DECIPHER.com > Lord of the Rings > Expansions > Mount Doom

Myths and Confusing Cards

by Brad DeFruiter
Decipher Game Designer

When someone asks me to review an article that they write for Decipher.com or for DGMA.com, I often tell them that their article is too long and to cut it back... someone should tell me to take my own advice. This article is a whopper but it is broken into two parts: myths and confusing cards.

Myths, Legends, and Misunderstandings

I want to start off by dispelling some myths that seem to be out there about The Lord of the Rings TCG.

Myth #1: Decipher hates possessions.

This is just not true. In fact, it may be just the opposite. We love possessions and enjoy making good and strong possessions. But possessions have been ruling the game a bit too much. So much that conditions and events are rarely looked at. Instead of escalating skirmish events and conditions that can help in a skirmish, we have made it so that players cannot rely on possessions as much.

If it seems like there are too many cards that discard possessions, it is just because we want to make sure that cultures that can do something about possessions have access to those cards. I think once Mount Doom is released and the play environment has a chance to settle down, players will realize that their really isn't a lot of possession hate out there and that possessions are still playable – they just won't be a guarantee.

Myth #2: Decipher hates Rohan.

This one makes me smile – just because we don't make new cards for Rohan doesn't mean that we hate Rohan. When Reflections and Mount Doom were being designed, Rohan was top of the heap and didn't really need any new cards.

And for anyone that thinks there are Shadow cards in Mount Doom that specifically mention Rohan, I'll let you know that there are just as many Shadow cards that do things to Shire cards and we sure don't hate Shire.

Myth #3: Decipher wants beginners to play Shire.

We want beginners to play all the cultures. Just because more Shire cards fall into the common and uncommon rarity does not mean that we want beginners to play Shire. It just means that more Shire cards are common and uncommon.

Myth #4: Decipher is hypocritical about cards that are Bad At 9.

The funny thing about this is that I think only one person in the Game Studio uses the term BA9. We try to always keep an eye on cards that can give the Free Peoples a free ride at the last site on the site path. This is why cards like Brave and Loyal [10U105] exclude the Ring-bearer. Cards like The Tale of the Great Ring [10U116] don't cause concern for inequality at the last site on the site path, because it has such a simple and easy to get around buy out.

Myth #5: Decipher does not play test cards anymore.

We have actually moved in the other direction with playtesting. What used to be our in-house lead playtesters system is now our development system. Instead of cards being handed from design to playtesting, cards are now handed over to another team to work cards in conjunction with remote playtesters.

Developers actually make the majority of the changes to cards now instead of the designers. This allows actual game data to influence card development more than theory would. Some people have pointed out that the quality of game play in the recent set has gone up and this is a direct response to developers working the cards.

But of course cards will slip though – they always do. And as we get more and more cards into the environment, it increases the chances that something will slip by.

Myth #6: Decipher's policy of not spoiling every card image early is stupid.

It actually puts more excitement back into the purchase of the product. Opening boosters (both in real life and online) is that much more exciting when you can find new things as you open the cards. That sense of exploration and excitement is a fundamental human trait and why not revel in it when getting new cards.

Plus, it gives more things for players to talk about on the message boards.

Myth #7: Decipher shouldn't start making cards that mess with the Free Peoples cards during the fellowship phase or cards that mess with Shadow cards during the shadow phase.

From the first Lord of the Rings TCG set, there have been cards that do these things or have the potential to do these things. Cards like Goblin Domain [1R175] exhaust companions when they are played (companions are typically played in the fellowship phase) and Verily I Come [2R94] specifically mentions the fellowship phase.

But there have also been plenty of Shadow cards that could be played during the fellowship phase such as Wariness [1U161] or Relentless [1U194] – if only there was a stealth event that played during the fellowship phase... hmmmm, I wonder what a stealth event that played during the fellowship phase would look like?

Myth #8: Decipher is escalating game play.

We are always concerned about escalation. We like to keep the cards in each set at a consistent level. But the way we are designing and developing cards now, we are making fewer cards that are boring and fall into specific decks only. The end result is more cards in each set of that quality and it looks as though the game is escalating but really what is happening is that we are learning how to make more quality cards.

