The Last Homely House
Undying Lands => Valinor => Topic started by: Legion on June 08, 2014, 09:30:08 AM
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Hi everyone! I've decided to continue SgtDraino's sterling work and create this thread asking what popular strategies everyone has for the Revised Sealed League. I have heard a lot of people complain about it, but a lot more seem to love it (it's my favourite of all sealed leagues, though I do like them all in their different ways).
So here are my thoughts, just in case anyone's interested.
Firstly, there are far more choices here than for the other sealed leagues. Not only do you have 27 deck options instead of only 8, but you also get to choose some of your boosters in series 1 and 4. This is, in my opinion, a very important point. If you take boosters in serie 1 for any set in FotR you can be guaranteed that you will get nothing at all to help the Dunland Shadow (King block too, but at least some besiegers can take control of sites nicely). Personally, I open my fixed boosters (1,4 and 7) first, make a guess as to what deck I am most likely to choose and then open the appropriate boosters.
To my mind there are certainly are better sets and worse sets for the boosters. Set 4 (TTT) is safe. You will get cards that help all the shadows (probably the only choice you should make if you want Dunland), and if you happen to pull an Uruk Vanguard you'll be laughing. Also the 3 shadow types are all in the first serie's starters-you won't be wasting card slots when you pull The Balrog's Sword. Sets 5 and 6 can be interesting, but unless you want Knigts or Ents, I wouldn't recommend it. Sets 1 and 3 are solid, especially for Fellowship options, but again you pretty much rule yourself out of Dunland.
Set 2 is the gambler's choice. If you pull a Flaming Brand, you'll be laughing all through serie 2 (I won all 10 games when I got one in my MoM booster the first time round), and cards like Gandalf's Staff, Mithril Coat and Filibert Bolger and Bilbo are awesome for the hobbits (Fearing the Worst might net you a few free wins, too). However so much stuff is useless there-Final Cry really was a wasted card I got the 4th time we had this sealed.
RoTK might give you War Towers or Red Wrath, but I find the lack of options for Uruks or Dunland underwhelming. That issue runs into set 8, though there are some excellent cards for nazgul there (and Siege Troop is a very good aid to Dunland). Set 10 is my new favourite. The Sauron uruks are OK, especially with Rank and File, and whilst Rohan doesn't get much, Gondor does (Denethor) and Fell Deeds Awake ends those Dunlandings. The elves are proper fighters, especially with Glimpse of Fate, but the real winners are the Hobbits. There are a whole host of cards that aid you there, such as Chance Observation or Tale of the Ring. If you pull Brooding on Tomorrow, the Uruks cry, almost as much as the Nazgul will when they finally Tip Gandalf only to have to discard it. Also the Raider cards totally revolutionise your shadow. An extra Rallying Call is always welcome (the most powerful card in this sealed in my opinion), but a Cast into the Winds is just as good. Plus I seem to draw a lot of Seasoned Leader which is essentially 2 wound for 1 twilight as your elite Archer wins his fight at strength 12. There is a lot of rubbish in there, though, and the Dunlandings won't thank you for pulling almost nothing to help them. I would certainly recommend Mount Doom if you are sticking with the Trust me/Archers as your choice in serie 4.
Now on to the Deck choices. The thing I love about this league is that almost all of the 27 options seem viable. I admit that I have only ever gone for the Rangers/Archers in serie 3, but I have chosen all other 6 decks in the first 2 series.
So let's look at the 9 options for the first 2 series. Some are weak, but I feel many combinations are strong with no clear winner.
1. Men/Uruks with Elves/Trackers. I like that you get a lot of Uruks here, but your fellowship will be quite weak. The elves really like having Gimli to support them and you will miss him badly here. I don't recommend this option.
2. Men/Uruks with Gondor/Easterlings. I went this route for the first sealed league. I don't like Easterlings as Sam destroys them, but the Uruks still hold their own. Pulling a Flaming Brand helped me to win 33/40 games, but that was only enough for 5th spot! Anarion is great fun, though. The most important thing to note is that this way gives you no Shotgun Enquea, which really stings.
3. Men/Uruks with Rohan/Nazgul. I did this for the third Sealed League (after pulling Rohirrim Army and Eowyn's Sword) and was disappointed. Rohan takes a beating against the nazgul that come in the packs, though Hrethel is quite good here. On the other hand those Nazzies are a very solid shadow.
4. Elves/Dunland with Elves/Trackers. I did this for the second sealed league and ended up coming second (to someone else who had gone down this route). The elves are good at only letting one minion survive the archery phase, and Gimli will happily mop up the rest. The pair of Enqueas is very welcome, though I only would go Dunland if I had pulled something good in my TTT booster. (Over the Isen was sufficient for me!)
5. Elves/Dunland with Men/Easterlings. This is interesting. You get all the dwarves (though having to choose your Thrarin is sad) and an Enquea to benefit your Easterlings. It is a bold move that I have yet to do, but it does have merits. Personlly I find the dwarves not named Gimli slightly lacking in Sealed, though.
6. Elves/Dunland with Rohan/Nazgul. This is an interesting one. The pair of Enqueas must be noted again, and actually if you play Hobbits with Shadowplay you have a pretty nice wounding machine. I haven't done it, but feel there is potential. I would want to have pulled an Elven Bow or two to do this, though. No Aegnor is sad.
