Lands of Shadow - Something to Fear. (10/24)

[Thranduil]

Answering the Call
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . (You may replace with anywhere in this card's gametext.) To play, spot 3 valiant Men.
Each time the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, you may spot 5 companions to make each Shadow player wound a minion. Then, if you can spot 4 valiant companions, discard a minion.
"‘Dark tidings,' said Théoden, ‘yet not all unguessed. But say to Denethor that even if Rohan itself felt no peril, still we would come to his aid… We will come.'"
M1U59

It seems to me that I would not use this in a cross-cultural deck - in fact, I would only use it in a deck - which seems to defeat the purpose of alliances. The reason is because it requires 5 or 5 companions and to therefore add an extra culture forces you to break the rule of 5 which is not necessarily what you want. Also, by far its best text is with valiant companions and so it makes most sense in a valiant deck. That said, I'm not sure how I'd recommend changing it but it does not seem to be a card encouraging multiculture.

•Éomer, Unscathed in Battle
Companion • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
Flanking. Valiant. While you can spot a Man, Éomer is twilight cost -1.
For each alliance you can spot, Éomer is strength +1.
Response: If Éomer wins a skirmish, exert him to heal another companion.
"For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people."
M1R62

He's awesome. He does seem to have a lot of text though - I'm not sure he needs all of it (the strength bonus is perhaps a little OTT).

•Gúthwinë, Blade of the Riddermark
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a valiant Man (or Éomer).
Each time you play a or alliance, if bearer is Éomer, you may remove a Shadow culture token or heal a companion of another culture.
"And so at length Éomer and Aragorn met in the midst of the battle, and they leaned on their swords and looked on one another and were glad."
M1R64

I'm not sure why this removes Shadow tokens - is it defence against Shadow alliances? I can't see that text being used nearly as much as the healing, so I would remove it to keep the card as clear as possible. I'm also not sure why it needs to cost - I feel that it could definitely grant a damage bonus.

Thranduil

[Elf_Lvr]

Ditto Thran on Answering the Call and Guthwine.

Eomer's second ability might need to be "Each time" instead of "Response," because he could exert multiple times from winning a skirmish once. Or add a limit.

[sickofpalantirs]

quote author=menace64 link=topic=928.msg15103#msg15103 date=1223607630]


•Courage and Legacy
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert a companion (or spot a valiant Man).
Assignment: Assign a minion to skirmish a companion of lower strength. If that companion wins the skirmish, discard this condition to reconcile your hand.
"And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains."
M1C60
you may discard this condition?

For Lord and Land
Event • Regroup
Play 3 companions from your discard pile to reveal the top 10 cards of your draw deck. Play any possessions revealed and shuffle the rest into your draw deck.
"‘Now is the hour come, Riders of the Mark, sons of Eorl! Foes and fire are before you, and your homes far behind. Yet, though you fight upon an alien field, the glory that you reap there shall be your own for ever. Oaths ye have taken: now fulfil them all, to lord and land and league of friendship!'"
M1R63
hmmm....brings up LOTS of possibilities.

Such Fury Unseen
Event • Skirmish
Make a valiant Man strength +1 for each other valiant companion you spot. If that Man wins that skirmish, make him or her damage +1 for each other valiant companion you spot.
"…and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them…"
M1U69
works



Answering the Call
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . (You may replace with anywhere in this card's gametext.) To play, spot 3 valiant Men.
Each time the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, you may spot 5 companions to make each Shadow player wound a minion. Then, if you can spot 4 valiant companions, discard a minion.
"‘Dark tidings,' said Théoden, ‘yet not all unguessed. But say to Denethor that even if Rohan itself felt no peril, still we would come to his aid… We will come.'"
M1U59
noice...I like it...

•Éomer, Unscathed in Battle
Companion • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
Flanking. Valiant. While you can spot a Man, Éomer is twilight cost -1.
For each alliance you can spot, Éomer is strength +1.
Response: If Éomer wins a skirmish, exert him to heal another companion.
"For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people."
M1R62
shouldn't it be, you may exert him?. he's snazzy

•Gúthwinë, Blade of the Riddermark
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a valiant Man (or Éomer).
Each time you play a or alliance, if bearer is Éomer, you may remove a Shadow culture token or heal a companion of another culture.
"And so at length Éomer and Aragorn met in the midst of the battle, and they leaned on their swords and looked on one another and were glad."
M1R64
[/quote]
nice and basic...does it need to cost 2?

