My first two decks ever. Need help.

[Kenddrick]

Hello there! Recently I started playing Lord of the Rings, Trading Card Game. Yes I know it's been 2 years since the last set was released, but it doesn't matter to me. I bought a Bloodlines: Boromir deck, a Mount Doom: Frodo deck, and a box of boosters from Realm of the Elf Lords.

What I would like to know is form 2 equally good decks, so that I and my friend can play against each other. I have listed down all the cards that I have. Hopefully someone will help me construct 2 good decks that can be played against each other.

Here are my cards (for card images: www.lotrtcgwiki.com)

Gondor:
1X Aragorn, Heir to the White City
1X Aragorn, Isildur's Heir
2X Boromir, Doomed Heir
4X Gondorian Blade
1X Banner of the White Tree
1X Guarded City
1X The Shards of Narsil
1X Horn of Boromir
1X Armor of the Citadel
5X Tradesman from Lebennin
3X Voice of Rauros
3X Heirs of Gondor
3X Rally the Company
3X Some who resisted
2X Still Sharp
2X Gondor Bowmen
6X Might of Numenor
5X Answering the cries
9X We must go Warily
1X Armor
1X Great Shield
3X Dead Man of Dunharrow
2X Oathbreaker
1X Sleepless Dead
2X Spectral Sword
3X End of the Game

Dwarves:
1X Thrarin, Dwarven Smith
1X Fror, Gimli's Kilnsman
2X, Song of Durin
1X Flurry of Blows
3X Gimli's Pipe
1X Mines of Khazad-Dum
1X Honoring his Kinfolk
6X Storm of Argument
1X Book of Mazarbul
1X Lord of Moria
3X A Royal Welcome

Gandalf:
3X Gandalf, Defender of the West
1X Narya
1X Betrayal of Isengard
6X Depart Silently
3X His First Serious Check
5X Fireworks
6X Unknown Perils
3X Trust Me As You Once Did
8X Deep in Thought
2X Gathering Wind
2X All Save One
1X Let Folly be our Cloak
2X Intimidate


Shire:
1X Frodo, Son of Drogo
1X Frodo, Protected by Many
2X Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
1X Frodo, Frenzied Fighter
1X Merry, Loyal Companion
1X Tolman Cotton, Farmer of Bywater
1X Melilot Brandybuck, Merry Dancer
9X Old Noakes, Purveyor of Wisdoms
6X Frying Pan
6X Three Monstrous Trolls
3X Bill the Pony
2X Frodo's Pipe
4X Hobbit Sword
1X The Shire Countryside
2X Measure of Comfort
5X Meant to be Alone
7X Seek and Hide
2X Noble Intentions
1X Not Feared in Sunlight


Elves:
7X Erestor, Chief Advisor to Elrond
2X Galdor, Councilor from the West
3X Golradir, Councilor of Imladris
2X Dinedal, Silent Scout
2X Calaglin, Elf of Lorien
2X Salbeth, Elven Councilor
1X Arwen, Lady Undomiel
3X Arwen, Elven Rider
1X Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood
1X Vilya
1X Inside a Song
1X Lightfootedness
2X Something Draws Near
3X Phial of Galadriel
1X Gift of the Evenstar
1X Forests of Lothlorien
1X Long-Knives of Legolas
3X Beren and Luthien
6X Friends of Old
5X Cast It into the Fire
7X Master of Healing
7X Voice of Nimrodel

Isengard:
5X Isengard Shaman
7X Isengard Worker
7X Isengard Forger
1X Goblin Man

Evil Men:
4X Stragglers
1X Easterling Runner
1X Desert Wind
3X Cruel Dunlending
3X Vicious Dunlending
3X Crooked Townsman
4X Rampaging Easterling
3X Column of Easterlings
3X Easterling Shield Wall
2X Worn Battleaxe

