Fellowship Sealed League Strategies on Gemp

[sgtdraino]

What do experienced players think are the best strategies to use when playing the Fellowship Block Sealed League on Gemp? I've put this in Valinor (and not Fellowship), because the Gemp starter decks are not quite standard, and sometimes Gemp adds additional cards into the mix. So, let's pursue a number of questions about this type of league, to hopefully give newer players some insight into it:

1. All things being equal, which starter deck do you think is smartest to pick each series? (see poll at the top) Why?

2. The starters are the LOTR Online versions, seen at this link:

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,9119.0/topicseen.html

ETA: For Series 1, players choose either the Aragorn or Gandalf starter, receive 6 Fellowship of the Rings boosters, and also receive the following cards:
Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul x2

ETA: For Series 2, players choose either the Gimli or Gandalf starter, receive 3 Mines of Moria boosters, and also receive the following card:
The Balrog, Durin's Bane

ETA: For Series 3, players choose either the Boromir or Legolas starter, and receive 3 Realms of the Elf Lords boosters.

ETA: For Series 4, players receive 2 Fellowship of the Rings boosters, 2 Mines of Moria boosters, and 2 Realms of the Elf Lords boosters.

3. What are some other useful strategies to heed, when preparing for this meta? For example, I've heard it is smart to open your boosters before you choose your starter, in case you get a great rare that works better with one starter than another. What are some other strategies?

[Cthulhu]

FotR Sealed has a special place in my heart being the first LotR Sealed I've  played not only on Gemp but ever (havent played LotR sealed IRL), also the first sealed I Top 4-ed on Gemp.

1. Aragorn - Gandalf - Legolas

I would almost certainly pick Aragorn 1st serie, the only card that could make me consider Moria is Goblin Swarms. That one though is the biggest bomb this sealed, winning you most games where you draw it early. Otherwise playing Moria swarm is a difficult thing and plenty of NPE in a format where everyone has bunch of stealths and Boromir SoD (the key comp in FotR sealed) in starters, and can add a Frying Pan from a 3rd serie's starter, not to mention thats a common and not that hard to pull from boosters too. Thats not to say it cant be done if you have a plan and know how to execute it, a player (I think it was smaug) has won FotR sealed with Moria with small Isengard splash for Snows and tracker splash for Tol Brandir, he always moved 1 site at a time and prepared the Snows bomb, with Tol Brandir as a backup plan if that failed. This has some weaknesses though, say if they discard your Snows. Speaking of which discard is actually a factor here, because its attached to some good cards for sealed (Uruk Rager, Uruk Soldier - you have 7 of those total in Aragorn starter) as opposed to the crappy cards discard decks use in Constructed.

2nd serie is easy pick for me again - Gandalf starter has excellent comps, that can fill some of your deck holes (worst series 1 are those where you dont pull any comp, except some unplayable stuff like Lorien Elf, and I was forced to play those once too..) The only thing I like in Gimli starter that Gandalf doesnt have is Thrarin and Gimli, but I'll take The Grey Pilgrim over Gimli any day.

3d serie I usually pick Legolas for the following good reasons - Frying Pan, Bread for Battle, Snows, also Foul Creation if i have pulled some good elven allies (as those in the starter are not). The promo Boromir is way worse than SoD (again, key comp this sealed, you win most games when you have him healed before making your final moves), sauron orcs have nothing that appeals to me, the only interesting thing Boromir starter has for me is Might of Numenor, and the posibility of Boromir's Cloak if you face bunch of Moria Snows.


2. We get 2x shotgun  Enquea 1st serie and a common Balrog the 2nd. Both are not so strong. I'd rather have Enquea in some of the others sealeds, as FotR block is not known for having too many good comps, especially when you try to get them from packs. Still its a good minion to have 1st serie so you dont have to play crap like Their Arrows Enrage and stuff like that, and I usually keep them both for next series too, unles I open lots of good uruk stuff.  Durin's Bane on the other hand is just awful, it clogs your hand - I'd much rather play 3 uruks on Bridge and unload my hand so i can draw more FP for my turn, and usually they deal more damage and force more stops too. I love when this guy is the only thing they play on site 5, it means easy double for me after a stealth and a random event on Gorn. Armor or Filibert make him look even more silly. The only good thing going for him is the Snows combo some people like (play some isenguard minion, play Snows, play Durin's Bane) but even that is not so scarry if you have a Thrarin or some disposable comps like Pipin, or bunch of other things like Rangers Sword (which is as good as a rare btw, as is The Prancing Pony), so I never went for it. Note that the rare Balrog is a good addition to your Moria deck, if you manage to pull him from packs.

NOTE: Aragorn list has a typo, the real one has - 1 Shaman, - 1 Soldier, I bought a Gorn starter to verify that.

No deluxe starters in sealed leagues are used indeed.


3. Its much better for new players to discover those strategies for themselves, than trying to follow blindly other people's path, it makes you a better player not to mention that some things that work for them may not work for you or your playstyle. For example I hate Moria here, but smaug won the sealed with Moria, and best I have with uruks is a 2nd place.


