Rohan-Smeagol wounding (freeps only)

[Yanko Markovic]

Just made this up in order to use the copies of Unheeded and Simbelmyne I have lying around...

32 cards:

Frodo, Hope of Free Peoples
The One Ring, The Great Ring

Gamling, Defender of the Hornburg (start)
Aldred, Eored Soldier (start)
Merry, Swordthain (start)
Smeagol, Always Helps (start)

Eomer, Eored Captain x3
Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien x2
Theoden, The Renowned x2

Sting, Elven Long-knife
Riddermark Javelin x2
Rider's Mount x2
Eomer's Spear, Trusty Weapon
Firefoot, Eomer's Steed
Erkenbrand's Horn

Daddy Twofoot, Next-door Neighbor

Home and Hearth x2
Shadowplay x2

Don't Look at Them x2

Unheeded x4
Simbelmyne x2

Start with Gamling, who in the first turn pulls Erkenbrand's Horn to grab Daddy Twofoot from the very start. The idea here is to exert like crazy. Each time a minion exerts (thanks to Shadowplay, mounts, etc) Unheeded is played to wound the minion   Eomer gets just huge thanks to all the wounds Smeagol exhausts minions, then you play Unheeded or Don't Look at Them to kill the minion. Daddy Twofoot gets back Unheeded whenever necessary   Merry gets back the Rohan possesions that get discarded either by themselves of with Don't Look at Them. He also combos with Home and Hearth to remove burdens, and I use Sting to remove threats.

[macheteman]

you didn't post a smeagol in the decklist...

[Abbott465]

I like the idea but I feel like you dont have enough Rohan Comps to exert, either that or you need to add in some sort of healing. Also a copy of the Water Ring might better fit the exerting stuff too.

I also dont see that 2 Cost Rohan Maneuver Event from Return of the King I forgot what it was called... Something Till Death Comes? Maybe? I dunno.... Seems like a good fit for the theme though.

[Yanko Markovic]

you didn't post a smeagol in the decklist...

Now this is embarassing...

Fixed.

Also, why ATAR, Abbott? The idea is to exert minions, not the ring-bearer.

[macheteman]

ah, thats better. it seems a little large. i'd cut at least Rush of Steeds

[Yanko Markovic]

Yeah, I might cut it. I was there just to exert minions when conditions are played, but it may be useless.

Oh, and yea, it IS big. I didn't even count the number of cards when I made this deck! I think what I will cut, then edit the list.

Also, please help me with my "dilemma" D:

[legolas3333]

I would say go to either standard or movie to cut down on the broken decks you'll see  in expanded

[Yanko Markovic]

I would say go to either standard or movie to cut down on the broken decks you'll see  in expanded

I don't really care about those decks. My group rarely plays them, and if they do, that's what my IB is for. If I play this deck (along with my ents or knights deck in expanded) my friends will also run their regular decks.

EDIT: Cut Rush of Steeds and Rider's Bow. Now it's at 35. Tell me if there's anything else you'd cut. Oh, and I'm really considering putting in ELK, but I don't know about the IB deck then...

[macheteman]

my thought is that with merry hopping up and clogging your hand, the 35 might be too big. i try to run bouncing hobbit decks between 30 and 32 cards. seeing as daddy two foot and birthday present are both unique, and do essentially the same thing for the same cost, heres what i would do:
 
playtest to figure out how well the deck is cycling. if its REALLY bad, you might have to cut 1x of each and then some. if its mostly good, but could use some thinning, figure out which is more useful. and cut 1x of the other. daddy two-foot is nice because its harder for your opponent to get rid of it, and it give you the unheeded in the maneuver phase when you know what you are up against. on the other hand, birthday present is useful, because you can get all 4x into hand if you are willing to drop the burdens.

but thats mainly what i'd cut. 4x unheeded should be enough to hold you until you can get one of those in play.

[Yanko Markovic]

Thanks! Actually, here's what I'm gonna do, thanks to the awesome idea MaudDib gave me: Start Gamling, DotH, grab Erkenbrand's Horn, grab Daddy Twofoot and some other follower. This way, I won't need Birthday Present anymore AND it will cycle a bit better, also thanks to the fact that I will be taking possesions regularly in Fellowship.

[Yanko Markovic]

Edited the list. Changed a few companions to go with the starting fellowship. The deck is now at 32, and three copies of Eomer, two of Eowyn and two of Theoden AND two of Simbelmyne should make it very easy to cycle better, plus the fact that Gamling pulls posessions from the draw deck. I still think the deck needs a little more exerting potential, I'm between adding Theodred or another Rider's Mount... Help please??

[macheteman]

i don't really see why you are worried about that, you have the shadowplay to beat up minions out of the gate. (enquea nutralized) you have the javelins, the helms that can be discarded for exertions or cancels, the horses which are auto exerts, you have smeagol to exhaust/wound and unheeded to finish everything off. only thing you might want to consider is threat removal (ELK like you suggested) and perhaps an extra copy of shadowplay to make sure you get one in the first couple sites.

[Yanko Markovic]

Well, I actually changed the possesions as well, added ELK but cut the helms, the bow and Brego. That's why I worried about more exertion potential.

[Shelobplayer]

Usually if the free peoples side gets too big, I just pair it with corsairs. That said I play a deck about the same as yours, but I start with Theoden, TaP, and play 4 Simbelmyne, so I can cut down the number of companions. Also I play Riders of the Mark, and it is one of the best cards in the deck. A Cliffs of Emyn Muil can be lifesaver for Merry in case your opponent plays something nasty, like BNaP, and a free extra wound always comes in handy. I played Sméagol for some time, but I didn't really like it, Riders of the Mark is just better imo. Oh, and what about one copy of Dernhelm's Blade?