Long are the Waves on the Last Shore

To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressëa, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!

The years have a way of sneaking up on us. Time is a subtle but inexorable stream, and the trickle of the everyday adds to our lives one drop at a time. Only when we look back do we realize that our lives have pooled into a vast lake. It boggles my mind to think that I’ve been writing this blog for seven years. I look back at what I wrote in 2013, at where I was in my life, and I marvel at the journey which has led me from there to here.

Involvement in the Lord of the Rings LCG community has grown into a vital facet of my life. Attending GenCon in 2013 was my introduction to the community at large. There I met Caleb Grace, designer extraordinaire, and participated in my first GenCon/Fellowship event. Some moments represent critical junctures in our lives, and GenCon 2013 was certainly that for me. Among the many fine folks I met were Derek, Ian, and, Matthew, who I later joined as The Grey Company Podcast. They remain close friends and my life is better for knowing them.

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
-The Fellowship of the Ring

I never would have guessed, all those years ago, just how my community involvement would lead to wondrous adventures. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to meet players in: France, Portugal, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, and Spain. The Austin LotR LCG group which I helped start has been running strong for several years now and continues to be a source of joy and fellowship for me. I’ve been privileged to have conversations with designers Caleb and Matt Newman, as well as members of Cardboard of the Rings, Master of Lore, CardTalk and other notable content creators. Beyond GenCon, I’ve participated in Lure of Middle-earth in Germany and Con of the Rings in Minnesota. I cannot count the number of friendly people I’ve met and friends I’ve made since I started playing this game.

As with all adventures, life is not without its challenges. After a valiant struggle against cancer, my father passed away suddenly in 2015. Only those who have lost a loved one will understand just how deeply the wound hurts. Time passes, and our hearts heal, but we will never quite be the same. The most seemingly innocuous moments can bring a flood of memories back; a song, the smell of his favorite food. Tolkien had true wisdom when he said that not all tears an evil. We who survive hope to live inspired by those who have gone before us. In our hearts and memories, they live forever.

It was my father reading the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to me as bedtime stories which instilled an enduring love of Tolkien. Doubtless one of the things that makes me think of him now is the recent passing of Christopher Tolkien. Authorship is not always a clear-cut distinction, and works like the Silmarillion and Children of Húrin owe a tremendous debt to Tolkien’s original writing and legendarium. Still, the work of editor and collaborator is never easy, particularly when the original author is not available for questions. Christopher Tolkien deserves recognition for helping to complete so much of what his father left unfinished. As time passes, and my appreciation for Tolkien’s lesser-known works deepens, I recognize just how instrumental Christopher Tolkien was in crafting many of my favorite stories.

An unfortunate trend in media, which seems to have only worsened in the 21st century, is our fascination with the negative. I suppose this is human nature. Like many aspects of our nature, the tendency to be distracted by negativity is dangerous. If we don’t allow ourselves to step back and give self-awareness a chance to regain the reins, we risk getting caught up in the narrative and losing perspective on what really matters.

Our fine community is no exception when it comes to being distracted by the negative. Looking around various online forums, one can hear the doomsaying which followed immediately after FFG’s announcement of the game’s impending hiatus. Having worked for corporate entities in one capacity or another for 20 years now, I have little faith in their ability or desire to speak the truth. Personally, I think that capitalism is fundamentally incompatible with truthfulness. If a company knows that withholding the truth will in some way aid its profitability, it will most often choose this approach over one which is more forthright.

That said, companies are made up of people, and having met many of those directly involved in the creation of this game, this distinction is vital. While we may never know the ultimate reasons why this version of the game is ending, we do know that those who work on LotR LCG day-to-day care. They care not only for the game as a product which makes money, but they care for the players and the community which has formed around the game over the last decade. So many have put years of their lives into making this game the best it could be, and to be cynically critical of them because of a corporate decision would be an egregious mistake.

While it may be tempting to bemoan the ending of one story I am choosing to use this opportunity to look back and be grateful. If not for this game, I would never have formed the beautiful friendships I did. My travels would have been that much poorer for not having met kind and hospitable players from around the globe. The game has pushed me to pursue my passions for writing, graphic arts, search engine design, and literary criticism. Even now, the Discord channel remains a consistent source of inspiration, far more so than more general forms of online social interaction.