7. Gandalf/Southrons with Elves/Trackers. If you have picked the Gandalf starter, the second serie is really down to you as for where to go next. I prefer bolstering the hobbits by going Rohan than getting Mysterious Wizard, but this is viable. You still get your Enquea here.
8. Gandalf/Southrons with Gondor/Easterlings. I do not like this set up, despite the fact that all your shadow is Yellow. Easterlings and Southrons do not combine well if you don't have Rapid Fire, which is sad. Your fellowship gains nothing, either. No Enquea seals this combo's sadness.
9. Gandalf/Southrons with Rohan/Nazgul. I've done this for the 4th and 5th sealed leagues and have had fun in all but serie 2. Rohan needs for you to have gone for the Men in serie 1 to be able to cope (Not even a Brego) but the Eomer you got in serie 1 is nice and has the Gandalf signet. The hobbits get some lovely boosts, though, so I'd say just stick with them. Make Haste is excellent for ridding Sam of his Blade Tip, so remember that.
Sadly I cannot really comment on the serie 3 decks. Pipeweed looks as though it will do nicely with Gandalf, but it's so hard not to get all those archers. Play it with the Nazgul and you won't be disappointed, though. It is a pity Frodo's Pipe does nothing to help Trust Me as you Once Did. As for the RB comps and Isengard orcs, I like the look of the shadow, but even if I pull an Orc Commander, I'm still likely to stick him in with my archers. The Rangers/Archers help almost all the fellowships as much as the archers make a decent stand alone shadow: the Banner of Westernese is excellent for Gondor, whilst Aegnor loves all those archer Allies. Do note that cards like Great shield or Mithril coat, or even a fancy ring will really make archers struggle, but they are still surprisingly rare.
If you've got to the end of that, well done! Sorry it took so long, but there really is a lot to say. I hope you will now agree that this sealed has many dimensions, and that is why I love it so much. Well done to whoever (I think it was Ramolnar) for making such balanced and fun decks with lots of decent options.
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Excelent and very useful read from one of Gemp's most experienced Sealed players!
I dont have the time atm for longer comments, so just 2 questions:
1. Is Flaming Brand really that big of a deal or you just happened to run into lots of nazguls when you pulled it? Because thats not really my impression, I've played vs lot more people with uruks and archery than nazguls in all the Reviseds so far I think. And the + 1 strength on any comp won't matter that much vs those.
2. I have different experience about the Rohan - Nazgul matchup as well. I've played it from both ends, and I can say that nazgul really struggles vs Rohan/Gondor while having good match against hobbits and some gimmicky decks. Once you setup with Rohan/Gondor you beat most nazgul except Witchking and the enduring Attea, and you have Eowyn to battle Blade Tips & Black Breaths (if you dont pull Athelas/FNF). I don't know maybe its because I like to play with lots of fellowship skirmish events in Rohan/Gondor, but I never had problems with nazgul while playing Rohan unless I get a really bad draw and I always struggle with nazguls against good Rohan/Gondor list. So what was that you found difficult about the matchup?
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I would say that about half the decks I run into serie 2 are nazgul. Most defect to archers afterwards, but they are not unheard of in series 3 and 4 (you can expect at least 2 matches per serie). Stick a flaming brand on Aragorn and you have a monster Nazgul killer. On Faramir and he cannot be Breathed and is still a machine. It really is a good pull (though Filibert is also excellent!) Uruks are nice, but really would love to be not roaming at 4 (or 5 for Sauron's ones) and would love having anyone stronger than 8 being fierce. I feel that's why they aren't seen so much.
As for Rohan vs nazgul, if you went with Men serie 1, it is an even match. Get set up early and you'll be fine, but if you get no possessions, you can expect a beating from which you may never recover. Such is the way with the Nazgul-they disrupt. Nazgul have access to an excellent pump in Houses of Lamentation, which can mess you up when you really need to win a fight, and Rohan hate All Blades Perish letting that Lemenya survive when you really needed to kill it. It is probably the best matchup against the nazzies, though (Gondor excepted). If you have gone for any other deck serie 1 the Rohirrim will be toast, even if you Trust Me (barring a Flaming Brand or Rohirrim Army, that is). The real problem with Rohan in the later series is their dislike of archery. Unless you play unbound hobbits and Make Haste, or pulled a few shields you'll be in for a tough match.
These are just my opinions. I don't doubt many others disagree with what I say here: I only played 5 companions for the last 2 series-the 4 hobbits and Gandalf. I think I only lost a companion (except at site 9) twice in both series, despite running like a loony through 6 almost every time. Most people find that idea crazy!
By the way, what were you hoping for in the Reflections Pack? I was very happy with a Horn of the Mark, bt I feel Sent Back would be absolutely huge! A free strength 9 boost to hobbits and kill with Gandalf for every copy of Gandalf you pull? Yes please :)
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I myself was pretty happy with Isildur, and browsing through the set it really was the best pull I could want :) (Rohan with Gondor splash this league)
kill with Gandalf for every copy of Gandalf you pull? Yes please :)
What do you mean with that? You have to discard the condition to use the skirmish ability that places him in the dead pile, and then you can't play the next copies of him. Or you mean that you can kill him soaking 4 wounds vs archery for every copy of him? Thats indeed useful and someone did it to me in a previous league when I was running archery.
