SIGNIFICANT changes this time around. We are jumping all the way from
Mk 10 to
Mk 17!
Starting cards:
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Reluctant AdventurerRing:
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane1x
Gimli, Son of Gloin1x
Arwen, Daughter of ElrondAdventure deck:
The Prancing PonyTrollshaw ForestHouse of ElrondMithril MineThe Bridge of Khazad-dumDimrill DaleAnduin WilderlandShores of Nen HithoelTol BrandirFree Peoples Draw Deck:
4x
Farin, Dwarven Emissary4x
Fror, Gimli's Kinsman4x
Gloin, Friend to Thorin1x
Aragorn, Heir to the White City1x
Merry, Friend to Sam1x
Sam, Son of Hamfast3x
Thrarin, Dwarven Smith4x
Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad3x
Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood2x
Golradir, Councilor of Imladris4x Rúmil,
Elven Protector4x
Book of Mazarbul1x
Dwarven Axe2x
Dwarven Bracers2x
Gimli's Battle Axe3x
Gimli's Helm4x
Hand Axe4x
Gwemegil4x
Sting4x
Foul Creation4x
Beneath the Mountains4x
Make Light of Burdens4x
Realm of Dwarrowdelf3x
Song of Durin4x
Shoulder to ShoulderShadow Draw Deck:
4x
Cave Troll of Moria, Scourge of the Black Pit4x
Goblin Runner3x
Goblin Scavengers4x
Goblin Scrabbler4x
Goblin Warrior3x
Moria Scout1x
The Balrog, Durin's Bane1x
The Balrog, Flame of Udun3x
Orc Ambusher3x
Orc Scouting Band4x
Tower Assassin4x Úlairë Cantëa,
Lieutenant of Dol Guldur4x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
4x Úlairë Nertëa,
Messenger of Dol Guldur4x
Goblin Scimitar4x
Goblin Spear4x
Foul Things4x
Host of Thousands4x
Too Great and Terrible4x
Goblin Armory3x
Goblin Swarms3x
Relics of Moria4x
They Are ComingTotal Cards: 160
As mentioned above, a huge number of changes from the last time this list was published! For one thing, the deck can no longer be called, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," because there are no longer 7 dwarfs in it! The 2x
Dwarf Guard sadly had to go, in favor of better companions.
Aragorn, Heir to the White City-This was a suggestion made by gemp player Dictionary, after I mentioned the trouble I'd had with my Fellowship getting killed early on by Nazgul, before they can get set up. Dictionary suggested that I add Aragorn, since so many players run
The Prancing Pony as their Site 1. I switched this deck's Site 1 to
The Prancing Pony as well, but the deck still bids just 1 and (if given the option) chooses to go 2nd. This normally keeps me pretty safe from Nazgul throughout Region 1.
Merry, Friend to Sam-He replaced the other
Dwarf Guard. Through the course of playing, I tended to realize that, unless there's very little threat from condition discard, this deck tends to stick to around 5 companions. Those companions tend to be Frodo, Arwen, Gimli, and two guys that AREN'T
Dwarf Guard, because
Dwarf Guard is just so incredibly weak-sauce. You want to have at least one of those 2 guys be Dwarfs (for
Book of Mazarbul), but every other option is just so much better than
Dwarf Guard, so
Dwarf Guard had to go. The 5th companion most often tends to be Aragorn, his twilight removal really helps this deck. So, why Merry? Well, (1) he costs the same as a
Dwarf Guard, (2) he has no spotting requirements, (3) if my opponent starts
Farmer Maggot's Fields, he's another companion I can grab from the deck, and (4) his ability comes in pretty handy sometimes. True, I can't protect him from
Shotgun Enquea with
Shoulder to Shoulder, but really everyone's expendable except Arwen and the Dwarfs.
Galadriel Lady of Light replaced with
Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood-This was a brilliant idea that Chrisie had, to try and avoid getting your Allies wiped out by
Anduin Confluence. I'm really liking it! Beyond the ability to play my own Site 7 even if I'm in front, I'm also digging her ability to heal a wound off any Elf at the start of your turn. Sure you don't get the mass-ally healing that you got before, but it's generally still good enough. Particularly since...
Removed
Orophin, Lorien Bowman, maxed out copies of Rúmil,
Elven Protector-Too often Orophin's archery actions vs. Uruk-hai just weren't doing much, with Saruman doing his thing, or just Uruks with enough vitality that you couldn't shoot them to death. The Archery is far more effective vs. Orcs, so I decided to maximize my potential there.
Removed 2x
Dwarven Axe and 2x
Dwarven Bracers-Mostly because I needed the room, and also (again) because I often found myself only running a couple of Dwarf companions at a time.
Foul Creation back in!
-Isengard, particularly Uruk-hai, continue to be the biggest challenge this Fellowship has. So, I made some room, and stuffed 4x
Foul Creation back in there. I think it's helped.
BIG changes to the Shadow
-Due to another recommendation from Chrisie, Isengard is now 100% GONE from the deck, and the Shadow is now heavily invested in Moria. I loved the power and versatility Uruk-hai could give me, but with a deck this size, they just don't cycle well,
hog twilight, and clogged up my hand. This Dwarrowdelf deck was originally conceived to be a Fellowship Block version of my "
Echo of Luthien/Initiative Southrons" deck found here:
http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,9060.0.html...and Chrisie (correctly) felt that Moria cycling was the closest Fellowship analogue to the kind of swarming and cycling Initiative Southrons can do. I had steered clear of Moria before then, because I don't like being too condition dependent... but my Uruks had evolved to the point where I was stuffing all kinds of conditions in there anyway, trying to find ways to get the twilight high enough to play a good swarm. I had also already given up any notions of using
Saruman's Power with the deck, because it had become too dependent on its own conditions. So, Isengard out, Moria in!
Cave Troll of Moria, Scourge of the Black Pit-One thing a deck this size is very good at doing, is playing the Cave Troll over and over again! With Moria it's generally pretty easy to get the twilight up high enough, and 4x
Foul Creation means I can play the Troll from discard if necessary.
Goblin Spear-Another addition is 4x
Goblin Spear, which both the Cave Troll and The Balrog can use. Often I can get one of these on the Balrog at Site 5, and on the Cave Troll elsewhere. That extra +2 strength is often a bit more than the opponent was expecting.
TWO Balrogs
-Again, with a deck this size, I can afford to run one of each Balrog, and play whichever one offers the greatest advantage.
Goblin Scrabbler and
Goblin Warrior Maxed Out
-With these guys being my only condition discard, I maxed them out. But often Dwarf or Elf conditions are the ones I want to get rid of most anyway!
Too Great and Terrible-Moria is dependent on conditions, and the biggest threat to those conditions is Gandalf. So, to compensate, I run 4x
Too Great and Terrible. Still deciding whether it's worth having or not. I did kill Gandalf with it in one game, but most of the time I don't draw them often enough to be that effective, IMO.
Orc Ambusher and
Orc Scouting Band-With Isengard out, I replaced
Uruk Scout with three of the cheap Sauron Trackers, and three of the not-so-cheap Sauron wounding Trackers. I feel like that's a good balance.
Of course Site 4 and Site 8 were changed to Sites that work better with the Orcs.
The rest is just your standard Moria support cards.
The verdict is clear: This version is significantly more effective than any of the earlier versions. Just HOW effective... need a few more games racked up before that will be clearer, I think.