The community which formed around this game is as rich, diverse, and worthwhile as any community you are likely to find anywhere – it deserves to be cherished and celebrated.

After this iteration of the game ends, we don’t know what story comes next. For every creator the day comes when a creation must be allowed to stand or fall on its own. The original designers of this game have moved on to other endeavors and I am happy for them in their new adventures.  I hope that whoever is tasked with the next chapter of this game is able to continue with the level of quality which we now take for granted. As long as the post-hiatus output maintains the excellence of what we have now, I will remain a loyal patron and supporter of the game.

It may be that it is impossible for FFG – or any other company – to achieve the magical combination of theme and mechanics, community and camaraderie, which this game embodies. If that is the case, I will consider myself privileged to have been a part of something beautiful. The friendships I’ve made and the adventures I’ve experiences will live with me forever, and for all that this game has given me I am eternally grateful.

In the mean time, I encourage others to spend a moment and appreciate what this game has given to them. I thank all of you, my readers, for the feedback, encouragement, and even criticism you’ve given me over the last seven years. Without you, I would not have continued on this journey and so I owe some small but vital portion of my joy to your involvement as an audience. Feel free to share your stories and thoughts in the comments below.

Vengeance of Mordor: My Favorites So Far

I had hoped to have more of the cycle released by this point, but the release schedule of the game has slowed to a glacial pace. Still, Wrath and Ruin is finally available in the US (apologies to our European friends who are still waiting) and many of the player cards from next two Adventure Packs have already been spoiled. If I wait until the rest of the cycle is spoiled – to say nothing of released – I won’t be writing until some time next summer. With the caveat that this covers less than half of the cycle, here are some of my favorite player cards so far.

Hero: Lothíriel

For many long-time players of the game, a viable Gondor/Rohan allegiance deck is something akin to a grail quest. Even if we want to believe, we’re almost hesitant to hope for such a thing, for fear that our desires will be dashed. Lothiriel represents the fulfillment of this lengthy quest.

Gondor tribal decks have lacked a low threat high willpower hero for the life of the game. Either version of Eowyn often serves as a stand-in, but neither of those cards has any particular synergy with other Gondor cards. Lothiriel unlocks all sorts of strategies with Gondor allies, without a resource cost on the need for a resource match. The fact that these allies shuffle into your deck is not necessary bad as Gondor has existing effects which key off of allies leaving play.

I appreciate the symmetry Lothiriel has her father Prince Imrahil. The Tactics version has a similar effect to hers, only for the combat phase. When paired with her husband, Lothiriel becomes ever more versatile with the Rohan trait. This is where those wishing for a Gondor/Rohan allegiance archetype can rejoice. There are two version of Eomer to choose, and with just those two heroes you can unlock a whole plethora of utility allies.

Many Rohan allies have discard-based abilities, but the Gamling/Guthwine decks just never seemed to realize their full potential. I suspect Lothiriel and Eomer decks will realize the potential of these allies, as players will be much less reticent to discard Rohan allies for which they never had to pay. My hope is that these decks can fill a support niche, a sort of human analog to Silvan bounce decks.

Honorable Mention: Frodo Baggins

Unique Ally: Pippin

The optional engagement sub-theme of Hobbits decks is one of the nigh perfect thematic/mechanical virtuosities that make this game so deep. However, without more compelling Hobbit allies, there is only so many ways to mix and match the existing Hobbit heroes. This is why ally versions of Pippin and Merry are such welcome additions to the card pool.

While Merry’s ability is a bit more subtle and clearly prefers builds outside of standard Hobbit archetypes, Pippin’s passive ability and response both fit squarely within the sneaky Hobbitsie strategy. His synergy with hero Sam is frankly kind of ridiculous as they both give you readying and a stat boost from the same exact trigger.

Decks with two or more Tactics heroes have been intriguing to me for some time now. However, it’s critical in such decks to include willpower, particularly in the early game. A two-cost ally with 2 Willpower and 2 hit points is a perfect fit for any Tactics deck which needs a questing boost. Even if you aren’t taking advantage of his trait or abilities, Pippin’s stats are excellent for the cost.

