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September 19, 2020, 10:18:02 PM
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menace64

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Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
« on: September 19, 2020, 10:18:02 PM »
    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!


    Before we announce last week's winner...
    I'm sorry that this round got delayed even further, but this week was a bit of an off-week for me and I figured it'd be less of a headache to wait until the "regular" time to get us back on track for the final leg of the season.


    Last week's winner...

    Is another tie-breaker! We shake the RNG-maker and our winner is...

    Primitive Cave Paintings by Cw0rk! Lairs needed more events and here's a perfect theme-y addition to our card list! Bonus points to Cw0rk for making me scratch my head for a few evenings as I figured out precisely what to do about sourcing an applicable image. I think I fared pretty well  8-)

    Azogsbane's Alliance was a submission close to my heart, but it has been semi-banished to the misadventure deck!


    Last week's entries to pick from for Card #19...

    Quote from: Entry #1
    [4] •Helm, Hammerhand [Rohan]
    Companion • Man
    Strength 8  Vitality 4  Resistance 7
    Valiant. Damage +1. Defender +1.
    Discard Théoden, Éomer and Éowyn. 
    While bearing no weapon or mount, Helm is strength +2 and each time he exerts, you may spot 3 [Rohan] cards to wound a minion.
    "He would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll... and slay many men with his hands."

    Designer's notes: This guy killed Freca with a single punch, and when Hornburg was besieged by the Dunlendings during the Long Winter, out of grief and rage he raided their camps and killed them with his bare hands! So he should be the opposite of the usual [Rohan] walking armories. Cards like HIDAN, For Death and Glory and Mustering for Battle will allow him to exert to wound at will, while companions like Rider of Rohan, Rohirrim Guard and Riders of the Mark can help him and soften his targets. Looks almost too mighty, but compare him to Eomer Northman for stats (easily base str 10 dmg+1) or to Eowyn LoI for wounding (who delivers wounds in big chunks). The real cost of Helm's power is in denying Théoden and his sister-children, and surrounding himself with generic Rohirrim.

    Quote from: Entry #2
    (0) Dark Communion [Sauron]
    Event • Response
    Search.
    If a Shadow player plays a unique minion, reveal Sauron from your hand to play a minion; its twilight cost is -3.
    "...he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron..."

    Designer's notes: This event works in a 1-on-1 and in multiplayer, effectively functioning as a floating -3 modifier for any minion in your hand, pending you also have Sauron. Some decks build around Sauron as cheaply as possible - and of course Dark Communion works on Sauron himself - but the idea here is to increase his splashability. Merely holding onto Sauron lets you bring any unique minion into play on the cheap. Mechanically I wanted this card to feel like Morgul Gates, "but better". In a multiplayer game, Dark Communion allows its owner to play a unique minion during another Shadow player's shadow phase. This can be seen as helping or as thievery, depending entirely upon the circumstances.

    Quote from: Entry #3
    [1] Move to the Caves! [Rohan]
    Event • Fellowship
    Stack any number of villagers on a [Rohan] ally. Until the end of the game, that ally gains their strength and vitality.
    "'Caves! Holes to fly to in time of war, to store fodder in!'"

    Designer's notes: More Lairs related stuff. All villagers are piled up together in the caves behind Helm's Deep. How about a Aldor Archery deck, a Guma Hospital deck or a Hlafwine Beatdown deck? One Whom Men Would Follow? Why not? I chose to make a Free Peoples card and an event because I feel that the set has too few of them.

    Quote from: Entry #4
    [1] Horseshoes [Rohan]
    Possession • Support Area
    When you play this possession, you may draw a card.
    Response: If a [Rohan] mount is about to be discarded, add [2] to prevent that or to transfer it to another companion instead.
    "May he bear you well and to better fortune than Garulf, his late master!"

    Designer's notes: Rohan's answer to Hides.


    This week's contest is...

    Card #12!

    The gaps in our card list are closing rapidly! Let's see what you've got for some Lair-y Shadow cards!

    • An [Isengard] card (after Smoke From Isengard)
    • A [Men] card
    • A [Moria] card (before Wrested Kingdom)

    Closing date: September 26th.


