Category: Threat Reduction

Double Back

Matt Kell (kattattack22)Leave a comment
  • Player Card Categories
    • Threat Reduction

The threat reduction side quest of getting lost intentionally.

Background

The flavor text comes from right after Strider, Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, and Bill leave Bree. Strider is concerned Bill Ferny may tell people which way they left. He leaves the road in the direction of Archet. Then later he took them east in a zig zag path towards Weathertop Hill.

Card Theme

Threat is meant to represent Sauron’s attention on the characters in the game. The act of trying to throw off any pursuit by doubling back out in the wilderness fits really well with this idea. The whole idea is to lose any pursuers and maintain the secrecy of their movements.

Card Synergies and Interactions

Card Search

Ted often says that a drawback to every card, is that it is only good if you draw it. When a card like Double back is limit 1 per deck, a player can’t expect to draw it in every game without some help. Fortunately, there are a quite a few ways to search the player deck or even the top few cards for it. In the Angmar Awakened cycle or hero expansion there are a couple options, Dunedain Message or Gather Information. Dunedain Message can only find a side quest card but can easily act like 2nd, 3rd, or 4th copies of the card in terms improving the odds for getting Double Back. It also searches the player’s entire deck which is not common for search effects in the game.

Gather Information can only have 1 copy per deck but it can find any card and not just a side quest. That can make it a really tough choice to get Double Back over a more key card like Steward of Gondor, but it is still an option. Word of Command also can search the entire deck for any card, but required the player to control and Istari character.

There are also more limited search options that only look at the top 5 cards. Long Lake Fisherman is an in sphere option that can work as long as a player names the 0 cost. Heed the Dream actually spans both searching the top 5, but then can search the entire deck if the player(s) have 3 leadership resources. The best search card for Double Back, however, overlaps with another set of effects that synergize well with it.

Side Quest Bonus

Thurindir is amazing to run in any deck with a side quest in it. He gets to search for that quest during setup and add it to the player’s starting hand. On top of that he gets a bonus willpower once the side quest is completed. One thing to keep in mind is, per a designer’s ruling, player setup effects happen after scenario setup and well after players draw their starting hand and potential mulligan on step 5. If a player has already drawn Double Back, then Thurindir will have to search for another side quest. If that is the only one in the deck then the effect is wasted and the player is down a different player card they could have had. This said, players will often ignore the designer ruling preferring to just get their starting side quest first then draw their hand and mulligan always keeping the chosen side quest. Many find this easier than having to remember to wait and do it later.

Thurindir is not the only player card to get better as players complete or attempt to complete side quests. East Road Ranger in particular is helpful because they can quest for 3 when the active quest is a side quest. The others like Thalion, Vigilant Dunadan, Rider of Rohan, Halfast Gamgee, and Legacy Blade require the quest to be completed.

Hobbits

Hobbits have many ways to benefit from Double Back’s threat reduction. In general, most Hobbit decks rely on their low threat to avoid enemy engagement until they’re built up. It also can help ensure they get many of the bonuses by staying below most enemies’ engagement cost. It can also trigger effects directly like the card draw on Hobbit Pipe. It can help fuel further uses of abilities like Spirit Frodo‘s damage cancelation or Fatty Bolger‘s staging area threat reduction.

Staging area attack

Staging area attack akin to the Hobbits wants threat reduction to stay below enemy threats. Then enemies stay in the staging area to give them targets for their attacks. Heroes like Leadership Eomer, Dunhere, and Haldir with this ability built in can leverage this the most easily. Ranged heroes like Legolas and Bard the Bowman can attack the staging area through cards like Hands Upon the Bow and Great Yew Bow.

Secrecy

Secrecy’s cost discount an provide many powerful effects for a low cost. The downside for many hero line ups is that time to do so is limited to a couple turns before threat gets above 20. Double Back adds another way to help keep threat low and build up a strong board state.

Quest Specific

Running player side quests is very scenario dependent. Some scenarios purposely get harder the longer players take to complete them.

  • The Ringmaker cycle with the Time mechanism is the prime example. Every few turns, an encounter card will trigger a nasty effect the player(s) will have to deal with or survive.
  • Journey in the Dark from the LOTR Saga players gives players only so many turns before the Balrog arrives.
  • The first stage in the Over the Misty Mountains Grim, has very strong and tough Giant enemies and bouncing boulders that are are hero killers. It is best in that quest to hurry to the second stage.
  • Flight of the Stormcaller and Race Across Harad, the players are chasing the enemies and being chased, respectively. Delays in questing means letting the enemies escape or catch up and it is game over.
  • Deadman’s Dike and Under the Ash Mountains the scenario is trying to mine the player(s) deck(s). Each turn whittles away a little more at the deck. If deck(s) run out, it is game over.