Honorable Mention: Angbor the Fearless

Generic Ally: Soldier of Gondor

As is evidenced by my decks over the years, I’ve been truing to make a Gondor tribal deck work for years now. The archetype has the best resource acceleration in the game, but card draw and search have always been a weak spot for Leadership-based Gondor decks. A two cost generic ally which lets you search for more allies is exactly the king of support this tribe needs.

With Faramir, Boromir, Ingold, and Knight of the White Tower, among others, Gondor has a plethora of powerful allies. Gondor Swarm decks typically run at least 25 allies, so a worst case is that you will fetch another Soldier, Envoy, Errand Rider, or Veteran of Osgiliath. If you’re lucky you will find Faramir ally and your questing ramping will be completed in one fell swoop.

Given the card advantage provided by his response, I wouldn’t complain if the soldier had weak stats and only 1 hit point because he has already done his job just be entering play. Have balanced stats means that he can contribute to any kind of quest (normal, Battle, and Siege) and the hit points means that he will survive most direct damage treachery. On the other hand, you can use him for chump blocking and not have him die to a direct damage shadow effect. It is not exaggerating to say that this is the generic ally that Gondor tribal decks have been needing for quite some time.

Honorable Mention: Rohirrim Scout

Unique Attachment: Saruman’s Staff

These days, I almost exclusively multiplayer games, with the occasional solo game for testing. Thus Doomed decks have been a non-starter. Many modern quests – Wrath and Ruin is a great example – incrementally ratchet up your threat.  This makes doomed cards a risky proposition as other players often won’t have a dedicated or repeatable solution for threat control.

Enter Saruman’s Staff. This card, paired with its eponymous owner, will usher in Saruman Doomed decks as an archetype which is viable for more than just solo play. The doomed events which affect each player are especially powerful, and are the perfect target for the threat mitigation offered by this staff.

With the power of Saruman’s Staff, Deep Knowledge is essentially free. Even Legacy of Numenor, for a reduced 2 threat, becomes a game changer in three and four player games. Even a less-used card like The Wizard’s Voice is intriguing when you realize that it amounts to a Feint for each player for a measly cost of 1 threat. Power of Orthanc is now the most effective form of condition control, doubly so when there are multiple players.

Caleb has been making a point of elevating existing cards into fully fledged archetypes. By the end of the this cycle, I expect Doomed decks to represent some of the more powerful decks in the game. For players who like aggressive style decks with high threat and high risk, Saruman and his staff is the keys that unlock the tower of Orthanc.

Honorable Mention: The One Ring

Generic Attachment: Put Off Pursuit

Trap decks are mostly orthogonal to location attachment (aka Haldan) decks. This makes sense, when you think about the cards which drive these respective archetypes. There are only so many attachments you can fit into a single deck. This is why a location attachment which provides some form of enemy control is so useful.

In many quests, there will be one or two enemies with high engagement cost and high attack. Often these enemies will also have archery, or high threat, or a passive effect which punishes you for leaving them in the staging area. The worst enemies will have multiple of these aspects.

If Put Off Pursuit attached directly to an enemy like a trap, it would be much less useful. Timing is everything. Being able to attach this to the active location after a troublesome enemy enters play makes it much more consistent that its trap counterparts. If all this wasn’t good enough, the “cost” of this card actually ensures a steady stream of locations to target with all of your location attachments.

Honorable Mention: Inner Strength

Event: Host of Galadhrim

Among my favorite decks to play in pick-up multiplayer is Whispers in the Trees. Silvan bounce is one of the most enjoyable archetypes to play. The number of decisions every round, the timing of when to return and play your allies, and the well-rounded support nature of the deck are all favorable. An event which lets you trigger all of your leaves play and enters play effects in the same phase is a dream come true.

Leading into this cycle, there were several archetypes I wanted to see receive further support: Gondor, Rohan, Beorning, and Eagles. If the first half of the cycle is any indication, these archetypes should all be bolstered. However, it’s a pleasant surprise when an already strong style receives such a seismic shift. It cannot be overstated just how powerful this card is going to be when it’s timed correctly in a Silvan deck.

