Uruk-Hai + Nazgul Shadow

[Fesan]

Hi all, been wanting to get some ideas for this shadowside for a while. I know it is difficult to combine two shadowcultures but I want a challenge so this is why I am doing this. So save your comments about shadowcombinations being "bad" or "impossible" as I allready know this.

On the other hand if you want to contribute to this project and try to make a good culture combination shadowside then feel free to reply:-)

The idea for this shadowside started when looking over RotEL nazgul cards and seeing News of Mordor. I wanted to try and utilize that card and after some tinkering I ended up with this strategy for the shadowside. The goal of this deck is supposed to be a semi-beatdown with Saruman's Reach trying to lure in a Return to Its Master and if not add wounds to the fellowship to maybe get a kill or two off a surprise News of Mordor.

With a beatdown deck designed to inflict wounds and Saruman's Reach I want to add so many wounds that I either kill companions for a straight beatdown win or force my opponent to put on the ring when I play Saruman's Reach so that I can play my Return to Its Master for the win. Problem might be not having a Nazgul out, could add more cards that play off the ringbearer putting on the ring but they would just clog up the hand and I think playing on the fear off the opponent for what could happen if he puts on the ring is enough to make him exert as much as he can.

Blade tip and Black Breath are there to make it difficult to remove wounds inflicted by my beatdown guys and help chance along to get him to put the ring on or kill companions.

After some testing I found out I have to have a decent cycling Free People side so as of now I play a semi-choke pipeweed version with 3x Delving, worked quite nice and went through the whole deck last time I played. But I am open to suggestions to other Free people tactics to try out.

What I have struggled with (not surprisingly) is finding the balance of minions from each side and minions vs pumps and events. Have not gotten the effect I wanted from Wizard Storm and have felt the need for a couple more Uruk's so thinking of moving them out for two more Uruk's. Also having some twilight trouble so thinking of moving out either Lurtz or a Witch-King for a cheaper minion.

Cards (35) Updated 06.06.2011:
[Issues: Play one or two Enqueas? Should I pack two Return to it's master or two One of you must do this? Nelya effective enough or put in more Attea's? ]


Main version - Return to its master
2x Ulaire Attea, Keeper of Dol Guldur
2x Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
2x Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight
1x Ulaire Cantea, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur

3x Black breath
3x News of Mordor
1x Return to Its Master
1x Blade tip

3x Saruman, Servant of the eye
3x Troop of Uruk-Hai
2x Uruk Warrior
1x Uruk Captain
2x Uruk Ravager
1x Orthanc Berserker

4x Savagery to match their numbers
2x Saruman's Reach
2x One of you must do this

Alternate version - swap following cards
-2 Sarumans Reach
+2 Tower of Orthanc

-1 Return to its master
+1 Can you protect me from yourself?

-1 Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
+1 Orthanc Berserker


Changelog

10.06.2011:

-1 Uruk Captain
+1 Orthanc Assassin

Added alternative version of the deck without Return to its master and Sarumans reach.

07.06.2011:

-1 Return to its master
-1 Saruman's Reach
+2 One of you must do this

-2x The Witch-king, Lord of Angmar
+2x Ulaire Nelya, ringwraith in Twilight

-2 Blade tip
-2 Ulaire Lemenya, Lieutenant of Morgul
+3 Saruman, Servant of the eye
+1 Troop of Uruk-Hai

-3 Uruk Scout
+2 Uruk Ravager
+1 Savagery to match their numbers

06.06.2011:

-2x The Witch-king, Lord of Angmar
+2x Ulaire Attea, Keeper of Dol Guldur

-2x Wizard Storm
+1x Uruk Scout
+1x News of Mordor

-1 Lurtz
+1 Ulaire Cantea, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur

[LOTRFreak15]

You can keep Lurtz in but you could take out 2 Witch-King's for cheaper minions to prevent your hand from being clogged.

[Fesan]

You can keep Lurtz in but you could take out 2 Witch-King's for cheaper minions to prevent your hand from being clogged.

Yeah, been thinking about that.. taking out one or two. But if I do then chances of having a strong enough Nazgul on the field with Return to its master is very small, maybe just drop return and do a straight up beatdown? Then again that is kinda boring!

