Lords of Middle-Earth

[BattleWarg]

For those who don't remember this, about... wow, 5 years ago...

Anyway, I had the idea to make a set involving cultures that focused on aspects of the player's preferred flavor/gameplay - resulting in new cultures that would allow us to play a single (or possibly multiple) culture deck that was based on our own preferences.
I forget now exactly how I decided on the three members that got cultures, and I think I asked for card names/rarity from them (which was probably how it was decided). I then had a contest to build the cards and, after a number of computer losses (2 to 4, though at least one wasn't the physical computer...) I've recently refound a printed list that allowed me to find the cards I had posted.


So, my plan is to finish the set. Possibly along with other sets/cards of mine that have been forgotten for too long...


I do plan to use my second post in the topic as a spoiler list, with existing culture symbols standing in - hopefully someone's around that would have a chance at remembering who the cultures are... So I'll use this as just card titles/numbers/rarity and see if there's updating to do to the cards.

And if anyone knows how to make a post without having the text box page back up, please let me know (although I suspect in PM would be more appropriate unless as a side note on card notes.

LR1 •The One Ring, The Great Ring
LU2 •The One Ring, Heirloom of Gondor
LC3 •The One Ring, The Precious
LU4 •Aragorn, Commander of the Rohirrim
LU5 The Arm of Saruman
LR6 Battle of Helm's Deep
LC7 Berserk Battalion
LU8 Berserker Pike
LU9 Blasting Rock
LU10 Cannot Win This Fight
LR11 Cords
LU12 Courage
LC13 Dark Night
LR14 Death and Glory
LC15 Destroy the World of Men
LU16 Elf-Blade
LC17 Elven Archer
LR18 Elven Army
LR19 The End of Rohan
LC20 •Eomer, Golden Rider
LR21 •Eowyn, Leader of the People
LR22 Fire Unto Stone
LR23 First Light on the Fifth Day
LC24 Forests Will Fall
LC25 Fray of Battle
LU26 A Good Sword
LU27 Great Ladders
LC28 Guardian of the Keep
LR29 •Haldir, Warden of the Galadhrim
LR30 •Haleth, Son of Hama
LU31 The Horse and the Rider
LC32 Isengard Ballista
LR33 Isengard Ballista Troop
LU34 Isengard Monster
LU35 Let the Horn Sound
LU36 Men Still Defend It
LC37 Murderers!
LR38 Naith Swordsman
LU39 Nightfall Comes
LU40 No Rabble
LR41 Orthanc's Fire
LR42 Rule of Middle-earth
LC43 Rusted Helmet
LC44 Rusted Shield
LC45 Rusted Sword
LR46 Sea of Black
LU47 Secure the Gate
LR48 Seething Mass
LU49 Spearmaster of Isengard
LU50 Spears on Rock
LR51 Spiked Globe
LR52 Stray Shot
LR53 Tens of Thousands!
LC54 Thousands
LR55 To The Keep!
LC56 Too Many Winters
LC57 Tribal Assailant
LC58 Uruk Long Blade
LC59 Uruk Shieldman
LR60 Uruk-hai Giant
LR61 Uruk-hai Torchbearer
LR62 Uruk-hai Vigilante
LC63 We Are Alone
LR64 Weak at the Neck
LU65 A Worthy Army
LR66 •Anduril, Blade of Kings
LC67 •Aragorn, Heir of Gondor
LU68 •Arwen, Grey as Nightfall
LR69 Black Cloaks
LR70 Bodies of the Fallen
LU71 •Boromir, Stern of Glance
LC72 Children of Luthien
LU73 •Cirdan, Lord of the Grey Havens
LC74 Cirith Ungol Defender
LC75 Crawling Arm
LC76 •Denethor, Unyielding Lord
LR77 •Eldarion, Son of Arwen
LC78 •Elrond, Tried Warrior
LC79 Fair and Noble Face
LC80 •Faramir, Truth-speaker
LU81 Figures of Beasts and Birds
LU82 Fire of Their Spirit
