Reflections II - Complete List

[ket_the_jet]

Well, by the rules the One Ring and the Ring-Bearer are "placed" on the table...not "played."

Each other character in the starting Fellowship is "played." Here's what the CRD has to say on toil:

toil
When you play a card that has the toil keyword, you may reduce its twilight cost by the number specified. You do this by exerting one of your characters of the same culture as that card.
You may exert multiple characters of the same culture. Each different character you exert reduces the twilight cost by the number specified. You may exert a given character only once when playing a toil card.

I guess that I stand corrected, but I am still unsure on that. Toil is an optional payment; I can't think of any other optional payment cards that could play in the Starting Fellowship.
-wtk

[Thranduil]

I don't think there are any other optional cost reducers - why would you, from the FP player's standpoint, want to be able to choose to reduce the cost of your card or not? But there's nothing about optional actions when talking about starting fellowship. If a companion said "When you play ~, you may..." then you could definitely use it.

Thranduil

[FM]

I still think the solution I gave you would solve the biggest issues, just give him text, make him unable to have wounds prevented. He would not be able to be overabused, and a single well-timed Hate would make him cost a TON and backfire, which is why I also suggested losing toil. I like toil on a companion, but not on a Wraith.

[Thranduil]

I still think the solution I gave you would solve the biggest issues, just give him text, make him unable to have wounds prevented. He would not be able to be overabused, and a single well-timed Hate would make him cost a TON and backfire, which is why I also suggested losing toil. I like toil on a companion, but not on a Wraith.

I really wanted a simple card that expressed everything that Wraiths express. Toil just seemed perfect and I just finished a DC block developing it, so I'm reluctant to give it up. I'm also not a fan of giving him more text purely because his simplicity is what I find appealing about the card. If it's still too powerful, I can drop defender, his cost, his strength, his vitality, his enduring to 2 - loads and loads of options that I'd rather take, basically.

I do find it ironic that I post a simple card and no one complains. I post the next card introducing one of the most major rules changes the game has ever seen, and no one cares - they just start taking apart the first card!

Never mind.

I will throw the last Wraith into the mix and then we'll think about the whole subtheme (though there will be more from the Grey Company, they just won't actually be Wraiths):

•King of the Dead, Lord of the Shadow Host
Companion • Wraith
Str: 7
Vit: 4
Res: 0
Enduring 3.
To play, add 2 threats and spot Aragorn.
Each time King of the Dead wins a skirmish, exert another non-exhausted character or heal another exhausted character.
R2 R+ 32

Basically, there needs to be a way to protect your non-Wraith that are also part of the Grey Company. I'm suggesting this is it.

[Cw0rk]

This King of the Dead is way more powerful than the previous one. So powerful that there is no point playing the previous one anymore. I would remove the response ability or make it 'add 2 threats' instead.

[chompers]

Pretty powerful stuff. This ruins hate and direct wound decks, provided i have a good threat removal mechanic. He seems able to protect himself - which in itself is very powerful.

You might need some restrictions here. Perhaps stop him from protecting himself so he becomes a target or weakness of the deck? He can also splash into any deck, as he can save any exhausted companion regardless of culture.

Also, the two wraiths are going to have such high strength. Add to that the followers and strength is through the roof - before i add possessions or anything else! High strength and wound prevention covers alot of bases and you only need a few cards to achieve it.

[Thranduil]

I knew he was powerful when I posted him, but he is probably too powerful - you are right.

How about the new version?

[legolas3333]

make it so he can't exert himself and i think it's fine.

[Cw0rk]

He still looks pretty strong. Maybe you could remove the "or spot Aragorn" part.

[Thranduil]

Yeah done.

So right now we have:

•King of the Dead, Lord of the Shadow Host
Companion • Wraith
Str: 7
Vit: 4
Res: 0
Enduring 3.
To play, add 2 threats and spot Aragorn.
Each time King of the Dead wins a skirmish, exert another non-exhausted character or heal another exhausted character.
R2 R+ 32

•Army of the Dead
Companion • Wraith
Str: 7
Vit: 5
Res: 0
Enduring 3. Toil 2. (Army of the Dead is strength +3 for each wound on him).
To play, add 3 threats.
While you can spot 3 exhausted companions, Army of the Dead is defender +1.
"'... for in the gloom the Shadow Host seemed to grow stronger and more terrible to look upon.'"
R2 R+ 29

Dunharrow Soldiers
Follower • Wraith
Aid - add a threat.
When this follower is transferred from your support area to a companion, exert that companion twice (or wound that companion twice if that companion is not a companion).
Bearer gains enduring 1. (Bearer is strength +1 for each wound on him or her).
R2 R 30

[chompers]

•King of the Dead, Lord of the Shadow Host
Companion • Wraith
Str: 7
Vit: 4
Res: 0
Enduring 3.
To play, add 2 threats and spot Aragorn.
Each time King of the Dead wins a skirmish, exert another non-exhausted character or heal another exhausted character.
R2 R+ 32

Enduring 3 is obviously better than Enduring 2. The first King of the Dead had stregth 7 and so do this one. In terms of strength this version is better. The play requirements is also better, because he can now play in any deck with Aragorn. I'd also say the ability is better, as before he only helped Aragorn, but made himself stronger.

The new ability is still good but less effective than the last version.

I wonder if the theme of Enduring 3 should lower their starting strength (as per Army of the Dead). So both the King and Army start at say strength 5? There has be a drawback to playing them other than threats (I can design a deck to deal with that). If they start with lower strength I also need to solve the problem of getting some wounds on them to make them work. It seems to be more challenging to design a deck and to get them working, and then it might also make me choose between using these versions or the older ones.

I had a thought about Army of the Dead - don't know if you will like it but here it is:

  * Army of the Dead 
Companion * Wraith
Str: 5
Vit: 5
Res: 0
Defender +1. Enduring 3. (Army of the Dead is strength +3 for each wound on him).
To play, add 3 threats.
Fellowship: Add to exert Army of the Dead.

Costing might be out along with his starting strength. But, the stronger you make him when you play him, the higher the risk (more shadow). Strength 17 defender +1 companion that aids you companions when he wins for 16 shadow.

Probably doesn't make much sense in terms of story however. Perhaps the low strength represent their lack of willingness to fight. They are dead, so vitality doesn't really represent life-force - perhaps this just represents their willingness to cooperate.

[Cw0rk]

I like the improved version of KotD. However, I just read Army of the Dead's text and I feel like a defender +1 companion with a possible strenght of 21 is a bit overpowered and would beat every beatdown deck. Does it really need to have a permanent defender +1 bonus?

[legolas3333]

maybe change army of the dead to be defender when unwounded...

[MR. Lurtzy]

maybe change army of the dead to be defender when unwounded...

[Thranduil]

I've experimented with the defender bonus and brought down the army's strength to 7 (which seemed like a reasonable compromise between 9 which some think is too strong and 5 which some people think is pathetic!). Let me know.

In the meantime, this is a card which is not a Wraith (which is one of the reasons I have not been so specific about Wraiths on the Wraith cards) but a member of the Grey Company:

•Halbarad, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Str: 7
Vit: 3
Res: 6
Ranger.
Halbarad's twilight cost is -1 for each exhausted companion you can spot.
Maneuver: Spot Aragorn and discard 2 cards from hand to remove a threat or exert a minion.
R2 R 31

I'm not sure I like him, I'm especially unsure of the twilight reduction. What do you guys think?