[Phrim]

In a perhaps futile attempt to get people talking about LotR TCG again, does anyone have opinions of the new Ents of Fangorn expansion? Here's some of my thoughts...

With only three Dwarven cards in the entire expanion, the Dwarves once again manage to get the short end of the stick. This is unfortunate, as Dwarves really haven't been a focus since the Mines of Moria expansion released over a year ago, but I guess inevitable as there just weren't many Dwarves in the most recent movie. Elves, on the other hand, do gain a signficant number of cards, including new versions of Elrond, Galadriel, and Arwen. The new Elrond is a replacement for the now-banned Lord of Rivendell version, though a lot more limited (but the healing aspect is nice). While most decks won't have enough Elf cards to use him too effectively (I still don't think Elves are worthy of an entire deck devoted to them), you can combine him with the new card Forewarned to make him more of a sure thing. The new Galadriel is a great tool for helping Elves (namely Arwen, the Elven culture's primary fighter) actually win skirmishes, something that has been difficult in the past. I'd certainly consider her in a deck that starts or focuses around winning skirmishes with Arwen, a strategy that has merit because of her effectiveness against the ever-popular Nazgul. However, on the whole, using Elrond and Galadriel is not as effective as it once was, because with the Horn of Boromir banned, these allies will likely never see battles themselves. The new Arwen, on the other hand, is mostly a disappointment, with the demise of Elven healing. With all the Nazgul that's currently being played, the Daughter of Elrond version is still the best choice.

The "Gandalf" culture gained a lot with this expansion, due to the fact that Ents are curiously included within it. The Ents gain some heavy hitters, with Treebeard, Quickbeam, and both the Host and Horde of Ents. With new Ent strength boosters like Ent Moot and Enraged, these mighty ents may never lose a skirmish, even against the powerful Nazgul. However, because most Ent strategies involve keeping Merry and Pippin alive, you need to keep a lot of companions on the table, making Ulaire Enquea especially effective against you, especially paired with Not Easily Destroyed. In addition, the Ents tend to cost a lot to play, so that shadow strategies that feed off of this will prosper. Also in the Gandalf culture is one of the most underrated cards of the set, the Mithrandir version of Gandalf. While he does have the nasty habit of inflicting wounds on himself all the time (maybe he should get counseling), his enormous base power combined with the wide variety of support cards available easily offset this. And it's really not that hard to heal him, either.

The new Smeagol and Gollum cards are, once again, too gimmicky for my taste. While the old version of Gollum may serve burden-decks well, I can't see anyone using the new cards. The new Gondor cards are not incredibly exciting either, with most of them dedicated to helping Faramir's groupies, the Rangers of Ithilien. While Ancient Roads is a much-needed alternate way of making minions roaming, these hardy men still couldn't win a fight versus a Nazgul if their lives depended on it. Also included is a new version of Aragorn, who is designed to work well with several non-Gondor cultures. His Rohan combo text works particularly well, if you can spare a mount for the ranger, no easy task since horses are often better played on your Rohan companions. It does have merit in a Help in Doubt and Need deck, however.

Rohan, already one of the strong cultures before the release of this set (a Rohan deck won the World Championships recently, in fact), gains a few key improvements in the expansion. Hrethrel is a great new companion: as long as you can exert his foes with a mount, he essentially has a base power of 9. This is more than the popular standby, the Elite Rider, who is usually a strength of 8 when mounted. However, the Elite Rider does maintain one advantage in that Hrethrel cannot be started with Eomer because of spotting requirements. Another quality companion in this set is Hama, who is especially effective against Rohan's nemesis, the Dunlendings. While he may not win many skirmishes, the doorward can easily disarm a Dunlending bearing a War Club, allowing you to keep your valued spears and mounts on your fighting companions. We Left None Alive is another great Rohan strength booster, giving you up to a +6 bonus against those problematic 1-vitality minions (like many Dunlendings) or against a fierce minion who has already taken a few hits. The set also features a new version of Eomer, but for the most part he is overcosted: rarely will you have large quantities of cards in your hand that you want to discard for a one-time boost. Best off sticking with the Third Marshall version, whose text, while it may not boost other companions, is free to use.

The Shire culture boasts a new Merry and Pippin, both of whom are designed for and work very well with Ents. In addition, Long Slow Wrath can work wonders in keeping the underpowered Hobbits alive, a must for many Ent decks. However, most of the other Shire cards are too gimmicky to see much use. Don't even get me started on Held.

Well, that about sums up my thoughts on Free Peoples cards. I'll probably write a post about the new Shadow cards in a bit. Anyone have any comments?

[ August 21, 2003: Message edited by: Phrim ]