LotR - Latest Decks on openCards

Welcome to the overview of the latest LotR Decks

You will find the latest 15 Decks here (order desc by publishing date).

dwarves

BurnEnergy

The Threatening Shadow

((Sorry, for some reason it brings up a bunch of Tournaments above my deck layout. This is my first time using OpenCards, and I selected <none> for where it's been used, but for some reason they all still come up.)) 

Probably my favorite deck that I've made. Like most of mine, it's heavy focus is on the Shadow side. Gollum cards utilize threats for my opponent, putting them out as well as using them to their fullest extent. Support the Gollum set-up with some Ringwraith to fill out the Threat usage and add in some muscle as well.

The Free-Peoples side is built to last, buying you another turn to get back to Shadow. Solid Gondor Knight deck, using a few fortifications, some generic Knights for low cost and something to throw under the Balrog Bus. Nothing terribly special here.

Ranger - Evil Men Archery

Next Generation Elvents-Turbo Corruption

Revenge of the Little People

I'm a Gul, but I'm not a Cardassian. Who am I?

Robert Zugaj' 2007 EC deck (#3)

The Conditions of Ulaire Lemenya

Every now and then I like to sift through the sets of Decipher's The Lord of the Rings TCG and look for a new deck archetype based on a card that seldom sees play. Now, I don't pretend that these new creations will be powerhouses in the tournament circuit, but hey, people still play for fun right? Recently I ran across and old friend in the Nazgul culture, Ulaire Lemenya. Lemenya has been a particular favorite of mine as most players viewed him as the black sheep of the Nazgul. It's true, Lemenya has issues. For one, he has only 9 strength and 2 vitality. Then, of course, there's the little fact that he's not Fierce. But do not weep for him! For he is not without brothers and possesses a few tricks of his own.

Defenders of the Mark

One of the most popular fellowship strategies revolves around the idea of "disposable" companions who fight a skirmish or two before paying a visit to the dead pile. Of course, if these companions are sacrificing themselves, would it not be better for them to block multiple minions? This is where the Defender +1 keyword comes into play. Players have long used Sam, Proper Poet as well as the ultimate expandable expendable Aragorn, Ranger of the North, for their ability to heroically defend against more than one minion. However these two companions are not the only ones able to block numerous baddies; in fact, most Rohan companions can do it as well. There are currently See the rest of this Deck...

The Horse-Lords of Middle Earth

There are several ways a free peoples player can win the race to site nine. He can be sneaky, using stealth cards, hobbit pumps, and enough companions to just keep Frodo from being overwhelmed. Another popular strategy is to plug your opponent's minions with enough archery and directed wounding that any minions who make it through to skirmish are easily dispatched by one or two strong companions. Rohan works a slightly different way. They use consistently strong companions, usually depending heavily on possessions, to eliminate minions from the table and facilitate a fast moving fellowship.

The Fighting Elves

Have you ever looked at the Elves and said 'If only they could fight they would be good!'? I thought the same thing, so I set out to make an Elf fighting deck. The first thing I looked at was the Naiths. They should be the fighting Elves, however Pengedhel is the biggest of the fighting Naiths and he is only an 8 with a bow. They also do not add to the archery total, which is one of the strengths of Elves, so I crossed Naiths off my list.

I then began to look through the various Elven skirmish events and ran across a theme that might work, targetting wounded minions. Elves are easily able to dish out wounds with archery, and are also able to take advantage of it with Blades Drawn, Valor, and Lorien Swordsman. This gives us a basis for a fighting Elf deck, but is it enough? Many cultures are able to fight, so why use Elves?

Raiders and Burdens, part 1

The first in a series of three articles about Easterling Burden Strategies.

Sauron has released the Easterlings and in the process, unintentionally, he adds to the burdens that Frodo bears. It is during an attack against the Raider army that the Rangers find Frodo and Sam. This leads to an encounter with Faramir that shows just how deeply the ring has affected Frodo and in effect adds another burden - that of knowledge of influence.

There are three ways to use the burden adding abilities of Easterlings: 1) add burdens to try and corrupt the Ring Bearer, 2) add burdens and make your minions stronger and/or fierce, 3) combine the Easterling's abilities with those of another culture that keys off burdens such as Sauron or the Nazgul. This article deals with the first strategy - adding burdens to try and corrupt the Ring Bearer.

Gandalf and the Unbound Hobbits

One of the new themes introduced in The Two Towers is the discarding Unbound Hobbits. Captured and held by the Uruk-hai and the Orcs of Sauron, Merry and Pippin were hardly able to fight against their captors. When they were able to, they escaped into Fangorn Forest where they met Treebeard and were reunited with Gandalf. This adventure is mirrored in the game by the abilities of Merry and Pippin to discard themselves to either remove a Sauron Orc or an Uruk-hai from a skirmish or to discard themselves from a skirmish. This allows you to avoid fighting nasty minions and allows you to keep replaying Merry and Pippin to fight (and run) another day. While many of the cards central to this strategy are a part of the Hobbit culture, Gandalf and the Ents contribute a significant amount of power and versatility to the Unbound Hobbits. Here we will look at some of the ways in which Gandalf benefits the Unbound Hobbit decktype.

Possession Denial

Possessions are often the life blood of a Free People's deck. Many players rely upon them to perform a variety of tasks depending upon their specific strategy, and of course they're an invaluable help in winning skirmishes. And so with the introduction of the Dunlending culture in the Two Towers set, a whole new deck type has been created: the Possession Denial decks.

The ability to discard possessions is certainly nothing new. From the very inception of the game Ulaire Cantea has been feared for his ability to discard weapons. But none of the previous expansions can compare with what the Dunlendings can do. With but a few simple cards these wild men can get rid of not only weapons, but any possession being held by any companion.

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