LR83 Flesh Shall Be Devoured
LC84 •Galadriel, Beautiful Beyond Enduring
LU85 Glory of the Elder Days
LU86 •Gorbag, Cirith Ungol Captain
LU87 •Gothmog, Lieutenant of the Wraiths
LU88 Great Princes Were Assembled
LU89 Harp of Galadriel
LC90 Keen and Merciless Eyes
LC91 King's Sword
LR92 Lay of Luthien
LC93 Life Unending
LR94 •Luthien, Fair as the Twilight
LC95 Majesty
LC96 Man of Carn Dun
LC97 Morgul Runner
LR98 •Narya, Fire of Anor
LR99 •Nenya, Preserver of Things
LR100 •The Pale Blade, Flaming Death
LR101 Rode Like a Gale
LC102 Rouse the Barrow-downs
LR103 •Seeing-stone of Minas Anor, Fire-handed
LR104 •Seeing-stone of Orthanc, Destructive Missile
LU105 Shadow of Horror
LR106 Shadows Seemed to Grow
LR107 •The Silver Crown
LC108 Smelling For Me
LR109 •Staff of the Stewardship
LC110 Strength of His Will
LU111 •Theoden, King of the Mark
LU112 Tall Dark Figure
LU113 Thick Piercing Chill
LC114 Thralldom of the Ring
LU115 •Thranduil, King of Mirkwood
LR116 •Ulaire Attea, Khamul
LR117 •Ulaire Cantea, Shadowed and Invisible
LU118 •Ulaire Enquea, Tall and Black-like
LU119 •Ulaire Lemenya, Black Shadow
LR120 •Ulaire Nelya, Black Hunter
LU121 •Ulaire Nertea, Fell Rider
LU122 •Ulaire Otsea, Horseman of Minas Morgul
LR123 •Ulaire Toldea, Most Terrible Servant
LR124 •Vilya, Preserver of Life
LC125 Voices of Death
LU126 Wight of the Barrow-downs
LR127 •The Witch-king, Come Again
LR128 Abandon Your Posts
LC129 Abominable Notion
LU130 Aimed
LU131 Archer of the Galadhrim
LC132 •Bard, Bowman
LR133 Black Hand
LC134 Bow of Lake-town
LC135 Caught by the Throat
LU136 Constant Vigil
LC137 Curse Us and Crush Us
LR138 Dale Army
LC139 Daggers
LR140 Deadly Shot
LU141 Do Not Suffer the Living
LU142 Fate of Anguirel
LR143 Fell Light
LR144 Firework Bolts
LR145 Forgotten Arrows
LC146 •Gandalf, Magic Crafter
LC147 •Gollum, Full of Wickedness
LR148 Gondorian Steel Bow
LU149 •Grima, Master Wormtoungue
LR150 Hobbit-Bows Twanged
LC151 Ill-news
LR152 •Iron Crown
LR153 •Ithil-stone, Palantir of Sauron
LU154 Javelin of Rohan
LC155 •Legolas, Silvan Elf
LC156 Lothlorien Archer
LC157 Lost It Is
LU158 Mirkwood Bow
LC159 Mirkwood Guardian
LU160 •The Mouth of Sauron
LR161 Naith Soldier
LU162 Naith Warrior
LU163 Orc-army of Mordor
LC164 Orc Snaga
LC165 Orthanc Breeder
LR166 •Palantir of Minas Tirith
LR167 •Palantir of Orthanc, Treacherous Stone
LU168 Pale Faces
LC169 Passing the Ring
LR170 Piercing
LU171 Rule of Gondor
LU172 •Saruman, Curumo
LR173 •Sauron, Gorthaur
LR174 Sharp Hiss
LR175 Shielded Archery
LU176 Shoot and Down
LC177 Shrill Went the Arrow
LU178 Skill of the Galadhrim
LU179 Stronger Than Fear
LR180 Swift and True
LC181 Sword Training
LU182 That Something Snapped
LR183 Too Small and Mean
LR184 Unbroken
LC185 Uruk-hai of Orthanc
LU186 Well-aimed
LR187 Yellow Face and White Face
LC188 Anduin Valley
LC189 Carn Dun
LC190 Cerin Amroth
LU191 Champain of Pelennor
LC192 Cliffs of Mordor
LC193 Dol Amroth
LU194 Dunland Foothills
LU195 Edoras Throne Room
LU196 Gate of Orthanc
LC197 Gollum's Lake
LC198 Haven of the Swans
LC199 Helm's Deep Valley
LU200 Morgulduin
LU201 The Mountain Pass
LU202 Narothrond
LU203 Path to Helm's Deep
LU204 The River Isen
LC205 Shirelands
LC206 Tower of Cirith Ungol
LU207 Tower of the Moon
LC208 Village of Dale
LU209 Wall of Helm's Deep
LC210 Weathertop Summit
LP211 ?
LP212 ?
LP213 ?

