Fill in the Blank Season 2: Lords #6

[menace64]

Welcome to Fill in the Blank Season 2: Lords!

Lords is a Movie-block set - meaning no 11+ cultures, and is Ringwraith, not Wraith. Shadows-era sites are acceptable.

Each week I'll post the collector's information for one of the cards in the set's cardlist. Contestants are free to create whatever card they see fit for that slot in the card-list, keeping in mind the card titles of previously-victorious cards. As the contest progresses, the cardlist will become more and more defined, guiding the contestants' choices. Not every card has to fit the theme, of course, but it's something to keep in mind when coming up with submissions.

To become a contestant, you gotta do three things: PM me your card submission for the active round; Vote on the last round's submissions; and leave a Comment in the current round describing your vote (yes you can vote for yourself), along with any card reviews you wish to provide. (Any unclaimed votes are subject to invalidation!)

By constraining card submissions to PMs, I hope to buff some of the excitement each week, as well as develop a private line of communication with each contestant in order to help eliminate 8-liners and other basic formatting errors that typically kill a submission before it even makes it to a vote. This should also make each newly-posted round more exciting!

In case of a tie: (and note that I've already forgotten to check for a tied-vote on Thursday, so this is yet to be properly tested. My bad!)

• At first light on the fifth day of each round (Thursday), if two or more submissions are tied for the win, I will reset the votes and remove all losing submissions from the voting pool. During this second round of votes, you will still need to announce your vote.
• On the last day of each round (Saturday), if we're somehow back into a tiebreaker situation, the winner of the previous round (The Tiecider) will step in to settle things once and for all.
• (And if that person isn't available, I'll roll for it.)

If you every have any questions about what to do or who to do it to, please don't hesitate to ask!


Last week's winner...
The vote ended in a tie between Steward's Ring and Den Overseer. As I was the winner in the previous round, I was the Tiecider this week and doubled my vote for Overseer, placing Inspire on the board with their Den Overseer in the 13th Slot!


Last week's entries to pick from for Card #13...

...Are to be found in the first reply in this thread! This will (hopefully) make it easier for those on mobile devices to participate!


This week's contest is...

Card #1!

This week's submission must be:

• A One Ring card
• A card
• A card

Looks like we're getting the ends of this set sorted out right away!


Closing Date: December 12th!


LORDS Card List 
Number - Name - (Culture • Type) - Contestant - Week It Won
1. IN CREATION THIS WEEK
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Elven Rangers ( • Companion) - menace64 - 3
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. Den Overseer ( • Minion) - Inspire - 4
14.
15. •Saruman, Lord of Industry ( • Minion) - azogsbane - 1
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26. •Bilbo, Translator of Elvish Verse ( • Ally) - azogsbane - 2
27.
28.
29.
30. SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK'S VOTE

[menace64]

Last week's entries to pick from for Card #30...

(9R) Barad-dûr's Throne Hall
Shadow: Play Sauron at twilight cost -9. The Free Peoples player wins the game if Sauron is killed this turn.
Designer's note: Its an optional Shadow ability so don't do it if you play vs direct wounding. If you do it, the Free peoples player still wins if the fellowship survives until the regroup phase. It just grant an additional possible win condition to the Free peoples player.

•Dáin Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
While you can spot 3 Dwarves, you may draw (or take into hand) up to 6 cards during the fellowship phase instead of 4.
"‘Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should see… the halls and cavernous streets under the earth with arches carved like trees; and the terraces and towers upon the Mountain's sides!'"

•Aragorn, King of Gondor
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
Knight.
Each time Aragorn loses a skirmish, you may exert him 4 times to make every companion strength +2 (or +3 if that companion is a companion and is not the Ring-bearer) until the regroup phase.

•A King to be Crowned
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert Aragorn. Each time a minion loses a skirmish involving a companion, heal a companion.
Response: If Aragorn is about to lose a skirmish, discard this condition and 3 unbound companions to wound each minion.
'"Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed while the thrones of the Valar endure!"'

•Great Goblin, Lord of Goblin Town
Minion • Orc
Strength: 10
Vitality: 3
Site Number: 4
Enduring. To play, spot 3 Orcs.
For each tale, Great Goblin is damage +1.
Response: If the special ability of a Free Peoples possession (or artifact) is used, exert Great Goblin to add a threat.
"‘Very well, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the mangler!'"
Designer's note: Since I speculate this set will be heavier towards FP, I wanted to write a fun lordly minion of some kind.

[JamesCB]

(9R) Barad-dûr's Throne Hall
Shadow: Play Sauron at twilight cost -9. The Free Peoples player wins the game if Sauron is killed this turn.

WOAH.  That is one heck of a site. Allowing DLoM for , or TLOTR for , before his discount... woah. Direct wounding is definitely the bane of this site, Aragorn's Bow and Greenleaf (both unwounded) alone knock him out. However, against any other deck, this can wipe out a fellowship. Sauron plus some Orc Taskmaster's, a Forces of Mordor, and companions loaded with DdotR... yikes. The reason I didn't vote for this one is because it's a little (in my opinion) unbalanced. However, with limited play experience, and the mind of a 5 year old, I very well could be absolutely crazy, and it's the most balanced card to ever be thought of by a human being.

•Dáin Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
While you can spot 3 Dwarves, you may draw (or take into hand) up to 6 cards during the fellowship phase instead of 4.
"‘Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should see… the halls and cavernous streets under the earth with arches carved like trees; and the terraces and towers upon the Mountain's sides!'"

Interesting... Definitely like the Dwarves mining theme support, and a strong Dwarf in your fellowship always helps. This would have gotten my vote if it weren't for... well, I'll get in to that later.

