4) The Nazgul Culture:You haven't said anything yet about the ideas to modify the way the Nazgul culture works. That's OK, take your time my friend
.
In the meantime, I will proceed to comment each Nazgul and suggest some changes, including the ideas depicted in the previous post about the
culture. Those are:
1. Their twilight cost should be -2, given their site number is +2. Otherwise will arrive too late to the party.
2. An ability to "reappear" from discard pile, just like in the movie at
Dol Guldur.
3. Some key Nazgul must allow the White Council to participate in skirmishes: "
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions." Only
, as the sole
minion ables the Council to fight him.
4.
and
cultures must share some costs and benefits, given the shortage of cards of those cultures each player will have.
5. Therefore, the cost of discarding a
card to play a Nazgul (Witch, Toldea) should be removed.
Points 2 and 3 will make the card space somewhat scarce
... But point 3 doesn't need to be in every Nazgul's text.
If points 1 and 2 are used, the mechanisms for shuffling
cards (minions, there is nothing else) back to the draw deck won't be of much necessity, and even might be counterproductive, because in the latter game the Shadow player will have plenty of minions in discard pile and probably will play them better from there, having to take care only of the use of twilight. That skill requires removing
to replay a Nazgul, so twilight addition and/or cost reduction would be much more useful than recycling
cards back to the draw deck.
By the way, Nazgul won't have to worry about decking out
. Using the previous point, we shouldn't give too much emphasis on mechanisms to shuffle back cards, and in those cases must allow to shuffle back any Shadow card, no matter what culture. In most cases that card space might be used for simpler yet more powerful things...
For
inspiration purposes, here's a better video than the previous, of the Battle at
Dol Guldur...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LahLu_rni34- 2x • The Witch-King, Revived: Cost (8). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 14, Vitality 4. Fierce. To play, discard a card from hand. The twilight cost of each other Nazgûl is -2. Skirmish: Discard two cards from hand to make a minion damage +1.
The skiimish ability is a bit overpowered: play the Witch King and empty you hand to make him damage +3. But the effect is indeed a very good idea. I'd change it to "Discard 2
Shadow cards from hand...".
The cost of discarding a
card is just inviable, so was removed. The twilight reduction of 2 to everyone else is unnecesary if we use the idea depicted in point 1, so was removed too.
• The Witch-King, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength: 14 Vitality: 4 Site: 5
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions.
Skirmish: Discard two Shadow cards from hand to make a minion damage +1.
- 2x • Ulaire Toldea, Revived: Cost (6). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 12, Vitality 3. Fierce. To play, discard a card from hand. The twilight cost of each other Nazgûl is -2. Skirmish: Spot an Orc and remove (2) to make a minion strength +3.
I wonder if this Skirmish action can remain unfolded. It's an improved form of Danger Wrapped in Shadows and that's a good thing, but would be too easy to overwhelm a companion if this is not limited. I'd limit its use to only once per skirmish, due to it will pile up with Danger Wrapped and that way you can sum up to +7 strength to a single minion. And given the strength of some beasts like Sauron and the Witch King, overwhelmings would be somewhat easy...
There's a worrisome unbalance of strenght pumps between Shadow and FP. In respect of skirmish abilities, the FP have Glóin (dangerous), Galadriel (limited to 2 exertions) and Burglar's Contract, while the Shadow side will have Danger Wrapped in Shadows and Ulaire Toldea, which are easy to pay and pile up...
Toldea can do a really strong teamwork with the Witch King.
• Ulaire Toldea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength: 12 Vitality: 3 Site: 5
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions.
Skirmish: Spot an Orc and remove
to make a minion strength +3 (limit once per skirmish).
- 2x • Ulaire Attea, Revived: Cost (6). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 12, Vitality 3. Fierce. Shadow : discard a card from hand to add (2). Regroup: Exert your Orc and discard a ? card from hand to discard an or ally.
When
Radagast found the
Morgul Blade, he fought a Nazgul presumed to be the Witch King. But the crown of that Nazgul was actually Khamul's (Ulaire Attea)... I believe it was a mistake from Weta Workshop and Peter Jackson.
Good text on this Nazgul. If this guy threatens the White Council,
they must be able to fight! Which causes a problem with card room
. I'd rather remove the Shadow abiity than the Regroup one; adding twilight is important but not as much given the twilight reduction depicted in point 1. Anyway, I'd use that Shadow ability with another Nazgul...
Discarding a
card is too heavy a cost, but can be broaden to other pertinent cultures: Sauron, and perhaps Spider.
• Ulaire Attea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 12 Vitality 3 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions.
Regroup: Exert your Orc and discard a
or
card from hand to discard a
or
ally.
- 2x • Ulaire Enquea, Revived: Cost (6). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 11, Vitality 4. Fierce. Response: If an Orc is killed or discarded from play, exert Ulaire Enquea to shuffle up to two cards from your discard pile into your draw deck (except during the regroup phase).
The shuffling ability makes little sense if we use the ideas depicted above. Unless it can shuffle any Shadow card. Also I changed it from response to an "each time" action, you will see why when you look at Lemenya and Otsea...
By the way, when a minion gets killed, that minion is discarded from play, so you don't have to specify the 2 situations by separate.
