My new approach to Movie block Shadow strategy

[dmaz]

Back when I used to play daily tournaments, I got kind of tired of seeing the same old, same old for Shadow strategies.

You have the typical face-roll Besiegers and Ninja Gollum...strong, but along with being weak sometimes to Lady Redeemed, they offer a cookie cutter solution, which you follow step by step, and feels neither creative or versatile. For me the players that I noted playing them the most, played them like a crutch, which hinders in pulling off a complex strategy, based on variance in their opponent's playing style.

Corsairs came across even more cookie-cutter for me...haha don'y get me started on them  
Ok...well those were my personal feelings on what was out there...I know some disagree.

Altogether, I just wanted to develop a Shadow strategy that was viable, but didn't require me to stoop for one of those overused ones...For the same reason I didn't use Galadriel, LR...I really wanted to see if those top tier decks were survivable without her...and I believe they can be if you tech right.

For the purposes of the deck's validity in competition, this is the first time I've ever looked at my overall win % in my little statics tab.

The deck is 19 - 1 in Casual, and 14 - 2 total for League and Tournament games.

In the most recent league:
1 loss was to an incredibly well-done isengard orc deck, that I got blindsided by. Not necessarily a bad match-up, I would say, but definitely left me with some teching to do for the Fellowship side.
1 loss was due to a simple missclick, but I could have been playing slower and more carefully to prevent such things.

On the whole, each of my losses was due to my Fellowship side failing and never my Shadow. My goal with my Shadow is to keep them constantly worried about their ability to double move, and subsequently punish them hard for doubling or adding a lot to the twilight pool.

Nearly 1/4 of the shadow side is comprised of cards that either exclusively or indirectly double as filter cards, allowing me to pull out minions from either my deck or discard, which will punish my opponent in whichever area hurts them the most.

The replay I chose is a good example of the deck's versatility and ability to stop the show, even when it's starting point looks bleak. The fellowship I went up against is one of the beefier ones you can face in Movie...I almost chose Gandalf/Ents over Elves myself.

http://www.gempukku.com/gemp-lotr/game.html?replayId=dmaz$9e71l5k321krgald

You can notice that my draws for shadow were less than stellar for the first half of the game. Even though I made some really stupid moves with my fellowship (I always goof up against Dunland for some reason), I was still poised to move into the win, forcing my opponent to drop Radagast for the attempted triple.

His entire fellowship was looking really nice moving to site 7, but by site 9 I had gotten enough out to secure a win. The shadow is almost ALL minions, and is 40 cards. With all of the other Shadows I've tried for Movie, I've always been in at least one situation where I either ran out of cards, or just didn't draw enough minions. I feel like being very minion-heavy is useful in Movie, as most of the top-tier decks tend to just completely flood the twilight pool for you. The Morgul Squealers just love this.

I feel like there are some changes I could make to the fellowship side...I really don't want to go the telepathy route though...don't want to invest any other cards to make it work, and altogether it may come across a little lame.

Before I give the deck, don't get mad at me for using Shelob, Her Ladyship. In my defense, I didn't build the deck around her, and after a lot of searching, I've found her to really be the ONLY practical solution to a good Cirdan/Telepathy deck.

Fellowship:

Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom
The One Ring, Answer to All Riddles

Glorfindel, Revealed in Wrath
Legolas, Greenleaf

Arwen, Fair Elf Maiden
Celeborn, Lord of the Galadhrim
Cirdan, the Shipwright x2
Gil-Galad, Elven High King x2
Naith Warband
Sam, Son of Hamfast x2

Calaglin, Elf of Lorien
Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad x2
Rumil, Elven Protector

Asfaloth
Elven Sword x2
Aiglos
Nenya, Ring of Adamant x2
Vilya

Alliance Reforged x4
Company of Archers x2
Secret Sentinels x3
Stand Against Darkness x2
Supporting Fire x4
That is No Orc Horn

Glimpse of Fate
Hosts of the Last Alliance

Shadow:

Gollum, Old Villain
Gollum, Stinker
Shelob, Her Ladyship x3
Grima, Chief Counselor
Grima, Wormtongue
Isengard Smith
Orthanc Champion
Desert Lord x2
Tower Assassin
Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow
Morgul Detachment
Morgul Squealer x3
The Witch King, Morgul King x2
Ulaire Attea, Keeper of Dol Guldur
Ulaire Cantea, Faster than Winds x2
Ulaire Cantea, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur
Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul x2
Ulaire Nertea, Thrall of the One
Ulaire Toldea, Messenger of Morgul

Web x2
Captured by the Ring x4
We Must Have It
Saruman's Power x2

Evil-Smelling Fens x4

Just realized that the only reason I use We Must Have It is for pulling Gollum from deck or discard...Maybe there's another better card for that...

Sorry, I see now that I talked a whole lot about the deck before getting any feedback, haha. I guess just overall I'm pleasantly surprised that the deck held together and am quite fond of it now

[thetimewarptrio]

This deck though, I'm a fan.

