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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 2:44 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
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--- description ---
Yep, he’s back. Gollum and his female arachnid friend are back in the saddle, bringing new cards to the table and an even higher degree of wounding strategy.
--- end description ---
Introduction
Ninja Gollum… it used to be one of the best Shadow sides that money could buy. After a while, though, the flare died down because after the Mount Doom set, the Gollum culture didn’t see a lot of cards.
But then, some new sets walked onto the scene and revolutionized the Ninja Gollum deck. Not This Time! was released in the Hunters set, providing even greater wounding for the little toad. Gollum, Hopeless, also released in the Hunter set, knocks the socks off ARBs with his brute strength.
The Rise of Saruman set was released on March 1st, but no sign of Gollum. Many players felt that Decipher had finally given up on the little creature and his eight-legged buddy. But no, Decipher wasn’t done yet.
Treachery and Deceit. Three words that have become a pain to the ears to LotR players, this set managed to bring a few good, balanced cards to the table. And what culture? Gollum!
This article takes a look at a Ninja Gollum deck, seasoned up nicely with just a hint of T&D. Let’s take a look at the lineup, before the  cards in T&D were spoiled…
Gollum, Dark As Darkness
This little guy is a centerpiece of the strategy. You can use and abuse his text to beat up the Ring-bearer over, and over, and ov…
Gollum, Mad Thing
Believe it or not, I have added 7 burdens with this Gollum in a game, using only his text. Plus, if your opponent chooses to make him an 8 strength, he will usually be assigned to a bigger companion, leaving Shelob to pick on the others.
Gollum, Hopeless
The bane of ARBs. If you’re playing against Gimli, Bearer of Grudges, this Gollum can be a 10+ strength with no problem. Even against weaker ARBs, like Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom, he still usually pushes past his normal 5 strength. This guy is a rather weak against Frodo RBs, though. Then his only use is to activate the text of Shelob, Her Ladyship.
The itsy, bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out…
Whoever wrote this nursery rhyme certainly didn’t have Shelob in mind.
Shelob, Her Ladyship
This nasty arachnid can pick and choose which companion doesn’t get to skirmish. And not just until the regroup phase, either. Until the end of the turn. How’s that for discouraging a double move? Plus, her enduring really comes in handy against archery or exertions / wounding decks. Ever had a 22 strength Shelob face your Frodo?
Shelob, Eater of Light
This Shelob can grab Web from your draw deck. Plus, she gets strength bonuses from stuff stacked on it!
Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings
Does he even need an explanation?
Saruman, Servant of Sauron
This Saruman is awesome because not only does he give his bearer a +2 strength bonus, but he also exerts a companion each time bearer wins a skirmish.
Web
This card is crucial for keeping Shelob (and Gollum) around. Plus, Shelob, Eater of Light can get a +3 strength bonus for each minion stacked here! The great thing is, stacked cards are not active. This means that you can have multiple copies of Shelob and Gollum on this card, and still have them in play. It’s basically a recycle bin for your minions.
Promise Keeping
This card is a must-have for any Ninja Gollum deck because of its killer exertion ability. Each time a companion takes a wound in a skirmish involving a minion, you get to exert another companion. Plus, it can trigger off from threats. Get Not This Time! and Plotting on the table with Gollum, then exert him a few times and remove a few threats to beat up the companion he is skirmishing. Then the text of Promise Keeping will explode, adding another exertion for each wound that is placed with Not This Time! And then, if you kill that companion while Plotting is on the table… let’s just say that things aren’t looking too good for your opponent.
Incited
Grabs ANY card from your discard pile.
Fat One Wants It
Another handy addition to keeping your threats going, and you can also discard it to return Gollum to your hand.
Plotting
This card maxes out the threats when it is played, plus gives Gollum a +2 strength bonus.
Treacherous Little Toad
This is an awesome card in a combo with Little Snuffler. If you are lucky enough to pull both cards and a Gollum in region 1, you can wound the Ring-bearer at least once and then play a copy of Treacherous Little Toad on the RB to prevent him (or her) from healing.
Not This Time!
This card is a great combo with Promise Keeping. Remove a threat and exert Gollum to wound a companion he is skirmishing, then place another exertion with Promise Keeping. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Captured by the Ring
This is probably the best common card ever printed. It allows you to grab Gollum from your draw deck or discard pile and add a threat, for 0 twilight. This is also handy for stacking multiple copies of Gollum on Web; just use this event to grab him in the Shadow phase, then stack him on Web in the regroup phase.