• Ulaire Enquea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 11 Vitality 4 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
Each time an Orc is discarded from play (except during the regroup phase), you may exert this minion to shuffle two Shadow cards from your discard pile into your draw deck.
- 2x • Ulaire Cantea, Revived: Cost (5). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 10, Vitality 3. Fierce. Each time this minion wins a skirmish, you may discard an Orc from play to shuffle up to two cards from your discard pile into your draw deck?.
The recycling part won't be much useful, and Enquea takes care of that. Cantea might be a twilight facilitator, reducing the cost of other Nazgul. And in the case an Orc gets killed or discarded, they may get other benefits...
• Ulaire Cantea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 10 Vitality 3 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
Other Nazgûl are twilight cost -1.
Each time an Orc is discarded from play, you may exert Ulaire Cantea to add
or draw 2 cards.
Look below at Lemenya and Otsea for insane combos with Cantea and Enquea...
- 2x • Ulaire Nelya, Revived: Cost (5). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 10, Vitality 3. Fierce. When you play this minion, you may spot an Orc to take a card into hand from your draw deck or discard pile.
If we use the points 1 and 2 depicted above, although cards like this will lose the monopoly of using the discard pile, this nazzie's effect will be even better (as a Nazgul played from hand costs -2 than played from discard). Might be broaden to
cards, to assure the presence of a key card (Danger Wrapped in Shadows, Ring of Thrór, Sauron himself).
Naturally, Nelya's text will be abused and he'll be replayed from discard often, so he will be a good bearer of that line that allows the White Council to fight...
• Ulaire Nelya, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 10 Vitality 3 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions.
When you play this minion, you may take a
or
card into hand from your draw deck or discard pile.
- 1x • Ulaire Nertea, Revived: Cost (4). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 9, Vitality 2. Fierce. Skirmish: Discard this minion and an Orc from play to play a minion from your draw deck or discard pile, its twilight cost is -4.
This Nazgul depicts very well their behavior in the movie! If a key Nazgul gets killed, you can "revive" him by discarding this one and an Orc. Great!
• Ulaire Nertea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 9 Vitality 2 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
Skirmish: Discard this minion and an Orc from play to play a
minion from your draw deck or discard pile, its twilight cost is -4.
- 1x • Ulaire Lemenya, Revived: Cost (4). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 9, Vitality 2. Fierce. While you can spot another card, each minion is strength +2 for each Orc you can spot. Regroup: Wound your Orc to shuffle a card from your discard pile into your draw deck.
"Each
minion is strength +2 for each Orc you can spot" seems a bit abusive... I know it depends on the survival of Orcs, but Toldea and Danger Wrapped in Shadows should provide enough pumps. I'd prefer he allowed the White Council to fight, as only the Witch King, Toldea, Attea and Nelya share that property...
The regroup action might not be too useful now. I replaced it with a Shadow action, the one ripped from Attea above. But a bit improved: you may discard an Orc from play too. To make a beautiful twilight-adding combo with Cantea, and another to recycle cards with Enquea.
• Ulaire Lemenya, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 9 Vitality 2 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
and
allies may be assigned to skirmish
minions.
Shadow: Discard a
card from hand (or discard an Orc from play) to add
.
- 1x • Ulaire Ostea, Revived: Cost (4). minion. Nazgul. Site 5. Strength 9, Vitality 3. Fierce. Other Nazgûls are strength +1. Skirmish: Discard an Orc from play to draw 1 card for each ? minion you spot.
"Other Nazgûls are strength +1" is OK. But "Nazgûl" is both the singular and plural form...
The skirmish ability should be broaden to
minions, and might be a Shadow action instead... With that skill of point 2 (to play them from discard), they won't need to draw too much in the later game. It's still a good idea, to set up killer hands for Sauron or Smaug; given Enquea's recycling skill you may set up good Shadow-heavy draw decks for the latter game.
• Ulaire Otsea, Revived
Minion • Nazgul
Strength 9 Vitality 2 Site 5.
Fierce. You may remove
to play this minion from your discard pile.
Other Nazgûl are twilight cost -1 and strength +1.
Shadow: Discard an Orc from play to draw 1 card for each
or
minion you spot.
So we would have nine Nazgul resurrecting over and over again, like in the movie.
A quick summary:
- 2x Witch King: Adds damage.
Allows the White Council to fight.
- 2x Toldea: Adds strength.
Allows the White Council to fight.
- 2x Attea: Attempts to discard the White Council.
Allows the White Council to fight.
- 2x Enquea: Recycles Shadow cards (when an Orc gets discarded).
- 2x Cantea: Reduces twilight cost. Adds twilight or draws cards (when an Orc gets discarded).
- 2x Nelya: Takes a
or
card from discard.
Allows the White Council to fight.
- 1x Nertea: Retrieves a chosen Nazgul (by discarding himself and an Orc). Does combo with Enquea.
- 1x Lemenya: Adds twilight.
Allows the White Council to fight. Does combo with Enquea and Cantea.
- 1x Otsea: Reduces twilight cost and increases strength to everyone else. Draws cards in Shadow phase. Does combo with Enquea and Cantea.
When I was working on the first ideas about the Nazgul minions, I thought of giving them different subtitles like Summoned Wraith, Summoned Sorcerer, Summoned King, Lord, Servant, Lackey, Shadow, Specter, Undead, Ringbearer...