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Ah, I did forget the discard part. Even so, it destroys almost everything-boost hobbits so they're unkillable, then sack yourself to the biggest nasty, ready to play fresh in the regroup. Then smack the biggest fierce nasty at 9. I still feel lucky that I've had Isildur's Bane from 2 of my 5 set 1 packs in the leagues (and the Binding Ring last time, too!)
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Hi everyone! I've decided to continue SgtDraino's sterling work and create this thread asking what popular strategies everyone has for the Revised Sealed League.
Just read your thread! Good information here, as I am most likely going to participate in the Movie Sealed for the first time in the upcoming league.
Any way you could add a poll to the top, to see what deck choices people make each series?
Also, can we get some specific decklists posted for the starter decks available in each series? As in, the versions used on Gemp, as well as any additional cards players get issued each series?
Odd, for some reason I got the impression that the Movie Sealed starters were custom designed for the league, not stock starters from Decipher... but it sounds like they are?
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Also, can we get some specific decklists posted for the starter decks available in each series? As in, the versions used on Gemp, as well as any additional cards players get issued each series?
Odd, for some reason I got the impression that the Movie Sealed starters were custom designed for the league, not stock starters from Decipher... but it sounds like they are?
Yes, the decklists for the starters and cards you receive in each series are freely available here:
http://lotrtcgwiki.com/wiki/sealed-movie
They were fan created starters and are pretty well balanced.
There is an effort under way to create something similar for Towers Standard as well - details can be found in these threads:
http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,9038.0.html
http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,9003.0.html
And in this wiki which is in process of being filled out:
http://lotrtcgwiki.com/wiki/ts_sealed
The hope is that we will be able to have a TS league early next year.
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These wiki posts make it very user-friendly to browse all of the options. Thanks!
I originally used to feel like Southrons-Nazgul-Archers was the best way to go, as the archery can work its way up to being pretty brutal when combined with threats and considering the Ring you are provided with.
I think this time I'm going to try out something new, as there are definitely ways to build stronger fellowships if you get creative with other shadows. The Gandalf fellowship IS strong to start with, but I think you can also make Gondor/Rohan work just as well...
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My preferred path is Southrons (Gandalf+Hobbits), Easterlings (Dwarves+Gondor) and Archery (Rangers). That way those threat and burden dependant [Wraith] Orcs (Morgul Ambusher and Morgul Creeper) can get their trigger respectively from War Towers (and sites 5 & 9) and Easterling Guard / Lieutenant / GttS (and opponent's bid). That way you can exhaust their UB companions with Elite Archer and Southron Bowman, and release a bomb of Haradrim Marksman, another [Raider] Man and enough archery to bring someone down... then sit back, watch the threats explode and swarm the remaining.
Booster Choices can be invested in Set 10 to get Rallying Call and Field of the Fallen.
The FP side is pretty solid too: first deck provides TMAYOD (with 6 Gandalf signets) and Sam, GEW to win/survive, and Narrow Escape to double move; second deck has an awesome Gimli with Dwarven Axe, Dwarven Bracers and Stout and Strong to either survive, or kill and double move...
At Serie 2 and onwards start Gimli, Faithful Companion and either Sam or both UB Hobbits, and be careful to kill/return to hand a hobbit prior to playing a 6th companion (Gandalf most of the times). The mixture of a 10 or 11 strength Gimli with Trust Me support makes him very hard to kill or survive to most minions, and Narrow Escape can sweep a remaining minion for a swift double. If you get Stout and Strong early, it will release some exertions from Gandalf. Given that, the best common pull you can get is Lord of Moria or Aggression.
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My preferred path is Southrons (Gandalf+Hobbits), Easterlings (Dwarves+Gondor) and Archery (Rangers). That way those threat and burden dependant [Wraith] Orcs (Morgul Ambusher and Morgul Creeper) can get their trigger respectively from War Towers (and sites 5 & 9) and Easterling Guard / Lieutenant / GttS (and opponent's bid). That way you can exhaust their UB companions with Elite Archer and Southron Bowman, and release a bomb of Haradrim Marksman, another [Raider] Man and enough archery to bring someone down... then sit back, watch the threats explode and swarm the remaining.
Booster Choices can be invested in Set 10 to get Rallying Call and Field of the Fallen.
The FP side is pretty solid too: first deck provides TMAYOD (with 6 Gandalf signets) and Sam, GEW to win/survive, and Narrow Escape to double move; second deck has an awesome Gimli with Dwarven Axe, Dwarven Bracers and Stout and Strong to either survive, or kill and double move...
At Serie 2 and onwards start Gimli, Faithful Companion and either Sam or both UB Hobbits, and be careful to kill/return to hand a hobbit prior to playing a 6th companion (Gandalf most of the times). The mixture of a 10 or 11 strength Gimli with Trust Me support makes him very hard to kill or survive to most minions, and Narrow Escape can sweep a remaining minion for a swift double. If you get Stout and Strong early, it will release some exertions from Gandalf. Given that, the best common pull you can get is Lord of Moria or Aggression.
