The Last Homely House
Middle-Earth => Chamber of Mazarbul => Topic started by: menace64 on July 12, 2011, 05:32:20 AM
-
This has been an on-and-off project for me since, uh, like 2007. I designed this set to be a 'proper' sendoff for the card game (I feel that Age's End was rubbish), and I included many cards that I'd personally wanted to see, along with even more fan-favorites. And since I was dreaming when I made the set, I imagined that Decipher had tons of Hobbit-themed images worked up, allowing characters like Smaug and Thorin to finally get into the game.
Reflections Gold is a 58-card set: 26 Rares, 26 Rare Pluses, and 6 exclusive Box Topper cards (all of which are very cool sites). Here's the complete cardlist, and probably a spoiler or two at the bottom to get things rolling!
Reflections Gold
[Ring] The One Ring (2 Cards):
1. The One Ring, The Willing Ring
2. Passed !Out of All Knowledge
[Dwarven] Dwarven Culture (5 Cards):
3. The Arkenstone
4. Orcrist
5. The Service of Stonewrights
6. Thorin Oakenshield, King of Durin’s Folk
7. The Tomb of Balin
[Elven] Elven Culture (4 Cards):
8. Arwen, Bearer of Swift Courage
9. Child of the Vanyar
10. The Last Ship, Bound For Valinor
11. Thranduil, King of Mirkwood
[Gandalf] Gandalf Culture (4 Cards):
12. Bard, The Bowman
13. The Black Arrow
14. Curunír, Of the White Council
15. The Eagles Are Coming!
[Gollum] Gollum Culture (4 Cards):
16. Déagol, Bearer of the Recovered Lost
17. Hid From the Sun
18. Shelob, Terror of the Pass
19. Ufthak, Taken By the Great Spider
[Gondor] Gondor Culture (8 Cards):
20. Aragorn, Bearer of Kingly Blood
21. Beregond, Guard of the Tower
22. Bergil, Son of Gondor
23. Gilraen’s Memorial
24. The King of Gondor
25. Pippin, In the Service of Denethor
26. Sceptre of Annúminas
27. The Stone of Erech
[Men] Men Culture (3 Cards):
28. Balchoth, Terrible and Tall
29. Saruman, Sharkey
30. Shire Ruffians, Big Men of the North
[Orc] Orc Culture (6 Cards):
31. Bolg, Chieftain of the Horde
32. Goblins of the Grey Mountains
33. Grond, The Wolf of War
34. Smaug, Descendant of Ancalagon
35. Stricken Skies
36. Troll-den
[Rohan] Rohan Culture (6 Cards):
37. Army of !Westfold, The Strength of !Erkenbrand
38. Barrow of Thengel
39. Éomer, Bearer of Grim Necessity
40. Gúthwinë
41. !Horn of Helm, The Trumpet of Hammerhand
42. Merry, In the Service of Théoden
[Sauron] Sauron Culture (2 Cards):
43. The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words
44. Where the Shadows Lie
[Shire] Shire Culture (5 Cards):
45. Barrow-blade
46. The Battle of Bywater
47. Frodo, Departing Forever
48. !Mithril-coat, Kingly Gift
49. Sam, Home At Last
[Uruk] Uruk-hai Culture (1 Card):
50. Blasting-fire
[Wraith] Wraith Culture (2 Cards):
51. Old Man Willow, Dark Heart
52. Whispering Mists
Adventure Path (6 Cards):
53. Deserts of Harad (Box Topper)
54. Field of Cormallen (Box Topper)
55. Lake-town (Box Topper)
56. The Lonely Mountain (Box Topper)
57. Mirkwood (Box Topper)
58. Shelob’s Tunnel (Box Topper)
Many of these cards were designed to push the limits of, well, card design; I wanted the entire set to have a feeling of that final push against the envelope. This is one such card:
(0) *Hid From the Sun [Gollum] (Diffraction FP/SH)
Condition * Support Area
While at a site that is not a mountain or underground site, Gollum and Sméagol are each strength -2.
At the start of your fellowship phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may spot Sméagol to heal him or remove a burden.
At the start of your shadow phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may remove [1] to play Gollum from your discard pile.
20R17
To figure out what I mean by 'diffraction', you need look no further than Forth the Three Hunters!. Just as that card came in several cultures, so does Hid From the Sun. It would show up in packs as a Shadow card or a Free Peoples card, connecting the Gollum culture in a new way while giving the collectors one more foil to pursue.
As for the card itself, it's worded very particularly to not screw anything up. If you're playing a solo-Smeagol fellowship, for example, and you play HFtS, you'd still see the shadow phase clause on the card, but since this version of HFtS is a Free Peoples card, that line would never activate. It's confusing to new players, sure, but that group isn't who this set is for!
EDIT: Dropped the first line from -3 strength to -2. Made it [1] to grab Gollum, but it still needs to be at a mountain or underground site.
One more:
[3] *The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words [Sauron]
Minion * Man
Strength-9
Vitality-3
Site Number-5
Maneuver: Discard a Shadow card from hand to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
Assignment: Exert The Mouth of Sauron to make an unbound companion resistance -2 until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: Remove [1] to make an unbound companion resistance -3 until the regroup phase.
20R+43
Pretty straightforward, just done better than any other resistance-killers out there. This guy is a disheartening machine! The idea behind the costs is that it's progressively easier for him to strike at your heart the longer he's around. It's also a throwback to Gollum, Dark as Darkness.
More to come!
-
looks fun :up:
-
(0) *Hid From the Sun [Gollum] (Diffraction FP/SH)
Condition * Support Area
While at a site that is not a mountain or underground site, Gollum and Sméagol are each strength -3.
At the start of your fellowship phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may heal your Sméagol and remove a burden.
At the start of your shadow phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may remove [3] to play Gollum from your discard pile.
20R17
I don't think I'd ever use it. How is paying [5] to grab Gollum from your discard pile at all worth it? We Must Have It (in Expanded) or Captured By the Ring (in Standard) do those things for free, and better. I actually have to say that might be worse than Strands of Elven Hair and might be the most useless Reflections rare I've ever seen.
[3] *The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words [Sauron]
Minion * Man
Strength-9
Vitality-3
Site Number-5
Maneuver: Exert The Mouth of Sauron to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
Assignment: Discard a Shadow card from hand to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: Remove [1] to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
20R+43
As I don't play Standard, I don't really have a use for the resistance stuff. But I will say, the card seems balanced. But I don't know if resistance -3 is a huge detriment, outside of in [Uruk] decks.
-wtk
-
excited for this. seems to me though, discarding a shadow card from hand is more costly than a simple exert.
-
Nice idea! :up:
-
(0) *Hid From the Sun [Gollum] (Diffraction FP/SH)
Condition * Support Area
While at a site that is not a mountain or underground site, Gollum and Sméagol are each strength -3.
At the start of your fellowship phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may heal your Sméagol and remove a burden.
At the start of your shadow phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may remove [3] to play Gollum from your discard pile.
20R17
I don't think I'd ever use it. How is paying [5] to grab Gollum from your discard pile at all worth it? We Must Have It (in Expanded) or Captured By the Ring (in Standard) do those things for free, and better. I actually have to say that might be worse than Strands of Elven Hair and might be the most useless Reflections rare I've ever seen.
-wtk
The shadow part would be useful in Multiplayer, but that's not much. The FP side is more interesting, since "solo-Smeagol" likes to control the site path. Unfortunately, Caras Galadhon is a forest, and I would never play a minus anything at that site.
-
I don't think I'd ever use it. How is paying [5] to grab Gollum from your discard pile at all worth it? We Must Have It (in Expanded) or Captured By the Ring (in Standard) do those things for free, and better. I actually have to say that might be worse than Strands of Elven Hair and might be the most useless Reflections rare I've ever seen.
I set it at [3] because it's a condition, and the tradeoff for paying a slightly greater cost to fetch Gollum is a freer hand. Given that, do you still think [3] is too high?
excited for this. seems to me though, discarding a shadow card from hand is more costly than a simple exert.
Hmm I actually hadn't thought of that. Can you think of a better cost to plug in there?
---
[4] *Curunír, Of the White Council [Gandalf]
Companion * Wizard
Strength-8
Vitality-4
Resistance-5
Muster.
At the start of each skirmish involving Curunír, you may exert him to shuffle up to 2 Shadow cards from your discard pile into your draw deck.
“’”How long, I wonder, have you concealed from me, the head of the Council, a matter of greatest import?”’”
20R+14
This is one of the 'fan-favorite' cards I referred to in my opening post. I'm actually quite surprised that !Curunir never found his way onto a card, so when it came time for me to write up a card for him it was pretty easy. I gave him muster less for flavor and more to give him a bit of uniqueness to set him apart from Gandalf and Radagast.
(0) *The Stone of Erech [Gondor]
Artifact * Support Area
Fellowship: Add a threat to stack a [Gondor] Wraith from hand here.
Regroup: Add a threat to play a [Gondor] Wraith stacked here as if played from hand.
“Unearthly it looked, as though it had fallen from the sky…”
20R27
I knew from the get-go that I wanted something simple for the Stone, and then I remembered the Shards of Narsil and decided to combine its particular talents with the [Gondor] Wraith subculture. This particular artifact just stores your Wraiths, perhaps helping to set up a double-move by dumping companions during the regroup phase. As usual with Wraiths, threat-control is critical here, as you add one for each ability. Basically, it's a card with limited function, but in the right deck could work fairly well at opening up a hand and assisting additional moves.
-
Hmm I actually hadn't thought of that. Can you think of a better cost to plug in there?
maybe switch the manuever and assignment actions?
curunir seems a tad overpowered. playing events to heal him and then repeat the ability... 2 cards each time... i'd think it might be better to make it: at the start of each skirmish involving curunir. fits with some of the other gandalf culture comps as well.
nice stone of erech.
-
Hid from the sun FP is great.
AS for the shadow side it is kind of weak. The cost is fine, but I would add remove 3 to play gollum and add a threat.
Curunir is too strong I guess... I like macheteman suggestion
The Stone is great!
-
Ah good call on Curunír, fellas. I didn't consider that loop!
I was saving these two cards for later, but really I just like them so much that I want to show them off.
[1] *Frodo, Departing Forever [Shire]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-3
Vitality-3
Resistance-10
Ring-bound.
Frodo’s resistance may not be lowered by Shadow cards.
At the end of any turn in which Frodo was not assigned to a skirmish, you may place him in the dead pile to heal every companion.
“…until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water.”
20R+47
Functionally he's pretty limited, but (as with a few cards in this set) he's more about flavor than anything. This Frodo is retired from war and matters of great importance, and when he finally sails into the West those he leaves behind will know that his pain is finally over.
[2] *Sam, Home At Last [Shire]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-5
Vitality-4
Resistance-8
Ring-bound.
Sam’s resistance may not be lowered by Shadow cards.
At the end of any turn in which Sam was not assigned to a skirmish, you may play a [Shire] follower or [Shire] tale from your draw deck.
“And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in the chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap.”
20R+49
Samwise the Brave is starting a family!
-
Frodo=completely broken? All of a sudden corruption decks stop to exist? Otherwise you need to state that "Frodo cannot be the ringbearer"....
With Sam, it seems he could be abused a bit. I don't play with hobbits that much, but there probably is some loop there that could be figured out with Daddy Twofoot, No Visitors, and some tales. I'm not sure though as I'm not an expert on hobbits.
Also, how did Sam suddenly increase from strength 3 to 5? Must be working out...
-
he can't. no ringbearer keyword and no ringed resistance.
-
I don't think a DC can be shown with ringed resistance. And Frodo, Frenzied Fighter. There was a reason that card had to have a clarification.
-
Whoops, sorry for not clarifying that initially. Frodo, DF cannot be the Ring-bearer.
As for Sam's strength increase (and Frodo's drop from 4 vitality to 3), I wanted to represent them at the end of their journey. Sam got stronger, Frodo weaker. And I figure if Merry and Pippin can go from 3 to 5 without increasing their twilight cost, why not Sam?
And No Visitors wouldn't work with Sam. Sam can't even be assigned to a skirmish. Simply cancelling the skirmish once it's started won't trigger his effect at the end of the turn.
-
As you said, Frodo is pretty useless.
I actually meant not assigning Sam to play Daddy Twofoot to then get No Visitors and whatnot, and have even more cancelling. All of a sudden, Sam can play 2 or 3 cards without any cost. Maybe add an exertion cost?