    :cheers: Lairs Card List  :cheers:
    Number - Name - (Culture • Type) - Contestant - Week It Won
    1. Burned Village ([Dunland] • Condition) - Dictionary - 12
    2. •Stronghold of the Adorn River ([Dunland] • Possession) - Durin's Heir - 3
    3. •Balin, Lord of Moria ([Dwarven] • Ally) - menace64 - 8
    4. •Mithril Gates ([Dwarven] • Condition) - azogsbane - 18
    5. Sméagol Lied ([Gollum] • Event) - SGollum - 4
    6. Worse Than Orcs ([Gollum] • Event) - menace64 - 9
    7. Commandeered Vessel ([Gondor] • Possession) - azogsbane - 16
    8. Sheltered Hollow ([Gondor] • Condition) - TelTura - 6
    9. Cold and Perilous ([Isengard] • Condition) - Durin's Heir - 17
    10.
    11. Smoke From Isengard ([Isengard] • Condition) - menace64 - 13
    12. IN CREATION THIS WEEK
    13.
    14. •Wrested Kingdom ([Moria] • Condition) - menace64 - 1
    15. Primitive Cave Paintings ([Raider] • Event) - Cw0rk - 19
    16. •Úlairë Attëa, Khamûl ([Raider] • Minion) - SGollum - 7
    17. Angmar Haunts Us Still ([Wraith] • Condition) - TelTura - 15
    18. Southern Stranger ([Wraith] • Minion) - Inspire - 10
    19. SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK'S VOTE
    20. •Bag End Hearth ([Shire] • Condition) - Inspire - 2
    21. •Merry, Conspirator ([Shire] • Companion) - Inspire - 5
    22. •Pippin, Out of the Bog and Briar ([Shire] • Companion) - Inspire - 14
    23. The Black Gate (Site) - SGollum - 11
    24.
    25.


    The Misadventure Deck (cards that lost due to coin-flip but will appear in the final cardlist! Maybe?)
    26. •Durin's Axe, Omen of Fortune ([Dwarven] • Artifact) - Durin's Heir - 4
    27. From Lowest Dungeon to Highest Peak ([Gandalf] • Event) - menace64 - 4
    28. Oath of Cirion ([Gondor] • Condition) - cw0rk - 16
    29. Key of Orthanc ([Isengard] • Artifact) - cw0rk - 17
    30. Orkish Whip ([Orc] • Possession) - Durin's Heir - 7
    31. •Alliance ([Raider] • Condition) - azogsbane - 19[/list]

    September 19, 2020, 11:49:35 PM
    Reply #1

    Durin's Heir

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #1 on: September 19, 2020, 11:49:35 PM »
    [2] Goblin Conspirator [Moria]
    Minion • Orc
    Strength 7  Vitality 2  Site 4
    Each [Moria] event is twilight cost -1.
    Shadow: Exert 2 [Moria] Orcs to take a [Moria] event or [Moria] condition into hand from your draw deck or discard pile.
    "'I fear he had ill tidings to record in a fair hand,' said Gandalf. 'The first clear word is sorrow, but the rest of the line is lost...'"

    With a co-conspirator, you can set up your support area much faster, or rebuild it after being struck by Sleep Caradhras / Blood Runs Chill (or after spending your Armories / Durin's Tower / The Long Dark / Wrested Kingdom). But can also fetch events, so cards like Such a Little Thing, Bitter Hatred, Troubled Mountains, LttG, Final Cry and pumps can be used in the right moment (or requiring less copies). The cost reduction makes events like Foul Things, Dangerous Gamble and Frenzy much more useful and interesting.

    I'll be posting a powerful [Moria] event for Card #13, which benefits from this Goblin's fetching and cost reduction.
    “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  - Malcolm X

    September 20, 2020, 05:31:05 PM
    Reply #2

    azogsbane

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #2 on: September 20, 2020, 05:31:05 PM »
    The images for both of those cards look really nice.

    September 20, 2020, 09:23:13 PM
    Reply #3

    menace64

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #3 on: September 20, 2020, 09:23:13 PM »
    Thanks! Roleplaying as the Decipher Art Department is fun  \:D/

    [9]Host of the Upper Hall [Moria]
    Minion • Orc
    Strength: 16
    Vitality: 3
    Site Number: 4
    Fierce.
    When you play Host of the Upper Hall at an underground site, you may discard the top 3 cards of your draw deck. Add [1] for each [Moria] Orc discarded this way, then take those Orcs into hand.
    "How many there were the Company could not count."

    It's a big new Moria minion similar to Host of Moria, but this one seeks other goblins in 'the upper hall' (top of your draw deck). Drop this monster and maybe get a third of your investment back in the form of a bunch more Goblins! Yay goblins!