Little Snuffler
This is a great event for tossing out a few red tokens. It can also be used in region 3s to play a minion from your discard pile.
Unseen Foe
This card just plain rocks! So much for your opponent’s companion tanks!
OK, we’ve seen the pre-T&D Ninja Gollum world. Next, let’s take a look at the cards in T&D that give this deck some extra zip.
Sting of Shelob
Just take a moment to bask in the glory of this card. One companion dead, another returned to your owner’ hand. Subtitle: Return to Sender.
Deceit
This card completely wipes out the ability of Pallando, Far-travelling One. Your conditions are now safe!
Not Easily Avoided
This card is most likely the best card in T&D. It provides great hand cycling to get rid of your extra copies of stuff like Promise Keeping, and gives a minion a strength boost at the same time! Plus, you can grab cards from your draw deck with it. Lastly, it isn’t even unique, so it isn’t a huge hand clog!
Other Cards
Some other cards that are sweet, but do not make it into this deck due to the sheer lack of deck space are…
Black Gate Sentry – this guy is a great splash minion for a wounding deck. Since you can’t choose which companion to wound, though, he is not as efficient as Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings. He’s a good minion, but he doesn’t make the lineup in this deck.
Larder – this can be a nifty combo with Shelob, Eater of Light and Morcs (Morgul Orcs). Shelob can get strength bonuses from Larder, plus from Orcs stacked on Web. This is a great card for a Gollum w/ Shelob and Morcs deck.
Set Up
Follower hate for Gollum! This card (which is in the Treachery and Deceit set) can dish out some hand clogging for your opponent. Plus, it keeps a deck like the Pippin Engine from getting put together. Free Peoples decks with followers are far from commonplace, though, so this card doesn’t make it into the deck.
Countless Cords
This card (also from the Treachery and Deceit set) is a great combo with Plotting. Against a huge fellowship, this card simply rocks! A possible +9 pump for any minion, provided that you can spot Shelob. The strategy in this deck is to overcome your opponent with using the threats themselves, not strength. This is a great card, but it doesn’t make the lineup in this deck.
Now, let’s take a look at a rough deck design.
Format: Standard
 Minions
2 Gollum, Dark as Darkness
1 Gollum, Mad Thing
1 Gollum, Hopeless
3 Shelob, Her Ladyship
1 Shelob, Eater of Light
3 Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings
  Conditions
4 Promise Keeping
3 Incited
4 Not Easily Avoided
3 Fat One Wants It
3 Treacherous Little Toad
3 Plotting
4 Not This Time!
3 Deceit
 Events
3 Sting of Shelob
3 Unseen Foe
3 Little Snuffler
4 Captured by the Ring
 Other Cards
3 Web
3 Saruman, Servant of Sauron
Obviously, this deck (57 cards) is too big to cycle well. Let’s take a look at each section and slim them down…
Minions
2 Gollum, Dark As Darkness
1 Gollum, Mad Thing
1 Gollum, Hopeless
3 Shelob, Her Ladyship
1 Shelob, Eater of Light
3 Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings
All 3 copies of Gollum will stay. Mumak Commander is awesome, but since he is unique, he could cause a hand clog. We can cut 2 copies of him. We’ll also drop 1 copy of Shelob, Her Ladyship since she is unique and expensive to play. Plus, you can stack her on Web. That makes the minions list look like this:
 Minions
2 Gollum, Dark As Darkness
1 Gollum, Mad Thing
1 Gollum, Hopeless
2 Shelob, Her Ladyship
1 Shelob, Eater of Light
1 Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings
Next, let’s take a look at the conditions.
Conditions
4 Promise Keeping
3 Incited
4 Not Easily Avoided
3 Fat One Wants It
3 Treacherous Little Toad
3 Plotting
4 Not This Time!
3 Deceit
We can drop Promise Keeping down to just 3 copies; if you get an extra, discard them with Not Easily Avoided. We’ll also cut 2 copies of Plotting. We’ll drop 1 copy of Not This Time!, 1 copy of Treacherous Little Toad and 2 copies of Not Easily Avoided. We can also safely cut 2 copies of Fat One Wants It. We’ll drop 1 copy of Incited and 1 copy Deceit. Remember, if you get extras of your unique conditions, just discard them with Not Easily Avoided, which also gives a minion a +2 strength boost. Now, let’s take a look at the edited list of conditions:
Conditions
3 Promise Keeping
2 Incited
2 Not Easily Avoided
1 Fat One Wants It
2 Treacherous Little Toad
1 Plotting
3 Not This Time!
2 Deceit
Next, the events.