Hope that helps.

[BigRedMF]

I've only played sealed FotR one time, but definitely have some takeaways.

1. Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas
Series 1 is the only chance to get Aragorn, unless you pull him in a booster. Having Gandalf is typically beneficial, even if just for his drawing ability. On the shadow side, honestly both shadows in series 1 can be very strong depending on what you get to mix/add, and depending on how smartly you play. Uruks generally seem to be better at creating stops so your fellowship can march ahead of your opponent. Sauron didn't seem to be too effective to me, but again there might be a key card or two that make it shine.

2. Cthulu is correct. In case his note wasn't clear about the Aragorn starter, there are only 3xShamans and 3xSoldiers on the shadow side (instead of the 4x of each listed in the FAQ link).

3. It is always best to open boosters first, unless you just have a strong desire to choose one of the decks for some reason. If you pull a Ranger's Sword, you better be choosing the Aragorn starter. Besides Dwarf weapons and Hobbit Swords, all other weapons are rare (with the exception of Ranger's Sword). Weapons make a HUGE difference in FotR for the fellowship. If your strongest companion is an 8 (Aragorn) you are going to lose a lot of skirmishes, even to Moria. Double moves against Moria is frequently impossible, and Uruk damage +1 really hurts, unless you can consistently win skirmishes.

[sgtdraino]

Great information guys! Gold for both of you. I've added the new info you've provided to post #1.

So, no additional fixed cards for series 3?

How many boosters do we get each series? I'm guessing that, for series 4, we get more boosters and a choice of which set to pull them from. How many, and which sets do you think you'd pick boosters from? Or is that pretty much entirely dependent on what you've drawn so far?

OR is there no actual choice in series 4, and you just get an equal number of boosters from each set?

I was leaning towards Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir, but I think you've both collectively convinced me that Legolas is the better choice.

[Cthulhu]

OR is there no actual choice in series 4, and you just get an equal number of boosters from each set?

Correct. Revised Movie is the only sealed where we can choose sets for those packs.

I have no memory of additional fixed cards in serie 3.

[Eukalyptus]

Series 1 - 1 starter choice, 6 packs of FotR
Series 2 - 1 starter choice, 3 packs of MoM
Series 3 - 1 starter choice, 3 packs of RotEL
Series 4 - 2 packs of each FotR, MoM and RotEL, totaling 6 packs

[sgtdraino]

Thanks for the info, Euk. Gold for you!

[GreenRebel]

What is a good deck size ? I am guessing since there is not much choke decks out there, and since minions are cheap, that 35-37 cards for one side is good enough ?

[Cthulhu]

No, good deck size in any sealed is 60 cards, 62 tops.

[sgtdraino]

I have occasionally found decks as large as 72 cards to be effective in a sealed league, but no larger than that. And that was in a different format, different meta.

[dmaz]

If your booster pulls are neutral, Aragorn is a good start, just to shield you from exerting everyone at site 7. From there on, it could really go any direction. A lot will depend on your booster pulls.

However, opening series, your choice of starter should center more around what you pulled for Fellowship cards than Shadow. To pick Moria based on the fact that you pulled a Relics of Moria or Goblin Swarms would be quite foolish since there's a decent chance they will just get discarded by Sleep, especially if you have some FP cards that are going unused as a result.

One advantage to the Gandalf deck as a start is your ability to cycle so well. They Are Coming will help you so many times get rid of either your FP or Shadow cards depending on what you are planning to do next. It's weakness against fighting Uruk's Damage+1 can be offset a bit by just taking advantage of all your pumps available.

I had to go Gandalf this time around due to poor pulls for companions in the boosters, and needing the guaranteed Gimli to spot for Farin. Not optimal to run a fellowship trying to survive on pumps, but whatevs.

[sgtdraino]

Now that I've finished my 12 games for this series, I'll give my report!

I went with the Aragorn starter, as did most of the opponents I played against.

My pulls were HORRIBLE. I literally got the shaft. I got NO WEAPONS other than the 2x Hobbit Sword that came in the starter. 4 of my 6 rares were essentially unusable: Dark Whispers (no Nazgul besides the 2x Shotgun Enquea), The Pale Blade (No Witch-king), The Council of Elrond (no useful tales), And Mithril SHAFT (sucks). My 2 good pulls were Gimli, Son of Gloin and Power According to His Stature, the latter of which did win me one of my 3 wins this series. The only additional companions I got were the aforementioned Gimli, and a Dwarf Guard.

The first 8 games I played were all losses. I initially tried starting Gimli and Legolas, bid 1 or 2, and would go first. I'd end up out in front, at which point my opponent would win via Shadow kill. Eventually I came to the conclusion that, for this series anyway, it's better to go second. Especially if your Fellowship is weak. It's also better to start Aragorn, even though that probably means I won't be able to get the Dwarf Guard out. I didn't try to race to the end anymore, and just concentrated on keeping my FP alive, and building for a Shadow kill. I won the next 3 games, then narrowly lost the last game.