[Gate Troll]

•Courage and Legacy
Condition • Support Area
To play, exert a companion (or spot a valiant Man).
Assignment: Assign a minion to skirmish a companion of lower strength. If that companion wins the skirmish, discard this condition to reconcile your hand.
"And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains."
M1C60

Nice. 

For Lord and Land
Event • Regroup
Play 3 companions from your discard pile to reveal the top 10 cards of your draw deck. Play any possessions revealed and shuffle the rest into your draw deck.
"‘Now is the hour come, Riders of the Mark, sons of Eorl! Foes and fire are before you, and your homes far behind. Yet, though you fight upon an alien field, the glory that you reap there shall be your own for ever. Oaths ye have taken: now fulfil them all, to lord and land and league of friendship!'"
M1R63

Holy crud!  Are you sure you didn't mean "Remove 3 companions in the discard pile from the game to reveal the top 10 cards of your draw deck."

Such Fury Unseen
Event • Skirmish
Make a valiant Man strength +1 for each other valiant companion you spot. If that Man wins that skirmish, make him or her damage +1 for each other valiant companion you spot.
"…and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them…"
M1U69

Believe it or not menace, each card doesn't have to be a complicated work of art with a ton of lore to be functional.

Answering the Call
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . (You may replace with anywhere in this card's gametext.) To play, spot 3 valiant Men.
Each time the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, you may spot 5 companions to make each Shadow player wound a minion. Then, if you can spot 4 valiant companions, discard a minion.
"‘Dark tidings,' said Théoden, ‘yet not all unguessed. But say to Denethor that even if Rohan itself felt no peril, still we would come to his aid… We will come.'"
M1U59

Sweet.

•Éomer, Unscathed in Battle
Companion • Man
Strength 7
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
Flanking. Valiant. While you can spot a Man, Éomer is twilight cost -1.
For each alliance you can spot, Éomer is strength +1.
Response: If Éomer wins a skirmish, exert him to heal another companion.
"For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people."
M1R62

Not bad. 

•Gúthwinë, Blade of the Riddermark
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a valiant Man (or Éomer).
Each time you play a or alliance, if bearer is Éomer, you may remove a Shadow culture token or heal a companion of another culture.
"And so at length Éomer and Aragorn met in the midst of the battle, and they leaned on their swords and looked on one another and were glad."
M1R64

Me likey.

[menace64]

lol GT. I've got simple cards too! In fact, today is all about simple cards.

Thanks for the pile of reviews, guys. I really like your insight on Answering the Call, Thranduil. I'll send it back to the Workshop and see what else I can cook up. As for Guthwine, I threw the cost on it before writing the text, expecting the text to warrant the cost. I'm not sure I want it to cost , so I'll think of what could be done about it.

All right. Here are the simple cards for .

Death-wielding Rider
Companion • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
Valiant. To play, spot a Man.
While this companion is wounded, he gains flanking.
While this companion is exhausted, he is strength +2.
"Doom drove them on. Darkness took them, / horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar / sank into silence: so the songs tell us."
M1C61

Not much to say about him. Originally his strength was a base 6, but I lowered it (obviously).

Let Hammer Fall
Event • Skirmish
Make a Man strength +2 (or +3 and gain flanking until the regroup phase if he or she is valiant).
"‘Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! / Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! / spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, / a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! / Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!'"
M1C66

More complicated than the simplest of events, this one is still fairly basic. Just another strength pump.

Sweep the Field
Event • Regroup
If you can spot 4 valiant companions, you may play this event anytime you could play a maneuver event.
Exert 2 mounted Men to discard each exhausted minion.
"Well nigh all the northern half of the Pelennor was overrun, and there camps were blazing, orcs were flying towards the River like herds before the hunters; and the Rohirrim went hither and thither at their will."
M1R70

[lem0nhead]

Death-wielding Rider
Companion • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
While this companion is wounded, he is valiant.
While this companion is exhausted, he is strength +2.
"Doom drove them on. Darkness took them, / horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar / sank into silence: so the songs tell us."
M1C61

Raise his strength back or hes so not worth using, i know im not alone in saying the 5 str conditional 7 strength guys are crap and mostly arent used.

Let Hammer Fall
Event • Skirmish
Make a Man strength +2 (or +3 and gain flanking until the regroup phase if he or she is valiant).
"‘Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! / Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! / spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, / a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! / Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!'"
M1C66

Fine.

Sweep the Field
Event • Regroup
Exert 3 mounted Men to discard all exhausted minions.
"Well nigh all the northern half of the Pelennor was overrun, and there camps were blazing, orcs were flying towards the River like herds before the hunters; and the Rohirrim went hither and thither at their will."
M1R70

Lower cost to 2 or maybe 1 as thats insanely painful for the freeps. Or indeed lower to 2 exertions as well as reduce cost.