If all you were doing is re-using the responses on Naith Guide, Greenwood Archer, Galadriel’s Handmaiden, Marksman of Lorien, etc., this card would still be a powerhouse. Don’t forget, after you’ve triggered all of those responses, every single one of your allies gets to benefit from Celeborn and Galadriel’s abilities as well. I cannot wait to add multiple copies of this card to my Silvan deck and try it out. Kudos to Caleb and the design team on the way they are evolving existing archetypes in interesting and effective ways.

Honorable Mention: Pillars of the Kings

Contract: Forth, The Three Hunters!

Weary Pilgrim is another among my favorite decks, and it highlights the power of the Fellowship contract. More than any other cards in the deluxe and cycle, contracts are going to have the biggest impact on the metagame. This should not be surprising as contracts have huge impacts on deck-building and their effects are extant for the entire game.

Each of the contracts is wildly different from the next, and some of them will not suite every play style. I have to be honest that the Burglar contract is not to my taste, and I don’t see building many decks around that theme. Something about the slot-machine like nature of attachments in that build just doe not speak to my style.

On the other hand, we have a contract which is right up my ally. I was building three hunters decks long before this contract was every spoiled, and it elevates those decks in power and consistency. The cost reduction in particular is critical in the early game, when a lack of allies to share the early game load is most hard felt. Once you have readying and other action advantage effects in play, your heroes will be more than capable of handling matters for themselves. The A-side of this contract is essential for surviving the early game.

Low-cost restricted attachments are all well and good, but it is the B-side of this contract which truly elevates hero-only decks. Giving additional willpower for each restricted attachments allows you to muster impressive willpower with only three heroes. This is where cards like Celebrian’s Stone and Silver Circlet become doubly powerful.

Thanks to the metagame-defining cards like Warden of Healing and Ioreth, allies provide the most efficient healing in the game. This makes the healing built into the B-side of Forth, the Three Hunters are the more vital. Thanks to consistent healing and restricted attachments like Citadel Plate, Raiment of War, and Ancestral Armor, it should even be possible to take undefended attacks with your more resilient heroes.

Honorable Mention: Fellowship

Alternate Art: Starlight on the Western Seas

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees.
Thy starlight on the Western Seas.
– The Fellowship of the Ring

The Eldar bring a sense of mystery to Tolkien’s legendarium. They represent a link between the world of men, which more closely resembles our world, and the world of the Valar which places Tolkien’s writing at the head of the fantasy pantheon. With the Elven Rings of Power, the epoch-long influence of the Noldor and the Teleri on the shaping of history in Middle-earth.

A synthesis of ideas which have percolated for some time, this deck brings together tribal strategies, mono-sphere design, and attachment-centered design concepts. Continuing in the vein of my recent alternate art projects, all of the player cards feature the works of Magali Villeneuve. Her iconic pieces of elves have provided a signature for the visual style of this game.

From a strategy standpoint, this deck is exists as the hybrid of hero-centric decks and ally swarm. To fully realize the power of Narya, we obviously need at least two allies in play, and allies fill a role in combat which is the one real weakness of our heroes. Moreover, it is only natural to include a good number of allies in order to best utilize Galadriel’s passive ability.

This deck is also well-suited as a questing and support deck in multiplayer, where you can share Narya and Nenya’s abilities across the table. For solo play, it may not be the best choice for combat heavy quests which do not allow sufficient time to setup your ally army. Given time, you can amass an impressive board state, thanks to Glorfindel and Guardian of Rivendell. Wild Stallion complements Narya’s effect and can confer an ally with heroic combat prowess.

Events here provide a late-game punch. A timely use of Lords of the Eldar or Shadows Give Way can often be the moment when victory is assured. Cancellation and threat reduction are mainstays of the Noldor archetype, so A Test of Will and Elrond’s Counsel should be no surprise here. There is nothing radical about the design here, but I’ve found this deck to be a perfect compliment to combat-oriented decks which don’t want to concern themselves with questing, threat control or cancellation.

