Deck of the Day #5:
"Frodo doesn't like your deck"
by Matthew Clemans (mattclemans@insightbb.com)
The first Lord of The Rings TCG deck I built started with only
Frodo and Merry and had no other companions in the deck. The deck worked
great through the first few sites, but had major problems at the end of
the path. Two expansions have shown up since then and Hobbit-based fellowships
have gotten stronger with each one. One of the great things about Hobbits
is that most of their good cards are not rare. This deck uses such a fellowship
with a strong Shadow discard strategy to whittle away your opponent so that
you can race to the end.
Hobbits don't fight well – they aren't meant to. What they are good
at is running and hiding. You should bid high in this deck – a starting
bid of six can be reduced to two by the time you move – because it
is important to go first. You should not have any problems making it through
the first two sites with your Hobbit Stealths and Hobbit Intuitions. This
way you force your opponent to keep up with you – putting him on the
defensive. As you progress further down the path, you have cards such as
Bill the Pony, A Talent for Not Being Seen, and Meant to Be Alone which
will reduce the twilight you give your opponent. Filbert Bolger keeps your
Hobbits from worrying too much about fierce skirmishes and Bilbo recycles
all of your important events back into your deck for later use. Boromir
and The Bounder keep Frodo from being overwhelmed late in the game and in
desperate need, you can always throw The One Ring to Sam, who gets bonuses
from both it and Rosie Cotton. Against Moria, who often seems to generate
their own twilight, you can use Frying Pans to keep the Orcs off the Goblin
Swarms and out of your hair. If your Shadow side is working correctly, by
the time you are ready to move to site nine, you might not face any opposition
at all!
Some Shadow decks are meant to win the game for you, others are meant
to slow your opponent down so that your fellowship can win you the game.
This is definitely one of the latter kind. As a friend of mine is fond of
saying, "It's not going to win you the game, but it's sure as heck not going
to lose it for you either!" The point of this Shadow deck is to run through
your opponent's deck so fast that by the end of the game they have nothing
left to hit you with. This deck has eight minions that make the FP player
discard a card when that minion is played. The Tower Lieutenants and Uruk
Ragers are strong minions that discard cards when they win skirmishes –
when armed with an Uruk-hai Sword, a Rager is strength 11, damage +1, and
discards three cards off the top of your opponent's deck when he wins. Massing
in the East and The Dark Lord Advances offer additional ways to run your
opponent out of cards. If you draw a big minion with The Dark Lord Advances,
you can potentially discard your opponent's entire hand – bringing
your opponent one step closer to an empty deck and you one step closer to
a free ride at site nine!
Next time – we add a little bit of spice to the Hobbits!
Ring-bearer
Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring
Adventure Deck
[1] Bag End
[2] Midgewater Marshes
[3] Frodo's Bedroom
[4] Hollin
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dum
[6] Caras Galadhon
[7] Anduin Wilderland
[8] Anduin Banks
[9] Emyn Muil
Free Peoples (32)
Sam, Son of Hamfast (starting)
Pippin, Friend to Frodo (starting)
Merry, From O'er the Brandywine(starting)
Bill the Pony x2
Frying Pan x3
Hobbit Sword x2
Old Noakes
Filbert Bolger
A Talent for Not Being Seen
There and Back Again x2
The Gaffer
Bilbo Baggins, Retired Adventurer
Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass
Hobbit Stealth x4
Hobbit Intuition x4
Bounder x2
Meant to Be Alone x2
Hobbit Appetite
Boromir, Son of Denethor
Shadow (32)
Massing in the East x3
Orc Pillager x3
Orc Inquisitor x4
Uruk Soldier x4
Uruk Rager x4
Uruk-Hai Sword x2
Tower Lieutenant x3
Vile Blade x2
Orc Scout x3
Orc Ambusher x2
The Dark Lord Advances x2
June 27, 2002
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