DECIPHER.com > The Lord of the Rings > Expansions > Shadows

Location Location Location

by Matt Clemans

In any game, some story line sacrifices have to be made in order to make the game worth playing. After all, how much fun would it be if you knew Frodo would never be killed by the forces of Shadow and that the good guys ALWAYS win? The deviations from The Lord of the Rings story make the game more diverse and interesting. Boromir never fought with the Rohirrim, Gandalf never led the Army of the Dead and Pippin couldn't ever hope to beat the Balrog in combat. And yet, you can do all these things and more in a game.

In Shadows, something that was always tied closely to the story line is going to stray a little. The changes to the site path mean that no longer will the Adventure path follow a linear story line, but instead will move around the entire The Lord of the Rings story and showcase many different locations.

So is this change worth it? Is the sacrifice a worthy one? Yes – it absolutely is. Others have argued the merits of the new system better than I could here, so how about we take a look at how exactly you can use the new site path system to your advantage.

Go tell it on a Mountain!

Until Shadows, there were a grand total of two Mountain sites and very few cards that played off mountains. Even if you had a card, like Slippery as Fishes, that benefited you at a Mountain, the mountain sites were few and far between. In King block, only site 9 could be a mountain and then only if Final Strike was in play. In Shadows, there are no less than five Mountain sites – most of the sites you travel through can be mountains! So how do you take advantage of this? The Dwarves have long dwelt in the mountains and are a natural fit to benefit from their increased proliferation.

Axe of Khazad-dum is a great example of mountain-centric Dwarf cards. The conditional Damage +1 will allow Dwarves other than Gimli and Durin to gain easy damage bonuses and will allow the Dwarven big hitters to further fuel cards like Blood Runs Chill, Ring of Fury, and Honed. Another major Mountain related boost for Dwarves is Mountain Homestead. While in familiar territory this condition gives all Dwarves a solid strength bonus. With multiple copies in play, later sites can be an easy walk for your uber-Dwarves! Just make sure you're packing Gandalf with Speak Friend and Enter or some other type of "pathfinding" card. In order to set your Dwarves up faster in the early game so that you can make those bold double (or triple) moves late, you can use Barazinbar to help arm them with a crucial possession.

That's just Plain silly.

After a year as the king of the hill, Rohan has faded into the background during King block. With the exception of Éowyn, Lady of Ithilien, one rarely sees Rohan at the top tables anymore. With a little pathfinding and some new Shadows cards, maybe we can all pull those Simbelmynes out of the binder. Border Patrol is an excellent start. With a few ways to make sure you can hit your plains sites, you can make sure that minions never have vitality for anything. That's a great thought if you are regularly facing Desert Lords, or Easterlings with Small Hope. It's also an excellent way for Rohan to deal with Gríma, Úlairë Enquëa, and other nuisances. Once you've exerted all your opponent's minions, what do you do with the rest? One option is the Riddermark Javelin. This upgrade from the Rohirrim Bow and Rohirrim Javelin allows the Rohirrim to toss out as much archery as Elves or Gondor. With Merry, Swordthain bringing the Bows back each turn, each plains site you move to will make your opponent see red.

For the minions that make it past your first barrage, you will have powerful new cards like the Rohirrim Mount and Théoden, King of Eorlingas to meet them. The mount allows your powerful companions to take on multiple minions while Théoden ensures that your companions match up to and can beat those minions.

Love is a Battleground...

In The Two Towers, Uruk-hai flourished at battlegrounds. In Shadows, they will again. With six total battlegrounds in the set, it won't be hard to find suitable sites for your Uruk Vanguard and Uruk Assault Bands. If you are having trouble pulling your own sites, then stocking a few copies of Lookout Uruk will make sure that even your opponent's sites are battlegrounds. This allows you to boldly move ahead and still force your opponent to move through your Battlegrounds. If you don't stock some Broad-bladed Swords to keep the Lookout alive, think about including the Invincible Uruk. These days it's not uncommon to see big fellowships and with the Invincible Uruk out, you're almost guaranteed to stop your opponent – who wants to double move against unkillable minions?

New Uruk-hai culture minions like the Feral Uruk provide strong, cheap minions, while the Watchman Uruk provides some hand extension. When used in combination with old favorites like the Uruk Regular, you'll be able to put the fear of Uruk-hai back into your opponents.

Whether you build your site path around Battlegrounds, Plains, of Mountains, you'll find that a whole new world of strategy has opened up to you. Don't lose your way – pack a Pathfinder!

October 18, 2004