One of my friends I play with built something like this physically. The only thing that beat him was either outracing him, or my dedicated Moria swarm. Gollum and Nazgul to me are the two most obnoxious shadow sides to deal with.

The best way I could beat it is pair Gondor Knights/Frodo tank with Moria Swarm, keeping his shadow at bay early on before setting up the swarm, playing some red herring conditions to try and get his condition discards out, before selectively playing my Goblin Swarms, Goblin Armories, and They Are Coming.

Of course, after that game he retooled to make it a little more archery heavy, which then was basically slaughter.
Of course

[sgtdraino]

Nearly 1/4 of the shadow side is comprised of cards that either exclusively or indirectly double as filter cards, allowing me to pull out minions from either my deck or discard, which will punish my opponent in whichever area hurts them the most.

Hmmm, reminds me of a Movie version of my Sudden Strike Shadow in Expanded!

I remember back when I regularly played Movie, I favored a strategy similar to this in idea, but not in composition. Basically it was a hybrid Constantly Threatening deck that used all the cheapest Dunland, 4x Constantly Threatening, 4x Evil-smelling Fens, and initiative Gollum. I'd hold the Constantly Threatenings in my hand (especially against GLR), and only play one if he doubles, so I could at least use it as a one-shot swarm before it gets discarded. Then I'd just cycle out my Shadow as quickly as possible, for a great big bomb whenever he dares to double. It was pretty effective, as I recall.

Before I give the deck, don't get mad at me for using Shelob, Her Ladyship. In my defense, I didn't build the deck around her, and after a lot of searching, I've found her to really be the ONLY practical solution to a good Cirdan/Telepathy deck.

Why would people be mad about using Shelob?

I'm also curious as to how well your deck does against GLR. Obviously those 2x Web aren't going to last long. Do you do like me, and hold the Fens in hand until you use them?

[dmaz]

Hmmm, reminds me of a Movie version of my Sudden Strike Shadow in Expanded!

Yup! It functions very similarly to your Sudden Strike shadow, just capitalizing more on the squealers since they are one of the only available "play from deck" cards in Movie block that truly harass the opponent. I can't remember if I told you back when I was developing this deck that I was inspired by your Expanded deck...I think I did

Why would people be mad about using Shelob?

I've had a fair number of people whine about Shelob, Her Ladyship abuse...mostly the standard "it's an OP/NPE card". I just tell them that I feel that Cirdan/Telepathy can become NPE and this is my way of combating it. I only include so many of her simply because Cirdan is really hard to deal with when you are using fierce high-str companions to deal out the damage...he would cripple my nazgul. Sometimes my Shelob is a liability when I draw 2 with no gollum or when I don't need her, but it's something I kind of need just to be prepared for those decks...

I'm also curious as to how well your deck does against GLR. Obviously those 2x Web aren't going to last long. Do you do like me, and hold the Fens in hand until you use them?

I'll try to dig out a game that I played against GLR later, what has happened numerous times in casual is her dying at site 3 to a high-strength nazgul. People see me playing nazgul at site 2 and 3 and they start to just see GLR as cannon fodder. When I'm up against her and I need to discard something at site 2 reconcile, it will definitely be a Web or ESF if I have one in hand...but in most cases she's dead before I draw my other ones.

In rare cases I will hold my ESF...If I really really know that I'm due to pull a Gollum or CBTR, I would hold it in case they discard it in maneuver. In a lot of cases this is to pull off the gollum-ESF-Shelob/Enquea/Squealer/Grima from discard combo. It's a cost-benefit thing I guess...If I know the benefit of railing them with that card from discard is worth the cost of holding ESF in hand, then I will just play a couple sub-par minions instead

[sgtdraino]

Yup! It functions very similarly to your Sudden Strike shadow, just capitalizing more on the squealers since they are one of the only available "play from deck" cards in Movie block that truly harass the opponent. I can't remember if I told you back when I was developing this deck that I was inspired by your Expanded deck...I think I did

You honor me, sir!

I've had a fair number of people whine about Shelob, Her Ladyship abuse...mostly the standard "it's an OP/NPE card". I just tell them that I feel that Cirdan/Telepathy can become NPE and this is my way of combating it.

lol. Your statement reminded me of this thread:

Broken?

...which was such a great discussion, I had to read it all over again! I also see it looks like it has the first mention of the hybrid Movie Shadow you're talking about here!

I'll try to dig out a game that I played against GLR later, what has happened numerous times in casual is her dying at site 3 to a high-strength nazgul. People see me playing nazgul at site 2 and 3 and they start to just see GLR as cannon fodder. When I'm up against her and I need to discard something at site 2 reconcile, it will definitely be a Web or ESF if I have one in hand...but in most cases she's dead before I draw my other ones.

lol. I think that is one of the biggest strengths of rainbow Shadows: Unpredictability. The vast majority of the time, the opponents I play are using something quite close to monoculture Shadows. That can make for a stronger Shadow side, but it also makes for a much more predictable Shadow side. Once I see what Shadow culture someone is using, I can really strategize the types of things I do and don't need to worry about. Conversely, with rainbow Shadows, players are much more likely to make early mistakes, because they'll assume you're playing just one culture, and leave themselves open to getting nailed by something outside the box. And even later in the game, since you're playing rainbow, the opponent will have a hard time trying to predict what your capabilities are. And if he doesn't know what your Shadow is capable of, then it's very difficult to prepare for it. So often I'll hear, "Your Shadow makes no sense to me." Yup! That's just how it's supposed to be!