Not that that that combo is necessarily broken in itself. But there's so many [Shire] tales that I thought there must be a loop somewhere.
-
I'm a fan of less-than-awesome cards. Not everything should be perfect!
I'm about to pull an all-nighter at work, so tonight it's three of the six Box Topper sites in the set:
Deserts of Harad [2]
The twilight cost of each card (except [Raider] and [Men] cards) is +1 at this site.
------>
20X53
I considered giving it a Desert keyword, but since it would serve absolutely no purpose I decided against that extra bit of flavor, envisioning instead a site that is to be avoided by all creatures, save the Men of the Desert.
Lake-town [1]
Battleground. Dwelling. Each character bearing a weapon gains muster.
<------
20X55
Pretty simple.
Shelob’s Tunnel (0)
Mountain. Underground. The companion who has the lowest strength must be assigned to the first skirmish at this site. The Free Peoples player may add a threat to assign companions normally.
<------
20X58
There's no way in Middle-earth that all of that would fit into a site's text box. Oh well! I wasn't thinking about site-recursion when I wrote this one - and I'm almost certain now that I'm reading it again that it's broken to high #$&*@! - so what you're looking at is the first pass. Let me know if it needs to be toned down. (EDIT - Toned Down.)
-
Shelob's Tunnel is a bit broken in my opinion... :twisted:
-
Instead of The "freeps may add 3 threats," put "unless the freeps exert a companion and adds [1]?"
I would change
Deserts of Harad
The twilight cost of each card (except [Raider] and [Men] cards) is +1 at this site.
to
Deserts of Harad
The twilight cost of each [Raider] and [Men] card is -1. Makes a bit more sense IMO since the desert is actually helping those weirdos who live there...
-
i think frodo and sam's abilities are fine, but i'd probably return them to their original stats.
doom, its a one time "at the end of the turn" ability, it can't be repeated again and again. which means maximum 7 cards played from deck. because you don't end your turn at site 1 and once you end it at site 9 the games over.
one thing i would change: "resistance may not be lowered."
i'd change it to: "resistance may not be lowered by shadow cards."
this is along the lines of lady of light. its mostly a matter of principle. you can take out all the resistance reducing tricks the shadow wants to throw at you, but it really isn't right to have their resistance completely untouchable. burdens need to still have an effect on resistance.
-
as far as the sites are concerned: i would NOT change the desert one. if it was twilight reduction for those cultures, it would be just completely worthless for everyone else. this way, it could see some play in decks that are starving for twilight and want to squeeze some extra out of an opponent's fellowship.
love lake-town.
shelob's liar: it does need an easy way out. like: "the free peoples player may exert that companion or add a threat to prevent this."
-
Shelob’s Tunnel (0)
Mountain. Underground. The companion who has the lowest strength must be assigned to the first skirmish at this site. The Free Peoples player may add 3 threats to prevent that assignment.
<------
20X58
The person must be assigned to the first skirmish? Or the character must fight the first skirmish? Because I don't know if you were going for the latter.
-wtk
-
The person must be assigned to the first skirmish? Or the character must fight the first skirmish? Because I don't know if you were going for the latter.
The intent of Shelob's Tunnel is to force the weakest companion to fight; it doesn't care when that fight actually occurs. But yeah I'll tone down the cancel-cost as has been widely suggested.
I also reworded the preventative clause - what I had made it sound like by paying the prevent cost, that companion can no longer be assigned at all. Now it's a bit clearer.
Deserts of Harad
The twilight cost of each [Raider] and [Men] card is -1. Makes a bit more sense IMO since the desert is actually helping those weirdos who live there...
You're right, of course, but just from a "Wow!" standpoint making two cultures slightly better is a lot less impressive than making fourteen slightly worse, which was my original justification for how I wrote it (and macheteman's additional comment is a great reason that I hadn't considered).
i think frodo and sam's abilities are fine, but i'd probably return them to their original stats.
But it's not as cooooool! (Which means I'll think about it lol)
i'd change it to: "resistance may not be lowered by shadow cards."
Done. Very astute point.
-
i'd change it to: "resistance may not be lowered by shadow cards."
Done. Very astute point.
thank you. :-)
-
So after a 9-hour shift where I got to reset most of my entire department, I get to drive 2 1/2 hours across-state to spend the weekend with my family.
Hopefully I won't fall asleep on the road and die. But, at least if I do, I'll have shared these fine cards:
*The One Ring, The Willing Ring [Ring]
Vitality +1
While wearing The One Ring, each time the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, add a burden instead.
Maneuver: Wear The One Ring until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: If wearing The One Ring, add a burden to make bearer strength +2. Any Shadow player may then discard 2 cards from hand to make the Ring-bearer take off The One Ring.
“’A Ring of Power looks after itself…’”
20R+1
The !inspiration, naturally, comes from the prologue of FotR when Isildur jumps into Anduin. I always wanted a slippery Ring, so when it came time to write one for the set, it's exactly what I ended up with.
Spelling it out: Throw on the Ring during the maneuver phase, and during the skirmish you can add a burden to go +2. But each time you do, a Shadow player can ditch 2 cards to make the Ring slip off.
EDIT: Dropped it from Vitality +2 to +1. Might come back to it again later.
[3] *Passed !Out of All Knowledge [Ring]
Condition * Response
At the start of the regroup phase, if the Ring-bearer is not wearing The One Ring, you may play this condition to your support area. Your hand size is -1. If you can spot your Ring-bearer, he or she may not wear The One Ring; otherwise, the first minion you play each turn is twilight cost +2.
Response: Spot the Ring-bearer wearing The One Ring to draw a card for each burden you can spot. Discard this condition.
“History became legend, legend became myth…”
20R+2
First and foremost: I wanted this card to be weird. This card does not have a culture - there would be a [Ring] symbol where the culture symbol would be. It is innately neither Free Peoples nor Shadow. I'm not sure how exactly it would factor into deck-building (maybe this would have diffractions like Forth the Three Hunters!) or something else would have to be done. I'm not worried about that, really.
The next weird thing is that it's a response condition. Could it have been "Condition * Support Area"? Sure. But I like it this way lol.
Now let's get into the text itself. If the Ring is not being worn at the start of the regroup phase (Flavor: It's fallen out of knowledge), you drop your hand from 8 to 7 (the world becoming ignorant, less aware of its own peril), which also means that the Ring must not be around (Ring-bearer can't put it on), and minions cost more (they are without their master so they're harder to come by). But the payoff is in - potentially - a massive draw somewhere down the line.
I worded this card specifically so that (just like I did for Hid From the Sun) the Free Peoples text is only active during his turn, and likewise for the Shadow player. You won't be able to use this card against your opponent.
I like this card a lot, and it's definitely one of the strangest things I've ever submitted to this forum!
One more for luck on the road:
(0) Where the Shadows Lie [Sauron]
Event * Response
If the fellowship moves to a mountain site, discard 2 Shadow cards from hand to add [3]. The Free Peoples player may not use skirmish special abilities at this site.
“The one place in Middle-earth we don't want to see any closer. And it's the one place we're trying to get to.”
20R44
I know, I know, there's no cultural enforcement here. But I figure it's already a limited-use event. Not only do you need a mountain site, but you need 3 Shadow cards to ditch. The payoff is still pretty fantastic!
EDIT: Dropped the cost from 3 cards to 2. I think it really is pretty balanced now; a lot of fellowships would be hurting from a loss of skirmish abilities...
Well I'm off to the car. Hopefully I'll survive this trip and will get to see some reviews!
-
conceptually i like your ideas. the ring is especially interesting. but what if you never use the special ability? then you have a vit+2 ring which you can put on for free and has a 1:1 wound burden exchange. goodbye ATAR. maybe make it vit+1. you don't want to overshadow any other cards.
passed out of all knowledge is also interesting, because you can regroup draw for your shadow or your fellowship. thats cool. i'm still not quite sure WHY its a response condition, what is it a response to? other than that its fine. it might see some play.
i like where shadows lie. but i'm not sure it will see the light of day. maybe in a sauron death deck. i mean if you have 8 cards in hand, you play this guy, then ditch 3 more shadow cards, you now have 4 cards in hand, so you might have like 1-2 shadow cards left. at that point pray you have enough twilight to drop a sauron and hammer them whilst they can't use skirmish special abilities. idk, it feels like one of those rares that people overlook for ages and then someone finds a way to break it.
-
I must admit you had great ideas!!
The ring is weird.. not sure about what I think about it. It sound good, but I fear it to be too strong or too weak!!!!
As for where shadows lie it sound deadly in a 10 cards shadow deck (ithil stone + isildur). Sound cool!!
-
"Passed out of all knowledge". I don't really see a point to this card. And regarding the unique culture, my "culture-less cards" weren't exactly met with widespread approval.
EDIT:
It also seems a bit broken, say with Gil-galad/Namarie combo. Ability to draw, say, 5 cards a turn when you still have 8 in hand. That's a huge filtering advantage :suspect:
-
I'm a little busy today, but I'll read through the reviews from over the last few days and work on bringing the [Ring] cards into line.
[2] *Beregond, Guard of the Tower [Gondor]
Companion * Man
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Resistance-6
Knight.
Each time Beregond wins a skirmish, you may spot a [Gondor] follower to heal Faramir.
“’All penalty is remitted for your valour in battle, and still more because all that you did was for the love of the Lord Faramir.’”
20R21
Seriously, why did Decipher never make Beregond!?
EDIT: Rewrote his text entirely, weaving Faramir into it and keeping the theme tied up with followers.
[1] *Bergil, Child of Gondor [Gondor]
Follower
Resistance +2
To play, spot a knight.
Aid – Discard a [Gondor] card from hand.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
“Bergil clapped his hands, and laughed with relief. ‘All is well,’ he cried. ‘Come then! We were soon going to the Gate to look on. We will go now.’”
20R22
I think Followers, on the whole, are pretty boring cards. They aren't really flavorful and they just come off as clunky. Oh well.
EDIT: Deleted the burden removal.
(0) *Sceptre of Annúminas [Gondor]
Artifact * Staff
Bearer must be Aragorn, Elendil, or Isildur.
While bearer is not the Ring-bearer, each companion is resistance +1.
At the start of the regroup phase, if you can spot less than 3 burdens (or no threats), you may make up to 2 companions gain muster.
“’…the token of our kinship from afar…’”
20R+26
Might need to be more powerful. What do you think?
EDIT: Global resistance bonus, simplified the muster text.
-
beregond: perfect.
bergil: as you said, followers aren't so great. thats hardly your fault. gondor has basically no burden removal giving them an easy way out isn't so great either. maybe this: "Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may remove a threat or add a threat to remove a burden."
idk, something less straightforward.
scepter: i feel like it needs to be slightly more accessible, like maybe while the total number of burdens and threats it less than 5. or maybe, while you can spot less burdens than threats. another option for the resistance part, you could make it +1. across the board. ring-bearer or not. that might be nice. because unless you really need cycling, i can't see this being played much. at least with a +1 resistance boost you could drop it in for your ring-bearer. but if you did i'd probably limit it to 2 companions gaining muster.
my 2 cents. btw, hang onto that arkenstone, its definitely going to be in one of the DC brawls and i noticed its on your docket for this set.
-
Ahh yeah I always forget that Gondor's got trouble with burdens. I rather like your idea.
I'll go with +1 resistance across the board for the Sceptre, along with 2 companions getting muster. I also tweaked the cost a bit.
-
You know what, I feel that Beregond almost has to have some text spotting Faramir. (ie. you may exert Beregond to heal Faramir, or while you can spot Beregond, Faramir is vitality +1).
He's fine as is of course, but if you really wanted to stick to lore...
Just saying.
-
You know what, I feel that Beregond almost has to have some text spotting Faramir. (ie. you may exert Beregond to heal Faramir, or while you can spot Beregond, Faramir is vitality +1).
He's fine as is of course, but if you really wanted to stick to lore...
Just saying.
Hmm. Here are a few alternate texts to fit with your suggestion (a suggestion that I readily agree with you on, by the way!).
"While Faramir has vitality X, each minion skirmishing Beregond is strength -X."
"Each time Beregond wins a skirmish, you may spot a [Gondor] follower to heal Faramir."
"Each time Beregond wins a skirmish, you may spot Faramir to play a [Gondor] follower from your draw deck." (Perhaps discard pile instead?)
