Reflections Gold - forgotten for over a YEAR - is now finished. WOOOO!

[macheteman]

pippin is good. i love how he gains the knight keyword. his ability is a little powerful. so i would keep it at the end of skirmish. only thing is wording. on him and merry i think you can drop the 'another'. i believe it should read: "while you can spot denetheor or a knight..." same for merry.

merry is good. i'd make his "until the regroup phase"

barrow-blade and these hobbits are very strength driven. personally i'd like to see something more like: "each time a minion is assigned to skirmish bearer, that minion loses fierce and cannot gain fierce."

something useful but not strength. perhaps even better would be "bearer is damage +1" i mean merry did stick it to the man.

good trio!

-mm

[sickofpalantirs]

I agree with mm on the Barrow-blade.  I'd go either remove a burden or the fierce thing.

[menace64]

How about "Any minion that loses a skirmish to bearer is discarded." instead of the bonus +2 strength?

*Army of Westfold, The Strength of Erkenbrand
Companion * Man
Strength-11
Vitality-4
Resistance-6
Valiant. To play, spot 2 companions.
If the fellowship is not at a battleground site, discard Army of Westfold.
You may play Army of Westfold any time you could play an assignment event.
"A thousand men on foot; their swords were in their hands."
20R+37

Brings back Rohan's love for playing cards in the wrong phase, and maximizes the flavor of Erkenbrand's sudden appearance at the Battle of Helm's Deep.

EDIT: Changed the bounce-back-to-hand to a straight discard. Dropped the damage bonus (which was an afterthought anyhow) and lowered the cost to 5.

*Gúthwinë
Possession * Hand Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be Éomer. He is valiant.
Each time Éomer wins a skirmish, you may spot Aragorn or a Man to liberate a site.
"‘This is the hour when we draw swords together!'"
20R40

Very simple card, and one that should have been made by Decipher years ago. Oh, and I wrote "Aragorn or a Man" so that you could spot Aragorn, Defender of Rohan.

EDIT: Changed it to +3 strength and made it for Eomer only.

The Battle of Bywater
Event * Skirmish
Add a burden to make each Hobbit bearing a weapon strength +2 until the start of the regroup phase, and heal each of them if the fellowship is at a dwelling site.
"The Men took one step forward and stopped short. There rose a roar of voices all around them, and suddenly they were aware that Farmer Cotton was not all alone. They were surrounded. In the dark on the edge of the firelight stood a ring of hobbits that had crept up out of the shadows. There was nearly two hundred of them, all holding some weapon."
20R46

Again, not much commentary required here. Yes, it's basically just a boring strength pump, but its in this set because - in my mind - it would have a customized Weta image showing exactly what I wrote into the card as lore... and that would be awesome to see!
EDIT: Dropped the cost from 2 to 0, added the burden cost.

[macheteman]

army of westfold: i like the idea, its almost like a crazy "save your life" assignment event. my concern is, he pops back into hand all the time, you will never have to worry about dying in a skirmish at a battlefield site. maybe it should be discarded. i mean, with all the site manipulation, you could probably use it at every site if you wanted.

guthwine rocks. the only thing i might consider is this: make it str+3 and have it say, "spot Aragorn or exert a Man to liberate a site." but really its all good.

battle of bywater: love this. i'd probably drop the cost to 0 and make it add a burden. i think that way its a little more balanced. as it is the only drawback is . and that comes in the skirmish phase. and it could potentially heal all your hobbits. idk, a burden feels right.

good cards.

[menace64]

Fantastic input, MM, although I'd prefer keeping Guthwine at a +2. Ultimately, it's a very un-special sword, and shouldn't be as strong as either Herugrim or Anduril.

[macheteman]

good call. also, your idea for the barrow-blade is solid.

[sickofpalantirs]

I'm not sure about the Damage +1 on the Rohan Army.  Whenever I play Rohan I never think..."man I really wish I had a Damage +1 companion out".  I'd just take it out and knock the cost down 1 perhaps.  6 twilight for a one-shot companion that you can't take the lead with (if opponent plays site he's probably a goner)

Fantastic input, MM, although I'd prefer keeping Guthwine at a +2. Ultimately, it's a very un-special sword, and shouldn't be as strong as either Herugrim or Anduril.

But right now it's a unique weapon that costs 2 twilight and does nothing except against a few select shadows.  Considering Eowyn's Sword I don't think +3 strength is too much to ask, but then maybe make it only bearable by eomer.

