Need Help w/ Fellowship Sealed

[Vecna]

So, I just started playing this game two days ago.  Cthulhu advised me to try the Sealed league that was about to start, and I am now left rather clueless as to how to build something remotely decent - they suggested I post my attempt here and get some advice from whoever might be around, and so I am doing so.

The below is my first attempt to build something out of this sealed pool - it is obviously untested, and in fact not even legal (I need to cut 2 Fellowship cards).
I would appreciate any advice on making this not utter garbage.

Fellowship Sealed Deck

Frodo, Son of Drogo bearing The Ruling Ring

East Road
Bree Streets
Rivendell Terrace
Moria Lake
The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
Galadriel's Glade
Silverlode Banks
Pillars of the Kings
Slops of Amon Hen

FELLOWSHIP 32 I need to remove two cards but just threw this together so I could ask for

help
Companion
1 Aragorn, King in Exile starting
2 Boromir, Son of Denethor
1 Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood
1 Sam, Son of Hamfast

Allies
1 Rumil, Elven Protector
1 Bounder

Possessions
1 Armor
2 Athelas
1 Coat of Mail
2 Great Shield
2 Hobbit Sword
1 Ranger's Sword

Conditions
2 No Stranger to the Shadows

Events
1 Dagger Strike
1 Eregion's Trails
2 Foul Creation
2 Gondor's Vengeance
3 Hobbit Intuition
1 Noble Intentions
3 Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom
1 Swordarm of the White Tower

SHADOW 30
Minions
1 Uruk Brood
1 Uruk Fighter
2 Uruk Savage
2 Uruk Shaman
4 Uruk Slayer
3 Uruk Soldier
1 Uruk Warrior
2 Uruk-Hai Raiding Party
1 Ulaire Nertea, Messenger of Dol Guldur
2 Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
4 Uruk Rager

Conditions
2 Saruman's Ambition
2 Uruk-Hai Armory

Events
3 Bred for Battle


--------------------------------------------

CARDS NOT INCLUDED IN DECK
1 All Thought Bent On It
1 Anduin Banks
1 Aragorn's Pipe
1 Aragorn, King in Exile
1 Aragorn, Ranger of the North
1 Axe Strike
3 Battle Fury
1 Black  Breath
1 Bred for Battle
1 Bree Gate
1 Defiance
1 Dwarven Heart
1 Elven Cloak
1 Eregion's Trails
1 Fear
2 Frenzy
1 Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor
1 Gleaming Spires Will Crumble
1 Goblin Backstabber
1 Goblin Domain
1 Goblin Marksman
1 Goblin Patrol Troop
1 Goblin Spear
1 Gondor's Vengeance
1 Halls of My Home
1 Hobbit Party Guest
1 Longbottom Leaf
1 Mithril Shaft
1 Mysterious Wizard
1 Nobody Toss a Dwarf
1 Not Easily Destroyed
1 Orc Scimitar
2 Pathfinder
1 Rosie Cotton
1 Saruman's Reach
1 Songs of the Blessed Realm
1 Stairs of Khazad-Dum
2 Strength Born of Fear
2 Swordarm of the White Tower
1 The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
1 The Dark Lord's Summons
1 The Nine Servants of Sauron
2 The Seen and the Unseen
1 The White Arrows of Lorien
2 Their Arrows Enrage
1 Their Halls of Stone
1 They Are Coming
1 Threshold of Shadow
2 Uruk Messenger
2 Uruk Savage

[Cthulhu]

Ok, after a quick look (i might have mised something but its really late here atm), I can give you the following advice.

Cards you dont play that you should:

1 Anduin Banks - if you think about it , Pillars of the Kings is better for your opponent most of the time than its for you

1 Aragorn, King in Exile – extra copies are used for healing. Even if you start him (which is a start I dont like, but you dont have Merry or Pipin to pair with Boromir, and Legolas + Gimli is not a good start either. As I said in the other thread The Prancing Pony is as good as a rare here), Aragorn is one of your best  comps and justifies all the support.

1 Aragorn, Ranger of the North – a bomb. If you dont know what they are playing, picking which Gorn to start is not so easy though, as he is better vs Moria and King in Exile is usually better vs uruks. RotN is the best Aragorn to draw or have healed before going to site 9 obviously. You should play all 3 Gorns no doubt.

1 Bred for Battle – no reason not to play the 4th, +3 strength for 0 twilight  makes this one of your good shadow cards

1 Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor – you play all your comps in sealed, unless you can choose between a lot of them, which you can't

2 Swordarm of the White Tower – you can cast it on both your best comps, what more needs to be said



Other playable cards:

2 Pathfinder – I thought about it as a filler first, but it growed on me. You want to go on your site 6, 8 and 9 when playing vs Moria, not on theirs and these are not the only uses it has. So having 1 is fine, 2 if you dont have better options

1 Rosie Cotton – more like a filler if you don't have anything more useful

1 Gondor's Vengeance -  more like a filler if you don't have anything more useful

1 Fear – with 3 nazguls I'd give it a second thought if I dont have enough playable uruk cards


Cards that you are playing that you should not:

2 Great Shield – crap. no real archery this sealed except  Goblin Marksman in Moria

2 No Stranger to the Shadows - you have only 1 ranger, and I hate drawing dead cards, so I'd play 1 unless I'm  stretching for playables

1 Eregion's Trails – crap. Moria stops being roaming after site 3, if you draw it late game vs uruks it's a dead card too, and even if you draw it at the right time it doesn't do much for the cost.