[Thranduil]

Death-wielding Rider
Companion • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
While this companion is wounded, he is valiant.
While this companion is exhausted, he is strength +2.
"Doom drove them on. Darkness took them, / horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar / sank into silence: so the songs tell us."
M1C61

I think he should start valiant and get something else for being wounded, like flanking (which would make exhaustion easier to accomplish).

Sweep the Field
Event • Regroup
Exert 3 mounted Men to discard all exhausted minions.
"Well nigh all the northern half of the Pelennor was overrun, and there camps were blazing, orcs were flying towards the River like herds before the hunters; and the Rohirrim went hither and thither at their will."
M1R70

A more usual wording would be "discard each exhausted minion", but otherwise seems solid - could cost or have 2 exertions or perhaps something to do with valiant.

Thranduil

[sickofpalantirs]

But I LIKE impressive works of art!

Death-wielding Rider
Companion • Man
Strength 5
Vitality 3
Resistance 6
While this companion is wounded, he is valiant.
While this companion is exhausted, he is strength +2.
"Doom drove them on. Darkness took them, / horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar / sank into silence: so the songs tell us."
M1C61
another one of those bad cards that n00bs will use and experienced players will make broken combos out of them

Let Hammer Fall
Event • Skirmish
Make a Man strength +2 (or +3 and gain flanking until the regroup phase if he or she is valiant).
"‘Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! / Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! / spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, / a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! / Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!'"
M1C66
really, just + 3 if they are valiant would be fine (and I WUV THAT LORE!)

Sweep the Field
Event • Regroup
Exert 3 mounted Men to discard all exhausted minions.
"Well nigh all the northern half of the Pelennor was overrun, and there camps were blazing, orcs were flying towards the River like herds before the hunters; and the Rohirrim went hither and thither at their will."
M1R70

I would say slightly overcosted...maybe exert 2 of them, and make it cost 2.

[Elf_Lvr]

Others have made my comments for me.

On Sweep the Field, I think cost is still okay, but the exertions should be lowered to 2.

[menace64]

I decided to keep the basic rider at strength 5, but gave him valiant and and let him be able to gain flanking. Because of that, he requires a spot to play.

I also added a heinous bonus to Sweep the Field, as well as lowering the cost of exertions by 1. It was just a random idea; let me know if it's too much.

More !

On the Wind
Event • Response
If the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, make each Man gain flanking until the end of the turn.
"Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them."
M1U67

I'm afraid this card is neither exciting nor overly-useful. It's free and will certainly give you more options in the next round of skirmishes, but I don't think it would come up very often. Oh well. It's a pure utility card. If you want flanking easily, this is what you use.

•Rallied All Horse and Man
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot 3 companions.
Fellowship: Play X companions to play X mounts from your draw deck.
"Merry wondered how many Riders there were. He could not guess their number in the gathering gloom, but it looked to him like a great army, many thousands strong."
M1C68

And here's the second alliance. To help spell out what this can do, let's say you play X companions. This card lets you go into your deck and pull the same amount of either or mounts. You could have played some companions instead, of course. But the real shiny part of this card is that it's one of the few alliances that truly blends cultures: the 'to play' requirement can spot or .

Huh... those are the last two cards in the culture. Weird. That sure went by fast! Well, since we're on the subject of alliances...

•The Honor of Gimli
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot a Dwarf. While you can spot Gimli and Legolas, this card is twilight cost -2.
Each time a companion is assigned to a skirmish, you may exert a Dwarf to make that companion strength +1 for each Free Peoples alliance you spot (limit +3).
"‘I will go with you even on the Paths of the Dead, and to whatever end they may lead,' said Gimli."
M1C2

I'll update the voting presently.

[sickofpalantirs]

verily I luv that second card
I would possibly limit it to +2 on the honor of gimli...not sure about it though.

[lem0nhead]

On the Wind
Event • Response
If the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, make each Man gain flanking until the end of the turn.
"Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them."
M1U67

Coolio.

•Rallied All Horse and Man
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot 3 companions.
Fellowship: Play X companions to play X mounts from your draw deck. End your fellowship phase.
"Merry wondered how many Riders there were. He could not guess their number in the gathering gloom, but it looked to him like a great army, many thousands strong."
M1C68

Dont quite understand the point in the end the phase thing. Surely you would just do everything else first then do that? Rendering it useless!