Never thought of the Gimli/Gandalf/Shire combination. That's quite neat! You get the strength of a big tank (gimli), while securing the fun tricks that the Hobbits provide your for doubling and discarding minions :)
The Morgul Ambusher really does make the Archery deck and almost "no-brainer" to choose for Serie 3. All you need to do it save them for site 9 and you are guaranteed 6 archery with 3 threats to boot. That can be VERY difficult to survive :( If it were playtested a little more, I'd wager that there would be only 1 or 2 ambushers provided ;)
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If you have War Towers in hand or Rallying Call in hand/support, you can even press with frequent doubles as you won't need your sitepath. And watch opponent's fellowship running with arrows in their heels...
Most of my loses with this deck were trying to play Gandalf or Sam providing a 6th companion (Shotgun Enquea kills Gimli and it's almost the end), or by assigning Gimli to an obvious ambush (Whirling strike for example) at Steward's Tomb and forgetting it's text... Intimidate and the Bracers are awesome tricks here as you rely on a single bearded tank.
The deck must be built as close as possible to 30/30, to set up Gimli, Gandalf and Southrons earlier. Ditch those choke tricks (ATfnBS and Gandalf's Wisdom) and focus one two things: Killing and Moving.
Dmaz, I'm glad you liked that coupling deck. You are right about Morgul Ambusher, most players pick Rangers/Archery deck at Serie 3 for that reason. That predictibility may give some advantage anyway...
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Okay, I'd like to focus on the Series 1 starters for a bit. As a reminder, the three options for Series 1 are:
Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons
Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland
Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai
I'd like to hear reasons behind why someone would pick (or avoid) each one of these starters. Pros and cons.
Of the three, Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai seems like the strongest one to me. You've got solid Frodo protection with both Hobbit Swords and Dagger Strike, Enquea protection in the form of Eowyn, solid companions, with an Isengard Shadow... Isengard has the best condition bomb, and it seems like many of these decks are extremely reliant on conditions. You can get more Uruks in Series 2, and yet more Isengard in Series 3. With basically no danger from Corsair possession hate, the Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai setup seems like the obvious way to go to me... what are the downsides? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland seems like the weakest one to me. You've got Elves with practically no archery, just those crappy (IMO) Naith guys. Not sure what Echo of Luthien is even doing here, she's practically useless since there are very few [Elf] cards in the deck. Not much Enquea or swarm protection either. On the Shadow side you've got site control Dunland with no Hides and no Freca. Bound By Rage isn't bad, but you can only have one out at a time, so you'll probably be holding the other one in your hand until the first one gets used up. Plus there's no more Dunland in the rest of the League, so you won't be enhancing these guys much in later series. So, what's the upside? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons seems to be in the middle. Sure it's nice to have Gandalf, but there are plenty of opportunities to get him in later series. The deck seems very condition-reliant, which to me feels dangerous. And it seems like you're going to be exerting Gandalf a bunch, with not too many ways to heal him. To me the main reasons to run a Gandalf deck is for condition removal, possession removal, and burden removal... but this deck does none of those things. Eomer doesn't seem to do anything but have a Gandalf signet. Southrons are okay, but you're not getting any more of them, and you probably won't pull a Ships of Great Draught to cycle them around with. So, what are some good reasons to choose this deck? Or not choose this deck?
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Okay, I'd like to focus on the Series 1 starters for a bit. As a reminder, the three options for Series 1 are:
Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons
Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland
Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai
I'd like to hear reasons behind why someone would pick (or avoid) each one of these starters. Pros and cons.
Of the three, Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai seems like the strongest one to me. You've got solid Frodo protection with both Hobbit Swords and Dagger Strike, Enquea protection in the form of Eowyn, solid companions, with an Isengard Shadow... Isengard has the best condition bomb, and it seems like many of these decks are extremely reliant on conditions. You can get more Uruks in Series 2, and yet more Isengard in Series 3. With basically no danger from Corsair possession hate, the Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai setup seems like the obvious way to go to me... what are the downsides? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland seems like the weakest one to me. You've got Elves with practically no archery, just those crappy (IMO) Naith guys. Not sure what Echo of Luthien is even doing here, she's practically useless since there are very few [Elf] cards in the deck. Not much Enquea or swarm protection either. On the Shadow side you've got site control Dunland with no Hides and no Freca. Bound By Rage isn't bad, but you can only have one out at a time, so you'll probably be holding the other one in your hand until the first one gets used up. Plus there's no more Dunland in the rest of the League, so you won't be enhancing these guys much in later series. So, what's the upside? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons seems to be in the middle. Sure it's nice to have Gandalf, but there are plenty of opportunities to get him in later series. The deck seems very condition-reliant, which to me feels dangerous. And it seems like you're going to be exerting Gandalf a bunch, with not too many ways to heal him. To me the main reasons to run a Gandalf deck is for condition removal, possession removal, and burden removal... but this deck does none of those things. Eomer doesn't seem to do anything but have a Gandalf signet. Southrons are okay, but you're not getting any more of them, and you probably won't pull a Ships of Great Draught to cycle them around with. So, what are some good reasons to choose this deck? Or not choose this deck?