On the flip side, there are quests where it is helpful to not advance too quickly or even stay on a particular stage for awhile.

  • Journey Along the Anduin in the Core Set, staying on stage 1 even after defeating the Hill Troll is a good idea. Stage 2 forces the players to reveal an additional encounter card so questing through it quickly to avoid location lock or having too many enemies is ideal. Then the last stage could introduce up to 4 enemies in true solo for a player to fight. Both of these stages are much easier with a large board of allies.
  • Conflict at the Carrock and We Must Away ‘Ere Break of Day it helps to stall on Stage 1. Once the player(s) have a strong board state, then advance to Stage 2 to take on the strong trolls that ambush them.
  • There are quests with no quest points like The Steward’s Fear or The Morgul Vale because advancing the quest is dependent some other trigger. In those scenarios a player might as well quest against a side quest and get a benefit beside not just raising their threat.

These are by no means exhaustive lists. The Vision of the Palantir’s scenario analyses, however, indicate at the start of each if a quest is good to use side quests in or not.

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

I rate Double Back at 3 rings. Threat reduction in general is a very useful effect. It buys the player(s) more turns to complete most quests, gives control over enemy engagements, and potentially bonuses when playing Hobbit and Secrecy decks. There is no resource costs and 4 quest points is not that difficult to complete in a single turn. Particularly for a deck running Spirit cards. It is even multiplayer friendly because it reduces all players’ threat and is not unique. Every player could run 1 copy in their deck increases the odds of seeing it in a game.

The big drawbacks are that players are limited to 1 copy in their deck and not every scenario players will have time to complete a side quest. The limit 1 copy per deck is not that bad with all the card draw and search available. It really comes down to the scenario and can the players afford to divert quest progress for a turn. Not every scenario will allow that knocking down from a universally good card to usually a good card.

  • Dave – 4
  • Grant – TBR
  • Ted – 4
  • Matt – 3
  • Average – Average 3.67

External Links

Sample Decks

Burglar’s Turn to Side Quest by kattattack22

Questing and location control deck built for multiplayer. It’s pretty straightforward deck. Play lots of allies and quest hard to explore locations for loot from the contract and complete side quests to boost Thurindir. Maybe get Thalion turned into a hero.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Arwen Undómiel (The Dread Realm)
Círdan the Shipwright (The Grey Havens)
Thurindir (Race Across Harad)

Contract (0)
1x The Burglar’s Turn (Wrath and Ruin)

Ally (25)
1x Bilbo Baggins (The Road Darkens)
3x East Road Ranger (The Wastes of Eriador)
1x Faramir (Core Set)
1x Firyal (The Mûmakil)
1x Glorfindel (Flight of the Stormcaller)
3x Lórien Guide (Core Set)
3x Mirkwood Explorer (The Thing in the Depths)
3x Northern Tracker (Core Set)
3x Rider of Rohan (Beneath the Sands)
1x Súlien (The City of Corsairs)
2x Thalion (Fire in the Night)
3x Zigil Miner (Khazad-dûm)

Event (20)
3x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Dwarven Tomb (Core Set)
3x Elven-light (The Dread Realm)
3x Hidden Cache (The Morgul Vale)
3x Stand and Fight (Core Set)
3x The Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core Set)
2x Will of the West (Core Set)

Player Side Quest (6)
1x Double Back (Escape from Mount Gram)
1x Explore Secret Ways (Race Across Harad)
1x Gather Information (The Lost Realm)
1x Rally the West (The Black Serpent)
1x Scout Ahead (The Wastes of Eriador)
1x The Storm Comes (The Sands of Harad)

3 Heroes, 51 Cards
Cards up to Wrath and Ruin

Sideboard

Attachment (14)
1x Ancestral Armor (Roam Across Rhovanion)
1x Celebrían’s Stone (Core Set)
1x Citadel Plate (Core Set)
1x Durin’s Axe (Wrath and Ruin)
1x Glamdring (Roam Across Rhovanion)
1x Gondorian Shield (The Steward’s Fear)
1x Legacy Blade (The Dungeons of Cirith Gurat)
1x Magic Ring (The Crossings of Poros)
1x Mithril Shirt (The Fate of Wilderland)
1x Narya (The Grey Havens)
1x Necklace of Girion (The Wilds of Rhovanion)
1x Orcrist (Fire in the Night)
1x Stone of Elostirion (Under the Ash Mountains)
1x The Arkenstone (The Withered Heath)

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Dunhere duckshoot by Grant Thompson

