The Lord of the Rings™ TCG Help Clinic
Part 7 – Regroup Phase and The End of Turn
by Mark Tuttle (elrond@decipher.com)
It took some time, but here is the last of the phase-based Help Clinic
articles. It's probably appropriate that I waited until after Realms
of the Elf-Lords was released because the regroup phase has now gotten
quite interesting, busier, and far more dangerous for both sides. This will
be a short article nonetheless, because the mechanics here are quite straightforward.
The strategy, which we will not delve into too deeply, is considerably more
complex!
Regroup Phase
The regroup phase is an odd place to be. In it, the Free Peoples player
has to decide whether or not he or she will continue to move the fellowship
to the next site, risking pursuit by surviving minions or by stopping and
ending the turn, clearing the board and allowing the next player's turn.
The Elven culture and the sub-culture of the Isengard Orcs now make that
decision harder by a slew of new "Regroup:" special ability actions. Thus,
it is all the more vital that you understand the precise order that things
must happen in during this phase. Let's examine the Turn Sequence from the
back of the Realms rulebook.
Rules Summary
a) Perform regroup actions
A "regroup action" is any action that is specified to occur in the regroup
phase by the timing keyword "Regroup:". As a special ability action, these
are individual actions that are declared, with the Free Peoples player
getting first action, as always. Here's an example:
Elrond Herald to Gil-gilad 3 R 13
At the start of each of your turns, you may spot an ally whose home is
site 3 to heal that ally twice. Regroup: Exert Elrond twice to heal a
companion.
We're not concerned with the first line of text right now. The second
part of Elrond's text is a regroup action. When the skirmish phase ends
and the regroup phase begins, the Free Peoples player would declare Elrond's
text, exert him twice, and heal a companion. (I would like to also point
out that I am notoriously forgetful about doing this myself!)
Once this is done, the Shadow player may declare a regroup action of
his own. Let's say that the Isengard Warrior survived the skirmish phase
with 2 vitality. His text reads:
Isengard Warrior 3 U 61
While you can spot another [Isengard] Orc, no player may use archery special
abilities. Regroup: Exert this minion and spot 3 wounds on the Ring-bearer
to exert every companion.
Assuming all requirements are met and the Shadow player can pay the
cost, he declares this regroup action, exerts the Isengard Warrior and
exerts every companion. (Ouch!)
At this point, the Free Peoples player could use Elrond's text again
(provided he can exert twice again) and so on. The action procedure is
explained in the Help Clinic article on Maneuver.
The important point here is that every action that is denoted as "Regroup:"
is done at this time. Once all such actions are complete, we move to the
next part of the phase.
b) Reconcile Shadow players' hands
Notice that this happens prior to the decision by the Free Peoples player
if they're moving on. The Shadow player may discard 1 card from his or
her hand, and then continue drawing up cards until their hand size is
8. (If somehow the Shadow player had more than 8 cards, they would only
be permitted to discard until they had 8 cards. They would not be allowed
to draw any.)
If the Shadow player's draw deck is emptied before they draw up to 8
cards, then they just continue on with what they have. There is no recycling
of the discard deck or dead pile.
This is very straightforward. The only thing that happens here is this
procedure. Next, comes the big choice for the Free Peoples player.
c) Move to the next site or reconcile and end turn
The Free Peoples player must decide whether or not to end his or her
turn. The primary deciding factor here is the move limit. If the Free
Peoples player has already reached their move limit for the turn, there
is no option. The turn must end. But let's assume that the Free Peoples
player has only moved once and the choice must be made.
Without getting into a lot of strategy, the choice here depends on a
lot of factors. How badly wounded is my fellowship? Since I don't get
to reconcile or draw any cards, do I have enough support events in my
hand to survive the next skirmish? What site am I moving into? Are there
minions still in play that will pursue me to the next site? How much twilight
is still in the pool and how much more will be added based on my movement
to the next site?
A note about the "next site" comment. If the Free Peoples player is
ahead of the other Shadow player(s) then the next site is not yet in play
and remains a mystery. The Free Peoples player does NOT get to see what
site he or she will be moving into. This is why cards like "Pathfinder"
can be very helpful.
Let's assume that the Free Peoples player decides not to move on. He
or she will reconcile their hand in the same manner as the Shadow player
did and which is described above. Also, all minions from all Shadow players
on the table will be discarded and (at the beginning of the next player's
turn) the twilight pool will be emptied. The next player is then the Free
Peoples player and a new turn has begun.
Now, let's step back to the Free Peoples player's choice, and assume
that he or she is moving to the next site. Here's the setup:
The Shadow player has Isengard Warrior and Isengard Shaman in play.
The Isengard Warrior has 2 wounds and the Isengard Shaman has 1 wound.
There are 4 twilight tokens in the twilight pool and the fellowship is
currently at site 6. Site 7 has not yet been played as this player is
the farthest along on the adventure path.
The Free Peoples player announces he's moving to site 7. The next Shadow
player to the right plays site 7 out of his or her adventure deck. It
is Silverlode Banks. Since its Shadow number is 6, 6 tokens are added
into the twilight pool, plus 4 more for the number of companions that
the Free Peoples player is moving. There are now 14 tokens in the twilight
pool, and the two Isengard Orcs are considered to have moved with the
fellowship to site 7. Note too, that the Free Peoples player did NOT reconcile
his hand or draw cards.
From this point, the NEXT phase is the Shadow phase. If a Free Peoples
player moves in the regroup phase, the fellowship phase is skipped.
And that's it! A very short Help Clinic about one of the most important
phases of the game. As noted, there is a huge amount of strategy in how
you play regroup actions in this phase. The Isengard Orc sub-culture, while
weak overall, can cut a fellowship to ribbons if they survive the skirmish
phase. Plus, the Free Peoples player has a vast resource of site and twilight
pool manipulation, and minion wounding cards to use.
Conclusion
As always, it you have any questions about this article or have ideas for
future articles, email me at elrond@decipher.com.
August 18, 2002
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