    September 21, 2020, 05:26:50 AM
    Reply #4

    Durin's Heir

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #4 on: September 21, 2020, 05:26:50 AM »
    Pistol shots ring out in the ballroom night
    Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
    She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
    Cries out, "My God, they've killed them all!"

    Here comes the story of the Hurricane...
    “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  - Malcolm X

    September 21, 2020, 07:36:58 AM
    Reply #5

    Cw0rk

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #5 on: September 21, 2020, 07:36:58 AM »
    I finaly won the coin toss!  \:D/ Great art menace!

    This week's submission:

    (0) From Morgoth's Lair They Came [Moria]
    Event • Shadow
    Balrogs are twilight cost -3 for each other Balrog you can spot and are not unique until the end of the turn.
    "'It was a Balrog of Morgoth,' said Legolas; 'of all elf-bane the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.'"

    Designer's note: More Lair stuff, more events! Morgoth used to have an army of Balrogs.

    September 21, 2020, 06:55:51 PM
    Reply #6

    Durin's Heir

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #6 on: September 21, 2020, 06:55:51 PM »
    I can't believe Dark Communion is ahead on the votes... it's literally a 3 to 4 cards combo from hand to get a 3 twilight cost reduction - and only once per event! And 2 of those are specific cards (the event + Sauron), so that sole part of the engine has the same probabilities of Saruman + his Staff, or Stricken Dumb + WK... add a 3rd (the unique minion trigger, unless played by a support card / another player) and a 4th card (the cheapened minion, unless it's Sauron himself), and the likelihood is going to diminish even further. And all for 3 measly twilight!


    Designer's note: More Lair stuff, more events! Morgoth used to have an army of Balrogs.
    That was true only in the earlier versions of the Legendarium (hundreds), but in the latter ones Tolkien said they were only 3 to at maximum 7; that change was meant to make them more relevant, durable and powerful (otherwise, why would a whole army of mithril-clad Dwarves led by a Ring-wearing mighty king not deal easily with just one survivor of hundreds slain during the First Age?). Still, your card remains totally coherent with the canon: with only one Balrog ever released by Decipher, your event multiplies them to up to 4. :up:

    I'd add an exception case to the remotion of uniqueness (but not to the cost reduction, of course): "Lord Gothmog" (Gothmog the Balrog, not Gothmog Lieutenant of Morgul the Orc/Man/Nazgul/whatever)... who conveniently could appear in the next Set "Lords". Awesome card, sir!
    « Last Edit: September 21, 2020, 07:10:34 PM by Durin's Heir »
    “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  - Malcolm X

    September 22, 2020, 02:40:02 PM
    Reply #7

    menace64

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #7 on: September 22, 2020, 02:40:02 PM »
    I can't believe Dark Communion is ahead on the votes... it's literally a 3 to 4 cards combo from hand to get a 3 twilight cost reduction - and only once per event!

    It's also the only Shadow card among the entries. I was kinda surprised that the other three cards were Rohan, tbh.

    September 23, 2020, 11:09:44 AM
    Reply #8

    Durin's Heir

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #8 on: September 23, 2020, 11:09:44 AM »
    It's also the only Shadow card among the entries. I was kinda surprised that the other three cards were Rohan, tbh.
    Yeah, that seems to explain the voters' inclination for it. I think they feel like it's a sin to exclude the Sauron culture from this Lairs set, but the Lairness of 2 of those [Rohan] cards is actually stronger IMO (the refugees and the Snow-troll-on-crack, and both taking the same Hornburg as lair for that matter).

    But the Shadow cultures are surprisingly flexible, what you couldn't put in an [Isengard] slot you often can insert in an [Uruk] one (I tried so with the Fires of Industry, and for [Sauron] with [Raider] Fingers of the Black Hand); the [Wraith] culture is merely a tentacle of Sauron's will, and what cannot be included there can fit inside the [Orc] one. But that's very hard to do with Free Peoples cultures, their borders are very well defined: you just cannot include a new Gandalf inside another culture (except maybe Shire as a big stretch), or Balin / Thorin outside the Dwarven one. Some exceptions can be done with Théoden (was half Gondorian and spoke Sindarin but not Rohirric), a [Shire] Ent that was seen by Sam's cousin, a young Aragorn Estel with lower stats and [Elven] culture, a [Dwarven] Mithril Coat... very specific things. Back to the point, Rohan had only 1 single card slot and 3 of 4 of us saw that as more important than Sauron, who already has Khamul and the Orkish Whip (and Mountains of Shadow).