"While you can spot Faramir (and he is not exhausted), each [Gondor] follower is twilight cost -1."
I'd prefer to tie [Gondor] followers and Faramir into Beregond's text, seeing as his son is a follower in the same set.
-
Yep, I think that both the followers and faramir is great. :)
#2 looks the best to me, as it carries a nice balance? The first one looks slightly broken.
-
I think I prefer #2 as well. My first take on Beregond was somewhat flawed, since [Gondor] followers appear only in !Treachery & !Deceit, a set that very few people have. I figured something requiring less of them would make him marginally-useful (especially since one is in this set already).
The change has been made! Thanks for helping the design! Along with a piece of gold, your reward is a card I was saving for much later:
[6] *Shelob, Terror of the Pass [Gollum]
Minion * Spider
Strength-8
Vitality-8
Site Number-8
Enduring. Lurker.
At the start of the assignment phase, if the fellowship is at a mountain or underground site, you may play this card from your hand to reconcile your hand.
Skirmish: Spot Gollum (or Sméagol) and discard 5 cards from your hand to exhaust a companion assigned to skirmish Shelob.
“…bestial and yet filled with purpose and with hideous delight, gloating…”
20R+18
Designed specifically to ambush and eat companions. It's powerful, yup, and chances are good that no one will convince me to change it. I want a Shelob that strikes real fear into any fellowship that drops too much into the pool at a mountain or underground site.
EDIT: Added a bit of cultural enforcement; spotting Gollum or Smeagol is now necessary to trigger the exhaustion.
-
That is a sweet shelob :up: I was always a bit disappointed with her. to balance the skirmish ability I'd make it spot gollum or smeagol maybe. Otherwise great!
-
i like it a lot. i like how by playing during the assignment you can't soak up archery for the enduring text. the only thing i might change is "discard 5 cards to exhaust" to "discard 4 cards to exert a companion 3 times"
i like the idea of spotting gollum.
-
Shelob's great, although spotting Gollum sounds like a good idea.
-
I added the requirement of spotting Gollum or Sméagol.
the only thing i might change is "discard 5 cards to exhaust" to "discard 4 cards to exert a companion 3 times"
It just doesn't have quite the punch that way, though. Exerting 3 times is 'meh' compared to an exhaustion (even if it's only 1 or 2 exertions, ultimately). What's your reasoning?
-
with 2 abilities she seems a little too strong. but with the spotting requirement, i guess she should be gold.
-
My initial reaction is that Shelob could be stronger, although this is the kind of card that if I pulled in a pack, I'd be staring at for quite a while.
It seems playing her at the start of the assignment phase would still give an opponent the opportunity to assign everyone properly. There's also the risk her entourage would be killed off beforehand, meaning the game would skip directly to the regroup phase. Unless I'm missing some evil play, maybe the ambush aspect could be strengthened somehow. Assignment phase reconciling though should come in handy. They Stole It fuel. Not Easily Avoided fun!
The exhaust ability reminds me of the exertion ones on Desert Lord and Mumak Commander GAtS, which might be included in NG decks. On the downside, it's essentially undirected and eats into TSI; on the upside, it's an exhaust, and it's on a [Gollum] culture card with all the benefits that entails. Hmm.
Another thought--perhaps NG decks could use replacements for Her Ladyship's ability. Dealing with troublesome companions is amazing; being a lifesaver against Faramir SoD makes me feel I have to run her. I dunno if Terror of the Pass could become an updated version, or if it should find its way onto another card.
-
Beregil is not a good idea in my opinion. Gondor should not remove burdens, period. Add one to the resistance of a companion until the end of the turn has somewhat the same effect and feels a lot more like Gondor to me.
-
I love Shelob great idea and pretty balance as far as I can see it
for Bergil. I also think that Gondor should never have burden removal. It should remain their weekness.
The other 2 gondor cards are great!
-
First Dc's I've reviewed in years!
*The One Ring, The Willing Ring [Ring]
Vitality +2
While wearing The One Ring, each time the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, add a burden instead.
Maneuver: Wear The One Ring until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: If wearing The One Ring, add a burden to make bearer strength +2. Any Shadow player may then discard 2 cards from hand to make the Ring-bearer take off The One Ring.
“’A Ring of Power looks after itself…’”
20R+1
Yeah I think that's unbalanced. I'd let the Shadow played discard 2 to take it off if the RB takes a wound maybe? so you can't just archery dump on him?
(0) *Passed !Out of All Knowledge [Ring]
Condition * Response
At the start of the regroup phase, if the Ring-bearer is not wearing The One Ring, you may play this condition to your support area. Your hand size is -1. If you can spot your Ring-bearer, he or she may not wear The One Ring; otherwise, the first minion you play each turn is twilight cost +2.
Regroup: Draw a card for each burden you can spot. Discard this condition.
“Myth became legend, legend became myth…”
[/quote]
What's to stop either played from just discarding it right after they play it for ludicrous cardage? Or is that what you want it to do?
[6] *Shelob, Terror of the Pass [Gollum]
Minion * Spider
Strength-8
Vitality-8
Site Number-8
Enduring. Lurker.
At the start of the assignment phase, if the fellowship is at a mountain or underground site, you may play this card from your hand to reconcile your hand.
Skirmish: Spot Gollum (or Sméagol) and discard 5 cards from your hand to exhaust a companion assigned to skirmish Shelob.
“…bestial and yet filled with purpose and with hideous delight, gloating…”
20R+18
she still needs help to actually have enough strength to beat the companion :)
whew. that was fun :)
-
I really like the idea of giving Bergil a resistance booster instead of burden removal. That does indeed feel more [Gondor]-ish.
My initial reaction is that Shelob could be stronger, although this is the kind of card that if I pulled in a pack, I'd be staring at for quite a while.
It seems playing her at the start of the assignment phase would still give an opponent the opportunity to assign everyone properly. There's also the risk her entourage would be killed off beforehand, meaning the game would skip directly to the regroup phase. Unless I'm missing some evil play, maybe the ambush aspect could be strengthened somehow. Assignment phase reconciling though should come in handy. They Stole It fuel. Not Easily Avoided fun!
I hadn't thought of her usefulness in those terms, and quite frankly I really like that there's risk to relying on her. After all, she's part of no army, nor is she truly a minion of Sauron's. She's her own master; not even Gollum could say for certain what she would do.
The exhaust ability reminds me of the exertion ones on Desert Lord and Mumak Commander GAtS, which might be included in NG decks. On the downside, it's essentially undirected and eats into TSI; on the upside, it's an exhaust, and it's on a [Gollum] culture card with all the benefits that entails. Hmm.
Another thought--perhaps NG decks could use replacements for Her Ladyship's ability. Dealing with troublesome companions is amazing; being a lifesaver against Faramir SoD makes me feel I have to run her. I dunno if Terror of the Pass could become an updated version, or if it should find its way onto another card.
I'm afraid I don't know what NG stands for!
This is one of the cards I posted years ago, but it's survived the many rewrites of the set and I'm happy to present it again:
(0) *Ufthak, Taken By the Great Spider [Gollum]
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot Shelob. When you play Ufthak, add a [Gollum] token here.
Skirmish or Regroup: Discard Ufthak (or remove a [Gollum] token here) to exert or heal Shelob.
“’D’you remember old Ufthak? We lost him for days. Then we found him in a corner; hanging up as he was, but he was wide awake and glaring. How we laughed! She’d forgotten him, maybe, but we didn’t touch him – no good interfering with Her.’”
20R19
Ridiculously simple, giving Shelob's owner the option of strengthening an enduring boost or clearing away a wound or two.
[1] *Déagol, Bearer of the Recovered Lost [Gollum]
Companion
Strength-3
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-7
Ring-bound. To play, exert a Ring-bound companion.
Each time the fellowship moves, add a threat (if you cannot, add a burden).
Regroup: Wound Sméagol to heal Déagol, or wound Déagol to heal Sméagol.
“‘And behold! when he washed the mud away, there in his hand lay a beautiful golden ring; and it shone and glittered in the sun, so that his heart was glad.’”
20R+16
I figured if Gandalf could get an ARB card, Déagol has just as much a right to one!
This Déagol is an alternative option to running Sméagol BoGS, and comes with his own ups and downs. For starters, you needn't worry about killing an unbound companion every turn (if you happen to have them). But Déagol doesn't have access to, well, any of the cards that target Sméagol, which means that this Ring-bearer would probably wind up in some bizarre deck centered around Déagol and Sméagol running by themselves, with specific help from outside cultures for threat/burden removal. Déagol's regroup ability was written to tie the two Stoors together, enabling maximum wound-balancing. I chose to make the cost wounding instead of exerting because - as soon as Déagol had found the Ring - it became a struggle against each other, not a true companionship. They may be close friends, but they'll always be hurting each other.
I couldn't really decide what other card to share today, so here's a simple one:
[3] Whispering Mists [Wraith]
Minion * Wraith
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Enduring.
Each other Wraith minion is vitality +1.
“…some like dimly shining smoke, some like misty flames flickering slowly above unseen candles; here and there they twisted like ghostly sheets unfurled by hidden hands.”
20R52
One thing that Decipher did in their last year that I really enjoyed was the Wraith Collection. I bought 4 sets of it immediately. I, of course, whipped together a Shadow deck for them and found that they were nearly unplayable. The fact that they were enduring was meaningless, and their game text was just lacking. Whispering Mists would - by no means - solve the woes of the Wraiths, but it would give them more longevity and a chance to put their enduring nature to better use.
EDIT: I took another look at a few cards and reworked them:
[3] *The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words [Sauron]
Minion * Man
Strength-9
Vitality-3
Site Number-5
Maneuver: Discard a Shadow card from hand to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
Assignment: Exert The Mouth of Sauron to make an unbound companion resistance -2 until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: Remove [1] to make an unbound companion resistance -3 until the regroup phase.
20R+43
Switched the Maneuver and Assignment costs, and gave each ability an ascending strength. I think he's up to a R+ status now. What do you think?
[3] *Passed !Out of All Knowledge [Ring]
Condition * Response
At the start of the regroup phase, if the Ring-bearer is not wearing The One Ring, you may play this condition to your support area. Your hand size is -1. If you can spot your Ring-bearer, he or she may not wear The One Ring; otherwise, the first minion you play each turn is twilight cost +2.
Response: Spot the Ring-bearer wearing The One Ring to draw a card for each burden you can spot. Discard this condition.
“Myth became legend, legend became myth…”
20R+2
Made the drawing boon a response to wearing the Ring, gave the condition a [3] cost instead of (0). I might have just nerfed it...
(0) *Hid From the Sun [Gollum] (Diffraction FP/SH)
Condition * Support Area
While at a site that is not a mountain or underground site, Gollum and Sméagol are each strength -2.
At the start of your fellowship phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may heal your Sméagol or remove a burden.
At the start of your shadow phase, if at a mountain or underground site, you may remove [1] to play Gollum from your discard pile.
20R17
Made it a -2 strength modifier. Gave Smeagol the heal or the burden removal, changed the Gollum fetch from [3] to [1].
-
First Dc's I've reviewed in years!
Haha this is a nostalgia trip for me too!
Yeah I think that's unbalanced. I'd let the Shadow played discard 2 to take it off if the RB takes a wound maybe? so you can't just archery dump on him?
I meant to bring the vitality modifier down to +1. Would that balance it, do you think?
What's to stop either played from just discarding it right after they play it for ludicrous cardage? Or is that what you want it to do?
Ahh nuts. I can't believe that I missed that (and so did the rest of you!!). No, that was not my intent when I wrote it. I'll think about alternative triggers, since the whole point of the card is suffering a setback before getting that bonus.
she still needs help to actually have enough strength to beat the companion :)
Well yeah, for sure, but this particular Shelob doesn't really concern herself with winning the confrontation. All she is compelled to do is spring for the nearest prey and assume it'll all work out to her benefit. Her strength can be overcome, and I didn't want her to be a powerhouse (hence the enduring text combined with a post-archery play).
whew. that was fun :)
It's been fun posting cards again.
-
NG stands for ninja gollum
-
i think your new cards are fine. i'm not usually the hugest fan of cards that increase vitality with text instead of the neat little red circle, but i don't think there is anything wrong with the card. it seems pretty balanced.
the mouth seems just a little off. like, you get pitiful effects for huge costs at first, and then you get huge payoffs for [1]. i think it should go 3,2,1 istead of 1,2,3. because in the manuever and assignment you can't be sure who you will skirmish. but during the skirmish phase, you can know exactly who to key in on.
