FW Gandalf - Very Respectable Hobbits Never Had Any Adventures or Did Anything Unexpected + Black Riders

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CDavis7M
Posts: 2816
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:10 am
Location: California

For the resource deck, you stay within The Shire, never doing anything unexpected or having any adventures. You don't even go to The Old Forest. Give Welcome to the Unexpected will make your 1MP non-characters worth 2MP. Sapling of the White Tree can be played at Tuckburrow to get The White Tree. Backpacks can be swapped for Secret Books, which can untap the sites (this is still a rules question though). But you do not necessarily need to untap sites as you have many sites to play cards at. You play Mathom Lore at Aden Scarlet's Medical Library. Then, you can fill your Larder-y (Armory) with food minor items. I should add in the minion information MP cards (That's Been Heard Before Tonight & THat Ain't No Secret), as these can be played at Hero sites (the Medical Library) since they do not tap the site. And if Secret Book doesn't work, I'd focus more on the Information. Many of the other resources are used to increase card draw: A Short Rest, Second Breakfast, Dark Tryst, and Own Thoughts and Devices. Bilbo and Gandalf can "Say 'Friend' and Enter" to prevent being Lost in the Free-Domains.

For the hazard deck, the idea is to play Back Riders, which will let Nazgul attack as detainment in [-me_bl-] [-me_wi-] [-me_sl-]. Then, Withstand The Nine lets you play a Nazgul keyed to nothing (not as detainment). You can also follow up the detainment Nazgul with Vampires from The Necromancer set. The Nazgul Are Abroad recycle as normal. Lobelia S.B. is included to save Mistress Loeblia for yourself. I left out many of the traditional Nazgul creature attack cards to keep the deck down to 30 and to focus on the new RotS cards. Long Wailing Cry seems like it'd be good against minions, but I don't use it here.

Draft Pool
Bilbo with Gandalf's Friend and Pipe
Fatty Bolger with Thrall of the Voice, following Frodo
Frodo with Wizard's Myrmidon and Backpack
Robin Smallburro, following Bilbo
Sam Gamgee with Backpack

Characters
1 Folco Boffin
1 Merry
1 Milo Burrows
1 Pippin
3 Gandalf

30 Resources
1 Bill the Pony
1 Mistress Lobelia
1 Hobbits
2 A Short Rest
2 Sapling of the White Tree
2 Armory
2 Chambers in the Royal Court
1 Give Welcome to the Unexpected
1 Hobbit-lore
2 Own Thoughts and Devices
1 Value Food and Cheer
1 Wizard's Trove
2 Dark Quarrels
2 Dark Tryst
1 Pipe Weed
1 Say 'Friend' and Enter
2 Second Breakfast
3 Twilight
1 Red Book of Westmarch
1 The Bullroarer's Club

30 Hazards
1 Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
2 Assassin
2 Cave-drake
3 Vampire
1 Adûnaphel
1 Akhôrahil
1 Dwar of Waw
1 Hoarmûrath of Dír
1 Indûr Dawndeath
1 Khamûl the Easterling
1 Ren the Unclean
1 Witch-king of Angmar
1 Ûvatha the Horseman
3 Black Riders
3 Doors of Night
2 The Nazgûl are Abroad
3 Withstand the Nine
2 An Unexpected Outpost

Sideboard
1 The White Tree
2 Miruvor
2 Mathom Lore
2 Cram
2 Gold Ring that Sauron Fancies
2 A Little Gold Ring
2 Healing Herbs
2 Secret Book
2 Double-dealing
3 Guarded Haven
2 Smoke Rings
2 Longbottom Leaf
1 Beer from the East-farthing
1 Blind to All Else
2 Plotting Ruin
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Thorsten the Traveller
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Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:44 pm
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Your (Fallen-Gandalf) Shire-shuffle, though very thematical!, is exactly what some people dislike about ME: Return of the Shadow. The many sites in The Shire allow for operating within a very tight location deck (i.e. a single region).
But these sites are from the Unexpected Party publication and meant for scenario gaming, which is a different setting than a general opponent game. Karsten had a similar deck some years ago at a DC event, though I believe even with Secret Precious (ME:MM), which makes it even better.
Stone-age did not end because man ran out of rocks.
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CDavis7M
Posts: 2816
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:10 am
Location: California

Yeah, I am sure it is a little annoying to play against (unless you are stacked up with Wandering Eldar and Crows). But that could be said for many decks. Including squatting decks made possible by virtue of the DC home-site start rule. And, this deck would likely be a lot better if it at least moved to the Old Forest.

Anyway, there do seem to be too many sites in the Shire... but maybe it is really that 2 of the sites are just too good. Information at the Medical Library is a little too powerful compared to setting up minion Bree, Worthy Hills, DC Rivendell, or Weathertop. Major items at Tuckburrow is pretty overpowered too considering it enables White Tree. Perhaps if it was just battle-gear items, or something else.
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Thorsten the Traveller
Ex Council Chairman
Posts: 1764
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:44 pm
Location: Tilburg, Netherlands

Limiting Tuckburrow to battle-gear items might be a good idea indeed, thematic as well. If anything, major items should be more available at Sackville, which was a market town.

It's not just the moving in a [-me_fd-] that's the problem, Assassins can still get the poor Hobbits at all sites and they might be lost in their own Free Domain. But in general, never leaving a single region all game seriously limits the range of hazards an opponent can play. As DC designers we've always tried to promote moving. The DC starting rule does not really promote squatting, it might save a company 1 (potentially desastrous) turn, yes, but the main reason for the rule was to promote decks far away from Rivendell. Which squatter decks are greatly aided by the starting rule, in your experience?

The Medical Library will not remain in the set, probably. It's too RPG for meccg.
Also, be aware that Backpack might change and become more like Orc-pouch. We do like that you can grab a Lost Tome with it, but not a Secret Book (if that makes sense :lol: ).
Stone-age did not end because man ran out of rocks.
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