Events
3 Sting of Shelob
3 Unseen Foe
3 Little Snuffler
4 Captured by the Ring
We’ll drop 2 copies of Sting of Shelob. We’ll also drop 1 copy of everything else, except for Captured by the Ring, which makes the events list look like:
 ] Events
1 Sting of Shelob
2 Unseen Foe
2 Little Snuffler
4 Captured by the Ring
And finally, Web and Saruman.
Other Cards
3 Web
3 Saruman, Servant of Sauron
We’ll cut 1 copy of Web and 2 copies of Saruman, which gives us:
Other
2 Web
1 Saruman, Servant of Sauron
The final Shadow side would look like this:
Minions
2 Gollum, Dark As Darkness
1 Gollum, Mad Thing
1 Gollum, Hopeless
2 Shelob, Her Ladyship
1 Shelob, Eater of Light
1 Mumak Commander, Giant among the Swertings
Total: $27.25 USD
Conditions
3 Promise Keeping
2 Incited
2 Not Easily Avoided
1 Fat One Wants It
2 Treacherous Little Toad
1 Plotting
3 Not This Time!
2 Deceit
Total: $59 + ? USD
Events
1 Sting of Shelob
2 Unseen Foe
2 Little Snuffler
4 Captured by the Ring
Total: $10.50 + ? USD
Other
2 Web
1 Saruman, Servant of Sauron
Total: $11 USD
At 36 cards, this Shadow side is big, but it cycles quite well with Not Easily Avoided. It also tips the financial scales at just under $90 USD, not counting the cards from T&D. Next, let’s take a look at some match-ups…
Discarding
This can hurt, but Incited can help grab stuff from your discard pile. Deceit ensures that your conditions can’t be discarded, but your minions are vulnerable. This is a tough match-up, and your toad and his spidery friend will have a hard time taking down a good discarding deck by themselves.
Archery / Exertions / Wounding
If you’re playing against any sort of wounding deck, use Shelob, Her Ladyship to soak up the wounds. By the time she gets to the skirmish phase, she is usually a 16+ strength beast. Your little toad and his spidery friend will prevail in this match-up.
Tank
The text of Shelob, Her Ladyship can take care of the biggest companion. If you are facing tanks, though, Unseen Foe can do some damage. This match-up can be handled well; use Her Ladyship to eliminate the big guy, then pull Unseen Foe from your discard pile with Incited to kill the powerhouse(s).
Choke
This can hurt, especially since your conditions aren’t exactly cheap and Shelob costs until late in the game. This decktype is difficult to deal with, but a few cards that can help you out are So Polite, Led Astray, From Deep in Shadow, and It Draws Him. If choke decks are commonplace in your meta, then pack a couple of those cards in your deck to provide some extra twilight.
Now, we’ll look at the strategy of this deck.
Strategy
In your first hand, you need at least 2 or 3 cards like Not This Time!, Gollum, Promise Keeping, Web, Not Easily Avoided, etc. If you don’t get at least 2 or 3 of those, mulligan. Get your conditions on the table as quickly as possible. Load up the threats with Captured by the Ring, Fat One Wants It and Plotting, then beat up on whoever Gollum is skirmishing with Not This Time!, which sets off Promise Keeping. Discard whatever cards you don’t need with Not Easily Avoided, and pull cards back from your discard pile with Incited. Deceit protects your conditions. The rest is simple; keep Gollum and Shelob on the table (with plenty of threats), and then unleash the red tokens.
Obviously, this deck needs a Free Peoples side to be paired with. I chose Elvents (Elven events) because it is a large deck and can also cycle well, just like its Shadow counterpart. Let’s take a look at the deck:
Format: Standard
Ring-bearer and Ring
Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom
The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Total: $10.50 USD
Companions
1 Elladan, Son of Elrond (starting)
1 Elrohir, Son of Elrond (starting)
2 Cirdan, The Shipwright
2 Celeborn, The Wise
Total: $22 USD
Conditions
2 Glimpse of Fate
2 Elven Marksmanship
2 Take Up the Bow
2 Shadow Between
Total: $23.50 USD
Events
4 Final Shot
4 Attunement
4 Still Needed
3 Seclusion
1 Fleet-footed
1 Many Miles
Total: $4.40 USD
 Other
3 Elven Bow
2 Sword of the Fallen
Total: $1.25 USD
This deck costs over $60, but it is well worth your money. Elladan makes your events cost next to nothing, and Elrohir docks strength from minions when you play an event in a skirmish that involves Elladan or Elrohir. Cirdan can easily make a minion skirmishing him hit negative digits, and Celeborn lets you pull back an  event if you double move.