Pop enemies into the staging area with Fastred for Dunhere to shoot down.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Dúnhere (Core Set)
Éowyn (The Flame of the West)
Fastred (The Black Serpent)

Ally (15)
1x Elfhelm (The Dead Marshes)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Jubayr (The Mûmakil)
3x Pelargir Shipwright (Assault on Osgiliath)
2x Prince Imrahil (The Flame of the West)
2x Rider of Rohan (Beneath the Sands)
3x West Road Traveller (Return to Mirkwood)

Attachment (22)
2x Ancient Mathom (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
3x Dúnedain Mark (The Hunt for Gollum)
3x Dúnedain Warning (Conflict at the Carrock)
1x Gondorian Shield (The Steward’s Fear)
2x In Service of the Steward (Flight of the Stormcaller)
1x Secret Vigil (The Lost Realm)
2x Song of Kings (The Hunt for Gollum)
1x Song of Travel (The Hills of Emyn Muil)
3x Spear of the Mark (The Morgul Vale)
1x The Red Arrow (Beneath the Sands)
3x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

Event (10)
3x A Good Harvest (The Steward’s Fear)
2x A Test of Will (Core Set)
2x Dwarven Tomb (Core Set)
3x The Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core Set)

Player Side Quest (3)
1x Double Back (Escape from Mount Gram)
1x Gather Information (The Lost Realm)
1x Rally the West (The Black Serpent)

3 Heroes, 50 Cards
Cards up to The Black Serpent

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

The Shirefolk

Matt Kell (kattattack22)Leave a comment
  • Player Card Categories
    • Threat Reduction

The Hobbit Enabler

Background

Hobbits came to settle The Shire from Bree in 1601 of the Third Age after getting permission from Arthedain’s King Argeleb II. In thirty years Hobbits from elsewhere in the Arnorion splinter kingdoms and Dunland came to settle until most Hobbits lived there. Shire Hobbits by the time of the quest to reclaim Erebor had become a heavily agrarian peaceful society if very sheltered. The Shirefolk were known for enjoying simple pleasures of food, smoking, and socializing.

Card Theme

One of the defining qualities of Hobbits in relation to the other races is how they’re overlooked. Part of that is their own doing in avoiding the “big folk” and the insularity of the Shire-folk. The other part of it is the underestimation of the other races. Part of that underestimation stems from the Hobbits avoiding becoming involved the other events of Middle-Earth. Another is that the Hobbits love of the more simple pleasures of life instead of great works of industry. Lastly as well is their short stature seeming as “almost like children” to most men. It is very fitting then that threat reduction is tied to cultural identity of The Shire-folk. Threat is intended to represent the attention of Sauron on the heroes and direct his forces to the great perceived threats. The Hobbits lacking any formal military, lack of widespread industry for armaments, disinterest in the geopolitics of Middle-Earth, and location far in the West made them particularly unthreatening to Mordor.

Card Synergies and Interactions

Hobbit Engage an Enemy with Higher Engagement Cost than Threat Bonus

This is where The Shirefolk really shines and obviously meant to. The Black Riders introduced this mechanism with Hobbit Cloak, Dagger of Westernesse, Lore Pippin hero, and Sam Gamgee hero to name a few. The danger to a Hobbit deck then is a low engagement cost enemy or massive threat gain. The Shirefolk counters both of those and fits into any configuration of Hobbit heroes and help to get those bonuses.

It also came in the same pack as Gaffer Gamgee that also shored up one of the biggest weaknesses of the Hobbit deck, defense. As long as threat is low and a player can spare Lore resources a round, that is one attack canceled every round or at worst every 2 rounds. It’s amazing and The Shirefolk can help keep it consistently happening.

Secrecy

The problem with Secrecy when introduced in Darrowdelf was that there few hero line ups that could have 3 heroes starting at 20 threat or lower. Hobbits fixed that with more good heroes at 6 or lower threat. Still it relied on getting good resource acceleration early with Resourceful and/or Timely Aid in hand early. Most times a player would be in secrecy for a few turns at most. The Shirefolk among other threat reduction introduced later made it easier to extend that window into the midgame. Hobbit decks with Elevenses, The Shirefolk, Smoke Rings, and Spirit Merry have many ways to keep utilizing Secrecy discounts throughout the entire game.

Pipes

Most specifically Hobbit Pipe. Hobbit Pipe turns threat reduction events into draw 1, 2, or 3 cards. A zero cost neutral event that helps the Hobbits do what they do best and draw more cards, it’s great! The Card draw then can help a player find Spare Pipe that can help find another The Shirefolk. There is really good synergy here to help keep the pipe engine moving and get some discounted powerful allies thanks to Smoke and Think.