I hope that you enjoy this deck as much as I do, and the beautiful alternate art certainly adds to that enjoyment. You can find the full deck list on RingsDB. As always, contact the Hall if you are interested in printable versions of these images. May your adventures in Middle-earth be bless by the light of the Elves!

Heroes

Arwen Undómiel

Círdan the Shipwright

Galadriel

Allies

Elladan

Elrohir

Elrond

Eregion Survivor

Galadhrim Weaver

Galadriel’s Handmaiden

Glorfindel

Guardian of Rivendell

Imladris Stargazer

Lindir

Master of the Forge

Wild Stallion

Attachments

Light of Valinor

Mirror of Galadriel

Narya

Nenya

Silver Harp

To the Sea! To the Sea!

Events

A Test of Will

Elrond’s Counsel

Elven-light

Lords of the Eldar

Shadows Give Way

The Galadhrim’s Greeting

Alternate Art: Bear Jamboree

I’ve been tinkering with various means for unlocking the fierce potential of Grimbeorn the Old, and this decks represents my current thinking. There are undoubtedly decks which focus more directly on Grimbeorn, but I also wanted to create something thematic. There aren’t enough Beornings in the card pool – at least not enough effective Beornings, so this deck is supplemented with Dúnedain, Hobbits, and a smattering of other factions.

This is one of a handful of decks which I will bring to Con of the Rings 2019. As such, it is not designed as a solo deck, but rather is intended to fulfill combat roles, with very limiting questing ability, and some card draw (thanks to Gildor Inglorion). That a deck featuring both Beorning heroes is primarily intended for combat is not in any way shocking, but what may be surprising is just how powerful this deck can be when it’s had a chance to setup properly. With Orcrist and The Day’s Rising attached to Grimbeorn, along with an Armored Destrier, he actually gains money by using his ability to kill an enemy, with the second attack being resource neutral (The Day’s Rising, sadly, is not repeatable).

In any case, once Grimbeorn has some gear loaded up, this deck will cut through most enemies like a hot knife through butter. Papa bear helps buy you a few rounds of setup, as Beorn can handle all but the strongest enemies without twitching a whisker. Gildor provides questing, and the all important card draw to help find all of our critical attachments. The decks skews more toward Leadership cards than would normally be advisable in a deck with only a single Leadership hero, but Grimbeorn’s resource is not really available to pay for cards, so in that regard the ratio is more reasonable.

The ideal first hand will include a copy of Tighten Our Belts, and any such hand should make one strongly consider passing on the first planning phase. You can still safely play Dúnedain Hunter as this costs no resources, but the rest of the cards can wait until the second round. Having 3 resources on each hero to start the second round is a huge early game boost, and Beorn makes this strategy less risky than it might otherwise seem. Critical early plays for Grimbeorn are Armored Destrier and Dúnedain Warning, to help him survive enemy attacks.

With Gandalf in hand, or possibly a Giant Bear, you will be ready to defeat whatever enemy might happen to guard Orcrist. On the off chance that a location is guarding the sword instead, a Sneak Attacking Meneldor can handle that. Whatever it takes, the goal is have Grimbeorn wielding Foe-hammer as quickly as possible. Of special note: the response on Orcrist does not require you to exhaust it, so with readying effects like Armored Destrier you can gain multiple resources to help pay for Grimbeorn’s ability.

The full deck list can be found on RingsDB. Anyone interested in printing these alternate art cards for themselves should contact the hall. I look forward to meeting many fine members of the community at the Con of the Rings. In the mean time, happy adventures in Middle-earth!

Beorn

Gildor Inglorion

Grimbeorn the Old

Allies

Dúnedain Hunter

Faramir

Gandalf

Giant Bear

Honour Guard

Legolas

Meneldor

Merry

Pippin

Attachments

Armored Destrier

Captain of Gondor

Dúnedain Mark

Dúnedain Remedy

Dúnedain Warning

Orcrist

Secret Vigil

The Day’s Rising

Events

Beorn’s Rage

Sneak Attack

Tighten Our Belts

Alternate Art: The Three Hunters Aggro v2

Sands of Harad was not exactly my favorite deluxe expansion, when it was first released. The versions of Gimli and Legolas had obvious synergy, but their effects seemed a bit underwhelming. Spirit Legolas, in particular, was in an uphill battle to be more compelling than his Core Set Tactics version. At the risk of being a tad reductive, deluxe expansions fall into two main categories: iconoclastic, and insinuating.