[BattleWarg]

Because I feel it needs repeating - the cultures used here are custom, but use existing culture symbols - if an existing culture is intended, I'll make a note.

•Aragorn, Commander of the Rohirrim (Free Peoples)
Companion • Man
8 Strength
4 Vitality
7 Resistance
At the start of each assignment phase, you may exert Aragorn or discard a mount he bears to make him defender +1.
Skirmish: Exert Aragorn twice to make a companion strength +X, where X is the number of Free Peoples mounts you can spot (limit +4).
LU4

•The Arm of Saruman (Shadow)
Condition • Support Area
Defend 2. To play, exert a minion.
Each time a minion wins a skirmish, add a threat.
At the start of the regroup phase, your opponent may add 2 burdens to discard this condition.
LU5

Dark Night (Shadow)
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot a minion.
Each character is strength +1.
LC13

Elf-Blade (Free Peoples)
Possession • Hand Weapon
+1 Strength
Bearer must be an Elf.
Skirmish: Exert bearer to make him strength +1 (or +2 if at a forest or battleground site).
LU16

Elven Archer (Free Peoples)
Companion • Elf
6 Strength
3 Vitality
6 Resistance
Archery: Exert this companion and spot a Man to discard the top card of your draw deck. Wound a minion with a twilight cost equal to or less than the discarded card.
LC17

•Eomer, Golden Rider (Free Peoples)
Companion • Man
7 Strength
3 Vitality
7 Ringed Resistance
At the start of each skirmish involving Eomer, add 2 burdens or discard 2 Free Peoples mounts.
At the start of the regroup phase, you may add a burden to discard each exhausted minion.
LC20

First Light on the Fifth Day (Free Peoples)
Event • Assignment
If you can spot more minions than companions, spot your Man to play up to 2 companions from your draw deck.
LR23

•Forests Will Fall (Shadow)
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot a minion.
Shadow: Exert a minion and reveal a card from hand to place that card under your draw deck.
LC24

A Good Sword (Free Peoples)
Event • Maneuver
Exert a companion bearing a hand weapon to make him or her strength +2 until the regroup phase.
LU26

•Haldir, Warden of the Galadhrim (Free Peoples)
Companion • Elf
5 Strength
3 Vitality
6 Resistance
While you can spot 2 other Elf companions, Haldir is strength +2.
While bearing a ranged weapon, Haldir is damage +1.
LR29

Nightfall Comes (Free Peoples)
Event • Skirmish
Make a companion strength +2 (or strength +4 if skirmishing an Uruk-hai).
LU39

Rule of Middle-earth (Shadow)
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot Saruman.
Shadow: Exert Saruman to play a machine from your discard pile.
LR42

Rusted Helmet (Free Peoples)
Possession - Helm
Bearer must be a Man.
While you can spot Rusted Shield or Rusted Sword, each minion skirmishing bearer is strength -1.
LC43