-
the mouth seems just a little off. like, you get pitiful effects for huge costs at first, and then you get huge payoffs for [1]. i think it should go 3,2,1 istead of 1,2,3. because in the manuever and assignment you can't be sure who you will skirmish. but during the skirmish phase, you can know exactly who to key in on.
I was thinking about it some more this morning, and while the progressive nature of his effects stay the same, what do you think of this version:
[3] *The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words [Sauron]
Minion * Man
Strength-9
Vitality-3
Site Number-5
Maneuver: Remove [3] to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
Assignment: Remove [2] to make an unbound companion resistance -2 until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: Remove [1] to make an unbound companion resistance -3 until the regroup phase.
20R+43
But if we switch it up:
[3] *The Mouth of Sauron, Weaver of Wicked Words [Sauron]
Minion * Man
Strength-9
Vitality-3
Site Number-5
Maneuver: Remove [3] to make an unbound companion resistance -3 until the regroup phase.
Assignment: Remove [2] to make an unbound companion resistance -2 until the regroup phase.
Skirmish: Remove [1] to make an unbound companion resistance -1 until the regroup phase.
20R+43
-
I would change the cost around, so 1-2-3 twilight. Although the first version makes more sense to me.
-
Yeah. I like the first version better. Your other cards are great. :up:
-
(0) *Ufthak, Taken By the Great Spider [Gollum]
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot Shelob. When you play Ufthak, add a [Gollum] token here.
Skirmish or Regroup: Discard Ufthak (or remove a [Gollum] token here) to exert or heal Shelob.
“’D’you remember old Ufthak? We lost him for days. Then we found him in a corner; hanging up as he was, but he was wide awake and glaring. How we laughed! She’d forgotten him, maybe, but we didn’t touch him – no good interfering with Her.’”
20R19
Ooo this combos nicely with the Shelob from earlier.
[1] *Déagol, Bearer of the Recovered Lost [Gollum]
Companion
Strength-3
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-7
Ring-bound. To play, exert a Ring-bound companion.
Each time the fellowship moves, add a threat (if you cannot, add a burden).
Regroup: Wound Sméagol to heal Déagol, or wound Déagol to heal Sméagol.
“‘And behold! when he washed the mud away, there in his hand lay a beautiful golden ring; and it shone and glittered in the sun, so that his heart was glad.’”
20R+16
You know what could be kind of cool? A Deagol with the ability "Anytime a card spots or exerts smeagol, you can use it by spotting or exerting Deagol". Except worded properly. Your card is cool though :)
[3] Whispering Mists [Wraith]
Minion * Wraith
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Enduring.
Each other Wraith minion is vitality +1.
“…some like dimly shining smoke, some like misty flames flickering slowly above unseen candles; here and there they twisted like ghostly sheets unfurled by hidden hands.”
20R52
Sure.
[3] *Passed !Out of All Knowledge [Ring]
Condition * Response
At the start of the regroup phase, if the Ring-bearer is not wearing The One Ring, you may play this condition to your support area. Your hand size is -1. If you can spot your Ring-bearer, he or she may not wear The One Ring; otherwise, the first minion you play each turn is twilight cost +2.
Response: Spot the Ring-bearer wearing The One Ring to draw a card for each burden you can spot. Discard this condition.
“Myth became legend, legend became myth…”
20R+2
[/quote]
I'm confused again. How can the free peoples played use this if it prevents them from wearing The One Ring?
Otherwise i'd say it's ok. And also you may have already addressed it, but does this card stay active during your freeps turns if you play it during your shadow turn and vice versa?
-
[1] *Déagol, Bearer of the Recovered Lost Gollum [Gollum]
Companion
Strength-3
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-7
Ring-bound. To play, exert a Ring-bound companion.
Each time the fellowship moves, add a threat (if you cannot, add a burden).
Regroup: Wound Sméagol to heal Déagol, or wound Déagol to heal Sméagol.
"‘And behold! when he washed the mud away, there in his hand lay a beautiful golden ring; and it shone and glittered in the sun, so that his heart was glad.'"
20R+16
He is unplayable as Ring-bearer because you would not have any RB companions to exert.
-
I don't think you play the ring-bearer, so much as "place" them. So that line would only trigger if he wasn't the ring-bearer.
-
You know what could be kind of cool? A Deagol with the ability "Anytime a card spots or exerts smeagol, you can use it by spotting or exerting Deagol". Except worded properly. Your card is cool though :)
Originally I was going to put that in. However, I was worried that the response would be "Well why not just play Smeagol then?" It would just be having 2 Smeagols in play, and I'm not really big on that. I'll keep it in mind though.
I'm confused again. How can the free peoples played use this if it prevents them from wearing The One Ring?
Otherwise i'd say it's ok. And also you may have already addressed it, but does this card stay active during your freeps turns if you play it during your shadow turn and vice versa?
Lol I'm retarded. You're absolutely right, and at this point I might end up just scrapping the entire card. It's getting too clunky. But yeah, the Free Peoples portion of the text is only active while your Ring-bearer is spottable.
I don't think you play the ring-bearer, so much as "place" them. So that line would only trigger if he wasn't the ring-bearer.
Correct. The only real reason for that to-play exertion is to help reinforce the [Gollum] companion theme of an additional cost to play. If Deagol is played as a regular companion, he can only come around if another Ring-bound companion is in the fellowship (which, obviously, will always be satisfied by the Ring-bearer).
-
My hope is that I can just sneak this one by, and no one will even bother telling me how bad/broken it is:
[4] *Aragorn, Bearer of Kingly Blood [Gondor]
Companion * Man
Strength-8
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-4
For each artifact Aragorn bears, he is resistance +1.
While Aragorn is the Ring-bearer, each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player name a race. Until the end of the turn, each companion of the named race is strength -3.
“The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness.”
20R+20
Since Gondor already has three Ring-bearers, I went into designing this card with much caution, not wanting to tread on anybody's heels. They're all good, so Aragorn had to be a different kind of good.
For starters, he's got the 4 vitality, something they don't have. The fact that he has the highest strength of them all offsets his lower resistance. But he has a built in resistance-booster (extremely limited, since there aren't many bearable artifacts to choose from) and there's no skirmish-penalty text... directly, that is, seeing as the Shadow player gets to seriously handicap a race of his choice every time you move - which means a naked Aragorn Ring-bearer is likely to have just 5 strength after a move, along with any other Men unlucky enough to be hanging around.
I figure that balances the fact that it's Aragorn. Maybe not?
(0) *The King of Gondor [Gondor]
Condition * Support Area
While borne by a companion, each companion (except the Ring-bearer) is resistance +1 for each Free Peoples culture you spot in the fellowship.
Regroup: Spot Aragorn, Elendil, or Isildur with strength 11 or more to transfer this condition to him.
“’This is your realm… and it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved… For the time comes of the Dominion of Men…’”
20R+24
Yes, it's a Rare+, and yes I realize it's not insanely useful. This is one of those cards where the title and lore came long before the text, and I didn't really want an overpowered card here. It's simple, closely following the theme of the rightful King coming to power, uniting his kingdom.
Field of Cormallen [3]
Plains. When the fellowship moves to this site, if it is a sanctuary, the Free Peoples player may reveal the top 4 cards of his or her draw deck and take a revealed Free Peoples card into hand.
------>
20X54
Another box-topper site! And now that I read it again it seems of limited use, but I'll let you decide that for yourself before I start fiddling with it.
-
[3] is a pretty high cost. I would change that to "May reveal the top 4 cards of his draw deck and take *all* revealed freeps into hand." I also don't think the politically correct him/her is really necessary. ;)
I'll let someone else bash the gorn...won't even say how apart from the brokenness of the card he doesn't even fit in LOTR really. :-S
-
Originally I was going to put that in. However, I was worried that the response would be "Well why not just play Smeagol then?" It would just be having 2 Smeagols in play, and I'm not really big on that. I'll keep it in mind though.
Fair enough. But isn't this Deagol close enough to "why not just play smeagol territory?" Is it just so you can have some unbound companions chilling around?
Lol I'm retarded. You're absolutely right, and at this point I might end up just scrapping the entire card. It's getting too clunky. But yeah, the Free Peoples portion of the text is only active while your Ring-bearer is spottable.
What I'm trying to say, and failing miserably, is if I play this as a freeps card in the regroup phase, does it make my first minion twilight cost +2 when I have a shadow phase next?
My hope is that I can just sneak this one by, and no one will even bother telling me how bad/broken it is:
[4] *Aragorn, Bearer of Kingly Blood [Gondor]
Companion * Man
Strength-8
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-4
For each artifact Aragorn bears, he is resistance +1.
While Aragorn is the Ring-bearer, each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player name a race. Until the end of the turn, each companion of the named race is strength -3.
“The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness.”
20R+20
Why is an Aragorn RB so overpowered? I know I've been told before but I've forgotten. the Subtitle makes me question the ability, if it's all about him being a king of Gondor, why does it force you to be multi-cultural?
(0) *The King of Gondor [Gondor]
Condition * Support Area
While borne by a companion, each companion (except the Ring-bearer) is resistance +1 for each Free Peoples culture you spot in the fellowship.
Regroup: Spot Aragorn, Elendil, or Isildur with strength 11 or more to transfer this condition to him.
“’This is your realm… and it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved… For the time comes of the Dominion of Men…’”
20R+24
I'd say its pretty snazzy. makes bow of Minas Tirith a very useful card to have :)
Field of Cormallen [3]
Plains. When the fellowship moves to this site, if it is a sanctuary, the Free Peoples player may reveal the top 4 cards of his or her draw deck and take a revealed Free Peoples card into hand.
------>
20X54
cool by me.
[/quote]
-
not a fan of an aragorn RB. i thought the whole point was that he DIDN'T ever try to have it. other than that, hes fine.
as for the king of gondor, i probably wouldn't waste slots in my deck for a resistance boost that didn't affect my RB, but then again i don't play standard very much and i suppose it could be quite useful. mechanically i think its great.
i like the site.
-
Aragorn is pretty insane as a Ring-Bearer. Since he's ring-bound you dont have to fear grima so here's what can be played on him:
Aragorn's Bow + Anduril, sword that was Broken + Knife of the Galadhrim + Ring of Barahir + Coat of Mail + Not Bound to its Fate x4 and you get the ring of rings and the Scroll of Isildur
Even with the -3 from his text, he is strenght 12, vitality 5 and resistance11 with no burden drawback, he's Archer and his bow grants him a swarm protection, coat of mail makes him very hard to overwhelm.
The reason why this is insane is that he can easily be you only companion, tank him, play some gondor bowman and a few banners blowing and you get the perfet solo deck OR add some companions and you have a fighter, archer high resistance ring-bearer with more vitality and strenght than frodo could ever have.
In my opinion, there are way to much stuff that plays on Aragorn, that's why I would add "While Aragorn is the Ring-bearer, he cannot bear any possession".
-
not a fan of an aragorn RB. i thought the whole point was that he DIDN'T ever try to have it. other than that, hes fine.
And a Gimli Ring-bearer is perfectly fine? I say, if Gimli got the nod, all #$&*@! breaks lose and we should have anyone bearing it. Thrarin Ring-bearer? Perhaps a Rohan one?
I'd also like to mention a double-move would make him -6. And if you could pull a triple-move, -9. Just saying...
-
I would make Aragorn's text "While Aragorn is the ringbearer, he is resistance +1 for each artifact you spot. Aragorn may not bear possessions or artifacts." Just a thought.
-
if aragorn can't bear possessions or artifacts, it takes all the fun out of it.
-
I don't like the idea of Aragorn abandoning all of his weapons because he has the Ring.
I would say something along the lines of "If Aragorn is the ring-bearer, at the end of each turn he did not win a skirmish, discard a companion" to represent his feelings of inadequacy.
-
I'd change it to "exhaust a companion/add 2 burdens." Because then all the shadow has to do is not play any minions.
-
When D was making alt ring-bearer they were realy careful not to make solo decks to easy, so either their alt. ring-bearer had low stats (galadriel, sam and smeagol) or a strong drawback (boromir, faramir, gimli and gandalf). Bilbo has both because of the support cards he has. Aragorn has WAY more support cards (might be the one with the most toys of the game), has the highest strenght/vitality of all the alt. rb so that is why a RB aragorn is realy touchy.