Nazgul:
3X Ulaire Otsea, Ringwraith in Twilight
1X Ulaire Attea, The Easterling
1X Too Great and Terrible
1X Gates of the Dead City
3X News of Mordor
3X The Ring draws Them
6X They will never stop hunting you
2X Morgul Lackey
3X Cirith Ungol Scavenger
4X Cirith Ungol Soldier
4X Cirith Ungol Watchman
4x Cirith Ungol Warrior
2x Morgul Predator
1X Ulaire Cantea, Thrall of the One
1X Morgul Vanguard
1X They will find the Ring
2X Morgul Axe
2X Ten Times Outnumbered
2X Houses of Lamentation

Goblin:
1X Goblin Bowman
1X The Balrog, Durin's Bane
1X The Balrog's Sword
1X Such a Little Thing
3X Malice
4X Hide and Seek
1X Depths of Moria
6X Dangerous Gamble

Isengard:
5X Isengard Shaman
7X Isengard Worker
7X Isengard Forger
1X Goblin Man
3X Uruk Raider
3X Isengard Servant
2X Isengard Warrior
1X Uruk Scout
1X Saruman, Keeper of Isengard
5X Saruman, Servant of the Eye
4X Isengard Retainer
2X Isengard Smith
3X Uruk Ravager
1X Uruk Raider
1X Orc Overseer
1X Orthanc Berserker
1X Orc Commander
8X Servants to Saruman
1X Can You Protect Me from Yourself
6X Isengard Axe
1X The Palantir of Orthanc
1X Uruk-Hai Sword
9X Abandoning Reason for Madness
7X One of You must do This
3X The Trees are Strong
1X A Fell Voice on the Air
3X Trapped and Alone
2X Hate and Anger
8X Coming for the Ring
1X Hollowing of Isengard

Sauron:
3X Orc Slayer
4X Orc Guard
1X Morgul Slayer
7X Orc Butcher
1X Orc Taskmaster
5X Orc Warrior
5X Orc Swordsman
3X Orc Pillager
3X Orc Veteran
1X Orc Trooper
1X Orc Ravager
4X Hand of Sauron
1X Terrible as the Dawn
1X Why Shouldn't I keep it
1X Sceptre of the Dark Lord
1X Gleaming in the Snow
2X Get off the Road!
1X Tower of Barad-Dur
3X Massing in the East
1X Our List of Allies Grows Thin
6X The Dark Lord Advances


Sites:
1X Steps of Edoras (Site Number 1)
1X Rohirrim Camp (Site Number 2)
3X House of Elrond (SiteNumber 3)
1X The Dimholt (Site Number 3)
1X Pelennor Prairie (Site Number 4)
1X Balin's Tomb (Site Number 4)
3X Eregion Hills (Site Number 5)
3X Caras Galadhon (Site Number 6)
1x Galadriel'S Glade (Site Number 6)
1x Minas Tirith Fifth Circle (Site Number 6)
1X Pelennor Grassland(Site number 7)
6X The Great River (Site Number 7)
1X Watchers of Cirith Ungol (Site Number 8)
8X Gates of Argonath (Site Number 8)
1X Dagorlad (Site Number 9)
3X Wastes of Emyn Muil (Site Number 9)

Sites with no number:
1X Trollshaw Forest
1X Anduin Banks
1X Window on the West
1X Helm's Gate
1X Valley of the Silverlode
1X North Undeep
1X Fords of Isen
1X The Great Gates
1X Northern Pelennor


I was thinking of making one deck Gondor-Isengard, and the other Elven-Sauron. Don't know how this will work out though.

Do contribute your suggested decklist! Try not to post deck ideas as I have no experience or whatsoever in building a deck. Thanks a lot for all the trouble!

Cheers,
Kenddrick

[SomeRandomDude]

Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
1X Boromir, Doomed Heir
1x Merry, Loyal Companion

1x Aragorn, Isildur's Heir
4x Gondorian Blade
1x Banner of the White Tree
1x Guarded City
1x Armor of the Citadel
4x Tradesman from Lebennin
3x Heirs of Gondor
3x Rally the Company
2x Hobbit Sword
1x Thrarin, Dwarven Smith
3x Gandalf, Defender of the West
1x Narya
3x Deep In Thought

4x Isengard Shaman
4x Isengard Worker
3x Isengard Servant
2x Isengard Warrior
4x Isengard Retainer
1x Orc Overseer
1x Orc Commander
2x The Trees Are Strong
4x Isengard Axe
1x Saruman, Servant of the Eye
3x Orc Slayer
1x Morgul Slayer

The point of the Gondor side is to get Tradesman from Lebenin with Heirs of Gondor for lots of tokens. Then you can run Gandalf, Defender of the West and Deep In Thought to get rid of all your opponents cards. Merry is there to get pretty tough later in the game. So, reinforce a lot with Heirs of Gondor and use the tokens to make your guys all big.

