Question regarding Minas Tirith level cards

[Silver]

Hey guys - new to the forum here.

The Minas Tirith level cards that came with the Return of the King Aragorn starter deck are giving me headaches.

They are played to your support area during your fellowship phase, have the fortification keyword (pretty useless until another card makes use of the keyword), and: in the maneuver phase, can be transferred to a minion to increase his home site number. Now the intention of these cards is to make the shadow player keep paying roaming penalties despite his minion being on the original home site number, right?

But the problem is, you can transfer these cards to opponent minions only in the maneuver phase - which is after he has already paid for them in his shadow phase. Does he still have to deduct the roaming penalty despite already being in the maneuver phase?


Example: After I move to site 5, a shadow player plays an Uruk Hai (roaming till site 5). He doesn't have to pay roaming costs anymore. Now I transfer the "second level" card onto his Uruk Hai in the maneuver phase. Does he now have to extract 2 from the shadow pool?

What if there are no shadow tokens left?

And even if he has twilight left and does, this will only mean that he will have less twilight left for shadow events in the coming skirmish (but most shadow events cost 0 anyways), and also if I decide to move again.

Aren't these cards underpowered?

[Kralik]

No -- I think you're missing the point.

First of all, the fortification keyword has various benefits, from Base of Mindolluin, Garrison of Gondor, Sixth Level, etc.

Secondly, these cards are more useful for their interactions with rangers, rather than knights. A powerful example is What Are They? (awesome!) Think of cards like Ranger of Ithilien, Pippin WoBaS, Faramir, Captain of Gondor, etc.

BTW, on a side point, I think most worthwhile Shadow events have a twilight of . Very few for .

[Silver]

No -- I think you're missing the point.

First of all, the fortification keyword has various benefits, from Base of Mindolluin, Garrison of Gondor, Sixth Level, etc.

Well I'm currently just playing the base RotK Aragorn deck against the Rotk Eomer starter deck, and thus these two decks don't feature any cards that make use of the fortification keyword.

Secondly, these cards are more useful for their interactions with rangers, rather than knights. A powerful example is What Are They? (awesome!) Think of cards like Ranger of Ithilien, Pippin WoBaS, Faramir, Captain of Gondor, etc.

The cards you listed above work on their own - none of them is referencing Minas Tirith fortifications in the card text.

Sorry I'm still a Lotr TCG noob, so maybe I am overlooking something here. But what is the optimal use of these level cards if you are only playing base Aragorn deck against base Eomer deck?


Regards,
-Silver

[ket_the_jet]

Well put, Kralik.

The real fun of cards like Second Level and Fourth Level is then getting later benefits with cards like Faramir, Captain of Gondor, Ranger's Bow, Mablung, Soldier of Gondor, and that crew. On the Shadow side, cards like Rank and File and Advance Captain benefit from being roaming.

To answer the original question, if you make a minion roaming outside of the Shadow phase, you do not have to pay any additional roaming costs. The minion, however, may then be roaming for each of the remaining phases. Now cards like Arrows Thick In the Air and others like that are active.
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

In the Aragorn Starter deck, Ranger of Minas Tirith gets a strength and damage bonus against roaming minions, Madril, Faramir's Aide has gametext that can be used, and Great Gate spots fortifications.
-wtk

[Kralik]

So Silver -- what you are doing is making a minion that was not roaming when they were played BECOME roaming to benefit you later. Compare also with Gondorian Merchant, Anborn, etc.

[Sam, Great Elf Warrior]

Yeah those cards that increase site number are solely for the benefit of all of the cards that target roaming minions. After the introduction of Ring-bound rangers in Two Towers, roaming ceased to be simply a 2-twilight penalty and became a sort of keyword in its own right.

[Silver]

Yeah those cards that increase site number are solely for the benefit of all of the cards that target roaming minions.

Ah, now it makes sense. Thanks guys, so the Rangers' "wound/+2strength etc." capabilities against roaming minions (in my case, the Orcs from the Eomer deck) will continue well past site 6 if I start attaching my fortifications to the minions they will skirmish.

Btw. isn't the ideal starting fellowship for the Rotk Aragorn starter deck made up of 2x Ranger of Minas Tirith ? Because that way, I have two strength 7, triple wound companions when facing orks (at least till site 7)

[ket_the_jet]

I prefer starting Madril, Faramir's Aide with a Ranger of Minas Tirith.

Madril has wounding capabilities and can help you cycle.
-wtk

[legolas3333]

you guys are basically talking about my deck!!! Great Gate, Men Of Numenor, Every Little Is A Gain, Pippin, Guard Of Minas Tirith or Wearer Of Black And Silver, Greatest Stronghold... anyways