C – core set M – Shadows of Mirkwood cycle M1 – Hunt for Gollum M2 – Conflict at the Carrock M3 – Journey to Rhosgobel M4 – Hills of Emyn Muil M5 – Dead Marshes M6 – Return to Mirkwood K – Khazad-dûm deluxe D – Dwarrodelf cycle D1 – Redhorn Gate D2 – Road to Rivendell D3 – Watcher in the Water D4 – Long Dark D5 – Foundations of Stone D6 – Shadow and Flame H – The Hobbit saga H1 – Over Hill and Under Hill H2 – On the Doorstep N – Heirs of Númenor deluxe S – Against the Shadow cycle S1 – Steward’s Fear S2 – Drúadan Forest S3 – Encounter
at Amon Dîn S4 – Assault on Osgiliath S5 – Blood of Gondor S6 – Morgul Vale
Card Draw and Player Deck Management
There is a good reason to use weapons, outside of their own abilities,
the reason is called Foe-Hammer (H1)
which allows you to draw three cards if you can exhaust a weapon attached to a
hero that has just felled an enemy. The weapon doesn’t have to be Glamdring,
and the hero shall hardly be called Gandalf.
And if you want weapons, Bofur
(H1) can find them for you. He’s got very decent stats for his cost anyway, so
adding him to a deck when there are weapons about is sort of obvious.
The Eagles are Coming! (M1) and they can
bring any number of Eagle cards one can find among the top five cards of his
deck. One who is into probability will probably not like this card overmuch but
if luck is on your side, this card can prove crucial, if not to the point the
event did (twice) in the books.
Once you have more cards than you can pay for, or – much more likely
with Leadership – more copies of unique cards in hand, you can use Erestor (D4) to discard them in order
to draw new cards instead. Cost is 4 but willpower 2: certainly a card to
consider, especially if Lore is not around.
A Very Good Tale (H1) also works with
the top five cards of the player’s deck; it cannot be predicted and non-ally
cards must be discarded, still this can be powerful in an ally-heavy deck. And
it is an interesting card as some of the higher cost cards can gain advantage
through this effect, Citadel Custodian seems especially fit there, the cost is
there to use it but one should really pay it in a proper deck.
Being a permanent, if a bit weaker, counter-part to Daeron’s Runes, King Under the Mountain (H2) is
currently the best Leadership card for drawing cards; but one needs a Dwarf
hero to attach it to.
Valiant sacrifice is perhaps the powerful reoccurring motif in the
Tolkien’s universe, whether one would think of the Silmarillion, and of Finrod,
Fingolfin or Glorfindel, or the most iconic scenes from the Lord of the Rings,
of Boromir, Théoden or Frodo Baggins. In the game Valiant Sacrifice (C) is certainly not one of the most powerful
drawing cards. For a resource, and only when an ally leaves, the controller
gets 2 cards. It only seems worth it when there’s no better access to card draw
(which may easily be the case in Leadership decks) or when there is a strategy
employed. Rohan or Eagle allies (though mostly Spirit and Tactics respectively)
do have the tendency of leaving play, and when they are to leave anyways, it is
better when they do so valiantly.
Campfire Tales (M1), with its very
thematic design, is one of those cards which usefulness comes out of more
players being in the game. In this case, it only seems worth investing when
there are three or four.
You do get a little something for 2 resources when you play Keen-eyed Took (M4). His search ability
should be viewed only as a very minor bonus that can be effective at very rare
situations.
Taking Initiative (D1) can draw you 2
cards for 0 resources but the condition is so absurd, you may just forget this
card exists.
We are not Idle (D6), on the other
hand, will always draw you 1 card on top of its main ability; too bad it only
works with Dwarves.
Imladris Stargazer (D5) can reorganize
top 5 cards of any player’s deck. It is the ground to many a strategy but on
its own, it can help drawing the right cards at the right time.
Song of Eärendil (D2) is one of those
cards with a bonus effect, in this case drawing a card after playing the Song.
Hobbits were famous for storing Mathom in places fit for it. In the
game, one needs no Hobbit to play Ancient
Mathom (M3), he needs a location, and then to explore it to draw 3 cards.
One of the choices when successfully applying Renewed Friendship (D1), a feat only possible in coop games, is to
draw a single card: not very potent but not entirely useless in a proper pair
of decks.
