People you make me laugh in this discussion. Really:)
Let me state one thing first: I don't like playing Elven decks and I dont like to encounter them in movie. Still I use
Galadriel, LR (that is if I use her). Mostly in combo with Sam, Smeagol and Frodo or with Isuldur (running Gandalf, Aragorn, wraiths and a copy of an Elrond ally and a copy of Legolas). Why I don't like palying against elven decks in movie. Well I find it lacking of some fantasy and all elvendecks in movie are 100% possible tournament winners. For me there is no challenge to that and it explaines why I don't like playing elvendecks.
If we look closer to what people call the problem
GLR. She can discard elven events to ditch conditions and possesions in fellowship and regroup. That is hard, sure. Especially in combo with
Cirdan. Secondly she is a free comp. And third she is awesome for cycling your deck fast. So far her advantages. Then her weakness: Her strength and vitality and she is unbound.
Most people would agree with me that her ideal combo is with
Cirdan in play. But is there a reason to ban her?
IMHO: NO
Let me explain:
1. How many cards are there for freeps to discard possesions in movieblock:
Erkenbrand,
GLR,
Roll of thunder,
arrow slits and possible to ditch possesions, but not certain of it will happen:
Turn of the tide,
Catapult. That are not many cards to be honest, while there are reasons to have the ability for freeps to discard possesions in movie: Besiegers, Corsairs, Ninja Gollum and in lesser Dunlend (
hides).
If you want to play something else then elven and you want to stand a chance against those shadowdecks then you have limitid options if you ban
GLR. In fact
GLR gives more variety in the freep decks.
If you don't run her in an elven deck she is vulnerable. Also have her in such a deck you cant have that many elven events ín your deck, because that will unballance it.
I think most people can agree with me so far.
2. Does it matter she is free. Well I wouldnt mind if she would have cost 2, but generally it's just one comp more in the starting fellowship, but she will provide also a one cost more to move. Actually Smeagol does the same: He is free to and he has ways to kill a shadow to. Dont see a very big point in the fact that she is free.
3. All cards which are not on the official decipher x-list are meant to be played and to have fun with it.
4. People should be inventive to work around her. If she is the meta you will see rise other decks that will work against that meta and something else will become more populair to play with. Archerydecks, Discard decks, Swarmdecks, burdendecks (without using possesions and conditions that is) and decks with only minions and decks in which you can assign a minion to a companion (most times those cards are specified to assign to an unbound comp) will be able to defeat decks with
GLR. And really to say that she kills 4 or 5 strategies doesn't mean you should ban her, because there are enough strategies left and in a tournament that will even the odds to all decks.
5. Elven decks with
GLR have a different ringbearer; that means you will also need cards to give some protection for the ringbearer. If you want to have a deck that runs fast you want to have a deck with a small deck. A non-elven ringbearer in an elvendeck means more cards and slower cycling and so less ballanced. In an elvendeck I would prefer Galadriel as ringbearer above
GLR.
6.
GLR can only ditch conditions and possesions in fellowship and regroup; that means that the shadow can have a one time use and advantage of a possesion or condition (all the other possesions discard cards in freeps dont give that option).
7. If you want to ban her you should also ban grond for example, because that can ruin a fellowship to.
8. There are cards that makes it able to discard an unbound companion and there are cards that can wound companions. That makes it able to the shadowplayer to kill her.
9.
GLR is the only Galadriel card that makes Kate Blanchet look awesome:p
So here are 8/9 reasons why she isn't that broken as people refer to. Yes she is a nuisance and especially in combo with
Cirdan, but hey people be more inventive and don't whine about it.
These are the reasons why I will keep playing her: Gentlemens agreement or unofficial x-list or not. Yes she can be abused (though I think people who played against my decks will admit that I don't use her that much), but imho opinion there is enough against her that makes it ballanced enough. So if you want to do against her then do something with an errata. I could go with a good one there. But then take it down to where she is the strongest and that is in combination with
Cirdan. If you want to errata her then make it instead elven event an Elven condition from the support area.