Song of Eärendil

Song of Eärendil is a multiplayer focused card, but can be extremely powerful with Hobbits. As mentioned earlier, Hobbits have many ways to reduced threat. Spirit Merry in 3 to 4 player games can easily be reducing the Hobbit player’s threat by 2 – 4 per turn alone. Shirefolk only gives more means to offset using the second response liberally. In scenarios with a lot of threat raising effects, the Hobbit deck with this Song becomes a threat control support deck. It is not unheard of a Hobbit deck like this to keep everyone in the game and end with threat lower than its starting level.

Quest Specific

The Shirefolk is great to use in any quest with a lot of threat raising effects or Doomed. Later cycles in particular added more do X or raise threat effects. The Crossing of Poros for example has a Stage 2 that required allies to be exhausted when they enter play unless a player raises their threat by 1. The King’s Quest Stage 1 has players add a location to the staging area or raise their threat. Vengeance of Mordor cycle also hits players’ threat hard. The Power of Mordor encounter set featured in a few of the scenarios has a Doomed 5 card, another card will reduce a player’s threat elimination level by 5, and one raising threat for drawing cards.

Earlier cycles have a few stand out scenarios where threat reduction is a great idea. Shadow and Flame in the Darrowdelf cycle has players start at 0 threat and the Balrog has an engagement cost of 1. If a player can keep threat at 0 then they’re not engaged with Durin’s Bane and don’t have to take its attack. Trouble in Tharbad requires player to reduce their threat to 0 before advancing to a later stage of the game. It has a way for players to get there, but more threat reduction can help speed the game along.

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

I rate The Shirefolk at 4 rings. It is a top notch enabler of the Hobbit strategy. It is neutral and zero cost so it can go into any Hobbit deck that uses all Hobbit heroes. The amount of threat taken off is better than most threat reduction cards except for Galadhrim’s Greeting, Lore Aragorn, and Core Set Gandalf. This helps ensure the Hobbits get their bonuses for engaging higher engagement cost enemies. The only downsides really is that it can’t be played outside Hobbit decks and it can’t be recurred with Record attachments. It’s niche tribal card but one that really helps do what it wants to.

  • Dave – 3
  • Grant – 2
  • Ted – TBR
  • Matt – 4
  • Average – 3

External Links

Sample Decks

The Rise of the Hobbit Tacticians by Dave Walsh

Dave took it upon himself to build a Hobbit deck using only Tactics Hobbit heroes.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Bilbo Baggins (Mount Gundabad)
Merry (The Black Riders)
Tom Cotton (The Mountain of Fire)

Ally (18)
1x Beechbone (The Battle of Carn Dûm)
2x Booming Ent (The Antlered Crown)
2x Derndingle Warrior (Escape from Mount Gram)
2x Farmer Maggot (The Black Riders)
2x Gandalf (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Master of the Forge (Shadow and Flame)
1x Quickbeam (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Rosie Cotton (The Mountain of Fire)
3x Treebeard (The Antlered Crown)

Attachment (20)
3x Dagger of Westernesse (The Black Riders)
3x Ent Draught (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Fast Hitch (The Dead Marshes)
3x Friend of Friends (The Mountain of Fire)
3x Protector of Lórien (Core Set)
3x Song of Wisdom (Conflict at the Carrock)
2x Sting (Mount Gundabad)

Event (18)
3x Daeron’s Runes (Foundations of Stone)
3x Drinking Song (Mount Gundabad)
3x Entmoot (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Raise the Shire (The Mountain of Fire)
3x The Shirefolk (Mount Gundabad)
3x Unseen Strike (The Redhorn Gate)

3 Heroes, 56 Cards
Cards up to Mount Gundabad

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Three Hobbit Hunters for Antlered Crown by kattattack22

Forth, the Three Hunters deck utilizing the low Hobbit starting threat to build up and eventually get some strong guarded attachments.

Three Hobbit Hunters for Antlered Crown

Hero (3)
Bilbo Baggins (Mount Gundabad)
Pippin (The Black Riders)
Sam Gamgee (The Black Riders)

Contract (0)
1x Forth, The Three Hunters! (The City of Ulfast)

