, faster than winds
fell beast x2
flung into the fray
more unbearable x2
there came a cry x2
Sounds a little expensive doesn’t it? I got the basic cards in and some others (like ulaire cantea, faster than winds) How can we make it less expensive, and make it focus more on winning skirmishes/wounding/threat wounds? Let’s begin with and explanation:
Since we have morgul spearman in the deck, couldn’t we take out a ulaire toldea, winged sentry, and take out 2 ulaire toldea, wraith on wings and add another more unbearable? After all, we wanted to make an initiative wounding deck so, after going through the whole deck, I finally decided that I wanted my deck to win skirmishes and exert companions, so here’s the next version of the Nazgul wounding:
Shadow Side:
Minions:
ulaire toldea, wraith on wings x2
ulaire toldea, winged sentry x2
the witch-king, lord of angmar x2
the witch-king, black captain
ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul
ulaire lemenya, wraith on wings x2
ulaire otsea, black-mantled wraith x2
morgul regiment
morgul predator x3
morgul spearman x2
morgul cur x3
ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders
ulaire cantea, faster than winds
Possessions:
fell beast x2 (Return of the King version)
Conditions/Events:
flung into the fray x2
more unbearable x3
there came a cry x4
Strategy:
Add lots of threats, gain initiative, and beat the fellowship player to a pulp. Discard possession with ulaire cantea, faster than winds, win a couple skirmishes with the witch-king, lord of angmar. The reason the witch-king, black captain is in here, is just in case that annoying  culture uses tons of possessions, this man in black will breath destruction on that player. Stack minions on flung into the fray (most likely ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders, or ulaire toldea, wraith on wings) and gain initiative with more unbearable. ulaire otsea, black manteled wraith and ulaire lemenya, wraith on wings, both have to do with initiative. I’ve really enjoyed this deck, and I have played it a couple times, just make sure when playing against seclusion, be careful about playing more unbearable! It gets really annoying when they discard it....
What about modifying your deck to make it more aggressive towards Elven archery? The nice idea about this deck, was to modify it (almost) however you want. For instance: If you play against so much elven archery at your local tournament, and you want to modify your deck so that it can defend better against archery, use they feel the precious. ulaire cantea, faster than winds can discard possessions (like elven bow) to prevent too much archery. As for special ability users, sauron’s gaze to cancel them out. Tons of knights or rangers, use they feel the precious and more of the witch-king, black captain to destroy their fellowship. Basically, this deck is very changeable, and it is very easy to modify what you want it to do. What then are its weaknessess?
Elvents: Those particular scoundrels that keep on having initiative because of their many events in their hand. It makes it even harder when they have seclusion like I stated before. You can beat them, it’s just harder to.
Choke: With choke, it may be hard to set up. It is especially annoying when playing against a solo deck (like Solo Smeagol) because they keep choking up the pool. That is why I reccomend a fast cycling fellowship side to aide Shadow side.
And just for futher use, I would like to show my current fellowship side that pairs well with this deck.
Rangers/Men in Black
Fellowship Side: 34 cards
Ringbearer and Ring:
boromir, bearer of council
the one ring, the ring of rings
Fellowship Cards:
faramir, captain of gondor (Starting Fellowship)
aragorn, strider (Starting Fellowship)
gondorian prowler (Starting Fellowship)
madril, faramir’s aide (Starting Fellowship)
Possessions:
gondorian blade x3
ranger’s bow x3
Conditions:
the saga of elendil
ancient roads x3
hardy garrison x3
houses of healing
boromir, my brother
gondor bowmen
stewards’ legacy x2
Events:
arrows thick in the air x3
swordsman of the northern kingdom x3
might of numenor x2
much needed rest x2
Artifacts:
sapling of the white tree x3
Shadow Side: 34 cards
Minions:
ulaire toldea, wraith on wings x2
ulaire toldea, winged sentry x2
the witch-king, lord of angmar x2
the witch-king, black captain
ulaire enquea, lieutenant of morgul
ulaire lemenya, wraith on wings x2
ulaire otsea, black-mantled wraith x2
morgul regiment
morgul predator x3
morgul spearman x2
morgul cur x3
ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders
ulaire cantea, faster than winds
Possessions:
fell beast x2 (Return of the King version)
Conditions/Events:
flung into the fray x2
more unbearable x3
their came a cry x4
Recomended Sites:
[3]Trollshaw Forest
[3]North Undeep
[3]city of kings
[2]hobbiton market
[1]pelennor flat
[1]slag mounds
[0]anduin banks
[0]doors of durin
[0]crags of emyn muil
Strategy:
Free Peoples:
Bid 0-1 and go first or last depending on the opponent. Your Shadow should be able to slow him down. Get Stewards’ legacy and ancient roads as soon as possible, sapling of the white tree is used to prevent unwanted wounds, and much needed rest heals your companions very quickly. madril, faramir’s aide combined with hardy garrison wounds many minions, and also with arrows thick in the air, it has good wounding and exerting ability. Ranger’s bow can kill off exhausted minions, gondor bowmen is in there for more wounding capability. The reason I chose gondorian blade instead of ithilien blade, is because I enjoy the Damage +1 ability. Use houses of healing wisely, and double move as much as you can.
