By: Marc 'Witch-King' THERY (also available in French)

Also by this author: Direct Damage in the Lord Of The Rings TCG

In LOTR TCG, and contrary to other card games, such as SWCCG, there is a limit in the number of cards you can have in hand at a certain time. At the end of each of your turns, you may not have more than eight cards in hand. So, how can you manage to have the right card when you need it ? If you have got that card in hand but can't play it at a certain time, is it useful to keep it indefinitely into hand, reducing your hand to seven other cards? Are there means to got that card back if you choose to discard it instead? We'll try to have a look at what those means could be.

We can divide the means in three categories : draw, retrieve and search. Draw systems allow you to draw multiple cards until you find what you seek. It's the most obvious and simpliest way but also the nastiest, because you must generally discard a lot, losing some other good cards (all the cards in your deck are worth being in it, aren't they ? :-) ). Retrieve systems allow you to get some cards back into your draw deck from discard pile, increasing the frequency you'll get them in the future. This is very effective when there are only few cards remaining in your draw deck (late game). Search systems are systems that allow you to take a certain card from discard pile or draw deck, allowing you also to play it immediately. They're often the best game mechanics.

We'll review those three categories, both for the Free People Player (FPP) and the Shadow Player (SP). When you want a card, you can of course draw and discard like mad until you get it. Some means exist that allow you multiple card draws per turn. The FPP will often use Elrond, Lord Of Rivendell who allows you up to three card draws when he enters play, and then one per fellowship phase. Elrond is especially good for that if you use him with a Galadriel / Celeborn combo that allows you to heal him multiple times a turn, and/or with Ottar, Man of Laketown, who may discard useless cards you could have drawn this way. Also, you could couple Elrond with a Delving / Grimir, Dwarven Elder combo. This last combo is very useful to prepare a shadow hand : draw cards, discard the FPP cards and on your next turn retrieve some FPP cards with Grimir. To draw there are many other means such as : Silinde, Elf of Mirkwood having the game text of Rivendell Valley, or Bilbo's Pipe / Old Toby / Trollshaw Forest. The Shadow Player has only few means to draw cards : except Threat of the Unknown (not very good because you must exert an Orc of Moria), Bent on Discovery (better : exert only if you want) or Seeking Its Master (the best of the three cards), there is no mean.

When it's question of retrieving cards in hope of playing them again, they're only few cards. The Free People may retrieve cards only with Barliman Butterbur (one Gandalf Culture event), Grimir (more effective) or the combo : Bilbo Baggins, Retired Adventurer & Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir (very nice combo to retrieve some Power According To His Stature :-) ). The Shadow Player's options aren't much more numerous : if you set aside Breeding Pit and the Morgul Skullker, ideal cards for retrieving some key minions, there is only the Goblin Sneak / The Underdeeps of Moria combo, that allows you to place an orc beneath draw deck and then use him. Retrieving is useful but you should'nt entirely rely upon it.

Finally, there are the search cards, that allow you to search and/or play a certain card from discard pile or draw deck, or allowing you to reveal cards and choose some to keep in hand. Those cards are, IMHO, the most useful. Notice that the most are of Gandalf or Shire Cultures : Questions That Need Answering, Risk A Little Light, A Wizard Is Never Late (to take an ally or Gandalf) are useful. Master Proudfoot or the Hobbit Farmer combined with Farmer Maggot's Field, Bag End, Green Dragon Inn, The Prancing Poney, or Shire Lookout Point may help too. The Dwarf Culture has only two cards for search : Mithril Shaft, not very good because you add to the twilight pool (and it's always bad), and Wealth of Moria. Regarding the elves, only The Council of Elrond exists, but it can take some precious cards such as The Tale Of Gil-Galad or The Last Alliance Of Elves and Men. The Shadow Player has effective means to search cards, but they're only for Moria or Ringwraith minions. The Nazguls only have The Master's Will and Ulaire Nertea (a true star), while the Orcs have Fool of a Took!, They Are Coming or the well known combo Host of Thousands / Goblin Scavengers / Goblin Scimitar. Don't speak of Uruk-Hai or Orcs of Sauron Culture. There is nothing for them.

To conclude, I'd say that, there are actually more drawing mechanisms than true search mechanisms for the Free People Player. For the Shadow Player, only the Orcs of Moria can really search the cards they need when they want, but they can only take cards that have already been played. Certainly will the future expansion sets introduce more effective ways.