Also, remember that when one thing appears to be bettered another thing is weakened. So, in a way, game play stays balanced. And if some escalation does happen it is a direct result of how many cards we now have in the environment. It just becomes too hard to introduce something new and exciting when there are so many exciting and reliable cards already in the game.

Myth #9: Decipher didn't wrap up things right in Mount Doom because there wasn't XYZ card in it.

This myth kinda upsets me. It seems to imply that we need to wrap certain things up. Nothing needs to be wrapped up! We have plans to make this game for years to come. You don't wrap things up in the middle – you wrap them up in the end.

Myth #10: Brad is a stunningly handsome man.

I actually don't think this is a myth. I am indeed a stunningly handsome man.

Cards that make you go Huh?

With many players finding out more about the cards in Mount Doom, more and more questions pop up. Some cards have players scratching their heads trying to figure out how a new card works or how it works with existing cards. I hope that I can clear up some questions about some of the Mount Doom cards – and for those of you who have not gotten cards from The Lord of the Rings Online game or have not read some of the spoilers that have been generated from players who have gotten their online cards, I'll have a spoiler or two for both of you.

An article about confusing cards can sometimes get... well, confusing. So, I'm going to start off with a grapefruit pitch here:

Twilight cost 1
Elven
Fleet-footed
Event • Skirmish
Make a minion skirmishing an Elf strength –2. Spot a site in a support area to place this event on top of your draw deck.
Not all Elven weapons are carried in sheath or quiver.
10 C 10

I know what you are thinking, "What is confusing about this card?" And I have to agree it isn't that hard to noggin through. But like I said, we are starting out easy.

It does not matter which player's support area the site is in. It can be in your support area or an opponent's support area. You see sites are always active. Let me read a bit from the rulebook on this – please turn your holy comprehensive rulebook version 3.0 to page 33 and read along with me –ahem–

"Like a site on the adventure path, a controlled site is always active and may be spotted."

So, this is actually a Free Peoples card that can benefit from a strategy your Shadow cards are using. Cool, eh?

I know you have already seen this card on Saturday and I'm sure that people have cleared up any confusion about it but for those of you who missed it, there is no helper text on this card. Each wound on Orc Slaughterer makes it strength +4. That is +2 for the enduring and +2 for his ability.

Couldn't he have been "Enduring 4" instead? No, Virginia, he couldn't. Enduring, like archer or fierce, doesn't stack up. If a character is enduring, it is. There is no double enduring. Now, if Enduring read like "enduring +2", then it would stack up like damage +X but then we couldn't have neat cards like Seasoned Leader.

Yes, another card you have already seen. Where is the confusion in a straightforward card like this? It is the preventing wounds part. Cards like The One Ring do not prevent wounds. It turns wounds into burdens. But with Éowyn, Lady of Rohan it is different. She actually does prevent a wound (hint – you can tell because her text uses the word prevent) even though it does look like she is turning a wound into 1 twilight and an exertion.

And Armor? Well, I'm not sure what Armor is (I could go ask someone from the Rules Committee but that would be no fun) but what I know for sure is that Armor is not wound prevention. So, if the card says prevent a wound, you cannot do it while at the Steward's Tomb. And if a card does not say that it prevents a wound, it doesn't prevent a wound.

Whoa, pretty neat, eh? The confusion? There are a couple points but I'll start with sub-race. "Sub-race" is a term used to describe a keyword that is used to separate out some minions from other minions of the same culture and race. Examples of sub-races are Besieger, Corsair, Easterling, and the like. This new Phial removes those keywords from those minions.

Losing a sub-race keyword has caused some people to wonder what happens to a Mûmak on a Southron when he is no longer a Southron? The answer is: nothing happens. No, the Mûmak doesn't fall off. The text of cards that say 'bearer must be a BLAH' are restrictions as to what that card can be played on and not some sort of magnet that keeps that card on the BLAH when it stops becoming a BLAH.

The other confusing point that the Star Glass brings up is: What is game text? I feel like a little "lightning round" action for this part so...

The Is it game text? Game Show

Card Title?
No.

Subtitle?
No.

Twilight cost?
No.

Culture icon?
No.

Card type?
Yes. But Star Glass doesn't remove Card type.

Race?
Yes. But Star Glass doesn't remove race.

To play requirements?
Yes.

Keywords?
Yes.

Special abilities?
Yes.