Shadow:
(I already posted the Shadow strategy above, but I can repeat it again.) Add lots of threats, gain initiative, and beat the fellowship player to a pulp. Discard possession with ulaire cantea, faster than winds, win a couple skirmishes with the witch-king, lord of angmar. The reason the witch-king, black captain is in here, is just in case that annoying culture uses tons of possessions, this man in black will breath destruction on that player. Stack minions on flung into the fray (most likely ulaire enquea, sixth of the nine riders, or ulaire toldea, wraith on wings) and gain initiative with more unbearable. ulaire otsea, black manteled wraith and ulaire lemenya, wraith on wings, both have to do with initiative. I’ve really enjoyed this deck, and I have played it a couple times, just make sure when playing against seclusion, be careful about playing more unbearable! It gets really annoying when they discard it....
About the sites:
trollshaw forest helps with drawing cards since my rangers have a ton of posessions. I should really replace north undeep with something else, but it helps against archery, city of kings draws cards, hobbiton market helps double-move, pelennor flat adds burdens, slag mounds in the case of killing companions, anduin banks a must for archery decks, doors of durin helps me win a few skirmishes, and crags of emyn muil either helps my archery, or prevents double moving if I’m the shadow player (mind you though, your opponent might use this against you! But of course if you have a might of numenor in your hand, take the risk!). One site I would recomend is buckland homestead, because it helps a lot with discarding the free peoples conditions, and, some decks heavily rely on their conditions.
Special Thanks to:
Conor Brace: For designing such an amazing website in which everybody can chat. Thanks for letting us share it with you. (and really, it is the best card deals on the planet)
Sickofpalantirs, Nbarden: Thanks for helping me with my Fellowship Side, and all of the suggestive comments for my Rangers. I really helped!
J.R.R. Tolkein: For designing a very detailed and inspiring book to all of us LOTR players, and letting the world know your talented gift towards writing, and sharing it with us.
Decipher: For designing the LOTR trading card game, in which I have had many hours of fun thinking of card strategies.
Thanks all of you for reading!
-Glamdring-
"A shrieking, keening wail sounded as the Captain of the nine riders mounted on his hideous beast...." |
Great minds think alike.~CarpeGuitarrem
Rangers will rule the World!! (CC's Official Ranger Lover)
My Haves/Wants Please look!!
...much debate much hard feelings. ~SOP |
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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:15 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
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| I didn’t have enough time to state the Rangers’ weakness. Would you like me to explain them? |
Great minds think alike.~CarpeGuitarrem
Rangers will rule the World!! (CC's Official Ranger Lover)
My Haves/Wants Please look!!
...much debate much hard feelings. ~SOP |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:33 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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Good article, Glamdring. Invigorated would be a good addition to your Free Peoples side; it provides quick healing for a small amount of twilight. Provided you can get a few copies of Gondorian Sword out, Dagger Strike would be a good choice for skirmish pump; War and Valor is also useful.