Mustering the Rohirrim (M1) is a strong
search card in a Rohan ally-heavy deck; the question is how strong can such a
deck be now.
Beravor (C) is perhaps the
most reliable hero (or any) card for drawing cards. If you can avoid using her
in other ways, this Dúnedain Ranger will draw you 2 cards per round (after
errata). There is a temptation/advantage in her stats, however, Beravor being
one of the most versatile heroes with printed willpower, attack and defence of
2.
Bilbo (M1) doesn’t share the versatility
of Beravor. Unless equipped by attachments (the likes of A Burning Brand or
Fast Hitch being very fit for him), he is a mere bonus to your quest or attack,
and a very fragile decent defender. The card draw is one card extra guaranteed
for first player, making the ability a little unpredictable in multi-player.
Ori (H1) is Bilbo’s equivalent in a
Dwarven deck, Dwarves required, self-oriented, better in attacking and general
questing. With the very low 8 threat cost, a must to any Lore Dwarven deck,
really.
Speaking of which, Legacy of
Dúrin (D3) makes drawing cards with such a deck very easy. One needs
nothing more than the attachment attached to a Dwarven hero, and each time a
Dwarf ally is played from hand, a card is drawn. Powerful.
As Expert Treasure Hunter
(H2) can be – but only in either a totally one-card-type-oriented deck or when
combined with the ability of say Imladris Stargazer.
And Speaking of Imladris Stargazer, it is more essential here than
anywhere so far to get any use of the ability of Hunter of Lamedon (N). The good thing is the Hunter’s stats are
quite okay for the cost of 2 and he’s got both Gondor and Outlands traits.
Gléowine (C) does what Beravor
does, just half the number, which is quite reasonable for the very reasonable
cost of 2, willpower of 1 and 2 hit points on top of the very reliable ability
(uniqueness is the only problem here).
Master of the Forge (D6) is generic, on
the other hand, but can only draw attachments through his search. Certainly
fits a deck with many of those; and makes the reason for having more copies of
unique ones less grounded, thus freeing valuable deck slots. The Master seems
made for a Tactics cooperation, fetching weapons or the likes of Black Arrow.
Rivendell Minstrel (M1) will guarantee
pulling any single song from your deck, when you play her from hand. A must in
any music oriented decks.
The announcement of Gildor
Inglorion (M4) came almost at the same time as the announcement of Zigil
Miner. At the time, when the latter’s text was still official, these two made
for one of the strongest combos in the game. They can still cooperate but it often
comes to calling for Gildor in time of need of his valuable skills as a quester
or defender (and having the ability as a reserve option). The ability is a nice nod to the wonderful passage from the source material, depicting the brief encounter of the Company of the Three Hobbits and the Company of Gildor's Elves.
If one is to brush upon the old Noldor-Dwarf cooperation, Daeron’s Runes (D5) would be a very
thematic card. If one is to make a Lore deck, Daeron’s Runes is a good start.
Peace, and Thought (D6) is not so
obvious, drawing five cards holds enormous potential but the drawback of exhausting
two heroes before the next round begins is not to be taken lightly. Tactics
Boromir or Hobbits on Fast Hitch seem great candidates.
There are no drawbacks for playing Lórien’s
Wealth (C) other than its cost. Lore resources can be hard to come by to
pay three of them to get cards you might hardly afford to afterwards. If the
above is not the case, however, this is an easy way to expand someone’s hand.
With all three (printed) Lore heroes, there probably isn't a more obvious card to add to the deck than Mithrandir's Advice (S1). With two such heroes it becomes questionable but certainly better than many of the above or below; it is a folly with a single Lore hero, of course. There's been a promise of a push toward mono-sphere decks, and this card certainly holds true to that.
Exhausting Istari is not something plain and simple. Core Gandalf is a
very good candidate when he sticks around till the end of the round (and thus
readies before leaving play). Word of
Command (D4) can than provide an interesting option but it is certainly not
a card to see many decks right now.
Gandalf’s Search (C) is probably
seeing even less play than the above. Unless you’ve got some critical resource
acceleration, or a cunning combo up your sleeve, you better leave this card out
of your deck. One would think a card with Gandalf’s name in the title will do a
bit more.
Luckily
there is always Gandalf (C) himself
to save the day. He draws you three cards if you prefer that to direct
damage or threat reduction: a hard (and often critical) choice indeed.