I got a request to post this deck, which gives me an opportunity to muse like an old man. I celebrated my birthday last week so it seems fitting. This isn't the best deck in Fellowship Block, nor is it the best build of this deck, but it illustrates something about tournaments. Why do I start
FotS? Why is the Nazgul support mix so varied? Read on.
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Son of DrogoRing:
The One Ring, Isildur's BaneAdventure deck:
The Prancing PonyBree StreetsFord of BruinenMoria LakeThe Bridge of Khazad-dumCaras GaladhonAnduin WilderlandGates of ArgonathEmyn MuilFree Peoples Draw Deck:
3x
Gimli, Son of Gloin1x
Arwen, Daughter of Elrond3x
Legolas, Greenleaf1x
Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk2x
Aragorn, Ranger of the North1x
Boromir, Lord of Gondor1x
Albert Dreary, Entertainer From Bree1x
Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor1x
Gimli's Battle Axe1x
Gimli's Helm3x
Glamdring1x
Armor2x
Flaming Brand1x
Ranger's Sword2x
Sting1x
Narya4x
Servant of the Secret Fire2x
Sleep CaradhrasShadow Draw Deck:
3x
The Witch-king, Lord of Angmar3x Úlairë Attëa,
Keeper of Dol Guldur3x Úlairë Cantëa,
Lieutenant of Dol Guldur2x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
2x Úlairë
Nelya, Lieutenant of Morgul1x Úlairë Nertëa,
Messenger of Dol Guldur2x Úlairë Toldëa,
Messenger of Morgul1x
Morgul Blade2x
All Blades Perish2x
Frozen by Fear2x
Morgul Gates2x
Relentless Charge3x
Black Breath3x
Blade Tip*** Why start
Fots?
Because it's a lot harder to lose to yourself. As old-timers will remember, real life tournaments didn't act like GEMP. To reach the Top 2 in a Territorial, you had to go 6-0 or 5-1 with good tiebreaks, in a tiebreaker system that punished early defeats much more harshly than losses later. There were also many mediocre decks, inferior due to strange ideas or card unavailability. The point of this build was to be strong against mediocre decks, get to 2-0 or 3-0, and then try to win 50/50 matchups. The
FotS version that starts Gimli and
Legolas Greenleaf has more upside because you can play stuff on Gimli immediately, and
FotS jumps in at base strength 9. But that requires grabbing him. Doing a quick probability calculation, having 6 ways to get Gandalf (2 + 4
AWINL) in a 68 card deck, plus a mulligan, gives you roughly a 80% chance of having the opening Gandalf. If I want to reach a Top 8 at 5-2, that's fine, as I can not find anybody and take a Round 2 loss to something like Hobbit Hospital / cheap Moria. But to go 5-0 and win a local event, it's not.
Similarly, there are 3
Glamdring for stability. Gandalf fights! A lot! Aragorn has 3 weapons because he fights! A lot! Boromir is an extra man to hold Gondor stuff, while a higher variance deck would run something else like
Ottar. There's no
Aragorn's Bow to avoid double
Relentless Charge;
Aragorn RotN reduces the chance of stupid swarm; Nelya site-changer lets me swap site 1 to the Pony going second, instead of the potentially Damage +1 twilight version. All but one of the Nazgul have 3 vitality; there's no Lemenya because Lemenya is a "win more" card. If the Fellowship is so weak that it can't kill a 9/2, I'm already winning.
*** Why is the Nazgul support mix so varied?
Because I don't know the meta. If you have the right support, Nazgul are a Tier 1 deck. If not, you have 4-6 dead cards, and a Tier 2 option (or less). For instance, packing 4
Relentless Charge is great if someone runs archery, but not dwarves. Against dwarves I want 4
Morgul Gates. To run
Their Power is in Terror requires dropping something else.
I always recommend
All Blades Perish and
Frozen by Fear. They always work - Frozen gets plenty of unexpected wins, and
ABP stops
PATHS, directed archery, and a fully extended opponent. Beyond that, you have to choose. I've tried pretty much everything, even dropping the
Black Breath and
Blade Tip for lots of maneuver wounding in the "I hate Elf ally archery" variant. There's always a right answer, but I have to know the right question.
Honestly, I did most of my Fellowship Block play before the release of Realms of the Elf-Lords and not much over that summer/fall. Aided substantially by
Aragorn Heir to the White City and the ridiculously under-costed
Gondor Bowmen, this is not the best deck on either side. I have a 70% win rate on Gemp, which feels about right.