The Sauron and Nazgul Packs look good, but there are some things that don't seem to fit... For example, Sauron turns every Orc fierce but the strongest Orc available is just an unarmed 8 strenght guy who can't rival Thorin or Dwalin. Sauron can assign a minion to Bilbo... Nazgul are coting too much given their new Site Number of 5, some big ones like the Witchie and Attea should cost -2, while the smaller ones should cost -1 and be strength +1...
I'm convinced that key
and
minions in those packs should allow
the Wise to fight them (and some Smaug cards do the same with Dale men), and give a punish or greater threat to the FP player in case a dwarf fights them. "Wizard and Elf allies may partificapte in skirmishes". Or "Wise allies may participate in skirmishes", and give the new "
Wise" keyword to The White Council...
I'm basing that thought on this part of the book:
"We have long ago paid the Goblins of Moria," said Thorin; "we must give a thought to the Necromancer."
"Don't be absurd! He is an Enemy far beyond the powers of all the Dwarves put together, if they could all be collected again from the four corners of the world. The one thing your father wished was for his son to read the Map and use the Key. The Dragon and the Mountain are more than big enough tasks for you!"Gandalf knew Thorin was in grave danger when he travelled across the Mirkwood, and the assault of the White Council on
Dol Guldur was indeed a plan weaved by him to (amongst other things) retreat Sauron's presence from Thorin's path. Gandalf didn't want Thorin to fight "an Enemy far beyond the powers of all the Dwarves put together", and the mere presence of The Necromancer in
Dol Guldur was enough to attract
The Wise (even Saruman in the books)...
But before talking in greater detail about the cards in Sauron and Nazgul Subpacks, there are some pending issues...
In the main deck : Site 2: Trollshaw Forest -> Troll's Cave
Shadow number : 3
Forest. Underground. At the start of your fellowship phase, you may play a hand weapon from your draw deck.
Site 4: Great Goblin's Cavern -> Wooded Steep Cliff
Shadow Number 3
Mountain. Forest. When the fellowship moves to Wooded Steep Cliff, Thorin or 2 other companions must exert.
Those look good! Wooded Steep Cliff is designed here in the ways of Decipher's FOTR and TTT sites 4, and will be quite powerful when playing wargriders.
Threatening Warg I mean.
Watchful Orc
When you play this minion, you may replace the fellowship's current site with a site from your adventure deck. Shadow: Exert this minion twice to make each site on the adventure path gains battleground, mountain, forest or underground until the end of the turn.
That's a very long text. Hope it fits inside the card room, because looks great! Anyway, is there any card that uses the 'battlground' keyword? In case not, just remove it. I believe even plains might give some benefits to wargs/wargriders and even besiegers, but alike battlerground still there isn't any card.
In case it's overpowered, or the text doesn't fit the card space, I'd leave it this way: "Shadow: Exert this minion twice to either replace the fellowship's current site with your site of the same number, or make each site on the adventure path gain mountain, forest or underground until the end of the turn." Believe it or not, that's shorter...
Goblin Footman
When you play this minion, you may play a possession or artifact from your discard pile on your minion.
To play the Ring of Thrór on Sauron, great! And even play Troll Knife from discard, that was an abandoned aspect in the Troll culture.
Smaug
Cost: 18
Regroup: Exert Smaug and discard another minion to discard a Free Peoples card (except a companion, Bard or a Ring).
That's the most senseful regroup ability, as Thrór kept his Ring and Smaug couldn't put his claws on The One... I'd reduce his cost a bit, 15 seems enough if you are willing to use those cards that make him fight before site 8.
Dain Pack (10 cards) :
- 2x • Dain Ironfoot : Cost (3). Home 9. Strength 7, Vitality 3. Ally. Dwarf. Thorin is strength +1. At the start of the regroup phase, you may discard a follower to discard a minion (except Smaug).
I still think this younger version of Dain should be str 8, dmg+1 instead... moreover if he'll fight these new monsters under development.
Mirkwood and Esgaroth allies have the archer keyword, Iron Hills buddies should all be damage +1.
Thrain Pack (10 cards) :
- 2x • Thrain : Cost (2). Follower. Dwarf. Strength +1. Aid - Exert Gandalf and add (2). Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may play a possession from your draw deck
Is there any chance of adding a way of playing Thráin from the draw deck? Anyway he won't play Orcrist nor any other artifact, but only his tricks and maybe Dwarven Axes or fortifications. He is the main gear in the whole pack and thus I believe the pack requires something to pull him, like a modification in Thrór's Heirlooms:
Thrór's Heirlooms : Cost (3)
Event. Regroup: Exert a Dwarf companion to play
Thráin, a
possession or
artifact from your draw deck or discard pile.
- 2x • Ring of Thrór : Cost . Artifact • Ring. Vitality +1. Bearer must be a Dwarf companion. Bearer is damage +1. Maneuver: Take a event into hand from your discard pile. Discard this artifact.
But given the Thráin Pack and the Main Deck don't provide weapons except Orcrist, the text may remain as it is but the attributes might be slightly better for fighting: strength +1, besides the vitality +1.
- 2x • Thrór's Key : cost (1). Possession. Bearer must be a Dwarf companion. Fellowship or Regroup: Exert a Dwarf companion and discard a follower to play the fellowship's next site (replacing opponent's site if necessary). Draw a card if you play a mountain site.
"Draw a card if you play a mountain site." I'd change it to "heal a Dwarf if you play a mountain", discarding a follower is a strong cost by itself. Just remember (or watch again) the last scene in An Unexpected Journey, when Thorin watched from distance his long lost beloved homeland:
GANDALF: Erebor... the Lonely Mountain. The last of the great Dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth.
THORIN: Our home.
- 2x The Eagles Are Coming : Cost (2). Event. Spell. Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to play a follower from your draw deck and attach it to a Dwarf companion (without paying the aid cost).
This event seems very good but is far more limited than it looks... there are only 2
followers. What if it plays allies too?
The Eagles Are Coming :
Cost (2). Event. Spell.
Maneuver or Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to play a
follower
or ally from your
hand or draw deck. If its a follower, you may attach it to a
Dwarf companion (without paying the aid cost).
If it's an ally, may participate in skirmishes until the regroup phase.That way
Radagast may participate in skirmishes far from his home site, but only once as this card requires to play the ally and then allow him to fight.
Radagast borne by a Great Eagle to the Battle of the Five Armies was such a great detail!
- 2x Barrels : Cost (1). Event. Regroup: Exert 2 companions to discard up to 2 minions (except Smaug) and draw 3 cards. If the fellowship is at a river, make the move limit +1 for this turn.
"... and draw 3 cards". That's it! That's the addition it needed to represent the flavour of the situation.
One last point: if you are going to post the changes by including them in the first post, try to demark the recently changed cards and concepts. It's a good idea to edit the first post, but without a mark the reading of each card becomes very inefficient in respect of time. Adding an asterisk * before the title of the modified/added card might be enough...