Strength?
No.

Vitality?
No.

Site number?
No.

Lore/flavor text?
No.

Collector's number?
No.

Copyright information?
No.

How do you know this? It is on pages 3 and 4 of the Comprehensive Rulebook version 3.0. Unfortunately the little red line that points to game text is a bit vague. That is why I'm here to clear that up.

The Star Glass removes game text from a minion and prevents it from gaining any game text. So, if your Sauron minion is affected by the Star Glass and wins a skirmish, you can play Enheartened Foe on it (because it is still a Sauron Orc) but it will not become fierce (because fierce is game text).

During development this card was called "Damage +1 Exploiter III: The Search for Spock" but everyone around here called it "Trample." [Now hold on one second! This card was not called 'search for spock' as some sort of trek reference. It was called that out of a movie sequel reference. We had a card that was called "Damage +1 Exploiter" and another called "Damage +1 Exploiter II: The Quickening."]

This card was reworded many times. It wasn't that its ability was changed but rather that it kept on getting reworded to get across what the card actually did.

More Yet to Come makes sure that one can maximize the damage potential of a Dwarf. A damage +5 Dwarf against a 1 vitality minion is like a using a shotgun to swat a fly. But now with More Yet to Come, the unused damage bonus gets put on other minions. I think the final wording came out clear but wanted to write about the card because it had muddy wording all along the development process. And remember, those minions that get the excess damage wounds cannot be currently assigned to a skirmish when they take their wounds.

Yep, Gollum jumps out of the shadows and tries to whack a companion upside the head. I believe this is the first Lord of the Rings TCG card that suspends a phase. It creates its own little skirmish phase and once that skirmish is resolved, it drops you back into the original phase. It is kind of a "welcome to my world" where Gollum can break out some of his rock-fu on a companion.

Confusion?

Once you get past the whole idea of a skirmish in the middle of the fellowship phase, questions pop up like:

Does Gollum stay in play if he is not killed or discarded in the skirmish?
Yes. Nothing in this card's game text discards Gollum.

Can I play a second Gollum during the Shadow phase?
Not if he wasn't killed or discarded in the Dark Shape Sprang skirmish; he is still in play and he is still unique.

When we are returned to the suspended phase, when in that phase are we returned?
Right after the possession is played, so if there are any other responses to a possession being played that a player wants to take advantage of, they still can.

How do required actions work with this?
Just like the rules say they do (p. 29). All players must perform all required responses to a possession being played on a companion before A Dark Shape Sprang can be played. So, for example, if Shadowfax [4R100] is played on Gandalf, all hand weapons must be discarded from Gandalf before A Dark Shape Sprang can be played.

What happens if Éowyn's Sword is played on Éowyn during a skirmish and during the Dark Shape Sprang skirmish, Gollum kills Éowyn? When returned to the suspended phase, what happens? Does someone win?
Yes, Gollum wins his skirmish and then when the player goes back to the suspended phase, the minion (or minions) win that skirmish. You can read more about winning skirmishes when characters leave a skirmish on page 27 of the Comprehensive Rulebook Version 3.0.

This also means that if there were a card that said, "Each time a minion wins a skirmish, ... ", it would trigger twice – once for Gollum and once for the minion that was originally assigned to the companion.

If I could draw the timing it would look something like:

Assmignment
Skirmish
     Possession played
          A Dark Shape Sprang played
        ---Skirmish suspended---
              Whole new skirmish starts and resolves
        ---Back to the skirmish---
     Skirmish resolves
Next skirmish

{{You know Kendrick Summers explains this timing really well with his hands – he kinda has them next to each another and when it comes to the Dark Shape Sprang skirmish he lifts up one of his hands higher than the other.}}

Continuing the Dark Shape Sprang skirmish inside another skirmish phase thing, if Fey He Seemed [7C231] was played on Éowyn before the Dark Shape skirmish, she would not still have that strength bonus in the Dark Shape skirmish because that strength bonus only lasts for the skirmish it was played in. AND if Fey He Seemed were played in the Dark Shape Sprang skirmish, the strength bonus would not last outside of that skirmish.

There are other questions about a skirmish inside a skirmish phase but if one takes time and think it through (and checks the rulebook), the answers are all there.

I hope that this article cleared some things up.

July 6, 2004