Attachment (44)
1x Arod (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Blade of Gondolin (Core Set)
2x Celebrían’s Stone (Core Set)
3x Dagger of Westernesse (The Black Riders)
3x Dúnedain Quest (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
3x Fast Hitch (The Dead Marshes)
3x Friend of Friends (The Mountain of Fire)
1x Glamdring (Roam Across Rhovanion)
3x Golden Belt (Challenge of the Wainriders)
3x Hobbit Cloak (The Black Riders)
1x Magic Ring (The Crossings of Poros)
1x Necklace of Girion (The Wilds of Rhovanion)
3x Protector of Lórien (Core Set)
3x Ranger Spikes (Heirs of Númenor)
2x Ring Mail (The Long Dark)
2x Staff of Lebethron (The Land of Shadow)
2x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
1x Sting (Mount Gundabad)
1x The Arkenstone (The Withered Heath)
3x Woodmen’s Path (Roam Across Rhovanion)

Event (6)
3x Hobbit-sense (Encounter at Amon Dîn)
3x The Shirefolk (Mount Gundabad)

3 Heroes, 50 Cards

Deck built on RingsDB.

Core Gandalf

Matt Kell (kattattack22)1 Comment
  • Player Card Categories 
    • Card Draw
    • Direct Damage
    • Threat Reduction
    • Enters Play

The most thematic Gandalf and so powerful that it’s a challenge to not include him in a deck.

Background

Gandalf is one of five Istari, Maiar emissaries in the form of old men, sent to Middle Earth by the Valar in the Third Age. They were sent to help the elves and men against Sauron. He traveled the Westlands extensively combing to know the men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits. In the books, he is the architect of the plan to burgle treasure from Smaug and eventually remove the dragon. He recruits Bilbo Baggins to be that burglar. Then it is in Lord of the Rings, Gandalf learns Biblo’s magic ring that he discovered during the adventure with Thorin’s company is The One Ring forged by Sauron. Gandalf is the one to advise Frodo to leave the Shire initiating the chain of events leading to the formation of the The Fellowship of the Ring, the ring’s destruction, and Sauron’s ultimate defeat.

Card Theme

The biggest thematic element is that Gandalf only remains in play for a round. Just like the books, Gandalf shows up, helps tremendously, and is gone again for a while. Just take The Hobbit for example, Gandalf mysteriously disappears right before Thorin’s Company is captured by trolls and reappears later to free them. He leaves them again later at the beginning of Mirkwood to deal with the Necromancer. Then rejoins the narrative after Smaug is defeated and the Dwarves, Men of Dale, and Elves of Mirkwood are having a stand off over the ownership of Erebor’s treasure.

Card Synergies and Interactions

Put into Play and Return Ally to Hand Effects

Sneak Attack + Gandalf, the core set combo that cemented Sneak Attack as a Leadership staple and delivers tremendous value. It is so good, I’ve written and Dave made a video about it before in the Core Set Combo series For the low, low cost of one Leadership resource the player can draw 3 cards, lower threat by 5, or deal 4 direct damage to an enemy. Additionally you get to use Gandalf’s 4 willpower, attack, or defense for a phase. The value is very apparent comparing the cost of card draw, threat reduction, and direct damage on other cards. For example, Galadhrim’s Greeting can reduce a single players threat by 6 for 3 cost. Sneak Attack and Gandalf can reduce threat by nearly the same amount for a third of the cost.

There are a few more cards that can let players put Gandalf into play temporarily much like Sneak Attack and get additional triggers of his enters play abilities. Horns! Horns! Horns! is arguably a Doomed version of Sneak Attack costing 2 threat instead of resource and shuffling the ally into the deck instead of returning it to hand. Still a great way to get Gandalf into play cheaply especially if using the threat reduction which then it becomes a net reduction of 3 threat and can use Gandalf for a phase. Reinforcements is a double sneak attack for decks with 3 Leadership heroes, A Good Harvest, or some other resource smoothing. Gwahir’s Debt is a little trickier since Gandalf would have to be in the top 5 cards, but still an option particularly in an Eagle deck giving it more potential uses. Lastly, Born Aloft while free, doesn’t put Gandalf into play. A player can use it on a full cost Gandalf, get to use him for nearly the entire round and then return to hand during the action window in the refresh phase.

Ally Readying

Gandalf’s limitation of being in play for 1 round often means players aren’t able to take advantage of his amazing stat line. Readying effects that target allies or characters fix that issue. The Core Set gave players using Leadership Ever Vigilant to ready a single ally and Grim Resolve to ready all characters. As the game progressed many single target and global readying effects have been added. Narya (attached to Cirdan in this case) is very powerful to use with allies that already have strong stats since it further boosts their attack and defense. Flame of Anor is limited to Istari, but can make for huge attack if a high cost card is mined from the player deck. Leadership Faramir hero like Narya offers a repeatable ally readying effect rather than rely on one time events.