2 Gondor's Vengeance – see what I wrote about it in the previous section

Also noting that Foul Creation is a good card, but not sure you can play 2 of them with only 2 elves, plus exerting Legolas for it means he dies to the first uruk he fights



2 Uruk Savage – crap, I wouldn't want to be caught playing any of those after 1st serie, and am never happy to have them 1st serie either

2 Uruk-Hai Armory – filler. Most people only have 1 archer if any, and when they don't draw him these do nothing. Even if they have Legolas I've found that having some Raiding Parties with 3 vitality is usually enough to make way for your Bread for Battles

[Cthulhu]

Quick addition:

Since you only have Sam to heal with King in Exile this serie, you should start RotN. In later series when KiE can heal Frodo, Merry, Gandalf and Legolas too, and most good players play uruks, the choice becomes not so obvious. But I'd be starting Boromir + Merry come next serie, and play whichever Gorn I draw first.

[Vecna]

I figure I'll turn this thread into a mini-tournament report as well. Updated my deck approximately according to Cthulhu's suggestions; list will follow if anyone cares, but basically it's just what it said.
First game (vs. Gandalf/Orcs)
Everything goes pretty well until he plays Beauty is Fading to discard Aragorn on site 4 and follows it up with a Cave Troll on 6.
I manage to not die (or have any companions die, actually), even after he plays 3x Enquea, but do not manage to keep pace - he also managed to run twice, and I'm not sure what I was meant to do; fairly awkward draws combined with never getting more than 12 shadow equals sad Uruk-Hai/Nazgul.
0-1

Edited to add:
game 2:
vs. a start of Legolas, Gimli from an Aragorn deck
We're both able to run a lot, nobody can put together a real threat - because he went first, I am forced to run 6-7 and miss out on sanctuary healing - I survive giving him twilight in the 25-27 range somehow...
Boromir dies to me assigning wrong in combat, but I ran so many times he couldn't catch up, and a well-timed draw of Foul Creation put the nail in the coffin.
(This is also my first win in LoTR TCG ever, so it feels good.)
1-1

[Cthulhu]

Good job getting your first win, especially if you really plays since few days, it has taken some people lot more than that, but then again they never really ask for advice and blame it all on the luck of the draw or the sealed pool.

Note that you should be reviewing your whole deck after each new serie, and replacing some of the cards with more useful ones. For example I'd be wanting to reduce Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom until they vanish completely from the deck, unless I pull an Arwen. Also I review my deck after each played game in the serie and make small adjustments according to how some cards felt. You can not choose between too many available replacement options this serie, but later you will have more of those.

[Vecna]

Game 3 (vs Legolas/Sam that bids 4)
I run 2-3, he runs 7-8 and somehow doesn't die, I run 8-9 and should live/win except that I misread Troop of Uruk-Hai, assign my defense wrong on 9 (relying on Frodo's Hobbit Knives + Bounder to deal with the 17 that is the lowest strength I could have assigned him), and thus lose.

1-2

[sgtdraino]

Ouch. I think that's the worst feeling, when I know it's my own fault that I lost a game.

[Vecna]

Game 4
I decide to run 3-4 because I don't need the sanctuary healing (having only one wound and a way to heal it).
He runs 4-5, loses Sam and Boromir.
I lose Boromir on 5 to forgetting someone is +1 damage... but manage to run to 6 with no further losses (other than taking one burden to cancel damage)
He loses Aragorn on 6 to a Bred for Battle and Frodo on 7 the next turn to another.
Aragorn's "defender +1" was definitely mvp this game - that plus Armor is excellent at dealing with stupid nonsense, and people spending tricks to try to overwhelm him looks rather cute when you have tricks of your own.

2-2

Edited to add:
Game 5
vs Boromir, Merry starting // Orcs
I dash 2-3 after he makes me go first. On 4 he plays 5 minions but my conveniently timed draw of Rumil saves me from my lack of companions not named Aragorn.  ...Then he plays a ridiculous number of following minions on 5 that gets me to use my entire hand just to live with Aragorn on 1 hp and Frodo on 2. Finally find Legolas when I reconcile at the end of his turn right before 6, but They Are Coming and ANOTHER Enquea is a beating... Fortunately, he assigns Enquea both of my archery wounds (Rumil at site 6 providing the second), so I kill it with Aragorn+pump pre-fierce phase and stabilize.  Gimli dies when he's at 5, though his Hobbit Stealth saves him from any further consequences.  His 5-6 dash works out unfortunately too well.  His 6 minions at 7 get assigned in such a way (thanks, Aragorn) that he can kill Sam but nobody else, and he does so... He is forced to dash 7-8 in a bad spot and I finally put out six minions... I go to kill Frodo on 8 (since he only has 5 companions) - sadly, Boromir exists and exhausts twice to save.  Boromir, Legolas, and Merry die (fierce phase best phase).  Unfortunately, on my 8 he plays 8 minions... fortunately, I play my Boromir immediately prior.  Aragorn dies (defender +2 being the only thing that saved Frodo).  I play out my hand to dig, draw six, and play the exactly two minions I need to win.
3-2