Heirs of Númenor and Voice of Isengard are examples of iconoclastic expansions. The introduced the first exemplary defender in the game. Moreover, the quests completely shattered the way player decks interacted with the game. The turtle strategy, so effective in the first two cycles, essentially went into hibernation with the release of Heirs. Ranger Spikes ushered Traps decks into being, and represented a radical departure from traditional combat strategies. Blood of Númenor, along with the subsequent Gondorian Fire, remain such powerful combat solutions that they seem bound for some inevitable errata.

Likewise, Voice of Isengard’s affect on the metagame was felt almost immediately. The Doom keyword, particularly the events Deep Knowledge and Legacy of Númenor, brought about a seismic shift in early-game development strategies. Rohan Warhorse immediately joined the ranks of combat staples and remains one the best sources of action advantage for Tactics decks. In retrospect, the Warhorse was the crest of a wave of Mount attachments, which later even became it’s own archetype. While less impressive, the Westfold Horse-breeder is a staple support piece in Mount-heavy decks.

In contrast to these impactful releases, expansions like Sands of Harad have a less immediate and more subtle influence on the metagame. I’ve always been a fan of cantrips, so the value of Unlikely Friendship was immediately apparent. Still, the card lacks raw power, and its presence in a deluxe expansion leaves a question hanging in the air: are these multi-trait effects going to be worth it?. With the release of power-houses like Proud Hunters, Coney in a Trap, and Heirs of Eärendil, the question would ultimately be answered with an emphatic yes. Still, the two somewhat bland heroes, along with a clever but as yet unproven trait-based strategy, made for a less than stellar debut, at least in my estimation.

Fortunately, the quests in the Sand of Harad and the Haradrim APs were and remain some of the best in the game. So, if the player cards were in some cases less exciting it did little to detract from overall impression of many (myself included) for that deluxe expansion and cycle. A game with this level of complexity will inevitably have cards and archetypes which are not immediately power, or even where there are hints of power but it is not yet fully realized. I think back to Ian and myself, opening our packs of Blood of Gondor back at Gen Con 2013. Neither of us recognized the power of Caldara, and we were left puzzled to say the least. It wasn’t until later cards unlocked her potential that it became clear just how robust her archetype truly was.

One of my favorite things about Caleb’s design style is that he is constantly searching for ways to re-contextualize existing cards within the metagame. A perfect example of this are two attachments from the Sands of Harad which both serve critical roles in the deck featured here. Neither Mirkwood Long-knife nor Dwarven Shield seemed very impressive on arrival. While they were each obviously designed for Legolas and Gimli respectively, they seemed a bit over-priced at 2 resources, and a bit underwhelming when compared to existing options.

Glóin decks were already well established by this point, making the shield seem like a trifling after-thought compared to the original Core Set resource powerhouse. Only available to Silvan, the Long-knife had a narrow niche of heroes on which it even made sense as an attachment. At 2 cost in a sphere lacking much resource acceleration, it was going to be hard-pressed to compare favorably to attachments like Rivendell Blade. Still, these items had positive aspects as well, particularly that they belonged to spheres which did not have many armor or weapon options available.

It wasn’t until the latest spoilers for The City of Ulfast that the potential of these two attachments was readily apparent. Forth, The Three Hunters! is a contract that is near and dear to my heart. The heroic efforts of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to rescue Merry and Pippin is one of my favorite parts of The Two Towers. Because of the requirements for action advantage and raw stats, it has largely been impractical to run decks without allies. This is a challenge for thematic deck-builders, as representing passages like The Three Hunters becomes all but impossible. Something feels a bit off about trying to represent the Three Hunters’ valiant chase of the Uruks across Rohan, when your heroes are accompanied by a veritable army of supporting cast.