There were several minor spelling and grammar errors; a few cards were mispelled, and therefore did not link correctly. In my opinion, this deck is risky due to the fact that the Shadow side relies heavily on your opponent not running a Solo or choke deck. Otherwise, the strategy seems solid. I give it a 4. |
| I had to put something here. |
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| macheteman |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:13 am |
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Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 1200
Location: The Jungle
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| Good article! i really enjoyed reading it. one thing i would suggest is take out the part in the beggining where you talk about most of your shadows decks not working. it doesn’t help you. I don’t know if this is the best deck i’ve ever seen, but i just had a good time reading about it. so i give you a 5. |
Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
If at first you don't succeed...Sky-diving isn't for you.
"Combat is dangerous. It tends to interupt your breathing process."
ROLF!!! |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:15 am |
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Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 5468
Location: I don't know...
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 Why am I mentioned? Oh well... for that.
But, now for the review.
Seems like a glorified decklist. Very good deck, but not an exhaustive analysis (or at least extensive analysis).
Also, you need to fix your grammar and formatting, linking, spelling, etc. It doesn’t help an article to have a ton of spelling errors.
Also, the deck type is not that uncommon. I’m sure most people have seen a Nazgul/Morgul Orc deck. I know three people who run it. And I don’t know many people who play LotR (about, um...15 or so). On top of that, I know three people who run somewhat similar builds. So, unless my meta is extremely strange, this deck is very common.
I’m not going to vote yet, if you rewrite it, it could be nice. It is a good deck, but it didn’t strike me as an informative article.
And maybe cut the whole, let’s suppose I’m thinking this part. That was really weird and confusing, but at the same time funny... |
Last edited by NBarden on Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:46 pm; edited 1 time in total -Trade With Me
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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:24 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
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Anonymous Prodigy wrote: Good article, Glamdring. Invigorated would be a good addition to your Free Peoples side; it provides quick healing for a small amount of twilight. Provided you can get a few copies of Gondorian Sword out, Dagger Strike would be a good choice for skirmish pump; War and Valor is also useful.
There were several minor spelling and grammar errors; a few cards were mispelled, and therefore did not link correctly. In my opinion, this deck is risky due to the fact that the Shadow side relies heavily on your opponent not running a Solo or choke deck. Otherwise, the strategy seems solid. I give it a 4.
I was planning on putting invigorated in and taking the might of numenor out. By the way, what grammer issues are there? |
Great minds think alike.~CarpeGuitarrem
Rangers will rule the World!! (CC's Official Ranger Lover)
My Haves/Wants Please look!!
...much debate much hard feelings. ~SOP |
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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:25 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
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Well, you Nbarden, have helped me a lot with my Ranger deck. So I decided to mention you.  |
Great minds think alike.~CarpeGuitarrem
Rangers will rule the World!! (CC's Official Ranger Lover)
My Haves/Wants Please look!!
...much debate much hard feelings. ~SOP |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:35 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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Glamdring wrote: I was planning on putting invigorated in and taking the might of numenor out. By the way, what grammer issues are there?
A few run-on sentences, a few contractions, etc. |
| Last edited by Anonymous Prodigy on Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:28 pm; edited 1 time in totalI had to put something here. |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:35 pm |
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Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 5468
Location: I don't know...
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Yeah, and that 4x Ulaire Toldea, Wraith on Wings/3x Ulaire Toldea, Winged Sentry on the list is embarrassing. I’m gonna give you a three, because it is a good deck, but you need work on your writing, bad.
My Nazgul deck looked a lot like this once.... Then I went corruption. |
-Trade With Me
Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about?
As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"
Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation. |
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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:40 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
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NBarden wrote: Yeah, and that 4x Ulaire Toldea, Wraith on Wings/3x Ulaire Toldea, Winged Sentry on the list is embarrassing. I’m gonna give you a three, because it is a good deck, but you need work on your writing, bad.
My Nazgul deck looked a lot like this once.... Then I went corruption.
ooops.... sorry about that.  |
Great minds think alike.~CarpeGuitarrem
Rangers will rule the World!! (CC's Official Ranger Lover)
My Haves/Wants Please look!!
...much debate much hard feelings. ~SOP |
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