Good stuff! I'll give me little bit of input as well...
Deck 1: I find it hard to say whether this or Deck 3 is the strongest. The hobbits have a lot of vitality, and though they can't clear the board in and of themselves, they can use their tricks. I think the reason this one is quite popular (aside from TMAYOD) is that Sam. At site 9, even with the others dead, he's a stand-alone 7 strength with a sword. Really not too shabby. I second that about TMAYOD sometimes being a double-edged sword. I've played this deck the last two leagues, and though you can do decently up to site 5, especially if you get Gandalf and trust out, but I often found that he's struggling like a three-legged dog on ice by site 8, particularly since even with trust you can't win every Uruk skirmish, and that Damage+1 can add up. Nonetheless, I find this to be a very strong deck given the guaranteed Sam. That's a pretty big deal.
Deck 2: I think there ARE advantages to picking this deck, but almost all of them pertain to Serie 1 exclusively. If you bid to go first with this deck, and play conservatively, you probably won't need to worry too much about your opponent running past you. This deck has a shadow that can make a swarm possible, a little better than the other ones. I don't see any other archery in Serie 1 other than this deck, so coming out the gate, I'd say this shadow can be pretty strong. You also get a couple war clubs which can really hurt in sealed. Regardless of pulling any Dunland rares, this deck can put you in a pretty good position for shadow, as your opponent will be wary of when you play that 6th companion since you have the shotgun enquea, AND won't want to double with only 5 companions because of the swarm factor. So all in all, I think because of the shadow, this deck has some upsides. You can transition to trackers well enough in Serie 2 with the other elf deck :)
Deck 3: I do think this deck is well balanced and overall very strong. Uruk beatdown shadows generally always keep your opponent on their toes. In some places, where one would normally double easily enough, they might reconsider, knowing that one lost skirmish could mean a dead key companion rather than an exhausted key companion. I really like that Eowyn. She's an excellent Shotgun Enquea shield as you already pointed out. She also supports your tank companions very well should they drop a beastly minion on you. The possessions make them strong, but watch out for those War Clubs with the dunland deck. The main reasons I think this deck is really good is because of cards like Citadel of the Stars, Rohirrim Bow, and that Boromir. Defender of Minas Tirith often becomes huge in this league as archery decks are so popular. Odds are they aren't going to get an arrow down for just 2 twilight that often, and you normally don't need to worry about a little extra in the pool as most archery decks drop weakling minions that lose skirmishes anyway. Their effort is to get you exhausted and then have an archery death trigger the threats. Defender of Minas Tirith can stop that quite often.
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Hi all,
Great reading and discussion!
I can only say that I've done well opening boosters from set 8 (I have even chose the 3 boosters of that set).
IMO, set 8 is great because of these commons you can get (in order of greatness), and in order to help your shadow with splashable minions so that your shadow isn't predictable:
*Great Hill Troll: Could actually overwhelm 2 companions (i.e in site 2 costs 11 which is not far-fetched).
In further sites, it's of great value to discard a condition (especially those included in starters which you build tokens to them).
*Siege Troop: Controlling a site is not as useful but it should cause damage and make it hard for your opponent to double.
*Morgul creeper: 3 burdens are easy to spot. Archery wounds even on Frodo come in handy when threats trigger. This is what I mean when shadow is not predictable because 3 burdens on Frodo would seem completely safe (e.g vs dunland).
*Morgul ambusher: 3 threats are easy to spot. Same as above.
*Legolas, Elven Stalwart: Better in the first serie, as there are usually few companion copies and there are no enduring minions. Good specially vs uruks or southrons without requiring strength pumps.
*A fool: A bonus with gandalf/shire but it helps frodo anyway.
*Eomer, keeper of oaths: It's not a bad idea to pull stuff from your deck and reshuffle, though you are really lucky if you get 1 possession out from this.
Note that by not being rare, it is a realistic expectation that you get at least one of these. Also, apart from the rares:
If you get mumakil then it's good to choose southrons.
If you get shake off the shadow it helps Legolas/Gimli. Or song of the shire for Gandalf/Shire.
Plus, it has been really nice getting rares such as: Theoden tall and proud (bringing eomer keeper of oaths and pulling out fp cards from the deck), promise keeping (in my case, only good for the third serie but it did a lot.. helped me pull a mini-ninja gollum). Though many of the additional cards you get will be good for later series (i.e enduring stuff for nazguls).
Though this can somehow rule out pumps for dunland as mentioned by Legion, but maybe not so much because of splashable minions.
If I knew for certain that I would choose uruks (maybe I'll try this), I would get set 3 to try to get saruman (at least the common one).
I've also always chose to grab 1 booster from set 1 to try to get these (but without success), because I had already in mind that I'd go with Gandalf/Shire:
* Sleep caradhras
* Hobbit intuition
* U. Enquea
* U. Nertea
But note that for uruks, Saruman's power can be a good idea because the assault ladders in that deck are mostly "use and throw away"; maybe at some point it's worth to ditch everything so that any good fps conditions full of tokens sitting there are gone.
Your opponent doesn't expect that, and you are prone to pull it out (say in site 6?, because you would only have 1 copy of saruman's power).
