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DECIPHER.com > The Lord of
the Rings > Expansions
> Shadows
Boil & Bubble, Toil & Trouble...
by Patrick Sullivan
Is there anything more exciting than the release of a brand new base set
of The Lord of the Rings TCG? Brand new game mechanics, shiny new
strategies, spanking new pictures. Is there anything more exciting than
that in this whole good green Earth?!
Well... yes. There are probably many more things that are far more exciting.
But let's pretend that the release of Shadows is THE defining moment of
your generation. Let's also pretend that I didn't get my hair cut last weekend.
What we don't have to pretend is the amount of fun we're going to have
playing with the new minion cultures, new site mechanics, new keywords and,
at the risk of sounding repetitive, new site mechanics that will forever
change your lives.
Writing a strategy article this early in the spoiling process is very
challenging because there is SO MUCH terrain to cover. So, to fully encompass
my jubilation and excitement, I think I'm just going to jump all over the
place and talk about as many different aspects of the set as I can –
it's the best way for me to get you as excited about Shadows as I am. My
first order of business will be to introduce you to the amazing new keyword,
TOIL. Still, the part that gets me most nervous as a competitive player,
and yet most excited as a casual player, is the new site mechanics. As such,
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about the new site mechanics
in my article. For this article, I'll force myself to limit discussion to
the new Forest and Underground sites (which the new Orc culture will have
a blast with). Then, as a beautiful parting shot, I'll leave you with the
spoiler to end all spoilers (DON'T SCROLL DOWN YET! It'll be there later,
I promise!).
Toil
Both Free Peoples and Shadow cards will enjoy the benefits of this new
keyword. As a rule of thumb, Toil will always be followed by a number (e.g.,
Toil 2, Toil 3). This number means that you can lower the cost of the card
with Toil by exerting characters (be it companions, allies, or minions).
The character exerted must be of the same culture as the card you are playing
with the Toil keyword. A card with Toil 2 will have its cost lowered by
2 twilight for each exertion. So, three exertions would make a 6-cost card
with Toil 2 free. Neat, huh?
 Currently,
I'm in love with the Elf culture (specifically Uruviel, but that's another
matter) so let's look at how the Elves are putting Toil to use. The new
condition, Elven
Marksmanship, has a daunting cost of 6 twilight, but an incredible effect.
Imagine this card being used in conjunction with Gondor Bowmen! Youch! Anyway,
6 twilight is indeed expensive but look! It has Toil 2! Therefore, three
exertions from either Galadriel and/or Elrond or any other elf combination
will get you this card played for FREE!
 Let's
check how our friendly neighborhood Orcs are putting Toil to use. The new
Champion Orc can be a little pricey at 5 twilight for 13 strength. But
this brute has Toil 2 as well. So, you play some of his Orc brethren first
(be it the Denizen of the Black Pit, a Watchful Orc, or maybe the VERY pesky
Frenzied Orc) and two exertions later you can play your 13-strength Champion
Orc for 1 twilight!
The fun doesn't stop there either. You can also reduce the cost of EVENTS
that have the presence of a Toil keyword. Imagine the twilight pool is empty
and the Free Peoples player is sure that everything is fine and then you
go and exert a bunch of minions to play a devastating surprise. What kind
of surprise, you ask? Well here's a fun one...
 The
new Orc assignment event, Undisciplined,
initially seems insanely expensive at 8 twilight. However, this one has
an even more potent Toil 3, which means for 3 exertions you can play this
event for free and assign your new Orc culture minion to any companion you
want (except the Ring-bearer, naturally). This can give you a huge strategic
advantage; you can assign important minions (ones you don't want to die,
such as the Frenzied Orc) to weaker companions so that they fall to the
Shadow a little faster than your opponent was expecting.
So that's the basic gist of how Toil functions. It makes for great surprise
moments as an anti-choke strategy for the Shadow player and as pro-choke
strategy for the Free Peoples player.
Caves 'n' Trees
Since you can make up any site path you want using the new Shadows sites,
it's much more feasible to tune your adventure deck with your draw deck.
For instance, there are going to be six different underground sites you
can have in your adventure deck (including such old-time favorites as the
Moria Stairway and a revamped Cavern Entrance!!). If your opponent is also
playing underground sites, it is possible for all nine sites to be naturally
underground without using the special game texts of minions, such as that
of the new Skulking Goblin. Look for an upcoming decklist by Zach "Rubber_Chicken"
Shephard in about two days on this very same website that will focus on
the new Orc culture and their underground madness!
 My
favorite new underground site, the Chamber
of Mazarbul, basically lets you do the "Dwarf Shuffle" for non-Dwarf
cultures. I used the term Dwarf Shuffle back in the day when you could endlessly
transfer artifact rings and axes between your dwarf companions for free.
If you are more like me, and focus your adventure deck to aid your fellowship
rather than your Shadow, then you'll be happy to know that one possibility
for Elf-decks can be completely forest-based! Six of the new sites are forests
that you can put together into a golden path for Elves to follow all the
way to Mount Doom (three of which you will surely remember – namely
Trollshaw Forest, the West Road, and my favorite, Caras Galadhon). Naturally,
many of the new Elf cards will key off these forest sites. Examples include
the new Arwen, Staunch Defender and the new available-in-starter-decks-only
Legolas, Companion of the Ring. Throw the new Blade of Lindon on either
one of these companions (especially Arwen) and they'll be cleaving through
minions like loose foliage.
Spoiler time!
Well, the time has come to reward you for getting through my long-winded
article (I do tend to go on sometimes, don't I?). This spoiler is the new
rare Aragorn and he's something quite special. At first glance it may not
be obvious, but it's quite remarkable what this companion will do for gameplay
during those first few crucial sites.
 Anyway
here he is. What the heck? No game text? Only a Ranger keyword? Well this
guy ain't so special... although 8 resistance is pretty nifty (eat your
heart out, Isildur). However, did you notice his twilight cost?!! And I
thought Lorien Elf was undercosted!
The biggest ramification of this ONE COST Aragorn is how easily he gets
splashed into starting fellowships to make the trip to site 3 as easy as
an Easy-Bake Oven (which, by the way, I find insanely difficult to operate).
You can now finally start Boromir AND Aragorn together! Or Faramir and Aragorn
perhaps? OR, and this is the real kicker.... you can start Boromir, Faramir,
Denethor, AND Aragorn all together! This is going to make pure Gondor decks
MUCH more potent. Imagine playing 4 copies of Noble Leaders with a starting
fellowship like that.
As a special added DVD feature, this Aragorn is also a Ranger that can
have lots of fun on a new site path customized to consist of ONLY rivers
and forests. How versatile will this Strider turn out to be? Only time will
tell. And if you think that he's slightly broken for 1 twilight, imagine
if you will that the original version of him had another keyword present...
Archer! I'm pretty happy that the playtesters fixed that. :)
OK, well, thanks for reading. I'll be back in a few weeks to talk about
the HUGE amount of Marsh sites available (get ready for the Parade of Tentacles!)
as well as the effects that corruption and burdens will now have on the
game since every companion has resistance.
October 7, 2004
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