Rusted Shield (Free Peoples)
Possession • Shield
Bearer must be a Man.
While you can spot Rusted Helmet or Rusted Shield, each minion skirmishing bearer is strength -1.
LC44

Rusted Sword (Free Peoples)
Possession • Hand Weapon
Bearer must be a companion.
While you can spot Rusted Helmet, bearer is damage +1.
While you can spot Rusted Shield, bearer is strength +1.
LC45

Stray Shot (Free Peoples)
Event • Archery
Exert a archer to make a Shadow player wound his minion. If that minion is an Uruk-hai, discard it.
LR52

Too Many Winters (Free Peoples)
Event • Skirmish
Make X Men strength -1 until the regroup phase to make a companion strength +X.
'Most have seen too many winters.'
LC56

Uruk Shieldman (Shadow)
Minion • Uruk-hai
8 Strength
3 Vitality
5 Site Number
Damage +1
Companions skirmishing Uruk-hai lose all damage bonuses.
LC59

[Cw0rk]

Sorry but a uruk doesn't make sense to me.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Besides that, there too much abuse possible.

[BattleWarg]

Well, keep in mind that if it's too strange, I could change it to a Uruk, or a  Uruk, but first a few notes on the idea behind the new cultures (which I may see about editing into the first post if necessary)...

is intended as a Helm's Deep focused culture - the Free Peoples being the Men of Rohan, as well as their allies the Elves (for the variety); the Shadow is the horde of Uruk-hai beseiging the Deep and Saruman's machines to support them.
is intended as a Kingdom focused culture - the Free Peoples are the various kings and queens of Middle-earth and features an unbound keyword, king that various cards require or trigger off of; the Shadow is the group of kings known as the Nazgul. They and their minions, the Orcs and Wraiths, work to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies.
is intended as a bit more of a mix - the Free Peoples are the best archers of Middle-earth, giving them a greater presence during the archery phase, but if they let people through their heavy fire, the archers are going to have a tougher time of it than most; the Shadow features the corruption of Middle-earth, from the main characters to aids of supporting characters. Many of its abilities allow the Free Peoples player to prevent them, but at a dangerous cost.

[Gate Troll]

is intended as a Helm's Deep focused culture - the Free Peoples being the Men of Rohan, as well as their allies the Elves (for the variety); the Shadow is the horde of Uruk-hai beseiging the Deep and Saruman's machines to support them.

Any good Tolkien purist would go stark raving mad and kill you for those words. A friend of mine was watching TT when it first came out in theatres, and when the Elves arrived at Helm's Deep a man several rows down stomped out of the theatre shouting, "That's not how it went! There weren't any #$&*@! Elves at Helm's Deep!" Aside from all that, I can't say I like the idea of yet more homogeneous cultures. Things get very broken very fast.

[BattleWarg]

A friend of mine was watching TT when it first came out in theatres, and when the Elves arrived at Helm's Deep a man several rows down stomped out of the theatre shouting, "That's not how it went! There weren't any #$&*@! Elves at Helm's Deep!"

I agree that it did seem a little strange - wouldn't it have made more sense for them to have set up roughly where Gandalf and the Rohirrim showed up. That way, they could take out anybody coming from the back/middle that seemed to be important (the various siege weapons, torchbearers, etc). Honestly, though, my first thought was 'At least he left the theater'. I mean, really, there were a lot more important differences (he was wrong anyway - Legolas was there). 

Aside from all that, I can't say I like the idea of yet more homogeneous cultures. Things get very broken very fast.

Now, here I can definitely see the point. It can get broken very fast, but I think that it also gives another method of design that can be used. That's partly why it started as a set of contests that would (in theory) be picked at to get at least mostly balanced.
That said, I seem to have misplaced my notes on the defend X keyword, so unless someone has interest in this set, I may wait until I get that found (at the least).