Overall impressions:

I get the feeling that the booster pulls in this league, at least in series 1, have a HUGE impact on how well you are going to do, a significantly bigger impact than in other sealed leagues I've participated in. Even something as simple as The Prancing Pony or Ranger's Sword can give a player a tremendous advantage over other players. I suspect the pulls in series 1 are going to have a big impact on the various series after that too, since most of the decent possessions are in FotR packs. You won't be getting any more Ranger's Sword, Armor, Elven Bow, Asfaloth, or Dwarven Axe (unless you go for the weaker Gimli MoM deck) until maaybe Series 4, to say nothing of Blade of Gondor, Glamdring, Gwemegil, Bow of the Galadhrim, or Aragorn's Bow. No other chances to get The Prancing Pony, either. The only gear MoM packs have for you is rare Flaming Brand (when you're unlikely to face many Nazgul), weak Hand Axe, uncommon Dwarven Bracers, and a Wizard Staff that you'll be getting anyway in the Gandalf MoM deck.

I'm actually thinking of going for that Gimli MoM deck now, simple because there are at least a lot of companions in it, as well as a fair bit of gear and pumps to work with my rare Gimli.

[zen89]

The only way I really differ from the advice being given is that I prefer the Gimli starter for the Mines of Moria. Maybe I'm crazy.

After selecting the FotR Aragorn starter (generally agreed best option), the relevant cards I see in each deck are as follows:

Gandalf

1xFarmer Maggot's Fields

2x Gandalf, The Grey Pilgrim
2x Boromir, Son of Denethor
2x Merry, From O'er the Brandywine
1x Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor
2x Wizard Staff
3x Intimidate
4x Mysterious Wizard
4x Strength of Spirit
1x Elendil's Valor
2x Swordarm of the White Tower
2x Hobbit Intuition

3x Goblin Runner

Gimli

3x Dwarf Guard
2x Farin, Dwarven Emissary
2x Gimli, Dwarf of the Mountain-race
1x Thrarin, Dwarven Smith
1x Dwarven Armor
2x Dwarven Axe
2x Hand Axe
3x Axe Strike
4x Flurry of Blows
2x Here Lies Balin, Son of Fundin
2x Hobbit Intuition

Nothing else provides much value. The reason I like Gimli is that one can start him and build the deck around him (he's an excellent skirmisher and also makes sites 4 and 5 much easier)--Farin and the Dwarf Guards get you to nine companions, which allows you to pitch guys to Uruks, and Thrarin is an absolutely phenomenal card. Also, Here Lies Balin is very underrated, and is one of the reasons Moria struggles after Serie One. Nor is Hand Axe weak--minion vitality is in short supply even for Uruks, who need their vitality for Bred for Battle. All in all, Gimli is a very solid companion.

From the Gandalf starter, I like site one (starting Gimli/Legolas/Merry is very nice), Merry is a nice companion, and the I like the Goblin Runners. But I find Gandalf himself to be quite overrated. He really, really, needs his toys to be good, and at that point you're devoting most of your deck space to a character who you need to start or risk draw-screw (though Farmer Maggot's fields make this more feasible), who operates almost entirely through events, and who generates a ton of twilight.

Maybe I'll try picking him this time since, at 8-4, I'm likely already out of the money, but in general I prefer Gimli.

[Cthulhu]

But I find Gandalf himself to be quite overrated. He really, really, needs his toys to be good, and at that point you're devoting most of your deck space to a character who you need to start or risk draw-screw

I disagree. In all FotR Sealeds so far I've played him just as splash (ie 2x Gandalf being the only gandalf cards I play, also never started him) and he did great. The fact that he draws you an extra card every single turn makes him pay his slot in the deck 1 turn after you draw him, and then the card advantage he generates is just gravy. In the meantime he gets healed every turn by KiE, and 7 strength and 4 vitality means 1 uruk event is usually not enough to bring him down.

If anyone need his toys to be any good its Gimli, look of all the mediocre stuff you have to fit in for him not to die to the first uruk and to justify picking that starter.

I've pulled a Glamdring this time so Ill try to fit that come next serie, but I dont intend to bring any more  gandalf stuff I dont need and I won't start him, and I expect him to be a worthy addition of my deck as he always is.

[zen89]

I think if I were planning on single stepping through the site path, I'd be much higher on Gandalf. He's pretty tough to kill for Uruks that way due to the four vitality and KiE healing.

But for a sealed deck that wants to double move, Gandalf doesn't offer nearly as much as Gimli. He can't kill anything, and his four vitality doesn't help as much when he's guaranteed to lose both skirmishes of a double move. He also costs four twilight. Gimli can start, helps choke on several sites, and can kill Uruks with one skirmish event (of which there are a ton).

I'm not fitting in the other stuff (axes, bracers, events), I'm using it because it's really good--Gimli is the most reliable companion in the format, outside of a Ranger Sword-ed Gorn, at killing stuff so you can double.