Ok, so my friends and I play a LOT of LOTR these days. Our board game group is slowly becoming the LOTR TCG with a few board games on the side group. So these questions we need to know the answers to ASAP, if you please:

-What is a special ability? Is it something that you MAY choose to do on a character’s text? What is the difference between game text and special abilities? Is Legolas’ +3 bonus against Nazgul an ability, or game text?

-Non-unique conditions with abilities: Let’s take Final Strike, where you can exert Gollum to cancel the effect of a manuever or archery special ability. I have two copies of this non-unique condition in play. Can I exert Gollum twice to trigger both, or can I exert him endlessly until exhausted (regardless of how many copies of the condition I have in play)?

-One of the FOTR sites (no. 1) says you can exert a hobbit to play a companion or ally for -1. You can’t draw that companion or ally from the draw deck, right?

-Can you play limitless numbers of allies, or do they count with the rule of 9 max. for companions? As they can all skirmish now (they are all at their home sites in the recent rulings), it looks like you could just sacrifice unlimited masses of them to the shadow while your fellowship of 9 surges forward and triple moves.

-When you win the burden bid at the start of the game and choose to go second, do you still play the first site on the adventure path?

-How many cards can you discard in the regroup phase normally? 1? (then draw back up to 8 ) ? I know muster makes this no. higher, right? But what use is muster if you’re not moving again in the regroup phase?

-When you play the first site, do you still pay the twilight cost for that?

-How many cards do you need in your hand to have initiative?

-Artifacts can’t be discarded unless one uses them, right? (like Sapling of the White Tree?)

-What is expanded, open, standard and block format? I am guessing Block format is for the movies exclusively? Standard is everything allowed except movies?

(And why does no one sell Hunters, Rise of Saruman or Treachery and Deceit booster boxes anymore? Anyone know where I can buy boxes of each at the best price?)

-What is a special ability? Is it something that you MAY choose to do on a character’s text? What is the difference between game text and special abilities? Is Legolas’ +3 bonus against Nazgul an ability, or game text?

Its gametext. An bility is something preceeded by a bold phase action like Skirmish: Do X or Archery: Exert do do X. If a line says this companion is resistance +2 while you can spot X. This is not an ability it is just text.

-Non-unique conditions with abilities: Let’s take Final Strike, where you can exert Gollum to cancel the effect of a manuever or archery special ability. I have two copies of this non-unique condition in play. Can I exert Gollum twice to trigger both, or can I exert him endlessly until exhausted (regardless of how many copies of the condition I have in play)?

You can respond to both i guess by exerting him twice although why you would want to do that is beyond me. Mind you i could be wrong as once you exert the first time it cancels the ability so the second trigger would be pointless. Hmm tricky. I suppose that doesnt answer your question about exerting til exhaustion either. Sorry its a toughy. If the first exertions cancels the ability then your second exertions is responding to nothing so perhaps u cant. Bib? M_H? Help!

-One of the FOTR sites (no. 1) says you can exert a hobbit to play a companion or ally for -1. You can’t draw that companion or ally from the draw deck, right?

No unless otherwise stated "to play" is from hand.

-Can you play limitless numbers of allies, or do they count with the rule of 9 max. for companions? As they can all skirmish now (they are all at their home sites in the recent rulings), it looks like you could just sacrifice unlimited masses of them to the shadow while your fellowship of 9 surges forward and triple moves.

Indeed. Allies do not count to the rule of 9. Which is why the horn of boromir was x listed cos it by-passed the rule of 9 and allowed "infinite" allies to take the flak and ur comps never got involved.

-When you win the burden bid at the start of the game and choose to go second, do you still play the first site on the adventure path?

No the player who goes first plays the first site.

-How many cards can you discard in the regroup phase normally? 1? (then draw back up to 8 ) ? I know muster makes this no. higher, right? But what use is muster if you’re not moving again in the regroup phase?

You can discard 1 card if you choose to in the regroup. Muster is great for cycling. Say you just ended you fellowship phase and have a clogged hand of freeps stuff that is useless for your shadow u can only discard 1 and hence only draw 1 (plus whatever u have played out this turn). Muster allows more discard of the cards in ur hand that are useless and if theyre no good you can still reconcile and hope to get better cards.

-When you play the first site, do you still pay the twilight cost for that?

No cos you havent moved to the site you just started at it. When you place starting companions the twilight pool hasnt started yet.

-How many cards do you need in your hand to have initiative?

4 or more unless some other card affects that like streaming inot the field..

-Artifacts can’t be discarded unless one uses them, right? (like Sapling of the White Tree?)

The only thing that can currently discards your artifacts is Grond.

-What is expanded, open, standard and block format? I am guessing Block format is for the movies exclusively? Standard is everything allowed except movies?

Expanded is making a deck from all the sets currently out using the expanded x and r list. Open is using all the sets like expanded but with no x or r list. Standard is a Decipher defined format which currently includes all cards from rotk block onwards. Fotr and TTT are illegal in thsi format and it has a standard format x and r list. Block format is sticking to the set of 3 expanions from one block.

(And why does no one sell Hunters, Rise of Saruman or Treachery and Deceit booster boxes anymore? Anyone know where I can buy boxes of each at the best price?)

Theyre all incredibly rare as print runs were not high so most have been snaffled up by collectors and players. I cannot easily say a good place to buy them from is. They will be expensive and hard to get.

Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee!!! I’m too fast!!