The Road Ahead: New Set from Thranduil!

[Thranduil]

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything in this thread (or any other Chamber thread, to be honest!), but I hadn't forgotten this, and I'm now getting somewhere interesting with this set.

As I have mentioned above, this set is the first in a "site block"—ie. three sets about new ways to use the sites, adventure path and adventure decks. It is a block that is trying to find uses for the untouched design space of sites.

I have a few ways of doing this, and this installment includes a fairly even spread. There will be cards that care about who's ahead on the adventure path (eg. Aragorn), cards that interact with sites in new ways (eg. Barricades), and cards that interact with the adventure decks in new ways (eg. Alcarin and Kings' Memorial). There will be some other ideas too, as we will see.

Some comments as we go through the cards:

GOC03
•Aragorn, Of the Three Hunters
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 8
Ranger.
At the start of the regroup phase, if an opponent is ahead of you on the adventure path, you may discard a minion from play.
A C 74

Aragorn is part of a cycle of Three Hunters. I think I may have posted them several times earlier, but they're still some of my favourite cards in the set!

GOU02
•Alcarin, Knight of Osgiliath
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
Knight. Lookout – Regroup. (You may play this companion any time you could play a regroup event; if you do, discard it from play).
When Alcarin is killed or discarded from play, you may reveal a site at random from an opponent's adventure deck. If you do, heal X companions, where X is the Shadow number of the revealed site.
A U 72

Lookout is one of the major mechanics for the block. It is always Lookout – Phase. Previously I had used a lookout cost as well, but I removed this in the last step of design—now lookout cards get played for their cost only. Lookout goes on companions mostly, but sometimes possessions and conditions. They usually come in one of 2 varieties: comes into play abilities, or death triggers.

GOC06
Barricade
Condition • Support Area
Fortification.
Maneuver: Spot your knight or ranger card to transfer this condition from your support area to the fellowship's current site.
This site is a battleground.
A C 75

Knights/rangers and besiegers/trackers is a side issue for this set. Sometimes it's important, but not normally. I am being super-specific with my new card designs (as a MTG card would be) so if they read a little bit out of the ordinary, that's why. Nevertheless, these sorts of wordings (like "ranger card") will be standard for the cards that I make.

GOR+1
•White Tree of Minas Tirith
Artifact • Support Area
Monument. (This card's game text is always active while it's in play).
To play, exert 2 companions.
If you have no cards in your adventure deck, you win the game.
A R+ 83

I was looking for a way to represent sites on non-site cards and came up with a few words that could be applied to sites. Monuments was one of them. I then also thought about what made sites different to SH/FP cards, and one of those things is that a site's game text is always active. So I thought: why not make cards that were always active? Why does it matter for this card? For other alternate win conditions, you can only win in your turn. Now you can win whenever. There will, however, be more obvious uses for monuments (like messing with your hand, which is one of the shared resources of FP and SH). Monument is a set keyword (I don't suspect it will repeat in future sets of this block) and appears only on R and R+. My flavour idea was that the kings once ruled most of western middle-earth, so you win for restoring their kingdom, or something like that.

Let me hear your comments!

Thran

[Cw0rk]

I like all 4 cards. Especially the last one which is very original.

For barricade, I guess that you plan to come up with cards that benefits from battlegrounds?

[Thranduil]

For barricade, I guess that you plan to come up with cards that benefits from battlegrounds?

There are some, but my goal in creating these cards is not to create strategies per se, but to make cards that make flavour sense. So there are cards in each culture that care about a range of different terrains. has forests and battlegrounds mainly.

Also remember there will be other cards in other cultures that care about battlegrounds, and that is not the only culture with knights and rangers.

For example:

ROC03
Young Conscript
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 5
Villager.
While the fellowship is at a battleground site, this companion is strength +1 and a knight.
A C 162

[Olorin]

Good work, Thran! very nice!

[Thranduil]

Let's look at some Shadow cards then, given that was so uncontroversial!

Couple of things worth mentioning:

• Yes there are archers in this set. Yes this means that Frenzy of Arrows is either banned or errata'd (sensibly!).
• There is a minor discard/mill theme going through the set. Why? Why indeed! Only time will tell...
• Pursuit is not a loaded keyword, and it's not quite an unloaded keyword either (no card will look for "pursuit" cards). It's what in MTG is called a "callout keyword" (like metalcraft). It's an indicator that the ability that follows it cares about how many times the fellowship has moved. I know LotR has never done something like that before, but I'm trying it out.

ORU04
Mordor Sentry
Minion • Orc
Strength: 11
Vitality: 3
Site: 6
Archer. Besieger.
Each time the Free Peoples player plays a site from his or her adventure deck, he or she must discard 1 card from his or her hand.
A U 133

ORC05
Mordor Thug
Minion • Orc
Strength: 10
Vitality: 2
Site: 6
Besieger.
While the fellowship is at a battleground site, this minion is fierce.
While the fellowship is ahead on the adventure path, this minion is strength +2.
A C 134

ORR03
Grishnákh's Trappers
Minion • Orc
Strength: 15
Vitality: 3
Site: 6
Fierce. Tracker. Lookout – Maneuver. (You may play this minion any time you could play a maneuver event; if you do, discard it from play).
To play, spot your card.
When this minion is killed or discarded from play (except during the regroup phase), you may play a tracker minion from your discard pile; its twilight cost is -7.
A R 130

ORU08
Excavate
Event • Shadow
Search.
Pursuit – This event's twilight cost is -1 for each time the fellowship has moved this turn.
Spot your minion to play the fellowship's next site if it's an underground site.
A U 126

ORR07
Gathering Forces
Event • Shadow
Search.
Pursuit – Spot your minion to play a minion from your discard pile for each time the fellowship has moved this turn.
A R 123

[ket_the_jet]

•Alcarin, Knight of Osgiliath
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
Knight. Lookout – Regroup. (You may play this companion any time you could play a regroup event; if you do, discard it from play).
When Alcarin is killed or discarded from play, you may reveal an opponent's adventure deck. If you do, heal a companion for each site with Shadow number 2 or more revealed.
A U 72

I kind of think it should be "Reveal a card at random from your opponent's adventure deck." I don't like the idea that you can reveal the whole thing. Not knowing if you can move or if it is safe to go ahead is one of the best parts of the game. And since at least three sites in the deck have to have a cost of two or more, you are potentially adding the ability to heal three times in the regroup phase for . I would take that on a double move...reloading Merry, Friend to Sam or something like that...