[Not a Zombie]

Looks fun, I'd do this tho:
-2x Witch King
+2x Ulaire Attea, KoDG
-2x wizards storm
+1x uruk scout
+1x news of mordor


More optional, but personal preference (esp if you are having trouble with twilight)
-2 more witch king
+2x Ulaire cantea, KoDG

[Haszor]

Looks fun, I'd do this tho:
-2x wizards storm

Definitely drop those as they do you next to nothing unless the fellowship doubles which they won't if you have any good minions.

[Fesan]

Looks fun, I'd do this tho:
-2x Witch King
+2x Ulaire Attea, KoDG
-2x wizards storm
+1x uruk scout
+1x news of mordor


More optional, but personal preference (esp if you are having trouble with twilight)
-2 more witch king
+2x Ulaire cantea, KoDG

Interesting, esp. like the addition of Attea as you can pump him to overwhelm Frodo if neccesary and if not you save twilight:-) Cantea also seems like a great help towards a beatdown as even if he is not removing any weapons he is forcing the oppositions hand into putting him on someone who's not holding any weapons.

Do you guys still think it is worth having lemenya in there?

Re wizards storm: Yeah, did not work out at all as I had expected. Wanted cards that exert companions and could not find any good ones. But hard enough to play Sarumans reach with so few Uruk's so don't have enough exerts on my minions to get it out and never ended up in exertions but just the oppo not doubling. So def. taking them out. Prob. going to try Not a Zombie's idea and put in another scout and 1x News of Mordor. Combined with cheaper Nazgul's I think it will do well:-)

Anyone have any ideas for cards that could pot. do the job I wanted Wizards storm to do? Add wounds/exertions to the companions. I thought about Can You Protect Me From Yourself? since most people play Aragorn and I play The Prancing Pony and usually goes first, since most people are vary of adding burdens vs Nazgul he could opt to exhaust him. With a copy or two of that card I should prob. play a nazgul or a pump that uses burdens.

*edit*

after thinking about it I think if I add two Cantea I'd rather remove Lurtz than both Witch Kings. To make Lurtz really bad you need to spot another Uruk which means atleast 10 twilight (him + cheapeast uruk) after site 4/5. While Witch King costs 8 instead of 7 for Lurtz he has 1 more Health and 1 more strength and does not need to have another Nazgul out to make him bad as he overwhelms most companions outright, usually only one in the fellowship with str over 7, esp. early. He is only roaming the first two sites so usually cheaper than Lurtz even.

On top of that he is perfect with Return to it's master where as Lurtz cannot be used. So in this deck I think WK beats Lurtz. One could argue that Lurtz helps use Saruman's reach but then again he only has 3 hp so if you exert him he can easily be gunned down by Aragorn's bow or Legolas. All in all prob. gonna try removing Lurtz and adding a Cantea instead or maybe a cheaper Uruk with HP like another Troop of Uruk-hai.

[FM]

If you're running a Shadow side with Nazgul (expensive) and Uruks (roam for too long considering their cost), and that wants to deal damage, I'd advise playing Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (probably the full 4, or at least 3). He's cheap, he can be naturally fierce (which basically translates in dealing 2 damage) and he's really a beating with News from Mordor. I don't actually think you need Uruk Scout that badly, and Troop of Uruk-hai, while expensive, gets the job done, so I'd consider running the full grip (or 3 at least), a singleton (or 2) Saruman, Servant of the Eye (piles exertions on) and consider kicking the Blade Tips out (too slow to actually be good, they'll just stockpile it alongside Black Breath and blank the largest threat by throwing the doomed companion as a sacrifice).

[Fesan]

If you're running a Shadow side with Nazgul (expensive) and Uruks (roam for too long considering their cost), and that wants to deal damage, I'd advise playing Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (probably the full 4, or at least 3). He's cheap, he can be naturally fierce (which basically translates in dealing 2 damage) and he's really a beating with News from Mordor. I don't actually think you need Uruk Scout that badly, and Troop of Uruk-hai, while expensive, gets the job done, so I'd consider running the full grip (or 3 at least), a singleton (or 2) Saruman, Servant of the Eye (piles exertions on) and consider kicking the Blade Tips out (too slow to actually be good, they'll just stockpile it alongside Black Breath and blank the largest threat by throwing the doomed companion as a sacrifice).