-
As for Aragorn I think he is not far off to be balance.
It simply need an extra text in order to prevent easy solo RB.
Each time the fellowship move the shadow player may make a companion str-5? instead of -3 of a named race?
Also did you think about aragorn's bow? both of them? with few companion the first bow is deadly a 8 hit point RB is awful.
You can also had aragorn may not bear possession, that will leave him with all his artifact.
Anyhow you still have great ideas, can't wait to see more of this set!!!
-
[4] *Aragorn, Bearer of Kingly Blood [Gondor]
Companion * Man
Strength-7
Vitality-4
Ringed Resistance-6
While Aragorn is the Ring-bearer, he may not bear weapons (except artifacts), and each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player name a race. Until the end of the turn, each companion of the named race is strength -4.
“The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness.”
20R+20
Dropped his strength to 7, deleted the resistance booster, and added in a bit that limits the weapons he has to choose from. Also raised the strength penalty to 4. Getting closer to balanced?
-
While Aragorn is the Ring-bearer, he may not bear weapons (except artifacts), and each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player name a race. Until the end of the turn, each companion of the named race is strength -4.
Instead of "Each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player name a race.", I would put "At the start of each turn, make a Shadow player name a race."
-
Honestly I'd just scratch Aragorn. But if you're set on him, he does need a little more resistance, or some kind of resistance booster. Otherwise corruption will K0 in a couple of turns.
-
sound better but now I think he may be a little too weak, each time the fellowship moves, make a Shadow player spot a companion. Until the end of the turn, that companion is strength -5.
what do you think?
-
i think there are too many cooks in this pot...
-
I boosted his resistance from 4 to 6. For now let's just leave him be, as I want to post a few new cards:
(0) *The Tomb of Balin [Dwarven]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, stack a unique Dwarf from your dead pile here. If this artifact is discarded, return that Dwarf to the dead pile.
Each Dwarf at an underground site may take no more than 1 wound per skirmish.
“‘I fear he had ill tidings to record in a fair hand… The first clear word is sorrow…’”
20R7
Maybe a few of you will remember these cards of mine from way-back-when. These are my 'tomb' cards. Basically they all work the same, in that their cost is stacking a unique companion that's in the dead pile in order to gain a limited ability not normally found within the culture. The stacked dead companion is still considered part of the dead pile, and is able to be spotted as such (so if Gimli dies and gets stacked on the above card, you can't play another Gimli).
I've had these cards for a really long time now, and while I'm determined to maintain the counter-cultural bonuses given by them, I'm very very open to what benefits they actually bring. If you think another bonus would work better, please say so!
EDIT: gk1964 had some good suggestions that convinced me that these tomb cards would be a lot cooler if they more-closely followed cultural enforcement. I altered Tomb of Balin and incorporated a site spotting requirement as well... and I liked it so much that I've extended that kind of ability to all the others.
(0) *The Last Ship, Bound For Valinor [Elven]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, stack a unique Elf from your dead pile here. If this artifact is discarded, return that Elf to the dead pile.
Each time you move from a river site, you may heal 2 Elves.
“…the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth…”
20R10
Right now I think this card is lousy. Honestly I'm just not sure what the [Elven] culture really lacks... Help!
There are few more tomb cards to show, but I'll save them for later.
[9] *Bolg, Chieftain of the Horde [Orc]
Minion * Orc
Strength-17
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Fierce. To play, spot an [Orc] Orc.
For each Dwarf you spot, Bolg is damage +1.
Skirmish: Remove an [Orc] Orc in your discard pile from the game to make Bolg strength +1.
“…Bolg came howling against them…”
20R+31
Big dude! Biiiiig dude!
-
Tomb of Balin is kinda worthless. How many dwarf cards key off Resistance anyway? That's my opinion at least.
Last Ship has its uses...I'd say two tokens though, as obviously you have to have a companion killed first and purposely lose one skirmish (does it require only one skirmish lost?) I'd say it's worth two tokens.
-
Honestly both the stacking cards seem pretty wierd, and I don't think they would work.
Scenario:
You have a 9 companion rainbow fellowship at site 7. Gimli dies and you stick him on Tomb of Balin. You then play Gimli again since he isn't in your dead pile anymore. But what happens when Tomb of Balin is discarded? Then suddenly you have Gimli in your dead pile AND Gimli on the board. Two obvious problems with that are it breaks the 9 fellowship companion limit, and you can't play a unique companion that's in the dead pile.
While that is hypothetical, it is a reason the card may not work.
-
lol read my post again. I covered that :uh-huh:
-
Why not just amend the tomb texts to "while you can spot a unique (race) in you dead pile" and ditch the stacking thing.
I understand that you want to try and give the cultures something they don't normally have but it hard then to find other cards from there culture to play off them.
What about changing The Tomb of Balin to something like "each dwarf at an underground site takes only one wound each skirmish".
Similarly the Elf one could be somthing like "when an Elf moves from a forest site in the regroup phase, heal that Elf."
You could also do ones for other cultures such as The White Tree of Minas Tirith or the Golden Hall of Meduseld.
Artifacts should have a big impact because they are artifacts and these don't realy do it for me.
gk
-
I'm honestly not a fan of Balin's tomb since it's kindof useless... I do agree with gk.
Bolg is awesome! :twisted:
-
Why not just amend the tomb texts to "while you can spot a unique (race) in you dead pile" and ditch the stacking thing.
For flavor, of course :lol:
What about changing The Tomb of Balin to something like "each dwarf at an underground site takes only one wound each skirmish".
That would work a ton better, I think, and you've just inspired me to change all of my tomb cards... :gp: is your reward!
Similarly the Elf one could be somthing like "when an Elf moves from a forest site in the regroup phase, heal that Elf."
Done and done!
You could also do ones for other cultures such as The White Tree of Minas Tirith or the Golden Hall of Meduseld.
I have one for each of those cultures (which I'll hold off on showing for now). Today, it's more Orcs!
[4] Goblins of the Grey Mountains [Orc]
Minion * Orc
Strength-9
Vitality-4
Site Number-4
When you play this minion, you may remove X [Orc] Orcs in your discard pile from the game to make it strength +X until the regroup phase.
“…and already many were on the slopes above the Gate, and others were streaming down recklessly, heedless of those that fell screaming… Victory now vanished from hope. They had only stemmed the first onslaught of the black tide.”
20R32
This minion's power is tied in with Bolg's (seen in my previous post). I wanted to, in only those two cards, establish a flavor for 'Grey Mountain orcs' as a subculture, and I decided that out-of-gaming cards would work fine. This guy, of course, is extremely basic, but its otherwise-blandness would be offset by some super-cool Weta-designed card image.
(0) Stricken Skies [Orc]
Condition * Site
To play, discard 2 [Orc] cards from hand.
While the fellowship is in this region and you can spot an [Orc] minion, wounds and exertions may not be healed or prevented (except at a sanctuary).
“And beneath the thunder another blackness could be seen whirling forward; but it did not come with the wind, it came from the North, like a vast cloud of birds, so dense that no light could be seen between their wings.”
20R35
Again, pretty simple.
[2] *!Mithril-coat, Kingly Gift [Shire]
Artifact * !Armor
Bearer must be Bilbo or Frodo.
Each minion skirmishing bearer loses all damage bonuses.
Response: If bearer is about to take a wound, discard 3 cards from hand to prevent that wound.
“With that he put on Bilbo a small !coat of mail, wrought for some young elf-prince long ago. It was of silver-steel…”
20R+48
I figure a Mithril-coat like this was bound to show up in the cardpool eventually. Nothing really to note here... I suppose this post was all about simplicity!
-
i like them. like you said, simple and straightforward.
-
Yep, nice and simple. :up:
-
Well I'd better follow up those cards with something a bit more complex.
[2] *Arwen, Bearer of Swift Courage [Elven]
Companion * Elf
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Ringed Resistance-4
Ranger.
While bearing a mount or hand weapon, Arwen is resistance +2 (or +3 if bearing both).
If Arwen bears The One Ring, at the start of each of her skirmishes, discard 2 [Elven] cards from hand or add 3 burdens.
Emboldened by the death of Frodo Baggins at the !Ford of Bruinen, Arwen took up the task to carry The One Ring into Mordor.
20R+8
The initial gimmick with ARBs back during Reflections was "what if...?" What if Gimli took the Ring instead? What if Galadriel accepted it from Frodo? This Arwen's take it a step further: what if Frodo died on the borders of Rivendell? How would Arwen fare?
[4] *Saruman, Sharkey [Men]
Minion * Wizard
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Lurker.
While you can spot another minion, Saruman may not take wounds.
Regroup: Exert Saruman and discard a possession from hand to take control of a site. If that site is a dwelling site, heal Saruman.
“’Still I have already done much that you will find it hard to mend or undo in your lives. And it will be pleasant to think of that and set it against my injuries.’”
20R+29
As I did with Frodo and Sam, this version of Saruman represents him at his lowest point, the end of his days. He's lost a point of vitality to symbolize his loss of power, but he can still work some deadly tricks if given the slightest chance. This Saruman has to fight, but get him to the regroup phase unharmed and you can potentially rack up a bunch of sites. I'm considering changing "discard a possession" to "discard a Shadow card."
[3] *Grond, The Wolf of War [Orc]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, spot an [Orc] minion.
Each time you play a Troll, add an [Orc] token here.
Regroup: Remove X [Orc] tokens here and spot a Free Peoples card (except a Ring-bound companion). Unless the Free Peoples player places X wounds amongst his or her companions, discard Grond and the spotted card.
20R+33
[3] to drop, this Grond requires a few Trolls to really get moving (go figure!). But you can really wreak some havoc if, say, you get up to 5 [Orc] tokens. Remove all 5 at once and then the FP player has to decide to discard the card you spotted (Aragorn, maybe?) or divvy out 5 wounds. Personally, I think this card is pretty-well balanced, but I want to know what y'all think.
-
This Grond would be the only reason to use War Preparations.
Perhaps Saruman should be unwoundable if you can spot a Hobbit?
-
Agree with The jord, spotting a hobbit would be better text for Sharkey.
Suggest that his site number is dropped to 3 and his cost likewise.
Grond text needs a tidy up as it currently reads that placing X wounds on companions also prevents Grond from being discarded.
I also like stricken skies and mithril-coat.
gk.
-
Well I'd better follow up those cards with something a bit more complex.
[2] *Arwen, Bearer of Swift Courage [Elven]
Companion * Elf
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Ringed Resistance-4
Ranger.
While bearing a mount or hand weapon, Arwen is resistance +2 (or +3 if bearing both).
If Arwen bears The One Ring, at the start of each of her skirmishes, discard 2 [Elven] cards from hand or add 3 burdens.
Emboldened by the death of Frodo Baggins at the !Ford of Bruinen, Arwen took up the task to carry The One Ring into Mordor.
20R+8
So compared to Galadriel she was roughly the same Resistance (assuming following the rule of 5) is stronger, but significantly more vulnerable to corruption, as possessions can be discarded, meaning one skirmish without Elven cards in hand and your on the brink. I would knock it down to 2 burdens a time.
Dude, Arwen and Aragorn taking the ring into Mordor would've been so awesome!
but anyway
[4] *Saruman, Sharkey [Men]
Minion * Wizard
Strength-6
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Lurker.
While you can spot another minion, Saruman may not take wounds.
Regroup: Exert Saruman and discard a possession from hand to take control of a site. If that site is a dwelling site, heal Saruman.
“’Still I have already done much that you will find it hard to mend or undo in your lives. And it will be pleasant to think of that and set it against my injuries.’”
20R+29
Discard a Shadow card is much preferable in my opinion.
[3] *Grond, The Wolf of War [Orc]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, spot an [Orc] minion.
Each time you play a Troll, add an [Orc] token here.
Regroup: Remove X [Orc] tokens here and spot a Free Peoples card (except a Ring-bound companion). Unless the Free Peoples player places X wounds amongst his or her companions, discard Grond and the spotted card.
20R+33
[3] to drop, this Grond requires a few Trolls to really get moving (go figure!). But you can really wreak some havoc if, say, you get up to 5 [Orc] tokens. Remove all 5 at once and then the FP player has to decide to discard the card you spotted (Aragorn, maybe?) or divvy out 5 wounds. Personally, I think this card is pretty-well balanced, but I want to know what y'all think.