Not only that, but when he is killed he can heal up to three [sometimes more] companions? Nice way to get around threats. What about getting killed makes him a lookout?
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

Mordor Thug
Minion • Orc
Strength: 13
Vitality: 2
Site: 6
Besieger.
While the fellowship is at a battleground site, this minion is fierce.
While the fellowship is ahead on the adventure path, this minion is strength +2.
A C 134

I bid high, choose to go second. Mulligan until I get this guy in hand. You move to my site two; I play a battleground. Almost guaranteed two dead companions. Maybe limit it to regions two and three or something like that? I can't imagine a scenario where Gandalf and Faramir/Boromir were both killed at site two because I happened to play one companion.
-wtk

[Thranduil]

Both good shouts ket! I'll bring the power level down. I'll also watch out for cards that too easily reveal whole adventure decks. There's just a balance between the hidden information and the ability for the cards to actually do something! In Alcarin's case, the balance is slightly off. But what do you think of my change?

I've been including the "killed" clause in death trigger lookouts for ease of reading and understanding (it's not immediately obvious that being killed and being discarded are two different things, and specifying both avoids confusion). Of course, it doesn't make as much sense as appearing and disappearing as might be the lookout flavour. But, I think my most convincing argument for keeping it is that I think it's more intuitive that way—there's very little chance someone would play it wrong as written, and much more without it.

I'm not adverse to changing it or anything, just my thoughts.

Thran

[ket_the_jet]

A twelve strength, fierce minion could still knock out a Legolas/Gimli starting Fellowship. Maybe keep it at strength 14 but make it vitality 1? Otherwise you'd have to lower the strength or make the fierce bit specific to another region.

As a cost, regroup phase version of Might of Numenor it's a little better. Still not sure about the being killed as discarded thing as being killed and being discarded are two very different things. Of course, you and I have a different understanding of the level of competency the average player has (rather, should have). I guess there are some examples in the Archives of me dealing with someone who might prefer your ultra-specific wordings as opposed to my simpler phrasing.
-wtk

[Not a Zombie]

I'd suggest making Alcarin reveal 1 or 2 random sites and heal the combined shadow numbers or something like that.

[ket_the_jet]

I think you are missing my point that regroup healing is not a good thing.
-wtk

[Thranduil]

I'm going to start posting in a more logical way. As I might have said above, this set is very much about - vs , so I'm going to start in a fairly random place: ! First some minions of Cirith Ungol.


UHC05
Cirith Ungol Outlander
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 10
Vitality: 3
Site: 6
Traitor. Damage +1.
While the fellowship is at a mountain site, this minion's site number is -2.
While you can spot 6 companions, each of your other minions are site number -2.
A C 182

(this is a riff off Frenzied Orc – they'll be more where this came from!)

UHC04
Cirith Ungol Lookout
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 9
Vitality: 2
Site: 6
Traitor. Damage +1. Lookout – Skirmish. (You may play this minion any time you could play a skirmish event; if you do, discard it from play).
When you play this minion, you may exert your minion to make a companion it is skirmishing strength -3.
A C 180

UHU03
Cirith Ungol Footman
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 7
Vitality: 2
Site: 6
Traitor. Damage +1.
When you play this minion, if the fellowship is at a mountain site, you may heal a minion (or 2 minions if the fellowship is ahead on the adventure path).
A U 179

There will be quite a few "When you play..." triggers, even on guys without lookout.

UHU04
Cirith Ungol Mountaineer
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 11
Vitality: 3
Site: 6
Traitor. Damage +1. Tracker.
To play, spot your card.
Regroup: If the fellowship is at a mountain site, discard this minion and 2 of your other minions to make the move limit for this turn -1.
A U 181

[Thranduil]

If there are no comments on those Cirith Ungol minions, I will move onto some of the hordes of Isengard.

UHU02
Isengard Archer
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 10
Vitality: 2
Site: 5
Archer. Tracker. Lookout – Archery. (You may play this minion any time you could play an archery event; if you do, discard it from play).
When you play this minion during the archery phase, you may make the fellowship archery total -6.
A U 185

UHR02
Isengard Commander
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 13
Vitality: 3
Site: 5
Besieger. Damage +1. Fierce.
Assignment: If the fellowship is ahead of you on the adventure path, exert this minion twice to assign it to an unbound companion. The Free Peoples player may kill this minion and a companion to prevent this.
A R 186

UHC02
Isengard Harrier
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 11
Vitality: 3
Site: 5
Damage +1. Tracker.
When you play this minion, if the fellowship is ahead on the adventure path, you may discard a condition from play.
A C 187

UHU01
Isengard Sentry
Minion • Uruk-hai
Strength: 9
Vitality: 3
Site: 5
Tracker. Damage +1.
Each time the Free Peoples player plays a site from his or her adventure deck, you may draw a card.
A U 188

[FM]

The second one makes no sense, I believe something is amiss on his text. The others look fine.

[Thranduil]

The second one makes no sense, I believe something is amiss on his text. The others look fine.

You're quite right! There's a "may" missing. Now changed.