Stand and Fight

Stand and Fight notoriously is not a combo or nonbo in card game parlance with Core Gandalf. The first FAQ clarified that Stand and Fight can only target allies that belong to a sphere. Neutral cards do not belong to any of the spheres and therefore Gandalf is not an eligible target.

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

I rate Core Set Gandalf at 1. His power is very apparent with 4s across all his stats which few heroes has equal printed values in either willpower, attack, and defense and only 1 surpasses in printed attack. On top of these amazing stats, he gives players 3 fantastic choices for an enters play effect. He’s neutral which means any deck can play him without having to plan in resource smoothing. Core Set Gandalf is what Magic the Gathering players would call a bomb card. He has such a big effect on the game that it change the course of it. It is a testament to that card that veterans often talk about getting tired of putting this version of Gandalf into decks. He’s so good there’s often no reason to not include him and became seen as a crutch in deck builing to the point veterans will avoid using him.

  • Dave – 2
  • Grant – 2
  • Ted – TBR
  • Matt – 1
  • Average – 1.67

External Links

Sample Decks

Play Gandalf Every Turn by Dale Stephenson

A combo deck that uses The Elvenking + Elf-friend + Bard Son of Brand to be able to play Gandalf every turn. Basically the player plays Gandalf and attaches Elf-friend to him. Later The Elvenking can return Gandalf to the player’s hand. Bard Son of Brand’s ability returns Elf-friend to the players hand. Steward of Gondor + Arwen or Steward + Necklace of Girion supplies the 6 resources to be able to play Gandalf and Elf-friend round after round.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Arwen Undómiel (The Dread Realm)
Bard son of Brand (The Wilds of Rhovanion)
Thranduil (Fire in the Night)

Ally (8)
1x Galion (Fire in the Night)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)
1x Legolas (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Marksman of Lórien (The Drowned Ruins)

Attachment (17)
2x Ancestral Armor (Roam Across Rhovanion)
1x Cloak of Lórien (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Dúnedain Remedy (The Drowned Ruins)
3x Elf-friend (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
1x Mithril Shirt (The Fate of Wilderland)
1x Necklace of Girion (The Wilds of Rhovanion)
1x Self Preservation (Core Set)
2x Staff of Lebethron (The Land of Shadow)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
2x The Elvenking (Fire in the Night)

Event (25)
2x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Elf Guide (Mount Gundabad)
3x Elrond’s Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Elven-light (The Dread Realm)
3x Feigned Voices (The Three Trials)
3x Island Amid Perils (The Nîn-in-Eilph)
3x Reforged (The Fate of Wilderland)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
2x The King’s Return (The Fate of Wilderland)

Player Side Quest (1)
1x Gather Information (The Lost Realm)

3 Heroes, 51 Cards
Cards up to The Fate of Wilderland

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Cirdan’s Solo Support Group by The Purple Wizard

This deck is designed to play Reinforcements multiple times through recycling the discard pile with Will of the West. It also features Cirdan and Narya to ready and boost the allies Reinforcements puts into play.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Balin (On the Doorstep)
Círdan the Shipwright (The Grey Havens)
Denethor (Flight of the Stormcaller)

Ally (18)
1x Arwen Undómiel (The Watcher in the Water)
1x Beorn (Core Set)
2x Elrond (The Road Darkens)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Númenor)
1x Erestor (The Long Dark)
3x Galadriel (The Road Darkens)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Gimli (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Glorfindel (Flight of the Stormcaller)
1x Orophin (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Squire of the Citadel (The Blood of Gondor)

Attachment (20)
2x Armored Destrier (Temple of the Deceived)
3x Dúnedain Warning (Conflict at the Carrock)
3x King Under the Mountain (On the Doorstep)
3x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone)
3x Narya (The Grey Havens)
3x Silver Harp (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)

Event (12)
3x A Test of Will (Core Set)
1x Captain’s Wisdom (The Thing in the Depths)
3x Reinforcements (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
2x Will of the West (Core Set)

3 Heroes, 50 Cards
Cards up to Temple of the Deceived

Sideboard

Ally (3)
1x Beorn (Core Set)
2x Squire of the Citadel (The Blood of Gondor)

Attachment (4)
1x Magic Ring (The Crossings of Poros)
2x Tome of Atanatar (The Blood of Gondor)
1x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

Event (4)
2x Legacy of Númenor (The Voice of Isengard)
1x Second Breakfast (Conflict at the Carrock)
1x Will of the West (Core Set)

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Folco Boffin

Matt Kell (kattattack22)1 Comment

Mirlonde for Hobbits not that they needed one.

Background

Folco Boffin is a friend to Frodo. He that helps Frodo load up his belongings in a cart for the move from Bag End to Crikhollow. After they finished and had lunch, Folco returned home.

