Need help, if there is any help to be had!

[NappyKorn]

OK, I was trying to think of a way to insure a safe first move then follow it with a fresh start on the double. What I was thinking was using a card not seen to often in Far-seeing Eyes to empty the shadow players hand (also help to deck them out for later). Then for regroups remove the twilight with Gandalf's Hat and start fresh for the double like it was your first move. So here is what I came up with.


Frodo And Ring 
*The One Ring, The Ring of Rings (11R1) 
*Frodo, Master of the Precious (5U111) 

 
Sites 
(3) Dammed Gate-stream (11U235) 

 
Fellowship (32) 
4x *Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor (1U70) 
1x *Celeborn, The Wise (13R11) 
1x *Elrond, Witness to History (12R17) 
1x *Gandalf, Leader of Men (8R15) 
1x *Gandalf, Returned (17R17) 
1x *Glorfindel, Revealed in Wrath (9R+16) 
1x *Legolas, Fearless Marksman (7R25) 
2x *Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver (7R324) 
1x Smeagol, Poor Creature (6C45)
4x Far-seeing Eyes (1C43) 
4x Home and Hearth (12C122) 
1x Sent Back (9R27) 
1x Final Account (11C31) 
3x Life of the Eldar (8R11) 
4x Saved From The Fire (8R20) 
2x Serving the Precious (7R70) 
1x *Gandalf's Hat (12R28) 

 
Shadow (32) 
3x Evil-smelling Fens (5U22) 
4x Captured by the Ring (7C53) 
1x *Gollum, Dark as Darkness (9R+28) 
4x *Watcher in the Water, Many-Tentacled Creature (19P21) 
4x Foul Tentacle (2C58) 
4x Goblin Runner (1U178) 
4x Huge Tentacle (2R66) 
4x Reaching Tentacle (19P19) 
4x Strong Tentacle (19P20) 


Ok first you start Gandalf, Leader of Men, Legolas, Fearless Marksman, and Smeagol, Poor Creature. Hopefully you pull a SFtF to burn Legolas Grab as many Far-seeing Eyes as you can (hopefully 3 if you grabbed an elf companion). Play them then play an elf to start causing the shadow player to discard cards from hand. Next a bit of a tricky combo (this is what I need help on). Hoping you go first grab Serving the Precious with Dammed Gate-Stream, discard smeagol of course with no effect. With it in your discard pile you can then burn Gandalf 2nd (using Barliman if you pulled him to grab SFtF if you haven't drawn your 2nd copy) to Grab Gandalf, Returned (grabbing Gandalf's Hat with his text), Sent Back and Final Account. Combo below.

With Smeagol Back in play (thanks to Frodo) and Swear By The Precious in hand (thanks to Final Account) do the following:

1. Discard Smeagol to play an elf from discard pile (with 4x Far-Seeing Eye in play opponent discards 4 cards from hand)
2. Use Frodo's text to replay Smeagol
3. Use Barliman (healed with another copy if needed) to regrab Final Account.
4. Reuse Finally Account to grab Swear By the Precious.
5. Use Swear By the Precious to discard Smeagol and Play another elf from Discard pile (with 4x Far-Seeing Eye in play opponent discards rest of hand)

Doing this they have no cards in hand to play anything so we pass to regroup phase. If you have a Life of the Eldar discard and elf to draw 3 cards. Add 2 burdens to remove all twilight and double . If you have more than one copy of Life of the eldar and enough Elves in play (3) use both copies. When you double you can use Celeborn's text to regroup a Life of the Eldar for next turn or the up coming regroup phase. Now on your double move you are actually better off than if you played everything and moved the first time as they have no twilght other than the companion in the fellowship, Region cost and shadow number .

To counter all the burden from Smeagol replaying and Gandalf's Hat I decided to run Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver with some Home and Hearth. If there is a more effective way to get this done I would love to know it.

I paired it with tentacle swarm because if you are sending Pip to hand and drawing alot for the regroup phase via Life of the Eldar it won't hurt to have tentacles in hand to discard since you can just replay them from discard pile anyway. Final Account also allows you to Grab the Watcher in the Water, Many-Tentacled Creature from your discard pile. If that fails you always have Evil-Smelling Fens and Gollum to grab him back when needed .

So as always comments and bashing is welcomed, so fire away .

[TheJord]

Wow this is complex. You need a fast setup... SftF would be essential. I would love to see it work, Far-seeing Eyes is a card I have been looking to break. Serving the Precious is the breaker methinks.

So the point of this deck is to empty your opponents hand before the Shadow phase? Awesome idea. Slightly NPE if pulled off, but everyone knows that doesnt bother me.

The burdens. The problem with the Home and Hearth combo you have used with Pippin, WoBaS is that there should be no skirmish phase at all. So you wont be able to return him to hand. New idea needed.... I shall think on this.

A token engine with Dasron will allow some Final Account recurring, perhaps instead of Barliman or alongside him.

I will have to take more time to think of solutions to your problems, but the idea is a fresh one that I like.

[Elessar's Socks]

Far-seeing Eyes received erratum making it unique, and Final Account is X'ed in Expanded. Not sure where you want to go from here or just play it as is.

[NappyKorn]

well that sucks lol, good thing I didn't send to long coming up with this lol. I guess a mod can go ahead and delete this thread, LOL. Thanks for the info sir .

[Elessar's Socks]

Sorry NK. I figured trying to play enough Elves a turn might be pushing things. Serving the Precious / Master of the Precious is an interesting engine, though. Maybe it could be adapted to another deck. Offhand besides Elves I can think of having general companion discard as well (Where Now the Horse).

[NappyKorn]

I noticed that great works begun here does the same with dwarves, but I see no purpose of decking yourself out. Is there any good to be done by discarding from your own draw deck?

Now that you mentioned the erratum on far-seeing eyes I'm trying to find a way to abuse allies since that condition only says an elf not and elven companion. Could be worth a shot but not sure it is possible.

[SomeRandomDude]

And then pack 4x Taking the High Ground with underground sites for more FSE fun. FSE may be errata-d, but you can still chump out 5 cards from hand.

(Hint: FLOOD THE BOARD WITH ALLIES!!!!! Remember, any elf )

[NappyKorn]

Nice idea with the Taking the Highground . But what about the double? that is the main point of the deck is to try and empty the opponents hand and move safely with tons of twilight out the remove the twilight with gandal'f hate and then let then reconcile and just double like it was your first go. Maybe we can throw in Smeagol with Follow Smeagol. I will give it all a look in a bit . Thanks for the help thus far all.

[SomeRandomDude]

Double makes it better! Cuz then you can bounce an extra 4 to hand, making 8 in hand, assuming you run Allies, of course, then you drop them all, like the Rumil and Orophin old skull pair or the ones that exert to do stuff, play them all to knock out the hand, use them to blast everything on the double, rinse, lather, repeat. Assuming you pack a Smeagol that can rule the sitepath, and roast Elfies with SftF for the Taking the High Ground stuff.

[NappyKorn]

any idea for a shadow pairing sound interesting I was going allies after ES sunk my battleship LOL. So I will def run smeagol probably poor creature (to dumb card to get ready for shadow's turn and started dammed to grab follow smeagol and we or off to the races .

[SomeRandomDude]

Well...there's always the dump engine, since you're gonna be running. Tentacles, actually, I like.