•The Honor of Gimli
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot a Dwarf. While you can spot Gimli and Legolas, this card is twilight cost -2.
Each time a companion is assigned to a skirmish, you may exert a Dwarf to make that companion strength +1 for each Free Peoples alliance you spot (limit +3).
"‘I will go with you even on the Paths of the Dead, and to whatever end they may lead,' said Gimli."
M1C2

Ok.

[Thranduil]

I also added a heinous bonus to Sweep the Field, as well as lowering the cost of exertions by 1. It was just a random idea; let me know if it's too much.

Heh, heh, heh...! :hey:

On the Wind
Event • Response
If the fellowship moves during the regroup phase, make each Man gain flanking until the end of the turn.
"Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them."
M1U67

Interesting.

•Rallied All Horse and Man
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot 3 companions.
Fellowship: Play X companions to play X mounts from your draw deck. End your fellowship phase.
"Merry wondered how many Riders there were. He could not guess their number in the gathering gloom, but it looked to him like a great army, many thousands strong."
M1C68

Lem0n has a point - why does it need to end the phase? Just in case you manage to draw more cards after shuffling which happen to be companions so you can use its text again? Or so you can't kit out those characters you just played with anything but mounts? Seems unnecessary. Since you shouldn't be playing more than 5 or 6 companions in a game, it appears to me that the ability could be a 1 for 1 (ie. 1 companion for 1 mount without ending the phase) without much trouble. Also not sure that this should be common.

•The Honor of Gimli
Condition • Support Area
Alliance: . To play, spot a Dwarf. While you can spot Gimli and Legolas, this card is twilight cost -2.
Each time a companion is assigned to a skirmish, you may exert a Dwarf to make that companion strength +1 for each Free Peoples alliance you spot (limit +3).
"‘I will go with you even on the Paths of the Dead, and to whatever end they may lead,' said Gimli."
M1C2

Meh, it's fair enough. As a common, it seems fine.

Thranduil

[menace64]

Well I don't actually remember why I put the phase-ending clause on that card. Hmm. Oh well. It's removed now.

I forgot to put up a new poll, so I'm going to start spoiling a small cycle of cards all revolving around The Witch-King. In Lands of Shadow, this guy is the sole representative of the Nazgul. In fact, he's the only minion in the culture. But he's fun and he's deadly; can we ask for more?

Showing The Witch-king is going to ultimately lead us into the new subculture of The Dead Army - since both the unliving king and the arisen forces of Aragorn have something mechanically in common. However, today I am holding back on showing the Witch-king himself.

Today y'all get this:

•The Witch-king's Beast, The Devourer
Possession • Mount
Strength +2
Bearer must be The Witch-king. When you play The Witch-king's Beast, discard a Free Peoples mount.
The Witch-king gains flanking, and each time he wins a skirmish, you may return a card in your discard pile to your hand.
"Suddenly the great beast beat its hideous wings, and the wind of them was foul. Again it leaped into the air, and then swiftly fell down upon Éowyn, shrieking, striking with beak and claw."
M1R127

Giving a minion as potent a killer as The Witch-king flanking (If this minion is not assigned to a skirmish, at the start of another of your character's skirmishes, you may exert this minion to replace that character in the skirmish) is absolutely devastating to an unprepared fellowship. The original The Witch-king's Beast grants its bearer an additional skirmish; flanking could potentially result in 3-5, depending on how well you protect The Witch-king's vitality and how he's paired up in skirmishes. If you've got lurkers in play, then this guy can swoop in and take their places as easily as cake.

And if that weren't enough, each time The Witch-king wins, you get a card back! And you eat a mount when this card comes into play!

Yup. It's very powerful. But it can only go onto one minion, and flanking is dependent solely on how the assignment phase pans out, which can sometimes leave the flanker empty-handed.

[Thranduil]

•The Witch-king's Beast, The Devourer
Possession • Mount
Strength +2
Bearer must be The Witch-king. When you play The Witch-king's Beast, discard a Free Peoples mount.
The Witch-king gains flanking, and each time he wins a skirmish, you may return a card in your discard pile to your hand.
"Suddenly the great beast beat its hideous wings, and the wind of them was foul. Again it leaped into the air, and then swiftly fell down upon Éowyn, shrieking, striking with beak and claw."
M1R127

Awesome subtitle! Perhaps it shouldn't be any card - getting all your Nazgûl back seems too strong, especially as you could potentially keep your hand always full of a Witch-King and his Beast. I'd be happier with " event" or " event or condition" or maybe " non-minion card" but I'm less enthused about that option.

Thranduil