This time, unless I get some really specific booster pulls, I'm considering to go with dunland so I'll perhaps share my experience then.
It's true you won't get pumps for that in later sets, but that's ok because you can choose Nazgul for series 2 onward.
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Another thought; I think additional advantages in choosing set 8 (or set 10 as well) are:
1. As we know, cards from the later sets were made with more powered abilities or numbers (i.e strength of minions or companions, etc).
Apart from abilities, you can even get to use a minion or companion which doesn't 100% match your strategy but is has good numbers (i.e, Orc Slaughterer, Mordor Pillager, Gorgoroth Swarm, any Eomer which is base-8 strength, ..).
2. Sites at least can be considered.
Isn't it annoying when you get 3 sites in a same booster (anyone else?), so at least sites from these sets you can change in your deck.
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I agree with daisukeman. I went for sets 3 and 8 last time because you have the best shot at getting game-changing cards. I feel like going for base sets (1, 4, 7) is pointless due to the huge number of useless rares, but it seems like you guys have had good luck with those.
Okay, I'd like to focus on the Series 1 starters for a bit. As a reminder, the three options for Series 1 are:
Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons
Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland
Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai
Disregarding booster pulls, deck 3 for sure. Only downside I see to that deck is twilight generation from FP side, and maybe some man hate from Raider cards.
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I agree with daisukeman. I went for sets 3 and 8 last time because you have the best shot at getting game-changing cards. I feel like going for base sets (1, 4, 7) is pointless due to the huge number of useless rares, but it seems like you guys have had good luck with those.
Okay, I'd like to focus on the Series 1 starters for a bit. As a reminder, the three options for Series 1 are:
Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons
Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland
Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai
Disregarding booster pulls, deck 3 for sure. Only downside I see to that deck is twilight generation from FP side, and maybe some man hate from Raider cards.
I thought a lot about this, and spent some time looking through all of the card lists. Your point, I feel is only true to the extent that sets 3 and 8 have smaller card pools so your chances of pulling one of the rares that you want is slightly greater. However, the base sets, after looking at them don't have a huge number of useless rares at all. On observation of Set 1.
The only that I would consider completely useless rares that I found were (and some might argue):
Mithril Shaft
The Council of Elrond
The Nine Walkers
An Able Guide
Arwen's Fate
The Choice of Luthien
Alive and Unspoiled
Cruel Caradhras
Saruman's Reach
Uruk Spy
Cave Troll's Hammer
Denizens Enraged
The End Comes
Fool of a Took!
Goblin Domain
Lost to the Goblins
The Underdeeps of Moria
In the Ringwraith's Wake
The Twilight World
Despair
The Irresistible Shadow
Journey Into Danger
Mordor Enraged
Orc Butchery
Seeking its Master
The Weight of a Legacy
The number of usable cards from set 1 is actually huge, and a lot of them are really great. This is because of the fact that throughout the choice of the three starter decks each serie, you will more than likely have access to a vast array of the "main" companions, and not just fillers. Any of the rare companions are good. Their weapons are great too. Not to mention the allies. Galadriel, LoL, or Albert Dreary are clutch. Take a look at the rare Isengard cards too. Aside from those few events, those Uruk cards are great, especially considering how strong Uruks are in this league.
Altogether I counted 65 cards that would be great pulls from Set 1, as compared to 26 really bad ones.
For Set 3, I found the following cards to be either utterly useless, or dependent on pulling another rare (like Vilya or Nenya...chances are you won't also get Galadriel or Elrond, so don't count on it being a useful card)
Book of Mazarbul
Mines of Khazad-Dum
Forests of Lothlorien
Nenya
Vilya
The Shards of Narsil
Citadel of Minas Tirith
A Fell Voice on the Air
Hollowing of Isengard
Depths of Moria
Gates of the Dead City
His Cruelty and Malice
Morgul Slayer
Orc Trooper
Terrible as the Dawn
Why Shouldn't I Keep It?
Melilot Brandybuck, Merry Dancer
The Shire Countryside
Doing the same comparision, I found 15 good pulls from Set 3 (and I'm even including both of the Tower cards - one adds twilight, the other assists in getting initiative), up against those 18. Just as in Set 1, I left out some cards that appeared to be neither really bad or really good, and depend on your deck type (like the Set 3 Arwen or Set 1 Cave Troll).
You can just by the percent ratios, you actually have a better chance at getting an at least usable rare if you go with set 1. Yes, going set 3 gets you a closer shot at the rares you want, by the card pool, but its a risk since there's still an even greater chance you end up with garbage.
I'm looking at set 8 right now, and I'm having a hard time seeing these "game changing" cards that are actually as strong as Set 3's Palantir or Horn of Boromir. Half of the cultures' cards aren't going to help you at all (look at Gondor and Dwarf for example). Really Sauron is what is actually good, with an easy chance at a Great Hill Troll, and a long shot chance at a Grond. Still, I don't find the balance staggeringly in favor of it.
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Citadel of Minas Tirith is definitely not a wasted rare-it is so good against those Southrons who often cannot win, but do wound. I don't understand the attraction of set 8, though. As I said in the first post, set 1 is solid, but the thing is it is so big, and a lot will be wasted on Sauron Orcs or Moria which you won't be playing. Remember there are 121 C,U,R cards in sets 1,4 and 7, but only 40 of each in 2,3,5,6,8,10. You get 3 boosters, so that's 3 rares, 9 uncommons and 21 commons (ignoring foils).