Finally, it is possible – even encouraged – to build a deck without any allies. This contract is exciting, and I cannot wait to see what possibilities the community uncover – the ground of ally-free decks is fertile and largely uncharted. In the mean time, I took this as an opportunity to resurrect my old Three Hunters Aggro deck. I removed what few allies that deck included, and added a laser focus on getting restricted attachments on each of the heroes as quickly as possible. The cost reduction built into the A-side of the contract is critical here.

While Mirkwood Long-knife and Dwarven Shield both feel a bit underwhelming at 2 cost, the immediately become compelling when you can play them for half cost. The decision making around which attachments to play on which heroes and when is the central question which makes this deck so much fun to play. Like is predecessor, the reliance on Doomed events to ramp our setup makes it a poor fit for multiplayer games. Again, this fits with the theme of the Three Hunters, who could rely on little to no external aid in their efforts to find and rescue their friends.

The full deck list is available on RingsDB, along with a brief discussion of strategy. Like all aggro-style decks, the strategy at play here is risky and exhilarating. With bad luck, it is possible to get stuck without critical attachments on one of our heroes, and without the willpower and healing provided by the B-side of our contract, this deck can easily falter. However, the absurd levels of card draw, and fetch via effects like Open the Armory, are included precisely to mitigate against these sorts of circumstances.

Enjoy the alternate art I’ve chosen for this deck, and the ridiculously aggressive play-style that it demands. I will be attending Con of the Rings in Minnesota in a few short weeks, so and I look forward to seeing some of you fine people while I’m there. In the mean time, have many wondrous adventures in Middle-earth!

Heroes

Aragorn

Gimli

Legolas

Attachments

Ancestral Armor

Armored Destrier

Armor of Erebor

Celebrían’s Stone

Dwarven Shield

Mirkwood Long-knife

Ranger Spear

Silver Harp

Steed of Imladris

Steed of the North

Sword of Númenor

Sword that was Broken

Unexpected Courage

Windfola

Wingfoot

Events

Deep Knowledge

Elven-light

Heed the Dream

Legacy of Númenor

Open the Armory

The Seeing-stone

Unlikely Friendship

We Are Not Idle

Alternate Art: Errata

The fate of any living game is that it will accumulate some cruft over the years. This game is no exception, with FFG releasing numerous FAQs to clarify rules and changes to fix broken cards. Some players voice frustration at the need for errata, and while I can understand this to some extent, it is important to remember that a game with an ever-growing card pool is essentially impossible to grow perfectly.

This set of alternate art includes 29 cards, many with only minor changes (per-phase and per-round limits, mostly). Looked at another way, having only 29 cards with errata – out of the pool of thousands of cards released – is an impressive accomplishment. Unfortunately, FFG does not have an existing solution for releasing errata cards to players. The only way to get the amended versions of these cards is to buy a new version of the associated product, with the new printing. For a game with so many products, each on their own printing schedule, it is simply not possible to have all of the most current printings.

With that in mind, I’ve created a set of alternate art cards for all of the cards (as of September 8th, 2019) with official errata. If you want to print them yourselves, I invite you to download them here (these are printable versions, which include bleed margins). Unfortunately, I cannot have them printed and then offer to sell them directly as this would be in violation of FFG’s community policies. That said, if you appreciate the work I do writing on this blog, creating alternate art decks, and maintaining the Hall of Beorn Card Search, I gratefully accept donations to help me cover the upkeep of these sites.

The cards are all included below, and it is an interesting overview of the game to see which cards were broken by players over the years. For the heroes, I preferred full-bleed versions of the existing art, since those are not available officially. All of the other cards have completely different art, to differentiate them from the official printings, and also to spice them up a bit. I tried to find the highest quality and most thematic art piece for each card, but if anyone has suggestions for alternatives please leave them in the comments below. Enjoy!

Heroes

 

Beravor

Boromir

Háma

Caldara

Nori

Allies

 

Wandering Took

Zigil Miner

Erebor Battle Master

Master of Lore

Blue Mountain Trader

Attachments

 

Horn of Gondor

Narvi’s Belt

Love of Tales

Protector of Lórien

Expert Treasure-hunter

Legacy of Durin

A Burning Brand

Thrór’s Map

Wingfoot

Events

 

Feint

Thicket of Spears

Will of the West

Out of the Wild

Out of Sight

We Are Not Idle

A Elbereth! Gilthoniel!