[menace64]

We're well over halfway done here, but there's still a lot to see!

I feel like showcasing these tonight:

*Smaug, Descendant of Ancalagon
Minion * Dragon
Strength-16
Vitality-3
Site Number-8
Damage +2. Fierce. When you play Smaug, discard all other minions. Other minions may not be played.
Smaug may be wounded (or exerted) by a Free Peoples card only once per phase.
Maneuver: Exert Smaug to discard a possession borne by an unbound companion.
"Fire leaped through the dragon's jaws."
20R+34

My first run at Smaug's design left him with a butt-ton of vitality, which felt incorrect for a reason that I did not at first understand. But when I looked back at his actions and fate, it became clear why less vitality was called for: he, uh, died... because of one arrow. Boromir took three!

Smaug is a glass cannon. He's definitely nothing to sneeze at, but with a few precise strokes he can be brought down. Strokes such as these...

*Bard, The Bowman
Companion * Man
Strength-5
Vitality-3
Resistance-7
Archer. To play, spot a Man.
Assignment: Exert Bard and assign him to skirmish a minion with at least twice his strength to wound that minion.
"Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent. The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time."
20R12

...and...

*The Black Arrow
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot a Man.
Each Man skirmishing a wounded minion is strength +1.
Skirmish: Exert your Man to wound a minion he is skirmishing. Discard this possession.
"In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight."
20R13

If you have those two cards out, Smaug is absolutely, positively no threat, and many other decks can handle him as well. I wrote Smaug specifically to be prone to 'whittling-down', and that's exactly what Bard and his Arrow can do. One wound in the archery phase (since there are no other minions to take it), one wound in the assignment phase, and the last one during the skirmish. Sure, it takes exertions along the way, but I knew from the start that I wanted an all-inclusive way for Bard to single-handedly act as a counter to the dragon, and there just isn't an easy way to do that without feeling cheap.

The Black Arrow's function is admittedly limited, which is why I added the +1 strength line to help it get some more use (and it even helps Bard, too). Bard, however, is useful enough on his own!

[Stormcrow]

Smaug is a killer! I think that The Black Arrow should be born by a man.

[menace64]

That would make sense, but I wanted it to be as immune to Shadow-based removal as possible. And since Smaug himself can do away with borne possessions, it seemed natural to stick it into the support area. Plus, The Red Arrow would be lonely!

[Not a Zombie]

Slaked Thirsts and one arrow would kill Smaug too easily IMHO. Maybe make freeps cards unable to exert?

[menace64]

I don't think that would work, but I see where you're coming from and went ahead and tweaked Smaug's wound-prevention to better illustrate my intention! Thanks for pointing that out.

[Not a Zombie]

Perfect

[macheteman]

if you made the black arrow an artifact, (like the red arrow) then it would be significantly harder for an opponent to discard, and it could probably be borne by companion. either way black arrow FEELS like an artifact, and if i'm not mistaken it was passed down in his family from father to son.

other than that i like the cards. good work.

[sickofpalantirs]

*Smaug, Descendant of Ancalagon
Minion * Dragon
Strength-16
Vitality-3
Site Number-8
Damage +2. Fierce. When you play Smaug, discard all other minions. Other minions may not be played.
Smaug may be wounded (or exerted) by a Free Peoples card only once per phase.
Maneuver: Exert Smaug to discard a possession borne by an unbound companion.
"Fire leaped through the dragon's jaws."
20R+34

Seems overcosted.  You only get to play one minion, who at best kills two companions (highly unlikely) and isn't to difficult to kill.  I'd say or would be fine.

*Bard, The Bowman
Companion * Man
Strength-5
Vitality-3
Resistance-7
Archer. To play, spot a Man.
Assignment: Exert Bard and assign him to skirmish a minion with at least twice his strength to wound that minion.
"Now he shot with a great yew bow, till all his arrows but one were spent. The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time."
20R12

It just feels weak for the great bard.  I know you want him to be weak for his ability, but maybe give him another vitality?

*The Black Arrow
Possession * Support Area
To play, spot a Man.
Each Man skirmishing a wounded minion is strength +1.
Skirmish: Exert your Man to wound a minion he is skirmishing. Discard this possession.
"In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather, so fierce was its flight."
20R13

I'd make it strength +2 artifact, and only borne by one companion who gets the strength bonus.