Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #17

[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!


Sorry for missing the usual deadline this week! I tried to find a more-suitable image for Inspire's Pippin. I've got a few options put together but as I'd hoped to include the updated Pippin with this post, I waited in the hopes of hearing back from Inspire.

I've tabled the issue for the sake of getting this out on the normal date!



Last week's winner...
TelTura scores for the Nazgul with Angmar Haunts Us Still!


Last week's entries to pick from for Card #7...

•Horn of Boromir, From Vanished Years
Possession
Vitality +1
Bearer must be Boromir or Denethor.
Maneuver: If bearer is Denethor, exert him to exert a minion.
Skirmish: If bearer is Boromir, exert him to make a minion strength -2.
"'And in my turn I bore it, and so did each eldest son of our house... the River brought it to me, broken...'"

Designer's notes: This elevates the strategic value of the House of the Stewards: a SotSF skill for Boromir's lungs (whole), or a catalyst for Denethor's despair and vengeance (broken). Removing them from irrelevance (especially Denethor), not mere fighters anymore.

Oath of Cirion
Tale. Bearer must be a Valiant Man. Limit 1 per bearer.
Bearer is strength +1 for each Knight you can spot (limit +3).
"Such an oath had not been heard in Middle-earth since Elendil himself had sworn alliance with Gil-galad King of the Eldar."

Designer's notes: Context : http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/o/oathofcirion.html

•No Answer But Echoes
Condition • Support Area
At the start of the maneuver phase, choose one: exert Boromir to play a companion from your draw deck, or all minions are strength +1 until the regroup phase.
Response: if an exhausted companion is about to take a wound, discard 4 cards from hand to prevent that wound.
'At first the Orcs had been dismayed, and had drawn back...'

Designer's notes: I actually came here to do a Horn, but I see that's been done.  I suppose I'll see if the same thing I was aiming for could work as a condition instead...

•Boromir, Member of the Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Frodo
Fellowship. Ranger.
While you cannot spot 3 burdens, Boromir is defender +1.
Add each time Boromir loses his skirmish.
"'...you are in peril as long as you remain with us. The danger will increase with every league...'"

Commandeered Vessel
Possession • Support Area
Fellowship: Remove X culture tokens from a Shadow card (or exert X companions) to play a companion from your discard pile; its twilight cost is -X and it is strength +X until the regroup phase. Discard this possession.
"But the hosts of Mordor were seized with bewilderment, and a great wizardry it seemed to them that their own ships should be filled with their foes."

Designer's notes: This started as roughly the opposite of Black Sails of Umbar. I added the alternate cost (exertions) to make it not completely dependent upon your opponent having certain cards, and I added the strength bonus to make it more worthwhile to discard a companion (such as Aragorn) from your hand ahead of time so that you can play him later with a bonus. It is compatible with Gondor wraiths, which jives well with the story (especially as portrayed in the movies). Another option for the lore could have been: "Thus came Aragorn, son of Arathorn, Elessar, Elendil's heir, out of the Paths of the Dead, born upon a wind from the sea to the kingdom of Gondor."

Bold Counsel
Event • Maneuver
To play, exert a unique Man.
Until the regroup phase, each time a companion is about to take a wound, add a burden to prevent that.
"It is mad not to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him. The fearless, the ruthless, these alone will achieve victory. What could not a warrior do in this hour, a great leader?"

This week's contest is...
Card #9!

Another road splits before us.

• A card (after Sheltered Hollow)
• An card (before Smoke From Isengard)

Closing date: August 22nd! Good luck!