A Watchful Peace

Trained for War

Ravens of the Mountain

Poll Results: Which archetypes most deserve more support

I’ve had enough time to play through the scenarios of The Shadow in the East, in solo and multiplayer. Before too much time passes, I want to look back on the Ered Mithrin cycle and the related poll which I closed only recently. If that poll stayed open longer than is typical, it is because the cycle was a bit sluggish in merging from hibernation. Every deluxe and cycle introduces new player card archetypes as well as supplementing existing archetypes. This poll asked which existing archetypes players most wanted to see improved by the Wilds of Rhovanion and Ered Mithrin cycle.

It would not be accurate to say that Beornings were my favorite archetype from the beginning, because there was no Beorning archetype during the early days. The Beorn ally from the Core Set has always been one of the most powerful allies in the game, and an excellent target for Sneak Attack. At the risk of hyperbole, the hero version of Beorn from the first Hobbit Saga expansion was a stroke of genius. An outlier in almost every statistical sense, he simultaneously captures the theme of the character and represents a seismic shift to the mechanics of combat.

Even so, one a hero does not an archetype make, doubly so when the two best Beornings up to that point where two different versions of the same character! Still, the tribe straggled on, in the form a second high-cost ally with a somewhat dubious discard effect. Finally, the Ered Mithrin cycle provided the lynchpin in the form of Beorning Skin-changer and brought into existence what can at last be called an actual archetype.

After the two versions of Beorn, the Skin-changer is the third thematic and mechanical win for Beornings. Two details are critical to making this card function, and even salvage some of previous misses for the archetype. First of all, at 2 cost the Skin-changer is actually affordable. This is critical in a sphere like Tactics with limited resource acceleration, especially when all of the other allies in the archetype are ostentatiously expensive.

The second important aspect of the Skin-changer is its even stats, and the fact that it can use its ability without exhausting. This means that you can use the Skin-changer to help out in other aspects of the game, and the discard it once you are ready to bring a larger Beorning into play. With three hit points, you can even soak some archery damage while you’re waiting for the ideal moment to transform into a Giant Bear. It’s good to see that so many respondents to the poll agree, and voted Beornings the archetype most-needed of added support.

Rounding out the support is an excellent event: Beorn’s Rage. It fits the savage theme of the tribe, but more importantly it actually works from a mechanics standpoint. Most player card combat events either stop an attack or boost the defending/attaching character. By targeting the enemy, Beorn’s Rage can be used with all Beornings, including the immune hero Beorn. To be fair, it would have been a sad sight if an eponymous event could not be used with the leader of the tribe. For anyone interested in a deck which takes advantage of many of these new Beorning cards, take a look at my Carrock and Eyrie deck on RingsDB.

While the latest cycle takes place in and around Mordor, every cycle typically gets a few outlier allies. These either bolster existing archetypes or revitalize and re-contextualize other, more overlooked cards. It is my hope that the Beorning archetype gets a bit more support in this cycle, and maybe – hope beyond hope – their own contract! Thanks to all who participated in this long-running poll, and please be sure to vote in the newest poll.

With more than 1000 votes tallied, here are the full results:

Archetype	Votes	Percentage
Beornings	104	10%
Secrecy	81	8%
Silvan Bounce	81	8%
Hobbit Ally	72	7%
Eagles	65	6%
Doomed	53	5%
Rohan Mounts	53	5%
Harad Ally	52	5%
Valour	46	4%
Victory Display	46	4%
Gandalf Hero	44	4%
Gondor Swarm	43	4%
Sidequests	43	4%
Ents	42	4%
Dúnedain Enemy Engagement	32	3%
Hobbit Optional Engagement	30	2%
Dwarf Digging	29	2%
Rohan Swarm	26	2%
Noldor Discard	24	2%
Outlands	18	1%
Dwarf Swarm	16	1%