Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #13

[menace64]

Welcome to Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs!

Each week I'll post the collector's information for one of the cards in the set's card-list.

Contestants are free to create whatever card they see fit for that slot in the card-list, keeping in mind the surrounding cards. As the contest progresses, the card-list will become more and more defined, guiding the contestants' choices.

The theme of our set is Lairs! You're free to interpret this however you want.

Not every card has to fit the theme, of course, but it's something to keep in mind when coming up with entries.

Each week a poll will go up for the previous week's entries. Simply vote for one you like the most. In the event of a tie, I'll let a random result generator make the decision - but each of the tied cards will appear in the final set card list.


On to Stuff!


Last week's winner...
SGollum secures the first site in the set with The Black Gate!


Last week's entries to pick from for Card #1...

•The One Ring, Fate of All Middle-earth
Strength +1
Each companion whose race or culture you cannot spot is twilight cost -1.
Maneuver or Skirmish: Wear The One Ring until the regroup phase.
While wearing The One Ring, each time the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, add and a burden instead.
"'...it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.'"

Designer's Notes: A new One Ring to support multi-culture decks; with this you can finally start otherwise impossible companions such as Powerful Guide or Treebeard + Merry/Pippin (or combos, like Théoden + Boromir; or Gimli + Legolas + Faramir; or Aragorn/Gandalf + Legolas/Gimli/Eowyn).
As a more versatile version of The Ruling Ring (with the sole advantage of potentially working at archery too) with no resistance/vitality bonuses, works better on the hand/pocket of someone with big base resistance and no burden/wound penalty, nor monoculture dependencies. A Hobbit.

Burned Village
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot 2 Men.
While you can spot a minion or 6 companions, characters cannot heal.

Designer's Notes: This was idea of mine from a while back.

Ruffian
Minion • Man
Strength: 11
Vitality: 1
Site: 3
While you control site 1, each Hobbit is strength -1 (to a minimum of 2).
Each time a companion loses a skirmish involving this minion, you may spot a Man stacked on a condition or a site you control to stack that companion there also. The Free Peoples player may discard three possessions from companions to prevent this.
"'But it's these Men, Sam, the Chief's Men. He sends them round everywhere, and if any of us small folk stand up for our rights, they drag him off to the Lockholes.'"

Blood Oath
Event • Maneuver
Spot Saruman and discard a Man to make each Man strength +2 and fierce until the regroup phase.
"Swear it"

Designer's notes: Unlike my previous attempt which was hideously weak, this one lets you discard Freca (not kill) for a bonus. You need Saruman, Freca and another Man as well as this event, so I believe it doesn't need to cost more. I would play this card in my site control deck, but only 1 or 2, so I don't think it too strong or weak.

•The One Ring, Fell Repository of Power
Resistance: -2
Each time bearer is exerted, wounded, or a burden is added, put on The One Ring until the regroup phase.
While wearing The One Ring, bearer is strength +1 per burden you can spot.
While wearing The One Ring, each time bearer is about to take a wound, add a burden and exert a companion instead.
"...the Ring's power grew, and it became more fell, untameable save by some mighty will."

Designer's notes: This represents the Ring as it grew close to Mordor, Sauron's Lair, but is also a version of the Ring that taps into the temptation of using its power.  I feel like most versions of the Ring don't really show how tempting it is to use it; players should feel like they want burdens, and also feel (falsely) like maybe they can handle it; how hard could it be to just have 2 or 3 burdens?  Or maybe 5?  Well, 6 isn't corrupted, and just think of how much more helpful it will be in combat...
Also, is it cheating to include an image in the submission...?  Well here it is anyway.

Hillman Regular
Minion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 1
Site: 3
When you play this minion, you may reveal a condition, possession, or non-unique minion from your discard pile. This minion gains the game text of that card until the end of the turn. 
"We were driven back yesterday over the Isen with great loss; many perished at the crossing."

Adorn Reclaimer
Minion • Man
Strength: 9
Vitality: 1
Site Number: 3
While this minion is stacked on a card, each Man is strength +1.
Response: If this minion is stacked on a card and a Man is about to take a wound, play this minion as if played from hand to prevent that wound.
"'They will not give way now for dusk or dawn...'"

Designer's notes: I wanted to write a card to synergize off of Stronghold of the Adorn River, while also providing additional utility to the culture. The strategy here would be to ensure Adorn Reclaimer survives into the regroup phase, then stack him on the Stronghold. Doing so will give you a blanket +1 strength boost to your other Dunlendings, while also providing the Dunland player an aggressive wound-prevention option.