I did play Nelya in Twilight in a early version but realized that my focus is hurting companions and not the ringbearer as the choice on Saruman's Reach is hurt companions or take on ring. Thus Frodo rarely has burdens or wounds vs this shadow side so he will most likely not be fierce. I considered combining Nelya with Ulaire Otsea, Ringwraith in Twilight to hurt the ringbearer aswell but dropped it as no deck can "do it all" and hurting fellowship AND ringbearer at the same time seems like too much at once.

Re Blade tip: I agree they never really hurt over many turns, but I have gotten several kills where companions have all been hurt and  the only guy who can fight Witch King without getting overwhelmed has four life but one wound allready. Tanking WK twice = 2 wounds and when I then transfer Blade tip he is exhausted and dies the following turn. This has happened more than once. So as a finish-move it actually works quite nice as it is a guaranteed 3 wounds if WK is tanked on the same person both skirmishes and it is transfered. Not as effective early on I agree, but does force a few difficult assignment choices further down the path. When it comes to stacking tip and breath on someone and then sacrificing them then I am ok with that. They cannot keep sacrificing companions and expect to survive site 9. It tends to be easy to read when they are setting up someone to take the fall and in those cases I just don't use tip/breath. If I took out all WK's I'd prob take out the tips aswell though. But what to put in its stead? More Uruk's or a pump maybe? Saruman seems like a nice way to add exerts, thought about him but figured that fierce uruks = 2 more dmg so should be better every time right?

Re Scouts: They actually do help alot on the twilight, turning those situations where you are just one short into situations where you just get out what you want. Plus I need 3 cost uruks to be able to get Saruman's Reach off my hand and captain/warrior are not THAT much better considering that the situations where I exert them they usually end up being picked off by Legolas/Aragorn either way, which is fine considering my goal is to force wounds on the companions.

To sum up: I think it is a good idea to change out atleast one bladetip as I only have 2 Witch Kings in atm and I am willing to try Saruman, but what version? Fierce must be better always right? Or does it usually end up with you exerting Saruman thrice and oppo. exerting thrice to stop the SAME assignment? And with Saruman in the deck maybe I should add Uruk Ravager? Atleast if I pack 3 or more Sarumans, otherwise they are just an expensive Warrior without the possibility of fierce.

[FM]

I'd advise you to leave only a single Blade Tip, as a finisher, like you said, and add in 2 Servants of the Eye, since he piles more exertions (Keeper of Isengard SHOULD pile more, but that is only assuming you play mainly uruks, which is not the case, and/or your uruks are strong, which they are not all the time, so Servant of the Eye + 1 uruk means 2-3 exertions on a weaker companion, even if the uruk bites it afterwards). Then, of course, adding in Saruman, I'd switch Scouts for Ravagers.

[Fesan]

I'd advise you to leave only a single Blade Tip, as a finisher, like you said, and add in 2 Servants of the Eye, since he piles more exertions (Keeper of Isengard SHOULD pile more, but that is only assuming you play mainly uruks, which is not the case, and/or your uruks are strong, which they are not all the time, so Servant of the Eye + 1 uruk means 2-3 exertions on a weaker companion, even if the uruk bites it afterwards). Then, of course, adding in Saruman, I'd switch Scouts for Ravagers.

I like this idea and will def. test it out. But would like to get in atleast 3 Sarumans if I do play him, will see what I can do to make room for another copy.

*edit* took out one Ulaire Lemenya, Lieutenant of Morgul as he is not that usefull with only four   conditions. Might take out the last one aswell and put in another Attea, WK, Cantea or another Nazgul. Honestly I feel one blade tip is a waste, either have two or none... and really feel two is worth it but in that case I'll have to take out a minion to have room for the 2nd one, or would 2 of each black breath and blade tip be better than 3-1?