Card Theme

What little screen time Folco has in the books fits pretty well his abilities. Frodo’s move is cover for him to head East and travel to Rivendell. Folco, unwittingly, assists in that deception as seemingly just another Hobbit helping his friend move. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. He even returns home after helping and having lunch with his friends. Nothing there to draw the attention of Sauron. This is consistent with the idea of threat being the awareness of Sauron and his minions to the activities of our heroes. The more heroic and active in opposing to this plans, the more threatening they are to Sauron.

Card Synergies and Interactions

Secrecy

Folco’s low base starting threat makes it fairly easy to put him in a 3 hero line up to start with 20 or less threat. Just looking at heroes with effective starting threat cost of 7 or less there are 10 unique possibilities. 13 options including other sphere versions of the same character. This isn’t counting the low threat options available thanks to Messenger of the King contract.

  • Bifur
  • Eleanor
  • Tactics Eowyn
  • Fatty Bolger
  • Leadership Frodo Baggins
  • Spirit Frodo Baggins
  • Spirit Glorfindel
  • Spirit Merry
  • Tactics Merry
  • Mirlonde
  • Spirit Pippin
  • Lore Pippin
  • Smeagol

Roughly half of these listed above are Hobbits that makes Folco even cheaper. This extends the time you have in Secrecy or more flexibility to include a higher threat cost hero.

You can then utilize 2 great resource acceleration cards Resourceful and Timely Aid. Although you will need Leadership for Timely Aid it can very much worth it wirh expensive but powerful allies like Treebeard and Beorn. Both who are great ally defenders for the generally low defense and low hit point Hobbits.

Even if you are sticking to mono-Lore Secrecy is on a few great Lore cards providing even more resource acceleration from the discounted cost. Ithilien Lookout is a very solid combat ally with its 2 attack and tremendous value at 1 cost. The ability to discard an enemy from the encounter deck is very helpful for the squishy low hit point Hobbit heroes. Then there are 2 of the best encounter control cards, Out of the Wild and Risk Some Light. Needful to Know is another Secrecy Lore card, but even free the chances of reducing your threat after raising it one are not great. Woodmen’s Clearing is a much better option that always costs 0.

Hobbit Engage an Enemy with higher Engagement Cost than your Threat Bonus

Folco’s low starting threat, particularly with other Hobbit heroes, facilitates the Hobbit abilities centered on engaging enemies with higher engagement cost than your threat. Most important among these and in sphere for Folco, Gaffer Gamgee. Attack cancelation is huge for the generally low defense and low hit point Hobbits. The only other in sphere effect is Lore Pippins card draw which drawing more cards is almost always good.

Out of sphere, many of these abilities are simple stat boosts like that of Leadership Sam, Tactics Pippin, Hobbit Cloak, Dagger of Westernesse, Taste it Again!, Hobbit Archer, and Bywater Shirrif. You also get readying effects from Sam, Pippin, and Taste it Again! There’s a little ally mustering from Odo Proudfoot and Raise the Shire. After that it’s a few miscellaneous effects like Farmer Maggot’s direct damage, Tom Cotton’s resource smoothing, and shadow cancelation from Staff of Lebethron.

Houses of Healing

If you want to take advantage of Folco’s sacrifice ability, Houses of Healing is a good in sphere option to bring him back immediately after. The 5 cost is high but easily reduced with the number of Healer characters available in Lore. Elrond, Ioreth, Warden of Healing

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

I rate Folco at 4 rings. He’s a solid hero for enabling Secrecy or the Hobbit engagement mechanism. It’s not difficult to get his threat cost down to 4 or 5. Not quite the stats for cost value of Spirit Glorfindl but still a free stat or 2. His stats are very efficient as well with 2 willpower, 2 attack and 2 hit points. Equally good at questing or attacking. A decent target for Fast Hitch to leverage both of those stats. He also offers some emergency threat reduction by sacrifing him. Easy to bring him back with Houses of Healing in the same sphere.

His low threat cost consistently makes him a third hero choice when building Secrecy Hobbits. It’s also for that reason he’s rather limited to those type of decks. Alone he is just a Lore Hobbit hero at 6 cost putting him in direct competition with Lore Pippin. Lore Pippin in most cases is going to be better for the card draw. There are some 2 hero decks that run him for the single Lore resource then sacrifice him first turn, but they’re fairly niche.

I also find his efficiency rather boring. After setup, he’s just going to help with questing or attacking. He doesn’t have an interesting ability that you can trigger throughout the game or build around like many of the other Hobbit heroes. He just serves a particular role in deck building and does it well.

