The Gollum Culture

This Strategy-Note article was written by Joe Lewis and was published first on "Lord of the Rings Online (lotrtcg.decipher.com)".

"Cold be heart and hand and bone. And called be travelers far from home. They do not see what lies ahead when sun has failed and moon is dead."

Gollum's cryptic rhyming and dualistic personality make him one of the most compelling characters in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Gandalf and Elrond tell of the unspeakable horrors that could result in wielding the total power of the One Ring, but Gollum gives us a firsthand look at the peril that Frodo himself faces . . . corruption.

So how do you take a unique character such as Gollum, and incorporate him into this game? Well, to do justice to his good/evil dichotomy, we have both Free Peoples and Shadow cards for the Gollum culture, the first such culture to be granted such a dubious distinction. Both the Free Peoples and Shadow strategies revolving around Smeagol/Gollum heavily involve burdens. There are cards that add burdens, remove burdens, and even add twilight based on how many burdens you can spot. With Gollum lurking about, the threat of corruption now becomes very real.

The feature minion of the culture is, of course, Gollum. His common version brings him forth as a Nasty Treacherous Creature, presenting the ability to exert a companion in the regroup phase, simply by discarding him. This can be a very useful tool in decks which deal out mass amounts of wounds/exertions. The subtle, craftier nature of Gollum is revealed in his Stinker persona. With a strength bonus for each burden he can spot, Gollum becomes more and more of a threat as the ring lays heavy on the Ring-bearers mind. In fact, each time Gollum wins a skirmish, he adds another burden.

Conversely, the feature companion of the culture is Smeagol. The Old Noser character provides some unique deck cycling opportunities, as well as regroup phase minion wounding. This can be extremely helpful in times where you want to take out minions before a double move. Smeagol's taxing yet powerful bond to Frodo is shown in the Slinker character. While keeping Smeagol around is burdening to Frodo, Smeagol proves to be worth the trouble as he is a valuable companion which can be virtually unkillable in a skirmish.

On the whole, the Gollum culture is an effective supporting mechanism for both the Free Peoples and Shadow sides. On their own, Smeagol and Gollum are never going to do major damage. In concert with sneaky Hobbits or relentless Nazgul, however, both can prove to be your opponent's downfall.