This week's contest is...
Card #11!

This is probably our final week with a bevy of options. I have a feeling we're finally about to see some Isengard cards 

• A card (after Sheltered Hollow)
• An card
• A card
• A card (before Wrested Kingdom)

Closing date: July 25th! Good luck!


Lairs Card List 
Number - Name - (Culture • Type) - Contestant - Week it won
1. SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK'S VOTE
2. •Stronghold of the Adorn River ( • Possession) - Durin's Heir - 3
3. •Balin, Lord of Moria ( • Ally) - menace64 - 8
4.
5. Sméagol Lied ( • Event) - SGollum - 4
6. Worse Than Orcs ( • Event) - menace64 - 9
7.
8. Sheltered Hollow ( • Condition) - TelTura - 6
9.
10.
11. IN CREATION THIS WEEK
12.
13.
14. •Wrested Kingdom ( • Condition) - menace64 - 1
15.
16. •Úlairë Attëa, Khamûl ( • Minion) - SGollum - 7
17.
18. Southern Stranger ( • Minion) - Inspire - 10
19.
20. •Bag End Hearth ( • Condition) - Inspire - 2
21. •Merry, Conspirator ( • Companion) - Inspire - 5
22.
23. The Black Gate (Site) - SGollum - 11
24.
25.


The Misadventure Deck (cards that lost due to tied-decision but will appear in final cardlist! Maybe?)
26. •Durin's Axe, Omen of Fortune
27. From Lowest Dungeon to Highest Peak
28. Orkish Whip
29. •Mountains of Shadow[/list]

[menace64]

7 entries this week! There isn't much that could put a smile on my face right now, but that is certainly something to make me happy. Kudos to everybody. I think I like every card we've got in the running this time around.

[Durin's Heir]

•Pallando Deceived, Betrayer to the Free Peoples
Minion • Wizard
Strength 10  Vitality 4  Site 5
To play, spot a Wizard or discard an condition.
Each Wizard is strength +2 and fierce.
Skirmish: Discard an condition to heal a Wizard or make him strength +2.
"Of the Blue little was known in the West... for they passed into the East with Curunír."

A minion version of the condition-that-turns-into-minion. The playing cost allows him to discard the condition version just before entering the game in order to avoid the uniqueness exclusion (like the Palantir of Orthanc does). The bonus stacks with the Throne of Isengard (and like it, pumps Gandalf and Radagast too). The skirmish skill can turn your conditions into ammo for Wizards (allowing Saruman's Ambition to finally pump Saruman) or into vitality for exertion-fueled skills (or to avoid death).

(Expect more evil Wizards!)

[azogsbane]

• Cannot Get Out
Condition • Support Area
When you play this condition, you may discard another condition to make the move limit for this turn -1.
While at an underground site, the free peoples player must exert a companion or discard 2 cards from hand to assign a minion to a skirmish. Discard this condition during the regroup phase.
"'They have taken the bridge and the Second Hall...We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark.'"

[Inspire]

•Isengard Warden
Minion • Orc
Strength: 10
Vitality: 4
Site: 4
Skirmish: Exert an Orc to cancel a skirmish involving that Orc. The Free Peoples player may exert a companion to prevent this.
"Some time ago I began to wonder how Orcs dared to pass through my woods so freely..."

[menace64]

Smoke From Isengard
Condition • Site
Weather. To play, exert an minion. Plays on a site you control. Limit 1 per site.
For each forest site in the fellowship's current region, each unbound companion is strength -1 (-2 if an Ent). Discard this condition if this site is liberated.
"'He and his foul folk are making havoc now.'"

This week really got away from me, but here's my entry. There's some synergy between this card and No Ordinary Storm, but really I just wrote this to feel like a Fellowship block weather card but for the Towers environment since it relies on site control to work. Since that requires an extra step before it becomes useful, I've tried to give it a bit more "oomph" than many of the weather conditions already out there.

[TelTura]

Isengard Warrens
Condition • Support Area
To play, spot 3 Orcs (or Saruman).
Each time a companion is wounded, you may exert or discard an Orc to add an token here.
Assignment: Remove 3 tokens here to play an Orc from your discard pile and assign it to a companion (except the Ring-bearer).
"Beyond the fire he saw swarming black figures; there seemed to be hundreds of orcs."

Something quick that has to do with orcs, not just those from Isengard, tho it requires those from Isengard to have much use.