Is the Ring a Free Peoples card? :P
-
The ring is neither shadow nor Free peoples.
-
I'd add this text to Arwen:
While you can spot Aragorn, Arwen is Strength +1 and Resistance +2. AKA She-Elf.
Gives it a bit more flavor, and a few more options as well.
-
I agree with sickofpalantirs and Doom on Arwen. Two burdens seems more reasonable, and I like the spotting Aragorn idea.
-
at least gimli hit the ring with his axe in the movie... arwen never came close to touching it.
anyways, i might do one of those burrito things. i.e.
While You can spot Aragorn, Arwen is resistance +1.
While Arwen is mounted, she is resistance +1.
While bearing a hand weapon, Arwen is resistance +1.
you know, something like that.
i don't really see why you are messing with saruman's stats. other than that it seems fine. i think possession is really good though. first off, it helps not letting the ability run wild, second it helps get rid of that extra aragorn's bow you have clogging your hand.
i like grond. i like how hes pretty troll specific and i like how it always discards grond itself. no "or a [sauron] minion" loophole.
good work.
-
Back on track:
[2] *Pippin, In the Service of Denethor [Gondor]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-5
Vitality-4
Resistance-8
While you can spot Denethor (or another knight), Pippin is a knight.
Each time another companion is assigned to skirmish a minion, make Pippin strength +2 until the beginning of the regroup phase.
“To his face men were gravely courteous, saluting him after the manner of Gondor… those out of doors cried to others within to come and see the Prince of the Halflings, the companion of !Mithrandir.”
20R+25
Rather straightforward, it's the Pippin of Gondor we all wanted but never got. His strength-booster is based on his heroism at the Black Gate, having watched all his friends already go to war and finally stepping up to bat against a Troll. I went ahead and limited each round of strength enhancements to the next skirmish, but if it doesn't seem too strong I'd like to change that last bit to "until the regroup phase" in order to let Pippin really get tanking for a fierce skirmish.
[2] *Merry, In the Service of Theoden [Rohan]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-5
Vitality-4
Resistance-8
While you can spot Theoden (or another valiant companion), Merry is valiant.
Each time Merry is assigned to skirmish a minion of higher strength, make Merry strength +3 until the end of that skirmish.
“‘Come, Master Meriadoc… you shall not stand. You shall sit beside me, as long as I remain in my own lands…’”
20R+42
Similar to Pippin, this Merry reflects his attack on the Witch-king. Merry probably lacks a bit of power, but I'm not really sure what to do with him that wouldn't be too over-the-top. Maybe keep the +3 until the regroup phase?
EDIT: Made the change to regroup phase.
Figure this is a logical third card for the night:
[2] Barrow-blade [Shire]
Artifact * Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be an unbound Hobbit.
Any [Wraith] minion that loses a skirmish to bearer is discarded.
“…these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the !Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the Land of Angmar.”
20R45
Both Merry and Pippin can make great use of this weapon with Nazgul about.
EDIT: Changed the anti-[Wraith] text entirely, from an additional +2 to the discard.
-
[2] *Pippin, In the Service of Denethor [Gondor]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-5
Vitality-4
Resistance-8
While you can spot Denethor (or another knight), Pippin is a knight.
Each time another companion is assigned to skirmish a minion, make Pippin strength +2 until the end of his next skirmish.
“To his face men were gravely courteous, saluting him after the manner of Gondor… those out of doors cried to others within to come and see the Prince of the Halflings, the companion of !Mithrandir.”
20R+25
Very nice, finally a Pippin that works well in a knight deck.
[2] *Merry, In the Service of Theoden [Rohan]
Companion * Hobbit
Strength-5
Vitality-4
Resistance-8
While you can spot Theoden (or another valiant companion), Merry is valiant.
Each time Merry is assigned to skirmish a minion of higher strength, make Merry strength +3 until the end of that skirmish.
“‘Come, Master Meriadoc… you shall not stand. You shall sit beside me, as long as I remain in my own lands…’”
20R+42
A bit to weak, I'd change the strength to the regroup phase.
[2] Barrow-blade [Shire]
Artifact * Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be an unbound Hobbit.
While skirmishing a [Wraith] minion, bearer is strength +2 and no opponent may play skirmish events or use skirmish special abilities.
“…these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the !Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the Land of Angmar.”
20R45
Not sure why neither player can use abilities. I guess it makes it a bit more balanced, but I'd make it either no player can use events or no player can use abilities. Other than that =D>
-
pippin is good. i love how he gains the knight keyword. his ability is a little powerful. so i would keep it at the end of skirmish. only thing is wording. on him and merry i think you can drop the 'another'. i believe it should read: "while you can spot denetheor or a knight..." same for merry.
merry is good. i'd make his "until the regroup phase"
barrow-blade and these hobbits are very strength driven. personally i'd like to see something more like: "each time a [wraith] minion is assigned to skirmish bearer, that minion loses fierce and cannot gain fierce."
something useful but not strength. perhaps even better would be "bearer is damage +1" i mean merry did stick it to the man.
good trio!
-mm
-
I agree with mm on the Barrow-blade. I'd go either remove a burden or the fierce thing.
-
How about "Any [Wraith] minion that loses a skirmish to bearer is discarded." instead of the bonus +2 strength?
[5] *Army of !Westfold, The Strength of !Erkenbrand [Rohan]
Companion * Man
Strength-11
Vitality-4
Resistance-6
Valiant. To play, spot 2 [Rohan] companions.
If the fellowship is not at a battleground site, discard Army of !Westfold.
You may play Army of !Westfold any time you could play an assignment event.
“A thousand men on foot; their swords were in their hands.”
20R+37
Brings back Rohan's love for playing cards in the wrong phase, and maximizes the flavor of Erkenbrand's sudden appearance at the Battle of Helm's Deep.
EDIT: Changed the bounce-back-to-hand to a straight discard. Dropped the damage bonus (which was an afterthought anyhow) and lowered the cost to 5.
[2] *Gúthwinë [Rohan]
Possession * Hand Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be Éomer. He is valiant.
Each time Éomer wins a skirmish, you may spot Aragorn or a [Gondor] Man to liberate a site.
“‘This is the hour when we draw swords together!’”
20R40
Very simple card, and one that should have been made by Decipher years ago. Oh, and I wrote "Aragorn or a [Gondor] Man" so that you could spot Aragorn, Defender of Rohan.
EDIT: Changed it to +3 strength and made it for Eomer only.
(0) The Battle of Bywater [Shire]
Event * Skirmish
Add a burden to make each Hobbit bearing a weapon strength +2 until the start of the regroup phase, and heal each of them if the fellowship is at a dwelling site.
“The Men took one step forward and stopped short. There rose a roar of voices all around them, and suddenly they were aware that Farmer Cotton was not all alone. They were surrounded. In the dark on the edge of the firelight stood a ring of hobbits that had crept up out of the shadows. There was nearly two hundred of them, all holding some weapon.”
20R46
Again, not much commentary required here. Yes, it's basically just a boring strength pump, but its in this set because - in my mind - it would have a customized Weta image showing exactly what I wrote into the card as lore... and that would be awesome to see!
EDIT: Dropped the cost from 2 to 0, added the burden cost.
-
army of westfold: i like the idea, its almost like a crazy "save your life" assignment event. my concern is, he pops back into hand all the time, you will never have to worry about dying in a skirmish at a battlefield site. maybe it should be discarded. i mean, with all the site manipulation, you could probably use it at every site if you wanted.
guthwine rocks. the only thing i might consider is this: make it str+3 and have it say, "spot Aragorn or exert a [gondor] Man to liberate a site." but really its all good.
battle of bywater: love this. i'd probably drop the cost to 0 and make it add a burden. i think that way its a little more balanced. as it is the only drawback is [2]. and that comes in the skirmish phase. and it could potentially heal all your hobbits. idk, a burden feels right.
good cards.
-
Fantastic input, MM, although I'd prefer keeping Guthwine at a +2. Ultimately, it's a very un-special sword, and shouldn't be as strong as either Herugrim or Anduril.
-
good call. also, your idea for the barrow-blade is solid.
-
I'm not sure about the Damage +1 on the Rohan Army. Whenever I play Rohan I never think..."man I really wish I had a Damage +1 companion out". I'd just take it out and knock the cost down 1 perhaps. 6 twilight for a one-shot companion that you can't take the lead with (if opponent plays site he's probably a goner)
Fantastic input, MM, although I'd prefer keeping Guthwine at a +2. Ultimately, it's a very un-special sword, and shouldn't be as strong as either Herugrim or Anduril.
But right now it's a unique weapon that costs 2 twilight and does nothing except against a few select shadows. Considering Eowyn's Sword I don't think +3 strength is too much to ask, but then maybe make it only bearable by eomer.
-
We're well over halfway done here, but there's still a lot to see!
I feel like showcasing these tonight:
[1][3] *Smaug, Descendant of Ancalagon [Orc]
Minion * Dragon
Strength-16
Vitality-3
Site Number-8
Damage +2. Fierce. When you play Smaug, discard all other minions. Other minions may not be played.
Smaug may be wounded (or exerted) by a Free Peoples card only once per phase.
Maneuver: Exert Smaug to discard a possession borne by an unbound companion.
“Fire leaped through the dragon’s jaws.”
20R+34
My first run at Smaug's design left him with a butt-ton of vitality, which felt incorrect for a reason that I did not at first understand. But when I looked back at his actions and fate, it became clear why less vitality was called for: he, uh, died... because of one arrow. Boromir took three!
Smaug is a glass cannon. He's definitely nothing to sneeze at, but with a few precise strokes he can be brought down. Strokes such as these...
[2] *Bard, The Bowman [Gandalf]
Companion * Man
Strength-5
Vitality-3
Resistance-7
Archer. To play, spot a [Gandalf] Man.
Assignment: Exert Bard and assign him to skirmish a minion with at least twice his strength to wound that minion.
“Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent. The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time.”
20R12
...and...
[1] *The Black Arrow [Gandalf]
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot a [Gandalf] Man.
Each [Gandalf] Man skirmishing a wounded minion is strength +1.
Skirmish: Exert your [Gandalf] Man to wound a minion he is skirmishing. Discard this possession.
“In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight.”
20R13
If you have those two cards out, Smaug is absolutely, positively no threat, and many other decks can handle him as well. I wrote Smaug specifically to be prone to 'whittling-down', and that's exactly what Bard and his Arrow can do. One wound in the archery phase (since there are no other minions to take it), one wound in the assignment phase, and the last one during the skirmish. Sure, it takes exertions along the way, but I knew from the start that I wanted an all-inclusive way for Bard to single-handedly act as a counter to the dragon, and there just isn't an easy way to do that without feeling cheap.
The Black Arrow's function is admittedly limited, which is why I added the +1 strength line to help it get some more use (and it even helps Bard, too). Bard, however, is useful enough on his own!
-
Smaug is a killer! :twisted: I think that The Black Arrow should be born by a [gandalf] man.
-
That would make sense, but I wanted it to be as immune to Shadow-based removal as possible. And since Smaug himself can do away with borne possessions, it seemed natural to stick it into the support area. Plus, The Red Arrow would be lonely!
-
Slaked Thirsts and one arrow would kill Smaug too easily IMHO. Maybe make freeps cards unable to exert?
-
I don't think that would work, but I see where you're coming from and went ahead and tweaked Smaug's wound-prevention to better illustrate my intention! Thanks for pointing that out.
-
Perfect :up:
-
if you made the black arrow an artifact, (like the red arrow) then it would be significantly harder for an opponent to discard, and it could probably be borne by companion. either way black arrow FEELS like an artifact, and if i'm not mistaken it was passed down in his family from father to son.
other than that i like the cards. good work.
-
[1][3] *Smaug, Descendant of Ancalagon [Orc]
Minion * Dragon
Strength-16
Vitality-3
Site Number-8
Damage +2. Fierce. When you play Smaug, discard all other minions. Other minions may not be played.
Smaug may be wounded (or exerted) by a Free Peoples card only once per phase.
Maneuver: Exert Smaug to discard a possession borne by an unbound companion.
“Fire leaped through the dragon’s jaws.”
20R+34
Seems overcosted. You only get to play one minion, who at best kills two companions (highly unlikely) and isn't to difficult to kill. I'd say [1](0) or [1][1] would be fine.