[FM]

Yes, even though the RB does not get targeted a lot, it's still the go-to option of most players faced with forced exertion (specially if your deck does not target the RB all that much, might cover for Return to its Master as a surprise kill condition), and I think cutting Lemenya is fine, he does not do a lot for you anyway. While a single Blade Tip might seem a waste, the deck is small and you can play a cycling fellowship to draw a lot of cards (elves, for instance), which means you SHOULD see it somewhere along the road. If you see it early, it's fine, you drop it, it stays there as a latent threat (not to mention, it might make opponents THINK you play more, thus trying to play around it, which AGAIN leads to piling exertions on the Ring-Bearer allowing for a Return to its Master kill, as well as "turning on" Nelya). If you draw it late, you already stated it's usually good late anyway. And 3 Black Breaths are way much better for what you're trying to pull (not to mention, Black Breath does not require you to WIN the skirmish). Then again, opening with The Prancing Pony might bait them to pull an aragorn they might have on the deck (I mean, why not, right?), and since yu do not have that many Uruks, Hollin is not an absolute MUST for the deck, so you can swap it for Eregion Hills, AGAIN, triggering Nelya. You get a cheap minion with the ability to inflict 2 wounds on different companions AND that can make assignments harder. Also, while it SEEMS counterintuitive and lampshades Return to its Master (well, not really, they might think or Wraith-world first), if you need more wounds, swapping Witch-kings is a good choice, since the twilight one deals more overall damage. I wouldn't do it, but if you ABSOLUTELY need more wounds around, it's a possibility. However, as I said, I wouldn't do it, since the twilight WK actually deals LESS dagame to parties and more only to the RB, which, again, is not really what you're looking for, you'll want to throw them off Return to its Master as much as possible.
With 3 Saruman, you're more than ok running 2 Ravagers, which, after cutting Lemenya (and leaving Blade Tip and Black Breath at 1 and 3 if you take my explanation for it), leaves room for the 4th Savagery to Match Their Numbers (a must with so few minions) and a 3rd Troop of Uruk-hai (PAINFUL with Savagery!). Or, if you think you have too many Savageries for too few minions, a 4th Troop of Uruk-hai (with Servant of the Eye, it's going to be your absolutely best minion). Truth be told, I'd consider cutting the witch-king altogether, as he costs an awful lot, and I'd probably run another Cantea (remember you don't need to WIN skirmishes to pile Black Breaths, you just need your minions to be as diverse as possible) and another Attea (it CAN be a Witch-king if you need an 8-cost, strength 14 minion; it can be STRONGER if you need 15 strength and can affor it; or it can be just as effective when you have less than 8 pool but they are not too strong anyway). Don't know how to fit in Nelya, though.

[Fesan]

Quick question: What happens if you play one Saruman's reach and he puts on the ring then you play a second.. will he HAVE to exert? Cannot see any other options as the second choice is not possible as the ring is on. Had it been Exert an elf or exert two companions then you'd have to do the second option if first was not possible. Seeing as the ring is on he'd have to exert right?

Have you considered One Of You Must Do This for some extra exertions in the maneuver phase? Just one copy or two would be fine.

I'd like to echo the previous suggestions for Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight.
-wtk

I have thought of it but dismissed it quickly thinking you cannot guarantee many races in the fellowship but looking at it more closely now and thinking about it I realise that you are almost guaranteed atleast two races so that is two wounds (same as Saruman's reach) and have a good chance of 3 and small chance of 4. Will definately try out One of you must do this! Thanks for the tip:-)

Re FM's last post: Playtested Servant of the eye now and it worked GREAT along the other changes I've made. I played vs moria swarm and big fellowship with elf allies and I killed companions left, right and center. Got two kills off News of Mordor and kept his fellowship "in the red" for most of the game. Did not miss Blade tip at all but still some irregularities when it comes to what minions I have at hand sometimes. Hand still feels clogged and I had to pass on doing anything a few shadowphases, more tactically as I could have played a minion or two but they would have done 0 dmg so opted to fake having nothing and see if he'd double move. He did once and even though I was unlucky in what cards I drew I did some damage.

Nelya looked like not working before I added Saruman and tuned the deck to deal more damage, I think he'll work great now as the opponent was constantly in wound-trouble and thus will prob. have wounds on ringbearer more often. Attea worked well and might be a better option than WK considering I rarely have two Nazguls out at the same time. Infact I think I am going to remove one or two Nazguls and have more Uruks since Saruman works so well to add wounds and I only need one Nazgul out to add Breaths, threat with Return to it's master and use News of Mordor.

Doing that opens up for a fourth Savagery to match their numbers and more Troop of Uruk-Hai and as you said they work great with Saruman and Savagery. Also noticed Saruman can be spotted for News of Mordor which worked great one time I only had him and WK on my hand. Also noticed that Servant of the eye can force-kill companions in the way that the exertion done to prevent an assignment is done by that companion. I killed Gimli that way by him having 2/3 life left, I assigned Troop of Uruk-Hai on him and Oppo. could then exert him to stop it but I coud still assign him twice more thus Gimli died.

