What custom formats do you like?

[Kralik]

I'm glad to see Towers Standard and Pre-Shadows Multipath added to the GCCG rules check. What other custom formats do you like? Any fun or strange rules variations? Share some ideas!

[hrcho]

My friends and me, we play a sort of Pre-Shadows Multipath with a few differences:


- Sites used are from FotR, TTT and RotK block but any combination of sites is allowed. For example, one of my adventure decks contains Moria Lake, Cavern Entrance* and Dagorlad. This opens a great many possibilities for deckbuilding although some sites would require some restraining orders (such as Silverlode Banks)

- cards that change the sites on the adventure path (such as Ulaire Nelya, LoM and Dark Places) can change sites from any block, but cards that spot sites work only on their designated sites (e.g. Great Hill Troll can discard a condition if played at Crashed Gate, but he won't be able to do it if played at Deep of Helm)

- we have agreed to keep those cards on the X-list which are OP by themselves(such as Galadriel, LoL), but have removed from the X-list those which are OP through certain combos (such as Steadfast Champion) and have agreed not to use those combos (making it possible to play Steadfast Champion generally, but not with Treebeard, KotW ability)

[Kralik]

So a good start to help with implementing the Nun-Hunters Multipath would be discussion as to its current X-/R- list.

[Kenddrick]

How about a casual format? Where anyone could dump a pile of cards and call it a deck and we'll be able to play it without facing "Open" decks?

[MR. Lurtzy]

Towers standard a custom format? What madness is this?

[Kralik]

Custom in the sense that it is an old format that is no longer "standard" or on the official approved lists. Actually, Movie is nearly such a format, if not for the fact that it was defined for LotR online.

Kenddrick, how can you say, "Use whatever cards you want" and NOT have it be Open?

[Witchkingx5]

When building any "Casual" Decks, you get crushed all the time by Fruit Loops, Fiend etc. I think a Casual Format with a "Combo-X-List" would be nice. All cards are allowed, but you can't play certain cards together in a Deck, like New Chapter and Erkenbrand's Horn. This is a bit complicated to achieve, but when done, probably the best format to play. I'm just sayin.

[azogsbane]

My brothers and I stopped buying LOTR cards after Shadows came out. We hated the way Decipher changed so much of the game. We still play though, using a pre-shadows multipath similar to what hrcho described above. It works very well. We don't follow the x-list either, we just avoid using combos that would ruin the game.

Obviously for the purposes of this gaming community a official x-list is necessary, but I would advocate for one that forbade specific combinations of two or more cards rather than universally banning any single cards.

[Tbiesty]

My playing group has a set of 3 formats we play, and is always looking for other players to give them a try. See here for details. Thanks!

[LOTRFreak15]

Me and my brother play from sets 1-10 nothing band and a costume site path. So either just Tower sites, King sites, or Fellowship sites. And we have tons of fun with it.

[Inspire]

King Standard. Sets 1-7 with TS X-list (sans Uruk Regular).

[Doom]

^@ Kenddrik. We play a sort of expanded/open, and generally abide by the x-list. However, we have a mutual rule to not play broken combos such as horn or fruit loops. Sort of like witchking. Overall, you get access to a huge pool of cards, which is fun, and the mutual rule to not use broken combos works- since generally, neither side really wants to use them anyway (kind of takes the fun out of the game).

[jc1138]

One fun way my brothers and I have found to mix it up is to use Shadows and beyond sites, but play them in the order they come up in the books/films.  This retains more of the narrative quality and is more evocative of Lord of the Rings, at the cost of a lot of tactics and strategy.  (Although, we still find a fellowship jumping from Pelennor Flats back to the Bridge of Khazad-Dum when the player laying down the sites changes).  I find myself (I make all our decks) going again and again to solid, generally usable sites (Helm's Gate, Trollshaw Forest, Prancing Pony, etc) rather than sites that, while good for other decks, don't work in this variant (such as Mount Doom).  If the deck is dependent on sites we still pack stuff like Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders, Traveled Leader, etc.

We've only played this variant a few times, but have enjoyed it.  From our experience so far, playing this way seems to slightly favor the Free People's side.