    If there is one single sinful mistake we must avoid in this Set, that's excluding a new version of Gandalf. And a Dwarven leader of a reconquest, like Balin or Thorin (but an ally doesn't make it, in my opinion). Those are the greatest incarnations of Lair-sneaking. We must use the Premium slots for those.
    « Last Edit: September 23, 2020, 11:19:16 AM by Durin's Heir »
    “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  - Malcolm X

    September 23, 2020, 05:16:13 PM
    Reply #9

    Cw0rk

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #9 on: September 23, 2020, 05:16:13 PM »
    The set will most likely end up with 14 shadow cards, 3 sites and 8 Free Peoples card. If there are extra card slots to be added, some should exclusively be reserved for Free Peoples cards in order to balance everything.

    September 23, 2020, 05:52:05 PM
    Reply #10

    menace64

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #10 on: September 23, 2020, 05:52:05 PM »
    I don't disagree with the spirit of either of your suggestions for what "should" be in these contests, but that is always going to come down to the vote. I have no intention of reserving slots for This or That. If you think a card slot should be something specific, make that your entry and make it good enough to win.

    September 24, 2020, 06:53:51 PM
    Reply #11

    azogsbane

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #11 on: September 24, 2020, 06:53:51 PM »
    [1] Fissures and Chasms [Moria]
    Event • Response
    If the fellowship moves to an underground site, discard a [Moria] card to make the Free Peoples player exert a companion or discard a possession borne by a companion.
    You may play this event from your discard pile; place it beneath your draw deck instead of discarding it.
    "...every now and then a crack would open right before their feet."

    Let's turn the adventure path into an underground obstacle course. It's easy to get over one deep crevice, but soon there will be more. "Wait a minute...I could swear we've leaped over this fissure before. Are we going in circles?"
    « Last Edit: September 25, 2020, 09:26:18 PM by azogsbane »

    September 25, 2020, 03:07:32 AM
    Reply #12

    Cw0rk

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #12 on: September 25, 2020, 03:07:32 AM »
    [1] Fissures and Chasms [Moria]
    Event • Response
    If the fellowship moves to an underground site, spot 3 [Moria] cards to make the Free Peoples player exert a companion or discard a possession borne by a companion.
    You may play this event from your discard pile.
    "...every now and then a crack would open right before their feet."

    Let's turn the adventure path into an underground obstacle course. It's easy to get over one deep crevice, but soon there will be more. "Wait a minute...I could swear we've leaped over this fissure before. Are we going in circles?"
    Wouldn't being able to play it from discard pile cause a loop in which you could discard all possessions and exert all companions, as long as you have 1 twilight to spend? Or can you just use it once?

    September 25, 2020, 05:09:52 PM
    Reply #13

    Durin's Heir

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #13 on: September 25, 2020, 05:09:52 PM »
    If you're passing by and reading this, please do us a favor and VOTE FOR HELM HAMMERHAND. It needs 1 more vote for a tie, or 2 for a secure win. With little more than 24 hours left, it'd mean the difference between a totally new and fresh Rohan deck experience and a half-baked poor cousin of Ithil Stone (I'm sorry Menace, but that's all your Dark Communion is).

    HAMMERHAND 2020!

    ---

    Wouldn't being able to play it from discard pile cause a loop in which you could discard all possessions and exert all companions, as long as you have 1 twilight to spend? Or can you just use it once?
    Add 1x Demoralized. With X+1 twilight to discard all X possessions on companions, it'd always remain 1 twilight to exert a companion + recover that twilight, and repeat ad nauseam.

    The idea is good but needs a limit. And things like "limit X times" don't work with events, those need other ways to circumvent repeating abuses. Like "You may play this event from your discard pile; place it at the bottom of your draw deck instead of your discard pile." Or "You may return this event to your hand at the end of this phase" instead of allowing it to reappear over and over in the same phase. Or an additional cost: "You may discard a [Moria] condition from play to play this event from your discard pile", and probably increase the cost to [2]...
    « Last Edit: September 25, 2020, 05:17:09 PM by Durin's Heir »
    “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  - Malcolm X

    September 25, 2020, 09:28:39 PM
    Reply #14

    azogsbane

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    Re: Fill in the Blank Season 1: Lairs #21
    « Reply #14 on: September 25, 2020, 09:28:39 PM »
    Thanks for catching that, guys. I'm surprised I didn't detect the problem myself. That explains why Hobbitses Are Dead is written that way. It should have been obvious.