Mvp in this deck is definitely the words "defender +1" on my Aragorn.

[sgtdraino]

lol. Really enjoying your reports! Sounds like you're doing quite well!

[Vecna]

Game 6
vs Aragorn, Frodo bearing Isildur's Bane
He goes first, I run 2-3; opponent makes some unusual choices presumably to cycle (hobbit sword on Rosie, etc). I go for a somewhat greedy 4-5 run that pays off as his 5 actions consist of "Uruk Rager. Worry."  I'm stuck without comps though, and he makes the interesting choice of a 4-5 run with Enquea on the table. He seems desperate to cycle for some reason...  My Boromir gets overwhelmed on 6 by Bred for Battle + Savagery to Match Their Numbers for a huge strength swing.  His Legolas dies on his 6, fortunately, but with my utter lack of companions it's not looking good and Aragorn takes 3 wounds on my 7.  I do find Sam just in time for Aragorn to die horribly... Legolas shows up 4 cards from the bottom of my deck, and my opponent's last 4 cards in hand (with no deck) prove exactly sufficient to win the game, as they turn out to be three 9-str minions and his fourth Saruman's Ambition; Frodo and Sam are both overwhelmed in quick succession.
LVP: Not drawing companions.
3-3

...Not doing quite so well any more, heh.

[BigRedMF]

If this is your first sealed league, you are doing very well to be batting 0.500. Every league there are many players that aren't able to achieve that.

[zen89]

I realize this is quite late after you asked for help, but I would like to echo virtually all of what Cthulhu said, congratulate you on a very solid performance given your newness to the game, and also offer some advice.

~I would absolutely run Gondor's Vengeance--double-moves are often critical in sealed leagues because many shadows (Uruks being one of them) don't really have the ability to build up strength over time--they're basically just throwing whatever they draw at you. Two might be a bit much, but definitely run at least one.

~Run Gimli--run as many companions as you can, as this allows you to bleed off companions and replace them as you go.

~Coat of Mail is pretty bad--very little is going to be big enough to overwhelm your men in the first serie, and you'd almost always rather have Armor.

~I'm actually not that opposed to running two No Stranger to the Shadows, if you're looking for filler--would definitely prefer it to something like Rosie Cotton given that you're starting Gorn.

~Remember that Rumil can take one for the team at site 6--a ton of people seem to forget this.

Good luck!

[Legion]

I agree about Gondor's Vengeance, especially against the Uruks, but not about leaving out Coat of Mail.  That makes Boromir virtually unkillable against Moria (though it won't do all that much good against the uruks-if you draw it there, just discard it).  It also plays nicely on Aragorn against Moria-he can take 3 minions and will often survive, albeit being exhausted.  I'll admit that game 5 was against me, and that was the only game I lost that serie.  I should never have doubled to 8, and should have made certain of killing Gorn at 5, but you played that one really well.  I had no idea you'd just started!!

[zen89]

That's a good point, Legion--I guess I'm just used to seeing predominantly Uruks in later rounds. But yeah, I probably underrate Coat of Mail.

[Vecna]

Still here!  Going to be hard to finish my games in time, but still here!

Game 7
vs. Gandalf (starting)//Orcs
He bids 3 (?!)
I get some clunky hands and play badly, to be honest.
I end up running 5-6 to catch up from being behind despite an Enquea in play.
Fortunately he doesn't quite get there..
he has some difficulties and can't run past 6 for fairly obvious reasons involving 7 wounds on his comps.  Running 7-8 does the usual "moving added 14 twilight" but stops him from using his 8 to make me sad. Aragorn tanks a strength 29 skirmish (thank you, defender +2) and lives (thank you, Coat of Mail and a pump)... orc site 9 of course is 'fun'...  seven orcs and a nazgul sounds about right (only one orc was able to exert for fierce, thankfully).  Despite having tricks, I don't need to play them - he's able to kill the rest of my board, but Frodo and Sam both survive to the Fierce phase, and Frodo survives whilst Sam gets run over by Enquea.
4-3

Regarding critiques - I don't think I want Vengeance, as Aragorn really wants to be able to exhaust for defender +1.  Coat of Mail, similarly, is only really good on Aragorn but is very good on Aragorn.
That said, I'll definitely think about/maybe try Vengeance - it does seem potentially excellent.