[2] *Bard, The Bowman [Gandalf]
Companion * Man
Strength-5
Vitality-3
Resistance-7
Archer. To play, spot a [Gandalf] Man.
Assignment: Exert Bard and assign him to skirmish a minion with at least twice his strength to wound that minion.
“Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent. The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time.”
20R12
It just feels weak for the great bard. I know you want him to be weak for his ability, but maybe give him another vitality?
[1] *The Black Arrow [Gandalf]
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot a [Gandalf] Man.
Each [Gandalf] Man skirmishing a wounded minion is strength +1.
Skirmish: Exert your [Gandalf] Man to wound a minion he is skirmishing. Discard this possession.
“In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight.”
20R13
I'd make it strength +2 artifact, and only borne by one companion who gets the strength bonus.
-
Three random cards:
[3] *Thranduil, King of Mirkwood [Elven]
Companion * Elf
Strength-6
Vitality-4
Resistance-6
When played at a forest site, Thranduil’s twilight cost is -1.
Maneuver: If Thranduil is at a forest site (or if you can spot 4 Elves), exert him to make a minion lose all damage bonuses until the regroup phase.
“’The Elvenking is my friend, and he has succoured the people of the Lake in their need, though they had no claim but friendship on him…’”
20R11
I wanted his stats to be unique among the Elves, and 3/6/4/6 seemed to feel right for whatever reason. It was difficult to give him an ability that lined up with his power; ultimately I stopped trying and went with something inherently basic and tied to both forests and the size of your Elven force. His big vitality is what makes him useful, most likely.
(0) The Eagles Are Coming! [Gandalf]
Event * Maneuver
Spot Gandalf and X Free Peoples cultures to reveal the top X cards of your draw deck. Attach any revealed Free Peoples followers to companions, ignoring their aid costs. Place all other revealed cards beneath your draw deck.
“…down the wind, line after line, in such a host as must have gathered from all the eyries of the North.”
20R15
A nifty card with limited viability, but can really change the course of a few skirmishes (or even the game) if it pans out well!
[8] *Balchoth, Terrible and Tall [Men]
Minion * Man
Strength-13
Vitality-3
Site Number-4
Damage +1.
Each time Balchoth wins a skirmish, add a threat.
Each time you play a [Men] event (except during the shadow phase), you may play a [Men] Man from your hand; its twilight cost is -1 for each threat you spot (limit -3).
“…Balchoth, having built many great boats and rafts on the east shores of Anduin, swarmed over the River and swept away the defenders.”
20R+28
This here is inspired by the Appendices, specifically the history of Gondor and her wars. Balchoth was actually an entire people that rose up against the Gondorians, but I decided to just pass the name along to this one, big brute of a minion. What he does is scare the pants out of any under-prepared fellowship, and then bring out his friends to play as well.
-
thranduil: its funny, the first thing i liked about him was the stats. and then i read about you wanting them to be unique. good work. the only disappointing thing is he doesn't mix with [gandalf] culture very well. even his lore talks about the people of the lake. if you want to keep the damage reduction ability, i'd probably go with this: "Maneuver: If Thranduil is at a forest site (or if you can spot 3 [gandalf] men), exert him to make a minion lose all damage bonuses until the regroup phase. i mean, if you are playing an elven deck the forests come naturally, or if you are playing a gandy men deck, he still can find a home there. just some thoughts.
eagles are coming: hmmm, no twilight cost, no exert, no cost for attaching followers, cards you don't use are cycled to bottom, possible payoffs are huge, this card is one that could potentially be broken, like a horn deck sort of deal. at the VERY least make it discard the other cards. i'm really not too keen on completely dropping the aid costs. its a matter of principle, like galadriel lol, you just can't make it play the elf for free. cost -1000 sure, but you can't make it just say "free". idk, it might work out completely fine, but i could see this being an X-list card.
balchoth: good. i might drop the threat adding text or the damage +1 text, but then again he is cost 8 so i guess hes balanced.
:up:
-
Thranduil doesn't line up for me against, Glorfindel, Elrond, Gil-Galad or Cirdan. He is a king and I would have thought worthy of packing more punch.
What about 7/4/7 stats with a 4 cost and the following text:
While at a forest site, Thranduil is strength +2.
Fellowship: Exert Thranduil twice to play the next site if it is a forest site.
It keeps a forest flavour and gives you a chance to manipulate the site path a bit in your favour.
gk
-
The Eagles Are Coming is really cool. And I don't agree with macheteman that it is overpowered. It seems to me that a deck would have to have a ton of followers for it to even be worth using. Since it's a one-time event, with a high probability of not doing anything, I think it's quite fair the way it is.
-
i never said the eagles are coming was overpowered. i said it might end up being broken. i'm not saying i can think of a way on the spot, but what about using it to drop a bunch of shadow cards beneath your deck for later. if you simply changed the "beneath your draw deck" part with "discard the rest" or something to stop a bunch of unintended manipulation. i think the card is very nearly balanced, its just it has a few mechanics that could be exploited in undesirable ways.
-
Oh, now I see what you mean. You're quite right.
And I just thought of another thing. The way the card is worded it sounds like you attach the followers without first playing them. The question arises, do you pay the twilight cost of the followers? I'm sure it was assumed that you would first have to play them, and that you would pay the cost, but it would be more clear if it said "Play any revealed Free Peoples followers and attach them to companions, ignoring their aid costs." (Actually, I've never played with any of the sets that use followers, so forgive me if I'm just misunderstanding how followers are used.)
But then also the question arises, what if there is no eligible bearer for one of the followers? So perhaps it should say "Play any revealed Free Peoples followers. Until the regroup phase, the aid cost of each Free Peoples follower is
-
[0]
-
ok, why isn't that changing to the zero twilight symbol?
-
The zero is made with parentheses. It's the only one like that.
Example: (0)
Cheers.
-wtk
-
that is odd.
-
are we gonna see any more of these?
-
Haha yeah while I was updating my Star Wars project tonight I remembered this set and felt quite foolish for forgetting about it!
(0) *The Service of Stonewrights [Dwarven]
Condition * Support Area
When you play this condition, you may exert a Dwarf to add 3 [Dwarven] tokens here.
Fellowship or Regroup: Spot a Dwarf and remove a [Dwarven] token here to reinforce another Free Peoples token.
Regroup: Exert a Dwarf to take a fortification into hand from your discard pile. Discard this condition.
“…its streets were paved with white marble; and the Folk of the Mountain laboured in it…”
20R+5
This is one of those cards that's been floating around various sets of mine for a few years now. It's an awesome title, and it's designed to open up some cross-cultural love.
[1] Child of the Vanyar [Elven]
Condition
Bearer must be an Elf. Limit 1 per character.
While bearer is not exhausted, he or she is resistance +1.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may take an [Elven] event into hand from your discard pile.
“But Arwen looked in his eyes and said: ‘Do not wonder! For the children of Elrond have the !life of the Eldar.’”
20R9
Simple, simple.
[3] *Éomer, Bearer of Grim Necessity [Rohan]
Companion * Man
Strength-7
Vitality-3
Ringed Resistance-4
While you cannot spot a companion of higher strength, Éomer is resistance +2 .
While Éomer is the Ring-bearer, at the start of each skirmish involving him, exert him X times and add 2 burdens, where X is the number of cards in the dead pile.
After Frodo was captured by the Uruks and accidentally slain during the Riders’ ambush, the marshal of Rohan was forced to make a perilous decision.
20R+39
I might be the only person around that's not against giving [Rohan] a Ring-bearer...
Story issues aside, this Eomer is all about being the strongest dude around, and anyone vying for that power will damage Eomer's ability to stay uncorrupted. Considering Rohan's lack of burden removal or prevention, I figure this is a fairly-balanced card, but I'll leave that up to you to decide.
-
I'm glad your continuing this set. :up: Love Service of the Stonewrights. I'm not a big fan of Eomer ringbearer though.
-
That eomer is a bit underpowered. with a max of 8 resistance (assuming Ring of Rings and highest strength) he really can't be assigned to a skirmish without easily draining what little resistance he does have (yes I know the RB isn't usually supposed to be assigned). Also as a companion with the highest strength he'd be very prone to 12R118 this guy and anything else like this, or 8R57 these guys to drain his resistance. He just seems like he has to many ways to beat him that its not even a good card. Love the other 2 though :up:
-
The Service of Stonewrights: love the flavor. personally i feel like it needs to exert a dwarf to add the tokens. i mean, you can just drop this guy, reinforce tokens, burn it with the fortification text, then play another, or if you have some regroup condition recursion, replay the same one. like i said, i like the flavor. maybe a twilight cost would be good. i mean, as it stands you have 3 tokens for free (it is unique) but it has text that lets you burn it. idk, something just isn't quite right.
Child of the Vanyar: again, like the flavor, it seems balanced, i'd just hate to run against this in a telapathy deck. drop sauron on top of your discard pile... forearmed! forearmed! forearmed forearmed! ooo, what if you had to add a threat to take the card into hand? that might be cool...
Éomer, Bearer of Grim Necessity: yeah, i haven't been a fan of the ARB's but i actually think this guy is balanced. he has a healthy drawback, you might need to pack some burden removal, but in return you get a beast of a ring-bearer. i think he's fine.
nice trio.
-mm
-
The Service of the Stonewrights does seem to be prone to abuse in its current incarnation...Perhaps make the regroup ability exert a dwarf and remove a token, so you can't discard it as easily
Child of the Vanyar would be pretty snazzy in an Elrohir Elladan Deck. Lots of cool telepathy possibilities...mass attunement cycling perhaps?
Eomer is fine by me. Though the "accidentally" in his lore sounds awkward when I read it...
-
I built in an exertion to the cost of Service. As one final note regarding Eomer, I didn't want him to be "very good"; really, the only reason to run him is because you want a [Rohan]-only fellowship. Gaining that advantage comes with the risk of a sub-standard Ring-bearer.
These cards already showed up in the last contest, so because of the fact that they aren't strictly "new" I've included a neat card at the end.
[2] *The Arkenstone [Dwarven]
Artifact * Support Area
Resistance -4
To play, exert a Dwarf (or Bilbo as the Ring-bearer).
At the start of the maneuver phase, you may exert a Dwarf to transfer The Arkenstone to an unbound companion. At the start of the regroup phase, transfer The Arkenstone to your support area.
Bearer is strength +X and damage +X, where X is bearer’s resistance.
”…there could not be two such gems, even in so marvelous a hoard, even in all the world.”
20R3
Besides the initial Dwarven exertion, this card is extremely splashable, and that's the idea! In the book, the Arkenstone become a matter of importance, and it transferred owners several times in a single chapter. Every race had a stake in its possession. But, obviously, this card works best with Dwarves. The resistance -3 penalty serves two functions: first, as flavor (the corrupting power of this gem is apparent in the book); second, I needed to pull back the benefit quite a bit, since I really didn't care for a card which granted +6 strength and damage bonuses under normal circumstances.
[2] *Orcrist [Dwarven]
Artifact * Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Bearer is damage +1 (or damage +3 while skirmishing an Orc).
At the start of the regroup phase, if bearer is Thorin Oakenshield and he did not lose a skirmish at this site, you may remove a Shadow token or discard a minion stacked on a condition or possession.
“’I will keep this sword in honour,’ he said. ‘May it soon cleave goblins once again!’”
20R4
I realize that Glamdring is a possession (which it really shouldn't be!) but this is a Reflections set for Pete's sake. The rest of the text is pretty straightforward: hate on Orcs, directly through the damage modifier and indirectly through the stacked-minion-killer.
[3] *Thorin Oakenshield, King of Durin’s Folk [Dwarven]
Companion * Dwarf
Strength-8
Vitality-3
Resistance-6
To play, spot 2 Dwarves.
While you can spot 2 wounded companions, Thorin Oakenshield is damage +2.
While you can spot 3 wounded companions, Thorin Oakenshield may not be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled.
“’After that there were no dwarves left alive inside, and he took all their wealth for himself… we still mean to get it back, and to bring our curses home to Smaug – if we can.’”
20R+6
What I really wanted for Thorin is to reflect the fact that he is a King without his Mountain, a lord of lost and aimless Dwarves. They're in a period of decline and suffering, but he's the pulling weight behind them all, and while they are weak, he is strong. Not only is he already 8 strength, but he can easily crank out +3 damage and an immunity to death itself. Let me know if he needs a bit of tweaking, but personally I think he's fine. ;)
[3] *Old Man Willow, Dark Heart [Wraith]
Minion * Tree
Strength-2
Vitality-6
Site Number-1
Unless played at a forest site, Old Man Willow is roaming.
