ENTER LOTR

If you are reading this article, I assume you've played your first game of LOTR , or at least are a little curious about the game. As with any new game, getting started can mean a big chunk of change, especially for you gamers out there that are too young to work. Convincing mom and dad to give you more money so you can purchase small illustrated pieces of cardboard can be a harder task than accepting that "Attack of the Clones" is the name of the next Star Wars film.

WELL MY FINANCIALLY CHALLENGED FRIEND! THERE IS HOPE!

As we all know, most of the power cards in any CCG are rares if not super-happy-mega-uber-rare. (I'm sure the Star Wars players reading this article can feel my pain. "Yes! I now have an emperor and it only cost me one kidney!") That doesn't mean that all the commons and uncommons suck! There are also quite a few quality commons and uncommons in most sets as well. The goal of this article is to point out a few of the quality, non-rare cards in the initial LOTR set and to help you in building a deck from them.

HERE WE GO

Thrarin, Dwarven Smith
I will admit the first through ninth time I looked at this card I brushed him off as a crappy old dwarf. But then I got to thinking about something. He is 1 twilight for a 4 power 2 defense ally but that isn't where he shines. If you exert him he can come in and skirmish for you. Why is this so special? Well think about. If you're playing a twilight denial deck that tries to run to site 5 on the first turn (by having your opponent go first and using your sites which add to the move total) then Thrarin is your man. Since he is an ally he doesn't add to the twilight pool on movement and at 1 twilight that's a pretty good bargain. Think of him as a skirmish-canceling event that doesn't sit in your hand waiting and can be used past site 5!

A Rangers Versatility
Ok, This is probably the most broken card in the environment right now. Spot a ranger at a river or forest (which ain't no thang) exhaust up to 2 minions. Basically make 2 of the beefiest minions on the board into Archery fodder. I played in a tourney this past weekend and had it played on me in every game, not to mention I was playing it as well. This card is a bit on the TOO GOOD side. Here is a scenario for you. My opponent plays the Witch-king on a black steed with the pale blade and another Nazgul with a nazgul sword (Yeah I know I gave him a lot of twilight but read on and you'll see why) This made the Witch-king power 21, damage +1and Fierce and the other Nazgul at least a 12 and fierce...Then I played A Rangers Versatility and killed them both in the Archery phase. Pretty sick if you ask me.

Rumil Elven Protector
Right now a lot of people are playing Moria Swarm decks for there shadow half and a few others (with the money to get the butt-whipping rares) are playing Sauron orcs. This guy is tech against both. Get him on the table and your opponent has to face the fact that he can pop 2 caps off on his minions plus whatever archery total you have! Not to mention if you have him exhausted before site 6 he can jump in and take one for the team! Now if you happen to get a galadriel as one of your rares then plop her down with him and you've got yourself an orc-killing machine!

Ullaire Nelya
This guy is in the running for my favorite ringwraith (with Cantea and Enquea) I'm currently running 4 of him in my shadow deck. He is a 10 power fierce minion for 5 that is never roaming, which in itself is good. The reason I'm running 4 of him in my deck though is his ability. He can exert to convert an opponent's site to your site of the same number. If you're playing an important site 1 like The Prancing Pony he is gold. If you don't go first and get to start your first site or draw one of your Aragorns on the draw then Nelly can drop at site 2 and convert site 1 to yours so when it gets to your turn you can pull your aragorn! (Sidenote: whenever you play Ullaire Nelya give your opponent a verse of your favorite Nelly tune, It makes him fight better, trust me)

Sleep, Caradhras
As I stated earlier, Sauron deck sporting loads of conditions are out there. I've seen them either sporting Orc Bowmen/Under the Watchful Eye or Thin and Stretched/Desperate Defense of the Ring. Sleep KO's both of those combos. It also wastes Blade Tip, Saurumon's Ambition, Spies of Saurumon etc..etc.. All in all a real power card in a deck with few/no conditions for the free peoples half of your deck.

Goblin Scimitar/Goblin Scavengers/Host of Thousands
A nice common card drawing engine. Plop a scimitar on a goblin draw a card, next turn plop a scavenger get back the scimitar (and it doesn't have to be on him!) Draw another card, next turn Host of thousands for the scavenger who gets the scimitar draw another card.