  • Dave – 4
  • Grant – TBR
  • Ted – 6
  • Matt – 4

Sample Decks

Deck name and creator

short deck description

Secret Vigil – Community Review

Card Talk: An LOTR LCG PodcastLeave a comment

by Jason Meyer

  • Card Talk Episode TBD
  • Cycle
    • Angmar Awakened
  • Set
    • The Lost Realm 

  • Player Card Categories 
    • Staging Area Threat Reduction
    • Threat Reduction

Background

I suppose since the quote comes from Aragorn from The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s meant to bring one back to this idea of Dunedain Rangers keeping a vigil on the many Free Peoples. That’s a reassuring thought, when thinking of the many dangers outside the more populated areas of Hobbiton and Bree.

Card Theme

Thematically, it’s spot-on for me because it’s a Secret Vigil, observing an enemy in the staging area (so it’s seen as less of a Threat), and then while it’s engaged, one has determined some of its weak spots, and upon killing it, the death of such a high threat enemy has emboldened the cast of characters to regain some hope in their endeavor, and are able to move forward with less of that sense of impending doom that comes with much of Middle-Earth adventuring (at least in this game).

Card Synergies and Interactions

Bond of Friendship & Grey Wanderer Contracts

I would have liked this card to work better at helping one stay in Secrecy, but I’ve found that (to kill) an enemy while in Secrecy, I tended to have Hobbits or a Spirit Glorfindel; and it just hasn’t quite worked. Instead, I’ve liked this, like in my Bond of Friendship decks, for when I needed an extra Tactics card. Also, I’ve liked having this in some Grey Wanderer decks with a single hero that has high attack power (Legolas, Gandalf) to help me stay at pretty low Threat for a few more rounds.

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

For only 1 Tactics resource, I’ve been finding this card to be pretty useful. It’s an attachment that can be played on any enemy, so if the (-1) Threat would be helpful in the Staging area (and often questing with Tactics is difficult) that’s good. But it can be attached to even an Engaged enemy, so if there’s an Ungoliant Spawn, Mumak, Giant Centipede, or some other high Threat enemy that is about to be killed, the Threat reduction kicks in. I know Dave is primarily a solo player, but I play 2-handed; and since Secret Vigil reduces EACH player’s Threat by that enemy’s printed Threat. In Tactics, Threat reduction is very beneficial. Also, that it’s a 1 cost, it has made its way into Bond of Friendship decks I’ve made. That the player can choose where it goes, makes it stand out from the typical attachments that can be put on enemies, so there’s less of a chance of this being accidentally attached to some 1-Threat enemy.

  • Jason – 5
  • Dave – TBD
  • Grant – TBD
  • Ted – TBD
  • Matt – TBD

Sample Decks

20210806_Bond_Dwarf by Jason Meyer

Main Deck

Hero (4)
Bifur (Khazad-dûm)
Dáin Ironfoot (Return to Mirkwood)
Nori (Over Hill and Under Hill)
Thorin Stonehelm (Wrath and Ruin)

Contract (0)
1x Bond of Friendship (The Fortress of Nurn)

Ally (21)
1x Bofur (Over Hill and Under Hill)
1x Bombur (Road to Rivendell)
1x Dwalin (On the Doorstep)
2x Dwarven Sellsword (The Drowned Ruins)
2x Erebor Hammersmith (Core Set)
2x Erebor Toymaker (Mount Gundabad)
2x Ered Luin Miner (Temple of the Deceived)
1x Fili (Over Hill and Under Hill)
2x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Glóin (On the Doorstep)
1x Kili (Over Hill and Under Hill)
2x Longbeard Map-Maker (Conflict at the Carrock)
1x Miner of the Iron Hills (Core Set)
2x Veteran Axehand (Core Set)

Attachment (16)
2x Boots from Erebor (Khazad-dûm)
2x Cram (Over Hill and Under Hill)
2x Dwarrowdelf Axe (Khazad-dûm)
2x Secret Vigil (The Lost Realm)
2x Song of Battle (The Dead Marshes)
2x Song of Wisdom (Conflict at the Carrock)
1x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)
1x Warrior Sword (The Ghost of Framsburg)
2x Woodmen’s Clearing (The Withered Heath)

Event (13)
2x A Test of Will (Core Set)
1x Ancestral Knowledge (Khazad-dûm)
1x Beorn’s Hospitality (Core Set)
2x Bulwark of the West (The Crossings of Poros)
1x Dwarven Tomb (Core Set)
2x Feint (Core Set)
2x Hasty Stroke (Core Set)
2x Sneak Attack (Core Set)

4 Heroes, 50 Cards
Cards up to The Fortress of Nurn