TwilightGuls in Expanded

[NappyKorn]

Well many have said Twilight Nazguls don't belong in expanded and I have been trying to get them at least some repect in this format. Granted the Freeps side gives them a much needed boost, but what can I say. I'm sure the critics will come from far and wide saying this will kill you and that will kill you, but nothing can survive everything in the world of LOtRTCG. Here goes nothing and fire anyway as always.


Frodo And Ring 
*The One Ring, The Ring of Rings (11R1) 
*Frodo, Resolute Hobbit (10P121) 

Fellowship (35) 
1x *Bilbo, Aged Ring-bearer (13R142) 
1x *Gamling, Defender of the Hornburg (11R147) 
1x *Merry, Swordthain (7R321) 
1x *Smeagol, Scout and Guide (11R51) 
1x New Chapter (13U154) 
1x Something Slimy (15U50) 
1x *Alatar, Final Envoy (13U28) 
1x *Daddy Twofoot, Next-door Neighbor (13U144) 
1x *Deagol, Fateful Finder (13R46) 
1x *Dinendal, Mirkwood Archer (15R12) 
1x *Elendil's Army (18R47) 
1x *Faramir's Company (18C49) 
1x *Frodo Gamgee, Son of Samwise (13U150) 
1x *Gondorian Servant, Denethor's Handman (18R52) 
1x *Gwaihir, The Windlord (17R20) 
1x *Hobbiton Brewer, Maker of Fine Ales (15R146) 
1x *Hobbiton Farmer, Lover of Pipeweed (15C147) 
1x *Meneldor, Misty Mountain Eagle (17U22) 
1x *Pallando, Far-travelling One (13R37) 
1x *Radagast, Tender of Beasts (13R38) 
1x *Robin Smallburrow, Shirriff Cock-Robin (18U111) 
1x *Rohirrim Doorwarden (15U137) 
1x *The Gaffer, Master Gardener (13U151) 
1x *Woodhall Elf (18C17) 
4x Rohan Stable Master (15U134) 
4x Rohan Worker (15R135) 
1x Uruviel, Woodland Maid (15U26) 
1x *Erkenbrand's Horn (18R96) 
1x *Gamling's Horn (18R100) 

Shadow (35) 
4x Moving This Way (11S213) 
1x Resistance Becomes Unbearable (2U79) 
1x The Twilight World (1R228) 
3x Wraith-world (2R86) 
4x *The Witch-king, Black Lord (12R183) 
4x *Ulaire Attea, The Easterling (2U82) 
4x *Ulaire Enquea, Ringwraith in Twilight (2U83) 
4x *Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (2R84) 
2x *Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman (19P38) 
4x *Ulaire Otsea, Ringwraith In Twilight (3U86) 
4x *Ulaire Toldea, Black Shadow (12U180) 

Strategy:

Freeps is self explaining. Dammed Gate-stream to grab Something Slimy to grab New Chapter. Then use Gamling to grab Erkenbrand's Horn. Play all your followers leaving just Gamling's Horn and Merry in deck. I decided to make this a bit of a twist Horn deck by Running Bilbo, Aged Ring-bearer over starting Merry, Swordthain and Aldred. I figure if the shadow doesn't get Merry by site 3 you can just play Green Dragon Inn for site 3 by getting Smeagol a win by tossing followers.

Shadow is quite simple as well. Get a Moving This Way in play, drop a nazgul and filter your deck until you get  Resistance Becomes Unbearable, 3x Wraith-world and maybe The Twilight World in hand. Next look for a Twilight Nazgul and copy or 2 of The Witch-king, Black Lord. When they play a companion reveal the copies of The Witch-king to get the Ring-bearer one exertion away from exhausted. When you get the Ring-bearer setup play a twilight nazgul and for maneuver play Resistance Becomes Unbearable to exert the Ring-bearer, he becomes exhausted and has to wear The One Ring. Now you can play The Twilght World to add to burdens and then for skirmish play the 3 Wraith-world and make them eat 11 burdens at one site. If for some reason they don't play any companions or just start all their companions in the starting fellowship you have other options (just not nearly as effective). You can play Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman and hope to get him on the Ring-bearer and hope they have to wear The Only Ring, or if Ulaire Enquea can manage a win he can start exerting the Ring-bearer.

After the freeps card are out of your deck (site 2) you can quickly filter the hand you need without much of a problem. You may end up drawing another Moving This Way or 2 before you get your hand setup, but you should easily have your hand set by early to middle region 2. I played this deck against TJ's IG Rangers paired with Demoralized/Rapid Reload. I had my hand setup by site 3, but had to stall until I could keep my nazgul from roaming. He started 8 of 9 of his companions and played his 9th comp at site one. I was still able to win at site 9 with a corruption (adding 9 burdens).