ENOUGH TALKING LETS BUILD A DECK!

No Rare Fellowship deck

Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring

Companions - 7
Sam, Son of Hamfast (start)
Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (start)
Pippin, A Hobbit of Some Intelligence (start)
Aragorn, King in Exile x2
Boromir, Son of Denethor x2

Events - 11
Dagger Strike x4
Hobbit Stealth x4
Hobbit Intuition x3

Conditions - 6
A Talent for Not Being Seen x2
There and Back Again x4

Possessions - 6
Hobbit Sword x4
Ranger's Sword x2

The point of this deck is to get Merry with a sword and have him, Aragorn and Boromir be your fighters. Start the Prancing Pony and bid about 4-5 (Sam will take care of 3 of the burdens so bidding high is not a problem.) You should win the bid, so start first and pull Aragorn first turn. Play Boromir as soon as you can because he makes your hobbits very strong. Sites 1-5 will be no problem because of the stealths and intuitions, and after that you should be ale to make your hobbits pretty massive with those cards as well as swords, dagger strike, and there and back again. Play A Talent for Not Being Seen early to cut down on the twilight you give away. The opponent will only be ably to play about 3 dudes a turn, and Merry, Boromir, and Aragorn should be able to handle those 3 guys. If they play a 4th, just throw pippin in front of it and use There and Back Again to try and keep him from being overwhelmed. If he dies, Sam should be the next to start chumping.

Rares you might want to consider trading for to enhance this deck include; Power According to His Stature, Blade of Gondor, The Rare Aragorn, The Rare Merry, and Aragorn's Bow. None of these cards are required for the deck to work, but all of them would be worth considering for the deck if you have access to them. The Rare versions of Merry and Aragorn are simply better in this deck. Blade of Gondor makes it where Boromir can actually win some fights, and it works well with Dagger Strike. Aragorn's Bow makes site 5 a lot easier because you can usually just heal him back to normal at site 6, and Power According to His Stature helps out a ton against Moria decks and makes it very hard to Overwhelm Frodo

Shadow Swarm

Minions - 20
Moria Scout x4
Goblin Wallcrawler x4
Goblin Runner x4
Goblin Marksman x4
Goblin Scavengers x4

Events - 4
Host of Thousands x4

Possessions - 4
Goblin Scimitar x4

Conditions - 2
They Are Coming x2

Probably one of the easiest Shadow decks to build. It requires absolutely no rares, and is very competitive. Even some players with access to whatever cards they need will still play a deck very similar in design to this one. Just keep in mind that when playing this deck, that power is not important, it's all about volume. That's why it's often better to run Host of Thousands instead of Drums in the Deep or Unfamiliar Territory. Another Goblin is better than giving one you already have +2. The scimitar is for drawing cards, with the added benefit of giving whoever it's on +2 strength, or it gives a minion +2, with the added benefit of drawing a card, depending on your point of view. Either way, it's quite efficient at 0 twilight, and you potentially have the ability to play it quite a few times during the course of a game. A lot of people might question the inclusion of They are Coming. Well, taking into account the fact that you draw back up to 8 cards every single turns means that the discard 3 cards to get a goblin back ability is not a drawback, but an easy way for your deck to cycle away worthless cards you may have drawn (like that second Blade of Gondor, or Sleep, Cahadras against a deck with no conditions) so that you can draw more new cards. Plus it lets you play a Moria Orc from the discard pile, which allows you to play whichever orc would best fit the situation. Need a bit more bang, get the Scavengers and a Scimitar back, need to lower the Free Peoples Archery, get a Moria Scout to suck up the damage or a Wallcrawler to straight up reduce it, low on Twilight, that Runner sure would be nice. Host of Thousands follows this same "wild card" logic, it becomes a copy of whichever orc in your discard pile is the best orc for the situation.

Well, that about wraps up this article. If you have any questions or comments e-mail us at c22@bennettig.com or D-mail us

By: Adam "VincentVega" Beauchamp and Wesley "Evil" Addison