The shadow side wants to drop lots of minions and then if they survive to the regroup phase, you get to wound a lot of companions, and then use your secret weapon, The Trees Are Strong to hopefully off a few. If you manage to slip through an Orc Slayer or Morgul Slayer, then YOU get to assign the wounds and hopefully that will allow you to kill a companion. Or combo off Orc Overseer for auto-killing any companion. After blasting holes in them, you can finally overwhelm the ring-bearer with a swarm.

So...there's the Gondor/Isengard deck. I'll let someone else take a shot at the Elf/Sauron deck.

[Kenddrick]

Wow. Thanks a lot but what about the sites? What sites do I use?

[Gil-Estel]

Hi Kenddrick, great to have you here. Deckbuilding is not that easy, at least bulding proper decks. I hope you have people to play with, cause you will get better the more you play. Also try to play online, there are some really nice people who are more than willing to tutor you.
Don't you have any elven bows? For without them Elves are pretty hard to play right, will put some more thoughts into it .

[Kenddrick]

Hi!
Hmm I thought myself the game after finding some loose LOTR TCG cards lying about about a week ago. Then five days later, I've gotten a ROTEL booster box, and 2 starter decks in an attempt to start. My girlfriend is the only person that's willing to play with me, but I'm okay with that. I just want to fun decks that I can play with.
And also, right now I don't have much cards. I'm meeting another player from my country next week, and he agreed to sell me a ton of cards for 50 bucks, so I might have some elven bows then. In the meantime, I just try and make do with what I have

[Gil-Estel]

Thou arst wise, and lucky to have a girlfriend willing to play lotr . Well, in the meantime, read decks, especially the strategy section. At www.decktech.net you can search for beginnerdecks, they will help you a lot I think.

[Kenddrick]

Ah okay. I need to find a way to built a "passable" Elves/Sauron deck.

[Gil-Estel]

Well the obvious way to go is Sauron discard. This is a very annoying decktype, which makes the opponent lose a lot of cards.

[SomeRandomDude]

Well, the only sites legal anymore are the sites without site number. So I would use those 9.

[Kenddrick]

Ooh. Alright I'll find a way to find those sites into the 2 decks. Anyone care to help me construct a Elves/Sauron deck?   No reusing the cards already used by NBarden! 

[Éomer,Third_Marshal]

How about a Hobbit choke deck? It would be more a funny deck then a competitive one, but it would be nice against those nasty orcs (you could use the Frying pan  )

[Kenddrick]

I looked up some choke decks online, but I don't have some/most of the cards there.

[Éomer,Third_Marshal]

I looked up some choke decks online, but I don't have some/most of the cards there.

yeah, I know, that was the reason I wrote, that it will be just a funny deck
I was thinking about something like this:


Frodo, Son of Drogo with whichever ring you have

Starting:
Aragorn, Heir to the White City

1X Merry, Loyal Companion
1X Tolman Cotton, Farmer of Bywater

3x Frying Pan
2x Bill the Pony
3X Hobbit sword
1x armor
1x gondorian blade


1x The Shire Countryside


4x Meant to be alone
2x Noble Intentions
4x might of numenor
3x end of the game
3x rally the company


It starts with frodo and aragorn, so it isn't a simple shire deck, but a half/half with gondor (to support your main fighter, which is aragorn)

[Kenddrick]

Ah. Cards used for NBarden cannot be used.

[Éomer,Third_Marshal]

I knew that...but I just missed the rally the company in the Nb's deck. oh, and one gondorian blade.

and also merry...hmm..this is becoming a problem