Now fire away with the decks I will have problems with and why this will never work in expanded and such. Any good advice will be taken seriously and the rest will be laughed out .

[SomeRandomDude]

I'd run the Twilight WK.

I would also run His Terrible Servants. Drop Attea for him, nobody plays allies and Anduin Confluence is better.

Gamling's Horn is only good really for very heavy, hard-hitting decks. Its quite easily beat, actually. I ascribe to theory that Twiligt Nazzies are about as good as the Wraith Collection in expanded (which is to say, fun and occasionally spectacular but not competitive), I'd try to build a Freeps that can hit hard for the times your shadow fizzles. If you want to run something cycling/filtering, I would recommend running a configuration like...

Gimli RB
Faramir, Captain of Gondor
Gondorian Prowler x 4
Madril, Defender of Osgiliath
Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith

Nab Aragorn with Prancing Pony, then use Denethor to filter some and run Delving or Calculated Risk to draw cards. That should filter/cycle you pretty well and pack a much harder punch than Horns, assuming, of course, that you run the Gorns Bow/Citadel of Minas Tirith/Ithilien Blade indestructible expanded combo.

[NappyKorn]

Good points, but I have the cards for the horn deck already and trying to build this deck. I can't run the Twilight Wikkie because I need the Black Lord version in this deck to exert the RB when/if Companions are played. Much easier show a card from hand for an exertion (possible 3 or 4) if I filter those Wikkie into hand before he runs out of companions to play. Twilight Attea is just there for another Twilight gul to be able to use Wraith-world and Resistance Becomes Unbearable. Granted with the stupid filtering/cycling enigine I can get a twilight in and nearly if not always every turn so maybe I can go for a better non-twilight nazgul . I did however think about adding in His Terrible Servants but that is just another card to weed out with Moving This Way and the quicker the shadow can get it's cards the better. I may however opt to just throw in 1 copy of it and test it a few times and if it doesn't drastically effect the outcome I will keep it in there .

[Mc Tono]

Nice. I always liked the twilights. However. I never played a horn deck like this before and I have only one question:
Clearing your own deck is great but 40+twilight tokens on site 2? Will it be some kind of self distruction sometimes, or is the followerdiscard-boost sufficient for survival?

[Elrohir]

Be aware! "Cave entrance" & "Balrog, demon of might" can really hurt!

[NappyKorn]

yes Cavern Entrance for sure can be a killer .

[SomeRandomDude]

The way to survive is to typically use Deagol to grab Gamling's Horn, then you can win any skirmish.

[Gil-Estel]

yesterday I had cavern entrance and a balrog...couldn't be assigned due to the low strength of his entire fellowship. And both horns on 1 character...that is just evil Nappy. I was close to shutting down my PC...haha, what a boring game it was.....I knew his shadow though and therefor I just kept Gimli exhausted.

[SomeRandomDude]

Successive debate split and moved to Bag End.

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?topic=1248.0

Enjoy!

~NB

[Gil-Galad]

Why don't you play Return to its masters ?

[Fingolfin]

The best strategy how to play twilightgules is play old Twilight Witchking with fellbeast + Ring of rancor ... best way to kill the opponent's R-B ! 

[GloinTheDark]

I also use the Pale Blade, Sword of Flame.

I never read that Nazgul:  *Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman (19P38) 

Does that mean that if a deck is all one culture the shadow player can assign him to the ring-bearer.  Or if you're Rohan with a Frodo ring-bearer you'll pretty much be screwed.  If that's the case I'd pack 4 of this guy.  Only multi-cultural decks are going to be "safe."  Even then you don't have to go straight to the ring-bearer you could assign the nazgul to their best fighter allowing the Witch-King to go to a secondary fighter.  Yeah, 4 copies.

[TheJord]

Nertea, DH doesnt care about Culture he targets Race. So if you have all Dwarves he can go wherever you want. And he is awesome, but mono-race decks tend to be Dwarves so all you get is Gimli-RB drawback then get killed. Its usually pretty obvious where he is going.

Mixed with other 'assignment messups' he is pretty brutal - Bill Ferny, AoS, Mauhur and Mouth of Sauron, Liuetenant of Barad-dur

[GloinTheDark]

Thanks for the clarification.  Still pretty awesome though, Knights, Rangers, Ents and Hobbits, Rohan with Frodo if Frodo has no protection or the wrong ring.  Elvent, though there would be plenty of pumps for Galadriel.  Gondor Token.  He's really not fun with alternate ring-bearers.