Multiplayer tactics

[Cw0rk]

Someone asked for a topic where we could discuss how to build good multiplayer decks... Here it is!

From my own experience, it's better to use a fellowship that choke because if you give too much twilight, all the players are going to kill you with all their minion combined. Also, cards like Sleep Caradhras and Grown Suddenly Tall are really good because they usually remove huge amounts of conditions due to the larger number of players.

For the shadow side, it's generally not a good idea to use fancy strategies. Maybe your shadow can corrupt 1 ring-bearer but it will never corrupt 3... I think it's the same with discard decks and with most wounding decks. From my point of view, the two best options are beatdown and swarm. I prefer swarm due to the fact that it allows multiple players to combine their forces to eliminate an opponent. Stacking minions can also be interesting as you can reuse them against multiple opponents. Beatdown can be interesting if you can stop the other player... Also, Saruman's power has to be one of the best shadow cards as it removes every condition that may affect your fellowship later on.
However, that also means that it's better to use a shadow side that doesn't use too much conditions.

[Foresight]

Spurred to Battle is really sick in multiplayer.  Especially if more than one person is using it.

[Gil-Estel]

Cast it into the fire is also very nice

[Elrohir]

Shapes Slowly Advancing   with Surrounded by wraiths

[Cw0rk]

Wow shapes slowly advancing can kill everyone if not discarded.

[jdizzy001]

That's amazing...

[FM]

To elaborate on the subject, playing myltiplayer, you want to look out for two basic concepts of card game:
-Escalation;
-Card advantage.

Escalation are cards that get better with more players out, like the aforementioned Sleep, Caradhras and Saruman's Power. Those are USUALLY pretty easy to spot, but keep an eye for sleepers, cards that are TERRIBLE on one-on-one gameplay, but escalate to craziness when paired against multiple opponents.
Card advantage is a little bit trickier to grasp, as it means a HUGE amount of things at the same time. Escalators are good examples of card-advantage-producing cards, but other strategies and cards provide that. Goblin Swarms is card advantage, since you can replay the minions stacked there and preserve the ones in hand, or play the ones in hand and get to cycle, drawing more cards. Besiegers as a strategy produce card advantage in a similar way, stacking minions and getting "more" out of them. I could elaborate longer, but I'm on a short clock right now.

[macheteman]

you know, with shapes slowly advancing, you can't discard it once it takes its first victim. then it moves to the next person's turn and immediately corrupts that ring-bearer.

unless i'm missing something... does it not take effect during the fellowship phase?

this is really deadly with cards like peril and spied from above where you can play/discard play/discard for no twilight.

pack that site that lets each player reinforce a token, and use nelya to replay it... killer deck, as long as you can keep your shapes slowly advancing on the table. pack a few morgul skulker and you should be set. i might just have to knock up a decklist for this. a better one than i have.

[SomeRandomDude]

or just play Morannon Plains and let everyone move to the site, 3 people, 3 tokens, auto-win.

[jdizzy001]

oh, that's wickedly hilarious!

[Not a Zombie]

I have 2x that card! and I play multiplayer  I'm totally making a multiplayer deck around it 

[jdizzy001]

I only have one copy, but I think I will do the same.  The gaming world will never be the same for me...

[Malachi]

1 more reason to run Namarie 

[ephen]

I don't really see Shapes Slowly Advancing being that great in multiplayer. Most people run large enough fellowships to be able to bounce the companion and nazgul are twilight intensive so unless its your turn to play first you might not get one for the regroup. Plus, we already mentioned how popular cards like saruman's power and sleep, caradhras in multiplayer so you're probably gonna lose it and its kinda tough to stop the fellowship from double moving if you're discarding minions.

[jdizzy001]

That is a very valid arugment.  Still, auto corruption is great.  It makes me feel all tingly inside