This gives about a 44% chance of pulling any given common you want in the small sets, compared to 16% in the larger ones. For Uncommons it is 21% to 5%. So you have a greater chance of pulling any given uncommon in set 10 (Brooding on Tomorrow) than any given common in set 1 (Sleep Caradhras). Set 10 does have a list of very good cards, and lots are common/uncommon. Rank and File is an absolute game changer for the Uruks, but so too are Cast Unto the Winds (a common, and especially if you pull another Rallying call), or any initiative losing card such as Glimpse of Fate or Hardy Garrison. That's why I go set 10, though I do understand the arguments for set 4 which is solid. Set 1 too, but the Dunlandings won't like you for it, making most elven pulls worthless.
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Citadel of Minas Tirith is definitely not a wasted rare-it is so good against those Southrons who often cannot win, but do wound. I don't understand the attraction of set 8, though. As I said in the first post, set 1 is solid, but the thing is it is so big, and a lot will be wasted on Sauron Orcs or Moria which you won't be playing. Remember there are 121 C,U,R cards in sets 1,4 and 7, but only 40 of each in 2,3,5,6,8,10. You get 3 boosters, so that's 3 rares, 9 uncommons and 21 commons (ignoring foils).
This gives about a 44% chance of pulling any given common you want in the small sets, compared to 16% in the larger ones. For Uncommons it is 21% to 5%. So you have a greater chance of pulling any given uncommon in set 10 (Brooding on Tomorrow) than any given common in set 1 (Sleep Caradhras). Set 10 does have a list of very good cards, and lots are common/uncommon. Rank and File is an absolute game changer for the Uruks, but so too are Cast Unto the Winds (a common, and especially if you pull another Rallying call), or any initiative losing card such as Glimpse of Fate or Hardy Garrison. That's why I go set 10, though I do understand the arguments for set 4 which is solid. Set 1 too, but the Dunlandings won't like you for it, making most elven pulls worthless.
Yeah, after giving set 10 a look, I'd say it's quite a bit stronger for an expansion set. Rank and File is crazy good for the Uruk deck.
For set 1, basically any of the FP cultures have decent commons and uncommons for the decks you get to choose from, but the Moria commons and uncommons are kind of crusty....I guess what it comes down to is if you want to chase big time rares, or bank on more solids common/uncommon support and not worry about the rares...
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Nice analysis, dmaz! As I mentioned earlier I did indeed go full-on set 1, and I am pretty happy with what I got... although I'm not going to go into specifics until the league is over. ;)
My experience so far: I've played 8 games so far, and 6 of my opponents have been using Uruks. 1 opponent was using Dunland, and 1 opponent was using Southrons. I've suffered 2 losses, one from the Dunland, and one from one of the Uruk decks.
Observations: Yep, those Dunland sure can swarm! I see that my Dunland opponent won only 6 out of 10 games, so maybe their performance is uneven.
I'm amazed at how often an opponent will forget about The Number Must Be Few, and play out 7 guys. I've won multiple games simply because my opponent played out 7 guys, and then I played TNMBF and stopped playing any more minions.
Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai is by faaaaaaaaaaaarrrr the most popular deck, the one you will encounter most often.
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A few updates from the end of Series 3: Not doing so well. Only won half of my games from Series 2, and Series 3 is looking about the same. It's hard for me to put my finger on why, it basically just seems to be down to draw. If the draw is good, I win. If the draw is bad, I lose.
For Series 1 I chose "Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai," overall very satisfied with that choice.
For Series 2 I chose "Elves/Gandalf and Uruk Trackers," overall satisfied with that choice too. It gave me Gandalf, a Shotgun Enquea, and more Uruk-hai.
For Series 3 I chose "Rangers and Archers," mostly based on positive feedback from other players about that deck, and that fact that it has a few more Uruk-hai in it. I have to say, I'm disappointed with it. I feel like the Shadow is relatively weak. The Fellowship is strong if you plan to switch over to Elven Archery at this point, but that was never my plan. I think the only stuff I ended up using from that deck, were extra copies of Aragorn and Boromir, and the somewhat crappy gondor powerup that only works on Rangers. If I had to do it over again, I think I'd go with my original plan, which was to pick "Ring-bound Companions and Isengard Orcs" for Series 3. That would have given me Faramir, Son of Denethor, and some pretty strong anti-swarm cards.
Ah well, next time!
Otherwise, I'd add that the Nazgul Shadow from "Rohan/Shire and Nazgul" is pretty good. The rest of the Shadows didn't really impress me much.
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Given your pulls (I won't reveal them now as there are games to play, but I will say you wanted to get Gondor and Gandalf), I can see why you went for those choices series 1 and 2 I t also gave you a strong shadow in plenty of Uruks. However, that selection really doesn't lend itself to the Archers deck serie 3. Your shadow is already as good as a ton of archers, so I'd have recommended the Pipeweed deck-the shadow probably gains nothing, but that's probably about complete by now so not a problem. However, those pipes would have really decimated most shadows, especially given your pulls.