Lairs Card List 
Number - Name - (Culture • Type) - Contestant - Week it won
1. Burned Village ( • Condition] - Dictionary - 12
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. SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK'S VOTE
8. Sheltered Hollow ( • Condition) - TelTura - 6
9. IN CREATION THIS WEEK
10.
11. Smoke From Isengard ( • Condition) - menace64 - 13
12.
13.
14. •Wrested Kingdom ( • Condition) - menace64 - 1
15.
16. •Úlairë Attëa, Khamûl ( • Minion) - SGollum - 7
17. Angmar Haunts Us Still ( • Condition) - TelTura - 15
18. Southern Stranger ( • Minion) - Inspire - 10
19.
20. •Bag End Hearth ( • Condition) - Inspire - 2
21. •Merry, Conspirator ( • Companion) - Inspire - 5
22. •Pippin, Out of the Bog and Briar ( • Companion] - Inspire - 14
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]

[azogsbane]

Ill-Gotten Weed
Possession • Support Area
Pipeweed.
When you play this possession, you may discard up to 2 cards from hand.
Regroup: Spot Saruman and discard a Free Peoples possession to heal Saruman X times, where X is the number of Free Peoples possessions you can spot (limit once).
"My dear Gimli, it is Longbottom Leaf! How it came here I can't imagine. For Saruman's private use I fancy."

The reason for the first sentence of game text is right there in the lore. The effect of the special ability could be quite useful in combination with Saruman, Rabble-Rouser and No Retreat, though of course the cost is even more useful than the effect. With the pipeweed keyword, your opponents' companions can smoke it too (if they've got their pipes with 'em) -- but that's all to the good since it's exactly what happens in the story.

[Cw0rk]

Key of Orthanc
Artifact • Support Area
Regroup: Stack Saruman on a site you control.
Shadow: Play Saruman stacked on a site you control. Until the regroup phase, replace the first sentence of his game text with the game text of that site.
"Saruman remains to nurse his hatred and weave again such webs as he can."

Note: An alternative to the staff. Can also be good in movie block with King's Tent or some of the site 4 (if you can manage to control it),

[Inspire]

Informant of Orthanc
Minion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 2
Site: 3
conditions may be played on any character regardless of race (except the Ring-bearer).
"‘...are you not a wizard, some spy from Saruman, or phantoms of his craft?'"

[Durin's Heir]

Here's my try with a long overdue mechanic: Wizard Staff-stealing!

Cold and Perilous
Condition • Support Area
Free Peoples cards borne by your minions lose their game text.
Maneuver: Exert an Wizard or Man to transfer a card borne by a character to another eligible bearer (regardless of culture). Its bearer may exert instead.
"'...as if a cold laughter was in his heart.'"

So Saruman can finally steal a Wizard Staff (or Ash Staff) and other equipment from Wizards (Radagast's Herb Bag, Roaring Wind, GotM, Brego), while Men can confiscate and use the weapons and gear of Free Men. They can try to resist, but that only turns the stealing into grind (for SotE's joy).

The first sentence is there to block the FP player from using those stolen cards' skills against their new owners (and protects your minions from text-based fortifications). Them Isengarders can rip off things they cannot benefit from for the mere pleasure of stealing (Boromir's Gauntlets, TLAOEAM, Rohirrim Helm, I Will Go, horses...), or transfer things they cannot bear to suboptimal bearers in order to weaken the Fellowship (like giving a Hobbit Sword or Elven Bow to an ally; kill an exhausted guy bearing Ent Draught / Ranger's Cloak...). Or pile them upon the same companion to trigger Wormtongue. 

[menace64]

•Gríma, Taken by Dark Powers
Minion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 3
Site Number: 3
You may play this minion any time you could play a regroup event.
Regroup: Exert Gríma to add a threat.
Regroup: Exert Gríma to wound an ally.
Regroup: Exert Gríma to make the move limit for this turn -1.
"'You see much, Éomer, son of Éomund. Too much.'"

It took a few passes on this one to get the right sort of scheminess into the card. Like other Grima cards out there, he lacks cultural enforcement, enabling him to slip into whatever matchup you're expecting to run into, and can handle threat generation (an exceedingly rare power in , perhaps a unique example within the culture), ally-trimming, and/or speedy fellowships. Grima effs ess up, as you kids might say. ...also, yes, this fits on a card template.