Old Man Willow may not be assigned to a skirmish.
At the start of the assignment phase, you may exert Old Man Willow twice to prevent up to 3 companions (whose total strength equals 7 or less) from being assigned to skirmishes until the start of the next assignment phase.
“…sprawling branches going up like reaching arms with many long-fingered hands...”
20R+51
I've been waiting to show this guy for months and months, and it might just be my coolest card ever.
First, it's the first site 1 minion - after all, he's right there a stone's throw away from the Shire. But unless he's got a forest to inhabit, you bet your butt he'll be roaming. His strength is lower than dirt but he's inherited the high vitality of his Ent cousins. And since he looks just like a tree, nobody will think to fight him, so right now he's just functioning as archery absorption. But obviously he's got this strange text tacked onto the end...
At first glance this might not seem like a very good card, and honestly the earlier you get Old Man Willow into play, the better he'll be - once again, I wrote it to closely follow his character. Companions like Aragorn are immune to his wiles, and Gandalf generally is as well. But Hobbits will almost certainly be a target for him (sometimes one or two of them at a time, even) and just about every unarmed Man in the game can be removed from skirmishes for a bit. Note that you would need another two exertions to exclude a companion from fierce skirmishes. After all, trapping unwary travelers takes work!
Oh and he's in the [Wraith] culture because it's the best fit and because - at the time of his appearance - the Nazgul were hot on the Hobbits' heels, and only because of their pursuit did they encounter this tree at all.
Let me know what you think!
-
i like them all. only thing i think should be changed is (and i know you want him to be invincible) thorin's text should be changed to unless his strength is tripled. i mean really, even with base strength he'd have to have a 24 strength minion to kill him. it just doesn't seem right to make him completely immune. i love old man willow btw.
-
i like them all. only thing i think should be changed is (and i know you want him to be invincible) thorin's text should be changed to unless his strength is tripled. i mean really, even with base strength he'd have to have a 24 strength minion to kill him. it just doesn't seem right to make him completely immune. i love old man willow btw.
This and orcrist. Beautifully designed, and an elven sword thats considered as an Artifact very nice!
-
Arkenstone would be sick in a hobbit deck. high resistance hobbits with a bilbo ringbearer? awwww yeah.
Old man willow has great flavor. he's a game-changer, thats for sure.
-
I like them, but I'm curious how you could have 3 companions whos strength total to 7 or less, 2 wouldn't be hard but I'm not seeing 3... In fact, the least I could see is 8 with rosie cotton and two hobbits. I'd make it just 2 companions
-
nono, it has to stay 3. this is the sort of card that decks are build around. i'm packin' 4x weight of a legacy here, i'm throwing all the strength reducers and then slam the ring bearer with a witchking or something. i'm for keeping it at 3 comps.
-
Arkenstone would be sick in a hobbit deck. high resistance hobbits with a bilbo ringbearer? awwww yeah.
Yeah, with cards like Sam, SF, Moc, SftS, Sting, WoH, ATNtBD, etc.... uber broken!
I like Old Man Willow's flavor.
-
Arkenstone: I think it's hugely overpowered. It is an artifact (so hard to get rid of) and you can decide who gets it already seeing minions. Still, unless shadow side is good at lowering resistance, even strength bonus alone is bigger than most weapons (which are limited with who can bear them and harder to move around). I'd limit damage bonus to +1 (e.g. when bearer has resistance 3 or more) (is there any card accessible to a non-dwarf character giving more than +1 damage bonus and not limited to a single companion?) and maybe add some additional cost to keep it in play or transfer cost (maybe discard when you can't spot 3 FP culture companions - I guess it's intended for rainbow FP anyway, or exert bearer when it's transferred to him).
Orcrist - nice, damage +3 looks high, maybe it needs to be lowered to +2. But on the other hand this is Dwarves-only.
Thorin - IMO he lacks cultural enforcement (a strong one, probably stopping him from being played in starting fellowship). You want him to be lord of dwarves, now he is perfect splash companion for any deck. And I'd remove his basic damage bonus, his additional +2 is easy to get. The "can't-be-overwhelmed-no-matter-what" seems strange, even Tale of Great Ring has ways to go around it.
Old Man Willow - great idea, building a deck around this would be fun :)
-
i like the thorin idea. maybe go sortof gil-galad with him and make it: cost 5, to play spot 2 dwarves. if you do that, i'd keep the damage +3.
-
(is there any card accessible to a non-dwarf character giving more than +1 damage bonus and not limited to a single companion?)
Long Slow Wrath
-
Good points all around! I added a second exertion to the Arkenstone. I also dropped Thorin's innate damage +1 (which was a last-minute add on) and gave him a 2 Dwarf play requirement, along with a cap to his overwhelm bit.
Only two posts left!
(0) *Gilraen’s Memorial [Gondor]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, stack a unique [Gondor] Man from your dead pile here. If this artifact is discarded, return that Man to your dead pile.
Each time the fellowship moves to a sanctuary or dwelling site, you may take a [Gondor] card into hand from your discard pile.
“’This is our last parting, Estel, my son. I am aged by care… I cannot face the darkness of !our time that gathers upon Middle-earth.’”
20R23
One of the few tomb cards left to spoil. Not much really to say here, outside of pointing out that these cards are designed to give the culture something it normally has some trouble with - in this case, cycling for Gondor.
(0) *Barrow of Thengel [Rohan]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, stack a unique [Rohan] Man from your dead pile here. If this artifact is discarded, return that Man to your dead pile.
While at a battleground or plains site, each [Rohan] companion bearing a weapon is strength +1.
“Ever after the white simbelmynë grew there most thickly, so that the mound seemed to be snow-clad.”
20R38
Except for this one, which I wanted to straight-up benefit one of Rohan's strengths (they love their dead, after all).
[2] *!Horn of Helm, The Trumpet of Hammerhand [Rohan]
Artifact * Support Area
Maneuver: Exert your valiant [Rohan] Man at a battleground site to make a minion lose all damage and strength bonuses from possessions until the regroup phase.
“Yet men said that the horn was still heard at times in the Deep and the wraith of Helm would walk among the foes of Rohan and kill men with fear.”
20R41
It's simple and of fairly-limited use, but not everything can be awesome, even in a Reflections set. But once in a while this can be really useful, and its power is in-line with the flavor of the Horn: get some valiant Rohirrim into battle in the Deep and some minions are gonna quail!
Mirkwood [2]
Forest. Each event gains this cost: “Discard a card from your hand.”
------>
20X57
I wanted Mirkwood to be of universal application, and both sides of your deck can use this to hinder an opponent. Basically, it's a site about stifling and slowing.
The next post is going to include some of my absolute-favorites from this set!
-
[2] *!Horn of Helm, The Trumpet of Hammerhand [Rohan]
Artifact * Support Area
Maneuver: Exert your valiant [Rohan] Man at a battleground site to make a minion lose all damage and strength bonuses from possessions until the regroup phase.
“Yet men said that the horn was still heard at times in the Deep and the wraith of Helm would walk among the foes of Rohan and kill men with fear.”
20R41
It's simple and of fairly-limited use, but not everything can be awesome, even in a Reflections set. But once in a while this can be really useful, and its power is in-line with the flavor of the Horn: get some valiant Rohirrim into battle in the Deep and some minions are gonna quail!
I think it's too limited, I don't think I would ever put it into any deck. Though it's very much in line with Red Arrow, equally useless ;) and because of the same reasons - too specific requirements. Maybe add some second use, that helps against more opponents (not a lot of shadow sides rely on minions getting bonuses from possessions), is more powerful but its cost is discarding the horn?
(0) *Barrow of Thengel [Rohan]
Artifact * Support Area
To play, stack a unique [Rohan] Man from your dead pile here. If this condition is discarded
Small typo - should be "if this artifact is discarded".
-
the gondor memorial doesn't help with cycling, it helps with recursion. this may be what you wanted, i'm just saying its not cycling, so if you want it to help with cycling, you'd need to change the text methinks.
-
I think it's too limited, I don't think I would ever put it into any deck. Though it's very much in line with Red Arrow, equally useless ;) and because of the same reasons - too specific requirements. Maybe add some second use, that helps against more opponents (not a lot of shadow sides rely on minions getting bonuses from possessions), is more powerful but its cost is discarding the horn?
What if I remove the "from possessions" portion of the text? This would prevent a minion from gaining strength or damage bonuses from anything, including their own text.
-
Now this becomes really interesting. No Wind That Sped Ships, no Easterling Captain, no Morgul Brute, Sauron dealing only one wound etc. Printed strength plus no additional damage at all (even the printed one, as technically it still is a bonus). Perfect for the minion you plan to skirmish the Ring-bearer or other key companion. Definitely worth using, now I wonder if it didn't become too good :) Maybe a limit of using once per maneuver phase would balance it to be both interesting and not overpowered, so that all shadows that rely on pumping their minions to overwhelm aren't completely shut down.
-
so are we gonna get the last post?
-
Oh. My. God. I never finished this set! I am a bastard.
Somehow, I got sidetracked and neglected the final cards. It's been just over a year since my last post in this thread, but I figure late is better than never!
The Lonely Mountain (0)
Battleground. Mountain. Shadow: Play Smaug from your draw deck.
------>
20X56
The Bridge of Khazad-dum but for Smaug. Simplicity is sexy.
[3] Troll-den [Orc]
Condition * Support Area
Each Troll is strength +1 for each other Troll you can spot.
Maneuver: Exert your Troll to play a Shadow possession on it from your discard pile.
“’…but there is something else there. A great cave-troll, I think, or more than one. There is no hope of escape that way.’”
20R36
An idea lifted from The Hobbit, and one of the only cards specifically for Trolls. If I'd been in charge of design post-!Mount Doom, I'd have made Trolls a balanced subculture and given them many cards like this one that would help them to work together. Something that just occurred to me is that a unique twist to such a subculture would be making Trolls wound each other for effects... hmm maybe when I resurrect my Hobbit sets I'll incorporate that!
[4] Blasting-fire [Uruk]
Event * Response
If your [Uruk] Uruk-hai wins a skirmish, discard that minion and another Uruk-hai to make the Free Peoples player place X exertions among his or her companions, where X is the total vitality of the discarded minions.
“‘Devilry of Saruman!... they have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath our feet!’”
20R+50
The [Uruk] culture is stupid and boring, so it only gets one card in this set. Over a year out from being written, I'm no longer sure that this card is balanced. That's a lot of exertions for the Free Peoples player. Oh well. What do you think?
[7] *Shire Ruffians, Big Men of the North [Men]
Minion * Man
Strength-14
Vitality-3
Site Number-2
When played to a dwelling site, Shire Ruffians is twilight cost -3.
While you control a dwelling site, all copies of Shire Ruffians are not unique.
“‘Whips, knives, and clubs… that’s all they’ve showed so far…’”
20R30
My intention with this minion was to introduce one card that could say everything about the Scouring of the Shire, sort of an abridged version meant for the card game. They're unique at first, but as more and more trickle in and begin taking over, suddenly they aren't unique anymore! Obviously they care only about dwelling sites. The site number of 2 goes against the culture but reinforces a bit of flavor.
I am so, so, so unbelievably sorry for failing to make the final post last year. I'm just happy to have read through this entire thread; I'd never have realized my terrible mistake otherwise.
Reflections Gold is done. Muhaha
-
Can you put everything together in one post?
-
Shire Ruffians is AWESOME would go awesome with the other set 17 and 18 evil men dudes.
-
finally! ;-)
i like the flavor of these cards. i feel like shire ruffians should be strength 12 and cost 6, but i don't know why. just feels better to me.
blasting fire seems like it could be useful, it would be a fun one to playtest and see how well it works.
troll-den: not sure if the +1 for each troll is fair. a decent troll swarm can already dish out a ton of damage, no reason to make them ALL strength +8. maybe "discard to make a troll strength +1 for each troll you spot." i like the possession bit of text. its probably fine, but there is a chance that it could be REALLY easy to whip out a bunch of weapons every turn. it might help balance things to include removing [1] along with the exertion.
The lonely mountain: yes, simplicity is sexy.