The Way Into Mordor - Dwarves (7/18: Warfare That Suits a Dwarf)

[Thranduil]

Cunning Folk
Event • Maneuver
Spot a Dwarf and discard a condition to shuffle another Free Peoples condition (and all cards stacked on it) into your draw deck. Draw a card for each token on that condition.
"‘We do not shape stone with battle-axes, nor with our finger-nails. But I will help as I may.'"

Interesting. So it works with stacking and tokens? I might make some other cost though - discarding one of your own conditions appears to be quite high to do something that only works if you work at it.

•Secret Ways
Condition • Support Area
Tale. To play, spot a Dwarf.
When you play this condition, you may add a token here for each mountain and underground site you can spot.
Fellowship: Discard this condition or remove a token from here to stack a card (except an event) from your discard pile on a condition that has a card already stacked on it.
"‘Such a refuge would be to the liking of a dwarf.'"

Could you try and fit 'Homestead' in the title? I say that because it's very similar to the cycle of Homestead cards from Bloodlines. Other than that, I like it. But the combo with Sindri would make me tempted to include events - and with that you could perhaps make it 2 tokens.

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

Cunning Folk
Event • Maneuver
Spot a Dwarf and discard a condition to shuffle another Free Peoples condition (and all cards stacked on it) into your draw deck. Draw a card for each token on that condition.
"‘We do not shape stone with battle-axes, nor with our finger-nails. But I will help as I may.'"

I agree with Thran about discarding a condition. Thats a nasty cost get change. Aside from that though this could be ridiculous! Id make this cost 2 at LEAST in twilight. Dwarven tokens arent exactly hard to get a hold of!

•Secret Ways
Condition • Support Area
Tale. To play, spot a Dwarf.
When you play this condition, you may add a token here for each mountain and underground site you can spot.
Fellowship: Discard this condition or remove a token from here to stack a card (except an event) from your discard pile on a condition that has a card already stacked on it.
"‘Such a refuge would be to the liking of a dwarf.'"

Well I need to see the card/token stacking tactic developed a bit more before i can say if thats good for your DC's DI. But i like it how it works with the ones that D made, I can think of an awesome use for this in my loyalty unshaken deck. Would be fantastic.

[DáinIronfoot]

Okay, I have to confess I'm a little confused as to what's being recommended with Cunning Folk. Are you saying the twilight cost needs to come up in addition to the current costs, or that I should raise the twilight cost by drop the conditon discarding cost?

For now, I've tweaked it so can discard ANY card (except companions) instead of being limited to conditions. That gives more options, especially with the myriad of possessions available. I have left Secret Ways alone, though; I don't really want to change the title, since it's pure coincidence that it matches Big D's Homesteads (and the Dwarves already have one anyway), and I'd really rather it not work with events, as that is best reserved for other cards, methinks. I wasn't looking to turn this into the ultimate event recycler. If you think either card needs further changes, though, let me know.

For now, however, while we're on the topic of possessions....

•Gimli's Armor, Work of Erebor
Possession • Armor
Vitality +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Each minion skirmishing bearer loses all damage bonuses from weapons.
If bearer is Gimli, each minion skirmishing him loses all hunter bonuses.
"...there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."

•Gimli's Helm, Gift of Kings
Possession • Armor
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
If bearer is Gimli, he may not be exerted by Shadow cards during a skirmish.
Response: If bearer is about to take a wound, discard a possession borne by bearer to prevent that wound.
"But he chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head...."

•Gimli's Pipe, Carved In the North
Possession • Pipe
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Each time a pipeweed is about to be discarded from play, you may stack that pipeweed on a condition that already has a card stacked on it instead.
Regroup: Discard a pipeweed stacked on a condition to reinforce a token.
"‘Gimli re-filled his pipe...he lit it with his flint and tinder....'"

Notice all three of these can be borne by ANY Dwarf. A couple are certainly better with Gimli, but I didn't want to make Gimli the only Dwarf you could viably bring along for the ride with the rest of your fellowship.

I'm not a big fan of these subtitles (except, perhaps, for the very appropriate one for Gimli's Helm), so if you aren't either and can think of something better, I'm all ears.

[lem0nhead]

•Gimli's Armor, Work of Erebor
Possession • Armor
Vitality +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Each minion skirmishing bearer loses all damage bonuses from weapons.
If bearer is Gimli, each minion skirmishing him loses all hunter bonuses.
"...there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."

Hmmm on the side of too good but ok.

•Gimli's Helm, Gift of Kings
Possession • Armor
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
If bearer is Gimli, he may not be exerted by Shadow cards during a skirmish.
Response: If bearer is about to take a wound, discard a possession borne by bearer to prevent that wound.
"But he chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head...."

Cool, thats very sweet, me likey.

•Gimli's Pipe, Treasure of Moria
Possession • Pipe
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Fellowship: Discard a pipeweed to shuffle a card stacked on a condition into your draw deck.
"‘Gimli re-filled his pipe...he lit it with his flint and tinder....'"

Not that useful i have to say.

