The Last Homely House
Middle-Earth => Lothlórien => Fellowship => Topic started by: zbrown7979 on January 13, 2015, 10:44:03 AM
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Greetings,
I'm new to this page and forum. I am looking for some advice on deck building (both general) and (specifically) for the Fellowship block. I mostly collected the cards when I was younger and now I am looking to play seriously. I am an experienced MTG player and deck builder so I am familiar with TCG Deck building concepts.
Now, with all that being said here are some of the main questions I have.
1.) Deck size? How big? Do you want consistency so you are drawing the cards you want or can you have some more diversity in your cards?
2.) Strategies? What can be most effective? Nazgul power? Moria Swarm? Power fellowship companions or more of a choke deck?
3.) What are some key cards in the Fellowship block that aren't banned that you want in your deck?
Thanks for all your help as I am just getting into this cool game!
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1.) Deck size: Okay, this is pretty subjective these days, it appears. Back when the game was still being played in paper in tourneys, you would have been hard-pressed to find a deck clocking in at 40/40 or more. The only decks that really used that many cards were things like Dwarves/Moria decks that were designed to cycle through the deck very quickly via card draw, cards that were immediately playable in fellowship phase and thus didn't need to be kept in hand, and cheap minions that could easily be played and recycled.
Since you mention that you are an experienced MTG guy, I'll say this: card advantage is much easier to come by in LoTR tcg than it is mtg. You are not locked into one or two cultures to have good cycling tools like you sometimes can be with such cycling and card draw in Blue and Black in magic. The other thing is obviously that you reconcile your hand frequently, so playing cards that say "Draw a card" or "Draw X cards" aren't quite as valuable to you in LotR as they would be in magic because the game's design in and of itself frequently refills your hand.
While some others may advocate playing a great number of cards (50/50 or something like that), in most cases these players are more seasoned and are probably running various tutors to fetch out bullet cards (kinda like Melira Pod in Modern format magic, if you are familiar). I, however, as many old school players will, would urge you to stick to 36/36 or even less. I find 32/32 is typically best (lower number like this are typically better for shadows like Nazgul), though going higher if you are playing a swarming shadow (like a Moria Swarm in Fellowship block) is okay. When it comes down to it, the best way to tell is to test. I had a knights/besiegers deck that was doing terribly and having trouble with cycling at 34/34 but I trimmed two cards from each side making it 32/32 and it made a world of difference.
Like Magic, running a 4 card playset of cards you want to see early and often still holds. If you have some tutor effects or a card is unique and you don't want to see a bunch of them, then maybe don't run 4 but rather 2-3. Having a way to cycle unneeded unique cards is helpful as well.
2.) Strategies.... In Fellowship block, all shadow cultures appear to have some success. Moria Swarm or Moria Archery, Uruk beatdown with Keeper of Isengard and Savagery to Match Their Numbers, both twilight and non-twilight nazgul... It just kinda depends on what you wanna play or what you feel has synergy with your freeps side. Maybe you are playing a choke frees and are concerned about being able to double move. You could pair that will a shadow designed to stop you opponent (something like Uruks or Nazgul are good for this... Drop a keeper of isengard and dare them to double with twilight left in the pool) or perhaps be content to single move and play a shadow geared more toward killing the opponent (Swarm 'em out with Moria or Grind 'em down with Sauron wounding with things like Hate and Orc Bowmen). If you have more specific questions about strategies, I can try to answer those as well.
3.) This is a bit tougher to pin down... Its not quite like in magic where if you are running red in modern format, then you obviously want a playset of lightning bolts in your 75 somewhere. The various archetypes determine what the key cards are for you. I'll try and list a few of the general "good choices" that could be included in a variety of decks.
General Freeps:
Aragorn, Ranger of the North
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell
Ottar, Man of Laketown
Sting
Power According to His Stature
Legolas, Greenleaf
Gandalf, The Grey Pilgrim
Sam, Son of Hamfast
Boromir, Son of Denethor
Aragorn's Bow
Thrarin, Dwarven Smith
Any possessions for the main freeps characters in your deck (Ranger's Sword for your Aragorn, Blade of Gondor for your Boromir, Asfaloth for your Arwen, etc.)
General Shadow:
Ulaire Enquea, LoM
Tower Assassin
The Balrog, Durin's Bane
Bill Ferny, SSF
Goblin Runner
I should mention that most of the companions and minions listed above could be considered what are called "splash companions." In the same way one might splash a color in a magic deck for the use of a spell in the mid-to-late game, these companions/minions can be thrown into a variety of decks and provide value even though they don't necessarily synergize with the overall strategy of that deck.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I hope it helps. I'm also happy to try and field any further questions you may have or clarify anything I have stated that is a source of confusion. I admit my proof-reading skills leave something to be desired at times.
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The other question that would be good to know is, are you trying to build this deck physically and play or are you trying to build it online? Definitely puts limitations on what you're trying to do.
