lol, uh... there's a reason you've never heard of it. It's terrible. =P
I posted mostly as a joke, because rubbercarp and I play together and I busted out my "Rings Around the Rosie" deck the other day for the first time.
BUT, since you asked, I might as well explain the deck.
I was looking at
the Binding Ring from Reflections, trying to think of any instance in which I might actually use it over another ring. I started thinking about which rings I could play, one thing led to another, and somehow I realized that I could start the following fellowship:
Ring-bearer (doesn't matter who)
Gandalf, Leader of MenRosie Cotton, BarmaidAragorn, StriderSince Rubbercarp and I play a modified Austrian format (sets 1-10/4-13), I can play with the
Ring of Barahir in this deck (not to mention
Narya, Ring of Fire). This way, on turn one, I can pull both Aragorn's and Gandalf's rings from my deck.
Aragorn and Gandalf are positioned on either side of Rosie.
Thus, Rings Around the Rosie.
That's right, I built an
entire deck around a pun.
Of course, after that, I could just build a Gondor/Gandalf deck, right?
No. No, I could not. Doing so would not be true to the meaning of the deck. You see, this deck has one purpose, and one purpose alone:
To be completely retarded.
And oh, does it deliver.
Anyway, I decided I didn't want any of those starting companions/rings to be put into the deck JUST for the sake of being in there. As such, I opted to build around them. This meant adding culture-token cards for the
Ring of Barahir and using Sam as my Ring-bearer to benefit from Rosie's text.
I couldn't find anything that specifically triggered off of
Narya, so instead I made use of the +1 vitality on Gandalf and added some Terrible and Evils. It's a nine-companion deck mostly because I expect my people to be dying regularly. I am powerless to stop this, and my loyal subjects know that. Still, they bravely march into battle, because they really have no say in the matter.
Without further ado, the decklist (WARNING: Reading this may result in stomach cramps and a general feeling of despair):
-Sam,
Bearer of Great Need-The One Ring,
the Binding RingCompanions-Gandalf,
Leader of Men (Starting)
-Rosie Cotton,
Barmaid (Starting)
-Aragorn,
Strider (Starting)
-Treebeard,
Guardian of the Forest x3 (In trying to make use of Rosie, I looked for things requiring unbound Hobbits)
-Pippin,
Hobbit of Some Intelligence (So Treebeard can still fight if Rosie dies)
-Faramir,
Wizard's Pupil (Because I'd never used him before, and I decided now was his time to shine)
-Birchseed,
Tall Statesman (For losing initiative to trigger
A Light in His Mind and
Brooding on Tomorrow)
-Jarnsmid,
Barding Emissary (I basically start the game with 4 burdens if I don't draw either of the Rings)
Shire-The Gaffer,
Master Gardener (Healing for Rosie so the 'Beard can fight more; also for Sam's text)
-Daddy Twofoot,
Next-door Neighbor-Tom Bombadil,
The Master (Remove some of those burdens and cancel a skirmish with Rosie in a pinch... immediately after adding back those burdens by assigning her, of course)
-Sting,
Bane of the Eight Legs (with Rosie's text, Sam can actually block large minions and kill 'em in the fierce)
-Hobbit Sword (As if an extra two strength will save her)
-Kept Safe (Tokens for
Ring of Barahir, Rosie-saver)
-Sudden Fury (More tokens!)
-A Light in His Mind
x2 ('cause the deck practically corrupts itself)
-Narrow
Escape (One copy is nice for pulling back with
Daddy Twofoot when you want to make a double)
-Store-room (heal Rosie up so 'Beard can fight more)
Gandalf-Not the First Halfling (Gandalf token for
Ring of Barahir)
-Brooding on Tomorrow (My deck runs too many conditions to use GST)
-Ent Moot
x2-Out of the High Airs ('Cause there's no way I'm killing anything before I move)
-Terrible and Evil
x2Elf (wtf?)-Narya,
Ring of Fire (Yes, that puts me at four cultures, all for the purpose of sticking to the deck's theme)
Gondor-Gondorian Sword
x2 (So 'Gorn can take some bumps; also, helps to lose initiative)
-Ring of Barahir
There you have it. 32 cards to be paired with my equally ridiculous shadow side, which I call "Noah's Ark."
I'm not sure if I should be proud or horrified that this is the first decklist I've posted anywhere on this site. Hopefully no one thinks this is my idea of a serious deck. =P