I love your thinking around Blade tip and fooling the opponent to play with a certain card in mind. I have had a few ideas like that for this deck and I think it is one of the biggest mental advantages a double culture shadowside has in that it confuses and can make opponents forget important cards or play to avoid a certain card which makes them volnurable to others.

Even before the changes mentioned in your last post FM the deck feels pretty powerfull (and fun:) and I think the combination of Black breath and Uruk's have alot of potential. Looking forward to tuning the deck even more and implementing Nelya and the last Savagery + another Troop or two. Will prob. have to play Hollin to be honest and hope my damage dealing can "turn on" Nelya. Thinking about it a Strength 10 minion is usually stronger than most companions early game anyways and late game the chances of wounds on the ringbearer (or burdens) increases dramatically with my kick-#$&*@! minions and tons of exertions. Good call:-)

*Edit*

Ok, this is what I did based on the last few posts. Did not find myself sitting with minions I could'nt play last game but made these changes anyways so we'll see how it goes. If I feel the lack of strength from my Nazguls I'll add two more Attea's or a couple of WK's.

Return to it's master although fun rarely wins the game, reluctantly took out one copy as I found myself having to take out one copy of Saruman's reach to find space for two One of you must do this. I could drop a Savagery to put back another Saruman's reach but think that with 9 Uruk's and Saruman the threat of Savagery is greater than two exertions. I now have one blade tip and one Return to it's master to scare people, and I think the beatdown part is stronger and that is what will win 95% of games anyways.

I also took out the last two Witch kings and added two Ulaire Nelya, Ringwraith in twilight, and the last Ulaire Lemenya, lieutenant of Morgul for another Troop of Uruk-hai. Went one down on Uruk Ravager and one up on Savagery to match their numbers.

Things I'd like your opinion on:

Uruk Warrior, decent enough and good when facing large fellowships but allready have Enqeua to threaten them. Any other Uruks that might be better like an additional Uruk Ravager?

Uruk Captain, same as above. Rarely have twilight but can save you at site 9 with tons of twilight and no minions. Maybe one is enough and better to add something else like a Uruk ravager or a pump. Maybe even Lurtz now that my Uruk count is up alittle and I have Saruman to assign him?

Second Ulaire Cantea, found no room for a second copy. As it stands now I have 7 Nazguls and 9 Uruks plus 3 Sarumans. Feel like I need all the events/conditions so only way to find room for a second Cantea is to remove a Nazgul or a uruk. Personally I think I need the Uruk count, esp since they are the cheaper minions but with WK gone I could maybe cut one of them. So that leaves cutting a nazgul and I cannot see which one would be worth cutting for Cantea. Any opinions? If I had to put a 2nd Cantea in I'd prob take out a Warrior or captain but that would leave me alittle short of uruks to exert and use savagery on I think.

Tower of Orthanc, Cannot see how I'd fit it in but might be worth it considering I am running a twilight heavy operation?

[Haszor]

Quick question: What happens if you play one Saruman's reach and he puts on the ring then you play a second.. will he HAVE to exert? Cannot see any other options as the second choice is not possible as the ring is on. Had it been Exert an elf or exert two companions then you'd have to do the second option if first was not possible. Seeing as the ring is on he'd have to exert right?

Yes.  If he can no longer wear the one ring he must exert two companions.

[FM]