Take Up the Bow is handy for getting rid of a huge minion. Shadow Between provides some healing, and Glimpse of Fate reduces a minion’s strength by 4 each time you lose initiative, which is easy to do due to the fact that you are playing events like crazy.
Elven Marksmanship, Many Miles, and Elven Bow dish out wounds, which allows Sword of the Fallen to dock strength from minions. Seclusion takes care of conditions, and the rest are good ol’ strength pumps. Let’s take a look at some match-ups for this deck:
Archery / Exertions / Wounding
This can hurt, but Shadow Between provides some healing. This is a tough decktype to face, but your deck will usually come out as the winner.
Beatdown
Your bows can wipe out a minion or two in the archery phase, and the skirmish events hit your opponent right between the eyes. This is generally an easy deck to face.
Bomb / Swarm
No problem. This deck doesn’t give out a load of twilight, and your archery will take advantage of the minions’ low strengths. Your deck comes out on top in this match-up.
Discarding
If your opponent uses  discarding, then he will just be putting more events in your discard pile, making Cirdan even stronger. If Shadow Between gets discarded, you’re in trouble, so keep an extra copy in hand if you’re playing a discard deck.
Corruption
This is the toughest deck you will face. Galadriel is only a 5 resistance with the Ring of Rings, and a 9 resistance if she is wearing the Ring and all of your companions are in play. Watch out, because a well-built corruption deck will have the upper hand over your Elves.
Special Thanks
To The Chosen Ones and Felipe Musco, for reviewing this article via PM before I posted it.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for the reviews!
Side Note
Before you vote, please give me time to edit the article according to your review. Thanks! |
| Last edited by Anonymous Prodigy on Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:49 am; edited 17 times in totalI had to put something here. |
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| Glamdring |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 3:03 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 575
Location:
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I just skimmed through it briefly, but I like the way that you included the prices in the article. Great Job! I’ll give you a 5.
Keep up the good work so far!  |
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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| ingold55 |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 3:45 pm |
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Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 1199
Location: Out on the front line
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| Very nice article, long but still entertaining. I liked it. |
There is a power in this world beyond any of us, and Jesus is that power and The Savior.
 this is my attempt to look cool.
Trade list (Want Balrogs and Aragorns) |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 3:49 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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Thanks for the reviews, guys!  |
| I had to put something here. |
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| ingold55 |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 3:58 pm |
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Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 1199
Location: Out on the front line
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| How would this deck match up to a gondor fortification deck? (just curious) fourth level + Gondor Bow would kill Shelob pretty fast, throw in an elf or Ganalf and you get some fair burden removal, or you can play with Frodo. Gondor is covered by healing fairly well, and can keep the wounds off. As far as minions that like to use strength to kill you off, use fifth level and you have it made. (how would Gollum match up to this?) |
There is a power in this world beyond any of us, and Jesus is that power and The Savior.
this is my attempt to look cool.
Trade list (Want Balrogs and Aragorns) |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:04 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
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Location: United States
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Gollum and Shelob are susceptible to the Fourth Level + Gondor Bow combo, but what minion isn’t?  |
| I had to put something here. |
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| ingold55 |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:05 pm |
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Joined: 10 Oct 2005
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| I mean as far as beating the set up, how would you fight it? |
There is a power in this world beyond any of us, and Jesus is that power and The Savior.
this is my attempt to look cool.
Trade list (Want Balrogs and Aragorns) |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:12 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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| Reclaim the Precious would help take care of Gondor Bow, and possibly A Dark Shape Sprang. As for Fourth Level (and Fifth Level), doesn’t have anything in the realm of condition removal. |
| I had to put something here. |
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| ingold55 |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:19 pm |
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Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 1199
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ok, thanks for taking the time to answere the questions. A 5 from me now.
ingold |
There is a power in this world beyond any of us, and Jesus is that power and The Savior.
this is my attempt to look cool.
Trade list (Want Balrogs and Aragorns) |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:35 pm |
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