[DáinIronfoot]

Completely overhauled the pipe. Better now?

[NappyKorn]

Hey I like the pipe. I have played my dwarven stack deck several times and have stacked a non-event card on loyalty unshaken to get the drawing ability then later wished I had a way to get it back into hand somehow. I like and would add it to my deck

Edit: Well you overhauled it before my post shame on you Dain I liked it as was.

[lem0nhead]

Sorry dain i think its worse than it was! What ever you seem to envisage with it doesnt seem to be very powerful or useful enough for it to command a place in a deck.

Except for Nk clearly

[DáinIronfoot]

Really? Hmmm. I thought it would be mucho useful in that it lets you add an extra card (or cards) to your conditions that you can potentially use and abuse, OR it lets you add more token reinforcement. With enough pipeweed, it could do both in droves.

I thought about doing something with threats, but I wasn't sure if giving Dwarves threat removal was a great idea....

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[lem0nhead]

If it let you put a Dwarf card on the condition maybe but a pipeweed is not very useful. Most of them require dwarf cards to be good or if youre using sindri. Thats where im coming from.

But i guess its not a pipe if it dont use the pipeweed. Hey ho leave it then dain.

This is my last review for 2 weeks anyway so cyas later!

[DáinIronfoot]

Hmmm. Some options, then:

- card drawing
- event recycling
- threat removal
- strict token reinforcement
- something else...?

From what I see, though, several old-school stacking cards can benefit from ANY Free Peoples card that's stacked, not necessarily ones. Courtesy of My Hall is a great example. Maybe if I "reprinted" that....

If not that, though, what would be better?

[lem0nhead]

See my edited response!

 

Bye

[DáinIronfoot]

Take care, my lem0ny friend. I have a feeling reviews will be hard to come by with you gone.

[sickofpalantirs]

•Gimli's Armor, Work of Erebor
Possession • Armor
Vitality +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Each minion skirmishing bearer loses all damage bonuses from weapons.
If bearer is Gimli, each minion skirmishing him loses all hunter bonuses.
"...there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."
maybe marvel of erebor?

•Gimli's Helm, Gift of Kings
Possession • Armor
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
If bearer is Gimli, he may not be exerted by Shadow cards during a skirmish.
Response: If bearer is about to take a wound, discard a possession borne by bearer to prevent that wound.
"But he chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head...."
I like the subtitle...

•Gimli's Pipe, Treasure of Moria
Possession • Pipe
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Fellowship: Stack a pipeweed on a condition that has a card already stacked on it.
Regroup: Discard a pipeweed stacked on a condition to reinforce a token.
"‘Gimli re-filled his pipe...he lit it with his flint and tinder....'"

fine

[Thranduil]

•Gimli's Armor, Work of Erebor
Possession • Armor
Vitality +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Each minion skirmishing bearer loses all damage bonuses from weapons.
If bearer is Gimli, each minion skirmishing him loses all hunter bonuses.
"...there was no hauberk in the hoards of Edoras of better make than his short corslet forged beneath the Mountain in the North."

My problem here is that the balance is all a bit weird - for any Dwarf, it's not great, but for Gimli it's too good. Perhaps I would make the universal ability simply loses damage bonuses and Gimli's text losing all bonuses from possessions? Or all gamtext keywords?

•Gimli's Helm, Gift of Kings
Possession • Armor
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
If bearer is Gimli, he may not be exerted by Shadow cards during a skirmish.
Response: If bearer is about to take a wound, discard a possession borne by bearer to prevent that wound.
"But he chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head...."

Why is this an apt subtitle? Seems good. But it hardly needs the extra ability for Gimli. Perhaps it should instead get the resistance bonus only if it's Gimli.

•Gimli's Pipe, Treasure of Moria
Possession • Pipe
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Fellowship: Stack a pipeweed on a condition that has a card already stacked on it.
Regroup: Discard a pipeweed stacked on a condition to reinforce a token.
"‘Gimli re-filled his pipe...he lit it with his flint and tinder....'"

What had Gimli's pipe to do with Moria? I think I would make one of the abilities 'pipeweed or card', probably the fellowship one.

Thranduil

[DáinIronfoot]

Ooo! Ooo! Just had a thought for the Pipe. How about this?

•Gimli's Pipe, Carved In the North
Possession • Pipe
Bearer must be a Dwarf.
Each time a pipeweed is about to be discarded from play, you may stack that pipeweed on a condition that already has a card stacked on it instead.
Regroup: Discard a pipeweed stacked on a condition to reinforce a token.
"‘Gimli re-filled his pipe...he lit it with his flint and tinder....'"

NOW it has some serious potential, I think. Instead of having to actually discard pipeweeds (which many other pipes require), you can put them on a condition and either turn them into tokens or, better still, potentially get them back by shuffling them into your draw deck with another card like Rest By Blind Night or my own Cunning Folk! Pipeweed could ALWAYS use good recusion like that, right?

Since it's probably more powerful like this, I dropped the resistance bonus.

How is it NOW, though?