I'm not sure I'd play the archers having gone for Men in Serie 1 again. I miss that rallying call or bonus Enquea too much-especially after going Gondor Serie 2. However, the Uruks are still very viable.
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Why is this topic still open ? sgtdraino already have said all in this previous comment.
Gondor/Rohan and Uruk/Nazgul are the stronger FP and shadows . Deck 3 is far better than the others with no balance at all.
Okay, I'd like to focus on the Series 1 starters for a bit. As a reminder, the three options for Series 1 are:
Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons
Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland
Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai
I'd like to hear reasons behind why someone would pick (or avoid) each one of these starters. Pros and cons.
Of the three, Deck 3: Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai seems like the strongest one to me. You've got solid Frodo protection with both Hobbit Swords and Dagger Strike, Enquea protection in the form of Eowyn, solid companions, with an Isengard Shadow... Isengard has the best condition bomb, and it seems like many of these decks are extremely reliant on conditions. You can get more Uruks in Series 2, and yet more Isengard in Series 3. With basically no danger from Corsair possession hate, the Gondor/Rohan and Uruk-hai setup seems like the obvious way to go to me... what are the downsides? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 2: Dwarves/Elves and Dunland seems like the weakest one to me. You've got Elves with practically no archery, just those crappy (IMO) Naith guys. Not sure what Echo of Luthien is even doing here, she's practically useless since there are very few [Elf] cards in the deck. Not much Enquea or swarm protection either. On the Shadow side you've got site control Dunland with no Hides and no Freca. Bound By Rage isn't bad, but you can only have one out at a time, so you'll probably be holding the other one in your hand until the first one gets used up. Plus there's no more Dunland in the rest of the League, so you won't be enhancing these guys much in later series. So, what's the upside? I'm sure there must be some.
Of the three, Deck 1: Gandalf/Shire and Southrons seems to be in the middle. Sure it's nice to have Gandalf, but there are plenty of opportunities to get him in later series. The deck seems very condition-reliant, which to me feels dangerous. And it seems like you're going to be exerting Gandalf a bunch, with not too many ways to heal him. To me the main reasons to run a Gandalf deck is for condition removal, possession removal, and burden removal... but this deck does none of those things. Eomer doesn't seem to do anything but have a Gandalf signet. Southrons are okay, but you're not getting any more of them, and you probably won't pull a Ships of Great Draught to cycle them around with. So, what are some good reasons to choose this deck? Or not choose this deck?
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Why is this topic still open ? sgtdraino already have said all in this previous comment.
Gondor/Rohan and Uruk/Nazgul are the stronger FP and shadows . Deck 3 is far better than the others with no balance at all.
Because this is a forum where people can speak up their thoughts? Also because thats not true at all, depending on what people pull from packs. Last Revised league the best deck was Gandalf/hobbits & Archery, everyone was playing it. He is not as straightforward to play as Men/Uruks thoogh, so most new players tend to choose that.
In addition to Gandalf & Hobbits being the strongest fellowship for many people with experience in this Sealed, once getting the archery starter 3rd serie southrons assemble a killer shadow that can murder everyone not having some not so commonly seen cards like Gimli's Armor, SAWTC and Binding Ring or some pipe action (against a well made build just Boromir, DoMT doesnt cut it). Strangely havent seen it this league much except for a few not so good builds. Next league it may be the opposite with hobbits & archery all over again.
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This is the deck that I used in series 3 and 4:
Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
Adventure deck:
Edoras Hall
West Road
Base of Mindolluin
Pelennor Prairie
City Gates
Minas Tirith Sixth Circle
Pelennor Grassland
Morgulduin
Dagorlad
Free Peoples Draw Deck:
2x Aragorn, Heir of Elendil
2x Boromir, Defender of Minas Tirith
1x Targon
1x Elite Rider
1x Hrethel, Rider of Rohan
1x Théoden, Leader of Spears
2x Éomer, Forthwith Banished
1x Éowyn, Lady of Rohan
1x Hlafwine, Village Farmhand
1x Bounder
1x Armor
1x Knight's Spear
1x Sword of Gondor
1x Brego
1x Herugrim
1x Rider's Mount
2x Rider's Spear
1x Rohirrim Bow
2x Hobbit Sword
2x An Honorable Charge
2x Fey He Seemed
1x Garrison of Osgiliath
1x Parapet
1x We Left None Alive
Shadow Draw Deck:
3x Elite Archer
3x Southron Bowman
1x Great Hill Troll
2x The Witch-king, Deathless Lord
3x Úlairë Attëa, Thrall of the One
1x Úlairë Cantëa, Thrall of the One
1x Úlairë Enquëa, Faster Than Winds
1x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
2x Úlairë Lemenya, Lieutenant of Morgul
2x Úlairë Nelya, Black-Mantled Wraith
2x Úlairë Otsëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
1x Corrupt
3x Houses of Lamentation
3x Black Breath
2x Blade Tip
1x Stooping to the Kill
That GHT was a 3rd Lemenya in series 3, but otherwise the deck stayed the same. Corrupt is gold, as was the 3rd Houses and Parapet. Saved my butt more than once.
And this is my best Sealed result so far, with Top 8 standing, maybe even 5th or 6th.