•Aragorn, King of Gondor
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
Knight.
Each time Aragorn loses a skirmish, you may exert him 4 times to make every companion strength +2 (or +3 if that companion is a companion and is not the Ring-bearer) until the regroup phase.

That's a hefty price! You need at least 6 vitality, and that's before we get into damage +1 uruks. Of course, there's wound prevention like Sapling of the White Tree, or Intimidate, or damage nullifiers, like Armor or VMotW, but still, 5 wounds... I also wish the benefit was a little more. Perhaps +3 for every, regardless of culture or Ring-bearing-ness.

•A King to be Crowned
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert Aragorn. Each time a minion loses a skirmish involving a companion, heal a companion.
Response: If Aragorn is about to lose a skirmish, discard this condition and 3 unbound companions to wound each minion.
'"Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed while the thrones of the Valar endure!"'

Another heavy cost. 3 unbound companions is not a small price, unless you're at site 9 and not facing fierce minions. The benefit, however, is not marginal. and would be crying their eyeballs out, and Third Marshal of Riddermark would be too, but not because he's sad. Ulaire Cantea, LoDG may die, depending on when the wounding happens, but he definitely wouldn't be happy. Any self-exhausting minion, like Regourp orcs at WoEM, would be devastated. My problem with this card, is... a condition for the Premium card slot? I don't know...

•Great Goblin, Lord of Goblin Town
Minion • Orc
Strength: 10
Vitality: 3
Site Number: 4
Enduring. To play, spot 3 Orcs.
For each tale, Great Goblin is damage +1.
Response: If the special ability of a Free Peoples possession (or artifact) is used, exert Great Goblin to add a threat.
"‘Very well, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the mangler!'"

Sorry, Dain, but I think it's time another Premium minion stood up and took the spotlight, and this Premium minion is looking dang good. A counter to TLAoEaM (is that the longest card name ever?), WSG, or Friend to Thorin. Enduring on a minion is awesome, as now 2 archers doubly-rocks, and the response is just the icing of the cake. "If the Free Peoples try to use FotW to play a sanctuary, use Gandalf's Staff to cancel a skirmish, Glamdring to wipe out the twilight pool, or Sapling of the White Tree to keep someone alive, add a threat and make your guy strength +2. In case you couldn't tell, I voted for this beauty.

[Wyrden333]

Tough one this is, i was somewhere between the first to and in the end picked Dain, great overall design esspecially in regards to push already existing strategies. Although i‘m not sure whether you can disable the rule of 4 as easy as that

[menace64]

My vote went to Barad-dur Throne Room. With a "B" card title that means we probably wont be seeing another site in this set (although you never know!), and I think I like that the Lord of the Rings is the only character getting a site.

[Cw0rk]

My vote went to the Throne Hall. Fits the theme, reminds me of Bridge of Khazad Dum.

Dain was interesting, but I didn't vote for it as I believe that mono Dwarves are strong enough and played enough in Movie Block.

I don't get how an Aragorn with such an heavy cost would be playable.

A King to Be Crowned is fine, but would not get my vote as a P card.

The Great Goblin is a bit all over the place. Enduring, threats, tales?!?

[Legion]

(9R) Barad-dûr's Throne Hall
Shadow: Play Sauron at twilight cost -9. The Free Peoples player wins the game if Sauron is killed this turn.

I like the site. It almost for my vote just for being a site, but it's also a really good site, so fab! It doesn't take up our site options as it's site 9, so comes after all sites 1-8 if we don't do RotEL numbering (why did Decipher do that?)

•Dáin Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
While you can spot 3 Dwarves, you may draw (or take into hand) up to 6 cards during the fellowship phase instead of 4.
"‘Only in mining and building have we surpassed the old days. You should see… the halls and cavernous streets under the earth with arches carved like trees; and the terraces and towers upon the Mountain's sides!'"

A nice card. Would make my movie dwarven decks completely insane: you would pair this with 4 copies of Great Works Began There. But I prefer the site for my vote. We only introduced premium characters last time as mistakes were made in the numbering: unbalancing some cultures, and the site is a good card anyway.

•Aragorn, King of Gondor
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
Knight.
Each time Aragorn loses a skirmish, you may exert him 4 times to make every companion strength +2 (or +3 if that companion is a companion and is not the Ring-bearer) until the regroup phase.

Nearly impossible to use this ability, and even if you tried, it's shut down by so much.

•A King to be Crowned
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert Aragorn. Each time a minion loses a skirmish involving a companion, heal a companion.
Response: If Aragorn is about to lose a skirmish, discard this condition and 3 unbound companions to wound each minion.
'"Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed while the thrones of the Valar endure!"'

This has no place in spot 30. I'm sorry that I'm being tough on this, but I do feel it could have been saved for a suitable Gondor slot. As it is, it totally overpowers Knights who, with Banner of Westerners, will kill off minions for no cost (Fourth Level and Citadel of the Stars/Gondor Bow, recycled with Sixth Level).

•Great Goblin, Lord of Goblin Town
Minion • Orc
Strength: 10
Vitality: 3
Site Number: 4
Enduring. To play, spot 3 Orcs.
For each tale, Great Goblin is damage +1.
Response: If the special ability of a Free Peoples possession (or artifact) is used, exert Great Goblin to add a threat.
"‘Very well, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the mangler!'"
Designer's note: Since I speculate this set will be heavier towards FP, I wanted to write a fun lordly minion of some kind.

[/quote]

8 twilight and requires the orcs to spot for a strength 10 minion? It can be damage plus one million, but if it doesn't win a skirmish, it doesn't matter. Plus Moria can't use threats well (Moria Archery is rubbish in movie, and with the spotting requirements, this won't help out)