[dmaz]

Made minor changes before the league.

Added another Shotgun Enquea for a total of 2. For crowd control it was nice to have an additional one in the deck to pull with a squealer in case I got the first Enquea in my opening hand...it really really sucks to hold onto a card like that from site 1.

First round I went 8-2, which was decent. I honestly shouldn't have lost one of those games. Was a combination of being greedy and my opponent getting a god-like opening hand...that and not playing my first Elven sword on Galadriel like I should have, so to that end I learned a valuable lesson about my style of play...always room for improvement!

[sgtdraino]

It still amazes me how many Movie decks run large fellowships, I figured there'd be so much crowd control I wouldn't see that. But particularly in the last few moves a lot of opponents really like to pile the guys down and power through... and it's a tactic that often works, Enquea or no Enquea!

[dmaz]

I agree. Some of these Fellowships can absorb an Enquea no problem, and then just keep him alive for the double! When a shadow's only punishment for 6+ is a Shotgun Enquea, they could really be in for a tough ride against a well developed deck. Sometimes you REALLY need to have more. Shelob and Squealer help significantly.

Regarding the name of the deck, I think Euk called this kind of deck a "utility belt" type when he saw me playing once, which makes sense to me. You could call it a Gollum Utility deck I guess...my pet name for it is Pokemon Trainer Gollum though. "Enquea/Grima/Shelob/Desert Lord/Tower Assassin, I choose YOU" heh heh

[sgtdraino]

Pokemon Trainer Gollum sounds good to me! I'll edit the meta thread.

[Not a Zombie]

I've been trying out this shadow, it can be a ton of fun. It is very difficult to play well though. My fellowship isn't the best pairing, but here is probably my favorite game I've played with it:

http://www.gempukku.com/gemp-lotr/game.html?replayId=Sweet$kx60p75el6mblpqj

[Cw0rk]

Looks fun to use. How well does it go with Elvents?

[dmaz]

Thanks for the replay NaZ! What you did at site 8 is what I really like about the shadow. It incorporates diverse options with those cards that pull from deck and discard, letting you set up what you think you can do the most damage with.

The reason it's probably harder to play well is due to the fact that it doesn't have a formula to victory like most Movie shadows (corsairs - let's play with tokens to deter doubles and keep pulling back castamir and black numenorian, besegiers - lets get my besiegers stacked on sites and keep dumping trolls on them, ninja gollum - even more faceroll lol...).
The key to playing the shadow well is being able to pick and choose how to play the shadow depending on what your opponent's fp is. It's knowing whether to pull enquea or shelob with ESF, whether I should use those threats to get rid of a couple possessions or leave them to use at site 8, etc.
There is more room for mistakes as, with this shadow, you will often have those moments where they just dropped the sixth companion and added a decent amount of twilight and you have to sit back and say: "Ok...what should I do" rather than just running your textbook shadow strategy. It's much much more dynamic.

It's strength, as you demonstrated in this replay, is being able to take HUGE advantage of a lot of twilight. When the FP has that handfull of ents and toys and say "bah might as well go for it, they'll never be able to use it all" you can quite often find a way to use it all. Only in cases of extremely horrible draws have I not used all or almost all of the twilight at every site. This is mostly due to the deck having so many options to retrieve cards. Sure wasting the extra three twilight to use a squealer to fetch the WK back isn't as good as having the WK in hand, but it's a heck of a lot better than that squealer just being a brute or some other morc oft used with nazgul.

I like some of the adjustments you made a lot. Pale Blade really is so good with that WK since he can fetch it with a mere threat on the board.

Maybe I'll work on my current build a little

@Cw0rk, I'd assume this would work with Elvents pretty well.  The reason I didn't do Elvents was just because it's overused and doesn't require much thought to play, especially if you decide to use LR with it. "I'm just going to use Gandalf, MoW and play Forearmed repeatedly, and then have Cirdan kill them all from sites 5 on, lolol" get's really lame after a while for me...but HEY it is arguably stronger than the FP I have placed here, so by all means run it!

[Not a Zombie]

Here is another replay, this with my huge dwarf deck. I got perfect shadow draws, it was a fun game (for me )

http://www.gempukku.com/gemp-lotr/game.html?replayId=Sweet$u0ic50pz22t3ezaz

[dmaz]

Love this combination!

It's really cool how the conditions work in conjunction with each other. EMHR to discard until you find possessions and then the other to play them from your deck

[Cw0rk]

I was wondering. Can't you pair this shadow with a similar fellowship using filter cards, Rohan + Gandalf comes in mind?