To be honest, with the amount of damage you're dealing, and with them SEEING Nazguls from the start, you could get away with running a singleton Shotgun Enquea. They'll KNOW you run it, then THINK you might not run it since they haven't seen him all game, and when it gets rough (later on, usually), they'll simply dump their hand for breathing room (or for thinking you're actually banking on them BELIEVING you have Enquea when you don't) and then you can unleash #$&*@! on them, killing anything left and leaving them with a bunch of subpar second-string companions, and exhausted ones for Saruman to mop up. This has the disadvantage of you drawing Enquea early, but even so, if you ABSOLUTELY NEED to play him, they'll then DEFINITELY believe you run Enquea, and more than 1, otherwise you wouldn't simply drop it. This will let you add another Nelya, or a third Attea.
Even though One of You Must Do This is cute, by playing it, you cut back on the whole idea, which is surprise-killing with Return to Its Master. With this in mind, I'd consider reverting to 3 Saruman's Reach and 2 Return to Its Master, or losing the Reaches and Returns for another One of you Must do This, the 4th Nelya and a 3rd Attea (or 2 more Nelyas if you added Attea instead when suggested above).
As for the whole Warrior/Captain thing, Captain can surely be a 1-of, which would leave you room to mess around with 3 Uruks. I tend to like Orthanc Berserker better than Lurtz for a strong minion, as 11 is usually strong enough, and the twilight is easier. Plus, with Saruman and Nazgulz, most of the time Lurtz won't be fierce unless you play Savagery, which works equally well on Berserker for less twilight. You could consider playing 2 Berserkers (to deal severe damage) and tossing in a singleton Wreathed in Shadow for arrow protection or Can You Protect Me From Yourself? for even more wounds. Or, you could pack a singleton Berserker (better than Lurtz anyway), and consider playing around with events, like Evil Afoot, which, as far as I remember, lets you get any minions back (allowing you to take full advantage from the singleton Enquea), Can You Protect Me From Yourself?, Beyond the Height of Men, Lurtz's Battle Cry, perhaps even 2 Tower of Orthanc, like you wanted.

[Fesan]

I see your point Re: Enquea, he can keep oppo. from playing more companions but he is also a decent Nazgul even without his ability enabled (11str for 6 twilight and 4 health). And having him there keeps the oppo. honest regarding burdens, he cannot keep stacking burdens up. I honestly think 2 enquea is worth it. Only one I'd swap him out for is another Attea to overwhelm. Unless playtesting shows he is not effective I think I'll stick with two:-)

Re Return to it's master: I think the most effective way to play return to it's master in this deck is the same way as blade tip. Have one in there to scare the opponent. Chances are it won't come into play but it will make the opponent think hard over every decision to exert/put on the ring etc. Even though I wanted it badly to work I think most people will sense danger and hesitate to put on the ring untill the last minute, and in those situations I've usually won anyways as his fellowship is beat to #$&*@!.

Re Reach vs One of you must do this: Here is how I see it, One of you must do this works in a way where you must exert if you have alot of companions and if you have few then few needs to exert. The rate of exertions equals or is smaller than companions at all times. Reach has a flat rate of two nomatter what so will hurt even small or one race fellowships. I think a balance of 2-2 is good so you can hurt those who play all races and you can hurt a hobbit deck or elven archers should you meet one. Should one underperform you can always change the balance or see if you find another card that piles on wounds (like greed?).

Loosing exertion cards for minions seem difficult considering the twilight limitation, but could be worth loosing two cards for Tower of orthanc which I think will work great. I also had Can you protect me from yourself? In an early version of the deck when I ran Nelya (to pot. add burdens) and since I run prancing pony + no Twilight cost or exertion required, will find room for it once again now that Nelya is back and will work great with Tower of Orthanc

Wreathed in shadow I think won't make it as archer fellowships are really rare and exertion to wound is my biggest enemy in archer phases, some prevent wound card would be better, but even those I doubt I'd have the twilight.

I'll think about Orthanc Berserker, if I add Can you protect me from yourself? or other cards that add burdens he will prob do really well although his exertion requirement kind of crashes with the other exertion cards. He does however work well with Tower of Orthanc. I think I'll try to find room for a couple of copies.

Now, with all these changes where cards require burdens, should I try to add burden-adding cards or will that make the damage dealing part of the deck too weak? If I should what cards? Most spot twilight Nazgul's..

*edit*

Removed one captain and added Orthanc Berserker, could not make room for any more changes without sacrificing Return to its master so decided to split the deck in two different versions. Main version still has two reaches and a return to its master. The alternative version has no reach and no return but another assassin instead of the 2nd enquea and can you protect me from yourself instead of return and 2x tower of orthanc instead of reach x2.

Main version I'll try to keep focusing on not only doing beatdown but also fun combinations while alternative version can evolve into whatever seems best. At the moment the alt. version looks like it could try to make something work with cards targeting exhausted minions. We got the berserker and the Tower of orthanc plus can you protect me from yourself which exhausts Aragorn. On top of that a pretty heavy beatdown shadowside with cards that exhert.