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Well, I am looking to build decks for both formats. Is there a difference (besides obviously you might not have all the physical copies) to physical deck building vs. online (gemp) deck building?
Some other follow up questions i have are this...
1.) When constructing a shadow deck what cultures work best together? Or should you focus on a single culture? And what shadow strategy seems to work best? (corruption, beat down, swarm, nazgul, archery)
I have tried a few games out on gemp now and no matter what I do my shadow cards never seem to do anything to my opponents fellowship
2.) When constructing a free people decks what cultures work well together? Or can I mash them all together? Also, should I always try for the double move every game? Or slow and steady? Also, how many (event) strength pumps should I take with me vs. possessions and conditions? (I am used to using a aggro instant based deck in MTG hence my question)
I am sorry if these questions seem basic. I just want to become a better player. Thanks for your help.
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I think you summed it up really well, dethwish. Gold for you!
I'm one of those crazy guys who uses a large 50/50 deck in Fellowship, but in most cases I'd agree, generally small decks for Fellowship Block work better.
Well, I am looking to build decks for both formats. Is there a difference (besides obviously you might not have all the physical copies) to physical deck building vs. online (gemp) deck building?
Not really, no. The online starter decks come with a few different cards than the physical starters, that's about it.
Some other follow up questions i have are this...
1.) When constructing a shadow deck what cultures work best together? Or should you focus on a single culture? And what shadow strategy seems to work best? (corruption, beat down, swarm, nazgul, archery)
For Fellowship Block, I think generally monoculture works best, except for the "general Shadow" cards that dethwish listed, which can benefit almost any Shadow strategy.
I have tried a few games out on gemp now and no matter what I do my shadow cards never seem to do anything to my opponents fellowship
What Shadow cultures have you tried?
IMO Uruk-hai are the most effective in Fellowship, followed by fierce Nazgul. Moria Orcs, Isengard Orcs, and Sauron Orcs I'd all rate about the same, just below those first two.
2.) When constructing a free people decks what cultures work well together? Or can I mash them all together?
In Fellowship you're normally going to have quite a few different cultures, because companion choices are limited. Elves and Gondor work well together, Elves and Dwarfs work together pretty well too (thanks to Shoulder to Shoulder), and Gandalf makes a good splash for any deck. Certain cards like Boromir, Son of Denethor are a must for Hobbits.
Also, should I always try for the double move every game? Or slow and steady?
If you think you can double without getting killed or crippled too badly, go for it. Otherwise just move once. It all depends on the situation. You don't want to fall too far behind your opponent, you want to at least pressure him into doubling too.
Also, how many (event) strength pumps should I take with me vs. possessions and conditions? (I am used to using a aggro instant based deck in MTG hence my question)
That's totally dependent on what strategy you're using. For the most part I tend to prefer "permanents" for the Free Peoples, which mostly take the form of possessions. In Fellowship, it's harder to get rid of possessions than Conditions. Events are nice, but of course once you use it, it's gone. An exception to this would be [Shire] Stealth events, which are pretty much totally necessary in Fellowship Block play.
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The best way to learn about the game is to jump in and start playing. gemp is a super way to play! Just make sure to follow a few of the more simple rules. Rule of 4: No more than 4 cards of the same title in your deck (also no more than 4 cards may be played from your draw deck during the fellowship phase). Rule of 9: No more than 9 companions may be played.
Rule of Balance (I made that name up): Your deck must be made up of equal parts freeps and equal parts shadow (IE: 30/30).
Rule of the Ring (I made that name up too): Your deck must include a Ring Bearer (RB) and a copy of the one ring. Note RB counts towards your freeps card total. The one ring does *not* count as either a freep card or a shadow card.
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Rule of the Ring (I made that name up too): Your deck must include a Ring Bearer (RB) and a copy of the one ring. Note RB counts towards your freeps card total. The one ring does *not* count as either a freep card or a shadow card.
Sorry to correct you, but the RB does not count as a FP card, it's exactly the same as the ring (so you need to pick a RB, a ring, and then pair up the Shadow and FP cards starting from 30/30)
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Wait, is that a new ruleor have I been playing wrong for 13 years!
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(https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.convergenceculture.org%2Fweblog%2Fdoingitwrong.jpg&hash=4d3528f9628b6aa9b09bc03a9eaac51d32ef57f7)
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Wait, is that a new ruleor have I been playing wrong for 13 years!
It's an old one.. From the comprehensive rulebook 4.0 - Page 7 "Ring-bearer and The One Ring You may choose any character with the ringed resistance icon, or any version of Frodo, to be your Ringbearer.
You may choose any version of The One Ring. These two cards are not part of your draw deck (they do not count against your total of Free Peoples cards)."
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Dang. Learn something new every day. Thanks guys.
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This is all helpful info on my part as well. I'm still trying to learn the basics and deck building stratigies. Thanks for all of the info guys.