The Last Homely House
Middle-Earth => Lothlórien => Standard => Topic started by: Anvar on August 28, 2008, 10:03:39 AM
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So, I have a ton of ages end, specifically 4 sets. Now some of it makes for obvious decks (tentacles for example), some go in other decks (Eomer, Legolas etc.) but there are a few cards that I'm just not sure what to do with and I was wondering if you good people could help me out with some ideas. Ideally, I would make standard decks but expanded thoughts are also welcome:
1] Grima, Servant of Another Master
Grima seems like a really powerful card but I just don't know what deck he belongs in.
2] All of the Nazgul: Dark Shadow, Dark Horseman, Dark Threat, Dark Enemy, Dark Predator, Dark Lord
I have a whole heaving pile of Nazgul now, but they don't seem to make a coherent deck or strategy. Any ideas where to use these minions?
Thanks,
Anvar
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1] Grima, Servant of Another Master
Grima seems like a really powerful card but I just don't know what deck he belongs in.
Some of the more obvious pairings are cards like Too Late, Demoralized, and Determined Uruk that have abilities triggered when companions exert. Other fun little combos would be cards that key off companion healing (Treacherous Little Toad, Dark Fell About Him, Lingering Shadow, Steward's Tomb) or spot wounded companions (Corsair Champion, Weapons of Control, Undead of Angmar, Duplicitous Specter, and of course the [Isengard] berserkers).
Probably the most promising out of those are the ones that do stuff whenever a companion exerts. I could see tossing him in with some Demoralized: four copies would make his exert-when-played a free ability and really make the FP player think twice about canceling a skirmish with Grima by exerting. Not sure if that's enough to justify an entire deck being built around him, though.... :-k
2] All of the Nazgul: Dark Shadow, Dark Horseman, Dark Threat, Dark Enemy, Dark Predator, Dark Lord
I have a whole heaving pile of Nazgul now, but they don't seem to make a coherent deck or strategy. Any ideas where to use these minions?
Dark Shadow and especially Dark Horseman are awesome splashes into virtually any Nazgul deck: I use Dark Horseman all the time now with my various Forestgul decks, and he's a great way to potentially go right after the Ring-bearer (making him an awesome combo with twilight Nazgul, [Wraith] Orcs, and others that key off wounds/burdens on the Ring-bearer). Never seen much use for the rest (though Dark Threat has some potential as Shotgun Enquea 2.0), though I've been itching to build a deck around Dark Enemy. Seems like tons of potential there (especially with Sword of Minas Morgul :twisted:), but I've just never been able to make one I liked. This might motivate me to try again, though.
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Dark Horseman does much to make up the lackluster showing of the other AE Nazgul. If he lands on your Galadriel Ring-bearer at site 2, watch out! He has a way of generating burdens or threats, dodging troublesome companions (or assigning to the right ones), and he's cheap to play. Just incredible all around.
Dark Threat and Dark Lord could conceivably fit into a cycling/beatdown deck using Moving This Way and Riders in Black. I'm not sure if it'd be too limiting, though; these days it seems like a beatdown swarm is the way to go. On the bright side you'd have an excuse to fit in 4 of each.
Dark Shadow... don't like. Really wish he gave the Shadow player a choice of whether to force a different assignment. Could throw him into a Sense of Obligation deck if you can't use Messenger of Morgul, and are running the other self-assigners already.
Dark Enemy and Dark Predator I'm not sure about. I probably wouldn't pack 20 possessions only to have Dark Enemy shot down by archery, but maybe he can be splashed somewhere. And it's hard to imagine Dark Predator beating Keeper of Dol Guldur or Black Predator, or not being able to use the 5 twilight in the shadow phase (can't guarantee they'd be added later).
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Pretty much the cards in Ages End are either insanely broken or insanely worthless. That is the sad fact of Decipher at the end. Grima is primarily used as a splash, and works great in...any deck. :D Nertea rocks also massively, as does Great Ring.
Pretty much....I'd just focus on the hobbits, they seem the only decent balanced deck that can come out of it.